Bookworm Beat 2/11/18 — the Olympics illustrated edition and open thread

It’s been a while since my last illustrated edition, but with the Olympics in play for a few days, the memes are starting to emerge.

I no longer watch the Olympics. It was fun back in the days of Cold War tension and carefully curated, and quite entertaining, three-hour stories every evening (before we knew we were the victims of curated stories). Remember when the media used to root against the Soviets (and, before that, against the Nazis)? Nowadays, with a media engaged in a slobbering love affair with a high official from one of the worst countries in world history; with endless, banal, stupid talking heads; and with a parade of generic, high-performing athletes on 24 hours a day . . . well, it’s just not my thing.