US Figure Skating Champtionships

Awesome, inspiring, skilled, dynamic, graceful, powerful...these adjectives are inadequate to describe athletes' performances during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships yesterday in host city San Jose, CA. Eighteen-year old Nathan Chen, defending men's champion, showed little signs of his recent illness during an exceptional short program with two quadruple jumps. His score of 104.45 points is the second-highest program tally in nationals history.  

Chen told ESPN, "I try to just make sure that I'm in my zone every competition," he said. "I'll always get nervous regardless of how big or small the competition is. I definitely feel the energy is different than last year [being an Olympic year]. Ultimately, I have to do what I set out to do and focus on my new goals."

NBC Olympics

From NBC Sports, "Adam Rippon and Jason Brown, the 2016 and 2015 U.S. champions, are in second and third with 96.52 and 93.23 points, respectively.

The men’s free skate is Saturday, live on NBCSN and streaming on NBCOlympics.com from 8-11 p.m. ET.

The three-man Olympic team — not necessarily the top three at nationals — will be named Sunday morning, chosen by a committee looking at results from the past year."

Chen Short Program

North Korea accepts offer from South Korea for peace talks

Seoul, South Korea from CNN.com
North Korea - South Korea Talks

North Korea has accepted South Korea's proposal for official talks, in what will be the first high-level contact to take place between the two countries in more than two years.

South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters Friday North Korea informed its southern neighbor by fax at 10:16 a.m. local time (8:16 p.m Thursday ET) that they have accepted the South's offer to initiate talks.

The person-to-person talks will be held January 9 -- one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's birthday -- at the Peace House, located on the South Korean side of the so-called truce village of Panmunjom, located in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two nations, Baik said.

The two sides agreed to work on the details of the talks "through the exchange of documents," Baik said, adding that the agenda items of the talks will be "issues related to improving inter-Korean relationships including the Pyeongchang (Winter) Olympic Games."

Be a Samsung Paralympic Reporter - win expense-paid trip to Pyeong Chang Winter Games!

Produce and submit a two-minute film showing your reporting abilities on the subject of Do What You Can’t and include five things you’d like to report on during Games time to be in with the chance to be one of the Samsung Paralympic Reporters winning the opportunity of a lifetime – an expenses paid trip to blog from PyeongChang 2018'

If being just a spectator is not enough for you, then how about reporting on the Games? In partnership with Samsung, the IPC will fly three Para sport super-fans to PyeongChang to become Paralympic Bloggers for the Games. Sound good?

Enter by Jan. 08, 2018. HOW TO ENTER

USA Olympic Team Trials air on NBC TV

Watch today, New Year's Eve at 1:00P Eastern Ski Jumping Trials for Team USA LIVE from Park City, UT.

More Information: USSkiTeam.com

Men's and Women's Long Track Speedskating Team Trials will air LIVE on NBC Sports Network January 2-7, 2018. Trial results will be combined with those from previous 2017 Fall World Cup Qualifier events to determine which athletes will represent Team USA!

More Information: USSpeedskating.org

Seollal Coincides with 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea

South Koreans will enjoy extra pleasure during Seollal or Lunar New Year, a prelude to the Winter Olympics. During 2018, Soellal occurs January 27-29.

Koreans wear ritual clothing to honor beloved ancestors and reconnect with relatives during family celebrations. Millions will travel by train, bus and plane to their hometowns.

Some of the most popular gifts are store gift cards and cash, as well as health products, ginseng, honey and toiletries. Many look forward to receiving presents of hangwa, traditional sweets and cookies, Korean beef and seafood and fruit.

During Lunar New Year, families may play yutnori, a traditional board game. Players move markers around a game board based on counting up-facing sticks which are thrown. The one who first successfully navigates around the board is the winner!

10 Most Beautiful Towns in South Korea

www.flickr.com

'All Too Human' - merits consideration as conflict increases

Documentary journalist Euna Lee previously spoke at TedX at Indiana University about finding common humanity in her captors while being held prisoner in North Korea. Learn how this South Korean native and U.S. Citizen survived her ordeal until President Clinton secured her release. 

Watch YouTube video of Euna Lee

Two Koreas -- Learning Before a Journey

I was fortunate to complete a short course offered by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of The University of Alabama (UA) College of Continuing Studies entitled, "Korea(s): History and Contemporary Challenges." The instructor, Adamu (A.K.) Shauku, is a former US Army Korean Intelligence Interceptor and translator and currently Professor of Political Science at UA. We explored the history of the Korean peninsula, providing context for the challenges that confront the Korean people today and the unique problem of North Korea in world politics.

www.spendlifetraveling.com

Students learned of the rich culture of the Korean people, influences on Korean life and politics from Shamanism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Christianity. A.K. explained the meaning of key terms (e.g., Jeong, Nam, Chaebols), how past occupation of the peninsula by other Nations affects attitudes toward their neighbors and Western powers, and effects of post-war international sanctions. Students asked many probing and thoughtful questions indicating great interest in learning more about Asia -- a great experience for a Paralympic volunteer!

South Korea topography / wikimedia.org