"What sort of dining set defines me as a person?"

I'm trying to learn a little bit about time capsules, and the effort has left me a bit stunned with humanity and our self-importance. I can't think of anything that an alien species needs to know about me specifically (but apparently I'm alone on that one)...and I can't think of any one thing that defines me as a person that I can qualify and place in a box and bury. hmmmm.

Also I was wondering...

...how do you qualify ten years of friendship?

Los Tres Gatos del Diablo

...and one more to round things out. Toph & Jess gifted the first two, to great amusement. Unfortunately, there was no "devil kitty" or "crackie" so we went with "from hell" since Catch is a little demon.

Out goes the light

so...I realize in saying this I'm opening myself up to some ridicule (bygones)...but I have never been a big fan of the Olympic Games, not that I don't think the whole bit is incredible, just that I don't set an alarm to get up at 2am to watch the luge.

I pay just enough attention (as I do with most sports) to have a vague idea of who is winning and who is not (except for that one year when I kicked ass at Fantasy Baseball).

So with all the circumstance surrounding this years games in Beijing, it has been difficult to ignore (and yes, I know the sports haven't actually started yet).

I decided to pay some attention when protests in Paris actually caused the Olympic torch to go out. (Fear not, it is apparently not the first time). I wanted to know the significance of the torch etcetera. According to the Official Olympic Games website: "the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay wants to be a journey of harmony, bringing the message of peace to people of different nationalities, cultures and creeds”. Au contraire. This statement was of course made before the torch actually set out.

Ah.. and most interesting of all, the torch lighting and relay do not hail from ancient Greece...the origins of the torch ceremony come from Nazi Germany, when Hitler oversaw the 1936 Berlin games. Interesting.

Many groups are reaching out to new audiences because the games have come to China, issues that are easily swept under the table are being paraded daily with the passing of the torch. I am feeling particularly aware of this as I will be seeing the Dali Lama speak this weekend and I will be interested to hear what will be said on Tibetan freedom.

I am also wondering how many detours the torch will take en route and what that means for spreading a message of harmony and peace to all peoples.

-Political cartoons from Ben Sargeant and Pat Oliphant (linked from nytimes.com).