a southern gal in the north

The best match EVER

and if you missed it, I am SO sorry.

To see my beloved Federer (and such a gentleman) lose in that epic battle was an incredible treat and honor. I was sobbing at the end and screaming throughout. But as he said, he will be back and we will be there for him.

From the Wimbledon's own Email

Day 13 Review

Just when you thought this tournament had seen everything – and it had seen a lot of things: Venus Williams winning her fifth title; the top four ladies’ seeds all eliminated by the end of the first week; the resurgence of Marat Safin; a first British girls’ winner since 1984 – this topped it all.

It will be called the greatest final ever. It was certainly the longest at 4 hours 48 minutes, and that is without the two rain delays.

On occasions, Nadal and Federer could only shake their heads and marvel at the quality of their opponent's shots. They were spectators, like the rest of us, to a masterclass in tennis. On other occasions, shots that would have beaten any other player were returned as winners.

Not only was the tennis of the highest quality, it was of the nerve-wracking variety as well: Federer went down two sets to love, he saved two Championship points, Nadal lost two tie-breakers, the fifth set was still going as it was getting darker, the players were tired. It was all too much.

When the dust settled, Nadal was the new champion, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7, and no one who saw this unforgettable match could say he didn’t deserve it.

All the talk had been about Federer breaking Bjorn Borg's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles, it was the second seed who upstaged Borg, by becoming the first player to win back-to-back at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The other matches that day, despite the quality of their tennis, were eclipsed by this finale. For the record, Samantha Stosur and Bob Bryan won the mixed doubles, Jessica Moore and Polona Hercog claimed the girls’ doubles, while Chinese Taipei duo Cheng-Peng Hsieh and Tsung-Hua Yang were crowned boys’ doubles champions. In the Wheelchairs Masters Series, Dutch duo Robin Ammerlaan and Ronald Vink retained their Wimbledon title.

Yet it is to the men's singles final that we must return, and a final comment from the two protagonists. "In tennis, unfortunately there has to be winners and losers, there’s no draws," Federer said. "But I really had to push hard to come back. And I wasn't able to break him in the last three sets, but still I pushed him right to the edge. It's probably my hardest loss, by far. I mean, it's not much harder than this right now."

"I just say, 'Good tournament. Sorry'," is how Nadal relayed his thoughts to Federer after the match. "Because I know how tough is lose a final like this. This is tougher than last year, and last year I was very disappointing in the end. So he is a great champion, no? His attitude always is positive when he lose, when he win. Always accept the victories and the losses with the same humble for him."

A line from Rudyard Kipling’s poem If was the last thing the players saw before they entered Centre Court, yet it is another stanza that so aptly summed up this final:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on'

****

After a long hiatus during with there was much work in the garden and a long trip abroad, life resumes.

Much more soon.

where i am these days

in the garden working...

see here for what's going on.

Water Flowing Together

Returning to the blogsphere from a short break. Just watched the incredibly moving and emotional documentary about Jock Soto during his last days at the NYCB.


Water Flowing Together by Gwendolyn Cates

It is being shown on INDEPENDENT LENS (PBS) thru out the country this week. I caught it on the WLIW WORLD channel but it is listed on Channel 13 this Friday night in NYC.

If you ever saw Jock dance at the New York City Ballet, you will enjoy this incredibly personal look as he grapples with the end of his dancing career and his steps toward the next phase of his life and a new career in culinary arts (although he continues to teach and play a very active part in the life of NYCB).

It was a terribly personal film for me as going to the NYCB has been a very precious thing for me and one of the reasons I lived in NYC.

I moved to NY just as Jock was rising thru the company from the corps to soloist and principal very quickly. Over the years, he has been my most favorite male dancer in the company and one of my most favorite performing artists ever.

Watching him again in the film tonight - in rehearsal, in a very few brief film clips - brings back so many memories.

One of the very first luxuries I permitted myself as a starving temping musician was a subscription to NYCB - it was such a treat to have those tickets and the evenings were always wonderful in those days. Although Balanchine had just died, his aura was still hanging everywhere in the building - on the stage and still fresh amongst the dancers. And the evenings were full of Balanchine ballets and of course Suzanne Farrell was still dancing among other great dancers - but that's another post.

And I won't go into here the ways that the company has changed - and yes I know that all things change - and the people who should be there in the midst of these newer postGB generations of dancers imparting his works, techiniques, philosophies. That is covered in many places.

At another point in my NY years, I was able to take advantage of seeing NYCB much more frequently due to my proximity (I worked at a fellow company at Lincoln Center). It was such a wonderful joy to find out if Jock was dancing and to go over and see him perform - he was always a most generous and gifted performer. And if he was partering Heather Watts - which was the majority of the time during those years - the level of excitement increased. I am grateful for the opportunities to see them perform as much as I did - although I know there are fans who went every night - I was content to see them as much as I could and drink in their love for dancing and obvious affection for each other.

One sees artists like Jock Soto and Heather Watts and feels close to them thru the openness of their performances and wishes them to dance forever which of course is impossible.

The courage of the openess of Jock in this film - touching on his family life and heritage as part Navajo and part Puerto Rican as well as homosexuality is admirable and moving and a tribute to the man behind the performer... someone whom it would be nice to get to know away from the stage too. (Or at his restaurant - his current dream).

Kittens

Life has been very busy with the little kittens


They are now moving from the

SLEEP
EAT
SLEEP
EAT

phase













to

SLEEP
EAT
PLAY
TRY TO CLIMB OUT OF THE BASKET
PLAY
FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER
SLEEP
EAT



phase

yikes!

but aren't they darn cute! ?





Oh and they are FOUR WEEKS old today! Happy Birthday!

10 good for you snacks

From the New York Times Marissa Lippert, a registered dietician, her list:

Top 10 all-around picks, in no specific order, to stash at your desk or in your office fridge

1. Raw, unsalted nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews, walnuts, pecans)

2. Kashi TLC granola bars, Gnu Flavor & Fiber bars, Lara bars (or check out youbars.com and create your own)

3. Low-Fat Laughing Cow Cheese, Coach Farm Goat Cheese or organic part-skim string cheese

4. Fage 0% Greek Yogurt or Stoneyfield Farms Low-Fat Organic Yogurt

5. Wasa, Finn Crisp, Kavli or Dr. Kracker wholegrain crackers

6. Organic peanut, almond or cashew butter (any organic/natural brand will do, or get the freshly ground stuff at your local Whole Foods Market or health food store or through FreshDirect.com)

7. McCann’s Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal or Arrowhead Mills Organic Original Instant Oatmeal

8. Kashi GoLean or Heart to Heart Cereal; Uncle Sam’s Cereal; Bear Naked Granola (watch portions!)

9. Sweet Riot Chocolate Covered Cacao Nibs (for the occasional afternoon chocolate craving)

10. Good Health Half-Naked Popcorn or Glenny’s Soy Crisps (1.3oz – small bag)

and check out Smart Eating at Work - Part 2 and Part 1

Place your bets!

Figuring out who is singing in the current production of TRISTAN UND ISOLDE at the Metropolitan Opera is akin to playing Russian Roulette.

See the cast listing from the previous 5 performances with one to go (and NO BETS for this one either!) :

1st Perf: Voigt/MacMaster (tenor booed)

2nd Perf: Voigt (Act I/II partial)/Baird (Act II/III)/Gary Lehman - Lehman’s Met debut and role debut, Debbie got sick in Act II replaced by debutante Baird.

3rd Perf: Voigt/Lehman (night of Lehman flying rug into prompter’s box drama)

4th Perf: Voigt/Robert Dean Smith (Saturday matinee radio and HD broadcast) no major drama. One or two cracks from Smith and his wig got caught on Kurwenal’s coat in Act III. Pretty minor.

5th Perf: Baird/Heppner (Voigt canceled due to illness) (Photo on left from CBC)

6th Perf: coming this Friday - listed as of now as Voigt/Heppner - will be the only performance with the originally scheduled casting.

(The above from a posting on Parterre Box in the ever increasing comments for a post re last night's cast change.)

This writer will be seeing the 6th and final performance (ticket purchased months ago initally with disappointment at being the last one but that has faded obviously in light of current events).

Check back here over the weekend for details of the sure-to-be event, for IF Heppner and Voigt ACTUALLY sing together and make it to the end - it will be one of those evenings.

Already expectations are high and given the performances last night by the cast, orchestra and James Levine this promises to be an incredible performance.

Read more here

Read this : Bernanke's Lessons

From The Times

March 25, 2008

Lessons learnt from Great Depression
Gerard Baker: American view

A few years back, at a conference to honour the 90th birthday of the great economist Milton Friedman, the keynote speech was given by Ben Bernanke, then merely a member of the board of governors of the US Federal Reserve .

Mr Bernanke, who had made something of a life's work of studying the Great Depression and its causes, addressed the central contention in one of Professor Friedman's analyses — that the economic disaster of the 1930s was essentially the result of an unforced policy error, a terrible series of mistakes by the Federal Reserve.

Mr Bernanke's conclusion was surprisingly blunt: “You're right. We did it. We're very sorry. But thanks to you, we won't do it again.”

At the time, the economist-turned-central banker's observations seemed only a slightly more colourful assessment of historical events than policymakers are generally inclined to give. But five years or so later, with echoes of the 1930s apparently back in the air — last week, Alan Greenspan, Mr Bernanke's predecessor, said that this could be the worst financial crisis in more than 50 years — the Fed Chairman's promise then has taken on something of the appearance of a contractual obligation.

Certainly, the remarkable actions by Mr Bernanke and his colleagues at the Fed recently suggest that they take quite seriously the possibility that the current recession could turn into something really unpleasant and that, if disaster can be averted by policy action, at least they will not be found wanting.

The conventional Wall Street rap on Mr Bernanke is that he and his colleagues are of an academic mindset, hidebound by ivory-towered thinking, incapable of the agility needed to solve the deepening financial mess (unlike, presumably, those brilliant financial people who created the mess in the first place. In the immortal words last summer of the professionally irate Jim Cramer of CNBC: “They know nothing!!!”)

But consider this: since January Mr Bernanke has led the Federal Reserve in more radical, novel and imaginative directions than any of his recent predecessors ever dreamt up.

He has cut interest rates by more in one go (75 basis points) than at any time in the past 20 years (and for good measure, with last week's cut, has done it twice).

He has come up with a bewildering alphabet soup of initiatives designed to pump liquidity into a cash-strapped financial system — Term Auction Facility (TAFs), Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLFs) and the rest.

He has deployed Fed money to help in the acquisition of one large investment bank (Bear Stearns) by another (JPMorgan Chase).

And, perhaps most dramatic of all, although it may sound a bit technical, he has used an obscure clause in the Federal Reserve Act to allow the Fed to lend at the discount rate to Wall Street brokers who have been barred by rule from borrowing direct from the central bank.

By most financial markets commentators' estimations, this is the first time that this clause has been exercised since the 1930s - another telling sign that Mr Bernanke has done his Great Depression homework.

The question is no longer whether the Fed has been bold enough — though it could still be argued that it should have acted sooner. It is whether the Fed's unprecedented measures will be enough to avoid even a mini-Depression. For the first time in a while, following last week's eye-catching developments there were some truly encouraging signs.

Just when everybody was expecting the Crash of 2008, US equity markets had their best week since early February. The dollar rallied. Commodity prices eased. Credit spreads narrowed sharply.

Of course, it's too early to say Mr Bernanke's extremism has worked. For one thing, it is important to understand that the Fed is, in effect, fighting two separate fires with its actions and even if one is contained, the other could still spread or jump back to reignite the first.

The Fed's liquidity measures, including orchestrating the sort-of rescue of Bear Stearns, are aimed at the crisis in the financial system. The Friedman analysis of the Great Depression was that the Fed failed to step in and save banks from collapse. This caused a cascading run on financial institutions that resulted in the wiping out of something close to half the deposits of the banking system. This is something that Mr Bernanke seems especially anxious to avoid.

The Fed's interest-rate cuts, meanwhile, are aimed at the broader economy.Though some expected the central bank to go further last week and cut rates by 100 basis points, it was clear that the policy-setting open market committee was nervous — two members opposed even the 75-point cut to 2.25 per cent. This seems unnecessarily cautious. If the economy is contracting as fast as it appears to be, the risk of inflation is going to diminish pretty quickly. The Fed is still well on course to take official rates down to 1 per cent in the next few months, or perhaps even lower — which would chalk up another first for Mr Bernanke.

In the end, though, saving the financial system and the economy will require more than Fed action. Markets won't really stabilise until there is some firm indication from the Administration and Congress that there is big public money coming down the pipeline to bail out the battered housing market. Here, the politicians are still looking less radical than the technocratic policymakers at the Fed.

© Copyright 2008 Times Newspapers Ltd.

Bye Bye Jezebel ;(

FOX cancels Jezebel James; no one is surprised

Posted Mar 24th 2008 7:04PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Industry, Cancellations

Well, this isn't a big surprise: TV Guide's Mike Ausiello has just found out from FOX that The Return of Jezebel James has been canceled after three episodes. Jezebel James was the first project for executive producer Amy Sherman-Palladino since she and her husband, Daniel Palladino, left Gilmore Girls after the show's sixth season.

Reviews for the show -- including mine -- were largely negative; almost all of them cited how Sherman-Palladino's unique writing style and pace were thrown off by the studio audience / laugh track used for the show. FOX obviously didn't have any confidence in the show, because it was airing episodes on Friday nights after cutting its initial order from 13 episodes to 7.

That's the funny thing about TV; no matter how good the talent is that's involved in the show -- and this show, with the Palladinos, Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose, had a lot of talent involved -- things sometimes just don't work. But we know AS-P will get another chance, as will most of the cast. I especially want to see Posey on TV again; she's too good to not put at the center of a quirky dramedy or something like that.

from TV SQUAD

Catch up

First about St Patrick's Day - did you know this?

St. Patrick's Day is moved if it coincides with Holy Week, and this year it is celebrated 2 days earlier to avoid a conflict with Holy Monday. The last time the holiday was moved was all the way back in 1940 and the next time will be 2160, so it's definitely a rare occurrence.

I didn't but I realize that is why some of the villages around here had their parades on Sunday (specifically the Sleepy Hollow-Tarrytown Parade) I was wondering. Of course the NYC parade will be Monday.

When I worked in midtown (59 and Fifth) we dreaded St Pats cause that meant Fifth Avenue and the surrounding areas became a sea of mostly drunken folks (unfortunately). The parade was always fun to watch from the windows on high (that only happened when it was on a weekend and the offices were empty) but the crowds are really rowdy.

I will celebrate by eating some Irish Soda Bread and wearing my green (I have Irish ancestry). (I might make some soda bread - here is an easy good recipe)

Happy First Week Anniversary
So we made it thru the first week and all are still alive and thriving! Whew! It's All Eat All Sleep all the time around here these days. Momma Cordelia has really settled in and is doing a great job looking after her babies. By Thursday she had calmed down. Her appetite has returned. It's tough being a new mother - between cleaning the babies and feeding them and eating and making sure that they are sleeping and not getting underneath you!

The kittens are too adorable. It's hard to not take lots of photos - almost everytime I look over at the basket the urge is to take a picture of their sweetness. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when they are full fledged kitties playing and getting into mischief ! Anyway more photos here if you like.

Am going to have to get a larger basket or box for the kitties are getting bigger each day. Also will need one of those "baby screens" you put in doorways - need to keep the kitties in the back three rooms. So on the hunt for that. Freecycle?

Network (the Gates Way)
Hmm its not so easy - at times over the last few days I was ready to convert to Mac - no not really but heavens its a pain! Especially when you have a laptop with XP Pro and a desktop with XP Home - sigh. [and no thanks, I didn't want to upgrade the desktop - at least not yet] But thank goodness for the internets - found a good website with a ton of suggestions and one that FINALLY worked. (It involves IP addresses and permissions and special user accounts - whatever, it works!) And now laptop is mapped to the desktop and the ext drives and the desktop is mapped to the laptop (it already had the ext drives). And all is right in this little network.

Thus I am now moving all the older laptop files to the external drives (The laptop is old and has a, wait for it, floppy drive, yes! I said it was old). However due to my FIOS direct internet connection (100 mbps) and the good Linksys router, the transfer speed is really good. The wireless card is getting about 50mbps average and that is plenty fast. Of course, the moving is being done from the desktop (slightly more processing speed) and from having less than 500MB free, now the laptop has over 12G. Whew, much better! (and there are still 8GB of operas to move over)

After all that work its nice to be able to sit on the sofa and surf and watch cable tv or my netflix dvds. Having to adjust to the trackball again and remember to stretch those fingers!


In other news, in looking at a new apt for a family member - stumbled upon the view and scene in these photos. Pretty amazing - can't even imagine what kind of house would have been there. That's the Hudson River off in the distance. Family member won't have this view but its behind the clubhouse and an easy walk - of course soon the trees will hide the river, but it's still a grand prospect.

A closeup of one of the urns.

TRISTAN is struck again

Soprano Voigt Leaves 'Tristan' Mid-Opera
By MIKE SILVERMAN – 2 hours ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Now the soprano at "Tristan und Isolde" is sick, too.

Already missing tenor Ben Heppner because of a virus, the Metropolitan Opera lost Deborah Voigt in the middle of the second act Friday night because of a stomach ailment. That left with Met with both singers in the lead roles making their Met debuts, Gary Lehman and Janice Baird.

Heppner withdrew from the first four performances of the highly anticipated six-performance run and was replaced by John Mac Master in Monday's opener and by Lehman on Friday.

Voigt sang the opener but didn't sound at her best Friday and had trouble with the high notes during the first act.

"She was very heroic," Met general manager Peter Gelb said. "She told me before the second act began that she was feeling sick this morning but she didn't tell us because she didn't want to disturb us. She wanted to be very supportive of Mr. Lehman."

After the first act, Voigt spoke with Gelb and said she was ill.

"We agreed she would start the second act and see how it went," Gelb said.

Baird, Voigt's cover singer, was put on alert during the first intermission, which lasted about 10 minutes longer than usual, and by the start of the second act was standing by.

Voigt signaled near the beginning of the second-act love duet that she couldn't continue and hurried offstage. Music director James Levine kept conducting. Then the curtain came down, Lehman started singing and the orchestra stopped.

An announcement was made that Voigt suddenly had taken ill. Baird got into the costume that Voigt had been wearing and replaced her about 10-15 minutes later. Baird and Lehman received enthusiastic applause at the end of the act.

Mac Master received mostly negative reviews following Monday's opener of the revival. The Tristan for the next two performances is listed as TBA, including the March 22 matinee that is to be telecast to theaters worldwide.

Heppner and Voigt, two of the world's most acclaimed Wagnerian singers, were to be performing "Tristan" together for the first time.