drive the knife home. I paused and looked at my prey. It hung there, still. No flapping, no attempted escapes, not even a cluck of defiance. “Oh well,” I thought, “it’s just the way things sometimes are.” I drove the knife up through the beak and into the brain of the fowl, which died a quick and (hopefully) painless death almost instantaneously. Ever since, ’ve been enjoying the hell out of a largely veg- etarian diet that sometimes includes chicken, turkey, fish, and even the occasional side of double-thick, maple- smoked bacon.

I realize that one kill does not a hunter make, but I also remember that kill every time I order meat. I’m OK with my chicken burgers now. I’ve made my peace.

= ne

Enough with the Olympics Already

Amanda Aikman, OP Contributor

Bad Luck? S Te eee Or was It...

RTT

Oh man, with all the recent hul- labaloo over the 2010 Winter Olympic Games set to descend on our home province, I had for- gotten how annoying the regular Olympics could be. What’s the

big deal exactly? A bunch of

people in ugly outfits get togeth- er to run, jump, swim, throw stuff, and have their urine tested. Why should I have to miss two weeks of Days of Our Lives and Coronation Street for that?

And it’s not just the pre- empting of my favourite soap operas that pisses me off either. It’s the phony, bloated, ceremoni- al flavour of the whole obnoxious event. Am I really supposed to swell with national pride at the drop of a sappy musical montage? Am I abnor- mal if I don’t get teary-eyed every time some Neanderthal with a maple leaf on his wind- breaker bites down on a gold medal? So some chick from the same country as me can jump higher or pedal a bicycle faster than some chick from another country—what possible impact is that meant to have on me?

Is it intended to inspire me to quit my job and take up beach volleyball as a viable career alter- native? Am I meant to see the value of rewarding people who

have chosen to focus on person- al physical achievements rather than on the intellectual, humani- tarian, creative, or spiritual ones that could actually have benefited the rest of society? Or, am I just supposed to shut up and go buy a lot of Coca Cola, McDonalds, and ROOTS products?

Physical fitness is swell; don’t get me wrong. I think it is impor- tant that people take care of their bodies and all that. I’m all for camaraderie, honour, goodwill, and free trips to Athens too. I just don’t understand why every- one insists on making a big show of putting jocks up on pedestals (literally) every four years.

In the interest of fairness, however, I suppose I should own up to the fact that I went to GM Place to watch the broadcast of the Canada/US men’s Olympic gold-medal hockey game in 2002. I drank beer and waved a flag around like any good Canadian, Vl admit it. But that doesn’t mean I’m proud of myself; it just means I’m a hypocrite. Besides, I don’t think that really counts. I mean, let’s be honest, hockey’s a whole different ball game than synchronized swimming.

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