Petey's 2018 Winter Olympics Thread

[Michael Hopcroft]

On 2/16/2018 at 11:31 AM, Old Man said:

mmm, NO. Few Americans have any idea what Korean ceremonial garb looks like, but Koreans do. The Japanese get their turn in the 2020 Summer Games.

 

I refer you to this for a quick reference on how Koreans traditionally dress for ceremonial occasions.

[death tribble]

For those of us not in the know, who are the men in the costumes ?

[Old Man]

 

(I can't find a non-dubbed version.)

[slikmar]

I was joking the other day with my brother that an event called Pursuit (part of the Biathlon), I am not sure I would want to be first out of the gate with people following me armed and supposedly expert shooters. Then I said they should replace the rifles with paint guns, remove the spots where they shoot at and just have the course ski past the part with the extreme game snowboarders and skiers doing their tricks. Your shooting score would be how many of your color paint splotches are on the x-gamers at the end of their run. Maybe give style points for hit locations.

[Cancer]

Add personal rocket motors and I'd pay to watch that.

[L. Marcus]

2 hours ago, death tribble said:

For those of us not in the know, who are the men in the costumes ?

The man to the right is the multi-talented Takeshi "Beat" Kitano. The picture is from a Japanese obstacle course gameshow that he hosted.

[Pariah]

Lindsey Vonn finished 6th in her race today, just over a quarter second out of first place.

 

Now she's getting a ****load of hate mail on Twitter from people claiming that it's karma for having disrespected President Trump.

 

Sometimes, I really feel like punching people I don't know right in the face over the internet.

[Badger]

Cant really feel motivated to care one way or the other.  You choose to get political you inevitably piss off half the people who support you.  As long as the pissed off people don't cheer for an injury, it is what it is.

 

JUst saying, one has to ask themself if an athlete admitted undying support for Trump, and say Hillary belongs in jail.  Does one still support that athlete?  

 

Personally, I just choose not to judge one way or another for the Vonn case or my mentioned scenario.  I'd like to think of the Olympics, transcending politics, and we just compete, and not go on and on about petty bickering on national or global politics during it, but I realize that isn't going to happen anymore. (if it ever did happen)

 

Of course, if they cheer for an injury, I draw a line no matter who it is.

 

 

[Starlord]

Perhaps we could give some thought as to why karma had absolutely no effect on Steph 'Trump Hater' Curry last year then...errr, wait...that would be lending credibility to the concept of karma...nevermind.

 

PS:  People angry, self-righteous and judgemental on Twitter.  News at 11. 

[Pariah]

There are four questions I'd like to ask those folks:

 

1. If an athlete who doesn't like the President wins an event, or if an athlete who loves the President crashes and burns, is that karma too? If so, for what?

 

2. Vonn has publicly stated that she's dedicating her performances in these Games to the memory of her recently-deceased grandfather, who served in the Korean War. So I have to ask the detractors: Why do you hate our military? Why do you hate America?

 

3. What's the point of making the comments in the first place? Who benefits? Do you really think this will bring Lindsey Vonn around to your way of thinking? (Spoiler: It hasn't.) Or is this just a flimsy excuse to make yourself feel important by celebrating someone else's shortcomings?

 

4. What the **** is wrong with you, anyway?

 

/rantmode 

[death tribble]

14 hours ago, L. Marcus said:

The man to the right is the multi-talented Takeshi "Beat" Kitano. The picture is from a Japanese obstacle course gameshow that he hosted.

Many thanks. I am more familiar with him from his more serious film work.

[L. Marcus]

As am I, and most Westerners, I think, but in Japan he's mostly known as a comedian and TV personality. Weird world, huh.

[Badger]

10 hours ago, Pariah said:

There are four questions I'd like to ask those folks:

 

1. If an athlete who doesn't like the President wins an event, or if an athlete who loves the President crashes and burns, is that karma too? If so, for what?

 

2. Vonn has publicly stated that she's dedicating her performances in these Games to the memory of her recently-deceased grandfather, who served in the Korean War. So I have to ask the detractors: Why do you hate our military? Why do you hate America?

 

3. What's the point of making the comments in the first place? Who benefits? Do you really think this will bring Lindsey Vonn around to your way of thinking? (Spoiler: It hasn't.) Or is this just a flimsy excuse to make yourself feel important by celebrating someone else's shortcomings?

 

4. What the **** is wrong with you, anyway?

 

/rantmode 

 

Valid questions.

 

Note: My conclusion, politically, everybody has lost their damn minds of late.  Way too many on both sides have become "He Who Fights Monsters".  (as an aside, why I don't talk politics much anymore)

 

2nd Note: Not saying you or anybody here in particular, Pariah.  Just as a collective nation, politically, we've definitely lost our way with our ability to talk about it rationally.

[Badger]

7 hours ago, L. Marcus said:

As am I, and most Westerners, I think, but in Japan he's mostly known as a comedian and TV personality. Weird world, huh.

 

Question:   Wouldn't a Japanese comedian, dressing in traditional Korean attire, be a bit ethnically offensive?

[Michael Hopcroft]

57 minutes ago, Badger said:

 

Question:   Wouldn't a Japanese comedian, dressing in traditional Korean attire, be a bit ethnically offensive?

Koreans are very sensitive about Japanese in general. Japan occupied Korea for several decades until their empire collapsed in World War II,  and they were not benevolent masters. Korean women were commonly conscripted as "comfort women" -- unwilling sex slaves used by the Japanese armed forces for R&R. Most of Korean history since, including the current series of crises, is the direct result of that occupation.

 

Officially, South Korea and Japan are cooperative with each other, and both are significant economies in Asia, but the wounds haven't healed in the Korean psyche. It doesn't help that the arrogance of Japan's days of imperial glory has not entirely dissipated.

[Pariah]

1 hour ago, Badger said:

 

Valid questions.

 

Note: My conclusion, politically, everybody has lost their damn minds of late.  Way too many on both sides have become "He Who Fights Monsters".  (as an aside, why I don't talk politics much anymore)

 

2nd Note: Not saying you or anybody here in particular, Pariah.  Just as a collective nation, politically, we've definitely lost our way with our ability to talk about it rationally.

 

Spot on, if you ask me.

[Pariah]

Glad  those two German bobsledders are okay. That was scary-looking.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Michael Hopcroft said:

Koreans are very sensitive about Japanese in general. Japan occupied Korea for several decades until their empire collapsed in World War II,  and they were not benevolent masters. Korean women were commonly conscripted as "comfort women" -- unwilling sex slaves used by the Japanese armed forces for R&R. Most of Korean history since, including the current series of crises, is the direct result of that occupation.

 

Officially, South Korea and Japan are cooperative with each other, and both are significant economies in Asia, but the wounds haven't healed in the Korean psyche. It doesn't help that the arrogance of Japan's days of imperial glory has not entirely dissipated.

 

Yeah,  that history was one reason I thought about that.  (maybe not so different than what we think of "brownface" in old Westerns nowadays)

[L. Marcus]

5 hours ago, Badger said:

 

Question:   Wouldn't a Japanese comedian, dressing in traditional Korean attire, be a bit ethnically offensive?

Pretty much, yes. There is a Korean minority in Japan nowadays, and from what I gather they are not treated very well by the majority.

[Old Man]

The Japanese only sort of mistreat second class citizens, such as anyone who isn't ethnically Japanese.  And all women.  As long as you're not in one of those categories you're fine.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Getting back to the games, has anyone seen the gold-medal race in Two-Man Bobsled? In a sport where times are measured in hundreds of a second, the Germand and Canadians managed to end in a tie, Both teams got gold medals.

 

Norway is dominating the medal count with 11 Gold and 30 total medals. The Norwegians have always done well in winter sports, and there's still plenty of time for Germany or Canada to catch up, but it's still impressive.

 

The Russians are fifth in the medal count but haven't claimed a single Gold.

[Old Man]

Was that the one where the Germans literally crashed into first place?

[death tribble]

Congrats to Canada's Brady Leman on winning Gold in the Ski Cross final. 8 years ago he broke his leg before the Olympics. 4 years ago he came fourth.

 

The Dutch lost out in both team speed skating pursuits. They only managed Bronze in the men's and the women lost to Japan in the women's final. Big excitement for the home crowd in the men's team pursuit as Korea faced Norway and almost won it but Norway took it.

[Pariah]

It's a good thing (for us Americans, anyway) that all those X-Games events are Olympic Sports now. Otherwise, Team USA would be almost completely irrelevant at this year's Games.

[L. Marcus]

... The USers won the women's cross-country skiing sprint relay.

 

What just happened, did the Universe hiccup?