Ireland « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

Ireland

If you’re gonna blow something up give it meaning

For my part in the conference today I spoke on panel titled Games of Power: The Weaponization of Sport for Political Gain.

The premise of the panel acknowledges the long history of sport as a battleground, the interrelationships of politics and sport, and the dynamics of regional and national interests that are oftentimes at play. The topics included how sport functions as a contested space where political actors, institutions, and movements seek to assert power, shape narratives, and mobilize public opinion, often while using sport as a weapon.

I talked about identity fusion theory, within the context of nationalism, using the Winter Olympics and the men’s locker room hockey phone call example.

I later asked the question, “What is it to be a 28-year-old athlete, on a gold medal high, and laughing at a punchline from the president of the United States?” I also talked about sport as a soft power, and how that political influence and persuasion might be changing. (The Global Soft Power Index seems to think the U.S. numbers are softening.)

Ultimately, I said this should perhaps be a conversation about sport in a new era. If that sounded wise it was only because of what my colleagues on the panel said after that.

I will take part in two more panels tomorrow. The rest of my day I spent in various audiences, doing the Academic Nod.

This evening, before dinner, we caught some fireworks almost by chance.

Call me old fashioned, but I think fireworks should be memorialized. That’s a lot of sound and fury … and some money … that someone is exploding for no real reason. The least we can do is record it and view it from every conceivable angle.

This series of percussive explosions wasn’t even about nationalism. Call me old fashioned again, but I miss the days when fireworks displays meant something. They told a story, dagnabbit!

Don’t mind me, I’m going to go yell at this cloud of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

That is Cuan na hAisléime … (still not a series of letters that comes readily to my typing fingers) another casual side-of-the-road view that would be an absolute show stopper most anywhere else.

adventures / Ireland / memories / photo / video — Comments Off
8
Apr 26

Both nations featured here like green

I saw this hat at the drug store. I like the colors. Not a big fan of the trucker style but you never know. Plus, the design on the bill is fun. Futbol comma!

Or is that a soccer apostrophe?

Besides, I need a good Mexico hat. And you know it is authentic. Says so, right there on the label. That little plastic tie that you rip off, the tabs disappearing into oblivion, is how you know.

Out of curiosity, I looked on the label stitched into the thing.

C’mon, man.

I’m still living in the happy memories of our wonderful Irish vacation. So, I’m sharing extra videos that we didn’t get to at the time. It was a great vacation. I have a lot of footage. This will go on for some time. Enjoy it with me, won’t you? Here are some more of those waves bashing into the rocky shores. I removed the audio because it’s mostly just wind pops.

That particular place didn’t have a name, of which I am aware. But if you’d like to see more of those waves, try here.

Ireland / memories / photo / Rowan / sports / Tuesday / video — Comments Off
7
Apr 26

Another cold week, then

It is funny, how we all cope with chilly weather in different ways. Phoebe, here, is trying out a bit of late morning sunshine.

Poseidon went for one of his old favorites, a bundle of covers.

It only got to 56 degrees today, but the kitties are doing fine. They like it warm, of course, but they have fur and sunbaths and covers and kitty caves and so on. Me, I have to walk into class and pretend to be excited while it is 56 degrees outside! Hooray spring, guys! We won’t see the 60s until the weekend.

In Rits and Trads today we talked about media rituals, we talked about the characters the media helps create and accentuate, and the atmosphere they create. We talked about how we see military flyovers and see someone sing the national anthem at big events, so we talked about nationalism. We also talked about things like player introductions and postgame interviews. We talked about the Olympic ceremonies and other things the media participate in. And we talked about Rich Eisen running the 40 for charity, and the simulcam replays. Hands down the best part of the football year.

In Criticism we talked about media framing and representation, using these two stories.

USWNT’s Sophia Wilson gave herself grace after the birth of her daughter:

Sophia Wilson says being a mom has helped with her “goldfish mentality” of living in the moment.

Wilson was named to the U.S. national team roster for three upcoming matches against Japan, starting April 11 in San Jose, California. She took time away from soccer for the birth of her daughter and has not played for the United States in 17 months.

“I feel like my perspective on just life in general has shifted a lot, I think, in all the best ways,” Wilson said Thursday. “I feel more grounded, I feel more present. And I think that’s how I view the game as well. I’m trying to approach it with — I always have, but I think more than ever — a goldfish mentality. It’s just, be present in whatever practice, whatever game I’m in, and then it’s on to the next.”

[…]

“Watching her play 70 minutes the other night, it was almost like I couldn’t believe she’s had a baby and come back to perform at the level she’s done,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Real, real credit to her and the team around her that have really positioned pre- and post-pregnancy planning in a fantastic way.”

People that research gender representation in sports media are often critical about how women are portrayed in coverage. My argument, for several years now, has been that we don’t properly celebrate these sorts of comebacks. She is a mother, yes. She’s also one of the world’s best athletes. And she’s returned to form. Emma Hayes is going to talk about that, and she should. Others should, as well. And so I got to wax on about that for a bit.

We also talked about this story. How 3 Muslim sisters helped change the rules of American women’s wrestling:

“We always said we would never be able to wrestle in college,” said Jamilah, 22.

Coaches recognized their talent when they were teenagers, but they couldn’t wrestle with boys, nor could they wear the required wrestling singlet — due to their faith.

Eventually their passion for the sport – and their perseverance – led to rule changes allowing Muslim women to compete in full-body uniforms at collegiate and national levels.

It’s probably comical when I, the white guy, talk about representation. But there’s a bunch of people that need to think about it, and some of them are in my classroom. They’re just stuck with me at this point.

We saw several places that didn’t have signs or historical significance or car pullouts, they were simply majestic. That’s where you’d want to live, safe on a hill high above it, looking down on this glory, pondering time and patience, and everything in between. For more ocean dramatics, go here.

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6
Apr 26

Flowers and Easter

There’s a certain sequence to spring. Sequences, perhaps. There’s the macro and the micro. And now we can look at some of the smaller parts of it. Different things burst into life at different times. And we dutifully trudge out to see them all, pretending that we understand how we can improve something that is so vibrant unto itself.

You may know, I often do not.

In the backyard we have this taller-than-a-shrub, shorter-than-a-tree exhibition. It looks great when you step back and view the whole, but it’s rather chaotic up close.

Across the yard is this guy, which is one of my favorites. I like the delicacy of the florets. They’ll soon be everywhere and get into everything, but that’s the price you pay. That, and being barely able to photograph them.

And then these beautiful specimens, which never appear with quite the right tone on the screen. Any screen. But they bloom and persist. Long-term show offs.

We went to my godparents in-law (just go with it) for Easter. It rained. The kids in their family did an Easter egg hunt in the basement. They broke them down by age groups, so the hunts went on for some time.

They put out the plastic eggs, and each kid is looking for a specific color egg. Each egg has some change or a few bucks in it. And someone creates a map recording where all of the eggs are hidden. For recall and recovery, I suppose.

I stayed out of the way, watching other kids playing hide-and-seek, wondering if they hid eggs in different places for each age group, or recycled the hiding spots. Probably they should.

A 5-year-old and a 6-year-old spent the afternoon hiding from one another. The boy would count, and the girl would hide. He couldn’t find her, so she talked him in. “When you hear the sound of my voice, that’s me.” Eventually, he’d track her down by ear. And then the girl would count and the boy would hide. I was telling her where to look for him. They’re adorable.

They did not share with me their Easter money.

Got a lovely lunch and wonderful company out of the deal, though.

This is Old St. Dympna’s Church.

Friday / Ireland / memories / photo / video — Comments Off
3
Apr 26

The flowery content begins

Right by the corner of the garage we have an oversized shrub. It shows off these deep crimson leaves, a few branches of which will need to be trimmed back this year, for ease of navigation purposes. But, right now, as one of the many heralds of spring, it is giving us the seasonal show.

The more spring the merrier. And this one is quote variable, which the science tells us is a sign of the times. It has been 84, 61 and 76 degrees the last three days. We also had a late seasonal freeze. Now we’re waiting to see what crops will be hurt by all of this. (Quite a bit, would be my guess.)

But that shrub looks lovely!

I’m still living in the happy memories of our wonderful Irish vacation. So, I’m sharing extra videos that we didn’t get to at the time. It was a great vacation. I have a lot of footage. This will go on for some time. Enjoy it with me, won’t you? And if you have any thoughts on sheep soundtracks, I’m accepting suggestions.

Happy weekend!