the lengthening of my attention span
This was the first year I really followed the Olympics. I've certainly been aware of them before, and watched some events when they happened to be on, but I couldn't tell you anything about them now. I actually anticipated the 2008 Olympics. Not, you know, by a lot, but I saw some specials on the work Beijing had done to prepare for the games (including an awesome one on PBS that detailed the architecture and construction of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, which excited me more than anything Olympic-related I'd seen up to that point), and there were all the protests and the controversies, and earlier this year my brother was in China and actually saw the Olympic Torch while he was over there. I was interested. These games seemed to portend some significance I hadn't before attributed to the Olympic Games. I didn't seem like the only one who thought so.
And then, of course, there was the Michael Phelps story, which to me became the Jason Lezak story, because the way he edged out Alain Bernard in the anchor leg of the men's free relay was the most memorable moment in sports I had ever seen-- up to that point. Then Usain Bolt ran the !00m dash. And the 200. And the Jamaican team obliterated the world record in the 4X100 relay. I watched Lezak anchor another amazing relay, helping Phelps to his 8th gold medal and 7th world record in a week of competition. I watched that in a crowded bar of people shouting "Go! Go! Go!" and cheering deliriously. I also cheered insanely when the U.S. Men's and Women's Track and Field 4x400 relay teams won their races, victories that were all the more exciting after the monumental biffing of the relay by both our 4x100 teams. To me, these Olympics weren't just a disparate collection of unrelated competitions, they were a complete narrative arc with interesting storylines that I could follow. And that I'll probably remember vividly every 4 years for the rest of my life.
It's this feeling of non-catastrophic history that I'm not so used to. I had to include that qualifier because there's no denying that I felt history on that September day 7 years ago when what I couldn't imagine happening did. There haven't been a lot of times in my life where I felt like, "Hey, History is Happening." When the Berlin Wall fell, maybe (though I was pretty young then). It could be that all the TV and radio talking heads who discussed China's "Economic Miracle" and spoke of the Beijing Olympics as their grand debut as a rising world power led me to watch the games with a heightened sense of history. And now I've got a taste for it.
This might explain why I'm now glued to the DNC.
Now I'm a fan of Barack Obama. I don't think he's perfect, but he seems pretty intelligent and to have a good understanding of and healthy respect for the Constitution. I did not set out to pay any attention to the DNC. This is the 4th presidential election I've seen since I became an enfranchised adult, and I've never watched a convention. Granted, I was a member of the Green party for the majority of those years. My values are waaaaaay more aligned with the Green party than the Democratic party. Like a big ole sellout, I registered Democrat when I moved back to California so I could vote for Obama in the primary. But I don't think I'm interested in the convention because I'm suddenly a Democrat. I just crave more of that history the Olympics got me hooked on.
I watched about 2 hours of speeches and other Democratic propaganda on PBS last night and I was rapt. This has never happened to me before. I'm not a political junkie! I just found it all so interesting. There was plenty to make me roll my eyes, sure, but I was surprised by how much stuff I found inspiring. And now I'm all stoked for Obama's speech.
Anyone else feel the tides of history surging?
And then, of course, there was the Michael Phelps story, which to me became the Jason Lezak story, because the way he edged out Alain Bernard in the anchor leg of the men's free relay was the most memorable moment in sports I had ever seen-- up to that point. Then Usain Bolt ran the !00m dash. And the 200. And the Jamaican team obliterated the world record in the 4X100 relay. I watched Lezak anchor another amazing relay, helping Phelps to his 8th gold medal and 7th world record in a week of competition. I watched that in a crowded bar of people shouting "Go! Go! Go!" and cheering deliriously. I also cheered insanely when the U.S. Men's and Women's Track and Field 4x400 relay teams won their races, victories that were all the more exciting after the monumental biffing of the relay by both our 4x100 teams. To me, these Olympics weren't just a disparate collection of unrelated competitions, they were a complete narrative arc with interesting storylines that I could follow. And that I'll probably remember vividly every 4 years for the rest of my life.
It's this feeling of non-catastrophic history that I'm not so used to. I had to include that qualifier because there's no denying that I felt history on that September day 7 years ago when what I couldn't imagine happening did. There haven't been a lot of times in my life where I felt like, "Hey, History is Happening." When the Berlin Wall fell, maybe (though I was pretty young then). It could be that all the TV and radio talking heads who discussed China's "Economic Miracle" and spoke of the Beijing Olympics as their grand debut as a rising world power led me to watch the games with a heightened sense of history. And now I've got a taste for it.
This might explain why I'm now glued to the DNC.
Now I'm a fan of Barack Obama. I don't think he's perfect, but he seems pretty intelligent and to have a good understanding of and healthy respect for the Constitution. I did not set out to pay any attention to the DNC. This is the 4th presidential election I've seen since I became an enfranchised adult, and I've never watched a convention. Granted, I was a member of the Green party for the majority of those years. My values are waaaaaay more aligned with the Green party than the Democratic party. Like a big ole sellout, I registered Democrat when I moved back to California so I could vote for Obama in the primary. But I don't think I'm interested in the convention because I'm suddenly a Democrat. I just crave more of that history the Olympics got me hooked on.
I watched about 2 hours of speeches and other Democratic propaganda on PBS last night and I was rapt. This has never happened to me before. I'm not a political junkie! I just found it all so interesting. There was plenty to make me roll my eyes, sure, but I was surprised by how much stuff I found inspiring. And now I'm all stoked for Obama's speech.
Anyone else feel the tides of history surging?