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Chris C 
"Four words, never backwards."
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 Posted - 07/01/2012 : 19:50:13
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It's less than a month before the whole show starts in London. Are there any fwiffers out there who will be visiting London for the Games, or have family connections taking part somehow? Or are you not bothered?
We failed to get tickets for the main event, but we will be having a day at the Paralympics at the end of August.
A cousins daughter will be dancing at the opening ceremony, another cousin is assisting the South African delegation, and the nephew of a friend is swimming for New Zealand. |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 07/01/2012 : 21:09:04
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris C
and the nephew of a friend is swimming for New Zealand.
Gosh, he's really keen to get as far away from the games as possible!
 
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Chris C
"Four words, never backwards."
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Posted - 07/01/2012 : 21:27:25
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
quote:
Originally posted by Chris C
and the nephew of a friend is swimming for New Zealand.
Gosh, he's really keen to get as far away from the games as possible!
I suspect that a large part of the population of London feels the same way. |
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Sean 
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 00:32:28
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I haven't been paying any attention to it. My ears will prick up a bit if/when they include cricket.
I'll probably glance at the medal tally when it's over and that's about it. Sorry to be a party pooper. 
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Stalean
"Back...OMG"
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Posted - 07/02/2012 : 01:27:16
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I've been watching the gymnastic Olympic trials here in the U.S. My granddaughter is an aspiring gymnast with many medals to her credit, but she is only 12-years-old--a bit of a ways off from trying for the real games if she decides to continue.
We have been to the top U.S. National Champion's gym (and the #1 leader right now for the trials), though, for competitions.  If you watch, look for Jordyn Wieber--she's very good. 
I'm looking forward to the London Olympics. I think I like watching the different events because I would love to have that much stamina and to be that athletic myself.  |
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Chris C
"Four words, never backwards."
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Posted - 07/19/2012 : 19:16:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris C
A cousins daughter will be dancing at the opening ceremony, another cousin is assisting the South African delegation, and the nephew of a friend is swimming for New Zealand.
I lied - she's dancing at the closing ceremony. With Jessie J. |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 07/28/2012 : 10:32:31
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I am a sports-free zone, and I won't be following any competition or rooting for any team or nation.
HOWEVER, I did watch all of the opening ceremony, which was conceived, devised, choreographed and directed by Danny Boyle. That's the same Danny Boyle better known to fwfrers by his films Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, and Slumdog Millionaire among others.
You'll have no doubt heard about the Queen [yes, the actual queen] arriving at the Games accompanied by James Bond dropping in from a royal helicopter. You may have read about a section featuring famous British children's literature set in the context of Ormond Street Children's Hospital which combined a celebration of the National Health Service - a post-war dream come true - with a brilliant evocation of the nature and power of dreams themselves.
But, honestly, that's only a hint of the power of it all.
The nearly 4-hour long ceremony [a lot of it taken up by the parade of the world's teams around the stadium] was so astounding it's almost impossible to describe in anyone's paltry language. Yes, it WAS that good!
For those who missed it, I won't go into every nook and cranny, but Boyle managed - with the cushion of about �27 million and some 7 or 8 thousand volunteers - to create a living tableau, punctuated by music and presentations by Kenneth Branagh, Mr Bean and JK Rowling among others.
It covered no less than a history of Great Britain over the past few hundred years, from the oft-misunderstood idyll of an agrarian society [all jolly maypole japes and happy labourers] through the transition to what became the Industrial Revolution [evoking imagery from Metropolis, Modern Times, and 1984], and landing into the rich, somewhat chaotic, ultimately creative tenor of the times - a dance between order and anarchy, ideals and hypocrisy that celebrates the diversity of Britain and the positive values of social justice, personal freedom, and a striving for excellence.
The overall message is one which defines the Games. We have everything in common, and when we come together we're capable of greatness. Not for profit, but as an acknowledgement of each other and ourselves.
Olympian indeed!!
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 07/29/2012 00:10:01 |
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Chris C
"Four words, never backwards."
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Posted - 07/29/2012 : 15:54:58
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BB has said it much better than I ever could. What a ceremony, it had pretty much everything. Highlights for me included
- The forging of the rings and their rise into the night sky
- Mr Bean
- Mary Poppins vanquishing Voldemort (yes, really!)
- The passing of the torch from the old olympian (Sir Steve Redgrave) to the future olympians for the lghting of the cauldron.
A briliant, imaginative, and breathtaking spectacle. If you missed it, you missed something good. I feel a knighthood appearing soon somewhere near Danny Boyle. |
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Stalean
"Back...OMG"
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Posted - 07/29/2012 : 16:34:08
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris C
BB has said it much better than I ever could. What a ceremony, it had pretty much everything. Highlights for me included
- The forging of the rings and their rise into the night sky
- Mr Bean
- Mary Poppins vanquishing Voldemort (yes, really!)
- The passing of the torch from the old olympian (Sir Steve Redgrave) to the future olympians for the lghting of the cauldron.
A briliant, imaginative, and breathtaking spectacle. If you missed it, you missed something good. I feel a knighthood appearing soon somewhere near Danny Boyle.
I liked all those things, too, Chris. Although, I'm going to have to take a look at my Comcast On Demand to see the Poppins/Voldemort showdown because I missed it. Anyway, I though Matt Lauer's (NBC Today Show host) commentary about the huge baby for the NHS segment was rather rude. He called the baby "creepy."  I might add that I loved the Bond/Queen entrance very much also. |
Edited by - Stalean on 07/29/2012 16:41:33 |
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Chris C
"Four words, never backwards."
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Posted - 07/29/2012 : 22:37:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Stalean
I might add that I loved the Bond/Queen entrance very much also.
Yup, I missed that one.
Saddest moment was seeing Muhammad Ali. Such a shame |
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 07/30/2012 : 07:52:26
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quote:
Originally posted by Chris C
Saddest moment was seeing Muhammad Ali. Such a shame
He was at other Olympics as well. It is sad to see, but good to know he isn't down yet! |
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Wheelz 
"FWFR%u2019ing like it%u2019s 1999"
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Posted - 07/30/2012 : 17:12:58
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quote:
Anyway, I though Matt Lauer's (NBC Today Show host) commentary about the huge baby for the NHS segment was rather rude. He called the baby "creepy."
Well, the giant baby was creepy. But yeah, Lauer shouldn't have said so out loud. Or much of anything else, really; the whole running commentary was terribly inane. (Merideth Viera: "Those kids don't look sick to me!")
My favorite parts were the Bond segment and the "forging" of the rings. Very cool. I thought devoting a large portion of the evening to a celebration of the national health care system was an odd choice, and that whole bit was rather twee anyway (to use a Britishism). The tribute to texting could have been axed entirely too, IMO. Overall, I thought it was a fun show, though not nearly the spectacle they put together in Beijing. |
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Salopian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 08/04/2012 : 01:26:42
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Love, love, love the Olympics, and not only because the modern ones started in Shropshire. Am going to the gymnastics on Sunday (in one of the events of which we have a good chance of gold, so fingers crossed).
Watched the opening ceremony for the third time tonight. It's not quite perfect but I love it more each time. Much better than the soulless robotics in Beijing.
Sean, you should get into the Games -- New Zealand is currently far higher in the table than Australia! |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 08/04/2012 : 04:11:12
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quote:
Originally posted by Salopian
Sean, you should get into the Games -- New Zealand is currently far higher in the table than Australia!
A point I'd noticed, and brought to thefoxboy's attention this morning.
Actually I watched two of NZ's rowing/sculling golds live last night (traditionally one of NZ's strongest sports). 
Here's an interesting site that ranks countries by medals per capita and by GDP. NZ currently tops the world in weighted medals per capita and gold medals per capita.  |
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Salopian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 08/04/2012 : 16:11:35
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quote:
Originally posted by Sean
Here's an interesting site that ranks countries by medals per capita and by GDP. NZ currently tops the world in weighted medals per capita and gold medals per capita.
Yes, the B.B.C. mentioned that very piece of trivia the other day. I guess it comes from having a wide variety of land and water within a relatively small area. And having nothing else to do other than sport. I'm glad to see that we don't do too badly in that ranking either. |
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London Olympics & Paralympics
