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Hopefully I’ll see the Rugby Super 12 Final this weekend and play in a mini-tournament of ultimate with players from Nelson, Dunedin, and Christchurch. Going in Alex’s Bluebird with Jordan, Zach (hopefully if he calls me back), and Alex. Need to revenge the breakfast vunder-meal that was given to us over Mid-Semester. See yall on Sunday.

I remember checking this out a good while back, but as a participant in the wave of the future, blogging, I must post this now for the world.

The Jim Show is a boston-area juggler that you can book–he’s a pro. Check this pretty cool video of his, in either Quicktime or Windows Media. Stick with it till the last two sections (’The Balancing’ and ‘The Weird Things’). Oh–he totally rips off the Flying Karamazov Brothers with the ‘juggling three random objects’ bit (I most assuredly have as well).

The Jim Show Promo Video: Quicktime or Windows Media [TheJimShow.com]

Hong Kong Disney menu to include ‘Shark Fin Soup’ much to the chagrin of environmental and animal rights groups.

Shark fin soup despite environmental devastation [Boing Boing]

Need Video. [BBC]

Just when the pirated Star Wars hit Pakistan, this guy managed to see it a full five days after its intended release. The movie is great except for Hayden Christensen; while admittedly very hot, he is nevertheless an extremely awkward actor. Everytime he appears I want to quit frisbee-that’s how bad he is. I fully believe that Chris, my German flatmate, would be a better Anakin. Beyond that, I’m sure you don’t care what I think anyway.

This is unbelieveable. Undoubtedly one of my favorite games of all time, The Secret of Monkey Island, has had its first theatrical production… at Hammond High School in my hometown of Columbia Maryland. The same school that at least five of my mates went to.

Here’s a more-or-less official page of the play.
Here is a photo-page from the play.

Apparently some kid, Chris Heady, wrote, produced, directed, and starred as LeChuck in the play. This is and was the greatest adventure game of all time. Damn New Zealand from keeping away from Hammond High.

Guybrush & LeChuck on stage [WorldofMI.com]

flickr: la_fleur / photo: IMG_3112.JPG.

Flower just put up his spring break ‘05 trip photoset. He describes it as such: “Cooler places than any you may have visited over spring break: Kiruna, Narvik and Lulea.” He also called it in an email: “what was probably the best trip of my life.” In response, I’ve monikered my Mt-Cook weekend photoset as “Better Than Flower’s Spring Break”.

Flower’s Flickr Photos [Flickr]

‘Exciting’, like a Political Talking Point, is the word used to trump-up the development by the General Growth Properties (who bought Columbia, MD from Rouse Co.) of Merriweather Post Pavilion. I’ll admit, there are two good reasons for doing this: one, “We need a few more family events,” general manager for GGP Denis Miller says, “We want them to come at 10 a.m. and leave at midnight.” Family events, more ‘things’ to do (of which Columbia is severly lacking), are good things. Secondly, there is the debatable value of unhibited growth.

Here’s what Howard County Exective James Robey says about the plan:

“They’ve come wide open; I’m pleased. It’s a huge first step for what Columbia should be when it grows up.”

County Councilman Christopher J. Merdon says:

“A lot of the elements of their plan are very exciting.”

Here’s what the plan calls for (beyond the destruction of the historical, popular, green Merriweather):

1. 704,000 square feet of office space, including a 24-story or 18-story building
2. 148,000 square feet of retail,
3. 1,000 housing units, and
4. a 125-room hotel.

What the fuck is ‘exciting’ about twenty-four floors office space? More later.

Parking, traffic key in plan for Columbia [The Baltimore Sun]

I haven’t followed this story and only heard of the scandal once before of Maryland’s Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich, the State, two Baltimore Sun staff, and Willard Hackerman. This paragraph, presumably, provides all the background:

“Ehrlich’s ban, now six months old, forbids state executive branch employees from speaking with Sun columnist Michael Olesker and Maryland political editor David Nitkin. The ban was imposed after Nitkin disclosed a state proposal to sell 836 acres of preserved forestland in St. Mary’s County to Willard Hackerman, a politically connected construction company owner, in a deal that could have netted him millions of dollars in tax breaks.”

The existance of the proposal cannot be misreported, nor can the intended beneficiary Hackerman be a misnomer. Hackerman’s history and the quality of his political connections can only be exaggerated. The two messages here that could be duplicitous are a) that the ‘ban’ was extended to the reporters for the entire reason of shutting them up for being right, and b) that Hackerman’s assumed involvement is in fact quite evidence of corruption. There is a faint sense of fairness in this case: the ‘ban’ might have been for erreonous and deceptive reporting, and that Hackerman is indeed sufficiently innocent (as is the state).

Unfortunately, the affair itself, and the reactions to it by the governor, seem very suspect. People are, and should be, furious.

Sun backed in lawsuit challenging Ehrlich ban [The Baltimore Sun]

Check out this killer juggling video from Matthias, Dominik, & Dominik. It’s done like every great juggling video: Threatening and The Rock-esque music, tricks that they complete and surprise themselves, all their missing is a sweet intro that has nothing do with juggling and ends up being completely lame, like my last video. And I thought that only my flatmates Anne and Chris were the only thing ever good to have come from Germany.

Jongliervideo [thedominix.com]