US Open

Tim and I went to the US Open Friday, the same day every year we always go. I was running around taking care of R&J stuff, so I didn't get out to Flushing Meadows until 2:00. Which meant that sadly I did NOT get to see Jelena Jankovic play the Chinese player, Jie Zheng. (I've heard great things about her, I was disappointed to miss that match.) However we saw Svetlana Kuznetsova (2003 (?) Champion) play, as well as a little bit of Roger Federer. I missed the Djokovic match which apparently went on for EVER. In general it was a long day and night at the tournament--they had to hold twice for rain which moved everything way back. We didn't leave until around 2:00 am. Lindsay Davenport played an incredibly lackluster match in Arthur Ashe and got spanked. Love me some Lindsay--I was excited to see her and then very let down by what I saw. She needs to decide if she really wants to keep going.



That's Andy in the background!

But the best match was my man Andy Roddick against some Latvian guy, Ernst Gulbis. It started out with Andy getting hammered--the Latvian was very good, his returns were incredibly fast. Andy lost 3-6 in the first set. But then he took the second set 7-5 and then just kept going...and going...and going. He kept working, and finding the angles and wearing the guy down. The whole crowd was behind him--Andy is very well-loved at the US Open, he's just so charming.

I must say, I'm not too crazy about how Open has started doing what they do at MSG during lulls (i.e., between games) when they play pop music from the '80s to encourage everyone to dance and then turn the cameras on them. Everyone does the lamest dance moves and not because they enjoy dancing--that would be fine. But just to get the camera's attention. They wave and act like idiots--just to get on camera. It just makes me cringe. During the hold for rain, as the rain petered out and the crowd came back, we were sitting there for awhile as they dried off the courts, and this went on for quite awhile. They had these two kids who were just acting ridiculous--jumping around, waving their arms, smiling uncertainly. It wasn't even sincere, they weren't genuinely unselfconsciously enjoying themselves, they just kept looking at the camera and waving at it, trying to get it to turn to them. And then these two young women who were up in one of the boxes wiggling their butts at the camera, lifting their dresses--ugh! Just ugh. It reminds me of when there's a serious news report on TV (a murder or something) and as the reporter is talking somberly to the camera, some moron is standing in the background waving idiotically. People will sacrifice any dignity they have just to be on camera. Guys, this ain't the Knicks. It's tennis. Have some dignity.

McCain's VP Choice

I've been thinking about the choice of Palin this weekend. I had very mixed feelings at first--I desperately want a woman in the Oval Office. I want to see myself reflected up there. No offense to my many white male friends :) but I'm tired of the same type of people getting elected to positions of power. I'm tired of the message being sent, over and over--you don't belong here. You are not welcome here. And yes, when you never see yourself up there, that IS the message. At the same time, you certainly don't vote based on identity alone--you vote on the issues. But I won't deny, the identity is getting more and more important when more than 20 years after Geraldine Ferraro got the VP nom, we STILL haven't had a woman VP or President, or even a shot at one. STILL. India has had a head of state before the US has. I was very disappointed that Hillary, whom I love, did not get the nomination but with Obama--well, okay, we're still making history, a new path is being forged, that's good too.

Then the news on Friday. I was stunned, and at first, very impressed. No matter who wins, history will be made. We could have a woman in the Office! I figured she was probably conservative but I will admit, the allure of having a woman in that VP slot was pretty strong. Then I did some research on her stances on the issues. She's very pro-life--calls herself a "Feminist for Life." Uh, no. You cannot call yourself a feminist if you would force me to have a baby if I'm raped. No. If I get raped and a pregnancy results, the FIRST thing I'm doing is getting an abortion. You do not get to tell me what to do with my body. Full stop. She was coy on creationism being taught in schools (the fact that this is EVEN AN ISSUE in this country makes my teeth hurt. Creationism is for CHURCH!!!! It is not science!)--she wanted both to be "discussed," framing it as "don't be afraid of information." Gu-whuh? Creationism is not information. It is an attempt to explain how we came into being with no way to test it. Which is why it's religion and NOT SCIENCE. And she doesn't think global warming is man-made. Which is just silly and ignorant.

And with this whole pregnant-teenage-daughter thing--well, it illustrates how silly the abstinence-only dogma she promotes. And finally, if you're trying to pass laws that invade my privacy, you'd better be prepared for your family's privacy to be invaded. Someone commented on the NYTimes site: "Family decisions are a private matter for most people, but they should not be private for someone who has no respect for the decisions of other families. Because Governor Palin wants to use the power of the government to force all women to be just like her, voters should be entitled to examine Governor Palin's family life to view the consequences of her policies regarding reproductive rights." Yup.