The Winter Olympics start (officially) today and, as someone who takes most anything snow-related very seriously, I follow some of the competitions closely (yes, my Twitter feed includes the essential @SkiJumpInsights).
Unfortunately, the horror that is American -- broadcast and general -- Olympics coverage always diminishes the enjoyment of trying to follow the events, and this year that's compounded by the fact that the games are being held in Putin's back yard (though it seems that will make for good absurdist-entertainment value).
Of course, everyone is weighing in on this, and with even Maidenhair- and The Light and the Dark-author Mikhail Shishkin having his say I venture a mention, linking to his PEN Atlas piece, Russian déjà vu at Sochi 2014 - who lost the games? -- where he sums up nicely/awfully:
Of course, everyone is weighing in on this, and with even Maidenhair- and The Light and the Dark-author Mikhail Shishkin having his say I venture a mention, linking to his PEN Atlas piece, Russian déjà vu at Sochi 2014 - who lost the games? -- where he sums up nicely/awfully:
Today, the Olympics have again turned into a huge Potemkin village: newly painted and front-facing our foreign guests, and showing a dirty backside to its own people.And:
I don’t know who’ll win medals, but the Russian population has already lost the Games. One can sum up the Winter Games even before they’ve started: the regime, with help from the Olympics, has raped the country yet again: Russian déjà vu.