The Olympics are done, and they were so much more fun than I thought possible. I’m not ready for the party to be over, so I decided the only appropriate thing to do would be to award medals to my Favourite Moments of the Games:

the little engine that could

The 3rd place Bronze Medal goes to: the afternoon of Friday the 19th. I took the afternoon off to hang out with Shan, and by the end of the day we were joined by our entire motley crew. Gorgeous weather, spectacular scenery, and a city-wide party – it was brilliant. A fantastic day from start to finish made all the better by Jon Montgomery’s amazing Skeleton win and subsequent celebrations. The Inukshuk Beach along False Creek should still be up – take a walk on the next beautiful day and enjoy some rock, Olympic style.

*~*~*~*

how can you be sad at being second when you're second best in the WORLD?!

The 2nd place Silver Medal goes to: TWITTER! The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics were declared a Social Media event, and we shone just as brightly as the athletes. Sharing memorable moments over the last 17 days with people all around the world was phenominal and most of the time, hilarious. I don’t remember when I’ve had so much fun – watching the opening and closing ceremonies, sharing quips with strangers and laughing so hard at some of the jokes made I couldn’t catch my breath. The #van2010 tag added a whole new dimension to the Olympic experience, and for me was a defining moment of Web 3.0 (or whatever number we’re on now). I can’t imagine the Games without Twitter keeping me entertained, informed, enraged and aroused. The True North Media House (#tnmh) brain trust had an ambitious plan to cover the Olympics and show the world and the IOC what we’re all about, and it was pulled off with spectacular successes and a great deal of fun.

Twitter made the regular act of watching TV fun again. For example, I don’t give a hoot flying or otherwise about next Sunday’s Oscars – but I’m absolutely planning on watching it along with a few thousand of my closest friends.

*~*~*~*

best of the best of the best (aka: us)

In 1st place, your new Gold Medal Champion: The CTV Montage Maker!

No matter the moment – no matter the action – no matter the time restraints – the CTV Montage Maker was there to help you remember what you saw just moments before, only this time in slow motion and set to stirring music. From the Opening Ceremonies to every last straining muscle and smiling painted face, the CTV Montage Maker could be counted upon to replay the action for you immediately after it just happened in real time. For the last 17 days, we’ve watched his or her work and marveled at how quickly they were able to create a stunning and often overlooked piece of art; a collage of memories that will last a lifetime.

We salute you, CTV Montage Maker: if not for your tireless efforts and hard work, the best parts of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics would be lost at the next commercial break; replaced by people singing about Ontario and emotionally manipulative commercials about coffee. Never the main attraction but always the highlight reel, your work will help this multitasking mile-a-minute MTV generation keep a flicker of a vague memory in the forefront of our scattered minds.

when you just can't settle for second place, you make your own rules

*~*~*~*

We’re not quite done – there’s one more medal to award. In honour of Russia’s Evgeni Plushenko, who won a Silver Medal (or lost the Gold to Evan Lysacek, however you want to see it) in Men’s Figure Skating and was so disgusted at the result he (or whoever manages his website) created a Platinum Medal for himself and declared him the one true champion of Figure Skating of all time, we are pleased to announce a fourth winner: The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies!

A mime, fixing the 4th pillar, so Catriona Le May Doan could finally light her share of the flame! William Shatner talking about sex in canoes! Michael J Fox! Inflatable beavers and floating meese! Huge table hockey! Royal Canadian Mounted Floozies! Right up until they started the musical guests, every part of the Closing Ceremonies was hilarious and fantastic. More than once I could have sworn I was high on the drugs, and most of Twitter agreed. While I highly doubt the ceremony had the noble quality the IOC adopts as the norm, it was bizarre and uniquely Canadian – we are known almost as much for our self-depreciating humour as we are for the cliches, and I loved it. Let the naysayers neigh – Canada knows how to have fun, and while we may never outshine Beijing’s vision or live up to Britain’s expectations, we threw one HELL of a party and the entire world was there to watch us have our poutine and eat it too.

I am spectacularly proud of my city, and I think we should do this every year.

For some reason I was convinced that Wednesday was the 23rd, not Tuesday – even though I specifically said multiple times that I’d draw the pin winners on Tuesday the 23rd. I am not so smart. Cute as all hell, but definitely not smart.

So! Without further ado, here are the winners of the Delicious Juice Dot Com Pin and Toy Giveaway:

• Calgary Ed gets the PETA pin and a ski jumping Quatchi
• Saxfire gets an Apple pin set and a snowboarding Miga
• Lisa S gets an Apple pin set and an alpine skiing Sumi

.. I feel bad for being late with the draw (even though I’m fairly certain no one cares), so I’ll go two further:

• Jenmen gets a Delicious Juice Dot Com pin set and the Yahoo! “I’m a Fan” Olympic pin
• and so does Michelle M!

I will email all the winners to collect contact information, and get your prizes sent out this week!

Hooray for free stuff! Thanks for playing along!

oh dear.

My accreditation came a little late – it took me longer than anticipated to work up the $1.12 laminating cost – but I am finally ready to rock the world on behalf of the True North Media House:

social reporter and number one mascot reporting for duty

I’d like to see Quatchi, Miga and Sumi try THIS!

Against my usual judgment (the one that keeps me at home most nights), I decided to suck up my fear of people and go to the Yahoo/Flickr party in Yaletown this evening.

It turned out to be a night full of new experiences, in more ways than one:

• I crashed my first party (I wasn’t officially on the guestlist because I had marked myself as a “maybe” – luckily for me, GusF came up to the door while I was standing around looking lost, and told the bouncers “Oh that’s Kimli, everyone knows her!” and I got in)
• I was handed various kinds of lobster and pressed to take more, but seriously I was all full up of lobster
• I got to feel up Catherine’s boob
• I felt all important and social media-y, being at a fancy party with people far more important in the scene than I
• I had fun!
• (not at all connected to the items above) I won a Flight Control t-shirt from Firemint!

I’m glad I decided to go to the party – it was so much fun! I hadn’t been to Yaletown yet during the Olympics and was surprised at how alive it was – as I was leaving the party, the Coke truck came rolling through and I ended up with some free Coke Zero to go along with all my neat Flickr swag. The Olympic fun just keeps on happening! Hopefully I’ll find another party or two to crash before it’s all over; I could really get used to free lobster and also Catherine’s boobs.

parties: fun!

First they were up in arms because the Olympics were coming.

Then they were up in arms because the Olympics were here.

Even though they don’t even care, they’re up in arms because of a fence.

And now? Well, now they’re up in arms because you can’t get stinking drunk and act like a pathetic piece of trash in public.

People are freaking the fuck out because the city closed all liquor stores early on Friday and Saturday nights, and are enforcing the “no drinking in public” rule; calling Vancouver the “No Fun City” and other clever names. Never mind that the entire month of February is one massive party for everyone even if you don’t set foot into a single sporting venue; never mind that there are free concerts and activities every single day; never mind that the weather has been spectacular and spirits are higher than I’ve ever seen them. Let’s forget all about that, and instead focus on the fact that we can’t get DRUNK and therefore what’s the point of even HAVING an Olympics.

Did I miss the press conference where being drunk was a mandatory precursor to having fun?

LIGHTEN THE FUCK UP, PEOPLE. If you can’t have fun without alcohol, then you’ve got bigger problems to address. Maybe some of us would rather go to an event and not have to worry about facing a drunken mob of vomiting, ridiculous assholes. Maybe some of us would rather not see you pissing on buildings or in the middle of the street. Maybe we’d rather not deal with the staggering senses of entitlement that alcohol abuse seems to gives you. Maybe we’d like to walk down the street without that prickling sense of fear when you see the rowdy screaming gang at the end of the block – are they friendly drunks? Will they harass me? Rape me? Frighten my children? Puke on my shoes? Where’s the nearest escape route if things get out of hand?

I know some people are perfectly able to have a drink or two and still conduct their business in a sensible manner. These aren’t the people the police are trying to stop – it’s those that don’t know when to stop, don’t know how to act like human beings, don’t know that getting blinding drunk and making an ass of yourself isn’t a requirement of having fun. Do you honestly think that the stopping the sale of alcohol is because no one knows how to have a good time and we’re all lame sticks in the mud with even bigger sticks up our asses? That isn’t the POINT – the point is that some people don’t know how to have fun without going too fucking far, and EVERYONE is entitled to have fun – not just the idiots who binge drink because it’s oh-so hilarious.

Get the fuck over yourselves and grow up.

.. Fox and Lola (the person, not my scooter), front and center!

You are the winners of the Delicious Juice Dot Mitten contest, and will be the delighted (I hope) recipient of a pair of the coveted Vancouver 2010 Olympic Red Mittens and a set of Delicious Juice Dot Com pins!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and if you didn’t win don’t worry – I’ll be drawing for 3 sets of pins (two Apple Store sets and one PETA Olympic Shame) and a random mascot toy later this week (so you should go enter the draw, if you haven’t already).

I’m having so much fun during these Games – more than I ever thought – that I’m tickled a quite literal pink to be able to share even this tiny piece with my internets. Yay!

And now, for no reason whatsoever, here are some large fish!

koi koi koi!

I keep hearing reports that “the last shipment EVER” of items are arriving/have arrived at the Bay/Olympic Superstore. I don’t know how accurate this is, because the Olympics are barely half over – so take it with a grain of salt. Just in case you were wondering, though:

• Lines to get into the OS downtown are still insane – reports of a 3-block long lineup before the store even opened
• The Bay @ Park Royal is almost completely cleaned out – lots of baby and kid Team Canada wear, but nothing for adults save the odd t-shirt or too. Tons of generic Olympic gear, but nothing else
• If you’re looking for non-clothing Olympic souvenirs, head to your closest London Drugs! They’re advertising “selected Olympic merchandise” at 50% off, but when I was there last night it seemed as though ALL of it was on sale – I got me a wicked Sumi hat and was sorely tempted by the plush mascots, but I resisted

Yesterday’s Experience Day was a smashing success. I met Shan at BC Hydro’s Power Smart Village at noon, and throughout the day we were joined by others – Reilly and Miranda, then Josh, then Ed, then Renee. We held fast to our rule of “no standing in line”, but still managed to see a lot of great stuff. The Plaza of Nations behind the Edgewater Casino was especially great – the day was gorgeous, there’s an open-air market like a small version of the Richmond Night Market, and an army of inukshuk have been built along the seawall. The area of framed by Science World/Russia House, the Cambie Bridge, and Athlete’s Village across the water – it’s one of the most spectacular spots in the city, and a fabulous place to hang out and people watch.

fisheye'd!

We ended up on Robson Street later that night, but I had to call it quits around 8pm – my feet are angry at the best of times, and the fact that I had spent 8 hours wandering around town had not gone unnoticed. I was in a lot of pain, but I had so much fun I hadn’t really minded until I hit the wall. As a result, we weren’t downtown when Jon Montgomery won his gold medal in Men’s Skeleton – but we got to watch it at home and cheer along.

I don’t know what’s happening tonight, but it’s going to be something. I’m also trying to find out what the Team Canada stock levels are like at Oakridge and Metrotown – will update when I find out.

Pictures from yesterday are up on Flickr, and don’t forget: I’ll be drawing for mittens tomorrow night and for other goodies on Tuesday, so you should enter the draw by commenting on the posts linked to the right!

Tomorrow night: Long Table Series dinner at the Irish Heather, just in time to be in Gastown for the end of the Canada vs. USA hockey game. It’s gonna be epic, no matter the result!

2010 was an inside job

true north huge and on the side of a building

Yesterday HBC announced that the Olympic Superstore – the one I haven’t yet been able to get into because of my aversion to lineups and crowds – will be open 24 hours a day for the last three days of the Olympics. Look for me at 3am on Saturday the 27th, trying to buy a black Canada hoodie! As a little bit nauseating as all this crass consumerism is, it’s also kind of fun for the sheer insanity of it all. I wish the store was open 24/7 throughout the entire games – I do not doubt that they would do enough business in the wee hours of the morning to justify the extra manpower. Also, I don’t want to wait for a week before I go shopping at 3am. Patience: not a virtue.

I’ve decided that today is Experience Day – I am going to go experience some of the craziness going on downtown. I really want to check out BC Hydro’s Power Smart Village, and the Vancouver Art Gallery is FREE for the duration of the Olympics so that is a definite must do. Tonight I want to throw myself into the crowds on Robson Street to see what all the fuss is about, and maybe see if I can’t hunt down the mysterious forces handing out the elusive Jesus pin – I’ve only seen it once, but it’s a large white pin with Jesus fish in the Olympic colours. It apparently comes on a card that tells you all about how Jesus died so our athletes could win gold medals, or something. I want it strictly for the hilarity factor, much like the PETA pin – I’ll enjoy anything, as long as it’s subversive in some way.

I have to do some work before I can go out and have fun – this fascinating documentation on donut router policies is not going to write itself – but I am completely excited for the good times I plan to have today. If I can wrangle any interesting swag, I will add it to my giveaway pile – so don’t forget to enter the draws below! Spread the word, too – I’m tired of spamming Twitter with my links. Do it for me, please. :)

pretend it's one week ago and this picture is leaked