Hola Jane!

Aloha, Jane!

Hey Jane. Sorry to hear that they are harshing your Olympics mellow. 8-)

That birthday cake story takes the cake.

However, I must say I wasn’t charmed by the Obama reps at Netroots Nation. When I complained about his switch on telecom immunity, mother’s mental health shouldn’t be considered for abortion, and the rest of the list, they snitted: Soooo, what’s your choice?

then they’re gushing about “hanging out with the Bushes,” and now they irritate me. I don’t want to feel that way. I wish I never knew.

me too.

But I compartmentalize… *g*

S’okay, I just watched Michael Phelps. That was sick.

Hi Jane.

Blue Texan just sent me an email saying “Michael Phelps endorses McCain.”

That was cold.

Hi, Betsy, how are you?

Hey – there’s no “Snitting” in politics!!

Hey Jane, did you hear about the USA Softball player who always puts line chalk on her hands and “pats the back” of unsuspecting friends, leaving her handprint?

She did it to W.

Stupid idiot didn’t even notice for a while.

Jeez Jane, I swear I am on the same wavelength as you. I’m so in agreement not only with your opinions but even with your phraseology. Might just be that M-m-m generation thing. But also, so wierd, I’ll log on at random times and you always have just posted with zero comments!

Personal weirdness aside, I’m in agreement with the volleyball thing. Come on, ladies. I’d like to thump upside the head.

And because we can’t go cold turkey — it turns out if someone looks like they’re ten years old, there’s a good chance they probably are.

Last night I heard someone say that the average weight for members of the U.S. womens’ gymnastics team is (something like) 105 lbs. Average weight for members of China’s team, 77 lbs. I don’t thing I’ve weight 77 lbs since about 2nd grade.

How childish…

“Obama sleeps with a Teddy Bear and a night light,”

Is that the best they could come up with…?

Was too polite to accuse them of spitting, so changed a letter.

See, for all Obama’s talk of post-partisanship, it’s important to remember that these are the people he wants us to compromise with:

While McCain supporters screamed, “Obama sleeps with a Teddy Bear and a night light,” staffers approached the Democratic group, yelling, took the 20 inch sheet cake that said “Happy Birthday Social Security” and threw it away.

Really? “Obama sleeps with a Teddy Bear and a night light?”
Is that some kind of dogwhistle I haven’t mastered yet?

Doing well thanks. Procedure is tomorrow. Looking forward to the relief it should provide, but still a bit nervous. You?

However, I must say I wasn’t charmed by the Obama reps at Netroots Nation. When I complained about his switch on telecom immunity, mother’s mental health shouldn’t be considered for abortion, and the rest of the list, they snitted: Soooo, what’s your choice?

Screw that. I am sick of politicians who take their marching orders from lobbyists and big money donors. Time for an uprising.

Best wishes.

Sounds pretty advanced for team McCrazyOldMan to me.

Don’t forget to
Digg this Post for the Lake and Jane!

Sending healing thoughts your way, Betsy.

Just one comment, then I’ll shut up. Female gymnasts are starved so that they have “the look” (no breasts) and don’t menstruate. Anything that gets done in a “democracy” gets done to a greater extreme in an authoritarian state. It’s inhumane, one of the many reasons I don’t like the Olympics.

Female ballet dancers (my favorite high culture) do the same thing, but at least their 15 minutes of fame lasts for 20 years.

Thanks!

Went right past me as well. I think you need to have a few defective synapses to properly process that one.

Soooo, what’s your choice?

Thinking of Patti Smith: “you’re a little mark time, my dear”

heh – that’s a variation on how the term “mark” originated. (as in hustlers asking “who’s the ‘mark’)(meaning patsy – the guy who was gonna lose money but didn’t know it yet).

One of the hustlers would put a hand on the ‘mark’s back, which would leave an actual mark, and the other hustlers could thus recognize the patsy.

jeez, how did I get off on that tangent? File under “trivia you will never, ever need”.

Hey Betsy. Keeping my fingers crossed, cause I don’t pray. But thoughts are with you.

Yep, Obama’s treating us like marks.

The menstruation thing is pretty common in female athletes. It happens whenever ratio of body fat to body weight drops below a certain level. Mother Nature’s way of preventing you from getting pregnant when you are starving. Among modern hunter gatherers many women do not menstruate every month for this reason, though they are generally healthy and adequately fed.

The gymnasts are small but I don’t think they could build and sustain that much muscle if they were starved. Then again, ballet is pretty strenuous too and I know they are underfed.

I know it isn’t a very apt analogy but when I saw the group photo of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team it somehow reminded me of the shameful practice of foot-binding.

Oh! Did you see Nastia Lukin stick that vault?

I thought the womens beach volleyball was stunning, just awesome…and I would not have cared if Bush really did slap her on the butt…news out of china… http://www.enewsreference.com/newspaper/china.htm

Jane !

Seems like we found the culprit who caused the Global Food Shortage …

So did the Chinese NSA get enough dirt on the IOC so that they are not enforcing the rules?

There really is an apt comparison between foot-binding and the training of both gymnasts and ballet dancers. Takes a huge toll on the body.

No female who is capable of competing in the Olympics has a biological need to starve herself into non-menstruation. (There’s a technical word for that but I can’t call it up at the moment.) It’s all voluntary which is what makes it so disgusting.

Besides no breasts, no ass is the look. Just a little rounded gluteous maximus.

I was very disappointed in the men’s gymnastics coverage last night. We didn’t see the Frenchman who ended up with the bronze until the very end of the all-arounds. Seems to me we could have more coverage of actual, you know, events instead of long lingering camera angles and discussion of the Chinese champ and how much his victory means to the host nation.

We get it, NBC. You are captives of your hosts. It was a “live” broadcast” competing with “live” swimming. But could it hurt to show more events? Enough so that you aren’t embarassed at having to introduce the bronze medalist on his last event? It wasn’t as if he came from no-where; there was a big cluster of fellows below silver, and Jonathan and Sasha weren’t the only ones among them.

I hope they do better tonight with the womens and then also when they show the mens.

Bad linky! 8-(

Bad link, petro

oh fer chrissakes – tell me that Chinese girl is 16.

Riiiight.

and I would not have cared if Bush really did slap her on the butt…

It’s one thing to have some asshole gladhand you; something else to offer yourself publicly to the likes of chimp to put his hands on you. Think of it. What would it take, for you to agree to have chimpy caress you on camera? Knife to the throat of your old mother maybe? Or, like the volleyball “girls” -maybe just for laugh? Ha ha.

B: I still think I am not so far from your neighborhood. I am hoping for the best. Please let me know if there may anything I can do. My best. B.

I had heard that it was due to the high level of activity in athletes. I’ve met some Olympians. “Olympian” is an apt description, they aren’t like us mere mortals. It is simultaneously inspiring and intimidating to be with a person for whom physical training is a full-time occupation.

Sorry

So, does this mean that Bush is straight after all?

As I said, it is quite common in female athletes, not just gymnasts. It is the combination of high activity levels with a strict diet to keep them at optimum performance levels. I do not doubt that there is at least some level of effort to “achieve the look”, however (see mine at 36).

or your emotional and intellectual development is closer to teddy bear and nightlight than ‘big-boy pants’

straight? blergh.

((((( Betsy )))))

I’ll be sending you healing energy all day Friday

Think of it. What would it take, for you to agree to have chimpy caress you on camera? Knife to the throat of your old mother maybe?

“Sorry, Mom.”

That’s not true…. at least it wasn’t in the three that my boyfriend worked….. the Olympic Broadcasting Organization filmed ALL the games and provided the feed to who wanted it.

IT is NBC’s choice on what is on our TeeVees…… What, How and the talking heads….. where many of the talking heads are NOT in China but in NY or CT.

and texbet–you’ll be fine tomorrow, remember, it’s one step closer to what you’ve been working so hard to attain. hang in.

(bets)

Picked up a ballerina’s recipe book at an intermission of NYC ballet once. The diet is 1200 cal/day, and they spend almost 8 hours/day in strenuous exercise. I lost a lot of weight on 2000 cal/day, with a couple or 3 hours of strenuous exercise. Tells you how abnormal it is. Body adjusts to starvation diet, and studies show that you live longer thru starvation diet. But then ballerinas wreck their feet, skeletons, connective tissue, and sometimes become addictive, so I think their life expectancies are not longer than average.

I brought back from China some slippers that women with bound feet wore. 5″ long, 2″ wide at heel, 3/4″ wide at toe. Women of last dynasty, Ching, did not bind feet. They were Manchurian. Does reflect somehow on female Chinese gymnasts.

no ass is the look.

Begging to differ…. *g*

Teddy, did you see this at the WaPoo…

The New ABB is Anybody but Bayh

Just 14 days from now, the vice presidential nominee of the Democratic Party is to take the prime-time stage at the party’s convention in Denver and become a key piece of Barack Obama’s presidential aspirations and the future of the Democratic Party.

The antiwar left does not want that person to be Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana.

On liberal blogs, on Facebook, and in private, online conclaves, liberal activists are trying to thwart the selection of Bayh, whose support for the invasion of Iraq, mild persona and moderate social politics have raised their fury. They are not wild about the other finalists, either. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden (D-Del.) was a reluctant supporter of the Iraq war resolution, and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine has become suspect on the environment for some liberals.

But Bayh has earned their unparalleled animus.

The word is amenorrhea. Agree re these bodies but the absence of menstruation is rampant among adolescent girls in many areas of our country. There’s a lot of subclinical anorexia and many times, it’s often not properly diagnosed nor the longterm implications discussed..

My daughter elected not to continue with ballet in NYC not because of the draconian weight restrictions. Almost everyone at her HS was too thin anyway. She chose to drop out when two principal dancers with NYCB showed her their feet. That visage appalled her.

M (1931, F. Lang)

Yeah it pretty much sucked. I’m USA all the way and everything, but showing their 12th and 16th place performances rather than the medal contending performances was a bad choice. It just wound up feeling like everyone was awful.

too much information coming here—-i was a year-round athlete and i didn’t get the ‘big event’ until i was almost seventeen, and had to drink malts and stuff to keep weight on. all of the girls i knew who started training by 5th grade were the same thing. those who only trained in summer didn’t affect them, and they had extra ‘normal’ weight. i 5′8″ and weighed 125 lbs. all muscle.

A few years back I read something about a former ballerina who at the age of 30 had advanced osteoporosis comparable to a woman in her 70s.

Sadly, history is replete with the abuse of women, even in Dynasties … why not so long ago, women in India were forced to marry Indian men … *g*

That is well below the normal required calorie range (1800-2300) for women engaged in normal activity levels. They should be eating more than the normal range. That is sick. Like I said, the way we train ballet dancers and gymnasts really is no different from foot-binding.

I didn’t say gymnasts in my 37, said female who is capable of competing in Olympics.

When I was doing low level competitive swimming and gymnastics in my teens, I was warned that it might inhibit menstruation. Alas, no such luck. I just wasn’t serious enough. But in the general scheme of things, I’m happy with the level I engaged in because I did it for fun. In college, I still was interested in swim competition but all the girls who did it much more intensively in high school were burned out.

Same for synchronized swimming … the coaches would torture the athlete’s bodies … too much pain to get your pic on a box of Wheaties, IMHO

Um … there were colleges when you were a teen ?

… ducks and runs …

ok – I’m convinced.

I’m hereby officially abandoning my dream of becoming an Olympic-caliber female gymnast.

So is that how ya finally ended up with one…? ;-)

Thanks for the word. That’s exactly what i couldn’t recall.

Also see my 64. Hopefully your daughter is comfortable with her decision too.

You better high tail it out of here cause I’m still in pretty good shape for my age, though I haven’t arm wrestled any guys recently.

’tis a sad tale, really … one that I’ll tell ya over chilled brewskies, in the not too distant future (hopefully) …

This is actually why so many female athletes flunk the chromosomal sex test when they get to the Olympics. Most of these individuals are androgen insensitives (a form of intersex) whose bodies do not respond to male hormones. They are biologically male (have normally functioning testes), but outwardly appear female with breasts and a vagina (no ovaries or uterus). Normally they would be diagnosed at opuberty when they failed to menstruate, but this is common among female athletes at this level (who begin training very early). In consequenc they only find out when they arrive at the Olympics. Happened to a Spanish athlete at the Barcelona games.

I’m still not convinced the gymnasts are starved. They just have an unusually high muscle to fat ratio, to be expected of people who exercise that much. The small stature isn’t a result of being undernourished. Gymnastics is one event where being naturally short is an advantage, which I applaud, being vertically challenged myself.

revbev do you have my email? tex betsy at gmail

I can take care of myself, I know Karate & Judo … and two more Japanese words … *g*

So is the condition you describe genetic, or environmental, owing to such strenuous training at an early age? How common is it?

Guys presumably have no such issues?

Thanks, she is happy. She’s in law school. Wants to practice where she can provide tax/trust/estates/501c3 legal advice for the underserved artist populations.

She really “saw” more than I realized when she was growing up in NYC.

OMG…. McBush commercial here in Oregon….. he states he will reform Wall Street….. scared my Mom half to death when I started roaring with laughter… btw I have men’s volleyball on here

Is that a threat? *g*

I admit to having no martial arts or defensive training.

Hard not to “see too much” in NYC. I used denial as a coping technique wrt my son.

I am not sure about the starving part myself either. My problem is with the amount of physical abuse they have to put their bodies through. It is really brutal and they have to force their bodies to do things that they are not supposed to do. It takes a terrible toll on joints and the like over a lifetime. Same with ballerinas.

I do; I’ll send you mine + phone #. Good luck.

It seems like the girls start training (tumbling and such) at a very early age. For some reason, I’m of the impression that the guys tend to start later.

Me neither, I have trouble beating Eggs … *g* … which is why I put my kids in Karate Do …

I know Karate & Judo … and two more Japanese words … *g*

“Saki”

“Pukey”

(I’m not so sure about the second one, but it just feels right)

My daughter played water polo in college. The water polo folks make fun of the football players saying they are sissies. She is still too skinny but claims she eats tons.

The Tale of the Japanese Vomiting Crane

It’s not worth wrecking your body but the champions end up pretty well off financially. The rest are forced to settle for a lot of arthritis. I guess I’m lucky, I’m completely rife with arthritis but was never forced to exert myself all that much.

The condition is genetic with a defective gene for the androgen receptors (not on the X or Y chromosome). There is no directly comparable condition for biological females, though there are XX males. They have a transposed SRy gene (which is the trigger gene transforming the a sexual fetus into a male)on one of the X chromosomes. I do not believe anyon ever tests to be sure the guys really are male. The whole testing procedure grew out of fears that the Soviet Bloc countries were entering men in the women’s events (as a result of heavy doping of all their athletes with steroid, which are all related to and mimic Testosterone).

Water polo sounds like fun. I missed that one. Only did individual, not team, sports. Also missed crew, which they had at my college. Thought is was only for the rich girls who already had done it at fancy prep schools. Didn’t realize most were novices at it when they arrived at college. I would have liked that a lot.

I was intimidates by the rich kids in college. I have now overcompensated, in a minor way.

For some reason I’m a little surprised at how lean the swimmers are, it seems like they’d sink like a rock. I’ve never been lean and I sink like a rock.

Dugg

Those volleyball chicks have put themselves in a class with Michelle Bachmann and John McSame.

Freaking bushlovers.

Funny, but in this normally reddest of states, I have not seen a single McNutjob add. Obama is all over my TV by contrast. May be why he is currently leading McNastyBits her in Montana. 8-)

ROFL … a pal and I went for his inaugural Sushi Dinner some time ago … two jugs of Saki and several appetizers later, we calculated our bill … about $200 … we sobered up real quick and went to Mickey Dees to complete our ‘meal’ …

yep.

oh, and i didn’t ’starve’ myself, i ate everything in sight, though didn’t like meat much….had to add calories to keep weight on. but others i knew who were seasonal had to watch the calories. their weight seemed to seesaw.

knew someone who had ‘female problems’ some kind of growth in her uterus… they didn’t know what it was at first becuase the tests they do for it weren’t accurate because of her hormone levels from being an athlete…..sorry, don’t remember details, i was young, didn’t know much about that stuff back then. was back before they did ultrasounds at the drop of a hat. but i remember thinking, my body is doing that? then went on and forgot about it.

hit my 20’s and normal body weight and development kicked in. took a few years.

Yeah, thought it was genetic.

I worked as a research assistant in cytogentics for a year after finishing college. We looked for and studied gross chromosome anomolies, like Down’s syndrome. So I have a aged, but nodding familiarity with the subject, and if you hum a few bars (as you did), I can pick it up.

My doctors now say that all of my neurological issues would have been far less painful if I hadn’t been a gymnast in my teens. That is certainly one of many factors.

Did you get a note?

That’s why they have to swim so fast–fear of sinking!

It is HHHHHHHot here. 105 today. 109 tomorrow. I wants me some bay area. Sacratomato is not comfy.

Well the Chinese may be adding a few years to some of their gymnasts ages…but perhaps McCain has the same idea for voters.

After all, what can one think about Meaghan McCain’s efforts to appeal to the critical 5-10 year old vote

I would think that most of these kids are gonna be at least 8 years short of voting in this election. Of course, perhaps Meaghan is prepping them for the critical 2016 Election when her Dad tries, once again, for the Presidency. Or maybe Dad is taking a few cues from the Chinese?

Lot’s of pictures

I usually just walked along the bottom.

I knew quite a few competitve swimmers growing up. They always had the lowest body fat ratios of anyone I ever knew (except maybe some of the anorexics I met later).

Oh, of course. I forgot. And Joe Lieberman.

My point exactly. I certainly hope this new procedure provides some lasting relief.

Send me some of your heat and I’ll send you some frigid air … deal or no deal ? *g*

Yeah, they burn lots of calories. Ironically, my doctor told me patients who swim in moderate amounts for the exercise tend to gain weight. I think it’s enough exercise to stimulate the appetite but not enough to burn off what gets consumed.

One never knows. I think health is 90%+ genetic, cause genetic good health (which I benefit from) also influences how much you engage in strenuous physical activity which, in turn, contributes to good health. Could be that if you’d tried gynmnastics in your youth, you might have run into problems sooner. Docs often have a subconscious technique of guilting you out, as it inhibits you from asking probing Qs that they don’t want to answer in the goal of patient thruput.

707!

Apparently the female beach volleyballers are adamant that they PREFER playing in the two pieces.

They say it gives them both freedom of movement, perspiration cooling in the heat, as well as allowing a minimum of sand to invade the uniforms. They point out that the guys would usually play without shirts, but the IOC has insisted that names and team colors must be apparent.

when you are burning more calories than you are taking in and needing and using in your body, and don’t have proper amounts of fat to burn, it comes out of your soft tissue–muscles.

most athletes don’t eat right because of their schedules. their whole lives.i know, hard to believe, but true.

one of my main ‘bitches’ to college level and others coaches and athletes is that they BADLY NEED a nutritionist, but this is something not in the budget.

i suggested they give credit to nutrition majors to counsel/advise athletes…they eat absolute crap..a few exceptions.football team gets steak dinners before a game, non-revenue sports get pizza after..dinner time is usually when they are practicing, their option is take-out box sandwiches..i brought it up over and over……”yeah good idea” then nothing.

It may also be that they are burning fat and building muscle. For people who are normal weight or only a bit overweight, they often gain weight when the start exercising regularly. Muscle weighs more than fat.

Hey, Jane!
I’m a fan of women’s volleyball! I prefer the indoor kind, that comes on here in Hawaii in the middle of the night. But hey, the beach ladies were dealing with Bush in an appropriate way– as a frat boy of limited capabilities. And they are obviously of superior ability, themselves. They are marvelous athletes.

But I don’t like it when Bush appears on my screen for ANY reason, so I’m with you there.

Bob in HI

revbev, you have mail

Absolutely. At that level of physical performance, you really need to be on top of what you are eating. You not only need to balance out the calories (in and out), but to insure that you have the proper balance of nutrients (fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc.) which are different for them and the rest of us. My understanding is that the Olympics training also includes that in order to maximize the athletes performance.

Deal! Hard to cool off. Usually, you can find a way to get warm. Or warmish.

anybody else watching the women’s gymnastics getting the feeling the “fix” is in?

I’m out.

Good luck tomorrow, Betsy!

Metabolism adjusts to subnormal calorie intake, which is why athletes, ballet dancers, etc. can maintain muscle on such low calorie intake.

Night jayt.

I’m told that’s why ballet dancers have to adhere to such a strict diet.
I don’t think I buy that. Look at Degas’ paintings. No skinny dancers there!
The ones who have to be lifted up, OK, I get that they can’t be to heavy for the guy to lift, but that’s not the majority of the dancers.

Thanks jayt!

All of this talk of not eating has made me hungry.

Night jayt.

Lower center of gravity certainly helps on the beam, and a more compact body frame improves rotational rate on twists and flips on floor, vault and uneven bars. Being smaller also allows more moves on the floor exercise.

Larger people actually have a lower strength to weight ratio, as well. They are stronger but have to lift and propel more body weight.

There are limits to the ability to adjust. I suspect that is part of the reason that ballet dancers in particular have so many health issues later in life.

Right and of course, fitness should be the goal, not attaining or maintaining some imaginary ideal weight.

Good night y’all. Thanks for all the good wishes.

Obama went to Haunama Bay, a famous snorkeling spot, today and made a special journey to where he’d strewn his mother’s ashes after she’d died and threw flower petals… He even caught a few waves body surfing…! Sounds elitist to me…! He flies out tomorrow…! ;-)

Um, ballet today bears little resemblance to ballet in Degas’ era. Just like no top-o-line athelete today bears any resemblance to athelete in same sport in 19th C. Rubicon has been crossed.

Really? “Obama sleeps with a Teddy Bear and a night light?”
Is that some kind of dogwhistle I haven’t mastered yet?

It’s the Obambi gambit.

Night TB and best of outcomes tomorrow.

With dancers, it really is a matter of achieving “the look”. A colleague’s daughter was training to be a professional ballerina with the Seattle ballet, so I heard all the horror stories. She quit when she realized how much pain she was in and decided it was not worth it. She is now pursueing a degree in poli sci.

nite jayt
nite betsy

Aloha, Muffin! Pain free sleep wishes…!

Good night, Betsy. Will be thinking about you tomorrow. Good luck. I know all will be fine.

when i went to work at the phone company, the nurse taking the intial physical test information had to do the ‘fat pincher’ test thing three times on me. was the lowest number she ever had….so, yeah, that’s true.

I hate myself for saying this, but it’s my inner cynic. I find the visit to the spot where his mother’s ashes are very touching, but how will the MSM turn that against him?

Unfortunately, outside of gymnastics, there aren’t a lot of fields of endeavor where being small is considered advantageous but then again, I don’t bump my head very often.

You and eCAHN are right. It’s the look, and I think it’s Balanchine.

G’night Betsy. I’ll keep a good thought for ya.

Yep. One of the reasons I am not too concerned about about being fat. If I can hike 6-7 miles 2-3 times a week in the mountains (did 7 miles with a 1200 foot gain today), then the extra weight may not kill me. Annoy the hell out of me, but not kill me.

what’s wrong with teddy bears? and we have scooby-doo safety lights for the disabled around here instead of night lights.

Night Betsy. Hopes for a pain free tomorrow.

We shall see… I wonder how the RNC tour guide will cover it…!

The gender-testing lab in Beijing only tests athletes competing in womens events. Men (those competing in mens events) are not gender-tested.

Mining.

There is one dancer for the NYC Ballet I can’t bear to watch cause she looks severely anorexic, Wendy Whelan. I have a single ticket subscription but at the end of one performance I remarked to the person in the adjoining seat to that effect. A woman in the next row said that she knows Wendy Whelan and her physique is genetic. Be that as it may, it’s ugly as sin.

In the case of the gymnasts they could grease the handles on the pommel horse, that should provide some sort of confirmation.

That is my understanding of how it has always been done. I believe it was originally instituted for all Olympics in the 1960s, though I could be off by a bit.

Heading off to bed… have a client conference call at 6am PDT….. yugg…

Ouch!

Night Katymine.

Thanks, I’ll remember that if I ever get fed up with seeing sky.

I add a bit of humor while waiting to deplane by remarking to those within hearing distance that the only advantage of being short is being able to stand up under the overhead compartments while waiting to deplane. Usually gets an unenthusiatic heh heh or two.

Night katymine. Be sharp for the conference call.

true, but the metalbolism line can’t sustained at that level. some functions in the body need fat. steal it from muscle tissue.

takes a toll on your body to do that for an extended period of time in many ways…

adrenal system for one.

nite tex bet, and jay the man.

i’m out soon, too….

take care pups.

G’night.

Bob the conure probably wants to take a chunk out of me for keeping him up past his bedtime. See y’all.

Aloha, Katy!

Night ratfood.

Night rf.

Suzanne Trip Report:

Suzanne checked in a few times by phone today.
Had a very pleasant afternoon sit with a pup about 2 hours north of San Francisco, then back on the road for the border.

She just passed Eureka, California and will stop soon to catch some swimming and gymnastics. And some zzzzzzzz’s.

She is having a ball!

That is all.

Aloha, dmac and ratfood!

I bet if you looked at their caloric intake it would be much higher than others of much higher weights/sizes. These girl look “skinny” because they have replaced body fat with muscle, and the muscle is elongated for flexibilty rather than the type we see in weightlifters and body-builders.

One difference between ballet and gymanstics is that in ballet there is a partner that must lift the athlete and there is a very high aesthetic social valuation. In gymanstics they really do have to undertake routines with difficult athletic moves. If they are malnourished they may fail in their performances. Malnutrition results in illnesses that interfere with training, and even some bone deforming/weakening problems like rickets.

The lowest body fat/mass ratios are in long-distance runners…and you wouldn’t believe the quantity of calories they consume…sometimes those skinny athletes are consuming 2000 kCals a day!

SUZE! The road queen rules!

I saw somewhere that Mark Phelps eats twice the normal caloric intake for a man his size. Not an ounce of fat on that boy. I would be glad to give him some of my spare. ;-)

We miss her wit while she’s on the road. Plz tell her that and that we wish her travels are wonderful and that she can check in with us soon.

Yay Suz!
I was waiting for that. Thanks, TLM.

Good news… she is making good time!

Jumpin’ in here late….I’m sure this has been mentioned, but I want to say that I don’t see how using under age athletes is any different from using doped athletes. But maybe women’s gymnastics ought to be renamed “Girls Gymnastics” and open to kids. End of problem. It hasn’t been fun since Olga and Nadia and Kathy and that plucky girl who stuck that landing. I didn’t find this year very much to look at.

This pup way enjoyed meeting Suzanne in person. It was great being a small link in the chain of this great adventure.

Laura, how great that you guys got to meet.

Funny-Suzanne said the same thing about meeting you.
She has been driving all day, but she sounded bright and entertained.

Actually one begins to burn muscle if one lacks sufficient caloric intake for any extended period of time. I went on a fast once and started to burn muscle as my fat stores terminated. It was quite apparent in my urine, physique (highly exposed collar bone), and capacity to concentrate.

And there is a lot of evidence that people who have lower than average Body Fat/Mass ratios are actually healthier and have greater longevities than most of the population. That’s because they are more active. But even those who are relatively inactive may live healthier lives if they eat less and keep below the standard BFM ratios.

The real issues with athletes is not diet IMO, but repetitive injuries with lack of recovery time. This was exacerbated with the use of steroids, which allowed many athletes to “recover” more quickly from injuries from over-training. These steroids also bulked up athletes frames, giving us a false view of what athletes “should” look like.

Yes indeed. Now, when are you coming out!?

I don’t care if atheletes want to ruin their bodies in pursuit of greater glory. A chant about tiny nuts at the baseball field would seem appropriate. But when is comes to abuse of children, I have to quell my libertarian instincts. Gypsy Rose Lee, among other abuses, come to mind.

Have to agree, though I think that inadequate diet may contribute to the injuries and lack of recovery. You have to have the right building materials to rebuild.

AND well-caffeinated! ; )

lol ((Laura)) I wish I could. Maybe someday!

I think that is a big part of my revulsion for what happens to gymnasts in particular. Nobody should be put through that kind of regimen at such a young age.

Standing invitation, Margot. Just let me know!

Cinnamonape – you are a bioanth, I believe. What are the effects of that kind of grueling training on a growing child (say starting at 7-8)?

Ah, yes, injuries. My knees suck. Genetic, but also how I treated them in my younger days, not fully cognizant of how that would work out, despite evidence from both parents that knees were family failing.

Then, as you say, compensating for injuries thru the miracle of chemistry exacerbates the problem after the very short run. A vicious cycle, that mere humans get sucked into cause the economic rewards are so high. And then they get ripped off with bogus investments.

Life sucks, and then you die. But world class atheletes have a lot more rushes than the rest of us along the way.

Thanks for the wake up call……I just hadn’t thought about it that way. I think, wake-up-me!, that the Chinese choose little girls and put them into training schools. Yikes. I had such a different experience with sports, as did my kids. I have much to learn and I appreciate both you and dmac wising me up.

I think it’s a sign the rightwing is desperate and just throwing everything they can at Obama, even if it contradicts their other smears.

I kinda like the idea of the teddy bear and nightlight. These childhood symbols of safety and security framed with Obama work well against the right’s fearmongering tactics. Plus he has two daughters so it also ties into family values framing.

- Tom

Hey, glad to add an insight. Thought it was obvious, but like all obvious stuff, you don’t know it until someone points it out.

All competitive female gymnasts start seriously training fairly early in grade school. I think it was 60 minutes that did a story on how these little girls trained. Focused on a former Romanian coach and trainer from the days of Nadia.

The Chinese government takes these you people from their families at very young age and are given no choice but to go to their athletic institutions. When they are done with them IE after they finish competing they are discarded and most end up in poverty! Everything for the Government and is FACE!

The Onion’s take on the Olympics

An interesting case of something like this was Stanislawa Walasiewicz aka Stella Walsh who I believe won the 1932 100 meters and Long Jump, and placed 6th in the DISCUS. She also was a European Record Holder in various other events, including the 60, 200, and 400 meters, 60m hurdles and was pretty good at both the shot put and javelin.

After her death in an armed robbery an autopsy showed she had male testes and a sacculated vagina. Reports are hat she had both XY and XX chromosomes, though that would make her a genetic mosaic – and I’m unsure how that could have developed.

Some suspect that Babe Didrickson also may have been a genetic intersex.

that’s a rather personal question

Gee, and I thought they would be heroes of the regime! Or if not, they would realize it in advance, and just not go there. After all, that’s the “market” outcome and the “market” is all powerful. /s

Joan Ryan, formerly a sports writer for the S. F. Chronicle wrote a book about the horrible experiences of girls training to be gymnasts and figure skaters. I vividly remember the outstanding series of articles from which the book grew. Here is a review of the book.

This is not too different from a lot of countries, which is not to excuse the Chinese. Admittedly, in most countries this is with the active participation of the parents, but these girls often spend full time away from home and their families in training programs starting in grade school.

Can’t wait for the Christianists to get ahold of this topic.

Obama went to Haunama Bay, a famous snorkeling spot, today and made a special journey to where he’d strewn his mother’s ashes after she’d died and threw flower petals… He even caught a few waves body surfing…!

I really like what Obama has been doing here– reconnecting with his roots, to get his head screwed back on straight, and purge his body of the Washington, DC Kool-aid. He’ll come back with a fresh perspective on the heat of the campaign, and I hope it will lead to a better choice of Veep, and a better campaign strategy.

Bob in HI

Just like the “Dark Side” in another context, the dark side in athletics is now omnipresent.

“Get those volley ball chicks off my TV”

Does that go for the penguin chicks, too?

Kirk LOL… Are you hinting?????

I agree wholeheartedly… I’m concerned about his Veep choice, too…!

Aloha, Laura!

hee hee. I have my cannibalism relatively under control these days, Kirk!

Oh wow, that rocked hard. Best USA women’s gymnastics performance evah.

Hey CT. Liked your post at m&c today.

3 hours behind here, watching swim prelims.
About time, girls!

Thanx, I was just gonna comment that I liked yours…! Tragic about a female suicide bomber taking out all those women on the pilgrimage to Karbala…! ‘Course the Afghan aid workers are too…! 8-(

And I was convinced that the fix was in for the Chinese to get every gymnastics gold medal an hour ago. That was magnificent. Don’t have enough memory of Carly Patterson to say ever.

Likely the same thing that happens to kids that have careers in the circus in contortionism.

The repeated trauma to a growing childs articular surfaces can prevent the proper fusion of the epiphyseal surfaces. Young gymnasts have such great flexibility simply because they haven’t yet reached the age where their epiphyses have fused yet. This is popularly called “double jointedness” but is actually the capacity of the limb to shift and stretch the adjacent epiphyseal surface. By repeatedly overextending their limbs they break down the areas where bone fusion is occurring. This delays fusion, but also weakens the joint. If a certain threshold period passes without necessary fusion occurring the joint has the potential of being permanently weakened. In addition, the joints themselves may displace into odd positions.

I don’t know what research has been done on long-term joint injuries in older retired gymnasts, but anecdotally it seems to be a common problem even in middle age.

They have banned certain types of pitches in Little League because young children were twisting their humero-ulnar surfaces into distorted positions.

I think that this may have been one of the rationales for banning young kids from Olympic competition until they reached 16, along with the fact that such a heavy training regimen was inappropriate and exploitative for children.

I am off to bed. Going to stage another assault on those purple mountains’ majesty in the morning. Thought I would leave you with a couple of shots from today’s hike. Stunning views, but you had to earn them.

(((((JANE, MODS, SUZ & All FIEPUPS GREAT & SMALL))))

Special thanks for moderator update on Suz’s journey up the coast. :~)))

Thanks for visiting! I was liberated from my cast on Tuesday and have started finding my words again. Having my right hand confined for 2 months was so odd….I was thinking with fewer and fewer words and having such a hard time writing. Great time to start a blog! (As I did 2 days after surgery….I think it was the anesthesia that skewed my judgment!)

ES has Late, Late upstairs…

Sort of in line with what I thought. Unfortunately that child training issue is still with us. For many sport, especially gymnastics, you have to start seriously training in early grade school to even get a chance. I really have issues with that (and the adults who push it).

dunno… my brain hurts

feeling a bit peckish……verging on esurient….think I need a spot of cheese…

(and perhaps a bit of the terpsichorean muse…)

then off for a book at bedtime.

pups, sleep tight -

don’t let the Village idiots bite…

A pleasure.

Bela and Marta Korolyi’s complaints seem to be that the ban should be taken off…since it can’t be controlled. Bela was famous for his methods of training these super-young gymnasts back in Romania, and then later in the US.

In may be that we need to start developing some age-related tests (i.e. X-Rays of the epiphyseal fusion or dental eruption) to judge Physiological age before allowing some of these athletes to qualify or undertake certain types of moves.

seconded! Quite a hair-raiser match against the “out of nowhere” Belgian team last night.!

here’s an article about phelps’ diet. 8-10,000 calories a day.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH…..index.html

===
cinnape215–the last paragraph—.
and training–even fox hunter horses are slowly stepped up in their training-as riders go through one level to another so do their horses, the routine they have to learn advances as they do-for muscle development.