Welcome again to the Weekly Blog Round-Up, where we recap the best stories from our newsblog and five awesome things from elsewhere online that you should check out. As always, the Round-Up is brought to you as always by Whatever Caffeinated Beverage EJ Happens to Have On Hand™. Cheers!

From the news blog

5) Could Hermione Granger be coming to Brown University? (OK, fine, she has a name–it’s Emma Watson). But a British tabloid is reporting that the Harry Potter starlet is coming to Providence next fall. If you are coming to Brown, Emma, we’d love to chat–give us a call sometime. Also, be sure to check out the kickass new trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Seriously, guys. I’m legit excited for a Harry Potter film.

4) Speaking of upcoming films, you might have heard that an unfinished cut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine somehow made its way online recently. I thought I might have to download some legally questionable software if I wanted to see it (for reviewing purposes only, of course – hopefully nobody has any problems with that). But luckily, someone posted clips of the leaked footage onto The YouTubes. Nifty!

3) X-Men’s Hugh Jackman may be someone you whippersnappers look up to these days, but in my day we looked up to the basketballers. Stars like the Celtics’ Bill Russell, who spoke with WBRU Sports’ Gabe Paley this week. Do you kids even know what basketball is anymore? Phooey. Youth. Wasted on the young, I always say.

2) Speaking of young people, very few Broadway musicals, with the possible exception of Avenue Q and Spamalot, seem to do very well with teens and twentysomethings these days. But an honest-to-God modern sensation is coming to Providence this week–Spring Awakening. I know, I’m excited, too. Nicky G previews it in his weekly Theater Beat column, but wait–there’s more! Entertainment News’ Mirage spoke with the producer and one of the stars for this week’s BRU Brief. You can listen to the edited-for-radio piece here, or you find the exclusive interviews in full right here.

1) One of the top national stories this month has been the refound momentum pushing the gay marriage debate forward. In this week’s Brief, Emily Jones asks if same-sex marriage is really a possibility in Rhode Island. If you enjoy WBRU News’ podcasts, then make sure to tune in to our on-air news shows on 95.5 FM. The BRU Brief airs Monday nights at 11 PM; the Sports Rundown airs Saturdays at noon; and the Pulse, our community-themed news briefing, airs during WBRU 360°, 10 a.m. on Sundays. Thanks!

Five awesome things

5) This one’s for the real nerds out there: Can you answer 50 questions about Monty Python and the Holy Grail in 10 minutes? It’s not as easy as it sounds. I was kicking myself over the ones I missed.

4) This week Democrats and Republicans alike shared a long, nervous laugh over Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s apparent suggestion that the Lone Star state should secede. A Rasmussen poll found that some three-quarters of Texans opposed the idea, but over at FiveThirtyEight.com, Nate Silver sketched out what might happen to the U.S. if Texas were to wave goodbye.

3) Meanwhile, The Onion broke a story this week that has yet to be picked up by any mainstream media outlets. Just goes to show you how biased they all must be if they wouldn’t report on this.

2) We also heard this week that four men connected with Swedish file-sharing site The Pirate Bay were found guilty of being accessories to copyright infringement. A judge sentenced Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström to one year in prison and $3.56 million in damages. An overturn on appeal might still be possible, but Gizmodo’s Brian Lam says to lock him up, too. No matter your stance on the file sharing that has proliferated online, it’s a well-argued little piece that’s well worth your time.

1) And finally, I’d like to share with you my new favorite website–it’s called My First Dictionary, and it’s a daily comic, of sorts, with a hilarious dark streak. All the cartoons are done up in the style of a child’s picture dictionary (hence the name), but the definitions are definitely not for kids.

OK, kids–that’s all I’ve got for ya until next week. If you enjoyed this article, let me know in the comments below (hmm, that rhymed–I’m a poet without being aware of it). Or, if you’re really into all this Internet stuff, you can share this article on Facebook, subscribe to WBRU’s RSS feed, or follow WBRU News on Twitter.