The Summer Olympics

[Chase]

Hey Everyone!

I must say, I'm hooked on this years Olympics!

Not only DirecTV has like 7 dedicated channels to them, most of them in HD, but the online site NBCOlympics.com has every sport on there and you can watch obscure sports on there.  (Over 2000 hours of Streaming Video)

I'm a big fan of Handball, Shooting, Equestrian, Fencing and lots of others.

Here is 2 weeks of wasting time!

- C

[Ginsu Victim]

My wife and I have watched some. I've never enjoyed an opening ceremony...until now. That was so freakin' awesome.
Watched USA vs China men's basketball, some swimming events, and all of the gymnastics (mens and womens). Hate volleyball, so we didn't bother with any of it. Looking forward to watching more over the next two weeks...

[Malenko]

There aren't any Olympic sports that interest me. I tried to watch the mens basketball, but after the 1st half it wasn't worth watching; it'd be cool if Phelps wins the most medals ever, but I don't think that really qualifies him as the "greatest olympic athlete ever"

I could totally win the air pistol competition.

[Ginsu Victim]

The men's basketball game was good. Even though the score shows it as a blowout, it was still a pretty tough game and China has a great team.

[shardian]

The men's basketball game was good. Even though the score shows it as a blowout, it was still a pretty tough game and China has a great team.

I just read an article on espn that said China 300 million people in China play basketball! Just think of the numbers. Their Basketball pool of talent is as big as our whole population.

[walls83]

Last nights 4 x 100 meter mens swimming Relay was awesome.  Beating the French who were talking ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[jfunk]

I've found the entire Olympics very compelling this year.  From the opening ceremony (SO awesome) to the "redeem team" (isn't it nice to have US pro b-ball in a good light?!?) to Phelps (that relay was INCREDIBLE) to gymnastics..  I'm having trouble NOT finding something worthwhile to watch 

And even my girls (3 & 5) are enjoying it.  They loved the opening ceremonies, and one member of the women's gymnastic team practices where my girls go to gymnastics 

All in all, a very exciting couple of weeks 

[DrumAnBass]

Quote I overheard about the opening ceremony: "Man I wish I was high!"

 

[SavannahLion]

Not only DirecTV has like 7 dedicated channels to them, most of them in HD, but the online site NBCOlympics.com has every sport on there and you can watch obscure sports on there.  (Over 2000 hours of Streaming Video)

I'll wait until it comes out on Blu-ray.

[Paulson]

 It's okay I guess...but I think it should be a non professional outfit without the likes
 of Rodger Federer etc...There's no pro boxers is there?

 Just a thought.

[Dartful Dodger]

U.S.A.’s soccer team needs a win or tie.

Soccer is a sport I usually don't care about, but I got stuck watching it at my sister’s house, and that match was exciting. 
I work out at 5:30am so I'm looking forward to sweating to this match tomorrow.

[RTSDaddy2]

My job requires rest, so I rarely get to see it- looking forward to some indoor volleyball sometime this weekend.

[patrickl]

My job requires rest

You test beds or something?

[ChadTower]

I just read an article on espn that said China 300 million people in China play basketball! Just think of the numbers. Their Basketball pool of talent is as big as our whole population.

Of course, China has been known to lie like Jon Lovitz about things like this.

[ClubNinja]

And you'd probably have to cut that 300 million talent pool in half anyway, since at least that many players probably aren't attractive enough to be on television.

[Ginsu Victim]

If you think ugly isn't allowed in the NBA.....you haven't watched the NBA.

Sam Cassell, anyone?

[ChadTower]

If you think ugly isn't allowed in the NBA.....you haven't watched the NBA.

He's likely talking about Chinese national television. 

[ClubNinja]

If you think ugly isn't allowed in the NBA.....you haven't watched the NBA.

He's likely talking about Chinese national television. 

Right. 

[AtomSmasher]

I haven't seen even a second of the Olympics this year, so I can't really comment on whats going on, but this funny picture of the blue screen of death during the opening ceremonies is getting passed around the net, so I figured I share.

http://gizmodo.com/5035456/blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting

[AtomSmasher]

Also, since you guys are talking about not showing ugly people on Chinese television, apparently the little girl who sang during the opening ceremonies was only miming because the girl with the great voice wasn't pretty enough to put in front of the camera

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7556058.stm

[ChadTower]

Ironically, 2 billion people outside of China wouldn't ever know the difference.  They look quite alike.

[shardian]

Ironically, 2 billion people outside of China wouldn't ever know the difference.  They look quite alike.

I thought the same thing. And since when does a 7 year old just getting her 2 front teeth put her in the ugly category? WTF is wrong with that culture? Put that little girl on America's Got Talent and she would be a media darling here in the states.

[billf]

Ironically, 2 billion people outside of China wouldn't ever know the difference.  They look quite alike.

I thought the same thing. And since when does a 7 year old just getting her 2 front teeth put her in the ugly category? WTF is wrong with that culture? Put that little girl on America's Got Talent and she would be a media darling here in the states.

The same culture, according to the gymnastics commentators, that take three year old girls from their families and put them into training for future competitions.  The commentators mentioned that the girls only see (or was it talk? don't remember) their families about once a year.

[ChadTower]

The same culture, according to the gymnastics commentators, that take three year old girls from their families and put them into training for future competitions.  The commentators mentioned that the girls only see (or was it talk? don't remember) their families about once a year.

This is probably a place where the culture and the actions of the gov't should be separated.

[SavannahLion]

The same culture, according to the gymnastics commentators, that take three year old girls from their families and put them into training for future competitions.  The commentators mentioned that the girls only see (or was it talk? don't remember) their families about once a year.

This is probably a place where the culture and the actions of the gov't should be separated.

It's a country that makes no bones about supressing their citizens by controlling access to ISP's. The two are not always mutually exclusive.

[ChadTower]

It's a country that makes no bones about supressing their citizens by controlling access to ISP's. The two are not always mutually exclusive.

How is that indicative of the culture?  It is a direct action of the gov't without mandate of the people.  The cultural effect of that is that everyone has a net enabled phone.  News doesn't go through web pages.  It gets spread via personal networking from peer to peer.  The gov't is still trying to control media but in this age of instant contact the culture is circumventing the gov't's actions.  What I'm told by friends who are from there is that the result is often a population that actually knows more than average about world affairs because information is condensed and targeted as it makes its way around by hand.

[fjl]

Also, since you guys are talking about not showing ugly people on Chinese television...

Right, cause the United States doesn't do that either. Lets not forget there was a time when not only non-ugly but only white people where shown on television.

[AtomSmasher]

Also, since you guys are talking about not showing ugly people on Chinese television...

Right, cause the United States doesn't do that either. Lets not forget there was a time when not only non-ugly but only white people where shown on television.

Really?  Because tv sets became available to American consumers in 1946 and by 1956 Nat King Cole was the host of his own program.  I find it hard to believe that in 10 years time they went from refusing to show black people on television to a show hosted by a black man.

[ChadTower]

A show that couldn't gain any real sponsorship because no major corporation wanted to be associated with black people.  It was very short lived.  IIRC some people even tried to kidnap him in the middle of a show to get him off the air, he was injured during the attempt, and he refused to perform in many parts of the country after that.

Not a good example if your case is that black people were welcomed on TV here from the start.

[Ginsu Victim]

Nat King Cole aside, you wouldn't have a black female host a show until Oprah in 1986. The first black star of a network television show wasn't until Bill Cosby in "I Spy" in '65.

Not exactly progress...

[AtomSmasher]

Not a good example if your case is that black people were welcomed on TV here from the start.

Actually I was curious about his comment, so I did a little searching and found a site that listed african american achievements and it listed the Nat King Cole show, but I didn't look at any details of the show.  Even if he wasn't welcomed, it does at least show that television programs did allow black people on tv, even if it did cause a backlash among the public.

Regardless, comparing chinese television of today with american television of 50 years ago doesn't seem like a very good comparision.  We should be comparing chinese television of today with american television of today, which is what everyone else talking about the subject was doing.

[ChadTower]

That site probably isn't correct, then... Cole wasn't the first black person to host a show.  He was the first famous black person to host a show.  There was another musician who had one a few years earlier whose name escapes me now, I think it was actually a woman too.

[AtomSmasher]

Nat King Cole aside, you wouldn't have a black female host a show until Oprah in 1986. The first black star of a network television show wasn't until Bill Cosby in "I Spy" in '65.

Not exactly progress...

Perhaps, but he didn't say anything about staring roles, he said they were not shown at all.  The little girl singing at the olympics wasn't a star of a major television series, just a little girl with a great voice not pretty enough to be shown for the two minutes or so of the song.

[AtomSmasher]

That site probably isn't correct, then... Cole wasn't the first black person to host a show.  He was the first famous black person to host a show.  There was another musician who had one a few years earlier whose name escapes me now, I think it was actually a woman too.

Possibly.  Heres the site: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmfirsts.html

Could you be thinking of the Hattie McDaniel who won an academy award for best supporting actress in 1940?

[ChadTower]

That site probably isn't correct, then... Cole wasn't the first black person to host a show.  He was the first famous black person to host a show.  There was another musician who had one a few years earlier whose name escapes me now, I think it was actually a woman too.

Possibly.  Heres the site: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmfirsts.html

Could you be thinking of the Hattie McDaniel who won an academy award for best supporting actress in 1940?

After some searching I'm thinking of Hazel Scott in 1950.

[Ginsu Victim]

That site probably isn't correct, then... Cole wasn't the first black person to host a show.  He was the first famous black person to host a show.  There was another musician who had one a few years earlier whose name escapes me now, I think it was actually a woman too.

Possibly.  Heres the site: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmfirsts.html

Could you be thinking of the Hattie McDaniel who won an academy award for best supporting actress in 1940?

Ha...that's google for you. Same site I was quoting.

[shardian]

Black people make up 12-15% of the US population but are consistently 25-30% of the actors in television and movies.  They've been over-represented for decades.

You're gonna have to provide some sources for that statistic. That is simply too much to swallow. 25-30%? No way. There is a reason we have the phrase "Token black guy".

[ChadTower]

You're gonna have to provide some sources for that statistic. That is simply too much to swallow. 25-30%? No way. There is a reason we have the phrase "Token black guy".

In the last 24 hours he has also called L Ron Hubbard a brilliant man and questioned the reliability of Hondas. 

[shardian]

Ahh yes, he has. And you were doing so good Jim! Better get your Doc to check your med levels again.

[ChadTower]

Ahh yes, he has. And you were doing so good Jim! Better get your Doc to check your med levels again.

Dammit dammit dammit.  I wanted to find a WAV of the AAHHH YESSSSSS sound from Fathom but can't find it anywhere.  That's exactly how I heard your post in my head.