Hockey and Salt.

I had no idea so much hockey was played during the Olympics. The difference in coverage between US networks like NBC/ABC and Canadian ones like TSN and CTV is both remarkable and telling. In the states, hockey is practically an afterthought, whereas in Canada, hockey carries as much weight as all other sports combined.

The US defeating Canada somewhat resoundingly comes then, as a huge blow to the Canadian ego. Not that it stopped me from jumping up and down screaming "U S A! U S A!" in the middle of Whistler square surrounded by legions of maple leafs and dumbstruck faces, but I do find it inappropriate to rub more salt in the wound. Any self-respecting Canadian feels the sting far too acutely, and strolling down the village walk after the victory singing "America the Beautiful" at the top of our lungs was probably sufficient.

The Olympics continue in spectacular fashion. The weather has made every effort to bolster the party atmosphere. February the 23rd feels like spring. The temperature was a balmy 50 degrees--and warmer in the sun. We sat on the deck in Tshirts eating ice cream and pondering going swimming. But I'm not ready for spring just yet. Hopefully the winter hasn't burned itself out too quickly.

Hasta entonces!

The Olympics, In fact.

The Olympics are, quite simply, too big to touch. The village seems to vibrate with all the events.

In fact, 2010 has given me the most wicked FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) I've ever had. I want to be everywhere all at once. Between work, skiing, events, concerts, world-class DJs, and general craziness of the village, I've hardly slept in a week.

In fact, in fact, I've never seen such a large, diverse group of people SO ECSTATIC and SO HAPPY to be part of something. Everyone is smiling and friendly, never in a hurry, gracious in defeat and exuberant in victory. On Saturday, two competing drum corps (French and American?) ran into each other in the village and blended their acts for a solid 15 minutes, blocking the entire village stroll in the process. Yet nobody got peeved about having to detour, and the crowd was SO STOKED to see the musicians in action. It was quite a scene.

In fact, in fact, in fact, people love to be on TV. The CTV broadcast booth in Whistler was constructed right in front of Surefoot. Anytime they go live to the Whistler studio, the crowds go wild behind the camera, jumping up and down, screaming, then checking their phones to see if some acquaintance saw them on TV and called. We can hear the racket from the shop. In related news, I will be attending the 4 man bobsled finals on Saturday the 27th. I will try to stand in front of an NBC camera, if I can find one. Hypocrite.

In fact, in fact, in fact, in fact, never tell the Swiss "more cowbell."

Granola a la Slantz

OK, for all you CO hippies out there.....here it is, the coveted granola recipe. Well, technically it's not Emily's recipe. I made a few modifications, like cutting the grape nuts (since they seem to be about as expensive as regular nuts), eliminating the butter (health!), cutting the sugar (more health!), increasing the oats (oatey oat oat oat, oatey oat oat, look at all these oats!), adding banana chips (for the monkey in us), and changing the baking directions slightly.

I think that's a wrap. Click on the picture to blow it up. Click, Click, Boom.

Let the games begin!

I watched only snatches of the opening ceremony. I was working. What I saw left a less-than-favorable impression. Apparently, the 900 million dollar security budget doesn't account for hapless drunks stumbling out of bars on Granville street to find The Great One clutching some jury-rigged roll bar on the back of a pickup while holding a large incendiary device (aka Olympic torch) whose resemblance to a giant blunt is bettered only by the 4 massive doobies surrounding the Olympic flame. Guess they weren't kidding about the "Green" Olympics.

But, the games have begun! Whistler is thumping. The village plazas are crammed, it's impossible to find a seat in a bar during any event in which Canada has a remote chance of victory, and by all reports the luge track was a massive party this evening. Throngs of crazed tourists crowd in behind the tv cameras in the hope of getting their face, however fleetingly, in front of the nation.

As for me, I went skiing in 10 inches of fresh snow today on deserted slopes. Presidents day weekend what?

A view from below

First things first. If you are looking for updates on the Vancouver 2010 games, turn on the TV.

I'm here to give you the down-low on the "underside" of the games--the oft disgruntled peasants who have been flattened by the 2010 stampede.

Saturday, Feb 6th was a glimpse into the near future. The torch procession arrived in Whistler at 6:30pm. Thousands upon teeming thousands crowded Gondola Square. And this was just for the torch ceremony.....

Also flooding the village are VANOC workers, police officers, security personnel, transit authority workers, athletes, and Olympic volunteers. The latter are as numerous as New York rats, and rate about the same. Their bright blue suits have earned them the not-so-endearing nickname of the "Smurfs," though my favorite is "the Na'vi." Either way, they bobble about the village doing absolutely nothing but being blue, so far as anyone can tell.

Slowly but surely the village continues its "Olympicafication." On-site TV broadcast studios, tents full of exorbitantly expensive technical equimpent (and requisite 5-man security detail), and nightly ski-jump exhibitions involving fire have begun to change the colors.

Friday is gonna be very, very interesting.

Let the Confusion...er....Games begin!

It began today. The parking lot closures in Creekside and Whistler village, checkpoints on the highway, and the new bus schedule.

Lets use the bus schedule as our mineshaft canary. A bit of background info. To ease congestion on the Sea to Sky Highway (the road between Vancouver and Whistler), personal vehicle traffic is being regulated through several checkpoints which require a "local vehicle permit". In addition, almost all the public parking in Whistler will be closed for the entire month of February. This means that everyone in town will be taking buses for the next month or so...which has caused a lot of complaining, mostly from permanent-Whistlerites. Most of us "peasantfolk" take the bus anyway (I'm an exception).

Because of the massive influx of people, and the fact that people can't drive, Whistler has increased bus service exponentially. Where one bus usually comes to Emerald every 1/2 hour, there is now a bus every 7 minutes and a new route that runs into Emerald, instead of just along the highway.

The new regime kicked in today. I parked the Passat hound and walked 10 mins down to the bus stop, waited 5 minutes at which point 2 buses showed up simultaneously. Interesting. At least my bus driver knew where to go. It appears that everyone else who took a bus today had to give the driver directions. Where is Spruce Grove? Left? Also, they changed all the routes so I waited at two different bus stops on the way home only to discover that the new route didn't pass by that way.....

so we'll see. Hopefully the bus chaos is an exception to the rule, not the rule.

Whether we like it or not, February is here to stay.