the olympics

Am I the only one who is confused by the Olympics?  Who feels like maybe I shouldn't say too much if you know what I mean.  

Between swapping singers and fake fireworks I'm not sure what to believe.  The athletes are just incredible and their show of strength and dedication should be what defines the Olympic Games.  Sometimes I forget the long history of the Olympics, but then I go to Google and remind myself.  Then I am led to wikipedia, because it is so convienent.  Yet, Professors keep telling me that it is an invalid source.  I agree for the most part because MLA guidelines and the literature community in general wouldn't be able to account for most of the entries found on the site.  However, a little bird told me Goggle is developing their own "wikipedia" and will be using advertising space to generate revenues to pay scholars to publish on their own web encyclopedia.

But back to the Olympics.  Now, I am thinking about the internet and reports of censorship and such is pretty much what I would expect from their government.  After visiting China last Spring, I enjoyed 4 or 5 days traveling in and around Beijing, Quindao and Honk Kong when I spent a semester at sea.  This trip lasted 100 days and took me around the world--from the Bahamas to San Diego going east.

An interesting story surfaces upon searching for Greek and Olympic history.  The games were revived by Greek poet Panagiotis Soutsos in the poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833.  Evangelos Zappas, founder of the modern Olympics Games and businessman and entrepreneur, invested in a steamship company.  The revived Panathenian Stadium near Athens was once again alive with athletes.