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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Feb 13, 2010 - 03:58am PT
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I like this thread. One gets an increased perspective on a topic that too often gets "spun" way out of proportion. Current Events.
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Srbphoto
Trad climber
Kennewick wa
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:23am PT
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I keep forgetting these games are not about celebrating excellence in amateur athletics
When did they start allowing amateurs compete? :)
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:26am PT
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All I have to say is....the less said about giant towering Canadian totem ice-penises the better.
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cintune
climber
the Moon and Antarctica
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Feb 13, 2010 - 11:57am PT
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Can someone hire a French tutor for Stephen Harper?
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tinker b
climber
the commonwealth
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:05pm PT
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tami do you have any pictures of your circus kids? i don't think it would be off topic to post them.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:09pm PT
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Well, the downhill skiing is postponed, due to fog.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/sports/olympics/14downhill.html?hp
There doesn't seem to be a lot new about Kumaritashvili's accident, although they are raising the wall at the final turn on the luge course, where he crashed, starting a bit lower, and making other changes to the course. But still (predictably) claiming the course was fine. Hopefully the news media will pursue this story.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/sports/olympics/13luge.html?ref=olympics
And a perspective on the opening ceremony. I particularly liked the poet, but couldn't figure out where the CirKids were. There was perhaps a bit too much glitz and nationalism during the ceremony, and it was somewhat annoying to see highly-paid professional hockey players march in beside the equally hard-working but poor amateurs. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/sports/olympics/14mcgrath.html?hp
Sadly, another Canadian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan - the 140th. Corporal Joshua Baker.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 01:59pm PT
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Agreed - the rendition of our national anthem by Nikki Yanofsky was somewhat grating.
It would have been nice had they gotten Leonard Cohen to perform his own "Alleluia", instead of k.d. lang.
I was a little perturbed by the portrayal of First Peoples, with the emphasis on singing and dancing and so forth. It seemed a bit patronizing, but as the four host First Nations had considerable influence on what was done, their choice.
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hooblie
climber
from where the anecdotes roam
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Feb 13, 2010 - 02:10pm PT
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"particularly liked the poet"
me too anders, that's what put me over the edge to comment upthread.
as an american, i don't feel threatened in the rivalry for extravaganza, and we can muster some monologuers,
but the "please and thankyou" line, and the implication of civilty stopped me in my tracks.
what a towering achievement it would be, to be able to likewise make that claim, and make it so unimpeachably.
that's the finer point on my remark. i feel it really, really matters... how one conducts oneself, including as a national attribute.
i will rewind to his segment, it deserves further consideration
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Chief
climber
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Feb 13, 2010 - 02:16pm PT
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Opening show had some interesting wire work.
Hate to be the FX guys in charge of the hydraulics on the malfunctioning fire stand rig. Not exactly career enhancing.
(The First Nations, nature and animals thing was bordering on hurlworthy)
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 02:20pm PT
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The poet was Shane Koyczan, who calls himself a "slam poet". Here he is performing his poem from last night, called "We Are More". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQbQGn_rqTw It was originally commissioned for the Canadian Tourism Commission. Probably somewhere on the CTV or Vancouver 2010 website there's a video of him from last night.
The narrator, when there was one, was Donald Sutherland.
And "Both Sides Now" was performed by Joni Mitchell - she wasn't shown while performing.
And yes, something went wrong with the hydraulics last night. Hopefully it was simply an act of nature.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 13, 2010 - 02:23pm PT
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Chief I wondered if you and your crew we on that, obviously not since there was a failure. Just read that the FX crew are having to shell out 95 bucks a day for parking to get close enough to the venue and deal with the 38 tonnes worth of gear hanging from the ceiling. Talk about getting gouged !
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 04:54pm PT
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Yes, there are reports of about 200 protesters marching through downtown this morning, breaking windows and spraypainting and vandalizing cars and businesses. Lions' Gate Bridge (the main one on the Vancouver - Whistler route) was temporarily closed. The police have arrested several protesters, but they may be reassembling elsewhere to resume their march.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Olympic+protesters+cause+damage/2561452/story.html
On YouTube already (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En5F5Q2ny_c); - the protesters, some of whom are chronic if not professional, have learned that the police behave less aggressively when they know a camera is watching. And it's no secret that our police do sometimes over-react, and can be less than forthcoming about it.
FWIW, Vancouver has a long history of protest, from the Post Office riot in 1935 (http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1935.htm);, which led to the on-to-Ottawa trek by the unemployed, to the Rolling Stones riot in 1972, to the stupidity of the "Squamish Five" in the early 1980s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamish_Five); to the Stanley Cup riot in 1994, to the APEC riots in 1997. There's something of a professional protest class, who always seem aggrieved about something. Probably not that many people altogether - maybe a few hundred. There's also some history of overly-aggressive behavour by the police and RCMP, which doesn't help.
The protests last night outside the opening ceremonies were apparently raucous but peaceful, with about 2,000 involved.
I was a bit disappointed that Betty Fox wasn't chosen to light the torch. The symbolism and history of the torch relay is nothing to be proud of, but her son Terry was an iconic Canadian, perhaps the iconic Canadian.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 05:23pm PT
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Thank you, and not at all. Come visit any time. We're maybe not quite so good at self-promotion, or tend to see things more as they are. But a good time will undoubtedly be had by nearly all, over the next few weeks. They're even forecasting quite good weather, starting by about Wednesday.
Traffic and parking are a bit of a challenge, but not so much if you stay away from downtown. All part of the package.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 05:59pm PT
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A slight segue - the ceremony last night was in English and French, and also some of the Coast Salish tongues. All are official languages in Canada, but English and French are the official languages of the IOC - everything must be in both.
French is useful on the west coast, particularly if you want to work for the federal government. It also boosts your chances of being accepted as an immigrant. Many younger people know at least some French, as the teaching of it has gradually improved. But French is far from necessary, and arguably a south or east Asian language like Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Tagalog or such is more useful, particularly in that social workers tend to do a lot of work in immgrant communities.
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sac
Trad climber
spuzzum
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Feb 13, 2010 - 06:27pm PT
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t*r,
As for the olympics... glad you find it FUN.
As a B.C er, I find it kinda well ... f, ing rediculous and
the coorp. agendas far too overwhelming.
You might have to be here to fully comprehend.
I don't own a T.V., and have been watching online. Being not used to commercials, it is overwhelming and an incredibly... commercial affair.
Kinda shocking actually.(perhaps to someone sin T.V)
It seems, a big richy rich party, to me.
The amount of money involved is ... one cannot help but think of better uses for it. I find this hard to ignore.
Yeah, FUN though.
Anyway, all IMO, in case anyone wanted to know.
Gotta go, speedskating is on(line).
Taking place at the new $178,000,000 oval in Richmond.
That's a whole lotta... FUN!
Peace
A.
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Chaz
Trad climber
greater Boss Angeles area
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Feb 13, 2010 - 07:29pm PT
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American TV coverage once again makes the games totally un-watchable.
I tuned in twenty-five minutes ago, hoping to see some competition of some sort, I'm not particular as to sport. I just want to see a game.
Instead, NBC has broadcast dozens of commercials, and a five-minute piece about how much the Dutch love speed-skating. But no actual competition.
I might love speed-skating too, if NBC could manage to show us some.
Jesus!
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 13, 2010 - 07:58pm PT
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A Swiss ski jumper, Simon Ammann, won the first gold medal at the Olympics today. It was the third time he'd won the 'normal hill' event.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/13/sports/AP-OLY-JUM-Normal-Hill.html?hp
If you ever want a cheap thrill, go to the top of a ski jump and look down.
Chaz: CTV is the official Canadian television network covering the Olympics. They're at http://www.ctvolympics.ca/ Sounds like there's stuff to watch there. You can also try Norwegian Broadcasting at http://www.nrkol.no/index.html - check under "videos". You won't understand what they're saying, but they'll provide a quite different perspective on the games. Not much hockey, curling, or figure skating, thankfully.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 13, 2010 - 08:07pm PT
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sac says: The amount of money involved is ... one cannot help but think of better uses for it. I find this hard to ignore.
Those expenditures actually provided jobs for quite a few Canadians. And a objective for dedicated athletes to aspire to world wide. The Olympics are globally cultural positive affair. That's a pretty good use of money imho.
Your definition of "better" may be different than mine, no big deal.
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