The Breakfast.info
General Discussions => No Glove No Love => Topic started by: Wolfman on August 11, 2008, 10:10:00 am
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Man, are we overdue for this thread!
First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event. I\'ve watched it 5 times now and it actually gets better every time. I keep inviting people over to watch it and everyone flips out. Without spoiling what happens, I\'ll just say that it is 90 minutes of the greatest creative live theater imaginable. Equal parts Stomp, Cirque Du Soleil, Drum Corps, and every Chinese art imaginable from Calligraphy to Tai Chi to Karate to printing blocks and surely a bunch of others I\'ve never heard of. Incredible juxtapositions of modern technology mixed with ancient chinese culture. And all this with what must have been an unlimited budget and directed by Zhang Yimou who directed one of my favorite movies, Hero (the martial arts movie Hero). It\'s must-see TV and almost has to be viewed in HD. I really hope an uncut DVD comes out.
Had a USA v. China hoops party yesterday morning. Nothing like getting the crew together at 11am on a Sunday with some Chinese food to watch...international basketball. USA smoked \'em and had many sick dunks. It was pretty unfair at points, and when the lead got over 30 I was kind of worried that it might strain international relations if we showed them up too much on their home court.
Awesome 4X100 men\'s swimming last night. I won\'t spoil it. Go find highlights. Well worth it.
Finally, just have to say that the only way to watch Olympics is with DVR. Just watch everything the next night, skip all commericals and only watch what you want to see. A lot of events only last a couple of seconds or minutes so they have to fill tons of time with features, interviews, studio analysis, and sports you don\'t necessarily want to see all so you can get to the one nugget of what you want. I think NBC does a good job but of course every night everything is just dragged out. If you want to see Phelps swim or anything marquee like that you know you\'re going to have to stay up until at least 11 and sit through 4-5 hours of something else. I was watching last night and around 9PM they did a 12-minute segment of Costas interviewing President Bush (gag me) followed by commercial followed by a gymnastics segment that consisted of exactly two vaults (about 5 seconds of actual action) and then they went back to commerical. At this point I hit record, turned it off, went to bed, and caught the 4X100 in the morning. Perfect. I\'ll watch tonight\'s stuff tomorrow night in 10-15 minutes.
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bummed i missed the opening ceremony. sounds sweet.
loved watchin that dunk and alleyoop fest yesterday tho!
they are def winnin gold.
weightlifting, beach volleyball, swimming and gymnastics were pretty entertaining too.
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First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event.
tottttally!
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All the Indians I work with are psyched - they got their first individual gold in 108 year history in the Men\'s 10m Air Rifle.
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First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event.
tottttally!
they were cool, but they faked all the fireworks.....all created with computers
the moving block things were really cool tho, i never thought people could do that. They said they practiced for 8 hours a day for the past 6 months to do that and this was the first time they got it correct....my question is do these people actually work?
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First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event.
tottttally!
they were cool, but they faked all the fireworks.....all created with computers
Well, yes, but all the fireworks were actually there. They couldn\'t fly a helicopter or blimp during fireworks because it was too dangerous, so they created the same image you would have seen if they could. It was all there in real life and you saw the same thing everyone there did which was basically a shitload of fireworks. And fireworks were maybe 30 seconds out of arguably the greatest 90-minute theatrical achievment in human history. Quite frankly, if you\'re hung up on this, you have completely missed the point. I mean geez, if someone takes you to see the Mona Lisa you would stand there and say, "Yeah it\'s good but it\'s not the real thing because they revarnished and repaired it in 1985."
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First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event.
tottttally!
they were cool, but they faked all the fireworks.....all created with computers
Well, yes, but all the fireworks were actually there. They couldn\'t fly a helicopter or blimp during fireworks because it was too dangerous, so they created the same image you would have seen if they could. It was all there in real life and you saw the same thing everyone there did which was basically a shitload of fireworks. And fireworks were maybe 30 seconds out of arguably the greatest 90-minute theatrical achievment in human history. Quite frankly, if you\'re hung up on this, you have completely missed the point. I mean geez, if someone takes you to see the Mona Lisa you would stand there and say, "Yeah it\'s good but it\'s not the real thing because they revarnished and repaired it in 1985."
I didn\'t see the whole thing so I can only comment on part of it, but I\'m not hung up on that at all, from what I saw was really cool.
I thought I read that the people there even had to watch the fireworks on screen (created by computers) so there really wasn\'t that many fireworks, but I could have read the article wrong, i basically skimmed alot of it.
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There was SO much more to the performance that this point is worthless. You might as well walk out of the sickest Breakfast show ever saying, "Great show but Chris forgot to sing a vocal harmony in the second chorus of Hard Luck Harry."
In other news, the only thing better than women\'s beach volleyball is women\'s beach volleyball in the rain :)
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all i gotta say is micheal phelps is a fucking fish
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speaking of the opening ceremonies, this is pretty hilarious:
(http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/08/bsod_nest_main2.jpg)
http://gizmodo.com/5035456/blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting
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That was done intentionally to symbolize the Communist regime "crashing" under the advancements of modern technology.
Just kidding!
Phelps is a beast. He\'s not even remotely close to getting beat in individual events. And these water-repellant swimsuits really are insane. Not only are they cutting huge chunks of time off of every world record, but the top 2-3 finishers in every race are all beating the world record at the same time. Imagine if Nike made a new running shoe that eliminated 80% of all friction with the ground, and the runners started putting up 9.5s second 100M runs, 3m:30 miles, and 1h:40 marathons because of the shoe. That would be the running equivalent. It\'s almost silly.
I want to play team handball.
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First of all, the first 90 minutes of the Opening Ceremonies were the greatest spectacle I\'ve ever seen. I have never been so riveted by anything on television that wasn\'t a live sports event.
tottttally!
they were cool, but they faked all the fireworks.....all created with computers
fake fireworks story (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2534499/Beijing-Olympic-2008-opening-ceremony-giant-firework-footprints-faked.html)
and,
"A "grueling competition" (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/The-Chinese-pulled-a-Milli-Vanilli-during-the-Op?urn=oly,100162) had been waged to choose the girl who sang, but at the last minute the "swap" was made because the seven year old girl simply did not portray the image that the Chinese wanted to convey to the world, she had buck teeth according to the story.
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From ESPN.com:
Olympic officials forbid French athletes to wear badges that said "for a better world," ruling this violated strictures against political statements. Apparently the notion that the world should be "better" is too controversial for the Olympics!
And yes, handball looks like pretty much the most fun sport ever.
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A "grueling competition"[/URL] had been waged to choose the girl who sang, but at the last minute the "swap" was made because the seven year old girl simply did not portray the image that the Chinese wanted to convey to the world, she had buck teeth according to the story.
Smart move by the producers. You’re trying to put on the best face for your country (literally) in front of a worldwide audience. If it were here and you saw an ugly kid up there singing God Bless America in front of the largest live television audience in world history, you would wonder "how did they pick this kid?". It’s one thing if it’s a school play and you’re trying to give all the kids a chance to participate. This is anything but that. This is a one-shot deal that is mega-business both financially and politically. You don’t blow $200 million dollars on a politically-charged ceremony and invite the whole world to watch, then feature mediocre looking people in key roles. You have to cast your show properly at this level. Will Ferrel doesn’t play Anakin Skywalker. Skinny guys don’t play on the offensive line in the NFL. A kid who doesn’t look good doesn’t sing patriotic songs in front of the rest of the world unless he/she is a hero or victim of tragedy. That’s just how it goes. Like it or not it’s proper politics. The kid who walked out with Yao Ming when the Chinese team came into the stadium was quite ugly and bruised, but he was a survivor of the recent earthquake so that’s OK.
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A "grueling competition"[/URL] had been waged to choose the girl who sang, but at the last minute the "swap" was made because the seven year old girl simply did not portray the image that the Chinese wanted to convey to the world, she had buck teeth according to the story.
Smart move by the producers. You’re trying to put on the best face for your country (literally) in front of a worldwide audience. If it were here and you saw an ugly kid up there singing God Bless America in front of the largest live television audience in world history, you would wonder "how did they pick this kid?". It’s one thing if it’s a school play and you’re trying to give all the kids a chance to participate. This is anything but that. This is a one-shot deal that is mega-business both financially and politically. You don’t blow $200 million dollars on a politically-charged ceremony and invite the whole world to watch, then feature mediocre looking people in key roles. You have to cast your show properly at this level. Will Ferrel doesn’t play Anakin Skywalker. Skinny guys don’t play on the offensive line in the NFL. A kid who doesn’t look good doesn’t sing patriotic songs in front of the rest of the world unless he/she is a hero or victim of tragedy. That’s just how it goes. Like it or not it’s proper politics. The kid who walked out with Yao Ming when the Chinese team came into the stadium was quite ugly and bruised, but he was a survivor of the recent earthquake so that’s OK.
Are you serious? Not sure what your definition of an ugly kid is, but the original girl is not ugly, she may need some work done on her teeth, but that\'s really vain. If they switch the girl at the last minute for asthetic reasons, I understand, but then have the new girl sing rather than have her pull a milli vanilli to the a recorded version of the first girl.
While we\'re at it, do you think that it\'s ethical for China to spend over $200 million and ship out Beijing residents when millions on millions of it\'s people are poor to begin with?
I just find it weird that you\'re trying to substantiate China\'s poor decisions.
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A "grueling competition"[/URL] had been waged to choose the girl who sang, but at the last minute the "swap" was made because the seven year old girl simply did not portray the image that the Chinese wanted to convey to the world, she had buck teeth according to the story.
Smart move by the producers. You’re trying to put on the best face for your country (literally) in front of a worldwide audience. If it were here and you saw an ugly kid up there singing God Bless America in front of the largest live television audience in world history, you would wonder "how did they pick this kid?". It’s one thing if it’s a school play and you’re trying to give all the kids a chance to participate. This is anything but that. This is a one-shot deal that is mega-business both financially and politically. You don’t blow $200 million dollars on a politically-charged ceremony and invite the whole world to watch, then feature mediocre looking people in key roles. You have to cast your show properly at this level. Will Ferrel doesn’t play Anakin Skywalker. Skinny guys don’t play on the offensive line in the NFL. A kid who doesn’t look good doesn’t sing patriotic songs in front of the rest of the world unless he/she is a hero or victim of tragedy. That’s just how it goes. Like it or not it’s proper politics. The kid who walked out with Yao Ming when the Chinese team came into the stadium was quite ugly and bruised, but he was a survivor of the recent earthquake so that’s OK.
Are you serious? Not sure what your definition of an ugly kid is, but the original girl is not ugly, she may need some work done on her teeth, but that\'s really vain. If they switch the girl at the last minute for asthetic reasons, I understand, but then have the new girl sing rather than have her pull a milli vanilli to the a recorded version of the first girl.
While we\'re at it, do you think that it\'s ethical for China to spend over $200 million and ship out Beijing residents when millions on millions of it\'s people are poor to begin with?
I just find it weird that you\'re trying to substantiate China\'s poor decisions.
What you constitute as a "poor" decision is based on your values as an American and your prejudices against the Chinese government that you most likely developed by consuming mainstream media. All of these decisions may very well be in the best interests of the people of China. Nobody cares if people lip-sync at huge shows, everyone does it. The $200 million wouldn\'t make a dent in helping the poverty of millions of people (what are you going to do, give each of them a dollar?) but if it increases national pride, helps people get along and changes the world\'s view of their culture and all the good things that come with that, then it could very well be the best buy they ever made. I\'m not saying if it is or not, I don\'t know, I\'m not there. Yours is an archetypical American attitude of "My values are superior and more righteous than the values of this inferior nation." What girl a country chooses to put into an opening ceremony is NOT some humanitarian injustice, so get over it.
If you\'re sitting there finding things wrong with the opening ceremony then you obviously haven\'t watched it or just have no appreciation for it. Furthermore, your quest to find things wrong with it is fueled by your prejudiced belief that the Chinese government is corrupt or malicious and you are only out to further that belief. Why else would you be so eager to find these things? Like I said, you might as well walk out of the greatest Breakfast show ever and talk about how Greg missed a cue on lights in the first set.
I\'m talking about sports now.
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You got me all wrong. I thought the opening ceremony was great, but I also think that it was dick what they did to that girl at the last minute. I\'m not saying the $200 million would have made a dent in the issues that they have, but it sure didn\'t help those people, just the dictatorship that runs the country. And you got the wrong guy if you think I\'m a right-wing neo-conservative that thinks USA is better than everyone. All you have to do is look at the current administration to know that\'s not the case. If you think what they did was justified, good, I have the right to disagree, that\'s the beauty of it.
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And you got the wrong guy if you think I\'m a right-wing neo-conservative that thinks USA is better than everyone.
I, for one, think the USA is better than everyone else (and hope it stays that way)!
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I apologize for the way this thread has gone. Certainly not what I intended. I think it\'s time for a .info break.
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I apologize for the way this thread has gone. Certainly not what I intended. I think it\'s time for a .info break.
The thread has taken the natural course it would have. If there\'s one thing that\'s a constant, it\'s that we will all always disagree on something. Whether it be the opening ceremony lip syncing, the Ahoy/May Fly thing, or the fact that I think Max Creek sucks ass. I know when I type these things that there are people that disagree with me and will respond. Maybe I\'m wrong for doing it, but you may not have seen me in 6+ years, but you knew that was the way I always was. Maybe it\'s me that needs a .info break, because it\'s seems that my views are far different from most online. I\'ll keep my posts to a minimum of rebel rousing (that should make freddie happy).
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wow..thought this thread was going to be more about the games and reading seth\'s intense and somewhat scary sports opinions/analogies (which i enjoy). really glad that it has gone the way that so many other threads on .info seem to go these days! way to go yoda!
all i gotta say is micheal phelps is a fucking fish
he\'s UNBELIEVABLE! and i would totally hit that if i had the chance! :hump:
And you got the wrong guy if you think I\'m a right-wing neo-conservative that thinks USA is better than everyone.
I, for one, think the USA is better than everyone else (and hope it stays that way)!
:thumbsup:
:backs out of thread before getting called a righty neo-conservative for being patriotic who also really has no great insight to offer on the olympics other than how i want to do michael phelps and wonder who does the bikini waxing for all of the ladies in gymnastics:
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I was watching the sports center coverage of phelps swimming...look at the positioning of his hands and wrists in the butterfly.
Wow. Precise, exact, human fins.
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Does anyone else find the thread title to be perhaps maybe not the most PC way of saying "Bejin 2008 Summer Olympics?"
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i dont know much about chinese politics, but i have no idea what the title is supposed to mean
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General Gao\'s is a mispronounciation of the chinese food dish General Tao\'s Chicken.
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i dont know much about chinese politics, but i have no idea what the title is supposed to mean
General Gao\'s is a mispronounciation of the chinese food dish General Tao\'s Chicken.
Which would be rouhgly equivolent to calling a thread about the olympics in turino:
Linquini Ravoli Marinia\'s Winter Olympic Thread
Except, I think, a little more demening.
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Except that I\'m sure that there are chinese restaurants in the greater boston area that have general gao\'s chicken on the menu.
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General Gao\'s is a mispronounciation of the chinese food dish General Tao\'s Chicken.
Except that I\'m sure that there are chinese restaurants in the greater boston area that have general gao\'s chicken on the menu.
I thought the first one was a typo since the A is next to the S. I\'m pretty sure it\'s General Tso\'s Chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Tso%27s_chicken).
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See, I goofed too. Props to booz!
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Except that I\'m sure that there are chinese restaurants in the greater boston area that have general gao\'s chicken on the menu.
My comment was that the reference to general tso\'s chicken was not a specific refrence to anything related to the summer games but, instead, was a reference to a generic chinese dish which people assosiate with, well, China. This reference is obivously moking of the country and has a hidden disrespectful connotation.
Therefore calling the turino games ravoli marina follows the same logic. It doesn\'t matter that ravoli sphagethi has no real relationship with Italy, as Booz has pointed out, the spicy-chicken dish has no real relationship with China.
Okay, so maybe calling them the marina anti-pasta games doesn\'t really work, what about the world proudly going to the Mafia Winter Games?
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Or we could change the Olympic logo to a picture of us using our fingers to slant our eyes... can you imagine if a U.S. team did that?
(The men\'s basketball team from Spain actually did that, for those who missed it.)
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That was funny.
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That was really really really bad taste on the spanish b-ball team. What the hell were they thinking of?
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anyone watching this?
7 fuckin golds, that guys an ape
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i watched it. the replay showed he lost fair and square. good for him tho. i sure as hell would not admit i lost esp. if my 7th gold was in the stakes. hope he wins the 8th, and can do it legitimately
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Am I the only person who thinks that the chinese girl in the un-even bars last night (first one who went) was DEFINETLY NOT 16?
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i watched it. the replay showed he lost fair and square. good for him tho. i sure as hell would not admit i lost esp. if my 7th gold was in the stakes. hope he wins the 8th, and can do it legitimately
It sure looked like he didn\'t win, but if all the slowed down and close-up replays, electronic touch pad and FINA governing body for the Olympics and Swimming say he won, I\'m not sure that we\'re in a position to argue that call.
While I\'m in a ranting mood, I like to mention a few sports that I don\'t understand how they became part of the olympics.
- Badminton
- BMX Biking
- Mountain Bike
- Team Handball
- Trampoline
- Table Tennis
I also think that professional althetes should not be allowed to perform certain events - tennis, hockey, basketball, etc. The people are employed by their league sport and are paid well for it. If they get hurt during these events, it should effect their contract. Let\'s go back to the days where Olympic Hockey chose the best amateur players, not the cream of the NHL; the same should hold true for basketball.
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While I\'m in a ranting mood, I like to mention a few sports that I don\'t understand how they became part of the olympics.
- Trampoline
how is trampoline even a sport outside of being a gynastic event?
the others you mentioned at least have the idea of winning an losing, but last i checked trampolining was about jumping up and down and pretending you are on the moon.
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teamball is awesome, that i know
if trampoline is an olympic sport (i havent yet seen it on tv), it sohuld be incorporated into gymnastics as a sub-event
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I don\'t deny that it\'s a cool sport, but what\'s next Olympic Rollerderby?
Trampoline was on last night around 10PM.
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how is trampoline even a sport outside of being a gynastic event?
the others you mentioned at least have the idea of winning an losing, but last i checked trampolining was about jumping up and down and pretending you are on the moon.
I\'ve never heard of it before, but the Olympic trampoline looks like a pretty ser athletic endeavor to me, rather than the little ones some of you might have in your backyard!
Beijing 2008 Trampoline video (http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0816_sd_gtb_hl_l0695&forcereload=true)