No, Stephen Colbert is not a Canadian, but he gladly did what the Canadian fans were chanting, "RIDE THE MOOSE... PLEASE!" and then "WAVE THE FLAG... PLEASE!" It was crazy energetic fun at the Creekside Park in Vancouver! The crowd was wild but somewhat polite, just what Stephen was expecting out of us syrup sucking iceholes that are the Canadians.
I don't watch broadcast TV a lot except news... but
Colbert Report is one of the ones I'd gladly watch. His on-screen attitude are always on and it's very right wing, supporting very conservative views such as not supporting health care and liking George W. Bush and Republicans and their views. It's all an act... At least I think it is... His acting is so over the top that you can't help but laugh so hard at it. It's worrisome that some people actually take him seriously though ^^;
I had slept early, which was very uncommon for me, but my plan was to wake up at 5:30 AM and leave by 6. I was a bit late, but I arrived at the useless lineup at 6:30 AM. I'll explain later why it was a useless line. I've overheard that someone was already waiting since 1 AM!
The park was located by the Telus World of Science aka Science World before it was sponsored. Right now it's home to the Sochi, Russia exhibit where the next Winter Olympics will take place.
A quick peek of the stage for Colbert Report as they're about to set up. This is the second day of taping, so a lot of the securities were already experience what happened the day before. People actually rushed to this stage the day before and one person (maybe more) got trampled in the muddy grass... We may be polite and all but we can get quite rowdy as well... So the security and the park ranger requested us to go to the stage in an orderly fashion for today...
Looking around the scenery as I wait in line I spy a sign from the last Olympic city, Beijing.
As I was purchasing a Colbert Report related merchandise and putting it on my bag the crowd suddenly rushed and ran towards this stage... WTF!? I thought we were suppose to go there in an orderly fashion! Oh well screw it and ran along, hoping not to drop anything... Luckily I got into a great position where I could see without being on my tiptoes too much... but the grass was a bit soft and I was just slightly on the edge of a flat platform.
Lots of enthusiastic fans created signs and crazy things to attract Colbert's or maybe the camera's attention. This one was huge! Now that's enthusiasm!
This is the crowd in front of me and the stage... You can see the moose in all its glory!
These are the crowd behind me... that hill was packed with people! I was surrounded from all sides and levels!
Colbert was at the Speed Skating event last night supporting Shani Davis (who won the gold in 1000 m) and made some new friends... A Dutch brass band, possibly called Kleintje Pils. They played all sorts of songs, including Queen's We Will Rock You and We are the Champion... And the Star Spangled Banner apparently... Something the crowd didn't really appreciate, but hey we got the whole crowd singing O Canada later on. I tried to sing the loudest but my throat didn't appreciate it ^^;
And then Stephen finally appears! YAY! "Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!" This was around 10 or 10:30 am that he showed up.
Tons and tons of pictures! So I may not say too much after this. I'm just impressed I got such great photos! The sunlight from behind us really helped the clarity of the photos.
Before most of the fun started Stephen mentioned that there will be an aerial camera from Goodyear that will be taking pictures of the crowd from the air (duh). The sun was bright and all we saw was a single one-engine plane. The crowd unsure of the plane asked real loud, "where is it?" Stephen tells us, "It's in the sky, you idiots!"
Got such a good close-up that you could make out the writing on his jacket!
I'd love to get those Colbert Report mugs in my C-shaped desk at home...
Australia's fightin' Kangaroo makes an appearance!
A couple of US aerial ski team... Not sure of their names right now ^^; The show will apparently air next week. Not sure on that though.
Colbert shows off his custom made snowboard that Burton (a snowboard maker) gave him for the show.
He got his guest, the gold medalist for snowboard cross from the US (don't remember the name, sorry :P), to sign on Colbert's new board.
The snowboarder lends his gold medal to Colbert... It's huge! "Good luck getting this gold medal back," Colbert quips. All the interviews was done in one take.
One thing I that I didn't get a picture of was Stephen Colbert with Ujjal Dossanjh, the member of parliament for the Vancouver South riding. He did a special interview with Ujjal that we got to see in full (though I only heard since the TV was a plasma and was reflecting the sunlight, lol, see
my problems with plasma). After the clip, Ujjal shows up on stage very, very briefly and people's arms were up in the air that I couldn't see at all...
Colbert with his newly acquired US snowboard team jacket.
By this time I realized that my position had changed significantly! My aim was to get on the white board so I don't have to stand in the mud, but I could only get one of my feet when I got there. Now I'm fully in the centre! Nice!
He did several takes to introduce his guest while he's in the chair. It was an interesting taping... Good to know what's going on behind-the-scenes sometimes. He's so good at it, like improvising on the spot!
Colbert was trying to get on the (fake) moose to please the demanding crowd. The crowd chanted, "Don't get hurt! Don't get hurt!" and Stephen, with his wit always on, responded something like "Don't think you can get off from that responsibility by chanting that!"
Since it's a fake moose, we didn't have to worry about any moose dropping... But it didn't stop Stephen from dropping a couple of F-bombs. The people around me loved it! We usually get the *bleeps* when it's on TV.
After the taping was over at 11:30 AM, I was able to take closer shots of the stage. Pengin-san! Pengin-san!
And if you look to the bottom right of the picture you may spot the Canadian Dove, the beaver. Joke stolen from The Simpsons :P
All the frost on the grass melted and became mud... You could easily mistake it for chocolate milk. The typical aftermath of a Vancouver large crowd gathering... garbage. The city may be portrayed clean, but sometimes we leave the cleaning to other people -_-
Yep, my shoes were muddy... Thankfully it wasn't that thick of a mud. Though I noticed they were slowly dripping off of my shoes...
I had left my car at home so I was free to venture using our greatly improved transit system (probably just for the time during Olympics...) to downtown Vancouver where I walked around til my feet were sore!
Now mind you... this is the middle of February. It's still technically winter here, but it was so nice and warm that the sakura/cherry blossoms were blooming!
Downtown is also a place where I do a lot of shopping and where I can do a lot of shopping fast because I can go through crowds quickly. There were TONS of people there and I was already sore and tired, so I couldn't maneuver properly. However, I did get some loot...
These are the freebies I got... Not as many, but still free. Excel gum from the Colbert taping, a disposable rain poncho which I got from a less traveled street, and a mysterious "Safe Games 2010" bag. Now I got this when I was tired and already had my headphones on, playing loud anime music and about to go back home. They were giving it out and I didn't know what it was, but it was a freebie, so I figured I'll take it. I heard a little bit through the music, "You want one?" as I took it from him.
Turns out the contents inside were...
Yeah... 5 condoms, a lubricant, some kind of drug awareness DVD, and some print ads... Ok, maybe I shouldn't have picked it up from them ^^; The one that cracked me up the most was the business card on the top right corner of the picture. It says, "Vancouver Sex Industry Workers Welcome the World!"
Moving on...
A couple of newspaper that I picked up showing Stephen Colbert in the local news. The first newspaper is actually printed in the same building where I work ^^
These were the merchandise that almost made me fall behind from the big rush to the stage. This was $5 in total from a (hopefully an official) merchant that were selling Colbert Report pins. Yeah, Stephen Colbert has been calling us Canadians that and sounds like we accepted it graciously. Though the crowd were able to convince Colbert take Canada Iceholes off the "On Notice" list, lol. You have to watch the show to know what I'm talking about.
My regular comic shop is also in downtown, so I figured I'll visit. Good thing too, this volume of Shana was the only one left! LUCKY!
I also went to another comic shop because I couldn't find this one issue at my regular store. I found out the next store had a sale... buy 2 get 1 free graphic novels! Took me a while to figure out to get these ones, but these are some of the books I've been wanting to read for a while. I played Conan on the PS3 and it was great, so I figured reading the original will be fun. Red Sonja is pretty much cheesecake, lol.
Anyway that's my long, and exhausting day. I'm still sore and I could barely walk properly. And looks like the lack of sleep's really catching up to me... Yet, I may continue going through the Olympic events and venues on Friday... But this time I'm gonna go try out the zip line! Gonna be so fun! I hope the rope doesn't snap from my weight XD
I'm not quite sure when this segment of the Colbert Report will be showing on Comedy Central or CTV/Comedy Network in Canada, but if it's on, you may be able to see the SOS Brigade cap on TV! If I found out when it's on then I'll post it here or on Twitter. I hear it may be the week of February 22-25.
I'm sure you're sore from walking downtown instead of the fact you originally had two SafeGame kits...
ReplyDeleteI use to watch Colbert and Daily Show, but not much anymore. Will try to catch the two Olympic specials. Good coverage, sounds like a great time.
Should I say nice 'loots'? :P LOL
ReplyDeleteI found the Colbert is pretty funny guy. Wish I can see global channel here. XD
So they expect you to have a lot of "Action" going on right after you get your loot bag, huh? >_<
ReplyDeleteGreat catch to be able to find the last Vol 5 of Shakugan no Shana manga! ^_^
I will be coming to Vancouver during Easter time, talked to RadiantDreamer and might do an otaku meet up in Vancouver before I return back to Ontario, the city currently lacking some real action... T_T
BEST FUWKING FREEBIES EVAR!!! I dont have any Idea who the Hell Colbert is, until you mentioned him, and I feel like sucking up to him^^;;;;
ReplyDeleteSyrup-sucking Ice holes, I want to be called that the first thing I get my citizenship here.
Whew, most of that flew straight over my head...
ReplyDeleteThe moment I saw 'safegames' though I immediately knew what was going to be inside though. Just my intuition. Looks like they were really meticulous about it, even giving lubricant. They really considered all the possibilities. Excellent in giving Vancouver's reputation a big one up :D
That's cool, the public transport getting smooth out. I could use some of that. I remember it was the same back for Beijing, where they rush-built a rickety direct olympic-express train in several months, and people were afraid to get on it.
I'm willing to bet that Conan will be hilarious. and Red Sonja... Well, you're right about it being cheesecake. I just remember that the movie also had Arnold in it.
As for Shana, you know (or may not) how against it I feel >.>
@FatB: Yeah, ok. You can believe that XD I think it'll be 4 episodes of the Colbert Olympic specials since he had 4 sets of guests, but we'll see.
ReplyDelete@Yamada: Right... "nice" loots indeed ^^; His kind of comedy probably doesn't work well in your country though... Most southeast Asian authorities have problem with this kind of humour ^^;;;
@robostrike: LOL that's what they were thinking, I guess. Oh you are coming here, eh? It's funny how each time Vancouverites try to gather, it always doesn't work... We need somebody from Toronto to arrange this gathering? Eheh ^^; Anyway... Hopefully I'll get my copy of Gundam vs Gundam by that time :)
@GunStray: Literally, eh? :P Ah well if you go watch Comedy Channel at 11:30 pm or 12:30 am CTV then you'll see him :D Oh and do you have to take the test when you become a citizen? :P
@Tim: Heh sorry... it's definitely not every anime fan's cup of tea. And I didn't even see what the bag was, I just picked it up and saw a pack of condom peeking out and then finally saw the writing ^^;
Well the public transportation's getting a real test today. There were more people on it since it's the weekend. I'd hate to be out there today. Good thing I have weekdays off! LoL good thing our system were already in place.
Hmm... well you and I are right about Red Sonja being a cheesecake, but I managed to get more out of Conan. It was somewhat tragic yet encouraging at the same time. It's somewhat inspiring actually. A lone man who does whatever he wants and bows to no one facing armies and civilization that is similar to ours. He's basically the embodiment of freedom! I may have to talk more about him and his author, Robert E. Howard later on. You might like the writer too... He's very dedicated to his writing and inspiring to other writers. At least from what I read of his 36 years of life in the afterwords .
And no... I don't know how you feel about Shana ^^; My reason for liking Shana begins with Yuuji because of him being a Torch sorta reflects on how I feel about my own life.
Wow, you were really close to Colbert. Nice pictures, and that's really cool to be able to be close enough to take such great photographs.
ReplyDeleteI love his show and I would've really liked to see him in person too.
Glad you had fun!
embodiment of freedom yes, "But with great freedom comes great responsibility..."
ReplyDelete-Gundam SEED dubbed somewhere
Okay, so, why I hated Shakugan no Shana, as nutshelled as possible... I've sort of erased it from memory now, but it came off as really shallow to me. Motives seemed oversimplified. The torch was in theory a great idea - something like it could generate many bouts of existentialism, but Yuji (was that his name?) never made too much out of it. I think there'd have been a greater impact if he just died, but then there was that Reiji Maigo thing... Which blurred the difference between Torch and human.
Shana was more obnoxious than anything, Yuji's complete lack of manliness/decisiveness/intelligence made him painful to watch, and their relationship was like watching animals struggling clumsily atop one another.
The villains' motives weren't concrete - they just seemed to come and go, doing the randomest of things. The great amount of terminology used was confusing as well. I couldn't quite get everyone's affiliation, and I remember the primary villains dying quite anticlimactically.
Also, I don't recall there ever being a standard power hierarchy. People were stronger and weaker without reason. Flame-Haired Fiery-Eyed Hunter sounded stupid to me, as did the constant 'fureimu haazu' they said every five seconds.
Note that this is all based on the anime.
@Yi: It's a great illusion. I was quite close, but the zoom in my camera was much closer! There were so many shots of cameras and hands in the air that I threw away, lol. Maybe when he does a show in CA one day, eh? :D
ReplyDelete@Ningyo: That almost sounded like Spider-Man actually.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened in the anime is that the first 2 light novels were combined, mashed into one storyline in the anime. It really didn't flow properly. I actually read the novels first and that made me fell in love in what I thought was something I couldn't comprehend. The novels made it much easier to understand. Yujii's mortality seemed more urgent when it was explained in just words. It really questioned my mortality and my existence. The ending was actually redone properly in the movie, albeit with an additional character.
Unfortunately, Shana & Yujii's relationship is pretty much the same way. It's the usual tsundere storyline and for them it's more interesting when a tsundere stays the way she is. Since you would be reading the novels separately, it felt like they had more time to develop their relationship. Sadly since there are only 2 of the novels released in English, I can't compare any further.
I noticed the fansub translations didn't translate all the terms. Whereas the DVD translated every term into English, which made it much easier to understand. When I was watching the fansub for the 2nd season, I was utterly confused because of the lack of translation.
Well the villains seem to be a stepping stone for Shana and Yuuji to get closer together to me. They do have strange motives, but their methods are quite horrible, don't you think?
Flame Haze is basically the name of these hunters like Shana and Margery Daw, so they had no choice but to keep repeating the term. Probably because it's Engrish that you notice it more than the other terms.
OMG... I could make a blog post with this reply!
Wow, that's awesome that you got to see Colbert live. I want to see him live one day lol. Colbert is a funy guy and no matter how he acts you still got to love him lol. I need to get out and buy manga again lol. I didn't realize Shana was up to number 5 ^^;;.
ReplyDelete@AS: Yeah, this was the best solution next to going to New York XD Really fun to watch him even the whole process of taping it. The Shana release has been quite irregular, perhaps because it's still running in Japan.
ReplyDeleteProps for Colbert; I would gladly go gay for that man.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, his 'Defeat the World' tagline for his Olympic show is hilarious.
@Snark: There was a guy holding a sign that says, "Marry me Colbert. It's legal here!" Heh, plus he'll ask you if you chose to be gay :P
ReplyDeleteYou get feeds of the show in Aussie, eh?