2008 Beijing Olympics

[Scienide]

[quote name='Biter' post='1479643' date='Aug 14 2008, 09.04']Are you all aware of Benjamin Boukpeti claiming the bronze medal in K1 Kayak Single, thus being responsible for the first ever Olympic medal for the nation of Togo?[/quote]

Yes. That's one of the great stories this year. There was some tough competition in that event.

[WarGalley]

The men's gymnastics ran too late for me, so I didn't catch the end of it. The Chinese guy looked great and slightly behind him was Jonathon Horton (USA) imo.

I have to repeat the hate for focusing on 2 of the athletes while multiple people are doing events. I swear it was cut to China's guy, cut to America guy all night with a couple random shots of South Korea and Russia thrown in.

Also, when there are so many competitors performing simultaneously, do we [i]really[/i] need to see athletes chalking up the bars or sitting on a chair?? I swear the whole point of that garbage was so the announcer could give a backstory on some artificial plotline or rivalry that NBC was trying to create. It was very irritating with so many other performances going on (and not being televised at all).

I wonder if they ever tried experimenting with a splitscreen. I'm not sure how it would work, but I felt like a missed 75% of the gymanstics last night that I watched.

[EHK for Darwin]

[quote]Even other events where the US is medalling (we took gold, silver, and bronze in women's saber fencing) don't get shown, but at least show the competition for 3rd in the women's gymnastics while you are sitting around waiting for scores anyway, as a for instance.[/quote]

Huh? You sure. I actually watched all of those I think. NBC itself is putting on the high profile shit, but the other channels (MSNBC, USA, CNBC, and Oxygen which alternate between the Olympics and their normal programming) have been showing alot of other stuff. Caught Russia/Lithuania Basketball this morning. Several boxing matches.

Honestly, I'm pretty pleased with most of the coverage. It seems like all hours of the day at least 2 of those channels are showing something on the olympics, not all of it your standard popular fare. And often its more like 3-4 of the channels. The biggest profile events seem to be US/China centric I'll admit, but to be completely honest...I haven't been watching them as much. I like flipping back and forth curious to see what new random sport might be on, no matter what country is in it and I've definitely found some interesting finds.

Plus with all the channels running the Olympics I can skip every sob story about hard childhoods that inevitably pop up to humanize these athletes. Its a godsend. MSNBC starts playing sad music, BOOM, I flip to CNBC and catch women's beach volleyball.




And I've got to say, this is the most interested I've ever been in the Olympics since 1988. In 1988 I had an immense crush on a female American diver whose name I sadly still recall but i won't say, so that kept me interested. This year has Phelps playing the lovechild of Superman and Jesus and every time he dips his toe into the water I get a dozen text messages telling me to turn my TV on.

But you know what's really doing it? The politics. Fuck the torch run, Tibet, Darfur and China's usually tank running over kids antics. Its just baffling the lengths they'll go to to ensure this ultimate propaganda event goes off without a hitch. Fat girls shoved in the closet while pretty girls sing. CGI'd fireworks from the country that fricken invented the things. 8 year old gymnists passed off as 16 year olds. Cats killed through Beijing to remove a nuisance. Homeless and beggars mass transported to the country for a few weeks. Dissidents under 'friendly' police supervision. All of these things that to a normal (ie: Western) person might seem a little bit or alot bit abhorrent, done eagerly and enthusiastically to make sure that noone gets the 'wrong impression' on their visit to China. The Orwellian lengths they'll go to for good PR. Who are these people? What is this country? Do they live on the same planet?

This along with the usual 'China is the next evil empire!' shit are what makes this Olympics compelling. Think back to the Olympics of old...what was best part? Sports you never see, sure. Amazing athleticism on display. Always. Winning...goes without saying. But what was the best part?

Watching that fucking medal count and hoping to god America beat the shit out of the Soviet Union. Seeing how we fared against the rest of the Iron Curtain. Cheering Rocky 4 style as our hard working, unpaid amateurs faced down the evil Soviet Professionals in everything but name coldly produced from their sterile, high tech, government financed athlete factories. (who the fuck knows or cares if it was true, when I was 8 in 88, I believed that shit. This was Balboa v. Drago in every event)

80 and 84 sucked (not that I remember) cause one of the great empires wasn't there. '88 was the last great clash of the titans. And now we've got it again. America, freedom and apple pie against the evil 2 trillion man behemoth evil empire. That is what makes the Olympics work.


Olympics minus politics BLOWS.

[Padraig]

[quote name='Biter' post='1479643' date='Aug 14 2008, 14.04']Are you all aware of Benjamin Boukpeti claiming the bronze medal in K1 Kayak Single, thus being responsible for the first ever Olympic medal for the nation of Togo?[/quote]
Are you mocking me? :P Check who came 4th?

But no, great win for Togo. :) Niamh was delighted.

[quote]America, freedom and apple pie against the evil 2 trillion man behemoth evil empire. That is what makes the Olympics work.[/quote]
:lol:

[Benjen Stark]

[quote name='Ser Paladin' post='1478562' date='Aug 13 2008, 13.40']I watched women's fencing one night, so they are definitely showing it somewhere, but I flick around to the other broadcasts. You do know that NBC is broadcasting events on USA, MSNBC and UHD in addition to the network feed, right? There was softball on last night in addition to the Swimming/ Gymnastics on the primary feed.[/quote]
I found it listed for USA in the middle of the night and set my DVR to record it. I'd already been recording the Equestrian stuff on Oxygen for my daughter, but it never occurred to me that USA was a NBC channel. (I only knew about the equestrian one because my wife's mother is a fan of horseracing.)

It's funny. When the US and China were closer in the gold count, NBC hinted that the whole world (except NBC) counts 1 gold as worth more than any number of silver or bronze. Now they are looking exclusively at the total medal count, where the US is only slightly behind.

[Exa Inova]

[quote name='Il Chiarimento' post='1479689' date='Aug 14 2008, 15.43']But you know what's really doing it? The politics. Fuck the torch run, Tibet, Darfur and China's usually tank running over kids antics. Its just baffling the lengths they'll go to to ensure this ultimate propaganda event goes off without a hitch. [b]Fat girls shoved in the closet while pretty girls sing[/b]. CGI'd fireworks from the country that fricken invented [b]the things[/b]. 8 year old gymnists passed off as 16 year olds. [b]Cats killed through Beijing to remove a nuisance[/b]. [b]Homeless and beggars mass transported to the country for a few weeks[/b]. Dissidents under 'friendly' police supervision. All of these things that to a normal (ie: Western) person might seem a little bit or alot bit abhorrent, done eagerly and enthusiastically to make sure that noone gets the 'wrong impression' on their visit to China. The Orwellian lengths they'll go to for good PR. Who are these people? What is this country? Do they live on the same planet?

Olympics minus politics BLOWS.[/quote]
I dont know what you are talking about :huh: . When I watched the NBA finals I could swear that only the prettiest women got court side seats. China invented CGI? We kill doves. We hate those flying rats. When our queen visits one of our cities this is what we do to our homeless too. Give um a bath too. We place all our politicians under friendly serveillance. Cus' before you know it they produce Fitna or submission.

[Tyria]

[quote name='WarGalley' post='1479678' date='Aug 14 2008, 10.32']I have to repeat the hate for focusing on 2 of the athletes while multiple people are doing events. I swear it was cut to China's guy, cut to America guy all night with a couple random shots of South Korea and Russia thrown in.

Also, when there are so many competitors performing simultaneously, do we [i]really[/i] need to see athletes chalking up the bars or sitting on a chair?? I swear the whole point of that garbage was so the announcer could give a backstory on some artificial plotline or rivalry that NBC was trying to create. It was very irritating with so many other performances going on (and not being televised at all).[/quote]

This is why I watch on CBC. They do cut to other people or events when someone is warming up. And they show people from all over the world, not just those favoured to win.

Another thing I noticed last night is NBC's live coverage seems to be about two or three seconds behind CBC's. I noticed while watching the men's butterfly (I think. There was beer involved.) and we got to see who won a few seconds before anyone else (not a big deal, I know, but the beer made it seem funny at the time).

[Scienide]

[quote name='Tyria' post='1479826' date='Aug 14 2008, 10.56']This is why I watch on CBC. They do cut to other people or events when someone is warming up. And they show people from all over the world, not just those favoured to win.

Another thing I noticed last night is NBC's live coverage seems to be about two or three seconds behind CBC's. I noticed while watching the men's butterfly (I think. There was beer involved.) and we got to see who won a few seconds before anyone else (not a big deal, I know, but the beer made it seem funny at the time).[/quote]

I believe they're required to delay their live broadcasts in case there is some cursing on the soundtrack. Wouldn't want to corrupt those youth of America.

[Benjen Stark]

[quote name='Exa Inova' post='1479779' date='Aug 14 2008, 09.31']I dont know what you are talking about :huh: . When I watched the NBA finals I could swear that only the prettiest women got court side seats. China invented CGI? We kill doves. We hate those flying rats. When our queen visits one of our cities this is what we do to our homeless too. Give um a bath too. We place all our politicians under friendly serveillance. Cus' before you know it they produce Fitna or submission.[/quote]
- The fat girl / pretty girl refers to the opening ceremonies, where a seven year old's voice was used for a song while they had a prettier nine year old lip synch to the music. Honestly though, the seven year old would have been allowed in the ceremony if she could have found somebody to cover her shift.
- The Chinese invented fireworks. Then they used CGI instead of real fireworks for the opening ceremonies.
- According to a source that may or may not be reliable, the Chinese government basically scared the populace of Beijing into thinking that cats were a public health hazard and collected them up from owners along with all the strays they could catch and killed them. Why? So there wouldn't be so many cats running around the streets making things not look as nice. Doves, aka pigeons, are a disease vector because of their droppings in cities. Cats rarely are a vector for anything except toxoplasmosis, which generally only affects pregnant women and old people who handle cat feces or are scratched by a cat that has recently touched cat feces with its paw. Cat feces rarely lands on you by surprise.
- China's efforts to beautify Beijing in advance of the games are a bit extreme, because the poverty amongst the rural poor in China is very different from the portrayal China would like to make of Beijing.

[Exa Inova]

[quote name='Benjen Stark' post='1479871' date='Aug 14 2008, 17.19']- The fat girl / pretty girl refers to the opening ceremonies, where a seven year old's voice was used for a song while they had a prettier nine year old lip synch to the music. Honestly though, the seven year old would have been allowed in the ceremony if she could have found somebody to cover her shift.
- The Chinese invented fireworks. Then they used CGI instead of real fireworks for the opening ceremonies.
- According to a source that may or may not be reliable, the Chinese government basically scared the populace of Beijing into thinking that cats were a public health hazard and collected them up from owners along with all the strays they could catch and killed them. Why? So there wouldn't be so many cats running around the streets making things not look as nice. Doves, aka pigeons, are a disease vector because of their droppings in cities. Cats rarely are a vector for anything except toxoplasmosis, which generally only affects pregnant women and old people who handle cat feces or are scratched by a cat that has recently touched cat feces with its paw. Cat feces rarely lands on you by surprise.
- China's efforts to beautify Beijing in advance of the games are a bit extreme, because the poverty amongst the rural poor in China is very different from the portrayal China would like to make of Beijing.[/quote]

Really?
Well whaddayaknow :o

[Tyria]

[quote name='Scienide' post='1479840' date='Aug 14 2008, 12.04']I believe they're required to delay their live broadcasts in case there is some cursing on the soundtrack. Wouldn't want to corrupt those youth of America.[/quote]

That's what we figured.

[Jaime L]

Is it true that Canada doesn't have a medal yet?

Looking at the list now, the following countries [i]do [/i]have at least one medal: Togo, Tajikstan, North Korea, Slovenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and the Vatican.

The following countries do not: Canada, Easter Island and the Land of the Snorks.

That is all.

[Tyria]

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1480030' date='Aug 14 2008, 13.43']Is it true that Canada doesn't have a medal yet?[/quote]

Tis true. I think Canada has a chance in rowing. I'm not sure about other sports. We're not so good at summer sports. We need snow and ice.

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1480030' date='Aug 14 2008, 12.43']Is it true that Canada doesn't have a medal yet?

Looking at the list now, the following countries [i]do [/i]have at least one medal: Togo, Tajikstan, North Korea, Slovenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and the Vatican.

The following countries do not: Canada, Easter Island and the Land of the Snorks.

That is all.[/quote]The Vatican?

[Bellis]

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1480030' date='Aug 14 2008, 10.43']That is all.[/quote]

Yup. A few 4th and 5th places though. We're very sportsmanlike but we have no competitive spirit :(

[Biter]

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1480030' date='Aug 14 2008, 18.43']Is it true that Canada doesn't have a medal yet?

Looking at the list now, the following countries [i]do [/i]have at least one medal: Togo, Tajikstan, North Korea, Slovenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and the Vatican.

The following countries do not: Canada, Easter Island and the Land of the Snorks.

That is all.[/quote]

Going by number of competitors, Canada is seventh with 332.

Going by number of total medals, Canada is currently tied with Djibouti (2 competitors), Chad (also 2), Iraq (4) and Guam (5), among others...

Meanwhile, Sweden has one more medal than their (our?) arch nemesis, Finland. They've won a gold medal, though...

[Scienide]

I tend to look at it from the point of view that Canada has had some successes in terms of advancing ourselves in teams sports. We've qualified a Men's WaterPolo team for the first time in a long while, a Women's football team and a men's field hockey team for the first time. I like to see them do well but know, with the exception of the women's football, that they probably won't.

Edit: for accuracy regarding the qualification of water polo.

[Benjen Stark]

[quote name='Biter' post='1479643' date='Aug 14 2008, 08.04']Are you all aware of Benjamin Boukpeti claiming the bronze medal in K1 Kayak Single, thus being responsible for the first ever Olympic medal for the nation of Togo?[/quote]
[url="http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/1/237771.shtml"]http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/.../1/237771.shtml[/url]

Born: France
Lives in: France

Doesn't count, IMO. :(

[Scienide]

Duplicate.

[Starkess]

[quote name='Benjen Stark' post='1479871' date='Aug 14 2008, 11.19']- The Chinese invented fireworks. Then they used CGI instead of real fireworks for the opening ceremonies.[/quote]

Actually, I believe they used real fireworks for the opening ceremony, but it was impossible to capture it all on video, so they used CGI so that the TV-viewers could see what the live viewers were seeing.