Out - Not Down - About Dashed Tokyo Olympiad

July 15 turned out better than anticipated, but not as hoped. 

Woke up to find one client in the news in Atlanta, and another on live TV in Orlando. Great news!

Before breakfast, also learned a third client's July 6 appearance in The New York Times got picked up by a statewide Texas outlet for a nice bonus hit. And a longtime friend met at the Atlanta Olympics of 1996 sent word of his safe arrival in Japan, where he's assisting Team Australia as a driver. More great news!

Even lunch provided surprises at Midtown Atlanta's reimagined Colony Square, where it was fun to discover the re-installed mural by Alexander Calder (a neighborhood personal favorite) and explore the new food court, where sake but not sushi was spotted. 

But throughout the day I was prepped to manage moodiness. For Thursday was supposed to be the date of departure for my twelfth Olympics. 

Cue a favorite Kevin Kline line from "A Fish Called Wanda" -- DISAPPOINTED!

Sadly, I didn't fly to Japan as envisioned for nearly three months. Given the tragedy of the global pandemic, getting to Tokyo was always a long shot still worth a shot. 

The first rising sun ray of hope arrived from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee press office team in April when, after organizers in Japan announced no international spectators could attend, a show-stopping email revealed that a friend at another Olympic-centric news outlet returned a coveted accreditation spot, creating a last minute/last day option for my renewed application. 

And just like that, I was credentialed as media for Tokyo! When the accreditation arrived by mail ... that was an exceptionally good day. 

A couple weeks later, on my birthday, another email arrived with detailed instructions, checklists and the latest Tokyo 2020 "Playbook" for media. Everything seemed to be shaping up better than hoped. Optimism was in abundance -- just needed to closely study that Playbook!

This is where things got messy because, in the last two weeks of May, an extraordinary volume of client work arrived, daily filling my schedule and depleting mental bandwidth for Olympic tasks. 

Though my corrected hotel reservation and airfare purchases got checked off the list after work hours, I naively told myself there'd be time to tackle detailed Tokyo 2020 planning -- specifically, the minutiae on the extensive checklist required to board a plane booked for July 15 -- during Memorial Day. 

It was only on that designated three-day weekend that a fatal mistake came to light in that I missed a critical May deadline to register for a specific Tokyo 2020 COVID-related website. The needed link provided tools for DIY management of all required approvals needed later in the month. I was effectively locked out of the Tokyo 2020 travel approval process, with only myself to blame. 

For the first two weeks of June, optimism returned with each deployed email seeking assistance. And some messages earned timely and helpful or encouraging responses. I thought a key contact with "the magic link" might share it. For reasons still unknown, that didn't happen. 

By June 20: Panic. June 30: Sleeplessness. And when Independence Day rolled around, my girlfriend, family members, longtime confidants and Olympic circle friends were equally exhausted hearing my worries. 

Around July 10 -- having attempted every option I could conceive, or acting on well-intentioned suggestions or referrals of others -- denial was converting to disappointed (and drained, albeit reluctant) acceptance of the inevitable. On July 15, the plug was pulled.

And as Murphy's Law would dictate, on what date did some of the previously "ghosting" approval players emerge like the cicada's of 2021 (Olympic cicadas?). 

Hint: July 16-17!

DISAPPOINTED!

Perhaps it's time to change the adage to Nick Wolaver's Law. Very disappointed. 

In spite of the rip saw of mixed emotions, I do look forward to a few things about to take place. 

First, it is delightful that perseverance and persistence kept Tokyo 2020 on track. Olympians are in the athlete village. Performers are rehearsing for amazing Opening Ceremony reveals. The successful and inspiring Torch Relay is winding down. It's going to be a remarkable Olympiad. 

Second, both of the Olympic media pins designed for this blog should arrive at my doorstep tomorrow, and I can hardly wait to start trading them. One badge features Tokyo's Olympic mascot, while the other reveals my pop culture icon pick for the final Olympic torchbearer to light the cauldron next week.

Third, CoSport informed me of Olympic ticket refunds issued to my address. First time "the check is in the mail" had a five-ringed resonance. 

Fourth, the aforementioned five-ringed friend who landed in Japan yesterday will be visiting the Main Press Center at Tokyo Big Sight on Saturday to seek assistance for my final (and ever-hopeful) ace up my sleeve to get to the Games of the XXXIInd Olympiad during the second week of competition. Turns out those infuriatingly overdue July 16-17 emails DID give me what was needed to renew paperwork to attain travel approval. Fingers crossed.

Finally, if this one-last-shot for Tokyo still fails to materialize, with the ticket refund cash, I have some tours de magie conceived to deliver an experience magnifique des Jeux Olympique by August 8. 

Stay tuned!

For those who've supported the Tokyo journey described above, thank you. And thanks also for reading and sharing this site in the days ahead. It's going to be an inspiring Games. 

Photo of Tokyo Big Sight via Xinhua News of China; Haneda Airport photo via Indian Express; Olympic accreditation photo by Nicholas Wolaver; airline photo via JAL; Team Australia softball players' arrival image by Issei Kato POOL/AFP via Getty Images; torch relay photo via InsideTheGames.biz. Maraitowa image via Olympics.org. 

Olympic Media Score With Tokyo BINGO!

For athletes, officials and journalists who are Tokyo-bound next month, June included a whirlwind of pre-Olympic prep from final qualifications for Olympians to navigating the reams of pages in the "playbooks" to affirm approved access to Japan. 

For this blogger, who secured a media accreditation but still has more paperwork to complete, it's an anxious time! Will the Games happen at all, and will I remember to cross all "t's" and dot all the "i's" in time? Optimism reigns but we'll see. 

Meanwhile, in step with the buzz of checklists, the Olympic media cycle remains reliably predictable, though tailored to the unique challenges and angles specific to COVID-19. 

As a follow up to our popular Rio 2016 Olympic News BINGO post in which Zika reigned (remember Zika?), fellow International Society of Olympic Historians member Brian Carberry and his wife April helped compile this year's pre-Games media cycle BINGO card. 

Please play along, post suggested additions in the comments and enjoy!

Happy Anniversary: Modern Olympics Celebrate 125 Years Since Athens Opening of April 6, 1896

Anyone who loves the Olympics has cause for celebration.

Today -- April 6, 2021 -- marks the 125th anniversary of the first Modern Olympiad.

Happy Birthday, Olympic Games! 

Or as coined by a Funk & Wagnalls editor, we've reached the five-ringed quasquicentennial.

A quick check of Olympedia reveals the premiere opening ceremony took place at Athens Panathenaic Stadium on Easter Monday of 1896, as did the sports competition yielding the first medalist of the new era, track and field competitor James Connolly of the USA. 

According to additional sources, in the months before the Games commenced 125 years ago, the limestone stadium circa 330 B.C. received an extensive refurbishment for the occasion, increasing seating capacity to over 80,000, visible in some historic footage from the celebration:

As reported by select news outlets last week, the latest stadium upgrades -- in the form of new LED lights -- were illuminated with the push of a button by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. 

I liked reading excerpts of Bach's remarks at the Hellenic Olympic Committee-hosted ceremony. In addition to thanking Greece for giving the Olympics to the world, he quoted Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC, stating,

"Olympism calls for air and light for all."

It was also fun to discover that, perhaps as test run or a slight nod to Connelly -- whose parents were from Ireland -- on March 17 the stadium was bathed in emerald hues in honor of St. Patrick's Day. 

With a bit of luck, Tokyo 2020 may just turn out great!

I'm very thankful for the positive impact of the Olympics, stitched into the fabric of my upbringing and countless personal and professional milestones since my teenage years. 

Now 47, I obviously won't make it to the Games' bicentennial, but in spite of ever-evolving challenges for the IOC, the sesquicentennial in 2046 is bound to be a cause for a bigger, pandemic-free anniversary celebration than was possible in 2021. 

For those who've not yet been to Athens, standing in front of or inside the ancient stadium inspires awe. In the daylight -- as during my second visit their during a Greek holiday of 2007 -- the stone seating glows almost white. 

At dusk -- as I found one breezy summer evening during the Athens 2004 Games -- one can sit almost anywhere in the stone stands and hear the rustle of wind in the surrounding trees almost drowning out nearby traffic. A wonderful place to meditate on Olympic feats of all ages. 

Day or night the Acropolis and Parthenon loom nearby -- no wonder de Coubertin worked so hard to revive things.

Thank goodness he and countless millions kept the Olympic Movement on a mostly progressive path since. 

April 6, 2046, will mark the approach to my 73rd birthday, and I'm betting they light up the 150th celebration like a cauldron. Where will you be? I hope to see you then and there!

Image credits: 125th anniversary emblem via Shutterstock, stadium ceremony images via Xinhua and Greek City Times (also here). Olympic stamp via The Philatelic Database. 

We'll Always Have Paris

Like other five-ringed sports fans in the USA, today I woke up to the International Olympic Committee's news making it official: Tokyo 2020 will exclude overseas fans. 

After hitting snooze and a shower, two quotes came to mind. 

On the more desperate or depressed end of the spectrum, there's the classic lyrics by U2. 

Cue the iconic drum intro:

I can't believe the news today. Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away!

More optimistically, Rick Blaine's words on the Moroccan airport tarmac in "Casablanca" also came to mind. 

As of this post, there are just 1,223 days remaining until Paris 2024. 

For this blogger, of course it's a huge bummer that Tokyo 2020 won't be happening for most outside Japan. This Olympiad was to be one that made up for many mishaps -- some real, others perceived -- via Rio 2016. 

At the moment, London 2012 still has my vote for "best Games ever" though my first and hometown Olympics of Atlanta remain a close second and sentimental favorite of nearly 25 years, as detailed in the centerfold spread of the 2017 WHERE Guestbook. 

Amid the pandemic, it will be a remarkable feat for the Tokyo organizing committee to just get the athletes, coaches, officials and other Olympic family members assembled safely. For those who care to read it, the complete IOC statement is online, as are the words of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, with each link noting how additional updates for the Games will be shared in the weeks ahead. 

During a member event hosted by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum on Thursday, at least one former Team USA employee stated her Olympic media travel is secured though there will be a "bubble" for reporters akin to the one for athletes -- the thought of corralling journalists in this manner brings to mind notions of herding cats. 

In spite of today's news, I'm optimistic at least a handful of fans will find a backdoor entry to the Games of the XXXIInd Olympiad. For some, maybe they'll score a credential as part of a sponsor delegation or national Olympic committee gig. For others, maybe there's a family connection to Japan to be leveraged.  

For this writer, there's still a potential Olympic berth -- albeit a very long shot plus a vaccine shot -- via the Games media credential front. 

No stone will be left unturned, and I'm not yet ready to cancel my Tokyo accommodations, though it is reassuring they'll be fully refunded via Hotels.com should I eventually surrender to the inevitable. 

The Morohashi Museum of Modern Art -- a.k.a. the Salvador Dali Museum of Japan -- near Fukushima, as well as Nagoya, Mount Fuji and other destinations also remain on my travel wish list for Japan, even if an eventual visit takes place beyond 2021.

Speaking of refunds, designated Olympic ticket broker CoSport was quick to address today's official announcement, which provided some level of reassurance my ticket investment will be returned. As to when is anyone's guess -- paraphrasing another fan quoted by media, it had better be before the Opening Ceremony on July 23. 

I applaud the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and others for persevering over COVID-19 and keeping the Games on track for the athletes. It won't be the same, but then, what else is in this pandemic? Glad also to see the Olympic Torch Relay will resume in five days, which everyone may enjoy virtually.

Heavy doses of determination kept things on track for the athletes, and it will still be inspiring to witness Olympian feats this summer, no matter the room in which we are viewing. 

And don't forget: We'll always have Paris. 

Tokyo photos via Associated Press Kuchiro Sato and Clive Rose; Paris image via Olympic.org

Olympedia Enables Encyclopedism of Olympism

An array of surprises, some welcome, others not so much, continue their blitz across 2020.

On the latter front as related to the wide world of sports, the pandemic-inspired postponement of Tokyo 2020 was a tough pill to swallow.

On the former, brighter side, May 27 marked the arrival of an exceedingly thorough online tool certain to assist with countless Olympic research projects, sports journalist citations and fan searches for their favorite athletes or Olympiads.

Now available online, feast your eyes on www.Olympedia.org, a new directory of Games statistics compiled by 21 Olympism-inspired encyclopedists.

This may not be the first comprehensive assemblage of such Olympic detail (see blue and green book images sprinkled into this post), but it very well be the biggest and most accessible in digital format.

Bonus: Olympedia is free!

The group's ringleader, past International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) President Bill Mallon, described their efforts in a blog post announcing Olympedia's ready-for-prime-time debut, as well as their team name.

"The Olympedia research site contains the profiles and results of all Olympic athletes and informative descriptions about the Games, events, venues, and much more," stated Mallon. "It is the most comprehensive database about the Olympic Games and is the result of many years of work by a list of Olympic historians and statisticians called the OlyMADmen."

I wrote to Dr. Mallon with three questions inspired by his post:

• For how many years was the OlyMADmen process underway?
• How many combined man hours went into the project (an Olympian feat of research)?
• At what stage did the Olympedia team receive a blessing of IOC approval, and how much time from approval to this week's launch?

Mallon quickly responded stating his own Olympic research journey started at a library in Teaneck, N.J., while on a summer holiday with family during the summer of 1964.

Things started getting serious with the arrival of personal computers (1980s) and during the latter 1990s as he and others forged collaborations with fellow historians both stateside and abroad.

As for the team's combined time investment, "We actually estimated the amount of work in terms of man-years … because it's so hard to estimate," stated Mallon. "We came up with a number: 180."

Mallon added the OlyMADmen began a more formal collaboration with the IOC in early 2016, with permission only recently granted to open Olympedia online for anyone to use, describing the nonprofit's team members as "responsive and good to work with."

So, how may site visitors extract data or Games results they seek from Olympedia?

From the home page, it's easy to select searches by athlete, result or sports discipline and Olympiad. Simply type in a name or other query and press "GO."

Across the header of the home page, Olympedia also offers easy clicks by nation, as well as pulldown menus for IOC-centric data or statistics with subcategories such as medal counts, numerous records or athlete bio data.

Say you want to know how many athletes competed while pregnant. Olympedia not only lists them, but also shares whether the athlete knew of their pregnancy while competing.

Which athletes -- like the one who put Sean Connery out of commission for several days -- appeared in feature films?

Answer: weightlifting silver medalist Harold "Oddjob" Sakata, who is Olympedia athlete No. 57017, just 10 digits away from "Goldfinger" 007.

While on a Hollywood kick, if one wants to know the flagbearers at an Opening Ceremony -- like, say, Stephen Spielberg, Donald Sutherland or Susan Sarandon -- use the Games pulldown menu.

There are also sections for Olympic bid city votes, recipients of the Olympic Order, dozens of types of Olympian lists, torchbearers, medal counts -- many rabbit holes for exploration. I know of at least one ISOH member who will be looking for athletes or teams and team members who achieved a three-peat, four-peat or more-peat on Olympic soil.

Each search result yields not only the information one seeks but also a five-ringed fun fact under the banner "Did You Know?" which appears at the base of the screen. My favorite so far regarded six Dutch archers whose name appeared in Paris 1900 newspaper coverage as competitors in an "unknown" event.

Consider me thoroughly impressed and pleased by the news of Olympedia, the best Games-related surprise of the last three months.

Images via DepositPhotos, Illustration Source, Ottawa Citizen, UltimateActionMovies.com

Atlanta Hosts 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials 2/29

Several dozen American women and men will spend Leap Day 2020 running for the Games, with three competitors earning their tickets to Tokyo as Atlanta hosts the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for marathon.

The Feb. 29 event starts and ends midday around Centennial Olympic Park, with mile markers for the 26.2-mile course set along Peachtree Street from Forsyth Street in downtown to Peachtree Circle near the north end of Midtown.

The route also heads through the Virginia-Highlands neighborhood along Highland Ave. to southbound Jackson Street before turning west onto the Old Fourth Ward's Edgewood Ave.

The journey nears its end when runners, who've completed three loops on the aforementioned course, will bank south from Edgewood onto Piedmont Ave., heading south past the Gold Dome and the Siah Armajani-designed Olympic Bridge and Cauldron (erroneously referred to as the "Olympic Rings and Torch" in event press materials) with a U-turn on Capitol Ave. near Georgia State Stadium.

The final two miles cross west along Mitchell Street, with viaduct views of State Farm Arena's iconic "ATLANTA" grand entrance and Megatron's Butthole, er, Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the thinning pack runs the final stretch back toward Centennial Olympic Park.

Runner's World magazine and event host Atlanta Track Club produced a high-quality and informative video of the route available here:

 

To showcase Atlanta's Olympic spirit on NBC's live national broadcast, fans are encouraged to #showyourgold on race day, with several places to watch designated on the event's official website.

In Midtown, for instance, Hudson Grille, Publik Ale House and City Tap House (each along Peachtree Street) will offer $2.62 beer, tacos or other marathon-inspired specials. With numerous road closures, MARTA is recommended.

Though I cheered runners at Peachtree Road Races many times since 1996, this will be my first Olympic marathon experience and the city's second, which I missed thanks to work shifts at the Atlanta Olympic Village.

Female runners to watch for include two-time Olympic marathoner Desiree Linden, who did not finish in London 2012 but placed seventh at Rio 2016. According to the event site, her all-time fastest marathon (2:22:38) and Trials qualifying time at the 2019 New York City Marathon (2:26:46) put her a few minutes from the top Trials qualifier Jordan Hasay, who set her personal best time at the recent Chicago Marathon (2:20:57).

A hometown runner on which to keep an eye is Georgia native Bridget Lyons Belyeu, who trains on the Silver Comet Trail and near her south Atlanta residence in Newnan, Ga., according to a recent profile in Atlanta Magazine.

In the men's competition, three-time Olympian and Rio 2016 marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp is the leading 2020 Trials qualifier (with 2:06:07; he is also a three-time Olympic competitor in the 10,000m, earning silver in London 2012). Atlanta marks his fourth Olympic marathon trials, which he won on the Road to Rio.

The entrant with the second-fastest qualifying time (2:07:56) is Leonard Korir, who "ran the fastest-ever marathon debut by an American" in the 2019 Amsterdam Marathon, where he did not have an elite bib but placed 11th. He was a Rio 2016 Olympian and considers Rupp one of his heroes, according to his Team USA bio.

Portland resident Patrick Reaves returns to his hometown Atlanta to compete in his first Olympic trials with a qualifying time of 2:17:45.

As reported in Sports Illustrated on Feb. 13 and in this Yahoo! article on Valentine's Day, the Atlanta event also includes first openly transgender athlete competing in an Olympic marathon trials. Though Megan Youngren's bio is not yet posted on the event website, her qualifying time of 2:43:52 puts her further back in the rankings.

The S.I. article explains how the International Olympic Committee would handle her qualification in Tokyo should Youngren earn a Games berth in Atlanta.

The three top female and male finishers will compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games on Aug. 8 and Aug. 9, respectively. The 2020 Olympic marathon course is in Sapporo, Japan, host city of the 1972 Winter Olympic Games and some of the Olympic football competitions this summer.

Marathon site at Sapporo Odori Park

For those heading to Japan, it appears the start and finish in Sapporo Odori Park is just a few blocks from the city's main rail station. Check out the course map below and at this link for more details.

Check out more of the competitor roster on the event website -- with the marathon route along Peachtree Street just a few blocks west of my Midtown residence, I may set up a viewing spot at The Vortex Bar & Grill between Seventh Street and Eighth. They serve some delicious sake!

Images via Team USA, Atlanta2020Trials.com, Atlanta Track Club, MyBestRuns.com and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic website.

Family Secrets Revealed Sans 'One Moment In Time' in Kevin Macdonald's Latest Documentary 'Whitney'

The first time I watched a film by British director Kevin Macdonald, the cinema was only steps from the Sydney Opera House.

It was summer 2000, on the eve of the Australian Olympiad, and the story on the silver screen was "One Day In September," the Oscar-winning documentary about the terrorist attack in the 1972 Munich Olympic Village. It was such a great film, I watched again twice before returning stateside.

Macdonald packed 94 minutes with deep history and surprising interviews all in the five-ringed context. 

So, when news arrived that "Whitney" -- billed as a family-authorized Whitney Houston documentary -- got assembled with Macdonald's skilled craftsmanship, my curiosity piqued and I started counting the days to its July 6 release. 

How would the director weave in Houston's Olympic anthem "One Moment In Time," I wondered. 

And would the film billed as "an intimate, unflinching portrait" at last reveal both when and how the singer/actress met her husband Bobby Brown? 

In "Whitney" (now available streaming and on DVD) Macdonald does deliver the goods on Houston in many interesting and revealing ways -- it is so well done, I've already watched it thrice. 

As in "One Day In September" there's no way around the tragic ending, and Macdonald treats the subject's troubling spiral head-on sans varnish. There's great, surprising interviews, and amazing footage of Houston's best performances around the world, starting with her showstopping national TV debut, many of which were new for this longtime fan. 

For more about what "Whitney" does include, please jump ahead seven paragraphs. 

Though Carl Lewis taking an L.A. Olympic victory lap appears in a montage of 80's nostalgia, much to my disappointment, "Whitney" does not include reference to "One Moment In Time," Houston's Seoul Olympic anthem and her seventh single to reach No. 1 on Billboard's chart for Hot Adult Contemporary songs. 

In fact, many of the singer's late-80s/early 90s hits are glossed over while the filmmaker focused on Houston's personal life of this period, highlighting tours and TV appearances during which she defended herself from an Al Sharpton-led movement labeling her "Whitey" Houston (ever the publicity hound, Sharpton makes a later appearance, at 180 degrees, praising the singer on the day of her funeral). 

The film segues to the common narrative that Houston met and flirted with her future husband Brown during the Soul Train Awards, skipping what I believe to be the real narrative, that Brown met Houston while filming the video and recording for the anti-drug PSA "Stop The Madness" (a close look at the credit roll reveals that Houston and Brown, as part of the band New Edition, willingly participated). 

For a peek check the video time stamps of 1:44 (Houston solo), 3:01 (Brown on front row in gray jacket) and 5:06 (end credits listing The New Edition and Whitney Houston as lead vocals).

I am dying to ask Macdonald and his team whether this "Stop The Madness" clip ever met their eyes, and if so, did they ask about it during their interview with Brown or others they captured on film for "Whitney."

Would also love to ask him about the "One Moment In Time" omission. No response to my requests/queries to the Roadside Attractions PR team, so far. 

"Whitney" opens with Houston's own voiceover -- from an early-career publicity interview -- with a vivid description of her recurring dream in which the singer runs across a fiercely swinging bridge while chased by an unknown giant.

"That's the devil chasing you," according to Houston's mother, Cissy, later introduced as a backup singer for Aretha Franklin turned matriarch of the East Orange, N.J., home where Whitney and two brothers grew up blocks from racially-divided Newark. 

Viewers also meet Whitney's father, aunts (including Dion Warwick and her sister, Dee Dee, sometimes tapped as a babysitter when Cissy traveled in pursuit of her own singing career) and other players of Whitney's youth and early career. 

Devoted churchgoers, the Houstons were affectionately named "The Cosbys" of their neighborhood by one Macdonald interviewee, but viewers learn soon enough that choices of infidelity, greed, drug use and other human behaviors all factored as Whitney's star gently rose then took off like a rocket to the moon. 

There are many poignant moments, including mother-daughter scenes in which Cissy imparted wisdom and affection for Whitney. 

And there are professional milestones presented with the perspectives of agents, producers, stylists, friends and ex-boyfriends, and several light-hearted moments showing Whitney at her most playful and upbeat self. One "get" that I suspect Macdonald wanted was an interview with Robyn Crawford, Whitney's closest confidant from high school to the late 1990s, when a wedge (Brown) created a rift too great to overcome. 

Macdonald delves into several darker influences (bullying, racism, drug-using relatives, homophobia) that, all combined, may explain the sharp turns Whitney took around the apex of her success, arguably the months after "The Bodyguard" and the worldwide tour that brought her to meet Nelson Mandela, who dried her tears at their introduction (her performance in Johannesburg stood out for this blogger).

Her private homes, including her childhood abode, an early fame custom-built mansion in a New Jersey forest, and later residence with Brown in Alpharetta, Ga., provide some insightful peeks. 

Atlanta's cameo in the film is anything but flattering, but the panoramic drone views of summer in Midtown are spectacular. 

Interviews with Brown, L.A. Reid and others who deny discussion or knowledge of Houston's drug use left some audience members dumbfounded. 

And much of "Whitney" and the milestones of her addiction are where the film is just plain sad, punctuated by an interview with the personal assistant who found Whitney a Beverly Hilton bathtub. Not a dry eye in the theatre. 

There are also many gut-wrenching revelations into the world and demise of Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina. 

But the big reasons to watch "Whitney" are her astounding live performances as a teenager, energetic and new-to-fame twentysomething and those early 1990s moments in time. 

The backstory about her Super Bowl performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is inspiring. 

And her work on "The Bodyguard" is interesting (Macdonald only really touches on this, her first film, and her final film "Sparkle," leaving out "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife" for unknown reasons -- maybe time as "Whitney" clocks in at exactly two hours). 

I was hoping the DVD would include extended interviews with Kevin Costner, her production company leader Debra Martin Chase, or her film agent Nicole David, who seemed to be the only person interested and actively trying to save Whitney from herself and the demons of her addictions. 

Loved the original albeit haunting music by Adam Wiltzie that scores some of the most sorrowful moments of Whitney's life. 

It's not clear whether Macdonald's latest work will earn the same acclaim as "One Day In September." It would be interesting to see the filmmaker tackle another topic with five-ringed connections. 

My suggestion to Macdonald: Enter the Olympic ring again, this time with heavyweight sports documentary filmmakers like Leni Reifenstahl and Bud Greenspan who captured entire Olympiads of competition for the ages. Macdonald as the official O-film director for a "Tokyo Olympiad" sequel in 2020, anyone? Yes, please.

For the longtime Whitney Houston fan or a younger viewer discovering her music, "Whitney" is an excellent and rounded view a life filled with many big moments in time. 

Images via Roadside Attractions, Arista, HeyUGuys.com

Future Looks Great Now Through 2028!

Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

On Monday afternoon (July 31), about five big alerts or texts popped up within a two-minute period, with one potential life-influencing message akin to a day in September 1990 when Atlanta won its Olympic bid for 1996.

In the moments of these inbound missives, I was navigating westbound 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan with a friend, the two of us urgently searching for a gas station to replenish a near-empty rental car fuel tank (technically, the first in the series of "alerts" arrived as my travel companion pointed out the illuminated "fuel low" light on the dashboard, and the second urgency-inducing element was the then-imminent conclusion to our interesting weekend of Long Island sightseeing and conversation).

Then, in rapid succession ... 

Alert: "The Mooch" out at White House (whew!)

Text: Family member in hospital (recovering, sort of OK, whew!)

Alert Press Release: Los Angeles announces deal creating LA28!

The initial alerts all sort of got blurry after that biggie ... Los Angeles is likely gonna host the 2028 summer Olympics. Amazing! Not entirely surprising given recent news, but an astounding headline that will certainly influence the trajectory of my life and countless others' lives during the next 11 years. 

Congratulations, LA28!

Here's the bid team's refreshed video highlighting so much of what Los Angeles offers as a three-time Olympic host:

Kudos are also due to Paris 2024 -- which will present Les Jeux Magnifique! -- for the city's eminent selection as the Games host on the city's centennial of presenting the 1924 summer Olympiad.

Favorite headline du jour may be from the French Olympic news site FrancJeux.com.

With thanks to the screenwriters for "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" for 21 years ago teaching me the phrase-turned-headline, Les Jeux Sont Fais -- The Game Is Up! (In this case, for Paris' five-tries-for-the-win bidding efforts.)

Here's a peek at Paris 2024's team video showcasing how the City of Lights is, to their bid motto, Made For Sharing:

The International Olympic Committee also deserves a high-five as the organization got creative and rewrote the books to accommodate two outstanding candidate cities found in LA and the French capital. In the words of IOC President Thomas Bach, a "win-win-win" indeed. Now the upcoming IOC Session in Lima, Peru, will be more of a formality to bestow two Games for the world to enjoy during this century's third decade. 

Several friends later wrote to ask my take on the news.

In a word: HAPPY!

The next three Olympic cities starting with Tokyo in 2020 are going to bring some overdue stability to the Olympic Movement not seen since the LA84 to Seoul '88 to Barcelona '92 era. Atlanta '96 delivered many ups and downs, Sydney 2000 was amazing, then the rive-ringed migraines of Athens '04, Beijing '08 and Rio 2016 shook things to the core. Even London 2012 struggled with world economic challenges. 

In three years, I believe Tokyo will deliver the most technically advanced modern Games, with Paris set to celebrate history and potentially restore traditions of the Cultural Olympiad, an element of the Games experience that once rivaled the sports competition.

Los Angeles will innovate things further with more than a decade to prepare. I, for one, can hardly wait to see things take shape over the next 10+ years, not only in the Olympic scene but also personally as I envision relocating professionally at some point, marriage and starting a family, preparing for retirement and other milestone events along the roads and flights to Japan, France and Los Angeles (not to mention future winter Olympic destinations). 

So many surprises occurred in my world in recent months. Who'da thunk Paris and LA would both prove victorious in their bids? Who'da thunk this would be the biggest year in client work for my growing public relations enterprise? Or finding new friends who've proven to be close quality companions? 

I am so optimistic on many fronts, and the creative and unexpected solutions that led to LA28 is inspiring to me. Some very creative and open minds collaborated through flexibility and patience -- the results will be dramatic and fresh.

Now, some have already found ways to poke holes in the future Games sites, like late night TV hosts (all in good fun, LOL). It will be interesting to see how the world's grizzled Olympic reporters rake up crud on which to hang some headlines now that they don't have Rio 2016 to kick around anymore.

As with that September day in 1990, when I returned home from a day of high school senior year classes to learn from my mother "some great news on NBC" that Atlanta won its bid to host the Centennial Games, I will always remember the person I was with and the place at which the LA28 news arrived. Big smiles. Happy. Very happy.

Where will you be in 11 years? Let's all meet in the City of Angels for some fun. Bravo!

Blue Music To My Eyes

I am so pleased the powers that be at Tokyo 2020 went with my first choice for their new and improved official logo.

The fresh and geometric design was unveiled this week from a field of nearly 15,000 entries and four finalists shared earlier this year.

According to the organizing committee's official statement, the design is from a former architecture student turned artist, Asao Tokolo, whose website Tokolo.com features some pretty cool other works and designs.

I dig some of the back story to the design as well -- it's simple and clean, and should translate well when transformed into vibrant "look of the Games" pieces.

My expectation is that the indigo blue -- a sign of "refined elegance and sophistication," may eventually be turned into an array of other color schemes and even presented in a three-dimensional form, as the rectangles of varying sizes may be easily assembled like LEGO pieces.

Those three different shapes, by the way, are indicative of "different countries, cultures and ways of thinking."

Indigo and midnight blue are longtime personal favorites of the color wheel, and for unknown reasons the logo instantly brought to mind music blue references starting with Madonna's 'True Blue" and Joni Mitchell's "Blue" album. If you want to get technical with Japanese color traditions, check out this document and this site for a rainbow -- that's 虹 in Japan -- of history.

Nothing but love for Mr. Tokolo's great work. Paraphrasing Ms. Mitchell's lyrics to "All I Want," ... Applause - Applause!

Photo via TheBlaze.comhttp://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/AP16116327260411.jpg and Channel News Asia