All things sporting

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Quite right Ally- cant have any sexism.
On that note a friend was earlier telling me how they are going to watch the Olympics on Sky so they can watch in full glorious HD.
I said I didn't really see the point in seeing some people running from a wide shot in HD- then he pointed out this to me.



Now I see the point.

I wondered what they called those things outside Forumshire... 'bras'... Sounds foreign.

BH. or SPORT-BH.

Useful when there's a lack of bossom 2 paint

BH?
Bare Hiney?

Well the Olympics are officially opened. Anyone watch the opening ceremony? Curious to know what folks thought of it.

I thought the opening bit, going from the pastural to industrial and the forging of the rings was not only particularly well done but was like an artistic representation of what so horrified Tolkien.

Havnt watched it yet, but from all reports EXCELLENT.

Boyle's show was a sort of mad dream- and he retained a few cheeky anti-estabilishment elements in it- and included an entire mad section dedicated to the NHS (and the current attack on it by the Conservatives in the guise of the baddie from Harry Potter- I did say it was mad). Glad he did that- it is one of our greatest achievements of our nation and he took a risk making a political point.

Some reactions to the opening from foreign media as garnered by the BBC:

Sarah Lyall, The New York Times:

"Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is... It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in the grim postwar summer of 1948."

Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post:

"If the opening ceremonies of the London Games sometimes seemed like the world's biggest inside joke, the message from Britain resonated loud and clear: We may not always be your cup of tea, but you know - and so often love - our culture nonetheless. The themes showcased Britain, past, present and future, capturing the mind-set of a nation seeking to redefine itself through these Games after nearly a century of managed decline. A great empire, gone. Military might, ebbing. Sense of humour, very much intact... For an audience across the Atlantic, it seemed like the rock-and-roll Olympics, an event celebrating the shared culture of the English-speaking world — so much of it thanks to these relatively tiny isles."

Le Figaro, France:

The display "reminded a billion viewers of the best contributions that Britain has given to the world for over a century: its sense of humour, its music, and of course sport".

Greg Baum, The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Boyle's vivid and vibrant pageant set the tone for these Games and perhaps even a new direction for the Olympic movement. Rio has a hard act to follow, which won't deter it at all... His show did not take itself too seriously, but was never trivial. It was irreverent, but never disrespectful. It was clever, but did not outsmart itself. It was at once subversive and sublime. This is a country of royals and aristocrats, but Boyle's show rejoiced in the commoner."

Farayi Mungazi, BBC African Service, speaking on BBC Radio 4:

"Well, the London Olympics are of particular interest to Africa, simply because of Britain's colonial past on the continent... There was plenty of reaction on Twitter, and most of it very very positive. For instance, Ghana Web - Ghana's biggest website - called it "bloody brilliant", and one of Nigeria's most respected sports journalists tweeted that there are some things money can't buy, like the swell of pride in the chest of every British citizen. And the last comment from a Kenyan journalist I know personally says Beijing was nice, too technical, but London was more human...

"I think there were a lot of things that many people would not have understood... I imagine there were a lot of people who would have wondered at all the hospital beds and thought 'What on earth is going on?'"

Zhuang Chen, BBC Chinese Service, on Radio 4:

"Reaction from China is quite positive in general because it was broadcast live... it has become a very hot topic on China's vibrant cyber sphere. The Chinese official Wang Ning, director of the Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, said he would give 90 out of 100 marks to Britain, which is quite high. He liked the innovative ways to illustrate British culture, its influence and also its new image. But the downside to that - the TV cut-aways during the show might compromise the experience of the live audience inside the stadium... And also talked about by Chinese audiences was the human side of the opening ceremony, which was not that illustrated four years ago at Beijing."

Anastasia Uspenskaya, BBC Russian Service, on Radio 4:

"There is a lot of interest in Russia, of course... almost all of the Russian media says London was in a very unlucky situation because it had the Olympics straight after Beijing - so it was an extremely difficult task to try and beat the Beijing ceremony and actually they didn't succeed. But there is one thing Russian media likes more about London opening - it's that unlike the robotic Beijing show, last night's performance was what they call elegantly chaotic - which is quite an English thing."

The Peninsula, Qatar:

London did a "spectacular job"... Boyle "succeeded in defining Britishness in a surreal, moving and for some, confounding affair because of the jumble of ideas and an effort to tell a thousand small stories, which may not have been understood fully by the international audience."

The Times of India:

"London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture as a colourful opening ceremony marked the inauguration of the 30th Olympic Games at the spunky Olympic stadium on Friday night."

The China Daily:

"Kaleidoscopic pageant sets London Games rolling: Britain's Queen Elizabeth declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dazzling ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport."

Al-Ahram, Egypt:

"Children's voices intertwining from the four corners of her United Kingdom ushered in an exuberant historical pageant of meadows, steel mills and megapixels."

I really enjoyed it.... all up until the bloody Paul McCartney opened his stupid mouth!

He angers me almost as much as John Barrowman.

You dont like Hey Jude! Lance?

I love the Beatles. I love "Hey Jude". I love Paul McCartney. But someone should tell him that he is 70 and his singing voice isn't what is was in the 60's anymore (not that it was any good back then either). sorry. But hey, it was nice though.

No, I do not like Hey Jude. The end goes on for far too long!!

Its Macca that gets on my nerves... he seems to be the headline act of everything this country does. They could have had him in the middle somewhere and had a more modern act to close the show.

Macca needs to just sod off!

Paul McCartney is easily the greatest global musician alive, isn't what he used to be but he's an absolute national treasure.

hey jude the greatest song of all time? probably. paul mccartney is god

Well my team, Glasgow Rangers, are back playing football.

Division 3 cup game against Brechin City!

1-0 up at the moment.
Very narrow park, tiny stadium- the ball just got stuck on top of a hedge behind the fans- they had to get another one!
Suprised they're not using jumpers for goalposts.

And the Scottish Sun have a billboard with the slogan "From Page 3 to Division 3"

looking at the olympics archery competition.

Ally wrote:Paul McCartney is easily the greatest global musician alive, isn't what he used to be but he's an absolute national treasure.

hey jude the greatest song of all time? probably. paul mccartney is god

Why isn't there a throwing up emoticon? Are you bear baiting me there? If you are I am circling ready to take it!!!!

BTW - Well done the girls today. First 2 medals on the board. Been watching all sorts of sport all day!!

I watched the cycling as I wanted Cavendish to win, although he is a big head, but I am glad for the Kazakhstan chap who did win as he is 39 and wouldnt have got another shot at it.

agree about Macca Lance, they wheel him out even when he cant sing anymore, it was really embarrasing, and the Arctic Monkeys were shit too. They could have got someone spectacular.

oi! Arctic Monkeys are great! though, yes, maybe someone more spectacular. Like whom?

a classic band. someone iconic, maybe Bowie.

Is he still alive!

meeeh... but he is old isn't he? not what he used to be?

yeah but Maccas even older, and cant sing for toffee.

who's macca?