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2012 Olympics Thread

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by zenMachine, Jul 26, 2012.

  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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  2. PhilWray

    PhilWray Member

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  3. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    I'll watch some, but overall the Olympics is pretty dull.

    Maybe by 2024 we'll have T20 cricket as part of the games. That'd be cool.
     
  4. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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  5. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    The Queen of England parachutes out of a helicopter? Man, these Brits do have a dry sense of humor! :)
     
  6. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    I actually liked parts of the opening ceremony.
     
  7. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    :love:

    Well times are hard and we haven't the budget available in past Olympics in China and Greece; oh and humour costs nothing. Apparantly it WAS the Queen jumping out too ;) Personally I was very surprised, amazed and proud of the opening ceremony. Not bad for £27m compared to the £72m China spent.


    On that other point raised. Nobody here knew who Mitt Romney was until recently, including myself. He came here to try and get one up on Obama apparantly, as Obama was hardly renowned for his international diplomacy. But this Romney chap has turned out to be either completely clueless, totally arrogant or a complete fool. I always thought it common knowledge that you don't insult your hosts, especially not on the first day! It's like being invited to the in-laws and when asked by your Mother in Law whether you liked the apple pie she baked especially for you, you say you thought it over cooked, too soggy, lacking in taste and that she'd overdone it with the cinnamon!

    And then to forget the name of one of only two people you're meeting and say "Hello Mr Leader"? What planet is he on? If you've forgotten the name you don't call someone Mr Leader!

    The guy sounds like an amateur who's out of his depth. Even our right wing press now think he's a clown!

    'Some Americans shouldn't leave the country': U.S. gold medalist Carl Lewis latest to attack Mitt Romney in diabolical first visit to London | Mail Online
    Mitt Romney gets cold reception from UK media after Olympic gaffe | World news | guardian.co.uk
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    hey grumpy, my daughter is there for the first few days with some brit co employees of the company she works for. she's having a great time and gives you guys five stars for the experience so far.(y)
     
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  9. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    Just leave out "either" and you have him down.:)

    Didn't take the Brits long to see right through him.
     
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  10. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    Check out Mitt at badlipreading.com:



    Equal time; here's Obama:

     
  11. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    We don't care for his politics or whether he's right or left or Democrat or Republican, a gobshite is a gobshite!

    Gobshite: Irish slang for someone who is a complete idiot. A person who does something completely foolish and doesn't even realise it.

    He has a lot of making right, either at home or abroad.
     
  12. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    The Olympics wiki page seems quickly updated, for those who want to keep track of the medal counts (or many more details).

    Nederland has as many medals as Russia or Australia Groot! let's see them hold that rank :)

    I tested and found that (with glasses on) I could not see a 4.5 mm circle at 10 meters. All the shooters are superhuman, AFAICT.
     
  13. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Michael Phelps was stunned and shocked to the core today!
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yikes, he could hardly speak afterward!
     
  15. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    I heard that the opening ceremony was terrible (esp. compared to the AMAZING job China did). It's still on my TiVo but I'm not sure if I'm going to spend the watching it or not.

    I only watched NBC's opening video at the beginning, which was very well done. They also did a great job w/the equivalent for the Beijing Olympics.

    Other than the opening and closing ceremonies, I have no interest in the Olympics at all. Some years (when they've been held), I've watched 0 minutes of it, not even the ceremonies.
     
  16. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    The Opening is very British (if you get that kind of stuff). More cerebral, thought provoking and humorous. Beijing was more spectacular and action packed (if you like that kind of stuff). Both are true to their cultural styles. I liked London more.
     
  17. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    I also have no expectations and can't remember any part of any previous opening ceremonies to compare this one too so maybe that's why I liked it?

    Thinking back, I do remember the Barcelona games where they lit the torch with the arrow. That was cool. I think I remember that because it was the first Olympics I was old enough (10) to appreciate.

    I watched a few minutes of men's indoor volleyball this morning.
     
  18. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    I don't remember seeing this. Maybe because NBC didn't show it?!?

    [​IMG]
     

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  19. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Finally was able to watch the Opening Ceremony in its unabridged version as broadcast by BBC. Much better than the NBC presentation. The 7/7 tribute at the end was really moving. Can't understand why it was cut.
     
  20. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    NBC coverage: Outrage by claiming 7/7 tribute in Olympic Opening Ceremony 'wasn't tailored to U.S. audience' | Mail Online

    'Can you imagine the BBC opting to cut out a tribute to 9/11 at a future Olympics held in the States because it wasn't "tailored for a UK audience"?' Daily Kos fumed.

    'If that happened... the switchboards at BBC Broadcasting House would have blown a fuse.'

    I could understand somewhere like Iran or China cutting it out, but America? A country that also suffered at the hands of these same terrorist groups?