I'm not sure, but I do think that the whole olympic security contractor debacle is worth needling over.

I'm not sure, but I do think that the whole olympic security contractor debacle is worth needling over.

Deliberate strategy or not, I do think there is some element of the typical euro bashing that American conservatives are so fond of. This can still be true even if the games are in fact being mismanaged.

There, he seemed to intentionally draw boos from the black audience solely for the purpose of bragging about it later at a fundraiser.

Isn't going into red states and bragging "I was governor of Massachusetts and they hated me" a big part of his campaign strategy?

I think the only mismanagement is that they thought outsourcing was the solution.

Though there might be some other items, like traffic delays, that the locals would feel differently about.

There's a million things the locals feel differently about. The basic construction of the venues seems to have been fine, and some of them seem like decent buildings. There's a whole corporate-state fuckup around the sponsorship and security, though.

Really, the only way to win the hosting an Olympics game is not to play. No smart way to over-saturate your city with infrastructure to accomodate sports so boring that the world can only suffer them every four years.

Well in my defense, ttaM, I did think that the cronieness was bound to be bad.

Seriously, some Americans just shouldn't leave the country.

Yeah but you're supposed to shake the etch-a-sketch and draw a new picture on it. Having British officials tell reporters that Mitt is worse than Sarah Palin is going to sting, even with some of the wingnuts.

I really like this headline.

Yes. Mitt the Twit should be brought into currency.

I'm not sure, but I do think that the whole olympic security contractor debacle is worth needling over.

I guess any time Romney decides to express skepticism about the wisdom of outsourcing essential government functions to the lowest-paying bidder, it's a good thing.

Mitt is just trying to show that he's a uniter, not a divider.

Mitt the Twit should be brought into currency.

No. Only gold should be currency.

As much as I'm enjoying watching Romney get razzed, it isn't like he said anything non-obvious or that hasn't been trumpeted all over the British and international media already. All he really had to do to avoid the dust-up was to follow it up with something like: "But I can tell you from experience that any undertaking of this magnitude inevitably hits some snags because that's just how event planning works. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy, as they say. Like the rest of the world, I can't wait to see blah blah blah will be a smashing success etc."

I expect more entertaining gaffes from somebody during this campaign. We need to drug whoever is minding Biden.

17. Yes, but he didn't. Which is what casts doubt on his judgement and competence in general, even if you accept his broad outlook.

I have some sympathy for the "nation of Great Britain" misstep. I always have to refer to that Venn diagram to get it right.

19: You are apparently (and oddly) unfamiliar with the Masters of the Universe Syndrome.

19: Right. I don't think it actually reflects on his judgment/competence so much as it reflects on his weird and off-putting personality. Well, I guess it does reflect on his judgment and competence as a campaigner (which he is *amazingly* terrible at, given how long as he's been at it now). And as a diplomat, which is a pretty important part of being president. Okay, now I've talked myself into agreeing with you.

his weird and off-putting personality

The Twitter hashtag AmericanBorat is amusing.

"Dear America, It's OK, we understand. We sent you Piers Morgan so you've sent us this clown. Yours, Britain"

"Jak sie masz? My name-a Mitt. I like you. I like money. Is nice!"

"Not since WWII has London seen a bombing as thorough as Mitt Romney's."

I expect more entertaining gaffes from somebody during this campaign.

Not exactly gaffes, but the Daily Show series of interviews with Herman Cain offers promise on the entertainment front.

It isn't as fun where there is not the possibility that the gaffe-r will hold political office in the near future.

Why do British people hate Piers Morgan so much? He seems like your typical pompous, overly serious TV interviewer to me.

Now Nigel Lythgoe, you can feel bad about exporting that guy.

Seriously, some Americans just shouldn't leave the country.

Well done, Carl.

Why do British people hate Piers Morgan so much?

Because we know what's behind the mask. This is the guy who used to say to editorial meetings on the Scum, "Whose life shall we ruin today?", and meant it.

26.1: Doesn't he seem oily and snakey way out of proportion to any other tv interviewer here? I mean, he's like one of those creepy dudes Eric Idle would play.

Mitt is also scheduled to visit Poland on this tour, where he will comment on inefficiencies in that nation's lightbulb installation industry.

||

A cow-orker of mine just linked approvingly on FB to an elaborate conspiracy theory about the Aurora, CO, shootings, including the claim that the man in the released mug shot is not the real James Holmes (but rather a drugged-up impostor brought in from another country by the government) and what's really going on here is a LIBOR cover-up and a plot to get the US to sign on to a UN Treaty banning all handguns.

It's strange to learn that your otherwise seemingly pleasant cow-orkers harbor some very weird beliefs.

|>

a LIBOR cover-up and a plot to get the US to sign on to a UN Treaty banning all handguns

And the connection between these two conspiracies is what?

Ezra Pound would know.

And the connection between these two conspiracies is what?

The Bavarian Illuminati, of course. Don't you know anything???

31: Yeah, the nutter friends-of-friends on my FB account are all over this one too. I just don't get it. Like, is the conspiracy so big that all of James Holmes' family are in on it too? Also, why would it need to be a conspiracy? It's not like there's any shortage of sociopathic loners with guns in this country -- Christ, we have mass shootings ALL THE TIME. This wasn't even one of the worst in terms of body count. I just don't get what's so sticky about this -- the Batman angle? People are so fucking credulous.

31: Was it similar to this one? My hippier friends link to naturalnews.com all the damn time and I usually resist the urge to point out that the guy in charge of the site is a total raving lunatic.

36: Yep, including the bits about a "false flag" attack.

You'd think when it becomes apparent that selling chia seeds is the main point, people might get a bit of a clue.

31 -- Had the experience a couple years ago sitting with my daughter's then boyfriend, and having him explain in great detail the Truther truth. You want to be polite, but, man, sometimes they stretch you pretty far.

35: Probably flows from the premise that Obama's main objective is to ban all guns, and will do so following reelection when he can afford to show his true colors.

Also the insight from Fred Clark that many people believe that the actually-existing UN has plenary power to legislate for the world, and it's just a matter of what it decides to do.

This is the guy who used to say to editorial meetings on the Scum, "Whose life shall we ruin today?", and meant it.

I'm sure he was just trying to prepare people for the other assholes out there. It's part of the learning process.

On the OP: My working hypothesis is that Romney is actually extremely intelligent, at least as a numbers guy, based on his record at Bain Capital. They way to get rich in that business is to be the smartest guy in the room. But he knows that a smart guy wouldn't win the Republican primary or the election, so he is trying to hide his relevant personality traits.

But since he is not a natural actor and is somewhat deficient in people skills it doesn't come across quite right. In other words, he's made himself into a smart guy's idea of a stupid guy.

my daughter's then boyfriend, and having him explain in great detail the Truther truth.

Is dating wingnuts your daughter's form of rebellion?

I'm waiting for Romney to walk into a small diner somewhere, take a look at the menu, see the kitchen, and then take out a Cliff Bar while news cameras roll.

40: Yeah, obviously the whole ZOMG WE HAVE A BLACK PRESIDENT thing has a lot to do with all of this. It will be very amusing if Obama wins a second term, the Dems regain control of the House in 2 years, and they DON'T ban all the gunxorz, what are these guys going to be freaking out about in 2017?

Most of this insanity is probably caused by the massive amounts of colloidal silver they all drink.

36: Is that a parody?

it has unfortunately reached the "dumbed-down masses" who aren't regular alternative news readers and therefore have very little knowledge of reality.

So for those who don't believe any of this, simply go back to sleep and change the channel. It is not mandatory for you to understand reality in order to experience it.

And how am I supposed to block out paragraphs within a block quote?

42: Right. I mentioned in the writing thread that I went to a panel discussion with one of his former MA officials. She said that he was unusually numbers-driven for a politician and really looked through issues carefully.

36: A friend who is a fucking RN links to naturalnews and it's anti-vaxx batshitterie all the time. Also, "chem trails."

Is that a parody?

If only.

block out paragraphs within a block quote

Not sure what you're asking.

-'
Fucking autocorrect.

48: And Jesus Christ but they do get worked up about the jackbooted thug crackdown on raw milk.

and they DON'T ban all the gunxorz, what are these guys going to be freaking out about in 2017?

The exact same things. Democrats are going to ban all the guns and run up the deficit and give all your money to brown people. What's actually been happening in Congress for the last 30 years has 0 impact on this belief.

32 Probably the Queen's drug trafficking ring would be my guess.

The first time I tried to quote that text with "", it was all smushed together, even though when I wrote it, I had a line in between two of the sentences. I see that when I did it this time, starting at the second sentence, the print size went back to the larger, normal size.

52 gets it exactly right. No amount of evidence will shake their belief in the pre-existing narrative.

Inside those quotation marks in my last comment I wrote &blockquote.

And how am I supposed to block out paragraphs within a block quote?

You've got to put a separate set of <blockquote></blockquote> tags around each of the paragraphs in the blockquote, or use <br /> tags for linebreaks within the block.

Ah. Either surround your paragraphs with <p></p> tags (or use <br><br> to separate them) and run them together instead of hard returns.

48: I had never heard of these 'chemtrails" before.

58: And for bonus points, launch a wildly successful hip-hop career under the monicker <p>tag.

Wozza chemtrail? Anything like a contrail?

61: Quite so.

Oh not the chemtrails. I was on a date once, which started out fairly normally. I knew the guy wasn't a genius, but I'd had a crush on him for a while (without really knowing him personally). About 45 minutes into the date, the conversation veered wildly into chemtrail trails and the CIA and god knows what else. It was all so horribly wrong.

the conversation veered wildly into chemtrail trails and the CIA and god knows what else. It was all so horribly wrong.

I'll say. Everyone knows the NSA are behind the chemtrails, not the CIA.

63. One of the little considered advantages of a good public transport infrastructure is that in that sort of situation you can easily get a bus home, or at least somewhere else.

Unfortunately, Dallas doesn't have great public transit, but that was the best 20 bucks I ever spent on a cab.

No amount of evidence will shake their belief in the pre-existing narrative.

ON a Pirates blog I frequent, someone quoted the Keynes line about changing your mind, and someone wrote "It's a shame more of his followers don't believe that", and I was just incredulous. Even though there's a pretty firm no-politics norm, I could't resist pointing out that the last 4 years have conclusively proven every anti-Keynesian prediction wrong (esp. regarding inflation and bond rates), yet no anti-Keynesians have admitted to being wrong. He actually admitted that he'd been wrong, but he ascribed it to QE - that the Fed is buying the bonds, and so artificially raising their prices (lowering their rates).

I didn't want to get into it farther, but it was pretty astonishing. The entire world can spend 4 years proving one side right and the other side wrong, and you only see a few people shifting at the edges. It almost makes me doubt my belief that most people are rational and objective observers.

If you want people in touch with reality, maybe you should look somewhere not frequented by Pirates fans.

I'm not saying I've delved deeply, or even at all, into his business career, but I'm not seeing signs of great intelligence on the part of Mitt.

69: Without delving too deeply, he contrived to become the 100% shareholder of Bain Capital without putting up much of his own money. That meant cutting a hell of a deal with Bain Consulting: essentially, he got to use their contacts and their name for his own business, in return for nothing. Bian Consulting was a bunch of famously smart guys. Romney beat them at their own game.

I take depositions of financial industry sorts a fair amount. The "smart guy unsuccessfully trying to act like a stupid guy" (for purposes of a deposition) is a definite type.

70.2: I guess if the smart guy successfully impersonated a stupid guy you might never know.

70: It's a lot easier to pull that kind of thing when your dad is a major bigshot. I don't buy that Mitt's a dumbass, but his route to success was certainly greased by family connections.

if the smart guy successfully impersonated a stupid guy you might never know

I didn't know the Larry the Cable Guy shtick was shtick for quite some time.

73: Good example! Although, Larry the Cable Guy might be a case similar to Emperor Claudius.

68: You'd think Pirates fans would be willing to accept that they're not always on the winning/right side. But let me tell you, this year, this is the year.

The people who follow this sort of thing think Romney is an ENTJ and Obama is an ENTP. Most really good politicians are probably ESxx, so we have two similar non-politicians running, although most experts agree that Obama is hard to peg.

Then there's the "dumb guy pretending to be a smart guy pretending to be a dumb guy", exemplified by Jay Leno. Also, Phil Gramm.

70 Sure, that's how he got his first job and probalby some of his clients. But by the time he started Bain Capital, his father was retired (or dead? not sure), and he was dealing with the senior people at that firm, which was very technocratic.

Interesting contrast with W. Bush, whose business ventures were entirley based on family connections, and didn't increase his or his investors' wealth.

By the way, W. is also the exmaple of the politician who doesn't have to play at being dumb. But he didn't make the kind of gaffes on international trips that Romney does, because he knew what had to do: memorize the key names and the talking points prepared by his staff, and stick to the scrpt. It served hiim well.

[I am and will remain an Obama supporter and contributor. Romney isn't dumb, but he is evil.]

He didn't make them a bunch of money? Then he is clever.

I keep thinking of that old SNL skit where Reagan is the brains of the outfit. So, you think this time it's true? But wouldn't he be smart enough to know that all this dumb shit paints him into a corner?

76: I'm curious about and a bit suspicious of criteria by which Obama is deemed a "non-politician."

67: Krugman's column today is rather on point.

79: I loved that sketch. I view the campaign as Romney doong what he thinks he has to do to win. He may not have calculated how poorly suited he is to the role. He has painted himself into a corner, and he thinks it's the corner with the white house in it.

I also assume that he wants to be president to gratify his own ego, and has no particular interest in public policy other than reducing his own tax bill. So it doesn't matter to him whether he's stuck advocating insane policies in office.

80:

If we take Bill Clinton as the gold standard of natural born politicians, then Obama is pretty far from being a natural.

||

NMM to Chick-fil-A's PR chief.

|

George W Bush is old-money enough to understand, for example, that you absolutely must have a top-notch protocol person and then take that person's judgment seriously.

Mitt seems to be very suspicious of the expertise of people around him and unwilling to delegate very much. Hence the gaffes---stuff that isn't substantively important (at least not in Mitt's judgment), but ends up mattering a great deal for often irrational reasons.

I didn't know the Larry the Cable Guy shtick was shtick for quite some time.

I know you're smarter than that, Stanley. You can't fool me.

I take depositions of financial industry sorts a fair amount.

By virtue of growing up where I did, I know several Masters of the Universe. They are, without exception, bright but not brilliant people. In fairness, none of the (just plain) folks I know are quite in Mitt's league just yet, but at least two of them have an outside shot at becoming insanely, heart-stoppingly rich.

Put another way, my anecdotes refute your anecdotes.

I think it's fair to say that the top people in most industries, especially industries whose top people become fabulously wealthy and powerful, self-identify as brilliant.

By virtue of growing up where I did my ethnicity, I know several Masters of the Universe.

If we take Bill Clinton as the gold standard of natural born politicians, then Obama is pretty far from being a natural.

It's interesting how subjective these judgments are. I'd certainly put Obama's natural gifts on a par with those of Clinton and Reagan - and I think this is obvious. De gustibus and all that.

78: have you considered when Romney was in charge at Bain? It was a VERY good time to run such a company. I should add that I don't think Romney is dumb. But as others have noted, I don't believe there's much evidence that he's exceptionally smart either. I mean, he may be brilliant, but nothing that I know of in his background or public performance suggests that's the case.

89: do I have to say it, self-hater?

BTW, did anyone note that there was NMM to Sherman Hemsley?

90: Does Obama relish the process of politics like Clinton and Reagan? I think Obama is actually more of a business executive type than politician, more interested in running things and issuing orders than persuading and compromising. Would a natural politician constantly complain that politics is always getting in the way of his political agenda? That's an effective rhetorical position, but Obama actually believes it.

93: He's in that deluxe apartment in the sky now.

94 seems horribly, horribly wrong to me.

17: I read Romney as trying for the hey-the-Olympics-are-hard-to-organize solidarity line, like you might sympathize with a neighbor over the difficulty of remodeling a house by griping over common problems. Isn't removing wallpaper a pain? Isn't getting the contractor to show up a major feat? But it spiraled out of control, as it might if you tried to joke about your neighbor's wife's spending habits making it hard to remodel the house.

And it's kind of a compelling narrative: what better way to rally the base than to needle old Europe by going over there and telling it like it is

Not that one should even look for an iota of consistency with that lot, but it is interesting to contrast that thought with how the Winston Churchill* portrait in the White House deal went down. And he's already gone there, it appears.

"I'm looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again," Romney told a crowd of about 250 people at a Thursday evening fundraiser at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel following a day of meetings with current and former British leaders.

*A candidate for type specimen white man, of course.

93: Yes.

I haven't ever worked with Romney, but I've worked with a lot of the people at Bain Capital, and they are absurdly smart, top to bottom (not absolute bottom, but those at the bottom who aren't absurdly smart are pruned fairly ruthlessly). They're one of the few private equity firms I've worked with (out of many) in which it seems like all the employees are noticeably smarter than all their very smart advisers (investment bankers/lawyers/accountants)--they're almost always two steps ahead of their own advisers in any conversation. (Consequently, their 'advisers' are less advisers and more workhorses, but that's a separate topic.) Their investment returns are well above the industry average [*cough* before fees *cough*, which *cough* are also *cough* well above average], and I don't think it's a coincidence.

And, having said all that, in candid conversations everyone there had extremely high opinions of Romney's intelligence. So, I think it's safe to say he's very smart.

(Obviously, I'm using "smart" in a limited sense that captures only business acumen, insight, analytical ability, creative problem-solving, etc. I have no idea if he would have made a good literary scholar.)

I'd certainly put Obama's natural gifts on a par with those of Clinton and Reagan

Yeah, I would too. He's a very different personality type assembling a different coalition of voters, though.

94: I don't feel any need to debate - "de gustibus ..." as I said - but I will note for the record that I pretty much disagree with everything in 94. The only evidence I have to offer is Obama's entire career, and every time I've ever seen him on television. Your mileage obviously does vary.

I should add that Hillary always struck me as likable, and Al is the kind of guy I'd want to have a beer with, so ...

This is not a response to 102.

Your mileage obviously does vary.

Right, but if you keep the tires inflated and the engine in tune, it will be better.

Seems like lots of people are business smart but politics stupid.

So if 104 is not a response to 102, what is it? Is it a pipe? Is it my father's Oldsmobile?

This is *not* your father's Oldsmobile, MAE. Hop on in. Get a feel for it. Doesn't that feel good?

I do understand what bjk's saying. There's a magnetic-in-person politician's personality: you meet Bill Clinton and he's a combination of your new best friend and your personal savior. And my sense is that a lot of politicians have that -- not necessarily at the same wattage, but what got them where they are is an ability to impress a roomful of people. I haven't heard that Obama is particularly intense on that scale: he gives a great speech, and people who actually interact with him meaningfully find him impressive, and he's good on TV, but those are all a little different than the Clinton-type charisma.

I don't know that this is accurate: I've never met either of them. But it does accord with what I've heard.

I shook hands with Bill and he didn't seem to have very much charisma, but maybe that is because he'd been shaking hands for hours and was about a week away from heart surgery.

97: Isn't getting the contractor to show up a major feat?

That's the goddamn truth! Fucking electricians WILL. NOT. COME. TO. MY. HOUSE! So irritating. I must have some kind of electrician-repelling field going on.

Are you positive?

Bad puns. Hooray.

Maybe while he's waiting for the dude to arrive, Natilo can come up with a character sketch for a young idealist who signs up with the local electrician's union because he wants to be part of the resistance.

Obviously, I'm using "smart" in a limited sense that captures only business acumen, insight, analytical ability, creative problem-solving, etc. I have no idea if he would have made a good literary scholar.
I'm trying to decide how snide this was intended to be.

Are you an literary scholar?

116: Nope! And horrible at getting tone from the written word.

After we define what intelligence is and sort out the best way to measure it, we can determine how intelligent Romney is, and then vote for Obama because he better represents our political priorities.

Huh. I didn't take it to be snide at all.

114: But when he shows up he'll merely re-arrange things within the existing order rather do anything revolutionary--basically an ohm-ohm interchange.

I'd like to revise 113 now, please.

Toooo late.

If we scouted and recruited politicians like we do athletes, "shows empathy in face to face encounters" would have to be near the top of the list. Neither Obama or Romney scores high on that scale. That's one thing that separates Obama from Clinton and Reagan and puts him more in the Gore/Romney camp.

I'm at a loss as to how someone can get to the level of being a presidential candidate, or even president, and not be ranked pretty highly on a description of the skills that make one good at being an electable politician. Being president seems comparable to being in the relevant Hall of Fame: you only reach that level if you're markedly better than most of your cohort, even if you don't necessarily hold up to the greats of other eras.

123: I've actually heard that Gore comes across pretty magnetic in person, and Reagan didn't. Gore doesn't do wonderfully on TV, and Reagan did, but telegenicness is a slightly different issue.

125: I've heard to same about GWB. I was never sure whether to believe it.

Bad puns. Hooray.

I was pleased with the pun until I realized that I got the physics backwards. Hmmph.

I'm assuming the bonkers Olympic ceremony hasn't been shown yet in the US?

128: They're just starting to broadcast it on the East Coast. No spoilers, please.

I couldn't hear or see the TV very well from where I'm sitting in this airport but I'm pretty sure CNN had someone on talking, purely hypothetically, about how we would go about bombing Iran, if we were to do so. The fuck?

Macca doesn't seem to have got the unity message.

On the west coast, the Olympic ceremony broadcast will end not long before the first events on Saturday start.

On the OP, I confess that I've been loving the Romneyshambles. Schadenfreude is never becoming, I realize, but there it is: the man has appeared to be tone-deaf for some time now. I've come to believe that it's a function of his having been surrounded by yes-men and lackeys (and supplicants) for the majority of his life, so that it simply doesn't occur to him that any given thing that comes out of his mouth won't be greeted with nods of approval. He behaves as though everyone around him is on just the same page as he. It's appalling.

I'd never heard of the Masters of the Universe syndrome before, but it may be fitting.

128: I recall the anticipatory part of the Beijing closing ceremony being pretty odd. So maybe they've taken up where they left off?

The isle is full of noises!

Corgis!

The mole people emerge from the root of Yggdrasil!

134: Some commentary from the Archives:

When you see an aged Jimmy Page ascend out of what looks to be a bus turned into a big mobile shrubbery with people climbing on it to play "Whole Lotta Love" while Leona Lewis sings in front of thousands of people in Beijing you realize that is really has all been worth it, the '60s, the Cold War, Globalization, everything. Homo Triumphus.

We have spent the last half hour of the ceremonies amusing ourselves by explaining everything, NBC-style, in terms of the inscrutable English culture. You see, in the United Kingdom (where they still have a monarch!), the umbrella signifies protection from the elements, which every young Englishman has done since the battle of Agincourt.
However do they dance upon the bus! They are so individualistic, multi-ethnic, and free!

Locally, people from East Asia sometimes carry umbrella for protection from the sun. I didn't even know Pittsburgh has enough sun for that to matter.

139: That's called a "parasol". And you're right, I think I've seen about 50 people carrying parasols in my life and they were all Asian women.

They were regular umbrellas used as parasols maybe. I think Diddy has one and a butler to carry it.

128: Watching right now, on the east coast. What the hell, London??

UFOs! A water-mill!

Mammy!

They stole the liberty bell!

To the Queencopter!

(note: I am half an hour behind even the rest of Americans)

People carry umbrellas as parasols during the worst of summer in Baltimore. Just so you know.

I'm not done with Romney quite yet. I suspect that his campaign is banking on the proposition that many Americans are victims of a kind of Stockholm Syndrome: the boss knows what's right to do. We should let the boss, the CEO, take care of matters. Americans are so dumb.

Sit tight Ned. Mary Poppins is about to vanquish Lord Voldemort.

Le Duc Dé Din Beurre!

Cruella De Vil!

Dear lord! Look at all the Maries Poppins!

Wow, this is insane. The NHS? Haha, yes, the people feel so strongly they're honoring the NHS (while the government searches for ways to get rid of it?).

151: Poppinses, please.

I think it's fair to say Danny Boyle's agenda and the Tory agenda may differ slightly.

Or, Popini, but only in a pinch.

I'm just amused by the asinine commentary we're getting on this end, ttaM.

SOME of us have heard of Tim Berners-Lee, Meredith Vieira, you buffoon.

Blackadder!

LOLZ!!! Lookin hot 2nite girls!

My what a big voldemort you have, danny!

Was that a split second of Wayne's World?

These pop songs are not in chronological order!

Re 161

Yes.

The American lady commentator: "...one more thing I don't understand."

This pop song medley consists of a bunch of songs I've heard hundreds of times, and one song I've never heard before by a BAND I've never heard of before.

What the hell is going on here? Why is Rowan Atkinson in chariots of fire?

Well, I did hear someone say on the radio that people might not understand the presentation, but that's okay, that's okay! All in good fun, different strokes for different folks, it's complicated, plus it's the Olympics, so stop complaining, nobody knows why we collectively do these mega-things any more, and sport(s) will ensue, so you might as well settle down with your popcorn.

I made up everything after "people might not understand the presentation". I think it's fair enough.

This is great.

I would like some of those pogo-boot thingies. I may be just a few steps from a recumbent bike, next.

I think it's fair to say Danny Boyle's agenda and the Tory agenda may differ slightly.

I was slightly disappointed he went with "Pretty Vacant" rather than "God Save The Queen", but even so, mental. Also, Bonkers. I love the way the pre-parade bit of the ceremony was pitched uneasily between cartoon propagandistic British history on acid and a giant cultural fuck you to Cameron.

So weird. Hard to follow. Especially with commercial interruptions.

Have they shown Mittens yet?

I could really do without NBC's political commentary.

They did great for Tanzania. "Mount Kilimanjaro is there! Some guy from the Mets climbed it! [nothing about the Tanzanians on the screen]."

Uganda is nice, until you think about their former dictator.

Kobe!

Why are the British people wearing gold spacesuits?

I could not be happier about the fact that the Olympics are not being held in my city. Bloomberg has had some terrible ideas, but that was definitely the worst.

The NBC production crew messed up, they wrote Gay instead of Homosexual.

Only 15 minutes into the ceremony over here.

Only 15 minutes into the ceremony over here.

OMG, is that John Cleese climbing out of the giant head of Bertrand Russell!?

(I don't actually have a TV here, but I wanted to join in with everyone else watching the Olympic weirdness.)

I could deal with David Attenborough narrating celebrity sex tapes, but the Benny Hill slapstick battle of Britain seemed in poor taste.

182+3=genius.

I didn't watch this version. Attending the 1984 opening ceremonies in person was one of the top 7 moments of my life that didn't involve sex. Jet pack!!!

I can't imagine a way to use jet packs except for sex.

Uganda is nice, until you think about their former dictator.

My jaw dropped when Costas came out that bit of commentary. Somebody should be standing behind him with a cattle prod for the rest of the Games.

Uganda is nice, until you think about their former dictator.

Which of their former dictators is in the frame here? Milton Obote wasn't exactly a cute fuzzy kitten. Also, this is the country which came within a narrow parliamentary vote of making homosexuality a capital offence this year. I can think of nicer.

The quote was, as the Ugandan team marched in, "Winston Churchill once referred to Uganda as 'the pearl of Africa'. Of course, Churchill never met Idi Amin." That was Costas' only remark about Uganda.

Lochte-mania! (Or are we operating under no spoilers for the Yanks? Need a ruling.)

But watching this via live streaming you get the Brit announcers rather than the NBC hacks, which is enough in itself to make it preferred.

The random ads are a bit jarring, though.

My god NBC is horrible. When Madagascar marched in, the announcers talked about how it's the setting for three popular animated movies. Yes they did.

I know it's probably already a full-fledged internet meme by now, but those Independent Olympic Athletes--really just the former Dutch Antilles crew--were totes adorbs.

Wonderful. Another one for the "Rome is where we saw the yellow dog" list.

Via Atrios, NBC spokesman on their excuse not to stream the opening ceremonies.

NBC Sports spokesman Christopher McCloskey said the ceremonies "are complex entertainment spectacles that do not translate well online because they require context, which our award-winning production team will provide for the large prime-time audiences that gather together to watch them."

The bike race was great this morning, but unsurprised that asilon hasn't stopped by to give us a report.

194: Fuck them and their context with a barbed wire wrapped brick. (He said, in a cold, calm manner dripping with evil.)

193: Weren't they? I heart them.

(In addition to the three from the Dutch Antilles, there's another from South Sudan who refused to participate with the Sudanese team. It would have been great if he'd been there last night, too.)

165 - which song didn't you know, Ned?

195 - mmmmm, lack of gloating today. They just let too many people get ahead, and although the gap was closing, it was too late. But fuck it, we got up early, sat (lucky us!) on a jampacked train, traipsed up a hill, and watched them go past 9 times, and had a great day. Cheered myself hoarse and got on telly, the gold would just have been a bonus.

got on telly

Thank Cthulhu for NBC's commentators! If they hadn't carefully explained "telly" as being what y'all call TV or television I'd have never known what you were talking about.

Steve Huff's #CostasAndLauerOlympicIntros tweets from last night were amazing. (No need to read the whole hashtag, just his.

198.2: Sounds like fun. It was a good race to watch on the telly as well. Would they catch or not? Cancellara crashing, and then the unexpectedly succesful attack from an old guy and a Colombian climbing specialist (I think). I was somewhat surprised that the lead group did not track down the two at the end. But I realized that given the structure of Olympic medals (plus no real teams, nor radios), a two-man break is perfect for setting up a collective action problem in the following group. Anyone with enough moxie left to lead out a chase of the whole group would almost certainly sacrifice any chance they had at a Bronze by doing so. Strong rider staying in the pack: zero chance for gold or silver, but decent shot at a bronze. Going for it: very slight chance of any of the three, but would probably make a few new friends among those they dragged along.

At least Ebola wasn't confirmed in Uganda until after NBC commented on the opening ceremonies.