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.

As an upstanding, law-abiding citizen, I did not download said footage because I have respect for the law. However, now someone has posted the leaked footage onto YouTube. “Screw it,” I said to myself, rather dramatically. “The convenience of YouTube outweighs my law-abiding moral character.”

Check out this clip from the unfinished movie:

From the News Blog

5) Unless you’ve been living under a rock (a rock furnished with a computer for accessing the WBRU News Blog?), you know St. Patrick’s Day was this week.  Here in the Ocean State, we’ve got a lot of Irish pride – probably because of all the Irish descendants here.

4) Is Rhode Island’s name racist? Some state legislators think so.  Technically, though, the full state name is “Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,” and its the “plantations” part of the name Rep. Joseph Almeida and Sen. Harold Metts have a beef with.

3) Very nice! “Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen is making progress on his new film, “Bruno.” Fans of Da Ali G Show will know Bruno is a flamboyant Austrian fashion correspondent with a flair for making people really, really uncomfortable.  I, for one, can’t wait.

2) And now for a look at non-fictional immigrants: should undocumented immigrants in Rhode Island receive in-state tuition? Alessandra Suuberg chronicles the debate in this week’s Pulse.

1) Bono is overpaid and offended. The U2 frontman is pretty PO’d about people illegally downloading “No Line on the Horizon.” What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Five Awesome Things

5) OK, this story technically appeared in a printed magazine (y’see, there used to be these things called newsstands…), but it’s a must-read. From Wired, the untold story of the world’s biggest diamond heist. Thrilling investigative journalism at its best.

4) On the opposite end of the writing-skill spectrum, you’ve probably heard of the website F*** My Life, where people complain about how much their life is f***ed.  Now FML is getting a book deal, to the dismay of starving artists who actually put thought into their craft everywhere.

3) I had the great misfortune a few months ago of encountering Chocolate Skittles, an abomination deserving of a profanity-laden attack. Cracked’s Michael Swaim fills the void with this vitriolic assault on “the Attack of The Clones of candy.” Warning: article contains lots of language and imagery your mother would not want you to read.

2) The Internets are full of photoshopped wizardry, but some digital artists soar above and beyond the rest. Look at this astounding set from Erik Johansson and be amazed.

1) And finally, a fun quiz for your Friday afternoon enjoyment: can you name all the things that Right Said Fred is too sexy for?  I dread the day when “I’m Too Sexy” gets entered into the national archives as a historical artifact of the nineties.

That’s all for this week. Leave us a note below in the comments, or e-mail us at newsblog@wbru.com. See you next Friday!

(diamond photo licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy jurvetson).

He tells USA Today that his secure finances don’t make it OK to pirate U2’s new album. “No Line on the Horizon” was downloaded 445,000 times before it was officially released, after which 484,000 copies were sold.

The frontman adds that the public is starting to see music as a utility, like “tap water,” whereas he sees it as “a sacred thing, so I’m a little offended.”

He definitely has a legitimate point, but I just hope no one tells Bono that you can listen to music for free on the radio. If anyone out there is buddy-buddy with Bono, don’t tell him we’re playing U2’s new songs on BRU. Keep our little private party on the DL.

(photo licensed under Creative Commons, courtesy World Economic Forum).