http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs Fearless. Thoughtful. Witty. Canadian. And Opinionated. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:45:16 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en BEIJING—It's just after 7:30 am on the day of the closing ceremonies and we're counting down the hours at the CBC studio. The Games are almost over, and thank the good Lord for that. It's not that I'm happy for the Olympics to end (rather glum, actually), only that I ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/24/the-games-are-over-now-what/ SHANGHAI—The New York Times has an article this morning heralding the arrival of CCTV on the world stage. Turns out the Beijing Olympics has awakened advertisers to the vast viewership enjoyed by the state network—an eighteen-channel conglomerate—in the world’s most populous country. The finals for women’s table tennis, for example, ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/22/not-your-mothers-cctv-anymore/ BEIJING—Last Saturday something incredible happened in the Bird's Nest. Usain Bolt, the aptly named Jamaican extraterrestrial, demolished the world's fastest runners with a swagger, cutting three hundredths of a second off his own world record. I was fortunate enough to be there, and I've never seen anything like it. The ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/19/tears-and-loathing-in-beijing/ BEIJING—It's quiet up here at the Olympic Green. A little too quiet maybe. According to the Associated Press, the Olympics are decidedly lacking in both fans and vibe. "After the first few days of the Beijing Games, some cracks have appeared in China's perfect party," including "empty seats at the venues, ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/14/no-fun-games-not-exactly/ BEIJING—A pall fell over the Olympics on the opening weekend, after the bizarre stabbing of an American couple and their Chinese guide Saturday afternoon, and more explosions in Xinjiang Sunday. The weather didn't help the mood any. It's just after 5:30 a.m. in Beijing on Monday as I write from ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/10/gloomy-opening-days/ SHANGHAI—It's sometime past nine, and I'm sprawled across the lawn in People's Square with a few friends and hundreds of strangers (including a middle-aged couple lost in a makeout session, a boy in a T-shirt that reads I LOVE CHINA, and a legless beggar), watching the opening ceremony on a ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/08/canada-still-huge-in-china/ BEIJING—A good day to kick-off the Olympic Games it ain't. The view from the CBC studio in Ling Long Pagoda, a tower overlooking the Bird's Nest and Water Cube where I'll be working for the next two weeks, is of one of those post-apocalyptic Beijing days you need to see ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/08/live-from-ling-long-pagoda/ SHANGHAI—China's state television Olympics coverage got off to a tumultuous start. At a ceremony held last fall to celebrate the renaming of CCTV-5 to Olympics Channel (to distinguish it, presumably, from CCTV-1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -7, -8, -9, -10, -11- and -12), jilted media darling Hu Ziwei stormed the ... http://www.walrusmagazine.com/blogs/2008/08/06/olympics-channel-the-preview/