The Weirdness Of Beijing

Things I’ve been puzzled by during the current Olympiad:

1. There is an Australian BMX rider called Kamikaze. Not Joe Kamikaze, Joe ‘Kamikaze’ Blogs or even Kamikaze Blogs. Just Kamikaze: one word, no waiting. Since when could Olympians make like rappers or the Pope and get by with just a handle?

2. A Latvian politician has represented his country in the heavy weightlifting. I’m not quite sure how to respond to this. Awe? Sarcasm? Laughter? A socio-political diatribe on the consequences of an elected official missing most sessions of parliament in order to lift weights? I just don’t know.

OK, so maybe it’s only those two things. But they’re an intriguing two, dammit!