EPIC Los Angeles 1984 belt buckle for sale on eBay!

I ran across this truly EPIC Los Angeles 1984 "Summer Games" belt buckle while browsing eBay. Who wouldn't want this bad boy holding their pants up exclaiming to the world how much they love LA and the Olympics?! The description on the auction says the following:

1984 ADM BRASS BELT BUCKLE LOS ANGELES OLYMPICS 1ST ED
No. 1938 

This is a NEW never worn belt buckle I bought it during the

1984 LOS ANGLES Summer Olympics.

It has only been on display in my show cabinet

 You can find out more details or buy this piece of epicness here: http://item.ly/300575987919

*This is not my auction nor will I make any money if someone purchases it through this link. I'm only sharing it here for others to enjoy as much as I have. In fact, maybe I'll start doing this more often. There is a TON of awesome Olympic related memorabilia on eBay.

Top 10 Olympics Videogames According to IGN

I'll start by noting that this article and it's corresponding list is old. It was published in 2008. While it is interesting to get someones take on it like this I really disagree with a lot of this and most of the games aren't official Olympic games. But I digress, there have not been on over abundance of great officially licensed Olympic video games. So without further ado here are the Top 10 Olympic Video Games... according to IGN... from 2008...

10. Beijing 2008
9. Caveman Ugh-lympics
8. Mario & Sonic and the Olympic Games
7. HesGames
6. Decathlon
5. Decathlete
4. Winter Games
3. Summer Games II
2. Summer Games
1. Track & Field

Now you see what I mean?! A lot of these games are unheard of! The fact that two games from Beijing 2008 is pretty telling that this guy didn't have much to go on. Track and Field is a great pick along with the original Mario and Sonic Olympic game. I really think Nagano Winter Olympics '98 for the N64 should have been included on the this list. I loved that game! I have played a demo of the Beijing 2008 and found it painfully dull. I am eager to try the Winter Games and Summer Games originally developed by Epyx for the Commodore 64. Thankfully these games are available through the Virtual Console service on the Wii. I may give them a shot sometime and do a little write up on here about them.

You can read the full article here: Top 10 Olympics Videogames

London 2012 Unveils Olympic Medal Designs

In addition to all the other festivities celebrating one year to go until next year's summer games, London 2012 also officially unveiled their medal designs. I personally really like them. I'm not sure what I expected but I was surprised that I liked them so much when I saw them. Well done London 20122! Here are some details that were outlined in their official press release regarding the unveiling...

To mark one year to go to the London 2012 Olympic Games, the London 2012 Olympic medals have been unveiled to the world tonight by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, and London 2012 Organizing Committee Chair Seb Coe, in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge and Coordination Commission Chairman Denis Oswald at a special ceremony in Trafalgar Square, London.

The Olympic medals, which are presented in recognition of the incredible achievement of outstanding athletes, will be made in Britain and have been designed by British artist David Watkins who is an established artist in the field of decorative art.

The Press Release went on to describe the medals further...

IOC President Jacques Rogge said: 'Highlighting the effort and achievement of the athletes, as well as the city where the Games are held, these beautiful medals will be a fitting reward for the Olympic medallists of 2012. It is the pinnacle of a sporting career to become an Olympic champion but I am confident that receiving one of these medals will make it all the more special in London next year. Congratulations to LOCOG for creating a design that will inspire the Olympians of 2012.'

The Olympic medals' circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the Parthenon to arrive in the Host City.

The design for the reverse of the London 2012 Olympic medals contains five main symbolic elements:

• The dished background suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre.
• The core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern City, or as a geological metaphor as a tough crystalline growth which is deliberately jewel like. 
• The grid brings both a pulling together and sense of outreach on the design – an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ achievements and effort.
• The River Thames is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon and adds a sense of celebration. 
• The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design and emphasising its focus on the centre and reinforcing the sense of ‘place’ as in a map inset.

The sport and discipline of the medal-winning athletes will be engraved on the rim of every medal.

I do find the line about the "circular form as a metaphor for the world" pretentious though. Of course it's round! All the summer Olympic medals are. But I digress...

You can read more details here: http://goo.gl/2nrpx

Release Date and Cover Art for Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

So the artwork I posted a little while back turned out not to be the official artwork. Sega has announced the release date for the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games along with the final cover art. I imagine this news was released to coincide with the one year to go celebrations taking place today. The game will debut in the US on on November 15th and in Europe on November 18th. The cover art sure looks busy. For better or worse it seems to be in line with the rest of the graphic identity for London 2012. Dare I say it, but London's tragic look is actually growing on me. I doubt I will ever love it the way I have other games, but I don't hate it all the way I once did. Additionally, it seems the game will come in a yellow box rather than the traditional white for Wii games. This change is not unprecedented. New Super Mario Bros. Wii shipped in a red case and Nintendo has release some of their more mature oriented games in black cases in Japan.

London 2012 Celebrates One Year to Go!

This aerial image shows the number '1' mown into the grass in the Olympic Stadium, starting the celebrations to mark one year to go until the Games begin.

London is celebrating "one year to go" today! Things are shaping up nicely and the hype for the 2012 Olympic Games is mounting.

Usain Bolt and the Science Of Sprinting

I ran across an attention grabbing headline to an article that said: "The world's fastest man doesn’t move his legs quicker than anyone else during a race." So I clicked on through and read bits of the article. It is indeed interesting. The gist of the article and study is this...

Speed, as it turns out, may be completely misunderstood. 

When Bolt established the current 100-meter world record in the 2009 world championships, running it in 9.58 seconds, he did so by moving his legs at virtually the same pace as his competitors. In fact, if you or I were to compete against Bolt, our legs would turn over at essentially the same rate as his. 

He went on to answer the question, "So if leg turnover is the same, how does one person run faster than another?"

[The scientist] discovered that speed is dependent upon two variables: The force with which one presses against the ground and how long one applies that force. 

You can read the full article here: Usain Bolt: Case Study In Science Of Sprinting 

I'm looking forward to watching Bolt try to wow the world again with his magnificent speed next year in London!

More High Resolution Art from Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

I've got two more high res character images for you (Amy and Tails) along with super high resolution logo art for the game. Click here to view my original post with artwork for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Sonic. Enjoy!

2014 Winter Olympics Torch Relay route set to include journey into space!

Sochi 2014 leaders outlined their plans today for their torch relay to the IOC members at the session in Durban, South Africa.

“Russia was the first country to send a man into space some 50 years ago,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov told the IOC. “So, we are proud that now we have the opportunity to be the first nation to send the Olympic torch into space.” 

In addition to space Russia plans on sending the flame to the top of Russia's tallest mountain and the bottom of the world's deepest lake.

Visits to Mount Elbrus and Lake Baikal will be part of the Olympic flame’s 20-day, 17,000-mile journey, with 14,000 torch bearers used in the buildup to the Sochi Games, Zukov said.

“The torch relay is to demonstrate the character of modern Russia, its great historical and cultural achievements and the achievements of the common people,” Zhukov said.

Sounds pretty EPIC!!

Pyeongchang to host 2018 Winter Olympics!!!

Pyeongchang has successfully won the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics!! The vote was held in Durban, South Africa this morning. I completely flipped my opinion on this bid over the last year. Originally I had been pulling for Munich, but I changed my tune more recently. My daughter started kindergarten this year and is learning Korean. Her school teaches Korean and our family has grown very fond of the country over the past year. I held no ill will for them before I had only preferred to see a different country selected after Pyeongchan's first two bids were unsuccessful. We watched the announcement live this morning and we are all very excited. 2018 is a long ways off but it is possible that this may be the first Olympics that I attend! 평창 축하합니다!

Possible boxart for Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games?!

I ran across this image online. It looks like it may possibly be the boxart for the upcoming Mario & Sonic game! Sega has yet to announce a release date. We shall know soon enough!

Via.

IOC approves Slopestyle snowboarding for 2014 Sochi Games

Shaun White competing in Slopestyle at the ESPN X Games

Today the IOC has approved the inclusion of men's and women's slopestyle events in snowboarding and freestyle skiing for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Also approved for Sochi were snowboard parallel slalom events for men and women. You can see an example of slopestyle snowboarding in the embeded video above or you can find more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slopestyle & http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2011-07-04-2554850981_x.htm