Olympics-Filter 08

August 8, 2008 5:44 AM

Misc-Olympics-Filter. Google's 2008 Olympics page (gadget can be added to your Google homepage). Former Sudanese refugee chosen as US flag bearer for opening ceremonies. And a scandal after BeijingTickets.com (now shut-down) fails to deliver tickets that they sold: BeijingTicketScam.com
posted by allkindsoftime (32 comments total)

Moriarty Leyendecker Erben is a no-nonsense law firm that prides itself on protecting people who have been cheated.

Five ring ambulance chasers?
posted by netbros at 5:56 AM on August 8, 2008

That google page is really depressing. As if the Olympics weren't already Disneyfied, now they have to summarize the entire thing using Number of Medals Won. And in absolute numbers rather than % of pop or % of GDP or some other at least semi-meaningful metric!
posted by DU at 6:01 AM on August 8, 2008

Yeah, forget google for this type of thing.

I'm watching the ceremony live (yay, benefits of living near canada). That thing with the printing press was awesome.
posted by Tlogmer at 6:15 AM on August 8, 2008

... Google excites me more than the Olympics ever will. The stadiums on satellite view! With videos!

I really don't spend enough of my life on Google Maps. Must take corrective action immediately.
posted by fatehunter at 6:22 AM on August 8, 2008

The BBC's commentary of the ceremony is unbelievably moronic... still, hopefully, with the magic of the internet I'll be able to watch it again sometime without it
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:24 AM on August 8, 2008

As if the Olympics weren't already Disneyfied, now they have to summarize the entire thing using Number of Medals Won.

The US media, at least, has been doing it this way as long as I can remember.
posted by dhartung at 6:36 AM on August 8, 2008

Right, but I guess I assumed Google, with it's history of massive data crunching and great presentations, would do better than that.
posted by DU at 6:41 AM on August 8, 2008

As if the Olympics weren't already Disneyfied, now they have to summarize the entire thing using Number of Medals Won. And in absolute numbers rather than % of pop or % of GDP or some other at least semi-meaningful metric!

When I lived in NZ as a kid, I had the impression the country was top in every Olympics!

Its overall medal rating was always calculated by some "semi-meaningful metric" which worked out NZ's "real" medal position based on % pop, % literacy, % body fat quotient and % people who thought Australians sounded funny or something....

(It was very odd to discover this was a strictly local perception when I moved!)
posted by Jody Tresidder at 6:57 AM on August 8, 2008

The commentary by Australia's Seven Network has been horrible as usual. For the first few minutes one of their production staff left their mike open, occasionally talking over the broadcast. At one stage they managed to get in some cross promotion, remarking on how the judges on their dancing show would mark it. I really wonder why they feel they have to comment on it at all, when we're all seeing the same thing anyway.
posted by CaveFrog at 6:57 AM on August 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter: I really wonder why they feel they have to comment on it at all
posted by DU at 7:03 AM on August 8, 2008 [4 favorites]

they have to summarize the entire thing using Number of Medals Won. And in absolute numbers rather than % of pop or % of GDP or some other at least semi-meaningful metric!

From where I sit (the cheap seats), the Olympics are largely about rich countries showing how many medals they can buy win by throwing euros/dollars/etc at athletes, trainers, etc. Plus the token small-country-does-good just for color and feel good 'aww see, anybody can win' interludes.
posted by signal at 7:10 AM on August 8, 2008

From the 'Former Sudanese refugee' link: 'His selection as flagbearer has been widely wrapped in political terms. In the days before Lomong's selection, 2006 speed skating gold medalist Joey Cheek had been denied a Visa to enter China for the Games, an action surely linked to Cheek's support of the humanitarian group Save Darfur (China supports the Sudanese government). The United States Olympic Committee subsequently turned its back on Cheek, calling him a "private citizen." '

Good on the U.S. team captains. The U.S. Olympic Committee are the asshats here.
posted by ardgedee at 7:11 AM on August 8, 2008

President Bush spent the two days before the Olympics denouncing North Korean Communism, praising the (ham-handed) political freedom of Thailand, and reminding the world of political oppression in Burma. All of this seems to be calculated to piss off the Chinese. I can't think of anything else he did during his presidency that I appreciated so much.
posted by shii at 7:17 AM on August 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

Eh, fuck the Olympics.

Deputy Undersecretary to the President of the IOC: President Frenchyface! Some retarded kids are holding a competition. And they're calling it the Special Olympics!

Pres. Funnyforeignname: What? Don't they know that the terms 'Olympic', 'Olympics', 'Olympian', 'Olympus', and 'torch' are all registered trademarks of the Olympics, meaning us? We must put a stop to this!

Pres. Soandso: Hey, you! Yes, you, the retarded kids running really fast and lifting heavy weights! I demand that you stop using the word 'Olympics' and any of its derivations and other forms!

RK: But we was just having fun and believing in ourselves!

President Stuffypants: Nonsense! It's our word and you can't have it!

RK: But we promise we'll give it back!

Pres. YOUcomeupwithsomethingclever: No way! You'll tard it all up!

And so on. What a bunch of meanies.
posted by Eideteker at 7:21 AM on August 8, 2008

And don't forget the Olympic "How DARE you have five rings in your logo!!" stance.

Game Company: We have made a game called Legends of the 5 Rings. It's based on samurai!

Olympic Committee: ZOMG! People may confuse your circle of five interlocking rings with the rainbow colors of our chain of five interlocking rings!

Game Company: Sob.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:28 AM on August 8, 2008

Beijing air pollution index
posted by never used baby shoes at 7:36 AM on August 8, 2008

Eideteker, what are you referring to? Googling around I don't see any indication that the Special Olympics has had trouble using the name.
posted by Perplexity at 8:17 AM on August 8, 2008

Oh man, IOC cover-up!

Maybe it was the Paralympics.
posted by Eideteker at 8:21 AM on August 8, 2008

The man believed to be the brains behind Xclusive Leisure & Hospitality, a key player in the alleged Olympics ticketing scam, has been identified as 49-year-old Englishman Terance Shepherd.

His life partner and fellow Canadian expatriate, Phillip, was last seen chattering the top half of his skull near Sussex.
posted by cortex at 8:34 AM on August 8, 2008

There's always the too-little-too-late thing, most spectacularly with this administration, but I also appreciate how much Bush has been poking the Chinese government in the eyes the last few days.
posted by chimaera at 8:37 AM on August 8, 2008

The Opening Ceremony was stunning; although it did take a few ages for Australia to finally arrive. It was interesting hearing all the country names in French, English, and then Mandarin.
posted by oxford blue at 9:30 AM on August 8, 2008

As if the Olympics weren't already Disneyfied, now they have to summarize the entire thing using Number of Medals Won. And in absolute numbers rather than % of pop or % of GDP or some other at least semi-meaningful metric!

I approve of the latter part at least, it stops Australia from winning something else.
posted by vbfg at 10:31 AM on August 8, 2008

And they're calling it the Special Olympics!

Eideteker, what are you referring to? Googling around I don't see any indication that the Special Olympics has had trouble using the name.

In 1968 Chicago P.E. teacher Anne McGlone Burke, founder of the Special Olympics, backed by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, received permission from the IOC. to use the term "Olympics" for the organization. It is the only sports organization authorized by the IOC. to use the name Olympics in its title.

The Paralympic Games , founded in 1989, are always after the official Olympics.

"The Paralympic Games are the second largest sporting event in the world. Nearly four thousand athletes participated at the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games. Considering the staff, volunteers, accommodation, transportation and overall scheduling that would be need to host such an event, it would be nearly impossible for one city to host both the Olympic and Paralympic Games simultaneously. Under the agreement between the IOC and IPC, it was determined that the Paralympic Games will always take place following the Olympic Games in the same host city."

posted by ericb at 12:41 PM on August 8, 2008

From where I sit (the cheap seats), the Olympics are largely about rich countries showing how many medals they can buy win by throwing euros/dollars/etc at athletes, trainers, etc. Plus the token small-country-does-good just for color and feel good 'aww see, anybody can win' interludes.

Huh. From where I sit (the swimming seats), the Olympics are largely about a bunch of people who work their asses off getting to reach the pinnacle of their sport and celebrate. I mean, sure, you are more likely to get the chance to be an athlete if you are from a rich country, and sure, some sports have other pinnacles, but it does make me a little sad to see the dismissal the Olympics get.
posted by dame at 12:57 PM on August 8, 2008

What would it look like if medals were measured in terms of population?
posted by ericb at 1:13 PM on August 8, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you're curious about how much fluff there is in the NBC coverage, you can check here.
posted by Quonab at 1:39 PM on August 8, 2008

That was nice ericb - who knew that the Bahamians were such strong athletes? :)
posted by dabitch at 2:17 PM on August 8, 2008

“This is the Olympics the West Wanted”–Dave Zirin on US Corporations Entering China, Athletes Speaking Out and the Games from ’68 to Today
posted by homunculus at 3:02 PM on August 8, 2008

Protests & Politics Dominate Olympic Coverage
posted by homunculus at 3:35 PM on August 8, 2008

In light of all this violence and dissent, humanity doesn't deserve the Olympics. I wish the gods would take back the torch.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:28 PM on August 8, 2008

You would think that the opening ceremonies would be the period in which they would not break for a commercial every five minutes, particularly since all those commercials are going to be shown a gazillion times in the next two weeks, and so they shouldn't be in such a hurry for us to get sick of them. NBC could have found a limited-commercial sponsor for this rather than just letting there be huge gaps during cool parts of the ceremonies. The voice-overs make it far worse, particularly considering that it interrupts the musical and reflective aspects of watching it unfold. It's basically turned out to be a form of high-tech gloating, in which correspondents tell us what amazing stuff we're missing out on because they're the ones covering it.
posted by troybob at 7:49 AM on August 9, 2008

It wouldn't be a particularly level playing field until the wealth of the country (relating to the facilities and training opportunities available) are taken into account.

I suspect, without actually doing anything so pedestrian and common as looking at the numbers, that by this standard, Jamaica wins handily. And I think I'm okay with that.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:49 PM on August 24, 2008