[Powaqqatsi]

Who saw the opening ? Beautiful if you ask me

[gorickey]

Indeed.

[PacHead]

Originally posted by gorickey:


Indeed.

They're showing it live on TV ? (usa)

[AKcrab]

Originally posted by PacHead:
They're showing it live on TV ? (usa)

Not where I live.

[gorickey]

Originally posted by PacHead:
They're showing it live on TV ? (usa)

No.

[vexborg]

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
Who saw the opening ? Beautiful if you ask me

I did, and everything went fine until they dragged Bjork onto the arena - what she sang was with out any kind of tune

That ruined it a bit.... But besides from Bjork, it was really lovely!

[agentz]

Fantastic opening ceremony IMO. Quite sedate compared to some OC's I've seen

The flame relay at the end of the ceremony was pretty nice, I really thought that bloke had fallen flat on his face when they got to World War I for a split second A little disappointed in the 'cauldron' however - not really a cauldron but a gas jet that cantilevers in the middle but meh, still cool.

I hope they manage to get through the Games this time without too much scandal and that there are no major security threats, after all the Games are about bringing people together in the spirit of fair play.

[voyageur]

I'm looking forward to watching it tonight. I love the games.
Remember Barcelona? That was the most dramatic torch-lighting ever, when the archer shot the flaming arrow into the chalice.

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by agentz:
The flame relay at the end of the ceremony was pretty nice, I really thought that bloke had fallen flat on his face when they got to World War I for a split second

Oh yeah, my first reaction was "holy ****! ". And yeah Bj�rk sucked.

[Briareus]

Into the Parade of Nations right now (USA Eastern Time)...

Thumbs way up so far. I was expecting it to be way abstract and weird as opening ceremonies usually are, but am impressed so far.

The sequence with the red centaur and the giant head sculpture was beautifully done, greatly elevated by the music: last movement of Mahler's 3rd Symphony. I'm a big Mahler fan.

I was disappointed in the network's intro (music from Jurassic Park??) and the commentary of Couric and Costas.

So when's the big Vangelis vs. Yanni duel?

[Oneota]

Originally posted by Briareus:
[...] and the commentary of Couric and Costas.

Agreed. Those two need to STFU.

[shmerek]

Who cares about the olympics any more? With all the drug scandals it has lost its glow (at least for me). The track events are won by those with the best drugs.

Blah.

[residentEvil]

i'd say the most dramatic was ali lighting the final flame in atlanta. at least for me. but yes, the archer was very cool in barcelona. just not as moving, to me, as ali.

[John F. Smith]

the guy running around with the flag (who pretended to fall on his face) was pretty hott.. that sort of thing is the main reason i watch the olympics

[fibroptikl]

I'll only watch Women's Gymnastic's. And some swimming. That's about it.

It'll be a great time to catch up on movies.

[demograph68]

Hmm... BORING! *click*

[sideus]

Used to watch the Olympics years ago. Lost interest awhile ago and considering I don't watch TV anymore I'll let this one slip by me.

[waxcrash]

Originally posted by Oneota:
Agreed. Those two need to STFU.

I was just telling my girlfriend the same thing. Couric and Costas won't shut-up and are ruining a cool thing.

[waxcrash]

The torch lighting ceremony�

It looked like the dude ran up the stairs and lit a giant doobie.

[Oneota]

Originally posted by waxcrash:
The torch lighting ceremony�

It looked like the dude ran up the stairs and lit a giant doobie.

We appear to be of like minds tonight - was just thinkin' the same thing.

[Sandbaggins]

Some parts of the ceremony were kinda lame... especially the kid in the paper boat. Did give me a good laugh though

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by agentz:
Fantastic opening ceremony IMO. Quite sedate compared to some OC's I've seen

The flame relay at the end of the ceremony was pretty nice, I really thought that bloke had fallen flat on his face when they got to World War I for a split second A little disappointed in the 'cauldron' however - not really a cauldron but a gas jet that cantilevers in the middle but meh, still cool.

I hope they manage to get through the Games this time without too much scandal and that there are no major security threats, after all the Games are about bringing people together in the spirit of fair play.

Someone's bound to try an ruin it- remember this guy?

[Jaey]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
Someone's bound to try an ruin it- remember this guy?

No.

[demograph68]

Originally posted by moonmonkey:
remember this guy?

I might if he took off the silly looking mask.

[moonmonkey]

Originally posted by Jaey:
No.

Munich olympics 72- him and his mates caused a bit of trouble.

[PacHead]

Originally posted by Jaey:
No.

1972, Munich. Most people went there to participate in sporting events or watch, a few others went there to kill.

[OB1]

Couric and Costas really did hog the limelight didn't they? Other than those two I thought it was brilliant. Did any of you actually watch ALL the teams come out? So many countries... It was cool that Afghanistan an Iraq got such big cheers. And Bjork was ace.

[phoenixboy70]

best opening ceremony evar, - for anything. from the parade of "greek history" to the dj spinning some fine tunes while the nations entered the arena and the astronauts making their speech.

while i watched it i realized, "wow, this is what we are (as a western culture)" we owe so much to greek history.

congrats greece, great show.

[voyageur]

The torch-lighting and the torch itself looked very, well, uh, phallic, to me. But maybe my mind was just primed by seeing all those semi-naked live "statues" parading by earlier.

Anyway, very nice show. I also like the red centaur and the floating head, and the way it melded a tribute to classical Greece with modern science.

[sanity assassin]

It did have a very sexual element to it, but it was beautiful, quite moving in parts, especially the pregnant woman walking while that wonderful music played.

The BBC are broacasting it online to certain parts of the world, but not the U.S., think has to do with fees or something.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
And yeah Bj�rk sucked.

No, she didn't.

DJ Tiesto sucked.

Fortunately, most of his set was buried in the crowd noise, reverb, and commentary.

As for games of friendship and interenational understanding:

One of Iran's best hopes for an Olympic medal will not be taking part in the Games after he refused to compete against an Israeli athlete.



-s*

[dreilly1]

A few points:

- I lost whatever respect I had left for Bob Costas last night. I was glad that the rest of the world had seen it live and was already in bed, and was spared listening to him and whoever that brainless chick was. The man should stick to baseball games.

- This is the one time of year when I wished I lived in Buffalo and could get the Toronto stations. Heck, I'd pay to see Canadian coverage.

- The parade of nations is the only part of the Olympics that I really like to watch, since the coverage is so botched here in the US. It's neat to note what changes happen from one Olympics to the next, and how so many people (but not all, unfortunately) can place sport above political and cultural differences.

- Does anyone know where to find a list of all the country names in Greek, with English translations? My wife and I, being techies who took too much Physics in college, are very familiar with the Greek alphabet, but we couldn't make heads or tails out of some countries' placement.

[gerbnl]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:


DJ Tiesto sucked.

Fortunately, most of his set was buried in the crowd noise, reverb, and commentary.

i always call him dj triesto (triest = dutch for sad)

[Powaqqatsi]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
No, she didn't.

DJ Tiesto sucked.

Fortunately, most of his set was buried in the crowd noise, reverb, and commentary.

As for games of friendship and interenational understanding:

One of Iran's best hopes for an Olympic medal will not be taking part in the Games after he refused to compete against an Israeli athlete.



-s*

Yeah, duh Tiesto sucks as well but like you said you almost couldn't hear him. I just hate Bj�rk's voice, her way of singing, that's all.

[Visnaut]

Originally posted by voyageur:
The torch-lighting and the torch itself looked very, well, uh, phallic, to me.

That's exactly what I thought. The cauldron lighting looked like a giant flaming erection. Chew on that, Freudians.

[vmpaul]

I thought it was pretty interesting.

I prefer when the Olympics are held outside the US. The ceremonies always have a different style and tempo to them. Opening ceremonies in American tend to be too Disney-like and predictable.

The parade of nations by the Greek alphabet screwed me up. I wish they had listed it somewhere on screen.

Olympic stadium was spectacular. I loved the design and lighting of it. Must've have been am amazing event to attend.

All in all, it was pretty extravagant. Attending an Olympics is still on my life list. Maybe Beijing 2008 or 2012 (wherever it is).

[Monique]

It was a grand opening.

Good to the American Athletes hope you will win it all.

[ryju]

I had to work all bloody day (built some BBQs) so I missed it, I saw a couple minutes of it on the news though. Seemed good

[sideus]

Nice sig

[ironknee]

i really liked the history part reminds me of art history classes

did anyone noticed the kids singing with white ear phones on?

[Sealobo]

China now has 4 Gold... and ESPN refuses to update the ranking.

LAME!

[vexborg]

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
Yeah, duh Tiesto sucks as well but like you said you almost couldn't hear him. I just hate Bj�rk's voice, her way of singing, that's all.

Hehe... "Bj�rk" and "voice" can't go together - her stuff just gets more and more strange

But DJ Tiesto sucked as well, his music reminded me of a mid 90'ties rave...

[SamuraiDL]

Bjork's old stuff like HyperBallad is amazing.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Powaqqatsi:
I just hate Bj�rk's voice, her way of singing, that's all.

Lots of people do.

Nobody I know has discounted the quality of her stuff after giving it a good listen, though (even if they can't take her singing).

Love her or hate her, she's definitely one of the greats on the fringe, out there with Bowie and a mere handful of others.

That's why she was asked by the director of the opening ceremony.

-s*

[PacHead]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:


That's why she was asked by the director of the opening ceremony.

-s*

Are there no talents in Greece or something ? I thought the host countries would usually have one of their own performing the artist duties and not an import from Iceland.

[spatterson]

I still haven't seen it, but TIVO recorded it for me! We will see.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by PacHead:
Are there no talents in Greece or something ? I thought the host countries would usually have one of their own performing the artist duties and not an import from Iceland.

You mean like Freddy Mercury in Barcelona?

Get off your Iceland peeve; you're looking really silly.

(Apart from which, she's technically a US import, since she lives in NYC, AFAIK. Before which she lived in London.)

-s*

[PacHead]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
You mean like Freddy Mercury in Barcelona?

Get off your Iceland peeve; you're looking really silly.

(Apart from which, she's technically a US import, since she lives in NYC, AFAIK. Before which she lived in London.)

-s*

It is irrelevant where she is from, I was simply stating that I find it strange that the host countries can't find anything suitable amongst their own citizens.

Also, she would not technically be a US import, even though she has lived in NYC (downtown) before. She's not a US citizen, and she is an Icelander living here, a foreigner. If I move to Spain, that wouldn't make me a Spaniard.

[MindFad]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
You mean like Freddy Mercury in Barcelona?

Get off your Iceland peeve; you're looking really silly.

(Apart from which, she's technically a US import, since she lives in NYC, AFAIK. Before which she lived in London.)

-s*

MORE LIBERAL SPIN. SHE'S A DAMN DIRTY FOREIGNER, AND THAT'S FINAL!

Anyway, I caught the opening yesterday. Well, on Friday, I mean. I totally missed the first day of events and competition. I never really got excited for the Olympics. I like watching Olympic hockey, though.

[Spheric Harlot]

PacHead:

Can you explain then why the Atlanta opening ceremony featured Celine Dion?

Couldn't you find something suitable from your own country?

Or do you think there might be an element of internationalism involved in the Olympic Games?



Nah - can't be it: The US would never ratify participation.

-s*