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Nachimir

The London 2012 Summer Olympics that are in London with Sponsors and will feature Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals

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Quite. The best thing about that is that Stewart Lee absolutely does not do Twitter :)

Edit: There's a bunch of stuff I hadn't heard about in this article:

Alex Kelham, a brand protection lawyer at Locog (London Organising Committee Olympic Games) says “The main risk is that McDonald’s [an official sponsor] was once a sole trader . . . you don’t want one of these [small] businesses to grow and become a major competitor in the marketplace, which certainly would strongly undermine the rights of our sponsors”.

¬¬

We put in £9.3 billion – that was the total public sector spending on the Olympics. That came from central Government, £6.2 billion, the National Lottery, £2.2 billion, and London (GLA and LDA), £0.9 billion.

So we are paying around 90% of the cost, for the privilege of seeing British companies and knitting grandmothers bullied by Locog.

I'd like to reiterate: Fuck the Olympics, the IOC, and LOCOG right in their stupid gobs.

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It became a boondoggle and a disaster for me once I heard that they were putting batteries of SAM missiles on tower blocks to shoot down any potential terrorist airliners. What a ridiculous paranoid security state we now live in.

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These polar bears ain't afraid of Locog:

xlarge-IMG_3438.jpg

Okay, they aren't exactly in London.

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Jesus. Most of the articles linked to here have nothing to do with the Olympics, but are either a) fabrication made up to sell newspapers (and YES, just like with the English football team, the newspapers like to complain -- ESPECIALLY about the Olympics) or B) Actions made by bodies not connected with the Olympics (I.e. Local councils).

Let's not forgot the contradictory stances: Most people are concerned about the spending on the Olympics, but then, without skipping a breath, will complain about making concessions for sponsors who help subsidise costs. In other words, the Olympics are damned if the do, and damned if they don't. You don't get £1.1 billion for nothing. The sponsors are giving their money so they can trade on the Olympic brand. How the fuck anyone can take the side of a company trying to increase their profits, by pretending to be part of the Olympics without actually helping to pay for them, is beyond me. Those companies are the evil ones.

British people like to complain. I'm glad Stewart Lee did a great job lampooning this attitude.

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The Grindr (anonymous, usually m/m hookup) iThing app crashed in London within hours of the athletes arriving. So many horny athletes.

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Those Opening Ceremony things are on right now for people who didn't stream them... and I've already gotten completely grossed out by Lauer and Vieira commenting on everything as well as the commercial breaks. Every time I feel awe (honest!), something pipes up and says, "HERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S SYMBOLIC BUT IT SYMBOLIZES THIS YOURE TOO DUMB TO FIGURE IT OUT."

The ceremony itself is incredible, the other stuff is just awful trash.

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Those Opening Ceremony things are on right now for people who didn't stream them... and I've already gotten completely grossed out by Lauer and Vieira commenting on everything as well as the commercial breaks. Every time I feel awe (honest!), something pipes up and says, "HERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S SYMBOLIC BUT IT SYMBOLIZES THIS YOURE TOO DUMB TO FIGURE IT OUT."

The ceremony itself is incredible, the other stuff is just awful trash.

Bob Costas is mentioning insulting facts about every country that marches by. It's amazing.

"Bangledesh has the largest population... of all the countries which have never won a medal."

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that was alright, decended into shit v. rapidly though.

alcohol required.

1343429914115.gif

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Despite my worries about national embarrasment going into it, that was actually pretty damn good. It even pissed off a Conservative MP so it must be good.

But despair not all those who like me wouldn't have been happy if there wasn't something to moan about, woke up this morning to find out NBC had cut what was easily the most moving moment from its broadcast. Which is remarkable because until then I thought for sure Mitt Romney was a shoe in for the Gold medal in pissing off Britain, this however leaves him trailing in the wake of their awesome douchbaggery.

Honestly normally I'm a haggard and cynical son of a bitch with a heart of pure stone, but it turns out throw a beautiful rendition of a Abide by Me* at me and I started welling up.

*It's a traditional hymn in the UK notable in particular for being sung by mining communities in memorial of dead comrades, and before the kick off's of the cup finals of our 2 big rugby and football tournaments to remember the dead.

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I enjoyed it, and somehow, the (birthday) party I was at had a stream with almost no commentary at all to ruin it. It was a spectacular up yours to the current government.

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You are wrong. It started slowly and only got better.

Yeah, probably. I thought the start was one of the better bits. It was just the speeches that I didn't like thinking about it. Though Mccartney bashing out a couple of songs was a ordinary way to end it, considering the rest.

EAIdA.jpg

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That's a British thing, Rodi. Jerusalem has long since existed as a "concept" to Britain, rather than a place - it comes from the belief that certain sects of Christianity (notably the Church of England) took up that Jesus would return to create a new Jerusalem, and sprang forth into the idea of Jerusalem actually just meaning a place of peace and love. One of the most famous and best loved hymns in the country is actually just a sung version of a poem by William Blake that includes the lines:

"I will not cease from mental fight,

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,

Till we have built Jerusalem,

In England's green and pleasant land."

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Rodi! You've never read the words for Jerusalem! They're from Blake's preface to a book about Milton.

And did those feet in ancient time.

Walk upon Englands mountains green:

And was the holy Lamb of God,

On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

And was Jerusalem builded here,

Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;

Bring me my Arrows of desire:

Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!

Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,

Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:

Till we have built Jerusalem,

In Englands green & pleasant Land

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Well, you know how we Dutchmen are such godless heathens, so that should be no surprise. A very nice poem! Though when I think of Jerusalem, I think of a desert shithole filled with loonies who want to kill each other.

That whole olympic statement of intent makes it all the more creepy, when you know the SWAT zeppelins are looming to crack down on some poor sucker with a pub to protect the commercial rights of MacDonalds.

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I like it because it uses the word 'revolution' 5 times, then directly addresses the idea of a shining tomorrow, then talks about social progress through industrial progress.

I mean shit Boyle, dogg, you've got to have some subtlety about it.

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Seems like NBC still didn't understand what was going on though, dogg.

I don't know who that is.

Edit > Oh the television people mentioned earlier. Did they have separate commentators? If there's not a language barrier, why not just broadcast the bbc feed? Or not talk over it at all more to the point.

Breaking News: Michael Phelps worst swimmer ever

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I don't know who that is.

Edit > Oh the television people mentioned earlier. Did they have separate commentators? If there's not a language barrier, why not just broadcast the bbc feed? Or not talk over it at all more to the point.

Breaking News: Michael Phelps worst swimmer ever

Because British English is nothing compared to the all-powerful American English. DUH.

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