9:15am: Whoa, a giant paper SCROLL that flies! This is playing out like a messed-up Peter Greenaway movie. 3,000 Confucian scholars! Giant moving Chinese characters moved by people hiding in boxes, synchronized perfectly! Flower blossoms! Fire! Peter Mansbridge!
9:19am: I’m finding the decadence of this ceremony overwhelming. Maybe because I’m usually just waking up now… One of our more cynical Coast colleagues (guess which one?) thinks this the year the Olympics “jump the shark,” but a lot can be forgiven with a kick-ass opening ceremony.
9:29am: I think I’m done. Ummm, when do the athletes come out?
This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2008.