Olympics

peaceful_life · Post by **peaceful_life** » 29 Jul 2012, 01:56

A desperate denial of cerebral metamorphosis.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 29 Jul 2012, 02:46

mobbsey wrote:
stevecook172001 wrote:It was cheesy, sugar-coated, expensive bollocks
Sounds like the brand name of a popular British snack food... perhaps you could market the concept to Northern Foods?

It seemed to me like the kind of "concept" opening ceremony one might have expected the team on the comedy series "Twenty Twelve" to have come up with.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 29 Jul 2012, 02:48

peaceful_life wrote:A desperate denial of cerebral metamorphosis.

Each of the words you have used make individual sense. However, the order in which you have put them makes no sense at all.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 29 Jul 2012, 08:19

stevecook172001 wrote:It was cheesy, sugar-coated, expensive bollocks

Don't hang back Steve.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 29 Jul 2012, 08:24

Cartoon courtesy of The Independent - 29/07/12

I think that's me.

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 29 Jul 2012, 09:03

Zoe Wood - The Observer - 29/07/12

Will the Olympics get the economy growing again? Don't bank on it

With the boost to construction and surge in visitors it brings, the Games would seem certain to lift the UK back into growth.

But data from previous hosts suggests the opposite is true.

Article continues ...

peaceful_life · Post by **peaceful_life** » 29 Jul 2012, 10:44

stevecook172001 wrote:
peaceful_life wrote:A desperate denial of cerebral metamorphosis.
Each of the words you have used make individual sense. However, the order in which you have put them makes no sense at all.

Given the fact that our language is itself a cognitive straitjacket, it's no wonder we have confusion.

Other than that, I 'think' you 'know' what I'm saying.

Little John · Post by **Little John** » 29 Jul 2012, 14:31

peaceful_life wrote:
stevecook172001 wrote:
peaceful_life wrote:A desperate denial of cerebral metamorphosis.
Each of the words you have used make individual sense. However, the order in which you have put them makes no sense at all.

Given the fact that our language is itself a cognitive straitjacket, it's no wonder we have confusion.

Other than that, I 'think' you 'know' what I'm saying.

You think I am in denial about changing my mind about whether the ceremony was crap?

Nope

Don't misunderstand me, in production terms, it was fine. I am just not judging it in production terms. I am judging it in cultural, historical and, primarily, sporting terms. I am also, not in short measure, judging it in financial terms.

In all of those terms, it was crap.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 29 Jul 2012, 14:58

Soldiers have been drafted in to fill empty seats at the London 2012 Olympics after prime blocks of seating at the Aquatics Centre and gymnastics arena went unused on the first day of competition

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/ju ... NETTXT9038

I comes from an organisation that values rich people more highly than poor, giving free tickets to the over-privileged who don't care enough to bother to turn up and care even less that those who would have enjoyed the event have been prevented from so doing.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 29 Jul 2012, 15:01

Will the Olympics get the economy growing again? Don't bank on it

They blame one bank-holiday for having a downer on the economy. We now have 17 days during which the nation sits in front of the telly doing nothing. Hmmm.... At least that should see a drop in carbon emissions.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 29 Jul 2012, 15:24

And some police action that didn't make the news:

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2012-07-2 ... oo-bridge/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imoSpvf ... r_embedded

Standuble · Post by **Standuble** » 29 Jul 2012, 15:27

Will these new facilities ever meet their maximum attendance capacity? If they are mostly empty at the height of the Olympics then what about in the years following? The prospect of a happy family of immensely expensive white Elephants unnerves me on so many levels.

Rather than be the beacons for a new generation I fear everything we have built will just become ruins of a very brief bygone era.

acman · Post by **acman** » 29 Jul 2012, 16:06

Every olympics since the war has cost more than it has generated, always difficult to quantify I know, but this one will be no different. The initial outlay when we bid, we were told was to about £2Bn, within a very short space of time that had gone to around £9Bn, goodness knows what the final cost will be, we'll probably not be told, but I suspect a lot of countries around the world are thankful at the moment that they aren't hosting it on financial reasons alone. Plus a lot of tickets & package deals through travel agents for events remain unsold.
Regards Alan.

Post by **clv101** » 29 Jul 2012, 18:43

acman wrote:The initial outlay when we bid, we were told was to about £2Bn, within a very short space of time that had gone to around £9Bn...

...and after the initial jump to £9Bn (cheap in Olympic terms) it seems it was delivered to this new budget. It's also worth nothing that the vast majority of that money was spent in the British economy, employing people here.

Catweazle · Post by **Catweazle** » 29 Jul 2012, 19:05

clv101 wrote:money was spent in the British economy, employing people here.

Employing people to build a facility and then demolish it again is not top of my list of "how to help the economy". Also, when the surviving facilities sit there, dusty and unused, who will pay for the security and maintenance ?

I keep thinking of the Millenium Dome for some reason, built for £millions, sold to corporation for £1 .