Dream Within a Dream

I've been a blubbering pile of fail so far. The movie has reduced me into just another weepy viewer, because the story tells of the pain, effort, and ultimately, the triumph of the Chinese people in an era that most would rather put behind them rather than revist. Yet, despite all the shit that happened during the early 20th century, there are still shining examples of the Chinese spirit to continue, to stand, and to take pride in their land, their country, their people.

This is the story of one man's journey and a nation's pride.

( One Man Olympics - 一个人的奥林匹克 )

In short, go watch it. It's so, so worth your time. And if you're Chinese, any lack of watching would make me very, very sad.

Thanks to my Dad who insists on knowing how the western media reacts to Beijing Olympics, I'm gonna be stuck reading articles I hate and possibly ranting incessantly. However, for now, it's happy times.

Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony - A Real Time Review

( Long, extensive commentary )

And that's it for the closing ceremony.

Edit:

And while scouring the internet, I found: 难说再见.

Here is the interview regarding the recording of this song. The best part is Jackie Chan saying he was too nervous to go watch any Olympic games, because, quote, "The atmosphere where you're too nervous to even drink some water, I can't stand it. I would wait for my assistant to tell me 'Oh, China won another gold', before I go watch the re-broadcast."

Oh Jackie, or as they say, Big Brother! You're adorable. You are such a 3-year-old. XD

Also, Andy Lau apparently watched everything that China participated.

You have no idea how warmed I am that China's finally shown some semblance of national pride.

Edit2:

Now that Olympics is over, new layout.

China has 43 gold! That's...*counts* almost 10 more than last Olympics!

The US has 25. Edit: Oops, now it's 26. Man, I hate this almost hourly changes in medal standings. But. China's still well ahead of the competition.

There's still 99 more golds in the making.

China will, unquestionably, secure 2 of them. From table tennis. Another two more may be secured from diving. We have a chance at beach volleyball, although very questionable chance. We're aiming for one more gold in a rowing event, although I sincerely doubt we're going to get far. And even though our volleyball girls were strong, they seem to be doing less than well this year.

So, that's a totally of 4 more golds secured and 1 gold in aspiration. For a total of 2322 over the US current count. In turn, this means that as long as the US doesn't get 2322 more golds, China will dominate the top of the gold medals list. There's a total of 24 more track and field golds in the making. I doubt the US can dominate all of them.

And Phelps alone had contributed to nearly 1/3 of the US current gold medals count. China's winning chances are high, high, high.

Which of course, is unfun moments for other countries. Anyway.

1. Watching men's table tennis. It's just hilarious looking at all these huge men hitting a puny ball on a punier table. Hee!

2. The fact that apparently we Chinese are mostly tune deaf and can't even sing our country's national anthem. Well, they know the words but the off tune singing? Horrendous. It's so adorable!

3. So, after months of propaganda and "education", Chinese audience are attempting to embrace the Olympic spirit. By cheering on other nation's team with Chinese flags. I mean, yeah, I know it's because they're cheap, but...man. I'm sure they can afford another flag for appropriate cheering. =.=

4. I love watching China dominating the diving event. By over 20 points. (^-^)/~

5. CCTV's recap of gold medalist individuals and teams. It's just hilarious watching the list get longer and the recap getting longer. Heh. Of course, this squeezes into the commercial times. And commercials get shorter and shorter. You only find this in China.

6. CCTV's announcers have apparently memorized everything regarding their event, including the names of people who are handing out the medals and the other events said people also attended. Clearly, CCTV has the best announcers for these types of games. So much detail your brain will explode.

7. I'm pretty convinced the CCTV announcers are even more twitchy and more stressed than the competing athletes. It's hilarious listening to them getting excited for each success (yes, including the Americans') and annoyed at each mistake (yes, including the Americans'). If anyone embraced the Olympic spirit, it's these CCTV announcers for sure. (The best part is when they're rambling on and on about each player's background. It's like...dude, do you do anything else? >w<)

Currently, I'm distracted by the introduction of each team. I'm just waiting for the swarm of Chinese athletes, but mean while, some first impressions:

( Cut for length )

But for the finale, I still say we should've dumped everyone onto the field, just to completely overwhelm the audience with the number of people we can put into an event.