Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Risus

#31

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by dumpthemonarchy

Govt did pay for the Games, I would expect they had some say how it would be presented. Like in BC, the provincial govt wants new Skytrains, the fed govt says we'll help, so you must buy them from Bombardier in Quebec.

VANOC makes a show and puts aboriginals front and centre? Gee, who would want something like that? People who supply the bucks, the BC and fed govts. Try not to be so naive.

Sure, the government paid for a portion of the games, but they had nothing to do with the contents of the ceremony. That was the producer of the show and the VANOC.
Don't be racist. What is wrong with putting the aboriginals front and center???? The aboriginals are part of our beginning history. Wake up.

Risus

#32

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by dumpthemonarchy

And I'm not always negative, the Italians put on an awesome closing ceremony in Turin. The hockey win was fantastic. The pqrties downtown were great, the hockey game I saw was great.

You are negative about a lot of subjects in these forums.

El Barto

#33

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Zan

I'm sorry to say I was not at all impressed. I didn't catch the opening ceremonies, and only a bit of the closing ceremonies... but what I did catch wasn't that great. I'm not overly comfortable with the idea of tooting our own horn quite so brazenly... it seemed a bit over the top. What I saw had the same bad taste as the whole "Own the podium" campaign... it felt like someone hijacked my Canadian-ism and defiled it a bit. All that "Lookit us! Lookit Us!" ... ugh.

The hokiest of all were those canoes and ginormous beavers romping around the stage. I have to admit, I laughed out loud - literally - but not with them. I dunno, the whole Canada/BEAVER thang... it's funny ... on a couple different levels. WTH. Is that the best we could come up with? I read a review that said it was campy. That's exactly what I thought. We could have really done a class act with this. But we didn't.

Zan , if you put on a show I'd would never laugh at your beaver

CDNBear

#34

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by El Barto

Zan , if you put on a show I'd would never laugh at your beaver

EagleSmack

#35

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by el barto

zan , if you put on a show i'd would never laugh at your beaver

rofl

VanIsle

#36

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

I did not see any reason to open yet another thread on the Olympics but I thought I would like to share these words with you:

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor

After tonight's broadcast and after looting our hotel mini-bars, we're going to try to brave the blizzard and fly east to home and hearth, and to do laundry well into next week. Before we leave this thoroughly polite country, the polite thing to do is leave behind a thank-you note.

Thank you, Canada:

For being such good hosts.

For your unfailing courtesy.

For your (mostly) beautiful weather.

For scheduling no more than 60 percent of your float plane departures at the exact moment when I was trying to say something on television.

For not seeming to mind the occasional (or constant) good-natured mimicry of your accents.

For your unique TV commercials -- for companies like Tim Hortons -- which made us laugh and cry.

For securing this massive event without choking security, and without publicly displaying a single automatic weapon.

For having the best garment design and logo-wear of the games -- you've made wearing your name a cool thing to do.

For the sportsmanship we saw most of your athletes display.

For not honking your horns. I didn't hear one car horn in 15 days -- which also means none of my fellow New Yorkers rented cars while visiting.

For making us aware of how many of you have been watching NBC all these years.

For having the good taste to have an anchorman named Brian Williams on your CTV network, who turns out to be such a nice guy.

For the body scans at the airport which make pat-downs and cavity searches unnecessary.

For designing those really cool LED Olympic rings in the harbor, which turned to gold when your athletes won one.

For always saying nice things about the United States...when you know we're listening.

For sharing Joannie Rochette with us.

For reminding some of us we used to be a more civil society.

Mostly, for welcoming the world with such ease and making lasting friends with all of us.

VanIsle

#37

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Here's another one:

A Note to the Critical Media of the World about Our Olympics.

ENJOY!!!!
RESPONSE TO WORLD MEDIA

We never claimed to be perfect; that means we've learned to be humble.

We say excuse me and I'm sorry as well as please and thanks. Even
when it’s not our fault we apologize.

Sure one arm of the torch didn't rise, but when the earthquake struck
Haiti, Canadians raised their hands to say "we'll help".

And yah, there is a fence around the torch, but you can walk right up
and shake hands with our prime minister ... and most famous Canadians.

We put Gretzky in the back of a pick-up, in the rain, not surrounded
by police and he was okay.
And by the way... the great one is Canadian and HE wasn't complaining!

We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don't
even have a gun they have to leave at home.

The medals ARE under lock and key but our doors and our hearts are
open to the world.

It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week, but
let's not overlook the fact that our banking system didn't.

We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time, but we will,
eventually; just like we did when we invented the zamboni.

If you don't reach higher how do you get faster and stronger? Was the
first quad jump perfect? Should we not have given snowboarding to the
world "in case" it didn't take off?

So big deal one out of four torch arms didn't rise. Good thing we had
3 more! It's called contingency planning!

But remember the Canadarm works every time in outer space and insulin
turned out to be okay.

We couldn't change the weather but maybe we can help stop global warming.

We don't have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but,
per capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-donkey venues in the worst
global recession ever.

Sure, some folks couldn't afford tickets but our health care is universal.

We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration
and song but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic
event...together, spontaneously and unrehearsed.

What's more, we don't need permission from anyone to have a slam poet,
fiddlers with piercings and a lesbian singer tell our story to the
world while our multilingual female Haitian- born, black head of state
shares a box with her First Nations equals.

We've shown the world that it doesn't always rain in Vancouver, that
you can strive for excellence but not get hung up on perfection.

And we've learned what it feels like to be picked on by some no name
newspaper guy and we don't have to take it lying down!

So the point is not the snow, or the hydraulics or a couple guys being
5 minutes late to a ceremony. We know we're lucky that these are the
biggest problems we had to deal with in the last couple weeks.

So take your cheap shots Guardian newspaper and cynics of the world.

We're bigger and better than that. What's more we're finally starting
to believe it!

Do you believe?

Mowich

#38

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Except for both opening and closing renditions of our national anthem - neither of which I appreciated, I thoroughly enjoyed both presentations.

I especially got a kick out of the theme of the closing ceremonies - making fun of ourselves. Yeah some of us really do think the moose should be a national symbol of Canada, right alongside the Beav. Some of us also like the fact that no nation on earth has such snazzy police uniforms, nor the legend and history they speak to. Heck, there are even some of us who got teary-eyed as the building erupted in a sustained ovation following John Furlongs' thank you to the athletes of the world. Hearing the opening bars of The Maple Leaf Forever almost instantly took some of us back to grade school when we sang it every day, as we now sang it with Michael.

Mike, Bill and Catherine were perfect in their monologues highlighting the funniest things about us, I laughed along with them and felt good about my countrymen for being able to do so in such a public manner.

Neil's voice hasn't improved over the years but his lyrics ring as true today as they did when I was younger. I liked both Avril and Alanis' choice of songs and drooled as usual over Michael.

Enjoyed John Furlong's remarks and his thanking of the volunteers especially - they are really the unsung heros of these games and deserved the loud applause they received.

In saying goodbye to the world we weren't pompous, or arrogant, or conceited. We were our usual Canadian selves when it came to lording it over another - we didn't. From the beginning of the games, we reached out our hand in friendship and kept it there locked hand in hand with nations around the world. We celebrated our victories and those of other nations. The camaraderie between our Canadian athletes and those of other countries was in evidence in competition after competition. In record numbers people took to the streets of Vancouver and Whistler, day after day and night after night and in all that time there were less than 500 arrests for all games related disturbances, most of the them pretty minor. Vancouver Police were photographed high-fiving people on the street after we our team won the game. We showed pride in our country by being civil and friendly and welcoming and very polite, in other words as true Canadians. We said goodbye with flair, humor, and style.

Yep, all in all, I would say it was a jim dandy send-off. Thank you, VANOC. Thank you, Mr. Furlong.

But then, that's just my opinion.

Last edited by Mowich; Mar 2nd, 2010 at 07:38 PM..

countryboy

#39

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Well, I'm glad I had no part in planning the ceremonies. Trying to "do it right" would be pretty much impossible, given the apparently high numbers of people who stand by to ambush the first person who tries to do something a bit different.

Sometimes it pays to look for something good in an event. The payoff is, the critic(s) might end up feeling a little better about the country and move a bit closer to the optimistic side of things. You know, spread a little sunshine and all that...

Risus

#40

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

Well, I'm glad I had no part in planning the ceremonies. Trying to "do it right" would be pretty much impossible, given the apparently high numbers of people who stand by to ambush the first person who tries to do something a bit different.

Sometimes it pays to look for something good in an event. The payoff is, the critic(s) might end up feeling a little better about the country and move a bit closer to the optimistic side of things. You know, spread a little sunshine and all that...

Some people are just negative, no matter what the topic is.

Mowich

#41

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 2nd, 2010

Ah, VanIsle, thank you so much for sharing those with us. I enjoyed reading both of them so much.

VanIsle

#42

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

You are most welcome. I hope others enjoyed them as well.

Kreskin

#43

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Zan

I'm sorry to say I was not at all impressed. I didn't catch the opening ceremonies, and only a bit of the closing ceremonies... but what I did catch wasn't that great. I'm not overly comfortable with the idea of tooting our own horn quite so brazenly... it seemed a bit over the top. What I saw had the same bad taste as the whole "Own the podium" campaign... it felt like someone hijacked my Canadian-ism and defiled it a bit. All that "Lookit us! Lookit Us!" ... ugh.

The hokiest of all were those canoes and ginormous beavers romping around the stage. I have to admit, I laughed out loud - literally - but not with them. I dunno, the whole Canada/BEAVER thang... it's funny ... on a couple different levels. WTH. Is that the best we could come up with? I read a review that said it was campy. That's exactly what I thought. We could have really done a class act with this. But we didn't.

But we did say sorry. Sorry for winning all those gold medals. That was pretty Canadian lol.

Slim Chance

#44

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by CDNBear

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion.

The following is what prompted me to respond:

Quote: Originally Posted by CDNBear

The opening show, made it look as if the general consensus was that the whole of Canada embraced the very culture they highlighted.

The 4 honourary heads of state?

The costumes?

The dancing?

A lie!

This is not a political statement, as much as it is just a misrepresentation of fact. The portrayal of Natives in the opening ceremony, was not how we are viewed day to day, by both the Gov't and the general populace.

Ultimately, those FN representatives that assisted in organizing and participated in the event either did not feel the same as you or somehow they were forced.

This theme of stereotyping cultures exists for all cultures, nations, religions, etc.. It's a part of the identity of these groups (for good or bad) and rightly or wrongly, it is what is associated in terms of the identity by outsiders.

VanIsle

#45

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time, but we will,
eventually; just like we did when we invented the zamboni.
This statement was in one of the "letters" I added to this thread. We are in fact, not responsible for the making of the Zamboni here in Canada. Mr. Zamboni, the inventor, did his inventing in California so - that said - we'll apologize again and state that we were wrong. There is a Zamboni plant in Ontario though.

CDNBear

#46

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Mowich

Except for both opening and closing renditions of our national anthem - neither of which I appreciated, I thoroughly enjoyed both presentations.

Dear gawd, I couldn't agree with you more.

About three notes into he Anthem both times, I yelled at the TV, "Just sing the ****ing song!". I hate when they try to stylize it.

Quote:

I especially got a kick out of the theme of the closing ceremonies - making fun of ourselves. Yeah some of us really do think the moose should be a national symbol of Canada, right alongside the Beav. Some of us also like the fact that no nation on earth has such snazzy police uniforms, nor the legend and history they speak to. Heck, there are even some of us who got teary-eyed as the building erupted in a sustained ovation following John Furlongs' thank you to the athletes of the world. Hearing the opening bars of The Maple Leaf Forever almost instantly took some of us back to grade school when we sang it every day, as we now sang it with Michael.

And you know what? If the Native community had participated more in that, spoofing ourselves as it were, I would have laughed.

Quote: Originally Posted by countryboy

Well, I'm glad I had no part in planning the ceremonies. Trying to "do it right" would be pretty much impossible, given the apparently high numbers of people who stand by to ambush the first person who tries to do something a bit different.

Sometimes it pays to look for something good in an event. The payoff is, the critic(s) might end up feeling a little better about the country and move a bit closer to the optimistic side of things. You know, spread a little sunshine and all that...

I didn't miss all the athletes. They were the most positive thing about the Olympics. AS they should have been.

Quote: Originally Posted by Slim Chance

The following is what prompted me to respond:

Still not seeing it.

Quote:

Ultimately, those FN representatives that assisted in organizing and participated in the event either did not feel the same as you or somehow they were forced.

Quote:

This theme of stereotyping cultures exists for all cultures, nations, religions, etc.. It's a part of the identity of these groups (for good or bad) and rightly or wrongly, it is what is associated in terms of the identity by outsiders.

I'll have to remember that the next time I'm teaching my boys to be better then.

Should make it so much easier.

Mowich

#47

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quoting CDNBear:

Quote:

For had it been an honest representation of how the average Canadian sees the Native community, you would have seen brand new snowmobiles, drunks, the slaughter of hundreds of Moose for no reason, crates of guns being dragged across imaginary boundaries, violent confrontations between masked MWS members and the OPP, faux roadblocks and scores of contraband smoke shops on wheels being dragged around by dancing gas huffing juvenile delinquents. All set to the tune "Ball of confusion" by Love and Rockets.

I guess I have to categorize myself as an un-average Canadian then, Bear. I don't happen to agree with the stereotypical natives that you speak of in your post. Most of the native people I know are hard-working members of society and they, like us, truly enjoyed the ceremonies and the games. They were not the only members of the native community to do so either, as you may read about in the following links.

--
--
--
--

CDNBear

#48

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Mowich

Quoting CDNBear:
I guess I have to categorize myself as an un-average Canadian then, Bear. I don't happen to agree with the stereotypical natives that you speak of in your post. Most of the native people I know are hard-working members of society and they, like us, truly enjoyed the ceremonies and the games. They were not the only members of the native community to do so either, as you may read about in the following links.
http://blogs.usask.ca/iportal/2010/02/first_nation_leaders_see_olymp.html
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/84248972.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-2010-Olympics-Opening-Ceremony-from-a-Native-Perspective
Quote has been trimmed, See full post:

Awesome, you couldn't have missed the point any more if you had made it a concerted effort...

eta: I have several more glaringly positive articles written by Natives, including a reporter who is Onondaga as well, and a good friend of mine, from far more legitimate Native news sources.

My opinion, is my opinion, and shaped by my perceptions, which of course, was shaped by my life experiences.

I find it troubling that you feel I must think like every other Native to have an honest opinion...

Risus

#49

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by CDNBear

My opinion, is my opinion, and shaped by my perceptions, which of course, was shaped by my life experiences.

Do you get out much?

#juan

#50

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Here is a link to the whole opening ceremony:

CTV Olympics - The Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

dumpthemonarchy

#51

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Francis2004

The new Canada Line trains were purchased from South Korea and not Bombardier.. I could not believe Canada could not make these trains but hey, what else is new..

CBC News - British Columbia - New Canada Line trains double capacity of current SkyTrain cars

My mistake, this was a public private partnership. So the feds I guess had less say in the matter and couldn't continue to support that privately owned Crown corporation, Bombardier.

There are no Olympic Games without federal/natiional govt participation, and they paid big bucks to help pay for the Games so they get a say on certain things. Unfortunately the Opening Ceremony was one area they had too much input.

dumpthemonarchy

#52

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Risus

Sure, the government paid for a portion of the games, but they had nothing to do with the contents of the ceremony. That was the producer of the show and the VANOC.
Don't be racist. What is wrong with putting the aboriginals front and center???? The aboriginals are part of our beginning history. Wake up.

For VANOC to deal with aboriginals they need fed govt participation, it may not be formal but it is there.

I'm not racist. I have met and worked with aboriginals and I don't consider them inferior. I think however their traditional cultures are a thing of the past. Like I think imperialism is a thing of the past but I can like a person who think its okay.

Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.

I kind of like totem poles, being a phallic symbol and all. You don't hear the feminists whining about aboriginal phallic symbolism or the phallousocracy.

dumpthemonarchy

#53

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Risus

You are negative about a lot of subjects in these forums.

I am merely correcting many erroneous ideas out there. Enhancing the enlightenment of the masses as a public service.

Don't you want to know that a vlolent convicted criminal who associates with known gang members was allowed to stay in Canada? A man who poked the eye out of another rman in a fight and said it was an accident. If you don't find that fascinating, if not gruesome, then it just makes me work harder. But then, I don't watch horror movies.

I'll let you know if I win the lottery.

Kreskin

#54

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 3rd, 2010

I don't see what the ruckus is all about. I suppose it's impossible to make everyone happy. The Games were inclusive. The Chiefs and head honchos sat together. The show was good. Very few people got mugged and robbed. Steroids were a non-issue. The sporting events were spectacular. The world was impressed. It hardly rained. The sun showed up.

Mostly good in my books.

talloola

#55

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 4th, 2010

[QUOTE=dumpthemonarchy;1230172]Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.

you talk about first nations as though they are not really
people, like you or I,are just people.
They
weren't put in the show, they participated in the show.
They have a brain and a desire to either do it or not.

It obviously was something they wanted to do, and I enjoyed
their part of the show immensley.

It was all very beautiful, and nice to see all people
entertaining together happily. Of course there is a
need to improve relations with the first nations, and
it is improving with time, give it a chance, nothing
negative here.

Liberalman

#56

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 4th, 2010

Aborigionals were represented and since they own this country by the treatise it was right

dumpthemonarchy

#57

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 5th, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by talloola

[you talk about first nations as though they are not really
people, like you or I,are just people.
They weren't put in the show, they participated in the show.
They have a brain and a desire to either do it or not.

It obviously was something they wanted to do, and I enjoyed
their part of the show immensley.

It was all very beautiful, and nice to see all people
entertaining together happily. Of course there is a
need to improve relations with the first nations, and
it is improving with time, give it a chance, nothing
negative here.

In some ways aboriginals are not just ordinary people in Canada, they are groups of people who have contracts or treaties with the federal govt. Like the rest of us they have MPs and MLAs to represent them, but they have more in their treaty status. I have no treaty with the fed govt, nor part of any group that does.

Like many Canadians talloola, it is clear to me you don't like to talk about politics, I do. A democracy is all about politics. Aboriginals have a political agenda, deal with it.

I'm just of the opinion that Canadians do sports much better than they do mass entertaining spectacles like opening and closing ceremonies for big sporting events. You can't have it all I guess.

dumpthemonarchy

#58

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 5th, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Liberalman

Aborigionals were represented and since they own this country by the treatise it was right

Aboriginals don't own this country.

Risus

#59

Re: Olympic Opening Ceremonies, a lie...

Mar 5th, 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by dumpthemonarchy

For VANOC to deal with aboriginals they need fed govt participation, it may not be formal but it is there.

I'm not racist. I have met and worked with aboriginals and I don't consider them inferior. I think however their traditional cultures are a thing of the past. Like I think imperialism is a thing of the past but I can like a person who think its okay.

Putting aboriginals front and centre in the opening ceremonies is simply not the reality of the country. It is not like you find totem poles all over the country, if the govt didn't pay people to make them, they wouldn't get erected. Nor is there much aboriginal entertainment available in the country. A case of overmarketing.

I kind of like totem poles, being a phallic symbol and all. You don't hear the feminists whining about aboriginal phallic symbolism or the phallousocracy.

The only totem poles I know of are in BC. I haven't seen any in Ontario, Quebec or NB on or near any of their reserves or communities. Well maybe a couple near souvenir shops for the tourists. So your argument on that point is BS. It is my understanding that a good part of the area that the games were held at was originally aboriginal, so I see no problem in having them take part in the ceremonies. After all, they were the original 'Canadians'.
And, yes, I think you are racist.

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