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Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games - Winter Edition!

Another first for the Vancouver Olympics....

First Winter Olympic games (maybe summer too, but I'm not sure) with a disabled athlete competing in the non-para-olympic games.

Watched the ads linked above. I've been proud to claim BC home since 1986, when I came and stayed for Expo.

Los Angeles Times called Vancouver arguably the most beautiful city in North America recently.
 
Less than 2 days remain! The amount of people that have come out to see the torch run is incredible here in BC.
 
MacNut said:
NBC still picks the stuff you see. They skip a lot of coverage. The best bet is that ESPN wins the new contract and goes wall to wall live coverage.
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I actually think between NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Universal, USA and all the other billion channels NBC owns (most of which will be used for Olympic coverage, like they did in 2008) they've got it pretty much covered, I don't even think ESPN could rival them. Plus, I think Olympic coverage won't go exclusively to cable. They want the big events on OTA so everyone can see it.

rdowns said:
OMG, what a horrid logo.
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Nah, it's not bad. The 2012 London logo is *****. Sorry Londoners ;)
 
Surely said:
A friend of mine had the hono(u)r of running with the torch in Alberta. It was pretty cool to see the video of him running with it.....
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That's pretty neat. I wasn't too excited about the torch relay until I went and saw it and went to a community celebration. It's hard not to get excited when 25,000 people are having a great time around you!


The opening ceremonies are Friday at 6PM! Who do you guys think the final torch barer will be?

Wayne Gretzky? Betty Fox? Rick Hansen? Michael J. Fox? Hmm!
 
I think that is should be Gretzky. He's one of the most recognizable Canadians in the world, was the best hockey player ever, and has represented Canada at the Olympics and at other international hockey tournaments.

I just read that he just arrived in Vancouver tonight.....
 
The torch has arrived at Vancouver's city hall.....

Here's a shot of Steve Nash carrying the torch in the city.

38689_m15.jpg


Must be crazy in Vancouver these days!
 
A couple of months ago the torch was run through our little community, and right past our front door. In fact, they were doing a transfer right there. Naturally we went out to see it.

Completely by chance there was a wedding going on at the church next door. When they realized that the torch was on its way the whole group - bride, groom, best people, parents, and crowd - spilled out onto the road. The event took a pause so that the bridal couple could get their photos taken with the torch bearer by their official photographer. It was very cool, and they were totally chuffed that they had an extra-special special day. Then they all piled back into the church to finish the formalities. Of course they also got some photos taken with the Mounties on road closure duty... not even in their Red Serge.

I think that is going to be one of the big legacies... VANOC made sure the torch passed through as many communities as possible. Am I mistaken in thinking this is the longest torch run ever?
 
Surely said:
The torch has arrived at Vancouver's city hall.....

Here's a shot of Steve Nash carrying the torch in the city.

38689_m15.jpg


Must be crazy in Vancouver these days!
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yes it is - kinda
not as many people as I thought but then an estimate 1/3 of the residents are out of town. I know I am going away next week.

doesn't help I am 200 meters away from the main epicenter of activities.

took me two and half hours to get to work , usually is 40min
and I am not sure if I CAN get home tonight via public transit.
and saw the torch too.

edit: will see it tomorrow too , goes right by my house. will try to take and post pics.

I am kind off hoping David Suzuki is final torch person.
 
Surely said:
^^^^^ Really? You still don't like it even after reading my post (#9)? Even after learning that it's not just a bunch of weird abstract shapes put together and that it actually represents something cultural in Canada?
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As they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Cultural icon or not, people can still evaluate it from its aesthetic perspective. I think it's kind of interesting, though I have no idea what do Inuit people have in common with the winter Olympics. But I suppose it was a politically correct thing to do. Hope Haida, Nootka, etc., etc., people were not offended. And also hope no animals were harmed in the selection process.

:D
 
Leareth said:
yes it is - kinda
not as many people as I thought but then an estimate 1/3 of the residents are out of town. I know I am going away next week.
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Where did you hear this?


I don't know where you've been, but yes it's getting absolutely crazy here. I'm watching the live coverage of the torch on CTV and there are 2 or 3 people thick lined up along the streets for blocks and blocks. At the community events there have been tens of thousands of people. Even in Abbotsford 20,000 people showed up in the rain - that's more than 10% of the population.

The opening ceremonies start in less than 18 hours! It better not rain...
 
Jaro65 said:
As they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Cultural icon or not, people can still evaluate it from its aesthetic perspective. I think it's kind of interesting, though I have no idea what do Inuit people have in common with the winter Olympics. But I suppose it was a politically correct thing to do. Hope Haida, Nootka, etc., etc., people were not offended. And also hope no animals were harmed in the selection process.

:D
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There was some noise when it was unveiled. It is a bit sad that they used an Inuit icon rather than one from the local First Nations. Totem? Carving of a Spirit Bear? Orca? Then again, there was no real need to have a first Nations icon in the emblem at all but it was a nice gesture.
 
NathanCH said:
Where did you hear this?
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CBC had a piece on it. and was in the Metro and 24Hours.

And yes around the torch there are huge crowds
but haven't really seen that many tourists
lots of locals in the stupid blue jackets, and sh*tloads of cops and security.
 
flopticalcube said:
There was some noise when it was unveiled. It is a bit sad that they used an Inuit icon rather than one from the local First Nations. Totem? Carving of a Spirit Bear? Orca? Then again, there was no real need to have a first Nations icon in the emblem at all but it was a nice gesture.
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I agree with your comments. An Orca would have been perfect, as it could have served as a symbol of BC and everyone and everything that is supposed to be united under that connotation. This way it looks like someone got a preferential treatment. And that "someone" is not even synonymous with BC. Kind of interesting.

Hmm...doesn't seem very multicultural, but rather elitist, really.

But who cares, right? Let the games begin!
 
Jaro65 said:
I agree with your comments. An Orca would have been perfect, as it could have served as a symbol of BC and everyone and everything that is supposed to be united under that connotation. This way it looks like someone got a preferential treatment. And that "someone" is not even synonymous with BC. Kind of interesting.

Hmm...doesn't seem very multicultural, but rather elitist, really.

But who cares, right? Let the games begin!
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Elitist? :confused: You should look that word up....

It is definitely a multicultural aspect of Canada. I learned all about the Inuit (who, actually, do not consider themselves as a part of First Nations) while I was in elementary school in Toronto, and to me they are uniquely Canadian.

Here is one of the main reasons why they chose this symbol:

The logo is based on the Inukshuk (stone landmark or cairn) built for the Northwest Territories Pavilion at Expo 86 and donated to the City of Vancouver after the event. It is now used as a landmark on English Bay Beach.

So it is something that represents Vancouver. In fact, it's inspiration (the donated Inukshuk) has been in Vancouver since 1986:

stanley_park_inukshuk.jpg



But yeah, it's okay to disagree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....
 
And just to put some perspective... it's just a logo. If we judge the games based on the logo, London 2012 could already be the worst Olympic games in history. :p hehe

CTV is doing 9 hours of live coverage tomorrow of the torch. Then 1 hour of the news. Then the opening ceremony coverage starts until 10 pm (I think).

Where are you guys watching the Opening Ceremonies?
 
Surely said:
Elitist? :confused: You should look that word up....

It is definitely a multicultural aspect of Canada. I learned all about the Inuit (who, actually, do not consider themselves as a part of First Nations) while I was in elementary school in Toronto, and to me they are uniquely Canadian.
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Definitely elitist. In the sense of favoring. It includes some (Inuit) and excludes others (everyone else). So that's what I was referring to. No disrespect to Inuit people or anyone else. I think it would have been fair to choose a symbol representative of Canada or Canadians as a whole. That's it.

I know the statue by the way. It is just off the Beach Avenue and I think it looks pretty cool there.

NathanCH said:
And just to put some perspective... it's just a logo. If we judge the games based on the logo, London 2012 could already be the worst Olympic games in history. :p hehe
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I have no idea what that thing is supposed to represent. It's sort of even hard to describe.


Looking forward to The Games though!
 
^^^^You really need to look that word up.

Anyway....

NathanCH said:
And just to put some perspective... it's just a logo. If we judge the games based on the logo, London 2012 could already be the worst Olympic games in history. :p hehe
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Agreed.:p

CTV is doing 9 hours of live coverage tomorrow of the torch. Then 1 hour of the news. Then the opening ceremony coverage starts until 10 pm (I think).

Where are you guys watching the Opening Ceremonies?
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I'll be watching at home here in LA......

My friend is visiting on Saturday and she's bringing me a black Canada hoodie that I ordered from The Bay and had her pick up for me:D Can't wait to get it!
 
Surely said:
^^^^You really need to look that word up.

Anyway....
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Pressing my F4 brings up:

elitist

adjective
favoring, advocating, or restricted to an elite

Ok, I wasn't going to copy the whole thing. So what is wrong with that? I'm referring to the favoring aspect of the definition. And I'm really waaaaay beyond my English 100. :)
 
Looks good! I'm glad they did that.

It will be interesting to see how the events at Cypress Bowl will turn out. It's been pretty warm.
 
Surely said:
Elitist? :confused: You should look that word up....

It is definitely a multicultural aspect of Canada. I learned all about the Inuit (who, actually, do not consider themselves as a part of First Nations) while I was in elementary school in Toronto, and to me they are uniquely Canadian.

So it is something that represents Vancouver. In fact, it's inspiration (the donated Inukshuk) has been in Vancouver since 1986:

But yeah, it's okay to disagree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....
Click to expand...

stanley_park_inukshuk.png
 
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