Vancouver Olympics Opening Ceremony Screw Up

[ianlutz]

BAN THIS LADY AND HER STUPID VIDEOS THAT ARE JUST TRYING TO GET ATTENTION.....SHE IS PUTTING UP HUNDREDS OF VIDEOS THAT ARE FALSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS BS! THESE ARE THE MOST IGNORANT COLLEGE STUDENT TRENDY LOSERS EVER AND IF WE DONT SAY SOMETHING NOW...THEY WILL HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON OUR FUTURE!!1

[kapman3072]

Nicely put. 2 thumbs up.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks. Take it easy.

[justm1234]

Personally i think they did a great job rectifying it at short notice with the closing ceremony

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@justm1234

I think so too. Thanks for posting!

[ConservativeRuleinUS]

The problem with the torch coming up was a huge gaffe....they seem to be having a lot of problems....poor planning....with billions of dollars....heads should roll

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@ConservativeRuleinUS

No, it's just a couple of glitches. I would rather see a "human" Canada than one that pretends to be perfect.

Thanks for posting.

[MzLoathsome]

those were little things though

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@MzLoathsome

I agree. They wre little things, but the favt that I immediately saw the headlinges blowing them a little out of proportion prompted me to make this vid. We as Canadians tend to look at ourselves a little too critically sometimes and I wanted to point that out.

Thanks for the posting!

[madzappa]

Good comments. It's true Canadians complain a lot... probably because we get pushed around, and don't have the balls to fight back. You could almost say we are repressed... and taxed to death. End result, a bunch of spineless whiners. As for global warming, it actually reverses weather patterns, and has brought epic snowfall to Whistler in recent years. I live in Vancouver and typically there is no snow, so nothing out of the ordinary there.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@madzappa

I don't think it's about whining per se. I think we, as Canadians, like to keep our feet on the ground by being critical of ourselves.

Thanks for the comments!

[johnny07652]

Good video. Here's my take on it, as an American looking in...

Canadians have a problem with negativity. It permeates the very culture of Canada. They find the negative about no only themselves but Americans (especially) and others in the world. I think they have this kind of automatic reaction, then they immediately make a joke of it. Which is why there are so many funny Canadian comics. But their comedy is almost entirely tinged (if not dripping) with sarcasm and derision. Strange.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@johnny07652

It's not that dark, in my opinion, but you are correct to point out that we are negative in certain ways. In our culture, we have developped into a nation that seems to sell itself short in an effort to keep its feet on the ground. There is tremendous potential for growth, but the potential for collapse is also there, and any growth we achieve will be fostered in a way so as to pace ourselves.

cont...

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@johnny07652

cont...

Our banking system is a prime example. Those guys lend out cautiously, so as not to cause too much grief when the inevitable crash comes. As a result, we develop slowly, but steadily. We were hit just as the rest of the world was in recent years, but not as hard and our recovery (as far as I am given to understand) is now starting to be seen.

As for us finding negativity in Americans and others, I don't think most Canadians do that as much as the loud ones. thx!

[tranceplante]

Vancouver never had snow. I lived there 3 years and it's not such a good city. All this hype is funny really!

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@tranceplante

I lived there several years myself. Vancouver usually only gets one or two days of snow per year. It has its good points, including the street artists of the summer, the mild weather (usually) and the laid back atmosphere of the lifestyle.

I liked living in West Vancouver myself, though I probably would not return. I think I would prefer a smaller town to live in.

[tranceplante]

what ever you say.... I didn't like The rain in Vancouver it's way too much. I live in Japan now, but not for long.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@tranceplante

I'm telling people to stay out of Japan. I can't say living here is as profitable as it once was. In fact, it's getting really lean.

[tranceplante]

ohhh yeah, i am not here for the money... just working in a ski resort for the winter and going after..... Good Powder here :)

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@tranceplante

hehe... I wouldn't know. I'm probably the only Canadian on the planet that doesn't ski or skate. Lol!! Enjoy the skiing!

[thatisfunnyveryfunny]

ive lived in vancouver for 7 years, and its snowed only a couple of times, some in the middle of march. I remember it snowed alot like four times, about 1 foot each except last year when the snow went up to a metre, but other than that the winters are really mild. i really dont get why they decided to have the winter olympics here out of all places where it barely snowed even back in 2006

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@thatisfunnyveryfunny

Thanks for posting! take care.

[pushelildaisies]

Our thanks to you for this pride inspiring message, my man. Two young Canadians here in Toronto, saying Hey, from across the sea!

Hope you enjoy the rest of the Olympics. Happy travels for 2010!

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@pushelildaisies

Right on! Thanks for the message, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the Olympics! (I read today that we've won our first gold! WOOT!)

:)

Cheers,

CotC

[MsSophiaDawn]

I have to say I thought the opening ceremony was absolutely amazing!!  Of course I didn't see any flaws - I'd gather not many people who were watching did.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@MsSophiaDawn

Thanks!

Watching it, I didn't either, but the Canadian media were fairly quick to point out its flaws.  I saw them when I saw the news coverage.

[Mascherina1964]

Hi again/I would have liked a more pan-Canadian presentation, but usually that means that BC gets the short end of the stick. So... perhaps this was an opportunity to the West Coast to strut./In the end, this ceremony was like the curate's egg: bits of it were good and bits not so good./What did I like? The fiddlers (some passion, finally!) and the cauldron (fire and ice!)/About the gaff: if the commentators hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed it -- really!/Let the games begin! /Bye!

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@Mascherina1964

Welcome back!

If there is any sentiment in BC around not getting attention, maybe that will soon dissipate after the Olympics is over and the rest of the world has seen what the province, as well as the rest of Canada, can offer.

Thanks again, for the posting!

CotC

[MisterBeaucoup]

Unfortunately I missed the opening ceremonies, but I've heard from several people that it was one of the best Olympic openings they've ever seen. Yes, there may have been a gaff, but it seems like most people have forgotten that one little negative & focussed on the overall positive picture :)

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@MisterBeaucoup

Good to hear. I hope the media in Canada catches up with that sentiment.

Thanks for posting! Take care.

CotC

[Optio10]

I don't hate Celine Dion because I'm Canadian. I hate Celine Dion because I have good taste in music.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Lol!!! Well for those of us with poor taste in music, we'll continue listening.

Thumbs up for the post, and thanks!

[rochrochy]

You guys, everyone Likes you! You may not like ME anymore, but I thought the opening ceremonies were just what I'd like the US to do--not trying to make a point, just celebrating the event. I found it all very inventive and fun, moving at times, and young. You know how when we travel, to avoid drama we say we are Canadian, or if something politically awful happens-"I'm moving to Canada!" If we want to escape, go to Canada! Feel good about yourselves a little bit! Believe!

[CanadianoftheCoast]

@rochrochy

Thanks for posting! In all honesty, Canada and the US have a rivalry going on, but that's not a bad thing. When push came to shove, Canada had America's back after 9/11. Don't let the minority get to you. People need to remember that the games were meant as a way to unite people, not divide them.

It comes down to a choice about what you want to think.

[rochrochy]

Well, there is of course a sports rivalry--without rivalry, the Olympics wouldn't exist. But nobody here would have ever thought we wouldn't come together after 9/11. Our rivalries are there, but I feel it's kind of like, we can compete against each other, but if someone else, say, China, were to talk smack about Canada, we'd be pissed. Unless someone is rabid about it, my experience is if we don't expect to win, we generally cheer for Canada. I think it's a complex familial relationship.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

I agree. Especially if China were to start talking about either of our countries. (I'm big into speaking my mind. China is a thorn in my side...)

Anyway, thanks again for the post! Take care and I hope all our athletes enjoy the Olympics.

[Mascherina1964]

Hi again/This show was an English-Canadian love fest. More to the point, this was a typical BC navel-gazing performance -- we live in the best part of Canada and you don't! Ottawa is 3 time zones away from here and it's non-existant for us./Also, the poet at the end of the performance -- frankly speaking, I was squirming! I remember teachers telling us not to boast like that: "It's so unCanadian."/ Right, these games are for the athletes and I wish them the best./Bye

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks for posting!

[Mascherina1964]

Hi/I'm a former Vancouverite now living in Montreal./My reaction to the ceremonies is as follows: I understood what they were talking about (the forest, the fish, the whales, the Prairies (I lived in Winnipeg for 2 years).... but I wonder what people from outside English Canada would have understood (Do they know who Chief Dan George is? And W.O. Mitchell?)/The performances felt very stiff; the O Canada! -- no comment; the bilingualism (what bilingualism?)/Right. More in the following posting.

[siloviki]

Sooooo, just interested, what kind of visa you have working in Japan...........

Making all the mandatory reporting to the CRA?

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Why yes, yes I am.  Your reason for asking?

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Oh, sorry!  The visa! My wife is Japanese. It's a spousal.

[navtel]

good vid and points.. the object is to compete, winning is good but not everything.. the women's hockey team beat slovakia 18-0.. although i am happy they won i am sad they chose to run the score up.. anyone in any sport that runs a score up never had or forgot what it was like to have it run up on them. disappointing.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Yeah, I hear ya. I hope both teams meet up afterwards for drinks. In the end, it's important that all the athletes have a good time together.

Thanks for posting!

[ryuurei01]

I rly dont think they meant to run up the score so high. A goal is a goal pretty sure they are taking EVER game seriously and will try to score whenever they can to secure their win..im proud to be canadian righ now:)

[DiverforPort]

I loved the opening ceremony, I thought it was amazing, how they made the floor look like the ocean, whales, salmon, look at what did go right. My only thought was I hope no one gets in too much trouble for the malfunction. Great use of a lot of Canadian talent too. Actual singers rather than lip syncing pop stars.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

I agree. there was a lot of beauty in the show and I liked it alot. Considering the limited budget they had to work with and the fact that there weren't a lot of volunteers, they did very well.

Thanks for the posting!

[leowwanker]

Nice one, we had the same issue in Sydney at our games in 2000, the cauldron got stuck after it was light, poor Cathy Freeman standing there in the wet !!....we thought it was hilarious, who cares what the world thought, the games was a great time in this city & at the end of the day it is very unimportant....as far as Celine goes..where was she at the opening >

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks! Celine? I don't know. I would have liked to have seen her there, but oh well...

Cheers, bud.

[siloviki]

Hmmmmm pierce?

[ScottOScottOScottO]

* Death of a luger due to poor track design.

* Shameful anthem....more cheers were given to the U.S. Olympic team than what was supposed to be our anthem.

* Rain delays the downhill event, as many experts warned about but Canadian organizers dismissed as "rubbish"

* Olympic flame debacle at the end of the opening ceremonies....

Wow, we are definitely representing ourselves well, aren't we?

THIS GUY HAS THE TYPICAL GREAT CANADIAN INFERIORITY COMPLEX!

[ScottOScottOScottO]

This guy is trying to make excuses for a Canadian embarrassment. Dude, get over yourself. What an embarrassment...The fact that you tried so hard to make excuses..

[CanadianoftheCoast]

You prove my point perfectly.

Inferiority complex? Nonsense. Problems with the opening cermonies existed. The fact that you, as a Canadian, were quick to point them out and call them an "embarrassment" and list the other problems with the Olympics only reinforces my assertment that we are our worst critics. This is not a "bad" thing as it keeps our feet on the ground, and it should be continued.

But this conversation only reinforces my opinion.

[IMattNovakI]

Yea we saw it on tv live commentarys like "there seems to be a problem with the hydrolics" lol. I lold so hard, but it worked out, I thought it was a nice opening. The projection was amazing.

[spiderweb20]

Yeah, I can't believe people are going to remember it for that little hiccup at the end. The performances and effects, and that poem, was amazing!

[chain8899]

Face the facts! When ever we are dealing with international affairs, especially when the Americans are involved, we ALWAYS ALWAYS try to compete against them. We can't beat them in economy, military, entertainment ect. but when it comes to sports, we have a fighting chance! Thats why we hold things like Hockey so religiously becuz we always school the americans.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Oh, we do compete, but that's not the point. The point is that we also tend to downplay our own successes. I enjoyed the olympic opening ceremonies and don't feel the need to attack them. We compete with Americans a lot, but we compete with ourselves even more.

[chain8899]

Yea, we downplay our successes becuz we are always measuring it up to the American standard and not within our own. The problem here is that canadians are influenced by American Culture so deeply that we subconsciously make comparisons to americans while forgetting we are both seperate nations. For instance, if a Canadian tells another canadian that Celine is a great singer, that other canadian would say Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Britney spears is way better! But, they are Americans?!?

[CanadianoftheCoast]

I don't know that I've heard that one would say Beynce and the others are better, but I have repeatedly seen examples of Canadians tearing other Canadians down without mentioning anyone else. Take the Olympic opening, for example. There was no reference to America, just a reference to a screw up that the whole world saw. If there were any reference to another country, it was a comparison to the Beijing Olympics.

We attack ourselves, not to compare, but to keep ourselves in check, I think.

[chain8899]

I bet you any money that if you mention about artists, american singers will be brought up by people one way or another! Thats my point!

Sure Canadians compare itself to other nations too but America owns a big part of our world. The thing I'm saying is that we are absorbed into American culture so deeply that we make unfair domestic comparisons without being aware of it. This is becuz canada and the U.S are very interconnected and similar in culture that we mistaken the two sometimes.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Perhaps we absorbed into American culture to a degree, but part of the point of this video is to point out that part of our culture is that we keep our feet on the ground by questioning ourselves. That's part of our Canadian heritage and culture. I believe that even if the U.S. did not exist we would still be doing that.

If we are to truly be Canadian, then we have to stop worrying about what other countries are doing and look at ourselves, defining us as Canadians and not what we aren't.

[chain8899]

For instance, Canada actually has a decent military in comparison to a bunch of nations and we should be proud of that. But I know a lot of Canadians that say we have a shitty military. Why is that!?! Becuz we subconciously compare it to the U.S without ever mentioning the U.S. in the conversation. We screwed up at the Olympics but we subconciously feel the U.S would never do that. Remember this is speaking in terms of nationalism since its about the olympics and nations.

[CanadianoftheCoast]

In answer to that I would point out that the only person who brought the U.S. into this conversation is Canadian.

...but only one Canadian. I never mentioned the United States until you brought it up.

[T3hPwnageBAM]

@chain8899 Canada has one of the top "secret" special forces in the world

JTF2^^

[chain8899]

Dude, I do believe you when you said we are our biggest critic. Why are Canadians so critical on our own failures? Because we always comparing and competing against our biggest rival, the USA!!! That's too huge of an expectation that we must feel the need to become perfectionists. Even if the U.S doesn't care or say anything, we just feel they are condescending us. I feel its our own insecurity mixed with a little paranoia that makes us kick ourselves for no reason. We want U.S to respect us!

[CanadianoftheCoast]

I rather believe it has more to do with the fact that Canada evolved from a climate of extremes. We couldn't afford the luxury of complacency in the early years when our nation was being formed, otherwise a cold winter would kill us. We had to be pragmatic. That attitude of seeing things as they were and not as we wanted them to be seeped into our national culture and is now being labelled as an "inferiority complex" when, in fact, it's just being "down to earth".

Thanks for posting!

[Roddykay]

Hi mate, what you say is true - no country is perfect but Canada is pretty damn close. I live here now and I love your country and its people. GO CANADA

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks for the kind words! Cheers!

[ShortySOM]

Well said my friend!!! Despite the glitch, it was a beautiful opening ceremony and we are our worst critics. Every opening ceremonies has it share of glitches and oopsies

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks you and thanks for posting!

[luminess1987]

What are you talking about? Of COURSE it's perfect! Perfectly flawed! (Something along those lines.) lol Just kidding! I didn't actually watch the opening ceremony, though. I wanted to, but I wasn't even home when it was on. I'll probably look it up on YT later. Something like that's bound to show up at some point. :P

[CanadianoftheCoast]

It's funny you should put it that way, Moon. That's how I view people. We are perfectly us.

Hehe... I love, however, the way my fellow Canadians and I are quick to point out flaws about anything Canadian, however. Especially if we can make a joke out of it somehow! :)

Thanks for posting!

Oh and... :P

[luminess1987]

Well, it's fun to joke about. Some people take things way too seriously, so I try to lighten it up a bit. I think I did an okay job. What say you?

[CanadianoftheCoast]

You do a great job in keeping things light, Moon. This is truth. :) Thanks for the posting!

[Annie1962]

There was a glitch in the Sydney olympics opening ceremony. Right at the moment where the flame was to be lit too. Weird.

[patius]

one thing, loved everything about the ceremony - the aerial view of BC, the great use of technology, the aboriginal side of the spectacle, amazing venue, but I wish the ceremony hadn't been so boring

[CanadianoftheCoast]

That's cool, but I actually liked what I saw of it.

Thanks for posting!

[T3hPwnageBAM]

only thing I can say is Canada is way behind in technologies in my opinion compared to the US/JP/EU ect

but when it comes to movies James Cameron takes the cake [Avatar/Titanic]

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Well, not in the medical sciences, nanotechnology, aviation, mining, forestry, or automotive sectors off the top of my head.

[Chamindo7]

Well said. Made me chuckle.

Love our country though. Extremes and all. ;)

Cheers

[CanadianoftheCoast]

Thanks! I agree, I love my country. Cheers.