Winter Olympics 2014

[Evgeny.Makarov]

The Winter Olympics 2014 opening ceremony is taking place now.

Live broadcast using Flash:

link 1

link 2

link 3

(Open the video full screen to avoid the advertisement.)

 

[Jameson]

I've been talking a lot about this with my Russian clients. The media seems set on calling it a disaster by the comments and articles written so far, so I really hope that stops and that everything goes safely. Security is a major issue.

Not a fan of any winter sports really but I might watch the biathlon, since many of my friends over there are fans of it.

Here is the home page where you can find schedules and results.

 

[SuperSonic4]

I've been talking a lot about this with my Russian clients. The media seems set on calling it a disaster by the comments and articles written so far, so I really hope that stops and that everything goes safely. Security is a major issue.

Pretty much the same thing was said about London 2012 until the games actually started. British media is taking a perverse pleasure in citing the cost second only to Russian anti-gay laws (little mention is made of the actual law)

 

[Chris L T521]

I assume this is an OK place to talk about the various events? If so, great! If not, let me know and we can create a new thread for such discussions.

[HR][/HR]
I'm curious as to which events you guys enjoy watching the most during the Winter Olympics. Over the years, I started to realize that curling is my favorite event to watch; it has me on the edge of my seat every time I watch a match (and they can be pretty long matches too). XD

I'm a pretty decent shuffleboard player, so I suppose my "love" for curling spawns from that since they're similar. Sometime in the future, though, I'd love to have the opportunity to play this game/sport.

Anyways, here's the recap for Men's Curling from Vancouver in 2010:

and here's the recap for Women's Curling from Vancouver in 2010 (it wouldn't let me add a second video, so see the link instead).

Who do you think is going to take gold this time around? I usually root for Team USA, but the only time I root for Team Canada is when it comes to curling because they're sooooooo good.

 

[Evgeny.Makarov]

 

[Evgeny.Makarov]

In Russia, there is city of Chelyabinsk located near the Ural Mountains on the border of Europe and Asia. It is one of the major industrial centers due to the presence of such companies as the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Combinate and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, which produced 18,000 tanks during World War II. It is also famous for the meteor that exploded above the city on February 15, 2013. As a related joke, they say that during the regional government meeting shortly before the fall, the governor said, "And if someone thinks that we are not doing a good job, let him throw the first stone!".

A Russian equivalent of Chuck Norris jokes are jokes about Chelyabinsk residents. Here are a few.

• Chelyabinsk kids are so tough, that they wait for -30 temperature so that the school is canceled and they can go play outside.
• The Chelyabinsk meteor decided to blow up in the air when it saw where it was falling.
• The Chelyabinsk nickel factory is so tough that it orders the delivery of ore using meteors.
• Chelyabinsk men are so tough that Chuck Norris is considering moving there.
• Chelyabinsk wind vanes are so tough that they determine wind direction.
• Chelyabinsk metal factory workers are so tough that they light their cigarettes from the open hearth furnaces.
• Chelyabinsk airline pilots are so tough that during an emergency they can land a plane using pranksters' laser pointers as guidance.

Finally, what does this have to do with Winter Olympics? Here is a picture of a Chelyabinsk biathlon athlete.

Spoiler

 

[Klaas van Aarsen]

Hey!

It's orange!!
How appropriate.
(Since it is the national color of a certain country. )