quote:

Originally posted by Splitcoil:
I'm curious to see whether Russia will get away with invading Georgia, fighting (yes, I know, it's been smoldering for years) the first legitimate interstate war in Europe since WW2, all because of the Olympics and the world's intense desire not to notice.

Short answer: Yep.

Although I still intend to watch as little Olympics as possible, it percolates through everything, specially the few medals we score.

I did watch the Fencing competitions, however. A girl that used to go out with a friend of mine got her shoulder dislocated in sabre. All those years training sabre when it was not a women's sport, and when she (and the sport) makes it into the Olympics, she gets hurt in the qualification round.

"Put the shoulder back in. I am going back, even if I have to use the other hand. Or I will headbutt her and then hit her."

Sabreurs are a special breed. Finally her trainer restrained her and got her bodily out of the field.

I can't believe the opening ceremony fireworks were faked. I don't know if I'm more pissed at the Chinese who did it or the broadcasting folks at NBC who must have noticed that there were no fireworks but let the show go on. I guess he did say they looked like an animation, but they should have told the truth straight up.

The little girl that sang at the opening ceremony was fake too. The real singer had buck teeth and the Chinese didn't want her mutant face representing the country. So they let her sing the song while a pretty girl lip-synched to her.

Fuckin' Chinese assholes, can't believe our "president" went there.

Such

Dicks.

Hahah! Give 'em hell, Coatesie!

Accusations of bias aimed at Trap Shooting referee.

I’m watching women’s handball, Russia versus Brasil, which isn’t what I thought it was.

It has the movements of basketball with some of the game of soccer thrown in, except with quick and high scoring. Plus there’s music when someone scores.

Neat.

It needs something. I’m not sure what. A couple touches here and there, before it’s ready for late night cable.

quote:

Originally posted by OpticalVoodoo:
I can't believe the opening ceremony fireworks were faked. I don't know if I'm more pissed at the Chinese who did it or the broadcasting folks at NBC who must have noticed that there were no fireworks but let the show go on. I guess he did say they looked like an animation, but they should have told the truth straight up.

They weren't all faked, just the obviously CGI "footsteps" along the Imperial Axis. If you needed to be told those were fake then I guess you've never seen real fireworks.

hahaha a friend of mine was going on and on about how cool those were. I didn't see much of the opening ceremony but I was wondering how you make footsteps out of explosives.

Some sort of inverse land mine?

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:
They weren't all faked, just the obviously CGI "footsteps" along the Imperial Axis. If you needed to be told those were fake then I guess you've never seen real fireworks.

No, I've seen real fireworks. What I saw looked different but how would I know they were fake and not something I never saw before? Is anything I've never seen before an obvious fake because it looks different? I must be completely surrounded by fake stuff.

My point was that you can't trust the news anymore for any information. What's next? Reporters on Darfur pointing to the sea of photoshopped bodies on the blue screen behind them while they are supposedly reporting live?

Perhaps the Chinese used some sort of optical voodoo!

A friend of mine pointed out that the opening ceremonies were the clearest indication he'd seen that china had "arrived. A bit like the first 40 mil opening coupled with a weekend DUI flameout by the new Hollywood "it" girl I guess.

It is ironic that Olympics, despite all protests by the Olympic Council, has become merely a political extension of national brand management.

I don't know that that is necessarily new. That has always been how the host city/country viewed them. It is a chance for them to sell themselves to the world, that is the only reason they would justify the massive expense.

Remember Izzy, the 'mascot' of the Atlanta games?

quote:

My point was that you can't trust the news anymore for any information. What's next? Reporters on Darfur pointing to the sea of photoshopped bodies on the blue screen behind them while they are supposedly reporting live?

They don't have Fox News where you live then?

How are the fireworks worse than what they did to that little girl?

(Or, in a Diamond Age-esque rephrasing: all those little girls.)

quote:

I can't believe the opening ceremony fireworks were faked. I don't know if I'm more pissed at the Chinese who did it or the broadcasting folks at NBC who must have noticed that there were no fireworks but let the show go on. I guess he did say they looked like an animation, but they should have told the truth straight up.

Here in Pindorama people say that the biggest advantage in being in Beijing to watch the games is that you can purchase original faked goods

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:

quote:

My point was that you can't trust the news anymore for any information. What's next? Reporters on Darfur pointing to the sea of photoshopped bodies on the blue screen behind them while they are supposedly reporting live?

They don't have Fox News where you live then?

Ah, no, TV always tells the truth.

So yeah, apparently China can learn something from Australia in terms of the correct exploitation of little girls:

BRAVUS, YOU FUCKING BASTARD.

TOOK ME EIGHT FUCKING YEARS TO FORGET ABOUT NIKKI WEBSTER.

quote:

Originally posted by OpticalVoodoo:

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:
They weren't all faked, just the obviously CGI "footsteps" along the Imperial Axis. If you needed to be told those were fake then I guess you've never seen real fireworks.

No, I've seen real fireworks. What I saw looked different but how would I know they were fake and not something I never saw before? Is anything I've never seen before an obvious fake because it looks different? I must be completely surrounded by fake stuff.

My point was that you can't trust the news anymore for any information. What's next? Reporters on Darfur pointing to the sea of photoshopped bodies on the blue screen behind them while they are supposedly reporting live?

The amusing thing is that, while the TV footage of the 'footstep' fireworks was fake it was only faked because of the impossibility of getting the Blade Runner style helicopter shot that the director wanted. The footstep fireworks did actually happen in pretty much the way it looked at the same time that we saw it on TV but we only got to see the faked reality because, in this case, it was better than the real reality.

See my sig. for further details.