The 2012 London Olympics Thread

rodderzzz

Thought it would be helpful to have it all in one place! Opening ceremonies have just started.

First thought: Jerusalem should be Englands national anthem

Bad_Gones

My Grandfather would have agreed with you wholeheartedly.

What's with using pillars in opening ceremonies?? Seriously, way too phallic.

rodderzzz

So far, its like an episode of game of thrones on acid

Seathanaich · Post edited by Seathanaich at 2012-07-27 13:20:59

rodderzzz said: Jerusalem should be Englands national anthem

Do you mean in the way that Flower of Scotland and Land of My Fathers are the anthems for Scotland and Wales within the United Kingdom?

It's certainly a nicer and more powerful melody than FoS.

Bad_Gones

This ribbon of molten metal is pretty cool. Nice to see Kenneth Branagh working again :-)

Robchester_2000

rodderzzz said: Thought it would be helpful to have it all in one place! Opening ceremonies have just started.

First thought: Jerusalem should be Englands national anthem

Always said this. God Save the Queen is a dirge. Jerusalem builds to a crescendo where you can scream 'come on!' clap your hands and run onto the turf ready to kill something. preferably a Scotsman.

rodderzzz

Seathanaich said:

rodderzzz said: Jerusalem should be Englands national anthem

Do you mean in the way that Flower of Scotland and Land of My Fathers are the anthems for Scotland and Wales within the United Kingdom?

It's certainly a nicer and more powerful melody than FoS.

Yeah, I think they should be the nationalanthem for Scotland and Wales too, has way more meaning to the nations involved and fires up way more emotion than GSTQ (not that I would ever sing that anyway!)

Seathanaich

Fair enough. Since this Olympics is British, not English, the UK anthem (GSTQ) would still be played officially for any British medals, etc, so you're talking about soccer internationals, among other things - right?

Robchester_2000 said: Jerusalem builds to a crescendo

Do you really think so? It's a beautiful melody, but it builds towards the end, but drops down again to finish.

If GSTQ gets replaced, it's also probably more appropriate to look for something that talks about the country rather than about a religion that is already only believed-in by a minority, and destined to become virtually extinct in the country over the next few generations.

prawnsideFC · Post edited by prawnsideFC at 2012-07-27 13:37:02

Does anyone else think that future opening ceremonies are just going to feature one-upsmanship with budgets going completely out of wack because of what beijing did in 2008?

Not that I mind, the spectacle is awesome!

rodderzzz

Seathanaich said: Fair enough. Since this Olympics is British, not English, the UK anthem (GSTQ) would still be played officially for any British medals, etc, so you're talking about soccer internationals, among other things - right?

Yes, obviously anything where we compete as Britain is going to be GSTQ, unfortunately!

Seathanaich

prawnsideFC said: Does anyone else think that future opening ceremonies are just going to feature one-upsmanship with budgets going completely out of wack because of what beijing did in 2008?

I watched the Vancouver one because it was our show, but for this one, and all others, I record and then fast forward through. I'm pretty sure I didn't bother watching the Beijing one, given that you knew it was going to be a communist propaganda exercise on a Cold-War scale. They're like movie SPFX, etc - once people have seen something, everyone else will figure they have to out-do it. I'm glad you're enjoying this one, but really, these things have a hard time living up to their hype.

rodderzzz

This is the first opening ceremony ive ever watched in full, cause they are always shite, so is this one to be honest People's Court is going on in a minute!

All this fannying about does my head in, just get on with the competition.

Neeskens1974

Apparently some US commentators think Branagh is playing Abe Lincoln and not Brunel.

rodderzzz

Neeskens1974 said: Apparently some US commentators think Branagh is playing Abe Lincoln and not Brunel.

Hahaha oh america!

Bad_Gones

prawnsideFC said: Does anyone else think that future opening ceremonies are just going to feature one-upsmanship with budgets going completely out of wack because of what beijing did in 2008?

The other thing that bothers me is the "need" to fit in ever single person/place/thing of cultural significance for that country into the opening ceremonies lest someone get offended. Rather than give anyone a proper tribute you get a mish mash of the lot.

SAFC_Yank

Bad_Gones said:

prawnsideFC said: Does anyone else think that future opening ceremonies are just going to feature one-upsmanship with budgets going completely out of wack because of what beijing did in 2008?

The other thing that bothers me is the "need" to fit in ever single person/place/thing of cultural significance for that country into the opening ceremonies lest someone get offended. Rather than give anyone a proper tribute you get a mish mash of the lot.

Yeah, it's very frenetic. At least until "Abide With Me."

rodderzzz

I cant believe Afghanistan has only got 6 athletes there must be fuckin thousands in London alone!!!

JSpice

Bad_Gones said:

prawnsideFC said: Does anyone else think that future opening ceremonies are just going to feature one-upsmanship with budgets going completely out of wack because of what beijing did in 2008?

The other thing that bothers me is the "need" to fit in ever single person/place/thing of cultural significance for that country into the opening ceremonies lest someone get offended. Rather than give anyone a proper tribute you get a mish mash of the lot.

Well, they do appear to be doing a good job of not alluding to any of the British imperialist crimes. Quite a beautiful opening ceremonies though.

Van

RUMMOR on 1040 this morning... Beckham to kick a flaming soccer ball into the Cauldron to light it!

Bad_Gones

Have you seen the Samsung ad where he rings a gong with a curving cross? Total CGI, but looks cool.

Seathanaich

JSpice said: Well, they do appear to be doing a good job of not alluding to any of the British imperialist crimes.

Which were what?

Brenton

Oh dear, not this...

Neeskens1974

Seathanaich said:

JSpice said: Well, they do appear to be doing a good job of not alluding to any of the British imperialist crimes.

Which were what?

Russell Brand for a start.

rodderzzz

Neeskens1974 said:

Seathanaich said:

JSpice said: Well, they do appear to be doing a good job of not alluding to any of the British imperialist crimes.

Which were what?

Russell Brand for a start.

lol

Bad_Gones

Brenton said: Oh dear, not this...

You knew he was going there. My grandad would have after regaling you with stories of his time in Bombay ...

slamo

Seathanaich said:

JSpice said: Well, they do appear to be doing a good job of not alluding to any of the British imperialist crimes.

Which were what?

British cuisine for one. Blech!!

Bad_Gones

Heston Blumenthal would disagree with you by freezing your 'nads in liquid nitrogen and then using them in his rif on English Trifle.

Brenton

Best spaghetti bolognese you can make.

slamo · Post edited by slamo at 2012-07-27 16:31:40

Bad_Gones said: Heston Blumenthal would disagree with you by freezing your 'nads in liquid nitrogen and then using them in his rif on English Trifle.

C'mon, you can't use dessert as an example. Two pounds of sugar with a shot of booze doesn't count as cuisine. That was to kill the taste, or lack of, of the main course. :-D

Bad_Gones

Okay, Fergus Henderson then. Roast marrow and parsley salad ain't no dessert!

slamo

Bad_Gones said: Okay, Fergus Henderson then. Roast marrow and parsley salad ain't no dessert!

Now your just proving my point there, Roastbeef.

TunnelBandit · Post edited by TunnelBandit at 2012-07-27 16:50:48

I missed these, if they were doing a 'history of the British Empire' theme I hope they did a re-enactment of how they gave the world football and then became terrible at it.

Only kidding now, only kidding...

Lord_Bob

That was a lot of fun. Unlike that overrated Beijing shit, it wasn't "wow look at how much money we're willing to throw away"; it was just fun, awesome stuff and good tunes.

rodderzzz

Lord_Bob said: That was a lot of fun. Unlike that overrated Beijing shit, it wasn't "wow look at how much money we're willing to throw away"; it was just fun, awesome stuff and good tunes.

still cost about 32 million by all accounts. I hate things like that but thought it was ok actually

Lord_Bob

rodderzzz said:

Lord_Bob said: That was a lot of fun. Unlike that overrated Beijing shit, it wasn't "wow look at how much money we're willing to throw away"; it was just fun, awesome stuff and good tunes.

still cost about 32 million by all accounts. I hate things like that but thought it was ok actually

Oh, I'm not saying it looked cheap, by any means. Just that it didn't look flashy for the sake of flash; there was artistry and purpose rather than "we are bad motherfuckers".

Proggie

I joked that Mr Bean should be in it, and then couldn't believe it when he actually showed up. Good little bit of fun while the orchestra played.

Woosang

Proggie said: I joked that Mr Bean should be in it, and then couldn't believe it when he actually showed up. Good little bit of fun while the orchestra played.

I just knew that he would find a way to win that race on the beach!!! LOL

Peacock

Enjoyed the whole thing....but then I'm blatently biased!!! :D

prawnsideFC

I think most of us will agree that Sir Paul Mccartney was the best part! :)

rodderzzz

prawnsideFC said: I think most of us will agree that Sir Paul Mccartney was the best part! :)

he really screwed it up at the start!!

Blue_and_White_Army

rodderzzz

ahahhahahaha thats going on facey

Boundary_Road

seriously ," I believe " (the ctv olympic version) Is so damn annoying , so disappointed to hear it in their montage after the ceremonies. I thought that was for 2010.

VanCityVilla

Boundary_Road said: seriously ," I believe " (the ctv olympic version) Is so damn annoying , so disappointed to hear it in their montage after the ceremonies. I thought that was for 2010.

Agree, I thought they would create something new but surprise surprise CTV got lazy and went with a terrible rehash of "I Believe"

Blue_and_White_Army

CTV still using MS Silverlight for live streaming video? Terrible.

I got it to work 2.5 years ago, but no luck now. Oh well, dodgy streams it is. Less ad revenue for CTV.

Bad_Gones · Post edited by Bad_Gones at 2012-07-28 10:37:29

They were having issues with it this morning. Perfectly fine right now ... nice and clear.

I'm not a techno-geek. What are better options than Silverlight? Lots of sites use it from what I've seen.

rodderzzz

Phelps didnt look as strong in the 400m heats earlier, he's in a real battle to win that again. Amazing result for the Vinokourov in the men's road race, first great olympic story of the games!

Bad_Gones

Total non-event for the GBR cyclists. Too much hype?

Nice result for the CWNT. They really need to get organized in the back though or Sweden will destroy them

rodderzzz

Total non event in the Phelps - Lochte showdown too!

Blue_and_White_Army

Bad_Gones said: Nice result for the CWNT. They really need to get organized in the back though or Sweden will destroy them

With today's results, Canada will have to defeat Sweden (ranked number four in the world) to advance past the group stage.

Blue_and_White_Army · Post edited by Blue_and_White_Army at 2012-07-28 11:47:13

Saudi men showing how progressive they are by trending the hashtag "prostitutes of the Olympics" in Arabic on Twitter, due to two Saudi women participating in the Games (a first for that country).

Big scandal as one of the two athletes, who is USA-based, took her official Olympic mugshot without wearing some sort of head dress.

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