Tag: Winter Olympics

Jan172014 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Construction Scenes from the 1980 Winter Olympics Lake Placid Site, 1977-78

Construction Scenes from the 1980 Winter Olympics Lake Placid Site, 1977-78

Photography, Sports
Seeing as we're just weeks away from the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, I thought I should try to work in at least one Olympic-themed gallery. But this one is a little different, in that it doesn't show any actual competition. Rather, these are scenes from the construction of the venues at Lake Placid, New York, in preparation for the 1980 Winter Olympics. According to my information, these shots were taken in the 1977-78 time frame. Click on any photo for the full-size version.
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Dec302013 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
Vintage Photo of a Late 1940s Bobsleigh in Lake Placid, New York

Vintage Photo of a Late 1940s Bobsleigh in Lake Placid, New York

Photography, Sports
The 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi are nearly upon us, so let's do some winter sports. This outstanding vintage photo is not actually from the Olympics, but it's close enough. According to the auction I snagged it from, this was taken in Lake Placid in 1949. If that's true, then this image was shot at the 1949 FIBT World Championships in Lake Placid. The FIBT (aka IBSF) is the organization that oversees bobsledding and skeleton. The bobsleigh shown does display the Olympic rings and the 1948 date, so it's likely that this was also used in the prior year's Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. (For a full-size version click here.) Two things that stand out to me immediately are the leather helmets that resemble nothing so much as repurposed football helmets of the era, a
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Aug132012 by Chris Holmes4 Comments
Summing Up My Thoughts on the London 2012 Summer Olympics

Summing Up My Thoughts on the London 2012 Summer Olympics

Sports
Over the last several days of the 2012 Summer Olympics, I was struck by the feeling I get when I visit family out of state for long trips. There's the planning, the buildup and anticipation, and then the big day comes. I'm finally reunited for the first time in awhile, and it feels great. But then, as the days march on the newness of the experience gives way to a creeping feeling of anxiousness. By the end, even if the trip has gone well, I can't wait to be back home and back to my daily routine. In much the same way, I couldn't wait for the London Games to be over even though I eagerly anticipated them for several months earlier this year. I dutifully plopped myself in front of the TV for the prime time package most nights, and even checked out several live events on the internet, ...
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Aug232011 by Chris HolmesNo Comments
More Posters of the WPA (Works Progress Administration)

More Posters of the WPA (Works Progress Administration)

Ephemera, Featured Posts
Just when you thought you'd seen the last (well, only) gallery of posters from the Works Progress Administration, BAM! Here comes another one, only four years later. According to Wikipedia, the WPA was the largest and most ambitious of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal agencies, employing millions of workers to carry out public works projects. Agency workers constructed public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. Nearly every community in the United States had a park, bridge or school constructed by the agency, which especially benefited rural and Western areas. The budget at the outset of the WPA in 1935 was $1.4 billion a year (about 6.7 percent of the 1935 GDP), and in total it spent $13.4 billion. That's all well and g...
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Feb182010 by Chris Holmes6 Comments
John Shuster, internet darling of the day

John Shuster, internet darling of the day

Sports
Even if you're not a huge fan of curling, you're probably familiar by now with John Shuster's underwhelming performance as captain of the U.S. team at this year's Winter Olympics.  Through four matches, Shuster and the boys have zero wins.  But what makes this year's futility especially painful is Shuster's propensity for coming up short at crucial moments.  Three matches have been lost because he couldn't make his final stone count. Well the mob has spoken and they're not happy.  In addition to the deluge of anti-Shuster Tweets, the captain's Wikipedia entry has undergone some creative editing.  Luckily it's all saved in the article history.  Here are a few choice ones just from today (in addition to the edits that show him as deceased): A personal tidbit - "Shuster failed four tim
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