August 2008 - Posts
From Dan Fleschner, TODAY producerIt didn't really sink in what I was heading into until I saw the Superdome around 1 am early Sunday morning.
Everything happened fast - I was visiting my family in New Haven on Saturday afternoon when I learned I'd be flying out of JFK airport that night with Lester Holt and my TODAY colleague Sarah Clagett.
So I hopped on the train back to New York, packed a bag and headed for the airport.
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From John Rutherford, Producer, NBC News, Washington Della Jones, 105, remembers well Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, delivered 45 years ago today from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
"Oh, I thought it was wonderful," Della said of the historic 1963 speech. "I think we all should have a dream for our lives and work towards that dream."
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| AP file |
| In this Aug. 28, 1963, file photo the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington, D.C. |
Della's dream was to be a teacher, and she taught for 36 1/2 years, first in Kentucky's black schools and eventually in its integrated schools.
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If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole army to keep the TODAY show running smoothly in an Olympic village. And though viewers don't normally get to see them on camera, some of the most important troops in that army are the runners -- the intrepid young people who keep everything, well, running.
Runners do everything from making all-important Starbucks run to making sure the talent get to the set on time. Their work can from the gritty (cleaning up detritus) to the glamorous (chauffeuring the likes of Kobe Byrant and Venus and Serena Williams to and fro in golf carts) all in the space of a single exhausting, exhilarating day. They're the people the TODAY show couldn't have gone to Beijing without, even though viewers never get to see them. Never, that is, until now, when TODAY's faithful runners finally get a chance to tell all about their "crazy" "stressful," "laughable," "kind of surreal" and "busy, busy, busy, busy" lives.
WATCH VIDEO
From Jenna Wolfe, Weekend TODAY anchor
In Beijing, you’ve got swimming, you’ve got gymnastics, you’ve got track…and you’ve got shopping. Shopping is practically an Olympic sport over here, requiring just as much energy, cunning and dedication as any event I’ve seen on the Olympic Green.
As I found out when I when I went to the Yashow market – I’m terrible at it.
I set out to buy a shirt for 50 RMB, that’s about $7.50 in the United States. I ended up with a scarf (for more than I would pay on a street corner in New York). That’s right, a scarf. In Beijing. In summer. The saleswoman was the most persuasive creature I have ever encountered. I would have bought long underwear from her.
Watch the video.
From TODAY producer Josh WeinerBetween brewing coffee and roasting a panini, we caught up with Christina Cirulli, who runs TODAY's on-set catering operations at the Olympic green compound in Beijing.
Q: You have a long table with chairs and a seemingly endless supply of food in your trailer. Who comes through here?A: Everyone from crew to guests to talent. I stock the green room trailer with food, but a lot of the athletes who are on the show find their way in here anyway looking for snacks.
Q: What are the most popular items for the anchors?A: Well Matt (Lauer) and Al (Roker) really like to put peanut butter on plain Saltine-like crackers. The only time Meredith came in she wanted some roasted vegetables.
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It was the moment we were all hoping for.
Matt, Meredith, Al and Ann had walked out to the Olympic Green to check out the fountains that come on out there every now and then, and the fountains didn't come on.
So during a commercial, we all had our eyes peeled to see if the fountains would suddenly activate, soaking our unsuspecting anchors. And lo and behold, television magic occurred.
Watch the video
I want you to pay extra-close attention to the way Matt flees the scene when the water arrives.
On Matt's behalf, it seems apt to quote Woody Allen's character, Boris, in Love and Death: "We have to take our possessions and flee. I'm very good at that. I was the men's freestyle fleeing champion two years in a row."
His speed was Usain Bolt-esque.
Trivia question: Who has the top-selling NBA jersey in China? I'll give you a hint: it's not Yao Ming. It's not Yi Jianlian, either. It's actually Kobe Bryant.
That's right, Kobe's #24 in Lakers purple and gold is the most popular jersey over here, and he draws a crowd wherever he goes. We got an inkling of that at the Opening Ceremony, when the crowd roared anytime his face appeared on the scoreboard.
But the point was driven home more emphatically when we taped an interview with him last week, which aired today. WATCH VIDEO
We shot the interview on the Olympic Green, near the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, and as soon as someone spotted Kobe riding out to the location in his golf cart, word spread almost instantly, causing a mob of people to start chasing after him. They brandished cameras and cried out, "Kobe! Kobe!" (see the photo below)
It's hard to imagine many more American athletes -- or athletes from any country -- commanding the attention of so many Chinese people.
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Happy birthday, Al Roker! Today our favorite weatherman turns 54.
We celebrated the momentous occasion over the weekend here in Beijing with dinner at Daniel Boulud's restaurant, Maison Boulud à Pékin, followed lots and lots of karaoke.
Check out some of the party pics:
Al like Ann's birthday present so much, he wore it the entire night!
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From Ryan Osborn, TODAY producer
As we have at previous Games, we've partnered with Getty Images again in Beijing.
In addition to providing us with some of the most powerful pictures from all over Beijing, we also have a Getty photographer on our set who has been taking portraits of the athletes that appear on our show.
Here are a few highlights. Their smiles tell the story better than any words.
Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin show off their all-around hardware.
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From Karen Trosset, TODAY producer
Lijiang, China, is not just beautiful, it is an awe-inspiring glimpse into life in ancient China. First settled some 800 years ago, it is located deep in China's southwest. Lijiang boasts the sprawling snow mountains and one of the country's deepest gorges -- the breathtaking Tiger Leaping Gorge -- but its people and their culture seem ripped from the pages of history books.
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| Robert Colvill |
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From Al Roker, TODAY anchor
It’s become a tradition for Matt and me to learn a new sport at each Games. In Athens, we almost drowned trying to compete with the synchronized swimming team...
Watch video
....and in Torino we risked life and limb when we got on the luge together:
Watch video
So the bar was pretty high coming into Beijing, where I was tasked with choosing our next adventure into Olympic competition.
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From Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical editor
China is now the fattest country in the world, second only to the United States. One out of five Chinese children over the age of 7 is overweight, and nearly 10 percent are obese. How did a country that struggled with starvation just half a century ago now find itself dealing with an obesity epidemic? There are a few issues here. WATCH VIDEO
First, China has embraced fast food. KFC is the outlet of choice, with McDonald's working feverishly to catch up. It is a status symbol of sorts to say that you have thrown a birthday party for your child at McDonald's. It is a sign of affluence; that you have some extra money and are able to splurge. But that ability to splurge brings with it a hefty calorie count. And instead of sharing food, which is the Chinese norm, when a child eats at a fast food restaurant the pressure is to finish all the food, even if full. CONTINUED >>
From Lester Holt, Weekend TODAY
I'm not sure how to say "I've got next" in Mandarin, but the street ball players I encountered at a city park here in Beijing this weekend got my message. The next thing I knew I was taking on all-comers, hoping to show a few ball handling moves from the States they may not be wise to. Turns out they've seen it all. They even had trash talking down to perfection, though admittedly they could have just as easily been talking about the weather. You know. That language thing again.
The game, by the way, is not basketball, but ping pong. Yes, that's what they call it, not table tennis like they do over at the Olympic venue. Ping pong is a national pastime here, and city parks are filled with tables in much the way you would find blacktop basketball courts in city parks across America. It's pick-up ball, Beijing style.
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| Petra Cahill / msnbc.com |
| Li Chang Jiang, 56, reaches for a shot during a ping pong match in Chaoyang Park, Beijing on Aug. 12. |
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From producer Ryan Osborn
Michael Phelps stopped by our set today, telling Matt that he was "so exhausted". But he had enough energy to take this picture with the TODAY crew. Read more on Phelps here.
Marilee Thoresen from McFarland, Wis., asked the TODAY family: "If you could compete at the Olympics, what sport/event would you want to compete in?" So we asked them...
Matt Lauer
Either the 100 m, because it's the true glamour event of the Olympics or the pole vault, because it doesn't seem like it should be humanly possible to do that.
Meredith Vieira
Gymnastics, for sure. Ever since I was a little girl I've been enthralled by the grace and the beauty of the sport.
Ann Curry
Diving because I love the feeling of flying.
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From Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent
It is a centuries old, elaborate tradition simply called "the Peking Opera."
Acting, singing (although to the western ear that is debatable), tumbling and all sorts of other sundry stuff makes it an enjoyable, if not incomprehensible, evening.
So, to be allowed to "suit up" and partake in a production of traditional Chinese theater in Beijing was both a privilege and honor.
My role? I was to be the "Ocean King" in a production of something no one bothered to tell me. CONTINUED >>
Since Julie Foudy, Bela Karolyi and Michael Johnson stopped by the set to chat about “Let It Out,” a new documentary featuring Olympic legends sharing life-altering personal and athletic moments, I took the opportunity to ask them about the greatest moment they’ve seen at these Games so far:
Julie Foudy, Olympic soccer gold medalist in 1996 and 2004, silver medalist in 2000
When I go home every night I turned on CNN International in my hotel room, and all I here is the war going on between Georgia and Russia. And then the second day, the Russian and the Georgian are on the medal stand together, and they reach in and embraced on the medal stand. I thought, 'That is what the Olympics are all about.'
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From TODAY producer Josh Weiner
Have you ever arrived at a hotel after a long trip to find out you didn't have a reservation after all? Imagine if that happened -- after you'd traveled 18 hours on three flights going halfway across the world! That's exactly what happened to Melissa Lawson, the new winner of NBC's "Nashville Star." She was here in Beijing during the Olympics for a live TODAY performance of her new single. Melissa was pretty unfazed at the hotel mishap, and with a little Southern charm and the help of her friend's credit card, it all worked out.
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From Jenna Wolfe, Weekend TODAY host
If you were making me dinner last week and you asked me if there was anything i don't eat, I’d have quickly said, "mayonnaise." Ask me that question today and I’d easily say scorpions, lizards, sea horses and silkworms. Yeah, I pulled a "when in Rome" this week while here in Beijing covering the Olympics, and embarked on
my courageous journey to the Chinese night market (video), sight of all things delicious to the Chinese and, well, interesting to Americans. Walking through the market is one thing, sampling the goods is entirely different. It's not like I’m at Whole Foods tasting a new fruit spread. We’re talking real rodents here, a delicacy to the Chinese. And since I was doing a piece on these little critters, I sort of HAD to taste them.
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There have been questions surrounding Michael Phelps since he arrived here in Beijing on Tuesday evening: Will he win eight golds? Will he establish his place in history as the most dominant swimmer of all time? And, perhaps more importantly ... what is with that facial hair?
Matt Lauer put that question to Phelps this week while interviewing him for a segment that aired today. Contrary to popular belief, Phelps is not channeling Mark Spitz circa 1972 in order to break his record of the most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games. In fact, the answer is not that exciting at all:
"Just messing around a little bit," he said. "Just having a little fun, is all."
Phelps said the 'stache is going to go tonight or tomorrow, well before his first preliminary heat on Saturday morning.
So...enjoy it while you can?
WATCH VIDEO
It’s with great sadness that we mourn the loss of a beloved TODAY family member, Jack Rappaport. The “Ambassadog of Hope” passed away in the loving arms of his mom and TODAY entertainment correspondent Jill Rappaport. Viewers across the country grew attached to Jack, a loveable symbol of perseverance for having survived osteosarcoma and the amputation of his cancer ridden-leg. From struggling as a pup on the street to overcoming life-threatening obstacles, Jack was an inspiration to everyone on the TODAY team. In response to the great outpouring of readers’ support, Jill had this to share: CONTINUED >>
If you hadn't previously heard of Chinese pianist Lang Lang, consider yourself introduced. WATCH VIDEO
The 26-year-old is an international superstar, who has played to sold-out crowds around the world. Today, he took his act to our Beijing set, and tomorrow night, you can see him perform at the Opening Ceremony (7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT).
In fact, not only did he bring his act to our set, but he also brought...his own personalized piano (photos after the jump).
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You've heard of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, right?
Well today here in Beijing, we got a instance of it, though instead of breaking down diplomatic barriers, the only result of today's table tennis exhibition between President George H.W. Bush and a group of table tennis players was fun for everyone involved.
This all went down at Beijing Normal University, where most of the American athletes here are training before and during the Games. Thanks to a stubborn boxing coach, who kicked our interview out of the pugilists' lair, we ended up in the judo training room -- which happened to be adjacent to the table tennis room. WATCH VIDEO
On his way in to meet Matt and the rest of us, President Bush couldn't help himself and hit a few balls with the U.S. team, which, ironically, is comprised entirely of Chinese-American players. WEB-EXTRA VIDEO
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By Tiki Barber, NBC News correspondent
Imagine being told by your peers that you are crazy because you’ve fallen on the ground and gone into an uncontrollable epileptic seizure that you don’t remember.
Confusion, embarrassment, shame, self-consciousness, and isolation are just a few of the feelings that kids with epilepsy experience on a daily basis.
Thank goodness there are people in the world like Sandy Weinstein, and her all- volunteer staff of counselors, doctors and nurses. They know that all kids need a place where they can feel “normal”.
At Camp Great Rock, for one week each summer, children that suffer from epilepsy don’t have to feel a stigma.
As Sandy puts it: "They're the insiders. Those without epilepsy are the outsiders." Read the rest of this entry.
WATCH THE VIDEO
Here are a few pictures from a recent trip to Beijing World Park, a Chinese amusement park that's one of three areas within the city that have been designated as official protest zones:
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As we begin broadcasting from Beijing this week, you can go to www.twitter.com/todayshow to see tweets about how some of our producers are spending their days in China.
I think Twitter will be a cool way to cover the Games.
Check it out.
