Friday, August 15, 2008

Some Olympic notes

Sorry, dearest readers. I haven't been watching that much. What started as a silent, self-indulgent protest of China's authoritarian regime became an "eh, I have other things to do" thing. That doesn't stop me from having a few things to say, though!

# Slate ran a takedown of world record breaking performances here. I found the stuff about the size of the pool to be very interesting. I don't revel in debunkings like this, and I don't think it matters that much, since gold medals is the only measure that people even remotely care about. It's fun to watch the green line chase Michael Phelps, but I think the viewing public is savvy enough to know that these records fall all the time. Meh!

# I was prepared to write a self-righteously indignant bit about how these idiots on NBC and ESPN are mispronouncing the name of the host city (duh, guys, it's Bay-zhing). So after running "beijing pronunciation" through teh Google, I came across this piece from my hometown Boston Globe.

# They're doing a lot of talking, but is anyone going to do something about this? There are any of a number of stories to read, but I like how this one describes the discrepancy as between online reports and newspaper accounts, and the gymnasts' China-issued passports. It's like that Simpsons episode where Bart has to deliver himself from Knoxville to Springfield. "Well, you sure don't look 25, but your unlaminated, out-of-state driver's license is proof enough for me."

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