Olympics 2010 - Feb. 12 to 28 Official Olympics thread, everything Olympics goes here

[mcminsen]

A fuzzy pic but it's the best I could do as I was trying to take this pic on the sly. I was too shy to ask these guys to pose. I believe they are Russian sailors from the Russian Tall Ship that is moored on the North Shore near Lonsdale Quay. I hear there are public tours. The Russians are a big presence here, which is not surprising since the next Winter Olympics are in Sochi, Russia.

Also seen a lot around the same time and area downtown were a lot of what looked like Albertans in their big white Stetsons. Big and/or goofy headgear is everywhere.


Feb.17 '10 my pic

[Patty Smyth]

Sailors!!! My kind of people. Follow them to the partaaaaay!

[mcminsen]

Okay, this was the view of the Olympic Cauldron back on Saturday before they realized that maybe they should make it a bit easier for the teeming crowds to just get a half decent pic.


Feb.13 '10 my pic

[mcminsen]

...and then IF you could worm your way to the front of the crowd and find a gap in the green and blue netting this is what you saw. Notice the V.I.P.s and the accredited ones who get to go up close while the public is kept out.


Feb.13 '10 my pic

[mcminsen]

This was yesterday (Wednesday Feb. 17). They've cleared all the netting off the fence and pushed the public area right up to about halfway up to the cauldron from where we were before. If you see the person on the right in the white coat, that's about where the fence was before.

Also notice the viewing deck that has been opened up on the roof on the left. There was a line up to get up there and they were closing it just as I tried to go up (about 4:45 PM) but at least there is a chance of getting a good unobstructed shot now. Oh, and they narrowed the road by one lane and gave it over to the masses. I heard something in the news about an estimated 150,000 people had gone through the cauldron viewing area back on Sunday.


Feb.17 '10 my pic

[mcminsen]

The eager picture takers now have a special slot cut in the fence in which to position their cameras to get the shot of the V.I.P.s lounging around up close to their flame (sarcasm intended).


Feb.17 '10 my pic

[Patty Smyth]

Is this the first Olympics where the torch was not in the stadium? I still don't get why the public are not allowed to go up to it and get their pics taken. Do they really have so little trust in people?

[mcminsen]

Welcome, but don't try to look at the view.

This is over on the other side of the new Convention Centre near the Pan Pacific Hotel. This is usually where you see tourists stopped in their tracks by the view and then all the picture taking happens. But why not put up a really high fence with nice green and blue netting instead?

Okay, I'm done with my rant. I'll try to go elsewhere today.

BTW, I haven't heard of any problems down at the new Convention Centre, which the International Broadcast Centre. But of course, if it's a big success, you probably have not heard too much about it.


Feb.17 '10 my pic

[mcminsen]

Is this the first Olympics where the torch was not in the stadium? I still don't get why the public are not allowed to go up to it and get their pics taken. Do they really have so little trust in people?

The now infamous malfunctioning cauldron held the flame initially (under the roof!) inside BC Place Stadium. Then, you may recall, Wayne Gretzky took a ride through the streets with his torch to light the outside cauldron, which is a duplicate of the inside one. It's all been a bit awkward but you can't have a huge cauldron going full blast under a closed roof for more than a while. It'll be interesting to see how they work it during the closing ceremonies.

There are real security concerns. There are groups of people in Vancouver that would like nothing better than to throw paint bombs or worse at the cauldron. But failing to provide a user friendly place to at least get a pic of yourselves in front of the cauldron was just plain dumb.

So far, it's all been a big mix of good and bad and wonderful and appalling.

[Patty Smyth]

Who are these groups in Vancouver that are so angry? Are they locals or are they from outside?

[mcminsen]

Several of the trouble makers that were arrested and charged with the violence that started at the Bay are from the U.S. They're in big trouble now. They were helping out the locals.

There's a cabal of anarchists here that just attach themselves to any angry protest to see if they can get a riot started. And the police have been known to not handle that kind of thing very well. For example, the Stanley Cup riot about twenty years ago.

We have a long history of protests and clashes with the police. I'm gonna go get a pic of a huge new work of art that was recently unveiled, depicting the Gastown Riots. BRB

[Patty Smyth]

Sounds like when we had a police shooting here and groups came from all over the city to riot in Montreal North and we got the bad rep.

[mcminsen]

This is a pic I took of the new work of art by Stan Douglas in the atrium of the new Woodward's complex in the downtown East Side of Vancouver. It depicts a riot started in Gastown by hippies protesting their mistreatment by the police. I think this happened about 1969 or so.

Each time I go over there to stack some coupons at the new London Drugs I look up at this and can't help but wonder how the Vancouver Police feel about being depicted this way in an enduring work of art that illustrates a bit of our long and difficult history of confrontation with authority.

We may be getting off topic by now, but suffice to say that it's all a bit inexplicable (the violent protests) to me so I'm not sure how much more light I can shed on it.


Dec.'09 my pic

[Patty Smyth]

Well all I can say is congrats to Vancouver for coming in on budget and having completed construction on all the venues.

Remember I come from a place where it took 30 years to pay off that montrosity and it wasn't even finished in time for the games because of the corruption in the construction business. So Vancouver hats off!

[dealsniffer]

wow Mcminsen some great pictures! Thanks for all the pictures you are sharing! I almost feel like I am getting to see behind the scenes!