Reading Week!

The long awaited Reading week has arrived. I am looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation before returning to the grindstone.

Which means...

Movies! Lately I've felt like I have been neglecting to watch as many as I really should be. I've just been so busy, and now that Lost has returned, I have another hour of television to watch every week. Several people have been kind enough to lend movies to me, and I'll be trying to get through them all this week. I find that when faced with leisure time, I give myself goals, but tend to get so wrapped up in "doing nothing", that I don't do as much as I always want to. I am also hoping to get to the theatre at least once or twice, since I have not had the time to do so on any real sort of level since last semester.

Of course, the Winter Olympics are on TV as well. My mom is miffed that so many shows are airing new episodes during this time, since she likes to watch all of the events, particularly the skating, curling and the hockey. I like the Winter Olympics more than the Summer Olympics, but I still do enjoy watching some of the events. Particularly the bobsled, downhill skiing and the luge. Therefore, hearing of the death of Georgian athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili left me shaken up. To me, it sounds like that track is too fast, and too dangerous, at least for the luge and skeleton competitors. I saw the footage on the news, and that shook me up further. It is true that they did warn viewers of the content, but I probably could have gone through life without seeing that. I just hope his family was not there to witness the accident, and does not ever see the footage of it.

Since I don't watch much of the Olympics, I can't say I mind that many of my shows are airing new episodes during this time. I do wonder whether it is a good move on the part of the networks though. The Olympics are a pretty big deal, especially since they only come around once every two years, so there will be a huge ratings drop. Why not air reruns for two weeks?

The Opening Ceremonies were the most watched television event in Canadian history. I didn't watch it myself, save for a few seconds here and there when I was upstairs. I think the games will be good for Canada, and I do like to see people feeling Canadian pride. Though I do wonder, why do the Olympics need to come here for us to feel so patriotic? Why can't we feel this sort of pride all of the time?

But here's a question: Will the record the Opening Ceremonies set be broken during the span of the Winter Olympics? I think it probably will be. Canadians are suckers for hockey, so the gold medal games will bring in huge numbers of viewers. I may even tune in for a couple of minutes during the third period!

Happy Reading week everyone!