Archery, Rupert Grint, and MI6! Oh, my? (7/7/09)

OMFG, you guys. You can take archery lessons in Sherwood flipping Forest! AND there's a Robin Hood Fantasy Camp!!!!!!!!! Merry Olde England is full to bursting with archery clubs and one-off lessons, actually, and this isn’t some gutless, modern crossbow malarkey, either. We’re talking longbows here. And if you go to Carew Castle, you can see some archers kicking it old-school, complete with hooded cowls. Somewhat unfairly, the archers at Carew's Archery Muster look significantly more authentic than the peeps at every Renaissance Festival I’ve ever been to or seen on television. And by television, I mean this scene from Gilmore Girls:



I have got to learn to wield a longbow before I die, y’all. This is right up there in practicality with my burning desires to become Jason Bourne; learn ancient Greek; and teach myself to read tea leaves (what what, Professor Trelawney!). But whatever. I will totally go Robin Hood on your asses. Just watch me.



In other, rather more current, news, Rupert Grint has recovered from swine flu. Per Yahoo! News, everybody's favorite ginger actor "initially thought he might die" when he found out he had the piggy disease, but it turned out to be your run-of-the-mill achy, feverish flu. Here's hoping Won-Won keeps his health intact as he heads for a series of Half-Blood Prince premieres! (Aside: OMG! I am so excited about Half-Blood Prince!)



Finally, the incoming head of MI6 (basically the British CIA) is on Facebook! In his bathing costume! How shocking! The identity of the head of the British spy agency used to be top-secret (although apparently the KGB always knew exactly who it was). But now his pasty white legs have been seen by the globe, via his wifey's Facebook profile. My favorite bits are that

1. The British Conservatives are arguing with each other about the propriety of photos of Sir John Sawers appearing on social networking sites. Star quote from the NY Times: “I suspect that the enemies of this country do not wholly rely on The Mail on Sunday and Facebook for their information,” Mr. Clarke told Sky News. “So I, personally, would get a little more calm.”

and


2. The NY Times headline is "On Facebook, a Spy Revealed (Pale Legs, Too)." Yes. His white whiteness is trés important, NYT. Thanks for that.

And that, my friends, is all for today!