Classic!

There is nothing funnier than seeing a BSOD when it is not on your computer...except if it's on the "Membrane" at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies.

Explanation on what the Membrane is:

The national stadium is surrounded in a sort of membrane. Unlike China's National Aquatics Center, or "Water Cube," another Olympic venue which is also surrounded in this membrane, the Bird's Nest version is curved and double-layered, offering gracefully decorative soundproof, wind-proof, rain-proof, and even UVA protection to its already impressive body. The outer layer of membrane, completely constructed in November of 2007, was created using 884 individual ETFE panels, covering a total of 38,500 square meters. The inner layer consists of PTFE material. 1,044 panels take up 53,000 square meters of area, whose main purposes are to better the acoustics in the stadium and to support the equipment within the steel frame.This special membrane can also help lighting within the stadium and effectively diminish glare and shadowing, allowing for a more favorable competition environment.

--http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11313

I Love The Venture Brothers

Olympics Part 1

The Olympics began almost 1 week ago and I have decided to post the various stories that news outlets are putting out. These articles are mostly critical of the Olympics coverage and various countries stupidity throughout. If you have a story that you don't see here please feel free to post it in the comments section. Let's start things off right here...

Another topic I have been discussing is the use of American pop music snippets during the beach volleyball tournament. This, to me, is the absolute worst display of cultural overlap. Why would you single out one sport and choose to play American pop music interludes during the break (not to mention that this is the worst selection of Pop music I have heard in some time, Chumbawumba, really?!)? Has the Olympics suddenly become nothing more than a cheap NBA game? I guess I might be over-reacting but I expected a certain amount of deference and respect to be placed on the games as opposed to treating it like some run of the mill competition. More info about this can be found in this Wikipedia article.

For an awesome round-up of cynical coverage of the Olympics turn to Slate.