Showing posts with label Sochi Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sochi Olympics. Show all posts
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
The Real News Is In Ukraine and Venezuela
Honestly, the media frenzy over Sochi is beginning to look pretty misguided next to horrific reports coming out of Ukraine and Venezuela.
UPDATE: See the story of the Ukrainian skier who left the Games to join protesters at home.
UPDATE: See the story of the Ukrainian skier who left the Games to join protesters at home.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
You'll Laugh. You'll Cry. You'll Curl.
I just love this photo from the Sochi curling competition. From the hilariously dressed fan to Team Norway's famous trousers to the exuberance on both sides as Team Norway's skip responds to the cheers, this photo is brilliant and one of my favorite images yet to come out of Sochi.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Bawl-ympics: NBC Hits New Low with Emotional Abuse
You know, I didn't post on this last night because my Olympic-viewing buddies and I were in a complete frothing, cursing rage, and I thought it would be better to wait until this morning and see if I were any less mad before commenting.
NOPE.
The crew and I were furious last night when we all sent nasty messages and tweets to NBC, and we're still furious. We're talking about NBC's unacceptable treatment of skier Bode Miller. I refuse to link to NBC itself, but sports blogs are all over this, aside from Twitter, which had a meltdown.
NBC seemed bound and determined to hound Miller until he broke down on camera ... and when he did, they still followed him like a flock of voyeuristic vultures. It was absolutely disgusting to see this pack of heartless ratings-grubbers openly exploit a man's raw grief over the death of his brother. It was abusive. It was wrong.
Miller took the high road and tweeted this:
But lest we all forget the really important part: Congratulations, Bode, on your bronze medal and making skiing history!
PS: See too this point.
NOPE.
The crew and I were furious last night when we all sent nasty messages and tweets to NBC, and we're still furious. We're talking about NBC's unacceptable treatment of skier Bode Miller. I refuse to link to NBC itself, but sports blogs are all over this, aside from Twitter, which had a meltdown.
NBC seemed bound and determined to hound Miller until he broke down on camera ... and when he did, they still followed him like a flock of voyeuristic vultures. It was absolutely disgusting to see this pack of heartless ratings-grubbers openly exploit a man's raw grief over the death of his brother. It was abusive. It was wrong.
Miller took the high road and tweeted this:
I appreciate everyone sticking up for me. Please be gentle w christin cooper, it was crazy emotional and not all her fault. #heatofthemoment
— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) February 17, 2014
I beg to differ. It was her fault, and it was NBC's fault for making this sort of thing acceptable, and it was NBC's fault again for choosing to broadcast this interview over and over. SCREW THIS HORRIBLE NETWORK.But lest we all forget the really important part: Congratulations, Bode, on your bronze medal and making skiing history!
PS: See too this point.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Ow-lympics: The Great Russian Curler Faceplant
All together now: ouch.
A related thought: NBC actually posted this with the actual word "faceplant."
A related thought: NBC actually posted this with the actual word "faceplant."
Aww-lympics: Saving the Puppies of Sochi
This silver medalist has a heart of gold:
puppy love is real to puppies. pic.twitter.com/krauCUPjOg
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) February 11, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
A Taste of Sochi
When in Rome, eat as the Romans eat! When in Sochi, check out the local dishes. Georgian-style dumplings with beef and lamb filling? YES, PLEASE. I might try making these soon as a massive snowstorm rolls over the entire Eastern seaboard and I won't want to go outside!
LOLympics: Trouser Trouble
Honestly, I love these guys with their crazy outfits. I think it's wonderfully fun. So do a lot of other folks, and the colorful patterned outfits of the Norwegian men's curling team have become celebrities in their own right. See, for instance, a daily tracker of the different patterns!
So, inevitably, there will be haters. Apparently now the haters are squeaking complaints demanding to know if the pants are legal to wear under the terms of the IOC and the World Curling Federation. Neither organization has really responded, but the Norwegians did, and this made me laugh out loud. The team, in response to the kerfuffle about their pants, posted this photo:
Kudos, guys! That's world-class sass right there, especially the fellow at the far right.
The only way this could be better is if the undies had the same loud, colorful patterns as the actual competition outfits, but I don't think the guys had enough time to arrange custom undies. Hey! How about this for an idea: make a Norwegian Men's Curling Team CALENDAR?
PS: I found the pants in a form I would wear in warmer weather. Cute, no?
So fugly it's fabulous.
Don't like our colorful trousers? Fine, we won't wear them.
The only way this could be better is if the undies had the same loud, colorful patterns as the actual competition outfits, but I don't think the guys had enough time to arrange custom undies. Hey! How about this for an idea: make a Norwegian Men's Curling Team CALENDAR?
PS: I found the pants in a form I would wear in warmer weather. Cute, no?
Monday, February 10, 2014
LOLympics: There Should Be Medals For Humor
Even on (especially on?) the world stage, parents can still be hilariously embarrassing.
Be careful: your face might stick that way!
William Shatner himself is impressed with the doorbusting exploits of US bobsledder Johnny Quinn:
Be careful: your face might stick that way!
William Shatner himself is impressed with the doorbusting exploits of US bobsledder Johnny Quinn:
@JohnnyQuinnUSA You've certainly made your mark. As I told Mr Cunningham, take a piece of the door to tell your kids. ;-) Bill
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 9, 2014
This Audi ad is probably fake, but it's still brilliant:Sunday, February 09, 2014
LOLympics: "Sochi Problems" on Twitter
Since there seem to be plenty of technical and construction issues in Sochi, some wag has taken to Twitter with hilarious commentary with Sochi Problems.
Here's to a happy and safe Hunger Games...Olympics, sorry my bad. #SochiProblems #Sochi2014
— Sochi Problems (@SochiProblems) February 8, 2014
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Potemkin (Olympic) Village
A friend sent this link: Sochi, $50 billion and perhaps the most corrupt Games ever. You know, for spending $50 billion you'd think Sochi would have doors that worked and bathroom taps with water that isn't toxic when there even is water. Just sayin'.
Possibly more annoying/distressing: some of my friends are turning into actual Sochi apologists, arguing that we shouldn't judge Sochi facilities by "Western" standards and that we're being nasty for doing so. Uhhh ... NO. Excuse you, but if Sochi wanted the Games so badly for a two-week-long Putin-a-Palooza to impress the world, then it's clearly doing it wrong. If you put yourself out there on purpose on the world stage, then you should bloody well expect people to judge you by pretty high standards. The Sochi apologists should try staying in one of the wretched hotels for a while themselves. Then again, some people never miss a chance to parade their own preening moral superiority.
If you're going to use the Sochi Games to put up a 2014 version of a Potemkin village, then perhaps you should reacquaint yourself with just what a Potemkin village is.
OK, OK, so there's also going to be an argument about how Russia is unfairly judged, how journalists can be subject to biases and preconceptions, etc. Maybe. But there is plenty of fodder for legitimate complaint without dipping into old-school prejudices that Russia is a cold, backward, vodka-drenched, lawless wasteland populated by people who drive like lunatics or whatever. We don't even have to go there. You don't want to judge the facilities and creature comforts? Fine. Let's just judge Russia's political leadership, then. Is that less touchy for you? All we have to do is look at Putin. Should we say "Iran"? "Syria"? "P*ssy Riot"? How about the ugly legal assault on the rights of gay Russians? Come on. Come on.
And NO, the fact that you're hosting the Games doesn't mean that you're immune from criticism. I lambasted Beijing relentlessly during those Games, and I think in part I did it because I could tell some Western journalists were holding back (fears of being called racist?). You know, you can tell people are holding back now too. Screw the apologists. SCREW 'EM.
Possibly more annoying/distressing: some of my friends are turning into actual Sochi apologists, arguing that we shouldn't judge Sochi facilities by "Western" standards and that we're being nasty for doing so. Uhhh ... NO. Excuse you, but if Sochi wanted the Games so badly for a two-week-long Putin-a-Palooza to impress the world, then it's clearly doing it wrong. If you put yourself out there on purpose on the world stage, then you should bloody well expect people to judge you by pretty high standards. The Sochi apologists should try staying in one of the wretched hotels for a while themselves. Then again, some people never miss a chance to parade their own preening moral superiority.
If you're going to use the Sochi Games to put up a 2014 version of a Potemkin village, then perhaps you should reacquaint yourself with just what a Potemkin village is.
OK, OK, so there's also going to be an argument about how Russia is unfairly judged, how journalists can be subject to biases and preconceptions, etc. Maybe. But there is plenty of fodder for legitimate complaint without dipping into old-school prejudices that Russia is a cold, backward, vodka-drenched, lawless wasteland populated by people who drive like lunatics or whatever. We don't even have to go there. You don't want to judge the facilities and creature comforts? Fine. Let's just judge Russia's political leadership, then. Is that less touchy for you? All we have to do is look at Putin. Should we say "Iran"? "Syria"? "P*ssy Riot"? How about the ugly legal assault on the rights of gay Russians? Come on. Come on.
And NO, the fact that you're hosting the Games doesn't mean that you're immune from criticism. I lambasted Beijing relentlessly during those Games, and I think in part I did it because I could tell some Western journalists were holding back (fears of being called racist?). You know, you can tell people are holding back now too. Screw the apologists. SCREW 'EM.
The Geopolitics of Winter Olympics Medal Counts
Oh, the medal count is always geopolitically charged. Let's not pretend otherwise, mmmkay?
Sochi Opening Ceremonies: As Bizarre As You'd Imagine. Plus Geopolitical Nerd Fight
You just KNEW it was going to be a weird night when the Trololo song ended up in the proceedings and this happened:
As for the rest of the evening, I should preface this by saying that in my corner of Nerdworld, watching the thing with a bunch of fellow nerds turned into an argument about geopolitics. Whoever keeps trying to say that the Games are non-political is a fool. You know, I wasn't going to bother blogging about the nerd fight, but why not ... You saw the ceremonies yourself and know the extent of its content. But you weren't in my living room. So if you want to hear what happened, it's all after the fold.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
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