Thursday, January 21, 2010

Olympic Misfits


A while ago, I found out that the Olympics were coming to Vancouver. I don't know when but it was a while ago. Not as long as Edward has been seventeen, but a shorter while.

Then we got these mascots... behold the mutants:


Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think a sasquatch is a real animal, or suitable to be a mascot. As for the other two half breeds... what the fuck? In the past, mascots have been eagles and beavers and cute little bears and when the winter Olympics come to Vancouver, we get a band of misfits.

Anywhere you go in Vancouver, these little beasties will follow you. In every store window and every checkout aisle they are there screaming at you to shell out $15-$30 (depending on whether it's just a key chain or a massive stuffed beast) so you too can own a piece of Olympic marketing. I swear that there are enough of these toys littered throughout the province that everyone who lives in Vancouver as well as every person that comes to see the Olympics could own one and take one home for their pet dog. It's ridiculous.

Yes, they are a tiny bit adorable. But come on... Miga, or whatever it's called, is like a mixture of a panda and a penguin and Alfalfa from Little Rascals. None of which we actually have in Canada, unless you're counting zoos.

Urg, the Olympics are so absurd. It's a nice thought. You know, countries getting together in a peaceful way to have a lovely competition that brings the world a sense of connectedness and unity. But what it has actually become is a political, corporate money grab, filled with useless merchandise and companies who are all buying in so they can make more money.

The Olympic torch is actually being brought down my street in the near future. At 6:30am. People are going to leave their warm beds at an unGodly hour on a Saturday to see a fake torch jogged up the street by one person and four security guards. Count me in!!!

Am I being to scroogy about the Olympics? Should I just get in with the spirit of it all and cheer for all those Canadian athletes*? No. I refuse.

On a happier note, I've started watching Alex Day (nerimon) read Twilight on YouTube and I have never laughed so much at Twilight. And I have laughed at Twilight a fair bit. So in case you haven't seen it, here is a link. WATCH IT!!

*I've actually chosen my favourite athlete for fun. His name is Stefan Read. He's an alpine skier. VAMPIRE DIARIES TONIGHT!!!

3 comments:

Renata said...

Awww, come on. It's a (French? That's Quebec, but they like Q's in Frenchspeakingland, don't they?) YETI. WITH A TATOO. You know you love it just a little. Very Island of Misfit Toys vibe about all of them, but it's endearing...ish. And we didn't even GET a mascot, just a star-fireburst-thing for the 2016 Failympics.

Yes, all marketing goes overboard, but if you're going to root for a guy, pick the one that has a verb for a last name. :) (like Arthur! Heh.)

Alex said...

Okay, maybe I love him a teeny tiny bit.

Vita said...

I like the one that's winking. I don't know WHY he's winking, but I like his (her?) attitude. He's also doing a drunken little dance, which is always nice...

Lulz. I agree they're on the strange side (mutant bear/eagle/porcupine on the left) but they're also cute. And their names are cute too! Aww.