Route 120 goes from Lee Vining in the East, through Yosemite National Park, continuing West. We had the good fortune not to have traffic that was in the park yesterday. We were able to stop to photograph without interfering with anyone else. Even so, a long drive.
I could add that we went from sea level to 9000 feet during this drive. I has been 100 degrees for the last 10 days in the southland. As we drove north I could see the thunderheads forming over the mountains,I could hear thunder and lightning, but I really did not expect the rain. It did come but barely.
I am one of the coaches for the NZ men’s 49er and the women’s 470 teams and have for the past 15 years also been working in the US sailing system with the top juniors.
Having brought 9 of the 12 NZ team members thru from Optis to the Olympic team and having won 17 world titles and over 60 NZ titles. (Plus numerous US national titles) I feel I can accurately give a comparison of the two systems. Here are my thoughts:
Obviously the present management and coaches need to go, and those who appointed them need to have a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.
I have a great fondness for the US sailing scene and have had many great experiences over the years, but since I have been in this system, the numbers of sailors have dropped, the coach numbers have increased and the results have declined. Sad.
John Morgan
Morgan Yacht Design
Bomani Jones is a contributor at SBNation.com, where he writes and stars in a YouTube show called “Bomani & Jones.” He’s also a regular contributor to ESPN’s “Around The Horn.” He is on Twitter.
UPDATED AUGUST 10, 2012, 7:05 AM
After seeing the majestic diversity of the Olympics’ Parade of Nations, a visual representation of the best of the Olympic ideal, the last thing I want to watch is a sport where the biggest determinant of success is being rich. I could ask for many sports to be removed on this basis, but I’ll go with sailing because … well, who wants to watch boats that don’t make lots of noise?
O.K., I can do better — what does sailing embody that anyone loves, specifically, about the Olympics? Where is the simplicity of the event that gives the impression that anyone could participate?
You need to be of a certain class with special access to sail. In an event that celebrates inclusion, it is the most exclusive.
Even with sports like swimming and rowing, which cost too much for many, anyone could, theoretically, participate. There’s nothing stopping someone from doing backflips and the other staples of gymnastics.
Sailing? The name of the game is access. The touching human interest stories that buoy NBC’s ratings for the Olympics are somewhere between rare and nonexistent. It’s clearly an activity for a particular class stratus and, given how overwhelmingly white the Olympic participants are, it’s clearly not the world’s game.
If the Olympics is going to wrap itself in touchy-feely stories, it’s hard to get behind sports that are so obviously exclusive. If the Games are supposed to bring the world together, we can do without sports that do the opposite.
We revisit this subject frequently, but after the performance of the American sailors, who are very good, by the way, but were clearly out classed.Not even close to medal contention. Anyone who followed the team leading up to the Olympics would have seen that the team never won any major events. They were never really in contention in the previous three years.
Fingers must be pointed; but in which direction? Was their preparation so far askew? Is US Sailing the governing body in the United States missing the mark? Are the coaches so bad? What to do?
I can watch hummingbirds all day long. I don’t really know what else to say.
The first thing one notices arriving in Santa Monica is that it is 20 degrees cooler than Los Angeles. Particularly right now where southern California is under a heat wave where temperatures have been 100 degrees and more. Yesterday the temperature difference was 30 degrees.
Note that the homeless individual is in the cocoon of his sleeping bag. I found a eerie resemblance between the sleeping bag and the trunk of the tree.
People watching on the Third Street Promenade is without end. Last year, while at the promenade, I probably walked past Whitey Bulger and never even knew it.
The long awaited Farallones report is issued from US Sailing: READ HERE.
US Sailing’s report on the “Low Speed Chase” accident has been issued and it is a solid study. Read it and draw your own conclusions.
The rest of the photographs are my continuing exploration of downtown Los Angeles. So many tell me that there is no architecture in Los Angeles and no culture; that it is a completely hedonistic place. While it is probably true that the film industry and the stars dominate the headlines; there is the larger life of the vast majority of people alongside.
I have often wondered about the complete story behind the now iconic sign “HOLLYWOOD”. It was a real estate developers sign, hollywoodland originally; the land was in fact at the head of Beechwood Canyon. Curiously, many of my friends in the east have told me that there was no such place as Beechwood Canyon.
As with anywhere, the history, is local, and here hollywood and film dominate significant history in the minds of most people.
I would like to have a career as a photographer. I tend to have broad interest which is reflected in my photography. But I have an particular interest in journalistic photography. I would like to tell you a story with my images, honestly, I would like to make a difference.
Yesterday, I went to a part of Los Angeles most of you will probably never go. Nor am I saying you should; but neither should we ignore it’s existence.During my brief visit there I was yelled at and threatened by the drug dealers who also patrol the area. The temperature in downtown Los Angeles was 96 degrees. Everyone had moved to the shady side of the street seeking relief from the heat.
Equally, life is full of surprises. In the midst of the human tragedy; I took the color photograph below. There is always hope.
