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[Doc]

... learn that South Carolina and Queensland are sister-states.

Huh? No kidding. What they got in SC?

[greenkoolayd]

Huh? No kidding. What they got in SC?

im sure they have some sort of tasty barbecue.

also, this: "The relationship between the two states didn't just come about, said Rob Whiddon, chief of staff to Premier Beattie in Queensland. It started when Queensland came to South Carolina in 1996 to study how South Carolina became a launching pad for some of the foreign Olympic teams before they took part in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Queensland wanted to do the same - - and it did with South Carolina's help - - for the 2000 Sydney Olympics."



the article isnt overly interesting and its from '04, but here is a link, just in case: http://www.statehousereport.com/columns/04.0104.queensland.htm

[KeithHernandez]

Today I had a shitty day at work.

Now I am packing.  I am moving to a house with a bandmate.  I am going to live in a basement with my guitar, a bass and some drums!  Instead of playing electric guitar with no amp at home and driving 30+ minutes to play with my amp and pedals.  Holy Shit Wednesday can not come soon enough.


Also, I never really thought about Atlanta having the Olympics before.  That is kinda weird no?  I think a lot about moving, and while it never usually involves moving east or south, I absolutely never think about Atlanta.  Never.  It seems kinda like Houston east in my mind.  Sorry to those who live in those two cities.  I am from Oklahoma City and really like it so, I understand, but still, the Olympics?  Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Seattle, L.A. (I know they had one), Dallas- those all seem like better Olympic places.  Or Miami actually.  That is probably the best.

[Nabubrush]

I have been to Washington DC, so I'm not completely talking out my ass, but I can't imagine a place less suited for the olympics.

Good on you for the move, though. Congrats.

[KeithHernandez]

Yeah, that may be true about any of those cities, but, like, I thought the Olympics were supposed to be in cool places?  Maybe not.

[Choop]

you make my heart sad with your dismissal of my awesome home town

[pmcd9]

you make my heart sad with your dismissal of my awesome home town

And mine, but it's cool. 

[KeithHernandez]

Yeah, I've been to Houston, it's okay I guess.  But a smaller Houston getting the Olympics?  I just looked it up, Denver has a higher population than Atlanta, and Denver feels pretty small (Atlanta has a larger metropolitan population.)

But Denver having the Olympics?  That seems silly is all.  Houston I would actually be okay with, cause whether I like it or not, it is a huge, international city.

I just don't get that vibe from Atlanta.  I only included Houston cause when I think of Atlanta I think of shitty interstates, just like Houston.

Here are the populations of the cities that have hosted olympics I can remember:

Barcelona:  1.6 million
Sydney:  3.6 million
Beijing:  22 million
Atlanta:  .5 million
Athens:  3.1 million


Barcelona is the only one even close, but it is at least a cool city.




Or wait, maybe Atlanta got it cause some stoner from there was able to figure out a way to more rapidly ruin our country?

[Nabubrush]

I know you're leaning summer, here, but:

Lake Placid: 7 people and a dog. And they got the olympics twice.

[AugustWest]

Here are the populations of the cities that have hosted olympics I can remember:

Barcelona:  1.6 million
Sydney:  3.6 million
Beijing:  22 million
Atlanta:  .5 million
Athens:  3.1 million

That's very misleading.  Perhaps that's the population of the actual city of Atlanta, but the SMSA, the metro area, is 5.8 million -- 9th in the US.  Denver is 22d with 2.5 million. 

[JorgeFabregas]

You left out Salt Lake City (181,000).  Nagano has a population of 384,000. I suspect Atlanta has a huge metropolitan area, as it's in the south where they're crazy about their unchecked growth and urban sprawl.

It also has the busiest airport in the country.

[jay-ell]

Isn't a big part of choosing where the Olympics go also determining if a location has available land for all the new development and the building of massive sports facilities that goes along with hosting the event? I wouldn't think New York, Chicago, or DC have much room (without going WAY outside the metro area) to be able to do that. Atlanta proper doesn't have a lot of wide open spaces, but from what I recall from the one time I went there, it's like Raleigh in that the suburban areas have some semi-undeveloped zones that could be used for that kind of thing.

[wombat]

DC has bid for the Olympics actually. They may have argued that there are a lot of stadiums or whatever here already. Fortunately they lost. It would be a nightmare, never mind if there's room for the facilities - the traffic is already the worst in the country, all we need is millions more tourists trying to get around and it would be a complete meltdown.

[Choop]

one circumstance beneficial to atlanta's hosting was that turner field was finished just prior to the olympics, and they hadn't torn down the old stadium yet. the georgia dome is only a couple miles away from there; phillips arena can host hockey hence other sports and it's a mile from the dome. there's been an equestrian center in piedmont park (another few miles north of phillips) for 70+ years. there are also five high school football fields and several baseball parks intown. for some reason, ping-pong was hosted in augusta, a 3 hour drive from atlanta. macon's an hour south with its own sporting facilities; the new hockey stadium is an hour north of downtown. very little actually had to be built for the olympics here, effectively just the international village, which has all been turned into intown condominiums and apartments.

i've always told people atlanta's a dumb place to visit, but a great place to live. if you're there to visit people who live there, you can start to find out what makes it such a great place. if you're going for your honeymoon, as a cow orker did when i lived in tampa, you're just making a bad decision.

[pmcd9]

cow orker

Atlanta was part of a vacation trip I took with my family when I was a little kid.  I was fascinated by the "underground."  I saw a hurdy gurdy man with a monkey.  Is the Atlanta underground still a thing?