2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies

[Occam Bandage]

[tridim]

1. Other: I missed the whole thing because my dish went out in a storm.

:grr:

[Occam Bandage]

5. My condolences. I thought it was wonderful. But I'm a sinophile.

[tridim]

14. I'm sure I'll be able to catch it on a rerun

The Olympics span about 10 channels on my Dish. :)

[Occam Bandage]

16. Probably. I'd be shocked if it wasn't available,

especially given its multi-hundred-million-dollar budget...

[dysfunctional press]

70. i'd be shocked if they don't put out a full-feature dvd version...i sure hope they do.

i'll buy it.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. You are missing a choice - "so what?" - when all is going to hell,

people are suffering everywhere, I can't understand the great squandering of money on this sort of thing....then there is the endless advertising. No thanks. More important things to focus on.

[Occam Bandage]

6. Well, then sulk impotently in your corner.

We'll watch the world celebrate over here.

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. Thanks. I will. NT

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Here's something you may be interested in

Even more ways to stay in denial:
American Idol tryouts http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/739338.html

[Occam Bandage]

27. Warning: Smugness levels approaching dangerous levels!

Moralism-to-action ratio is going asymptotic; we're looking at full cardiac hemorrhage!

[Bill McBlueState]

63. I'm not paying much attention to the Olympics, but

I've gotta remember that phrase: "Moralism-to-action ratio is going asymptotic"

That's a good one.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Amen

[Lebam in LA]

3. It's just starting here

From the reviews here I am looking forward to watching

[ColbertWatcher]

19. Same here. I'll have to come back and vote later. n/t

[Beregond2]

4. I forgot all about it.

[Lost-in-FL]

7. Boycotting the Olympics is not included

:hi:

[Occam Bandage]

9. My apologies. It is added.

[mr_hat]

8. Built on the backs of slaves.

[Better Believe It]

62. True .... The US Was Until the Civil War And Reconstruction

[glowing]

10. Wow, and really.. the world will have some catching up to do..

especially USA.. I think we may actually understand what competition looks like.

[Codeine]

32. Competition looks like choreography?

If that were the case fucking Riverdance would be it's own superpower.

Seriously, WTF did the Chinese do today that indicated anything other than some skillful showmanship and warmed-over Riefenstahl? Explain how that represents "competition."

[glowing]

61. The technology is quite good.. we have no company willing to stay

long enough to let us develop good technology.. We are not utilizing people and their talents well in this country.. One thing for sure, a communist state will seek its best and utilize their fullest potential to its own will.

[amandabeech]

80. Riefenstahl. That's why some of it was a little creepy.

Impressive, but creepy.

I would have liked a little contrast to the large group numbers with some less structured, low tech stuff. I'm thinking the chuck wagons in Calgary and the skiing fiddlers in Norway.

You're right about Riverdance. It nearly took over the figure skating section of the International Skating Union a few years ago, even though almost no skaters using the music could keep their feet going in time to the beat. And that includes the ice dancers!

[WeDidIt]

11. I'm boycotting the Olympics

I won't watch even one second of it.

[Lost-in-FL]

17. Me too...

This is the best time to catch up on all the programs I recorded on my DVR and haven't had the chance to watch.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. Me three

[WeDidIt]

26. Free Tibet

and click on over to On Demand.

:evilgrin:

[FloridaJudy]

75. Free Tibet...and Burma...and Darfur

And all the people who had their livelihoods/homes destroyed to make way for the Olympics. Of course, not having cable makes it easier for me, but I'm not buying into this.

[Codeine]

33. Fucking-A right!

Evidently the "Oooh! Shiny!" crowd outnumbers us.

[Better Believe It]

64. I Taped Opening Ceremony And Will Watch It Again and Again!

It was incredible!

[tekisui]

72. Just say no to the Totalitarian Games! And the Fascist Media!

[dems_rightnow]

12. An OUTSTANDING Opening Ceremony

[bigwillq]

Dupe

[bigwillq]

15. Kind of boring

But I am sure it's exciting for the athletes. I never find the Opening to be all that exciting..I am looking forward to the actual competition.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Boycotting the Olympics here

The only good thing about them, IMO, is they provide a place for our pResident to go so he isn't here doing even more damage to the country.

[Better Believe It]

67. You're Not In China? Well, I Didn't Go Either!

But I watched the opening ceremony.

It's was fantastic!

[On the Road]

21. Anyone Who is Not Awestruck

doesn't have a large enough screen or a dark enough room.

[malaise]

25. Magnificent indeed n/t

[Codeine]

34. Or simply isn't impressed by big-money spectacle.

[Better Believe It]

68. You're Comparing China's Ceremony to Nazi Germany? That's Nuts!

Go China!

[aaronbees]

37. The torch lighting was poetry

For me it was nothing about the government and all about the Chinese culture, thousands of years old. I was moved. Zhang Yimou's work on choreogaphy was magnificent.

[Number23]

53. I completely agree

For me it was nothing about the government and all about the Chinese culture,

Certainly, the Chinese government is corrupt and authoritarian. But these Olympics are celebrating CHINA, not their government and Chinese culture is certainly one to be respected immensely.

The whole sequence highlighting everything their country has created from gunpowder and fireworks to paper and the compass was a true "you betta recognize!!" to the whole world. They get nothing but props from me.

[malaise]

79. Ditto

China gets gold for the Opening Ceremony. I watched it twice and recorded to watch it again.

[begin_within]

51. So they served a giant pizza?

That looks like the Athens opening ceremony.

[Gabi Hayes]

60. duzy?

[OmahaBlueDog]

22. I think it's completely awe inspiring, but..

... I can't deny the unkind thought I had that Albert Speer would be impressed.

[Occam Bandage]

28. All art makes a statement.

It needn't be a statement you agree with.

[ColbertWatcher]

29. I'd just like to say...

...we shouldn't judge the people of China by what their government does.

And I hope everyone else judges us the same way.

[gblady]

30. I agree....

I'm just watching the parade of countries now...
and I'm just awed by the sheer numbers...
and also the beauty of all the athletes.
I love the happiness on the faces!

[Dreamer Tatum]

35. What does that mean?

Do you think that opening ceremony WASN'T a production of and by the Chinese government?

[thewiseguy]

38. I have mixed feelings over China

On one hand I dont approve of the ruthless tactics employed by their government yet I think they are rapidly growing. I think some of the credit has to go to the Chinese government.

If you look at the number of their University graduates and scientific papers that they publish, you would be stunned by how fast they are growing.

I also am not well aware of the sentiment that the Chinese people hold in regards to their government. By that I mean the majority's opinion.

[Frank Booth]

47. This was Zhang Yimou's production. He was funded by the government, but the

government didn't create it.

Apparently many people here feel that great artists can't come from countries with less than stellar governments.

[ColbertWatcher]

50. I didn't say it wasn't.

I'm talking about the people who participated.

And, like our soldiers in Iraq, the Chinese people probably didn't have a choice about being a part of this spectacle either.

[Shine]

31. Stunning achievement. My mind is completely blown.

Truly. :applause:

[AlCzervik]

36. The scroll thing, that was pretty darn spiffy.

:hi:

[ellisonz]

39. Fascist.

[Codeine]

40. Pre-fucking-cisely.

I can't wrap my mind around all these people staring slack-jawed at Reifenstahl-with-computer-controlled-fireworks.

[ellisonz]

46. The soldiers as the guaranteers of the future of the children was just too plain.

Plus the use of soldiers as performers and some of the other imagery.

[Number23]

56. I agree with you there

The soldiers as the guaranteers of the future of the children was just too plain.

That didn't sit well with me either, to be honest. But that sketch could also be interpreted as the Chinese government sending out a warning to those who would try to harm their children's futures (notice the decidedly chilly reception that the Japanese athletes got from the audience.)

[devilgrrl]

41. The air in that stadium looks worse than LA

eom

[Codeine]

42. But it's harmony and peace and stuff.

Never mind the mind-numbing, machine-like precision of a robotic populace. A pall of poisonous smog means nothing compared to the spectacle of ordered ranks of the docile.

[devilgrrl]

43. Well, I do have to give Kobe Bryant props for taking pictures with athletes from other countries

That was quite gracious of him.

[Frank Booth]

49. "Robotic populace"???? "Ordered ranks of the docile"????

Stereotype much?

Your post is borderline racist.

[Codeine]

52. Not at all.

But I don't expect you to understand nuance. Perhaps if I made an enormous spectacle with some fireworks and music?

[Frank Booth]

54. For someone who claims not to be interested in such a lowly form of entertainment,

you sure have spent a lot of time posting about it. You've been in here all night talking about how you're too enlightened and too much of a free-thinker to appreciate such nonsense.

Sometimes certain people gain perspective by pulling the sticks out of their asses.

[JI7]

44. will NBC rerun this again

or maybe show it on one of their cable stations ?

[JeffR]

45. Fuck the Chinese Government. Fuck the pseudo-amateur Olympics.

And fuck the hucksters who hype this phony shit every 4 years in a sweatily desperate attempt to make a quick buck.

It's the ultimate in snake-oil.

Maybe four years from now we could hold the games in Sudan, like a sort of Son-of-China Games. That would be totally kewl.

[file83]

58. don't hold back!

:rofl:

Man, your Sudan comment is spot on. The IOC having the Olympics in China is a travesty and an insult to human rights.

[Contrary1]

48. I hope there are no technical errors...

whoever was responsible would most likely be executed.

[Raine]

55. BEAUTIFUL and SPECTACULAR

also a bit creepy ... all those people in sync and the USA sold it's soul to them. :yoiks:

[SpookyCat]

57. Spectacular.

Of course I have issues with Chinese policies and human rights records, Tibet, etc. but that doesn't alter the amazing show that was put on.

I think equating it with Nazi rallies is abhorrent. The Nazis were extolling an awful ideology, the worst of human nature. This ceremony was celebrating the best that mankind can reach for. High aspirations. Yes I would like to see China live up to some of those, but I would like to see the U.S. live up to them as well!

Anyway, the ideal is that the world comes together and puts aside politics. Of course it can't ever be completely devoid of politics, but at least for a few minutes it can be full of wonder. I don't think that's so bad.

[David Zephyr]

59. The Ceremonies were great. Matt Lauer and NBC should be ashamed of themselves.

The Olympics should not be political. The ceremonies were glorious. It's the Olympics. It's the one place on earth where politics have no place.

[rucky]

65. I though Joshua Cooper Ramo had some good commentary.

:shrug:

[David Zephyr]

77. I agree. It was Lauer who had to offer his "personal travel stories" as he free associated away.

It was Lauer who was a disgrace. We enjoyed JC Ramo.

[fishwax]

71. ignoring various political controversies and undertones would, of course, be a political move

so I don't think politics is something NBC could have avoided. But the ideal of the Olympics as a politics-free zone is a myth, really; the Olympics have always had politics.

[high density]

66. Shows ya what cheap labor can accomplish

I watched some of it online and it did look very pretty.

[Better Believe It]

69. Amazing! Go China!

[iamthebandfanman]

74. straight to hell.

atleast the government.

[iamthebandfanman]

73. glad your all enjoying(you all make me sick.)

the sacrifices of the chinese people whether they wanted to sacrifice or not.

ill be sure to tell the poor living in slums that the wall they had put around their houses to block the view was duely appriciated by all us fun loving americans..

you all make me sick.

[Paladin]

76. You Can Enjoy A Dazzling Performance Without Endorsing The Government Behind It

Yes, I was absolutely blown away by the opening ceremonies. And no, I am not ignorant of the sort of regime which is now in power in China. But beyond that, I believe the Olympic spectacle was China's way of giving the rest of the world, particularly the U.S., the finger; in effect, saying "Take a look at the sort of technology on display here, and imagine that level of technology deployed on a battlefield. While all you smug Americans have been nurturing the belief that we're just a billion rice farmers, our schools and development programs have been outstripping your best efforts for years, and we're ready to kick your ass. Oh and by the way, the latest interest payment on the mortgage we hold on your country is overdue."

[LWolf]

78. Oh. Is this an olympic year?

I hadn't noticed.

Does not watching due to disinterest count as a "boycott?"

[ZombieHorde]

81. Not enough zombie action.

[Retrograde]

82. Overblown

While I can appreciate the technology and logistics involved, IMHO the first part was over the top. Sorry, those froo-froo dresses were tacky: what's wrong with traditional Chinese dress? (I like the little children, and I want to know more about the various ethnic groups in modern China, though). I fast-forwarded through most of it.

We did watch the athletes, giving our own awards for costume. Cameroon, long a sentimental favorite in this house (Go, Indomitable Lions!) was best. Sweden (faux chinois), Hungary (explosion in a dye factory) and the Baltic country with the virulent green and orange jackets tied for last place.

One thing stood out for me: aside from the countries that sent only a handful of athletes, all the delegations included women - except Saudi Arabia (and possibly Kuwait).