Public Address | Cafe | Speaker: A Trip to the Bird's Nest https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address Tim Michie https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53049#post53049 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53049#post53049 Oh good! A voice neither toned or worn from years sporting endeavour nor a presenter with a vested interest to Hype The Event (cue cheering) talking about the Chinese Olympics.

Where else (honestly, where?) but on a blog.

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:18:45 +1200 Gareth Ward https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53043#post53043 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53043#post53043

How odd. That doesn't seem to have been reported at all here.

Yes, but what was it in? The paralympics are still a few months away yet, so may have just been a minor warmup tourney of some form...

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:08:08 +1200 Gareth Ward https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53040#post53040 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53040#post53040 Putting aside the "China is evil/boycott the Olympics" politics for a moment, Herzog and de Meuron did a pretty incredible job on that building...
Between the Tate, this and that Philarmonic Hall in Germany (not sure if that's finished yet?) they've put together some of the best buildings around really...

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:55:43 +1200 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53031#post53031 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53031#post53031

I didn’t catch New Zealand Paralympic representative Jessica Hamill winning the shot putting on Sunday, but hopefully that wasn’t the last time the NZ flag flutter will triumphantly in the artificial breeze.

How odd. That doesn't seem to have been reported at all here.

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:23:57 +1200 David Haywood https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53026#post53026 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53026#post53026 Very nice work — your writing talents managed to lure me into reading about a subject in which I otherwise have zero interest!

I subscribe to the Run Only When Chased school of sports thought.

It's great to know the technical name for this exercise regime. I've been a devotee…

]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:05:57 +1200 Kyle Matthews https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53025#post53025 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53025#post53025 Anyway, things have changed a lot here in a decade, and now public hoickers are liable for a 50 yuan fine. I have yet to see this law being enforced, but according to a fascinating report in China Daily, "Spitting cases fell from 4.9 percent to 2.5 percent," from 2005-2007.… ]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:56:32 +1200 Tom Semmens https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53023#post53023 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53023#post53023 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:49:13 +1200 Don Christie https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53014#post53014 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53014#post53014 Inside, one can't help feeling overwhelmed. Beer is just 5 yuan! That's only about one Kiwi dollar. Nothing warms the cockles of a captive market's collective heart more than seeing an opportunity for price gouging nobly spurned. Soft drinks go for the same price as at the cheaper convenience stores… ]]> Wed, 04 Jun 2008 08:50:28 +1200 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53013#post53013 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-a-trip-to-the-birds-nest/?p=53013#post53013 Discussion from blog post.

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