Author Topic: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views  (Read 112219 times)

Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #90 on: February 28, 2010, 10:09:23 pm »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.
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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #91 on: February 28, 2010, 10:10:52 pm »



Hmmm. I sorta like'em!


http://www.miss604.com/2009/10/vancouver-2010-medals-unveiled.html



Vancouver 2010 Medals Unveiled
By Miss604 | October 15th, 2009 @ 11:43 am

This morning the gold, bronze, and silver medals for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games
were unveiled at the athlete’s village. The imagery is distinctly British Columbian with First Nations engravings
along the front and back.


The symbols are based upon master works by Corrine Hunt, a Vancouver, BC-based artist of Komoyue
and Tlingit heritage. The Olympic medals feature the orca while the raven graces the front of the
Paralympic medals. The shape of the round Olympic and square Paralympic medals is wavey, meaning
they wouldn’t sit flat.



Here are a few medals from past Winter Olympics to make a comparison.




At a time when the 2010 Games are being criticized for being too politically correct, I’m curious to see
the public’s reaction to the medals that will hang around the necks of the world’s best this winter.

Do you like the Vancouver 2010 Medals?

Yes (76%, 521 Votes)
No (22%, 148 Votes)
Undecided/Leave a Comment (2%, 18 Votes)
Total Voters: 688


[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkQsXls7m0o&feature[/youtube]


Update February 20, 2010 The medals are on display at the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion.





Much more info here:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/feature-stories/meet-the-medals_170520LO.html

and

http://corrinehunt.ca/


BIO

Nugwam Gelatleg’lees – killer whale scratching her back on the beach. This is the name given to Corrine by her paternal grandmother, Abusa, in 1965.

Born in Alert Bay British Columbia in 1959, Corrine has been creating contemporary art that reflects the themes and traditions of her First Nations Komoyue and Tlingit heritage since 1985. Corrine’s works include engraved gold and silver jewelry and accessories, custom furnishings in carved stainless steel and reclaimed wood, modern totem poles and other sculptural installations. A member of the Raven Gwa’wina clan from Ts’akis, a Komoyue village on Vancouver Island, Corrine’s rich family history includes internationally renowned First Nations artists Henry, Richard and Tony Hunt, all of whom have influenced her art. Uncle Norman Brotchie was also an early teacher and mentor. Corrine too has mentored First Nations and other artists and continues to be a strong and vocal supporter of the arts in British Columbia.

From the beginning of her career engraving rings, bracelets, pendants and broaches, Corrine has searched for unique ways to bring the stories of her First Nations culture to contemporary life. “I want to show how both the First Nations people and the art have evolved,” she explains. In that process, she is continually inventing and reinventing stories from her culture, honouring her roots and cultivating a refreshing artistic expression at the same time. The results are extraordinary pieces that are both ageless and contemporary. The engravings are not overly ornate; like poetry, they convey their message using as few lines as possible. Similarly, the custom furnishings combine materials that speak to old and new, and bring the concept of living culture into contemporary homes. Corrine began designing furniture and other installed art pieces in part because in First Nations households , adorned furnishings are part of daily life. Objects in the home are not only beautiful, they are also practical and infused with cultural significance.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


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Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #92 on: February 28, 2010, 10:24:29 pm »


http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/story.html?id=2106729
Thursday, October 15, 2009



Photo Credit: Andy Clark, Reuters
Native artist Corrine Hunt (R) and co-designer Omar Abel hold the gold medals for the 2010
Olympic and Para-Olympic Games following their unveiling in Vancouver October 15, 2009. Omar holds
the gold medal for the Winter Olympic Games while Hunt holds the Para-Olympic Games gold medal.

"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #93 on: March 01, 2010, 12:12:25 am »
Hmmm... I note that Norway wasn't included in the medals vs. population size comparison.  ;)

Anybody wanting to do the math, should note that Norway won another gold half an hour ago.  :)

That said, congratulations Canada for an amazing medal count and very well executed Games.  :)  It's been fun, and since most of the events have taken place in the evening Norwegian time, most of the country have been glued to the TV screen.  A fair share of us have actually been glued to the screen late into the night, watching curling - a sport that has about 1,000 actives in the whole country and which noone knows the first thing about, except when we're doing well in the Olympics.  ;D

I was wondering if you were watching the Games.  I've been cheering for Norway all week!  They did a really great job, didn't they?  And yours was the last anthem played at the closing ceremonies because Petter Northug nipped over the line a few hundredths of a second before the German skier to win gold. 8)

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #94 on: March 01, 2010, 12:34:43 am »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.

I like the medals. I think they are pretty. And now that I've found out they are inspired by Native art, I like them all the more! :D :D

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Offline Sheriff Roland

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #95 on: March 01, 2010, 07:26:39 am »
medal standing, final count              (bold indicates new victories in previous 24 hours)
         
                            gold  silver  bronze  total
United States     9     15     13        37           
Germany            10    13       7        30
Canada              14      7       5        26
Norway               9       8       6        23
5  Austria                  4       6       6        16
6  Russia                  3       5        7        15
7  South Korea          6       6       2         14
8  China                    5       2       4         11
Sweden               5       2       4        11
8  France                  2       3       6         11
11 Switzerland          6       0       3          9
12 Netherlands          4       1       3          8
13 Czech Republic      2       0       4         6
13 Poland                  1       3       2         6
15 Italy                      1       1       3         5
15 Japan                    0       3       2         5
15 Finland                  0       1       4         5
18 Australia                2       1       0         3
18 Slovakia                 1       1       1         3
18 Belarus                  1       1       1         3
18 Slovenia                 0       2       1         3
18 Croatia                   0       2       1         3
23 Latvia                     0       2       0         2
24 Great Britain           1       0       0          1
24 Estonia                   0       1       0         1
24 Kazakhstan             0       1       0         1
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Offline oilgun

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #96 on: March 01, 2010, 07:41:26 am »
Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #97 on: March 01, 2010, 09:53:17 am »
I beleive they reflect native art.

Sorry you don't approve.

It's not a question of "approve" or "disapprove." I find them aesthetically unappealing, and being inspired by the art of indigenous peoples doesn't affect that. They don't get a "pass" just because they weren't designed by some old white guy.

To me the medals from Calgary and Lake Placid look like what Olympic medals should look like. The medal from Torino looks like a giant Lifesaver.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Aloysius J. Gleek

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #98 on: March 01, 2010, 10:45:15 am »



Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.


Then you may enjoy this:


http://www.salon.com/life/winter_olympics_2010/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/03/01/closing_ceremonies

Monday, Mar 1, 2010 08:02 EST
Olympic torch is passed
Sarcasm! Shatner! A parade of giant beavers!
Vancouver closes the Winter Olympics in appropriate style

By Allen Barra



AP

If Leni Riefenstahl had been Canadian, polite, tasteful restrained -- she'd have directed something like the closing ceremonies of the 21st Winter Olympics. Staged in BC Place Stadium in front of 60,000 people, most of them fresh-faced Canadians who looked as if they were chosen to advertise their country's health care system, the ceremonies were opulent and extravagant, yes, but with a charmingly self-effacing quality correctly described by NBC's Bob Costas as "Walt Disney meets Busby Berkeley." And it was in French and English.

Canadians, Costas mused, have always displayed an ability to laugh at themselves -- a quality sorely lacking in some of their neighbors. At least the humor seemed intentional; why else you would ask William Shatner to speak to a worldwide audience on "What It Means to be Canadian."

"You have to dream big," he said solemnly, "in a land that is the final frontier."

Canadians are not big on sarcasm -- as a Canadian actor on "30 Rock" recently explained it, "We have a small Jewish population" -- but there's a limit to even Canadian politeness. It's the first time I've ever heard 60,000 people guffaw.

That changed the mood, observed Costas's co-anchor Al Michaels. So did Catherine O'Hara, who cheerfully warned visitors that, "When you pee your name in the snow, we know who you are."

Then came a parade of what Costas called "the always enjoyable giant inflated beavers." The beavers were followed by a colossal inflatable moose. Back in New York, the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Committee must have been green.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, told everyone, "To the athletes of these games, we say you have made us proud. These were excellent and very friendly games." He was right, and you could see it in the faces of the athletes. Ryan Miller, the star goalie of the U.S. hockey team, had, a little more than two hours earlier, looked distraught when Team USA lost to Canada in overtime. Now, as the athletes paraded around the stadium, he was beaming as he snapped photos on his cell phone.

"This is what the Olympics are about," said Michaels, and the comment wasn't mere sentiment. The whole atmosphere was so friendly and goofy that when the athletes formed a giant June Taylor dancer-like formation it didn't seem to matter that no one could quite understand what letters they were trying to make. Neither, apparently, could Costas, who paused and said, "As we bid fond farewell to Vancouver ..."

Accompanied by his own acoustic guitar, Neil Young made the evening complete by singing "Long May You Run" as the Olympic flame was extinguished. It would have been a great place to end things, but unfortunately, Michael Buble then did an ersatz Broadway-like musical number I couldn't identify backed by oversized Mounties, hockey players and what looked like models wearing giant maple leafs. It was everything the ceremony had not been up to that point -- Canada imagined by Baz Luhrmann.

Oh, Canada: Just one minute of Leonard Cohen would have made it all right.
"Tu doives entendre je t'aime."
(and you know who I am...)


Cowboy Curtis (Laurence Fishburne)
and Pee-wee in the 1990 episode
"Camping Out"

Offline Meryl

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Re: Vancouver Winter Olympics - News and Views
« Reply #99 on: March 01, 2010, 10:45:53 am »
Speaking of embarrassing, what did people think of the closing ceremonies?  :o  I almost choked on my maple syrup.

LOL at the maple syrup.  ;D

I thought they were a bit lame, especially when they dragged out any and every Canadian celebrity they could find to narrate that marginally funny video.  At that point, I left the arena.  :P

And as to the hockey game, I guess it's good that Canada didn't have to go into full mourning, but I'm glad the USA scared the living sh** out of them before they managed to pull it off.  ;)

ETA:  Giant beavers and Michael Buble?  Save us!  :o
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