Breningstall Zone: A picture-close view of China and the world

After all the buildup to the Olympics, the soccer games tonight in Shanghai were a pleasant and subdued affair. There was a significant police presence outside the stadium (spectators purposefully had to walk past a row of officers several hundred meters long before entering an airport-style security check), but in the venue itself security was kept in the backdrop, with many officers dressed in casual-looking Scout-style uniforms. There were a few fans dressed in wigs and face paint, mostly supporting Argentina and Australia (two of the four teams competing in the evening's matches). There were also a couple flags hung down, but no banners–presumably, these are not allowed, although I forgot the exact phraseology on the rule sheet. I did get my SLR in! As did many other people. So the Popular Photography guide to photographing at the Olympics appears to have been wrong, at least in this instance. Food and beverages at the stadium were interesting... sodas and beer cost the equivalent of about 75 cents, well below stadium pricing in the West. The food was kind of a lackluster affair... bags of cheese sticks, awful beef jerky, sausage... the kind of food you find at small stands next to remote bus stops in China. The games were fun to watch... I even found myself interested in soccer for a bit.