Click to enlarge!

After departing Athens, Greece on October 30th, the Olympic Flame has been traveling across Canada, now about 1/3 of the way into its 106-day, 26,000 km overland relay (another 18,000 km by air). Over 12,000 torch-bearers will carry the flame along a winding path covering all of Canada, passing through over 1,000 communities total – from Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary to smaller communities such as Gwa’Sala-Nakwaxda’xw, Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Moose Jaw and Sheshatshiu. The final destination: Vancouver’s BC Place on February 12, 2010, where it will light the Olympic Cauldron and signal the start of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

]]> http://uptowngirlsj.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/this-week-in-saint-john-nov-23-29-midweek-edition/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:30:10 +0000 uptowngirlsj http://uptowngirlsj.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/this-week-in-saint-john-nov-23-29-midweek-edition/

Sorry I missed last week, the musical and Operation Red Nose had me running on empty.  Here is what’s happening in our fair city this week… and there is tons going on to get you in the holiday spirit:

• CHEER ON THE OLYMPIC FLAME (Tue 24, Marco Polo Cruise Terminal, 5-8pm -FREE)  www.uptownsj.com
• Introduction to Wine w/ Peter Smit (Tue 24, Happinez Wine Bar, 7-9:30pm – $35 + HST) Pre-registration required.
• Meet the Artist: Sue Hopper (Wed 25, Saint John Arts Centre, 12-1pm – Free)
• All you can eat wing night (Wed 25, Boilerworks, 6pm+)
• Operation Red Nose Volunteer Info & Training Session (Wed 25, Boilerworks, 7pm sharp – Free munchies & info)  Fill out your application form at this 1/2 hour session!  
• Holiday Fashion Party (Wed 25, Je Suis Prest Boutique, 7-9pm – Fundraiser for The Coverdale Women’s Centre)
• Open Mic w/Brent Mason (Wed 25, O’Leary’s Pub)
• William Forrestall – Artist Talk (Thu 26, NB Museum – Market Square, 7-9pm – Regular Admission)
• FUSION Party with a Purpose: TIES 2 Work (Fri 27, Hilton Hotel – Lower atrium, 5:30-7pm – Free)
• Dave Shoots, Bookseller: Christmas Open House (Fri 27 & Sat 28, 40 Coburg St., 8am-5pm)
• UPTOWN SPARKLES – Open House (Fri 27 & Sat 28, Uptown Saint John, 4-9pm & 10am-5pm)
• Warm Drinks & Cool Tunes – City Market Open Late! (Fri 27 & Sat 28, Saint John City Market, 5-8pm & 11am-2pm - shopping!)  
• Ron James – Mental as Anything (Fri 27, Imperial Theatre, 8pm – $48)
• Barnacle (Fri 27 & Sat 28, O’Leary’s Pub, 9pm – Regular Cover Charge)
• OPERATION RED NOSE (Fri 27 & Sat 28, Driving you home in your own car, 9pm-3am – FREE!)  CALL US!  693-6810
• Mayor’s Tree Lighting Ceremony (Fri 27, Market Square Atrium, 6pm – Free)
• Sea Dogs vs. Drummondville (Fri 27, Harbour Station, 7:30pm – $10.50-$16)
• Bigg Medicine (Fri 27, The Blue Olive, 10pm – $5)
• Uptown Saint John’s Traditional Holiday Open House:  Full calendar (Sat 28, 8am-10:30pm – FREE)
• Wendy Neilson & Friends Red Carpet Gala (Sat 28, Imperial Theatre, 7pm – $50-$250 Fundraiser) *black tie optional
• Sidekick (Sat 28, The Blue Olive, 9:30pm – $5)
• Sea Dogs vs. Quebec (Sun 29, Harbour Station, 4pm – $10.50-$16)
• The Straight Ahead Show “Git-er-boil’n” (Sun 29, Imperial Theatre, 7:30pm – $23)

Torch Relay Video showcases Olympic history being made in Annapolis Royal.

It was a glorious, fun-filled, occasion for people of all ages as Day 21 of the Olympic Torch Relay dawned in historic and scenic Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, on November 19. There was truly something for everyone. Hearts were as warm, and smiles as bright, as the famous flame. The Torch is gone, but the extraorodinary memories will last a lifetime.

It is often said that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” With our colourful new Olympic Torch Relay Slide Show, you can also experience the pageantry and enjoy the sights and colour of this incredible day. It is set to the delightful song, “Peace on Earth” from Jeanne (Doucet) Currie’s latest CD, “serrons-nous la main” which is is available at Annapolis Appliance, Baintons, Historic Gardens and other locations in Annapolis Royal or by visiting http://www.jeannedoucetcurrie.ca  Music by Wayne Currie. 

For information about upcoming events and a preview of the 2010 Explorer Visitors Guide, visit http://www.ExploreAnnapolisRoyal.com

Today was so far the highlight of the build up to the olympic games for me.  Not only did I get to read my book to 4 fantastic school in Halifax (Oxford, st Catherine’s, Halifax independent and Le Marchant St Thomas) but I acutally got to hold the olympic torch!  That very same day none other than Sidney Crosby also passed on the torch (although he was surrounded by many more fans).  Another super week, can’t wait to for the next stop on tour in Calgary and Edmonton.

-Marvin

A brief event was held in Hotel Trident-Oberoi, where Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday presented a model of the Olympic Torch to Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Akshay will run the Olympic Torch in Toronto on Dec 17. He has visited Canada several times and is very close to that place. He said, “I am happy to be chosen as one of the 14 international bearers of the Olympic Torch.”

This was the hotel which was one of the targets of the 26/11 attacks. At the function Harper also interacted with captains of Indian industry. Akshay was wearing official uniform of the Olympic Torch relay, and group of school children clapped as he held up the torch model.

In the bollywood news, he has been approached by Farah Khan for her upcoming flick ‘Tees Maar Khan’.

What an exciting day in Annapolis Royal, as the Olympic Torch Relay came to Town! A once-in-a-lifetime event for most of the people gathered today on the grounds of Fort Anne National Historic Site, and those lining St. George Street. And imagine the thrill of being one of the Torch-bearers…

Here are a few photos from the day…

Piper Andy Kerr

A special cake... cut by a Torch Bearer from a previous Olympics!

Local school kids came en masse...

Official Greetings...

A First Nations Welcome!

Olympic Lantern

The First Torchbearer of the day.

The parade around the ramparts of Fort Anne

Passing the Torch!

A proud moment!

Millions of lightbulbs, loudspeakers, big screens, not to mention a giant flame… The Olympic games is a black hole of energy consumption and where that energy comes from is an issue of extreme importance if the UK is to lead the way in reduction of greenhouse gases as Boris Johnson would have us believe.

A state of art energy centre is being constructed in the Olympic park to solve all of our energy problems. The centre which is being branded by Olympic officials as “Lean, Mean and Green” is going to reduce the carbon emissions of the games by over 1000 tonnes in 2012 and is even being praised by Greenpeace.

It is to be housed primarily inside an old Victorian building which would have otherwise stood derelict. This ultimate show of recycling is truly a step in the right direction and proves that the Olympic committee have really listen to environmentalists who were concerned that London 2012 would leave more than just a sporting legacy lingering over the city.

The proposed energy centre

ODA Director of Infrastructure and Utilities Simon Wright said: “Sustainability is at the heart of the 2012 project and the Energy Centre will ensure a lasting legacy of green power in the Olympic Park for generations to come. The state-of-the-art Energy Centre will be one of the largest in the UK and the lean, mean and green sustainability features that underpin this project will set a model for future urban regeneration schemes.”

Biomass boilers will use sustainable biomass fuels to generate heat, contributing to a 20 per cent renewable energy target across Olympic Park and zero carbon renewable energy sources used such as biofuel. Of course both of these things are important and exciting new developments but the idea which really captured my imagination was the waste water scheme which proposes that waste water from the Olympic park and village will be used to cool the energy centre.

This means that the water used in the pool that Michael Phelps swam to gold in could then help to light the arena in which Chris Hoy powers to victory. The water that Usain Bolt’s pots and pans were washed in could then help run the timer that records his new world record.

An exciting prospect, no? And if it helps the environment and the green credentials of the games then this new power plant really should be given more publicity.

The centre is due to be completed in Spring 2010.

Olympic fever has hit Nova Scotia as the Olympic Torch makes its way across the province.  Last night, it stopped here in Truro and there was a HUGE celebration in Victoria Park.  The festivities started at 5:30, but we didn’t get there until closer to six.  Already, there were a few thousand people there.  The event was so well planned & executed.  The entertainment was awesome – athletes, drummers, musicians, choirs, speakers…

You can find the story from the local newspaper here:  http://www.trurodaily.com//index.cfm?sid=303955&sc=68

We had a full house here at the B&B and our guests came and joined us to take in the activities!  I managed to take a few photos of the excitement:

Drummers

Athletes

Oh, the things this athlete could do with her hula hoop!!

The crowd, watching for the Torch

Lighting the cauldron with the Olympic Flame

"Coach" Bob Piers lit the flame

With Gary & Fernando, our guests from Houston & Mexico

Putting the Flame "to bed" for the night

Fireworks for the finale

The Olympic Torch celebration was in Truro tonight, and Alex’s choir was singing, so we headed over to Victoria Park.

I remember back in 1988 when the Olympics were in Calgary, I had two friends who were lucky enough to be chosen to run with the torch – Sandy & Suzy.  In my memory, there was a big event for the torchbearers that we attended on the grounds of the then Teacher’s College and Sandy won a 13″ tv.  They’ll have to correct me if I’m wrong…

Tonight’s Olympic Flame celebration was NOTHING like the one 21 years ago!  This was held in Victoria Park, where they had set up a huge soundstage.  There were drummers, dancers, athletes, singers, choirs, guest speakers, you name it!

Unfortunately, Sarah has an ear infection, so we decided to leave her at home with her grandfather who doesn’t like to get chilled.  Since we were leaving Sarah, we left Olivia too and it was just as well.  They wouldn’t have seen much in the stroller, but it would have been too long & too cold for them to be on their feet.  They were happy enough to stay home and play “I Spy”!

I couldn’t believe all the tents that were set up when we first got to the park – the event was much bigger than I had anticipated.  We got Alex checked in backstage with his choir and found my mother waiting for us there.  Earlier today, I had been joking about the itinerary that stated the kids would sing at 7:00, then the torch would enter the park at 7:08 and the kids would sing again at 7:26, but they really did have it timed pretty much that precisely.  There is no question that this was an extremely well thought out and well planned event!

The kids sang “O Canada”, which again brought me to tears…  How lucky are we to live in Canada?!  Gary & Fernando, our guests from Houston (Fernando is actually from Mexico City, but works in Houston) came and joined us, and we ran into Martha, Stephane & Chloe.  (Gabriel is in the choir with Alex.)

It was a really fun, really exciting night, capped off with fireworks!  The boys, Evan especially, are getting excited for the Olympics and Evan hopes to go himself one day as a curler.  I hope to go watch him someday…

Ginna with her future Olympian(s) She was taking her B.Ed and was in class during the Torch celebration in 1988

Evan was facinated by these drummers

This athlete was amazing - the things she could do with a hula hoop!!

Some of the crowd, waiting for the Torch to arrive

Martha, Stephane & Chloe

"Coach" Bob Piers lights the Flame

With Fernando & Gary, our guests from Houston.

Putting the flame "to sleep" for the night at the end of the festivities

Fireworks in the baseball field

We stopped for a photo with "Cyber", who teaches about cyber-bullying, internet & texting safety on the way out of the park

The Olympic Flame has arrrived at the Grenfell Park in St Anthony, NL.

The weather was great and there was a great turn out.  See more photos.

The Olympic flame made its way across Yellowknife on Thursday, November 5  from N’Dilo to the Samba K’e Civic Plaza in Yellowknife.

66 torchbearers carried the Olympic Flame across the city with the final celebration at 7:00pm at Samba K’e Civic Plaza, next to City Hall.

I was there as a  part of the celebrations as a volunteer with Coke.  I had a great time and was so in awe of the enormous amount of happiness and excitement that was felt by all. I really enjoyed my evening and will remember it forever.

Amanda and Florence

One of the highlights of the evening, was the unveiling of the life-size hand-painted Coke bottle by Yellowknife artist Dawn Orman.  Both David and I love her work!!

Hand Painted by Artist Dawn Oman

I'm 5'2"!!

And of course, it wouldn’t be the Olympic Flame Celebration without a picture of myself with the Olympic Torch.  Big Cheers Out to my 3 other ladies who were volunteering alongside me that night!

Chelsea, Florence, Amanda and Suzanne with the Olympic Torch

Today marked the lauch of Microsoft’s newest platform:  The creatively named “Widows 7″.  It follows the slightly poorer than disastrous product that they called “Vista”.  Since the launch of Vista, computer stores have been busy placating customers by “downgrading” compmuter systems to Windows XP.  No more!  Microsoft has finally launched a better program than Vista.  I have not previewed the new platform, but I can say with confidence that it is far superior to Vista.  Then again, The Eniac computer (1946) was superior to Vista.

Am I going to rush out to get the new operating platform?  Probably not…XP seems to be working sufficiently for my needs (and if I needed more, I’d probably just get myself a Mac).

In other news today, the Olympic Flame was lit today in Greece using a parabolic mirror and the sun’s own rays, beginning its trek to Vancouver Canada for the 2010 Winter Games.

What do these events have to do with each other?  It’s rumoured that Bill Gates was in Greece for the lighting of the flame.  He had with him all of the remaining copies of Vista, which he was going to ignite using the Olympic Flame.  Alas…it didn’t work.  Vista was of such poor quality, it wouldn’t even burn right!

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson turned up in the Queen Vic last night and immediately launched into his customary gaffes, telling Peggy Mitchell (played by Carry On star Barbara Windsor) how much daughter Sam Mitchell had changed recently, and what had happened to her nose, before ordering one of Betty’d Hotpots.
After being told they don’t know anyone called Betty, greedy pig Bojo made moves to the cafe for a full English, and asked Ian Beale if he fancied a wife swap.
He then bumped into Bradley Branning and told him they’ll probably meet up again at the 2016 Olympics when Boris will bring the Olympic Flame to Rio direct from Stratford.
The foppish mayor then told Dot Cotton he’d enjoyed seeing her naked, not realising it was actually actress June Brown who’d appeared naked in the theatre show Calender Girls for all of 3 seconds.

Boris Johnson is, still, incredibly, Mayor of London.

Handheld (@ 1/4000 s | f/1.7), in the garden; I can see why the Dutch went bonkers in the seventeenth century.

Update: I’m pretty sure this is the Olympic Flame variety produced as part of the Dutch bid for the summer Olympics a few years ago.

Konnie Huq stuggles to keep hold of the Olympic flame in 2008.

Considering this, the decision to stop this happening after the palaver that ensued before the 2008 games is one that has to be made with a very heavy heart indeed.

Without making its journey around the world the Olympic torch is just a ball of burning gas (not very environmentally friendly unless an eco-version can be designed) and is almost irrelevant to proceedings.

It deeply saddens me that people around the world cannot embrace the majestic semiotics of the flame as a mark of unity. And this hostility occurred all across the globe, not least in England where last year’s photographs of Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq being swarmed by angry protesters was not an image to be repeated in 2012.

And so the flame will remain in the UK, burning brightly in the run-up to the Olympics; unseen by most, unwanted by others.

The official olympic games logo; Source: Wikipedia

Plans for London’s Olympic Park will mean the 2012 games will be the greenest held in modern times, but critics fear they do not go far enough.

 

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), in charge of constructing all the venues, aims to deliver infrastructure and facilities for London 2012 in a sustainable manner by concentrating on energy- saving schemes, the use of alternative energy sources and recycling.

The authority aims to measure the games entire carbon footprint, including the emissions caused by the construction of the Olympic Park and those from the flights carrying competitors, media and fans alike.

Carbon emissions from the Olympic village and the venues left after the games will be cut by half through energy efficiency measures and a specially designed combined heat and power plant.

And a minimum of a fifth of the energy used will come from renewable sources, including a 120-metre high wind turbine north of the park.

All venues will also be designed to reduce water consumption by 40 per cent with grey water recycled from showers, sinks and baths used where possible.

Richard, an environment manager of the ODA said, “It is part of my job to ensure that we minimise the effects of our construction project on the environment, and on people living and working around the Olympic Park. This is extremely challenging as a result of the scale of the project and fixed deadline – everything must be built by mid-2011.”

One significant element of the Games that should not add to the footprint will be the Olympic flame, which organisers are determined to make carbon neutral.

Jane Johnson, an activist for Greenpeace London said, “Although the initiative shown by the ODA to go green is commendable, they need to reorganise their priorities to meet renewable energy resource targets, which have so far been disastrous.”

“Doing calculations is not enough, more action is what is needed. Publicity stunts like making the Olympic flame carbon neutral will have hardly any environmental impact,” she said.

Plans reveal that more than 50 miles of walking and cycling routes will be built to encourage people to travel to and around the Olympic site.

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