Look, Ma, No Hands!

Who knows, maybe Rollerblading got its start in Tibet. The local non-contact (breaking bones is not the object), non-sexist (girls can play too), non-commercial (no free Nikes, much less athletic scholarships) sports scene has long been open to multicultural additions. The latest is buka .

Imported from Southeast Asia, buka is played a little like Hacky Sack. Though a net can be used, the game usually involves standing in a circle and keeping a ball moving with everything but the hands and arms.

“The anti-gravity factor is a big thing,” said one player. “The higher you can get off the ground, the better angle you can spike it.”

As might be expected, buka is played locally in Venice, where anti-gravity has long been practiced.

At Least They Read

Taking a break from our usual round of party-going, last Monday night your Buzz staff noticed a bumper sticker on the office wall of CBS’ “Murphy Brown,” which features a new sign or sticker every week.

The sticker read, “I’ve been to the Reagan Liberry.” Confided a production assistant on the show, “No, it’s not a real sticker. The writers write ‘em and we make ‘em up here.”

The rules of predicting the future go something like this: If you see two of something, it’s a coincidence; three’s a trend. With that in mind, we saw a pre-trend (a trendlet?) at the black-tie opening of the Joffrey Ballet’s “Nutcracker”: Fashion arbiter Mr. Blackwell and debonair dance instructor Terry Leone both sported jeweled lapel pins on their tuxedos. When we spot No. 3, we’ll make it official.

Once More, With Feeling

What you need to maneuver the L.A. scene: Buzz has learned during the recent heavy premiere season that it is no longer enough to tell a filmmaker you loved the movie. It’s best to say, “I cried.” Even at comedies or musicals.