Posts Tagged ‘2010 Winter Olympics’

“Overtime in the Barrio: An Ode to Ryan Miller”

Monday, March 1st, 2010

The following poem was found written in chalk on the corner of 110th Street & Lexington Avenue on February 28, 2010. It was signed “#39“.

The streets of Spanish Harlem are somber tonight, Ryan Miller.

We shuffle down Lex with dejection in each step.

We’re trying to skate without blades, as the hustlers crouch in the shadows and wait to high-stick a nigga.

The Barrio only wants Gold, Ryan Miller.

So that Silver medal we rock ’round our necks might as well be a noose.

We overtime. We sans Zamboni. And death is a left-handed white boy named Sidney.*

*The above photo did in fact accompany the poem.

  • Share/Bookmark

Death by Luge

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

I’m a little late to the 2010 Winter Olympics. The big story has been that of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who crashed and died during a training run. Reading about the incident and watching footage of the young man’s accident/death, I can’t help but wonder: It seems like we keep on inventing new (sillier) ways to die. Why do we do that? What’s wrong with sticking to the basics? Disease. Hunger. War. Birth.

I can’t say that I don’t appreciate the peppering of absurd death—the bastard—with freshly ground cloves of black comedy. For example, according to the AP article:

“[Kumaritashvili's] sled stayed on the track and skidded to a stop near the finish line.” That’s awful and cliché.* Not to mention the fact that his father happens to be the “president of the Georgian luge federation and his cousin is the team’s coach.” Am I the only one who sees the tired literary elements to this true-life tale?**

Now for a bad joke: The trouble with the luge race is that even if you win, you’re still a luger.

* Or would the sled crossing the finish line be cliché?

** Is there a biopic in the works? Are there biopics in Georgia?

  • Share/Bookmark