Opening Up

Trying to get a glimpse of 2022 Olympics opening ceremonies leads to Youtube messages like this. Good luck if you’re a big fan of ontime coverage.

Video unavailable This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.

However, there was this from Korea’s Arirang News

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Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

63 thoughts on “Opening Up”

  1. How to watch the Opening Ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics (nbcsports.com)

    The Opening Ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics takes place on Friday, February 4 at National Stadium, also known as “The Bird’s Nest”. The stadium previously hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics and also served as the venue for Track and Field as well the men’s 2008 gold medal soccer game. However, the Birds Nest will not host any sporting competitions during the 2022 Winter Games.
    […]
    Live coverage begins at 6:30 a.m. ET on February 4 with NBCU’s first-ever live morning presentation of a Winter Games Opening Ceremony. NBC and Peacock will provide unprecedented full-day coverage of the ceremony. See the full schedule of events below with additional information on how you can watch and stream the 2022 Winter Olympics live.

  2. Not one flake of these games will be natural snow.
    It all is man made. 
     
    Mean while Wyoming is in my front yard , and it’s 5 F degrees.
     

  3. cbob, do you still have electricity there?   plan B for today’s thread was “Gridless in Dallas.” how much of the state has lost power due to the winter storm?   news shows a lot of highway accidents there like the ones piling up in these parts due to icy roads.

  4. an opening gambit

    The Guardian

    China’s Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin of Russia have signed a joint statement calling on the west to “abandon the ideologised approaches of the cold war”, as the two leaders showcased their warming relationship amid a tense standoff with the west ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
    In the joint statement released by the Kremlin, Putin and Xi called on Nato to rule out expansion in eastern Europe, denounced the formation of security blocs in the Asia-Pacific region, and criticised the Aukus trilateral security pact between the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
    It is the two leaders’ 38th meeting since 2013. The two countries also pledged to step up cooperation to thwart “colour revolutions” and external interference, and vowed to further deepen “back-to-back” strategic coordination.
    […]
    In a nod to Russian interests in Ukraine, China said it “understands and supports the proposals put forward by the Russian Federation on the formation of long-term legally binding security guarantees in Europe,” the document read.
    At the same time, it addressed Chinese concerns about US-led trade and security alliances in its own region.
    “The parties oppose the formation of closed bloc structures and opposing camps in the Asia-Pacific region, and remain highly vigilant about the negative impact of the US Indo-Pacific strategy on peace and stability in this region,” it read.
    “We are working together to bring to life true multilateralism,” Xi told Putin, according to the Kremlin translation of their remarks. “Defending the real spirit of democracy serves as a reliable foundation for uniting the world in overcoming crises and defending equality.”
    Friday’s meeting is Xi’s first face-to-face engagement with a foreign leader in nearly two years. The Chinese leader has not left the country since January 2020, when it was grappling with its initial Covid-19 outbreak and locked down the central city of Wuhan where the virus was first reported.
    He is preparing to meet more than 20 leaders as Beijing kicks off a Winter Olympics it hopes will be a soft-power triumph and shift focus away from a buildup blighted by a diplomatic boycott and Covid fears.
    Putin’s jet touched down in the Chinese capital on Friday afternoon, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported.
    After the meeting, the pair will attend the Olympic opening ceremony in the evening.
    [continues]

  7. cartoon above and op ed below by david horsey at seattle times:

    In October, Washington State Patrol Trooper Robert LeMay quit his job rather than follow Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate that all state employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. The last words he spoke into his police radio were, “Inslee can kiss my ass.”
    On Friday, LeMay died after a month being hospitalized for COVID-19. 
    There is no report of what LeMay’s last words might have been, nor has any word of his death been mentioned on FOX News, where host Laura Ingraham not long ago hailed LeMay as a “celebrity” who had roused “a sleeping giant” of opposition to vaccine mandates.
    LeMay was a perfect hero for Fox – a cop, a conservative and, most important, a resolute anti-vaxxer of the type the network’s evening lineup of commentators has touted almost since the pandemic hit American shores. They could play him as a victim of overweening government and exploit him to juice their ratings the same way they have been peddling vaccine conspiracy theories and misinformation to keep their audience angry and engaged.
    Of course, Ingraham, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and the rest of the FOX entertainers do not let their viewers in on a little secret: They have all been vaccinated under their own company’s mandate. None of them quit their incredibly well-paid jobs in principled protest. But they have been happy to let others throw away careers and risk their lives while they spread paranoia and quackery to millions of Americans in the smaller cities and rural areas where FOX News is an ubiquitous presence in homes, bars and cafes.
    LeMay is just one of many thousands of unvaccinated individuals who comprise the overwhelming share of COVID deaths in this country right now. Some of the dead may have had their own unique reasons for refusing the vaccine, but most became convinced they should refuse the shots because the right-wing media led them astray with false information and political rants.
    No entity has done more to spread those deadly lies than FOX News. And that makes everyone at FOX, from big boss Rupert Murdoch on down, complicit in the deaths of Robert LeMay and thousands of other Americans.

  8. fun across the pond makes our critterville look down right dull & dowdy

    ‘Which was it?’: Theresa May challenges Boris Johnson on Gray report findings

  9. Here’s the NBC link to the opening ceremonies if you want to watch. But beware, it’s not straightforward – gotta click on NBCOlympis.com then follow instructions – I’m not that interested. Saw a few minutes of it and the drums were replaced with long white wands – and frankly it was pretty cool, as was the CGI stuff they did right after the Chinese flag was raised. I gotta hand the Chinese one thing – they do great fireworks.

  10. pogo, thanks.  you’re right about it being “pretty cool.”   nice try at psyching the world out by opening with cute little kids singing sweet song and dancing around in snowflake lights waving white peace doves.

     

    probably followed up on home state TV with crowd photo of smiling Xi and smirking new friend vlad (who is likely running a countdown invasion clock to go off during most exciting part of the games. meanwhile he’s safely away from moscow in case of retaliatory surprises there)

  11. NBC’s description:

    In a segment titled “The Snowflake,” hundreds of children ran across the Bird’s Nest while holding illuminated dove props. Beneath them, the LED floor lit up with snowflakes and stars under their feet with help from capture-motion technology. 
    From there, the children surrounded a massive snowflake in a heart-shaped formation while singing. The larger snowflake was comprised of the placards used for each country during the Parade of Nations. Ninety-one placards combined in the middle of the calligraphic “olive branches” meant to stand for people living in peace and harmony.
    The theme song for the Opening Ceremony has a fitting title: “Snowflake.” The chorus of the song goes:

    “Snowflake snowflake
    Blossom in the sun
    At home or in the far
    Shining wherever you are…”

    Separate costumes were designed for the chorus singers and the children holding the doves. The one for the singers drew inspiration from the snowflake and traditional Chinese blue and white porcelain, while the one for the children holding the doves drew inspiration from traditional paper-cut artwork of Hebei province.

  12. Time for fun.  Lots of shocking fun.  Amazon has a link buried deep in the settings where you can request ALL the data Amazon has on you.  I thought I would start small, the voice activated computer thing alesa.  I do not have it activated on any machine, I deactivate voice control on all computers and anything else. 
     
    To my surprise the reports showed several devices listening to me, including a Roku stick.  One report does have the names of things that are listening, including many without names.  Most surprising to me was it had named things for me following my “Pam’s fire 1, Pam’s Fire 2” it is up to seven which is five beyond what I have. 
     
    The date report shows it listening to me up to the moment the report was generated.  Now comes the hard part, tracking down and shutting down everything listening to me.

  13. patd…  glad to see you on here after reading what you wrote last night… this morning.  Hope everything goes well for you today.   
     
    We are also experiencing a bit of an ice storm…  but not supposed to lose power.
     
    We watched a bit of the Olympics last night.  Too much politics, IMO…  but I guess NBC wanted to get it out of the way.  We will watch the rerun of the Opening Ceremonies on prime time tonight.

  14. renee, thanks for the concern. so far power is still on and all is okay as long as i watch out going down the icy steps on the porch.  all the gate latches are iced up and have to be deiced.  just hoping no emergency requires exit/entrance.

  16. No widespread power outages.  Ice on the lines breaking power lines.  Trees exploding because the sap is freezing?
    It’s not as cold as last year. It won’t be cold for a prolonged time. It’ll warm up every day and refreeze at night. I’m not going anywhere until Monday.

  17. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/04/texas-rent-prices/

    This is leaving Texans out in the cold.

    “And in Texas — where laws favor landlords, and rent control is virtually nonexistent — tenants are left to either take on additional jobs, cut other household costs or move out of the communities they prefer.”

    “To try to come up with an extra $400 a month…”

    “Since 2016, Texas has seen a 43% increase in the median cost of buying a home…”

    Texas’ landlord-friendly regulations — and lack of broader rent control — is increasingly making the state unaffordable for tenants, said Sandy Rollins, executive director of the Texas Tenants’ Union.

    “It just leads to homelessness,” she said.“

    “Texas gained the most residents of any state between 2010 and 2020, according to the latest census.“

    ~Thank you, Helmet Hair Perry~

  18. The campaign ads for the primary, ha!  All for Republicans, so far.  George P Bush has had three ads in the last 30 minutes. 

  20. Well Landon has left East Bumfuck and didn’t do much damage other than flood our creeks and river.  Lots of rain yesterday and last night, melting the remainder of last week’s snow, followed by a couple hours of mixed precip, a couple hours of light snow that amounted to a dusting, and now the temps are headed down – Gonna be cold, but hey, it’s winter. (Damn groundhog got it right, if only for a few days)

  22. Jobs for January are pretty strong at 476,000, and in the midst of the Omicron surge.  WaPo

    The U.S. economy added 467,000 jobs in January even as the omicron variant spiked to record heights, showing how a resilient labor market could power through one of the pandemic’s biggest surges.

    The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4 percent, from 3.9 percent the month before because more people were looking for work, another positive trend.

    The monthly report, released by the Department of Labor, stems from a survey taken in mid-January, around the time the omicron variant was beginning to peak, with close to 1 million new confirmed cases each day. The rapid spread during that period upended many parts of the economy, closing schools, day cares and a number of businesses, and forcing parents to scramble.

    But the labor market, according to the new data, performed very well during that stretch. Over the past 12 months, the U.S. has added nearly 7 million jobs as workers have found ample openings in an economy rebuilding from the pandemic’s first days.
    * * * 
    The three major U.S. stock indexes all rose on Friday in midday trading, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumping in part based on a strong earnings report from Amazon.

    In addition to the robust January, the Department of Labor also more than doubled its tabulations of jobs gains for November and December. The U.S. economy added 647,000 in November, not the 249,000 the agency had earlier estimated. And the economy added 510,000 jobs in December, the Labor Department said, not the 199,000 initially forecast. That means that there were some 700,000 more jobs added at the end of last year than previously estimated — with employers working aggressively to draw in workers across a range of industries.

    [Continues]

    Compare that with the loss of 4 million jobs under the Former “president’s” watch.

    Oh, and by the way (and this is NOT necessarily anything that gives me comfort or hope for the mid term elections) Biden’s approval numbers now are the same as Dumbass’ were a year into his “presidency”. I don’t suppose that means the Dem party will become the party of Joe…

  23. Putin should be careful about trusting China. As Kissinger once said, when they try to get along Russia should see danger because China only sees opportunity. 

  25. Mike Pence today: “President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election. The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone.” Says “there’s nothing more unAmerican” to have “any one person …  choose the American president.”

  26. lol, official position of the RNC is assaulting police, destroying property, and erecting a gallows on the Capitol lawn is “legitimate political discourse”
     
    The center cannot hold

  28. Patd-
    Blue nailed our power situation , just the usual ice problems , not much snow, nothing like last year . Just frickin’ cold we when down to 1F this morning, with a high of 16F yesterday. 
    Both records for the dates. 
     

  29. Ok, so my island is sinking into the atlantic……but it was in the 7O’s today.   Win-win.

  30. We are drowning in an tsunami of GOP ads , and they are all trying to out Trump each other.
    Abbott’s latest  attacks Biden and Beto 
    More illegals 
    Higher taxes
    The Green New Deal
     
    Others running in lesser races are picking up these 3 themes , all seem to be running against Biden more than each other.
    And abortion .
     

  32. The statement by Pence today, to me signals that those testifying from Pence World are burying Traitor Trump!🇺🇸

  34. OM – Yep, they are all running against Biden & Kamala Harris (not Harris, because Kamala doesn’t sound white) and against the Green New Deal…and fear brown folks.  Guzman makes sure to note that her folks were legal immigrants (I wonder if racist voters will care), and, George P. Bush is “one of the little brown ones” HW mentioned, when referring to his grandchildren. All of them are running big on Biden and the border.

  35. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/the-city-owned-by-locals/

    In contrast to the article I posted atelier about rent hikes and home prices…

    “The Bishop Arts area of Dallas, for example, stars in a classic gentrification story. It had been the victim of white flight, city disinvestment and low property evaluations fueled by racism when Anderson and several other small, local developers worked to transform the neighborhood in the ‘80s and ‘90s.“

    “The land went up so high overnight that none of the locals can buy again,” Anderson said, who co-founded the Incremental Development Alliance. “I knew I didn’t like it instinctually in my gut, but I had no idea the devastation it would cause. … It’s like going from local main street to Disneyland.”

    “Today, the area is marked by “big monster” developments, and many of the long-term residents have left. “

    “Contrast that with the suburb of Ducanville where, after renovating downtown buildings, Anderson sold directly to the small businesses renting them. That distribution of ownership has kept the area stable throughout the pandemic, Anderson said.”

    “We’re cultivating community. We’re not real estate developers,” he said. “We’re town builders.”

  36. I have decided  that while I loved her as Dr. Amy Ferra Fowler , Miam is not doing well as the Host of Jeopardy .
    I feel like I’m in the 5th grade watching it. 
    I’m not in love with these month long runs either. 
    That’s a bit like watching the same lion eat an endless parade of nameless Christians.  

  40. Blue –
    Guzman  needs to be asked if she’s O.K. with Trump grabbing her crotch, in fact they all need to answer if they are O.K. with that idea about their mothers , wives, and daughters. 
    If Obama  had said that on a “hot mic” , he’d be dead for 13 years now. 
    Speaking of Obama , some nut ball woman wants to ban Michell’s book. 

  41. Sturg –
    Good on you . I have seen several op-eds lately warning about Young’s stand .  That it is dangerous somehow. 
    I have not read one of them. 
    Trolling for dollars is one thing , doing it when it kills people is another matter entirely.  And that’s what Rogan is up to.
    It’s all about ear drums , and eyeballs and trading those for Bitcoins , whatever the fuck that is. 

  43. In the Spring of 67′, I stood about 4 feet from Young as the Buffalo Springfield opened for the Seeds . At the “Music Box” , a converted  sheet steel auto shop , as a “Teen Club”. 
    You all remember the Seeds .
    Young was the coolest thing I had ever seen playing a big fat red hollow body Gibson . They were supporting ” For What It’s Worth” , the Seeds were  peddling  ” You’er Pushin’ To Hard”. 
     

  44. Here it is  look at this  headline , and tag –
    Opinion | The Dangerous Appeal of Neil Young’s Righteous Censorship
    Joe Rogan’s all wrong on Covid vaccines, but nothing good comes from stifling free speech.
    Young ain’t censoring Rogan , he’s saying I don’t want be apart of this. All in the name of money. 
    And if the Rogans of this world win this battle , trust me “free speech”  will be dead as everyone who bought a copy of the Seeds  playing their one hit wonder.  And as that category goes the Seeds had one of the worst. 
    Along with 900,000 Americans from this virus.  
     
    That headline is from Politico  , I refuse to link it. 

  46. Another theme in these ads –
    “The Radical Leftwing Agenda”. 
    They are going to run hard on that , every stupid thing AOC has ever said. 
    Never mind we have become flaming Fascists , attacking butterfly reserves , the US Capital,  and Liberians.
     

  47. Back to the Buffalos , Richie  formed Poco , and they mined  a rich vein that no one remembers. This was always my favorite –
     
    Grande Junction 
     

  52. I have been watching  Ken Burns at 2 A.M.  again . 
    That Poco instrumentaWel  was pure Country .
    We are truly  a Big River whether we know it or knot. 
     

  55. The one thing buried in the  Burn’s story of Country Music is that there were thousands of radio stations once . All run by people on the ground. 
    Money ate all of that.  That’s one reason why Joe Rogan has all those ears.
    He’s  Wolf Man Jack.  Across the border .
    But make no mistake a giant corporation has his balls in their pocket , not some disk jockey looking for something , “new and fresh”. 
     
    This is why most American music  sucks putty balls today .

  56. Beto seems to be running on last year’s power failure.   Dude needs to step up his game.

  57. We are  all sardines  being swallowed by an Amazon  whale .
    A nasty byproduct of email , GPS,  search, free porn , and new friends .
    These last few years are truly the end of the age of the    Printing the Bible. 
     
    The last time we crossed  a divide like this , we call it the 30 Years War. 

  62. “Together For Our Future”

    It sounds very ominous coming from China.

    “Imagine” sounded like a different message, as well. Yep, just imagine all people enslaved to China.

    Pooh-tin seemed like the never-do-well cousin who has to be invited to family gatherings.

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