Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

A couple of nights ago, I watched the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Here's an interesting article about it: Beijing Opening Night.

Some key thoughts:

1. I always enjoy watching the Parade of Nations. This year's event was actually more interesting than any previous year because the countries were not announced in alphabetical order. According to what I heard, the countries were being announced based on the strokes in the symbols of the Chinese alphabet.

2. Also about the Parade of Nations: I like how the Greek team gets to march first each year. I can attest to the fact that the Olympic games are a very important aspect of Greek culture. When I was in Olympia in 2007, I had a chance to admire the ruins of the original games, which were held as early as 776 B.C. I also learned that, in Ancient Greece, the Olympic games consisted of five events: discus, javelin, running, jumping, and wrestling. Other events such as chariot races, horseback riding, and boxing were added some time later.

3. The 2008 Chinese drummers and/or martial artists definitely kept my eyes on the TV screen. I think the countdown, which relied on individual drummers to know exactly when to hit their drums, was amazing, and the Tai Chi was impressive as well. (Here's another article about the opening ceremonies).

4. At one point, a group of children sang the Olympic Anthem in Greek! I was astounded by this. The anthem begins: "Arkhaéo Pneúma athánato," which translates to "Ancient Immortal Spirit."

5. I read that weather modification was used to prevent rain during the opening ceremony. According to Wikipedia, over 1000 rockets were launched to keep rain clouds away from Beijing. Scientifically speaking, I'm not sure how anyone can control the weather, but I have heard of scientists using silver iodide to promote rainfall in certain areas.

6. The Chinese flag-raising was interesting, particularly because the soldiers put the flag in place, raised it slightly, and then one of them thrusted his arms forward in a motion as if to push the flag up the pole. It seemed like a symbolic gesture more than anything.

6. Overall Grade: "A."...... So far, the actual Olympic events have been great, too. Check them out on NBC, USA, MSNBC, and CNBC.