Always willing to hop on a popular bandwagon, and not wanting to hijack yet another thread, it crossed my mind that there are positives and negatives I and others could raise about the Beijing Olympics, apart from China's political, environmental and human rights records.

So - here we go, before it becomes "Sooo last week"!

And please post. It's possibly the time zones but at the end of my day the "last poster" display makes it look like I own this forum!

I liked -

- The Aussie single mum who couldn't afford to see her daughter's big moment in Beijing live - so the Aussie community "passed the hat", and she got to go to Beijing.

- Footballers from cultures where "fans" sometimes resort to violence, competing in a country nobody likes much, congratulating the opposite team's players at the end of the match. A victory for professionalism and goodwill over mindless monkey-screams.

- Catching drug cheats as soon as their feet hit the ground. At least some.

I disliked -

- China thinking that banning cars for a couple of weeks while people are watching will impress anyone.

- Ruining the big moments of two little girls in the opening song - the real singer was not pretty enough, the miming standin has been exposed as part of the fakery.

- Drug cheats still cheating. You know the rules, you take the consequences.

I'm commenting because you asked but I don't watch the Olympics no matter where it's held

Ten years ago I could have given you a play-by-play description of the Olympic athletes and events, including the "Up Close and Personal" moments. (Do they still do those anymore? I think that was an ABC Sports invention.)

I was a confirmed Olympics fanatic for most of my adult life. However, as I mentioned in one of the other threads, in 2003 I got rid of my TV , so I haven't watched any of this one.

I used to watch the Olympics a very long time ago. Then suddenly every sport seemed appropriate to have a place in there. Beach volleyball anyone? Now I don't bother.

Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence.

OK, well, having said in my post above that I don't watch the Olympics anymore ... I do catch things about it online. One of my favorite Olympic events has always been the gymnastics, and the big to-do this year is the change in the scoring system for elite-level gymnastics competition. It's no longer based on a "perfect ten", since 10s just got to be so *yawn* commonplace. Oh, things have changed since the days of Nadia and Olga.

It's now based on a mathematically complex method using two separate panels of judges, based on the difficulty of each routine, the number of errors, plus that certain je ne sais quoi that can mean the difference between winning or losing. (Call it style or artistry.)

The highest possible score can now potentially be in the upper teens.

The athletes are having to adjust to the new system, and there are complaints that what is needed to win nowadays is pushing them too hard in the direction of injuring themselves.

Actually, I'm a fan of the figure skating competitions in the Winter Olympics, and they've recently had a comparable change in their scoring system, for similar reasons and with similar complaints.

My favourite bit was tonight on the news when an Aussie reporter asked an IOC rep about the Chinese government not living up to the promise of not blocking media reports (I guess re- all the shenanigans lately). He asked it three times in different ways, and she managed to dance around it by trying to point out that the Olympics was about sport, not the politics of the country it is held in. As I and many others have mentioned in other threads, I beg to differ. Same reporter also got 'arrested' for reporting the Tibet protest. He was taken in a van for a few minutes as they questioned his feelings about the Tibet issue, then released when he insisted several times he was only reporting. Wonder what woulda happened if he was a sympathiser? If we (or they...China, IOC) want the Olympics just to be about sports, why don't they try not being so repressive and fun-police-y while the Olympics are on, especially to reporters with cameras on them? And shipping in volunteer cheerleaders to fill the seats and up the excitement in empty stadiums? 'You WILL enjoy yourself, whether you like it or not!;

Do not disturb: already disturbed.

Yeah, some of the entertainment is watching China put on a new face every few seconds. "Do you hope China wins all the medals?" "Yes!" "Do you hope Australia wins all the medals?" "Yes!"

Try as they might, China is clearly a stranger to handling PR - they have just never had to use it.

I am much the same way about introduction of all kinds of sports to the classical set - I don't recall Homer mentioning Sparta vs. Athens in beach volleyball.

A small "Easter Egg" last night was spotting the mum I mentioned who got to Beijing courtesy of public support, in the audience seeing her daughter on the podium. A little silver lining amid all the other crap.

Oh, and thank you, Azhria, I am really deeply moved! Really!

The Olympics is on?

"It takes 47 muscles to smile and 17 frown, but it doesn't take any to sit there with a dumb look on your face."

*blows raspberry*

Mmmmm.... raspberry ....