2008-11-11

Boomerangs


Boomerangs!!! I received my boomerang in the mail today. OH MAN! It is so great. I came home, the package was waiting for me and it was a perfect day to be outside. So I dropped my stuff and ran out to a pitch.

I was worried to start throwing because I had read this blog and I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to get it to turn around but I had read alot of instructions on the internet (like this one, this one and this one) and the instructions that came with the boomerang (which is from the Boomerang Man website, if you forgoit) said exactly the same things.

My first throw turned a bit to the left (that's the direction that right handed boomerangs turn)s but definately didn't come back. I figured it needed to go higher to make it all the way around so I tilted it more - the boomerang shot straight up into the air, crashed down and bounced a couple of times before it died. But it wasn't broken so I kept throwing and throwing

and throwing




and throwing











and throwing until I caught it! It was far from perfect. I had to run to catch it but: I threw the boomerang, I watched the boomerang turn and I caught the boomerang! They say that that the best way to catch a boomerang is with both hands, clapping down on it like a crocodile's jaw but I think I only caught it once like that. I found it much easier to catch with one hand. That is probably the boomerang. The one that I picked is a beginner model and so when it is thrown well it hovers over my head for a second before I catch it. I think that with practice I will be able to throw it lower and closer to the ground but for now I'm just happy when I can catch it at all. After my first time, I was able to catch three more throws (and screw up a hundred) before it got dark. I'll go back out to practice more tomorrow morning.

PS I thought about boomerangs being a weapon: a boomerang could definitely be a weapon. If the boomerang hit anything on the first half of its trip it could cause some serious (although probably non-lethal) damage but the beauty is by the time it has finished its return, the boomerang has slowed to a manageable speed. I take back what I said about a real life Batman not actually using a boomerang. In actuality, using one that turned really tight, with enough practice and skill a boomerang would be perfect for the Batman. That being said I'd love to see anybody throw a boomerang while wearing leather gloves or catch a boomerang thrown in the dark or a narrow alley.

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