For the uninitiated, a flash mob is a sort of secret event where a select few are told to gather and perform some zany act of hilarious consequence at a random place and time. On Wednesday, students trickled in bit by bit to Storke Plaza; newspaper in tow, waiting for the clock to strike 12, for this was to be their moment of glory, participating in the flash mob organized by Associated Students’ Program Board as a means of announcing the Extravaganza 2008 lineup. As I watched like a little schoolboy from the sidelines, two individuals approached the plaza in what can only be described as “colourful spacemen” attire; one with a blue helmet and one with a red helmet, each wearing a rather vibrant outfit seemingly picked up from the local thrifts store. Think “Speed Racer” meets “Apollo 13.” They too proceeded to delve in to their favourite student newspaper, calmly awaiting their cause. They were going to have some fun.

About a hundred UCSB students and said spacemen eventually gathered together just before noon, eagerly reading those fascinating articles in the Nexus. After a few nervous giggles, and even more nervous leg shaking, the clock struck and all of those crazy cooks proceeded to act like dinosaurs; “eeeyaaying” and “yaauurrring” in a high- pitched cacophony of noise… and such. (What? That’s how dinosaurs sound!) I have learnt from this experience that stealthy cat burglars and dinosaurs walk in a very similar fashion. I am ready for anything now.

Anyway, rather coincidentally at this point in time, a group of potential UCSB students were being shown around campus, with the grand tour pausing at our beloved Storke Plaza for a few brief moments. Had it not been for them, I fear that the spectators would have amounted to a few others with camcorders, waiting to capture the special event and post it on YouTube. We were indeed all bemused and entertained, with the flash mob culminating in chants of “X 08,” and those funny dinosaur-people all pointing to the balcony, demanding to see the line up for the event. Battling against that evil of evilest foes – the wind – three individuals let down a small poster to reveal hip hop legend Nas headlining this year’s event, along with numerous other acts. A significant step up from “The Federation,” this is exciting news for the hip hop fans out there (wherever “there” is). The mob soon disbanded to normal life, taking with them for some reason, the sacred poster. And if you’ve taken anything away from this article, remember that if you’re reading this, and you’re standing up in a large, open space full of other avid Nexus-readers, look out for dinosaurs… *Hums Jurassic Park theme tune.*

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