MetaFilter posts tagged with london2012

What do a cake, a runner, a rainbow and a kalashnikov have in common

litleozy — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 03:47:35 -0800

10 Contested African Images of 2012

The Physics of physicality

the man of twists and turns — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:07:59 -0800

WIRED has been running a fascinating series: Olympic Physics: Can Runners Benefit From Drafting?, Scoring the Decathlon, New [Swimming] Platform Is No Chip Off The Old Block Air Density And Bob Beamon's Crazy-Awesome Long Jump, How The Hammer Throw Is Like A Particle Accelerator and is also Exciting and Artisitc The Social Psychology of Relay Racing

Both the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay require speed, endurance and great depth of talent on the team. But the relays also are a fascinating laboratory for social science, bringing to two of the field’s most interesting observations to the fore: the Köhler effect, and the social-loafing effect.

Modern penthathlon gets 'more modern' with frikkin' lasers. With the end of the Games, The US Team won 46 gold medals,' the most in a non-boycotted game since 1904.' With so many golds, What if US female Olympians were their own country? There are also 30 other questions remaining.There is: The Olympics most painful moments, in GIFs(Mashable, slideshow). And for the distance, a detailed analysis of the Women's Marathon. And a look at The Ancient Roots of Iran's Wrestling and Weightlifting Olympic Dominance. Usian Bolt adds to his legend with straight 100m and 200m wins. Finally, an Olympics Cartoon review(slideshow) The Olympics wasn't always about sport, in fact, 'In the modern Olympics’ early days, painters, sculptors, writers and musicians battled for gold, silver and bronze'

"Our control is only to play as good as we can."

disillusioned — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:12:57 -0800

The Olympics are never without controversy and 2012 is no different. South Korea's Shin A Lam was held in the throes of perhaps the longest second ever of épée sudden death, as the clock was improperly reset with one full second remaining allowing her opponent to register a hit and knock her out of gold medal contention. Now the Badminton World Federation has accused four pairs of Olympic doubles players with "not using one's best efforts to win a match": essentially throwing their games to secure a better draw. China's Yu Yang said the Chinese decided to preserve energy ahead of the knockout stages: "Actually these opponents really were strong. This is the first time we've played them and tomorrow it's the knockout rounds, so we've already qualified and we wanted to have more energy for the knockout rounds." That may not be enough as China's Olypmic sports delegation has begun an investigation after match referee Thorsten Berg came on court to warn the players, who appeared to make deliberate errors and later disqualified them, though that disqualification was rescinded.

Isles of Wonder

mippy — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 09:27:14 -0800

"Danny created a room where no one was afraid to speak, no one had to stick to their own specialism, no one was afraid of sounding stupid or talking out of turn. He restored us to the people we were before we made career choices – to when we were just wondering." Frank Cottrell Boyce writes about writing the London 2012 opening ceremony. (It's not the first time he's worked with Danny Boyle - they previously collaborated on the lovely children's film Millions.)

(Para|O)lympian

persona — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:08:48 -0800

South Africa has named Oscar Pistorius and his running blades (Previously Previouslier Previousliest) to their 2012 Olympic track and field team in the 400 and 4x400 relay. He needed to run a 45.30 or better twice this year to qualify on his own merits, but he has done this only once this year (and at least once last year). The New York Times Magazine profiled him earlier this year. However, he will not be the first competitor to be named to both the olympics and paralympics in the same year:

Natalie Du Toit (swimming)
Brian McKeever (Cross-Country skiing, withdrawn due to coach's decision)
Jason Smyth? (track and field) He has to beat a 10.18 qualifying time at the Irish Championships in the 100 meters. His seasonal best is a 10.24; a 10.17 recorded earlier this year was disallowed due to favorable wind conditions.

Photo Finish

troika — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 08:42:25 -0800

At the USA Track & Field Olympic Trials last week in Eugene, OR, Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix tied for third in the Women's 100m. In an 11 second long race, how is a tie determined? Roger Jennings, photo finish evaluator, explains how it's done. USATF, up until last week, had no tie-breaker plans on the books. A run-off is scheduled for tonight.

This post could not handle a link from the Daily Mail

mippy — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:36:47 -0800

As a flag-waving Britain prepares for the Jubilee/Olympics (or in the words of the comedy Twenty Twelve, 'Jubilympics'), the nation seems divided between the wildly enthusiastic and those suffering from Patriotism Fatigue(link may be NSFW). James Ward (of Boring fame) does a round-up of spurious Jubilympic themed products, after consumption of which you may require a sick bag.

London2012 Paralympics Commercial

holdkris99 — Fri, 04 May 2012 08:57:04 -0800

A new commercial for the 2012 Paralympics, done in one continuous take without special effects, is "atmospheric, powerful and hugely inspirational, exploring one runner’s journey back to the track." (via)

World's largest McDonald's for 2012 Olympics

ichomp — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:20:10 -0800

McDonald's, a sponsor of the Olympics since 1968, will open a two-story cathedral-like restaurant that seats 1,500 customers, at London's Olympic Park. A group of British doctors say that the mega-McDonald’s sends the wrong message about obesity.

The Debut of 40,000 Young Filmmakers

EmpressCallipygos — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:37:43 -0800

It’s produced by the Tate Museums in London, animated by Aardman Studios, and stars the vocal talents of David Walliams, Rik Mayall, and Catherine Tate -- and features the creative control of thousands of British kids. Coming soon, it’s The Itch Of The Golden Nit. Created as part of London’s Cultural Olympiad, a four-year culture festival leading up to the 2012 Olympics, the film will be the culmination of the Tate Movie Project, a hands-on interactive program designed to teach children ages 5-13 about filmmaking and animation. Kids could contribute either by submitting drawings or story ideas to the project’s web site, or through visiting one of hundreds of drop-in workshops held throughout the UK; kids could also voting on each others’ ideas. Nearly 40,000 children collaborated on casting choices, character creation and art, plot elements, and even sound effects to create the story of a magic louse who lives in the heart of the sun until he is kidnapped by Evil Queen Stella – but then escapes through the help of an ordinary kid named Beanie and a superhero named Captain Iron Ears, as well as some pirates and talking planets. The Telegraph recently posted a making-of video on its web site, and the film premieres in Trafalgar Square on July 23.

The Future: Apparently It's Much More 80s Than You Anticipated

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:15:20 -0800

The British Olympic Committee unveiled the logo and branding for London 2012 today, at a cost of £400,000 (USD796,000). Reaction has been swift - a petition to change the logo or go back to the old one has already reached 10,000 signatures.