Sunday, February 14, 2010

Opening Ceremonies

We watched the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Games on Friday night, and thanks to The Experiment, we saw them on the local NBC station in HD. How gorgeous! And it was truly appropriate that it was snowing in Greensboro as the Games opened.

Lisa has Native American ancestry, and she was thrilled with the First Country participation in the cultural portion of the ceremonies. We've attended a couple of pow-wows conducted by the Guilford Native American Association, and that helped me recognize several of the styles of dance.

The lighting effects were fantastic -- how did they pull off the orcas swimming in the open sea and spouting as they surfaced to breathe?!

I was still awake when the Olympic flag was carried into the stadium, but as the image and sound on the TV stuttered -- thanks be to my government for a great TV picture and erratic signal! -- I zoned out and missed the snafu where the fourth arm of the cauldron wouldn't rise from the floor. The replays show that the four torch bearers kept their dignity and did their country proud. However, can anyone explain to me, when the Olympic flame in the outdoor cauldron was lit, why didn't the woman who could only stand by as the other three lit the indoor flame get the honor?