bmwracer wrote:

^ There's a woman on the Japanese team?

Otsu Yuki needs a wee haircut, methinks.

The ladies also beat Canada 2-1: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/jul/25/london-2012-japan-canada-coventry-football
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Danny Boyle doing the country proud with his amazing opening ceremony including the 'Queen' jumping out of a helicopter!
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Im Dong-hyun Sets World Record At London Olympics: Blind South Korean Archer Breaks 72-Arrow Mark

LONDON -- South Korean archer Im Dong-hyun sees only blurred colors and lines when he peers toward the target about 76 yards away, arrow at the ready. It doesn't stop the legally blind Olympian from hitting the grapefruit-sized yellow center – again and again and again.

Im set the first world record of the London Olympics on Friday, breaking his own mark in the 72-arrow event and helping South Korea set a team record in the opening round. He broke the record he set in Turkey in May by three points with a score of 699, hours before the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games.

"This is just the first round, so I will not get too excited by it," said Im, who has 10 percent vision in his left eye and 20 percent in his right.

He combined with Kim Bub-min and Oh Jin-hyek, breaking the record for 216 arrows with a score of 2,087. That was 18 better than the mark South Korea set in May.

The 26-year-old Im does not wear glasses in competition, saying he relies on distinguishing between the bright colors of the target. He won gold in the team event at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

South Korean coach Jang Young Sool also didn't seem too impressed by his team's accomplishment. He said his archers must get ready their next test.

"We will have a day of rest now and prepare for tomorrow," he said of the gold-medal match Saturday.

France finished second in the team event, followed by China and the U.S., which was ranked No. 1 coming into the event. The U.S. men beat South Korea last October in London.

Brady Ellison, world No. 1 individual archer, said the conditions were ideal Friday and he wasn't surprised the individual world record fell.

"I don't think you get those types of scores anywhere if the weather wasn't just perfect today," the American said. "Korea shoots good, and if you look at the scores, they're always top in the ranking round."

Also Friday, the American women's team scored a surprising second-place finish. Miranda Leek, Jennifer Nichols and Khatuna Lorig scored 1,979 points with 216 arrows. They were 14 points behind South Korea, which scored 1,993 points.

The U.S. team is ranked No. 6 in the world and qualified for London just last month in Utah.

Lorig, competing in her fifth Olympics, finished fourth in the individual event with 669 points on 72 arrows. She trailed archers from South Koreans and Chinese Taipei, all tied at 671 points.

"The ranking round is just a practice," she said. "As a team it is going really well. There is great team spirit and everybody is happy."

Lorig is a naturalized American who's represented the Unified Team of the former Soviet Union, the Republic of Georgia and the U.S. She coached archery to Jennifer Lawrence, star of "The Hunger Games."

Spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of the action Friday were turned away from Lord's cricket ground.

Preliminary rounds were listed as non-ticketed, so several thousand spectators showed up at the venue expecting to get in for free.

A spokeswoman for the London Games organizing committee said tickets were not advertised or sold for the qualifying events and "we have always made it clear" that the early competitions were not open for spectators.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/im-dong-hyun-olympics-world-record-archery_n_1709248.html

^ Amazing.

To make things more fair, maybe he should close his eyes altogether.

Watching the tape delay of the opening ceremony... Underwhelming so far.

The Rowan Atkinson skit was funny, but it seems totally out of place for the Olympics.

Not too enamored by the narration from Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer... Feels like I'm watching the Rose Parade.

bmwracer wrote:

Watching the tape delay of the opening ceremony... Underwhelming so far. Not too enamored by the narration from Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer... Feels like I'm watching the Rose Parade.

Agreed. They are about as engaging as a bowel movement.

From The Onion:

London Opening Ceremonies End With Traditional Lighting Of Olympic Stadium

bmwracer wrote:

From The Onion: London Opening Ceremonies End With Traditional Lighting Of Olympic Stadium

Pass the S'mores.

Generally I thought the opening was very original. I loved the idea of the whole history of England coming from the Tor and then putting all the flags up there afterwards. Did not like the long and boring session with the singers/dancers doing 60s 70s and 80s music. They sounded awful and were too young to even know what they were doing prancing around. It took entirely too long. The national Health bit was funny and rather enjoyable but if you know anything about the NH it was pie in the sky. I thought the changeover from idyllic countryside to the Industrial revolution was done very well.

Should have ended after the dramatic and emotional lighting of the cauldron which I thought was brilliantly done. A very new idea for the Olympic flame this time. Did not need the elderly Beatle who is really getting rather saggy looking.

brad2 wrote:

Should have ended after the dramatic and emotional lighting of the cauldron which I thought was brilliantly done. A very new idea for the Olympic flame this time. Did not need the elderly Beatle who is really getting rather saggy looking.

well, paul seems to get everywhere these days, unnecessarily!
of course i'm biased but i hardly find danny boyle's interpretation of british history 'underwhelming'!
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bmwracer wrote:

From The Onion: London Opening Ceremonies End With Traditional Lighting Of Olympic Stadium

Love The Onion.

Best and worst dressed of the London Opening Ceremony

http://blog.sfgate.com/olympics/2012/07/27/best-and-worst-dressed-of-the-london-opening-ceremony/

At the end of the opening ceremony they should have used the Olympic torch to light Mitt Romney on fire. I'm sure that would have gotten the locals to let out a rousing cheer and raise several Pimm's Cups in good spirits.

kenjilina wrote:

of course i'm biased but i hardly find danny boyle's interpretation of british history 'underwhelming'!

I figured as much.

I think unless you're a Brit, you wouldn't necessarily understand the entire production... At least without considerable narration.

niknik wrote:

Best and worst dressed of the London Opening Ceremony http://blog.sfgate.com/olympics/2012/07/27/best-and-worst-dressed-of-the-london-opening-ceremony/

LOL... The Monday Night Football analogy was a crack up.

bmwracer wrote:

I think unless you're a Brit, you wouldn't necessarily understand the entire production... At least without considerable narration.

The best part is when the Queen battled Voldemort with the Elder Wand. It was epic.

bmwracer wrote:

I think unless you're a Brit, you wouldn't necessarily understand the entire production... At least without considerable narration.

Most of the public though draw a line at McCartney, again!
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also on twitter @71digiboy

kenjilina wrote:

Most of the public though draw a line at McCartney, again!

Yeah, it was sorta anticlimactic.

Tu_triky wrote:

At the end of the opening ceremony they should have used the Olympic torch to light Mitt Romney on fire. I'm sure that would have gotten the locals to let out a rousing cheer and raise several Pimm's Cups in good spirits.

LOL.

That would've been a showstopper.

bmwracer wrote:

LOL. That would've been a showstopper.

"Showstopper." A "sh*tstopper" too!

junny wrote:

Otsu Yuki needs a wee haircut, methinks. The ladies also beat Canada 2-1: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/jul/25/london-2012-japan-canada-coventry-football

But we beat Russia. Nervous about playing Sweden next, though...

brad2 wrote:

Generally I thought the opening was very original. I loved the idea of the whole history of England coming from the Tor and then putting all the flags up there afterwards. Did not like the long and boring session with the singers/dancers doing 60s 70s and 80s music. They sounded awful and were too young to even know what they were doing prancing around. It took entirely too long. The national Health bit was funny and rather enjoyable but if you know anything about the NH it was pie in the sky. I thought the changeover from idyllic countryside to the Industrial revolution was done very well. Should have ended after the dramatic and emotional lighting of the cauldron which I thought was brilliantly done. A very new idea for the Olympic flame this time. Did not need the elderly Beatle who is really getting rather saggy looking.

Wow, you completely read my mind! I agree on all aspects. I especially loved the Industrial Revolution as well. I wasn't overwhelmed, but I most definitely wasn't underwhelmed.

bmwracer wrote:

I think unless you're a Brit, you wouldn't necessarily understand the entire production... At least without considerable narration.

That's not true. I'm not a Brit, and I got most of the references. They didn't cover anything outside of high school World History. Our TV networks also narrated/explained for us, so that was a big bonus.
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Wanna trade? My Drama List (UPDATED: July, 2013)

I forgot to mention that it was quite erroneous to think of HM the Queen being a 'Bond girl'. Not so at all. I thought she made a darn good Mrs. Moneypenny. She could do that role as well as Judy Dench any time.

brad2 wrote:

I forgot to mention that it was quite erroneous to think of HM the Queen being a 'Bond girl'. Not so at all. I thought she made a darn good Mrs. Moneypenny. She could do that role as well as Judy Dench any time.

Judy Dench was "M," not Moneypenny.