Well, I'm sure there are many down sides to having state-controlled mass media, but I have to tell you, watching a major sporting event in a sports-crazy nation where the event is being held for the first time ever . . . you tend not to notice the down sides. We're all packing like mad right now (because we're going on an outing in about 45 minutes), and down the hall, Chris and Susan are watching a replay of Michael Phelps' world-record performance in the 200 meter butterfly, whereas I am watching women's gymnastics live on another channel. (I don't have to watch the butterfly because I saw it live about an hour ago. And I saw the men's 800-meter freestyle relay live, too. All three heats.)

Last night we could choose between women's tennis (the round of 32), or two DIFFERENT soccer matches, or a basketball game. That's right: There are four channels broadcasting the Olympics, and guess what? Hardly any commercials.

I gotta tell you, Comrades, I'm loving this.

I can't stand the thought of going back to NBC's coverage. It's just amazing how coverage like this makes you feel almost ike you're at the event itself, whereas in the U.S., no matter what you watch - it's television. The event is "watching television," the process whereby your mind goes numb and it doesn't really matter what's on because it's all just la-la-la sounds and images. U.S. television sucks the drama right out of life, it does.

Well, I'm about over and out for the duration, here. I have to hurry up quick and pack away my computer so I can weigh my bags, and once I do that, I'll not unpack it until we reach Lansing on Thursday night. And actually . . . Thursday night is probably going to be pretty much a wash, too. So look for me online on Friday, with more stories and selected photos, and in the meantime, you can check my flickr account for the most recent pictures.

There's much more to say. I'll be blogging about this trip for a while, I can see . . .