Oh, sad Belgians.

I hadn't heard that before! The neck of the woods I grew up in, it was sign of the cross (large catholic population.) Probably less common a habit in Israel...

Oh, there are definitely other more, um, motions-involved, superstitions against the "evil eye" here, as well, but obviously none of them involve crosses. If anything there are some people who'd probably motion them against crosses.

I will choose a different superstition and knock on woo

Thanks, aurelia.

Did you know that there are people here who say that knocking-on-wood is actually connected to the crosses sara mentioned, through the wood that the cross consisted of? So some religious people here don't play to that superstition, as well.

Same with fingers-crossed.

Me, I'm just grateful for the thought and attention behind them, from other people. So there's that. Thanks for all the computer-please-behave wishes, you guys.

Hil, thanks. I'm not sure how much of the problem is computer-going-crazy and how much of it is actually LaTex (which I used in the past and even like, in a way), but it's helping to know I have somebody to ask. Thank you.

All the animals in "n" that I can think about are in Hebrew (nemala (=ant), nahash (=snake), nammer (=leopard)). I think that much like rhyming, it's way harder in a not-my-mother-tongue language (in which I didn't play these sort of games as a kid, too, or the introductory games of "please state you name and the name of an animal which starts with the same letter").

re: women's gymnastics--this is a bunch of miserable looking girls. It makes me uncomfortable watching them.

The thing that gets me about the girls' gymnastics is the horrible blue eye-shadow all the Chinese girls have on. Poor things.

I'm also boggling at the fact that even the teeny-weeny American girls look like Amazons compared to the Chinese girls, most of whom don't even have breasts.

(Why does NBC insist on broadcasting the western feed with the total lie "LIVE" on the screen?)

Why does NBC insist on broadcasting the western feed with the total lie "LIVE" on the screen?)

No kidding!

Also, the schizophrenic switching back and forth from swimming to gymnastics is kinda driving me insane. I wish there were a way for me to say "Can I just elect to save up one, and watch it all in a row, thanks?"

(Why does NBC insist on broadcasting the western feed with the total lie "LIVE" on the screen?)

Oh dude. Clearly, you've missed the controversy over this.

You are fortunate, indeed.

Hah! Khorkina was there! As a commentator for Russia. Wow, does she look different without her hair all skinned back.

I loved the way they showed Bela Karolyi's reaction to Liukin's floor routine. Poor Bob Kosta's looked like he was going to slide right under the desk to get away from him.

Very nice to see the American women finally show to full potential.

Question to the waking-up hivemind: "epidemics" is just the plural of "epidemic", right? There's no other meaning to the addition of the "s" to "epidemic"?

Thanks!

I enjoyed the women's all around. (Mostly because I was rooting for Liukin.) I missed Khorkova AND Bela's crazy reaction. (Okay, I wasn't watching all that closely.)

Question to the waking-up hivemind: "epidemics" is just the plural of "epidemic", right? There's no other meaning to the addition of the "s" to "epidemic"?

Not so far as I know. Epidemic s is just more than one epidemic.