This is also a reminder that, whatever Disney does with this, the soundtrack to the original, by Zimmer and co, is just fucking awesome. As is most of the stage show version that I have seen.
Listening to it now. Some of his best work, imho. Though I refuse to listen to the new, woke, “live action” movie soundtrack, lol.
I mean, yeah, it is that now, you’re right. Though unfortunately some people still use it as a “communication tool”, of sorts.
But yes, that.
I do remember when it still used to be more “hobby posts”, and the like. Those were the days…
Also of note - I know a lot of women from non-Anglo countries, yet almost every one of them only bothers captioning things in English, and from what they post, you really wouldn’t know they were French, or German, or Swedish, or whatever. You would just assume they were a rich Anglo expat.
Which is rather sad, given that I know that they aren’t even fluent, but they’re just trying to “game the algorithm” for so-called “maximum engagement”…
Crazy to see these same girls, who a few years ago were fairly normal chicks, become wannabe “influencers” who only post bikini/boat/party pics…
What a world.
I believe Charles’ coronation was the first to feature an iman and a rabbi (in addition to a Catholic bishop, lol), so that’s… Something.
Charles has always been a woketard, though. Like, for decades. So it’s not like this is breaking a pattern or anything…
As has Starmer, obviously…
I dunno, Rambeau Knifetean could almost pass for a toff name, if spelled that way. Almost.
It’s notable that in many of these shows and movies, being human is portrayed as “a weakness”.
That seems to be a recurring theme in children’s programming now, too. But obviously it’s there in everything from X-Men to Grimm to the Australian show Glitch (about people coming back from the dead, lol). And instead of humans proving their worth by fighting back, and overcoming the supposedly “superior” others, the characters turn themselves into the monsters, instead, to gain “powers”…
I would be fairly confident this is a deliberate, if not necessarily always conscious, trend…
I told you that this wouldn't be over with just the Olympics...
The Paras already had a much higher proportion of "alphabet mafia" folks, so this is just the logical next step...
Same is happening in Aus, with a crackdown on "Christian extremists", while nothing is done about actual violence perpetrated by Aboriginals and Muslims...
And the general populace just eats it up. Because only "deluded, paranoid" Christians like the ones at Wieambilla would dare question the state, evidently... /s
Lol, I don't recall that specific medal-biting moment. Remember which sport it was in, by any chance?
Honestly, I think the general lack of any particular disasters (sans la Seine making people ill, as you mention), major fights (apart from the hockey final perhaps), outbreaks or terror attacks, and indeed fairly decent crowds at most events (only the ones in Paris though. Not in other cities so much) is probably a fairly positive reflection of how Paris handled the thing.
The boxing and soccer tranny indiscretions are mainly just down to the IOC being stupid, rather than anything to do with the French themselves. Although the Opening Ceremony shit was entirely on the French, I must admit, lol.
But sports-wise? They've done a pretty decent job, I think.
It seems that they somehow managed the logistics (mostly) better than the Germans did with the Euros, only a couple of months ago, which, given the respective reputations of each country/culture, is somewhat of a surprise... Although some of that may have just been hidden, because I went to the RWC there last year (in the same stadium, specifically), and that was shambolic, even though the media barely addressed that aspect at all...
All of this has the caveat that we're only 2/3 of the way through "Paris 2024". We can reflect on it in full once the Paras are over, lol.
Theoretically that should be an easier logistical exercise (less people, less spectacle, shorter, less disciplines, presumable less expense), but I wouldn't necessarily count on it yet.
That happens quite a lot, I believe…
The guy who nearly murdered Salman Rushdie a couple of years back being but one example…
Also Shemima Begum (the IS girl, from England), and the teenager who stabbed the Syriac bishop in Western Sydney recently…
All of those were second or third-generation Muslim “citizens”…
It’s a recurring theme, in many Western countries…
Australia isn’t really known for its urban ghettoes (anymore), but if you spend time in the Muslim, African or Pasifika-dominated parts of any of the big 4 capital cities, it really, really doesn’t feel safe in any way. Particularly Western Sydney, lol…
Honestly, as far as women’s sport goes, it was… Not bad. Not necessarily because of the performances as such, but because, hot damn, I do not mind watching some of the fittest, most in-shape women out there go at it.
By that I mean aths and swimming, mostly.
Honestly though, it was better than Tokyo, for the most part.
Because it’s Paris, and if Paris knows one thing, it’s how to show itself off and put on a show.
But then, I am both a Francophile (to some extent) and an Olympics fanatic, so this is pretty much my birthday present to myself, to allow myself the time off to watch it, lol.
I’ve just always been very into it. And I played a number of these sports at times during my life (vs others who played AFL, soccer or League, for instance). So I may be a bit biased.
Would recommend the canoe slalom though, if you have time. That was actually very cool. Didn’t notice anything woke about it either.
They’re also very good at (field) hockey, both men’s and women’s. They dominated it for decades.
However they sort of went downhill after it moved from grass to astroturf, though that “blip” in results seems to be more the aberration than anything…
Hockey is technically their national sport.
They absolutely killed it this Olympics. Even I, as an Australian, have to give them that.
They completely smashed us in canoe sprint, rugby and rowing, and the men’s high jump of course. And we did roughly even in track cycling.
They’re doing phenomenal for a less-wealthy, less-populated country, compared to Aus…
Except athletics. Which is largely dominated by Africans and their descendants. Especially long-distance running…
But yeah, it doesn’t hold for China and India, granted.
It was, however, interesting to see that, in the women’s marathon, the Christian Ethiopian and Kenya looked much more normal, and played fairer, than the immigrant Muslim who moved to the Netherlands as a refugee (and unfortunately won)…
Which suggests that even growing up partly in the West, a Muslim immigrant has less in common with the rest of us than a Christian African who was born and raised on that continent, lol…
Australia had that, too, almost every day up until day 16. We also very nearly beat Japan (mostly let down by our team sports). It's not really all that unusual...
If you watched the diving, though, those three countries absolutely annihilated the competition, with China winning every single gold on offer, both men's and women's, lol...
It was insane. First time I've ever personally witnessed (on tv, at least) scores over 100.
The US mostly dominates swimming (as does Aus) and track (which Aus does not)...
I wouldn't mind her version of breakdancing so much if she had a) paid her own way there (she can afford it much more than many of the other participants can, anyway), and b) hadn't been touted as "the best in Oceania/Australasia"...
And if, as you say, she had just piped down afterwards and not doubled down on it all. But, as seems to be the case with many of these women, she just couldn't help herself...
And those who can't teach, teach gym, right?
Yeah, I've heard that one.
From experience though, most "academics" can't even teach for shit, lol. Which is fine, when it's a specialist lecturer, but if they're also the subject coordinator, or the head tutor, then it makes just getting through the course an absolute slog...
Nah. Tokyo had softball (women's) and karate, neither of which were present in Paris. LA is reintroducing softball and baseball at the expense of "breaking" (this was its one-and-done) and other sports I can't specifically recall...
Generally, again with the exception of so-called "action sports" and shit like breaking, sports are decided based on the availability of venues and resources.
Which, oddly, means that Brisbane shouldn't have any issues facilitating whatever events they choose, though I don't think we have a whitewater course yet, and we need a stadium rebuild, but for the most part, 2032 is already largely ahead, on that front.
If we even make it to 2032 without some sort of all-consuming global conflict, that is...
I mean, if we’re taking the average “urban” Asian as being like the guy who won “breaking” at the Olympics for example, or, say, the Hmongs of Michigan, it’s no surprise that they hate whites more than the other races…
They seem to take to “ghetto” culture quite easily, unfortunately…
But then so do many whites (women in particular) who don’t know better, I guess…
On your latter question, I would say Noah Lyles running the 200 with Covid after jumping around like crazy before the start, underperforming, hugging his fellow competitors, and then collapsing and being wheeled away and taken to hospital would be up there. As would the mens’ relay team completely fucking up the baton handover and over-running the change like a bunch of schoolkids…
But both of those incidents could be put down to sheer arrogance, more than anything else…
The high jumper refusing to share gold (with the New Zealander) and then being totally annihilated in the resulting “jump off” was similarly arrogant, but more funny and farcical than anything, tbh…
I think the Taiwanese one got silver (?), but otherwise yes…
Ironically, she is a lecturer in dance, and literally wrote a PhD on breakdancing, which… Somehow seems appropriate.
There’s an old stereotype that academics don’t understand the real world, or how their “theoretical knowledge” plays out within it, and this performance, perhaps, fits with that…
Either that or she is an elaborate troll. I’m really not sure myself, tbh.
Yep, that's the one I meant.
To get rather dark about that one specifically, I bet that if (when?) China assaults Taiwan, this individual will be more than happy to use "her" special status as a woman to avoid the draft, lol...
I heard of at least a couple of instances of Ukrainian men dressing up as women to do exactly that, while fleeing across the border...
Easy way to out a coward. Especially one with apparent "fighting" skills, lol...
Pretty sure that the other M2F tranny boxer (from Taiwan) also advanced to their final, so... Yeah. There's undeniably a pattern there, even if the IOC, Paris Organizing Committee, media, et al., all deny it and would rather we didn't talk about it, lol...
They only managed to create this situation by disaccrediting the IBA, for expressly geopolitical reasons, and then ignoring their advice and all logic in the leadup to this, so... All the controversy is on them, imho.
Nah, just *one of.
Not even in my personal top 5, but it’s still pretty great, lol.