Opening Ceremony...speechless.

Photo from LA Times/Wally Skalij

If you didn't watch the 2008 Olympic Opening Ceremonies last night, I hope you Tivo'd it. I did not watch it until this morning, but I am so happy I recorded it. It was the most amazing artistic performance I have ever seen. The pageantry, power, beauty and scope were only surpassed by the creativity. Director Zhang Yimou presented the world with his amazing creative vision and the execution was amazing.

The highlight for me was the interpretation of printing blocks, which was invented by the Chinese. The large grey blocks moved in sequence to form many different symbolic images. The most amazing thing about the blocks, is that they were being controlled by humans, not machines. Amazing. Other highlights include the globe, the visuals on the ground LCD screen and opening drum sequence.

My emotional connection to the Beijing Olympics were exposed at these opening ceremonies. Being a Chinese American, I was nervous how the rest of the world would receive these games. After last nights performance, I have never been more proud of being Chinese. As I am writing this, there is news of a tourist being murdered. This is sad considering the amazing welcome that was presented 24 hours earlier. I hope these Olympic games don't have any more of these types of stories and that the focus goes to the athletes. Good luck China!