04/26/24
August 09, 2008
Olympics Open in China: China didn't just walk onto the world stage. It soared over it. At last playing its long-sought role as Olympic host, China opened the Summer Games in spectacular fashion Friday with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry dramatizing its ascendance as a global power
.....really.....I am sure to get blasted for this from multiple comments and every angle, but am I the only one that thought the 'guy suspended on a wire running around the stadium' effect was WAYYY too long? And then, we were supposed to be amazed a second time with the 'people running around the world'. Same thing. No, I don't have a better option, so save your breath (fingers), but I am not a co-ordinator of a worldwide spectacle who has four years to think about it.
Missed really agitating everyone....
posted by knowsalittle to olympics at 11:04 AM - 13 comments
I put up a headline in place of the URL that was there. Not sure what happened.
posted by rcade at 11:14 AM on August 09, 2008
As for the opening ceremony, the immensity of the production and the scope of the event was staggering. The footsteps across Beijing leading to the Bird's Nest stadium and the synchronized boxes -- which turned out to be human-powered -- were pretty amazing stuff. Hard to believe they pulled all that off without any obvious problems.
posted by rcade at 11:15 AM on August 09, 2008
Thank you, rcade. I didn't mean to imply that the ceremony was uneventful or boring. I totally enjoyed it. It was truly excellent, but the effect of the suspended man was like watching Indiana Jones run from the rock for three minutes.
posted by knowsalittle at 11:37 AM on August 09, 2008
Compared to prior opening ceremonies, I thought this year's was very good. These things always drag on a bit long in my opinion, par for the course I guess.
Being from Minnesota, the brutal death of Todd Bachman turly marred the day for me. I do hope that is the extent of any violence we see.
posted by dviking at 07:00 PM on August 09, 2008
Insanity sucks. You don't have to be from MN to hate this story. Senseless violence in a country without gun availability.
posted by visitor at 10:17 PM on August 09, 2008
What the.......stabbing a couple and then leaping to your death? Even completely crazy people are befuddled.
posted by knowsalittle at 11:30 PM on August 09, 2008
The 'visitor' option is not what SpoFi needed. I do agree with what has been said, but the option of anonymous postings is unnecessary to me. Stand behind what is said with your name or say nothing. Yet another opinion......
posted by knowsalittle at 10:23 AM on August 10, 2008
Visitor posting isn't allowed here. It's a bug.
posted by rcade at 12:39 PM on August 10, 2008
Before anyone else misinterpets my comment, I never meant to insinuate that one had to be from MN to hate the violence that occured. I only meant that it struck a bit close to home for me.
posted by dviking at 07:10 PM on August 10, 2008
I only meant that it struck a bit close to home for me.
It was on the other side of the world, nowhere close to MN at all.
posted by BoKnows at 11:11 PM on August 10, 2008
What are these Olympics of which you speak? Despite BLANKET MEDIA COVERAGE I have somehow not heard of them...
Missed the opening ceremony. Watched the final 70km's of the womens cycling and that was splendid. Dear god that weather was awful, but it was a fascinating spectacle.
posted by Drood at 11:53 PM on August 10, 2008
Sorry bout that. So much for the olympic peace treaty. Tourists being killed, Russia invading Georgia. But the opening ceremony was very nice.
posted by lsutigers96 at 04:24 PM on August 11, 2008
what is up with my headline?