Whatta Weekend

Quite the wild Valentine's weekend wouldn't you say?

Not only were people busy spending time (and money) on their sweethearts, but at the same time, the Olympics were getting underway!

It began on a somber tone, with the world grieving the death of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili from Georgia.

It then moved ont to a pretty good opening ceremony. I'd give it a B+.

In typical Canadian fashion it was classy, creative and captivating...without being overblown or cheesy.

Likes:
k.d. Lang - what a simply incredible performance doing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." She is an amazing talent and I was very happy that she got the worldwide exposure that's long overdue. Sometimes I feel like the just doesn't get the credit she deserves, especially from Canadians.
Orcas - the visuals projected on the floor of the stadium made it look like there were REALLY orcas swimming from end to end.
Aboriginal presence - it was so great (and important) that the Aboriginal people, music and culture was such a big part of the ceremony. Nice to see they weren't just put in as something cosmetic

Dislikes:
The Prairie Scene - woman soars over wheatfields for what seems like 3 days. I, along with many people in the stands (from what I saw), thought this was a little yawn inducing.
Bryan Adams/Nelly Furtado - sorry BA and NF fans...that was an awkward performance and a weird pairing.
Cauldron failure - Ugh. Lousy that the last part of the cauldron didn't rise, but what do you do? Stuff happens!

The rest of the weekend went off well with Alex Bilodeau winning gold in the men's moguls (what a great story between his brother and him), Jenn Heil winning silver (talk about awkward, Jenn standing in between two beaming gold and bronze winning Americans) and Kristina Groves picking up a bronze.  Not to mention the women's hockey team dismantling Slovakia 18-0 (that was uncomfortable to watch...but what a performance by the Slovakian goalie...she faced almost 70 shots!)

Onwards and upwards for our Canadian athletes...only 14 days left!

Here's a little more k.d...amazing:

 

Talk to you again, in the AM!

B.