The last few days, post-Thanksgiving, I spent a bit of time cleaning house and my office, preparing for the new year (early 2010 Spring cleaning, or late 2009 Spring cleaning, if you please).
Tonight I came across a couple of items clipped from New York Times features of 2009 -- so that the papers may be tossed, posting the items here for perpetuity.
The first is a photo from the Jan. 1, 2009, edition of The Times featuring a Yale University photo exhibition review by Ken Johnson. The photo (shown with post) is by Karin Rosenthal and is titled "Belly Landscape" (clever title, eh) from 1980. Any one of the Rio women in my Dec. 4 beach volleyball post might well be suited for a "30 years later" photo should Rosenthal choose to pursue a similar study in 2010.
Also tagged and saved another New York Times photo from the paper's Sept. 4 report that "Avenue Q" (one of my favorites) was closing shop after a great run (thank goodness they reopened down the street in Manhattan as I hope to get my parents and sister in to see the show in 2010). The photo was by Sara Krulwich -- great shot of the puppets on a backstage shelf awaiting their "final" curtain call (unfortunately, the image is not available online -- drat!).
The last item (at least for tonight) is a cutout saved from an auction catalog or art sale advertisement featuring a painting by Roy Lichtenstein (anyone know the title?). This one reminds me of the need to invest in some larger-necked dress shirts (seems I've outgrown a few from my closet in the days since the office where I work switched from "casual Fridays" to casual everyday).
OK, I was a little harsh poking fun at Rio this week, so here's a friendly follow-up to kiss and make up.
Today Reuters posted a cool video of a Brasilian family who plays beach volleyball in Rio de Janiero, and they had some good messages to the world regarding sportsmanship and preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Good stuff. I sure hope they are still playing when we get back to Brazil (my girlfriend and I visited the beach in this video in 2006 and it is fabulous!).
Today's Olympic "awwwww" moment popped up as a TV station in Charlottesville, Va., reported that a local elementary school is decorating a Christmas tree Vancouver 2010 Olympic ornaments and decor.
There's been a surge of Olympic-related Christmas gear appearing on online auction sites of late as well (like the Eric Heiden decoration shown with this post).
And of course the retail outlets in British Columbia stocked the shelves with some curious 2010 Christmas schwag (technically not schwag since none appears to be free).
I'm wondering when there might be a "Twelve Days of Christmas" Olympic gift pack ready for market (seems like an easy licensing option for sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Committee).
'Tis the season! Here's hoping each day now to Dec. 25 includes at least one reference to "five ... golden ... rings ..."
Photo via this eBay seller (disclosure: eBay is a client of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work)
The most ridiculous "news" item today -- other than CNN airing their own admission that they shamelessly just played (for the umpteenth time) the unverified-by-CNN Tiger Woods voicemails -- came in the form of an Associated Press brief stating that the Rio 2016 Olympic organizers are looking for legal options given Robin Williams' Olympic bid-related comments on "The Late Show with David Letterman" recently (see the full episode with Williams):
"Some citizens and officials in the Brazilian city are upset with comments the comedian made on a recent appearance on ... Letterman, saying Rio received the 2016 Olympics because it sent '50 strippers and a pound of blow' to compete with Chicago’s entourage that included Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey ... Rio’s Olympic Committee said its lawyers will analyze whether legal action against Williams is possible."
I hope the lawyers in Rio aren't seriously wasting time on this "issue" as there are certainly more important items to tend to in the 2016 Olympic city preparations.
C'mon, everyone knows by now it was more than 100 strippers ... and a kilo of blow, and Pelé was place-kicking ludes into the mouths of IOC members! (Just kidding, IOC, Pelé and Rio 2016 -- I look forward to again visiting Brazil many times now to 2016).
It was good to see Robin Williams in the news, though -- glad he is healthy again. Just thinking of him crying over this Olympic legal issue brings back thoughts on the disturbing scene in "One Hour Photo" when Williams' character had a nightmare (yikes!).
As my septuagenarian middle school algebra teacher used to exclaim, "Oh, for crying out tears in the sink!" (I think she would say the same of Rio "legal issue" for Williams, no algebra required.)
" ... The word 'sochi.ru' appears above the number '2014' in an apparent reflection, symbolizing the southern city's water-based location on the Black Sea ... Interbrand produced the logo, which was subsequently approved in a series of national and international surveys, [officials] said. [Officials] said the new logo would help break Western stereotypes of a Russia stuck in the past, instead promoting the country as a dynamic and modern nation capable of reaching out to new audiences in a digital age."
Borrowing a phrase from an English:Russian translation site: Ya nepaneemau.
It may take some time, and reading a few hundred pages of "Dr. Zhivago," to help me respond "da" to the new Sochi 2014 logo, but I'm sure in time my five-ringed brain will come to terms with the [dot] .ru - infused logo, and eventually the Sochi 2014 typeface will get added to favorite fonts.
I do like the video for the new logo, and encourage folks to view it in Russian or English. The views of the Black Sea and snow-capped Russian mountains are inspiring.
In honor of the new logo, I'll send a Moscow 1980 Olympic pin to the first international reader of this blog who posts a comment with their views on this new Sochi 2014 logo. Thanks/спасибо for reading!
That week was a blur of early morning live TV reports, long walks on miles of aisles of exhibits and evenings with IAAPA members or communications peers (and, I must admit, a trip or two to some roulette tables during brief down time throughout the week).
Though there was no energy to post to the blog that week, and Thanksgiving week is traditionally an "IAAPA recovery" week (this year my "recovery" included a 2,000-mile round-trip holiday drive to Oklahoma for family time), tonight I must post some IAAPA highlights to keep things timely. Thanks to all for patience during the break since the most recent post.
About Las Vegas: Still trying to decide my mixed bag of love, fear and loathing from the experience.
There's plenty to love -- the Strip impressed me, as did the Bellagio fountains, the Venetian, the airport, most of the hospitality/taxi drivers and "locals," the Las Vegas Convention Center and the grand scale of so many other places (the massive hotels reminded me of Beijing's skyline and grandeur).
I'm still speechless about the Cirque du Soleil show "O" which we witnessed from the third row -- breathtaking. (Disclosure: Cirque du Soleil is a client of Edelman, the P.R. firm where I work.)
Will also remember fondly the night flight into the city and the departure flight takeoff over The Strip, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon as I collapsed with sheer exhaustion from the Vegas experience.
A review of some favorite Vegas films is in order, with "Casino" and scenes from "Rain Man" coming out of the archive for viewing later this week. I was happy to view "The Hangover" last week, and seeing it post-Vegas gave some new perspective.
So, in Las Vegas with IAAPA, I was determined to find "IAAPA's Olympic connection" for the blog. By day three of the Expo, things were not looking too good -- not even a plush toy with some vague reference to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascots.
But then one of my colleagues pointed out that the exhibiting company Xtraice was in da house.
"What is Xtraice?" I wondered.
Turns out, it is a waterless surface on which anyone may "ice" skate -- on figure skates, speed skates or any other skating blade -- on what is billed as "ecological ice" on a synthetic, near-ice-slick surface.
I was impressed to learn that Xtraice is now used for sports training by some of the official governing bodies for skating sports worldwide, and the Xtraice surface may also be useful for tropical nations like Aruba or Guam to train for winter Olympic sports on ice.
The IAAPA:Olympic connection was further affirmed when I learned that two-time Olympic figure skater/two-time World silver medalist Surya Bonaly was on site at IAAPA Attractions Expo skating in the Xtraice booth!
Olympic figure skater Surya Bonaly was one of the friendliest Olympians encountered to date. In addition to being a great sport (showing up for a very early morning live TV segment), she took time to speak with IAAPA attendees (including bloggers) throughout the week. Turns out she is now a Las Vegas resident, as she became a U.S. citizen a few years ago. It was cool to learn more about her Olympic Oath experience in Albertville (representing all athletes in the Games in Bonaly's home nation, France), and her Olympic Village visits in Lillehammer (see video).
One of my teammates later informed me of a Vegas adult establishment with an Olympic theme, but I will have to save research of that establishment (if it still exists) when we return to Las Vegas for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2011.
For the first time in the association's 90+ years, IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 is in Las Vegas, and tonight (Monday night, Nov. 16) is sort of like Christmas Eve as more than 1,065 exhibitors are working through the night to finalize their booths that span 500,000 square feet of the Las Vegas Convention Center's cavernous South Hall.
Good times!
As we are in the business of getting media to visit this global gathering for the $24 billion international industry event geared to operators and vendors of theme parks, amusement parks, water parks, zoos, aquariums, casinos, family entertainment centers and museums, the last couple of days involved reaching out to press outlets in the region -- some local news reports are already popping up, and we'll look forward to engaging more throughout the week.
The real fun, too, comes from discovering what's cool and new for the next year in the attractions industry. One exhibitor of the past -- Dinner In The Sky -- still tops the list of "most extreme" followed closely by the HUSS "Fly Away" ride that visited Atlanta the first year we worked with IAAPA.
I'll try to post more from the IAAPA Attractions Expo later in the week. And, of course, I'll be on the hunt for some Olympic connections to the theme park industry while on site (does anyone out there recall the IZZY-themed roller coasters as part of Busch Gardens' sponsorship of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games?).
A public relations executive by day, small-time eBayer by night and weekends, lifetime member of the International Association of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and full-time Olympic enthusiast who also looks at "BoingBoing-style" unusual news with interest. Please e-mail me at olympiada@yahoo.com or if you can't get enough try my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicholas_Wolaver/713593008
The last few days, post-Thanksgiving, I spent a bit of time cleaning house and my office, preparing for the new year (early 2010 Spring cleaning, or late 2009 Spring cleaning, if you please).
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