AUGUST 19, 2008 --

The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was, actually, an extravaganza, cast of thousands, that, alas, included some unreal fireworks (literally unreal) and a young Chinese girl singing out of sight while a girl deemed prettier lip synched for the public. .

LPR wonders if Olympic officials will ban artifical touches in future Olympiads.

NBC's first week of coverage showed, in prime time, swimming events, gymnastic events and two-person volleyball teams playing on sand. It is not clear to LPR how beach volleyball got to be an Olympic sport. (Real volleyball was shown, briefly, on the August 15 prime time program.)

Other sports not mentioned during the first week of prime time coverage, including the equestrian competition, fencing, cycling, rowing, were shown on tape over the weekend.

(Track events were shown prime time Friday evening -- in the U.S., when they began.)

The Beijing Olympics were more television-friendly to American viewers than, say, to viewers in Europe, or China. For example when it is prime time in New York City -- 8pm to 11pm -- it is is 1am to 4 am in London.

(Does this mean that at the 2012 Olympics, in London, gymnastics and swimming will take place in the early hours of the morning to be shown in prime time in New York?)

And it was in the morning (Today Show time) when viewers in China had live coverage of China's men's gymnastics team winning a gold medal. (The word "live"appeared at the upper right corner of the picture for the late night rerun of the prime time events. A live rerun?)

In addition to commercials, NBC included promos for its fall schedule. One of the stars of a new program, Christian Slater, met Shana at the Heckscher softball fields, a few years ago.

Christian Slater with Shana May 5, 2005

LPR also noticed, at the ceremony after the individual all-around women's gymnastics, that NBC did not show the flags of the countries of the top three women gymnasts, focussing exclusively on the very photogenic Nastia Liukin.

NBC also kept the camera on Michael Phelps, and away from the flags, at the ceremony for the race in which Phelps won his seventh gold medal. The prime time program did, however, take note of the number of medals won by the top nations.

LPR would have preferred a view of the flags, during the winning ceremonies than
the Obama and McCain commercials that were included in prime time coverage.

Have the politicians no sense of campaign propriety? Will there be Obama and McCain commercials during World Series coverage?

The continued diversity of the United States was indicated by a U.S. gymnastics coach who was born in China, and by Nastia Liukin whose father competed in gymnastics for the Soviet Union. Another aspect of diversity was indicated by Kirsty Coventry who won a swimming gold medal for Zimbabwe. Ms. Coventry is white.

Zimbabwe is reported to be ruled by a tyrant who is hostile to whites, (and to blacks who disagree with him), and its economy is said to be in shambles. Inflation reportedly is so severe that paper money is virtually worthless. LPR wonders who is on the Zimbabwe Olympics Commitee (if there is one) and how could it afford to send Ms. Coventry to Beijing? Or did it?

LPR seems to recall comments, a year ago or so, wondering if China would have the Olympics facilities completed on time. Indeed, they were. Except LPR would have to be there to determine if the new stadium -- "Bird's Nest" -- is an attractive structure. On television, to these eyes the outside looks like a large spool of casually-bound cables.