The day we’ve all been waiting for since the Olympics began is finally here: The Romneys’ famous rumba-horse, Rafalca, is going for the gold! Right now! From what I’ve read, she’s not favored to medal, but I’m sincerely rooting for her.
A surprise Rafalca victory would obviously bolster Romney’s gritty, man-of-the-people image. But beyond that, in a very real sense, Rafalca belongs to all of us.
Her obscenely wealthy part-owners requested a $77K tax break for her care, expecting the rest of us to make up the shortfall in the US Treasury. So she’s America’s Horse! Cheer her on!
Oh, and open thread…
Zirgar
Rafalcamerica!
NotMax
The dance is rhumba, with an h.
Rumba sounds like some gawdawful rum and banana liqueur drink garnished with a paper umbrella.
kd bart
Dressage. The true workingman’s sport.
The Other Bob
Well shoot, if Rafalca can do it, maybe Romney can run the country. Kristi Yamaguchi says so too!
Isn’t that all he’s got left?
kd bart
I have Rafalca in my Dressage Fantasy League so I’m pulling hard for her.
Ash Can
This is what Mitt is so totally not watching, right?
Patricia Kayden
Hard to believe that horse dancing is an Olympics sport. Interesting. Would love to expand that to dancing cats. Tunch would win hands down.
Odie Hugh Manatee
If it’s America’s horse does that mean that if the horse loses it gets turned into glue and pet food?
NotMax
Going to catch hell for it, I know, but the company (three taxpayers in partnership) that owns Rafalca (doesn’t that sound like the name of Alfalfa’s weird auntie whom they keep locked in the attic?) requested a $50 deduction.
The remainder of the almost $78k was deferred to be used against future profits, if any.
Whether such gimmickry should be allowable is a different argument. As the IRS has been looking into and over the last few years assiduously reversing such things in the case of hobby owners, even that may end up excised. But the actual deduction on that year’s taxes was fifty bucks.
gnomedad
Dick never misfires.
Chyron HR
They call her Ralfaca, Ralfaca
Queen of the Dressage
No horse you can see
Is richer than she
Steeplejack
@kd bart:
LOL. Win.
NotMax
@Odie Hugh Manatee
Nah, it’s proof positive that the U.K. screwed up the Olympics.
Or Ann Romney gets turned into glue and pet food.
Take yer pick.
MattF
…and so, it turns out, there really is a pony in that pile of horseshit. Well.
beltane
That horse is an inspiration to people with MS everywhere, especially those who are too poor to afford their med or other basic needs. Why do you hate people with MS!
SteveinSC
But wait! There’s more! Rafalca must be a depreciable asset. Cost/(life expectancy in years)= ???Well God knows what per year deduction.
Ash Can
@Odie Hugh Manatee: If Rafalca doesn’t medal, Mitt will insist he never owned her, never heard of her, and never saw her before in his life.
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: Actually, “rumba” is a perfectly acceptable spelling variation.
kd bart
A Dancing Horse somehow describes Mitt Romney.
Linda Featheringill
@NotMax:
Now, now.
Elizabelle
Am wondering if the horse’s name is an acronym for tax havens and dodges.
Sphys
I hope Rafalca wins and that Obama calls Ann Romney to congratulate her…I mean, her husband doesn’t care, so it’d be nice if someone did, right?
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Bah. Only through frequency of misuse. It may be lazily deemed accepted, but that doesn’t make it accurate.
I say it’s spinach, and the hell with it. :)
JGabriel
Odie Hugh Manatee:
Rafalca belongs to rich people. If she loses, she gets promoted! Because that’s what we do for the rich in America.
.
Randy P
@Chyron HR: Was that a Flipper reference? You mean I’m not the only one haunted by 45-year-old TV theme songs?
I seriously loved that show as a kid. I wanted one of those boats AND the dolphin
Odie Hugh Manatee
@NotMax:
If that’s the case I’m sure my cats will bury their food.
@Ash Can:
IOW, it’s retroactively glue?
schrodinger's cat
@Patricia Kayden: Tunch does not dance. He has too much digniteh but he would win a staring contest,
handspaws down.Alex S.
I think the Rafalca jokes are useless liberal sneer. Without it, Romney would lose anyway.
Cassidy
Couldn’t find a FIM pic? They’re so much more adorable.
kd bart
If Rafalca wins the gold, do the Romney’s get the $25K from the USOC for winning a gold or do they have them send it directly to the Tobasco Holding Company in The Cayman Islands?
Odie Hugh Manatee
@JGabriel:
Sooo… that means poor people get turned into glue and horse food if the horse wins?
This is all so confusing! ;p
JGabriel
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Alex S.:
Because Conservatives are always charming and well-mannered and never, ever, sneer at liberals.
.
NotMax
@Linda Featheringill
In a cranky frame of mind. Will work on tamping it down.
Promise.
Fezzik
Don’t you dare defile My Little Pony with an association to Anne Romney. Don’t you DARE!
Frankensteinbeck
You’re really going to post a MLP dancing horse picture and not use a .gif from Friendship Is Magic?
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
The real working man’s equestrian event.
Betty Cracker
@Frankensteinbeck: That would actually be perfect, but I don’t want to break John’s blog…
kay
Yay! A dancing horse post! No one in my household will allow me to make fun of this horse. They see the horse as an innocent victim of Romney’s loathsomeness.
I would have let it go, really, except (of course) he made it funnier by running away from the horse. He can’t even find the spine to stand by his wife’s hobby. He wasn’t actively managing the horse, may not be able to pick the horse out in a field of dressage horses, won’t be watching, etc.
SUCH a coward. If I were in his family, I would worry. He’ll bail on anyone and anything to promote his career.
JGabriel
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
Just change horse to Republican, and you’ve got it right.
.
me
Fifth, no medal for Ann (probably, there’s another round but the US is too far back).
Jay in Oregon
@Sphys:
That would totally be worth it just for the look on Ann’s face when she’s told that POTUS is calling.
Elizabelle
OT, but Mitt got a good slapdown from Jared Diamond, author of “Guns, Germs and Steel”, saying Romney had oversimplified and misconstrued his work. “That is so different from what my book actually says that I have to doubt whether Mr. Romney read it.”
Yesterday’s NYTimes op ed article, titled either “Mitt Romney’s Search for Simple Answers” or “Romney hasn’t done his homework”.
Great summation by Diamond of what’s at stake in this election:
BudP
You’re all just jealous. Where I grew up, every boy dreams of owning a dancing horse, paying another man to ride her, and declaring the whole spectacle a business for tax loss purposes.
Bruuuuce
I’d offer Rafalca “break a leg” as a sendoff, but am not entirely convinced I could say it with a straight face. (Then again, she could easily reply properly, “merde”, literally. :-)
NotMax
For what it’s worth, keep in mind that the naturalized German immigrant riding (and who trained) Rafalca has had his entire American operation financed by and underwritten by loans from the Romneys, who own a guesthouse on the property (40+ acres abutting 8500 acres of state forest).
An entirely separate corporation registered under Ann Romney holds a promissory note from Eberling’s wife as its only asset (listed as between $250K and $500K, and which pays Ann Romney (again, the listing categories are broad) between $15K and $50K in interest per year (no info on whether or not the principal has ever been paid down), enough dough to offset the boarding costs for Rafalca of $2400 per month.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@JGabriel:
Then my money is on the dark horse. :D
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@kay: It is quite the indictment of Mitt Romney as a husband who will run from his wife’s 6 figure world class horse because it makes him look rich (hint: we already knew that, mister). I also want Rafalca and her German rider Jan Ebeling to get bronze – a medal for the US but not gold or silver for the sliver spooned sociopath.
Saw this at textsfromlastnight:
Can we turn Rafalca’s Olympic tests into a drinking game? Yes we can!
redshirt
@kd bart: Lucky you! The betting lines on the Dressage events is hot and heavy today down at “Sal’s Gritty and Authentic Bettorium”.
Valdivia
@me:
So that means earlier VP announcement. Even this weekend.
UncommonSense
Today, we are all Rafalca.
Betty Cracker
@kay: Haha! For the record, I see the horse as an innocent plaything of worthless rich people and hold her completely blameless too. I’m glad Rafalca has an excellent roof over her head and exceptional healthcare. I just wish her part-owners weren’t in favor of policies that would reduce the number of human beings who can say the same…
Ash Can
@kay: I’m envisioning Ann Romney at home, banging on the bathroom door.
Ann: “Come on out and watch it with me, dammit!”
Mitt’s muffled voice from behind door: “I can’t watch it! I’m running for president, for Pete’s sake!”
me
There’s individual medals too. Eighth with two more rounds. Looks like a medal is doubtful there too.
Chyron HR
@Randy P:
It’s worse than you think–I’m only 34.
NotMax
Valdivia
Veep announcement will come during the convention, as always.
It’s the only teensy bit of suspense the party has to draw eyeballs to watch it.
kd bart
@me:
But Mitt will claim she’s in third.
Comrade Mary
If Rafalca wants to pull this off, she needs to think of a number, divide it by two …
(Yes, this was “inspired” by that.)
rikyrah
the My Little Pony pics kill me everytime you post them…HILARIOUS.
kay
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
My son loves animals and he’s the only one following the Olympics. He won’t even acknowledge a joke about this horse. It’s beneath him!
I occasionally make fun of his cat, which looks like a racoon and has a horrible disposition, so there’s history here :)
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Jay in Oregon: Aren’t the lessers always supposed to congratulate their betters?
jurassicpork
RIP Gore Vidal, the patrician in the mud pit.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
My feelings exactly.
I can’t believe the dressage-defenders haven’t turned up in this thread yet. I see the My Little Pony defenders are here, though. But they’re more amusing.
NotMax
No questions for Mitt or Ann, please.
Have you no respect? The Olympics is a holy site, just like the parking lot outside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Poland was.
RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist
My wife is so torn. Loves horses and Dressage but hates Romney with the blazing heat of a thousand combusting manure piles.
R-Jud
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: Well, Mitt’s horse is in 9th right now, so she can cheer for the other riders, maybe?
Ash Can
@gogol’s wife: I have no problem at all with the sport, the horses, and the overwhelming majority of people who participate in it. In the case of the Romneys’ involvement, however, there appears to be more horse’s asses than there are horses.
PaulW
I’m hoping Rafalca throws the rider, bolts for the nearest gate, jumps out of the ring and races for the way out, and finds his way to FREEDOM! FREEDOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!
Valdivia
@NotMax:
From what I read that is not the case. The Romney camp is planning a tour ahead of the convention to roll the VP out and the only thing apparently keeping the announcement on ice is that Ann isn’t here but with Rafalca in London.
Nicole
I like dressage. I like the equestrian sports in general because A) horses are pretty, and B) it’s the one discipline where men and women compete against each other on an absolutely level playing field. I also like that a world class rider can have a career that spans decades, instead of having peaked in his or her 20s. And I like that it depends on a horse having such complete trust in his or her rider, particularly in cross-country, where the horse is asked to run full out for three or four miles, jumping over 20+ obstacles he or she has never seen before.
I’m all for anything that makes the Romneys look bad, but calling it elitist because one usually has to be rich to own a world-class horse is like calling football or baseball elitist because one has to be wealthy to own a professional team.
That said, Willard’s running away from his involvement in all things equestrian is hilarious. Especially after he waxed poetic about the Missouri Fox Trotter in an interview earlier this year.
Phoenix_rising
@RossInDetroit, Rational Subjectivist: My kid is actually a fairly accomplished dressage-ist, for a kid whose horse is a papered Appaloosa who knows a lot about how to round up livestock. We happened into the horse, and he’s much better looking than Rafalca (sorry, Jan, but she’s going to throw some foals that pay off the house for ya, so suck it up) and smart too.
So when my kid was informed that Reed Kessler had started testing in dressage at her age, we had to set out some letters around the practice ring.
The bowing kills me, and I refuse to fund a top hat–we wear helmets until the horse is out of his working tack, for safety and to remind us that he’s working, too, in this heat.
/end of dressage comments
NotMax
@Valdivia
Read the same thing in July. And in June.
Ain’t gonna happen until after Romney is the officially anointed nominee.
Sclemizel
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
That happens no matter if the damn horse wins or loses. To Willard turning the poors into glue & cat food is a feature not a bug
cmorenc
I was disappointed that Ann Romney subcontracted riding Rafaica in the Dressage competition out to hired help, instead of riding the horse herself. It’s interesting to hear that Rafaica serves as a “therapy horse” for Ann Romney’s MS. I am genuinely sympathetic to her having to endure such a long-term debilitating illness, but OTOH most people can’t afford a dancing horse as a therapy pet, one which the Romneys own, in typical fashion, through tax-sheltering corporations.
Kirbster
I wouldn’t put it past TLC to already have a reality show in the works for the fall TV season that will star Rafalca. She certainly has more talent than any of the Palins…
JGabriel
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NotMax:
Actually, the Veep announcement always comes somewhat before the convention, if only because it’s impossible to schedule the Veep’s acceptance speech without it leaking and going public. Sometimes there are strategic reasons too.
For instance, in 2008, both Obama and McCain announced their VP choices 2 days before their respective conventions.
I would guess that means we will probably see Romney announcing his VP selection somewhere between 8/23-8/26. The 2012 Republican Convention starts on 8/27.
.
Punchy
I have to get this off my chest, cuz it’s been bothering the shit outta me since last nite…
The US gymnast who won the bronze….just WTF is his dad doing pulling his ears before every event? Why does his dad feel the need to hug his kid every 17 seconds? And did anyone else get the vibe that his dad felt like he had to be on the TV as much as possible? For fuck’s sake, NBC interviewed both gymnasts this morning, AND the kid’s dad!
I understand the parenting thing, as a parent myself. But a grown man with a fauxhawk, clapping and grabbing his son’s ears before EVERY event? Something’s amiss.
Snarki, child of Loki
If Rafalca wins the gold, Romney is also going to put up Rafalca for the VP nomination.
Hey, there’s a *precident* for putting a horse in a mostly-ceremonial position in the Senate. Just dig up Caligula and ask.
If Rafalca doesn’t get a medal? A quick, quiet trip to the glue factory. Can’t have any losers in the Romney family, for pete’s sake.
Cassidy
@Punchy: The clapping is something about timing. If you look at the dad’s arms and body shape, I would assume he was the kids first coach. I’m guessing the clapping was something he did early on to teach timing and now it’s become part of the routine that the kid needs mentally. I’m also guessing that the ear thing is from an earlier time to calm a child down before competition.
Of course, this is just speculation. I didn’t care enough to look it up.
NotMax
@cmorenc
If you find the time, read the tale of one of her therapy horses, “Soupy,” who was shot full of drugs to hide his disabilities when he was sold, to the point where the new owners brought suit against the Romneys and Eberlings.
redshirt
@Snarki, child of Loki: The horse would probably be more logical and sane then most Republicans these days.
David Hunt
@Odie Hugh Manatee:
No. That’s what happens if Romney wins the election. If the horse wins, then Romney retroactively has been following the proceedings closely, cheering his wife’s horse on.
Punchy
@Cassidy: I understand all that, but the “kid” is now 20. I just got a wicked feeling that the dad is a massive attention hog and tried to make the event as much about him as it was the athlete.
AFAICT, no other parent in any event for any sport was allowed to get so close to their child during their competition, especially not this many times (I realize that the dad was acting as a “coach”, so was allowed to be down there). Just looked really, really bizarre.
NotMax
@MJGabriel
You are, of course, correct (as I was not), and I agree with your timeframe wholeheartedly.
Cassidy
@Punchy: That may or may not be the case. I suspect you’re right. I was just trying to answer regarding the clapping because I remember that being brought up by one of the commentators in the qual round.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@cmorenc: I can guarantee you that Jan Ebeling never lets Mrs. Romney sit on Rafalca – it would be foolish to risk with a horse that competes at that level. You simply don’t make horses with that kind of training endure riders who aren’t equally highly trained. It’s a discipline – at that level- with really precise signals, and one that’s slightly off can confuse the horse. A rider who’s not trained to the same level is likely to give many signals are off, probably some not so slightly. That can make things problematic for performance afterward.
She surely has some other mounts for therapy. I suspect there’s an entire barn aisle full of them.
@Phoenix_rising: Good for your kiddo! I love the idea of an appy in the dressage arena. I don’t have the patience for it myself, though we use many of the concepts when raining up the hunters and jumpers. Wish the kiddo many happy times at centerline for me.
mechwarrior online
@Punchy:
Probably part of his routine. And keep in mind that in many cases the coaches are far more important than the athlete’s themselves. This is particularly the case with gymnastics. I forget who, I don’t follow anymore, but there was one husband and wife team that seemed to always be there with the US Womens Gymnastic team that were clearly far more important than the gymnasts were. They were able to build winners.
I’m not sure what the deal was in this case, but gymnastics has always been a sport where the coach is extremely important and often far more important than the athletes. It’s as much about them.
As for the horse, Romney should just go see his fucking dancing horse. It’s one of the few humanizing things about him. And for all the “har har his horse gets him a bigger tax break than your salary” nonsense flying around most people like animals and aren’t going to begrudge him his damn horse. Unless he straps it on the roof a car or turns it to glue. Besides, I’m sure Rafalca and her trainer are perfectly reasonable creatures, it’s not their fault Ann’s a twat and Mitt’s a dick.
burnspbesq
@BudP:
It’s a passive activity loss, and NotMax accurately described how it works. In order to be able to deduct the loss currently, Ann Romney would have to spend 500 hours a year in the activity.
elmo
@Phoenix_rising:
Oh that’s awesome. I love it when kids have exposure to horses at an early age. And your Appy is prob’ly gorgeous.
We just picked up an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood x Paint cross, experienced foxhunter and eventer, sweetest horse in the world. He’s got some strained ligaments, and isn’t sound for jumping, so his owner gave him to us as a trail horse. Gave. As in, Free To Good Home.
In his showing days, he was a $5,000 horse. I can’t believe our good fortune.
Steve
I must be the only idiot on the planet who didn’t realize “dressage” is a French word and you’re supposed to pronounce it that way. Oh well.
quannlace
Maybe Rafalca will medal retroactively.
burnspbesq
@Nicole:
As you may know, Jessica Springsteen is a very accomplished young rider (in jumping, not dressage), and is an alternate on this year’s Olympic team. I have this delicious fantasy about an organizing glitch seating Mitt Romney next to Bruce Springsteen at some horse-community event, and what that conversation might be like.
shortstop
@Ash Can: Crying over here!
shortstop
@gogol’s wife: In a Team Dressage vs. Team MLP cage match, my money will always be on the latter.
Cassidy
@mechwarrior online: I think your talking about the Karolyi’s. They were the coaches for the US team for many, many years as well as the coaches for US team standouts Kim Zmeskal, Kerri Strug, Dominique Moceanu, and other such people as Mary Lou Retton and Nadia Comaneci. I think now, he and his wife are in charge of US Gymnastics but not the on the floor coaches. If you look at the wiki, even the people they didn’t train who reached success were trained by coaches who started out under them. They single-handedly altered US Gymnastics and turned it into the world powerhouse it is.
By all accounts, they are not very nice people and have been quite abusive in the past to extract their student’s perfection.
shortstop
@Steve: Just pretend you’re English. I’m guessing Brits say “DRESS-ej,” like “VAL-ett” and “GARE-radge.”
Phoenix_rising
@burnspbesq: Jess and Ann Romney don’t compete in the same literal league, so your dream is unlikely.
The Boss and his lovely wife are kind and smart people, and I know this from sitting near them at the rail. My kid isn’t on the same price of horse (though he’s priceless in our hearts, natch) as Jess Springsteen, who BTW is a hard worker in the sport–but they’re in the same discipline and some events.
Bruce and Patti refused to complete a contract to buy “the best” horse a few years ago because their kid wasn’t prepared to be safe riding that much horse. Even among the astonishingly rich families I’ve met at the rail, their willingness to put reality and their daughter’s health ahead of status in the form of that year’s ‘best prospect’ was unusual. In the crowd of really rich people, they’re good folks.
NotMax
@burnspbesq
One possible scenario:
Romney: It’s a pleasure to have you meet me, Mr. – uh – Mr. Singer. Har, har.
Springsteen (whipping out checkbook): How much to buy back the introduction?
shortstop
@Cassidy: I was watching Jenny Zhang and she struck me as a very warm and encouraging coach.
Mnemosyne
I followed one of the links on YouTube and this is pretty damn cool, even if it it a horse and not a mule:
Hip Hop Dressage (Andreas Helgstrand)
It reminds me of when they would do the “free skate” during the Olympics and Kurt Browning would skate to stuff like “Brick House.”
Cassidy
@shortstop: I agree. There was a guy, during the Karolyi era, I think it was Shannon Miller’s coach actually, who always struck me as being so much less stern and encouraging to his athlete.
different-church-lady
Next up for the 2016 Rio Olympics: synchronized horse dancing!
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@burnspbesq: Ooh that is a gleeful fantasy indeed! I remember when Jessica was just the Boss’s kid in the horse world, before her talent was so apparent (and developed by seriously talented trainers). She’s a nice kid, or certainly was when she was younger.
Ash Can
@different-church-lady: Horse samba.
muddy
They could begin with 2 horses, it would be like the double diving. Then build up the excitement until 2020, when there will be at least a dozen, and a computer will have to be used to check that every tiny prance is identical.
As I typed “2020” I freaked out because that’s some sci-fi shit, and then realized, Yes only 8 years from now, seems so weird.
shortstop
@kd bart: It’s almost like he’s unaware there are things like cameras, microphones and intertubes, innit?
Culture of Truth
Win or lose, I assume Rafalca will appear on Dancing with the Stars
Villago Delenda Est
@JGabriel:
Actually, the Veep announcement coming before the convention is a relatively new thing.
The presumptive nominee might be going over the possibilities prior to the convention, but the announcement was usually made during the convention itself, right after the nominee became official. “Spiro who?”. Ditto with Eagleton, Dole, Mondale, and others.
pseudonymous in nc
@NotMax:
Meaning that when they sell a horse and generate sufficient profit to satisfy the IRS that it’s not a hobby, they can apply it then. The horse-dancing community has good accountants.
@shortstop:
Nah, that one stays Frenchified.
mechwarrior online
@different-church-lady:
It’s not that hard to believe. It started as battle movements and was once fairly bad ass. Though we are long past the era where you had to move your horse around a battle field while lopping heads off.
Frankly the entire “sport” would look far less ridiculous if people looked dressed for battle and they fired off the occasional cannon during it.
Amir Khalid
If I may bring up another Olympic sport, badminton. Some of the American coverage of the match-throwing scandal in London has included the usual clueless parochial sniggering about sports popular elsewhere but disdained in America. Badminton may be a sport for gym-class rejects over there; but here in Asia it’s tremendous, both as a participant sport and a major competitive sport. Big badminton stars are national heroes in Asia (just ask any Malaysian about the legendary Sidek brothers, who made up half the men’s team that won the historic 1988 Thomas Cup final). The match-throwing scandal is a big deal dominating the Olympic coverage here.
Cris (without an H)
Hey that reminds me, here’s my governor still doing what he does so well (pissing off Republicans):
Ha ha ha, what, are you gonna cry now, baby?
Cacti
I never knew it was therapeutic for MS patients to buy a dancing horse that someone else rides.
Medicine is such a fascinating science.
amk
martin bashir tweets
Linky.
Betty Cracker
@Mnemosyne: I love that vid. I’ve watched it like a thousand times…
Cris (without an H)
@Amir Khalid: I mentioned it in mistermix’s thread, but right after the opening ceremonies, NBC anchor Bob Costas displayed open contempt for badminton coverage. He actually said, “If you want to watch badminton, and who doesn’t…” Very sarcastic, as though really nobody could possibly care.
shortstop
@pseudonymous in nc: Good to know. I like to be prepared when traveling; you never know where the convo will go. However, the topic actually never came up while I was living in England.
Betty Cracker
@Amir Khalid: I don’t know if this is a nationwide phenomenon, but badminton (I always want to type badmitten for some reason!)is a sport that practically every kid in my neck of the woods has actually played. Probably because the set-up is fairly cheap.
Patricia Kayden
@PaulW: Okay. That was funny. “Free Rafalca” can be your motto.
shortstop
@Amir Khalid: Sir, this is one Yankee who gives badminton its due. My people just don’t understand.
Cassidy
@Cris (without an H): Costas has been a huge dildo this whole games.
shortstop
@Cassidy: Boring, bug-eyed has-been.
PurpleGirl
@Amir Khalid: Badminton was the one game I could actually play in gym class. I liked it. It’s a shame the American players are being such asses in London.
Cacti
@Cassidy:
Fix’t
Cassidy
@Amir Khalid: FTR, I like badminton. I always enjoy watching the amount of action in swatting that tiny weightless thing in such a confined area. Just like handball. I usually call it soccer’s less athletic cousin or water polo without the water, but in reality it’s pretty athletic. If it could get as violent as lacrosse, we’d have a ratings winner.
On that note, I’ve been following the badminton thing, as much as I can anyway since we don’t get to see coverage of other country’s games, what exactly happenned? Were they obviously throwing the match or was it a lot “oops, my bad. Just not my day” kind of thing? And secondly, what is the big deal? They had already qualified for the next round. It’s pretty common in sports to bench your best people and let them rest if the next game doesn’t matter.
Cassidy
@PurpleGirl: What are the Americans doing?
kwallio
Believe it or not, synchronized horse dancing is an actual event, though not at the Olympics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEytZ9WGvWI
LanceThruster
If Rafalca is treated by her owners the same way Bain Capital treated to companies it attached its parasitic louse sucking mouthparts into, expect her to get gold plated limo ride to the glue factory if she doesn’t bring glory and honor to her patrons.
Frankensteinbeck
@gogol’s wife:
We have better motivational posters.
Comrade Mary
@Cassidy: From what I saw, it was pretty damn boring and frustrating for the spectators, who booed the place down. This wasn’t a case of a few oopsies from a few players: everyone was diving so hard they should have been awarded medals for that event in return.
They’re talking about changing the round robin structure to something that won’t encourage this behaviour.
shortstop
@LanceThruster: The Romneys may not have a good record of treating their horses (or their buyers) well.
burnspbesq
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Accomplished daughter and proud papa.
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Jessica+Springsteen/Bruce+Springsteen+Daughter+Royal+Windsor+Horse/50b9CazAr0i
The tie is a little disconcerting.
shortstop
OT, I never saw a photo of Eric Fehrnstrom until today. He has an eminently slappable face–plump and smirky.
shortstop
@burnspbesq:
Make peace with your age; then it won’t be.
burnspbesq
@shortstop:
Fuck off.
Comrade Mary
@burnspbesq: Oh wow, does she ever look like her mother. Pretty! (Not that Bruce isn’t pretty, too.)
shortstop
@burnspbesq: Whew, no age-peace in our time.
Amir Khalid
@Cassidy:
The eight players were deliberately serving into the net, hitting it long, hitting it wide, all blatantly enough to piss off the crowd and the tournament referee. This was not like a football team resting its stars when the last group match doesn’t matter anymore; they were clearly trying throw the match, so as to game the seedings for the knockout stage which they had already qualified for. It was like this infamous World Cup match in 1982.
shortstop
@Comrade Mary: He actually gets handsomer as he gets older–which is sort of the hoary cliche about men, but in his case it’s quite true.
Catsy
@Alex S.: So what does that make you for expending the time and energy to comment on it?
Shoo; let those who do not share your humor impairment have their fun.
PurpleGirl
This needs to be read far and wide:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/23/a-self-made-man-looks-at-how-he-made-it/
This is the answer to those complaining about President Obama’s statement of not building it by yourself. John Scalzi again writes from the heart and powerfully.
Dave-EO
Not sure why this song hasn’t become the Olympic Theme:
Bring On The Dancing Horses – Echo & the Bunnymen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaWs79v0ugE
Thor Heryerdahl
@Patricia Kayden: Tunch would eat the opposition
Applejinx
Team MLP represent!
All I care about is, he better not hurt Rafalca. She’s a nice and pretty horse and never asked for all this, and seems to like dressage (I believe the folks who say, if they DON’T like it they will never EVER compete at that level)
Let her dance, she’ll never know she lost. I’m fine with her having far better health care than me. I’m going to be voting for Obama and my Senator Bernie Sanders, and I know they are working to try to get me health care nearly as good as a wealthy dancing horse. That’ll be good enough.
Thor Heryerdahl
so Tunch’s eating habits cause my comment to go to moderation…wow.
otmar
Today’s Dilbert is a perfect visualization of the CEO compensations madness. See http://dilbert.com/fast/2012-08-02/
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: A maroon tie with a gray shirt is quite respectable and looks pretty good on him. Man shall not live by ripped jeans alone.
@Applejinx: I’m a touch heartbroken Betty used 3G ponies. And you KNOW Applejack could dressage perfectly. She’d just find it silly. :)
Brachiator
Sad and strange. The price of Olympics success
jp7505a
Well after watching the most famous dancing horse in the world for 8 minutes I’m already for the frog jumping event. There is a frog jumping event isn’t there??????????????
Mnemosyne
@jp7505a:
Only when the Olympics are held in Calaveras County.
LanceThruster
@shortstop:
Wow. Just wow. Why am I not surprised?