"Water, Water everywhere...

Everywhere but where you want it, that is. As well as in wrong form. Unevenly distributed in your own yard, let alone throughout the globe. Wrong amounts. Too much, too little, such a delicate balance with an element that is plentiful on our globe as well as within each of us, of course.

Spirits, the Olympic spirit, the spirits you may consume after reading all the flood of pre-Olympic news, regarding the natural realities of the locales wherein many of the Winter Olympic 2022 events are to be held, which are being un-naturally altered, to such a degree which seems at odds with the true Olympic spirit, that of healthy competition, international cooperation, while increasingly emphasizing "sustainability", the latter pertaining to the particular locale du jour as well as how the people are treated in various nations that are to be participating...the stories behind the stories...regarding "fair farm practices", etc. This, at a time when the host nation finds itself almost "snowed under" with criticisms regarding both their internal and external relationships, their "practices" as it pertains to human rights. As well as their relationship with Mother Nature. Many "watered down" news and articles published so far on all the foregoing topics. 

Peak Coverage: To top it all off, I heard this morning some supporting news coverage for the article I read in my recent "Outside" magazine, that this may be the first Olympics where we not only get some news that is a bit varnished, tarnished by the agencies repping for the host nation, but here comes some more 'crystallized' information about the amount of "fake snow", perhaps in every venue given the lack of the real stuff, to the degree, at peak volume (the amount it will take to cover such peaks as Xiaohaituo Mountain, a prime location for many ski events this time around, where it snows as little as two inches per season and there is otherwise minimal natural water supplies nearby), it  ('Xia' for short), will consume close to 1.8 billion gallons of water for snowmaking. This follows an initial, hopeful estimate of 49 million, a figure which was probably issued for public consumption, as part of a PR, watered down estimate, an attempt to snow us, so as to detract from negative press, which they are getting an already ample supply of. So, if more evenly distributed, among their population (at last count, before they eased their "one child" rule, in order to spur the economy), would be just over a gallon per citizen...wonder what the local propaganda, "snow" maker might be spinning, for the consumption of the locals as well as ourselves. Perhaps if so much wasn't used to water down news for international consumption, there would be more for everyone.

A Flood of Fake Flake: Which is yet another concern expressed this morning, from an international news agency, on behalf of the terrain and the locals living nearby, when this1.8 billion gallons of water, utilized to make artificial snow, MELTS! As the reporter expressed, "This area is not used to such saturation, what's going to happen when...?" Slippery slope indeed.

Saturated? If you are feeling either submerged in a sea of negative or artificial news or, you are still thirsting for the real thing, count on me to continue, until this viral tsunami has subsided, to bring you some fresh stuff from in and around town (as in Bejing) the next several weeks, news made crystal clear. Lest you find yourself among the "Great Unwashed".