Originally posted to Andrew Quinn's SOUTHMOUTH

How great a job did Athens do with that opening ceremony? The makeup effects to make humans look like statues, a rocket fired into a pool of water igniting giant Olympic rings to burn in the water, and I have only two more words for you: "Cube Guy" !! I wouldn't want to be in THAT man's shoes! Oh wait, he was barefoot ... even worse!

Kevin Drum has an interesting, and ever-growing in subscription, perspective on the evolution of the Games:

There's really no sense of genuine sport anymore; it's like watching a highlight reel. What's worse, since they often only show heats in which Americans have done well, it's a highlight reel where you frequently have a pretty good idea how it's going to turn out.

Part of the essential ambience of watching a sporting event, I think, is seeing the whole thing, even the boring bits where nothing much is happening. When you edit a 4-hour event down to 30 minutes of pure action, it may be exciting but it just isn't sports anymore. It's a video game.

I'm going to have to disagree with the Calpundit on this point, however. In my opinion, it would take a lot more than crappy editing to ruin one of the most epic worldwide events.

How 'BOUT that Cube Guy?