Great Regulars: Art and life seldom imitate each other,

but in [John] Keats's case they really do seem inextricably linked, and in those last days, Mr. [Stanley] Plumly suggests, it's as if he were living out the last movement of one of the odes, "To Autumn" especially, with its sense of a lingering moment prolonged, before transpiring into mist.

from Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Truth and Beauty? Only in Afterlife

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Journalists, about whom the government seemed so wary before the Games--shutting down their access to human-rights Web sites and those critical of China--have been practically pampered.

But it is the legions of volunteers who make the greatest impression, and who seem to be sending the strongest message about how China wishes to be perceived. This is the face the country is showing to the world: young, eager, proud and patriotic.

from Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Beijing Puts On Happy Face for Games, Without Wrinkles
also Charles McGrath: The New York Times: Olympic Timeout by Literati of China

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