Flying Dude Video

Here's a link to another BASE jumper, Loic Jean Albert, doing a jump from a helicopter in a winged suit down the side of a mountain. Just watching this trip is scary, but the shadow of the glider suit on the snow is awesome.

Podcast: The Word Nerds

Interested in "words, language, and why we say the things we do"? Try The Word Nerds podcast. It's entertaining and exceptionally well-produced.

Picture Puzzle

While I understand the euphoria associated with the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq who waged a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and beheadings, I don't quite understand why the photo which was presented to the press as proof of the death was matted and framed.

Would You Do It?

An Australian couple in their 40s, Glenn Singleman and Heather Swan, smashed the world record for the highest BASE jump in history. (BASE is an acronym for Building, Antennae, Span, Earth and represents the fixed objects from which BASE jumps are made.) The pair climbed a near-vertical, 6604-meter Himalayan peak for 22 days then jumped from the peak and landed back at base camp in two minutes after "flying" down the peak wearing a "wing suit". The wing suit (pictured) mimics the flying style of a sugar glider. The pair reached speeds of 200kmh in their diagonal descent. Read their amazing story in the Sydney Morning Herald article. Heather Swan said the BASE jumping was the "fast track to enlightenment".

Wills' Kate

Over the weekend Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton was on hand to support Wills as he took part in a Gloucestershire polo match on a weekend off from his Sandhurst course. Kate who was impeccably turned out in a simple knee-length black dress looked the part of a princess-in-waiting down to perfection.

Something to Crowe About

Read this article written by Jack Marx and published in the Sydney Morning Herald for some amazing insight into celebrity and particularly Russell Crowe's psyche.

I've always thought Crowe was an interesting actor, but had no idea about the person he really was until I read this chilling article.

Jackman Joins Kidman and Luhrmann

Hugh Jackman is confirmed to star opposite Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming period epic, the yet-to-be titled pre-World War II film, co-written with Collateral's Stuart Beattie and The Pianist's Ronald Harwood, which is now scheduled to begin filming in February.

Jackman replaces Russell Crowe, who was pushed from the project last week after dallying on script consultation. Jackman will play a cattle driver hooking up with an English aristocrat (Kidman) whose northern Australian ranch, which she inherits unexpectedly, is threatened by British cattle barons. They undertake a cattle drive across the Top End.