Queen of Hearts

Another exciting day at the Olympics. Joannie Rochette became Queen of hearts as she took the Bronze in figure skating rising up to the challenge of performing days after unexpectedly losing her mother. This tower of strength from Quebec is full of honour and class. She made us proud. http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Brave+Joannie+Rochette+wins+figure+skating+bronze+Canada/2614899/story.html



http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/columnists/c=christieblatchford/newsid=52819.html

South Korea's Kim Yuna took the gold in an amazing presentation. Hat's off to Kim Yuna and South Korea. Well done. Canada took the gold in woman's hockey but I'm confused about the controversy over their after game private party.
http://sports.ca.msn.com/olympics/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23534347



If it was after all the fans had left then there is no problem. I just thought it look a little arrogant if they turned their back on all the audience and had a private party when they were all watching. The news reports that the IOC will also be investigating all the Stanley Cup victories for the past 60 years.

Hours before that Jacques Rogge the president of the IOC warned woman's hockey that it can't be too lopsided or it will be dropped from the games. Here we once again see the dark side of the IOC. That kind of arrogance mirrors the IOC's refusal to include women in the ski jumping competition. http://sports.ca.msn.com/olympics/article.aspx?cp-documentid=23533574

This from the same guy that was embroiled in the Salt Lake City scandal where the president of the Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing committee was forced to resign because of gifts and bribes to the IOC to get the bid.

So the IOC accepts all these bribes and the president of the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee takes the fall while the guy who was in charge of accepting all the bribes continued on. He's also referred to as Count Rogge on Wikipedia. Perhaps he too is a vampire on the side exploiting the public.

J'Imagine

This is a nice one in French:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G8RYAQXVCM

We can do better to represent our bilingualism.

This is the French version of the song I Believe. Only I believe in French is Je crois not J'imagine. I'imagine puts a different spin on the song. I Imagine is like I hope, it's a step before belief. I Imagine is like I can conceive. Makes for a nice song so it does.

Believe

Well a magnificent and heart wrenching performance by another Canadian figure skater last night. Joannie Rochette, a 24 year old figure skater from Quebec just lost her mother and rose to the challenge of performing with her grief having just lost her biggest fan: http://www.theprovince.com/health/Joannie+Rochette+First+place+their+hearts/2605923/story.html

This is the video clip of that performance: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=84b95b91-661b-4e01-bc1e-b30f180a8e3f

Perfection in any sport isn't nearly as admirable as the abdominal spirit required to rise up in the face of adversity. The theme song for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics is Believe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke-UaPEZYqA

Similar to the Guinness slogan and that of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, Believe is a familiar chant. There are many things that I used to believe in that I do not believe in any more. Yet there are many principles which I still deeply believe in and cherish.

An old song by Rare Earth states "I had my faith in the people and the people let me down so I turn the other way and I carry on any how. I just want to celebrate. I had my hand on a dollar bill, and the dollar bill blew away but the sun is shining down on me and it's here to stay. I just want to celebrate another day of life."

I still believe that tyranny, oppression and exploitation are wrong. I believe that using people to get elected to office then betraying them is wrong. I still believe in hard work and determination but I do recognize that working with all your effort to climb a ladder will not get you where you want to go if the ladder is propped up against the wrong building.

The second law of thermodynamics implies that God does exist. In a closed system order does not increase without help. You throw a stack of wood and nails on your front lawn, it doesn't build a house after three thousand years unless someone takes a hammer and goes to work. Paintings have painters, buildings have builders and creation has a creator.

However, good and evil does exist and if God is not good, then there is no hope because satan is not good. Indeed, where there is no vision, the people will perish. Hope is an anchor because it does not fail in the storms of life. No matter how dark it gets, behind the dark clouds the sun is still shining and we can always hope for a better day. We can always hope for a greater good. We can always aspire to something higher.

I believe. I believe Darren Entwistle is an asshole. I believe George Doubt is a freak. I believe the masses are easily swayed by poison kool aid but in the end, truth will prevail. I still believe.

I may be a bitter old man but I still believe in dreams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iVGc7J68OY&NR=1

Smurfs Rock

Well they fixed the flame and got the Plexiglas in: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=f85c2cc6-c2c2-4e8f-b421-a5e34aab552f

But did ya see the Canadian couple who got a gold medal in figure skating? I'm not a figure skating fan myself but their performance was flawless and their finish was magnificent. Seeing that kind of talent brings a tear to the eye: http://www.ctvolympics.ca/video/index.html?assetid=dd34d664-d55e-4f19-ace0-e8d9a49a1f89&cid=rss

Tonight after work I'm walking to the shuttle bus and I meet three smurfs with ear to ear grins. One asks if I had a good night and I causally respond yes. Then I looked at them and said, don't tell me you were near the action tonight. They smiled and said yes. I didn't think you were slaving away in a kitchen. They were volunteers who got a glimpse of the men's aerial qualifications.

They even referred to themselves as Smurfs. People call them smurfs because of the light blue shirts and light blue uniforms. I was talking to another group last week and they said smurfs rock. I didn't realize they referred to themselves as smurfs. I thought it was just a nickname people called them.

Ya gotta admire the zeal of the Olympic volunteers. Yesterday I met a lady at lunch from Ontario who took time off work to volunteer for the Olympics. That was an admirable commitment. The volunteers sure have a lot of positive energy. Good for them. I like seeing people doing something constructive instead of doing nothing but complain.

Even the parking attendants were excited. At the Capiliano parking for the shuttle bus each set of parking attendants were waving their luminated flashlights and motioning the way to go as happy as can be. Even in the pouring rain at 4:00 o'clock in the morning. After working a double shift one night and seeing them all excited at 4 o'clock in the morning I chuckled and wondered where they got all that energy from. One said it was the coffee.

There was one girl who was directing pedestrians up the hill from the parking to the shuttle bus. She was cheering people up the hill telling them they were almost there. It was amusing. On the way down from Cypress on the shuttle bus we could see the Olympic flame just behind the Lions Gate bridge at the view point. It was cool. Too bad my camera doesn't take very good pictures at night. That would be a good one.

Here's to the volunteers. Smurfs Rock.

The Drama of the Flame

They opened up a special viewing platform of the Vancouver Olympic Cauldron so people can take unobstructed pictures of it. It was nice and worth the 30 minute wait. But if you just stepped back a bit you can still get a clear photo of the flame with the mountains in the background from the original spot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCItA5Bmig

The fist picture is taken from the viewing platform and the second picture is from the street. You just step back a bit and stand on the concrete block. It really isn't brain surgery. Like I said, some people just like to complain about everything.

Surrey - Venue City

Well I'm not sure what a venue city is but it appears that Holland Park in Surrey is the hub of free Olympic activities. They have tents set up full of free music, large big screens to watch Olympic news and events and they have food pavilions galore like the PNE: http://www.surrey2010.com/

You don't have to be rich to attend any of this free entertainment. No doubt the Cypress venue would have benefited from opening up concessions to more than one contractor. The new day lodge is busy feeding all the staff, athletes and security. Having another huge tent set up like a food court with many different choices from many different vendors like the old food pavilion at the PNE sure would have helped feed the masses of spectators attending events there. Imagine having one booth feed 10 thousand people and you can visualize some of the challenges those employees face.The problem is there are only a few events at Cypress so staffing that many pavilions on a sporadic basis would also be problematic.

Surrey House at Holland Park is the place for free loud music but they also have several other booths including First Nations Village and a cultural pavilion to express the city's diversity. They had a real dug out canoe they made two years ago at the Surrey Arts Centre. Someone from Kla-How-Eya was there explaining how they carved it out and how they steamed and stretched the sides. It was very impressive. As was the traditional drums they demonstrated. This is another example of some of the positive energy out there engulfing the city. http://www.surrey.ca/Inside+City+Hall/Your+Mayor+and+Council/Cultural+Capital/2008+Projects/Kla+How+Eya+Canoe+A+Learning+Journey.htm

Obviously Yaletown has the biggest venues. I'm sure Bob Marley's son's event will have huge line ups. The overcrowded stage push at Yaletown when many were injured was unfortunate indeed. People need to use their brain and not rush the stage with a packed crowd. Like at any concert, that is how people get hurt.

Robson square seems to be another hub of positive activity. I'm thrilled to hear the outdoor skating rink has returned. The Olympic Flame at Pacific Centre and the light show and fireworks at English bay are more sites to see. All free events. You don't have to be rich to attend any of them. Like any carnival or festival it can be a great experience for people respectful and positive.

Olympic Criticism

Interesting that pulling off such a huge event comes with such huge and Olympic sized criticism from every person and their dog sitting on their ass whining and complaining about everything under the sun. The negative pessimism is contagious like a bad STD.

People, nothing in this world is perfect. We have good and bad. We have good people who make simple mistakes, we have bad people determined to make everyone as miserable as they are and we have bad people who have good in them.

It is so much easier to tear a bridge down then it is to build one up. People who sit on their ass and complain about everything under the sun really irritate me. Yes putting a chain link fence around the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver wasn't the smartest thing for tourists who wanted to take pictures. But lets remember the spoilt brat wackos we have been bending over backwards to accommodate who covet the opportunity to douse the Olympic cauldron with fire extinguishers.

Putting a chain link fence around the cauldron was a necessity because of all the wackos who want to vandalize it. If there was no fence and if there was an army of riot police protecting the flame 24 hours a day people would still complain about budget costs. Yes Plexiglas would have been better and yes they are working on it to fix it which will cost more money which the people will still complain about. Stone Henge in England is fenced off to protect and preserve it.

But to all you reporters who are sitting on your ass getting paid to blog and sensationalize the negative FUCK Off. Open your fucking eyes and use your brain for one minute. There are over 25 thousand volunteers taking time off their regular jobs and are working very hard to make the games a success within budget. They are walking the walk not just talking the talk. They are actively doing something positive and are clearly part of the solution. Three cheers for the volunteers.

How dare you forget them and minimize their sacrifice and hard work by complaining about everything under the sun. Get a life. Get off your ass and do something positive. That does not include putting on a mask and vandalizing things or assaulting people. That only proves you are a criminal as well as an idiot.

I was never really a fan of the Olympics but I have become one. I am thrilled to see so many people working so hard putting in so many hours to make this event a success. There is an Olympian effort of an army of workforce doing their best and getting shit on at every opportunity. When people keep getting shit on they quit. That is a natural consequence. Then the assholes who made them quit will have even more to complain about.

The IOC is far from perfect. Yes it has become commercialized and bureaucratic and yes that has trickled down to VANOC who's arrogance and unorganization have been a thorn in the side of the many people trying to make this event work but the origin of the games was one of international peace. Getting countries together who might normally be at war to lay their differences aside and compete in healthy peaceful competitions instead of slaughtering each other on the battlefield.

Now we have idiots sitting on their ass talking shit. The only difference is they aren't bureaucrats, they are the peanut galley. How small minded indeed.

Olympic Protesters hide behind Hate

Extremists failed to bully police into a confrontation so they put on masks and started vandalizing stores and assaulting people. Another prime example of spoilt brats throwing a temper tantrum because the general public don't support their hate:

http://www.theprovince.com/columnists/Hate+explains+downtown+clash+with+police/2563363/story.html

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Protesters+rain+Olympic+parade/2563370/story.html

Vancouver 2010 the Cauldron is Lit

I must admit it was impressive to see Wayne Gretzky lite the Olympic cauldron. I never really clued in that the point of carrying the Olympic torch all that way is to light the cauldron. It was kinda like something out of Mulan. Somehow the excitement of the torch sparked hope. It reminds us that with hard work and determination obstacles can be over come.

It was indeed tragic to hear of the death of the athlete from Georgia on the practice run of the luge. We don't need the fastest track in the world. Not at that price. We need to make it safer and add more Plexiglas so that doesn't happen again. What a tragedy. Indeed Georgia is another country we all cheer for now just like the Jamaican bobsled team. The Jamaican bobsled team have always been a favorite but we will forever hold a special place in our hearts for Georgia and the memory and loss of a good person.

It was embarrassing to see the spoilt brats protesting again carrying Mohawk flags they bought on E-bay. Like I said, Mohawks aren't from here they are from Ontario and Quebec. Mohawks are guests they do not have claim to the land owned by the Squamish First Nations. It was wonderful to see a First Nations tribute at the opening ceremonies. The clear giant totem poles looked like they were made of ice and the giant ceremonial prayer drum was a wonderful addition to the ceremony.

I was a little bit disappointed it was a bit of a we're so great show when it should have been a we're so great referring to the world not just Canada. We are great because of our diversity. That's what makes the games and all of us great. This is a beautiful place but it certainly isn't the best place on earth. There are many other places that are very beautiful in their own rights.

All in all the games for me bring a renewed sense of pride in my country which includes a respect for diversity not childish temper tantrums demanding free drugs at government sponsored injection sites. The cauldron is lit. Let's not be distracted by childishness and let's focus on the hope of the children. That is one thing our children need now more than ever.

Snow Dunes on Seymour

Glad to see snow at higher elevations. This is a photo of First pump from second pump on Seymour. Right after first pump there are always cool snow dunes all over each winter. http://finiansworld.blogspot.com/2009/04/beautiful-day-on-seymour.html



Someone built a cool igloo on third pump so I put an Australian Boxing Kangaroo flag beside in in honour of the IOC.


First and second pump from third pump on Seymour with Boundary bay and the Gulf Islands in the distance.


Close up of first pump from third pump.


Indian Arm and back country from third pump which is Mount Seymour.

Black Flag

In Belfast a black flag didn't represent anarchy or some radical drive of extremism. In Belfast people are used to getting exploited. During an IRA funeral they would line the streets with black flags out of respect for the dead as a sign of mourning. I'm certainly not saying I agree with everything the IRA did. In due course one side at times became just as bad as the other. I am saying that when death occurs, mourning is an appropriate response.

The TWU died a long time ago. http://mydarrenentwistle.com/archive/congratulationsdarren.htm

Some say it died when the Devil's deal was signed and the company just had to send the union a letter to notify them of any contracting out. That was the beginning of the end and the gravestones of good jobs fill the list of jobs lost to greed.

Some say the union died before that when party politics degenerated into bitter factionalism which we have seen reoccur in 2010. The liberators have become the oppressors and democracy has degenerated into fear controlled by oppression and harassment. The list of dirty deeds is long as is the fearful silence. No one wants to speak out and be a target.

The shocking thing is, what do you do when the majority of the people ask for evil? What do you do when the majority of the people say Let's kill all the Jews or when the majority of the people say Let's kill all the Muslims? We oppose it of course. We speak and record our dissent. We do not stop reminding them that killing Jews or killing Muslims is wrong. Silence is indeed violence.

When the majority of the delegates in a Union vote for oppression, vote for abuse and harassment then darkness reigns and we wave a black flag as we record our dissent. That was another use of the black flag in Belfast. I remember seeing a photo of a Irishman holding a black flag in protest as the antagonistic and racist Orange men marched through his neighbourhood in a proud parade of intolerance.

To George Doubt and Tamara Marshall I wave a black flag in tribute. Two people who turned on the very people they used to get elected and when they seized enough power to control the delegates they signed the termination order on the people they used. Our little ray of sunshine has turned into a dark cloud of poison.

Abusing the harassment policy, firing Lila and Sherryl with a smile on your face? Shame on you. History has recorded those dark deeds and you will live with that forever. Natural justice still exists in our troubled world.

And to the Bobblehead delegates paralyzed with fear I say Shame on you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNAHjsAnTd4

Save the Roos

What a great way to destroy the spirit of the games. The Olympic Organizing Committee asked the Australian team to take down their boxing kangaroo mascot from their condo because it isn't a corporate sponsor.
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Olympic+flag+flap+over+Australian+kangaroo+banner+catches/2529381/story.html

It's not a logo it's a mascot. Are they going to tell New Zealanders they can't have Kiwis? This is Vancouver not the Iron Curtain. The stupidity continues.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Here it comes, the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It has not come without a certain amount of controversy. However, thanks to Larry Campbell, a referendum was held on whether or not to host the Olympics and the majority of the people here voted yes to host the bid.

Now, I didn't get a chance to vote in that referendum and although I would have voted no, I am bound to support the democratic will of the City. People like Davie Cunningham who handed out free crack pipes and got people rilled up with lies encouraging them to hold violent protests to high jack the democratic will of the people was absurd. He wasn't from here, he was from Ontario.

I remember attending an Olympic ceremony at Vancouver City hall where these thugs brought air horns and booed a First Nations leader while he was singing a song by Chief Dan George with his prayer drum. It was shameful. I shouted out, "Real Natives Respect their Elders." They had a Mohawk flag they bought on E-bay. Mohawks aren't from here they are from Ontario. Mohawks don't have a claim to the land that belongs to Squamish First Nations.

Someone at work said that all the money they spent on the Olympics would have gotten rid of all the waiting lists in B.C. for people waiting for surgery. That is a valid point. Yet we are morally bound to support the democratic will.

I am relieved to hear they are allowing protest signs during the Olympics. That is a charter right and to say someone may not hold a sign to voice their opinion is wrong. Yet violent protests removing other citizen's right to enjoy a ceremony with their family is equally wrong.

Some people say that the Olympics is just one big party for the rich. Perhaps but let's face it, no one ever protests the Superbowl or the Grey Cup. Many people, I'm not one of them, get really excited about cheering on their favorite team in professional sports. They pay money to support an event which supports the economy and they actually enjoy the highs and lows of being a devoted fan jumping on and off various band waggons in the process.

Take the Vancouver Canucks for example. Many consider Hockey to be a Canadian sport. You don't see protesters outside saying Stop the Hockey Game or Stop the Stanley cup. The Olympics are here. Let's enjoy meeting people from all over the world and have a little self respect which means showing respect for others and their right to participate in the event.

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And yes, I thought the mascots they chose were kind of dumb but look at the average mascot in Football. They're all a little bit silly. The idea is to relax and have fun. I'm actually kind of excited about the torch relay. Let's remember the historical origin of the games. Yes we live in a troubled world but war is nothing new. In fact encouraging countries with differences who might normally be at war, to participate in sports is an act of peace.

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