Olympic Bullshit

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah, got the bus from Hackney to Clerkenwell and back today and it was dead. The bus stop I used on the way back had a sign on it saying "This stop will be affected by the Olympics so please make alternative plans or allow extra time for your journey" or words to that effect but there was just me and an old Asian couple. Suits me perfectly anyway. I could do without the recordings of Boris on all the buses telling you not to get to get caught out by the crush though.
 

Leo

Well-known member
following on benjybars post on the "hot new skool babes" thread (agreed!)...is it just me or is this a rather attractive group of olympians this time around? aside from the women's gymnasts, who all look like they're 12 years old, there seem to be loads of lookers both male and female in all different competitions, all with perfectly toned bodies. i mean, c'mon, women's volleyball?!

i know my wife has enjoyed the men's swimming/diving, perhaps a bit too much. :slanted:
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
ha! well, it is possible to have a well-tomed body and unattractive face, right?

All too possible...

ronaldinho1.jpg
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Maybe Shun Fujimoto is the greatest ever Olympian

Shun Fujimoto, Montreal 1976
A member of Japan's men's combined gymnastics team, Fujimoto received less attention than he might have done because he was sharing his showtime with Nadia Comaneci. His achievements, though, were remarkable.
As Fujimoto finished the final tumble of his floor routine, he broke his kneecap. Understandably in agony, he however decided not to tell his coach or his team-mates about his injury. "The competition was so close [Japan were battling USSR for the gold] and I didn't want the team to lose concentration worrying about me."
Ridiculously, he then took part in his next event, the pommel horse, scoring 9.5 out of 10. Next up were the rings, and the promise of a dismount from eight feet in the air. "I knew that if my posture was not good on landing, I would not receive a good score. I knew I must try to forget the pain". He pulled a twisting triple somersault, later admitting "the pain went through me like a knife", before landing, grimacing as his knee buckled slightly, and, with tears in eyes, raising his arms aloft. He scored 9.7, his best ever result.
Minutes later he staggered and fell. The kneecap, already broken, had now been dislocated as well, tearing the ligaments in his leg. Doctors forced him to withdraw from the competition. The Japanese team, now a man short, were inspired to gold by his sacrifice. Asked years later whether he would do it again, Fujimoto replied with an emphatic: "No, I would not".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/07/olympics20082
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
I bet even the most hardcore Olympic fans cringe a little when they see showjumpers and dressagers* collecting medals.

*I don't know what the collective noun for people who ride the horses in dressage are called. Surely not just 'jockeys'?
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
Following on from Tea's enlightening post relating to athletes' bowel movements: LOL:
'In partnership with Olympic marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, Pampers U.K. will salute the spirit of play in every baby through their "Pampers Little Athlete" campaign.'
 
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vimothy

yurp
How should I feel about k-punk? Sometimes I read him and I think--that's quite reactionary, actually. For e.g., some of his observations about the Olympics are well made. It really is nauseatingly sentimental. (Remember Jung: "Sentimentality is a superstructure covering brutality"). Generally I'm unable to watch it except with the sound off.

But there's something about his writing that is so dismal and joyless, it's just...
 

Bangpuss

Well-known member
"Soon to be demolished"? That's not been confirmed yet, has it? If West Ham win the bid, they will reduce the capacity but they won't knock it down. If Tottenham win (which they could still do, having been granted judicial review), who knows what the fuck they will do with it. But seeing as Coe has bid for the 2017 World Athletic Championships to be held there, saying no matter what happens there will be a track in the stadium, I don't see the point of Tottenham knocking it down, since their original reason for demolishing it and starting again was that they didn't want a running track.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah, fairly uncontroversial article there but anyone who has been paying attention knows it all already don't they?
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
k-punk not a fan of a super-commercialized, sponsorship-heavy, BBC-hyped Games. Next up: fire 'still hot', experts say.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
Reactionary is a interesting word for that piece -- I felt a similar sensation when reading it, although the word I would choose is conservative. I also thought it was an aesthetic reaction masquerading as political analysis. Although his writing has become more explicitly politicised since 2003, his work still seems devoid of political content or base. His tone is more like conservative distaste for what has happened to culture in his neoliberal dystopia. Maybe he's not wrong and great and beautiful works can only be made in aristocracies and tyrannies.
 
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