Ping: Under The Radar: May 2004 Archives

During lunch today at Henry's they had the French Open on the projection screen. While we ate, Serena Williams and Maria Kirilenko battled it out above our heads. Tennis players move quickly, and need a wide range of motion, so I was surprised when Steven pointed out Serena's giant hoop earrings.

I was curious about this, and checked in on Venus, who also had large (almost painful looking) earrings.

Last summer was the summer of disc golf. I learned the sport, played a lot, saw a lot of courses, and had a lot of fun. I just played two very exciting rounds of miniature golf including some very heavy wagering. The traditional version of links golf has always been a really fun day out, and really matches the urbanhonking concept of Class Factor. So, which version of the time honored sport of golf will win out this summer? Maybe something new all together like speed golf. Is anyone up for some golf fun?

I recently learned about the ancient Mesoamerican game of ulama from an article in the Economist. The game, which is still played today, has a continuous history going back almost 4,000 years. As the article says, "This is not to say the rules of ulama have not changed over the years--ritual sacrifice of the losers is thought to have died out in the 1300s."

From what I understand, you play on a long, narrow field (60 meters by 4 meters), and you have to hit this very heavy (9 pounds!) rubber ball with your hip or thigh toward the other team.

According to the Economist article, "The rules of ulama are still today in flux, and often not even understood by the participants. This is why in a match each team brings a veedor, an elder who is meant to settle disputes over the rules."

That seems like a good idea, but it would have been even more important back when they sacrificed the losers.