Liz the Squeak has a point. This particular discussion was started by and for folks with no interest in watching, or even thinking about, the current Games. There are several other threads wherein those of us who enjoy various events are sharing reactions with each other.

If this thread were really confined to Olympic avoidance, it would probably have dropped off the bottom of the page shortly after the Opening Ceremonies. And maybe revived again, but maybe not.

Big Phil, you like that Women's Beach Volleyball, huh? Me too. I really get into any Olympic volleyball match, even men, even indoors, probably because it's the one sport I was able to continue playing until well into my 40s. When someone dives for a dink shot placed just out of reach, I'll involutarily jump up out of my easy chair with an audible grunt, as though I were able to reach out and save the ball myself!

But of course, the pairs of bikini-clad babes adds another whole dimension to the viewing experience. Six-foot-two-inch-tall Kerri Walsh, in particular, really caught my attention during her first Olympic appearances, back and she and I and all of us were eight years younger. I finally got over my fascination with her this time around, observing her too-too-genuine enthusiasm at meeting with President Bush (not a favorite of mine).

I've got a few things to say about the phony, irrelevant, and historically elitist concept of "amateurism," which has popped up here and in several other threads. When I work up the energy and have the time, I might start a separate thread to sound off on that volatile topic.

Liz, enjoy those movies. I assume you know that the great Alfred Hitchcock began his career in England. Here in the states, we have a cable channel TCM (Turner Classic Movies) which airs a huge collection of great old films with no commercial interuptions 24/7; I've seen many Hitchcock films, old and new, British and Hollywood, since we began receiving TCM.

Hitch made two films called "The Man Who Knew Too Much." The more recent is the better known, filmed in color in Hollywood and starring Jimmy Stewart. Last night (during a dinner-hour lull in the Olympics telecast) we had a chance to see the much earlier British black-and-white version. Very interesting to consider the similarities and differences. I think Hitch made a much better film the second time around, partly thanks to a bigger budget and more advanced film technology, but also thanks to his own increased maturity and artistry.