Yet Another Cycling Forum
Off Topic => The Pub => Arts and Entertainment => Topic started by: andygates on 02 August, 2008, 03:56:58 pm
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Gotta start this because I'm so psyched. Its going to be a spectacle, the guys behind Gorrillaz have done the Beeb's mascots (punkiest monkey that ever popped!) and I've got a Local Hero to root for as WELL as the cycling machine.
Local Hero? Michaela Breeze, women's 63kg weightlifting (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/weightlifting/7301015.stm). Charlotte, thighs, thighs, Charlotte. O:-)
Fair chance in the triathlon too - Tim Don's strong and I've a suspicion that young Hollie Avil is going to surprise everyone (yet again).
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I'm really looking forward to it too. I'm gutted that my maternity leave finishes on Monday as I might have been tempted to retire to the sofa for the duration and teach minimac about the heroic chase for gold.
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I'm really looking forward to it too. I'm gutted that my maternity leave finishes on Monday as I might have been tempted to retire to the sofa for the duration and teach minimac about the heroic chase for gold.
You could cover him in fudge and then he'd be Caramac.
Sorry, couldn't resist...
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I can't wait...though I have to admit I haven't even looked at the tv schedules to see what time of day all the action is happening...3AM probably!! :(
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We will be broadcasting from approximately 0200 to 1800 BST each day
An evening round-up show at 1900 BST will allow those of you who have been at work to catch up with all the highlights and key moments.
At least I'll be able to listen to it on the radio at work :thumbsup:
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Oooh - Olympics's - Excellent :thumbsup:. I've been pining for the TV spectacle of drugged up cheats doing daft things in the name of "Sport" ever since the end of the Tour de France ;).
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Hopefully the roundup show at 1900hrs will last 3 hours!!! :thumbsup:
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Meanwhile in China, local restaurants are using web translators to get their names up in English... with sometimes unexpected results (http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2008/07/then-well-grab.html).
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We will be broadcasting from approximately 0200 to 1800 BST each day
An evening round-up show at 1900 BST will allow those of you who have been at work to catch up with all the highlights and key moments.
Oh my goodness me - it's going to be even worse than I feared.
Is it just me, or is anybody else finding that BBC olympics song really really irritating?
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My couch potato preparations have begun. I went to Maplins at the weekend and got one of these (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=passion&source=15&SD=Y) with a 10% discount.
So it will be my first high definition Olympics. I did spend most of yesterday afternoon clambering over my roof in the rain, replacing LNBs, and aligning (or to be more accurate misaligning) redundant satellite dishes.
It's actually stupidly easy to get HD tv, just cancel your Sky subscription, get a cheap HD satellite receiver, plug in the satellite, and connect up via component cables or HDMI. I didn't realise that the if your satellite is set up for Sky Digital it can get Freesat HD just by swapping the box over. No dish realignment required at all. Plus no need to pay Sky 10 quid a month just to watch high def TV.
Admittedly several hours work clambering through the attic and roof, dropping coaxial cable through windows etc, only resulted in my being able to watch a film about Beatrix Potter in glorious high def (the last thing I actually would have chosen to watch), but thought of watching hundreds of hours of sport at 1080i gets me very excited.
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Can i be the first to mention the now ubiquitous use of the word
medal
as a verb?
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I'm only interested in some of the cycling events (BMX - give me a break >:( ::-)) and the mens road race is on from 1100 - 1700 this Saturday :thumbsup:. Yay for being in the same time zone. I won't sit down in front of the telly for the full xx hours but I'll certainly try to catch the last couple of hours.
Swimming, athletics, weightlifting etc - frankly I'd rather have my teeth pulled out than sit down and watch that.
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U.S. cyclists fly into China with face masks
| Sports
| Reuters
(http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSPEK11870420080805?feedType=RSS&feedName=sportsNews)
Wusses!
The British squad had a man out on the road course riding hard. Our verdict: "We can work in this." :thumbsup:
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Scuttlebutt from the Bermuda camp: "not worried about pollution as our lads have been on the cigars"
Now that's classy.
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I have to give it to them for the opening, it's really quite something!
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I have to give it to them for the opening, it's really quite something!
Yes indeedy - cracking show. One has to crank up one's Denial Level a wee bit - given that they've missed out some important parts of their history from the floor show - and that last "Green" "Eco" section was a bit rich coming from China TBH.
But - enough of the whining - that screen that goes right round the stadium is cool.
Them Chinese can sure do fireworks too. I suppose they did invent them after all...
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I’ve just been out to lunch and seen some of the Olympics opening ceremony. WOW! Really impressive and spectacular.
I think we might have to re think the “Boris waving from the top of an open top Route Master Bus” for 2012.
Perhaps a couple of bendy buses and some Morris Dancers?
Oh dear, I'm going to hide away from the 2012 Opening Ceremony. It's going to be just too embarrassing.
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I feel the same Basil. Politics aside, technically I'm amazed so far. That screen is uber cool and just how big is that stadium
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It is all CGI you know. There is really only a wooden shack and some clever rafia work.....
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'sgonna be hard to match that.
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The images on that Silk Road scroll-type widget - clearly not projected (#2 Son and I speculated about the possibility of there being a huge projector on a satellite in geo orbit above the birds nest, but decided if the sun can't make it through the Beijing mirk, nothing would ;)) so what is it - some vast LCD computer screen laying on the ground?
Ver ver neat stuff.
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'sgonna be hard to match that.
Yeah, they got the peoples Army, we have the Women's Institute. Not that they would not put on a damn fine show.....
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Chris, I thought it was rear projection.
Now it could be the drugs talking but god damn there are some truly fine women around the world, I's got to visit some of these countries.
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Chris, I thought it was rear projection.
Well, I know 0 about what technologies are available - you're much more likely to know than me ;).
It was very luminous though - would a projection create that much light - for that size?
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Yup it would.
PS - I really feel sorry for those girls in the short white dresses around the track who having been jumping and clapping forever lol.
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The images on that Silk Road scroll-type widget - clearly not projected (#2 Son and I speculated about the possibility of there being a huge projector on a satellite in geo orbit above the birds nest, but decided if the sun can't make it through the Beijing mirk, nothing would ;)) so what is it - some vast LCD computer screen laying on the ground?
Ver ver neat stuff.
Missed it - I'll try to catch the highlights later - but I'd suspect any large screen would be some kind of pixel screen LED system. We use them fairly regularly in the studio, and they're used at concerts a lot these days. They seem to come in any size, built up from smaller panels, so they scale. If you catch "Battle of the Brains" which has been running on BBC2, the categories are run onto just such a screen, but obviously on a much smaller scale.
<edit> Just seen a still on the Beeb's website, and I'd say it's that type of screen, laid flat.
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I would have thought far too flexible to be pixel led screens.
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Ah - didn't see moving pix, just the still. I didn't know it was flexible!
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T'was folded when it was moved slightly, also they started reffered to it as the canvas. The giant led screen around the rim is really something else though.
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I listened to it on Radio 5....the firewoks sounded really pretty!! ;D and then I wandered down to the tv room at my lunchtime to see all the spectacular stuff had finished and the athletes were coming in....which itself is quite interesting when all the tiny nations come in dressed in national costume.
Regarding the screen round the stadium...the commentator on the radio said it was the largest in Asia and cost £18 million :o
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I'm surprised it's not the biggest in the world.
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T'was very impressive. Loved the drummers. Had a mild frisson of discomfort at the goose-stepping soldiers bearing the olympic flag, but overall it was excellent.
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Still available if you hit the red button on digital TV
we're watching it now - just breathtaking :o
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Still available if you hit the red button on digital TV
we're watching it now - just breathtaking :o
I watched it on red button as the version at 1900 on bbc1 was crap......then I watched it again. :thumbsup:
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Still available if you hit the red button on digital TV
we're watching it now - just breathtaking :o
I watched it on red button as the version at 1900 on bbc1 was crap......then I watched it again. :thumbsup:
Yes we missed the actual opening and though, never mind we'll watch it again on the BBC highlights programme.
They only had a brief clip, less than 10 mins. None of the scroll stuff. Spent more time talking about it and running pre-produced promos about themselves. Typical - over-produced, over-thought, over-expensive.
And the problem with red buttong is that I've just got a HD TV so the opening ceremony is the sort of thing that is made for HD, rather than a sub-SD image on red button.
Luckily Eurosport HD in their blessed simplicity have been replaying the ceremony a couple of times overnight. (BBC HD channel was running promos about BBC HD channel when they could simply have replayed the whole ceremeony).
So I'm watching it now in absolutely glorious detail. It is a fantastic show and brilliant in high definition.
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HD is the stuff of gods.
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I've just checked the schedules - it's SPORTS everywhere. Is there no escape?
I'm off for a bike ride - I may be some time................
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Lovely bike racing this morning...
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Road race just doesn't do it for me in the Olympics.....track is much better.
This is my first Olympics with a red button and I'm flicking through all the sports like a mad person!! ;D
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Watched it using the red button last night.
The 'scrolling' screen (the centre strip of the stage) is a huge LED pixel screen. The centre part is made up from 4 movable panels,* each of which is at least 20m x 20m. Each panel is on a sliding / rising stage unit. There are two secondary panels which are the cyclinders sitting on top of the main unit, also movable. The rest of the screen is non-movable panels, something like two further units each side of the movable ones.
When you first see it, it's covered (or switched to a dark input), apart from the 'scroll' cylinders. As they move apart, the four movable panels are gradually revealed, and content is displayed accordingly. At various points, the movable panels drop down, or slide past each other under the stage leaving a lowered section, or a gap. This allows the 'printing' display, and the 18m globe to rise up from under the stage, for example. Otherwise, the panels display whatever images are sent to them by the control system - which will have been programmed with the position and orientation of all the panels. The scrolling is an illusion, caused by the cylindrical shape of the screens at the edge, combined with their movement, and the careful coordination of which panels are active.
*The panels are themselves made up from units about (say) 0.5m x 1m, similar to these from Barco (http://www.barco.com/corporate/en/products/category.asp?catid=131)
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I have noticed that following Athens, they are only filming Sharon Davies from the shoulders up.
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I have noticed that following Athens, they are only filming Sharon Davies from the shoulders up.
What happened in Athens? Did something fall out?
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At the time it was dubbed nipplegate (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/08/29/do2910.xml)
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Thanks for mentioning the red button! Instead of the world's dullest sport, swimming, I can watch the dressage which you never get to see normally :thumbsup:
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Thanks for mentioning the red button! Instead of the world's dullest sport, swimming, I can watch the dressage which you never get to see normally :thumbsup:
Dressage... :hand: is that a sport, really?!
I must admit to having a vested interest in swimming; relating to my background as a work as fluid mechanicist. However, the medley was quite exciting this morning.
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At the time it was dubbed nipplegate (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/08/29/do2910.xml)
Some people are a bit sensitive! ::-)
They must have found a tall camera crew as she is a tall woman! She's quite nice too.
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Road race just doesn't do it for me in the Olympics.....track is much better.
I prefer the track too; but on a Saturday morning when it is pissing down, watching the last part of the road race was nice...
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OMG, I've discovered a bad thing about HD.
Sue Barker.
Her lipstick has bled a little into the quite deep lines around her mouth, which exaggerates them even more in a Very Scary Way.
It's not even noticeable in SD.
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Not as scary as Fatima Whitbread
Imagine her getting you in headlock
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I've been waiting to get out on my bike all week, I've watched Nicole do the business and now it's one of those things about the Olympics....I'm staying in long enough to see if the British women can get the bronze in the archery!! :thumbsup: And then I'm going out!!
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Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(
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Sharon Davies = Bobfoc
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Sharon Davies = Bobfoc
What is that then? Does it stand for Botoxed Or Badly Facelifted Original Crumpet?
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Body off baywatch, face off crimewatch.
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Not as scary as Fatima Whitbread
Imagine her getting you in headlock
*little moment*
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Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(
Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....
/cloak
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Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(
Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....
/cloak
The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...
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Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(
Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....
/cloak
The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...
Tactful ::-)
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Oh bum...we've lost a bronze in the archery contest to the French of all people!! >:(
Worst result since the all-comers England final in 1066....
/cloak
The stadium announcer made some reference to Agincourt just before the start of the contest too...
Who's showing off their fingers now then, eh?! :P
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Appearances are everything it would seem:
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7556058.stm)
Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we? ::-)
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Appearances are everything it would seem:
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7556058.stm)
Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we? ::-)
Y'know, next thing we'll find out is that some of those performers weren't really flying, but had wires attached! ::-)
It's a performance. What does it matter if they got a pretty girl to lip-synch to an ugly singer?
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Appearances are everything it would seem:
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7556058.stm)
Wouldn't want the country to look bad on TV would we? ::-)
Y'know, next thing we'll find out is that some of those performers weren't really flying, but had wires attached! ::-)
It's a performance. What does it matter if they got a pretty girl to lip-synch to an ugly singer?
Because of the stated reasons:
"The reason for this is that we must put our country's interest first," he added.
"The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expression and the great feeling she can give to people."
Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.
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That sounds pretty harsh, but do you think we might have lost something in translation? Chinese idiom doesn't always translate effectively into English...
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I don't think it is harsh though. The opening ceremony was all about appearance - the girls carrying the signs with country's names on weren't chosen just because they could carry a placard, but because they could do so whilst looking beautiful and with a smile on their face. Similarly all the cheerleaders conformed to a modern ideal of "beauty". There may well have been people out there who could have done the dancing/cheering routines better but were ugly as sin and fat to boot, but we're not complaining about China not letting them perform, are we?
It's entertainment. It's not real. Julia Robert's head was superimposed onto a model's body for the posters for Pretty Woman. Patricia Quinn lip-synched to Richard O' Brian's voice for Science Fiction Double Feature. Big name stars use body doubles for close-ups to their hands and feet because the big-name-stars' extremities don't hold up under scrutiny.
Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.
Y'know, the first time I read this, I thought you'd said "typical consumerism," and I agreed wholeheartedly, because that's what it's all about. Consumerism. Selling an image. It's nothing to do with communism - we do it just as much in the west too.
One child had the perfect voice, and one had the perfect face, so what's unethical with combining the two to make the perfect performance?
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If it truly was as bad as they thought it was in China, then the state wouldn't allow information like that to get out. Instead the producers are telling everyone how they did it, what parts are CGI and what parts are mimed etc, and the designer of the stadium is constantly blogging about how bad the olympics are etc.
It's a different culture, dubbing is something standard in Chinese TV/entertainment, there are so many dialects and regional differences, loads of people get dubbed, and no one cares. You never hear the voices of a lot of actors/actresses.
Audrey Hepburn didn't sing in My Fair Lady...
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I guess it just didn't seem very genuine. Perhaps I'm being naive ::-).
Tell you what - why don't we let all the competitors take performance enhancing drugs so that they can be something they're not too?
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If they had a strict rule regarding only pretty people being allowed to appear, they really fouled up on Sarah Brightman.
Did it really make any difference to anyone whether or not the little girl sang? Instead it's now being taken as another example of the evils of the Chinese state.
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Oh man, I bet someone'll tell me Natalie Wood mimed all the songs in West Side Story! ::-)
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I wasn't surprised the girl was miming as she didn't appear to be using a microphone in her hand or on her dress...but I did think it was at least her own voice she was miming to.
I was initially quite impressed with the way the fireworks were exploding just infront of the plane or helicopter as it flew towards the stadium....then I twigged they were footprint shaped....then I noticed that once they'd reached their peak in the sky they seemed to freeze in the air at which point I didn't know whether this was a BBC graphic introduction to the Games or part of the opening ceremony.
Still it now solves the problem we had trying to do anything like as good a job of the ceremony in 2012....why spend thousands or millions on LEDS and wiring to make a shimmering Lisa Simpson give head whilst floating 100ft above the audience when you can simply CGI the whole thing...and instead of bussing in loads of volunteers to make the venues look busy just CGI them too for "convenience and theatrical effects".
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it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2008/aug/12/bushlol?picture=336501038)
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I don't think it is harsh though. The opening ceremony was all about appearance - the girls carrying the signs with country's names on weren't chosen just because they could carry a placard, but because they could do so whilst looking beautiful and with a smile on their face. Similarly all the cheerleaders conformed to a modern ideal of "beauty". There may well have been people out there who could have done the dancing/cheering routines better but were ugly as sin and fat to boot, but we're not complaining about China not letting them perform, are we?
It's entertainment. It's not real. Julia Robert's head was superimposed onto a model's body for the posters for Pretty Woman. Patricia Quinn lip-synched to Richard O' Brian's voice for Science Fiction Double Feature. Big name stars use body doubles for close-ups to their hands and feet because the big-name-stars' extremities don't hold up under scrutiny.
Typical communism. Some people are more equal than others apparently.
Y'know, the first time I read this, I thought you'd said "typical consumerism," and I agreed wholeheartedly, because that's what it's all about. Consumerism. Selling an image. It's nothing to do with communism - we do it just as much in the west too.
One child had the perfect voice, and one had the perfect face, so what's unethical with combining the two to make the perfect performance?
Did it really make any difference to anyone whether or not the little girl sang? Instead it's now being taken as another example of the evils of the Chinese state.
I agree 100%.
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it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2008/aug/12/bushlol?picture=336501038)
;D
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it's not the telly but some great photos of george W on the guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2008/aug/12/bushlol?picture=336501038)
;D
Very good.
What a shame it was just a camera shooting Bush with Kissinger.
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I'm rapidly becoming addicted to watching the rowing. We're quite good at it aren't we? I was very distracted from working this morning!
Now then. The swimming. Why are so many World Records tumbling? Are they all on EPO?
I hope that Michael Phelps isn't doing the dope thing - it would be nice to think he's just a genetic aberration that might never be repeated.
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Now then. The swimming. Why are so many World Records tumbling?
There's a piece by Sarah Hardcastle on the Beeb's site that offers a a few suggestions:
BBC SPORT | Olympics 2008 blog (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/why_the_water_cube_is_so_fast.html)
In summary, it's a combination of swimwear tech, the design of the pool at the Water cube, and how swimmers aim to peak at maybe just one specific event in a given year.
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There's a piece by Sarah Hardcastle on the Beeb's site that offers a a few suggestions:
[...] the design of the pool at the Water cube
It's downhill in both directions ;D
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There's a piece by Sarah Hardcastle on the Beeb's site that offers a a few suggestions:
[...] the design of the pool at the Water cube
It's downhill in both directions ;D
Yes! The swimming pool is actually on a see-saw!
I was watching the swimming last night and mentioned to SWMBO that I am sure those LZR suits will be banned from competition after the olympics, too many records are falling and some by HUGE margins. Hopefully swimming doesn't have a UCI-style governing body though but one that uses common sense and finds a way to level the playing field a bit
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has anyone measured the pool?
It would be funny if someone on the organising committee was in cahoots with the suit manufacturers and managed to build it at only 49.5 meters.
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Now then. The swimming. Why are so many World Records tumbling?
There's a piece by Sarah Hardcastle on the Beeb's site that offers a a few suggestions:
BBC SPORT | Olympics 2008 blog (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/olympics/2008/08/why_the_water_cube_is_so_fast.html)
In summary, it's a combination of swimwear tech, the design of the pool at the Water cube, and how swimmers aim to peak at maybe just one specific event in a given year.
Sorry! ;D
Beijing Olympics: Speedo swimsuit that helped propel Rebecca Adlington to swimming gold - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2539291/Beijing-Olympics-Speedo-swimsuit-that-helped-propel-Rebecca-Adlington-to-swimming-gold.html)
The suit is pefectly legal, compliant with FINA. Anyone can buy one in fact and many countries got them free.
It is true that top swimmers are also all peaking for this event. It is first and foremost THEIR performance; optimised by clever engineering, physiology and bio-mechanics. But the hours in the pool are the main reason.
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Some pools can be "faster" than others for the reasons Karen Pickering (not Sarah Hardcastle) writes in that blog.
A consistently deep pool makes a big difference, along with the extra unused lanes or where the side walls are at the same level as the water.
Most Olympic sized pools are only 8 lanes (or use all of the lanes in each race), have side walls higher than the level of the water and have one end significantly shallower than the other (which makes it easier to reuse as a general pool after the games).
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Saw the highlights last night - it was pretty tedious, apart from Michael Johnson.
He plainly said that he didn't much care about any other sports until the track and field started, which makes a hell of a change from the usual BBC coverage, all smiles and pretending to care about whichever sport the Brits are succesful in.
And the bit of gymnastics I caught had a Geordie commentator - very odd. I can't see Syd Waddell doing it... although it'd be a lot more entertaining if he did.
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And the bit of gymnastics I caught had a Geordie commentator - very odd. I can't see Syd Waddell doing it... although it'd be a lot more entertaining if he did.
Brendan Foster? (He got a Bronze in the 10,000 meters in Montreal).
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I'm pretty sure it wasn't Brendan Foster. This bloke sounded a lot younger. And I wouldn't have thought the BBC would wheel BF out until the marathon.
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I thought it was John Murray who normally commentates on the football for 5 Live.
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Just remembered the telly down in the games room here at work, rushed down and saw the repeat of the Mens Sprint Final, then started watch the athletics, esp. the mens 1500m. The BBC coverage could be better...
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Was it Matt? who used to be on Blue Peter?
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Was it Matt? who used to be on Blue Peter?
Actually, that might make sense.
Not that it matters who it was - but from memory, Barry Davies used to commentate on gymnastics, and he has an RP accent. So it was quite jarring to have a regional accent commentating.
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Oi, Irvine, No >:(
Dear Hazel,
Much as I like your chirpy manner and your fresh-faced good looks, you should not use the word "silver" as a verb.
::-)
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Just remembered the telly down in the games room here at work, rushed down and saw the repeat of the Mens Sprint Final, then started watch the athletics, esp. the mens 1500m. The BBC coverage could be better...
I think it's pretty good....especially the ability to watch events on iPlayer....watched the gymnastics highlights on it the other night..great stuff. Not sure if it is subject to the 7 day limit though
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I'm on strike today so I was at home and I watched a bit of the Olympics. This morning I saw the edited highlights of the women's 10km open water swim. Blimey! A 2 hour swim, the two British girls had the lead all the way and then were beaten into silver and bronze (not literally) in the last 300 metres. And I saw Usain Bolt get the gold for the men's 200m. He's like greased lightning.
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Hooked on the marathon swimming... rain, wind, feeding-station with coffee onna stick, tussling, this is ace.
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has anyone measured the pool?
It would be funny if someone on the organising committee was in cahoots with the suit manufacturers and managed to build it at only 49.5 meters.
Apologies for going OT, but one of the mine sites I worked on back in the early 00's had a pool that was 24.5 metres long. Apparently if it was 25m long then they would have had to have a full-time lifeguard on duty ;D
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Shurely they could have done 24.99? Lazy gits
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But think of the extra costs of putting in that extra 0.499m ;D They were very, very tight-arsed when it came to money
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I understand there is a pool somewhere up north which is 49.98 metres long thus making it impossible to use for any official events, even inter-club competition.
They forgot to allow for the tiles.
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I understand there is a pool somewhere up north which is 49.98 metres long thus making it impossible to use for any official events, even inter-club competition.
They forgot to allow for the tiles.
Surely all the wall mounted apparatus means that an Olympic pool isn't exactly 50m from wall to wall out of competition anyway ???
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One would allow for it.
Lordy, Bozza's hilarious in his handover speech. ;D
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Is that the one where he says we invented all the best sports anyway, and "ping pong's coming home"?
;D ;D
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Don't know if he said anything in the stadium but his speech outside London House was hilarious....going on about wiff waff ;D
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Boris - watch and wonder... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7580165.stm ;D
Bring back Milo of Kroton... ;D
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Ping pong is coming home!! :thumbsup:
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It is unadulterated, exultant silly British genius. :thumbsup:
Milo rocks. There's a strength-sport journal named after him (some people even tried the calf thing - and failed, it grows too fast!).
Now, anyone want to make up a four for wiff-waff? It's coming home, it's co-oming home, wiff-waff's coming home, it's coming home....
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It is unadulterated, exultant silly British genius. :thumbsup:
Milo rocks. There's a strength-sport journal named after him (some people even tried the calf thing - and failed, it grows too fast!).
Now, anyone want to make up a four for wiff-waff? It's coming home, it's co-oming home, wiff-waff's coming home, it's coming home....
Boris is right you know... ;)
The game has its origins in England as an after-dinner amusement for upper-class Victorians in the 1880s. Mimicking the game of tennis in an indoor environment, everyday objects were originally enlisted to act as the equipment. A line of books would be the net, a rounded top of a Champagne cork or knot of string as the ball, and a cigar box lid as the racket[2].
Table tennis evolved into the modern game in Europe, the United States and Japan.[3] The popularity of the game led game manufacturers to sell the equipment commercially. Early rackets were often pieces of parchment stretched upon a frame, and the sound generated in play gave the game its first nicknames of "whiff-whaff" and "Ping-pong."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis
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The T-shirt guys really aren't wasting any time!
Wiff Waff (Ping Pong) T-shirt from Zazzle.com
(http://www.zazzle.com/wiff_waff_ping_pong_shirt-235012472085994680)
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I reckon if I was going to appear as London's representative in front of 3 billion TV viewers I may invest in a decent suit.
Boris looked like he'd slept in his all week. Was he aware people may be watching?
Exactly how far from Saville Row does he live/work?
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As a proud member of the "human sack" school of suit wearers, along with Bozza and Patrick Moore and many other rumpled and distinguished fellows, I resemble that remark!