Don’t forget the CODE

IMHO, CODE (The Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition) is the most interesting and worthwhile morsel in the 2010 Olympic cornucopia.

Captained by my pal Riel Hahn, the large CODE 1 Live space at the Centre for Digital Media features electronic art installations during the day and live electronica performances at night. Last Thursday and Friday I saw two impressive evening shows at CODE Live 1—The Hard Rubber Orchestra and Kid Koala—but I didn’t get out to see the daytime art show until today.

Kick-ass stuff, folks. Highlights include a garden of hanging plants that “sing” when you touch them, an innovative synthesizer that enables you manipulate beats and sound waves by moving plastic cubes about on an interactive computer-screen tabletop, and a suicide bombing simulation room where you put on an exploding vest and blow up one of a wide selection of world-famous buildings. And a pair of paparazzi robots that follow you around and take your picture. And a roomful of eerie, pulsating light bulbs. And Mondo Spider, a 1600lb, 8-legged, rideable robot commissioned by Burning Man.

So don’t miss it! (Unless, of course, you don’t like Really Good Things.) There are additional CODE Live exhibits at the Emily Carr Institute on Granville Island and at the Central Library downtown—see ’em all!

It’s day 7 of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, and I can’t deny that I’m embracing these Games more than I originally intended to. I knew something was up when I spontaneously attended the victory ceremony—headlined by The Barenaked Ladies—at B.C. Place last night.

As the book of Ecclesiastes says, there is a time to carp, and a time to carpe diem. For all its flaws, these Olympics truly are a great party, full of great art and great entertainment and great weather and great, constantly celebrating crowds. And it’s hard to believe that I’m about to say this, but.... I’m even starting to take an interest in the athletic events.

So illogical. Is this the feeling you humans call... Olympic fever?