mr.x Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Beautiful. Countdown Clock Unveiled: Three years and counting... February 12, 2007 | VANOC News Release An excited crowd of approximately 2,000 gathered at the corner of Hornby and Georgia Streets over the noon hour on Monday, February 12 in downtown Vancouver. They celebrated the spirit of the 2010 Winter Games, which will begin on February 12, 2010, while anticipating the launch of the Official Countdown Clock for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. When the moment arrived spectators gasped as the enormous clock – measuring three metres wide, more than six metres high and weighing 1,170 kilograms – was unveiled. “It’s really big,” said Kassie Kelly Charles, who attended the event with her parents. “It looks like an ice cube.” The landmark clock was created by Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega, the Official Timekeeper of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, who worked with Vancouver-based Karacters Design Group to produce a design that combines precision timekeeping with public art. “We now have a call to action in Vancouver,” said John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), “a beacon that shines day and night illuminating what the 2010 Winter Games will represent to the world and the time left until our Opening Ceremonies.” The clock showcases the contrasting urban and natural settings of the 2010 Winter Games. Steel and glass speak to both the thriving metropolis of Vancouver, Host City of the Games, and also the ice and snow at the heart of winter sport. The clock’s red cedar tower evokes images of Canada’s lush forest landscapes and pay tribute to Aboriginal culture and tradition. The clock sits atop massive blocks of cast concrete in the heart of bustling downtown Vancouver at the Georgia Street Plaza near the Vancouver Art Gallery. Two electronic displays count down the hours, minutes and seconds remaining until the Opening Ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The clock bears the official 2010 Olympic and Paralympic emblems – inviting the world to come together and celebrate in 2010. Omega is the Official Timekeeper of the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Beijing’s countdown clock presides over the legendary Tiananmen Square. As Official Timekeeper, Omega will be responsible for the scoring and competition results during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, delivering results to excited audiences from all corners of the globe. The time between now and Games time in 2010 will really fly, according to Peter Huerzeler, director of Swiss Timing, sister company of Omega. “Three years may seem like a long time, but believe me, three years go by very quickly!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Thanks for the links mr.X If I would've been in Vancouver today, I would've started pin trading at the ceremony. It's funny with the protestors, a few days ago they said on the news all the jobs that are available in BC, so why aren't these bums looking for work and still living on East Hastings? I know, most of them are lazy and crackheads... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenadian Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 It looks cool at night because it gives off that icy blue. I think they did a good job on the clock. The ceremony was a bit dull...too many politicians yammering on, the boring dances and the protesters...but the clock works for me. I like the wood...I've been looking for bedroom furniture with that pattern. LOL. I think we see more hints of what is to come for the torch, cauldron and medals in the design here. Interesting. The protesters, though, are a bunch of losers. They want handouts and a free ride. I work hard for what I have achieved so thus I have no empathy for whiney ass protests about things that are positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 (edited) Like the one in that CBC article that I didn't post here because it would have been unnecessary to put it here anyway. That guy in the picture looks like he wants to "wage war" against everyone in that crowd, when he jumped onto the stage and pushed that emcee away from the microphone. Thanks for making the social issues be seen in the wrong light to the general public, you idiot (the one in the picture). Well, it looks like the CBC replaced it quite quickly. You know, I do not know if that idiot had something in his hand, now that I remembered earlier in the day by hearing news that some of them had ARMED themselves and was willing to go fighting to spoil the celebrations. Edited February 13, 2007 by Guardian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted February 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Like I said, shoot to kill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rei Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 Happy countdown to you! The -3 clock is beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 There must've been a 3-year countdown pin released... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenadian Posted February 13, 2007 Report Share Posted February 13, 2007 There was. I saw it yesterday. Maybe the Bay has it on sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted February 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 I heard that there is a security guard at the clock 24 hours a day, to prevent vandalism. Would be cool if it were a mountie, standing in attention, in his formal uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted February 14, 2007 Report Share Posted February 14, 2007 Here is the IOC take about yesterday: Link: IOC: Official Timekeeper OMEGA Unveils The Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Here is the IOC take about yesterday:Link: IOC: Official Timekeeper OMEGA Unveils The Vancouver 2010 Countdown Clock It is great that the countdown clock is unveiled in Vancouver for 2010, but why must the IOC-website emphasise the manufacturer of the clock in their headline? Everybody could see it "For money makes the world go around, the world go around, the world go around. Money makes the world go around, the clinking, clanking sound of Money, money, money, money, Money, money, money, money, Get a little, get a little, Money, money, money, money, Mark, a yen, a buck or a pound, That clinking, clanking clunking sound is all that makes the world go round, It makes the world go round." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim jones Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 There were protesters outside Rice Eccles during the Salt Lake opening....it shouldn't be a problem.If anyone vandalizes the clock, the police should shoot to kill. Yes Shooing to kill a vandal seems like a reasonable response for something that will dissappear in three years. Someone should install a debt clock in vancouver fr the olympics LOL. Lets Throw out the Charter of Right and Freedoms , Jurors prudence , The presumption of innocent until proven guilty and every single dime of the taxpayers money defending a huge civil law suit that would be the result of a shoot to kill wounding let alone a killing . Protesting IS a basic HUMAN RIGHT because we do live in a free and democratic society that unforuately has the influence of some Idiotic Elements like the VANOC and their supporters. Is using the term IDIOTIC too Harsh ? Absolutely not . It is Vanoc who decided to built an speed skating oval on sandy soil despite the lower mainland being in the Casadia Subduction Zone. NOW that is idiotic. Less then three years to good and hopefully a tsunami or earthquake does not happen in that region LOL. Of course Building in the Fraser Delta does insure that 150 million dollar facility will have a legacy if an earthquake happens int he coming years. Jim Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guardian Posted February 15, 2007 Report Share Posted February 15, 2007 Yes Shooing to kill a vandal seems like a reasonable response for something that will dissappear in three years. Someone should install a debt clock in vancouver fr the olympics LOL. Lets Throw out the Charter of Right and Freedoms , Jurors prudence , The presumption of innocent until proven guilty and every single dime of the taxpayers money defending a huge civil law suit that would be the result of a shoot to kill wounding let alone a killing . Protesting IS a basic HUMAN RIGHT because we do live in a free and democratic society that unforuately has the influence of some Idiotic Elements like the VANOC and their supporters. Jim Jones It was barely given a bit of coverage from CBC on that day, jim jones. It wasn't really a debt clock, but a clock to how many people will be homeless by the time Vancouver 2010 starts. In any case, it will be three years of verbal wrangling from both sides and some of that will not be pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.x Posted February 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Yes Shooing to kill a vandal seems like a reasonable response for something that will dissappear in three years. Someone should install a debt clock in vancouver fr the olympics LOL. Lets Throw out the Charter of Right and Freedoms , Jurors prudence , The presumption of innocent until proven guilty and every single dime of the taxpayers money defending a huge civil law suit that would be the result of a shoot to kill wounding let alone a killing . Protesting IS a basic HUMAN RIGHT because we do live in a free and democratic society that unforuately has the influence of some Idiotic Elements like the VANOC and their supporters. Is using the term IDIOTIC too Harsh ? Absolutely not . It is Vanoc who decided to built an speed skating oval on sandy soil despite the lower mainland being in the Casadia Subduction Zone. NOW that is idiotic. Less then three years to good and hopefully a tsunami or earthquake does not happen in that region LOL. Of course Building in the Fraser Delta does insure that 150 million dollar facility will have a legacy if an earthquake happens int he coming years. Jim Jones Oh please, protesters rushed onto the stage and pushed the emcee away and then started shouting profanities. Then they started throwing rocks at the stage, and they also had an arsenal of balloons filled with paint, balloons filled with rocks. Now that is idiotic and NOT a peaceful nor legal protest. Our Charter of Rights does NOT defend that. If these protesters have enough energy to don balaclavas, blacken their faces, broadcast their views, run onto stages, shove people, yell and swear, then they should have enough energy to get jobs and work hard to eliminate poverty and contribute practically to the homeless. The City, the province, and the federal government have together spent hundreds and hundreds of millions over the past decades on providing social programs for Vancouverites.....for people like these protesters. We've done our part....when have they done theirs? When have they done their share? Get a job? Because believe it or not, people don't want to get a job because it would take them off the list for welfare checks....so they stay homeless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiFreak Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 Well said mr.x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deasine Posted February 16, 2007 Report Share Posted February 16, 2007 I agree. They were also throwing eggs on the screens and constantly interrupting the ceremony (I was there and was able to see the side from the protesters). Here, we say even the protesters were wearing brand names like Nike and Puma, new looking ones too. Now with money to get this stuff, why can't they try to be self-sufficient? (Again, I was there looking at this). One more thing... Global TV did a news report a few months past and many don't wish to live in Social Housing? WELL WHY ARE SO MANY ASKING FOR HOUSES WHEN THEY AREN'T GOING TO LIVE IN THEM? Governments aren't gods. They can only do a certain amount to help these people. And if they do not wish to take a step forward and just wait for their welfare cheques, then FINE, this is what they will have to face! I can understand some do deserve social housing because they grew up in a bad family background or whatever reason, but some are just sitting around and not doing anything, again, waiting for cash from the government. THEY ARE NOT MONEY PRINTERS! Peaceful protests are one thing, then maybe I'll pity them a little. BUT THROWING ROCKS ON THE CROWED (especially when I was one of them XD), THEN SCREW THEM! And I don't think they did enough background research: some of the olympic village condos will be converted to social housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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