Olympic Fever: Wear Your Country Flag On Your Browser

Olympic fever burning for your country team yet?

In line with the ongoing 2012 Olympics in London, Firefox pushed for its set of personas featuring National Flags, celebrating "the global spirit of community." It is certainly a nice reminder to cheer for your country team competing in the XXX Olympiad.

Just to clarify, we are talking about the Games of the "30th Olympiad" and not a reference to a raunchy adult video. Although if we base this on the statements of US Women's Soccer Team goalkeeper Hope Solo, one could be justified in saying that the Olympics may not be just strictly sports. [See Hope Solo and Sex in the Olympics]

Well, what can you do with all that testosterone in the air?

200 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Anyway, this particular collection of Firefox themes [See National Flags 2012] is not at all complete with only about 65 designs including the Global Spirit series. Here's one that features the Philippine Flag as seen in the screengrab above. That is decent enough for my taste. Not satisfied, here are other variations in case you are feeling somewhat patriotic especially now that the Philippines is facing formidable adversaries in the Western Philippine Sea. [See More Philippine Flag Firefox Personas]

Congrats in advance to all participants in the 2012 Olympics. Do your country proud. Here's to Global Community and brotherhood. And Go Team Philippines!

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• Hope Solo on sex at the Summer Olympics, 'There's a lot of sex going on'
• Guest Post: Olympics Preview
• Hope Solo: Why Soccer Star Is Most Exciting Athlete at 2012 London Olympics

2008 Olympics: Bye-bye Beijing, Hello London!

Monocycle racing - the future of the Olympics?
Image from Daily Kos

The last of the fireworks fizzled out late August 25th as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games came to a very spectacular close. Despite its many detractors, the Beijing Olympic Games would remain a historic, fantastic and the most grand Olympics of the global sporting meet.

Already, London, which is up next in hosting the games by 2012, have its mayor Boris Johnson almost half-apologetically expressing to the effect that the next instance of the Olympiad would be quite modest compared to the just finished Chinese version. Says Johnson thru the BBC, "This is not going to be a cost-cutting Olympics, but it is essential we watch every penny to deliver a Games that is value for money."

Olympic Medal Tally Results

The top 5 countries dominating the games were the USA, China, Russia, Great Britain, and Australia. Germany, France, South Korea, Italy and the Ukraine rounds up the top 10.

Overall, there were 87 countries that ranked with a medal out of the 204 states that participated for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Catch the Games results and other Olympic statistics in detail at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) website.

The Philippine Performance

The Philippine delegation did not succeed in bringing in any medals in the official Olympic competitions. However, Filipinos have a consolation in Wushu athlete Willy Wang who brought home a gold for the demonstration sport.

This is the second gold for the Philippines in a non-official sport in the Olympics. The first one was bagged by celebrated bowler Arianne Cerdeña during the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

With another medal-less Olympic campaign the Philippine government pledges to overhaul the sports program of the country.

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Bolt and Phelps Victorious

The athletes who stood out at the Beijing Olympics were of course, Michael Phelps of the USA and Jamaica's Usain Bolt.

Michael Phelps has now reached legendary status for taking 8 golds in swimming, breaking 4 world records as an individual and helping to break 3 more records in the men's relay events. Phelps now stands as the person with the most gold medals for a single Olympics, overshadowing his predecessor and compatriot Mark Spitz.

Usain Bolt ran away (literally and figuratively) with 3 gold medals corresponding to 3 world records in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay track and field events. He is the world's fastest man despite the disapproving remarks of IOC President Jacques Rogge's regarding Bolt's bragging attitude over his wins.

The Beijing Olympic Games will be a memorable celebration for the 10,000 athletes who played in the events and the tens of thousands more who presented the pageantry, the fireworks, the men and women flying on strings, the neon-lit monocycles and the singers and dancers who represent the billions of dollars spent for hosting the 2008 Olympics. For the millions of viewers worldwide who watched the games on TV, special effects and lipsyncing aside, and anticipated the results on the Web (over 16 million tuned in at IOC's You Tube channel), the Beijing experience is finally over. We can now go on with our lives undistracted by what was the most fantastic hosting of the Olympics in all of history.

Five Blogs Friday: Olympic Blogs

Marathon blogging was removed from the
Olympic games as it tended to damage eyesight.

I'm going to start a new recurring feature for Daily Dotventures which will henceforth be called Five Blogs Friday. Got this bit of inspiration from Blog Day 2007 where upon registering at the Blog Day site, you get to cite five other blogs in keeping with the celebration (as well as to spread some "love").

This time however, Five Blogs Friday will feature themed or topical blogs every week. Hopefully this will spark some interest in you folks into exploring thousands of other blogs you otherwise would not even come across in your regular blog searches. I also hope that this new mid-year resolution will keep these blogger fingers of mine busy, at least once a week. :)

While the blogs we will feature here are mostly random uninitiated picks, if you have any suggestions for future editions of Five Blogs Friday send me an email (see my profile below).

For this initial salvo, let's look at five noteworthy blogs that have taken on the sometimes controversial, always nostalgic, and mostly hyped up 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Matt in Beijing

This one is hosted at Windows Live Spaces and is the blog of Matt Plowright, "MSN UKs man" to the Beijing Olympic games. It's got nice pictures and well-written commentaries although it lacks the blow-by-blow coverage other Olympic-themed blogs offer.

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Deadspin - 2008 Olympic Coverage

From the friendly fellows at Deadspin, an edgy collaborative work on everything sports. Their coverage of the Beijing games are an entertaining read. That is, if you find no-BS, in-your-face sports editorials entertaining. I for one do. I'm bookmarking this one.

Beijing Olympics Blog

Over at Wordpress, "Bob" gives us a spectator's look at the Beijing of the 2008 Olympics. It's a rather intimate behind-the-scenes perspective that began way back in December 2007. You may want to look at the Olympics Blogroll here for more resources on the Beijing Olympic games.

Beijing Olympics 2008

If you want detailed accounts of the games, this niche blog at Blogspot got game. It's simple, straightforward, all text, all news about the Beijing games, and even more text. It's just text after text of every breaking update on the Olympics. Enough said.

Beijing 2008 - Olympics News and Info

Here's another Olympic results-oriented blog like the previous one mentioned but with a bit more pizazz. It's got color, it's got pictures, and the texts are shorter. Just the highlights, just the stuff at the finish line.

So there you have it. Our first Five Blogs Friday. Enjoy and have a safe and happy weekend.

Catch the Olympic Fever

With only less than 3 days left before the biggest and grandest sporting spectacle the world has ever seen, just about everybody on the Web is all in wild anticipation about the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Mark that date if you haven't yet, 08-08-08.

To get you sprinting off to everything Olympics here are some smashing sites that are right on target to pole vault your online experience of the Games of the 29th Olympiad.

www.olympic.org

If you want to dive right into what the Olympics is all about, this is the official website of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). When I first visited this site about a year ago, it was more of a corporate presentation. Although, it contained a very rich history about the Olympic games (and still does), it was back then somewhat in the doldrums.

Now, it is a very interactive resource for all things Olympic -- from an exhaustive database of all Olympic records and medalists since its 1896 beginnings, to the most current news about the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. There is a digital magazine called the Olympic Express that's very informative. Then if you want to learn more about the basic rules of the various Olympic events, browse over to the Sports Animations section and go over the games in a flash (pun intended; you will need Adobe Flash to watch the presentations).

Then if you want a taste of the competitive Olympic spirit, try out the Olympic Mini Games. Its a fun preview of the Sega video game Beijing 2008. You can rack up scores in three events -- archery, weightlifting and diving. Then see how you fared against the best mouse-clickers in the world. I tried my hand at the archery event (see accompanying image). Though I had a perfect 10/10, I only ranked 159. Not bad for a first try though.

There's more to explore at the Olympics.org website. Be sure to check out the stunning multimedia gallery and the Olympics quiz contest for a chance to win the Beijing 2008 video game.

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The Beijing 2008 Official Website

This is your ultimate web destination to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Know the news, view the sights, swim in the intricate details that surround this enigmatic event, the biggest ever Olympics in Asia.

Follow the footsteps of the most controversial Olympic torch relay in history, one that was marred by protests at every major city in its world route and even scaled the heights of the highest spot on Earth at Mt. Qomolangma (Everest). See blogs contributed by common folk at My Olympic Story, showcasing their interest and passion for the Olympics.

Discover the feats of engineering that transformed Beijing to become Olympics central this year. Enter the infamous National Stadium or "Bird's Nest", and the magical "Water Cube" that is the National Aquatics Center.

www.nbcolympics.com

Watch the 29th Olympiad online through NBCOlympics.com. This is the first live Web coverage of the Olympic games, thanks to the global growth of broadband Internet, and MSN/NBC got the exclusive go to broadcast the games online. The NBC Olympics site contains news and information about the games, the individual sporting events, key athletes, country profiles as well as photos and videos to give you a comprehensive ring side look at the Beijing Olympics.

Lastly, stay tuned here at Daily Dotventures for more Olympic updates.

100 Days To The Beijing 2008 Olympics

The 100-day countdown begins for what is highly anticipated as the biggest sporting event in the world -- the Beijing 2008 Olympics. It is certainly projected to be the grandest staging of the international sporting competition to be held in an Asian country. Arguably, it may very well be the most spectacular Olympiad yet.

But no grand goal is not without an opponent just as great. Not since Berlin 1936 did the Olympic games receive extensive media mileage for swimming in a pool of controversy. Ever since 2001 when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded China the honor of hosting the 29th Olympiad, protests have been thrown from all sides ranging from issues of China and its relation to the Darfur conflict, to allegations of human rights violations, to China's strained politics over Tibet and the issue of the environment as several Olympic sites are said to be heavy in smog.

Yesterday, the international leg of the Olympic torch relay ended at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. But prior to reaching the China-allied nation the torch relay was marred by huge protests in key cities along the torch's route -- San Francisco, Paris, New Delhi, Canberra and London among others. At the end of April the torch relay will start its China route starting in Hong Kong. The route of the China leg includes an ascent to Mt. Everest, another controversial first to watch out for in this epic prologue to the 29th Olympiad in Beijing.

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Earlier, thousands of participants joined in the Sports for All Marathon Relay marking the 100-day countdown to the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing. The run started near the National Stadium (also called the "Bird's Nest") and also finished at the main Olympics venue.

Later a musical concert will be held to showcase the Beijing Olympics Theme Song "Beijing Huan Ying Ni" ("Beijing Welcomes You") along with the top entries for the Olympic song search. Guests include international martial arts superstar Jackie Chan and other Chinese stars such as Andy Lau and Stephanie Sun among others.

Officials from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) express confidence that everything is on track for the Olympic Games come August 8. Venues have been completed in record time, transportation issues are being addressed with new airports and subway systems. In addition, the pollution levels are steadily dropping with the closure of factories and heavy industry facilities within and around the vicinity of the sports venues.

Subscribe to our feed and keep track for more developments on the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

One World, One Dream - One Year to go for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Next year's Olympic Games in Beijing should be quite a spectacle. It would only be the third time that the Summer Games will be held in an Asian country. The first was in Tokyo in 1964, then Seoul in 1988. What will the 29th Olympiad be like 365 days from now when it will be hosted by the country with the highest population in the world at 1.3 billion Chinese people? This promises to be the grandest Olympics yet!

There will be lots of firsts in Beijing come August 2008.

It will be the first time the Games will be held in China; in contrast London, Paris, Los Angeles and Athens have hosted it twice.

Nine new events will be contested including Men's and Women's BMX under cycling.

It would be the first time the Games will be streamed live for free on the Internet for an estimated 2,200 hours over NBCOlympics.com. Credit that to the growing adoption of broadband Internet worldwide.

The countries of Montenegro (formerly competed alongside Serbia), Tuvalu and Marshall Islands will compete for the first time.

Perhaps the most mind-boggling first for the 2008 Olympics is the inclusion of Mount Qomolangma as part of the Olympic Torch Relay route. Mount Qommolangwhat? That's Mount Everest for the Chinese. Imagine the Olympic Torch burning at 8,440 meters on top of the world!

Following Chinese tradition for good fortune, with 8 being a lucky number, the 29th Olympiad will commence on August 8, 2008 (08.08.08). I will definitely keep tab of the developments on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I can't wait for the fireworks!