Good morning and greetings, Winter Olympic fans. If you’re like me, and you don’t snowboard down an Alaskan glacier for the thrill of it all, you might not have been that caught up in the Olympic Games from downtown Sochi.

That being said, I enjoy watching the highlights on the NBC national news to experience the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat and to see what tie Brian Williams is wearing.

So last Tuesday, I was all set to see some fantastic downhill skier win a gold, an ice dancer slip and capture a silver or someone get bronzed at the half pipe. The training and dedication to be an Olympic athlete is inspiring and somewhat daunting. My motto has always been, it’s not whether you win or luge, but where you place the blame.

So as the news began, the first story was not from the slopes, but instead the bloody protests in Ukraine, a country that borders Russia in eastern Europe. Good luck finding it on a map. There have been violent months-long, anti government protests between the government and the opposition, who want a true democracy, closer relations with the European Union and the west and more radio air play for the band Pussy Riot.

The protesters, who are not big fans of Mother Russia, mean business, and unlike myself, are willing to die for their cause. Hey, when the first bullet is fired, I’m surrendering my satellite dish and three DVR’s.

So tens of thousands of protesters marched in downtown Kiev to show their support in defiance of the government. But then to make things really toasty, they built a ring of fire around their camp to protect themselves from the police. The streets were ablaze and no one seemed to be roasting marshmallows.

This led to bloody confrontations, as the death toll grew between government opposition and the police. At week’s end there were changes in the air as police joined the protesters and Parliament impeached the president.

This protest movement comes as another embarrassment for Vladamir Putin, who hasn’t gotten rave reviews for the accommodations in Sochi or his stand on homosexuality. As for me, all I wanted was the results of the men’s final in the curling competition, but instead got a replay of the ruckus in Tahrir Square without the camels.

So I don’t know how this is going to play out, but in the words of Vlad Putin,” Nobody should pin their hopes on a miracle.” Or as writer Dorothy Parker might have said of him. “It serves me right for putting all my eggs in one bastard.”

So next up, I figure I’ll get my results from the four man boblsed competition. Well, no such luck, as we were then airlifted to South America, where young Venezuelans, unhappy with the ravaged economy, rampant shortages of basic consumer goods, rising crime and no players in the NBA, clashed with security forces who fired tear gas, water cannons and Dyan Cannon into the crowds.

Earlier in the week, the government had arrested Harvard-educated opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez for inciting the violent protests, which drove his supporters wild. Student protesters from the universities are united in their condemnation of the government, as inflation in Venezuela is running at 56.2%, the highest in the world. The protests were initially a reaction to rising crime, personal insecurity and one of the world’s highest murder rates. Many basic goods like bread, rice and brie cheese were missing from the shelves.

There’s an Venezuelan proverb that says,” A monkey dressed in silk is still a monkey.” This is not a reference to the former President Hugo Chavez, who recently died after ruling for 15 years. I just liked the quote. Or maybe it’s just my fondness for Bolivarianism or socialist rule.

Finally, Brian Williams got to the Olympic story, but by that time I felt like the U.S. women’s hockey team, dismayed, disoriented and disenchanted, after they suffered a crushing defeat in the gold medal game against Canada. They were less than four minutes from the gold before they collapsed. Now it’s four more years of silver.

Then to top it off, in the midst of one of the snowiest winters in history, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hit the newstands and warmed the cold and weary throughout the east. S.I. called this year’s 50th anniversary cover, “the happiest cover in swimsuit history,” which features three scantily clad models in just neon bikini bottoms.

That just goes to show how freedom of the flesh, er press, works in a true democracy. And that’s just what those folks in Kiev and Caracas are fighting for.

For our photo journey, we are heading back to last September. At this time of year, the sun rises over the Santa Cruz Wharf, so I took the opportunity to shoot the sights from a different west side locale. The final two shots are from another morning of birds doing their thing in a cold water paradise.

This morning brought to mind an old Chinese proverb, “You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” And if I’m not mistaken, I believe that’s something Detective Rusty Cohle mentioned while recalling a murder investigation in HBO’s thriller ‘True Detective.’ Or in his own words, “I know who I am. And after all these years, there’s a victory in that.”

Beware of the Yellow King and see you in Carcosa.

On to some late night humor. “Presidents Day, of course, started out as celebration of Washington’s birthday. Then someone remembered it was Lincoln’s birthday on the 12th. So now we celebrate Washington, Lincoln and all the other Presidents. I have no idea how this led to mattress sales. It’s probably something do with Bill Clinton.” – Craig Ferguson “This Valentine’s Day Americans must remember that politicians are like a box of chocolates. We bite into them to find out what’s on the inside only to discover that Democrats are too often soft and gooey and Republicans are mostly nuts.” –Bill Maher

“Ted Cruz, of course, was furious that the big storm back east shut down the government. He said, ‘That my job!’ But you know, there is a big difference between Ted Cruz and snow. Both are white and everyone’s sick of them – but eventually snow goes away. “I know climate change is a hoax – of course – but places that have never seen this type of winter weather got hit by it. More than a half a million southerners have been left in the dark — and then the storm hit.” – Bill Maher

“In Sochi, a man who criticized the Sochi games was sentenced to three years in a prison colony. After hearing the sentence, the man said it’s still better than a hotel in Sochi. “In California, an openly gay candidate is running for office as something called “a new generation Republican.” Or as their known in the rest of the country, a Democrat.” –Conan O’Brien

“In Florida there is a guy running for Congress who is 101 years old. And despite what you might think, the guy is actually quite a progressive. He wants to expand Medicare. He wants to fix Social Security. He wants to let women vote. Snow and ice have frozen and hardened over tons and tons of garbage. Here in New York City we call that the giant slalom. President Obama met with Mexico’s president. He had a message for Mexicans. He said, “If you like your fajitas, you can keep your fajitas.” – David Letterman

“Charlie Sheen is getting married to an adult film star. She’s no longer in the adult film industry. She is what they call a retired porn star. Too many concussions.” – David Letterman “Charlie said, “I just know this is the woman I’m going to be with for the rest of my February. A team of military researchers is developing a pizza that can stay edible for three years. It’s been a weird couple of years for the military. One minute you’re hunting Osama bin Laden and the next you’re trying to outsmart Papa John’s – Jimmy Fallon

So that’s my last blast for February 2014. We’ll catch you adjusting to playing the point guard role while being a leading rookie of the year candidate. Aloha, mahalo and later, Victor Olidepo fans.