The Opening Ceremony: Let's Party!!

[AuntieDiane6]

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Nothing will beat the 1992 Barcelona games where the flaming arrow flew over the Olympic cauldron yet the thing still managed to get lit.  Second to that is the 1996 Atlanta games where that Olympic cauldron, when lit, looked like large McDonald's French Fries.

I agree with Barcelona, but my vote for second best has to be Lillehammer with the lighting done by the SKI JUMPER!! Of course, that was a winter games ... 

 

  

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   15 HOURS AGO,  KROMM SAID: 

You don't think there's more than a little hypocrisy in them showing that?  They not only have polluted their own country pretty badly in recent years, but also one could even argue that Oil is the backbone of their economy (albeit the industry being on hard times now), and Oil--their product--is one of the core causes of global warming.

So they are lecturing on something they're helping to happen.

CO2 emission per capita in metric tons. There's no hypocrisy.
 

Uh, yes, there is.  Brazil is paving and bulldozing the equivalent of 12 football fields a DAY of the irreplaceable Amazon.  In the past 50 years, Brazil has destroyed more than 230,000 MILES of the rainforest which is surprisingly fragile.  So while they're bulldozing and paving and pouring fertilizer on land not made for farming, they're using LED lightbulbs.  Sorry, that's no equivalency .... which the ceremony organizers probably realize.  

[Ohwell]

Here are all the uniforms:

http://www.bustle.com/articles/177075-all-the-rio-olympics-opening-ceremony-uniformsfrom-all-of-the-countries-in-case-you-missed-them

[mojoween]

In attempting to Google the Serbian flag bearer to see what all the fuss was about all I kept getting hits for was Novak Djokovic.  Is he even playing in this Games?

I finally found her name and googled that.  She IS hot.

[candall]

12 hours ago, selkie said:

At one point, Nauru made its money from phosphate mining. Since the mines closed, it's been the usual mix of selling intangibles to other countries (passports, taking money from Taiwan to recognize it as a country, etc.) and a close relationship with Australia where the Aussies have provided both direct aid as well as outsourcing some problems to the island- in the 21st century off and on, it's been a detention and processing center for immigrants/refugees trying to reach Australia by boat who are intercepted by the Australian coast guard.

The prison has been a decent source of local jobs- they apparently don't have a huge chunk of their national economy dependent on remittances from citizens working abroad in Australia or New Zealand like many other Pacific islands do.

 

11 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

Short answer: Australia's government pays them ridiculous amounts to run an illegal refugee processing centre there. (Australia's commentators were kind of hilarious when trying to skirt around the issue. "Well, we hear a lot about Nauru, don't we?" and then that was basically the end of it.)

Edit: I wasn't paying attention to it at the start, but I'm pretty sure Australia's only commercials during the Parade of Nations were during the big teams so you still saw them get announced.

Always intrigued by countries I don't know, I googled Nauru.  Yikes.  Scathing articles by Amnesty International and CNN about the refugee camp/prisons--people (kids) have been there for years, begging for asylum, rats, roaches.  Journalists charged US$5k+ for a "visa," but no interviews, recording, photographs allowed--to protect the "privacy" of the refugees--and all reports must be approved by the Aussie gov.

Canceling my plans to investigate a trip to pretty little island nation Nauru.

[Brattinella]

Did you all hear about a performance by Giselle Bundchen where she gets mugged on stage?  I heard about it for days, and there was no such performance (unless NBC in its infinite wisdom pre-empted it with a commercial).

[Daisy]

8 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Did you all hear about a performance by Giselle Bundchen where she gets mugged on stage?  I heard about it for days, and there was no such performance (unless NBC in its infinite wisdom pre-empted it with a commercial).

They ditched it. they said it was going to be a joke, but realised that some wouldn't have found it funny. Good decision. 


and i think we need more Tonga. 

[Brattinella]

@Daisy Thank you and THANK YOU!!

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I just wish he was less oily! >.< Even if he doesn't breakout, I'd breakout from getting any of that on me.

[kili]

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Did you all hear about a performance by Giselle Bundchen where she gets mugged on stage? 

According to this Washington Post article, the mugging thing was a misunderstanding. Here is what the show's creative director (Meirelles) had to say:

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“Imagine us doing a scene like that in the opening,” he wrote in an email to The Washington Post. “I’m not that clueless.”

What actually happened, he said, was that they tested out a scene in which a food vendor on the beach rushes up to take a selfie with Gisele. Security guards don’t like it and give chase

 

IDK. He might be that clueless. Poor people getting chased by guards for daring to get close to the rich?  A bit to close too home.

As Daisy said, the skit was wisely cut. 

Edited August 6, 2016 by kili

[Ohwell]

39 minutes ago, MattDuffysCat said:

I just wish he was less oily! >.< Even if he doesn't breakout, I'd breakout from getting any of that on me.

He can slide all over me.  I wouldn't mind at all.  ; )

Besides, he doesn't have any on his face so I doubt he'd break out over the rest of his body.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Body acne is less attractive than face acne :)

[MyAimIsTrue]

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

In attempting to Google the Serbian flag bearer to see what all the fuss was about all I kept getting hits for was Novak Djokovic.  Is he even playing in this Games?

I finally found her name and googled that.  She IS hot.

Speaking of female flag bearers I thought Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas was gorgeous.

ETA:  I didn't notice Mr. Tonga's eyebrow pops last night (probably because I was watching his pecs) so that along with his corresponding smile made me swoon!

[KenyaJ]

5 hours ago, MyAimIsTrue said:

The only opening ceremony I didn't get to see over the last 40 years was Athens in 2004.  That was the night Hurricane Charley roared through and we lost power, cable, phone, everything by 9:00PM.

I remember being so pissed that night. I didn't even care that a Hurricane was coming, I was more upset that I was missing the Opening Ceremony. Thankfully, it ended up mostly dodging Tampa and we got to see the OC after all. And thank goodness, because the Conveyor Belt of Greek History (as I like to call it) is my one of my favorite OC scenes of all time. 

[Bill1978]

On ‎28‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 10:29 AM, SnideAsides said:

Agreed. It's not like the IOC is opposed to it (China and Taiwan usually enter under C and T even though they use "People's Republic of China" and "Chinese Taipei" as their names; FYROM has entered under M for "Macedonia" at least once), but... if you're going to do it for the US, then surely the UK and Russia and China and Germany and France and Australia will be asking next, you know?

I can't see Australia every making that request. We are use to entering at the start. We sit at home, wait for the team to appear, critique the uniform and then go for a toilet break. Putting us towards the end would be bad for our bladders.

[friendperidot]

thanks to NBC, potty breaks were frequent if needed. I had spent a great deal of time explaining the Parade of Nations to my nephew including that in Brazil they would be alphabetical in Portuguese. He's never paid attention to the Olympics before so he had no pre-conceived notion that US would be near the end.

[Bill1978]

18 hours ago, Kromm said:

Work in places like that is likely still in primitive mode a lot of the time. The only retail work you're likely to have is servicing tourists. The only office work, likely for the government itself.  Manufacturing jobs won't exist. If the island grows crops, either people work that sharecropper style for their own use, or they're organized enough that they get paid by a leader and there's exporting (thus a monetary system that goes beyond the Islanders).  Or perhaps the whole Island operates for nothing BUT tourism's sake (but that's doubtful when they are about a few thousand miles from anyplace that would have a tourist base to send there (that would be Australia).

The only 'Australian' tourists that visit Nauru are the 'boat people' our Government send there indefinitely.

[kokapetl]

6 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

I agree with Barcelona, but my vote for second best has to be Lillehammer with the lighting done by the SKI JUMPER!! Of course, that was a winter games ... 

 

  

Uh, yes, there is.  Brazil is paving and bulldozing the equivalent of 12 football fields a DAY of the irreplaceable Amazon.  In the past 50 years, Brazil has destroyed more than 230,000 MILES of the rainforest which is surprisingly fragile.  So while they're bulldozing and paving and pouring fertilizer on land not made for farming, they're using LED lightbulbs.  Sorry, that's no equivalency .... which the ceremony organizers probably realize.  

I really doubt they're paving the Amazon rainforest. 

[Brattinella]

12 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

I really doubt they're paving the Amazon rainforest. 

That's exactly what they have done/are doing.

[Ohwell]

Looking back on the opening ceremony, while I can understand and appreciate Brazil giving us a history lesson about their country, for reasons I can't even articulate, it just wasn't that interesting.  I think part of my disinterest was the fact that Pele wasn't there.  It's really unfortunate that he was unable to attend.

[kokapetl]

55 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

That's exactly what they have done/are doing.

Asphalt, cobblestones, or concrete?

[Brattinella]

Do some research.  Type in Google Images "deforestation map".

[innocuouspuff]

There's certainly a deforestation problem, but the wood and farmed products are sold all over the world. No economy is an island so when Peter Mansbridge was calling the Brazilians hypocrites for mentioning the environment last night I was just wondering if he has any mahogany furniture in his house. Or drinks soy milk.

Edited August 7, 2016 by innocuouspuff

[Demian]

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In attempting to Google the Serbian flag bearer to see what all the fuss was about all I kept getting hits for was Novak Djokovic.  Is he even playing in this Games?

I finally found her name and googled that.  She IS hot.

The official list is here, and Wikipedia has a version of that here, just in case you need to look anyone else up.

[kokapetl]

44 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

Do some research.  Type in Google Images "deforestation map".

I provided data on CO2 emissions, the only subject actually raised in the opening ceremony. Do some research on the term paving. 

[proserpina65]

That was a very underwhelming opening ceremony.  Some parts were interesting but did we really need to watch Gisele Bundchen walk across the stadium floor for what seemed like an hour, and really, Rio?  A videotaped lecture on climate change and the environment from the country which has been destroying the rain forest at the speed of light?  The Olympic cauldron is really impressive looking, but Pele should've been the one to light it.  Overall, I'll go back to my fond memories of Sydney, Athens and London for examples of excellent opening ceremonies.

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 8:00 PM, Daisy said:

They brought Tara and Johnny for the Summer Olympics?
Oho this could be fun. 

It hasn't been.

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 8:28 PM, bmoore4026 said:

Now it's Pirates of the Caribbean.  They are hot, though.

Slavery.  Well, this is pleasant.

Well, time to shave and to fold things while watching this.

At least they acknowledged the huge part that slavery played in the creation of Brazil, I suppose.  Kinda glossed over the destruction of the Amazon and the massacre and exploitation of its indigenous peoples though.  But hey, there were naked asses on my tv.

[ExplainItAgain]

17 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

It hasn't been.

What have they been doing? Haven't seen or heard them.

[proserpina65]

Just now, ExplainItAgain said:

What have they been doing? Haven't seen or heard them.

I haven't seen Johnny yet, but I've Tara do one lackluster athlete interview and a couple of not very interesting "here's some stuff about Rio" pieces.  They're something of an acquired taste in my opinion, but usually there's more 'there' there.

[proserpina65]

On ‎08‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 0:33 AM, bmoore4026 said:

Nothing will beat the 1992 Barcelona games where the flaming arrow flew over the Olympic cauldron yet the thing still managed to get lit.  Second to that is the 1996 Atlanta games where that Olympic cauldron, when lit, looked like large McDonald's French Fries.

For me, it's Barcelona, followed by Lillehammer with the flame entering the stadium via ski jumper.  Atlanta's French fry box was lame.

[Lantern7]

John Oliver takes on the Opening Ceremonies.

Some stuff about Brazil's turbulent political scene is thrown in, and the clip doesn't have the follow-up of news ladies (and a few guys) getting hot and bothered over Pita. He's easily the most famous athlete to compete in Taekwondo, right?

[kittykat]

Lol. The "and now..." was all female news anchors fawning over Mr Tonga.  Another great segment by Oliver.  

Pita's pic keeps showing up in click bait articles, well played sponsored content.  You win this round.