![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/IMG_1255-e1519766219210.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
And I really think that I have Olympics PTSD now. I\u2019m not joking. I\u2019m having trouble sleeping because the names of Olympians from all over the world keep running through my head. As does all the music the skaters used. I keep trying to figure out which programs my mind is listening to, instead of falling asleep.<\/p>\n
So, here are my very many thoughts on what I just witnessed. Unlike my previous Olympics reviews, I didn\u2019t publish the first half a week ago–I saved them all up for today<\/em>! So, this may be a tad lengthy. (And incoherent; I may have forgotten how to write!) But I did<\/em> break it up with a bunch of tweets when I was especially hot (or happy) about something. My very last Olympics tweet has gotten a lot of worldwide reaction, so I hope you already follow me on Twitter. (If not, this would be a great time to do so because all of my Olympics tweets are still up there! @MajorCelebrity<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n First up are my thoughts on the overall proceedings, followed by a few notes I took on most days. Enjoy! As I<\/em> lived vicariously through the Olympians<\/em>, you<\/em> can live through me<\/em>. That\u2019s because I watched every second of the coverage\u2014literally!!! So you<\/em> didn\u2019t have to. You can just read the real high-and-low-lights right here. It\u2019s like one-stop shopping.<\/p>\n Might shots like this one be why Mr. X joins me? Not in a lewd way, but we both marvel at that the director doesn’t tell the camera people to back off from close-ups like these! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m really in my own little world while I watch.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing to me that hardly anyone else I know joins me there. But I\u2019m happy to say that Mr. X did on many occasions, especially for the marquee event\u2014figure skating. (This<\/em> situation gave me a chuckle or two: For the duration, I didn\u2019t want to check emails, phone messages, or social media, in case I was a bit behind in my watching; I was afraid someone would spill the beans before I could witness it for myself. But the few times I did<\/em> check them, when I was caught-up with the competitions, there was nary a mention of the Olympics at all! It was like I was in my own universe!)<\/p>\n So here are my random thoughts on the whole shebang!:<\/p>\n I noticed so many things that the announcers never mentioned, like a girl wearing the wrong number bib, or someone taking skis from the wrong number compartment.<\/p>\n Speaking of darling and lovely, no one fits that bill more than family man (and now two-time Olympic Champion,) David Wise, shown here with his young fam after his victory in Korea. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I was happy to see that most of the athletes who were interviewed were darling and lovely.<\/p>\n Speaking of which, is Shaun White<\/strong> the man or what?! To have come through like he did to win his third gold medal in Snowboarding Halfpipe, especially in his thirties, and with so much else going on in his life (which means that he so does not need any more Olympic glory for fame,) is truly one of the most amazing physical accomplishments I\u2019ve ever witnessed. I was crying hysterically right along with him at the end there!<\/p>\n But the absolute most interesting story of these Olympics was the two gold medals won by the Czech Republic’s Ester Ledeck\u00e1<\/strong>…in two different sports!!! She was the first person to have ever even competed<\/em> in two different ones in the same Olympics, and…she won both!!! How amazing is that? And she\u2019s an adorable girl, too. (Her sports were Downhill Skiing and Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom. More on the latter later.)<\/p>\n After snowboarder Gus Kenworthy<\/strong>\u2019s gay on-camera kiss, I guess that NBC felt they had to show Mikaela Shiffrin<\/strong>\u2019s hetero<\/em> one with her boyfriend, which they never do.\u00a0 Why do they always have to make such a fuss over gay private lives?!\u00a0 They never do that for straight people! It\u2019s really no one\u2019s business.<\/p>\n An Italian Biathelete rocking make-up and the popular button earrings. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n While Bode Miller<\/strong> was the most boring commentator ever, biathlon’s Bill Seward<\/strong> was by far the most annoying, with all his stupid puns.<\/p>\n So many girls wore the same little button earrings.\u00a0 Where did they all get them?\u00a0 They must have gotten them right there.<\/p>\n The Italian female biathletes wore make-up, which you know I loved.\u00a0And they all looked to be the prettiest competitors, to boot!<\/p>\n Shameful Canadian hockey player Jocelyne Larocque, without her silver medal. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Jocelyne Larocque<\/strong> is the douchebag Canadian hockey player who removed her silver medal.\u00a0 She later said in a statement (yeah–after we all ragged on her, with my<\/em> tweet being the first!,) that she \u201cmeant no disrespect.\u201d \u00a0But she absolutely did!!!!\u00a0 And she said her \u201cactions did not demonstrate\u201d the values she lives by.\u00a0 Yes bi-atch, they did!!!\u00a0 The IOC should take the medal away from her!!!\u00a0 (And give it to me<\/em> for being the Champion of Olympics Watching!)<\/p>\n Norway\u2019s Cross-Country Skier, Marit Bjoergen<\/strong>, now has the record for most medals ever for the Winter Olympics!!! And this was her last Games, after five<\/em> of them. She\u2019s a lovely lady, so I\u2019m thrilled for her.<\/p>\n The Champion US Men’s Curling Team! (Although a mistake was made and they awarded the Women’s medals by accident!) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n THE gold medal of the Games for the US was for\u2026curling!!!\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe that I was actually verklempt over curling!!!<\/p>\n Once again the two best commentators were Apolo Ohno <\/strong>and Jonny Moseley<\/strong>.<\/p>\n NBC did so many things wrong with its coverage. (But, to their credit, when I tweeted at them to fix something right away, they usually did! You\u2019re welcome, the coaches of the top Ice Dance duos!) Here are just a few of the problems I could not fix for NBC:<\/p>\n Norway’s Marit Bjorgen broke her own records, that are shown here, by the end of these games! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n The head of NBC Sports chose<\/em> to pronounce the city they were in, Pyeongchang, wrong! He said it was \u201ccleaner\u201d that way. How stupid of them!!!<\/p>\n They never showed us the full<\/em> results of what we had just spent our precious time watching!!! They usually showed us only the medalists, especially if USA didn\u2019t do well.\u00a0 For example, they cut-off the exciting race for bronze after we all watched the full two hours of the men\u2019s 50k race in Cross-Country Skiing!\u00a0 That sucked.<\/p>\n Oleksandr Abramenko, the only blue-eyed athelete I saw the entire time! (He won a gold medal, too, in Men’s Aerials!) We blue-eyed peeps have got to stick together! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n If there were Americans who had just competed, they listed their results right after the top finishers, which made it look like the US athletes were in much higher-up positions.<\/p>\n They kept repeating the boring competitions, like Ski Jumping and Bobsled, which most viewers did not care about to begin with, while not<\/em> showing enough editorial pieces about the host country.<\/p>\n They often repeated interviews with some commentators, like Johnny Weir <\/strong>and Tara Lipinski<\/strong>, which was enough already, even for a skating aficionado such as myself. Not everyone is on their<\/em> train.<\/p>\n Many of the commentators made soooo many mistakes.<\/p>\n Gee, I wonder where these speed skaters’ male units are? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n And, more often than not, the people calling each sport did not give us enough info.\u00a0 And they left-out soo, soo, soo much color commentary, especially at Figure Skating!!!<\/p>\n The least of NBC\u2019s offenses was running commercials for rival network ABC\u2019s American Idol<\/em>, which reeked of desperation for NBC.<\/p>\n (I guess I should get my passport ready by the next Olympics, because NBC has just got<\/em> to hire me to help them out, right?! I actually spent a night or two worrying that it would happen this<\/em> time, with my passport expired!)<\/p>\n Now here are some daily thoughts, beginning with the day before<\/em> the Opening Ceremony, when they gave us an extra night of coverage, just in case sixteen days and nights was not going to be long enough<\/em> for me to be under (self-imposed) house arrest. (It wound-up being eighteen<\/em> this year! Oysh.)<\/p>\n FIRST THURSDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Why would this skaters’ coaches let him go out there with those pit stains??? I have one word for him–shields!!! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I hate that the ice skating audience is so far away from the ice!\u00a0 That\u2019s what they did in Salt Lake City, too. It just looks uber-uncomfortable for all concerned.<\/p>\n A young male Korean skater was the very first athlete to compete in these Olympics in his home country!\u00a0 What pressure.\u00a0 But he did great!<\/p>\n NBC didn\u2019t show us two of the male skaters in the beginning of the team competition!!! And there were only ten<\/em> all together! Just the first of their many screw-ups.<\/p>\n FIRST FRIDAY\u2014THE OPENING CEREMONY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of good-looking atheletes, how about this gorgeous face on Dutch Speed Skater, (and gold medalist,) Kjeld Nuis? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Yay! Mike Turico <\/strong>and Katie Couric<\/strong> knew to say the correct \u201cceremony<\/em>,\u201d instead of the erroneous \u201cceremonies<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n Why did the red, white, and blue USA wear mustard color gloves???<\/p>\n I was happy to see that many of the athletes, including Americans, are nice-looking.<\/p>\n The Jamaicans\u00a0were the most fun, of course.<\/p>\n I correctly predicted that Korea\u2019s biggest star, (and not just as an athlete,) Olympic Champion ice skater, Yuna Kim<\/strong>, would light the cauldron. And they did it so beautifully, with her skating, in a lovely white outfit, atop the giant stairs before doing so.<\/p>\n FIRST MONDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Pita Taufatofua dressed…<\/p><\/div>\n …and Daniel Day-Lewis!!!<\/p><\/div>\n OMG\u2014repeat Champion snowboarder Jamie Anderson<\/strong> said \u201cshooken\u201d rather than \u201cshaken!\u201d\u00a0 Three times!!!\u00a0 Oysh.\u00a0 And that lisp!\u00a0 Someone better set her straight about her speech (and choice of words) before she tries to have a broadcasting career at the end of her athletics.<\/p>\n Pita Taufatofua oiled-up in the Opening Ceremony (in about 2 degrees!) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Pita Taufatofua<\/strong>, the \u201coiled-up guy\u201d from Tonga who was featured carrying-in the flag in the previous Summer<\/em> Games, (who learned how to cross-country ski so that he can compete in the Olympics again,) speaks so thoughtfully and beautifully!!!\u00a0 OMG!\u00a0 He sounds (and looks) just like Daniel Day-Lewis!!!\u00a0 How could you not root for him?\u00a0 He\u2019s so much more than a gorgeous oiled-up body!!! (And later on in the Games, after his cross-country ski event, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t fear failure. I fear not trying.\u201d You have got<\/em> to be impressed by this guy!)<\/p>\n FIRST TUESDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Bode Miller is the worst sports commentator ever.\u00a0 He\u2019s boring, monotone, and doesn\u2019t inspire enthusiasm for his sport.\u00a0 He sounds like he\u2019d rather be anywhere else, and also seems somewhat bitter that he\u2019s commentating rather than competing.<\/p>\n Those images that look like dots are actually the alpine skiers! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n USA skier Bryce Bennett<\/strong> seems really fun.<\/p>\n FIRST WEDNESDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t be more thrilled than I was that night when the German Pairs skating team of five-time<\/em> Olympian, Aliona Savchenko<\/strong>, and her new-ish partner, young Bruno Massot<\/strong>, won, after having a disastrous short program the night before!\u00a0 Their performance was Roger Federer-like! My only question that night was who was crying more\u2014Aliona or me? I really did cry my guys out. You don\u2019t see physical and mental perseverance like that every day. (Hers, not mine, of course.)<\/p>\n SECOND THURSDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n An overview of one of the many venues. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I really hate that almost every athlete begins every single interview with \u201cI mean.\u201d And it happens from almost every country! How did that even start<\/em>??? (Wait\u2014I guess I mean<\/em> how did it even start.)<\/p>\n And now they all end every sentence with, \u201cSo, ya.\u201d\u00a0 (As I was writing this, it happened again!) What is wrong with everyone???<\/p>\n My heart bled for poor figure skater Nathan Chen<\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s so sad what the media has done to him with that crazy pressure. (He fell on every jump in his short program, and wound-up in seventeenth place! After they\u2019ve been touting him to win for the past two years!!!)<\/p>\n SECOND FRIDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n There were so many miracles tonight! First, in the Men\u2019s Figure Skating.<\/p>\n Nathan Chen won the long program, by a million miles, and jumped all the way up from seventeenth<\/em> place to finish in fifth<\/em>! That\u2019s unheard of! And<\/em> uber-impressive. He\u2019s the first person to ever land five<\/em> quadruple jumps in a program, (and even did a sixth<\/em> one, but it wasn\u2019t ratified.) I hope he\u2019s proud of himself for showing everyone why he\u2019s the big deal that he is, rather than just slithering away with his tail between his legs after last night.<\/p>\n Vincent Zhou and Nathan Chen. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n On top of that, Americans Adam Rippon<\/strong> (the hit of these games) and Vincent Zhou<\/strong> also did great!<\/p>\n But Yusuru Hanyu<\/strong> stole the show by repeating as Olympic Champion, which had not been done since Dick Button did it…in 1952!!! And with an injured ankle, to boot. His skating is<\/em> beautiful.<\/p>\n But the story of the night, (and week,) was Ester Ledeck\u00e1, whom I referenced at the top. (So if you missed it, please go back up and read it.) Besides what she was able to do, how<\/em> she did it was most unusual. All the top contenders (nineteen of them) had come down he hill, so the announcers declared the medalists, and NBC switched to another sport to show us. About twenty minutes later, they said there had been a shocking development in the skiing competition, and took us back there. It turns-out that very low-ranked Ester had just skied and beat the one they anointed Champion by a hundredth of a second! And she\u2019s mainly a snowboarder<\/em>! Even she<\/em> couldn\u2019t believe it! Her reaction was priceless. (And then she did all the press with her ski goggles on because she hadn\u2019t put make-up on that day because, along with everyone else, she had not expected to medal!)<\/p>\n SECOND SATURDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I love that commentator Luke Van Valin<\/strong> said about a Skislope Style snowboarder\u2019s routine:\u00a0 \u201cWhat a combination of antics!\u201d<\/p>\n I also got a kick out of snowboarder James Woods <\/strong>(with that unfortunate name)\u00a0from England looking at the camera and saying, \u201cThanks for having me.\u201d<\/p>\n SECOND SUNDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Ben Agosto and Charlie White, with that inexplicable shoreline between them! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n New Ice Dancing analysts Ben Agosto <\/strong>and Charlie White<\/strong> look like little boys in their father\u2019s suits, which is cute.\u00a0 I\u2019m so happy for them to have those gigs.\u00a0 But what was up with the very wide space between them in the studio??? What stupid production values.<\/p>\n It just hit me that day\u2014what would a convo between Scott Hamilton<\/strong> and annoying constantly-laughing speed skater Maame Biney<\/strong> sound like?\u00a0 They both just phony laugh over nothing!!! That must be exhausting!!! At least they\u2019re working those ab muscles!<\/p>\n See what I”m talking about below? Are those hair sparkles or dandruff??? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Oh no\u2014the worst wardrobe malfunction I\u2019ve ever seen in competitive athletics! And for such nice and deserving-of-the-win people! Here\u2019s the quick tale: Fabulous French ice dancers, Gabriella Papadakis <\/strong>and Guillaume Cizeron<\/strong>, had just begun their short dance when the top of Gabby\u2019s costume came undone! She had to skate her entire dynamic program with the threat of it falling down completely!!! I really don\u2019t know how she did it. Near the end, there was a definite nip slip, which thank goodness, the cameramen were kind enough to pull way back from. The poor girl was devastated. So they placed second<\/em> in that portion of the competition, which caused them to not get the gold the next night. It was so unfortunate because they\u2019re the most beautiful skaters in the world!!! I hope their costume designer is proud of his or herself. (I just thought of something\u2014they train with their closest competitors. So maybe one of them<\/em> slipped into that rink\u2019s wardrobe department, and snipped the dress! I’m talking to you<\/em>, the Canadian team!)<\/p>\n Ice skating ladies (and dancing girls everywhere)–sparkles in your hair do not work<\/em>! They just look like dandruff!!!<\/p>\n Halfpipe skier Marie Martinod<\/strong> has a nine-year-old daughter!!!\u00a0 Thats\u2019s so weird.\u00a0 I wonder how the little girl perceives what her mother does.<\/p>\n SECOND MONDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s offensive move; the commentators neglected to call it what it is– oral sex on ice! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n And here’s another angle of the weirdo move by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Ice dancers lose points if a feather from their costume falls on the ice, but this lewdness is not only allowed, but rewarded!!! They knew what they were doing. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Even the aforementioned ice dancing experts, Ben Agosto and Charlie White, said there were obvious places where deductions should have<\/em> been taken from the Canadian ice dancing team of Tessa Virtue <\/strong>and Scott Moir<\/strong> last night!!! And were not<\/em>!<\/p>\n I\u2019m so glad that someone finally skated to a Korean song, even if it was a traditional one!\u00a0 But why did no one use Kpop<\/em> for their short<\/em> programs???\u00a0 How dumb to not get that advantage with the crowd!<\/p>\n SECOND WEDNESDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The happy Ski Halfpipe medalists! L-R: Alex Ferreira, Nico Porteous, and David Wis. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I loved the men’s Skiing Halfpipe! \u00a0I\u2019m thrilled that American David Wise<\/strong> repeated as Champion, (at the last second, I might add,) American Alex Ferreira<\/strong> got the silver, and adorable sixteen-year-old New Zealander, Nico Porteous<\/strong>, (who is my new favorite athlete, by the way,) got the surprise bronze medal!<\/p>\n “Do your best and bless the rest.” \u00a0I have to give snowboarder Jamie Anderson credit for saying that, even though it sounds like a known saying. But it’s new to me<\/em>, so I appreciate her attitude. I\u2019m going to remind myself of it, (sans her lisp,) from now on.<\/p>\n Nico Porteous’ shock when he saw his score! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Watching Ski Champion Sofia Loggia<\/strong> sing her National Anthem\u00a0(from her win last night) with so much gusto was a real treat. I wish Americans sang ours<\/em> that way!<\/p>\n A guy skied off course, which meant that he’s out of the race which is always<\/em> a dramatic turn of events, but creepy Bode Miller just kept talking about whatever he was saying, with only a slight “yeah,” when play-by-play guy Dan Hicks<\/strong> screamed, “He’s off!!!”<\/p>\n THIRD THURSDAY<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>