This week in Current – 8/11-8/15

http://current.com/items/89180560_funky_fingers_thanks_current

As Funky Fingers (our own Internet superhero aka Lo_Rew) declares, the second round of swag has started to turn up on community members' doorsteps, and we've already received some awesome photo and video responses. Check them out here: http://current.com/teeparty

It’s difficult to escape the pull of the Olympic Games for many reasons. For many, the games are a draw for reasons of pure nostalgia, but who can honestly ignore the debate being spurred by the Chinese government stigma?

In and out of the Current community, sentiments range from viewership protest to how many medals Michael Phelps has secured. All of this amidst stories about Weightlifting injuries, medals ceremony protests, the Russia-Georgia conflict, and the stories of underage Chinese gymnasts. It’s been a busy week.

In case you happened to miss any of it, here are a few stories to take a look at:

Records suggest Chinese gymnasts might be underage
http://current.com/items/89189372_

Angry Swede throws down medal, quits on Olympic award stand
http://current.com/items/89201825_

Olympic weightlifting accident
http://current.com/items/89200648_

Liveblogging from inside Georgia
http://current.com/items/89201974_

Reporter shot on live TV
http://current.com/items/89202093_

NBC going after Olympic broadcasts on the Internet
http://current.com/items/89188863_

Russian and Georgian Olympic shooters hug in Beijing as their countries fight
http://current.com/items/89188985_

However, there is so much more going on out there. If you missed the Arrested in Tibet story you really should take a few minutes to read through it. It’s a long read, but well worth it.
Sadly, we had a trio of deaths in August. Many heard about the passing of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, but few heard that movie film composer Lou Teicher also passed away.

Use of themes like rape and violence in art came up in reference to the forthcoming Quentin Tarantino film, Inglorious Bastards, and high school literature. Are these themes appropriate, or should there be a line? Either way, who should be consuming this type of material, and should there be a restriction at all? Check out the stories and join the discussion.

The story that absolutely came out of left field for me this week was the discovery of documents detailing Julia Child’s involvement in a WWII-era spy ring. Mindblowing, in that I don’t think anyone could’ve seen this one coming. It makes total sense, but wow. I was floored.

If you missed them the first go-round, check these stories out here:

Arrested in Tibet
A young American’s journey of fear: http://current.com/items/89201020_

Current Remembers
Bernie Mac
http://current.com/items/89193344_

Isaac Hayes
http://current.com/items/89193345_

Lou Teicher
http://current.com/items/89178064_

Tarantino takes on Hitler and WWII Germany
http://current.com/items/89201880_

Rape and adult themes in literature: Should high schoolers read them?
http://current.com/items/89199503_

Documents: Julia Child part of WWII era spy ring
http://current.com/items/89199452_

In effort to tidy up the profile a bit, I played around with a new avatar creation system that has been making its way around the circles these days: http://faceyourmanga.com/. Try it out!

That’s all for this week. Let me know which stories caught your eye this week in a comment. Thanks for reading!

Mario
Online Community Team

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