From China, With Love

Last night I stayed up too late to watch the opening ceremonies of the XXIX Olympics and I realized a few things:
1. I am a complete sucker for pageantry and lots of dancers in a stadium with lots of music.
2. Sarah Brightman is not Chinese.
3. I am so afraid of heights that when the dude running around the stadium's top had his wire drop, my first thought was that he was going to fall to his death. I then practically held my breath until the torch relay was all done. It was a tense few minutes for me. I really hope I don't fall to my death.
4. Yao Ming is either really tall, or that little boy from the earthquake is smaller than any 9 year old than I have ever met. I think the Chinese might be breeding a new race of giant basketball players.
5. I think the Chinese were telling me that American culture is no longer going to be the dominate force in the world. I might need to learn Mandarin.