It’s interesting to watch the parade of nations and realize that, through sheer number of entries, Canada has a much better chance than, say, Guyana. But I guess with less than a million people in Guyana, and an average per capita income of less than $5,000, I imagine the Olympics are on the to-do list […]
Lifestyle
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Project Olympic runway #2
Go Burundi. Way to kick the traditional outfit. Loves it. Luxemburg. Way to represent with 14 athletes and cutie flagbearer. I’m confused by Belarus .There’s an older gent carrying the flag and I think that Mansman said he was a sprinter. Nepal is rocking the black uniform with gold hats, and it looks so much […]
Posted inLifestyle
Project Olympic runway #1
Finally the athletes! But who let the bagpiper into the athletes’ procession? Where the hell did he come from? There is a really strange procession along the track–an endless line of Chinese women in white cheerleading-style outfits bouncing up and down and dancing as the athletes walk by. Andy pointed out they actually have a […]
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Ice Cream!
A reader writes, “And by the way the Chinese invented ice cream too.” Why yes sir – King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China liked his frozen dairy treats. Where is the giant ice cream cone with dancers on it? Or the paean to ketchup?
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Devo appears
A bunch of guys in yellow suits, covered with lighted tubing, dance. They look like Devo. Then some Tai Chi’ers do Tai Chi beside kids painting. Bring back Devo!
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Sorry Neal
I knew you felt the dream. I hope you’re feeling better. You’re not missing much other than a lot of cute kids painting “environmental” pictures. Children are our future, after all. Nothing makes you forget smog, human rights violations and emprisoned kitty cats more than pig tails and chubby cheeks. I swore I wouldn’t write […]
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Invent-ory
So as Manzbo has been repeating over and over, these ceremonies celebrate the four great things the Chinese have invented: gunpower, paper, the compass and printing. We created butter tarts and the canoe. Okay, it’s humbling. But just wait until we meet on the playing field. We Coasters can watch TV better than anyone.
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The Ceeb
With a quick jaunt on down to CBC.ca, you’ll find http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/livevideo. From there, you can get streaming coverage of olympic events, or, on my girlfriend’s laptop and our useless wireless internet, a nice Chinese-looking background and a spinning “loading” icon. Forever. Sorry for missing this morning’s events. Strep throat struck in the night, leaving me […]
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Enough already
9:15am: Whoa, a giant paper SCROLL that flies! This is playing out like a messed-up Peter Greenaway movie. 3,000 Confucian scholars! Giant moving Chinese characters moved by people hiding in boxes, synchronized perfectly! Flower blossoms! Fire! Peter Mansbridge! 9:19am: I’m finding the decadence of this ceremony overwhelming. Maybe because I’m usually just waking up now… […]
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Scrolls alive!
So this giant scroll unravels. Then some dancers dance on it. The dancers paint a picture with their bodies, but we don’t know this until the scroll rises into the air. I am totally captivated. Also – I didn’t know Ron MacLean knew so much about the Tang Dynasty but he is really showing off […]
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Drums!
I really like this drum show. They have glow stick – drum sticks so when the lights turn off you see 4016 sticks flashing. They have flashy Las Vegas style silver suits, but these amazing olde style drums. It’s like a communist Vegas, though – individually they look corny, but all together, moving in unison, […]
