Weekend Update #50911

Here's just a mish-mash of thoughts from the weekend... so get a drink of your choice, sit down, read, relax...

Ended up being pleasantly surprised with the musical Movin' Out on Friday night.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am a Billy Joel fan... so that show had a leg-up in the "like" department going in... but despite being a little heavy handed at times (c'mon trying to interpret Vietnam and drug addiction to pop songs?!) it was really well executed.  There was no dialogue so the dancers had to tell the "story" through dance... you have to think that Twyla Tharp is some kind of genius to have choreographed every move for about a dozen dancers for a nearly 2 hour show!  (Though I had trouble getting Robin Williams' famous line from The Birdcage out of my head: "You do Fosse, Fosse, Fosse!  You do Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham!  Or Twyla, Twyla, Twyla!  Or Michael Kidde, Michael Kidde, Michael Kidde, Michael Kidde!  Or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna!").

And it surely made you appreciate the musical genius of Joel as well... his songs are definitely part of the songbook of my own life... so it was a blast from the past.  So if Movin' Out rolls through your town and you are a fan of Billy Joel, I would definitely give it a thumbs up... and, oh, yes the male dancers were pretty hot too!

We had a seriously elderly couple sitting next to us... I don't know how old they were, I mean my dad is like 70+ years old and these folks seemed waaaay older... but anyhow, when I saw them limping in I was thinking they were really not going to like this show... the band was already cranking up behind the stage curtain... so with the "rock" music plus no dialogue, this show was not one that was going to appeal to the senior circuit.  Sure enough they did not return after intermission.

Since this was also a new season, we also got new neighbors to the left of us.  There has been this older gay guy (not coupled, but usually rotating with another male friend) floating around us for several seasons, usually a row or two behind us... well this year they landed right next to us.  So after many years of "oh, there are some other fags" knowing glances ... we finally got around to chatting a bit.

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Today, I begin my withdrawal... from tennis.  Having watched (or at least had it on the TV) tennis for about 6-8 hours a day for the last two weeks of the US Open.. plus all the extended coverage of the lead-up tournaments for the past couple of months... tennis was my drug.  So I don't know what I am going to do now that there is not much (if anything!) on for the foreseeable future.

It was really a great tournament... and I could not be more pleased with the champions... Kim Clijsters and Roger Federer, arguably two of the nicest players on the tour... though I do have to say Roger is starting to sound a tad more arrogant these days (though deservedly so, but more on that in a bit).  But there were really some thrilling matches and storylines... 3 of the 4 men's quarterfinals went the distance while the ladies fought it out in the semifinals.  With the absence of the top-ranked American Andy Roddick (thanks to a shocking 1st round loss), the on-court success of James Blake and Robby Ginepri was nice to see... and although I have never been a big Andre Agassi fan, I have started to warm up to him... that usually happens when players get "old" like the 35 year old Las Vegan, ummm... not vegan, I am sure he eats meat... but you know what I mean!

But Roger is just amazing... he now has 6 Slams, only solidifying thoughts that he is one of the greatest male tennis players of all-time.  With a resume that already ensures him a first-round placement into the Hall of Fame, in my opinion, Roger just has to do one of the two things to ascend to "greatest" status... win the French Open or surpass Pete Sampras' 14 Slams.

A win at the French Open would give Federer a career Grand Slam... only 5 players have accomplished that (most recently Agassi) feat and only 2 have done it one year, though not in the "open era" of men's tennis... Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969).  Although he has never gone beyond the semifinals (Federer reached that round for the first time this past year), he is certainly capable of winning on the red clay at Roland Garros... something that was never a reality for Sampras.

So can Federer win more Slams than Sampras?  Potentially.  At age 24, Federer is the same age as Pete when he won his 6th Slam... Sampras won 14 Slams over a 12-year period, in 4 of those years he won 2 Slams... Federer has won his 6 Slams in a 3-year period (1 Slam in 2003, 3 in 2004, 2 this year, and was just one point away from 3rd in Australia)...  so I am leaning towards giving Federer the chance at the all-time record...  he is a serious threat in all 4 and, if nothing else, seems just as invincible as Pete was at Wimbledon.  But you just don't know what new players are on the horizon... or if the more physical rigors of tennis these days will give Federer that same kind of longevity.  Stay tuned!

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Finally (!) speaking of "old"... I have been dealing with a lower back thing over the past week or so.  Last weekend, I tweaked my lower back, which was only exacerbated by some work-related stress on Sunday and Monday... it was there but okay for most of last week, but it was (pardon the pun) back with a slight vengeance this weekend.

The best way I can describe it is that if my back is an accordian in 'stretched out' mode... it feels like my lower back is crunched down... this makes bending or getting up/down a tad difficult... has anyone else experienced anything like this?  What is it? What do you do?  I have had this happen before and it usually just works itself out... but just curious if anyone has any feedback.

Oh... one more thing (I see that eye roll!)... Can. not. stop. making new W&C banners... yet another one is in the rotation... if this blog needed to be a little more gay... there is a new "Divas" banner... so wait for it to pop up... or, if you are too impatient, check it out in the banner archive.

... AND!!   Entertainment Weekly finally posted their latest Matthew Fox cover in their archives... so I replaced it with my not-so great quality digital camera pic ... this one is much better! ;-)  Click here.

Comments

[tLM]

I can see how people might think Federer is becoming a bit arrogant, but I think the poor guy is just trying too hard NOT to be.

And he knows the polite modesty that most top players players possess isn't his specialty. (You can only hear so many "My opponent played tough today!" comments after 6-1, 6-0 trouncings before you stop believing it.)