Jason Lezak keeps Michael Phelp’s Olympic dream alive
Aug 11, 2008 Events
I resisted the urge all day today to blog on this but as I sit here (tired, btw), fighting sleep to watch the replay of the Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay (for the third time!), I succumb. I’ve been hessitant on blogging too much about the Olympics - there will be too much to blog about and I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up.
But this morning’s finals would stick in my mind for such a long time.
Context:
1. Michael Phelps is aiming for 8 gold medals to beat Mark Spitz’s oooooooooold record.
2. French swimmer Alain Bernard, the world record holder for the 100m freestyle going into the Olympics, just last week said that the French team will smash the Americans.
“The Americans? We’re going to smash them. That’s what we came here for,” Bernard said.
3. Jason Lezak has been known as the weakest link of the American team when they lost the last two Olympics.
What happened:
Just watch the video below. Jason Lezak, the anchor of the American team, was more than half a body-length behind the Alain Bernard.
And he pips him to touch first.
WHAT AN AMAZING RACE!!! Fantastic, fantastic, fantastic! Arrgghh!!!
A great report on the event here.
11.28pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: 4x100, Alain Bernard, Beijing Olympics, Jason Lezak, Michael Phelps, Olympics, Swimming
Beijing Olympics Opening: A bit ‘fake’?
Aug 11, 2008 Events
I was just catching up on some Olympics reading this evening when I came across this blog post on Yahoo! Sports.
Apparently some of the fireworks from the Opening Ceremony that we watched on television wasn’t real - the real fireworks went off but due to potential dangers in filming, those of us at home were shown a pre-recorded, computer-generated bits, the London Telegraph reports based on an article in Beijing Times.
I don’t have a problem with it, really, it’s a show isn’t it and it entertained, didn’t it?
I still love it (and can’t wait for the Closing!) but would like to know what you thought about it.
9.22pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Ng Yen Yen: Stuck in the 19th century?
Aug 10, 2008 Rantings
Which century is Women, Family and Community Development Minister Ng Yen Yen stuck in?
I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt that her ministry has done the necessary research to want to implement this policy - that welfare aid for poor families be deposited into the accounts of the mothers.
This was from an article I saw in The Star headlined:
Move to ensure welfare aid is not misused, says Ng
Still, I think the comment below is really below the belt and reeks of faux feminism, and in fact, extremely discriminatory. The article reads:
Men, Dr Ng said, would be thinking of satisfying their own needs instead of putting their family first.
“If they see RM1,000 in the bank account, they will be thinking of buying cigarettes, alcohol and 4-D before going home,” she said …
WTF?
Then again, I’m not really surprised. After all, from the way she dresses, I don’t think anyone is surprised at how she seems stuck in the 19th century. How’s that for a below the belt comment?
3.13pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Ng Yen Yen, Welfare aid
Just when you thought American politics was getting boring…
Aug 9, 2008 News Breaks
… you get proof that the past can come back to bite you in the ass.
“I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.”
That was John Edwards, former US presidential wannabe, speaking about Bill Clinton’s affair in 1999, Andrew Sullivan’s quote for the day.
Fast forward to 2008, and the headlines read:
Edwards Admits Sexual Affair; Lied as Presidential Candidate
Story is that in 2006, he had an affair which he denied as a presidential candidate. This affair had given birth (no pun intended … well, okay fine ….) to allegations that a love child was born. He still denies that and have gone on record to say that he is willing to undergo a paternity test.
If the test comes up as positive - it means that he just lied again and the affair had gone on much longer (and during the time when his wife Elizabeth was dealing with the return of cancer!).
8.50pm Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Affair, Bill Clinton, Democrats, John Edwards, US Presidential Elections
Beijing 2008 - Olympics Opening Ceremony
Aug 9, 2008 Events
Pure genius.
That’s all I can say about the opening ceremony.
From the 2008 drummers in the start, it was moment after moment of brilliance, I thought. What a brilliant way to introduce the four greatest inventions of China - gun-powder, ink, paper and the compass - told via a “scroll”.
The depth and creativity was nothing short of spectacular, and the thousands of performers and how synchronised they were… wow.
Okay, I’m gushing but I can’t help it. I joke that I am so proud to be a Chinese (ha ha but actually only trying to tumpang glamour).
My favourite part had to be the lighting of the flame though - I thought it was freaking amazing! Lifting him high into the sky, running the course of the stadium, chased by the many people who took the fire around the world … I mean, come on!
And to use the “scroll” concept to create the torch - who would have thought of that?
Apparently Zhang Yimou did.
Oh, and I’m a kid so I love fireworks - what a feast!
It looked really expensive (the whole Games is supposed to cost them about 40bil USD) but I suppose it’s okay. Maybe each citizen only needed to pay USD1 to fund the opening (that’s already about USD1.3bil right?). ;)
Congrats to China for a spectacular show … and now it’s time for the games to begin. I can’t wait!
12.20am Malaysian time (+8 GMT)
Tags: Beijing, Olympics, Zhang Yimou
