MaryMitch

Today I learned that "synchronized swimming" is now called "Artistic Swimming". I went to one of the preliminary rounds at the 1996 Atlanta games, and not knowing anything about "synchro" was not expecting to be as mesmerized, but there were of course many rabid fans in our area in the stands who were happy to help us understand what's going on, and now I love watching it. One way to be really impressed by these athletes is to try to hold your breath when they are underwater. Just sitting on the couch, and I'm gasping. I love the camera views they are using where we can see a split of the above/below water activity.

I caught some of the women's speed climbing today - it was hard to believe, they looked like Spider-Man!

I like the Wells Fargo VISA commercial with Katie Ledecky deciding she wants to learn archery. It's cute!

I didn't like Toby. There, I said it.

I really love this commercial from Dick's Sporting Goods: There is a 30 second version too And this one from Xfinity/Comcast:

Just judging on the number of posts in this topic, beach volleyball isn't nearly as popular as NBC coverage would lead one to believe.

Plus, she has great hair!

I heard he is still in ICU but is awake.

They do have 3 Jordans (one is a Jordyn) that start, so quite often they do have all 3 on the court at one time. I used to play recreational coed volleyball - One year I was on a team with a Mark Clark, a Clark Parker, and another guy named Mark. It did get confusing!

Americans placed first in both skeet shooting competitions. I don't know much about skeet shooting, but I watched the last rounds of both. I didn't even see the clay pigeons flying through the air until they were hit, when they exploded in bright pink powder. It was more exciting to watch than someone slowly aiming at a target, adjusting, adjusting... wait... adjust.... etc. It was "pull... BAM BAM!" The gold medal winners are: Amber English - with an Olympic record - her first Olympics Vincent Hancock - also an Olympic record; he also won gold in 2008 and 2012

These guys know how to fall, but the lack of helmets and other safety equipment makes it hard for me to watch.

The pictogram segment from the opening ceremony is on youtube:

I watched "Red Tape" today - this is the episode where Gabriel shoots a murder suspect (self-defense; first appearance of Sharon Raydor). I always wonder about those "wadcutter" bullets; they seemed to be pretty shallowly embedded in the victim, so how did they kill him? I'm pretty ignorant about bullets so I googled it and couldn't reconcile the appearance of the bullets on the show with what I'm seeing on the internet. Also a couple episodes later was "Half Load", where a man outside a church was shot by stray bullet from an attempted car theft. I always tear up when Brenda tells Mr. Blake (Don Franklin) that his stray bullet killed a man. His reaction at realizing he had killed a man was heartbreaking.

I'd say the reason people on TV drink bottled water is that the time required to pull out a glass and fill it takes time; filling glass from a tap makes sound, so it would limit the dialog while the glass fills. Plus, on a stage or set the taps aren't normally attached to "real" water lines so no one wants to drink that water.

There is a TON of Bonanza fanfiction, some of it quite good. There are a couple Bonanza fan forums that have fanfiction sections. Here is a small site dedicated to fanfiction: https://womenwritersblock.net/library/ There are over 50 fandoms there but I think most stories are Bonanza stories. They actually have guidelines and rules, which is nice, and all stories are checked for grammar/spelling before publication.

When I graduated high school (and college), it was open to anyone who wanted to attend. No ticket required. I guess it depends on the size of the venue.

Damar really redeemed himself after killing Ziyal.

I liked that memoriam - they gave us full-screen shots of the people and only showed the singer during the breaks. I hate it when they don't give us a chance to see the people and read their names!

I kinda felt sorry for the Thursday night audience; they DID get to see Stephen and the band, but they didn't get to see an in-person guest. I had no idea Robert Duvall is 90; he is beginning to look his years. He seemed to enjoy the interview.

Last night (June 16) was a great show - the bit about the black farmers was very interesting (and important!). And the interview with Ashley Ford was great too. Trevor has gotten so good at interviews!

Mayim Bialik will be guest host of Jeopardy May 31-June 11. Full list of guest hosts here: https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/news-events/jeopardy-guest-host-schedule

My favorite episode is when Bonnie and Tammy go visit their former foster mom. I don't like the B plot (Christy and Jill going on a double date with 2 guys from their AA meeting), but I love the scenes with the foster mom and the scene in the car where Tammy realizes that Bonnie knows that Tammy's father killed her mom. "My mom was so pretty...." I cry every time.

Did Mary ever mention on TBBT that George cheated? I don't think they can ignore him dying, but it's possible that Sheldon as a child misunderstood something he saw. I'm kinda clinging to that hope; I like George.

I hated the last season in part because of all the multi episode arcs. There were just too many characters to keep track of.

Stephen was on NPR's "Fresh Air" earlier this week and he does talk a bit about broadcasting from "the closet" - hear the interview here: https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/2021/04/27/991243365/fresh-air-for-april-27-2021-stephen-colbert?showDate=2021-04-27