Now that the Beijing Olympics are over … well, they were pretty much over after the first week really, but that’s besides the point … you’ve probably seen all that you want to see about the 2008 Summer Games. However, take a look at the Olympic website for a really cool archive of all past Olympic Games, both Winter and Summer. It shows all medals, torches, logos, major stories, number of participants and much more.
Check it out here.
I haven’t posted much about the Olympics this time around partly because the Summer Games don’t interest me as much as the Winter Games. Unless you live in a cave, you have most certainly heard about the most interesting story to come out of Beijing. Of course, I’m talking about Michael Phelps. Everyone hoped he would beat Mark Spitz’s record and win 8 gold medals at these games. Yesterday, he did it. Oh, and did i mention he also set a world record in every single race except one where he “only” set an Olympic record?
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said too many times over, but if you want to relive all 8 of his exciting races, visit NBC’s site for video of each and every race.
What sites am I following to keep up with the Olympics? Mainly, I’m checking out www.nbcolympics.com. Besides Olympic news and updates, it also features a huge amount of streaming video. I’d rather be watching it on TV in HD, but it’s a good way to catch on random and more obscure events.
I’ve also been checking in on the official Olympic site at www.beijing2008.cn. It might not be accessible from some places because one of the side effects of the Olympics being in China is that the official site is in the .cn domain. The Chinese domain is blocked on some networks because a lot of hacking and attacks tend to come out of China.
Political, environmental and security concerns aside, the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics are officially underway. The opening ceremony was unlike any other. The scale of it was above and beyond a normal opening cermony. China has a lot to prove with these Olympics and they are certainly trying hard.
The ceremony was very impressive. I thought parts were a little boring, but the technology involved was very impressive. The 2008 drummers all drumming was really striking. Though, I thought the funniest thing about it all was that the drummers were told to smile so they seemed less intimidating. (I didn’t actaully see many smiling, and frankly they were quite intimidating!)
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Olympics. I like the winter games the best, but I follow the summer games too. This year as the Beijing Summer Olympics get ready to start (Technically they already started, but I’ll skip the confusion of the time difference.) I have to point out that no the fun and excitement of the Olympics are tempered by the problems that could dampen these Olympics.
As you can see in the picture, smog and pollution cloud the skies. There have already been complaints of the press not getting the unfettered internet access that they were promised. I’m sure there will be plenty of protests throughout the games.
I’m not sure what prompted the IOC to decide giving the 2008 Summer Games to China was good idea, but hopefully it will end well. I’m not getting my hope up though.