Video Pics: Women's Sport

I've been watching the Commonwealth Games for the past few days, and so far, I've seen the following lady's activities (highlights in red):

• Gymnastics
• Netball
• Hockey
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Weight-lifting
• Mountain-biking
• Boxing
• Wrestling
• Judo
• Shooting
• Track
• Triathlon
• Marathon
• Long-jump (for women with cerebral palsy)
• Ping-pong
• Badminton
• Squash

I've also seen and enjoyed quite a few of the men's events; but for me, there's something special about watching elite female athletes perform.

Why? Well, I guess, because when I was younger, it wasn't really something I got to see very much. Sport pretty much meant either footy or cricket. Being played by blokes. Maybe that's why seeing tapes of people like Nadia Comaneci doing her thing at the Olympics had such an impact on me. It wasn't just amazing, it was ... well, special.

And even though, today, I'm well aware that women play all kinds of sports at an elite level, there's still something special about actually seeing it. Well, there is for me, at least.

To make a point; at one stage, when I was watching the boxing, one of the commentators made an offhand remark along the following lines:

"It's amazing how far the women's competition has come, isn't it? It doesn't seem that long ago that the only women you saw in a boxing ring were holding up score-cards."

Some of the most interesting things I've seen so far are as follows:

GYMNASTICS:

These videos aren't from The Games, but they are the routines that really caught my eye.

WRESTLING:

Hmmm ... no.

Okay, so maybe not as quick and energetic as the theatrical version, but it did have plenty of drama; what with the incomprehensible scoring system, the disagreeing judges, the song and dance performances by the Nigerians, the occasional celebratory flip, scandalous rumours about sham marriages, and the weird incident of the local Scots lass apparently losing on purpose in the semi-final match. In some respects in fact, it probably wasn't that far off the theatrical version.

MARATHON:

I'm guessing you've already heard about the marathon, and yes, it was exciting watching the Aussie girl run down the Canadian and then the Namibian, but there were two things that I found even more amazing.

Firstly, Namibia's Beata Naigambo dragging herself across the finish line after collapsing.

And secondly, Tereza Master from Malawi. A woman with quite a substantial bust for a distance runner, who did the whole thing in bare feet.

SQUASH:

I don't know if I've ever seen a game of squash before this week, and it took me a while to even figure out the rules. I certainly didn't expect to find it entertaining. But this woman totally blew me away. 

 When I first saw her, she wasn't playing all that wonderfully, and I pegged her as a gutsy young up-and-comer who was bound to succumb to superior skill and experience. Then, over the course of one match, she went from unassuming underdog to insurmountable force of nature. It turns out she's dominated the sport for years and is one of the top athletes in the world.

WEIGHT-LIFTING:

This smaller-framed young lady lifted nearly twice her own body-weight, while flashing a massive grin, and then celebrated with a very impressive looking backflip.

Wheeee!

BADMINTON:

The most interesting thing about watching the badminton was the mixed doubles. Specifically, the way that team members appear to communicate with each other primarily through using their racquets to tap each other on the arse. There were taps of encouragement, taps of celebration, taps of condolence; it was like an entire unspoken language.

I couldn't find a picture of badminton players tapping each others arses.

Also, when New Zealand played Wales, the Kiwi fans let out a chant of "We've got more sheep than yous!"

Absolutely marvellous.

LONG-JUMP:

Despite missing out on a medal, while representing Wales in the long-jump for women with cerebral palsy, Olivia Breen looked like she was having more fun than anyone else at the games.

Thumbs up to you Olivia. You're awesome.

I have to give a thumbs-up to Channel Ten, too; for making so much available through their tenplay.com.au/sport/commonwealth-games website. While it hasn't been perfect, it's been a damn sight better than their shitty television coverage, which has consisted almost entirely of interviews, replays, and Optus advertising. Fuck me dead if those Optus ads aren't the most fucking annoying things I've seen in a long time.

EXTRA: The Last Woman Standing

 

On the subject of women's sport, I notice this just started re-airing on ABC. I saw it last time it showed, and think I've still got it on tape. Basically, it's a sort of shitty reality/game show where a bunch of pommy sheilas go around to different remote parts of the globe and compete against each other in traditional sports.

So, why am I recommending it? Well, in between the annoying reality-game-show-drama bits, there's these nuggets of interesting stuff about how the women in these remote communities live, their domestic roles, how they relate to men, and how they relate to (and compete with) each other.

One bit that sticks in my mind is this one Amazonian tribe they go and stay with, and they talk about how, when a couple gets married, the woman has sex with every adult male in the village. It's supposed to stop jealousy and help bind the community together.

I wonder.

... and somewhere a witty callback regarding holding up scorecards goes begging.

The first episode can be found here, and is up until August 12.

Hey, the Commonwealth Games are on?

So, I wouldn't have even realised it if I didn't have visitors at the moment, but it seems The Commonwealth Games started today.

And there's gymnastics on tonight!

Okay, so there won't be any of the really good countries, like Russia, and China competing, but it should still be better than no gymnastics, right?

Oh, and it's in Scotland this time around.

I think when I get home, I'm going to toast my Great Auntie Mags, by throwing on a plaid skirt, plonking myself down in front of the telly, and muttering about how the English are a miserable pack o'coonts. 

Have I ever mentioned Auntie Mags before? She was the one that worked as a bullocky (I think that was Mags), ran a mail service, and set her husband on fire after he got pissed and gave her a hiding.

Whaddya reckon Melbs? You interested in any of the events this year? Will you be doing anything Scots themed? Or are you just sticking with the Tour? Got any stories of interesting old broads in your family?

If gymnastics from Scotland doesn't look like this, I'm going to be horribly disappointed.

Video Pics: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I don't know how many times I've seen this now, but it was on SBS tonight and I have visitors staying with me who hadn't seen it.

It's still great. Hasn't lost a thing in the fifteen or so years since it was made. But then, tragic love stories set against a martial arts backdrop in pre-British China never really get old, do they?

Presumably, you should be able to catch it on the SBS website for the next two weeks.

Zhang Ziyi might have gotten all the attention when it came out, but c'mon, it's clear Michelle was the real star of the show.

♪ One of these things is not like the others ... ♫

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-19/prisoners-not-being-raped-in-qld-jails-bleijie/4638566

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3741171.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-21/queensland-premier-campbell-newman-makes-major-policy-changes/5611970

Got any pumpkin seed recipes?

Credit to InspiredCreativity at DeviantArt for this one. Well done. sir.

I've been making a lot of pumpkin soup recently. So tonight, I decided to try doing something with the seeds for once. I threw a bunch into a pan with some butter and salt and fryed them for about twenty minutes.

They were fantastic!

So, I was wondering if you happen to know any other simple things one can do with pumpkin seeds? Keep in mind, I'm not much of a cook, so simple is pretty much the operative word here.

Japanese Artist sells 3D Scans Of Her Own Vulva. Runs Afoul Of Obscenity Laws

I saw this story this morning and couldn't let it go.

I know when I used to deal in porn, all the stuff made for the Japanese domestic market had pixelated genitalia, presumably to meet censorship requirements. Apparently some people who work in law-enforcement over there have decided that rule should apply to 3D data used to make moldings as well.

We've talked before (and recently) about the problem with girls and women not knowing or understanding parts of their own anatomy, and not knowing if what they have is "normal", etc, etc; and there's definitely an element of that to this story.

The Guardian article is probably the most informative, The Register one has a video, and the last one has a bunch of pictures:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/15/vagina-selfie-for-3d-printers-lands-japanese-artist-in-trouble

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/07/15/megumi_igarashi_cuffed/

http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2014/07/14/megumi-igarashi-3d-printed-vaginal-art-arrested/

It'll be interesting to see how far prosecutors decide to take this.

Yeah, that was pretty close to my reaction, too.

Video Pics: Big Boss & Baggy Body

So, last night, while I was procrastinating sketching an okapi, I watched some documentaries. None of them were must-see, but I thought two of them were at least, sort of, eh ... worth a look.

BIG BOSS:

No, not the Bruce Lee film. It's actually about a hundred-year-old Aboriginal woman in the top end, her position in the community, and the task of recording all the knowledge in her head before it's lost forever.

I thought it tied in nicely with the topic of ageism, which came up recently. Also, it's only 25mins long.

Up until 21 July

They show an old photo of her at 16, standing on a beach in a loincloth. It gave me a little chill to think about the journey from one point in time to the other.

MY BAGGY BODY:

This one follows three poms who have lost huge amounts of weight and now have masses of excess skin to deal with. I probably reacted to this one more than most people would, because I've had a ~slightly~ similar experience. Thankfully, my wrinkles are nowhere near what these people have been left with. And that's probably the overwhelming sense I had when I watched this -- "Thank god that isn't me".

Up until 23 July

I can't remember exactly, but I think the excess skin on its own weighed about 2 stone when removed.

Sore Tits & Other Crap.

Well, it's been one of those periods where I've had more to do than time to do it, so I've just been trying to squeeze as much as I can into the time I have. I've spent the past ~two weeks~ glued to a chair, tapping a keyboard, and watching code scroll by. My eyes have turned square, my arse has gone flat, and my fingers are worn down to nubs.

I'd like to thank my folks, who have been calling me every night, to make sure I take a break and go to bed, and to update me on current events - since I haven't seen any news. Apparently Mr Rabbit is having some trouble with the new Senate. Good. (Although, I hear he still has a job, Melbs; so I guess old what's-his-name was a bit off with his prediction, huh?). Iraq has fallen apart; Ukraine continues to fester; Germany thrashed Brazil in the semi-finals of the corrupt, parasitic scam known as The World Cup; and America and China are inching towards something that promises to be even uglier.

Have I missed anything?

---

Also, I didn't do any exercise during this period, so last night I decided to make up for it. In retrospect, I think I may have overdone it slightly. Everything in the back is stiff and everything in the front is aching. As it stands, I would advise that nobody get on my tits for the next few days, because they're sore enough already, thank you very much! (Actually, it's the pectoral muscles that are sore, but I couldn't resist the joke.)

I spent this morning catching up on housework. I usually clean once a week, and after a fortnight, the sheets were just about ready to jump into the wash on their own. Then I sat down with a pot of tea and listened to music, while watching clips of hot Latin blokes in tights performing wacky acrobatic stunts.

NOTE: In case you find the music in any of these videos utterly intolerable, you can mute them and enjoy the sweet, dulcet tones of Dutch symphonic rock band Within Temptation. This is what I listened to today, whilst going about my chores.

How about that bloke jumping off the fucking ceiling? And the fella wearing the Aussie flag mask? Oh, oh, but what about that little guy in the black tights with the red phoenix-looking trim? Wow! ... You ever been out with a really short bloke before? Is it just me, or are masks sexy?

...?

"Oh, but Alex", I hear you say, "I prefer hot Japanese acrobats -- in tiny shorts". Well, you've got very specific tastes then, haven't you? But never fear, I've got you covered, sister.

I should point out that I generally don't watch the matches. Not unless I'm hanging out with someone who's right into it (and I find the American stuff as dull as dishwater). No, usually it's just the highlight videos for me. Rob Viper's the fella who does the Mexican stuff. He's got over a thousand. Sadly, I just found out the bloke who does the Japanese videos I like, got booted from YouTube for copyright violation. So these aren't his. Instead, they're a bit of a mish-mash.

It's a real shame too, because Japan has the only decent women's wrestling in the world, and he had some corkers. Mexican women's wrestling is, sadly, quite pathetic.

Y'know, back when I was right into movies, I used to fantasise about being a stuntwoman. Of course, I musta weighed about 18 stone in those days, so I dunno which leading lady I was gonna double for.

It's probably for the best that I didn't, anyway. I'd likely have a lot more to whinge about than a stiff back and sore tits. Still, one can dream, hey?

---

Also, I realised I haven't drawn anything in aaaaaaages, so I went looking through Wikipedia/Wikimedia for interesting animals to sketch. What I came across was these two fine looking specimens.

The cheeky looking lass with her tongue sticking out is an Okapi. She's from Africa, and is the closest living relative to the giraffe. Apparently her head and legs have completely different camouflage needs to her neck and torso.

I'm guessing this is a female, since I don't see anything hanging off the underside that would suggest otherwise.

***
And this cuddly couple of critters are South American Bush Dogs. I'm assuming they don't have any natural predators, because they have evidently evolved for maximum adorability.

Aaaaawwwwwwwwwww...........

 Now, to sit down and actually draw the buggers.


P.S. Centre-aligned text: Yea or nay?

Linux Mint 17

Linux Mint 17 XFCE was released on 26th June. Mint is the version of Linux I generally recommend to non-techy people who are coming off Windows and want something familiar that "just works"; although, to be fair, there are a few distros around now which are propbably just as suitable.

Anyway, I've been checking out version 17, and so far ... so good. This version also has "Long Term Support", which means you won't have to worry about upgrading again until 2019.

You can read the release notes and download it here. As per usual, you can copy the image to a DVD or USB stick and run it "live", or even install it to a USB stick and use it as a portable OS. Either way, you can use it without replacing, or even modifying your current setup.

Amongst other things, Mint 17 comes with:

• Firefox web browser.
• Thunderbird email client.
• Transmission bittorrent client.
• LibreOffice home office suite.
• Brasero, for ripping and burning CDs.
• Banshee music player/manager. 
• VLC and Totem video/DVD players.
• GIMP painting/drawing/photo-editing tool.
• Various printer, scanner, archive manager, PDF reader, calculator, note-taker, etc software.
• About a thousand other free and open source apps installable with a few clicks.

If nothing else, it's great for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the free software pond.