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"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!"
Electra is not-so-secretly obsessed with the Olympics. Fair warning.
Citius, altius, fortius: Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashivili was killed in a training run this morning. The ancient Greeks would have regarded such an event as a terrible omen. The Georgian delegation, who marched with mourning armbands, received a standing ovation upon their entrance into the stadium.
I liked the opening ceremonies. I especially liked the recognition and participation of Canada's First Nations as equal hosts, though NPR tells me that the land Vancouver occupies was never formally ceded by any treaty. And, you know, it's true what they say about Canada being a nation of immigrants--Canada's Governor-General Michaelle Jean is Haitian-born, the CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Committee emigrated from Ireland at the age of 24. I liked the performance of "O Canada," as well as the singer's dress. It snowed indoors! I'm not gonna lie, I am a complete sucker for that sort of thing. Paper snow! Poetry about winter! Fake whales and constellations! Testimonials, quotations and poetry read by Donald Sutherland! And you know what, the Canadian slam poet was pretty damn awesome. I will have to find the full text of what he said and post it, because it deserves to be repeated.
As usual, of course, NBC's script was ridiculous. Bob Costas doesn't know how to pronounce "quixotic" and Matt Lauer forgot to engage his soul module. At least Katie Couric is at CBS and we weren't subjected to her horrible "feelings" blather.
I've been paying closer attention than one might think to the ongoing Grecian debt crisis, and it occurs to me that some significant chunk of that national debt has to be from Greece hosting the 2004 Olympics; schedule overruns and post 9/11 security concerns added a huge chunk of change onto the final price tag, which I was told more or less bankrupted the government. Conventional wisdom is that 2004 was the last time a small economy will host the Summer Games, since the security costs are just too high even if the preparations do stay on schedule (which Athens 2004's didn't).
It's literally impossible to ignore the fact that the history of the modern Games is the history of the long, bloody 20th century; just listening to the rollcall of cities and dates of the Winter Games brings that forcefully to mind. Nor is it impossible to ignore the politics that swirl through the Games even now: the Koreas marching separately, Taiwan being forced to march without its own flag and name, the long lists of countries that have competed under different names as their sovereignty and independence waned and waxed. I didn't even realize that the Winter Games started switching off with the Summer in my lifetime. The medals go to those athletes who live up to the Olympic motto, but those who live up to the motto are disproportionately those whose countries are able to fund them to train. It's an unequal system, like most such, but though I might be a idealistic fool, I still feel that the Games can at their best embody a vision of a better world.
Citius, altius, fortius: Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashivili was killed in a training run this morning. The ancient Greeks would have regarded such an event as a terrible omen. The Georgian delegation, who marched with mourning armbands, received a standing ovation upon their entrance into the stadium.
I liked the opening ceremonies. I especially liked the recognition and participation of Canada's First Nations as equal hosts, though NPR tells me that the land Vancouver occupies was never formally ceded by any treaty. And, you know, it's true what they say about Canada being a nation of immigrants--Canada's Governor-General Michaelle Jean is Haitian-born, the CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Committee emigrated from Ireland at the age of 24. I liked the performance of "O Canada," as well as the singer's dress. It snowed indoors! I'm not gonna lie, I am a complete sucker for that sort of thing. Paper snow! Poetry about winter! Fake whales and constellations! Testimonials, quotations and poetry read by Donald Sutherland! And you know what, the Canadian slam poet was pretty damn awesome. I will have to find the full text of what he said and post it, because it deserves to be repeated.
As usual, of course, NBC's script was ridiculous. Bob Costas doesn't know how to pronounce "quixotic" and Matt Lauer forgot to engage his soul module. At least Katie Couric is at CBS and we weren't subjected to her horrible "feelings" blather.
I've been paying closer attention than one might think to the ongoing Grecian debt crisis, and it occurs to me that some significant chunk of that national debt has to be from Greece hosting the 2004 Olympics; schedule overruns and post 9/11 security concerns added a huge chunk of change onto the final price tag, which I was told more or less bankrupted the government. Conventional wisdom is that 2004 was the last time a small economy will host the Summer Games, since the security costs are just too high even if the preparations do stay on schedule (which Athens 2004's didn't).
It's literally impossible to ignore the fact that the history of the modern Games is the history of the long, bloody 20th century; just listening to the rollcall of cities and dates of the Winter Games brings that forcefully to mind. Nor is it impossible to ignore the politics that swirl through the Games even now: the Koreas marching separately, Taiwan being forced to march without its own flag and name, the long lists of countries that have competed under different names as their sovereignty and independence waned and waxed. I didn't even realize that the Winter Games started switching off with the Summer in my lifetime. The medals go to those athletes who live up to the Olympic motto, but those who live up to the motto are disproportionately those whose countries are able to fund them to train. It's an unequal system, like most such, but though I might be a idealistic fool, I still feel that the Games can at their best embody a vision of a better world.
no subject
The slam poet was awesome, and IMO kind of a bold choice as opening ceremonies go. I loved the welcome from the First Nations... actually, I loved the entire thing, and my heart was in my throat when the cauldron malfunctioned. :( One of the saddest things about that was that the ceremony was designed by the same guy who did the Sydney ceremony in 2000, and the cauldron malfunctioned there too (although less seriously, and Sydney is still my favorite cauldron-lighting of all time).
no subject
Yeah, there was definitely some pointed criticism in the poetry for those with ears to hear. Very cool.