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.
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Friday, August 8, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Saturday Commentary: Return of the Blade Runner
No, Harrison Ford is not reprising his Blade Runner role as Rick Deckard. I am talking about a different blade runner, named Oscar Pistorius. This South African, double-amputee was born without a fibulae in each his legs. In order to run, he uses a blade like invention attached to what is left of his lower leg.
On January 14, the International Association of Athletics Federation ruled Pistorius ineligible to compete against "able-bodied" athletes because he would have an advantage against them. They believed that he used less energy running than runners with both of their legs. Their proof was a study done by a German professor named Gert Peter-Brueggerman. Pistorius appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sports. The CAS ruled in favor of Pistorius, claiming that the IAAF had failed to fully prove their case, citing an MIT study done by professor Hugh M. Herr that disagreed with Peter-Bueggerman's study.
However, being eligible to run in the Olympics does not mean that he necessarily will. Pistorius needs to improve his 400m time by nearly a second to qualify for the Olympics. If this does not occur, one possibility being floated around is that he could be named an alternate for the relay team. This would at least give him the possibility of participating in the Olympics.
The thing that is significant about this ruling, is that finally, a ruling body helps an athlete that has not done anything wrong. Pistorius did not ask to have his legs removed. Life would probably be easier for him if he had both of his legs. For the IAAF to say that he had an advantage over other runners was foolish and short-sighted. They saw something that was different, and took the easy way out. Maintaining status quo usually is the easy way out for a ruling body. The NCAA has been guilty of this on too many occasions, but that is a topic for another day. Issues are not always black and white, and fairness lies somewhere in the gray area. When the gray area is ignored, so is justice. Luckily, the CAS was there to favor the athlete, instead of status quo.
Information for this article was taken from the MSNBC.com article on the CAS ruling.
On January 14, the International Association of Athletics Federation ruled Pistorius ineligible to compete against "able-bodied" athletes because he would have an advantage against them. They believed that he used less energy running than runners with both of their legs. Their proof was a study done by a German professor named Gert Peter-Brueggerman. Pistorius appealed this decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sports. The CAS ruled in favor of Pistorius, claiming that the IAAF had failed to fully prove their case, citing an MIT study done by professor Hugh M. Herr that disagreed with Peter-Bueggerman's study.
However, being eligible to run in the Olympics does not mean that he necessarily will. Pistorius needs to improve his 400m time by nearly a second to qualify for the Olympics. If this does not occur, one possibility being floated around is that he could be named an alternate for the relay team. This would at least give him the possibility of participating in the Olympics.
The thing that is significant about this ruling, is that finally, a ruling body helps an athlete that has not done anything wrong. Pistorius did not ask to have his legs removed. Life would probably be easier for him if he had both of his legs. For the IAAF to say that he had an advantage over other runners was foolish and short-sighted. They saw something that was different, and took the easy way out. Maintaining status quo usually is the easy way out for a ruling body. The NCAA has been guilty of this on too many occasions, but that is a topic for another day. Issues are not always black and white, and fairness lies somewhere in the gray area. When the gray area is ignored, so is justice. Luckily, the CAS was there to favor the athlete, instead of status quo.
Information for this article was taken from the MSNBC.com article on the CAS ruling.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Olympic Torch Protests
I am going to make what I say perfectly clear, even though I know the message will never reach anyone it should. LEAVE THE TORCH ALONE!
What China is doing in Tibet is vile and deserves to be punished. However, the Olympics do not deserve to be punished for the actions of the host country. The Olympics are not responsible for those actions. When someone tries to interrupt an Olympic event, in this case the running of the torch, they are not impacting the host country, but rather the participants.
These participants have earned the honor of carrying the torch, or in the athletes case, have spent their entire lives training for something that happens once every four years. It is wrong to take from them the enjoyment of their moment. Specifically, what I am referring to are the events that happened in London. Here's the story on MSNBC.com. It is unfortunate that some people are so focused on something, that they cannot see the bigger picture of the consequences of their actions.
What China is doing in Tibet is vile and deserves to be punished. However, the Olympics do not deserve to be punished for the actions of the host country. The Olympics are not responsible for those actions. When someone tries to interrupt an Olympic event, in this case the running of the torch, they are not impacting the host country, but rather the participants.
These participants have earned the honor of carrying the torch, or in the athletes case, have spent their entire lives training for something that happens once every four years. It is wrong to take from them the enjoyment of their moment. Specifically, what I am referring to are the events that happened in London. Here's the story on MSNBC.com. It is unfortunate that some people are so focused on something, that they cannot see the bigger picture of the consequences of their actions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)