The Phryges

 The Phryges are the official mascots of the 2024 Paris Olympics, an Olympics that so far has been known for how weird they've been. There was a masked torchbearer during the opening ceremony that looked like the character from Assasins' Creed; a metal band named Gojira performed (yes they were named after Godzilla the sea monster from Japan), and minions stole the Mona Lisa. I usually like the Olympics opening ceremonies just for all the celebration it brings and the festive mood, but the last 2 summer Olympics have been real downers: 2020 didn't even happen and by 2021 everyone was in such a sad mood it was unwatchable, and 2022 Beijing Olympics were subdued and kind of redundant due to the relatively recent 2008 Beijing Olympics. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I found out that Beijing had won their bid for the Olympics, by the way, and it doesn't make me feel young- it was summer of 2001, a lifetime ago. 

As part of the pageantry of the Olympic games I like the mascots, which are supposed to represent the host country, the local culture, the people hosting the games. Most memorably, the 2018 Pyongchang Olympics in Korea had a black bear and a white tiger as mascots, with tigers representing Korea, and also continuing the tiger that was the mascot of the 1988 Seoul Games. This year's mascot..... are a pair of phrygian hats, adding to the weirdness. It represented freedom and liberty during the French Revolution, which I guess is significant, but wasn't the French Revolution where they executed tons of people including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? They couldn't hae selected a more unifying and less controversial time than the French Revolution? 2022 were pandas reflecting Chinese culture, 2020 were Pokemon-looking creatures representing Japan, 2016 was part animal part plant creatures representing Brazil.... France just had to be different. 

Speaking of needing to be different, I found myself in an AMC Theater this past Friday night in Manhattan, New York City at 1:00AM (so Saturday morning) to meet my friend in the morning. The movie was "Twisters" starring Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, and Daisy Edgar Jones, and I purposely fell asleep (the movie from parts I remember wasn't bad).... I always wanted to see what it was like on a summer night in Manhattan, and I got my answer: it is really the City that Never Sleeps. Luckily, I picked a summer night that was the exact right temperature; after a hot day it cooled down to the 70's at night with a slight breeze, allowing me to walk around unfettered except for motorcycles going up and down the city streets. Time Square apparently is open all night in Manhattan, and the bright lights and ads for every TV show you can think of come on all night, and there are plenty of people roaming around like it's normal to be up at 4AM in the morning. Yes there were homeless people and people asking for money, but enough cops around to feel like it was the safest part of the city, the most unsafe I felt was actually a group of hooligan teenage girls who threw empty water bottles at me for no reason other than I was sitting by myself minding my business; ahh to be young and stupid and have nothing to do but annoy strangers for no reason at 4AM in the morning. I've seen plenty of sunsets everywhere around the world, but not an early riser to catch the sunrises.... I got one overlooking the East River and the Pepsi sign on the east side of the island, and it was awesome: glimpses of the Williamsburg and Brooklyn Bridges, Roosevelt Island, and the sun rising over the 59th Street Bridge (I believe it's aka the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge? A once in a lifetime experience for no cost, and no one to bother me for falling asleep on a park bench; just some early morning joggers and taichi enthusiasts enjoying another day in the summer in one of the greatest cities in the world. Upon going to the Empire State Building later that day, I reflected that NYC is one of the most beautiful cities in the world topographically: surrounded by water, bridges all around, natural beauty meeting man-made beauty of buildings, bridges, roads....it's like the Olympics happens here every day with all the different cultural events and languages being spoken and international flair of the city; maybe the aliens who come down and take over Earth one day will enjoy what us humans had.