Vancouver Olympics Opening Ceremony

[meeks]

as a Vancouverite - I'm watching this on TV and thinking... "that's it?"

I watched part of the Torin Olympic ceremony and thought it was creative and beautiful. The Chinese one - well, was it live or memorex - and no one wants to wait 15 minutes while Yao Ming treads around the whole stadium at the ceiling line. But this? Some dance. Some singing. Nothing I'd consider pushing the artistic envelope. I guess they spent all their budget on bringing in the US military for the defense package.

[David Boxen]

Watching it now...underwhelming. I thought it was pretty funny right at the beginning when the people in the special balcony weren't there on time.

[qiphlow]

those shots panning over b.c. were fucking beautiful! i want to live in the mountains!

[meeks]

every day I drive home from work I cross the '2nd narrows bridge' (aka iron workers memorial bridge) into North Vancouver. Each time I see the mountainscape as I reach the apex of the bridge I think of all those water color paintings of mountains in Siquan...

[Mr_Wood]

Is it true that they televised the death of a Georgian luge competitor from earlier that day in the opening ceremony ?

[Plante]

Wood, I don't remember seeing during the ceremny. But I saw it on TV a couple of times. They did dedicate the ceremony to the deceased luger.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

I particularly enjoyed the failure of the machinery to bring up the flame and cauldron with the breakdown of one beam of "ice" to rise. So they put Gretzky on a pickup truck and drive him back through Vancouver to the back up cauldron for the flame with drunken Canucks shouting their adoration along the truck in the freaking down pouring rain.

fucking priceless and only in Canada, so pay attention. lol

[qiphlow]

i saw absolutely zero of these guys:



where has your pride gone, canada??? WHERE????

[Michael]

People are surprised it's raining in Vancouver in February? Uh, I never lived there, but it was my understanding the weather in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver was all the same from Nov. - April, and that is rainy and cold.

[meeks]

blue sky today - not a cloud to be seen. Reeeeally lame to put Gretsky in the back of a pickup in the pouring rain, while the cops sit snug n cozy in the cab driving him.
maybe they should have driven around the block a few times to hunt for the artistic performance they seem to have never found...

[roger hao]

What a joke - for all the ski events they have to keep
the televised shots real tight cause of no snow.
The trucking company owners must have loved it.

[RobP2]

Maybe I'm getting cynical but I'm thinking more and more that these events are a colossal waste of money and resources and have more to do with corporate bullshit than athletic endeavours. I've yet to meet anyone in the UK enthused by the thought of the 2012 London Olympics (unless 2012 delivers and it becomes the Apocolympics....)

[Michael]

Agree with RobP. Overall too much emphasis on sports in general.

This message brought to you by McOwl Foodstuffs: "I'm loving it." It being the hardening of your arteries.

[Steve James]

I don't think it's possible to complain about the commercialization of the Olympics without complaining about commercialization in general (from X-Mas to to corn flakes ... to organic foods to ... well, everything. I do agree that the money spent on the Olympics could probably end world hunger --but that'd take an organization, and many wouldn't want that either. So, to me the question is whether we are better off with or without the Olympics. I think it's better to have them than not. They probably cost less in terms of cash and national resources than the World Cup or the four World Series and Superbowls. Yeah, we probably should spend a lot less, but there ain't nobody gonna make us and, it seems, we ain't gonna do it on our own. In the end, I'm gonna watch ... some.

[meeks]

there was an article in the local paper (the Province) about the native indian pavillion (aka first nations pavillion). They are offering a bison burger and McDonald's complained to the IOC that they shouldn't be allowed to use the word 'burger' (a free domain word) because McD is a huge corporate sponsor selling what they also refer to as 'burgers'. The IOC agreed and now they have chosen to call them either bison 'sliders' or 'bannockwiches' (bannock being an indian bread but even I didn't know that until the article).
so the auther of the article in the paper went on to remind everyone that the Olympics is about family and athletic endeavours and here 2 of the largest sponsors are Coca Cola and McDonald's - responsible for delivering sugar and fat to the nations and contributors to childhood obesity worldwide. He really slammed them through the mud and I was quite surprised the paper printed it, but happy that it was allowed. I made a purpose of going to the native pavillion to get a bison BURGER but they weren't opening the food service until evening.

by the way - went and checked out a couple of pavillions - including Russia which is the next host of the Olympics. If anyone is thinking of standing in line for an hour or 2 to see what's inside, let me save you the disappointment - they are intended to be glorified beer gardens for athletes and spectators from their respective countries. On some nights you can only get into specific pavillions (Nederlands, etc...) if you have that country's passport. That way everyone can associate with fellow countrymen and communicate in the same language. In the daytimes, the pavillions are simply a bunch of flat screen displays, a stage, and a cafeteria. The Russia one has a gift shop though. $200 for a Tshirt with the Russian Olympic team's design on it. $500 for a jacket. $300 for a sweatshirt (Canadian funds). All made in China for pennies. In fact everything at the Olympics (shirts, flags, stuffed animals) are made in China - looks like they're the only ones benefitting from the Olympics. Everyone in Vancouver has to volunteer.