Beijing - 2008 Summer Olympics

Despite the issues affecting China atm (Tibet and the non-intervention in Myanmar), I for one cannot wait till the games kick off.

A lot of the disciplines on offer don't interest me, however quite a few do. Table Tennis, Football, Tennis, Basketball, Fencing, Badminton and Judo are my favored ones to watch. This year also marks the introduction of BMX as a new discipline. If I remember correctly, Beijing 2008 will also offer Wu Shu (Chinese Martial Arts) as an exhibition sport and that will be one I will also be looking forward to.

I've also read that North Korea and South Korea are contemplating competing as one team. I hope that does happen, as in the past they've walked together in the ceremonies but never competed together. I think it would be beautiful to see two countries technically at war with each other compete together at one of the biggest sport events in the world.

Although the games dont start till the 8/8/2008, I wanted to be the one who started this thread so thats why I'm just over 4 months early

Discuss!

I think the Chinese will have to make some pretty major mistakes dealing with Tibet (the West doesn't care enough about anywhere else where China's policies are evil) for it to compromise the games.

I look forward to seeing lots of drugged up athletes breaking new records as well though.

Agreed. Seems to me that internationally, the opinion is that boycotting the games is not the solution. (Which I agree with)
The world didn't really do much/give a shit when China invaded Tibet back in the 50's, why would they do so now?

Well the problem is that Tibetans get more sympathy from the average voter in the West, thanks to the Dalai Lama and the (relatively) wider knowledge about the suppression there, and of course because of the huge diaspora of Tibetans in Western countries.

At the end of the day any boycotts or other acts to disrupt would take place as a type of political grandstanding. Not because anyone realistically thinks that it'd be effective in completely changing Chinese policies towards Tibet, other regions with similar policies, or even external issues like Sudan.

I'm really looking forward to the basketball. Yaomania will be in full effect! It will be cool to see...and I really, really hope Australia's Mens team can play decently for once and recapture something close to where they were in Sydney. Athens was fucking pathetic. Hopefully the Women's team can get a gold. We've got some of the WNBA livewires in our team, Penny Taylor had a breakout year last season, winning a championship, so hopefully with her and reigning MVP LJ plus the other experienced players we have a strong chance.

Swim team is firing as usual too so hoping for some gold there, though the other teams especially the US are getting stronger again in that field.

i hope our walkers do well.

Is Adam Gilchrist in the Olympics?

I dunno, but I hope johnny is.

 Looking forward to the Womens Individual Medley

 

my only fear is that China, which is telling foreign journalists that they have intercepted Tibetan plans to send suicide-bombers to the games etc, will actually set something up to blame Tibet about! I wouldnt put it past them

I hope Amnesty use the games wisely too, to highlight the shitty way people have been treated by the government, the corruption within local councils (examples would be, the recent dam developments, and teh removal of tenants from farmlands to make way for companies and large developments...without any compensation)

bring on the gymnastics and track n field events!!! annnddd the synchronised swimming

anyone know if roy n hg will be there?

i like to chill and watch the olympics but i seriously can't stand the swimming. it gets soooo much tv coverage too bring on the table tennis and more obscure shit

Amen, I bet the sports that get the most coverage are the ones with the most hormone pumped athletes as well.

i'm gonna watch serious amounts of olympics i love almost any sport and the olympics gives me a chance to watch lots i wouldn't normally get to see.

The only thing that bothers me is that only sports with australian competitors get any air time that loses points with me.

Obviously im keen to see the weight lifting & the boxing is always good, I know Bodybuilding was at the last Comm games but im not sure if it’s made it thru to Olympic level yet. Awesome to here BMX made it thru, I remember racing BMX back in the day & a few of the local riders were in some pretty serious training in case this opportunity ever came up.

I really hope Bruce & the 7 team don’t flood our screens with swimming & running I think the Olympics is a really good opportunity for a lot of the smaller lesser known sports to get some air play. 

I don't mind the swimming and running if it is the finals and they're competing for a medal. What shits me the most is having to watch hour after hour of shit boring heats when there could be a much more interesting event to see.

Agree with Noddy. Finals only.

I agree with putting a leash on showing every heat as well. Group stages of team sports like basketball and soccer I'm keen to see every match though.

meh

i used to like the olympics years ago, but there always seems something more interesting to do than watch some cunts run around in circles
*ZOMFG, theres some paint drying over there!!!!!11*


the chicks who can bend till their vaginas upside down while theyre standing up are cool though

I love watching the gymnastics. Is that in the summer or winter Olympics? I think I prefer the winter Olympics to be honest.


I am very interested in watching this.

does foxtel have anything to do with the coverage this year? would love a few different options.

 I would hope so mate (re Foxtel). But we will see. As long as I get to watch 900 hours of basketball I will be happy.

 Still not sure if I am excited about these Olympics or not. They all seem to be a bit of a letdown after the Sydney games. I was working for one of the major sponsors (Westpac) at the time so we had loads of parties, promotions, athlete visits and things like that for the 3 or so years beforehand. It was right in my face everyday. Impossible not to get into it.

 I think running is the most boring sport ever, swimming is not far behind. Although watching Aussies in a final is ok.

what about walking? i do that shit everyday there is no way it should be an olympic sport.

Does Australia even have an athlete in the Olympics who could generate any form of interest by visiting a company?

Apart from the swimmers there isn't anybody I reckon I would even recognise on the street and even they have to bash the crap out of each other to get noticed nowadays.

 No shit mate. Concur wholeheartedly.
 
And to Josh -

 Not really. They were mostly obscure. I guess you have to remember the interest in the Olympics was extremely high then.

 Duncan Armstrong came to visit a few Adelaide branches (what a shit way to spend your day). I don't even remember the other ones.

 BTW it's a joke the way the media is beating up the 'raunchy' pics of Stephanie Rice. Especially considering the camel-toe exposing attire she swims in.

Sure, they just need to get drunk and assault someone up then they can get heaps of interest from the media companies.

Who is Stephanie Rice?

 Australian swimmer.

 http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23475734-12428,00.html

 

I honestly can't see how anything China do for these Olmpics can come close to the legacy the Sydney games left us with.

I mean, these were the games which introduced Nicky Webster to the world. It must be killing the Chinese to know that even though they have over a billion people to choose from, there isn't a single anorexic carrot top with oversized teeth amongst them.

Mao Tse Tung must be turning in his grave right now.

The media is pathetic.

i like the olympics. we should actually do alright this year on the track too.



tamsyn lewis would have to be pretty marketable wouldn't she?

i know gillian rolton used to have to push through crowds to get to the shops.

   at the photo gallery.

"Stephanie Salutes V for Victory", der its V for Vagina.

bring on the gymnastics, yep lexy its the summer olympics which has that sport *imagines freezing gymnasts at the winter olympics* hehe

athletes are marketable within their own field, and the wider sporting community normally..especially when it comes to attire and products, most athletes can afford to compete at national competitions because they are sponsored, even if they are only newcomers and havent won much... its quite interesting really!

swimmers and the sport are SO FUCKING OVERHYPED its only cause its the only thing we can compete at, internationally, and actually win a few things (besides the commonwealth games!)

Wow. Never thought I would ever see that statement written somewhere.

can. not. wait.

hehe i like perving on the male gymnasts..muscly mmmm mmmmm

also, the floor routines are the best!!!

ooh a video of every little girl's fave female gymnast....nadia!!!

[video: www.youtube.com]

a modern floor routine:
[video: www.youtube.com]

PS wushu is gonna be KICKASS at the olympics! yay glad its included

how China designed the logo - wrong but lmao 

image not archived: 25942202kc0.jpg
image not archived: 61754236gy0.jpg
image not archived: 21850542pj5.jpg
image not archived: 43498510hh5.jpg
image not archived: 59206708kw6.jpg

Wrong buy indeed!

that's golden!

Olympic Torch Snuffed Out In Paris

The Olympic torch has twice had to be extinguished by officials in Paris amid protests by anti-China demonstrators

Reports from the French capital say four activists were arrested during the protests on the banks of the River Seine.

Two campaigners brandishing a Tibetan flag were arrested for trying to bar the torch's path.

And two members of media rights group Reporters Without Borders were held for trying to vault over the security cordon protecting the torch.

At one stage, the Olympic flame was snuffed out, with the torch put on a bus.

It was later re-lit and continued its journey through the streets of Paris inside a tight security cordon - before being extinguished and put back on the bus for a second time.

Police sources said the flame had to be put out for safety reasons.

Sky News Europe correspondent Greg Milam said extinguishing the flame was significant because the torch was supposed to be kept alight on its journey around the world.

"It's supposed to symbolise peace between nations," he said.

"It's clearly a massive blow to the organisers - the demonstrations along the route have had the desired effect."

Thousands of French police had been sent out to ensure there was no repeat of chaotic scenes seen when the Olympic flame was carried through London.

One demonstrator tried to snatch the torch from former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq, while another attempted to put out the flame with a fire extinguisher.

By the time double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes lit a cauldron at the 02 Arena, some 37 arrests had been made.

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge has expressed concern at the demonstrations but said there was no momentum for a boycott of the Beijing Games.

Tibet's capital, Lhasa, was hit last month by Buddhist monks' protests against Chinese rule.

The demonstrations, which saw many people killed, sparked widespread media attention across the world.

I reckon the French and the British letting those Chinese security dudes in blue and white tracksuits run along with the torch and the local cops is pretty dodgy. What does that say about their confidence in their own police force?

That said, the French cops on roller-blades were pretty cool.

SOUTH Australians have been guaranteed an outdoor venue to watch the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Elder Park to be converted into a Games hub.Thousands are expected to rug up and flock to Adelaide's "Olympic Live" site to cheer on their favourite athletes beamed onto a superscreen.
The plan is good news for sports fans after the debacle over a public venue for the 2006 Word Cup, with a last-minute scramble to set up a big screen at Adelaide Oval.

At the time, there was widespread criticism of Adelaide's lack of a central supporter site, with both Melbourne and Sydney boasting bumper crowds at Federation Square and Circular Quay.

Olympic Live will be sponsored by BHP Billiton with assistance from Adelaide City Council.

TV coverage will be screened from August 8-24, with other community activities and events to be staged at the site.

Early ideas include marquees, catering, entertainment, involvement by community groups, demonstrations by sporting groups and interactive activities.

A report outlining provisional plans for the live site will go to the council on April 28 for approval.

It is expected around 5000 people will head to the site on the banks of the Torrens to watch both the opening and closing ceremonies, with a further 3000 tipped each day to tune in to the events.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison encouraged South Australians to head to the site and embrace the spirit of the Olympics.

"I would expect many families will spend time at Elder Park," he said. "Half the fun of the Olympics is sharing Australian athletes' participation and success with our fellow Australians." Mr Harbison said he was pleased this event was being planned "well in advance".

BHP Billiton, which has provided special metals to be used for the production of the medals, will also set up live viewing sites in Townsville and Brisbane in Queensland, and at Bunbury, Kwinana, Armadale, Stirling and Perth in WA.

BHP's links to China could stretch beyond the Games, with suggestions emerging recently the Olympic host country wants to buy a 10 per cent stake in the mining giant.

Live sites have proved popular in Australia's major cities with a host of events including the Australian Open tennis and The Ashes.

The biggest crowd pullers are expected to be the opening and closing ceremonies and swimming finals.

The swimming finals will be in the late morning.

South Australian basketballer Erin Phillips will be among a swag of locals to attract big interest when they compete.

Track fans will be keen to watch runner and hurdler Jana Rawlinson attempting to snare her first Olympic gold, and see if fellow athlete Tamsyn Lewis continues her recent good form.


http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23567111-5006301,00.html

Anyone know what channel the Olympics are going to be broadcast on? I'm guessing on a commercial channel so we can get overrun with advertisements and not actually be able to enjoy watching anything...

Channel 7 and SBS. Although SBS is only has rights to complementary coverage, while Seven gets the primary stuff.

Damn, that sucks.

What other option is there? Foxtel?

They have nearly as many ads as free to air these days anyway.

Well I guess I was just living in a dream world for a moment there and hoping it'd be broadcast in HD on ABC with no ads...

I've woken up now and realised that was never going to happen. My bad. 

I agree 7 getting it is pretty wak i wonder if they will do the "were now leaving the 400 final to play gAyFL"

If you got a fat amount of data allowance there is always TVU
Thats what i use to watch F1 now works pretty well

The Chinese torch security team will be here too but apparently they will be arrested if they touch anyone trying to fuck shit up.

ooh did u know the chinese cops trained to protect the olympic torch can kill with their bare hands?! proper john woo hard boiled cops right there!! so cool

Yeah apparently most of them will be in a bus behind the torch, and from what the cops here have said they won't really be allowed to do anything...

Then again who knows.

Apparently Chinese students/etc are getting free bus rides to Canberra and meals provided so they can piss off the pro-Tibet groups as well. Some reports say the Chinese Embassy has been paying! :o

fuck the politics bring on the games

Damm straight!

Agreed, but it sucks that the politics can't be avoided...

Thank Hitler. He introduced a mix of the two.

Looking forward to seeing the USA in the basketball i must say. Easily the best team they've fielded since 2000 and thats the thing, they actually are a team now. Run much differently than when they got smoked so they should be great to watch.

me too, i don't think the basketball will get much coverage though...

im guna buy extra bandwidth so i dont have to put up with chan.bruce.macs shit

I love how over 4000 babies in China have been named "Olympic Games."

I think a good idea would be to have two separate games, a normal games and Xtreme games, in which you can take as many drugs as you like.

Is it only me who wants to know how fast a person can actually run? I want to know how much faster a person - with full access to modern drugs - can run than a "normal" athlete. I bet we'd see 9 second 100m times.

Me and Scwatta have been watching all of the warm up series games they look pretty good now. Especially since they seem to have the pick and roll defences firing. Game aginst the Boomers today

 :lol:

yer the game's Ive seen they look impressive. Especially against the Russians tactics of slowing the game down by calling a sub at every whistle. Still won by 20

so excited for the games to begin.

will be getting my 37" LCD tv this weekend too, perfect timing.

youll need to pick out people through the smog.

I'm also looking forward to watching this, even if it's only a demonstration sport.

good to see the Ozzies push the yanks in the basketball-good on em!

 I only made it to half time before going to bed but they were doing pretty well, especially with no Bogut. I was really surprised to be honest, I thought they would get destroyed.

 Patrick Mills is a gun! Was great to see Anstey getting in Kobes face. As much as I idolise the dream team I would love to see them lose.

 

only lost by 10 in the end.

can not wait for the games to start.

sport sport sport sport sport sport sport.

chris sherridan from ESPN said he was the fastest player he's seen since Iverson was a rookie

Can someone put up a link to the olympics coverage schedule? Or where i can find out? I tried to check the seven site and it keeps dropping out. Is it just seven who cover it?

A friend of mine is in the  Kayaking K2 500m women & the K4 500m women events

ollie roos vs some other country in the soccer tonight i think 9pm ch 7.

Wow, Olympic soccer is boring as fuck. Or maybe that's just because Australia is playing.

We really need to give up on this dream that we can actually play the sport.

hoping to catch the usa vs china mens basketball game this weekend

And another 4000 babies have been killed and flushed down the toilet.

hoping to see some good ol fashion camel toe....

I'll watch the opening ceremony and maybe some soccer, hockey, or basketball.

And I agree with Leezee on the drugs thing. There's an absolute limit on what humans are capable of in their "natural" state.

But I think we should go one further... allow gene splicing!

Imagine! Hybrid human - cheaters for running. Hybrid human - dolphins for swimming. Hybrid human - giraffes for basketball. It will be GLORIOUS!!!

  Worst game ever anyway. I have tried. :snooze:

 

 

Nothing like the threat of a beating to help put together a quality opening ceremony. Must say it was fucking awesome.

Needed more Nikki Webster though.

i held out as long as i could...........yup a whole 7 mins of the drumming before i sent LD a text "They all look the same"



was a massive relief when i hit send

Dare say he got your message about the same time as he got mine then.

The Aussie uniform was horrible! Shades of bad 80's tracksuits there...

Timboh would be hunting one down on ebay already then.

lol, bout the same time i messaged him from work too, poor bloke must have been inundated with insults

I didn't insult him. I just messaged him to say I saw him at the opening ceremony...............   14,625 times!

 That was pretty freakin cool.

 Edit - i went to bed before the Aussies came out, just checked their outfit. OMG. Why do they always get it so wrong. :throwsup:

 What good shit is on today?

Fuck I hate commentators.

"Listen to that roar for Australia"... err dipshit, it was EXACTLY the same roar given to Guam, Isle of Man and every other 2-bit country!

Then on the repeat this morning, they actually played the roar china was greeted with when entering the stadium, whilst the footage of Australia was still on, then faded into the Chinese team entering!

DODGY!

I really wish I could tune into another county's coverage of the games. Yes, it's a different bias, but that's the whole point.

And anything narrated in Spanish sounds so much more exciting than it really is :lol:

:lol:

epic ceremony imo.

 The commentary last night was absolutely disgraceful. It was awesome when they had the tech difficulties and you couldnt hear them.

Rachel Sporn commentating the Opals "When u get an offensive rebound, it really is like getting a second chance"

Thanks for the insight

Not that I ever assistance with it but I felt pretty f**king proud last night :)

Shit! even I know that! :lol:

Shit yeah! I wanna see how fast, how far and how much weight some giant mother fucker can lift. Have an ordinary Olympics with no drugs if you like but that just encourages cheats. No holds barred, hell I reckon allow bionics and shit! If your willing to have your legs chopped and replaced with springs and shit then you deserve a fuckin medal!

Just heard High Contrast on Ch 7's coverage :lol:

His remix of Something Good by Utah Saints was shown over pictures of the fireworks.

free tibet!



lol

 You are totally wrong, the Aussies got a huge cheer. As well as the US, Hong Kong and a few other countries. Watch it again.

 :funkyj:

 Great swim by Rice this morning, she totally owned them. :slayer:

 Phelps isn't human.

 Loving it so far.

Yeah i thought Aust got a bigger roar than most

sbs has some mad coverage :slayer:

That had to be one of the best torch lighting rituals I've ever seen too. I caught a glimpse halfway through and was like wtf? he's running around the inside of the arena, nuts! Better than Barcelona's flaming arrow which was the previous most memorable one for me...

 Fuck channel 7 showing the footy. Disgraceful. The Adelaide v Richmond game is a shambles. They should have offloaded some games to 10.

 Big up SBS though! The volleyball was sweet before.

 Dream Team and also the Boomers in their respective games tonight. :D There goes any glimmering hope of doing study.

are those games on TV spanks?

 I think so, I checked the channel 7 site and they are in the list. Doesnt say what time tho just says Basketball (Men's: Australia vs Qualifier, USA vs China)

Thats a pretty poor effort on 7 but im not suprised at all

Had both screens at work on yesterday womens beach volleyball on one & mens road race on the other....

the volleyballers are fucking nuts, mad rallies!

Fuck them generally.

The Australia v Argentina game was atrocious.

I know you guys don't really like soccer, but The commentator basically dismissed Australia right from the beginning, and they basically had adverts every time the ball went out - the equivalent of going to adverts every time someone scores a point in Aussie Rules.

I realise adverts help them to show the games, but why not wait until half time to show them all, like SBS would do?

SBS's coverage is much better - better sports and better presented.

don't spose it's being streamed on line anywhere? would be a nice addition to the the corner of my screen at work

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

dream team carved it up last night, anyone catch it? some fucking amazing plays.

they were sht house in the first half. If they play like that against someone like Spain, they'll get smoked

Angry viewers have attacked the Seven Network's decision to interrupt their Olympic Games coverage to show the Sunday afternoon AFL match.

Seven's website has been bombarded with complaints on its "Fan's Forum" who are calling on others to boycott the broadcaster's coverage over its decision to show the Adelaide versus Richmond match.

"Football is on and televised every weekend. Olympics comes every 4 years," forum user musicdancerecords posted on the site.

"I was all excited and prepared to sit and watch the Diving today - but guess what - Football is obviously more important to Channel 7."

Users are also encouraging viewers to call Seven to complain about the decision while others suggest contacting advertisers to voice their disgust.

"Australia are likely to win at least one or two medals this afternoon, we will be forced to watch a low-table game of Australian Rules," user mygoodnessyouaredumb wrote.

"Seven are a discgrace (sic) to the country."

Today's Adelaide versus Richmond game was a clash between seventh versus eleventh.

Adelaide had a comfortable 63 point win.

The Seven Network has defended the move, saying SBS continued to show events from Beijing as the complementary broadcaster.

"There is coverage of the Games on SBS while we're at the football," spokesman Simon Francis said in a statement to AAP.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/olympics/article.aspx?id=612016

boomers coverage sucked ass.  3rd quarter only full of adds and we were getting drilled. we looked shit. watchedstar wars instead  . they send live from 10pm est and coverage didnt start till 1130, they showed heats of crap swimming instead. i hate ch 7

usa game was good. lebron was dope

there was a fast break one handed lob thing over some china fella that got majorly slammed down by one of the usa guys.  was one of the raddest things ive seen on the court


i think yahoo and big pond have some live footage of olympics too

How dare Channel 7 view the football as more important than diving?

 :E

:lol:

i can't see a problem with channel 7 showing the footy. the games is on 7 days a week from 9am till 1:30am. that's almost 15 hours a day.

boo fucking hoo. you miss out on 3 hours of it!

All I have to say is Thank fuck for foxtel

And you can just change channel to SBS anyway!  :lol:


The second half of the USA game was great.

And on Sunday I saw some awesome stacks in the mens gymnastics :lol:  :gheyslay:

:lol:

that's a very good point.

how good is the back button on the foxtel remote right now-back and forth between sbs and seven all night

 Synchronized diving is fucking gay, no matter how you look at it.

 Interesting that ex USA Becky Hammond is playing b-ball for the Russkies now too!

the usa basketball team slaughtered china by 30 odd points. i'd love to see how many of their points were from dunks, cos they were throwing them down all over the place.

they even walked into a few dunks lol.

watched the game. They def need to play better than that to beat teams like Spain and Argentina.think they were 1-10 from outside at one stage- That said, it was the opening game.

 Enjoying watching the Womens Volleyball - Poland v China right now on SBS ;)

Whats with the Aussie Womens beach volleyball duo tapping eachothers arse every 5 seconds?

for the life of me i can't work out why that's an issue?

:rofl:

I see your point they they really don't do it for me.  One of the Georgian's playing them last nite was a hottie however...

still-if in anyway they can encourage our future generation of athletes that just might be watching at home.....

as they say, children are sponges

 :lol: too true

i now know why they call it pole land, that volley ball girls team was hot!

this link is sbs tv guide

http://www.sbs.com.au/schedule

Weren't they just!

Keep an eye out for womans synchronised swimming. The brazillians have a set of twins who are smoking!

(http://img.terra.com.br/i/2007/07/02/542873-1375-in.jpg)

i here by go on the record taking back everything i ever said about such a fine, fine sport

Co sign

yeah the polish chicks were smokin!!!

it just isnt the same without roy and hg's 'coverage' of the games on tv

lmao at this pic of the Spanish BBall team thats caused some controversy

(http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Sport/Pix/pictures/2008/08/10/spanishbasketballteam.jpg)

(and the story here : http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/10/olympics2008.olympicsbasketball)

There's some good photography coming out of the games...


(http://deadspin.com/assets/images/deadspin/2008/08/1_deadspin_olympic_breast.jpg)

Chinese child singer 'too ugly' for opening ceremony
Posted 1 hour 13 minutes ago

 
Singer Yang Peiyi missed out because of her chubby face and uneven teeth. (AFP)
The pretty girl who had the starring role at China's Olympic opening ceremony was a photogenic front for the real singer, who was rejected appearance-wise in the "national interest".

Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke has been celebrated across China. In a red dress and pig tails, she sang Ode To The Motherland at Friday's opening extravaganza.

But a director of the opening ceremony, Chen Qigang, has told state television Lin was miming to another girl's voice. That girl was seven-year-old Yang Peiyi who, according to state media reports, has a chubby face and uneven teeth.

She was dropped after a senior member of China's ruling Communist Party attended a rehearsal and said "there was a problem".

"Yang Peiyi missed out on selection [to appear at the ceremony] because of her external appearance. It was for the national interest," Chen was quoted as saying by the government-run China News Service.

China has gone to extraordinary lengths and expense to ensure a picture-perfect Games.

An official disclosed on Wednesday that some of the scenes of fireworks broadcast at the opening ceremony were pre-recorded.

Among sections pre-recorded were parts of a stunning series of firework "footprints" across Beijing that led to the Bird's Nest stadium where the four-hour spectacular was staged, Games executive vice-president Wang Wei told reporters.

But getting one child to appear as the face of another was a step too far, according to comments posted on the internet.

"Why worry so much about appearances? All seven-year-olds are angels," said one Chinese national.

(http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200808/r281379_1194754.jpg)


Poor little girl. What sorta shit are u runnin over there LD!? The whole thing reaks of......

(http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/milli-vanilli.jpg)

The state values highly the contribution made by all the people to the wonderful spectacle of the 2008 Olympic Games.

hahahaha nice

:lol: saw that

anyone else hear about the 'digitally enhanced' fireworks display that was beamed around the globe? :lol: :lol:


and hows this little gem:
Software malfunction at the opening ceremony
http://www.theage.com.au/news/articles/blue-screen-of-death/2008/08/12/1218306873187.html
(http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/china_wideweb__470x325,2.jpg)

Turns out that Bill Gates was not the only famous Microsoft identity to be spotted at the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

Numerous bloggers also observed the cameo played by the so-called Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) - the Windows error screen that flashes up on your computer, signifying that it's time to reboot.

The screen was projected onto the roof of the National Stadium during the grand finale to the four-hour spectacular as veteran Chinese gymnast Li Ning, suspended 70 metres above the stadium floor, "jogged" towards the Olympic torch.

The BSoD message begins with the following sentence: "A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer."

Usually, the only way to remove the BSoD is to restart your computer pressing the Ctrl+Alt+Delete buttons at the same time.

Images of the malfunction have popped up on Chinese forum sites showing the clearly visible error message projection.

The ceremony, which featured 14,000 performers depicting 5000 years of Chinese history, also involved the use of advanced technology to control the sound, lights and projectors.

At various times during the event, images of whales, clouds, and the faces of young children were superimposed on the roof the stadium - also known as the Bird's Nest.

And as Li Ning completed a lap of the stadium roof's rim, images of the torch relay were flashed up.

The spectacular opening ceremony also included 35,000 fireworks launched from 1800 sites around the city, to form patterns in the air.

Yesterday it was revealed that organisers digitally inserted computer-enhanced images of some of the firework displays broadcast during the opening ceremony.

The BSoD is a bit of an in-joke among geeks and is often used to poke fun at Microsoft's bug-prone Windows operating system.

Gates, who stepped down from his last official full-time position at Microsoft at the end of June, remains as the software company's part-time, non-executive chairman.

He has been spotted at several Olympic events, accompanied by his wife and is here is a private capacity. Microsoft is designated as an official supplier to the 2008 Olympic Games.

It's Windows XP operating system was chosen to run on all PCs used by the organisers a well as being the operating system installed on PCs supplied by Lenovo Group, the computer maker than is one of the major sponsors of the 2008 Olympics.

Microsoft's newer operating system, Vista, was not chosen.

Lenovo chairman, Yang Yuanqing, was quoted as saying that because of the complexity of the IT functions at the Games, it was decided to not use the the more recent operating system. "If it's not stable, it could have some problems," he said.

 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: it was probably a pirate copy of windows with no support

 Big up Steph Rice. Fair effort.

she win again?

 Sure did! Spewin I missed it

STEPHANIE Rice has become Australia's first dual gold medallist of the Beijing Games, winning the women's 200m individual medley and setting a world record.

Rice trailed Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coverntry by almost half a second heading into the breaststroke leg at the halfway mark, and reduced the margin to 0.09sec with just 50m of freestyle to go.

The two then slogged it out over the last lap before the gutsy Rice prevailed by 0.14sec, winning in 2min08.45sec.

Rice added the 200m IM gold medal to the 400m IM she won on Sunday.

Australia has now won four gold medals at the Games, all by our female swimmers.

"It is something I have dreamt about for a long time and was obviously the ultimate goal," said Rice of her double gold.

"I put a lot of effort into this preparation so I'm really excited to see the results.
Related Links


"I tried not to look over too much in that last lap, I just closed my eyes and focused on all the hard sets I have done.

"It was extremely close and I didn't realise how close it was until I saw the scoreboard.

"It was a phenomenal race."

Australian teammate Alicia Coutts placed fifth in 2min 11.43sec.

Rice next swims as part of Australia's 4x200m freestyle relay team, which should qualify for tomorrow's final.

she's swum her way into millions of $$s

i put a bet on Eamon sullivan to win the 100m freestyle before the games started paying $4.60 looking good for tomorrow

Not my favorite sport to watch but the Chinese gymnasts (men and women) on fire atm.

China should have just been awarded the gold in gymnastics automatically and had everybody else fight it out for second.

Isn't that how they score the shooting? :E

I know fuckall about gymnastics but just watching Team China, you got the sense they trained so hard in preparation for this Olympics. They looked the absolute business when going through their routines. Respect.

I caught the end of the womens weightlifting the other night and that's seriously what it was like.
All the other competitors had finished & been placed before the little (53kg or something) chinese chick came out for her first lift at around 6kg more than anyone else could manage. Twas a little scary to be honest.

your on fire at everything atm.... have you seen the diving??


there must be something in the smog in china...

Yeah the synchro today was nuts everyone one was pretty much within 1-2 points of each other in the 100 point range and the Chinese duo come and drop a 132 point effort.

The Chinese can't touch Michael Phelps though...did anyone see that lead leg he did in the freestyle relay? He was a half pool length ahead of everyone...no contest at all.

Respect to him for his achievements but have you heard him speak? Lol he sounds like there's a few slices missing from that loaf, coupled with the ears it's pretty funny!

fuck the lifting is insane

My PB C&J is 75KG @ around 80KG & there was just a girl snatching twice that weight @ like 70....

Beaten by a woman, might as well neck yourself now before you REALLY humiliate yourself in public

Oh wait.. you already did...  :E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBa1CNsCtPc

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That really was catastrophic (literally)!!!
Seriously, you look like an amateur sculptors attempt at working with bronze.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Speaking of weight lifting... ouch!

(http://atem.oliz.biz/~khem/images/wronglifting.jpg)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1044258/Pictured-The-horrific-moment-Olympic-weightlifter-turns-elbow-front.html
http://www.break.com/usercontent/2008/8/Janos-Baranyai-Weightlifting-Mishap-553673.html

Table Tennis Teams on SBS @ 5:30! w00t!

crazy that if Phelps was a country, he'd be fourth on the medal count

anyone seen page four of the advertiser? has a pic of steve waugh with an argentinian soccer player...it's fucking kobe lol..

The Polish chicks indoor volleyball team is pretty fit.
Love how they have hotpants for the uniform.
The sport must be excellent for body tone.
(http://images.beijing2008.cn/20080524/Img214375710.jpg)

 Read the article right next to it doofus.

 Sullivan with Silver, fair effort. Reckon he would be gutted still though

 Haha I just read at the start of the thread where I said swimming was extremely boring, I still don't love it but I love anything where the Aussies are doing well.

 Edit- Rice with Gold medal number 3 in 4 x 200m relay! She is gonna be a megastar