Feature story with Ian Crocker

Olympic Swimmer Ian Crocker

With the Olympics looming around the corner, I thought I’d catch up with friend and Olympic Gold Medalist, Ian Crocker. His boyish features haven’t changed one bit in the months we’ve seen each other, but he somehow looks tired. His clear blue eyes shift lazily as he welcomes me in to his home and he whips his head to the side to get his blond hair out of his face. He forces a smile, not with frustration but with ambivalence. As he bends down to scoop up one of three of his beloved feline friends, Dina, he apologizes because he hasn’t eaten yet and will be having dinner as we talk.

He doesn’t much like talking about swimming, “It’s like, when I leave the pool, I sort of turn off swimming” he says. So, I decided to focus on different things that he likes…and maybe include some stuff about swimming.

Well, he’s a man of many talents - cars, animals, music, movies, writing and food. His parents have instilled in him the value of back up plans. They wanted him to love many things, not just swimming, so they made having hobbies an important mindset. “When I started swimming, I got a little bit of self-worth, like, alright, I am good at something” he explains. “It was a lot of work though, so I found that I need diversions on a day to day basis and I just developed a ton of other hobbies.”

Surprisingly, Mr. Crocker isn’t a bad writer. I read his blog on swimroom.com and was impressed. “I would love to write in some capacity. When I want to relax and just be, to stop and focus on the little things, writing helps me communicate what I’m feeling. It just comes off better than talking.”

Even though his Olympic career is coming to a close (this will be his last Olympic Games to participate in) swimming has been his life for years. How many people can say they have earned Olympic Gold medals? How many people will be remembered in history books for holding world records? “I think I enjoy the fact that I’ve won medals and hold records because those were goals that I set for myself, and now I’ve achieved those goals. The reality, after you have the record, is that the spotlight is on you and it takes much more to retain that record. It’s just a new stress that you have.”

Even though children are not in the foreseeable future, Crocker thinks about his legacy in relation to his future kids. “I also kinda worry for my kids, you know? I hope the don’t feel like, dad did all this and if I don’t do something similar then he won’t be proud of me. I think about that, I mean, it’s a nice legacy but…I don’t know. (laughs) I’ll stick with my cats for now."

With the exception of a few athletes, Olympiads are rarely involved in scandalous publicity. I wondered: Is there a code of conduct these athletes live by? Crocker thinks, “It comes down to a few things. For the more amateur sports, swimming, track and field etc., there aren’t millions of dollars on the line, which provide less incentive to cheat. I think the more mainstream sports lack the ethical mindset and the athletes don’t feel the need for excellence at all times. Swimming is not an entertainment sport, you’re not going to get super famous. So, if you’re not doing it to improve or get better over a long period of time or to reach goals, then there’s really no point because you’re not going to end up a multi-millionaire.”

What will he be doing when swimming isn’t his main focus? “I don’t know. I’ve got ideas on some things, maybe stay involved with swimming. Like opening up a swim school for kids from infant ages to six or eight years old. You get them comfortable with the water in an instructional pool and then feed them into a swim team environment all the way up to high school swimming in order to prepare them for college. I think this can not only be financially lucrative, but also rewarding to be working with the kids and sharing your philosophy on life and sport and everything. I would also like to open a restaurant, but it’s such a hard risky business to get into and be successful in.”

Toward the end of the interview, I put on my James Lipton mask and did a rendition of the sequence he does at the end of every “Inside the Actor’s Studio.”

What is your favorite Bob Dylan Song?
“Isis…”
Favorite lyric in “Isis?”
“What drives me to you is what drives me insane” (laughs)
What is your favorite movie?
“Probably “[The Big] Labowski” – it’s just hilarious!”
What’s your favorite time of day?
“Eight or nine in the morning, right after morning workout.”
Favorite book right now?
“Heat” by Bill Buford. It’s sort of a chronology of this chef’s journey.”
What’s your favorite restaurant in Austin?
“Vespaio. Uchi is damn good, but Vespaio is just…”
Favorite sport?
“I don’t know how I feel about sports…” (laughs)

With that said, we can only conclude that it might be time for Mr. Crocker to drive down a different avenue. His talent has force fed him into Olympic Gold Medal status and he might be too full for any more. From one to the other,
“Being noticed is a burden. Jesus Christ got crucified for getting himself noticed.
That’s why I disappear a lot.” –Bob Dylan

"A Christmas Story" on repeat -

"You'll shoot your eye out, you'll shoot your eye out!"

It's official, Christmas time has come. "A Christmas Story" written by Jean Shepard is back on the air.

I guess I didn't expect this movie to come on so soon. As I watched, at first with disdain, all past Christmas memories came floating back to mind. Ah yes, pink bunny pajamas, my grandma's yellow, fluffy, floral bathrobe. Visiting Santa in the mall, my sister screaming, crying and terrified of Santa. Ralphie getting his Red Ryder BB gun, me, getting my totally awesome Huffy with a red bag to put on the handlebars.

So, unexpected/slightly expected holiday spirit? "A Christmas Story" which will no doubt, be on every night, twice a night from now until Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Gory Isn't So Scary -

The horror film genre is so popular and has been for so many years. From the early "The Blob" and "Night of the Living Dead" to "The Omen" and "Rosemary's Baby" there has been a distinct difference between the somewhat comical gory horror and the true, seemingly real life scary movies.

The graphics and artistic advances to come with time have almost made the old-school gory horror movies a little bit better than they used to be, but for me, I find them more funny than scary. I recently saw "Hostel" by Eli Roth and was disappointed when I found myself laughing (out loud) while watching a man burn out one of the victim's eyes. The acting was atrocious as the first three quarters of the movie exemplified the idiotic, horny, pothead American boys visiting Amsterdam. Every stereotype one fears while touring as an American is the focus of this movie. So, when these American boys are thinking with their "heads" it's no surprise they get tricked and sold as torture victims for businessmen. As I said before, the "scariest" parts were funny at best and as the end of the movie neared I kept hoping for just one twist in plot, something to screw up the hero...something scary!

I am by no means addicted to the art of scary movies but I do love the adrenaline rush that comes with a good startle and a freaky plot twist. Before I watched "Hostel" my sister and I watched "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." I've seen it before and I can safely say, I want to cry every time I see it. (My leg actually charlie-horsed from the tension.) There's something about watching something horrifying, like possession, happen to people. There's the element of real-life, that, "Could this happen to me?" factor that is especially scary.

I wonder when the next scariest movie ever made according to Beth will come out. I can't wait, and hope to not be disappointed.

Recommendations for SUPER SCARY MOVIES:
A Tale of Two Sisters (Korean film)
The Omen (the original)
The Exorcist
Saw I
Rosemary's Baby
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Ringu (Japanese version of The Ring)
28 Days Later
Amityville Horror
Children of the Corn
The Shining

Oh, Sweet Nothing -Lou Reed

I pride myself in still reading as much as I can. With TV, ipods and...computers, it's hard to still find time to read. I do, and I have just finished "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby written in 1995. It was made into a film in 2000 starring John Cusack and was nominated for an Acadamy Award in 2001.

It's about a guy, Rob, who owns a record shop in Holloway, England who has just broken up with his girlfriend. This tragedy forces Rob to re-examine all his past relationship and throughout his self-absorbed views of life comes to the pleasant conclusion that - the world does not star Rob.

I guess I should have known that "High Fidelity" was going to be one of those every-so-popular books about nothing. Seinfeld has REALLY taken over. Frankly, I'm sick of them. Where did the fun, imaginative, quirky, escapist sort of fiction go? I know people are wierd and insecure and anxious but the Ally McBeal-esque "all in your head" character is too predictable.

I suppose I've just read this book at the wrong time (amidst all the Chuck Klosterman's, David Sedaris's and Augusten Burroughs's) because I could not connect with the humanly emotional Rob, his true to life overbearing parents and his run ins with the American singer-songwriter from Austin, TX.

No, I suppose that I just miss the sort of fiction that lets you escape to an imaginary world the writer has created instead of the exact play by play of everyday life and everyday emotion. Let's have a little excitement back! With the constant and immediate progression of technology people are quickly losing their ability to imagine and create. We are used to things being created for us.

Yes, I miss the days of "Animal Farm" and "To Kill A Mockingbird" where throughout the fiction the reader can form his/her opinions about government, race, death and human interaction and thought.