Winter Olympics 2010--Anyone Watching?

[JackLuis]

Vancouver Olympic Logo: A Smiling Marker Of Death?

It looks like the Kanucks tripped over the meaning of the inukshuk.

Funny how Madison Ave. often fails to do their homework.

"Peter Irniq. A former commissioner of the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut, Irniq was born and raised in igloos, and has built many inukshuks over the years. More recently, he's built them for museums. Irniq says the meaning of the inukshuk is straightforward: It's a symbol of survival.

"[Inukshuks] have always been built in areas of good hunting for caribou, good hunting for seal and good fishing spots," he says. When he was younger and traveling in the Arctic, he says, the sight of an inukshuk was always reassuring, because it meant he was traveling in a place where others had found game."

Irniq is put off by the Olympic logo because of its human form. Its fat legs and outstretched arms make it look a little like a hockey goalie, and the head has a hint of a smile. Irniq says his people rarely stacked rocks to resemble humans.

"It's a symbol of the fact that someone may have, um, committed suicide or someone may have murdered somebody at that spot," he says."

 

[3113]

Voldemort, jr. won the gold in men's figure skating!

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2010/02/ipt/1266558629.jpg?x=220&y=280&xc=1&yc=1&wc=220&hc=280&q=100&sig=EQI1N2QoUt58ZklO_OUl.w--http://www.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Sports/021910_lysacek_doomsday_604x341.jpghttp://www.vancouver2010.com/img/00/28/49/96855836_04imgFLead-QL.jpg

Evan Lysacek actually, but he's really got to get better costumes. In the short program it was black feathers, in this program it was glittering snakes

Still, I'm very glad he won (I really didn't expect it!). He put his heart and soul into both programs, put all of himself on the line out there on the ice, giving his all in hopes of doing his coach and teachers and country proud.

Silly costume--but nothing at all silly about him or his skating. He was great!

 

[3113]

If we win, it is strategical planning and smartness. If we lose, its an evil conspiracy!

Indeed! I've always feared those mounted police might be part of an evil conspiracy

 

[Tarakin]

I just wanna know where I can get the hoodies the Snowboarders were wearing:

http://www.highsnobiety.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Burton-2010-Olympic-US-Uniforms-00.jpg

Between these and the soul patches, I see a return to Seattle grunge in fashion's future

How about the Norwegian Curling Fashion Victims?

http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100216&t=2&i=61984351&w=460&r=2010-02-16T221244Z_01_BTRE61F1PNN00_RTROPTP_0_OLYMPICS-CURLING

Canada barely beat the Swiss, but they had Sidney Crosby. Congrats!

No evil conspiracy today, one more medal. For that an usual pic of our winner:

Maria Riesch, Combination, Gold:

http://www.presseanzeiger.de/pa_bilder/263746-1_org.jpg


1 USA 6 5 7 18
2 Germany 4 4 3 11
3 Norway 3 3 2 8
4 Canada 3 3 1 7
5 South korea 3 2 0 5
6 Swiss 3 0 1 4
7 France 2 1 4 7
8 China 2 1 1 4
9 Sweden 2 0 1 3
10 Austria 1 2 2 5

Must be warm in Canada currently!

http://p3.focus.de/img/gen/A/Q/HBAQA9zeWyC_Pxgen_r_450xA.jpg

 

[3113]

"It's a symbol of the fact that someone may have, um, committed suicide or someone may have murdered somebody at that spot," he says."

As these games have been clearly attempting to not only respect the aboriginal tribes but give the games the feel of Native American tribes coming together for this contest rather than Greek city states (which I really like, by the way), they really should have done their homework.

In that, I do fault them and I roll my eyes with you

On the other hand, what humans do--all humans--is "borrow" and by that I mean borrow dance steps, artistic elements, musical beats, clothing styles, and, yes, symbols. We are inspired by each other, and, in the best of circumstances, transform what we borrow into something new (African Americans took Irish step dance and made it into tap dancing; African American music turned into Rock n' Roll, etc).

Of course, in the worst of circumstances we can transform something good into something terrible (the Nazi symbol is still used as an emblem of peace and luck in certain areas of Asia--but Buddhists who tried to put it up on a temple in the U.S.A. upset people). And sometimes borrowing in this way trivialize something important to the creators, insulting them. But in the end, there's no way to stop the borrowing. We borrow back and forth, no group is innocent of this. It's human nature.

So, while this is a bit embarrassing and they really ought to have known better, the symbol they used has come to mean what it now means to the world. Most of the world won't be out among the caribou looking for that important sign--and most of the world will forget pretty quickly this emblem. But for those who've have their souvenir with that symbol on it, it will mean what it now means. A gathering of tribes, a contest, a feeling of excitement, global unity, maybe a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

What does it matter if that was its original meaning or not?

 

[3113]

How about the Norwegian Curling Fashion Victims?

http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&d=20100216&t=2&i=61984351&w=460&r=2010-02-16T221244Z_01_BTRE61F1PNN00_RTROPTP_0_OLYMPICS-CURLING

AH! So the Norwegians are to blame for those pants! I haven't been watching curling, but I caught a glimpse of it and those pants and found myself muttering "Please don't be the USA, please don't be the USA...."

Oh, Norway, what happened?

Maria Riesch, Combination, Gold:

http://www.presseanzeiger.de/pa_bilder/263746-1_org.jpg

So how well have Lange boot sales been lately?

 

[JackLuis]

As these games have been clearly attempting to not only respect the aboriginal tribes but give the games the feel of Native American tribes coming together for this contest rather than Greek city states (which I really like, by the way), they really should have done their homework.
--

What does it matter if that was its original meaning or not?

I just found it an odd thing that the Canadians didn't recognize the significant difference in the shape of the "primitive" communications medium.

The inukshuk the Olympics are using as a symbol of the games to signify, "Faster, farther better" or whatever to "Sophisticated eyes" is man striving for perfection, even though his butts as big as his shoulders, but I digress.

To the native who uses this as a marker for death, or non-anthropomorphic symbols for hunting success on a featureless arctic shore, it must be ironic.

"Stupid White Man," shakes head and keeps rowing.

 

[lisa123414]

Ice Dancing!

Ice Dancing -
sorry, this is not a sport, it is an art. My personal definition of art says it may be years after these people are deceased 'ere we mere mortals realize how good - or not good - they were. So phooey to the ice dancing judges - by my definition they are an arrogant lot.

Lisa

 

[jomar]

I keep thinking it should be called the Prolympics. Not new, but still...

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I keep thinking it should be called the Prolympics. Not new, but still...

May as well. The originals certainly were. The old idea of the 'pure amateur' is a nineteenth century conceit only a European aristocrat would come up with. Play for money? Simply isn't done, mon ami!

 

[3113]

Uh-oh! There's trouble at Hogwarts on Ice! Seems Malfoy there on the left is upset that he got silver while Voldemort, jr. there on the right got gold. I think it was the snakes on the black outfit that got V. the extra points...

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01581/Evan_Lysacek_1581779c.jpg

Seriously. The Russians are making a stink about Plushenko getting silver instead of gold because he did a successful "quad" and Lysacek didn't even give one a try. Lysachek's repsonse, paraphrased: if jumping was all that mattered, men's figure skating would go on only for about 10 seconds as they showed off how well they could jump.

And what of Harry Potter?

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.popeater.com/media/2010/02/weir.jpg

Many are saying he was the one who was really robbed! That the judged judged his flamboyance and not his skill--which wasn't great, but was pretty good. More still to come....

Oh, and as an added treat--remember I mentioned the French guy skating for Italy in the overalls? I finally found a picture of him....look if you dare!

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.popeater.com/media/2010/02/skeleton.jpg
Consider. When figure skaters think of Italy, they skate in psudo-Rennissance costume. When they think of France they skate in striped shirts and barets. When They think of Japan it's beautiful komonos, and if they go Mediterranean it's the exotic elegance of antiquities.

But when they think of America.... It's Deliverance on ice!

 

[sr71plt]

I though Johnny Weir's free-style skate was quite good--and I usually can't even watch him skate.

 

[JackLuis]

I agree Johnny got the shaft on his long program. He wasn't as bad as they scored him, but that may be part of the "Masculine" push back that has developed.

The snakes were kinda creepy though.

 

[3113]

I though Johnny Weir's free-style skate was quite good--and I usually can't even watch him skate.

Evidently he's finally knuckled down and is trying to be a real boy--er, skater

 

[sr71plt]

Evidently he's finally knuckled down and is trying to be a real boy--er, skater

He's still a putz as a person.

I don't agree with Lisa above on ice dancing not being a sport. It's artistic, yes, but it requires a honed athlete to be able to do that--and to do it with a partner. Let's compare what they have to do to train their bodies with, say, the curlers, for instance.

That said, I'm not that wild about ice dancing.

 

[3113]

The snakes were kinda creepy though.

I'm tellin' ya, I think the judges feared for their lives if they didn't hand over that gold medal to him and his snakes...

But while I really don't get what the snakes were all about, they were still better than the ice skating hillbilly from France/Italy...

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I'm tellin' ya, I think the judges feared for their lives if they didn't hand over that gold medal to him and his snakes...

But while I really don't get what the snakes were all about, they were still better than the ice skating hillbilly from France/Italy...

Got that right! Talk about fashion-challenged . . .

 

[3113]

Got that right! Talk about fashion-challenged . . .

Meanwhile...I'm getting into the ice dancing. Come on Bear, let's tango around the frozen pond....

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/mm/photo/sports/ctvo/02/57/55/25755_m15.jpg

 

[Weird Harold]

Meanwhile...I'm getting into the ice dancing.

Meryl Davis ought to fire her costume and makeup designers. My first thought when she and White were warming up was, 'that lady needs to bite a fat man the next time she flies out to feed.'

I'm watching women's skeleton now. One of the ESPN radio hosts said last night that lugers think skeleton riders are crazy -- need anything more be said?

 

[Tarakin]

Kerstin Szymkowiak and Anja Huber, Skeleton, Silver and Bronze medal:

http://www.bild.de/BILD/sport/olympia-2010-vancouver/2010/02/20/skeleton/jubel-15087059-qf,templateId=renderScaled,property=Bild,height=349.jpg

First Skeleton medals ever for Germany!

In Icehockey we are used to see pics like this though

http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/dpa/20100220/07/1878974808.jpg

1 USA 6 6 8 20
2 Norway 5 3 2 10
3 Germany 4 5 4 13
4 Canada 4 3 1 8
5 South korea 3 2 0 5
6 Swiss 3 0 1 4
7 France 2 1 4 7
8 Sweden 2 1 1 4
China 2 1 1 4
10 Russia 1 2 2 5
Austria 1 2 2 5

Personal pick of the day: Jeff Pain, Canada, celebrates with the crowds

http://d.yimg.com/i/ng/sp/reuters/20100220/04/4121671075-20022010042818.jpg

 

[jomar]

Seriously. The Russians are making a stink about Plushenko getting silver instead of gold because he did a successful "quad" and Lysacek didn't even give one a try. Lysachek's repsonse, paraphrased: if jumping was all that mattered, men's figure skating would go on only for about 10 seconds as they showed off how well they could jump.

I think Lysacek's mother got in a zinger too.

 

[stephen55]

Jon Montgomery wins gold for Canada in men's skeleton.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/amateur/story/2010/02/20/mb-montgomery-russell-gold-medal.htmlhttp://

 

[jomar]

I want to hate Apolo because of his flavor savor, but I have to admit I'm rooting for him...short track gets my adrenaline going, dammit

Go Lyndsey!

 

[jomar]

Apolo bronze. Pesky Koreans.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

But that's #7. None of them will beat that.