Ritual Olympics: 17 Days in Vancouver

Well, I watched as much as I could take of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and DVR'd the rest. I realize all of the symbolism comes from indigenous cultures, but these four statues seemed a bit more canopic to me, like the four sons of Horus, or the four funerary goddesses. Maybe a little of both. At the same time. Canada is very liberal about that kind of thing. 

Of course, those hats seemed a bit more on the Sumerian side to me (NOTE: A reader informs us that these figures are called the 'Watchmen', which is perfect in so many ways).

And that sunwheel design on the floor doesn't mitigate the effect.

And Ursa Major made an appearance. Being the nutty guy I am, I thought back to the Sirius Election series and this Egyptian prayer:

“The sky is clear, Sothis (Sirius) lives, I am a living one, the son of Sothis (Sirius), and the two Enneads have cleansed themselves for me in Ursa Major, the Imperishable. My house in the sky will not perish, my throne on earth will not be destroyed, for men hide, the gods fly away. Sothis has caused me to fly up to the sky in the company of my Brethren…”

Utterance 302 of the Pyramid Texts

Did someone say fly? Now, I won't say this is yet another UFO reference, but boy, they sure love their flying boats at the Olympics, don't they?

Are those ears, horns or antennae? Of course, compared to the 1984 ceremony, this is weak tea. Everything is. But it did occur to me that the first time I wrote about the UFOlympic issue, I wrote about the release of 2010: The Year We Make Contact. Don't forget about the recent festivities in Beijing, either.

Or this beauty shot from the Sydney festivities. I still think they should come clean and play "Pets" at the closing ceremonies.

And you'll have to forgive me...

...but I couldn't resist.

Banging on the octagonal Stargate...

Speaking of flight, here's Nelly (Nellis?) Furtado, Our Lady of the Stars. Appropriately enough, since Nelly's label is called Nelstar. She's appeared on a CSI (Grissom Scene Investigation) series just to put the cherry on this particular sundae. 

And weren't we just talking about a blue dress? Maybe she's a fan of the Secret Sun too!


Really playing up the starry sky motif last night. And there's your "power of three."

So we have the enclosed alien habitat dome, where's the rocket pad obelisk?

Ahh, there we go.

A city in the sky- do you think this was inspired by the old Who song?

Don't forget about my undying love for Vancouver, the Holy Land of sci-fi TV.

PS: Just for the record, I DON'T believe in the power that comes from a world brought together as one, Nikki. No offense.

UPDATE: Hmmm, I wonder...

UPDATE: That Jungian demon-shadow projection also reminds me of this pivotal scene from Quatermass and the Pit. Note also that the character of Roney was Canadian in the original TV production. And when I see a fiddlin' devil, I can't help but think of the old Charlie Daniels hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia."

 

This is a must-see: David Atkins' demo reel. Symbol junkies- you just got your fix for March. Here's a chaser- some choice, Nickelback-free bits from the Olympic closing ceremonies...

 

Queen of the World.

The gas giants.

The requisite alien habitat dome.

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