Musings in Search of a Muse

Olympic Commentary

Where would we be without James Earl Jones? And what did we do before him? His narration of the NBC teaser before the 2004 Olympics opening ceremonies was a powerful reminder of the gifts that God bestows upon us mere humans. It is a two part gift because of what it has helped Mr. Jones accomplish and that it can be shared with the rest of us. Thank you, Lord.

And please extend your blessings, Father, upon the athletes, staff, and visitors to the Summer Olympics this year. Keep them safe, healthy, and happy.

But with all the gum chewing I saw amongst the athletes I'm sure many of them are very, very happy. I'd notice that sort of thing because I don't care much about sports. So here are some other inane observations:

• Sweetest Welcome by the Crowd: Iraq
• Delegation That Looked Most Like a Blend of Greeks & Turks: Cyprus
• Best Comeback After an Absence: Afghanistan (and they have some women as athletes!)
• Coldest Greeting by the Crowd: Iran (and I don't blame them)
• Most Regimented and Unsmiling Delegation: Iran (surprised?)
  
• Most Obvious Omission in Political Commentary: Eritrea
• Delegation I'd Most Like to Spend Time With: Australia, United Kingdom, & Italy (each for different reasons)
• Best Looking Women: Canada
• Best Looking Men: Greece
• Least Good Looking Men: Japan (and, unusually, the women weren't that good looking, either)
  
• Least Good Looking Women: Israel (worse than Japan and Russia)
  
• Most Surprisingly Good Looking Women: Kazakhstan (whooda thunk?)
• Best Host Nation: Greece (by default and by hard work ... nice start to the Games ... it was a nice Welcome Home)
• Coolest Team Costume: Most any nation from South America or Africa
  
• Most Boring Team Costume: Malta (but it was close several times!)
• Delegates Other Than Israel That Looked the Most Jewish: Palestine
  
• Most Confusing Team Costume: Mongolia (cowboy hats & cheesy blazers?)
• Least Surprising Fact: 70% of the South African team is Caucasian
• 2nd Least Surprising Fact: Nearly all camcorders carried by athletes were carried by men
  

Gonna go set the VCR to record the rest of the ceremonies and go to bed. Quick mention of the Song of the Day: "Olympic Fanfare" by Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on the album The Very Best of Erich Kunzel • Top 20 or "Summon the Heroes" by John Williams from the Summon the Heroes album.

Peace & Prayers