August 9, 2008 4:59 AM
A.M./P.M.: Live TV on the Subway
Last night, I was coming back from Tiananamen Square on the subway at about 10 p.m., just as the athletes were beginning to enter the Opening Ceremonies. The subway ride back to my hotel takes about 45 minutes from the Square, and at first, I was upset that I was missing even more of the ceremonies.But then I realized: the Beijing Subway gets live TV.
For those of you who've ever flown Frontier or JetBlue, this probably doesn't sound like that big a deal. But keep in mind that you're paying actual amounts of money to fly on those planes. By comparison, a ride anywhere on the Beijing subway costs 2 yuan ($.29).
For the last few months, they've been using these TV's -- two flat screens placed near each doors on the train -- to show instructional videos about the various Olympic sports, along with other how-to's, like how to spot a terrorist on the train (that's a particularly short video: just look for non-Chinese men with large bags, it says). But last night, they had them tuned to China's CCTV for the Opening Ceremonies.
I nearly missed my stop on the way back.
But it wasn't just the subway that had CCTV on. Everywhere in this city -- every restaurant, every hutong, practically every bum on the street -- people were watching TV. Even the guard outside my hotel was watching ... on his cell phone. It wasn't exactly HD, but still. Seeing as I can't get a signal leaving my house some days, I was impressed.
It's 7 p.m. in Beijing, and 5 a.m. in Denver. Here are the stories that are making Olympic headlines on this Saturday evening/morning:
>One thought on last night's ceremonies: after all the talk that Yao Ming was going to be the one to light the Olympic flame, can you imagine him suspended in mid-air while running around the top of the stadium? Possibly with Jackie Chan chasing him (while waving a Visa credit card)? An opportunity missed, China.
>The first gold has already been won. Du Li, who took gold for China in the same event in 2004, finished 5th. She was so upset afterward that she got a hug from the CCTV reporter interviewing her.
>Dave Barry is in Beijing. He's also been spotted here, chatting with The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg about cheese.
>Australian athlete raves about Opening Ceremonies, defends the Aussie uniform. Australians disagree, saying, "Australians would have looked better with a fitout from Target."
>This Aussie swimmer -- who instantly wins points for describing his favorite music choices as "I only listen to M.C. Hammer -- goofs off at the Water Cube.
>Are you even allowed to gamble on Olympic rowing events?
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