At some point (while I wasn’t paying attention) it seems that the Rooskie Olympics started. I guess this means that I won’t be seeing the stuff I usually record on NBC for a couple of weeks (for last night, that means no Grimm or Dracula – bummer). I will mostly be ignoring the Olympics as much as is possible (not an easy feat), but I did hear that the Russian team marched into the opening ceremony to a Russian knockoff band’s rendition of Queen’s “We are the Champions” as Vladimir Putin grooved to the music.

I’m not an expert on Russian law, but I’m pretty sure the whole bunch of them should be tossed in a gulag for violating the “promoting gay lifestyle” law. What in Stalin’s name will they do when the figure skating competition starts?

This one’s for you, Putie-Poot! :bf:

Apparently they had a little technical glitch, though.

The opening ceremony at the Winter Games hit a bump when only four of the five rings materialized in a wintry opening scene. The five were supposed to join together and erupt in fireworks. But one snowflake never expanded, and the pyrotechnics never went off.

Aw. How sad. Must’ve been a bummer for everybody watching on the teevee.

…everything worked fine for viewers of the Rossiya 1, the Russian host broadcaster.

As the fifth ring got stuck, Rossiya cut away to rehearsal footage. All five rings came together, and the fireworks exploded on cue.

“It didn’t show on television, thank God,” Jean Claude-Killy, the French ski great who heads the IOC coordination commission for the Sochi Games, told The Associated Press.

Producers confirmed the switch, saying it was important to preserve the imagery of the Olympic symbols.

Jean Claude-Killy? Now there’s a blast from the past. For those too young to remember, Jean Claude-Killy was like the Secretariat of Alpine Skiing. Of course if you don’t remember him, then you don’t remember Secretariat, either. He was the Jack Nicklaus of horse racing. Jack was kind of the Beatles of…. Never mind. I guess I have no way to relate to the young people anymore. 🙁

Please pay for my Social Security anyway, ‘kay?

The unveiling of the rings is always one of the most iconic moments of an opening ceremony…

OK. I’ll have to take your word for that.

…and President Vladimir Putin has been determined to use the ceremony as an introduction of the new Russia to the world.

The show’s artistic director George Tsypin said the malfunction was caused by a bad command from a stage manager.

A former stage manager, who I don’t think we’ll be hearing from for a while. On the bright side, he should get about 30 years worth of free concerts from a certain Queen tribute band.

Here’s a story I missed: Colorado Springs Airport installs amnesty boxes for marijuana

The Colorado Springs Airport on Wednesday installed amnesty boxes for people who didn’t realize that it’s illegal to possess marijuana on a plane or even at the airport.

No only did I miss the story, I feel as though I’ve missed a real opportunity to install my own alternative amnesty boxes. The article doesn’t say what they do with the collected material, but let’s just say I wouldn’t mind an invite to the Colorado Springs Airport maintenance department’s Christmas party next year.

I’m really starting to tire of this whole “Polar Express” crapola. For one thing, the name sounds like it should be a 64 oz beverage at a non-NYC 7/11 (either that or the train that takes you to visit Santa). Mostly, though, it’s ‘cuz I’m getting too old for this shit. My stuff hurts enough when it’s nice out. What I really need is to spend about 12 hours a day in a nice warm pool. Or maybe I should buy a hot tub. Nah, if I had that kind of money, I’d get a plow truck (imagine that – plowing snow from inside a vehicle with the heater cranked and the radio on, drinking a beer :nod: ).

Sunny this morning though, so no plowing required, thank goodness.