Marvelous Merlene

Long time readers may remember my post about Jamaican-born Slovenian-naturalized Olympic runner, Merlene Ottey, but few (including me) may have realized that old girl -- now in her middle ages -- was still running on on Slovenia's team. Two days ago, she became the oldest woman (at 50 years young) to take part in the Euro Championships, and though she didn't make it to the final of the relay she ran, she has no intention of slowing down.

"I don't see the end at the moment. My goal now is to try and qualify for the World Championships and as for the Olympics (in 2012) ask me after that," she said.

Go on, girl!

Daily Mail Online - Ottey fails at fifty... but don't rule her out of London 2012

Scratch That ,Slovenia

Well I know I was all in favor of how humble the Slovenian players were the other day, but after watching the nervous way they played against England last week, I am going to have to sorta scratch what I said. When you are in competition, you gotta come with your game face. The field of battle is not the time to let your anxieties hang out. Slovenia certainly played hard and well, but I can't help feeling they could have done more with the right mind set. And so, I recommend that next time around Slovenia get a non-Slovenian coach.... May I present Mr. Ricky Bobby....

The Game, the Character, and My Finger on Things

"The quality of England is clear. England, for me, are still a favourite to win the World Cup," he said. "But if we play our game tomorrow, I am sure we can get to the second round."

Sometimes when I am out of Slovenia, I just feel so itchy and eager to get back here. And then I am back home for a week and I am baffled as to what I so missed about the place. This morning, I read this article on BBC with reportage from a news conference with the Slovenian football team's head coach Matijaž Kek and team captain Robert Koren, and I just put my finger on it: I have become totally accustomed to and enraptured by Slovenian genuiness. I rarely deal with any jadedness or sarcasm; people generally say what they think or say nothing at all. At the core, I find the national character to be humble (sometimes too dangerously to the point of utter self-deprecation,but...), the character is such the antithesis to anywhere else I ever find myself that I find myself coming back for more (for better or worse).

If my eyes don't deceive me, that's what is reflected in the above article, and I am glad to see it magnified on the world stage. Now let's get out there and (despite the Charlie Brown jersies) get some gooooooooooooooooooooaaaaals. Gremo fantje!

Big River Man - Martin Strel

Yesterday I went to see an interesting little film, Big River Man, about one of the most incredible Slovenians to ever live, Martin Strel, endurance swimmer. To date, Martin has swum the length of the Danube, the Mississippi, the Yangtze, and most recently the Amazon. And he has done this all after the age of 45.



I must warn you that, while the film has a fascinating subject, it is deeply deeply flawed. The basic construction of the film is choppy and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the main characters -- Martin and his son/trainer, Borut -- and instead of trying to work through that misunderstanding it decides to make a mockery of them and Slovenia and geez, almost anyone. There is almost no one in this film who doesn't come out looking like a bumbling idiot. The filmmakers asking/allowing Martin's (none too bright) son to narrate the film was also a big mistake, not only was Borut uncharismatic as a narrator, but frankly I have to say that unless a Slovenian person knows English really really well, their personalities just don't come through and they just sound robotic and well...Borat-y. I think the producers would have done well to hire a interpreter and let Martin and Borut speak Slovenian for most of the film, they probably would have talked more and said more interesting/coherent things. Most glaringly, there were such gaping narrative holes in the movie, that Strel himself would probably find it daunting to get across. That said, the reason why I still recommend Big River Man is because of the glorious images of what this story is simply about: Martin swimming.

The footage of him floating, gliding, stretching, and splashing himself down the Amazon in absolutely beautiful. While on dry land, his massive body (the result of bad food and hard drinking) moves ungracefully and somewhat aimlessly; in the water he is at home, the weight of the world -- his troubled past and uncertain future -- is lifted, and he is pure poetry, understandable in any language. Pick it up if you can, and let me know what you think!

RIP Tomaž Humar

Tomaž at Kolovrateater last year (taken by me)

I came home from vacation (more on that later) last night to find that the wonderful Tomaž Humar had died. An intrepid mountainclimber from our region of the world, he had insane drive and never stopped pushing himself, even after nearly dying in the mountains of Pakistan . I was lucky enough to meet him last year at the opening of Kolovrateater when The Captain spotted him and slinked up to get a little fanboy.

Tomaž seemed remarkably laid back considering all he'd been through and accomplished. I thought after the horrors of the Pakistan experience, he'd hung up his gear, but alas that was not the case. He headed back out this year, but despite his best efforts, Tomaž didn't make it through this last climb (in Langtan Lirung in the Himalayas). Really sad, but he'll will be remembered by thousands of fans, family, and friends.

You can read more about him and his final climb here.

Learnt

Study: Black children 3 times more likely to drown (click to read the article)


I just came across this interesting article on this sad but true fact alongside the exciting news about black swimmer and new Olympic medal winner Cullen Jones. I am so proud that I finally bit the bullet and learn how to swim. I will have to donate money to Cullen's new initiatives to get the rest of our kids to hop in the pool. It's important and moreover swimming is fun!

*

This also reminds me to mention that in addition to swimming class and driving lessons*, I took a language class this summer. Yes, I did the Center for Slovene as A Second Language's One Week Intensive Language Course and I actually learned a lot of stuff and got to ask all my burning questions. I am still struggling with grammar but it is MUCH improved and now I have a one page xerox to look at and immediately identify my mistakes. I have structure. I also have the memories of my great little class. Aww, aren't we cute little students?




Thanks to tecaj friend Tatjana for the photos!



*I've pretty much stopped the driving lessons now and have instead became a forced chauffeur to The Captain and some of our friends. I've even driven alone a few times. Immersion is the key!

Done and done

I don't usually follow sport, and when I do I don't follow basketball, but it seems a lot of men in my life (in America) do, and they keep bugging me about this Sasha Vujačič kid who is "really ballin*'" on the Lakers. So here's a short video about him, so everyone knows that I know about him.

Just don't expect me to watch his games or anything.....
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*Which in some circles gets him awarded a plaque as an "official brotha, by association"
Image by Eric Kilby via Flickr