London Olympics Opening Ceremonies

I can't believe I sat through the whole thing. For someone who only watches the odd sporting event on TV, this was an endurance test for me.

In the Olympic spirit of trying to outdo the previous hosts, Britain put on a spectacular show. The idea of the theme was to present an overview of the history of their country by highlighting various periods of time. I particularly liked the Industrial Revolution set piece, from which arose a giant foundry that produced the 5 gold Olympic rings. It was innovative and very well done.

Besides the flash and dance (literally) the most amazing thing is the co-ordination of thousands of people, props, musical score, lighting, and voice overs. To pull this off, live, without a glitch, is a great credit to the producer. Brief appearances of things very familiar and very British were a delight, such as the Queen parachuting into the venue, James Bond (Daniel Craig) accompanying her, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) daydreaming at the keyboard while playing Chariots of Fire, many references to famous children's literature coming out of Britain, and of course, the famous tunes from years past. All very enjoyable.

I could not help but think of the cost, amidst one of the toughest economic times that Britain has ever faced. I had a vision of a bankrupt party goer who is buying rounds for the house on a credit card that has already gone over the credit limit. The bills for these Olympics will not be paid from cash on hand, believe me. As for ceremonies, you can double the cost because in a few days from now, there will be a closing ceremony and it will be just as crazy over the top.

The world is going mad, but we are having a great time on the way to the asylum.