Biographies are Wonderful (But Sad)

I don't read biographies often, and there's a reason why. When I find a good one, one that makes the person (or persons) come alive for me, I grow so attached that it makes me horribly sad to realize that they're no longer walking the face of the earth. I know. That sounds a bit weird, and yet...it happens. It's as if I'm mourning the passing of a person who I never got the chance to meet. (Maybe I need to get out more and meet more of the multitudes of wonderful people who are living right this moment).

At any rate, yes, I just finished reading a biographical story. It's not a new one. The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown, was published about six years ago. It tells the story of a group of working class (read mostly poor) young men from Washington state during the 1930's and their quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Sons of loggers, farmers, and shipyard workers from the rugged west coast, no one would have expected greatness in the field of rowing. Yet, as we read the story following the life of Joe Rantz, a teenager who has grown up facing a life filled with obstacles, it's all but impossible not to become a part of this young man's world and to cheer him on.

I'm not a sports enthusiast and I knew almost nothing of the sport of rowing, but I was totally caught up in this wonderful retelling of these young underdogs who stole gold right from under Hitler's nose. I learned a lot about the sport, about the humanity of those involved, and the world stage that all of this took place on. Like other stories where we know the outcome but there's so much at stake (Apollo 13 comes to mind), this was a nail biter in the best possible way. I highly recommend it even though I'm sad that I never got to experience these people in real life.

If you'd like to know a bit more, here's the trailer for the book.

Happy Reading!

Myrna

Music's Effect on Athletes

Back when I was a cross country and track mom, I got very used to the runners wearing headphones before events or when they were training on their own. Here's some scientific evidence about music and athletes.

Andy Murray Makes History!

My apologies to those of you who aren't tennis fans, but I was so thrilled that Great Britain finally fielded a Wimbledon winner after a 77-year drought that I wanted to post this Andy Murray-Novak Djokovic montage from the match. Thrilled that Andy Murray won but sorry that there couldn't be two winners, because Djokovic played outstanding tennis (as he always does. The man is an amazing athlete).

Which is Faster, Usain Bolt or Gravity?

Here's the answer from Minute Physics

The Lonely Man's Olympics

One man creates his own Olympics.

The 100m Throughout History

The New York Times made this interesting computer animation. Fascinating stuff if you're interested in track  statistics, the Olympics or the history of athletic competition.

What a Lot of Work!

The Staples Center (in Los Angeles) had 6 playoff games taking place in 4 days, May 17th-May 20th. Here's a time-lapse of all the changes the workers had to make to accommodate those different games and teams.

Cycle Skating (Some Awesomeness from 1923)

It looks as if a person could get injured pretty easily, but it's also fun to watch.

That's a Lot of Water-Skiers Being Pulled by One Boat

145 of them, and that's a new world record