The Beijing Paralympics 2008 is about to start, with the opening ceremony being shown on ABC1 from 9:50 pm this Saturday night.

Coverage will appear on ABC1, and a program guide for the first day is available on the ABC TV guide.

Read on for more information on our local paralympians…

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Carlton's Brendan Fevola and Bryce Gibbs "hanging out" Picture: Rob Baird/Herald Sun

No fights, no urinating on cop shops, no claims of sexual misconduct…yet.  A mild mad Monday for footy players but what’s up with my team crossdressing? Not man enough to kick 100 goals perhaps? Still better than the wooden spoon.

Links:

Herald Sun: Fevola Frock Shock

according to the cherry blossom tree near my place.

cherry blossom

So how did we do in that Nike Race?

Melbourne was placed ninth overall, with an average running time (for 10km) of 58″58′. London, topped out at number two with 57″47′. Alright, alright. So they win this round.

Well, at least we don’t have a goofy portly mayor who’s the butt of many jokes. Oh, wait.

For all the results and more, click here.

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Our favourite 5000m Victorian track-star Craig “Buster” Mottram was there too! Probably out of contractual obligation because he likes running!

But since he was so good, he gave all the fast runners a 10-minute head start. Not that it mattered at all, since he finished in the top ten anyway.

buster

Craig reckons he runs an average of 190km per week. Per Week! That’s like 4 and a half marathons! One every other day! Just thinking about it makes me so tired!

I wonder how much he eats daily to power all that running…

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Speaking of eating, to all our Muslim readers (all three of you), we wish you happy fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.*

For everyone else, here’s a cheat sheet of what Ramadan’s all about.

*- According to the Islamic Council of Victoria, the month of Ramadan coincided with the 1st of Sept.

Today marks the end of one of the worst policies trialled on Melbourne.  No longer do patrons have to suffer confusion over which venues have lockouts. No longer will the streets be flooded with people “locked out” of venues. What have we learned from the lock out? Nothing it seems. Crime has increased, there’s still not enough police on the streets, and people are still fighting IN THE STREETS not in the venues.  Good old John investigated the situation over the weekend, something he perhaps could have done before the lockout.

At least footy players will have an easier time celebrating Mad Monday tonight.

Links:

Herald Sun: Violence soars in CBD fringes as revellers move out of inner city

The USS John S McCain (naval destroyer) has arrived at Station Pier in Port Melbourne with around 300 naval crew. I read in the papers they will be staying in Melbourne for the coming week, enjoying the sights and leisure activities around town. Some of the crew will be staying in the hotels just so they can enjoy the comfort of a proper bed and a decent shower. Imagine the tight conditions that they live and work in, I suppose some would enjoy some privacy as well.

I read as well, that a hundred years ago, when the US Great White Fleet arrived in Port Melbourne, they had 14000 sailors. Around 300 of them enjoyed Melbourne so much that they ended up staying permanently. If around the same number decided to stay in Melbourne, there might not be enough crew member left to take the destroyer back home!

Links
USS John S McCain website.
Herald Sun’s “USS John S McCain …”
ABC Melbourne’s “USS John McCain in Melbourne”
The Age “…Great White Fleet comes calling “

Another event to add to the list of activities that are occuring around the city this weekend is the Melbourne at Home exhibition at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. If you are looking to renovate or build a home, it might be a good idea to check out the latest trend and technology.

Check out on the latest green products, home security systems or the latest surround sound systems (which isn’t going to be carbon friendly).

The show will run til 31st August, between 10 am and 9 pm on Saturday and til 7 pm on Sunday. Buy your tickets to save a couple of dollars. Ticket at the door is $18 per adult.

This Sunday is Nike’s 10k Human race event. The run pits Melbourne runners (serious and casual alike) against others the world over. Well, not really the world over, more like select cities the world over. 25 select cities to be exact, like Sao Paolo, Paris, Shanghai, Warsaw, Taipei, Munich and New York.

Sydney is somehow left out (pretend sad face. but they will be represented by Sydney based band faker, performing at the post-run event).
Click here to find out more!

If you’ve always wanted to run in a race, why not pick this one? Get off your bum and sign up. Prove to the world that we’re the ones who truly deserve the world sporting capital title ;)

You might even meet me there. (I’d be at the very back of the herd, the one that looks like he’s about to faint any minute now.)

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Two other fun things that are being run this Sunday :

1) Festival Indonesia at the Royal Exhibition Building.
2) Fiesta Malaysia at Federation Square.

They’re both cultural-ish events and since these neighbouring countries share a lot of similar culture, things could get a little awkward. I mean someone should’ve warned them about the clashing dates. It would be like running into an old friend in public who’s wearing the same dress!

Not that i would know very much about dresses. Or metaphors, for that matter. heh.

John So Raises Some FlagsPhoto: ThatsMelbourne.com.au

This Saturday marks the 173rd anniversary of the city of Melbourne. Melbourne Day sets up opportunities for people to experience all that Melbourne has to offer on the cheap. There are various free events during the day including John So raising the flag of Melbourne, a rifle volley, and some live bands. The best thing about Melbourne Day though is the discounts on many attractions around Melbourne. If you haven’t seen the Eureka Tower, here is your chance to see it for half price (Buy 1 Get 1 Free).

Other deals:

FREE ENTRY - Enterprize, Melbourne’s Tallest Ship

2 FOR 1 ENTRY - City Museum at Old Treasury Melbourne

2 FOR 1 ENTRY - Champions - Australian Racing Museum

Links:

Melbourne Day Discounts

Melbourne Day

You shouldn’t miss out on this infamous speech made by London Mayor Boris Johnson at the London 2012 Hand-Over party after the end of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It’s incredibly funny, and made me wonder why Melbourne doesn’t have a Mayor Johnson-equivalent. Our bro John So’s alright, but let’s face it he probably needs a translator for us to understand him haha!

Melburnians take note: London is the Sporting Capital of the World. Or so says Mayor Johnson. What do you think?

And for all those who don’t get the ‘XXX is coming home’ bit, it’s a take on England’s ‘Football’s Coming Home’ song. The English football team is crap, yet we hear it every time England plays.