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1. Not just an excellent match between Nadal and Djokovic, but a great display of cojones from both players. Best match of the season so far. Rafa beat Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2, but he had to throw everything he had at Djoker to win that last game. Djoker cut out the nonsense and played ballsy tennis. What does he do when facing match point? Make drop shots. Ostensibly they were battling for the number 2 ranking, but the match was really about who succeeds The Fed when the time comes. Rafa’s been waiting in the wings for three years, that’s too long. Now here comes a guy whose backhand seems to manage Rafa’s forehand of death. Suddenly the clay season is actually exciting.

2. Nerve-wracking Hamburg final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Nadal wins, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. Roger storms to 5-1 in the first set, then Rafa catches up. And goes on to win the first set, 7-5. I’d say “inconceivable”, except that we’ve seen this happen before, most recently at the Monte Carlo final. (Remember Roland Garros two years ago?) Roger takes the early lead, Rafa catches up, then you can see the spirit leaving Roger’s body (Note the posture). Yes, Nadal is the best player on clay, but it looks like Roger’s problem is psychological. Still, Fed went to the net more, and made some bizarre errors while he was at it, but this is a tactic that could pay off.

Incidentally, Fed fans, have you noticed how much we like Rafa now that Djokovic is posing a threat? At the French Open, I’m going to root for. . .Richard Gasquet.

I skipped the tennis news for a few days, so when I read that Justine Henin had retired, I thought it was from a match. Turns out she’s retired from professional tennis. She said she didn’t feel like it anymore, and now she’s going to get a life. First woman to quit at number one. Maria Sharapova takes over the top spot on the women’s tour, and she has true grit and power, but not Henin’s arsenal of shots. We’re going to miss that beautiful backhand. And the gravitas. While everyone around her was trying to break into modelling or fashion design or acting, she was there for the tennis.

James Martin on Justine Henin’s retirement: “The WTA tour loves to promote its eye-candy but the real eye-candy for tennis aficionados has always been Henin’s smooth and stylish game. On a tour dominated by monotonous power tennis, Henin showed there was still a place for volleys rather than swing volleys, and slice backhands rather than two-handed drives. Amelie Mauresmo has a similarly beautiful, if less effectively powerful, game, but she is fading quickly and may not be too far from retirement herself. Martina Hingis, a cagey counter-puncher—gone. Ivanovic hits a clean ball that appeals to purists, yet she’s still in the mold of the “Big Babe Tennis” popularized by Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles. Women’s tennis may have a surplus of pretty faces, but it’s just lost one of the prettiest games ever.“

James Reyes fashion show. May 20 & 22, 4pm, Shangri-La Makati., originally uploaded by 160507.

I’d been hearing a lot about the Gossip Girl novels, so I tried reading one. Yikes, this is what young girls are reading now, and to think we were thrilled every time Nancy Drew held hands with Ned Nickerson. And Nancy was 18, the legal age. The first Gossip Girl novel was so cruel, I read another one. Now I think it’s brilliant, the way the much-maligned American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis was brilliant. No, I haven’t seen the TV series, and I’m told it is to the Cecily von Ziegesar books as Wal Mart is to Takashimaya. True, 95% of movie/TV adaptations are to their literary sources as Wal Mart is to Takashimaya, and I know some GG-TV addicts.

No Country For Young Women in Emotional Weather Report, today in the Star.

I haven’t seen Speed Racer yet–the trailer alone looks like it might induce seizures in the audience–but it’s on my calendar, along with Harold and Kumar, and Robin and Ai-Ai. A friend of mine has seen Speed Racer, and his review goes like this: “Beautiful colors! Best colors of any recent movie!” When I asked about plot, direction, etc, he said, “This ensaladang talong is excellent!” You know that long-standing rumor that one of the Wachowski Brothers is now a woman?
By the way, I saw Deception and Ploning. Deception is inept and leaden. I’m guessing the producers are friends with the stars or their management, because how else could tenth-rate Hitchcock draw MacGregor and Jackman (Charlotte Rampling appears)? It’s supposed to be set in Manhattan, and every other movie seems to be set in Manhattan, but this one doesn’t even look like Manhattan. Don’t these people watch the many Law and Orders?

Ploning has some structural/expository problems–I call it Babel-ness–and my eyeballs started rolling every time I heard an aphorism uttered in the course of cracking cashews–but it’s far more interesting than the tripe the studios have been serving up this year. Ploning feels authentic. It valiantly sticks to the laid-back, contemplative pace of its location and true subject, Cuyo in Palawan, and it takes a genuine interest in the lives of its many characters–they’re people, not plot devices. I like the way the director Dante Nico Garcia cast non-actors in major roles, alongside stars like Judy Ann Santos and Mylene Dizon. Ploning is a movie about love, not the hackneyed romantic stuff, but the real, recognizable kind–among friends, family, and members of a community. Watch it, if it’s still on.

Now Showing, originally uploaded by 160507.

Un film de Raya Martin
Jeudi 22 mai
14h00
Théâtre Croisette (50 La Croisette, Cannes)

The film is nearly five hours long, so wear padded trousers. And if you hear the other viewers say “Raya Mahrtaahnh,” tell them, “It’s Mar-TEEN.”

Who is singing the role of Imelda Marcos in the album of David Byrne’s musical Here Lies Love?

Cyndi Lauper.

Brilliant choice. Cause girls just wanna have fun, and couture, and jewelry, and buildings…

The account in David Byrne’s journal: “Cyndi Lauper came in to the studio last week to sing 1½ songs for the Here Lies Love album. She was about an hour and a half late to the session, so I fully expected to be in for some prime diva behavior. But, as I’d run overtime on the earlier brass sessions, it all worked out great, and Cyndi gave an amazingly fine-tuned performance. Not only is she a wonderful singer from a technical point of view, but she can tailor her attitude and performance to suit the character and the character’s emotional state.

“This is exactly the skill set I need for this project. After giving Cyndi the back-story on a particular song and establishing the context of the lyrics, I would give directions like, “Yes, she’s a little angry, but also heartbroken and confused.” Cyndi would then incorporate these complex emotions into her performance with seeming ease. She’d ask, for example, “You want more anger in this verse?” And sure enough, she’d dial a little more in. Very impressive.”

Thanks to the LUA for the link.