Olympics - yes or nyet?

[dreadfoily]

should we be there this year? What does the forum think of scraping the entire deal in a gigantic moment of silence for the people who have lost their lives over the past year in the middle east?

or, is America still "sight-seeing?".


[Oh harold, look at the cute baby sitting on the roadside with her crippled mother, get the camera out]

[oiuyt]

A) I would be against the idea, and,
B) This should be in watercooler

-B :)

[MyrddinsPrecint]

against the idea of the Olympics?

; p

[Artisan]

should we be there this year? What does the forum think of scraping the entire deal in a gigantic moment of silence for the people who have lost their lives over the past year in the middle east?

You're suggesting a boycot of the olympics as a gesture of mourning for people who have died in the middle east in the past year?

The are so many things wrong with this logic its hard to know where to begin:
- More people have died in Africa just about every year - not to mention those years when there are spectacular famins or genocides. To honor the middle east dead and ignore the africans (again) would be a travesty
- A "moment of silence " is just that: a moment, not two weeks of staring at your shoes instead of competing in events that you have prepared years for.
- Boycots are usually for protests - what is the message that you would have the world perceive by the US not attending - or are you suggesting that the Olympics be called off all together, like during world war 2.
- One of the principles of the olympics is that it supercedes politics. You would have the Games become political as a response to political events.

as far as:

or, is America still "sight-seeing?".
[Oh harold, look at the cute baby sitting on the roadside with her crippled mother, get the camera out]

I don't even begin to understand what you intend to mean ...the Olympics are in Athens this year, not Calcutta.

[Soldier]

Let me just throw in the standard warning against trying to reason with/understand Dreadfoily.

[Artisan]

Let me just throw in the standard warning against trying to reason with/understand Dreadfoily.

Yeah, without an included reference to watercolors or today's pastel still life I was thrown off by who was actually talking - though the tourism thing is pretty much in character. We love you anyway Mango.

[whtouche]

I believe the phrase "don't feed the troll" applies to this thread.
But just incase this is too vague: mango(dreadfoily) is a troll/idiot who posts nonsensical things like this to trap people in annoying discussions and to create confusion. None of what it says is ever logically associated with anything else (let's boycott the olympics because of fighting in the middle east???).

I'm pretty sure mango doesn't even fence, at least any more, or perhaps that's what it wants us to think.

[MikeHarm]

We've had other wars before, and we will again. The olympics should go on wether we're in conflict or not. Its for the world, not just us.

[Soldier]

I believe the phrase "don't feed the troll" applies to this thread.
But just incase this is too vague: mango(dreadfoily) is a troll/idiot who posts nonsensical things like this to trap people in annoying discussions and to create confusion. None of what it says is ever logically associated with anything else (let's boycott the olympics because of fighting in the middle east???).

I'm pretty sure mango doesn't even fence, at least any more, or perhaps that's what it wants us to think.

Now, now, let's be a little nicer. I don't think she's a troll; she really doesn't seem to do these things out of malice. She's just a bit off-kilter, is all. Nothing she says is ever hostile or offensive. Also, from what I've been able to gather, I think she does actually fence.

And for the record: I once carried on a relatively lengthy correspondence with her in a thread about running, that was actually lucid and sensible in every way.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

and besides. i might get my portrait one of these days....

[Soldier]

What? Are you going the way of Mango?

[MyrddinsPrecint]

no. gods no.

mango (when she apparates) and sees me post, she starts talking about a portrait she painted of me.

of course, we all assume that she painted it from my itsy bitsy avatar.....

ok, i take that back, none of us assume she painted it.

but, suspending the disbelief, she'd've painted it from my itsy bitsy avatar, so comparing it to the real me would be funny...

[Soldier]

Indeed....

[oiuyt]

I'm not convinced that your itty bitty avatar was used in the process. Wouldn't surprise me to find Mango/Dreadfoily decided to create your portrait based on her imaginings of what you look like from her sense of your aura (whether gained from reading your posts or just feeling your presence through the ether I won't speculte on). Then again that makes seeing the portrait perhaps even more interesting.

Hey Dreadfoily- feel like painting a picture of me?

-B :)

[MyrddinsPrecint]

maybe she can paint you into my portrait.

Mango--- He's a bit taller than I....keep that in mind during the rendering : )

[Soldier]

But in your aura or dharma or greg or whatever she's going by, perhaps you are the taller one...

[MyrddinsPrecint]

uuuuuuuuuuh....... no.

weight is debatable though : p

i'm unheathily skinny.

he's worse : p

[dreadfoily]

I really did and I matted and framed it and sent it to eric dew. It's sort nice, I changed your necklace to wampum shells which look nice and the rest is you with a small child on your lap [looks like my brother]. It was sort of a way to practice portraits and make use of some of your facial features. Hope you don't mind. I used the American Indian motiff because from the NE I have a pretty good background we used to search for arrowheads and my neighborhood friend told me the meaning of the wigwam. But it's eric's and up to him, if he wants to present the portrait to you eventually who knows. I have about 25 good pastels and some other sketches. {some of runners and one looks a bit like another fencer, but it's only because they're faces are more familiar to me, but it changes as i do more work in a studio, but I skipped one month of studio work]

Now, Olympics wise, I've changed my mind and the Iraqi Soccer Team did it for me. It was up to them, if they won, we could go, if not, we shouldn't.

And the reason is: my friends in the Middle East had explained to me in the past that it was very diffiuclt to understand or believe that people could 'tour' in areas where others are very poor. Even if they think they're helping the economy in some way.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

i don't need the painting.... i need a picture of the painting : p

[D'Artag-NOT]

Now, Olympics wise, I've changed my mind and the Iraqi Soccer Team did it for me. It was up to them, if they won, we could go, if not, we shouldn't.

I'm a little nonplussed that you let the Iraqi soccer team make up your mind for you like that. Though frankly I didn't quite understand the proposition that boycotting the Games would constitute a protest or comment on the deaths in the Middle East. That struck me as being on the same order as, "Eat your oatmeal; there are Sudanese children who are hungry" (we all got that, right?)

But I do think that, when small beleagured countries with real problems like civil wars or widespread grinding poverty make the effort to field an Olympic team, it's sort of silly for the US to boycott the Games.