Olympics

[silkiechicken]

I don't watch TV but my parents are watching it. My mom hasn't been back to China since she left in the early 80's. We don't buy food made in china as my mom doesn't trust it, but despite what goes on there and how the country treated their families in the past, (including murdering family members and ruining their early lives as she often says) she still wants to visit and was excited that the Olympics was being held there.

 

[Wildsky]

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I get that from my kids too - and we shout for South Africa when there is an event they're in. They have so few athletes compared to the USA, its kinda like rooting for the under-dog. If there are no south african's in the event, then we root for USA.

I want to make a game of it next time, and as the countries are walking out - I am going to write the name on a piece of paper, put a pin in it and the kids need to find it on a map....
I'll also make medals or something for them to pin up - I think it will give them a nice geography lesson - my son would enjoy that now - he's almost 9 - but my daughter wouldn't know what the heck was going on.

 

[Wildsky]

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Home is home, kinda like how a mother will still love her children even when they do something HORRIBLE or break the law etc....

 

[SpottedCrow]

I always watch the Olympics...my fave part of the opening is seeing the Parade of Nations...I love seeing the countries march in...
The best ones are the African countries' and the Pacific Islands for costuming.
Denmark's looked like they stepped out of a yuppie larva catalogue.
The Hungarian women looked like they had been in a massacre on the way in...

I'm waiting to see Yao playing tonight.

As much as I can't stand China and her policies, I watch the Olympics because of all the hard work of the athletes that it takes to get them there.

 

[Henrietta23]

We watched the men's gymnastics tonight. I think it was qualifying. They were only showing the Americans while we were watching. DS (6 yo) has been doing gymnastics since he was 18 months old and has just joined the "pre-competition" team so they are starting to do some things on the actual apparatuses. He's really into. We like to watch the swimming and diving too. Wish they'd show more stuff like fencing, but we only have basic cable and won't see any of that.

 

[JennsPeeps]

I watched the opening ceremony but lost interest in the parade of nations - made pesto & cleaned the kitchen instead.

I thought that the part with the Tai Chi in formation around the school children was particularly interesting. According to the commentary it represented the need for harmony between man and nature, and the repercussions for the next generation if we dont' honor the environment. Even though I know it was a famous Chinese movie director who came up with that notion, I found it to be very preachy, not to mention highly ironic, comng from a country with a terrible record for both human rights and for environmentalism.

For China to tell the USA that its pollution isn't nearly as bad as the USA's was at a comparable industrial development stage is nothing short of irresponsible.

That aside, I liked the opening ceremony.
Ostentatious? Yes.
Most "insert superlative"? Definitely.
Trying too hard to prove a point? Absolutely.
Ourageously expensive? For sure.
Entertaining and educational about Chinese history? Highly.

 

[dangerouschicken]

Okay, the Chinese government are cruel to their people, animals, resources, and other countries. They should be held accountable for all those things. But I'm not going to boycott watching world class atheletes compete in the greatest experience of their lives, something they have worked for forever, just to protest China.

If I follow those credentials, I would never watch American television again.

I just want to say, right now, the Men's 400 meter Swimming Relay was AMAZING!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Did you hear what they did, besides the computer made fireworks?

That little girl that sang in the beginning was lip synching. The real girl who was singing the song was hidden, because "she was too ugly to be seen", so they hid her and got a "cute" girl to sing the song.

That is sick! What is that girl going to think. She's only 7 years old. She's going to think "Am I really that ugly?".

I thought that was just sick!

 

[cherrychicken]

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edited b/c i by accident quoted this! sorry! (wasn't trying to report either, my hand just clicked on accident)

 

[punkin]

Go Michael Phelps! I swear that man is a machine. Did ya'll see what he eats everyday? He is 6'4" and can't break 200 lbs. He eats 10,000 - 15,000 calories per day. (The average person should eat no more than 2,000 - 2,500 per day.) Today, he will swim over 5 miles in practice and competition. Eat, swim, sleep.