2008 Summer Olympics Kick Off in Beijing

If you're interested in reading about what happened at the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing before NBC's recorded broadcast tonight, the NYT live-blogged it this morning. Or for a brief glimpse, watch the clips below.

Reviews are in.

China steps forward: "It is as though the nation which for so long resented its exclusion from the councils of the world, and centuries of foreign exploitation, is saying that what we will see is not so much the opening of another Olympics but the marking of a new world – one in which China, like that other superpower, America, will just have to be taken on its own terms, whatever the misgivings of foreigners."

The White House press corps. jet was detained at Beijing's international airport for three hours: "The flight crew of the Northwest Airlines 747 had been expecting to park at a VIP terminal, but after landing was instead directed by the control tower to a normal international gate. White House officials would say only there were 'logistical problems' getting clearance to unload the aircraft. The flight crew was told the Chinese were insisting that all luggage be inspected. Typically, the White House press charter receives the 'custom of the port,' meaning reporters, photographers and camera crews are able to get off the plane right after landing, board buses and head to their hotels and work areas while U.S. State Department officials process immigration and customs details."

USA TODAY: The Games' compelling storylines. "A sampling: Can sprinter Tyson Gay get past a hobbled leg as well as Jamaican world recordholder Usain Bolt? Can gymnast Shawn Johnson and her teammates top the Chinese women in their home country? Can the U.S. men sweep the podium in the new Olympic sport of BMX racing? Foremost, of course, is the question of Phelps, and whether he can have the single best Olympic performance of all time."

AfterElton: A Gay Viewer's Guide to the Olympics.

Beijing's art scene: "mushrooming".

Olympics or Bust: Tyler Duckworth from MTV's The Real World and friend Charley document their trip to Beijing.

Will the games be a media game changer? "Today NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker sent an internal company-wide email calling the Olympics "the most ambitious broadcasting event ever attempted." It's huge. The company is presenting 3,600 hours of coverage, which Zucker says is more than the combined total of every Summer Olympics ever televised in the US. Perhaps most importantly in terms of the way the Olympics will change the media landscape, 2,200 hours will be streamed LIVE on the internet."

In the pool: Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, American swimmers, and Alexandre Despatie: French-Canadian diver.

AFTER THE JUMP... Michael Phelps talks to Matt Lauer about his quest for eight golds in Beijing.

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News: AIDS Vaccine, Beijing, Albino Eagle, El Paso, Newlywed Game

Obama will not speak at the Brandenburg Gate, according to Bloomberg, but at the Victory Column just down the road: "A stage will be set up at the column, a 19th-century fluted structure that lies at the opposite end of a tree-lined boulevard from the Brandenburg Gate, the newspaper said. The campaign will announce the plans for July 24 today, it said. An appearance at the Victory Column, capped by its trademark gilded angel, will still give the Illinois senator the Brandenburg Gate as a backdrop in the distance."

Rare albino Golden Eagle discovered in Colorado.

Australia World youth Day pilgrims tell their gay hosts that they will "burn in hell."

K-Fed gets the kids from Britney in Cheeto divorce trial.

Rue McClanahan, Caroline Rhea, Olivia Newton-John, and Leslie Jordan get ready to make LOGO a bit more Sordid...

San Jose City College biology professor sues community college district for firing her over answering question about homosexuality and heredity: " In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, June Sheldon alleges that college officials trampled on academic freedoms and free speech rights by firing her in February. Sheldon is backed in the case by the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that also has been heavily involved in the legal battles over gay marriage in California and elsewhere. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, reinstatement to her teaching job and a court finding that Sheldon's rights were violated."

Proposed George W. Bush Sewage Plant qualifies for ballot in San Francisco.

Gay community center opens its doors in El Paso, Texas: "El Paso's new Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgendered-Queer Center opened its doors to the public. The center houses non-profit organizations, counselors and even a flower shop. 'We want this place to be the hub of the gay community,' said director Charles Sloane. The facility is the crown jewel of El Paso's emerging gay community; a community that's mobilizing to have their voice heard as never before."

The Watchmen are coming (site not totally sfw).

Same-sex couples ineligible for Game Show Network's new version of The Newlywed Game.

Desperate Housewives gay couple Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm will be back in the upcoming flash-forward-five-years season: "...they now have a four-year-old daughter. Cherry said adding them to the show was 'just my commentary on how a gay couple moves in and nothing much happens.'"

VIDEO: A press rehearsal for the 9 to 5 Broadway musical.

Justin Timberlake kisses David Beckham's foot: "‘That's what $250million [£125m] tastes like,’ he told the audience." Maybe Becks can give him some tips on accessorizing.

Going to Beijing and want to know where to find the "gay scene"?

North Carolina anti-bullying bill killed: "The bill was controversial because it listed 'sexual orientation' and other characteristics as reasons schoolchildren might be the targets of bullying. Groups such as the Christian Action League and the N.C. Family Policy Council did not want the term in state law, saying that gay-rights groups would use it to leverage other rights."

Kenneth Cole's brief encounter.

Large U.S. HIV vaccine trial canceled: "...a top federal official said scientists realized that they did not know enough about how H.I.V. vaccines and the immune system interact. The decision is a major setback in an effort to develop an H.I.V. vaccine that began 24 years ago when government health officials promised a marketed vaccine by 1987. Health officials have long contended that such a vaccine would be their best weapon to control the AIDS pandemic."

High school dodgeball player #2 returning to Ugly Betty this season.

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Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte Buddy Up on Men's Journal

Expect the Olympians to start hitting all the magazine covers. U.S. swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte arrive on the August 2008 cover of Men's Journal for a piece that talks about their ongoing rivalry and companionship.

Two more shots AFTER THE JUMP...

Slideshow here...

Previously
Michael Phelps: The Big Merman [tr]
Sportrait: Michael Phelps [tr]
Phelps Smashes Thorpe Record, Americans Take Gold in Melbourne [tr]
Ryan McGinley Wins International Center for Photography Nod [tr]

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Australian Olympic Diver Matthew Mitcham: I'm Gay

Australian Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham came out to the media for the first time on Saturday, in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. He'll be the first openly gay athlete from Australia to compete in the Olympics:

"The gold medal hopeful's journey has not been easy. Those close to him have seen Mitcham, 20, battle depression, retire in his teenage years after physical and emotional burn-out, then nine months later resume his sport and build himself into the champion he is today. One person who has been by his side for the entire tumultuous journey is his partner, Lachlan. 'We can't afford for Lachlan to go at the moment,' Mitcham said. 'But Johnson & Johnson offer grants to go to Beijing and I've nominated Lachlan as the support person I want to go.' It's not only Lachlan who has helped Mitcham to Beijing. His coach, Chava Sobrino, had faith in him when no one else did and resurrected his career. Former athlete Sarina Bratton cares for him like a son and fellow diver Alex Croak is a constant sounding board and his best friend. 'That little support network has made my dream possible,' Mitcham said. 'It would have been impossible and I probably wouldn't have made it without their help.'"

AFTER THE JUMP, Mitcham at the 2008 FINA Diving Grand Prix in Beijing...

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Olympic Athletes Unveil Ralph Lauren-Designed Team Outfits

Earlier this month I posted that the U.S. Olympic team had rejected Canadian fashion maker Roots in favor of Ralph Lauren for the Beijing 2008 Olympic team outfits. Today they were showed off by two of the American athletes.

Deontay Wilder, a boxer on the U.S. Olympic team, and Giuseppe Lanzone, a rower on the U.S. Olympic team, show off the new Ralph Lauren closing ceremonies team outfits.

Norman Bellingham, chief operating officer of the USOC and a former Olympic kayaker, told Ralph Lauren that he wanted a look that was more classic and formal, inspired by 'Chariots of Fire,' the 1981 movie about British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Here are Wilder and Lanzone in their element.

A few more images from their shoot, AFTER THE JUMP...

You may have missed...
U.S. Goes Preppy for Olympic Wardrobe [tr]
Ian Thorpe Extinguishes Olympic Flame, Ever so Briefly [tr]
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]

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Ian Thorpe Extinguishes Olympic Flame, Ever so Briefly

Canberra, Australia was the last leg of the Olympic Torch relay and, as you can see from the video below, the site of demonstrations similar to those around the rest of the world, with vocal pro-Tibet protestors poised to do whatever they could to put out the Olympic flame.

However, as SameSame notes, Australia's most famous Olympian, Ian Thorpe, momentarily did their work for them as the flame was accidentally extinguished briefly by the swimmer. To the dismay of many, however, it wasn't on purpose.

That clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]
Ian Thorpe is Still Not Gay [tr]

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U.S. Goes Preppy for Olympic Wardrobe

The WSJ reports:

"The preppy styles Polo is making for the athletes to wear in the Opening and Closing ceremonies and in the Olympic Village will mark a departure from sporty outfits that the American team has worn in recent years, such as retro ski jackets inspired by vintage Ducati motorcycle ads that were worn in Turin, Italy, in 2006."

Check out the first glimpse of one of the outfits,
AFTER THE JUMP...

The U.S. team rejected Canadian company Roots in favor of Ralph Lauren:

"Roots late last year had unveiled a 'yoga-inspired, technical, green product' for the U.S. athletes to wear in Beijing, according to Roots Chief Executive Michael Budman. But Norman Bellingham, chief operating officer of the USOC and a former Olympic kayaker, says that he wanted the athletes to be attired in a 'classic and more formal manner. "They wanted blazers and slacks, a more formal look,' Mr. Budman says. The two mutually agreed to terminate their contract. Mr. Bellingham says he asked former NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw to contact Ralph Lauren to see if Mr. Lauren might be interested in designing for the U.S. team. At a meeting at Polo's headquarters on Madison Avenue in New York, Mr. Bellingham told Mr. Lauren that his inspiration was 'Chariots of Fire,' the 1981 movie about British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Upon hearing that, Mr. Lauren smiled, Mr. Bellingham recalls. 'He knew precisely what we were going for.'...'We have to put America on a world stage that looks refined and appropriate,' says David Lauren. At the Olympic Village and at the Closing Ceremonies, athletes' wardrobes will include V-neck tennis sweaters and ties, classic Polo mesh shirts with 'Beijing'" written in big Chinese characters across the front and cargo pants -- all in a patriotic palette of red, white and blue. The Olympic logo featured on the new uniforms may include a replica of a crest with stars and stripes used by the 1932 U.S. Olympic team at the Los Angeles Games. Polo ponies of varying sizes will also make an appearance on the garments."

Don't expect fashion to dominate the conversation this year, though.

Polo to Outfit U.S. Team for the Beijing Olympics [wsj]

Previously
Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests [tr]

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Gay Activist Peter Tatchell Detained Amid Olympic Flame Protests

Gay activist Peter Tatchell was one of dozens detained in various protests over the weekend surrounding the transit of the Olympic flame through London, including one dramatic moment in which the torch was nearly snatched from the hands of television presenter Konnie Huq (see video, AFTER THE JUMP). There were 80 torch-bearers who carried the flame through London, from Wembley Stadium to Greenwich.

Gays Without Borders reports on the Tatchell arrest: "Mr Tatchell ran in front of the bus carrying the Olympic flame. He held up a placard which read: “Free Tibet, Free Hu Jia.” He shouted the same words as he ran along in front of the bus. The police wrestled Mr Tatchell to the ground, which delayed the bus briefly while he was removed to pavement. After questioning, he was later released without charge."

Said Tatchell,in a statement released later: "Hu Jia was jailed for three and half years in Beijing last week for campaigning for free speech, Tibetan autonomy, environmental protection, and for the human rights of the rural poor and people with HIV. Gordon Brown has shamed himself and Britain by greeting the Olympic torch at Downing Street, at a time when China is shooting dead Tibetan protesters and jailing and torturing hundreds of political prisoners. It is hypocritical for the Prime Minister to boycott the Zimbabwean regime, but not the dictatorial regime in China. These double standards bring our government into disrepute. The UK should not be colluding with a police state like China. Attempts to gently persuade the Beijing leaders to stop their human rights abuses have failed. They are manipulating the Olympics. We must not allow them to exploit the Beijing games to divert attention from China’s abysmal human rights record. All countries that love freedom, democracy and liberty should refuse to host the Olympic torch and boycott the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Athletes should wear Tibetan flags during their events and on the podium when they collect their medals..."

Demonstrators across London wanted to make it clear that they will not tolerate China's human rights abuses as the summer Olympics in Beijing approach.

In all, 37 people were arrested over the course of the day. The flame is now in Paris, where it has been met with so much protest that it has been extinguished and put aboard a bus for its transit. According to Agence France Presse, "Paris's Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe planned to unfurl a giant banner over city hall in defence of human rights."

Watch the clip of the Olympic flame snatch attempt, AFTER THE JUMP...

37 held in Olympic torch protests [the press association]
Olympic torch ambushed in London [peter tatchell]
Pictures and videos: Olympic torch protests in London [shanghaist]
Protestors disrupt Olympic flame relay in Paris [afp]

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