Has It Really Been 15 Years?

It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the night Princess Diana died in a Paris tunnel. Prince William is now 30 so it's been half his lifetime, and as I reflect on the Diana era, including both the 16 years of her life as a royal and the 15 years since her death, I find that my thoughts are all over the place. It's impossible to summarize her life, her death and her impact in one clever, pithy phrase. Here's how things look to me right now.

What were they thinking? Going back to the very beginning, I want to slap my forehead and say who on earth thought it was a good idea for these two people to get married?  Seriously. I have the wisdom of hindsight, of course, but still. Did anyone really think that a prematurely middle-aged man and an undereducated, unsophisticated, inexperienced teenage girl could make a marriage work? As one wag put it, at the time of their engagement, Charles was 32 going on 45; Diana was 19 going on 12, which isn't exactly the formula for a sustainable partnership. After a short and superficial courtship they certainly didn't know each other very well, and Camilla was always hovering in the background. Common sense says they didn't have a chance.

What if there was no Camilla? I play this one out in my head sometimes. Imagine that Camilla didn't exist. Charles didn't fall in love at the age of 24, but rather spent his 20s serving in the Navy, growing into his role as Prince of Wales and dating as many aristocratic and attractive young women as he could find. At age 30, he's emotionally available and searching for his soulmate and the nation's next Queen. In this frame of mind my guess is that Charles wouldn't have looked at Diana as anything other than a pretty teenager. The idea that she could be his life partner would have been laughable.

What would Diana have done with the rest of her life? Truth be told, I don't think she would have aged well. I don't mean physically - today Diana would be 51 and I'm sure she'd still look spectacular. I'm wondering how she would spend her time. What would she do all day long? She didn't have the intellect or the temperament to pull a Jackie O and settle into an office job. "Being famous" isn't really a vocation and as we've seen with Fergie, it's not easy to be an ex-royal. At the time of the divorce there was a perception that Diana "won" the PR battle with her husband, being seen as the wronged party and enjoying more affection and popularity from the public. That may have been true in the short term, but 15 years later, with the exception of the Queen Mum, the royal family is still there, they're still doing the things that royal families do, and as I wrote in Annus Wonderfilis, they're more popular than ever. Compared to all that, as the years went on I think Diana would have become less and less important and more about simply being famous, and unfortunately, even being famous isn't what it used to be. As People magazine's favorite cover girl, Diana would now be competing with the Kardashians, the Bachelorettes and Brangelina. She probably wouldn't cope well with the dimming spotlight and strutting around the Mediterranean in a leopard print bathing suit, as Diana was known to do when she wanted to upstage the royal family, is less charming when you're fifty-something.

So what does it all mean? I'm still thinking about that. The royal family isn't as interesting without Diana around, although we've still got Prince Harry, naked or otherwise, to spice things up. There are milestones to come, as Will and Kate have kids and Harry gets married. One of these days Charles will be King and Camilla will be Queen, or not. Regardless of how it all plays out, I'll be watching.

Harry: Yes, Snooki: No.

And this is a good thing. Updating my "Things I Don't Care About" post from Sunday, People magazine did indeed put Prince Harry on the cover, the second young royals cover in a row, with a headline proclaiming him to be "The Naughty Prince!" No sign of Snooki and her new baby, and no Mitt Romney or Lance Armstrong, which were my other two guesses. (Neil Armstrong, Taylor Swift and Bachelorette Emily Maynard are the secondary cover stories.) People does love baby stories, so Snooki could still show up on the cover in the next few weeks, proudly showing off her son, or a few weeks after that in a bikini with a "Body After Baby" headline, which is one of People's favorite lines. Still, for the moment she's nowhere to be seen, at least on the cover and for that, I'm cheering.  

Doesn't He Know This Stuff Can Be Fact-Checked?

I'm seeing a theme in reactions to Paul Ryan's speech last night.

Michael Tomasky:  Web of Lies
Dylan Matthews:  The True, The False and The Misleading
Washington Post Editorial Board:  Mr. Ryan's Misleading Speech
Talking Points Memo:  Whoppers
Jonathan Chait:  Large Lies and One Big Truth
Joan Walsh:  Brazen Lies
Even Fox News:  Blatant Lies and Misrepresentations

Update: As I said in my It's A Woman Thing post, I'm always intrigued when a conservative criticizes or questions a fellow conservative. Now here's Fox News Anchor Chris Wallace, talking about Paul Ryan's speech: "There are some things that I think are factually questionable."

Channeling Mark Zuckerberg

• 

I love these pictures! We usually see Her Madge in glittering tiaras or fab hats, not hoodies. Like Hillary Clinton, who recently said that she's at a point in her life where if she doesn't feel like wearing make-up, she'll be seen in public without make-up, the Queen is opting for comfort over style, not at all afraid to be seen with what looks like a baby blanket draped on her head.  

And when was the last time you saw a head-of-state at the wheel of a car?

I really do need to go live in England! 

It's A Woman Thing

Kathleen Parker is a conservative, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post. Four years ago, after first approving of Sarah Palin's nomination for VP then observing her less-than-stellar performance on the campaign trail for a few weeks, Parker broke ranks with Republicans and wrote a column declaring that Sarah Palin was "out of her league" and should withdraw for the good of the country. She took a lot of heat for that column, receiving something like 11,000 comments, most of them from fellow conservatives and most of them extremely critical of Parker.  

She's at it again this morning with an article at The Daily Beast entitled "What the *#@% is Wrong With Republicans?!" Most of the political commentary in our country is boringly predictable: Left-leaning/liberal pundits and bloggers criticize the Republicans; right-leaning/conservatives criticize the Democrats. So it's always intriguing to me when a conservative writer takes a good hard whack at his or her own side. Money quote:

"To whom, then, are these Republicans talking? Apparently not to women, whom they treat not as equals but as totemic and unknowable. Which is to say, they don’t “get” women. As such, they risk losing not only independents and moderates, whose votes they desperately need come November. They also risk losing their own women, who want very much to cast a ballot for smaller government, reduced deficits, and a confident, job-producing business environment, but don’t want to belong to a club that seems aggressively hostile to women and whose members can’t keep their mouths shut about issues that only reinforce the notion the Republicans are intolerant and rigid."

I don't always agree with Kathleen but this morning I'm cheering. It's a woman thing. 

Whose Idea Was This, Anyway?

With the possible future exception of 2014, the Super Bowl has never been played in the snow. The NFL has rules about climate, average temperatures and stadiums with roofs, to ensure that fans paying thousands of dollars to enjoy the big game don't get snowed on. That's why the game is played either in cities like Miami (10 times) or Los Angeles (7 times) where it's reliably balmy in February, or Minneapolis, Detroit and Indianapolis, all of which have stadiums with retractable roofs. What's happening in 2014? In an exception to the rule, the Super Bowl will be played at Met Life Stadium in metro New York City, which doesn't have a roof and could possibly have a lot of snow on the ground. For now, however, that's a blog post for the future.  

So why am I banging on about Super Bowl site selection rules in the last week of August? The city of Tampa, the Republican National Convention and tropical storm/potential hurricane Isaac, of course. With the storm approaching and the so-called "cone of uncertainty" about where it will go including Tampa, day one of the Republican convention has been cancelled, out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of attendees. A last-minute change to an event of this size is a big deal, messy and inconvenient, no matter how the convention organizers try to spin it. It's also manna from heaven for snarky bloggers, so here goes:

Worst. Site. Selection. Decision. Ever.
WHAT ON EARTH WERE THEY THINKING???
Who can we blame this on????

The finger pointing and blame-shifting have already started, with some honcho from the site selection committee being quoted to the effect that they played the odds, i.e., Tampa hasn't been hit by a hurricane in the last week in August in a really long time. The Governor of Florida says, "We know how to deal with hurricanes," and announces he won't be attending the convention; Michael Steele, who was the RNC chairman at the time the site selection decision was made, says, in response to criticism of the decision, "Get over it." Oh, okay.

The show will go on, for sure, just one day later than originally planned and smushed into three days instead of four. The speakers will speak, the delegates will cheer, the bands will play and the balloons will drop. Hopefully everyone stays safe and dry and nothing else will disrupt the party. Next time in Boise, Idaho, perhaps?

Things I Don't Care About

Snooki had her baby.

Is this big enough news to get Snooki the cover of People this week? Maybe, depending on what else is going on in the world. As I mentioned earlier, People jumped the gun last week with their Will and Kate story and missed out on naked Prince Harry. They actually had a short item inside the mag about Harry's fun week-end in Las Vegas, obviously written before the pictures went viral. Does Harry's scandal get the cover this week or have we all moved on to other things in our heads? (Note brief Aaron Sorkin reference.) Mitt Romney? Lance Armstrong? Sussing out the cover story is a game I play with myself from time to time, and sometimes I get it right, sometimes they surprise me. people.com usually posts the new cover on Wednesday mornings, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Like "Fifty Shades of Grey" Without The Sex

You knew that would get my attention. I'm actually quoting from The Economist's new cover story entitled "So Mitt, what do you really believe?", and they're referring to Romney's program for economic recovery.

I like The Economist. Anglophile that I am, I like the occasional British spelling and occasional British turn of phrase. The magazine takes a more serious, nuanced look at things than the gaffe-of-the-day, dumbed down/sexed-up silliness of what passes for news coverage in this country. (Trust me on this, an American magazine would have found a way to put the "Shades of Grey" reference on the cover.) So it's fascinating to read their take on the Republican nominee for president, which starts out positive, sort of, with the idea that perhaps a sober businessman can have more of an impact on our ailing economy than the Obama administration, which is described as "four years of soaring oratory and intermittent reforms."  

Unfortunately their opinion of former Governor Romney goes downhill from there, culminating in what they call their main doubt: "Nobody knows who this strange man really is." Wow, and not in a good way. The Economist's impact on American voters is probably minimal to zero, but still - this isn't the kind of thing a campaign wants to see in the days leading up to their convention.

And speaking of the Republican convention, day one, Monday, has now been cancelled, because of soon-to-be Hurricane Isaac, making it two GOP conventions in a row that have been messed with by Mother Nature. Nothing for the delegates to do but hunker down in their hotel rooms and dive into Fifty Shades of Grey. 

Blogger Mind-Meld

Andrew Sullivan is one of my favorite bloggers. He's a brilliant thinker and a great writer, so I really liked reading this post, which nicely echoes my perceptions of Ryan Lochte. Great minds...

Popping The Culture

Lots of interesting tidbits this week. Consider:

Did Taylor Swift crash/get thrown out of a Kennedy wedding this week-end? One of the Kennedy cousins got married in Boston and according to the Boston Herald, mother-of-the-bride Victoria Gifford Kennedy asked Taylor to leave because she didn't want the country superstar to overshadow the bride. There's conflicting info about whether or not Swift, who's currently dating one of the other Kennedy cousins, was actually invited. What intrigues me is the fact that Taylor Swift is 22 and her new boyfriend, Conor Kennedy, son of Bobby Kennedy, Jr., and grandson of RFK and Ethel, is only 18 and just starting his senior year of high school. Question: Does a 22-year-old woman qualify as a cougar?

The TomKat divorce is final, just a few weeks after Katie Holmes filed in June, which in Hollywood counts as warp speed. (See Kardashian, Kim.) Question: Who will be the next Mrs. Cruise?  

Jennifer Aniston has a pre-nuptial agreement with fiance Justin Theroux, or not.
OK! magazine: Jen Shocker: No PreNup!
In Touch magazine: Jen's $150 Million PreNup.
Question: There isn't one. This is one of those things I don't care about.

Will and Kate are on the cover of People magazine again. It's that nice picture of them embracing at one of the Olympic events, and I'd be willing to bet that this is one of those instances where the magazine had a great picture for the cover and not much of a story to go with it. If only they'd known that a much juicer royal story was only a few hours away! Question: Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall the next time Prince Harry sees his grandmother?

Naughty Prince Harry

Looks like I need to update a previous post. In "Annus Wonderfilis" I wrote that Prince Harry was "staying out of trouble and serving his country." While that may be true on some days, at the moment he's apparently letting it all hang out in Las Vegas, and yes, there are pictures. Note that I'm linking to the Daily Beast's article about the pictures, not the pictures themselves, which you can find at TMZ. I haven't looked yet, but, true confession, I probably will.

Poor Harry. Can't a prince get naked and frolic with frisky American girls without someone getting him in trouble?

So my previous article is now a little out of date. That's okay. "Deliciously charming rascal"? That part's still true...

Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner

Dirty Dancing is 25 years old! The movie premiered on August 21, 1987, and after all these years, you may not know that it wasn't supposed to be a hit. It was made on a tiny budget, by not-well-known producers and directors, and even Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey weren't all that famous at the time. Roger Ebert hated it, but much to pretty much everyone's surprise, the movie caught on. The music was catching and people were seeing it again and again, and this was back when you couldn't just call it up on Netflix or pop in the 10th anniversary DVD - if you wanted to see Dirty Dancing you had to actually go to the movies.

So Happy Anniversary to Baby and Johnny! She's still like the wind, love is still strange and you still don't own me. I'm still having the time of my life, and nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Things I Don't Care About

Naked Congressmen. Seriously. If they want to throw off their clothes and jump in the water, it's fine with me.  Just don't make me watch.

Romance, Showmance?

I miss the Olympics. Every day while they were going on there was so much to watch, with lots of good stuff to think about and blog about. Without them I've gone blog-silent for a couple of days, but over the week-end several things have stuck me as blog-worthy, so here we go.

First, politico points out how physically fit all four of the presidential/vice presidential candidates are. Apparently youngest-of-the-four Paul Ryan is a former personal trainer who is still dedicated to extreme fitness and has a body fat percentage in the range of 6-8%. Wow. Even oldest-of-the four Joe Biden is fit and trim at the age of 69. Romney does the treadmill, Obama plays basketball, it's all very inspiring. Or maybe not. All this fitness puts these guys somewhat at odds with regular Americans, most of whom are getting fatter by the minute. And hey there, Chris Christie. If you have presidential dreams for 2016 or beyond, get yourself to the gym, post haste.

The Daily Beast has a fun story about how much travel has changed in the last 25 years. I've always been intrigued by the idea of the longest scheduled commercial airline flight, which in 1987 was from Sydney, Australia to San Francisco on a Pan Am 747SP, at 7,417 miles. Pan Am and the 747SP are both long gone now, of course, although United still flies the route in a 747-400, with the westbound flight scheduled for 14 hours/28 minutes. Today the longest flight is an 18 hour/40 minutes Singapore Airlines marathon from Newark to Singapore, flown in an Airbus A340 and coming in at 9,534 miles. That's a really long time to sit in an aluminum tube.

Speaking of the Olympics, Michael Phelps is apparently in some trouble with the IOC. He's appearing in a print ad for Louis Vuitton which could potentially cause him to be stripped of his medals. Why? The IOC forbids Olympic athletes from appearing in promotions for companies other than the official Olympic sponsors while the Olympics are going on and for a couple of weeks before and after. The LV ad leaked early and the IOC isn't happy. I can't imagine they'll really take Phelps's medals away, but this is a good reminder of what's really at the heart of the Olympic movement: sponsorship money.

Finally, and speaking of sponsorship money, tomorrow is an important anniversary in the world of romance, true love and reality TV. You don't remember? August 20 was the day Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries said "I do" in their over-the-top made-for-TV wedding-of-the-year extravaganza. At the time I gave the marriage two years, which turned out to be just a wee bit optimistic. Kim filed for divorce 72 days later and now the divorce proceedings have been going on longer than the actual marriage and there's no end in sight. Apparently the jilted groom is holding out for an annulment, based on his belief that it wasn't a real marriage, but rather a publicity stunt cooked up to goose ratings for that Masterpiece Theater imitation known as Keeping Up With The Kardashians. My favorite comment came from an observer on the Today show this morning, who said it's actually a third party who's whispering in Kris's ear that he should string things along as long as possible. Who could possibly have a vested interest in Kim staying married to Kris? Kanye West. Love it.

The Road To Rio

Wow, that was fast. It feels like the Opening Ceremony was just yesterday and now London 2012 is over. I didn't get to watch as much of the sports as I'd like, but it was a fun two weeks, with lots of thrills and chills, new songs, some silliness, some stupidity, Will and Kate, Prince Harry, Rafalca, etc., etc. The usual Olympic stuff. A nice long cheer goes to London, for putting on a really great event, and a special tip of the hat for all the medals they won. Great job!  The U.S. topped the medal count, which was probably predictable given how many athletes we had competing, but what I like the most is the fact that the U.S. women kicked butt. I think I read that the girls won more medals than the boys, which I really hope is true! And I'm still hoping Ryan Lochte will get to be the Bachelor.

The Olympics are never really over, of course, and planning is now underway for the next three Games. Do you know where they'll be? The IOC's official site has a countdown clock for each host city, which is how I know that the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia are 540 days away; followed by the Rio Summer Games in 1451 days; and even the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2004 days. Three cities, Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid are bidding for the 2020 Summer Games, which will be awarded on September 7, 2013. So on it goes. 

Battle Of The Brides

Now that Brad Pitt's current and former life partners are both engaged to be married, can the "battle of the brides" tabloid headlines be far behind? And who will People magazine put on its cover this week? Normally I'd say Jennifer Aniston in a rout for sure, but people.com has an interview with the Romneys and the Ryans, and that may turn out to be the magazine's cover story too. Brad and Angie are still laying low.

Quite A Week-end

Yes, Mitt Romney did announce his VP pick. No, Brad and Angelina didn't get married. Yes, Jennifer Aniston is engaged. Wait, what?? Yes, it's true, after a year of dating Jen and her boyfriend Justin Theroux have announced their engagement, in a nice bit of timing that might not be a total coincidence. So now Brad and Jennifer are both engaged to their new partners and two weddings are on the way. Let the tabloid wedding watch/feeding frenzy begin.

Give The Other Ryan A Rose

Paul Ryan, that is, and of course I'm talking about his selection as Mitt Romney's running mate. Some random thoughts:

Not Pawlenty, not Portman.  I jumped on the bandwagon, along with many others, who were sure Romney would go with a so-called boring white guy. Received wisdom seemed to be that Ryan was too polarizing, too hard right, too "bold" for the famously risk-averse Romney. I feel some "always a bridesmaid" sympathy for Tim Pawlenty, or T-Paw, who was a finalist last time around too, before John McCain selected Sarah Palin.

A sharp right turn. Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus writes that when the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard and the National Review are all telling you to do something, you should run the other way. All three of those conservative publications insisted this week that Romney should select Paul Ryan, and lo and behold, he did. Did Mittens cave? The Romney campaign has provided a meticulous tick tock timeline, making sure everyone knows he decided last week, before getting instructions from Bill Kristol and his friends. By the way, Kristol was Sarah Palin's biggest cheerleader four years ago, repeatedly insisting that she was McCain's best bet. And John McCain is still saying that he's "proud" of Palin. Ick.

Paul Ryan is young. At 42 he's younger than Sarah Palin was when she was selected and he's a lot younger than Mitt Romney. I was thinking yesterday that there's a slight father-son dynamic between the two of them and it turns out, Ryan is the same age as Romney's eldest son.

Ready on day one? Paul Ryan has more government experience than Palin had, with seven terms in the House of Representatives, but he has no executive or private-sector experience, which up until now Romney has been touting as a crucial qualification, and no experience running for office at the statewide level, much less the national level. The "big fish in a little pond" nature of running in a House district isn't the strongest preparation and seasoning for a national level campaign, which is one reason why Congressmen don't usually go directly from the House to the vice presidency (or the presidency.) Gerald Ford was the last Congressman to make the leap, back in 1974 and he wasn't elected. He was appointed by Richard Nixon after Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned. Before that you have to go back to 1932.

Apparently Vice President Joe Biden called Ryan to congratulate him and welcome him to the race. Nice. Political junkies are salivating at the thought of the Vice Presidential debate, which should be a doozy.

Finally, how many years worth of tax returns did the Romney campaign require Mr. Ryan to provide?

Give Ryan A Rose!

I haven't been paying much attention to Ryan Lochte. He got a lot of press early in the Olympics when he beat Michael Phelps for a gold medal in one of the early races, but then he pretty much faded from view, or at least from my view. Then this morning there he was on the Today show for an end-of-the games retrospective interview with Matt Lauer, and wow, all of a sudden my cup runneth over with potential blog posts.

First I was struck by how cute he is, and then by the fact that he's not very, um, articulate. I was thinking that when the Olympics are over he can go to college and learn some new words, then Matt asked how old he is and he said 28. Yikes. Potential blogpost headline: He Really Is A Himbo.

Then they got into that whole "Ryan pees in the pool" issue and he sheepishly admitted that yes, he does, and I'm thinking, do the synchro swim girls know about this? In addition to the cool corkscrew move, the swimmers also come charging up out of the water spitting water into the air like a fountain, not something I want to do in a pool where Ryan has peed. Potential blogpost headline:  I Hope It's Not The Same Pool.  

Finally Matt asked Ryan what he wants to do next and he mentioned reality TV, like Dancing With The Stars or the Bachelor. Eureka! Ryan as the Bachelor! I'm still rooting for Roberto as the next Bachelor but after that, Ryan, will you accept this rose?  

Brangelina Watch

Are Brad and Angelina getting married this week-end? Apparently there are some clues, such as bustling arrangements for what looks like a big party at their chateau in France, Brad's parents are in town, Jennifer Aniston's into the Tequila... I just made that last part up, but if I were her, I would definitely be drinking. I admit I haven't thought about Brad and Angelina's potential wedding in a while. After a tabloid frenzy when the engagement was announced they've kind of gone underground, or at least they haven't done anything recently that merits the cover of People magazine. Would the wedding knock the Veepstakes off the front pages? Stay tuned, maybe we'll know soon.

Messing With Mittens

With the Olympics winding down and the Republican convention just over two weeks away, reporters, bloggers and pundits are amusing themselves playing the game known as "Veepstakes." A few posts ago I speculated that Tim Pawlenty and Rob Portman were the finalists, but this week there's been a  boomlet of support for Paul Ryan. Is he a legitimate candidate or are bored reporters just messing with Mitt's head for sport?

Republican blogger David Frum says neither - it's the conservative base trying to keep Romney, a candidate they don't love, in line.  Fascinating.   

This Is How It Starts

Olympics 2024. 

Things I Don't Care About

Bachelor Pad.

Olympic Tidbits

I've found that there are a few sports I can't watch without cringing, simply because it always seems as if someone's about to get hurt. Jumping and twirling on a 4-inch slab of wood, known as the balance beam, or running as fast as you can then jumping over a 4-foot high wooden barrier, known as the hurdles, both strike me as bone-breaking disasters waiting to happen. And, no, this isn't another post about Rafalca, but it's also hard for me to watch horse jumping. I know the horses are really big, strong animals, but their legs seem so fragile and as they jump over the barriers the words "broken leg" and "humanely destroyed" are never far from my mind.

Ann Curry had a piece on the Today show this morning and based on the icy politeness between her and Matt Lauer, I'd say she's still pissed about the way her recent change in professional status was handled.

There was also a piece on synchronized swimming, and if I was in the mood to be politically correct, I'd bang on about how strong the swimmers are, how well trained they are, their endurance and coordination, blah, blah, blah, but, you know, screw that. Here's what I really think:  OMG - the make-up. The sparkly spangly swimming costumes. The la-de-da waving and swishing and strutting. (No, really, this isn't a post about Rafalca.) Yowza. I love the upside-down, underwater, holding your breath swirling corkscrew maneuver, but overall the whole thing struck me as an elaborate excuse to have one more event where the athletes (and yes, it's the female athletes) wear the skimpiest outfits possible.

Finally, NBC is reporting that today "might" be the day Mitt Romney announces his VP pick. Possible, I suppose, but if he wants to get the biggest political bang for his buck, I'm guessing he'll wait until the Olympics are over.

It's Over

Rafalca's run at the Olympics is over, after she and her rider failed to qualify for the finals in the individual dressage event.  Presumably Rafalca will now be heading home, as will horse mama Ann Romney, who has been cheering for her horse from the stands.  Can the VP announcement be far behind? 

Annus Wonderfilis

In November, 1992 the Queen memorably described the previous year as her “annus horribilis.” To recap, Andrew and Fergie announced they were getting a divorce, Princess Anne and her first husband actually did get a divorce, Princess Diana’s “I want a divorce” manifesto was published, which resulted in her separation from Prince Charles, and just when it seemed as if things couldn’t get any worse, Windsor Castle caught on fire. A writer at the time wondered if the Queen ever found herself thinking, “God saved me for this?”  

Fast forward 20 years and it’s stunning how much things have changed. In 2012, the Queen and her family are basking in the warmth, affection and admiration of not only the British people, but people everywhere, in recognition of her 60 years as head of state. Charles and Camilla are a boringly uncontroversial married couple, and trust me, back in 1992 that was an outcome that was considered unthinkable. Will and Kate are down-to-earth and dutiful, with just enough glamour to keep things interesting, and that deliciously charming rascal Prince Harry is staying out of trouble and serving his country as an officer in the Army Air Corps. If she ever thinks about it, Her Majesty must feel that the future of the monarchy is in good hands. 

And yet… The phrase “future of the monarchy” hints at an eventuality that’s also hard to fathom. Even though she appears hale and hearty at the age of 86, reality is that the Queen can’t live forever, and one of these days the Brits will wake up to a new era. King Charles III will be on the throne and I’m guessing it will feel strange to everyone, not least Charles himself. Charles’s path, to marital happiness as well as to the throne, hasn’t always been smooth and his mother’s footsteps won’t be easy to fill. (If you’ve forgotten all the juicy details, go to Google and type in “Camillagate.”) There’s also uncertainty about what Camilla will be called. When their engagement was announced it was said that when time comes she will be titled “The Princess Consort,” but the longer they’re together as a married couple the stranger that compromise will feel. Even the national anthem will change. I wonder how long it will take to get used to hearing “God save our gracious King.” It’s all interesting to think about, but happily it’s also all in the future. For now the Queen is having a very good year and that’s something to cheer about. 

It's Not Over 'Til It's Over

Based on native skill, past performance and that killer vault she laid down in the team competition, McKayla Maroney was expected to win the gold medal in the individual vault event last night. She was supposed to win. Everyone knew she was going to win.  Except she didn’t win. Her first vault was fine, but she lost it on the second. My technical knowledge of vaulting is basically zero so I’ll simply say that she fell on her butt and it wasn’t pretty. 

Unlike other events I was able to watch on NBC’s taped delay/plausibly live coverage, I hadn’t seen the vault results in advance. As the event went on it occurred to me that if Maroney had won, I probably would have seen a “Maroney Wins Gold” headline on one website or another at some point during the day. The fact that I hadn’t was my first clue that perhaps this competition didn’t play out according to the script. 

Second thought:  was “Maroney Wins Gold” an accurate script or was that just how the American announcers played it? With hindsight, it’s easy to say that NBC blew the call, in particular the male commentator. I don’t know who it was, but throughout the competition he talked as if McKayla’s gold medal was a done deal, even saying at one point, “everyone knows she’s going to win.” Listening to him, you’d almost wonder why they bothered having the actual competition.

Although it’s devastating for the athletes, unpredictable outcomes are one of the reasons I like sports. The competitors are actual human beings and things don’t always go the way they’re expected to. If nothing else, I’m hoping NBC reminds its on-air talent that in sports, it’s not over ‘til it’s over.

Things I Don't Care About

"The biggest scandal?" I really hope this is satire.

Tax Deductions and Business Expenses; Caviar and Spam

Apparently I was wrong, a few posts ago, when I wrote that Mitt Romney took a $77,000 tax deduction for Rafalca. It turns out it was a business expense. Writer Margaret Carlson also points out that for ordinary Americans, the whole therapeutic horse narrative is a bit of a stretch, saying that dressage is to therapeutic horseback riding as caviar is to spam.

Olympic Tidbits

"That our flag was still there..." Except it wasn't.  During Serena Williams' medal ceremony, the wind was blowing so hard that the U.S. flag was blown right off its pole. I'm trying to find a video link.

Speaking of Serena, I was watching her match this morning and I realized that I know almost nothing about tennis. I know two people volley a little yellow ball back and forth over a net, but after that I'm lost.  Seriously, I didn't have a clue about how the match was scored.  All of a sudden, "Gold Medal Point" was posted on the TV screen and I realized the whole match was almost over.  Still, based on her body language and facial expressions alone, Serena is one tough chick, and I mean that in a good way. At some point I may try to learn why tennis balls are always yellow.

Last night I happened to see a small segment on the trampoline competition, which was kind of a surprise because I didn't even know trampoline was an Olympic sport.  What struck me as funny, however, was the name of the competitor, an athlete from China.  What was his name, you ask?  Dong Dong.

I love reading stuff like this.  On the surface, winning a race like the men's 100 meters is just a matter of running faster.  In reality there's a lot of science and technology involved.  Imagine what could happen if Usain works on his starts.

Speaking of Usain, sort of, I saw an interview with Prince Harry and apparently he's the co-owner of a race horse named Usain Colt.  Perhaps Usain Colt should meet Rafalca...

A Cool Medal Ceremony

Had you ever heard the national anthem of New Zealand?   Believe it or not, for those of you who know my story, after all these years, neither had I. It's fun to hear it now, and what a cool medal ceremony.

Can't A Horse Prance In Peace?

Because none of this is Rafalca's fault.

A Long Way From Charles And Di

I love these pictures of William and Kate! Charles and Diana, all those years ago, looked like frozen automatons compared to these two!  In spite of the royal PDA, however, judging by Kate's flatter-than-flat tummy, there's no royal baby on the way yet.

Veepstakes: Who Will Mitt Pick?

The Olympics aren’t the only event that comes around every four years.  We’re also in the midst of our quadrennial presidential election, although at the moment things are in a bit of a lull.  The next big events will be the conventions, with the Republicans in Tampa starting on August 27 followed by the Democrats in Charlotte starting September 3.  Before that, however, at some point in the next couple of weeks Mitt Romney will announce who he wants for Vice President, and guessing who that might be is what’s keeping reporters, pundits, bloggers and political geeks entertained now that the Romneyshambles European tour is over. 

In a previous post I said that it seems like the Beijing Olympics were just yesterday, and the four years since John McCain dropped the political equivalent of a nuclear bomb and selected Sarah Palin as his running mate have also gone by in a flash.  My blog readers know that I’m not a fan of the former governor of Alaska, at least not as a politician. As blog fodder, however, she’s been both hilarious and invaluable and I’ve had a lot of fun snarking about Sarah, the fam, the once-and-future over-my-dead-body son-in-law, the stupid things they all say and do, etc. It’s safe to say that whoever Mitt Romney selects, he or she won’t be nearly as entertaining. 

As a matter of fact, conventional wisdom seems to be that Mitt’s biggest goal is to pick an “anti-Palin,” an authentic politician, solid and serious, who won’t give late-night TV comics, or snarky bloggers, anything to talk about.  I admit I’ve even felt a tiny little bit of sympathy for Sarah Palin over the last few weeks, as I’ve read article after article speculating about who Romney might pick and emphasizing that above all else he doesn’t want to make a “disastrous” mistake. You know, the way John McCain did.

It’s all a lot of fun and I’ve seen lists suggesting everyone from Marco Rubio to Kelly Ayotte to Susana Martinez to Joe Scarborough.  If I had to guess, however, I’d say that “boring white guy” is the order of the day, and my money’s on either Tim Pawlenty (former governor of Minnesota) or Rob Portman (junior senator from Ohio.)  It won’t be long before we know if I’m right. 

Go Gabby!

Could she be any cuter? Gabby Douglas wins gold in the gymnastics all around event and I'm cheering.  Understand, I haven't actually seen her performance, because NBC is saving it for their primetime show.  The results, however, have been all over the web today and you'd pretty much have to take to your bed and cover your head with a pillow to avoid hearing anything about the events taking place five hours to the east.  I'm going to try to stay up late enough tonight to see gymnastics, but I might not make it. My colleagues and I leave our hotel at 6.30 every morning, and given that the primetime Olympic show doesn't even start until 8.00 p.m., the television/sleep/Olympics/yawning continuum isn't working in my favor right now.

A few posts ago I said "Go Gymnastics Girls, kick some butt and win some gold."  They did, and as I said, I'm cheering. 

Inscrutable And Somewhat Precious

See, I'm not the only one writing about Rafalca. And before reading this article, I didn't even know that part about the whips... 

Rafalca's Big Day

Today's the day, horse ballet fans!  The Romneys' dressage horse, Rafalca, takes the stage in London as the individual dressage events get underway today. Horse mama Ann will be in the stands, horse daddy Mittens is probably hiding under a bed somewhere, wishing the whole thing would just be over. As far as I can tell, Rafalca and his rider are not serious medal contenders, but you never know. Dance on, Rafalca, dance on!

Fake Cake

Has it really come to this? Weddings are out of control here in the U.S, that's for sure. The Wedding Industrial Complex has been phenomenally successful in convincing brides that if their wedding isn't an elaborate and expensive extravaganza they'll somehow offend the wedding gods, and you know, something really bad might happen. The result is that many brides appear to be caught up in planning the latest installment of the Ziegfeld Follies, rather than a warm and meaningful event to signify the start of a couple's life together. I've spent the last few hours feeling both amused and dismayed after learning about what is apparently a growing trend:  the rental wedding cake. 

There's no question that wedding cakes are expensive, especially the elaborate ones, although I'm not sure brides always get their money's worth.  I've been to some weddings where the cake looked spectacular and tasted like sand.  Many "How to save money on your wedding" articles suggest getting a very small version of your dream cake, which can be used for the cake-cutting ritual and saved for the first anniversary. The slices that are actually served to the guests are cut from an inexpensive sheet cake and no one knows the difference. There may be a slight deception involved, but at least it's a real cake. 

The rental "cake" is different. It's made of styrofoam, it comes in a box, and after the wedding you pack it up and ship it back. Apparently there's a small cut-out in the back of the fake cake, where you can place a small piece of real cake to be used during the ceremonial cake cutting at the reception. According to the cake rental website "three pieces of Twinkie fit perfectly."  If you go to the homepage, you'll see the slogan: "Don't settle for less on your wedding day."  That sounds lovely except they're talking about styrofoam! Am I really the only one who sees the irony here? Weddings really are out of control.