Beach Volleyball: A Follow-Up...

My Good blog friend Harry over at Multibrand reposted a musing of mine on beach volleyball, particularly the excuse used by the Yemeni team for a loss during their Asian Games campaign; women in bikinis distracted them to the point of losing matches.

So, with that in mind, and in light of the comments he received to that post, I post this follow-up. The point is how distracted will the Yemenis be once they get anywhere near the women's beach volleyball circuit outside of the Asian Games.

Some pictures of the distractions that are sure to be really and truly bothersome for the Yemenis. These images might also go some way to explaining why beach volleyball, particularly the women's game, is so popular!

Singaporean Water Polo Team's Sense of Humour?

The Asian Games have been good for the odd odd story, like the Yemeni beach volleyball team claiming they lost their match because the bikini-clad entertainment was too distracting for them. However, the Singaporean Water Polo team might just have taken the cake with their self-designed swim wear.

The swim wear as you can see is a departure from the traditional black swim trunks they used to wear. The new costume is a red get up with the Singaporean flag prominently placed on the front. Now, in conservative Singapore the self-designed outfit was sure to raise eyebrows. This is especially the case when the position of the crescent moon gives the impression of a raging erection. They don't call this type of swim wear budgie smugglers for no reason. Although, when I was a kid they were called dick-stickers.

Anyways, this 'story' gets interesting because in the thriving democratic police state, also known as Singapore, before the flag or any other national emblem or symbol is used on any costume the users have to get the permission of the Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts.

If permission is not obtained prior to use and the use is then deemed to be 'disrespectful' then the users are liable to fines of up to SGD 1000 for their indiscretions.

I will let you be the judge as to whether the use of the Singaporean flag in this way is disrespectful.

Miss Indonesia, Miss Universe, and Swimsuits

Zivanna Letisha Siregar is Indonesia's representative in the Miss Universe 2009 competition currently being held at Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The coveted title of Miss Universe is to be announced on 23 August 2009.

The above is a photo is of Zivanna in her swimsuit. Normally, Indonesian contestants in these competitions generally attract lots of criticism form local Indonesian media and religious organizations.

The primary complaint being that beautiful Indonesian women and swimsuits do not mix. Although, I have not read too much about the issue this year, at least, in the Indonesian press. I wonder whether this means attitudes are changing or is it simply a case of there being too much other news worthy stuff in need of reporting? Let's hope that Zivanna and her choice of swimsuit do not overshadow her achievements in the competition.

The main controversy to-date seems to have been over Miss Peru's national costume, "la diablada". The costume has offended Bolivia because Bolivia claims that the costume is a manifestation of their folklore and not that of Peru.