Sunday, August 24, 2008

There's gold in them thar hills...

 
 
Yeah, it's really late...but we're watching the gold medal game in basketball, US vs. Spain. I'm so sleeeeeepy! But how can I not watch basketball? I'm a Hoosier, for Pete's sake. Lebron James is a monster, and so much fun to watch!
 
While we were eating dinner tonight, we were watching the exciting marathon coverage. You know, I know this is one of the classic events of the Olympic games, but is it really necessary to show the entire race? Could we maybe intersperse the coverage with other events?
 
While a guy from Kenya won the marathon, a couple of runners from Eritrea were right up there for a while. I had very vague knowledge of Eritrea, so I had to look it up:
 
Eritrea
 
A country of northeast Africa bordering on the Red Sea. Once part of the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum, it became an Italian colony in 1890 and was named after the Roman term for the Red Sea, Mare erythraeum. Captured by the British during World War II, Eritrea later became a federated part (1952) and then a province (1962) of Ethiopia, from which it gained its independence in 1993. Asmara is the capital and largest city. Population: 4,910,000.

What I loved about this was the Latin name for the Red Sea. "Erythro" means red, and we see it in the lab in the word erythrocyte, meaning red blood cell.

I thought that was kind of cool and interesting, but maybe that's just me.

It was a lot of fun to join in the "anniversary chat" this afternoon and evening! I popped in for a while at 3 PM, and both Ken and I were in there for a while at 6 PM. It was fun to chat with a couple of people we've already encountered in J-Land, and to meet a couple of new friends.

J-Land is a special place, and I suppose there are some who don't "get it." I know I appreciate each and every friendship and friendly encounter I've experienced here. Happy Birthday, J-Land!

And congratulations to the US basketball team for getting the gold! Woo-hoo! Spain played them very well, and it was not an easy win by any means. I remember reading the Time article in which Lebron James said that anything less than a gold was a failure. What a great run, and what fun to see the "Redeem Team" win the gold. And Lebron got his gold. Cool.

 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi beth, it was good to meet you last night in the chat room. Thanks for stopping by my journal. I have added you to my alerts so I will pop back again, and  again, and again..... you won't get rid of me now!!lol take care mrs t xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/mleppard06/eternity

Anonymous said...

Hi Beth!  Thanks for stopping by my blog!  I loved your "geography lesson"!  Isn't it great having a world of information at our fingertips!  Speaking of fingers- I DO remember "Magic Fingers"!  Daddy would give each of a quarter to do it once- since there were 5 of us that was about all he could take!  I love your kitty pics! I have a solid black cat named Nog who looks just like your Sheeba!  See ya in J-land!  --MissGingerGrant

Anonymous said...

A black runner, female, from my Ohio city won the gold Saturday night along with 4 other women. They had won early yesterday but was not televised till really late the paper said.
XO

Anonymous said...

That 26 mile marathon was awesome, I watched the last 15-20 minutes of it. I was so happy for the guy from Kenya who won the gold. What a thrill for him and his country. They kept mentioning the high temps over there, so I looked and it was about 87* while those men were running.  Wow, I can barely function in the house with all the fans going at 87* let alone run 26 miles.  Linda in Washington state  

Anonymous said...

wait - what was for dinner?!  I always check your entries to see what you had for dinner....LOL  Am I weird?  Ehhh....

~Amy

Anonymous said...

Because of the World Geography I've been concentrating on with Eler Beth I actually do know where Eritrea is (and how it's pronounced).  I learned from this really neat site here:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Geography.htm
Lori

Anonymous said...

P.S.
Just as I hit "Save" on that comment I realized that "Dave" song IS going through my head.  It is playing in the background, and I have a horrible premonition that it will be there in the background most of the day! Aargh!!!
Lori

Anonymous said...

Hey I watched but i missed Etrea! lol!
hey but we did great against Spain huh?
hugs,nat