The New Olympic Torch Is "An Expensive, Designer Cheesegrater"

Behold its elegant fluted shape, the 8,000 fine-bore holes punched in the golden chain mail of its noble aluminum frame — each orifice representing one of the good and decent runners who will course across the UK and Ireland bearing the almighty flame to its final burn site in London. The majesty of this torch, unveiled today, is almost too much to comprehend. The British press is already referring to it as the "cheesegrater." (I imagine we'd invent a very different nickname for it here.)

Of sad note, from the Guardian:

Despite tremendous efforts to make the flame of the torch energy efficient as possible, London organising committee chairman Seb Coe said today: ''We didn't get there''.

Coe said the organisers ran out of time to incorporate a flame using less carbon, developed from a fuel based on elephant grass, but that the work behind the scenes to use green energy would benefit future Olympic Games hosts.

Shaun McCarthy, chairman of he Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 (the body overseeing the ''green'' claims of the Games) said such an excuse was unacceptable. ...

''The promise of a low-carbon torch was made in 2007 and so the excuse of 'we ran out of time' is not acceptable.''

An elephant grass-fueled golden cheese grater? If only Pottery Barn had the balls....

London 2012 Olympics: golden torch revealed [The Guardian]