Olympic Thread

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bump from page 2.

Ahh...thanks. Now I have a chance to piss Ozzie off.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Bump from page 2.

Ahh...thanks. Now I have a chance to piss Ozzie off.

I feel a merge coming........

[TillyGalore]

If anyone wants to watch live on the internet, use this link, http://tvpc.com/Channel.php?ChannelID=3. Got from an English friend on another forum I belong to.

[bluebutton]

The queen & Bond were cool, but Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) stole the show for me.

[CathyCA]

Here's a link to a picture of Lauren at the opening ceremonies: http://instagram.com/p/Nms7PErN2T/?ref=nf

[DukieInKansas]

The lighting of the caldron - which I just got home in time to see - was very cool!

[TillyGalore]

Here's a link to a picture of Lauren at the opening ceremonies: http://instagram.com/p/Nms7PErN2T/?ref=nf

Great picture! Thank you for sharing with us. When her heat/race gets closer please remind us, I want to watch and root for her.

[Lavabe]

Top three opening ceremony moments for me were:
1) Boy singing the British anthem "Jerusalem"
2) Bond
3) bicycle doves.

But seriously, the Frankie loves whatchamacallit sketch gave me a headache (was that a five bar playlist that included the Bay City Rollers?!). The inflatable baby sleeping, ... Creepy. The National Health Service / Gosh sketches were bizarre. The Kenneth Branagh character... Weird! Love his reading of Tempest, but walking around in tall hat ...?

Malaysia and Cameroon made great fashion statements. Germans: WTF were you wearing? Cyan? Magenta?
Canada: Dull outfits.
Jordanian women outfits... Nice!
More on the Snark thread!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

I watched the Yankees beat up on the Red Sox

[IowaDevil]

The lighting of the cauldron was amazing to me! Well worth staying up to watch!

[bluebutton]

But seriously, the Frankie loves whatchamacallit sketch gave me a headache (was that a five bar playlist that included the Bay City Rollers?!). The inflatable baby sleeping, ... Creepy. The National Health Service / Gosh sketches were bizarre. The Kenneth Branagh character... Weird! Love his reading of Tempest, but walking around in tall hat ...?

I totally with you on these.

Branagh was apparently supposed to be an important British engineer of the industrial revolution.

There were a few enjoyable moments (my vote for Mr. Bean again), but it wasn't all that entertaining on TV. Perhaps in the stadium or on drugs would have worked better. Then again an awkward, insular presentation might just be representative of the modern UK.

Have to say, I'm really looking forward to what the Brazilians do in 2016. They seem to have a flair for pageantry and celebration.

[colchar]

Top three opening ceremony moments for me were:
1) Boy singing the British anthem "Jerusalem"

It is not a British anthem, it is an English one and it isn't even an official anthem.

The Kenneth Branagh character... Weird! Love his reading of Tempest, but walking around in tall hat ...?

Do you (or anyone else here) not realize who his character was and why that character would be included? There was an awful lot in that ceremony that only a Brit could understand and perhaps that character is one of them.

[colchar]

There were a few enjoyable moments (my vote for Mr. Bean again), but it wasn't all that entertaining on TV. Perhaps in the stadium or on drugs would have worked better. Then again an awkward, insular presentation might just be representative of the modern UK.

[colchar]

Here is a portion of the ceremony that was deleted (censored?) by NBC:

http://gawker.com/5929782/heres-the-ope ... you-to-see

[Lavabe]

Second attempt at a reply to colchar.
I did not intend to suggest that Jerusalem is an official or national anthem. I married a choral singer, and used the term ANTHEM as, at least in the US, the term is defined with more religious
Connotations. OED, however, does not emphasize these aspects.

My apologies... I should have said English.

I would genuinely appreciate colchar's explanation for the following:
1) Branagh: okay, I got that he was dressed up like the father of the Industrial Revolution. Some of the cuts of him were sort of ... well, kind of aloof (I thought he was sort of bug-eyed). Was that a fair portrayal?
2) was there some sort of political significance to the use of Voldemort and Cruella deVil in the bits about the NHS?
3) please explain the Frankie 30 minutes ... Huh? Four bars of Clapton, a few Bars of the Who, followed by a few bars of ... WTF? Did I actually hear a Bay City Rollers song?

PLEASE tell me that was not a Bay City Rollers song last night. Note: Bay City Rollers:Lavabe:: Fleetwood Mac:Wilson.

I don't think I kept a scoresheet of confusing concepts last night, but I did get a lot of questions from my teenager.

[Lavabe]

Here is a portion of the ceremony that was deleted (censored?) by NBC:

http://gawker.com/5929782/heres-the-ope ... you-to-see

Thanks for posting.

[colchar]

Second attempt at a reply to colchar.

User error

I did not intend to suggest that Jerusalem is an official or national anthem. I married a choral singer, and used the term ANTHEM as, at least in the US, the term is defined with more religious Connotations. OED, however, does not emphasize these aspects.

We tend to see the word anthem as meaning a national one. But as a guitar player I am familiar with the other connotations of the word anthem (mostly colloquial) and should have taken them into account.

My apologies... I should have said English.

Yeah, us Brits can get kind of testy about that. In light of the BS the last couple of days it is especially important to distinguish.

I would genuinely appreciate colchar's explanation for the following:

I'll do my best.

1) Branagh: okay, I got that he was dressed up like the father of the Industrial Revolution. Some of the cuts of him were sort of ... well, kind of aloof (I thought he was sort of bug-eyed). Was that a fair portrayal?

No idea about the aloof part as I am not familiar with the character of the person he was portraying so cannot really answer that. I can, however, explain who he was portraying and why.

During the 1800s there was an engineer named Isambard Kingdom Brunel who was responsible for the building of dockyards, railways (especially the Great Western Railway), steamships (including the first propeller driven transatlantic steamship which was the largest ship in existence at that time), tunnels, and numerous bridges. He basically revolutionized modern engineering and public transportation and was responsible for many engineering firsts. He was also responsible for the first tunnel under the Thames and for a lot of infrastructure, both in London and elsewhere in the country, particularly with respect to transportation and this was vitally important, especially his work on railways (he used a wider than normal gauge which increased passenger comfort and the amount of goods that a train could carry but which did cause problems when being integrated with existing railways), as his work was largely (not entirely but largely) responsible for British advances during the Industrial Revolution. Those advances not only helped the domestic economy, they also made it easier for Britain to prosper as the Empire expanded (for example, larger and better docks enabled them to import and export more goods than other countries).

And it is Brunel whom Brannagh was portraying last night. He wasn't the father of the Industrial Revolution but he was one of its most important figures (many would argue that he was its most important figure) and, since the ceremony was portraying British history as it went from a rural country to the most advanced industrial country on earth, Brunel was an obvious focal point for the story.

Sorry that that isn't the most coherent explanation but I've got a migraine so am not thinking all that clearly tonight.

2) was there some sort of political significance to the use of Voldemort and Cruella deVil in the bits about the NHS?

They used that part of the ceremony to celebrate Britain's long contribution to children's literature so they were included because of that. Because J.K. Rowling made a rare appearance to read to the kids from Great Ormond Street Hospital (and the kids in the hospital beds were real patients from the hospital) it also made sense to include her character. Well that and the fact that she is one of, if not the, best selling author in history so something from her work obviously had to be included. And since Britain is where socialized medicine began, because people are proud of the NHS, and because the NHS is such an integral part of the national fabric, it made sense for it to be included.

That being said, Boyle might have been making a slight political statement but I cannot be sure. Maybe he was making reference to cuts to the NHS or drawing attention to them. Then again, maybe he wasn't. As I said, I cannot be sure.

3) please explain the Frankie 30 minutes ... Huh? Four bars of Clapton, a few Bars of the Who, followed by a few bars of ... WTF?

You mean the whole guy and girl sequence with the lost phone etc.? If so, it is because cellular phones are ubiquitous in Britain and they were portraying something of modern Britain during that segment. Seriously, cellular phones are fucking everywhere and everyone has one. They are used far more extensively than they are here. So they used that as a mirror into modern Britain and used the music to portray a modern British love story. They played a ton of music during that segment, most of which I thought was appropriate (everything from the Beatles to Zeppelin was included) and they showed clips from British movies and TV that I highly doubt anyone outside of Britain understood. Hell, because the games are being held in the East End of London they even included a clip in the opening sequence of the ceremony that is part of the opening credits to the long running soap opera Eastenders. I watch that show religiously and laughed my ass off when I saw it. But I doubt anyone who isn't British had the slightest clue what was going on when the show's them music started. I caught damned near all of the references or was familiar with what was being shown so the whole thing made sense to me but I realized when watching it that there was an awful lot that would not make sense to anyone who wasn't British.

Did I actually hear a Bay City Rollers song?

I didn't catch that. There might have been but I didn't notice (and I am familiar with them so probably would have caught it if they had been included).

I don't think I kept a scoresheet of confusing concepts last night, but I did get a lot of questions from my teenager.

Not just teenagers were confused. As I said, a lot of it would be lost on anyone who wasn't British. And I am fine with that as it is London's/Britain's games and they were portraying themselves. A lot of it was tongue in cheek and involved British humour that others wouldn't grasp. Hell, I am half convinced that they were taking the piss through most of it. But that is British humour again and I am fine with it because it definitely spoke to Brits.

There were three Pink Floyd references throughout the show that I thought were very funny as well.

Personally, I am shocked that they allowed Flower of Scotland to be sung especially considering the current political climate, the song's subject matter, and the bullshit that has gone on with the Scots and Welsh over the last couple of days.

[colchar]

On NBC did they show the film sequence that started off the ceremony? I mean the one that started at the source of the Thames and then went along the river. The first Pink Floyd reference was in that when they showed the Pink Floyd pig floating above Battersea Power Station as was done for the cover photo on the Pink Floyd album Animals which was released in 1977. When they showed the Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster (incorrectly referred to by most people as Big Ben) they played the start of the song Time by Pink Floyd.

Shortly after that they were showing an image of the East End from above...sort of like a satellite image...that stopped over top of the O2 Arena (otherwise known as the Millennium Dome) as music began to play. Well that music was the theme to the soap Eastenders and the images they were showing were the opening theme to that show.

If you saw that during the first segment of the opening ceremony watch the video linked below and you will see what I am talking about as this is what they included:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNKvdbzCOzU


Only someone from Britain, who would be familiar with the show even if they didn't watch it (it has been on in prime time there several days per week since 1985), would have understood the cultural reference being made. Since I am addicted to the show I caught it immediately and thought it was not only hilarious, but highly appropriate.

[DukePA]

Second attempt at a reply to colchar.

User error

I did not intend to suggest that Jerusalem is an official or national anthem. I married a choral singer, and used the term ANTHEM as, at least in the US, the term is defined with more religious Connotations. OED, however, does not emphasize these aspects.

We tend to see the word anthem as meaning a national one. But as a guitar player I am familiar with the other connotations of the word anthem (mostly colloquial) and should have taken them into account.

My apologies... I should have said English.

Yeah, us Brits can get kind of testy about that. In light of the BS the last couple of days it is especially important to distinguish.

I would genuinely appreciate colchar's explanation for the following:

I'll do my best.

1) Branagh: okay, I got that he was dressed up like the father of the Industrial Revolution. Some of the cuts of him were sort of ... well, kind of aloof (I thought he was sort of bug-eyed). Was that a fair portrayal?

No idea about the aloof part as I am not familiar with the character of the person he was portraying so cannot really answer that. I can, however, explain who he was portraying and why.

During the 1800s there was an engineer named Isambard Kingdom Brunel who was responsible for the building of dockyards, railways (especially the Great Western Railway), steamships (including the first propeller driven transatlantic steamship which was the largest ship in existence at that time), tunnels, and numerous bridges. He basically revolutionized modern engineering and public transportation and was responsible for many engineering firsts. He was also responsible for the first tunnel under the Thames and for a lot of infrastructure, both in London and elsewhere in the country, particularly with respect to transportation and this was vitally important, especially his work on railways (he used a wider than normal gauge which increased passenger comfort and the amount of goods that a train could carry but which did cause problems when being integrated with existing railways), as his work was largely (not entirely but largely) responsible for British advances during the Industrial Revolution. Those advances not only helped the domestic economy, they also made it easier for Britain to prosper as the Empire expanded (for example, larger and better docks enabled them to import and export more goods than other countries).

And it is Brunel whom Brannagh was portraying last night. He wasn't the father of the Industrial Revolution but he was one of its most important figures (many would argue that he was its most important figure) and, since the ceremony was portraying British history as it went from a rural country to the most advanced industrial country on earth, Brunel was an obvious focal point for the story.

Sorry that that isn't the most coherent explanation but I've got a migraine so am not thinking all that clearly tonight.

2) was there some sort of political significance to the use of Voldemort and Cruella deVil in the bits about the NHS?

They used that part of the ceremony to celebrate Britain's long contribution to children's literature so they were included because of that. Because J.K. Rowling made a rare appearance to read to the kids from Great Ormond Street Hospital (and the kids in the hospital beds were real patients from the hospital) it also made sense to include her character. Well that and the fact that she is one of, if not the, best selling author in history so something from her work obviously had to be included. And since Britain is where socialized medicine began, because people are proud of the NHS, and because the NHS is such an integral part of the national fabric, it made sense for it to be included.

That being said, Boyle might have been making a slight political statement but I cannot be sure. Maybe he was making reference to cuts to the NHS or drawing attention to them. Then again, maybe he wasn't. As I said, I cannot be sure.

3) please explain the Frankie 30 minutes ... Huh? Four bars of Clapton, a few Bars of the Who, followed by a few bars of ... WTF?

You mean the whole guy and girl sequence with the lost phone etc.? If so, it is because cellular phones are ubiquitous in Britain and they were portraying something of modern Britain during that segment. Seriously, cellular phones are fucking everywhere and everyone has one. They are used far more extensively than they are here. So they used that as a mirror into modern Britain and used the music to portray a modern British love story. They played a ton of music during that segment, most of which I thought was appropriate (everything from the Beatles to Zeppelin was included) and they showed clips from British movies and TV that I highly doubt anyone outside of Britain understood. Hell, because the games are being held in the East End of London they even included a clip in the opening sequence of the ceremony that is part of the opening credits to the long running soap opera Eastenders. I watch that show religiously and laughed my ass off when I saw it. But I doubt anyone who isn't British had the slightest clue what was going on when the show's them music started. I caught damned near all of the references or was familiar with what was being shown so the whole thing made sense to me but I realized when watching it that there was an awful lot that would not make sense to anyone who wasn't British.

Did I actually hear a Bay City Rollers song?

I didn't catch that. There might have been but I didn't notice (and I am familiar with them so probably would have caught it if they had been included).

I don't think I kept a scoresheet of confusing concepts last night, but I did get a lot of questions from my teenager.

Not just teenagers were confused. As I said, a lot of it would be lost on anyone who wasn't British. And I am fine with that as it is London's/Britain's games and they were portraying themselves. A lot of it was tongue in cheek and involved British humour that others wouldn't grasp. Hell, I am half convinced that they were taking the piss through most of it. But that is British humour again and I am fine with it because it definitely spoke to Brits.

There were three Pink Floyd references throughout the show that I thought were very funny as well.

Personally, I am shocked that they allowed Flower of Scotland to be sung especially considering the current political climate, the song's subject matter, and the bullshit that has gone on with the Scots and Welsh over the last couple of days.

I was in Anglophile heaven last night. I really need to get back to London.

[Lavabe]

colchar's response is exactly why I love CTN. Many thanks, colchar. I still hope you lose at the Brickyard, tomorrow. ;)

While responding earlier, I caught a link to an interview with US Olympian Michael Johnson, who now does business work in the UK. They asked him how the ceremony would play in the US. I believe he pretty much said no. And I saw links where people wondered why Branagh was playing Abraham Lincoln.