• more about #olympics
    Klebert L. Hall: They're going to let people ride bikes in it?! That seems sort of okay when they're going up the ramp, but a disaster on the way back down... -Kle. #... more »
    GSDaywalker: There's only one thing funner than making bubbles, and that's popping them. I eagerly await the construction of this tempting target. #thecloud more »
    EdificeComplex: "...pitched the Cloud to the city of London for the 2012 Games." Are they saying it could be ready in time for the 2012 games? If so that's pretty im... more »
    CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard): Awesome!! I must now get another job so that when Mr Tax man stings me for every penny I own...at least its getting spent on something awesome!! I hop... more »
    Roklimber: Some of those pictures look like they came straight out from Thunderbirds (the 60s TV show)... Number 2, in particular. #thecloud more »
  • #speculativearchitecture

    Digital Cloud Could Be London's Next Monument

    London is currently auditioning ideas for a new tourist attraction as part of the 2012 Olympics. On the shortlist is MIT's digital Cloud, a self-sustaining observation deck made of transparent bubbles that broadcast information to viewers below. More »
  • #mangobot

    Coming Soon from China: Dystopic Futures, the Next Steve Jobs, and a World Full of Drumming Androids

    Welcome back to MangoBot, a biweekly column about Asian futurism by TokyoMango blogger Lisa Katayama. I'm a total sports nut. Olympic season makes my bones shiver with excitement. But this year, I took my mind off record-breaking swim relays and super-twisty gymnastics routines for a minute to consider the host country's techno-socio-political future. The opening ceremony confirmed my theory that China is breeding robots. (We already know that the cute girl who performed the patriotic song was lip-syncing and that the fireworks shown on TV were fake. I'm pretty sure that the 2008 drummers who kicked off the five-hour technological spectacularity were androids, too.) But what else is up in the giant nation that many believe will be the next world superpower? I called some experts and came away with a list of five predictions for China's next half-century. More »
  • #deathsports

    Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves — The Ten Most Gruesome Scifi Death Sports

    Maybe the Olympic Games are all about fostering world peace and crap like that, but we know that sports of the future will be the stuff of bloody, oil-fueled nightmares. To celebrate all the sports that don't foster cross-cultural understanding, we bring you a list of the very best scifi death sports captured on film. Competitive games should always lead to death, or at least maiming, don't you think? Well, yeah — duh. Check out our entrail-spattered list of future entertainments that kill. More »
  • #megapollution

    Beneath the Sulfurous Skies

    Nothing like a stark data visualization to impress upon you just how bad pollution has gotten in Beijing. Here you can see the levels of sulfur in the air over the past several years in three similarly-sized regions of the world: on the far left is the U.S. midwest, the middle is eastern Europe, and the right is the Beijing region. Areas shaded red have the highest sulfur emissions. Created by researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, these images are a stark reminder that economic development is often accompanied by environmental degradation. More »
  • #megaarchitecture

    Bizarre Loop Building Nears Completion

    This 755-foot tall building is actually two interconnected skyscrapers built at an angle and then joined at their tops, forming a continuous loop that houses offices in both the vertical and horizontal sections. It's one of the many instant architectural wonders that Beijing has crafted for the Olympics. You've got to see the weirdness on that top section where horizontal meets vertical. Closeup below. More »
  • #sportstech

    Five Ways Technology Has Changed the Olympics

    When the Summer Olympics kick off in Beijing next month, they will be very different from the Olympics held eight or even four years ago. From weather control to laser timing devices, technology is having an impact on the Olympics in a profound way. More »
  • #architecture

    Moebius Strip Soccer Stadium Takes Shape in Shenyang

    There's a moebius strip look to the roof of this soccer stadium being built for the Olympics in Shenyang. Built in a series of interlocking curves, the Olympic Sports Center Stadium is one of four soccer arenas for the Olympics outside Beijing. It just gets stranger when you see it up close, and from inside. We've got more eye-boggling pictures below. More »
  • #geoengineering

    Geoengineers Will Prevent Rain Over Olympic Stadium in China

  • #architecture

    Beijing Olympic Campus Looks Like CGI

    Construction is nearly complete on the Beijing Olympic Stadium, shaped like a massive steel bird's nest, and the swimming-pool-filled Water Cube, which looks like a piece of glowing alien machinery. This is an actual photo of the buildings at night. We've also got some less-surreal glimpses of them too. More »
  • #architecture

    High-Tech Bubbles Trap Heat In Olympic Swimming Pool

    China is rushing to finish the 7,000 square foot "Water Cube" in time to host swimming events in the 2008 Olympics. This giant building's outer cladding, which will keep the pool warm, is based on research by physicists into "how soap bubbles might be arranged in infinite array," says architecture firm Arup. The bubbles themselves are made of a lightweight, transparent Teflon skin called ETFE, which will also make the building a super-efficient greenhouse, says Inhabitat. Images by EyePress/AP.