Did the opening ceremony have the Apollo chasing Daphne scene?
Why would democratic, capitalist South Korea go along with that?
I’d just like to point out, since it is a common misconception, that Iraq and Afghanistan are not and have not ever been comparable on their treatment of women. Even under Saddam, Iraq was a secular state and did not base it’s laws directly off of the Quaran. Women participated in public life, held jobs, and even held high level government offices.
Democratic, capitalist countries are capable of meaningless displays, too. Many people in the South want reunification as well, of course, they would rather everyone be free instead of enslaved.
I watched the opening ceremonies on German television (ZDF), and it was a good feed. Commentary to explain things, but not overbearing, and they didn’t cut to commercial once. It was very nice. I also thought the cauldron looked really silly when they lit it (light the cigarette), but I thought the way it lowered itself was awesome, and I think it looks really cool when it’s vertical. Overall, very cool ceremony. Loved the people dressed as the art of the time period…very, very cool costuming.
friedo: So you’re claiming that the South Korean athletes wanted to march together with their North Korean counterparts and the North Koreans were ordered under threat of torture to comply. Got any legitimate citations for that?
:rolleyes: With 200+ countries participating, you can only say “What an inspiration this delegation from [insert country here] is!” so many times. I didn’t hear a single disrespectful word from their mouths when it came to the countries (mostly cutesy “factoids”), and I was impressed that they when they cut to commercials, they played catch-up so none of the countries were omitted.
Then again, I didn’t catch the OCs preceding the country walk, so maybe Bob & Katie would’ve gotten on anybody’s nerves by then (especially if they were yammering on during the performances).
Mrs. AG and I played a game on who could guess the country name closest to the end (not counting the host, Greece) based on the Greek alphabet. I guessed Uruguay, she guessed Portugal; I lost.
The “pregnant” woman was absolutely beautiful! Who is she? Anyone famous in Greece? (and for all you naysayers about the belly, haven’t any of you heard that a pregnant woman glows? 
)
I was impressed with the DNA lights as well.
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuyI was impressed that they when they cut to commercials, they played catch-up so none of the countries were omitted.
[/QUOTE]
This is definitely one area where NBC showed a marked improvement this year.
Ed
The men wore blue jackets and the women wore red jackets (links here). I’m glad they marched together. The Korean people still think of themselves as one nation unfortunately divided between two states. But the march was only symbolic. The teams are still competing separately.
I loved the quasi-two-dimensional parade of human art. Entertaining and neat effect. NBC’s commentary was summarily muted in my household.
I’m surprised GorillaMan didn’t share my thoughts:
I’ll probably never be able to listen to the finale of Mahler’s Third Symphony again without picturing that dude walking on top of the cube.
Thanks, Athens.
Anybody who knows B5 will understand why my boyfriend and I were convinced the woman was pregnant with a Vorlon. And my mom said somebody she knows online thought the torch (that thing ain’t no cauldron) looked like a death ray. I wish I’d thought of that.
Otherwise, it was cheesy as always, but isn’t that the point?
Anybody know how that centaur worked? That looked cool. From some angles, it looked like the guy’s feet were in the front feet, but from other angles it looked too thin for that.
I’m guessing that there is a backup internal igniter in case something unexpected happens, but that in this case, it looked to me that the torch really lit the cauldron’s pilot light. Good thing the gas wasn’t going full blast when he put the torch up next to it…
Barcelona’s archer still hasn’t been topped yet, even though I’m fairly certain that the flaming arrow didn’t really light that cauldron. I’m willing to bet the Chinese will come up with something really original in '08.
I thought the pregnant lady was a really nice symbolic touch to close the singing and dancing portion of the festivities, and she looked pretty damn hot. That is, until her tummy started glowing, oh well.
I thought the centaur’s front legs belonged to the guy. I remember seeing some really muscular thighs and going “woah.”
shrug
Abbie Carmichael, it doesn’t look like anyone has said so yet, so: the Iraq team does include a woman, Alaa Hikmat, a runner.
Ah, a 2004 Style Death Ray!
You know, the presence of death rays would have made the Pelopennisian Wars far more interesting (and perhaps easier to spell.)
I knew somebody would come along and say it, so I didn’t have to. 
Regarding the opening ceremonies, due to work I was unable to watch them, and due to recently moving and not having my gear set up, I wasn’t able to record it. I’d really love to see the opening ceremonies. Would anyone who recorded it be willing to make me a copy? If anyone here from Canada who recorded the CBC broadcast be willing to make me a tape? I’d be willing to pay for costs of media and shipping.
Anyone?