Solid State

I promised myself I wouldn't do it. But alas, the lure of the world's largest sporting stage has proven too strong for me to ignore and I have been glued to the Olympics. I'm even watching on the Canadian channels (French and English!).

There are loads of reasons not to watch, of course. China's disturbing record of human rights violations, for starters. And their decision to censor the media covering the event by restricting access to certain websites. And the air pollution. And the lead in children's toys. And, well, you get the idea. However, the competition has been fairly gripping when we're not forced to sit though mind-numbing 15-minute human interest pieces from Bob Costas.

Some of my favorite story lines, thus far:

Can USA Basketball, the so-called "Redeem Team," return the country to prominence in the sport we invented? And will LeBron(ze) James refer to George H.W. Bush as "pops" again?

Can Michael Phelps nab 8 gold medals and eclipse Mark Spitz as the world's most decorated swimmer?

Will Chinese gymnasts start mysteriously disappearing if they fail to sweep the medals?

Does anyone really care about Equestrian events?

And, of course, is George W. Bush as big a perv as this pic makes him out to be?

The world watches with baited breath.