Welcome To London

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It's official...the 2012 Olympic Summer Games are off and running!

The opening ceremonies, which typically bore me to tears, were a tongue-in-cheek, postmodernist dream. I adored artistic director Danny Boyle's storytelling about the history of the British Isles, complete with Kenneth Branagh performing Shakespeare, Mary Poppinses dropping out of the sky, and a gigantic inflatable Voldemort.

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It was all pretty genius.

But the high point of the entertainment may have been this bit about James Bond escorting Queen Elizabeth to the event:

{So far, the Olympic Committee censors are exercising their copyright protection over this video quite fiercely, so please be patient if it's been blocked. I'll try to keep it alive.}



For my money, there are three reasons why this sequence is so compelling:

1. James Bond and the queen are two delightful British icons. Long may they wave. 

2. Daniel Craig is insanely fit and I am all for anything that involves him. 

3. It's a lovely, clever and very funny bit of storytelling. Icons and actors are all fine and good, but in the end, a strong story matters more than anything else.

Well played, Danny Boyle. Good choice for your artistic director, Olympic planning people. 

And hello, London. Thanks for the warm and hilarious welcome. Let the games begin!