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Fred Astaire vs. Gene Kelly is my preferred analogy.
No prizes for guessing which is which.
Word History: Cute is a good example of how a shortened form of a word can take on a life of its own, developing a sense that dissociates it from the longer word from which it was derived. Cute was originally a shortened form of acute in the sense "keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd." In this sense cute is first recorded in a dictionary published in 1731. Probably cute came to be used as a term of approbation for things demonstrating acuteness, and so it went on to develop its own sense of "pretty, fetching," first recorded with reference to "gals" in 1838. The modern street meaning is screw-balled or acutely odd and the modernist Grimes bible makes reference to cute aliens.
The eye had the distinct pleasure of standing in close proximity to Fed
Astaire, who was wearing a red carnation, while he (the eye) bit parted in Towering Inferno. **** film… look up !As for Gene he saw him in singing in the rain with grawmaw gamble.
She stopped fingering her rosary when he did the splitsLooking forward to a great final showdown between the two best tennis players in the world.
I’m rooting for Roger.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
I hope the Men’s final lives up to expectations and is not ruined by rain delays.
I was pleased to see the 14 year old Laura Robson win the Girls singles championships at Wimbledon yesterday but I don’t think it is good that the Media are making such a fuss of it and didn’t expect her photos to be on the fronts of the Sunday newspapers in preference to Venus Williams who won the title that matters.
It seems to me that the Media are going to put a lot of expectations and pressure on her at too early a stage of her career.
Pete
And i’d bet a pound to a piece of sh*t that if she was a porky, spotty greaseball rather than the pretty girl she is there would have been zero attention from the press.
I hope she gets the right people around her and would be nice to see her progress well.I haven’t read the papers Pete
having just rumbled out of bed
Your sermon on key mount
on which flesh and why
is the only one for me today.it happens in an instant, in less than the flick of a fly’s eye
and the transport is unusual in its lightness and ethereal
lack of substance, and then you are out,
but have the extreme luck and good fortune
in taking a small piece of it with you.Dipping in the deep pool of knowledge
is not for everyone
and many dont want to
and many cannot even see the key
let alone turn it.I have been suffering the effects of malnutrition;
unusual shivering and nausea.
My twenty eight day experiment
ended yesterday and I am back in the land of latte.It brought me two moments of extreme clarity
The german’s pain
and Venus Williams
the flycatcher… the eye may expand
It seems to me that the Media are going to put a lot of expectations and pressure on her at too early a stage of her career.
Not often I agree with the antiseptic old harridan, but Virginia Wade was saying exactly that on the radio this morning. Keeping her family and friends close, and learning not to say "yes" to every head-turning endorsement and photo-shoot, will be key to Laura Robson’s development and longevity.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quote – Quite a sad indictment of British Sport that the BBC show coverage of the final of the juniors tournament in order to source some British success.
Hardly a sad indictment. I was really hoping they’d show it – the Wimbledon junior title is very difficult to win and it was fantastic to see a British based player win it. Well done the Beeb.
The year 2008 promises to be one to remember for Men’s tennis….
with Federer attempting to equal Borg’s record of 5 in a row,
Highflyer, after reading your initial mistaken statistic I did think I might later be commenting on it as a prophetic statement.
As for the juniors I found little interest in watching someone I knew nothing of but understand the interest of others.I am sipping a post wimbledon red.
The BBC did ok and boom Becker, our favourite son, came to their aid with a startling sort of topcat performance competing with the speed of the falling rain; blinking and throwing word volleys that crescendoed all together and hmmm, actually making sense of boom was quite tough on the ear. Becker of course in his playing days, could not stand the heat and pulled the plug when Sampras started to rule – hence plug Becker,.and two sets down was never a problem and he just loved the penalties at the endBetter than Borg / Macenroe in my opinion, the final took over the country.
Inverdale should have been smoking a pipe.
What particualrly interested me was this ‘ family decision ‘ slur and paw Williams legging it after he had cashed up. Also Jaeger’s admission she threw her singles final with Navratilova by knocking her up and disturbing her training. Jaeger is now a nun, so to be believed.
(knocked up…literally knocked on her door, presumably somwhere in Wimbledon )
Better than Borg / Macenroe in my opinion, the final took over the country.
I’ve little interest in tennis but the prospect of a lengthy knock-up between these two dignified gentlemen of the courts led me to my sofa and BBC1 between races from Rasen…and then it was bedtime
Great sport and gripping entertainment
Barker and Becker carried off their supporting act well enough
Tie-breaks should be restricted to the first two sets; match points occuring in them is no more than a half-time penalty shoot-out.
I’m struggling to recall a better tennis match I’ve seen. Spellbinding stuff played in the very best spirit.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
…which is why I didn’t say it was the greatest match of all time, simply possibly the best I can recall.
McEnroe / Borg 1980 may have been better, but my critical faculties weren’t especially well developed aged 5 years 8 months when it took place. Doubtless ESPN has replayed it ad infinitum in recent years, but I don’t subscribe to ESPN.
I’m not sure everyone in the UK “suddenly becomes tennis fans” during Wimbledon, either. Tony25’s careful dissection of the ladies’ draw – for which grateful thanks – before the tournament started in earnest suggested a knowledge above and beyond one fashioned for Wimbledon fortnight only; and for my part I had a few quid on Sam Querry winning through a few rounds, having seen in him what looked like a potentially useful tool on grass hamstrung on an unsuitable surface during the clay season.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Because its Wimbledon, and for 2 weeks everyone in the UK suddenly becomes tennis fans
One day in my case. Next match I’ll sit through will be the 2009 Wimbledon Mens’ Final if and only if it’s Roger v Raphael (much nicer than ‘Raffa’)
Market Raspberry will get precedence again, obviously
I am either a baby with vivid dreams
or I was there, as I have a strong recollection
of the 80 final and BorgmaniaWas it better than this years ?
From a point of atmosphere and personalities
I think yes.
Most wanted the iceman over his
brat fish Mcrotten opponent.
The fact that Borg won
establishing the 5 record was what
the crowd wanted. The satisfactory result –
and good there was no roof then – as the triumph emitted
a huge gaseous sigh of relief from Wimbledon itself.In Henman’s recent interview with Borg
he stated he appreciated his girlie following back then.
I remember his rather scowling reaction at the time.
He hated the valley of dolls filled with pig tails
and immature forbidden fruit, a lot of it crushed.As for the match, the American swaggered on
flashing that red bandana that so enraged the bullish crowd
who started mooing and booing and depositing under their seats.
The fourth set went to high numbers – might have been
16-14. Full of drama, and this was a fight between perceived
good against evil.
Borg representing good won it in the fifth
and the match he said
had a life changing effect on him – his ice-pick
was blunted and he lost his desire to win.
Ahhh a very convenient reminiscence
as he lost next year
and then buried himself forever in Scandinavian winters.
These cold northern hemisphere births
produce a lot of immaturity.
I share it with Borg and Agnetha Abba
we were all frozen at birth
and all suffered bankruptcy of spirit.My critical faculties were developed during the early eighties. Just as I could easily discern that Kevin Keegan did not possess the natural playing ability and guile of his Liverpool replacement, Kenny Dalglish; so I can just as easily deduce that the famous Borg/McEnroe enthralling final encounter (good as it was) still falls behind the overall standard of this year’s classic between Nadal and Federer, which I truly believe is the best tennis match I have ever witnessed.
I know times have changed, along with equipment and fitness levels of players. Like professional footballers, tennis players are now more powerful and faster than ever before.
Let’s not kid ourselves ; Borg and McEnroe, even at their very best, could not have lived with such supreme athletes as Federer and Nadal – and what’s more, you will find that neither Borg nor McEnroe disagreeing with that.
No, for sheer intensity, speed, athleticsm, power, technique and drama, this year’s men’s Wimbledon final was the best ever.
Gambling Only Pays When You're Winning
Dont disagree with some of the points you make, especially about athleticism, however in terms of deeply contrasting styles, their grass court encounters in particular had more diversity than this year’s final. 1980 vintage McEnroe couldn’t live with Nadal or Federer now because the game is now so much about brute strenght. However from a purist’s perspective give me 1980 anytime. That is not to say I too was not mesmerised with every second of the 2008 final.
it must be the whisky talking
I have had second thoughts on this Fox. Rocket man Laver has endorsed Mcenroe’s assessment and I consider Rod is as good a judge as anyone, having had a bigger left arm than popeye, and no axe to grind with it.Laver was adjudged by many to be the best player of the 20th century and the spinmaster supremo was completely blown away by the clay man Nadal’s performance, and suggests he is now number one in the world having finally over taken Fedup.
We are talking here not about aesthetics in turn but athletics and burn. The world has moved on from the tram to slam bam thankee maam.
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