Students Live Reporter-Stergios Darntanis' Blog

National Dance Company of Korea

2010-02-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

I'm not much into theatre or dance, but this performance was actually great. The dancing was so crisp and, each dancer was in sync with the music, and each other.

Essentially the story's about 2 star crossed lovers, and the difficulties they face in being together. So pretty much they fall in love, the emperor gets angry and tortures the girl, the guy finds out, imprisons the emperor, and the two lovers are reunited.

It's this story but SO much more descriptive and vivid through dance. At times it could a bit confusing because no one actually talks, but the stellar movement and visuals really make up for a lack of understanding.

So You Thjnk You can Dance could take a few pointers from Korea's National Dance Company.

Breaking News! You can NOW buy the Olympic Norweigan Curling Pants

2010-02-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Olympic Viewers!

I have amazing news. I've found a website that sells the Norweigan Curling Pants.

Yes my friends. You can now buy these pants. They're pretty much golf pants, and they have different variations, including shorts, skirts etc.

But the originally Norweigan Curling Pants are actually amazing.

They're $90 bucks, but TOTALLY worth it. This is my early birthday gift.
HERE'S THE LINK:

http://prostores1.visioncourse.com/servlet/loudmouthgolf_uk/Detail?no=14

VICTORY CEREMONY- Maelle Ricker takes Gold!

2010-02-17T22:25:00.000-08:00

My First victory Ceremony.

WOW.

Clapping.Cheering. Standing up. sitting down. Listening to various national anthems. Paul "Wait who?" Brandt. it was quite an interesting night.

Highlight of the night was definetely seeing Maelle Ricker, Gold medalist for Women's Snowboarding, receive her Gold medal. The crowd went crazy. Maelle Ricker cried. We sang 'O Canada', a song which I love, and that I haven't had a chance to sing in quite a while.

I would also like to comment, that the silver medalist for Alpine Skiing, Julia Mancuso, wore a tiara when receiving her medal. In all honesty, it just looked tacky. This isn't a beauty pageant, this is a victory ceremony for the WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES. I was hoping she would take the darn thing off. She didn't.

Anyone know Paul Brandt? He's this country singer from Alberta. I had never heard of him before, and I was quite pleasantly surprised by him. While I was not into any of his songs (or country music in general), he had a very good voice. I was dissapointed going into the ceremony, because I really wanted to see Nelly Furtado or perform. We got Mr. Brandt here, from Calgary. Over all, not bad...especially for a country singer.

Well, this was my first victory ceremony (and hopefully not my last), and I gotta say it was a blast.
Now I leave you all with this final question:
Who was the best performer at the 2010 Victory Ceremonies?

Cheers,

STERGIOS

Men and Women's Downhill Skiing

2010-02-16T14:30:00.001-08:00

Monday-5:00 AM- Dark Cold Morning

Boarded the bus to Whistler. My first trip EVER to Whistler! It was a long ride but definitely worth it. The Olympic park was amazing. It was huge!

Technically, I am suppose to be the interviewer. But I became the interviewee When Steve, the official correspondent for the Whistler event approached me and started talking to me on camera.

I have to say, I was quite nervous. He asked who I was rooting for. Obviously Canada. Instead of actually answering, I just gave a nervous life and said I was rooting for the person in 1st. He laughed too.

I realized how stupid I sounded after wards though.

There were some really RANDOM countries too (IE. Brazil, Greece). Poor guys. Greece came in last for Women's downhill skiing.

My somewhat psycho Greek dad will be disappointed to hear this.

But I mean, where would a country like Greece even TRAIN for Downhill skiing? How often do they even get snow there? If any at all.

That's what I want to find out before the Olympic Games are over. How do tropical countries participate in these Winter games. Maybe they build their own artificial mountains made out of cookie dough. Mm. Yum. that'd be nice.

Men's Curling- What the spectators think.

2010-02-16T14:15:00.000-08:00

So today the first session of Men's Curling- Round Robin took place. Having never watching Curling before, the sport was completely new to me. I took a moment to interview spectators from different countries. The videos will be up shortly.

Final Scores:

Sweden 6-4 Great Britain

Canada 7-6 Norway

Germany 7-5 United States

Switzerland 6-5 Denmark

Canada and Norway went into over time. It was intense... well for curling, that is. In general everyone was pretty subdued during the entire event.

Here are some pictures of the match- Due to VANOC restrictions I cannot show the pictures of the athletes actually playing. But here are some Non- Action shots:

My Interview with Spandy Andy

2010-02-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Spandy Andy. I wasn't able to upload the interview onto my computer, but it finally worked.

Who is Spandy Andy?
Spandy Andy is a street performer in his early 20's who dances around Yaletown and on the corner of Granville and Robson.

I must say, I am a fan of him. When I interviewed him he was very friendly, and he taught me some dance moves. If anyone can pull off neon spandex, it's Mr. Spandy Andy.

Since this was my first interview, I was shaking. Sure this guy was no Michael Phelps (HE WAS ACTUALLY BETTER) or some big athlete, but i was still nervous. And I usually don't get nervous, so this was definitely something big.

Here is my Interview with him! Thanks to my fellow reporter, Emily for filming it and saving my interview with a question when I got stuck. Also, if you want to check out Emily's blog go to Studentslive.ca - You can also see the blogs of all our reporters.
Thanks!

Women's Finland Vs. Russia- An Epic Tale

2010-02-15T17:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, at UBC Thunderbird Arena, Finland was able to "Finnish"(See what I did there?) Russia. Mind you, it wasn't as bad as Slovakia's lost to Canada, 18-0, but still.

The final score was 5-1.

Going into the game, I went on cheering Finland. Why exactly? Not really sure. I knew Finland had a stronger record, so I guess that's why.

Russia, by a stroke of luck, managed to score the first goal, in a very vague referee call. At first, the teams seemed pretty evenly matched. As the period went on however, Finland managed to score 2 goals. Don't ask me who scored, the names were all foreign (and actually pretty cool).

In the 2nd period, you could tell Russia was suffering; The former Comi's got served. Stalin couldn't save them.

You really should've seen the Finnish and Russian spectators. They went crazy. One Finnish fan insisted on starting "The wave" every few minutes. It got old really fast. An obese man decided to take off his shirt when the camera panned towards him. He then proceeded in throwing his shirt to the other spectators. You would need to PAY ME to touch that shirt. I couldn't tell what was worse; Him or the Russian's game play.

By third period, Finland was still going stronger, and Russia just seemed to slow down. Finland scored two more goals before the end of the game. Let me just note that Finland, while a strong Hockey team, was not amazing; Rather, Russia was terrible. You could count the number of passes they made.

This, my friends, was my first hockey game. I am not a hockey fan. However, seeing all the fans and hockey fanatics, and the rather amusing foreigners, I did get quite into the game. Still not a hockey fan though.

I did manage to interview a Finland fan. She was extremely energetic and comical. Her name was Barb, but she said you could call her "barb wire". I forced a smile. Gotta make the people think they're funny, even if they're not.

She was from somewhere in the interior of BC.

My Interview with her will be up shortly.

Over all, for my first event, it was pretty great!

MY FIRST OLYMPIC INTERVIEW

2010-02-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

Hello Earthlings-
On Friday I had the privelege of interviewing a homeless man, and my friend.
They are both pro-olympic Games.

26 days until the olympics!

2010-01-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Hello! Everyone!
I'm sure you are all excited, It's almost time (Well sort of?) for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games :)
I'm very excited.
You're all excited.
Vancouver's excited.
My parents are excited; but not cause of the Winter Games. They hate the Olympics. No my friends, they are excited because they will be in beautiful Cancun during the games, away from all the craziness. This event fills me with joy, because I am home alone for two weeks. I'm not going to throw any parties or anything, if that's what you're thinking.

SO. ANYWAYS. I'm not sure whether you've all heard or not, but Coca-Cola Canada and Visa pay wave are teaming up my friends, to bring you a "brand new" innovation for the 2010 games. 550 coca cola machines, stationed at the Olympic villages and Olympic training centers, will be accessible by Visa pay-wave. This pretty much means that spectators will just have to "wave: their credit cards through the coke machine and voila! there's there coke. In this way, spectators will conveniently grab a drink and get back to their seats.

"Spectators at the Games will definitely appreciate the speed of Visa payWave when they can grab their Coke with a quick wave of the card, leaving enough time to get back to their seats for the next event," said Mike Bradley, Head of Products, Visa Canada.

Personally, I'm unsure of this. I guess you do shave off a few seconds by swiping a card and getting your drink, but really? How much faster is it than propping into the machine a few coins....Well i guess if there's thousands of people at a game, then it does save quite a bit of time, especially if you don't want to miss the next game, or you've gotten out of your seat for an intermission. So yeah, i guess it makes sense.
It's definitely an interesting idea...I like it.

What do you guys think? Here's the full article in case you're interested: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2010/11/c7341.html

I'm doing things Backwards...

2010-01-03T16:17:00.001-08:00

So as you can see, I started off my first blog spewing random thoughts about the Olympics and my problems. Lol.

But now I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself now, lol.

I'm so Crazy.

That Pretty much Sums me up. I'm unpredictable, wild, crazy, free spirited, stubborn, caring, Always looking out for those I love, Eccentric, unconventional, sometimes sarcastic/meaner than a usual person, Sometimes insanely nice and loving to people, I trust people more than I should, I try to be polite, I'm proffessional when I need to be, but when I'm in the right environment I let loose and I like to party.

But yeah, Crazy sums it up pretty much.

Now for a more formal introduction...

Hi, my name is Stergios Darntanis and I am YOUR Students Live Reporter for the 2010 Olympics; You want the 411 on the olympics? Come to me, I'll get the dirt, I'm not afraid to ask the hard questions, watch for upcoming interviews, I may say some things you may not expect to here.

Born and Raised in Vancouver, I grew up in a very conservative Christian Family. I am a quarter Peruvian, a quarter Chinese, and half Greek. Yep, I'm a crazy mixed child. Sometimes I get confused for having Arabic descent. I don't, by the way. I am 17, in grade 12, excited for University. I'm going to miss Highschool a lot, but i'm excited for what's ahead.

My dream job is to be a 'journalist'. I use that term loosely because I'm considering covering anything from hard hitting stories to Pop culture. I think my overall goal would be to work somewhere like MTV or MuchMusic. (Hey, I can dream can't I?)

I enjoy Skiing, hanging with friends, playing video games, Swimming, and I guess...my family? LOL, oh dear.

I Feel like becoming a reporter for the Olympics is a great opportunity. Not only do I get to go see the amazing winter games, but I get to live my dream as a journalist, AND I get to represent Vancouver for all it's greatness; Can you say, TRIPLE YES?

A ton of updates, Olympic- wise, and Me- wise

2010-01-03T15:03:00.001-08:00

Where has Stergios gone too?

Hello everyone!
I'm sure you have noticed my absence from Students Live, and the Web in general. Pretty much, in the middle of the first week of break, My computer/ Laptop went crazy. Computer caught a virus, transferred through to my laptop, it all just went wack. All my emails, my parents emails got deleted. I've been able to access the web very few times during the break. I have gotten my comp to somewhat work, so i'm hoping it doesn't crash while I type all this up.

Fortunately, I have all my research/interview done, it's just all in paper...So now I just need to transfer it over to the web. This should be interesting.

Some Interesting Thoughts on the Olympics...

The Red Mittens
- See how I wrote this in Green? and not Red? Ohhh how clever I am. Okay, the Red Mittens...Hmm...They're pretty? and I would get them, except...Stergios' Money --> Parents---> Anti-Olympics- "Stergios, you already have like 5 pairs of mittens, Remember the ones grandma knitted for you? Why do you need Olympic ones? Waste of money".

Oh Goodness.

But in all seriousness, The red mittens are great. I mean attending the games is great and all, But i feel like the red mittens really connect attendees/Olympic supporters to the games, athletes, and celebrations. They are a tangible memory of the Olympic games, and they're just awesome in general.

Not just that, but the mittens Are ONLY 10 DOLLARS. Totally worth it people. Come on!

Anti-Olympic Feelings! What?

There's an actual website called http://no2010.com/, "No 2010", and there slogan is "No Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics on Stolen Native Land". Taken directly from the website, The 2010 resistance has this to say:

"Although it can be said that all of the Americas is land stolen from Indigenous peoples, 'British Columbia' is unique in Canada in that virtually no treaties were made in the process of colonization & settlement. Treaties were required under British, and later Canadian, law prior to any trade or settlement (i.e., the 1763 Royal Proclamation). Although today the government seeks 'modern-day treaties' with its Indian Act band councils, the fact is in 'BC' the land is clearly occupied by an illegal colonial system. The slogan 'No Olympics on Stolen Native Land' is a way to raise anti-colonial consciousness about the true history of 'BC'. "

I have mixed feelings towards this; Everyone should watch their "2010 Resistance video", which focuses a lot on the Olympics of the past, from Hitler's influence on the Olympics in the 1930's, to the Bloody Massacre in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, the video seems to focus a lot on what's happened in the past; However, I feel like our society has evolved since those incidents, and the Olympics has become a fair, successful celebration. However, The website does bring up a few good points on the damages done to the environment, Homelessness, and some of the negative impacts on the society in Vancouver and other places in the lower mainland.

What are everyone's thoughts on these issues?

Pre-Winter Olympics

2009-12-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello Land Dwellers.

In a mere "x" something days in February I will be a reporter for the 2010 winter Olympics.
I know you are all excited. I feel the energy seeping through my pores (remember, moisturize and exfoliate, people). How Anti-Climatic.