First, obviously, is the Duran Duran album. My subjective criteria for a "great band" are (1) they have three songs I like; (2) all the songs are at least ten years old; (3) I like the songs for reasons other than nostalgia. Thus Duran Duran is a great band, but all of the songs are on Rio. Perhaps I need more discriminating criteria.

Second, I'm relieved that U.S. citizens (of both the at-large and the Illinois varieties) won't be socked with a massive tax bill for the upcoming boondoggle.

Third, the "Olympic Games" industry is notoriously corrupt. Brazil is not noted for the strength of its judicial institutions. I'm curious to see how much money gets waylaid, and to what ends.

Fourth, Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens, Sydney, and Beijing all expended considerable resources to "clean up" and displace the riff-raff before the games. I think the governments of those places wield the whip-hand of government coercion more effectively and efficiently than Brazil or Rio. I'm curious to see how the "unsightly" populations of Rio react to the upcoming police crackdown.

Fifth, I'm sure someone knows, but I'm curious about the nature and variety of logrolling that go on in the IOC selection process.