MEDIA MEDITATION#2 on Olympics 2010

First and foremost I would like to send my condolences to Nodar Kumaritashvili's family nd friends. The morning of the opening ceremony this 21 year old luger was taking a practice run nearing the end of the course when crashed and was thrown off the track. If you wish to read an article from CNN and view the video of this young man's crash feel free to click here. May Nodar Kumaritashvili rest in peace, he may not have competed in the Olympics but he still is a true Olympian in my eyes

WINTER OLYMPICS 2010

Every time I see these colors lined up next to each other I get chills. These are the colors and order of the rings in the Olympic flag. To me this flag is even more of a symbol of the world than the United Nations flag. Athletes from eve

ry country have a chance to represent their own country and compete in many many sports.

Tonight marks the night of the start of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics!!! (of course a few events have had their first rounds of competition)

I could easily blog every day about each event of the Olympics however, I would look at the opening ceremony and over all Olympics. The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in China blew so many people away and still to this day captivates my attention when I watch it on DVD. This year wasn't as amazing, mostly because Winter Olympics is a lot smaller, but it was very incredible.

(the mascots of the 2010 Olympics)

I'll be blogging as the ceremony takes place describing the 7 basic principles, what my brain is reacting to, persuading techniques, and the eight shifts.

It all started with a video of a snowboarder is riding down a mountain counting all the years and locations of past winter Olympics using the persuasive technique of nostalgia. This is a big technological shift. In some recent years they've used video but to have this video and then have that snowboarder come down a ramp as if he just came of the mountain is very cool, great timing, and something I'm sure we'll see a lot more at Olympics to come. The visual image of beautiful Canadian mountains made my lymbic brain go crazy. I felt a rush of emotions and wishes to be able to ski down that mountain and the music behind it was so motivating and held my attention. The boarder once in the arena jumped in the air and did a flip making my reptilian brain freak out hoping he doesn't fall and make me hold my breath!

Of course with all the new technology shifts there will be new amazing and ways to celebrate the opening of the Olympics and this year, technology failure was something that will always be remembered. Here is a video of the mess up for this year's Olympics--

One thing that I really like about the Olympics is there is little ownership. I've noticed a lot water bottles and other things that would have names on them covered up. Of course its impossible not to look up at the TV and notice the ownership that NBC has over the Olympics in the US. It makes me wonder what stations its on in other countries... Any answers for me? And of course every year the US Olympic team is sponsored. This year we're owned by polo.

The great thing about the Olympics is they announce everything in the host country's native language in English. This year it is in French and English. Making my Lymbic brain react to a language I use to know and making my neocortex work.

As technology keeps advancing we'll so a lot more technological shifts and new was to view the Olympics so even if your not there, it will feel like you are.

For viewers and athletes a like, the Olympics always has individual meaning. I'll never know what it feels like to win a medal, or even compete for one. Yet being able to watch people from all over the world compete is something very rare and I believe it to be a cultural shift because there is no other time the world comes together like this. Every two years at Summer and Winter Olympics is an amazing experience and something I'll always look forward to.

I'm so excited for these Olympics games but summer is the season I really enjoy more sports from. Since a child I have loved the Olympics and I'm sure that I will continue to love them for as long as I live.

Thanks for reading!!!
~Laura





(Myself and best friend Summer Olympics 2000)