St Patrick’s Daze For Zimbabwe

Praise For The Pluck Of The Irish

Just when you thought you could predict the result of the Ireland-Zimbabwe World Cup game at Sabina Park, the form book has been completely turned upside down. The debutants, Ireland, tied with the Test-playing nation.
Pat Gibson of TimesOnline has a wonderful perspective on the dramatic finish and the fact that it was an Aussie who played the role of Irish hero.
Gibson reports: ``Jeremy Bray, a shaven-headed left-hander from Sydney who played for the New South Wales and Australia Under-19 teams before moving to Ireland, disregarded what was happening at the other end to hit a superb, unbeaten 115. Bray, 33, is a fitness instructor and he was a good advertisement for his profession as he made his runs off 137 balls.''

Take The Last Train To Clarkson

And I'll See More Protestation

Someone tell me, please: is Jeremy Clarkson going to continue with the next series of `Top Gear'? (For those of you who haven't seen the programme, it is a motoring show with the difference - and it is BBC Two's flagship, with about eight million viewers.)
A couple of days ago, I read on Times Online that Clarkson would probably be leaving. The exact quote from the report was: ``Jeremy Clarkson’s future with Top Gear was shrouded in confusion as the presenter dropped hints that he might leave the motoring programme. The blunt-speaking frontman said the BBC show would not return for a new series in the summer. Writing in a national newspaper on Saturday, Clarkson said: After last week’s Top Gear, the continuity announcer said the show would be back in the summer. Can I just say, here and now, it won’t be.''
Then things got a bit confusing. The BBC itself declared the show would return with its original trio of presenters - Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. This was further confirmed on CarNet.co.uk, with the sentence, ``The BBC confirmed that a special will be broadcast in the summer, with a new series of Top Gear scheduled for the autumn.''

So You Want To Play Real-Life Quidditch?

NASA Gives Moon Sport The Lunar Tick

Want to play a real-life game of quidditch, like Harry Potter? Yes, you too could fly around heroically, just like the apprentice wizards at Hogwarts. I can even tell you where the games will be held – on the Moon. No, I ain’t kidding. I just came across this archived report from a fortnight ago, while I was researching something else today.
It’s a story by Jonathan Richards at TimesOnline, based on an interview with one of NASA’s chief scientists. Jeff Volosin, the lead global exploration strategy manager for NASA, said a ``micro-gravity sports competition’’ held inside a giant bubble on the surface of the moon was not beyond the realm of possibility.
“If you had a large, pressurised habitat, people could take advantage of the low-gravity environment by attaching wings to themselves and flying about,” Volosin said. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think, because the United States announced three months ago it would send astronauts back to the moon in 2020, with plans for a permanently occupied settlement from 2024.
“Ever since the end of the Apollo program, folks around the world have been thinking about returning to the Moon, and what they would like to do there,” Volosin said. Flying around like the wizards at Hogwarts is certainly within the realms of possibility. In addition, Vosolin flagged the notion of ``lunar commerce’’.
Not familiar with the term? I wasn’t either, but the article explains it succinctly.
``Among the ideas proposed,’’ says the article, ``are using cameras to monitor the melting of the polar ice caps, the establishment of `lunar heritage sites’, such as where the first astronauts landed, and `robotic races’, in which teams on earth would steer remote-controlled devices through courses on the moon’s surface.
If you want more details, the NASA paper outlining the objectives of the proposed lunar colony is called ``181 Things To Do On The Moon’’. I’d say quidditch would rank pretty high, but you might like to leave a comment with your suggestions for things to do on the moon …

Charlize Angels

Oscar Winner To Play Anna Nicole On Screen

Even as the first reliable internet reports emerge that Charlize Theron is the hot favourite to play the role of Anna Nicole Smith, there is yet another a poignant note to the whole saga. Despite the acquired attributes of power, money and influence in a short, controversial and often bizarre life, Anna Nicole still hasn't won the right to be buried.
More than a week after her death, I reckon the best perspective on the legal wrangling was presented by RensselaRepublican.com, which cut straight to the chase. It reported: ``A judge tried to broker an agreement among the three people fighting over Anna Nicole Smith's remains on how and when to embalm the former Playboy Playmate's body. Even if they settle that, as expected, lengthy legal fights loomed over where she will be buried and who will get custody of her infant daughter.''
Circuit Judge Larry Seidlin brought a note of refreshing humanity to the acrimonious legal circus. ``I want every loose end tied up," he said. ``I want peace and tranquility, not only for the dead, but also for the living who want to visit her grave," he said. But that peace seemed so elusive. The proceedings even had to shift out of Seidlin's chambers and into a courtroom to accommodate the horde of media and attorneys.
On Thursday, Seidlin ordered that additional DNA be taken from Smith's body, saying he wanted to make sure her body wouldn't have to be exhumed. ``When we bury her, I want it to be forever,'' Seidlin said.
It was a gentle reminder that there is a tug-of-war over where Anna Nicole is to be buried. Her longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, claims he is executor of her will and wants her buried next to her son in the Bahamas. But her estranged mother, Vergie Arthur, wants her buried in Smith's home state of Texas. And photographer Larry Birkhead hopes DNA taken from Anna Nicole's body will help prove he fathered the former centerfold's five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, who could inherit millions.
According to CNN a decision about releasing the body for burial isn't likely until next week. Meanwhile, a court-appointed administrator, Shane Kelley, was to interview the parties and recommend to the judge who should receive Anna Nicole's remains. Seidlin also appointed a guardian, Miami attorney Richard Milstein, to protect Dannielynn's interests.
And YahooNews reported that the body of the former Playmate was embalmed on Saturday at the Broward County Medical Examiner's office, Florida.
The most credible report about Theron (pictured, right) bringing the life of Anna Nicole Smith to the screen came from TimesOnline, where James Bone wrote: ``Actress Charlize Theron has emerged as the most likely to portray the late Anna Nicole Smith when Hollywood decides to make a movie about her chaotic life.''
His story continued: ``You couldn't make up a life story like Anna's and studios are already falling over themselves to tell it,'' a source in Hollywood told the Daily Star of London. ``Several actresses fancy playing Anna in what'll be a huge hit, but Charlize is favorite to get the role.''
The South African actress won an Oscar in 2004 for her portrayal of a serial killer in `Monster'. And, as everyone expected, the race to make a film of Anna Nicole's life began concurrently as Judge Seidlin gave the go-ahead for Smith’s famous body to be embalmed for a possible open-casket funeral. There was one last weird touch, as the unseemly legal battle continued. Anna Nicole's lawyer revealed that she had already ordered her funeral dress.
I just wonder if that will set off another legal challenge, over what label and what style she will be buried in.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Isn't it ironic that Anna Nicole Smith, whose life was marked by legal battles, should still be the subject of a prolonged court tussle, even in death? Leave a comment here.