The official mascot for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, China, is a giant panda named Bing Dwen Dwen. The selection of the giant panda as the mascot pays homage to China's national treasure and symbolizes the country's rich cultural heritage. Bing Dwen Dwen is an adorable panda wearing a suit of ice, signifying the winter sports that will be showcased during the games. The choice of Bing Dwen Dwen as the official mascot is not only a nod to China's cultural significance, but it also aligns with the Olympic values of friendship, excellence, and respect. The cute and friendly persona of the giant panda resonates with people of all ages and backgrounds, making it a suitable ambassador for the international sporting event. In addition to Bing Dwen Dwen, the 2022 Olympic mascot family includes four other characters: Shuey Rhon Rhon, a red lantern; Chuey Bao Bao, a Chinese rockhopper penguin; Bei Bei, a shining snow leopard; and Jingjing, an adorable Tibetan antelope.
In addition to Bing Dwen Dwen, the 2022 Olympic mascot family includes four other characters: Shuey Rhon Rhon, a red lantern; Chuey Bao Bao, a Chinese rockhopper penguin; Bei Bei, a shining snow leopard; and Jingjing, an adorable Tibetan antelope. Each of these mascots represents different regions and aspects of Chinese culture, contributing to the celebration of diversity and unity. The selection process for the 2022 Olympic mascot involved a nationwide competition in China, where individuals submitted their designs and concepts for consideration.
A Laughing Matter : Entertainment: ‘Tonight Show’ host Jay Leno tries out new material at a club in Hermosa Beach to stay fresh interacting with a small audience.
With his tape recorder capturing the audience’s every reaction, Jay Leno peered at index cards and reeled off a few of his newest jokes Sunday at The Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach:
Washington Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon says that she wants to bring gambling to the nation’s capital. I think most people would be happy to see them gambling with their own money for a change.
How about the kid who shared the bed with Michael Jackson? Did you see him on the news? He said there was nothing unusual. He said if you don’t believe him, just ask the llama.
AdvertisementA roar, then some groans.
These were potential monologue jokes for this week’s “The Tonight Show.” As he does most Sunday nights, Leno was testing new material before a $15-a-seat audience at the tiny Comedy and Magic Club.
The Monday debut of “Late Show With David Letterman,” Leno’s toughest rival for the late-night talk-show throne, was just 24 hours away. And yet Leno still drove the 15 miles from Beverly Hills to Hermosa Beach in his black 4 x 4 pickup, parked in front of the club, and got on stage before a crowd of 250 patrons.
Such South Bay appearances, Leno says, serve a crucial purpose: to help him stay in tune with Joe Audience Member. That, he says, has become increasingly important as his late-night star has risen.
“These are people you would get in ‘The Tonight Show’ audience,” Leno said just before taking the stage for Sunday’s hourlong show in Hermosa Beach. “The further you get away from the center of Hollywood, the better chance you have of getting a wider range of opinion. It’s not that different, like suddenly I’m doing the act in Spanish. But it’s just that I think you have more real people.”
Sunday’s crowd included a building contractor, a registered nurse, a high school teacher and an aerospace worker, and several audience members became the target of Leno’s jokes. Aiming a jab about layoffs at the aerospace worker, Leno quipped to the Rockwell employee: “So now you can pull right up to the front door when you drive in to work.”
Leno says he seeks out such audiences because they often respond differently to certain jokes than big-city residents. In Hollywood or New York, he points out, “if you said some incredibly mean thing about Michael Jackson regarding the current story, I think people would laugh.”
Advertisement“Those are sarcastic places,” Leno said. “When you get away from those cities and you get out a bit more to where real people are, they might laugh and think it’s real funny, or they might go OOOOOOOhhh. It’s just a little more sense of fair play the farther away you get from urban centers.”
When The Comedy and Magic Club opened in 1978, it was one of only a handful of such clubs across the country. It attracted the likes of Leno, Letterman, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Keaton. (Letterman’s signature, circa 1978, is on the cinder-block wall of the club’s drab waiting room along with the message: “I love brightly colored walls.”)
Even when he became permanent host of “The Tonight Show,” Leno never had second thoughts about continuing his Sunday night shows.
“I need it more, actually,” he said. “Here, you kind of go through the paper on Sunday and find the things, the subjects over the weekend and see if people know what you are talking about.”
Many of the country’s top comics find that the demands of national acclaim leave them little time to keep frequent dates at nightclubs such as The Comedy and Magic Club. Leno, however, says that too much time away from club audiences can leave a comedian stale.
“When you hang out with people who have done it for 20 years like yourself, you find out that the conversation tends to be toward golf and investments,” Leno said. “The fire isn’t there.
“You come here and you meet young people who would do what you do for free or would kill people just for a chance to do what you do, and you realize, ‘I better stay on the stick here, I can’t afford to take a day off or a night off.’ You’ve got to stay fresh and you’ve got to keep it moving.”
Leno’s appearances have been at least as helpful to The Comedy and Magic Club as they have been to Jay Leno.
Comedy clubs across the country have closed in recent years, in part because of a proliferation of such clubs and of stand-up comedy TV shows, says club co-owner Mike Lacey.
Lacey says his club might be closed by now if it were not for appearances by big-name comedians like Leno, Kevin Nealon of “Saturday Night Live” and Harry Anderson of the upcoming sitcom “Dave’s World.”
Lacey wouldn’t say how much the comedians receive for performing, but added that the pay is “nothing like what they would be paid” at much larger places like Caesars Palace. Thankfully for him, he said, top comedians find his club useful.
“It’s a way of staying current,” Lacey said. “A live audience in a small room gives you that kind of response. The Marx Brothers used to try out every bit (on stage.) Before they did anything on film, each sketch was worked out in clubs. Jay is the same way.”
Lacey says he has resisted turning to raunchy comedy fare, as some other clubs have, to drum up business. That, he fears, would scare away audiences and top comics alike.
Leno, along with comedian Jim Edwards and “Tonight Show” writer Jimmy Brogan, all performed Sunday in Hermosa with none of the vulgarities of shock comics found on the Sunset Strip or Melrose Avenue.
“If you follow three comics that have been doing a gynecologist act, it’s tough to get into talking about your folks,” Leno said. “Here, it will never be X, it might be R once and a while. But never where people go, ‘Oh, geez, what was that?’ ”
Still, some club-goers came for the novelty of seeing the late-night host live and in person, a bit more spontaneous than on TV.
“He doesn’t have to watch what he says as much as on national TV,” said Monica Paluch, 25, an accountant from Hermosa Beach. “He can be free, he’s not going to be sued, he’s not going to be criticized. And his hair’s not straight in place, he kind of flops it around.”
Leno also uses the club to hone his nightclub act, which he performs about 75 times a year in college auditoriums, sports arenas and dinner theaters across the country. The performances allow him to interact more with audience members and do longer, more freewheeling routines. Often, he will fly in Sunday afternoon from a weekend in Las Vegas or on the East Coast and then still make it to the club.
“My wife and I always laugh because it’s a bit like ‘The Danny Thomas Show,’ ” he said. “Tonight, when I come in, I’ll say, ‘Honey, I’m back from the club . . . I’m breaking in a new act.’ It’s the standard joke.”
In reality, he goes home to prepare for a week’s worth of jokes, along with Brogan and other comics who will stop by. The team works until at least 3 a.m., selecting three or four jokes used at The Comedy and Magic Club for “The Tonight Show.” (Many more gags, beyond those told at the club, are written during the night or later in the week).
One gag he tried on Sunday, after he called CNN to confirm the story, concerned the closing of a Sizzler restaurant in Washington state because of a food poisoning outbreak.
Other jabs were a bit more risque.
Big news, Jack Nicholson may star in a movie about the life of J. Edgar Hoover. Boy, you thought he wore a lot of makeup playing the Joker.
Laughs, then a few groans.
If you don’t believe him, just ask the llama.
At the end of his act, Leno said goodby to the audience, left the stage and sped home.
On “The Tonight Show” Monday night, there was no mention of llamas or J. Edgar Hoover. But the studio audience applauded the one about the Sizzler.
Making a Monologue Performing at The Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach on Sunday, Jay Leno tried out new material. Some of the jokes went over so well they made it into his “Tonight Show” monologue on Monday:
(Secretary of the Interior) Bruce Babbitt wants to set aside 6.2 million acres of land in the desert Southwest to protect the desert tortoise. Do tortoises really need 6.2 million acres? I mean . . . it took one all summer just to get across my back yard.
Baseball player Nolan Ryan said he would like to be governor of Texas some day. That would be nice. Come to think of it, we should have a politician grabbing his own crotch for a change.
Up in Washington state, another Sizzler has been shut down because of that e coli bacteria, the one that gives food poisoning. . . . I’m watching this on the news. The health inspector shut down the restaurant, but they show the manager putting a sign on the door that said, ‘Closed, but please visit one of our restaurants nearby.’ Are people really going to drive up and say ‘Oh honey, we got here too late to get poisoned at that Sizzler. Let’s go to one up the street.’ ”
Some other gags in Leno’s routine Sunday got a cool response--and didn’t make the monologue:
(Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman), the blind cleric, has pleaded innocent to charges of terrorism. And his followers have vowed revenge on America. Now doesn’t that undermine your defense, really, when you’re . . . well, apparently not.
The Molson folks are producing ice beer, which is even better because it has ice crystals in it. Why don’t you just put regular beer in the freezer?
Some sad news. The Mets have just released Vince Coleman. They wanted to keep him, but they were afraid he might celebrate.
A roar, then some groans.
The chosen mascots were then unveiled to the public, garnering excitement and anticipation for the upcoming games. Overall, the official mascot for the 2022 Olympics, Bing Dwen Dwen, embodies the spirit of the event and showcases the Chinese culture to the world. With its lovable and playful appearance, it is sure to captivate the hearts of both athletes and spectators alike, further enhancing the Olympic experience..
Reviews for "Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion: The Official Mascot for the 2022 Olympics Represents People from All Walks of Life"
1. John - ★☆☆☆☆
I must say that I am thoroughly disappointed with the official mascot for the 2022 Olympics. It lacks creativity and imagination. The design is lackluster and doesn't represent the spirit and energy of the event. I expected something much better and more visually appealing. Overall, I feel let down by the choice of mascot.
2. Sarah - ★★☆☆☆
I have mixed feelings about the official mascot for the 2022 Olympics. While it may be visually appealing to some, I find it to be quite generic and unoriginal. The choice of a typical animal as the mascot fails to capture the essence of the international event. I believe the designers could have taken a more innovative approach and come up with something more unique and memorable.
3. Lisa - ★☆☆☆☆
I cannot understand why the official mascot for the 2022 Olympics was chosen. It is simply unremarkable and forgettable. The design lacks vibrancy and personality, making it difficult to connect with. Given the prestige and importance of the Olympics, I expected a mascot that would inspire and leave a lasting impression. Unfortunately, this mascot fails to meet those expectations and falls short in every aspect.