08.08.08

Image from http://www.dl-design.se

For once, there is no confusion on how to interpret the date. Any way you look at it, 08.08.08 is 8th of August, 2008. Unlike, say, 07.08.08, which can mean 7th of August, 2008 in Malaysia, or 8th of July, 2008 in the Philippines and the USA, or 8th of August, 2007 for countries that follow the YY-MM-DD format.

The number ’8′ has always been considered auspicious by the Chinese because, as Wikipedia explains:

The word for “eight” (八，捌) in Chinese (Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means “prosper” or “wealth” (发 – short for “发财”, Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for “eight” and “fortune” are also similar, eg Cantonese “baat” and “faat”.

I bet tomorrow’s newspaper will show people tying the knot in droves. Perhaps, there may even be an article or two about babies born on this very special day.

Then there’s the Beijing Olympics that officially starts today. I wonder how long it took China to realise that they must have the Olympics in China this year, by hook or by crook. Although, from the look of things since the beginning of 2008, it doesn’t seem to bring China any luck — just typhoons, earthquakes and all sorts of controversies so far.

This brings to mind the 2020 Olympics — I wonder if Malaysia will bid for it? It will be the crowning glory for Malaysia when it achieves its vision to be a fully developed nation by the year 2020. Notice how I used the word ‘when’ instead of ‘if’. I have faith in you, Malaysia! ;)

But for now, forget about weeding the garden or shopping for outdoor furniture covers because it’s time to spend long hours in front of the boob tube to watch our favourite events and cheer for our national teams. Let the Games begin!

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Addendum:

The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron in Beijing 2008 was nothing short of spectacular, finally surpassing the dramatic way in which an archer fired a flaming arrow to ‘light’ the Olympic Cauldron in Barcelona 1992.

For Beijing 2008, celebrated Chinese gymnast Li Ning was hoisted 75 feet in the air, held up by an ingenius system of cables, who then ‘ran’ on the inside perimeter of the “Bird’s Nest” stadium. This was a stroke of genius, if you ask me. After all, this is how heroes and heroines of Chinese kung fu movies ‘jump up’ to impossible heights, ‘climb walls’ and even ‘fly’.

And while Li Ning ‘ran’, an electronic carpet kept ‘unrolling’ under his feet, which revealed a collage of images of the Olympic torch’s journey around the world before it reached Beijing.

Finally, he reached a gigantic unlit torch in the shape of a spiral cone. He held out the small torch that he had in his hand and lit the fuse connected to its gigantic equivalent. In a flash, the fuse lit up just like a trail of gunpowder, albeit much faster, and suddenly the Olympic Cauldron was enveloped by a huge roar of flames.

Fireworks then lit up the sky.

A most fantastic finish indeed!