Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• The 2008 Summer Olympics kicked off in Beijing, China, last week, and if you're anything like the ec team, you can't rip your eyes away from the coverage. We've even watched water polo, rowing, and some other games we weren't aware were Olympic sports! The U.S. is currently leading the medal count with 44 total medals over China's 38. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps made history this week by becoming the athlete with the most lifetime Olympic gold medals in the modern Olympic era. He's trying to break American swimmer Mark Spitz's record (set in 1972) of seven golds at one Olympics. Check out a really blurry video about Mark Spitz here.

• Christian rock band Delirious? announced a break from recording and touring this week. The Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning band will keep its commitments through 2009, then take a break. "We want to make it absolutely clear that although this decision has been extremely difficult, we are still great friends and our respect for each other is unquestionable. We love playing in this band together and know that even though 2009 will bring an end to this current journey, there will be more adventures together in years to come," the guys said in their official press release about the decision. Delirious? is known for such songs as "Shout to the North," "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble," and "Majesty."

• Take a break from all your back-to-school anxiety and let us know what you're thinking. Drop us a line via e-mail. And while you're at it, look over there to the left side of the page and answer our Question of the Month. Your answer could appear in an upcoming issue!

• Art experts are speculating that a small portrait on parchment long thought to be the work of an anonymous German artist might be one of Leonardo Da Vinci's early works. What's more, their speculating that the young woman who's the subject of the portrait may have had the picture painted for one reason: to attract a husband. Apparently, before online dating, portraits were quite the matchmaking tool. Tests are still being performed to discover if the painting is indeed Da Vinci's work.