Bird's Nest National Stadium & Water Cube. Beijing 2008
The Beijing Olympics begin in all their spectacle on 08.08.08. I have intently watched the Olympics since I was seven years old in 1972 and Olga Korbut dazzled the world with her pixie like hair and mind-boggling flexibility... but that was overshadowed by a young girl's confusion over what exactly a guerilla was and why all this violence and bloodshed on the world stage. The Olympic games embody much of what I enjoy in life -- competition, hard work, unique architecture, a gathering of the world's cultures, design (all those team and national costumes), collecting (pins), the colors, media hype, national pride, national anthems, but as I've grown old, err older, I realize that the high ideals of the Olympics do little to hide the politics, drug use, environmental, human rights, and power abuses. Humans at their best and worst on display for each other. Nevertheless, I have just had satellite installed and will be parking my butt in front of the TV for 16 days of glory. Cheering, critiquing, crying, along with the billions of other fellow human beings. For Real.
(photo via boston.com)
