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Thoughts on the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony

28 Jul

To compensate for my absence the entire last week, I decided to write another post today on the 2012 Summer Olympics. On a side note, I don’t think the Winter Olympics get as much recognition or even media coverage as the Summer Olympics. Last night, I watched the entire opening ceremony for four and a half hours (including those sentimental yet annoying commercials by American companies advocating consumerism) on NBC.

The 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony was worth spending four and a half hours watching! I loved every minute of it (including the hours when the athletes walked in). Last summer, I visited London for a few days, and I hope to visit it again soon. One thing for sure, it’ll be a revived city.

From the snapshots of English industrialization to the cheerful dances of doctors, nurses, and children; from the amazing collaboration of James Bond and Her Majesty to the great, recalling acts of Rowan Atkinson; from teenage athletes lighting the Olympic cauldron to Paul McCartney singing one of my favorite songs, Hey Jude, the ceremony was nothing short of spectacular.

I really appreciated how they got real doctors and nurses to perform in the dancing acts. Oh, I almost forgot the ever-so-handsome David Beckham’s appearance. I thought the opening ceremony sent an inspiring  message from the Great Britain to the world. Under the direction of Danny Boyle, the ceremony was beyond dynamic. Now, I really have the urge to watch the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and see how my city fared in wooing the world.

This was actually my second time watching an Olympics opening ceremony, with the first one being the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. I missed out on both the Athens and Beijing ceremonies, but I lucidly remember the one in Sydney even though I had barely turned six when I watched it.

Contrary to how excellent the ceremony was, there were several distasteful things that struck me; though those things should be blamed on the obnoxious American commentators on NBC and not the ceremony itself. There were several occasions where the American commentators pronounced the countries’ names as they wanted without any regards to how the names are actually pronounced.

Either they weren’t professionals or they were too overwhelmed being at the Olympics to act like professionals. One of the guys actually said the athletes were coming too fast (suggesting he was having a hard time keeping up). No shit Sherlock — these are Olympians.

Also, two specific incidents really bothered me. One of the athletes (not sure from which team..there were 200 teams) had dyed his hair bright pink, and the NBC guys just had to comment on his hair. One of the commentators abrasively disparaged his hair by saying, “Memorable? Yes. Beautiful? No.” Beauty is nothing but our own perceptions, so he had no justification to sit there and make fun of a well-deserved Olympic athlete’s appearance. Honestly, we don’t give a crap about what you think is beautiful. Sorry but that comment really irked me.

The second incident was just personally embarrassing for me, and it’s perhaps not anything worth ranting about. When the Bangladeshi athletes walked in, the commentators announced Bangladesh as being the nation with the largest population that had not won a single Olympic medal yet. Bangladesh was basically referenced to as the “largest” loser. Speaking from an objective view, however, I guess it wasn’t that bad. If it were any other country, I wouldn’t think twice about it, plus it was a true statement. It’s rather pitiful to see a nation of over 16 million people (8th largest in the world) only sending 6 athletes. If there were to be a ratio of a nation’s population to the number of athletes it sent to the Olympics, I believe Bangladesh’s ratio would be the very lowest.

Yes, the commentators did take away from the evening, but overall, I think it was an iconic event! I loved Danny Boyle’s creativity and direction. I also loved how the ceremony highlighted Britain’s diversity (in terms of the performers being of different ethnicities). The ceremony expressed the unique identity of the British.

I look forward to watching the events! On a relevant note, so much respect for the Muslim athletes who will continue to fast as they compete in their respective events.

One more thing added to my bucket list: to attend an Olympics opening ceremony!

Also, have a good laugh…

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Doing Something For the First Time

9 Jul

Something popped up on my Facebook newsfeed a few weeks ago. Well, that’s remarkable! As if things don’t always pop up on our newsfeeds. This “thing”, however, was probably one of the most intriguing things I’ve seen in recent times. Then again, it was nothing special, just a simple picture from tumblr or something. A simple picture with twelve resplendent words: “When Was The Last Time You Did Something For The First Time?”

I simply looked at the picture, liked it, and then shared it. That was the end of it…or so I thought. The next day, the picture suddenly appeared somewhere in my subliminal mind. An intense desire to look at the picture once more became overwhelming.

So, I went back to my Facebook (this was the next day), and looked at it again. This time, those same twelve words seemed to jump at me from the computer screen. “When Was The Last Time You Did Something For The First Time?”

Was it today? Yesterday? Last week? Last month? Last year? When was it? Unfortunately, and conforming to my innermost fears, I just couldn’t think of the last time I did something for the first time.

There I was, an eighteen year old, who was simply existing and not living. Don’t get me wrong here. I am not frustrated or even a tad disappointed with my life. I am very content and pleased with the life that I have lived/am living. However, life is entirely too short to just sit around and/or be afraid to try new things.

I sat there for thirty minutes, pondering and wondering, and the closest thing that came to mind was that I turned eighteen for the first time on May 5th. As if I really deserved the credit for not dying just yet.

It occurred to me that it was time for a rebirth. I started doing stuff for the first time. In the same week after the fortunate epiphany, I drank bubble tea (for the first time), had lunch with a neuroscience professor from Emory (for the first time), and lost miserably in a contest held at my school (for the first time).

I tend to be in love with the “art” of keeping records (for anything that doesn’t concern school). When it comes to classes, I’m dreadfully disorganized; however, for anything else, I tend to be very organized. Sometimes, I think to myself I’d do great in a clerical position.

Seriously, you’ll be amazed at the things I used to keep records of. I used to keep extensive lists of all the movies I watched, all the books I read, all the coins and stamps I owned, all the songs (over 5,000) I illegally downloaded, all the things I’m grateful for, and all the states/countries I visited (and so many more nonsensical things).

So, the thought of keeping records of things I’m doing for the first time occurred quite naturally. Maybe, forty years from now, I’ll look back at these records (assuming computers still exist) and smile, laugh, cry, and hopefully, not regret anything.

Ladies and gents, and the cats that are reading this…(http://imgur.com/a/6UiIS). I urge you to get up and do something for the first time! Try something you have always been afraid to try.

YOLO! (You Only Live Once).. Carpe Diem! (Seize the Day).. Kal Ho Naa Ho! (Tomorrow May Never Come).. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara! (You don’t Get Life a Second Time).. I’m sure you are already aware of the first two phrases; the last two are just cheesy Bollywood movie titles.

Go out there, and do something for the first time–no matter how big–or how small.

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An Ordinary Introduction

4 Jul

Hello World! Happy Independence Day (to you Americans).

I guess I owe you a spiffy introduction. Well, my name is Rifat. I like to stare at airplanes in the night sky, listen to Bollywood music, drink mango juice, run around in the rain, collect foreign coins and stamps, and pop bubble wraps. Now, how often do I do these fan-freaking-tastic things? Not very often. I’m working on doing these (and more fan-freaking-tastic things) on a much more frequent basis.

Starting to blog on the fourth of July is totally not coincidental. I’ve been planning on this for weeks now. In fact, I bought my own domain on the first of this month (www.rifatmursalin.com). I might as well say today is independence day on a national level and also on a personal level for me. Today marks the legendary day that I begin to liberate my inner sentiments. I’ve always preferred to express my thoughts through creative mediums (because writing is just so creative, right?). And, because of my lack of talent in the arena of music, dance, art, and probably anything else that might pop up in your mind. I even considered podcasting, but I am far away from being a raconteur. I’d probably be just sitting there in front of the camera, both looking and sounding awkward.

I actually used to blog a few years ago before blogging became mainstream (such a hippie, I am). I blogged continuously for two years, but it was more like a personal blog–sort of like a daily journal. And yes, it was password-protected. This time, however, I am making this blog public because my life isn’t as flashy as it once was, so no need to make it private.

If you’re reading this, thanks for reading. If you aren’t, then get to it!

K. Bye.

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