Oh, China. Also: nostalgia!

[downtheavenue]

My parents and I were about to go out for dinner when we got distracted by the live broadcast of the Olympic/Genocide Games' opening ceremony. We never made it to dinner.

The World According to Sports AnnouncersINDIA: "A nation of 1 billion, only 57 on the team

Comments

[mumblemutter]

oh seriously seriously! i was watching it with my whole family, and i was pretty much the only one actually listening to their insane chatter rather than just watching the pretty people go by. it was HILARIOUS. also i wanted to wait for a) singapore and b) germany, but then we had to go home and um, i loved how they kept saying "well they're going by the chinese alphabet so we don't know which country is coming up next!" i think my favorite is when they kept commenting on the countries that kept sending people and yet always managed to fail to win a medal.

THERE WAS A GUY. during the humans as pixels thing. who rose early! and then realized it and fell back down! I WAS AMUSED BECAUSE I AM TWELVE.

[downtheavenue]

OH MY GOSH YES THE CHINESE ALPHABET THING! "Just in case you were wondering why we've just got to Albania." Precious. Also how they kept on mentioning that it is really hot and humid here in Beijing.

when they kept commenting on the countries that kept sending people and yet always managed to fail to win a medal.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
omg
how needless
and yet strangely entertaining?

I didn't see that! When the rising-boxes-of-Chinese-characters-out-of-the-scroll thing was going on, my dad and I were discussing whether it was people or programming! He thought programming! I wasn't so sure! I get to push him around about it! MY GOD, this humans-as-pixels thing! I am filled with awe. How do people even begin to envision this, and practice it, and yell at those ones that are screwing up? "HEY YOU, PIXEL #112, A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT."

[mumblemutter]

did you know that it is hot and humid in beijing? no really, it is hot and humid in beijing!

OH OH DURING THE WHOLE OPENING CEREMONY THING, THE GIRL KEPT TALKING ABOUT HOW THE CHINESE INVENTED EVERYTHING. did you know that the chinese invented air? BECAUSE THEY DID. idk i was entertained!

the pixels thing was awesome. and then they all popped out and started waving and smiling and it was the best thing ever! they looked so proud! <3!

[downtheavenue]

i knooooooooooooooooooooow, everyone was so adorable and BEAMING, all like "wow this is going awesomely!" but how can it be going otherwise when there are hundreds of people wearing acid-trip costumes SOME OF WHICH ARE FIBEROPTICS-CAPABLE doing everything in tandem and then PILLARS RISE OUT OF THE GROUND and the guy lighting the torch CAN FLY.

AND THEN THE ANNOUNCERS.

the opening ceremony is on some special crack. makes me flail!

[mumblemutter]

INO SRSLY SRSLY EVERYONE WAS SO PRETTY AND HAPPY AND SHINNY IT WAS LIKE...I WAS REALLY HAPPY JUST TO SEE SO MANY HAPPY PEOPLE!

this is actually my first opening ceremony. i do not know if this crack is the special china edition or if it is always like this. either way, i approve! I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE LIKE, OLYMPIC CIRCLES WERE FLOATING, LIKE. JUST THERE. HOW DID THAT EVEN WORK?

[downtheavenue]

which olympic circles where?
oh and i forgot to mention the fireworks that exploded into smiley faces! how can i forget the fireworks that explode into smiley faces??!?! ONE LOVE, GUYS.

i think it is the special china edition? the others i've seen were grand in the way international events usually are, but not to the extent of complex pixel choreography and flying torch-bearers who outrun the projected clips of past torch-bearers. sometimes overcompensation is a wonderful thing! there was this touch of brittle-eyed hope that just makes it SO ENDEARING and is probably what redeems the, um, unrestrainedness of it all

[mumblemutter]

http://cache.boston.com/universal/site_graphics/blogs/bigpicture/oly_08_08/oly11.jpg

RINGS!!

[downtheavenue]

Woah, was this really early on in the ceremony? 'Cos I think I missed it. If it weren't for the shadows cast on the floor, I'd say the rings looked sprayed on in MSPaint.