Don’t Forget The Olympics!!!

55 Comments

1. 1
   sagittariuskim
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 6:42 pm

   I’m watching the opening ceremony now. I used to think Japan was the weirdest country in the world, now I just don’t know…

2. 2
   sarcasatire
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 7:16 pm

   I’ve come to the conclusion that that opening dance number was produced by a high school theater group with an endless costume budget.

3. 3
   georgiababe
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 8:33 pm

   Why are the Americans wearing berets? That’s what I’d like to know…

4. 4
   chaosbutterfly
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 8:45 pm

   I’ve come to the conclusion that that opening dance number was produced by a high school theater group with an endless costume budget.

   I cannot stop laughing right now…this is actually a perfect description for it.

   And can we briefly discuss that giant scary baby? The announcers were throwing so much shade over it.

5. 5
   sagittariuskim
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 8:50 pm

   @georgiababe The scarves aren’t helping either. I don’t think Ralph Lauren really put much thought into the outfits.

6. 6
   sarcasatire
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 9:52 pm

   Were those athletes or flight attendants? I couldn’t tell.

   My favorite part was when Beckham showed up racing down the Thames with a torch like it was the denouement of Bourne Identity 5.

7. 7
   Annie
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 10:21 pm

   Beckham was HAWWWWWWWT. damn, should change it to the Becklympics, I’d watch 2 weeks of that. And he usually isnt my type, but after tonight and the Hells Kitchen ep, I might have to change my mind.

   I love the Olympics! I thought the opening ceremonies were interesting….although depressing the industrial revolution bit was the best part. The two kids in love thing was worthless, scary baby was… very scary.
   I also thought the torch cauldron is super cool….a good idea. But is it gonna be in the middle of the staduim the whole time?!

   And the Queen was a beeeeeyotch the whole time. I think it was past her bedtime.

8. 8
   sarcasatire
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 10:28 pm

   Someone needed to change the royal nappies.

9. 9
   sagittariuskim
   Posted July 27, 2012 at 10:37 pm

   http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-queens-16-most-excited-faces-of-the-openi

10. 10
    Laura Gill
    Posted July 27, 2012 at 10:52 pm

    The Queen was at her best jumping out of the helicopter, and that wasn’t even her!

11. 11
    georgiababe
    Posted July 27, 2012 at 11:56 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Queen smile. Literally.

12. 12
    vallegirl
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 12:21 am

    I was all prepared to mock the US team’s outfits…then the Brits walked in looking like Saul and Miriam Hirschberg from Boca Raton, Florida on their way walk the mall.

    Gold applique on white track suits? Who dressed them, Ali G?

13. 13
    sarcasatire
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 1:38 am

    Sue Sylvester.

14. 14
    sheesh
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 5:19 am

    @valle and @sarc….I can’t decide both were awesome choices. lol

    So this was the first conversation of the day between Rodel and I.
    Ro, “Boo, how old is Paul McCartney?”
    Me, “Oh I don’t know. Pretty fucking old.”
    Ro, “He, he was really rocking out for a little old man.”
    Me, “Hmmmmm…The Beatles were hitting their stride before we were even born so yes, he old.”
    Ro, “Weren’t they around when tv was in black and white?”
    Me, “Yes”
    Silence
    Ro, “And Michael Jackson is DEAD?”

    So then we discussed American vs British icons that would have been a celebrity when tv was in black and white, but they have to still be alive.

    This all before 7 am.

15. 15
    Chicken Lips
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 7:50 am

    I think the Queen should be cut some slack. 1) She’s about 123 years old and agreed to “jump out of a plane” (I realize that wasn’t her, but since she rarely does TV interviews, I’m sure she isn’t lining up for movies, either). 2) While GB’s outfits weren’t as bad as the Czech Republic, they didn’t have the kind of swagger you’d expect from the host country – Saul Hirschberg indeed! 3) The President of the United States couldn’t even be bothered to show up and that guy is usually front and center to show he’s a man of the people, so how exciting could this be? 4) They couldn’t come up with a better song for the end of the ceremony than “Hey Jude”?

16. 16
    ash310
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 8:56 am

    So now I guess I have to find photos of each of the countries so that I can check out their official outfits. I did not realize that Ralph Lauren did the US outfits — I did realize that they were made in China. It ought to go without saying that anything official (like flags and uniforms) should be made in the country that they are made to represent. Kind of like finding Native American dreamcatchers made in China. How wrong is that.

17. 17
    icegirl
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 8:59 am

    @georgiababe: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-26V-i1badME/Ty-d0wsljII/AAAAAAAACHs/dAInLBDIa-0/s320/Queen.jpg Here is the Queen smiling. I do think she looked stiff and serious last night though. I liked when she jumped out of the plane with Daniel Craig though. The ceremonies were so odd. The historical interpretive dance thing was just weird. Voldemort being defeated by Mary Poppins?!?!?!?!? Mr. Bean and David Beckham were by far the best parts of the whole thing. I am so thankful I live in Turkey. From what I remember in the past NBC’s Olympic coverage was awful (and from talking to my dad earlier, it apparently still is). NBC shows so little of the actual Olympics and cuts to commercial breaks every 15 minutes. Turkish TV showed the ceremony straight through.

18. 18
    Caligal
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 9:30 am

    The giant Voldemort puppet reminded me of “The Wall”. Speaking of, really London, no Pink Floyd music, not even a snippet? Where IS Bob Geldof when you need him?

    I wanted to strangle Matt and Meredith for talking over everything. Though I wouldn’t want to be the researcher that had to come up with the “fun fact” for each nation. Rwanda? The Sudan? North Korea? Not much fun in those countries.

19. 19
    BellicoseBaby
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 9:39 am

    If I hadn’t heard the carefully (and dully) scripted narrative of Matt and Meredithe, if I were in the stadium, I would have no clue what was going on, save the transition from pastoral England to the Industrial Revolution. But the great achievements of the Industrial Revolution weren’t even highlighted, save some female extras pantomiming looming or shirt-making (if that’s indeed what they were doing).

    As for the confusing modern era mash-up, they showed Hugh Grant, but most of that scene was focused on Andi MacDowell (a southern American actress)?

    The parade of nations is always wonderful to watch. And how about those “independent Olympians” going nuts dancing?

20. 20
    WendyBird
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 10:37 am

    I don’t think I’d ever want to live in Danny Boyle’s head. It was kind of a clusterfuck. Especially that ode to the technology era. The boy found the girls phone that she lost and then calls her to tell her he has it? WHAT EVEN?

    Matt Lauer was really rude last night too. There was a point where a smaller nation was walking out and he was like, “Since they’re a smaller nation, they’ll never win a medal, but at least they can say they walked in the opening ceremony” Because being an Olympic athlete and competing isn’t good enough. Will Matt shun all the Americans who don’t medal?

    Also, Giant baby was mega creepy.

21. 21
    BedHeadJen
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 11:13 am

    Ralph Lauren should retire. No one should be dressed like that if it doesn’t result in me going home with 2 boxes of do-si-dos, and a case of tagalongs.
    @Caligal-Pink Floyd’s Eclipse was played during the insane fireworks show.

22. 22
    michkabibbles
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 11:42 am

    was i the only one disappointed to see that ryan seacrest was attached to the olympic reporting team? god, he is freaking everywhere, and not really a great interviewer.

    i admit i did love bob costas mentioning kim jong il’s golf record when north korea walked out.

    and loved the independant athletes. so glad they get to compete without a country.

23. 23
    vallegirl
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    Can someone explain Danny Boyle’s obsession with creepy babies?

24. 24
    sagittariuskim
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    So do they have to keep certain countries separated,like S.Korea and N.Korea?

    I liked seeing the smaller countries during the parade.

    It’s kind of funny one of the African track guys, Kirani James goes to the University of Alabama. And stays in the same apartment building as me.

25. 25
    sarcasatire
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    @michka: When I saw him, I thought, “Did we export Ryan Seacrest?!”

    No backsies.

26. 26
    BellicoseBaby
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    Yeah, Ryan Seacrest kind of cheapens things.

    Love Bob Costas, though. L-O-V-E him.

27. 27
    georgiababe
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    I live in Canada and although I have access to both American and Canadian coverage of the Olympics, I prefer the Canadian coverage by far – the American broadcasters talk WAY too much. The Canadian commentators basically only talked about the countries as they were walking in, they didn’t blab over the actual ceremony like the American networks tend to do – very refreshing.

28. 28
    sagittariuskim
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    @georgiababe You live in Canada? Well then you can inform the Canadians that I’m on to them. I know that their sitting quietly up there with their maple syrup and ham bacon, plotting to take over the world.

29. 29
    michkabibbles
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    heh, ham bacon

30. 30
    2muchbravo
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    I was out last night during the first run of this circus. I had heard some leaks on FB from British friends about what had occurred and I caught the last 1/2 hour when I got home so I saw hotchacha Beckham and the torch lighting. I thought some of the musical selections were interesting at the end there.
    Then, I started watching it from the beginning at 2:30 and only made it until the creepy baby and when they rolled up the sod before I passed out. It was spectacular to say the least. I think HRH should be given some credit. She could have told Boyle to piss off when he suggested the James Bond chopper bit. Or worse, he could have taken to the tower of London and off with his head for such even suggesting such crass behavior of HRH! Or maybe she’s getting a bit dotty.
    There are actually very few events I’m looking forward to watching. Some gymnastics and maybe swimming. What I’d be interested in seeing is some of the paralympic events. Wheelchair rugby sounds a whole lot more challenging than, say, ping pong.

31. 31
    georgiababe
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 9:37 pm

    Ooh, sagittariuskim, you just made a big mistake…

    You see, I’m not an American living in Canada. I’m a Canadian. And now we know that you know!

    Or do we? Actually, you know nothing. There’s nothing to know. We’re just sitting here quietly eating our maple syrup and nanaimo bars and poutine and beaver tails. There’s nothing. Nothing at all. Just go back to your American television…

32. 32
    georgiababe
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 9:41 pm

    I honestly don’t really care about the Summer Olympics. Canada doesn’t have very many athletes anyway and most of them are in sports that I don’t care much about. I like diving and synchronized swimming and gymnastics and that’s about it. The Winter Olympics are where it’s at!

33. 33
    vallegirl
    Posted July 28, 2012 at 10:38 pm

    NewsRadio was right. Dave Foley’s a spy.

34. 34
    Bluedog
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 3:57 am

    Ours started at 6.00 a.m. and I was awake ready to watch. One complaint I had was that once our Aussie team had been on all we got after that was shots of some of the other countries and the cameras going back to our Aussie athletes on their mobile phones! If I want to watch teenagers texting or talking I can go to the local shopping centre.

35. 35
    Viane Slice
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    @Georgiababe A Canadian friend gave me a great hot toddy recipe for a sinus infection I couldn’t shake. I’ve been using it ever since. As a nondrinker, that says a lot. And when I think of Canadian sports I think of curling. Strangely fascinating to watch, that sport is….

36. 36
    mk
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    What is with the USA Woman’s soccer red/white striped jerseys. Every time I see Megan Rapinoe I think of Flapjack.

37. 37
    Annie
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 5:15 pm

    @valleygirl….OMG yes! It was the creepy dead baby from Trainspotting!
    That explains why I was waiting for it’s head to start spinning around….

38. 38
    sarcasatire
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    Why are the women’s swimsuits so modest yet the volleyball players are forever bent over or falling spread-eagled in the tiniest ‘kini bottoms?

39. 39
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 5:48 pm

    @georgiababe, Canadian coverage actually sounds heavenly. Our announcers talked way tooooo much…all the American announcers do. They just never shut up. If there’s nothing on the field to talk about, they start telling stories, giving history lessons, reciting poetry, talking about the lunch they ate today…like man, shut up! Silence is golden!

40. 40
    BellicoseBaby
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    PLEASE get Pat O’Brien off my TV. He seems so completely out of touch, mispronouncing well-known names, eg. Tsonga, and generally being clueless and annoying. Lay off the Xanax, dude. UGH, I guess it’s all part of the Seacresting of sports reporting.

    Also, did anyone see that bit a female reporter did about social media? Admittedly, it was kind of a schlocky assignment, but I couldn’t believe the male reporter who was like “You’re like our Vanna White.” What a tool. She laughed it off and said something like “Condescending again…”

41. 41
    lindaw205
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    I’m just waiting for the hot toddy recipe.

    I’m not watching NBC’s coverage. All I get are commercials and announcers with diarrhea of the mouth. I tried DVR’ing but I spent all my time FFing. Ridiculous.

42. 42
    georgiababe
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 8:42 pm

    If you live in the Northern US you may be able to pick up some Canadian stations – I recommend CTV. What I love about CTV is that they usually have former athletes commenting on the various sports, not the regular announcers. This is nice because then the athletes actually know what they’re talking about when they say “Oh, so and so over-rotated on this” AND because they keep the conversation relevant – I’ve never heard an announcer say anything during an event that wasn’t directly related to the event.

    They do talk some, don’t get me wrong, but it’s always helpful information – like in swimming when it’s kind of hard to see who’s who, they’ll say “And Australian _____ is leading in lane 3 and you can see the Canadian _______ in lane 6 is trailing by 0.9 seconds” or whatever, you know? Nothing irrelevant.

    What bugs me most about the American stations is how much they talk over stuff where you don’t need the commentary, like the opening ceremonies or the presentation of medals. I remember that I missed part of the Canadian coverage of the Vancouver opening ceremonies so I watched the highlights of the American coverage and they drove me CRAZY because they were saying “Oh yes and now that guy is playing the fiddle” when DUH I can see that he’s playing the fiddle, shut the hell up! Drove me bonkers.

    Seriously, CTV. They’re pretty great. And they don’t just focus on Canadians either, they also give a lot of attention to athletes from other countries who do well ie Ryan Lochte, the Chinese divers etc. and on sports where the Canadians aren’t even competing (fencing, beach volleyball). Their website is http://www.ctvolympics.ca – I know that they have a live stream happening all the time and if you can’t stand the American coverage I think they’re worth checking out. No guarantees that it will be accessible from US IP addresses though

43. 43
    georgiababe
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    Also, I have to say, I also really, really like the fact that CTV not only follows athletes from other countries, but they actually talk to them. I am watching live coverage right now and literally just after I hit the post button, another segment started -and it’s a CTV interview with Missy Franklin (an American swimmer, for those who don’t know) and her parents, talking about her love of swimming and how she started etc., then they showed her race in the semi-finals, even though no Canadians were in that heat.

    Forgive me for glowing with Canuck pride (although it might just be the high from my nightly glass of maple syrup) but I am proud of the fact that the Canadian stations celebrate athletes’ achievements regardless of whether or not they’re Canadian.

    I don’t know if other stations do the same, but good for them if they do, I think it exemplifies Olympic spirit in the best way.

44. 44
    georgiababe
    Posted July 29, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    @Viane Slice

    Yeah, curling is pretty big here, people take it very, very seriously. I’m not a huge fan, personally, (hockey all the way!) but I can recognize the unique set of skills that it takes.

    And I’m curious about this hot toddy recipe

45. 45
    NotWithoutMyTV
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 4:14 am

    @sagittariuskim: My wife’s Canadian, and my in-laws live in Montreal, so I’m up there quite a bit. rrom what I’ve seen, Canada is clean, it has universal healthcare (though expensive), and it elects its politicians in, like, 3 hours. And they have Première Moisson.

    Personally, I welcome our new Canadian overlords.

46. 46
    georgiababe
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 8:30 am

    NWMT – Your words will be remembered in the takeover.

    I mean…ahem…moose meat is good, eh?

47. 47
    sagittariuskim
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 9:05 am

    @NWMTV Yeah I hear Canada’s nice. I wouldn’t mine them taking over either. As long as they don’t force me to eat their ham bacon.

48. 48
    Viane Slice
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 9:10 am

    @georgiababe I’m not surprised curling was big. Also the Olympic curling teams got mad props for being sharply dressed.

    Yes, I was in a book forum crying about not being able to get over a real bad sinus infection. I had went to the doctor and was put on antiobiotics to no avail. My Canuck buddy suggested a hot toddy. Her instructions were: boil a cup of water, combine the water with 1 oz of dark rum, tablespoon of honey, the juice of a fresh lemon. Drink while hot. I’ll never forget the sensation. I could actually feel my head clear as I drank it. The toddy made me sweat profusely. Then I passed out (non drinker remember). When I woke up, I felt much better. I drank two more toddies for the next two days. The third day, sinuses totally cleared up. Mind you, this is after not being able to shake my illness for weeks.

    I keep a bottle of dark rum for medicinal purposes (no joke). I used it on my sister and my husband when they had colds or sinus infections they couldn’t shake. Worked every time (of course they sweated and passed out too).

49. 49
    sagittariuskim
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 9:33 am

    @Viane Slice Thanks for posting that recipes. I get sinus infections a lot, the next time they act up I think I’ll try it. How strong is dark rum? I’m not a drinker either. And it’s really easy for me to notice alcohol even in mix drinks.

50. 50
    anniedawg25
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 11:53 am

    I lived in Detroit for a few years, and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics I watched alot of CBC’s olympic coverage. A nice change of pace to get away from Bob-Freakin’ Costas.
    In fact I watched CBC alot….I really liked the Canadian stations (radio and TV)

    Speaking of Bob Costas, he made some snide remark about badminton during the Opening Ceremonies. He’s such a pompous jerk

51. 51
    Viane Slice
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    @sagittariuskim Hey no problem. I use Barcardi Gold rum. It’s 40% alcohol. Like you I can taste the alcohol in any drink. That’s why I drink it as fast as I can. That’s kind of rough because of the hot water. But the water has to be hot. I tried it with warm water and the toddy didn’t have quite the same effect. I guess they call it HOT toddy for a reason. There are whiskey versions of hot toddy but I stick to dark rum. It will taste like medicine but at least it’s “medicine” that works. Needless to say, don’t try to drive or really do anything after drinking the stuff, don’t take it with certain meds, etc etc. Also my disclaimer: I am NOT promoting this for anyone underage!

52. 52
    sagittariuskim
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 2:46 pm

    @Viane Slice Haha don’t worry I’m of age. This is going to be weird buying rum. I’m 22 and have only brought one alcoholic beverage since I turned 21, and that was actually just a few months ago.

53. 53
    Viane Slice
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 3:44 pm

    @sagittariuskim When I came of age months would stretch before I bought a drink. For one, I would get tipsy off one drink. I found the taste of alcohol nasty and still think so. But once Nyquil changed their formula because the dumb teens were buying it by the gallon to get drunk, I was grateful learning how to make a hot toddy.

    Don’t worry liquor store clerks are old hands at meeting all kinds of people. They’ll help you out too. The clerks know their booze. I buy 375 ml of Bacardi Gold and that lasts me a couple of years. I don’t drink hot toddies for every sniffle so that size bottle works. Just make sure you have your ID on you cause some places always card if you look under the age 30.

54. 54
    2muchbravo
    Posted July 30, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    My Brit friend posted a link to the BBC’s online site for watching the opening ceremonies with no commentary. Only thing is you can’t watch it outside the UK. Sad horns.

55. 55
    georgiababe
    Posted July 31, 2012 at 3:17 pm

    The Olympics channel on Youtube is pretty good about uploading the ceremonies, actually. They have the entire Vancouver opening and closing ceremonies on their channel – I believe sans commentary – so they’ll likely have London on there at some point.