var now = new Date();
var point = new Date(2011,7-1,24);
var countdown = Math.ceil( ( point.getTime() - now.getTime() ) / (1000*60*60*24) );
var countup = 0 - countdown;

if(countdown > 0) {
   document.write(countdown);
}
else {
   document.write(countup);
}