Fortunately, the smoke is kind of decontaminating smoke, not very harmful to the environment, but just make the city too warm to have the snow I expected :(

(Photo by LemonED)

It was really a happy day. Good weather and great bloggers from all over China. The more exciting thing is that Automattic sent Matt Mullenweg and Hailin Wu to us. WordPress is really a great platform that makes almost everyone (who uses it) benefits from it. I've been a WordPress user since Feb, 2007 and the ifgogo blog is also built using WordPress from the very beginning.

Like a lot of other "WPers", I've been contributing to some themes and plugins of WordPress as well. And fortunately that I got a chance to contribute to the upcoming Video feature of WordPress.com service. That's really a great experience to contribute to such a big community.

As the idea of WordPress is everyone contributes and everyone benefits, I hope the ifgogo project would follow the same way. We don't blog for money and fame, we just blog for the readers especially those who leave sweet or critical feedbacks to our interesting (or even bored) stories ;) - Though the ifgogo blog is currently still very young and simple, I am sure it will bring you happiness and friends every author blogs.

However, for some infamous and ridiculous reasons, people in China seldom express themselves to the public but the WordPress system really give everyone a chance to do, or at least to try, and finally becomes a blogger :) The WordCamp then gathers the great bloggers together to meet, and share.

To share, to contribute and also to get the friends, responses and sometimes benefits, that's why we blog for today, and tomorrow.

There is no doubt the opening ceremony dazzled the world by blending the Chinese unique elements with the modern high-tech performing patterns, including expressing one of the Games’ themes “harmony” by using the Chinese character “和”.

Visitors were keen on Chinese, according to the Beijing Evening News, just in the first week of the Games, over 500 foreign athletes and coaches have come to the popular Chinese Learning Center in the Olympic Athletes’ Village to learn Chinese and get their Chinese names. The most frequently used words were: 谢谢(thanks), 你好(hello), 再见(goodbye).

Teachers also assisted with Olympic-related vocabulary and conversation, like “祝贺你获得金牌(congratulations on your gold medal)”.

Hope more people will like Chinese and learn it! 

The gold was won by Chinese athlete Qiu Jian and Emmons finished fourth. Four years ago in Athens, China's Jia Zhanbo was lifted from second to win gold when Emmons hit his neighboring target and earned zero on his last shot.

I remembered Emmons from in Athens, and I really wanted him to win this time, because I think he deserves the gold. Emmons is one of the best rifle shooter in the worid, he won two world championship in 2002 and 2004, and took a gold in Athens. He got the first place in almost every contest he attended from 2006 to 2008, including world cup and world championships. Emmons was ready to embrace the gold medal, however, the ghosts hauled him again. His wife Katerina, who won the most eye-catching first gold of the Beijing Olympics for the Czech Republic, opened her mouth in astonishiment.

He must be very upset, but still, he walked up to the gold medalist and congratulated him. Then he walked towards the courtside, where his wife Katerina kissed him and hugged him by the head, trying to comfort him by her affectionate eyes and whisper. They held each other tightly. Tears ran off Matt's face and Katerina wiped them away gently. Her smile was his biggest comfort. I am so touched by the love she has for him, more than the fact that Chinese had won the game. At this moment, love is more treasured than the medal. Just like Emmons said after the game, "With her by my side that's the most important thing, whether I win or lose, she will always be there and my family will always be there supporting me."

They met each other in 2004, in an Athens beer garden just the night he lost the gold in Athens. She  tapped him on the shoulder, and told him she thought he was the best shooter in the world. He lost his gold medal, but in the end, he met the love of his life. They tied the knot in 2007.

"Things happen for a reason," Emmons said after the game. "I said that the last time this happened. The last time the reason was Katie. This time, I don't know what the reason is yet. But I'm sure something good's gonna come from it."

"If he can get a 4.4 and still place fourth, he's great!" she said firmly, "It (the gold medal) was waiting for him. I'm sure it was waiting for him.""What happened today I think will keep him going, keep him determined, and he will be more experienced, this will keep him pointed in the right direction."

I guess luck was definitely not on his side this time, but love is. I really hope that something good will happen after this, just like four years ago. Hope to see him in London, the next Olympic games. I'm sure he longs for this gold medal and I give him all my best wishes, he really deserves it. May the luck be with you, Matthew.

At last, I'd like to use the words I saw from a sports review today to finish this article：

Shoulder by shoulder, they walked away.

During the four years since Matthew's Athens nightmare, he harvested love.

Who knows in the next four years, what will be waiting for the young couple?

Matthew Emmons of the United States competes during the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Matthew Emmons won the 4th with a total of 1270.3. (Xinhua/Bao Feifei)

Matthew Emmons (L) of the United States competes during the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Shooting event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Matthew Emmons won the 4th with a total of 1270.3. (Chinanews.com)

Matthew Emmons (L) of the United States and his wife Katerina Emmons. 

I'm really looking forward to enjoying the American Olympic team compete, particularly with our Chinese team. Tonight, China men's national Basketball team is going to confront with the "8th Dream Team" at 22:15. That would be very interesting and exciting! Many NBA stars as well as Chinese super star Ming Yao will present us an amazing game!

There are also a funny tip just now, from the basketball star Kobe Bryant. Kobe said, if the U.S could not get the gold medal, he will give up the U.S citizenship and join Italy with a new name "Kobe Giova(not sure)"

Anyway, let's enjoy this wounderful game!

This is a picture of Kobe in China found in Baidu.com (Aug, 10)

I assume the host city- Beijing has had a sleepless night. All the Chinese people were cheering and clapping inside and outside of the National Stadium-bird's nest, expressing their excitement and expectation about the Beijing Olympic game. The fireworks light up the Beijing sky and the impressive sky is full of colorful lights, which symbolizes China is hoping to show to others that Beijing is embracing all the people around the globe and China has become a global community. Beijing Olympic committee has accomplished its promise and presented us-a green Olympic, Hi-tech Olympic, People's Olympic. I know it's hard to put China's 5000 years' culture in a stage opera. I think Zhang Yimou has done a good job. I hate the most is CCAV's lines, full of empty talks, which made me have goose bumps all the time. Here are some of my comments about this festival:

1. At the beginning of the opening ceremony, I was so confused about the old musical instrument-fou. What the hell is this? I know Zhang Yimou wants to promote traditional Chinese culture. But how do you expect a foreigner to understand this while a Chinese local is confused about this musical instrument.
2. I was worried about those girls on white A-line skirt standing there and cheering for the athletes' parade for almost two hours. What if they got heat stroke and fainted on the spot? Can Chinese people get more human rights? They are not props, but young girls.
3. The oil painting scroll was a spotlight last night. However, it reminds me of Stephen Chow's classic film, the beginning scene of "Tong Bohu dian Qiuxiang".
4. The subtitles on TV screen were so tinyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. They were like white dots far away which can not be seen. My grandma failed to read.

Let's take a look:

From none to done.

At last, let's bless for this girl:

She's just too tired.

There are now already tons of tweets at twitter tagged with 080808. This event is even reported by Twitter.com officially! I am also enjoying the "opening ceremony" now. Almost everyone is talking about this great game now in China. And I can even see the light from Bird Nest ( I'm currently not far away from Bird Nest )

Just hope the world can be more and more beautiful!

Update: As the Chinese Delegation enters the stadium, the whole Bird Nest is crazy! People are shouting "中国加油" (Come on, China!)

FYI: The young boy besides Ming Yao, survived in the horrible earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan on May 15, 2008.

1. Olympics 2008 Monkey Movie - BBC Sport
   
2. Beijing 2008 Olympics on Stadium Astro
   
3. A video of Fuwa Huan Huan and Ying Ying visiting us in South Florida at the Chinese Festival Feb 21, 2008.
   

If you know more, just feel free to ask me to add.