Musing on Beijing's 'Pretend Smile'

That messiness in Tibet and other human-rights abuses aside, the architecture of the Beijing Olympics venues is breathtaking and nowhere more so than the National Stadium, better known as the "Bird's Nest" and shown here with optional fireworks display.

The stadium is a collaboration between world-class Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and artist Ai Weiwei. Herewith a fascinating interview with Weiwei, who explains why he calls the games Beijing's "pretend smile," as well as an architecture review of the stadium.

Photograph by EPA/NIC Bothma