Archive for the 'Olympics' Category

2012 London Olympic Emblem

Published by
Steve
at May 1, 2012 in news, Olympics and Poll. 2 Comments

London Olympics 2012 Logo

It certainly can’t be just me, but looking at the logo for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London leaves me with a very confused feeling.  What in the world could the designers / selection committee have been thinking?! IMO, it is the worst logo I could imagine for such a high profile event!

I wold have preferred just a generic 5 Olympic rings logo over what they chose!  The designers said they were creating a logo for a younger generation!  Really?  If so, then they FAILED, IMO!

London 2012 has stated that the new logo is aimed at reaching young people. Sebastian Coe stated that it builds upon everything that the organising committee has said “about reaching out and engaging young people, which is where our challenge is over the next five years.” One observer, a managing director of an advertising agency, noted that the logo bore a strong resemblance to the logo for the 1974–1982 children’s television programme Tiswas, commenting that appealing to young people is difficult, and that they will see right through attempts to patronise them.

So, what do you think?

What do you think of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Logo?

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Now this was a cool logo…

The “Redeem Team!”

Published by
Steve
at August 11, 2008 in China, Olympics, Sports and USA. 1 Comment

I just finished watching the USA basketball team (aka The Redeem Team) finish off Yao Ming and the rest of China’s team by the score of 101 to 70.

Despite this being China’s ‘home crowd’, the cheering seemed enthusiastic for both teams. China put up a spirited fight in the first half, but just couldn’t keep up in the second half.

I was personally impressed by how ‘clean’ everyone played, I’ve been so turned off by the NBA, because of all of the “thugs” who seem to do whatever they want with little or no consequences, that I was very pleasantly surprised by the sportsmanship shown by both teams.

08.08.08

Published by
Steve
at August 8, 2008 in China, news and Olympics. 3 Comments

Well, the big day has arrived…  The day of the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

I feel like I should tell my Chinese friends, “Ok, everyone can breathe now.”  This day has been so highly anticipated for so long, I’m afraid there is going to be some let-down when things don’t live up to the unrealistic expectations many have manufactured for the 2008 Summer Games.

     With the Olympics finally coming to China, tens of thousands of young people have rushed to marry or deliver babies.

    The Games are due to open on Friday, or 08/08/08. “Eight” is a lucky number among the Chinese, and many couples plan to tie the knot on the “triple 8 day.” Civil affairs authorities have predicted that Friday could set a one-day record for marriages since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded.

As a lucky day, 08/08/08 is also a favorite for many pregnant women. In central Chinese city of Changsha, Hunan Province, several hospitals have increased the number of beds for expectant mothers.

    ”I want to have an Olympics baby on Aug. 8. It is such a special day worth remembering,” said a 38-year-old woman surnamed Xie at the Hunan Provincial Maternal and Children Health Hospital.

    At the request of Xie and several other expectant mothers, doctors will help them undergo Caesarean births on Friday, said a head nurse surnamed Li at the hospital.

    ”We advised them that natural births are better, but they are eager to have Olympic babies,” Li said.

If all of this strikes you as a bit over the top, well it may be, but it’s also exactly the way the Chinese want it to be.

It appears that the Chinese are not the only ones taking advantage of “triple 8 day”, President George Bush attended the dedication of the 600,000-square-foot US embassy in Beijing with his father, former President George H.W. Bush. The elder Bush once served as U.S. ambassador to China.

As many of you know, thanks in part to the 2008 Olympics, I am in Hong Kong right now working on getting visas for my family and I to live in China.  What would have normally been a simple process, has become a bit of a red-tape nightmare.

It’s not all bad though.  I LOVE Hong Kong, so if I have to be ‘stuck’ somewhere, this is the place!

Oh, and there is a bit of Olympic spirit here, nearly 1,000 miles south of Beijing, as the equestrian events of the Olympic games are all being held here in Hong Kong.

We Made It!

Published by
Steve
at August 5, 2008 in Olympics and Travel. 7 Comments

 What a Beautiful Sight!

My absolute favorite city in the world.  (Of course, I’ve never ‘lived’ here, I’ve only visited.)

 

BTW, for my horse lover readers – the equestrian events of the 2008 summer olympics are being held here starting this weekend.

Yao Ming is back, sorta

Published by
Steve
at July 19, 2008 in China, Olympics and Sports. 2 Comments

 

Yao Ming played his first game in almost five months after a foot surgery, helping China beat Serbia 96-72 at the Stankovic Continental Cup here on Thursday.

The game was Yao’s first since a stress fracture in his left foot ended his NBA season in February and threatened his return as part of China’s team.

Yao returned to light training late last month after X-rays and an MRI scan taken in Houston showed his recovery was on schedule, at about 80 percent healed. Such injuries usually take a year to fully heal.

The injury has caused major concern among China’s Olympic organizers expecting him to become the face of the games and his return was certain to help them sleep easier. Yao is considered a leading candidate to carry the Olympic torch on its final leg into Beijing’s grandiose new National Stadium.

Animal Rights vs. Cultural Heritage

Published by
Steve
at July 12, 2008 in China, Culture, Food, Olympics and thoughts. 5 Comments

Looks like “Animal Rights” won.

Dog meat off Olympic menu in Beijing

BEIJING, China (AP) – Canine cuisine is being sent to the doghouse during next month’s Beijing Olympic Games.

Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

In the run up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, is the Chinese culture being short changed?Waiters and waitresses should “patiently” suggest other options to diners who order dog, it said, quoting city tourism bureau Vice Director Xiong Yumei.

Dog, known in Chinese as “xiangrou,” or “fragrant meat,” is eaten by some Chinese for its purported health-giving qualities.

Beijing isn’t the first Olympic host to slap a ban on the dish.

South Korea banned dog meat during the 1988 Seoul Olympics by invoking a law prohibiting the sale of “foods deemed unsightly.” After the Olympics, the ban was not strictly enforced.

Dog meat is also eaten in some other Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos. 

It is somewhat of a moot point since Chinese don’t eat dog meat in the summer time.  (It’s a winter time delicacy – the ‘warming of the body’ is probably one of the “health-giving qualities” referred to in the article.)  Maybe that’s why there doesn’t seem to be much ‘push back’ on this from official Chinese channels.

It does seem like a shame though.  A 5,000 year old culture is having a traditional dish taken off the menu because outsiders don’t ‘approve’.  What’s so different about “xianrou” compared to any other kind of meat?  Is ‘cruelty’ defined by how ‘cute’ the animal is?

Although I’m not a fan of dog meat (yes, I’ve tried it.  woof!)  I find myself bothered that this traditional piece of Chinese cultural cuisine is being taken away because ‘outsiders’ don’t approve.  

Go get your own Olympics an serve nothing but tofu…

 

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Olympic Toilet Trouble…

Published by
Steve
at March 19, 2008 in China, Culture and Olympics. 10 Comments

As many of you already know, Asians possess the valuable skill of ‘squatting.’  You may be thinking, “I can squat too, and I’m not Asian!”  But, there is a big difference between the “Asian Squat” and the “Western Squat.”

2008 LogoNormally, this is just one of those interesting cultural differences that tourists and Western expats like me notice and talk about.  However, due to decisions made by those who have designed and built the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it’s looking like it’s going to be a real issue for the tens of thousands of non-Chinese who are going to show up in August with no experience using a “squatty.”

Beijing is expecting about 500,000 foreigners to attend the Aug. 8-24 games.

At the more than 30 test events held by organizers, the presence of squat toilets at many of the new and renovated venues has drawn frequent complaints.

“Most of the Chinese people are used to the squat toilet, but nowadays more and more people demand sit-down toilets,” Yao said. “However, it will take some time for this transition.”

Beijing is reported to be spending at least $40 billion on the venues and related infrastructure, all designed to feature a modern country that has grown in three decades to a political and economic powerhouse.

Having experienced the reactions of dozens of Western tourists who come to China and encounter a ‘squatty potty’ for the very first time, I think the designers of the Beijing Olympic venues have made a serious miscalculation, based on cultural ignorance, by ommitting ‘western toilets’ in the bathrooms of these multi-million dollar venues!  The stories that will result will be interesting…

2008 Beijing Olympic Emblem

Published by
Steve
at November 20, 2007 in China and Olympics. 1 Comment

2008 LogoEvery emblem of the Olympics tells a story. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem “Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing” is filled with Beijing’s hospitality and hopes, and carries the city’s commitment to the world.

The seven themes that the 2008 Beijing Olympic emblem portrays are;

Milestone

Commitment

Image

Beauty

Hero

Spirit

Invitation

The emblem is supposed to “…attract more and more people from around the world to Beijing and China to join the great celebration with the Chinese people.”

I’m not sure that an emblem will accomplish this lofty goal, but it is a nice logo!

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-03/26/content_5897986.htm

Nearly 3,500 Chinese Named ‘Olympics’ (奥运)

Published by
Steve
at November 4, 2007 in China, funny and Olympics. 0 Comments

Does anyone doubt that the Chinese are excited about the 2008 Olympics? I’m pretty sure that Erica will NOT be agreeing to naming our soon-to-be-born son ‘Ao Yun’!

BEIJING — The upcoming Beijing Olympics is more than just a point of pride for China — it’s such an important part of the national consciousness that nearly 3,500 children have been named for the event, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Most of the 3,491 people with the name “Aoyun,” meaning Olympics, were born around the year 2000, as Beijing was bidding to host the 2008 Summer Games, the Beijing Daily reported, citing information from China’s national identity card database.

Names related to the Olympics don’t just stop with “Olympics.” More than 4,000 Chinese share their names with the Beijing Games mascots, the “Five Friendlies.”

The names are Bei Bei (880 people), Jing Jing (1,240), Huan Huan (1,063), Ying Ying (624) and Ni Ni (642). When put together, the phrase translates to “Beijing welcomes you!”

Beijing to put 50,000 bicycles for rent ahead of Olympics

Published by
Steve
at September 24, 2007 in China and Olympics. 1 Comment

BEIJING, (Xinhua) — Wanna tour Beijing? Rent a bike. The Olympic city plans to put 50,000 bicycles for rent across the city ahead of the Games to curb pollution and ease congestion.

Brand new bikes will be available at 230 outlets close to subway stations, commercial districts, Olympic venues, hotels and office buildings as well as in big communities, according to a “rent a bike” program carried out by Beijing Bicycle Rental Services, a Beijing-based company.

BikesThe company has so far put 5,000 bikes for rent at 30 franchise outlets close to the Beijing Workers Stadium, the Drum Tower, the Forbidden City and the Xidan commercial street, according to the company’s website.

Before next August, the network will be expanded to cover major communities and all the Olympic venues, said Wang Yong, general manager of Beijing Bicycle Rental Services. “Organizations and individuals are welcome to join our service network for free, as long as they can provide an area about the size of one parking space.”

Wang said his company would provide all the bikes for rent, and franchise outlets would get 1 Yuan a day for each bike they operate as running costs.

“The outlets will also get profit sharing at the end of each month, based on their own business incomes,” he said. “Not every outlet can make a profit, as people can rent a bike at one outlet and drop it somewhere else close to their destinations.”

The bicycle rental program is also sponsored by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau as well as the anti-theft arm of the municipal public security bureau, because bicycles are frequently stolen in the city.

“This is like a centralized management of bicycles so that citizens won’t have to worry about thefts,” said police officer Wang Xiaobing.

To embrace next year’s Olympic Games, Beijing, a city with 3 million motor vehicles and more than 4 million drivers, is working all-out to ease congestion and curb pollution.

Monday is the last day of Beijing’s four-day experiment to test whether pulling 1.3 million cars off its roads each day would prove effective in reducing air pollution during the Games.

Drivers with even-numbered license plates, excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, were told to stay off the roads on Friday and Sunday or face fines. Odd-numbered cars were banned on Saturday and Monday.

Experts say pulling 1.3 million motor vehicles off the roads in Beijing each day can reduce exhaust emissions by 40 percent.

Though Beijing’s sky remained mostly gray and misty as a result of stuffy, humid late summer weather, nearly everyone felt the roads were smoother. “Going to work by bus took me only 15 minutes,” said Zhang Jianguo, a government employee. “Driving took almost the same time.”