What the Gliz?

I didn't even know they were having the Olympics again until I saw these weird characters on a graphic designers forum website. Neve and Gliz are the official mascots of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy – otherwise known as Turin, the place where that ancient shroud was found with what was claimed to be the real live face of Jesus Christ seared into it by unknown methods. The shroud of Turin, surely you've heard of it. And I thought that was creepy.

According to the official marketing statement,

"Neve is a gentle, kind and elegant snowball; Gliz is a lively, playful ice cube ... [They] reflect the spirit of the Italian Olympic event: passion, enthusiasm, culture, elegance, and love of the environment and of sport. They are the symbol of a young generation that is full of life and energy."

Well, whatever. I took an instant dislike to them and cannot purge from my mind the image of two skaters encased the Neve and Gliz versions of those giant foam costumes, performing a gentle, kind, elegant, lively, playful lovers' dance across the ice in celebration of the passion, enthusiasm, culture, elegance (again) and love of the environment (?!) and of sport ... Blech.

Speaking of sports, I don't like the Superbowl either. The last time I watched it was the year of the infamous wardrobe malfunction, which, by some bizarre fluke of the universe, I happened to glace at the television just in time to see. I'd been in the kitchen for an hour with Mr. A and had just walked into the living room to turn off the noise, when there it was: a flash of skin. "Hey, I think something really cool just happened on tv!" I yelled to Mr. A. It's one of the only historic events I've ever actually witnessed first hand, at the actual moment it occurred. I usually don't hear about these things until the next day.

Fun Fact: Before the year of the wardrobe malfunction, the last time I really watched the Superbowl was 1987.