Olympic Outsider

On a busy night during the Olympics, i headed over to Canada North hospitality house with a group of True North Media House documenters. Tagging along was a CBC crew including the charming reporter Heba Hani (?)]. I was included in the finished CBC Radio 1 piece which focused on media makers in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Leading up to the 1 year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, i appeared in a short segment on Vancouver News 11030 radio station. I discussed social media as a whole and covering the Games through the True North Media House project – plus the impending With Glowing Hearts movie premiere. In the short clip, I included brief anecdotes about reliving the fun, documenting and storytelling, and how social media can provide depth and breadth to provide more attention to more stories beyond the "official" IOC/VANOC story.

At Canada's Northern House, Dave gets schooled on life in Inuvut NWT by singer Leanne Goose including igloo church, endless days and night, Muktuk and Mukluks plus schools, stores, medical care, shopping at the end of the Dempster highway. http://www.leannegoose.com/

At Canada's Northern House, Dave enjoys Boris Mann's annotations about the legendary delicacy of muk muk and thoughts about flying Saskatchewanians, neglected cultures, hospitality houses with tasty food and recollections of Torino 2006.

On the final official day of the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Dave steps outside during the 2nd intermission of the gold medal men's hockey game between Canada and USA to recap the previous days and look ahead to the Paralympics with @kk (who also mentions his meeting with figure skater Johnny Weir) and notes about the With Glowing Hearts film project.

From the Richmond Ozone after a stint at the Heineken Holland House, Dave recaps Canada's huge medal haul with @theWoodduck in between sets by The Dudes and The Stills. Topics include snowboard, speed skating, hockey and beer.

On the Seabus, Dave talks with accredited reporter and Olympic veteran Bob "The Hammer" Mackin about narrative around the Games, controversey about costs, ROI, government grandstanding, VANOC's manner of acting, and sports which blew him away.

With scant days remaning, Dave takes a break in the 2nd intermission of Canada vs Slovakia to recap a perfect 24 hours of hockey, perogies, medals, bobsleigh, Burton Cummings, and the great feeling of kindness in the city of Vancouver.

Streetside observations before the Olympics started including documentation of street art, city changes, graphic design and hospitality under construction while city workers hang Winter Games flags on street light poles on East Hastings St. in front of a

Transit and craft enthusiast Jason Vanderhill interviews Dave O at the Flickr/Yahoo meetup at the Mini building in Yaletown and they discuss highlights, hockey, hospitality, Seabus, having a beer in the park and give thanks to Belgians. Photo by Carol Browne.

An update at the end of Super Sunday from the noisy concourse of Canada Hockey Place in the 2nd intermission of Sweden vs Finland hockey game. Topics include hockey, regrouping, Vancouver's culture, exhaustion, food and beverages.

Visting with a cultural ambassador at Canada's Northern House, Dave learns about geography and cultures of Canada's 3 Northern Territories at the cultural hospitality house including narwahls, attendance, objectives and tourism.

Post-lunch chat with master brewer Gord Rickards about his new dark lager including the process for creating a new variety, plus comparing tastes across Canada, the joys of seeing your name on a bottle, and his good times at the Olympics.

From the Latvia vs Slovakia Men's Ice Hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Dave points out the passion of Latvian hockey fans and anecdotes about flags, dissident poets, king's rings and visting dignitaries during the intermission of a sadly lopsided game.

Descriptions and miscellaneous observations about Vancouver's reaction and interactions with the Olympic Winter Games including recent expeditions, urban transformation, international hospitality and transportation logistics while walking through the park en route to catch the Seabus.

Photographer John Biehler is documenting the Olympics as a BCIMC & TNMH accredited reporter covering protests, openings, cultural and hospitality houses, and other "besides the Olympics" events. He speaks about his workflow, public reaction and personal satisfaction.

It's been almost, almost 12 hours since I was in a hockey rink. It's Thursday morning. I guess this would be day 7 of the Vancouver Winter Olympic. It's early morning and I'm here at the North Shore Winter Club to observe a hockey game featuring a lot of the local tech industry luminaries with whom I mingle plus "actual" hockey players. As soon as you open up the door to a rink specially one of these small community rink, the thing that hits you is this smell. It's also a thrill watching the players far down below working their magic being right here in ice level and seeing people doing it cos they love it, 8:00 on a weekday morning.

En route to Canada Hockey place for Russia vs. Latvia men's hockey, Dave recaps the first 4-5 days of the Olympics and observations about protests, weather, public reaction, foibles and surprises and tips for goodtimes along the way.

With the torch arriving, Dave continues describing the scene at the intersection of Main and Hastings including red tents in front of the Carneige Library and the logistics of crowd control of a moveable torch parade coming across protesters.

Hopping off the bus at Hastings and Main - the historic and notorious intersection - Dave documents the variety of folks awating the torch including Homeless advocates with red tents, the downtrodden in welfare hotels, society folks and cops.