Tag Archives: Winter Olympics

In-flight Community

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I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in Nicaragua recently. These two weeks spanned the entire Winter Olympics period and while I was somewhat sad to miss out on this community making, city-defining event, while traveling dusty streets and sitting at airport bars I sort out my own Winter Olympics community – in the sunshine of another country.

Travel sometimes makes me melancholy. There is something about the silence and movement that’s almost meditative. Unless, of course, you’ve got to get a connecting flight in 20 minutes and then it’s more like a 1000-meter mad dash.

I like to walk in airports, especially when I’ve got a 6-hour layover and this trip I managed to cover Houston Airport 4 or 5 times over. I also like to find a bar and chat with people also going places. There is something deeply connecting about a 20-minute conversation with the guy having a beer on his way to San Diego, or a mother going home from seeing her grand kids in Dallas.

On this trip I had one of the loveliest and saddest moments with a fellow from California, whose name I never found out.

A Vet from the Korean War he came out of the conflict with one arm amputated and this day was on his way home from Fort Worth where he was having a prosthetic arm fitted. He was big and burly and at first I hoped he wouldn’t talk to me but as we chatted quietly he shared the loss of his wife and the stress and strain her illness had placed on him and his son. As we chatted he wept for her, quietly coping with her passing. He told me that his son was in Spain, taking a break and studying Spanish. A Mental Health professional his son has left his job to help care for his Mother in the last year of her life and the pause had given him time to reflect on life and work. The love and respect he felt for his son was evident and when he walked away 20 minutes later, I was sad that the big burly man had to get his flight.

Small but meaningful interactions like this remind me of the power of connection and community but in our aging society many of us will live alone and isolated in the last years of our lives. How we care for the aged, elderly, senior citizens (how clinical those names sound!) tells us much about the society we’ve created but also give us a pretty clear picture of the one we need to engender. The Daily Gumboot is but one example of people working to create connection and community and fingers crossed we’ll all grow old playing bridge together.

Since meeting him I’ve wondered about my friend and hope he has a supportive community around him. What will your community look like as you age?

Fashion Hangover a la Vancouver 2010

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For better or for worse the Olympics have come and gone. For some of us their departure has left us with the sense of, “Hey, the party was just getting started!” for others, it’s a case of “Good riddance, no more frenzied crowds, no more line ups,  no more searchlight thingies and no more incessant  helicopter chatter overhead.” Still, lingering nostalgia remains,  and it’s not for the spectacle of Koreans kicking butt at  short track, Heineken at the Holland House  or Robson Square Zipliners. These were great things, but nothing compares to the void that has been left by the departure of thousands of athletes. And their outfits. Their really nifty, nifty outfits. For two weeks the world’s athletes accomplished both amazing sporting feats and  pushed athletic fashion to a whole new level. These Olympics can and should be remembered as a  pageant of funky spandex designs, nifty parkas and everything in between. So, while i’m not sorry to see our speed skaters’ saran-wrapped thighs go, there were plenty of designs which i’ll remember fondly.

Some of my personal faves.

I like to call this number (above) the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Intimidation Suit”. The Austrailians did everything right here. Their opponents were probably left wondering, “Are these guys really ‘turtles in a half shell’? And if so, ‘do they have turtle power too?!’Pretty neat stuff. All part of the Australian amazing game plan to compensate for their lack of snow at home.

Personally, I don’t find curling very interesting. Probably because I never watch it for long enough to get into a ‘match’ due to my inability to comprehend anything that’s happening. With so many know-nothings like me apt to reach for the channel changer, Team Norway clearly knew what they were up against and came out with these funky attention grabbing harlequin curling clown pants. Hurry Hard Norway, way to build your curling community.

I’m at a loss for words with this one. But “brilliant” is the first one that comes to mind. This body-hugging spectacle of luminous spandex could do nothing but dazzle spectators and judges alike. Sure, the Ukranians made themselves easy targets with this creation, but let’s face it, it was a ballsy, all-or-nothing move which made them stand out from the pack. They flew in the face of figure skating couture convention. And I applaud them for it.

Ah, the Russians. Off the ice they set the bar pretty high with their street couture, which was flamboyant, stylish and boldly told the world that “watch out we’ll be seeing you in Sochi!” You just couldn’t miss them in any crowd, particularly since they often moved in coordinated packs.  They also took Olympic Swag to a whole new level, with caps and fannie packs for added punch.

Lastly, there was us and our mittens. Something like 3.5  million of these things were bought before and during the Olympics. Well done HBC. Well done Vanoc. I have to say, these hand warmers were a master stroke of fashion and functionality, who wouldn’t want to keep their hand warm and wave the maple leaf at the same time?

Goodbye Olympics. You were fash-tastic and you will be remembered fondly.

Decentralized Dance Partying: Not a Spectator Sport

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DDP

The 6th-ever DDP gets underway

Well, fellow Vancouverites and citizens of the world, the Olympics have drawn to a close. They swept this fair city with their upper-middle-class sensibility, polarized audiences across BC, inspired heavy criticism, inspired heavier drinking, encouraged athletic excellence, obnox-ified Canadian pride, and generally left us all reeling.

Love them or hate them, there was something undeniably awesome about the energy the games brought to Vancouver. Be it through political protest or exuberant celebration, communities were galvanized and Vancouver’s many social silos crumbled in the wild 17-day melee of sport, art and culture. And beer. Enormous issues aside, the games quickly became one big party.

Now, of course, BC is set to weather the $8 billion hangover. Throwing a 3 million- invitee party for 17 days runs a hefty tab, the extent of which will only be known tomorrow when the BC budget is announced.

Which is why it’s somewhat ironic that my fondest memory of the Games cost almost nothing to produce, required no lining up, and was only marginally sanctioned by VANOC. I’m talking about the Decentralized Dance Party I attended on the Saturday following the opening ceremonies. And, pseudo-Olympic-dissenter that I am, I have a bold claim to make: it changed my perspective.

Uphill Sidewalk Skeleton: Look for it in 2014!

Uphill Sidewalk Skeleton: Look for it in 2014!

The Decentralized Dance Party (DDP) works something like this: Tom and Gary, BFFs with a die-hard love for parties and a penchant for throwing them, pick a time, location, and costume theme. This information is spread virally, though their website and expansive Facebook group, and when the crowd assembles over 100 ghetto blasters are distributed. Using a radio transmitter to project crowd-pleasing playlists to an empty radio station, the boom boxes act as far-reaching speakers.

All of a sudden it’s a mobile dance party in the streets.

And on Saturday, February 13th, that street party represented the very best of Vancouver’s 2010 events. It was open to everyone, totally free, and completely steeped in fun. Beginning with a rousing rendition of “Oh Canada” at 6pm in Yaletown, the party snaked through the downtown core, picking up hundreds of rogue dancers as it moved. There were trampoline competitions, uphill skeleton races, giant sing-alongs and an overwhelming sense of inclusion.

For a few hours radical, non-partisan community was forged in the heart of the world’s most commercialized event.

It was some powerfully fun stuff.

The author demonstrates the Decentralized Dance Party Spirit

The author demonstrates the Decentralized Dance Party Spirit

I don’t mean to suggest that a mere dance party can right the highly publicized wrongs of VANOC. I’m also not blindly endorsing the street partying that happened during the Olympics. I witnessed some very dodgy, near-riotous crowds during my forays, and I can’t say I’m sorry to see them disperse.

What the night made me realize, however, was how crucial civic events are for creating a sense of place and community. In some ways, the Olympics merely served as a backdrop for experiencing the city and its inhabitants. Strangers conversed on street corners, well-organized protestors drew international attention to Vancouver’s social challenges, and art and music were everywhere. Obtaining overpriced tickets to sporting events became secondary to human interaction, cultural participation, and dancing in the streets.

Luckily, decentralized dance partying is not a spectator sport.

K’Naan’s Cultural Olympiad

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knaanpub1My birthday is coming up (it’s Saturday, February 27 and thanks so much for the card, by the by) and you can imagine my surprise when my Special Lady, Michelle, told me we were going to see K’Naan at the Orpheum Theatre. Needless to say, I was pretty darn excited.

Brief tangent: if you haven’t taken in a show or cultural event at the Orpheum, please do it soon. The place is as spectacular as it is intimate.

I will venture a guess and assume that 72% of visitors to this online news magazine know about K’Naan. Whether you do or not, the 10 minute video below acts as a pretty darn amazing introduction to one of the world’s most important artists. Enjoy!

Full disclosure. K’Naan is a sell out. Or so a handful of mangey protestors argued as thousands of fans excitedly lined up to see a young man who defines himself as “made in Somalia and raised in Toronto.” Recently, K’Naan signed a lucrative contract with corporate up-and-comer, Coca Cola – some folks argue this goes against his truly humbling, authentic, “man of the people” image. I will admit, combining a Coca Cola sponsorship with a stopover at the Olympics (the Cultural Olympiad is sponsored by Bell) amid chatter that artists are being “muzzled” by sponsors complicated my shining opinion of K’Naan.

When the protestors approached Michelle, though, things weren’t so complicated. Her argument went like this: Look. I’m not saying that you don’t have a point. But really, at the end of the day, K’Naan’s message is positive, empowering and inspiring. Through his songs he tells a story of forgiveness, respect, tolerance, and hope. Why wouldn’t we want this message to spread through any means possible, reaching individuals it otherwise would not have? Coke is powerful – take the example of GreenPeace, who tried for 15 years to have greener refridgeration technology approved in Canada. Coca Cola, in an attempt to be more environmentally sustainable, was able to get their climate-friendly vending machines and coolers approved for use in Canada in just one year, in time for the 2010 Olympics – opening the door for approval of green refridgerators and coolers. Instead of working against the man, it is often so much more effective to work with the man to effect change.

Michelle and I, being superawesome nerds, developed an evaluation rubric for the concert based on four categories – each category is worth five points. Here we go:

Edutainment

A good amount (like, 30) of parents brought their kids to the concert. In the lineup – amidst the inarticulate, yet passionate, protestors – I struck up a conversation with a little one (and her dad, because I’m not creepy) about the concert ahead. She said she was excited because her class watched a documentary about what K’Naan is doing in East Africa to raise awareness about women’s rights, child labour/poverty and the overall plight of people who live in “the hardest place on Earth.” He also told powerful stories and shook his ass like a maniac. Recent findings show kids love stuff like that.

Final Score: 5/5.

Dancibility

Rap concerts suck. There. I said it. Unless an artist has Timbaland mixin his pop-fresh beats live on stage, well, it all just sounds like muffled talking to the thump-thump of the base. And people can’t really dance to such sounds. Especially white people. And, let’s be honest about the crowd, this was/is Vancouver. But this was not a rap concert. It was a delightful hybird of rock/hip-hop/spoken word/stand up comedy with interludes of musical poetry. Whether he was whispering quietly to the audience or “lighting this mutherf*ckin’ joint” everybody could dance…to the best of their ability.

Final Score: 4/5

Creativity

Still moved by K’Naan’s amazing, humbling ability to wear his heart on his sleeve, this concert truly ran the gamut of sensation: from the hilarious and ridiculous to the tragically sad. Few people on this planet can honestly live up to the title of “Rapper, Poet, Philosopher, Storyteller, and Rock Star” – if he were the kind of guy to have business cards, K’Naan would have the best ones ever.

Final Score: 6/5

Authenticity

Here’s the deal. Sell-out or not, the part of the concert when K’Naan told the feeble VANOC official that he’s “not finished playing” – whether this came about because of his “mood” or his penchent for counterculture or his subscribing to African Time, this part of the show was delightfully authentic. I was not without my reservations, as K’Naan needlessly name-dropped Bob Marley and, to all the fans out there, here’s a piece of advice: when someone is singing/talking about their dead childhood girlfriend who left this world in the most terrible of circumstances, well, it’s not supercool to cheer about it. Idiots. Finally, Coke-fueled or not, seeing that many people sing to Wavin Flag was the most authentic thing I’ve seen during these Olympics. Building community through music? Check! Well done, K’Naan.

Final Score: 5/5

With a total score of 20/20 it’s pretty clear that K’Naan rocked the Orpheum. More importantly, though, in a world where most of us have lost faith in business – just ask Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management – perhaps it’s not such a bad thing to have K’Naan, a poetic champion of the people, as a collaborator with the biggest business on Earth. After all, change takes a community…

- Written by The Bornks!

Baldur Sveinbjörnsson

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KerryShooter

1.Who are you?

Baldur Sveinbjörnsson. I am the only African-Icelandic player on the Icelandic Olympic team for the Vancouver 2010 Games. My sport is biathlon. I achieved a personal best by finishing in last place in the men’s 20 kilometer biathlon on Thursday, February 18. My mother thinks I am a star. My father – rest his soul – would have been proud, I hope. Now, it is time to party! I’m also really, really tall. (Editor’s Note: check out the size of the biathlon rifle next to Baldur…it’s pretty darn small – let’s just say it was easy to spot him in the International Press Centre, where the Gumboot editorial staff spent a lot of time during the Olympics.)

2. What do you do for fun?

I polish my rifle. Shoot rabbits with my non-biathlon rifle (it is illegal to shoot anything but targets with your rifle, but that doesn’t stop the Norwegians from practicing on muskrats). I really like writing haikus about my father’s homeland, Tanzania. One day, I hope to visit Tanzania and start a biathlon program in Dar es Salaam.

3. What is your favourite community and why?

The women’s biathlon community. In this community, I am a love god. Some call me a combination of Thor, Odin and Loki – and I can dance like Justin Timberlake. The biathlon community has taken me in as their own, even if I am a foot taller than everyone here.

4. What is your superpower?

My willingness to break all the rules – even my own – to do the right thing.

5. How do you use it to build community?

The world is not designed for tall people. My willingness and skill at breaking all the rules makes me well suited to be a height-centred ambassador to the short community. I like to think that I bring a new, better, “taller” perspective to your world. Exit signs shouldn’t be seven feet off the ground, you know – some people hit their head on them.

My three favourite things about Baldur are…

1. He’s Tall. When the Daily Gumboot editors were investigating the stories of the games in the International Media Centre (sorry, VANOC, for not actuallyIceland_flag writing anything about the Olympics yet…), Baldur was easy to find because, well, he is a seven-foot-tall biathlon athlete – biathlete? Since meeting Baldur, he has helped us reach no fewer than six things that were up high and out of our reach. He can also see over the fence that surrounds the Olympic flame.

2. Baldur is a Love God. We don’t want to say that Baldur has a harem of attractive women always following him, but he doesn’t not have a crowd of attractive women always following him. Being the generous fellow that he is – and being done all of his events – Baldur was good enough to take Kurt and John on a few sojourns through the intense and passionate gamut that is the Athletes’ Village in False Creek. That’s really all that we can say about this.

3. Kindness and Community Become Him. The Daily Gumboot’s editors and correspondents have been searching for athletes to interview since the games began – after speaking (or trying to speak to) over 50 competitors, we could only wrangle an interview with two Russian aerialists. Without a translator, it was a pretty difficult conversation, but Kurt and John might be married to them now (we may or may not have been representing ourselves as “editors” of the New York Times). Baldur, without his fancy “badge” or an Icelandic track suit, was more than happy to talk to us. We took him at face value and stand by the above facts that make up his inspiring story. Because that’s how you build community.

As told by John and Kurt…

Olympic Neighbourhoods: the Punjabi Market

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As a key media outlet for the 2010 Olympics, the Daily Gumboot is excited to bring you our “Olympics Neighbourhoods” series. Here’s how it works: each week, Managing Editor, Kurt Heinrich, and Editor-in-Chief, John will profile a different Vancouver neighbourhood with a specific focus on things that might interest out-of-town visitors who arrive in The Couve for the Olympics. We will do this between now and the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver and the story will be told be the Gumboot’s editors asking and answering the five questions below. These are the straight goods that you can’t get from VANOC, the Ministry of Tourism or the City of Vancouver. Let’s get to it!

Your Olympic Neighbourhood this week is…the Punjabi Market!

punjabi market

1. Where is this neighbourhood exactly and how do I get there?

JOHN: The Punjabi Market is easily found at the corner – the nexus, if you will – of Main and 50th Streets, although this Googlemap will tell you that it exists here, at Main and 49th – the neighbourhood lives between 51st and 48th streets and is a must see stop on your Olympic visit. Rumour had it that this was the proposed location for The India Gate, a superawesome design meant to be an homage to the pioneers of Vancouver’s Indo-Canadian community. Problem is, the gate wasn’t there – or it was really, really, really small. According to our friends at Translink, you can get to the Punjabi Market in 24 minutes from the Robson Square Olympic Celebration Headquarters. Hop on the Canada Line or Expo Line and then look for the 003, 025 or 049 buses.

2. Why should a tourist/traveler be interested in it?

JOHN: This neighbourhood yields the highest number of jewelry stores in the entire country. So, if you like things that sparkle, that’s reason enough! Speaking of things that sparkle, the authentic Indian clothing stores sprinkled throughout this neighbourhood cannot be missed. Whether you’re going to an Indian wedding or not – maybe you just really, really hope you get invited one day – this is the place in the Lower Mainland to get your saris, suits, kurta pajamas, salwar kameez, shermanis, dhoti kurtas, turbans, dupattas and more!

3. What good and/or unique things are there to eat?

JOHN: Look, friends. When it comes to a good curry, don’t mess around in the “Indian” or “Asian” section of your local conglomerate of a grocery store. Book off an afternoon and travel to the Punjabi Market to collect all the best spices this side of Delhi. While collecting these culinary staples, stop for lunch, a snack or dinner at one of the Punjabi Market’s fantastic restaurants. The All India Sweets & Restaurant is a popular community-destination for locals and tourists alike. Kurt and I also got four amazing samosas for two dollars from a very nice man in a parking lot. Delicious.

KURT: To get a little more specific I’d like to recommend the samosas. When John and I were last down there we bought four for only … wait for it… $2. That’s right – its South Asian prices right here in Vancouver. Can’t be beat.

The India Gate is just a block away...trust us...
The India Gate is just a block away…trust us…

4. What can I do for fun in this neighbourhood?

JOHN: Check out the Sunset Community Centre during the Olympics (and after, if your flight gets canceled) for all sorts of supercool cultural events. Kurt and I were lucky to do our walk-though of this hotbed of community-minded-activity during a rehearsal for the Vancouver Parks Board’s Community Happenings, a celebration of Vancouver’s cultural landscape that will be happening in a neighbourhood near you throughout the entire Olympic experience. Get out there and enjoy yourselves!

KURT: If you happen to be around the neighbourhood in April, make sure not to miss Vaisakhi. It’s a massive festival that tens of thousands of South Asians (from across the Pacific Northwest) take part in. During Vaisakhi, dozens of floats, marching groups, Khalsa school attendees, politicians, and gawkers mingle in the middle of the street. On either side are dozens of small kiosks (some manned by grandmas) all giving away thousands of dollars of free food. It’s an amazing smorgasboard of delights from curry to prakoras. All homemade. Well worth the traffic jam you need to navigate to visit it.

5. What are your three favourite things about the Punjabi Market?

1. The Food. Best. Samosas. Ever. And they were two bucks. The difference between curry and real curry are the spices. Do the right thing. Visit the Punjabi Market.

2. Celebrating Bollywood Hindi Cinema. A nice chat with some folks in one of the many, many, many Bollywood-specialized video stores in the Punjabi Market taught me a valuable lesson about the pitfalls of accepting Bollywood as the only expression of Indian film – it’s just the most popular and internationally renowned one. After all, in a country of over one billion people that recognizes over 15 languages as “official” ones (Editor’s note: seriously, Canada, stop pretending it’s hard to manage two) can there really be just one kind of Indian film?

3. Bright Colours. I live on the Drive, man. People wear black a lot. It was a pleasure to see some brightness for a change, especially against the eternally gray backdrop of the wintery West Coast.


Zombies for an Olympic Cause

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Calvin and Hobbes - best comic ever by Bill Watterson

Calvin and Hobbes - best comic ever by Bill Watterson

I live in Vancouver, British Columbia — home and soon to be host of the 2010 Olympic winter games. And can you believe it — the other day, I suggested we get cable to watch the games.

In a little under four weeks, my city will be turned inside out for the event. Not that we haven’t been turned inside out already. Transport officials have already warned us that public transportation will look a lot like it does during the Celebration of Light, an event that spreads over four nights and manages hundreds of thousands of people on public transportation over the span of about 6 hours. So basically, we’ve been told it will be like that, only 2 to 4 weeks long.  Hip, hip.

I live on Commercial Drive, which will be turned into a semi-military zone with an ice rink that will host Olympic hockey team practices. I have friends who are dancing, acting, singing, and filming in the opening and closing ceremonies as well as in events throughout the entire length of the games. And I have no doubt Vancouver’s anti-games community will be represented across the city in it’s designated protest spots as well as outside of them. And then there’s me, right-smack in the middle of it all, on the phone, trying to negotiate a basic cable package.

It’s not like I’m a zombie who just sits and watches television all day. But like most people in the city, I will not be one of the privileged few actually sitting and cheering on our athletes in our host city venues. It doesn’t really leave me too many options. I can join the crowds and huddle in front of the jumbo screens they’re placing throughout the city and watch the ceremonies. Honestly, that’s not really my style.

While Vancouver’s top brass prepares for this once-in-a-lifetime event and the world descends upon Vancouver, the flame, so-to-speak, that is the spirit of this fascinating and beautiful city is left in the hands of those who traverse it’s streets everyday — Vancouverites, of which I am one. With this in mind, I’m strongly thinking about ditching the cable package and venturing out , yellow gumboots on and marching forward, in search of… what? If I’m lucky, I won’t find the Olympics, but rather the small moments that build the community that makes the city that’s part of the country that belongs to this planet that hosts this world event every four years.

Who’s with me?