> At the closing ceremonies, Lucasfilm announced that its next fan fest – Star Wars Celebration VII – will be timed to the theatrical release of Episode VII, and will be held in Anaheim, California from April 16-18, 2015. Tickets go on sale on August 9th, 2013. Yes, that soon.
Elyssa and I are going to seriously consider going to this.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: I do wish it was in Orlando, though.
As always, *Disney Food Blog* has a pretty detailed rundown of everything happening during the Disney Food and Wine Festival. It is going to be really hard not to drive down there for a weekend to try out some of the new stuff.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: If I really want to convince Elyssa to head down, then I should probably mention the “The Chocolate Experience: From Bean to the Bar by Ghirardelli”. That sounds amazing.
Good. This *had* to happen.
Interesting. I will be staying at the Beach Club for 4 days[^fn1], and I wonder if $15 is really worth it. It is going to be a tough call.[^fn2]
[^fn1]: Well, three days where I will actually be in and around the place.
[^fn2]: Especially, because I keep thinking I can stock the fridge with Coke Zero for about $4.
Dabo comes in at 20:
> He’s matured from excitable young boy to proven winner, with 21 victories the last two years and a validating Peach Bowl triumph over LSU. But with quarterback Tajh Boyd back and experience on both lines, the Clemson faithful would like a victory over hated rival South Carolina (he’s 0-4) and a run at a national title. There is no dress rehearsal with Georgia as the season opener.
That sounds about right.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: I am getting more nervous about the Georgia game by the day.
Hairston was pulled over going 93 in a 65. A few hours later, Roy Williams suspended him indefinitely. This summer is turning out to be an absolute disaster for Hairston.
I used to see fun things like this all the time, but I have not seen one in a few years it seems. I hope this is the start of a trend.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: Also, can we get a Kickstarter for $58 million to build one of these?
I doubt that she is going to be the last fan to do this.
There is a currently a poll to name him.
This looks spectacular.
The *Disney Hipsters* have the details
> Rivers of Light is the almost maybe could be official name of the first ever regularly scheduled night time show to take place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The show has been in development since 2006, before being put on hold indefinitely in 2008
> …
> Earlier this month, Rivers of Light received its inaugural test run hours after the park closed and it was a resounding success. Rivers of Light (I figure the more often I repeat the title, the less pedestrian it will sound) will incorporate Disney’s new favorite toy – that being projection technology – to make the animals emblazoned on the Tree Of Life seemingly (relatively speaking) come alive
Interesting. I would love to see a reason to be at Animal Kingdom later in the day.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: Well, other than *Avatar Land* of course…assuming that actually happens.
> “I’m not here to set markets or do anything like that. I want to make sure that the team I’m on wins more games than the other team’s second baseman,” Pedroia said at the press conference to announce his deal. “That’s the way I look at it. Our job is to win games, and that’s what I play for.”
That is why Red Sox fans love cheering for Pedroia.
I love it when liberals get snippy when someone[^fn1] does not follow the liberal dogma.[^fn2]
[^fn1]: Or some company.
[^fn2]: Especially when it is something like global warming / “climate change”, which [is having problems of it own](http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/06/global-warming-in-a-few-slides.php)
Good. It is ridiculous that a team with that much talent has to play in that horrific stadium.
Lani Teshima shares some tips on how to save money when doing a runDisney event. I will probably be doing a few of these things when Elyssa and I do the Princess 10K next year.[^fn1]
[^fn1]: Though we will probably be staying on-property because the thought of having to drive to a 3am race is horrifying.
> According to an industry source, the Red Sox and White Sox have not discussed Middlebrooks “in any context” with each other.
That would be a ludicrous trade. I imagine the White Sox are leaking these rumors just to try and get them traction.
> But while it was just one game, it nonetheless is disconcerting that a batter who was hitting .434 with a .484 on-base percentage on June 25 has needed less than a month to tumble all the way to .343 with a .428 on-base percentage. He’s hit .227 with a .266 on-base percentage in that span.
We all knew that Iglesias could not keep up his torrid bace. It is just too bad it happened so soon.
> Pedroia’s deal looks like a steal based on simple math. Since taking over the full-time second-base job in Boston in 2007, Pedroia has been a consistently above-average player. He’s netted at least three Wins Above Replacement in each full season of his career, with a high of 7.6 WAR in 2011 and an average of slightly less than five WAR per season. Pedroia turns 30 next month, and his new deal doesn’t kick in until 2015, when he’ll be 31 on Opening Day. Let’s be pessimistic and say Pedroia is a four-win player by 2015, then subtract half a win for each of the following six seasons, with him ending up a one-win player (a below-average regular or a bench player) in 2021, the year he turns 38. That would net Pedroia 17.5 WAR over the life of his contract. The current value of a win on the open market, based on recent free-agent prices, is about $6 million. That would make Pedroia worth $105 million over those seven years, producing a small profit on the $100 million the Red Sox will have spent. Even that math isn’t favorable enough to Boston. The combination of inflation and increasing industrywide revenues means we should expect salaries to rise, such that the cost of a win could be significantly higher than $6 million a few years down the road — which could make Pedroia an even bigger bargain.
Once again, Jonah Keri brings us good news about the Red Sox.
Wow. That is crazy.
The poster is amazing.