Beltmann Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Well I enjoyed it - liked the emphasis on music and there was a lot going on that would have meant much less if anything to a non British audience e.g did you notice the brief few second clip of the famous first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British TV from the soap opera Brookside back in the mid 90s, which because of those few seconds became the first lesbian kiss to have been ever broadcast on Saudi TV. A clip from Gregory's Girl & Kes, The Jam's Going Underground played, Dizzy Rascal from just down the road, the Hitlarious Nazi salute from the German IOC member in the stand, and Danny Boyle sticking too fingers up to the Tories regarding the NHS. Was never going to out-do Beijing for scale, so did something completely different pretty well. And thank God that useless publicity tart Beckham was not given the honour of lighting the torch. A few dips, and the Mr Bean segment was brilliant for about 15 seconds with the original concept but should have then moved on - got really dull. Overall was anticipating a disaster but as I say, was entertained.I hadn't thought about the worldwide exposure of that kiss, but I definitely noticed Boyle's political subtext throughout (including those phallic smokestacks), and was thoroughly entertained by thoughts of those ideas going out to billions. I noticed the clip from Kes (my wife can attest to my gasp of recognition!) and, like ih8music, laughed out loud at the NHS number. (I also read it as a comment directed at the US as well as the Tories, and imagined Mitt Romney's eyebrows leaping up in horror. "They got me in the end, dagnabbit!") Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AJ673 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I like watching the sports you don't get to see very often - shot-put, javelin, syncronized diving... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Nice quiet spot on the grass on the backstreets waiting just at the start of one of the only slight hills on the men's time trial course. Waiting for Wiggo to go past an arms length away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Nice quiet spot on the grass on the backstreets waiting just at the start of one of the only slight hills on the men's time trial course. Waiting for Wiggo to go past an arms length away. That's great - this is why I was supporting Chicago in their quest for the 2016 Summer games. To get to the proposed structure that would have hosted the opening ceremony and other events would have been a 10 minute walk for me. Sure it would have been a headache, with the construction and all the other tangibles that go with hosting the games, but It would have been great to take my kids to some Olympic games, plus all the shots of London on the TV have been great - would have been great to see Chicago in the spotlight, too... Hope you enjoy games, Mrs. S.P. And congrats to Phelps! The whole badminton "scandal" that is shaping up is an interesting one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I am very glad Chicago didn't get it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 I would love for San Francisco to host an Olympics, even though pretty much every event would probably have to be out of town. I'm excited for the Americas Cup to be here next year, and I certainly don't give a shit about sailing! Yeah, the badminton scandal is crazy. Most people are going to find it funny, just because, well, it's badminton. But it was a major blunder on the part of the sport's federation, that they didn't see this coming. And apparently at least one soccer team has done the same thing, played for a draw rather than a win, because the draw would get them through to the next round but a win would have put them in a tougher bracket and required them to travel. Perfectly within the rules, I guess, but not the kind of strategy and tactical play most people are hoping to see. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Re: the Badminton scandal... Dogging it in order to arrange a preferential path to the finals is nothing new to sports. Members of the Swedish hockey team admitted to doing just that in the year they won the Gold recently (Torino? I forget which one it was). The one Chinese team didn't want to face the other Chinese team until the finals, assuming they got that far. They wanted a medal, and figured the best chance they had (at silver?) was to avoid that team until the very end. To me, this move is similar to pulling a feint, which is an accepted tactic in many sports... The notion of having to try to win every match seems silly. Sometimes you purposely lose the battle to win the war. This problem could have been easily averted if they had a predetermined seeding, and then had a re-seeded tournament bracket so that the highest seed would always face the lowest seed. That way the path to the finals isn't already predetermined, and participants can't see who they might face in future rounds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 So Bradley did us proud and I'm very glad to say I saw him steam past - a good 15 second run of him working because of my well planned position rather than a blur passing by.He's a great guy too - little things like yesterday refusing to celebrate until the last competitor had crossed the line, and this on winning the Tour de France and being handed the microphone for the first time to address the crowd (with a large Brit contingent over for the day) :-There he was, at the very summit of every bike racer's ambition, with the eyes not just of a vast crowd in Paris and the sport's worldwide audience on him but those of his own nation, watching on television. Then he was handed the microphone. "Right," he said. "We're just going to draw the raffle numbers."Genius. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Oh, and for the record, the Chinese badminton team played poorly because of INJURIES! http://deadspin.com/5931137/disgraced-badminton-player-announces-retirement-blames-poor-performance-on-injuries Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Well, the anticipated meltdown of London public transport hasn't happened. Most probably the extra numbers are simply balanced by the reduction of workers taking summer holidays. No nightmare commutes so far ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 There was something in the NY Times (I think that's where I saw it) about the usual tourist spots in London being a bit empty. Restaurants owners, etc., complaining that everyone in town is in the one spot, not really visiting anywhere else in London, and that your mayor has told everyone to stay away, and they have! I noticed the same thing on a much smaller scale in Vancouver in 2010, I was expecting it to be jampacked, but we had a really easy time navigating the city. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Yes, west end theatres are complaining about a dip in business.And speaking of the mayor, Boris got stuck on a zip wire yesterdayhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/9444291/Boris-Johnson-gets-stuck-on-a-zip-wire.html But his greatest sporting moment was this in a charity football match - gets a bit carried away against the Germans Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sonicshoulder Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Yes, west end theatres are complaining about a dip in business.And speaking of the mayor, Boris got stuck on a zip wire yesterdayhttp://www.telegraph...a-zip-wire.html But his greatest sporting moment was this in a charity football match - gets a bit carried away against the Germans http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ5tjJoO4fw That is freaking awesome. Is he just a maniac or is this some sort of blitzkrieg retaliation? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Nice quiet spot on the grass on the backstreets waiting just at the start of one of the only slight hills on the men's time trial course. Waiting for Wiggo to go past an arms length away. Andrew! I saw you on the telecast! No I didn't, but wouldn't it have been fun if it were true! I did see areas that looked vaguely familiar, in your neighborhood I think. Who else is sick of the swimming coverage? You'd think that and gymnastics were the entire Olympics! I don't find swimming very interesting to watch. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 That is freaking awesome. Is he just a maniac or is this some sort of blitzkrieg retaliation?Public school educated. A bit of a buffoon but everyone has a soft spot for him as he says what he thinks without towing the party line. He just thought he was back at Eton playing rugby.Boris = 8Cameron = 2Toffs = 1 through 9 Andrew! I saw you on the telecast! No I didn't, but wouldn't it have been fun if it were true! I did see areas that looked vaguely familiar, in your neighborhood I think. Who else is sick of the swimming coverage? You'd think that and gymnastics were the entire Olympics! I don't find swimming very interesting to watch.They should have definitely been familiar :-)I'm a bit dissappointed by the rash of young former childrens's TV presenters the BBC is pushing forward to cover the mainstream sports - not the gravitas or sports knowlegde we are used to from the greats of the past, but you can't fault what they've done with actual coverage - special temporary TV channels to cover every minute of every sport in HD are available to us here, and more importantly, all available to watch again at any time via the website. Outstanding! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedling Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Very cool watching Jessica Ennis win the gold in the heptathlon. Being in the UK and all. Seemed like a really nice girl. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Inside of Outside Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Very cool watching Jessica Ennis win the gold in the heptathlon. Being in the UK and all. Seemed like a really nice girl.Her gold medal run in the last event, the 800, was the best moment of this Olympics that I've seen so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tweedling Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 I agree! I got a tad bit emotional. They explained all the pressure she's been put under and the expectations she's been given. I was happy for her. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Albert Tatlock Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Good stuff from the ascerbic wit of Mr Brooker as usual http://www.guardian....n-looked-on-tin Everything was terrible. And then the Games began and suddenly everything sort of wasn't. The opening ceremony helped, with its mix of spectacle and eccentricity. I was in America, watching NBC's widely mocked time-shifted coverage, which dropped the Abide With Me section in favour of Ryan Seacrest interviewing Michael Phelps. Seacrest is America's answer to Ant and Dec, but less so. Imagine someone used a computer to combine Ant and Dec into one body, then accidentally leant on the keyboard and deleted their imaginations. Presumably the glimpse of Phelps was deemed necessary because he was missing from the opening parade, resting his gills on the eve of his first swim. The parade of nations goes on a bit, although NBC gave it some additional bite thanks to commentator Bob Costas, who sat in his box pissing on every country passing beneath him. From him, I learned that Bangladesh is the most heavily populated country to have never won a medal, that Madagascar's achievements pale into insignificance compared to its indirect association with Madagascar the CGI cartoon, and that Kiribati has no regularly scheduled flights to Honolulu. He greeted Pakistan and Iran like suspected paedophiles arriving at a barbecue, and as the Egyptian team strode into the stadium, waving and smiling, he dissed the Arab spring. "From military dictatorship to Jeffersonian democracy? Not exactly." I didn't realise 'you people' never got to see the full ceremony. The Abide With Me segment was one of the most moving - being a little tribute to the 7/7 victims. I have no idea why some things qualify as Olympic sports and others don't, though there's an obvious and heavy class bias in favour of things you can imagine royals doing in a tapestry, such as archery or dressage. Falconry would surely be included if Ken Loach hadn't depicted a commoner doing it in the film Kes. You need your own castle grounds to practise half these sports. No wonder a disproportionate number of our victors thus far seem notably posh, apart from Bradley Wiggins, the first member of Oasis to attend a London comprehensive school and win four gold medals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Great soccer game on now. U.S. women v Can tied 3-3. Almost done in regulation. Breathless. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Great soccer game on now. U.S. women v Can tied 3-3. Almost done in regulation. Breathless. What a finish! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 That was an insane ending! Congrats to Team USA. Of course, they had no business getting that penalty shot to tie the game 3-3. That ref was horrid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Maybe not, but Canada benefitted more from a lack of yellow cards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Watched the USA v Canada soccer game again! Wow, what a match!!! Alex Morgan is a beast!! Looking forward to today's gold medal final Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Jules Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Alex Morgan is no beast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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