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Post by Kahloke on Nov 1, 2009 12:34:11 GMT -8
Great photos Chris! That must have been fun to see. I remember when the torch came through Mill Bay for the 1988 Calgary Olympics. I was attending Shawnigan at the time, and the entire school descended upon Mill Bay to witness that little segment of the torch relay.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 1, 2009 15:44:05 GMT -8
Here are pictures of the North Nanaimo leg of the relay, at 8:00am on Sunday November 1st, 2009: This leg is on a residential street in my neighbourhood. I picked a spot where one runner would be handing-off to another runner. And I went back-and-forth across the street a few times, so I have pictures from different sides of the street. The relay crew is a moving parade, with 4 main sections, not including the police vehicles for traffic control: 1) The Relay bus that shuttles the torch-runners to their starting points 2) The hype-trucks that precede the torch to give high-fives, flags and to invoke the Olympic Spirit upon the unsuspecting 3) The torch-runner (including the motorhome that goes in front of the runner, and the guy in the back of the motorhome who videotapes the torch-runners' runs.) 4) The Relay bus that picks up the finished runners from their ending points. ================ Here comes the Relay bus, to deposit our runner in front of us:  Hey, it's your turn. Get off the bus!  Now our hero-man takes time to pose for pictures and to let people hold the joint   Here comes the hype-trucks:  Hey look, it's those High-Fivin' White Guys:    Here's a Relay worker on his bike, with a torch-in-a-bag  Here comes the torch, and the hand-off:     And the new guy is off running (it was 20 minutes behind schedule, at this point):   A close-up of the back of the motorhome, filming the run for the runner's keepsake DVD  And here's the mob around the previous runner, before he gets back into the Relay bus  |
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Post by Scott on Nov 1, 2009 21:59:49 GMT -8
Wow, looks like more people were there than in Port Alberni where it happened to go past where we were having lunch. The main celebration was on the other side of town, so perhaps all the spectators were there. Wouldn't it be better if they had "hype electric cars" or at least "hype cars"?
Anyone find anything (photos/reports) about the flame's first ferry ride?
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 2, 2009 7:28:32 GMT -8
Thanks for the photos guys. I think I will either see the torch run in either downtown Mississauga where I live (Canada's 5th or 6th largest city believe it or not) or I will go downtown Toronto.
I have to admit it was a strange sight to see the Christmas lights and Halloween costumes in Chris' pics. The big window openings of Holt Renfrew's Christmas window is this Friday and I think the Bay's is this week as well. It used to be that they waited until the Calvacade of Lights when the whole city lit up on the same night. It was around the time of the Santa Claus parade but has been getting earlier and earlier. I was in Chapters last night and all the Halloween stuff was gone and all the Christmas displays all set up. I half joking told the "greeter" at the door if they were playing Christmas music already I was leaving, she rolled her eyes and said, "Me too, try working at a place where they start it too early."
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 3, 2009 9:56:50 GMT -8
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 3, 2009 10:05:21 GMT -8
Why dont they fly into Victoria instead of Nanaimo if they can only clear security in Victoria and Nanaimo??? But I have to say I am not a fan of the Olympics here. It's just scewing everything up. We arent even gonna bother taking our plane up during Febuary cause of the stupid regulations and other stuff which is crap cause Victoria is no where near Whistler. It just annoys me!
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 3, 2009 10:13:51 GMT -8
We aren't even gonna bother taking our plane up during February cause of the stupid regulations and other stuff which is crap cause Victoria is no where near Whistler. It just annoys me! It's all a scheme to give power to a minority of small-minded people who like to think they are in control. VANOC should have been taken before a human rights tribunal a long time ago, or the BC Supreme Court should have struck it down as being unconstitutional. Anyone wanna bet that after the Olympics, the committee will still be around, just with a different name, but still unelected and unaccountable to anyone, with the same sweeping powers to infringe upon personal rights and dictate individuals and businesses based on insubstantial paranoia. The BC Provincial Security Organizing Committee sounds like a good fit for a name, and the violation of personal rights and freedoms sounds right up their alley. |
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Post by Mike C on Nov 3, 2009 10:26:21 GMT -8
I know I shouldn't get involved in this, but this post needed an appropriate response. It's all a scheme to give power to a minority of small-minded people who like to think they are in control. VANOC should have been taken before a human rights tribunal a long time ago, or the BC Supreme Court should have struck it down as being unconstitutional. Anyone wanna bet that after the Olympics, the committee will still be around, just with a different name, but still unelected and unaccountable to anyone, with the same sweeping powers to infringe upon personal rights and dictate individuals and businesses based on insubstantial paranoia. The BC Provincial Security Organizing Committee sounds like a good fit for a name, and the violation of personal rights and freedoms sounds right up their alley. are you talking about... |
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 3, 2009 11:38:39 GMT -8
I know I shouldn't get involved in this, but this post needed an appropriate response. It's all a scheme to give power to a minority of small-minded people who like to think they are in control. VANOC should have been taken before a human rights tribunal a long time ago, or the BC Supreme Court should have struck it down as being unconstitutional. Anyone wanna bet that after the Olympics, the committee will still be around, just with a different name, but still unelected and unaccountable to anyone, with the same sweeping powers to infringe upon personal rights and dictate individuals and businesses based on insubstantial paranoia. The BC Provincial Security Organizing Committee sounds like a good fit for a name, and the violation of personal rights and freedoms sounds right up their alley. are you talking about... Maybe there was another thread for this, but with the torch relay on, we are still in the midst of it, so alright... With the Olympics coming, maybe we already are in the seven circles of hell. I know it's been discussed at length, and I'm not sure of the ultimate outcome, but think about a small privately owned restaurant where VANOC decided it was o.k. to ignore the oft trumpeted rights and freedoms we all have simply because they happened to have the Olympic rings on their sign. No unelected body should have the power to do that, and the fact that they attempted to shows there is something wrong with the process if they thought they're powers enabled them to control artistic expression. It should have been considered at least a sneer at someone else's rights and freedoms, if not a violation and by extension could be considered unconstitutional. They should have stopped right there to reconsider exactly what powers they were allowing VANOC to exercise. Their job was to organize the Olympics, not force compliance with their vision by undemocratic means. While they may be doing a reasonable job organizing the seven circles of hell that political speakers like to call a mega-event, that episode and several other instances, such as the airspace restrictions, or even turning HOV lanes into Olympics-only lanes show glaring inconsistencies indicating that some members of VANOC are more than happy to bypass due process, ignore the rights of others and, of course, just waste time and money. I have no problem with their being a committee to organize the Olympics, but I don't understand when organizing became the means to by-pass the proper channels of democracy. No doubt the Olympics will go off without a hitch, only because no self-respecting terrorist would bother to get involved with them, but afterward, when VANOC is patting themselves on the back, will they maybe take a minute to offer at least a first apology to the owner of that restaurant, or another apology if it is not the first. In the same way, though, the protesters that disrupted the torch run through Victoria should offer an official apology to the runner they displaced, just to keep everything fair. |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 3, 2009 15:26:33 GMT -8
The blame is being put on VANOC for a lot of things. We had family/friend connections to Jack Poole, who was an honorable man who did a lot of good, especially for charities. Who knew he was involved with such a devious entity.
This isn't new. This has happened for a long time with the Olympics. Whatever games are held where-ever, the local organizing committee has to take on responsibility for the Olympic logo and representations. This is mandated by the IOC and not some fascist or right wing or other conspiracy, to exercise power. It happens world wide all the time, no one can use the Olympic name or especially the logo in certain ways without paying a sponsorship fee. It just happens that a local business who has been using something that is trademarked for a long time, happens to get noticed easier when a local olympic committee is working. There are many businesses that have been told to stop using the Olympic rings and terminology all over the world.
We aren't talking someone's artistic merits like we discussed recently with whole BCF stuff regarding their logo. This is entirely different.
Think of it with the reverse focus. If you spent your life building up your little local business and were proud of your efforts in building a unique XYZ (whatever it is), you would hope you had some protection if you trademarked your image and ideas. Otherwise, some big bad large corporation could simply take on your whole name, your logo and your whole mojo, for your business and put you right under. Imagine the consumer confusion if there were also XYZ's all over the place that were badly run and ruining your name. So as much as it protects the big guys, it actually protects the small guys even more because they are more vulnerable.
So take whatever view you want but there are usually two sides to a coin.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 3, 2009 18:15:55 GMT -8
Maybe there was another thread for this, but with the torch relay on, we are still in the midst of it, so alright... With the Olympics coming, maybe we already are in the seven circles of hell. I know it's been discussed at length, and I'm not sure of the ultimate outcome, but think about a small privately owned restaurant where VANOC decided it was o.k. to ignore the oft trumpeted rights and freedoms we all have simply because they happened to have the Olympic rings on their sign. No unelected body should have the power to do that, and the fact that they attempted to shows there is something wrong with the process if they thought they're powers enabled them to control artistic expression. It should have been considered at least a sneer at someone else's rights and freedoms, if not a violation and by extension could be considered unconstitutional. They should have stopped right there to reconsider exactly what powers they were allowing VANOC to exercise. Their job was to organize the Olympics, not force compliance with their vision by undemocratic means. While they may be doing a reasonable job organizing the seven circles of hell that political speakers like to call a mega-event, that episode and several other instances, such as the airspace restrictions, or even turning HOV lanes into Olympics-only lanes show glaring inconsistencies indicating that some members of VANOC are more than happy to bypass due process, ignore the rights of others and, of course, just waste time and money. I have no problem with their being a committee to organize the Olympics, but I don't understand when organizing became the means to by-pass the proper channels of democracy. No doubt the Olympics will go off without a hitch, only because no self-respecting terrorist would bother to get involved with them, but afterward, when VANOC is patting themselves on the back, will they maybe take a minute to offer at least a first apology to the owner of that restaurant, or another apology if it is not the first. In the same way, though, the protesters that disrupted the torch run through Victoria should offer an official apology to the runner they displaced, just to keep everything fair. I've had connections to VanOC since the beginning. I've met a lot of the head guys, including the organizer of the torch relay, as well has had a lot of close relations within my nuclear family to the organization. I'm not sure what you try to base your above accusations upon, but they are false. I oversee on a consistent basis the developments and continuing chronicles inside and outside of VanOC, and I have seen none of the above. What I have seen so far is an organization who can effectively congregate, be an active member of the community and positively offer contributions to the city of Vancouver, and the rest of the province. There is no doubt in my mind, they have hit some bumps along the way, and made a few mistakes. Such mistakes are highlighted by the media, and presented in a negative format. The security measures you listed above are necessary in order to provide the visitors to our province with a safe and assured stay. There is no doubt that this is an unpopular organization. Protesters take to the absolute next level, beyond any reasonable or justifiable means, and on a constant basis get negative media coverage an PR. VanOC is not a "corrupt organization" as many call it. Many, including the Provincial Government, have undermined their credibility... And they've made a few mistakes along the way. But overall, they've done an excellent job. |
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 3, 2009 20:13:37 GMT -8
O.k.... you guys are right, of course. There just has always been something that doesn't seem right to me, and now I know what it is. If the Olympics are supposed to unite humanity and bring us all together on common ground, then I have a question for the IOC. If the organization is dedicated to planning and organizing events intended to unite humanity, than shouldn't the symbol of those games also be freely accessible to all of us.
Why have licensing rights on the logo, why try to make money off of it if it is really supposed to symbolize all of humanity coming together freely and openly? If the rings are a symbol of human unity, then they should at least be in the public domain, for the free use of anyone, and no organization should have exclusive rights to them. If the are rights are to be held by someone exclusively, it should at least be the original artist and they should the mind that decides how the symbol is properly represented.
It just seems to go completely against the spirit of the Olympics that the symbol of something that is supposed to unite us, is instead used to divide us, simply because certain entities want to market the rings and make money off of them. No surprise, I guess. Please don't take it personally: it's just business. But, I remember seeing the commercials with Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu during the last Olympics, champions of the cause of humanity, advocating the spirit of the games to unite us and make us all friends and equals. So, to the IOC, I have one question: are you in it for human unity, or for money?
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Post by Mike C on Nov 3, 2009 23:27:59 GMT -8
O.k.... you guys are right, of course. There just has always been something that doesn't seem right to me, and now I know what it is. If the Olympics are supposed to unite humanity and bring us all together on common ground, then I have a question for the IOC. If the organization is dedicated to planning and organizing events intended to unite humanity, than shouldn't the symbol of those games also be freely accessible to all of us. Why have licensing rights on the logo, why try to make money off of it if it is really supposed to symbolize all of humanity coming together freely and openly? If the rings are a symbol of human unity, then they should at least be in the public domain, for the free use of anyone, and no organization should have exclusive rights to them. If the are rights are to be held by someone exclusively, it should at least be the original artist and they should the mind that decides how the symbol is properly represented. It just seems to go completely against the spirit of the Olympics that the symbol of something that is supposed to unite us, is instead used to divide us, simply because certain entities want to market the rings and make money off of them. No surprise, I guess. Please don't take it personally: it's just business. But, I remember seeing the commercials with Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu during the last Olympics, champions of the cause of humanity, advocating the spirit of the games to unite us and make us all friends and equals. So, to the IOC, I have one question: are you in it for human unity, or for money? Copyright infringement is not a societal barrier, it's the law.  Take any logo you want - it's the same case. Literally... look at, say... I dunno... Petro-Canada. Are they dividing Canadians? They're supposed to be for the good of the people, filling your vehicles with gasoline, and yet - according to you - they only provide some sort of money-making, only-for-profit symbol that "divides humanity." Am I missing something here? Seriously. Say so if I am. Dividing humanity, I guess, applies to a lot of other stuff too - I own a Canon camera, several others own Nikons. Some go to school, some work full-time. Some live on the island, some live on the mainland. My point is that, if that is your central argument against the Olympics that will be coming to a city that isn't yours, you should take a look around at the other examples of "humanity division" we already experience, and have come to accept in our world. |
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 4, 2009 10:10:54 GMT -8
Obviously there's no winning with those who know they're always right, and if you're wrong about one thing, you'll always be seen as wrong about everything.
Read the first line of my last post very closely... I said you guys were right about VANOC. I wasn't talking about that anymore. I was thinking more about the spirit of the whole thing. There have been enough cases also, where the law is deliberately misused to create imposing social barriers, maybe with something as innocuous as a copyright.
It does not relate to commodities or fossil fuels. I don't think Petro, Nikon, Canon or even the 3M Co. have ever expressed the notion that their product line or services brings people together in peaceful competition. They just want you to be reminded of their name brand whenever you see their sign as a visual impact statement. The Olympics are not the same. They're not supposed to be sold as just another commodity. They have a spirit of their own.
What does most of the advertising say about the Olympics...? That they bring us together, that they unite us, and yet, in the true spirit of capitalism the logo for that which unites us is held under exclusive license by the corporate entity that administers the rights to have the games. I was just noticing that this seems like an apparent double standard in the fact that the IOC is so concerned with ensuring about the rights and licensing fees off of a globally recognized symbol of what is supposed to unite people.
Simplified: if the games are for everyone, so should be the Olympic logo: no licensing fees, no exclusive copyrights. Simply free for everyone to use to promote the spirit the games represent.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 4, 2009 13:50:00 GMT -8
Mill Bay I think you have made a very good point - that the Olympics has become big business. I am not saying good or bad about it, but that is the reality of what it has become. I think the fault still lies with the IOC and how political it still is.
Some work was done to de-politicize the organization. However, we look at things from a North American point of view. Other countries cannot do anything that isn't political. Graft and greasing of the palms is part of getting something done, period. You want something done, you have to pay something extra to someone to make it happen. So automatically this was part of those countries approach and that of their reps.
The similar points can be made about that other international body, the UN, so you really wonder how much things will change.
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Post by Neil on Nov 4, 2009 15:10:42 GMT -8
The five rings are as much a corporate logo as an expression of brotherly love and togetherness. These Games have an official chewing gum, an official bed maker and an official stamp supplier, among many others. Those suppliers paid lots of money for the right to use the Olympic logo and the right to supply the Games with their products. It's unrealistic to expect them to okay any non-paying joe's use of that logo. Can't cheapen the brand.
From the alleged corruption in the original bidding process for many of the Olympic Games through myriad other issues including the enrichment of private developers with public funds, it seems to me that the sanctity or symbolism of the logo is small potatoes.
More to the point is the whole aura of this torch parade, which more and more, looks like a masterstroke of propaganda. What a great way to defuse controversy. You get people to buy into a cross country, we're-all-bound-together trek, where they share all sorts of heartfelt stories as to what carrying the torch means to them, how proud they are of their country, how much they support the athletes... who but some sour misanthrope could criticize such a thing? What room is there for dissent when young, old, handicapped, rich and poor are all onboard for the same goal? You create a whole mythology, and make it much more alluring than the carping of critics. Makes for a very difficult target.
There is still the athletic aspect of the whole thing, and if people are into that, I don't criticize them for supporting these Games. Problem is, it's gotten to be almost secondary to the sideshow, and there are probably a lot of private individuals, in the IOC and in the annointed Games sites, who benefit from these Games a lot more than the athletes ever will.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 4, 2009 22:29:34 GMT -8
Obviously there's no winning with those who know they're always right, and if you're wrong about one thing, you'll always be seen as wrong about everything. Honest to god, was this comment really necessary? I'm arguing my position, I'm not intending to make personal attacks. I'm sorry if I look like a stubborn smart-ass, but that's a cold, harsh reality of debate. Read the first line of my last post very closely... I said you guys were right about VANOC. I wasn't talking about that anymore. Did I mention VanOC once in my previous post? Anywhere? Simplified: if the games are for everyone, so should be the Olympic logo: no licensing fees, no exclusive copyrights. Simply free for everyone to use to promote the spirit the games represent. Alright, well this paragraph among others in that post, this paragraph made your point a little clearer... and I have to agree, to an extent. Such monies raised in this process goes towards the IOC, or Vancouver2010, however sometimes it can get just a little out of hand... When it comes to sponsors, it basically goes to the highest bidder. This money goes toward running the games, supporting the athletes... yadda yadda, you know all that stuff, you've heard it a million times I'm sure. |
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Post by hullnumbers on Nov 13, 2009 23:42:17 GMT -8
Well I'm back, for now i will say that the OT has reached St John Newfoundland. this is the beginning for the east and Merine Atlantic ferry. Days 15 to17 on the Island.
Wonder though if theres any other ferries that will be carrieing the OT.
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Post by hullnumbers on Nov 16, 2009 19:38:47 GMT -8
Oh shot, missed tracking the 2010 OT going on the Atlantic Vision. Did anyone know this and are we going to track it for when its on the quebec and BC Ferries.
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Post by Scott on Nov 16, 2009 22:44:10 GMT -8
Before I understood the method of the torch relay, I thought the torch would be carried for the whole route as a torch by various runners. Had I thought it out, I would have realized that the distance it is traveling is far to great to accomplish that in 100 days.
Based on my misunderstanding, I thought there might be some neat photo opportunities of people carrying the torch on ferries and perhaps some on-board celebrations. Perhaps it may happen on some of the longer ferry trips, but from what we've seen so far, the "Olympic torch on a ferry" merely means it's in a little lantern inside of a custom-built semi-truck. Big deal.
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Post by hullnumbers on Nov 19, 2009 22:05:02 GMT -8
well, day 19's done and now day 20.
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 22, 2009 12:04:21 GMT -8
I was on the Coastal Inspiration last night and they had a news release posted about the Olympic Torch travelling on a few of the BC Ferries routes! There was a bunch of little routes but the ones I can remember were the Northern Adventure special sailing from Rupert Feb 1st at 9pm and one that really caught my eye was the Coastal Rennaissance from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay which will be a PRIVATE sailing which would be interesting to see the CR at Langale. Also the Queen of Burnaby too from Comox to Powell River. But what I dont get is if they are travelling from Rupert why not have a special sailing on the Nor Ex instead of the Nor Ad as you think they would want to have their newest ship for all the Olympic people to be travelling on! Anyways pretty cool though!
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Post by Scott on Nov 22, 2009 17:07:13 GMT -8
www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/11/18/bc-torch-relay-security-costs.htmlInteresting article. CBC raising the issue of costs associated with the torch run. It cost Victoria Police over $140,000 alone for the day and a half it was there. That's not including the RCMP, etc. The BC Government says "it's not our problem" and I'm sure Coke and RBC aren't paying for it. I also find it interesting that now that CBC isn't the "official" Olympic broadcaster for the games, they're free to raise some questions. Go to CTV and you get the "feel good" headlines everday - it's quite funny. The whole thing seems staged from the headlines to the speeches. Does anyone have any thoughts about the relationship between the Olympics and the city of Burnaby? You visit the city websites of the cities in the Lower Mainland, and you'll almost always get some sort of Olympics promotion... like "we're a venue city" or a "community contributor" to the Olympics, or at the very least something saying "we're part of the torch relay". But go to Burnaby and there's absolutely nothing. Does it have something to do with the Mayor's wife being the "Olympic critic" for the NDP? Does Burnaby feel jilted for not getting the speed skating rink at SFU? It just seems strange that all the surrounding communities and cities seem to be involved in the Olympics, but we in Burnaby aren't embracing the games or else being shut out of them.
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Post by Scott on Nov 22, 2009 17:30:51 GMT -8
I take it, from your response, that there is no love lost between the city of Burnaby and VANOC and the provincial government (I know about that one!).
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 22, 2009 18:43:22 GMT -8
I live in Burnaby and have followed in detail the course of the political adventures of Derek Corrigan and his merry men in regards to the Olympics. In fact I was front and centre in the civic elections upon which this issue was at the forefront. There's lots to present here and to provide the results of following that... but won't. There's enough politics in this group as it is. I'm sticking to following ferries and ships. I'll leave the following of the Burnaby political angles to John and Niel here.. Sticking to following ships & ferries, and not wanting to read too much into things, I do wonder what you mean by "Corrigan and his merry men". Was the Robin-Hood reference intentional, and if so, what does it mean regarding these folks? Don't worry Pual, I'm not dragging you into politics, I'm just wondering about the merry men thing. Maybe they are really happy? Us Islanders are grumpy. |
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Take any logo you want - it's the same case. Literally... look at, say... I dunno... Petro-Canada. Are they dividing Canadians? They're supposed to be for the good of the people, filling your vehicles with gasoline, and yet - according to you - they only provide some sort of money-making, only-for-profit symbol that "divides humanity." Am I missing something here? Seriously. Say so if I am.