You are here: Home / Archives for 2010 Olympics

And with the hint of an accent it all flooded back … Vancouver 2010

February 14, 2011 By 1 Comment

Funny how history repeats itself.  A year ago, I was somewhat blassay about the Olympics being in this fine city of ours. The Olympic Committee had not been especially warm or welcoming to locals, but a few of the Houses changed all that for me, especially La Maison de la Suiss and Saxony House.  Oh and how did I love the music at the Saskatchewan Pavilion and all the fantastic Arts at Atlantic Canada House! Well, I’ve been feeling a little the same way as the one year celebration got under way this weekend, that is until a heard a German accent yesterday and then I was taken right back, burning red face and all.

You see for me the Olympics weren’t really about the games or sport at all. They were about the people I met, both local and from around the world and in sharing in our traditions from music and celebration to food and beer.  Oh and there were some fine beers – thank you Saxony House, I get teary eyed just thinking about those tankards.  I’m happy to provide you with an address for a care package.

Saxon-Canadian Relations (aka Being a good Canadian Diplomat.)

So we all need goals, especially around games, and that I had, just like any of the athletes.  My goals were two fold.

  1. Enjoy as much food, drink and music from all around the world, as possible.
  2. Encourage International Relations by hosting a little competition of my own against my darling hummingbird604.  How you ask?  Well, our own Olympic Sport of seeing who got more Olympic dates.

Now, this really set a great purpose and tone to the Games as things got off to a roaring start in our Olympic Event.  The Opening Ceremonies alone I had three dates.  Needless to say, despite the odds, I was leaving Raul behind in a white wash.

Olympic Dates 2 & 3 (Yes, they happened at the same time, as did Date 1 - he's taking the pictures. I'm not a girl that wastes time.)

That was until this Saxon fellow got in the way, and turned me head over heels in a hunt for unrequited love.

Stealing a Kiss

Not wanting to lose though, I tossed my heart aside and still managed to get in a kiss or two:

Thats when Raul pulled off the mittens and started playing dirty, deeking me out and landing me a very real Olympic romance and case in International Relations in my lap.  Now, I’m not one to smooch and tell, but lets just say that that German accent yesterday was all I needed to take me right back to Vancouver 2010 and turn my face as red as a beet.

Faced with nostalgia, I think I’ll dig up a bit of our unused footage to share with you in the coming weeks.  Who knows it might even help to me cure of this past year’s weakness for foreign men.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Altlantic Canada, Canada, Contests, Events, Germany, Meeting Mr. / Ms. Right (or Right Now), Olympics, Perfect Dates, relationships, Saskatchewan, Switzerland, The Tube, Travel Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who’s Watching?

February 28, 2010 By 1 Comment

I spent nearly an hour with a huge crowd watching a man on a strange unicycle, waiting for something really big to happen.  There was so much build up going on that it was like watching a bad movie where you feel you have to stick it out to the end.  Meanwhile, I realized we were all missing the Olympics.  Was this really more interesting?

The engaging power of a unicycle

We decided to leave and never saw the big finish.  As we walked around, I started to think about all the things people are doing other than watching the games.  Myself included, they are spending hours standing in line.  The day before, I spent nearly 3 hours waiting to get into the Atlantic Canada House for their Kitchen Party.  It was well worth it and I did make some new friends whom I’ll never see again, but it was 3 hours spent waiting, rather than watching.

Standing in Line-The new Olympic sport

There were hundreds of people that unicycle night drinking hot chocolate and ice skating at Robson Square.  Even more were just sitting on the steps watching dancers perform.  There were crowds waiting for balloon animals and my favourite all time non-game watching activity….the rice cracker maker!  This machine would twirl around and shoot rice crackers out like fire works.

A delicious distraction

Wow

There were so many people just roaming the streets trying to be a part of the action.  As I’ve had a chance to reflect on this revelation, I’ve realized that I have watched less of the Olympic games than ever before in my life because I live in the city that is hosting them.  I have wanted to be with all the other excited people from Canada and all around the world and that has led me to downtown or surrounding areas where I have been nowhere near a television, but captivated by spirit.  I have to admit, that as thrilled as I am for the amount of medals Canada is winning, I am most proud of the fact that I got picked up while filling up with gas the other day and invited out to party with some out of town boys!  Of course, as a mom and wife I had to pretend I was unfortunately busy, but knowing you’ve still got what it takes is worth gold.  I do enjoy watching our athletes, but given the chance, I can see how some might  pick this alien dance party instead.
Alien dance party

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Giving Colbert a Miss This AM

February 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Huge fan of Stephen Colbert and very much enjoy watching a show live, but can’t really say the filming of yesterday’s Colbert Show in Vancouver was my speed.  Why?  Not because of the content.  It was difficult to actually see or hear the content properly and really thats what one goes to see Colbert for.

Crowding in for Colbert

So the reason why I won’t be there this morning:

  1. With such a large crowd it was difficult to see, hear or properly engage in what Colbert had to say.
  2. It was standing room only.  This does not aid in people being able to see or hear, and quite frankly is not respectful of your audience. Colbert is not a musician.
  3. It was standing room only on a very muddy, and getting progressively muddier, field.
  4. Making it standing room only at a popular satirical show, opens the door for more protesting and a surge of people in the mud pit.

The Beginnings of the Deep Mud

So no, not going again this morning.  And my recommendation to the Colbert Nation: bigger is not always better, respect your fans with proper seating (even if that means that only the first 100 people get a seat), and think about your fans safety as well as your own (a standing room only mud pit with 100s of people and visible protesters in the crowd is not safe). All this said, a noble and well meaning attempt I am sure, just remember, bigger is not always better.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

‘One Day’ – Matisyahu Show is what the Winter Games are all about

February 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Taking a shower under the rain is always fun, but it’s even more fun when you are watching a great artist perform. Matisyahu is a reggae/rock/hip hop artist who’s orthodox Jewish beliefs do not interfere with his praise for peace. He reminds more of Bob Marley because beneath a lot of the incomprehensible lyrics (which there were a lot of last night), lies a message about peace. Here is one of his videos and the final song of last night:

The crowd was filled way before 9:30 when the show was scheduled to begin (I was standing in the long line to get in at about 7:30 and waited about half an hour) at the LiveCity event in Yaletown.  By the time I was inside the Quebecois band Malajube began to play, and although they started off pretty slow, by the end they had the audiences attention and people were jumping up and out and pulled up into the crowds. By 9:30 I saw people of all ages around me: at my right I had a group of middle schoolers that must have been 14 tops (they still had braces and awkward looking haircuts… which is also the reason they don’t serve alcohol inside – be warned), and to my left I had an elderly woman with fake red colored hair, who eventually sang the lyrics of “Jerusalem” with all her heart. I don’t know how she followed him, as he sings differently in person and changes his tempo a lot. I didn’t like his performance that much, but by 10 pm I realized I wasn’t there to see Matisyahu, I was there because this was a once in a lifetime experience. I heard more than 10 languages that night, and by the end of the show, that was what is was all about. People from all over the globe came halfway across the world to see him sing about peace and unity, and although everyone cheered for either Canada or Poland or Belgium, everyone in the end was chanting with him the lyrics to the video above: stop with the violence/down with the hate/one day we’ll all be free/and proud to be/under the same sun. I think that’s what made the event worthwhile, that even if it was just for one hour, the event became a microcosm of what the Winter Games are about: World Unity.

Photo by Phillip Jeffrey

After “One Day” Matisyahu left and the fireworks and water show began, and I was blown away. If you haven’t seen them yet, please do, it’s worthwhile and technically impressive. The big screen shows clips from the events, and praises the extra-human achievement the athletes do everyday, but also emphasizes on people cheering on the streets. Seeing all those people genuinely happy can only make you love the Winter Games even more.  And even if we are not winning Gold Medals, we are still winning just by being in this great city. I recommend the show to everyone, as it is beautiful and simply heart-warming.

By the way, please follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/mariofas.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Mario the Intern, Music Scene, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hockey Night in Canada

February 14, 2010 By 1 Comment

Living in Vancouver, I am determined to make the most of the Olympic experience.  My first attempt failed as I was going to explore the venues with a girlfriend and her husband said she couldn’t go.  He pretended to be worried about her and all the crowds, but then admitted to just being jealous that he would have to stay at home.  I am so glad that my relationship is not like that!

Last night I did up the Olympics family style with tickets to Team Canada women’s hockey!  The kids started by colouring our windows (thanks to Crayola Window Writers), and progressed to their faces with left over Halloween make-up.  I was worried when I found out they were in front of the mirror doing this themselves, but they looked amazing and their spirit was contagious! My husband and I put a few Canada tattoos on our faces and got all decked up in red and white.  Olympic Spirit-Crayola Window Writers

As we headed out on the sea bus we got a lot of looks, smiles and cheers. When we arrived at Canada Hockey Place, we blended in with the thousands of other people.  Even though we were such obedient spectators and arrived at our event two and a half hours early, we still had to endure a long security line up.  Once inside, we were rewarded for being early with freedom to walk right down to the ice and take photos.  We could walk around, explore and shop without big line ups.  I was really impressed that our kids realized the magnitude of their experience.  They kept everything, even snack receipts to “save for forever.”
Olympic security line ups

I was really moved by the energy of the crowd.  I was really looking forward to singing the National Anthem because I knew it would be the loudest most passionate rendition of my life, but to my dismay, the game started without it!  I was sad for a few minutes and had to get over myself so I could get into the game.  Wow, what a game it was!  Team Canada kept scoring and scoring and scoring!  Of course, I was impressed with stick handling, shots on goal and what not, but I was mainly caught up in the emotions of the whole night.  There are a few moments that I will never forget.  Every time the Slovakian team goalie would make a big save, the crowd of Canadians would applaud.  Only in Canada would we cheer for the other team.  They did a jumbotron interview with the 5 SVK fans in the whole building and the crowd went wild!  I have never been so proud to be Canadian. As the team Slovakia players left the ice, they raised their hands to clap for the crowd and we all stood up and gave them a huge send off-screaming, clanging our cowbells, waving our flags, and jumping up and down like they were our own.  I have to admit….I did shed a tear or two.

After the game we decided to explore downtown instead of going straight home.  We hit up the Live City Vancouver opening night and walked blocks and blocks to see the Olympic flame.  My conclusion to all of this?  A night out with the kids can be just as rewarding and fun as a night out with friends.  Actually, their amazement at everything probably made this an even better experience.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts