Olympic Torch Experience

[mortontoemike]

Ali and I spent the weekend in Nanoose where on Saturday we noticed that there was a free pancake breakfast at the local school. Since we didn't yet have a stove we decided that was a good way to get a hot breakfast and turned up at 8am for the pancake and sausage breakfast (thanks Lions)

There were about 60 people there waiting for the arrival of the "Olympic Torch" so we ate our breaky and joined the throng. The local seniors class was working out to the oldies as entertainment - we made a note of when they met for future reference!:D The local MP was droning on about something or other.

At about 8:30 am about a dozen police cars and motorcycles went by waving people to the side of the road so as not to impede the progress of the torch runner I supposed.

There was a guy in our midst dressed in a white condom outfit with 2010 on it who looked like he was primed for the next stage.

A small bus with Olympic logo stopped and a uniformed guy got off holding an unlit torch. He milled about in the crowd looking expectant.

Several more buses with Olympic logos passed by.

Two enormous Coca-Cola trucks with music blaring and smiling twenty-somethings dancing on it drove by. (see http://media.metronews.topscms.com/imag ... f7bab.jpeg). They were passing out samples of the sugary swill.

A gigantic RBC truck followed (they weren't throwing bags of money though unfortunately).

Some more Olympic buses, maybe 2 or 3.

Another half dozen police vehicles.

Finally an important looking bus stopped about a half block away. The expectant guy with the torch ran to it and they ignited his torch with something that looked like a BIC lighter and he ran to the condom guy who took it and held it above his head. The crowd cheered and he set off surrounded by 4 secret service types with ear phones glaring at he crowd.

Apparently he ran about 500 meters and they all got on the bus for Parksville.

In total there were about 30 cars and buses in the procession.

The carbon footprint must be staggering.

[nanmoo]

You should have seen it in Victoria... especially with the PM present. I could see tax dollars withering away faster than the wind at Gordons as MF4's sprinter rolls up.

A gigantic RBC truck followed (they weren't throwing bags of money though unfortunately)

LOL!

[KUS]

well, at least I didn't vote for the F&^% who started it all for the almighty dollar and "all of our benefits". Like any of us can afford to even attend Whistler....with or without Olympics Too busy waiting in the health care lineup....Shame....

Carbon Footprint and tax dollars?? Wait til the full reaction of the real estate market....you think houses are expensive now

[more force 4]

Nanmoo, you will pay for that remark!

MTM, sounds underwhelming. I used to be so stoked about the Olympics as a kid 40 years ago, it went off the rails somewhere. I think when the TV rights went over $50 mil or so.

Free Coke, wow, you gotta love that thought!

Hey Kus, you know it was the NDP under Glen Clarke started the Olympic bandwagon? That came up in the CBC coverage of the torch foofara last week.

[nanmoo]

Hey Kus, you know it was the NDP under Glen Clarke started the Olympic bandwagon? That came up in the CBC coverage of the torch foofara last week.

Shhhhhhhhhhh, but he would have never championed it to fruition!.... right?

[Joostio]

I got to see the torch circus yesterday on my way to CB. yep, lots of dollars spent on the show. the torch was extinguished where I was, however there was a flame in some sort of lantern looking thing, I suspect that is where they keep the flame alive.

Mike: you move to the island already?

[mortontoemike]

Mike: you move to the island already?

We are establishing a presence in Nanoose.

[Joostio]

just peeing on firehydrants for now, I get it.

[KUS]

Hey Kus, you know it was the NDP under Glen Clarke started the Olympic bandwagon? That came up in the CBC coverage of the torch foofara last week.

well, they all have their cabins at Whistler, so why not? Nah, just another thing on his conscience, there's a long list, the Olympics is just the most expensive but not necessarily the most outrageous.

Lawnboy: To get to your question about being allowed to like the Olympics, well, my mom was an Olympian 3x. She missed out on the advertising and sponsorships by a generation, too bad then we wouldn't have had to turn over every buck we had twice in our hand before spending it but that's another story. Oh, and JL reminded me re: hockey, in those days no Pros were allowed...NONE. Being in the midst of Olympic athletes all my childhood I can tell you things have changed, the hoopla is greater than the actual feats of those who have worked so hard to get there, the drugs are just better now, not the people and when one considers the overall state of the world the Olympics are just another example of extravagance, local exploitation and political/Olympic Committee backslapping/stabbing we need to curb in a big way.....nobody actually focuses any attention on the feats of the participants it seems....


All is about scandal, rip offs, drugs, he said she said, stuff like golf is being added (in summergames) but women's ski jumping is out...wonder if they will add women's golf? What's wrong with getting one of the Greek downhill racers to bring the frikkin' thing along in his luggage or sending a local high school athlete of the year to Greece to pick up the torch with a fully decked out mountie in tow....what's wrong with just having the kid show up at Whistler in a small ceremony to light the thing...... or get out a Bic lighter .....just not grand enough And that ongoing thing with the Cowichan Sweaters.....why does everything have to have a First Nations Angle? But let's not go there..... Those lame Asian cartoon character mascots? Wow. Think about all those people traveling by air and car, the construction, the amazing costs......we could feed all of the most poor for a decade I bet by just skipping one round of Olympic Games. They did for the WWII, why not the global recession?

Nope, there's nothing to be excited about.....at least not much that is constructive and positive. I hope they at least can let the participants do their thing without getting too much in the way

[voodmon]

Markus, you hit the nail on the head, the costs of these games are sure to exceed the profits or benefits to BC, i have no idea how much the feds are kicking in or their costs for rcmp helicopters, warships on standby and oh and why was it neccesary to have a 3 plane F16? F18? flyover for the mile one ceremony, so much media on the terrorist threat etc, these are supposed to be games for gods sake, olympic games, where a person basically sees if he or she can throw a spear further than another person, i believe this is where this all started, it has become as you say..who can get the best physically enhancing drugs without getting caught, a podiem for political motives, geez i loved those jamaican bobsled guys and basically we canadians are paying the bill through our taxes to have those that run the show in BC and canada to smooze and booze for monetary reasons. In our best benefit? I doub't it. In theirs? YOU BET. It is a great thing to watch atheletes compete, but the olympics have become a pariaha, i ran a 4.15 mile in high school, my grandfather on my mothers side swam the english channel, my brother has the medal he got for that, hence my love for the water etc, as to the stupid people throwing marbles, that was uncalled for. Hopefully these "olympics" will go off without any hitches although with the world wide media (owned by 6 people) focused on these so called "games" I think we can expect some sort of orchestrated something to happen to lead into the next part of their plan, oh yes! all this hype is leading to something, take my word for it, i have been 100% all along, just wait and you will see. :(the death counts are starting to come in now from the hini vaccine..sorry folks, and they are edited. told ya so !