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I love the Pinney’s

April 14, 2008 @ 1:47 am · Filed under Uncategorized

                              I love the Pinney’s 
         ”Let’s live as well as we can today.’ The lack of a cure can’t stop us from enjoying the small victories when we’re not thinking about Parkinson’s disease, because we’re purely happy right now.”
         Davis Pinney, the American rider, crowned with four national championships, Olympic bronze, and other countless fame and honors, is right now the victim Parkinson’s disease.
        When it comes to clutch, as far as  I concerned, brilliant althetes have never failed to take the bull by the horn. Their reserve of mental and spiritual energy in repelling unexpected life curse always surprisingly tears as much swath as the moment they cross the finishing line. Undoubtedly, it is the positive view of life they hold that makes their world blossom for them.
          I can’t help sneering at myself when I try to vision out what I would look like, as some disease, even much less excruciating as Parkinson’s , takes its upper hand in my fate. Since I guess, the following description is the way I live.
           Cowering in the shadowy corner, I cynically rebuke the world that deserts me, with a vengeance waiting for the sad news from doctors in a crushing sense of despair. I, as never before, get innermost echoes with some cynical writers in their last few years, such as Mark Twain’s “they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence; where they achieved nothing; where they were a mistake and foolishness. Where they have left no sign that they had existed- a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever.”
            In the quandary, I will be meticulous, mawkish and self-pity in the balance, throwing in the sponge as soon as I can and then linger to die in slow agony.
          Well, I guess that’s the gap between the elite and mediocre. Davis’s life, though, is like a railroad train on a long and unknown track, with curves and dark tunnels ahead, I wish him a safe journey.
  
         “It’s just been a part of our lives, so we accept it,” says Taylor of his father’s Parkinson’s. The instant he’d gotten out of racing, it seemed Davis had dived into what he calls, “a lunatic binge” of TV gigs, speaking engagement, clinics and camps. “Before Dad got Parkinson’s”, says Kelsey the daughter of Davis, “we never saw him”.
           I really hope to rub shoulders with these teenagers who are bequeathed, besides the talent in sport, their parents’ daring and ever-lasting positive view towards life. There always a time that ours largely-imaginary-fear makes a happy life denies us.( It is not suitable enough in this story ,though, to say, concerns about the Parkinson’s equal to imaginary fear).
           Characteristically, most average people unconsciously or consciously lost themselves in such mentality, which, in effect, condemns huge potentials to get even and possibility to win to death.
          The Pinney’s is an aspiring model for people. Since if there are someone who can still take their stride in the face of irresistible misfortune, which is a matter of life or death, why others stubbornly cling to the so called “deadly adversity”, which, in essence, is no more than noises or ripples in an entire life journey.
           As I mentioned above, I wish The Pinney’s a safe journey. God bless you!

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Oscar Pistorius

April 1, 2008 @ 11:18 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

         If I were an amputee athlete, could I be courageous and confident enough to hear various publicity with the same focus- my sore? My world would collapse. For God’s Sake,“Stop!”
         Technology has long been the bone of contentions in sport field. Before it seems to be more conspicuous in the regular Olympic Games, but right now, it weighs in to the limelight of a mix zone.
         Oscar Pistorius, The double amputee, the world record-holder at 100m, 200m, 400m, is impedient in his rivalry with able-man Olympics. Scientists in Cologne has given a result that Pistorius’ curved carbon fiber blades give him a “considerable advantage” over his able-bodied rivals.
        The discussion of the role that technology plays in today’s sport world always leads to a cul-de-sac. Obvious enough is the magic impact produced by those lavish hi-tech shoes, sports wears, less clear but much more powerful are those off-stage technology assistance provided by sport science and nutrition gurus. Does anyone weigh the edges that able-men gain against the Pistorius’ curved carbon fiber blades?
        Well I think no definite and accurate result can be surely given by any authority, as I have said, technology is good at arousing  a second debate. Then comes the Pistorius’ case. I do hope he could still hold the confidence brought by his world-records in spite of the research, because able-men also have their edges, much more may be. The daring act Pistorius shows has already claimed the extraordinary human power, the energy that a complete soul can generate.  

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The World is In Your Own Oyster

April 1, 2008 @ 5:33 am · Filed under Uncategorized

                   The world is in your own oyster
       “How come when we’re are kids we want to be astronauts and firefighters and Indian chiefs, and then when we turn 20 years old we give up on our dreams?” Young said. “Dallas is a good example of a guy who’s still trying to be an astronaut.”
        Dallas Robinson, 25, quit a $100,000-a-year sale job and now he is in his Olympic dream.
       I appreciate his story very much, because it is so straightforward and easy that I can’t help laughing at my entangling mind.
       Though nights have seen his wide-opened eyes as any men in torment, he dwarfs those grave and stiffing litanies of life philosophy as easily as the ripples spread when a tiny needle drops into a dead insurmountable sea.
       Life is always in a rut, too long for a strait-laced slave to remember removing handcuffs by himself. We are indulged into being emotional cripples, not sure what we are driving at, unconscious of what we are doing.
        Dallas’s act reminds me of some departed voice, how simple life it was and should be- Just do what you want.
Simple is the most finely toned rhythm for life, where a vintage you is out of.

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Catch-22 Situation

April 1, 2008 @ 5:03 am · Filed under Uncategorized

                                  Catch-22 Situation
                                                   
      Dwain Chambers, 29, was banned for two years in 2003 after testing positive for the designer anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestri-none (THG).
      He said, “I wasn’t intending to cheat the system, I just wanted to get even, I was fed up with losing.”
      The curtain falls when our own inner ghosts bedeviled with weak mind mop the floor with ourselves.
       I do believe that most of us are inept at keeping detached when in a sticky wicket, let alone when victory and glory are declared merely by margin while you are well informed that “trump cards” are up in outside sleeves.
       Born in the jungle, fraught with enticing lust and contagious risks, men are deprived of a cloistered existence. Free spirit, as a light boat, waxes and wanes in the ferociously roaring sea, with its destiny in the balance. We may then be beset with mental clashes when free of outside interferences is beyond our grip. Chamber instanced the life, with which only few peerless geniuses could struggle and even fewer could deny. It is sad, but not unexpected that Chamber’s life, was said, changed when he moved to America to be coached by Ukrainian Remi Kovchemny and met Victor Conte, the founder and president of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (Balco).
      Though he insisted that he was never pressed into taking substances, his free spirit threw in the towel, willy-nilly.
       Surviving in the jungle, we must learn to live by law, navigate a way to feel at home and nurture our own free spirit to be more exuberant. Our will of surviving, passion for life run as a river, with dirt and dead leaves alongside, but it is also bestowed with elevating rain and, if lucky enough, it may meet the sea of wisdom in some future days.
       Well, fortune frowns on those weak minds. As dead leaves and dirt rampant, the river of surviving line is left in the state of neglect and passion is poisoned in the rotten ambience and eventually the river lost in the mist of time.
       The scandal has plunged Chamber into gloom. There is no doubt that the road that brought his to be in a pernicious situation had led through “moments of reckoning”, with heart –searching haunted by the feeling of gut-wrenching. However, as the rest of the masses had or will exemplify, it was himself as well that knocked the last nail in his own coffin.
       Who is the king in the jungle? I expect an impeccable hero.    

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Katharine Merry, the Epitome of an Elite Cast of Mind

March 23, 2008 @ 11:16 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Katharine Merry, the Epitome of an Elite Cast of Mind

Being tired of stress and strain in life?
Being stifled in the intriguing web of human relations?
Being lost in the mist of time?
Or, being at your wit’s end?
        Ordinary people are susceptible to countless problems with numerous varieties, while elite squads share the same cast of mind. Thinking in an elite way is the second nature of those successful women and men.
       So why not recharge our batteries with the help of those shining examples! We will know what elites are all about!
Let’s look for the beacons of hope in the dark sea and then we will also coast to victory!
Setting stall out early
        Be goal-orientated from a very young age, Katharine is just this type. It seems like and irony for juniors to advocate to start something from a very young age. Yet goal-setting has never been considered as late in a life time span. It is no use admiring those top students, talents, or leaders while leading a random life and sailing our own ships for nowhere.
Right now, we are just at a very young age, if we look back when our hair someday turn grey, and wrinkles scramble around eyes.
        The die is not cast. Let’s learn the lesson, redouble our exertions, and strike with unified strength while youth and power remain!
Keeping eyes on the ball
         “I never thought I was making sacrifices or missing out. I was hugely appreciative of the talent I’d been given and wanted to take it all the way. Look at any of the other British women who’ve achieved Olympic success and you’ll find the same uncompromising approach.”
It doesn’t merely apply to Olympics, but to all walks of life. Everything valuable has it price in this world and it only rewards those who possess constant persistence and pay the utmost effort in the long haul.
Refusing feel sorry for myself
      “Nothing outside it mattered to me.” I would like to interpret it further in this way, concentration is mainly out of one’s love for what he or she is pursuing and resolution to succeed.
       As we go through lives, there are thousand s of forks, and there are a few really big forks- those moments of reckoning, moments of truth. Teenage angst, illness, critics, choices, etc. are all playing their roles in our judgment. Concentration on one point may prove to be more risky than hedging our bets. However, I believe that we won’t feel sorry for ourselves even success is not in our hands. Finding the strength to push all distractions aside and participate in the process to the best of our ability is an important part of life.
       I do appreciate and admire Katharine’s sheer singlemindedness. When misery happens, just box it up and move on.

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Halcyon Days Left

March 8, 2008 @ 11:30 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

         Tian liang, the established Chinese diver who has crown with numerous laureates in diving world, will most likely sit in front of a microphone for CCTV during the forthcoming 2008 Olympic Games, rather than reaping honors and applauses at his once enchanted 10 meter board as his exultant home crowds witness.
         Under the militarized China’s sport management system, Tian may have all but Hobson’s choice. Too much exposure to commercialized publicity, of course in terms of China’s standards for a qualified sportsman, directly put Tian to a sticky wicket of being ostracized by the National diving team, who practiced the responsibility of parenthood with both inexpressive love and demanding ambitious.
          Lucrative endorsements and the flamboyant fame cast a spell on Tian ! I cried like that. Last year, I jumped on the bandwagon with the fervent wave of media scrutiny.  I tended to criticize  his violation of rules, which I firmly thought he was obligated to adhere to, no matter how foreigners evaluate the system .( His fame today is absolutely inextricable from the special sport management system in China)
           Recently, when I was thumbing through sport news, Tian’s name once again caught my eyes, but it seems like an old fame, which is consigned to oblivion for a long time. However, at the moment, without the heated media debate, I can hear my own sound more clearly.
           Violation, critics should all flash away without any trace in my mind, but his fetching smiles,    and perfect scores, are surprisingly as vivid as those in his halcyon days. I realized, suddenly, what really counts. The thing that plays upon fans’ heartstrings will never be banished.
           Well, I am worrying about his unwise choice of stepping into show business then. Being shocked by the “photogate” produced by Hong Kong stars?  Disgusting as it is, it’s undoubtedly just an edge of iceberg. Show business is indeed hanging over the stench of filthy, sordid details, wherever in this world. I wonder if Tian, the Chinese sport veteran, whose ideology was nurtured and grown in the national team where was imbued by elevating spirits, utterly awares of the possible “culture shock” in a “brand new world”.  Though fierce competition is an eternal rule for both sports and show business, at the end of day, show business is a different kettle of fish.
          I will be terrified to see his name on some tabloids some day, when a sport warrior, the symbol of morale of a country, becomes a publicity stun.
          The effect of osmosis is beyond powerful, Edison Chen, the heartthrob, has been send to the hell. I wish that Tian would learn Edison’s object lesson to avoid being another dead leave fluttered to the ground and falling into terminal decay.

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All Works and No Play

February 16, 2008 @ 11:30 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

         All works and no play, when I thumbed through this topic, news I looked few days ago reflected in my mind. As the news reported, many athletes could only return to their homes for a dinner during Spring Festival, but they were lucky enough, because more teams just keep training, enjoying the most important festival around the year with their team members and coaches.

         Andre Ehrenberg said something true, I admit, though his saying was very critical. Chinese certainly will be hurt by those coaches’ scathing blames, but Chinese, are in fact, torturing by the system themselves. The core problem is that sport system existing now needs a long time to transform. And the span, I am afraid, must beyond several generations. The sport system in China rooted in a special political environment of a big struggling country trying to wipe out its shame label of disease man in East Asia. This system helped China recovery quickly before, but as the time elating, it shows its flip-side more clearly in today’s sport world which is in the dominance of science.  

          A scientific way of training is hard to find, but a scientific way of thinking is something more hard to be nurtured in Chinese sportsmen’s mind.

        “The Chinese coaches I met did not know what effective training was,” Andre Ehrenberg said

         Writing this blog is tough, I can’t get even. I just hope sport in China can develop better and better.

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Gearing up for the 2008

February 8, 2008 @ 7:27 am · Filed under Uncategorized

                            Gearing up for the 2008

        Play Host—-Everything goes pretty well in the preparation for the Olympic Games, from the stadiums constructions, trial contests, to the volunteers. And now Olympic Games is knocking at the doors of the ordinary Chinese families! About 1,000 families in Beijing are being recruited to play host to international visitors during the Olympics. Ha Ha,what an extraordinary and memorable experience for them.Olympic Games addicts living in other provinces will envy them! I am sure !

                              During the lastest New Year Eve’s CCTV gala, do you notice that, the coming Beijing Olympic Games was apparently the hot and popular theme. As the month of August is approaching , media will throw its powerful sentimental bombs without a stop and CCTY gala is just the beginning! The majority of Chinese are longing for the unique 2008, which is different from the situations in western countries when they host the Olympic Games. Therefore those luckiest families will feel honourable for their entire life!   

       A Lot of Worries—Of course,the operation of Olympic Games are more complicated than people can see and feel .When most Chinese are waiting ,officals and organizers are running with trials and tribulations. They are real heros. But worries and pressure are all worthwhile. When successful Olympic Games is ending, everything will pay off.

       Prince to skip Games—Prince Charles will skip the Beijing Olympics due to his political attitude of supporting Dalai Lama of Tibet. What a pity that he holds such a reason. The Prince is free to make his own choice. However,to be honest , I don’t welcome anyone who come to China with prejudice mind, therefore it is better for him to stay in Britain.

        Lucky Start–  It’s a typical Chinese way of thinking. And it’s a good start for foreigners to catch a glimpse of their journey with China. Someone commented that it was a little bit out of date,  and I think it is. But I take it in a more easy way. China will not always be in the spotlight, therefore it is way efficient to take advantage of every minute to propagandize the tradition of China in an all- round way , which includes their special love for the lucky number ,8.

       Chinese are very interesting, right?  

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Quarrel, Sorrow

February 2, 2008 @ 3:21 am · Filed under Uncategorized

                                                             Quarrel, Sorrow

       

         During the Korea Open Super Series final, Lin Dan, the China’ s world No.1 badminton player, lost control on court.

         The fracas happened among Chinese compatriots is something let me down the most. When they represented as fierce competitors in the international sport stage, they forgot the essential duty to conscientiously protect the dignity of their motherland and the basic work ethics.

          Every audience without the difference of nationalities can’t help moving by those crowning moments when champions proudly step into the spotlight, with the world witnessing their success in the back. The love for motherland which is deeply seeded in athletes’ minds, suggested by their grave faces, struck everybody’s heart at that moment. But athletes’ profound love for their motherlands should not appear merely when their beloved national flags are rising, with national anthems lingering in the stadium, but should be soaked at any moment.

          Lin is still a young man who was born with human weaknesses, as everybody else. No matter what the points we stand, we should give him more tolerance. However, the position as a public figure brings him more rigid principles to adhere than ordinary people. And for fans, we can’t simply treat him as a brother who lives in the neighborhood. A hot temper may be cool and seems more like a young man imbued with vitality, but learning how to control will receive more respect and it is the rule to live the extreme competitive world where gold medal awards for only one athlete. Lin needs more proper guidance and he must aware that he should be responsible for his behavior.

          As the news says, Li Mao , the coach of South Korea men’s team, left in 1999 to pursue an overseas coaching career after an acrimonious split with current Chinese head coach Li Yongbo. Apparently, the match that day involved personal resentment more or less. Fire was triggered by something else behind the court, I guess.  I believe in Lin’s explanation that Li was talking and shouting endless at his back while he was competing and Li even verbally attacking the Chinese team with dirty words. Some Chinese sportsmen do need pay more attention on their qualities.

        It is a pity for any sport competition to drive the public’s attention away for sport itself.

        I sincerely hope that Lin Dan can develop well in his career.

  

         Chen Xiangfeng, ‘Super Dan’ defends on-court outburst, China Daily, January 29, 2008

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Masks

January 27, 2008 @ 9:58 am · Filed under Uncategorized

         Mr. Wilber a 53-year-old scientist based at the US Olympic Traveling Centre is encouraging all the athletes to wear specially designed mask over their noses and mouths from the minute they arrive in Beijing until the last moment they begin competing.
        “You do look kind of silly wearing it,” said Jarrod Shoemaker, 25, of Sudbury, Mass., who had competed in Beijing twice before. “But I wore it before the race this time, and I didn’t feel burning in my throat afterward. I could still taste the grit on my teeth, but I could actually talk and breathe. That wasn’t the case in other years.” “For now, it looks like we’re the ones with a huge advantage. We want to keep it that way.”
           What do you think?  Absurd?  
           I remember Vera said she seldom fell ill before, but right now she was prone to that. She said that she thought it may be ascribed to the pollution in Beijing. To be honest, when I heard her complaining, I thought she may exaggerate the air in Beijing to be too detrimental. However forget defending for self-esteem for a while, I think I am wrong but not Vera. I am used to live as an invincible antibody to the air pollution from the second I born in this country. But Upper-respiratory infections, nausea, bronchitis, allergic reactions etc. really happen to international athletes, as mentioned in the news.  
         The issue of pollution in China, including air pollution considered the most in the news, is a long-lasting and unchangeable headache. How long the resolution will take is the key expression. Government officials, scientists, and experts feel embarrassed like children lost in the forest when they are questioned about it.  And Chinese may actually do not want to cure the headache both consciously and unconsciously. Take myself for example, when I got the news that 80% of the toys produced in the world were made in China, the immediate reflection flashed in my mind was the surprise of what a dominant market share China has. I talked about this news with a South American friend in a smug tone, but he reminded me immediately that besides millions toys, those businesses produced chemical pollution in a national- wide scale as well , just like sowing the seed of cancer in human body step by step, and its effect may weigh much more than money Chinese got.   
        I felt ashamed of myself at that moment, even caring for my motherland less than a foreigner.
        I am not an exception who tends to think in a positive way, but just one of the fashion followers of developmental- orientation, as most Chinese do.
        I admit that Chinese do lack the consciousness of environment protection, especially compared with people in developed countries. But the origin of the short-sightedness is undoubtedly related to the objective economic base, which then suggests amore formidable problems that China still has a long way to change its environment-relied means of development, and the time it takes is far beyond the last seven months the 2008 Olympic Games can wait. Chinese all aware that the environment conditions will not be transformed quickly enough, and therefore, if some athletes will wear masks during the Games, we can do nothing but reducing to silence. Their conduct is irreproachable.   
       Americans will not wear masks during Olympic events, because of political concerns. Yes, they remove the visible masks, but I do hope that athletes and citizens in the world who care about the Olympic Games and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, will not then wear invisible masks—be skeptical about the efforts that China has made. Because China, on the way beset with difficulties, is trying her best. 

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