Yes, Sania Mirza has got through the first round and may I add IN HER FIRST WIMBLEDON!! She beat 71 ranked Akiko Morigami in an epic 3 set battle,6-3,3-6,8-6. Congrats and well done...and please keep it up!!
Other highlights : Federer cruises, Hewitt in devastating form against Rochus. Safin despatched Srichapan in straight sets. I thought this might be THE match of the first day, but such an anti-climax! Srichapan -what has happened to you? I know it was a difficult draw but you could have at least put up a fight.
Upsets : Robredo out, Enqvist out, Suigiyama and Patty Schynder out.
My guesses for the Mens Semis : Federer,Roddick,Safin vs Hewitt QF,Nadal vs Tommy Haas
My guesses for the Women's Semis : I dont rate the women's game very highly normally. Somehow this is the most open wimbledon in years - davenport, williams',belgians, russians.
I shall leave the guessing to the experts - "the little one".(I dont want to be sleeping on the floor again.)
It was a lovely weekend. 32 C and warm, no cloud!!Bujul and I played loads of tennis and then watched a lot of sport. Cricket - Pietersen thrashing Australia, Mexico beating Brazil in the Confederation Cup and dark horse Michael Campbell winning the US open coming from behind to hold his nerves against a resurgent Tiger.
Monday, June 20
Friday, June 17
Goerge Tenet emphasising that if HE can make it in USA, surely us privileged students can definitely make it big! "The American Dream in Flesh"! Allow me to rant here about this American dream. Lets make something clear all the immigrant success stories are usually children of immigrants. So, they are actually Americans, educated and worked in the American system. Secondly, it is not something unique to America to see second generation immigrants succeed. In the UK,all the top business men are South Asians. The top physicians are South Asians. Any immigrant must work harder to reach a sustainable level of living and personally in a country which started isolationalist immigration policies post 1960, the American Immigrant Dream no longer has the allure that it possesed in the past.
2nd June,2005
After that artistic journey through the Temple of Dendur,Rodin,Monet and a couple of Van Gogh's we went home (this is my grand deluxe room no.1101 at the Peninsula Hotel). I just couldn't sleep at night and woke up at 4am to sit and answer a few emails. So, by the time we went down for a "leisurely breakfast" at 7am at St.Regis's Hotel I was really tired and sleepy. We had a couple of panel discussions and talks in the morning. George Tenet,former CIA director spoke to us before being quizzed by Chris Matthews (host of talkshow Hardball). Chris really tore into Tenet about WMD's and Iraq although admittedly Tenet defended well knowing that he was automatically on the backfoot from the beginning. Mr. "blogposter" asked a question and then continued to take his questioning form into the next couple of days, never failing to take the opportunity to ask questions.
After Tenet finished telling us about the American dream ( he is a son of Greek immigrants) and inspiring us to take up public office( I think he just presumed that everyone there wanted to come to America) there was a panel discussion on "Science and Religion". This was introduced by a pediatrician who couldn't believe that all of us had come from a melting pot of algae and slime. On the other hand we had Sir Paul Nurse, whose only point was that we must not allow a religious ideal to wrest political dominance and thus chart the scientific progress of a nation. He was obviously worried about all his scientists( he is President of Rockerfeller) working with stem cells being laid off.
We of course had a wishy washy diplomatic government spokeswoman(cant remember her name) who proceeded to inform us that we must remind ourselves of the values that inspire us to undertake science. Love for our brothers, altruistic intentions to eradicate hunger and disease..blah blah blah..
When I asked her how she dealt with the very human values that encourage science now being used to restrict scientific work in a particular area, she replied,"by having discussions like this". Rubbish!!
This was then followed by a really brief discussion about health policy which they had to cut short because of time constraints.
We then headed off to Gracie Mansion, NY mayor's official residence to have lunch in his garden. Its a huge house and fantastic garden. The sun was shining and the backdrop is the river with a bridge. Great view, nice food and good wine!! I sat next to Scott Momoday who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. I had no idea who he was but chatted reasonably well with him after I told him that I had never heard of him or read his work. He is a Native American and we talked about extinct languages and Louis Lamour. He wanted to come to India and so I gave him a bit of advice about it.
Before we could start lunch we had the mayor giving a long speech and then an award to journalist and host of "Meet the Press" Tim Russert. Tim spoke really well, lucidly, engagingly and witty. Unfortunately as soon as they finished we were packed off again in buses to our next destination, Broadway.
That after a few more photos.
After Tenet finished telling us about the American dream ( he is a son of Greek immigrants) and inspiring us to take up public office( I think he just presumed that everyone there wanted to come to America) there was a panel discussion on "Science and Religion". This was introduced by a pediatrician who couldn't believe that all of us had come from a melting pot of algae and slime. On the other hand we had Sir Paul Nurse, whose only point was that we must not allow a religious ideal to wrest political dominance and thus chart the scientific progress of a nation. He was obviously worried about all his scientists( he is President of Rockerfeller) working with stem cells being laid off.
We of course had a wishy washy diplomatic government spokeswoman(cant remember her name) who proceeded to inform us that we must remind ourselves of the values that inspire us to undertake science. Love for our brothers, altruistic intentions to eradicate hunger and disease..blah blah blah..
When I asked her how she dealt with the very human values that encourage science now being used to restrict scientific work in a particular area, she replied,"by having discussions like this". Rubbish!!
This was then followed by a really brief discussion about health policy which they had to cut short because of time constraints.
We then headed off to Gracie Mansion, NY mayor's official residence to have lunch in his garden. Its a huge house and fantastic garden. The sun was shining and the backdrop is the river with a bridge. Great view, nice food and good wine!! I sat next to Scott Momoday who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. I had no idea who he was but chatted reasonably well with him after I told him that I had never heard of him or read his work. He is a Native American and we talked about extinct languages and Louis Lamour. He wanted to come to India and so I gave him a bit of advice about it.
Before we could start lunch we had the mayor giving a long speech and then an award to journalist and host of "Meet the Press" Tim Russert. Tim spoke really well, lucidly, engagingly and witty. Unfortunately as soon as they finished we were packed off again in buses to our next destination, Broadway.
That after a few more photos.
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