Another 2012 In Review Clip

There have been a lot of these, of course, but this one I quite like.

Vancouver 2010 Olympics Start Tonight

Here's a reminder to set your DVRs for tonight's opening ceremonies at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Longtime readers may recall how completely nuts I went for the opening ceremonies in Beijing in 2008. Back then I closed with: "You totally have to feel sorry for Vancouver. There's no way the next Olympics can come close to what the Chinese did." Understanding that the Winter Games are never quite the same spectacle of the Summer Games, I look forward to what Canada has on store for us. Coverage begin on NBC at 7:30pm EST.

HomoQuotable - Johnny Weir

"I would like to announce that due to pressures and threats from a certain animal rights group, I will be changing the genuine fox fur on my free program costume that I will use in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C., to white faux fur. I made this decision after several threats were sent to me about disrupting my performance in the Olympic Games and my costume designer, Stephanie Handler, was repeatedly sent messages of hate and disgust. I do not want something as silly as my costume disrupting my second Olympic experience and my chance at a medal, a dream I have had since I was a kid.

"I hope these activists can understand that my decision to change my costume is in no way a victory for them, but a draw. I am not changing in order to appease them, but to protect my integrity and the integrity of the Olympic Games as well as my fellow competitors. Just weeks away from hitting my starting position on the ice in Vancouver, I have technique and training to worry about and that trumps any costume and any threat I may receive." - Olympic ice skater Johnny Weir. He recently tweeted that the most recent death threats had come from a group called Friends Of Animals, although he says he's received similar threats from PETA since the 2006 Olympics.

Johnny Weir Makes U.S. Olympic Team

This weekend Johnny Weir scored third in the Men's Figure Skating Championships, earning him a slot on the U.S. Olympic team. Weir's reality show debuts tonight on the Sundance Channel.

HomoQuotable - Johnny Weir

"I don’t think turning figure skating into some kind of X-Games event will promote figure skating to the male population of especially North America, but also the world. This kind of talk has been going around for some time, about making the men more masculine and the women more feminine. But it’s not figure skating if you don’t have the freedom to express yourself and make something beautiful. That’s my goal every time I get new music and get new costumes: to tell a story and to put on a show.

"To butch up figure skating is a ridiculous idea, because there’s no putting me in some two-piece pants suit to skate in. [Laughs.] I love my glitter, I love my prettiness, I love getting my hair done before the events, I love putting on makeup because I’m going to be on TV. I know Elvis Stojko was a big proponent for butching up men’s skating, but I have a hard time taking suggestions from a man who rocked purple pajamas in the Olympic Games and World championships. In my opinion, anyone who wants to change the actual people who are doing the figure skating can suck it." - Openly gay figure skating champion Johnny Weir, talking to Outsports.com. Weir hopes to compete at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.

Vancouver Salutes Michael Phelps...

..with their doobie-shaped Olympic torch.

(Via - BStewart23)

"Pride House" For Gay Athletes At 2010 Vancouver Olympic Game

Gay athletes at the 2010 Vancouver Games will have have a safe space to socialize together:

Canadian athletes at the 2010 Winter Games will have Canada House. Russians will have Russia House. The Dutch, Holland House. And now, gay and lesbian athletes will have Pride House. For the first time in Olympic history, gay and lesbian athletes will have a place to go to relax and watch events, and meet friends. On Friday, a group called Gay Whistler announced it will set up a special club house in partnership with the Pan Pacific Whistler Village hotel. The free facility will be open to homosexual athletes, their families, friends and fans. It will offer a lounge, television screens and meeting areas. "It is really important to have a safe space for out athletes, coaches, fans and allies to come and hang out, share their stories, trade pins and have fun," said Dean Nelson, one of the organizers.

It's a new world.