Santa Monica, birthplace of modern skateboarding

Dillon and Dante Take over the Sofa

Dillon Reflects

Paris by way of Castro Valley

Montmartre Bulldog

 Above:  Bulldog and Sourpuss.
Below:  Mommy calls Bulldog to get into the car.

Scenes from Montmartre, Paris, France

 Above:  An artist - paint still on his hands - takes a break from his canvas and easel to play a game of chess
Below:  His opponent thinks long and hard before making his move.

Hubei Village in the Luohu district of Shenzhen

This 550-year-old village is set to be leveled so a mall can be built on the land.  Sad.  But as the Chinese say, you can't build the future without tearing down the past . . . .

A Room with a View

 

It rained cats and dogs early this morning.  The rain stopped around midday and by the time the early evening rolled around, the sky was blue and the air was clean. These shots are the view from our 15th floor balcony.  The top photo is looking south.  The hills you see in the background are in Hong Kong, just across the bay.  Below is a eastern view.  If you look closely you can see a bridge on the far left that takes you to Hong Kong. 

Brazil vs. Mexico for Soccer Gold

OUCH . . .

Bad Day at the Office

Stefany Hernandez of Venezuela (#469) goes over her handlebars in the semi-final heats of the women's BMX competition

Latvia is a BMX Powerhouse

Maris Strombergs of Latvia (far right, wearing red, white and blue) takes the lead in a semi-final heat in men's BMX.  He would go on to win the gold medal.

Gold Medal Ceremony

The US women are all smiles as they take snapshots before the medal ceremony

After receiving their gold medals, the US women are all business as they all place their hands on their hearts for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.

The US Women Celebrate

Full Time. USA over Japan 2-1

No one ever believes he (or she) did anything wrong

Soccer is a Contact Sport

Gold Medal Game: USA vs. Japan

Yuki Ogami was a force all night for Japan.  Photo above - she attracts the attention of three US defenders as she heads a ball.  Photo below - she beats Hope Solo only to hit the crossbar in a bid to tie the game in the first half.  

Gold Medal Women's Soccer: USA vs Japan

In a rematch of the 2010 World Cup finals, the US women drew first blood on Carli Lloyds header at the eight minute mark of the first half

Things you don't see on TV

A janitor, complete with Olympic rings on his back, takes off his shoes and vacuums the ring 1.5 hours before the first fight of the afternoon. 

Irish eyes are smiling

Katie Taylor (red) of Ireland takes a shot in the kisser from Chorieva Mavzuna of Tajikistan.  Irish fans were out in force and extremely LOUD at ExCel Arena.  Despite taking this shot, Taylor would go on to win and advance to the gold medal bout.

First Time as Olympic Event: Women's Boxing

American Marlen Esparza (in blue) lost to Ren Cancan (in red) of China.  This single picture tells the entire story of the fight - Ren was the taller fighter and had greater reach. 

The final score was 10-8 in favor of Ren

God Save the Queen

Why I love the British national anthem:

1.  It's short.
2.  We Yanks have our own lyrics to go with the tune so I can sing along while it's playing.

The Olympics is taking it's toll on me

A couple of my toe nails have turned black and blue from all the walking with a heavy pack on my back . . . had a pinched nerve or pulled muscle in my neck from hauling gear and/or hunching over to look into the camera and have a twitch above my left eye.  Home stretch now.  Closing ceremony on Sunday. 

Fans in Greenwich Park watching the big screen TV cheering Andy Murray's win over Roger Federer

Sat up high for Usain Bolt's 100m victory

I shot Usain Bolt straight on in Beijing so I thought I'd try shooting him from up high this time.  Didn't work out.  Bolt turned to his left (toward the infield) and there was no picture to be made from my vantage point.  You win some, you lose some. 

Serera Williams demolishes Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1

Serena won the first eight points of the match and the rout was on.

What you may have missed on TV is that Serena left the court right as the match was suppose to start.  If it was a bathroom, it would have been very odd since the players were on the court no more than 10 minutes before Serena disappeared.  Sharapova jogged in place and hit a couple of practice serves during the delay.  When Serena reemerged onto the court, the chair umpired announced, "Time."  Instead of walking onto the court, Serena sat down, and took a slow, deliberate drink of water and the crowed booed.  I don't think any of this behavior was accidental.  It's my guess that Serena was trying to get Sharapova off her game.  It worked.

Sharapova won only one game and had only two break points the entire match.  She was struggling just to win points, let alone games.

Robson/Hewitt win a thriller and the home crowd goes wild

After each team won a set at 6-3, the match was decided by a mini-set in which the team that wins 10 points first with at least a 2-point margin, wins the mini-set and the match.  Down early in the mini-set, the British team of Robson/Murray came back to win 10-8 over the Australian duo of Stosur/Hewitt.  Center court stadium, with the roof closed due to showers, erupted when the home team won.

Mixed Doubles Quarter-finals: Brits vs Aussies

 Andy Murray of Team GB

Laura Robson of Team GB

 Tim Hewitt of Australia

Sam Stosur of Australia