The 2014 Winter Olympics are in the news now, mostly because people are desperate for an obscure sports fix, and if you thought 2012 was just a little too smooth and pleasant the whole way through, fear not: The 2014 Olympics will be a return to geopolitical significance and general awkwardness. They're going down in Sochi, Russia, where the grand hero of the opening ceremonies will undoubtedly be noted heart-throb Vladimir Putin.
↵Putin is securely in power now, but I wonder about the wisdom of handing an increasingly unpopular authoritarian in a politically and economically unstable country with a history of political and economical instability a massive global event seven years in advance. (I do dig the logo, though.)
↵So, uh, get ready for that. Lots of people politically grandstanding like I did, lots of mascots that appear to be just this side of infringing on Ice Age's intellectual property, lots of photos of Putin defeating Shaun White in an impromptu snowboarding competition while shirtless. Apparently they're already hoarding reserve snow for the occasion.
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