I have some friends who won’t watch the Olympics, due to China’s human rights issues. I understand. I really do. But I think perhaps not purchasing anything made in China (is it possible to do that?) would support the disagreement with China more than refusing to watch the Olympics. Then again, what do I know?
In any case, I’ve been watching. I’m with Amy Tan on some things though. Remember when I posted this?:
Do you plan to watch any of the Olympics events? Probably only if my husband happens to have the TV on.
What about women’s gymnastics? No, it makes me anxious.
You’re worried someone will fall off the balance beam? Exactly. It awakens my own anxiety about performance. When I was 6 years old, I made a mistake during a piano recital, and the audience began to laugh. I fled the stage crying, and it traumatized me forever.
Yes, I get too anxious during the gymnastics. So I look online first, to see how they did. Then I can watch without my heart pounding.
I have puzzled over the fake things that have happened. Footprints. Lip synching. And now perhaps a fake piano. Who knows? People don’t really seem to care about a lot of fake things. Certainly I heard no one complain when I went to a musical theatre production that used synths rather than brass and woodwinds. I don’t know that most in the audience could even tell the difference. It seems to me that the spectacle is what’s important to many, not any reality. Who knows?
And then there’s this:
According to Chinese media reports, 26-year-old Lang Lang said he was very happy with his performance at the opening ceremony. “Very perfect, not a single defect,” he said, adding, “This 8-minute performance, made an unprecedented impact on me… this must be a new starting point for my life.”
Yes, indeed. Sometimes, when I have a tacet (meaning I don’t play at all) movement or aria, I brag to my colleagues, “I played that perfectly! Not one missed note!” I suppose, if that piano really was fake, Lang Lang wasn’t lying … he probably didn’t have a single defect. I can relate!
