I just finished watching the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympiad-- quite the spectacle. I like that the producer/creator wasn't trying to one-up the Chinese, and I thought some of it was very entertaining. But, a) Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams, Sarah MacLachlan, and that teenage jazz phenom wearing the red dress need SERIOUS lessons in lip-synching, b) what was with the Riverdance-meets-Seattle-grunge-meets-The Commitments thing? The punk Canuck fiddler? c) what does "Both Sides Now" have to with life on the Canadian prairie, d) "Hallelujah" is not a crowd-pleasing, Olympics-appropriate song-- has anyone read the lyrics?-- but k.d. lang has an incredible voice, wowza! e) did Wayne "The Great One" Gretzy have work done? His face is looking a little snug. f) that slam poet would benefit from a few long conversations with Saul Williams, and lastly g) SERIOUSLY, what was with the fiddlers and Irish-Canadian step dancing?!
I couldn't help but be a little dumbstruck when the president of the IOC or whatever asked for a moment of silence in the stadium for Nodar Kumaritashvili. It was certainly appropriate, and what an incredible tribute to that athlete-- but HOLY SHIT, for a full minute of television on NBC, shown across the globe, the only thing on screen was a shot of 60,000 people standing in silence. That was such an odd moment of media. What an awful tragedy. I hope that the other athletes took that minute of silence to really remember how blessed they are to have the talent and opportunity to compete in the Olympics. It is an incredible feat.
On a less solemn note, check this out: [start around the 3:30 mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyFiOKflwro
I love the Olympics.
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