Sometime between August 11th and August 12th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

  • Olympic opening uses girl’s voice, not face: A 7-year-old Chinese girl was not good-looking enough for the Olympics opening ceremony, so another little girl with a pixie smile lip-synched "Ode to the Motherland," a ceremony official said - the latest example of the lengths Beijing took for a perfect start to the Summer Games.
  • Deconstructing Dr. Horrible.: This post contains mad spoilers. I also warn that I am going to take a funny, silly, amusing show and be boringly, depressingly serious about it. If your response to these sorts of nitpicks is 'durr it's just a show' — you're right. So don't click.
  • Part of Olympic display altered in broadcast - Gadgets- msnbc.com: Part of the elaborate Olympics fireworks show broadcast to the world in the opening ceremony was altered, done digitally in 3-D computer graphics, according to several news reports. While the dramatic display [of giant footsteps 'walking' across the city] actually happened as portrayed on television, members of the Beijing Olympic Committee said it was necessary to replace live video with computer-generated imagery because the city’s hazy, smoggy skies made it too difficult to see, according to The Beijing Times, which first reported the story.
  • Olympic Fail: Blue Screen of Death Strikes Bird’s Nest During Opening Ceremonies Torch Lighting: Okay, so this really isn't a major thing: the BSOD was on one obscure section of the Birds Nest for less than a second and was barely visible. Still, it's good for a little bit of nerdy amusement.
  • Turn your change into apps (or music): Coinstar's change-counting machines now offer Gift Certificate options that don't charge the 9% counting fee — and one of the options is for Apple's iTunes Music Store. Dig in your couch, find those pennies, and turn 'em into music or iPhone/iPod Touch applications.

[See also: Links for August 20th through August 22nd | Links for August 6th through August 7th | Links for August 7th through August 11th | Links for August 18th from 06:12 to 14:58 | Olympics Opening Ceremony ]

« One of my coworkers just asked why I… | Considering augmenting my ‘fluff’… »