Who says Russia doesn't have a sense of humour? Closing ceremony mocks opening of Winter Olympics..

UK Daily Mail ^ | February 23, 2014 | Chris Pleasance and Mia De Graff

[C19fan]

From the opening ceremony with a malfunctioning ring, to police officers singing Get Lucky, the Sochi Winter Olympics have been a games to remember. But tonight marks the end for the highly controversial games, which are also the most expensive in Olympic history. Showing that the country has a sense of humour, dancers during the opening section of the show mocked the moment a ring failed to open during the opening ceremony. The joke was followed by an opulent show of ballet, circus performances and classical music, an ode to the country's rich literary history - before the Olympic flame was finally extinguished.

[C19fan]

Ivan really showed Tommy comparing these ceremonies vs. London in 2010. Russian political history is a nightmare but give the Ruskies credit for not being ashamed to show pride in their cultural achievements. For some reason the Brits behind their ceremonies thought celebrating the NHS was important instead of celebrating their own history and culture. Hats off to Russia on this.

[Vigilanteman]

Plus the Russians weren't afraid to celebrate a Russian born American composer (Dimitri Tiomkin) which the Nothing But Communist network was either too daft or too ideologically blinded to mention.

Tiomkin worked closely with patriots in Hollywood such as John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart to compose most of the best film themes in an illustrious career spanning four decades.

I don't think I heard his name mentioned even once all the time the music he composed was playing.

[knarf]

It looked like summer most of the time ... on TV

[C19fan]

Also the ceremony played Rachmaninoff’s 2nd piano concerto. He fled top to the US after the Commies came to power and is buried in Westchester County, NY.

[Sacajaweau]

I thought it was great. Russia has so much talent.

[latina4dubya]

i thought it was fantastic that they mocked the failed Olympic rings from the opening ceremonies... witty... i enjoyed these Winter Olympics games in Sochi...

[Sans-Culotte]

I don't think I heard his name mentioned even once all the time the music he composed was playing.

The culture-challenged libtards @ NBC did a poor job throughout of mentioning what was playing. As we were watching the closing ceremonies, my wife asked what the music was. I said "it sounds like some sort of sprawling Edna Ferber epic like Giant". The more I listened, I said "dammit, that is Giant!". I threw on the Blu-ray (which we still have not watched from the James Dean set), and indeed it was Giant. Though Russian born, Dimitri Tiomkin wrote some of the best western scores of all time.

[grania]

I was watching that inpossibly magnificent closing ceremony yesterday, and in my mind comparing it to our cultural heights....the Superbowl halftime show.

We're doomed as a civilization.

[Charles Martel]

Tiomkin’s movie scores are very recognizable. I’m glad to see that his work was acknowledged in this way.

[Vigilanteman]

Rachmaninoff was arguably the greatest classical composer in the last century. Gershwin, Copeland, Tiomkin and Debussy were all great, but with the possible exception of Debussy, their genres weren't pure classical.

I must have missed that part of the ceremony. Did the talking heads even mention Rachmaninoff?

[DJ MacWoW]

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[C19fan]

There is a reason you did not see that part. Those (insert profanities) from NBC cut that part:

9: 23 PM ET: World’s largest chandelier, probably, descends in the stadium as ballet group performs Scheherezade. Looks as though NBC has cut the 60-something grand pianos playing Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.” “Ballet is very important in Russia,” Pozner begins. “Ballet is a great expression of who the Russians really are. It demands incredible discipline but at the same time there is a wildness about it.” Where was he during the Opening Ceremony to make sense of it all?

[from occupied ga]

Who says Russia doesn't have a sense of humour? Closing ceremony mocks opening of Winter Olympics..

For me the best thing about the Olympics was NOT constantly hearing about 0bama. Putin was mentioned, Putin was shown, and Putin is NOT our friend, but he is sure one hell of lot more effective head of state than our turd in the white house

[fungoking]

I can't help it but, I was really hoping that when the giant bear leaned in to blow out the torch his head would burst into flames. Just the image of a giant robot bear staggering around on fire falling onto the rabbit and it catching fire, total chaos!

[dangus]

That;s because Sochi is the Russian San Diego.

[knarf]

So they chose San Diego for the winter games ... brilliant !

[x]

That’s where the mountains are. Other than the Caucasus, the Urals, and maybe a few remote places in the east, Russia’s a flat country.

[Starboard]

...in my mind comparing it to our cultural heights....the Superbowl halftime show

*********
Good point. Our Superbowl spectacle is usually a vulgar display of egos and coarse behavior.

We have a societal version of ADHD.

[knarf]

Never knew the topography ... thanx

I had this generic idea that all of Russia was cold ... thus mountainous.

[Starboard]

For me the best thing about the Olympics was NOT constantly hearing about 0bama.

**********
Yes, unfortunately an all too brief respite from the daily barrage of Obama nonsense.