7:57 P.M. - Well, here is my blog about the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics. I am prepared for a weird showing. Dignitaries coming to their seats, including our honorable President and his wife. A discussion on the debate on if he should have boycotted the Olympics. I agree with him being there.
8:00 - Cool light drum thingys. A lot of them. A whole lot of them. This is going to be weird.
8:02 - Neat countdown with the lit drums.
8:03 - Wow, awesome opening. It looked like the stadium exploded.
8:05 - This is an amazingly precise performance to open things. Reciting words, followed by a drumbeat. I cannot even estimate how many people are on the field doing this.
8:07 - And now they have sticks. Where the hell did they get sticks. Announcers made a comment that the performers were told to smile more, so it would not be intimidating. And the lights on the drums and stadium went off, to only show the sticks glowing. That was an amazing opening. Announcers said that there were 2,008 performers. Heh...clever.
8:13 - And now we have flying people.
8:14 - I wish the announcers would shut up.
8:16 - It has just been invaded by ethnic kids. Seriously. 56 kids dressed as each of the 56 ethnic groups in China. And oh look, Bush is talking to Putin. Uhg. Please do not show him again. This is about the Olympics, not politics, and announcers, please do not analyze meanings.
8:19 - Ummm...NBC, this is a taped event. Why are you cutting off fireworks to go to a commercial?
8:22 - Dancers painting on a large sheet of paper by dancing. Neat.
8:24 - The floor they are performing on is an LED screen?! Damn!
8:30 - They are going through some of Confusous' teachings. I wish I could describe it.
8:32 - There are these blocks moving in intricate patterns. Then sometimes forming Chinese symbols.
8:35 - Holy shit! There were people moving the blocks. The precision of this show has been amazing. I know they have headsets on, but that is still a lot of people to get together.
8:39 - Dancer being carried out on the paper that was printed on earlier, then lifted into the sky. We're going through Chinese history. We are at the period when China would trade with everyone. Silk roads, that sort of thing.
8:41 - A lot of people waving around large paddles that make images of boats on them. Did I mention that this is amazingly precise? Just said 15,000 performers. No one does more than one thing. Director was asked if they could have this many, and he joked that they had enough people in China.
8:43 - We are getting way too many commercials.
8:51 - Okay, NBCs commercial breaks are pissing me off now. They are cutting stuff off. It is a previously recorded thing. There is no need to do that. Now things have gotten weird. People in green jumpsuits. Wait, green jumpsuits with lights on them.
8:53 - The guy playing piano is pretty good. Some star in China whose name I did not catch.
8:54 - I know marching bands that would sell their souls to Satan for this kind of precision.
8:55 - Little girl flying through the stadium, flying a kite. Nifty.
8:59 - Now we have Tai Chi demonstrators.
9:02 - Now 2,008 Tai Chi masters performing a demonstration together surrounding kids. Wow, they are in a perfect circle, without floor markings.
9:04 - Damn. If you are not watching this, I pity you.
9:06 - I like the touch of having all the performers wave to the crowd before they leave. Even the people inside the boxes earlier got to wave.
9;11 - This is a trippy sequence recognizing Chinese astronauts. A globe rose up from the ground, and it has people running around on it. Some are sideways, and others are on the bottom.
9:13 - I seriously do not understand how they are projecting images onto all of the things that they are. It is just mind boggling.
9:16 - There are fireworks all over the city going off.
9:20 - And now we have the parade of athletes.
11:30 - Not surprised Yao Ming is carrying the Chinese flag. The kid walking beside him, an earthquake survivor, is a sweet touch. I am happy that Yao was able to return from his injury in time for the Olympics. He is the biggest (no pun intended) Chinese athlete, known around the world. Also wanted to note that having the athletes step on a color and walk across the painting from earlier was a wonderful idea.
11:42 - Cute. Yao is holding the kid that walked in with him so he can see what is going on.
11:52 - Holy shit! They lifted the final torch bearer and he is running around the top rim of the stadium. This is utterly amazing.
11:55 - Wow. How the hell did they put the torch there? It has not been there the entire time. I am happy that I decided to watch the ceremony this year. It was incredible.
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