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Take Note and Long Remember!

The 2008 Paralympic Games opened in Beijing today. It's not getting much play here, but according to the Times:

The opening ceremony for the Beijing Paralympics on Saturday was another incredible spectacle, comparable in scale and pageantry to the opening for the Olympics on Aug. 8.

They even had someone fly up in a wheelchair to light the flame!

Many soldiers maimed in Iraq will be participating. We can't watch it on TV, but it will be available on streaming video online.

Check out a video of U.S. troops training for the Paralympics here!

Zai Jian, Zai Jian!

Well the two weeks of global celebration and togetherness have concluded. The ceremonies haven't even been broadcast here in the U.S. yet at this writing, and the press has already moved on to obsessing about the Democratic Convention in Denver.

I was by all accounts a gorgeous Olympics. The immense opening and closing ceremonies especially were overwhelming. David Brooks of "The New York Times" wrote an excellent article entitled "Harmony and the Dream"  comparing and contrasting Chinese and American culture, pointing out, for instance, "If you show an American an image of a fish tank, the American will usually describe the biggest fish in the tank and what it is doing. If you ask a Chinese person to describe a fish tank, the Chinese will usually describe the context in which the fish swim."

Darcy Zhang remarked, "This article is good ,explain many things , now i could understand you better, i see why you are so surprised with the ceremony, that many people act like one must make you feel unbelievable , but for me , it is nothing.that is the culture difference. We really don't care communism or captalism , we just wanna be rich and strong. and you know what is the good sign , i notice now China are like grown-ups, we no longer care what the other said about us .we are confident and open minded, the people don't care much about who win the medal and who is the first place .we just wanna to have fun and enjoy the game . we don't have to proof ourself to anyone , we know the world well and we know what we are doing."

Beijing looked to hosting the Olympics as their joining with and entree to the wider mainstream world. But this wish brings to mind a metaphor my friend Kim Martin once made about weddings. It goes something like:

"You plan for it for years, you make sure every detail is addressed and everything is perfect. On your wedding day, everybody comes from all over. The ceremony is gorgeous, every one is wearing their best clothes, everyone tells you how beautiful you are and what a handsome couple you make. The music is perfection, the dance is glorious, the decor is breathtaking, the cake is spectacular and the wedding night is bliss, and the next day you awaken ...

... and you're MARRIED."

Olympic Delirium

After weeks of 100+ temperatures in North Texas, we finally got a break in the temperatures and the return of rainfall, and not too soon! Trees had started dying, the grass was browned-off, the air was fetid and people were beginning to act wacky.

With the rain gently falling and the accompanying comfort of rolling thunder, I have been captivated, more or less, by the Beijing Olympics. Although I haven't caught it all, it IS on all night on the bedroom TV so I can catch things as I walk by.

Everything is amazing. What I don't catch on TV is easily caught at www.nbcolympics.com, once you get past their stupid new viewer that is quixotically not compatible with my computer. You can watch soccer, sailing, you-name-it in real time. The BMX bicycling cross-country was just beautiful ... they seemed to be in the air half the time. The gymnastics were very impressive, as have been the swimming and diving.

Its especially wonderful tonight watching the gymnastics exhibition to raise money for the Sichuan quake victims.

It was sad to see Liu Xiang leave the Bird's Nest with an injury, but other heroes like the spectacular diver He Chong I think will demonstrate that there is room for more than one Chinese Idol.

Darcy Zhang adds:

Liu Xiang is quit , too bad, he is suffer from the illness for a while ,i thought he might not able to attend the game, and i am right. I watched the women vault and floor exercise , our athlete Cheng Fei is failed for some small mistake , and i do found the Liukin and the other US woman athlete is good !

Of course the controversy over local Nastia Liukin's losing a tiebreaker is best expressed by Marcus Hayes in The Wall Street Journal yesterday:

"It’s not unusual: The same system was used to break a tie in the men’s vault competition last night, but with much less hubbub ... That’s the difference between men’s and women’s gymnastics: hubbub."

When asked about various western controversies like Ossetia or the Spanish basketball team making Asian eyes, Darcy says:

We never heard the things you mentioned in your letter. Seems the media focus on different things. We just broadcast the games nonstoply.

And he's not kidding; evidently in Chengdu they have SEVEN channels broadcasting the Olympics simultaneously. No doubt they are spared the endless dueling ads for John McCain and Barack Obama.

The other news item I did observe was the notice today in the Times that two old Chinese ladies in their late seventies had applied to officially protest being unfairly compensated after their homes were demolished in the wake of Olympics construction. The Public Security Bureau sent them away to the countryside for re-education through labor, which goes to prove that you are never too old to learn something new!

If they were anything like the old lady in the Nationwide Insurance commmercials, one could understand the authorities' fear. Now that they have international attention, and the officials will potentially lose face, chances are things will work out for them.

Still, anyone who's ever lost precious unrecoverable hours at a Neighborhood Association meeting knows there is always someone who desperately needs to be sent away ...

 

"The Eastern Style Romance"

Last night I finally had the opportunity to see "Curse of the Golden Flower", Zhang Yimou's 2007 movie about the Tang Dynasty, starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li as the Emperor and Empress.

Aside from the Shakespearean machinations, the opulence is something that only China can do. It probably surpasses "Cleopatra" in set design elegance. Only what nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox is just the merest bagatelle for the resourceful Chinese.

What you see above is a Forbidden City-style palace built to scale, no CGI f/x, and our hero is in a vast plaza of thousands of Chrysanthemums. A great battle ensues in the plaza with thousands of golden soldiers, and at it's conclusion an equally large army of palace staff in a matter of hours clears the bodies, hoses away the blood, sweeps up the detritus, lays new carpet and replaces the thousands of Chrysanthemums in time for an important festival.

This breathtaking display of sheer manpower in service to one idea could not help but call to mind the extravagantly opulent Friday night Olympic Opening Ceremonies in Beijing, also produced by, yes, Zhang Yimou!

Darcy Zhang, my China correspondent, weighs-in:

Zhang Yi Mou , the director takes 2 years to prepare this , a lot of time and a lot of money , as to the newspaper , there are almost 8 billon people in China watch this show , at the 8 pm that day , the street almost empty , everyone stay with the TV and the show, it is glad that there is no mistake or any bad thing happen to the flame. but as my friends told me in Beijing , It was extremely hot and wet that day in Beijing ,believe me , it must be very tough to wear such heavy and formal clothes in that day.

Interesting thing is , I did not enjoy the show quite much, I prefer the last one in Greece ,I thought it was lack of passion and not catch my eyes , kinda slow , I expected would be more crazy and fashion one , but seems the western and many others do enjoy it .the flame is good though ,but too many wires , they could do it better.but any way , I Do glad you enjoy it . The eastern style romance.

Olympic Fever

Things are pretty nutty in the run-up to the Olympics. Face masks, protesters, Bush ... its endless.

So, I decided to call-in the big guns and get a Chinese perspective from my China correspondent in Chengdu, Darcy Zhang.

An exemplar of The New China, you may remember his excellent reportage during the Sichuan Earthquakes. Even though he is a-ways from Beijing, he's certainly closer than I am, plus he affords a unique "man on the street" view that mainstream media doesn't provide. So as often as possible he will give his impressions of the likely newsworthy events which are bound to happen in the next few weeks.

1. Are there any Olympic ceremonies or preparations in Chengdu?

The torch was here on 4th Aug , and we did decorate the street. Since we are far from Beijing and we are not recover from the earthquake yet, we are not doing it too aggressively.

2. What did you think of the American runners wearing face masks when they arrived in Beijing, and do you think their apology was necessary and/or adequate?

About that, terrible, It is such a insulting to us, we work so hard and we never complain (about) the bad air when the Olympics (were) in LA. We really don't think it is necessary; what you think if we do the same thing in Dallas if you hold the Olympics?

3. Did the flame pass through Chengdu and did you see it?

As I said, yes , but there is some thing else I would like to say , you may see when the flame passed , in the TV , there are so many people are cheering up in the street. But the fact is , you are not allowed to see the flame freely. You have to apply (for) the access, and most of the people you see in the TV are arranged, I guess the government don't wanna anything happen to the flame. Cos you know there are some thing happened when the flame in Paris and also the western interviewer are always prepared to report negative things about flame , so i guess the government is very caution, but when the flame is here, there are lots of police here to protect it and some streets are controlled. It is not as we expected how the flame passed. It is more like a political assignment.

4. Do you plan to watch the Olympics alone or with friends ... do you have any special parties planned?

I plan to see the opening ceremony with friends, of course it is gonna be a big thing in China , Beijing even has a day off for the citizens to see the show , i bet every Chinese will sit in front of the TV to see the ceremony.

5. How do you anticipate the arrival of President Bush, and do you think he will be a good guest?

Actually we don't pay much attention to him , it is good to hear he is so confirmed to come here and he is here , but he is not going to be the president long, trust me , it is more feel like a show and ceremony (as) we prepare for ourself and the world, we are not going to treat anyone special.

6. Finally, we heard about the recent 6.0 aftershock earthquake in Sichuan this past week. Did you feel it?

Finally you mention it, the earth's shell here is getting crazy recently, an earthquake almost every day. We are used to it, but I think there gonna be a big one;  after all, the signs show.

And so there you go, our first Olympic report. Stay tuned!