I missed the Winter Olympics

I noticed something yesterday evening: it was the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and I missed it. I'm not talking about the closing ceremony. I mean the whole thing: openings, closing, everything in-between, except I think one type when my wife turned the tellie on and it was like skiing or something. I was completely oblivious to it. I generally am oblivious to Olympics. But still, these are the winter games, my favourite of the two. And I love Italy (although not Milan, not at all, been there once, didn't like it one bit, but that is for another post). So why? I'm not sure. But whatever the reason, I feel like I missed out. Did I?

Le Stade olympique

Tiens, il m'est venu à l'esprit que depuis que le blogue existe, je n'ai jamais publié une photo du Stade olympique de Montréal. Peut-être à cause de son héritage controversé et, disons-le, amer. Petit loup était impressionné d'être sur un site olympique et m'a posé pleins de questions sur les Jeux de 1976. Il a même dit qu'il espère que l'on aura d'autres Jeux à Montréal. Il est peut-être bien le seul Québécois à l'espérer... Dans tous les cas, voici une photo du Stade, avant qu'il ne s'écroule. Et je n'ai aucune idée du gars sur la photo. Ce n'est vraiment pas facile de prendre des clichés de lieux publics.

Olympic Games: the BBC Way

Okay, so it is the Olympic Games. I had almost forgotten. Yesterday, we watched a few moments of the opening ceremony, which I found (little I saw of it anyway) excruciatingly dull. I'm not sure I will watch any of it. That said, there is one thing I always love of the Olympics: the BBC trailer for it. Not their coverage of the event, just the promo trailer. It's always so inventive. And this year, they didn't go half way. Seriously, after watching it, I suspect the whole thing will feel like an anticlimax. Anyway, here it is. I can't get tired of it.

Taekwondo

My wife has been watching the Olympics. She always does for some reason, even if she never follows any sport any normal time of year. Nevertheless, she follows the football's World Cup and Euro Cup, tennis at Wimbledon and... the Olympics. I don't, except distractly, sometimes, the winter ones, if a Quebecker is playing. But anyway, so to my and my wife's surprise, she spent a lot of time enjoying taekwondo. I know nothing about this martial art, except that it's Korean. I do remember, when I was doing Krav Maga (I need to get back to it by the way) that some of my fellow students had done taekwondo in the past. They had stopped for the same reason: a martial is very nice as a competition sport, but it's at best limited as a self-defence method. Still, it's weird to see my very sweet wife enjoying a violent sport.

Changing nationality for the Winter Olympics

Well, it's the Winter Olympics and I have barely noticed. We did not even watch the opening ceremony. I will probably not blog about it much, if at all. That said, my wife said something about it today that deserves to be a great unknown line. Here is the conversation we had:

Her: "You know, for the Winter Olympics I'm Canadian."
Me: "No, you're not! "
Her: "Well my son is so that should count right?"

I don't think it should, just so she can boast that "her" country won a lot of medals. A lot more than Britain generally does for the Winter Olympics anyway. But nice try all the same.

Anecdote olympique haïtienne

J'ai une tante (par alliance) qui est haïtienne. Ce qui fait que j'ai un certain attachement pour ce pays même si je ne l'ai jamais vu. Ça veut dire aussi que je m'intéresse à ce qui s'y passe et que parfois, j'apprends des nouvelles d'Haïti. Or donc, la délégation haïtienne pour les Jeux Olympiques de Rio est arrivée troisième... pour sa tenue vestimentaire selon Yahoo Style. On va s'entendre, ce n'est pas comme gagner une médaille, mais c'est quand même cool. Et dire que j'ai manqué la plupart de la cérémonie d'ouverture par désintérêt pour les Olympiques. Je m'ennuie facilement des Olympiques. Dommage que j'aie manqué leur entrée. Ils ne sont que dix athlètes, mais au moins ils ont de la gueule.

Question existentielle (218)

Il y a les Olympiques à la BBC, on montrait du curling il y a quelques instants. Je trouve le curling d'un ennui mortel, je suis presque fasciné par sa platitude. Mais j'ai soudainement eu une question existentielle en tête, celle-ci:

-Le curling, est-ce que c'est une version sur glace de la pétanque?

Question existentielle (143)

Bon, les Jeux olympiques sont commencés depuis hier. Je me pose donc cette question existentielle:

-Quels sont vos souvenirs des Jeux Olympiques?

A Greek feeling

I don't know if it's the fact that we ate in a Greek restaurant last weekend (it was average), my wife and I, or because some of the characters of season 2 of The Wire are Greeks (and well, there is also Pelecanos), or maybe it is because there are the winter Olympic Games right now, but I have been in a Greek mood these days. We were talking about it in the restaurant last time, and we thought it would be nice to go to Greece together one day. We have a special connection with Greece, so it would be a natural holiday destination. I am in the mood for spanakopita, authentic feta, ouzo, Mediterranean climate and some serious rediscovery of Greek myths, history and culture. This state of mind might disappear before Saint-Patrick's Day. It better be, because where I am, it looks like everything but Mediterranean climate.

On the left, you can see a picture taken in the Butchart Gardens on our last trip to Vancouver. Actually, to be more precise, the gardens are in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, not the city, which is on the mainland. Still with me? It is a statue of Hermes, and yes, it is also a cheap excuse to put here a picture from our latest holidays. Since I don't have any authentic Greek sculpture, this one will do just as well.

Winter Olympics and Vancouver

I might as well blog about it now as it is coming. There will soon be the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver (or Vancuuuuuuuuver as it seems to be often pronounced). I am not that much into the Olympics, but my wife went to Athens in 2004 ans we visited Vancouver last Summer, when the city was getting prepared for the games and we loved the place quite a lot. So we might follow the games a little bit this year.

Apart from the mascots that were omnipresent in souvenir shops (quite nice, I might add) and the countdown clock pictured right, the city seemed pretty indifferent to all the fuss of the Olympics. I can't blame them really: it's not like the city has nothing else to offer to people. And Olympic Games often come with their truck loads of problems, Montrealers know a thing or two about it. Still, the clock was kind of cool.

What I like most of the Olympics is actually the animation made by the BBC to advertise them. Here is the 2010 one, showing much more snow that there is in British Columbia. Because it is maybe the least snowy province of Canada, especially in Vancouver (which, from what I read, has caused some concerns).

Premier jour des Jeux olympiques

Je souligne ça aujourd'hui, parce que je n'ai pas d'idée pour bloguer. Je viens de me rendre compte que la cérémonie d'ouverture est présentement commencée et on peut la voir sur la BBC au moment où j'écris ces lignes. Cela dit, je ne la regarderai pas, j'ai autre chose à faire. Quand on en a vu une, on les a toutes vues de toute manière, et les cérémonies d'ouverture finissent par m'ennuyer assez vite. J'ai regardé celle d'Athène, mais c'est parce que ma future femme y était (comme spectatrice bien sûr).

The BBC Olympics

I found this on the blog of Mali Ilse Paquin, the BBC promo of the 2008 Olympics. One has to admit, when they promote something, the guys at the BBC are pretty inventive:



I always loved the Legend of the Monkey (or whatever the name of the story), so I am particularly found of that one. I really enjoy watching this. The promo for the 2004 Olympic Games was pretty good too: