Sports With A Tu-Tu

Up at a really stupid time on a Monday night, as indicated by the time stamp which shows it's really Tuesday and that's what I get for caring about the Browns.

Thank God for my sister Patti, who must live on YouTube to constantly find gems like Paul Hunt to remind me of what sport is really all about. Thanks, sis...

Hello Donna From Beijing...

My pal Donna Renae used to toil for ABC Newsradio and CNN Radio, skipping across the country covering big and small news. She's got an interesting take on what its like to live in Beijing at this point in time as China puts the best face forward with the world watching not only Michael Phelps play Flipper but just how the most populous Communist nation on earth deals with the free spirit and enterprise of sports.

In the old days this would have been a major undertaking, but today it was a simple as figuring out how to make an international call (hint: just dial 0-1-1 to get the ball rolling, and don't expect the ringing to sound the same) in radio morning drive. Usually the five or six o'clock hour is death but half a world away means 12 hours ahead on the clock so our call before sunrise in Akron actually came at the end of the workday in Beijing.

Donna (seen at left with an honest-to-God walking logo) is out of the j-business but now in the e-business -- as in education, working to help teach english via long-distance web learning in China as well as communications and performing arts in Beijing proper. From home base in Oregon to China may be just a flight over water but it's worlds away in terms of time zones, political underpining and cultural understanding. Donna's spent much of the past two years in China and her eyes sparkle when she talks about the differences, challenges and surprises. I've posted audio on my AkronNewsNow.com blog as well as including this link which should work for Quicktime and Media Player.

Chinese Spin Cycle

Been enjoying the Olympics? Join the crowd -- 30 million viewers alone last night, an absolutely huge number for a summer Tuesday night. Michael Phelps may be making news on the sports pages but it's what the Chinese now admit they did to kick off the world's biggest dance party that really has people talking.

Turns out last Friday night had some Fake. Actually, quite a bit of Fake, and not just where you may have thought.

The trades are alive with the story of how the fireworks really weren't the fireworks people on the ground were watching, thanks largely to digital re-creation. Variety has an excellent rundown on the video magic behind making the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics look too good to be true. Here's what it looked like to people who were really there:

It turns out the world's most populous nation also took liberties in faking a little girl's singing of their national anthem.

She sure was cute and what a voice, but one problem: her cute, not her voice. Lip-synching is really nothing new and who can blame organizers for wanting the best performance possible for a worldwide audience. Who wants Roseanne singing the National Anthem here live? Beijing took it a step past forgetting words or going off-key...they used the better voice over what the Communist state decided was a better face. Even the seven-year old's father was surprised, he says, to see his daughter singing but hearing a different voice.

Ah, no matter. It's television, right?