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London Olympics

Started by Ecurb Noselrub, July 28, 2012, 02:35:43 AM

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Ecurb Noselrub

July 28, 2012, 02:35:43 AM
Anyone watching the opening ceremonies?  I thought the British Meadow was beautiful, but I lost interest during the parent's nightmare scene (2 kids going through the 60's, 70's etc.) - nice memories but the sequence dragged a little. Great fireworks.  I always like to look at the athletes' costumes in the parade. This year the US costumes are a little too militaristic - feeds into the perception of us being warmongers.  I'm looking forward to the sprints/relays in track.  My wife likes the women's gymnastics.

markmcdaniel

#1
July 28, 2012, 06:01:40 AM
I watched the opening ceremonies and thought they were rather dull. Given the theatrical tradition england has I would have thought that they could have done this type of overblown spectacle with more panache.
It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity and theism produce hardly any effect on the public; and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science - Charles Darwin

I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the object of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a god, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism. - Albert Einstein

Religion is a by product of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity. - Arther C. Clarke

Faith means not wanting to know what is true. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Siz

#2
July 28, 2012, 07:00:35 AM
I'm off this morning to watch Wiggo, Cav et al in the road race with my boy. It's gonna be a great day. We're cycling up to Richmond Park and get to see them on the way out and back again.

As for the opening ceremony, I thought it was spectacular, fun, imaginative and humorous. Not at all the pompous and serious affairs of previous games. Well done everyone!

Forgetting how much its costing, I am proud. These games seemed to have raised the British psyche to unseen levels for many years. Long may it last!

When one sleeps on the floor one need not worry about falling out of bed - Anton LaVey

The universe is a cold, uncaring void. The key to happiness isn't a search for meaning, it's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you'll be dead!

Tank

#3
July 28, 2012, 08:59:34 AM
I loved the opening ceremony. The Queen and James Bond was inspired!! I was waiting for a Queen look alike to turn around and was blown away when it really was the Queen! And the use of the last few bars of Dark Side of the Mood during the fireworks was excellent. I agree that the show lost it's way a little in part of the music segway. Highlights? Forging the rings and creating the cauldron were magnificent. Best opening ceremony ever! A work college of me wife and her daughter were there, can't wait to hear what they have to say about it.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Tank

#4
July 28, 2012, 10:20:34 AM
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

The Magic Pudding

#5
July 28, 2012, 01:33:38 PM
I envy other mammals their ability to hibernate.

OldGit

#6
July 28, 2012, 01:59:30 PM
At the end of the excellent James Bond - HM sketch, they showed the Queen's real entry.  And the buggers announced her IN FRENCH first!  Aaargh!  Treachery. This calls for axes and blocks in the Tower - nay, the old ceremony of hanging, drawing and quartering would not be excessive.  The traitors must be found.

Amicale

#7
July 28, 2012, 02:07:45 PM
It was neat to see the opening of the games, just because for the last two Olympics, I didn't. :) I unfortunately missed the stunt with the "Queen" parachuting in, which I'll need to catch again, but I did see David Beckham steering the boat with the torch in, and I watched all the dancing/skits etc they had going on stage. It was definitely imaginative, for sure! Not what I'd maybe normally associate with the Olympics - I thought it would be more formal, and was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't. The choreography was awesome, and the pop culture references were interesting, what with the children's book characters, the family's house they had on stage, all the references to IM'ing and tweeting...  :D As I said in another thread, my favourite moment was watching the bit with Rowan Atkinson at the piano and on the beach.


"Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb we are bound to others. By every crime and act of kindness we birth our future." - Cloud Atlas

"To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is to never die." -Carl Sagan

Siz

#8
July 28, 2012, 04:10:18 PM
D'ah, croc of shit for the british. The tactics of most teams to sit on the heels of team GB did everyone a disservice. While noone was prepared to help with the pace of the peloton there were not enough fresh legs to catch the breakaway. Everyone in the peloton loses. It was this tactic failure of most teams that cost us and them a medal chance.

When one sleeps on the floor one need not worry about falling out of bed - Anton LaVey

The universe is a cold, uncaring void. The key to happiness isn't a search for meaning, it's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you'll be dead!

OldGit

#9
July 28, 2012, 04:13:30 PM
Do Olympic cyclists need a pit stop to change legs, or can it be done on the fly?

En_Route

#10
July 28, 2012, 06:16:06 PM
Has it started yet?
Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them (Orwell).

Tank

#11
July 28, 2012, 07:42:08 PM
Quote from: En_Route on July 28, 2012, 06:16:06 PM
Has it started yet?
Apparently so.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

En_Route

#12
July 28, 2012, 08:01:08 PM
Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them (Orwell).

Crow

#13
July 29, 2012, 01:14:13 AM
The reason I liked the opening ceremony was that it was very British (though be it by ways of bollywood), it had humor, highlighted that we aren't perfect, and that we don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks. The symbolism in each section was spot on, especially with the creation of the rings i.e. the five continents being joined by British industry from the Thames.

Sure it had lots of points where I thought I would have done that differently (the glitchy videos) and parts I didn't like (the social media party stuff) but they represented parts of society, so it gets a thumbs up from me.

What I enjoyed most of all was the use of people with disabilities and in the majority wasn't even noticeable, that the majority of the cast were not professional dancers/actors but people relevant to each section, for example the NHS section was composed primarily of doctors and nurses and the children were patients. It was about being inclusive not exclusive where everyone is welcome. Oh and like Tank said I kept expecting a look a like to turn around as well in the James Bond skit. And again the symbolism contained within each piece showed that it was about an idea not a flashy bunch of bullshit.

I had my 5.1 set up whilst watching and the sound was ridiculously good, it must have been insane at the event, I loved the music (except for McCartney I think its time we took him out to pasture, his voice is fucked) especially the song during the lighting of the torch.

The lighting of the torch in my opinion surpassed that of any other in Olympic history. Even though the technical and logistical skills didn't come close to that of the Beijing Olympics it surpassed all prior (the Chinese set a bar that won't be surpassed far a long time) but conceptually it surpassed it on every level including that bs love story stuff. It wasn't about the UK being the best but rather this is who we are in part whilst still tooting our own horns.

I am glad Danny Boyle and his team stuck to their vision and didn't try and please everyone, as the saying goes "a camel is a race horse designed by a committee".


--------

Ecurb Noselrub, personally I thought the States had the best outfit. It did look militaristic but it represented the prevailing ideology of American sports persons perfectly. Its better to be interesting and the US government are undoubtedly warmongers but that's not what I took from the costume even though it was slightly out of odds with the Olympic spirit, to me it said we mean business.
Retired member.

Ali

#14
July 29, 2012, 03:10:17 PM
I thought it was awesome.  Well done, Brits!  :)
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