Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Insanity In The Olympic City
Torino is alive, like a massive beating heart about to burst. In case you did not observe their messaging over the weekend broadcast, "Passion Lives Here" is one theme for the 2006 host city. For St. Valentine's Day, here are some examples of passion observed since Friday, Feb. 10:
-- Yoko Ono was definitely passionate at the Opening Ceremonies, but the gold medal moment was Luciano Pavarotti's opera aria. There was not a dry eye in the stadium! Seated between Mary Griswold (Edelman NY), a couple from Netherlands and behind a crew from Brazil and Switzerland, all four nations and the Italians behind were blown away with tears in our eyes (we had a good laugh about crying with joy at the event). It came to my attention later that Pavarotti no longer performs live, so this may have been his first and last stage performance in awhile. Bravo!
-- In the main piazza where NBC's Today Show set is located, on Friday there were about 200 people there at any given time. This piazza is about the size of all of Midtown Heights' footprint. On Sunday afternoon, this piazza hosted more than 50,000 people awaiting the medal ceremony with Kelly Clarkson! They were certainly passionate about her music, which echoed through the alleys of Central Torino all evening.
-- Speaking of Kelly Clarkson, in person she is a MORON! Some background to support this statement: The B.C. Canada Place is located next door to the Unaccredited Media Center for the Games, and in order to get free Internet I registered there as "freelancer for Georgia" which means that most of Torino's police and Games security think that I am from the eastern European nation rather than the Southeast U.S. state. With my "Georgia" media badge, I have taken late lunch breaks to attend the pre-event press conferences for the Medals Plaza concerts, and Kelly Clarkson's press conference was downright embarrassing. Every question got the same answer, which went something like this:
Italian reporter through translator: Where did you stay in Torino?
Clarkson: We stayed in the mountains, which was, LIKE, TOTALLY CO-OOL (two syllables for "cool")
Reporter: What do you like most about the Olympics?
Clarkson: The Olympics are really, like, CO-OOL and it is cold and stuff, which is CO-OOL.
Reporter: Were you ever an athlete? Do Olympians inspire your music?
Clarkson: Like, this is CO-OOL talking in Italian and STUFF!
Mama Mia -- Qui MORONO!
-- Today's afternoon concert press conference was with the Italian film soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone (of "Cinema Paridiso," "The Mission" and Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western fame (can you whistle the theme to "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly?)). I asked Morricone if he ever collaborated with "Chariots of Fire" Olympic-related soundtrack composer Vangelis or John Williams (Olympic theme composer for LA and ATL Games, and know for the music for "E.T.," "Star Wars," "Superman" and other film greats). Morricone replied he met them only once in 1984 and they did not "compare notes" as I put it in my question (get it? compare 'notes'?). I will miss the next few press conferences, but Whitney Houston is performing this weekend so stay tuned for "Being Bobby Brown and STUFF" from Torino!
-- BC Canada Place is now hosting more than 7,000 guest per day! What is all the fuss a-boot? We are now serving Kraft Dinner!
-- Casa Barilla will be live on CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. I'm working with a Milan-based food designer (booked for 500 Euros/$800 per day -- I think I may change careers) and the chef and will be standing behind the camera person freezing my butt off tomorrow. Could someone please tape this? We are passionate about Barilla pasta!
Ciao,
Nicholas
-- Yoko Ono was definitely passionate at the Opening Ceremonies, but the gold medal moment was Luciano Pavarotti's opera aria. There was not a dry eye in the stadium! Seated between Mary Griswold (Edelman NY), a couple from Netherlands and behind a crew from Brazil and Switzerland, all four nations and the Italians behind were blown away with tears in our eyes (we had a good laugh about crying with joy at the event). It came to my attention later that Pavarotti no longer performs live, so this may have been his first and last stage performance in awhile. Bravo!
-- In the main piazza where NBC's Today Show set is located, on Friday there were about 200 people there at any given time. This piazza is about the size of all of Midtown Heights' footprint. On Sunday afternoon, this piazza hosted more than 50,000 people awaiting the medal ceremony with Kelly Clarkson! They were certainly passionate about her music, which echoed through the alleys of Central Torino all evening.
-- Speaking of Kelly Clarkson, in person she is a MORON! Some background to support this statement: The B.C. Canada Place is located next door to the Unaccredited Media Center for the Games, and in order to get free Internet I registered there as "freelancer for Georgia" which means that most of Torino's police and Games security think that I am from the eastern European nation rather than the Southeast U.S. state. With my "Georgia" media badge, I have taken late lunch breaks to attend the pre-event press conferences for the Medals Plaza concerts, and Kelly Clarkson's press conference was downright embarrassing. Every question got the same answer, which went something like this:
Italian reporter through translator: Where did you stay in Torino?
Clarkson: We stayed in the mountains, which was, LIKE, TOTALLY CO-OOL (two syllables for "cool")
Reporter: What do you like most about the Olympics?
Clarkson: The Olympics are really, like, CO-OOL and it is cold and stuff, which is CO-OOL.
Reporter: Were you ever an athlete? Do Olympians inspire your music?
Clarkson: Like, this is CO-OOL talking in Italian and STUFF!
Mama Mia -- Qui MORONO!
-- Today's afternoon concert press conference was with the Italian film soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone (of "Cinema Paridiso," "The Mission" and Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western fame (can you whistle the theme to "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly?)). I asked Morricone if he ever collaborated with "Chariots of Fire" Olympic-related soundtrack composer Vangelis or John Williams (Olympic theme composer for LA and ATL Games, and know for the music for "E.T.," "Star Wars," "Superman" and other film greats). Morricone replied he met them only once in 1984 and they did not "compare notes" as I put it in my question (get it? compare 'notes'?). I will miss the next few press conferences, but Whitney Houston is performing this weekend so stay tuned for "Being Bobby Brown and STUFF" from Torino!
-- BC Canada Place is now hosting more than 7,000 guest per day! What is all the fuss a-boot? We are now serving Kraft Dinner!
-- Casa Barilla will be live on CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. I'm working with a Milan-based food designer (booked for 500 Euros/$800 per day -- I think I may change careers) and the chef and will be standing behind the camera person freezing my butt off tomorrow. Could someone please tape this? We are passionate about Barilla pasta!
Ciao,
Nicholas
# posted by Carol M @ 7:56 AM 
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Apparently, there's a reason why American Idol singers are so closely screened. God knows we wouldn't want one to go around the globe "articulating" on everybody. Let's give her some credit. Maybe her PR agent told her to eschew obsfucation and she's just unusually good at it. ;-)
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