09.19.07

The big move!

Posted in personal at 10:03 pm by danvk

I made the big move up to San Francisco this past weekend. It’s something I’d been mulling over for many a month, but then the perfect opportunity presented itself. So here I am. I’m up in Russian Hill (I’ve yet to learn what that implies) at the intersection of Polk and Union. That’s an huge perk, since it’s a Google shuttle stop! Anyways, expect more San Francisco-related blog posts in the near future as I explore the city.

Blurry move-in pictures after the fold…
Read the rest of this entry »

09.12.07

Re-experiencing 9/11

Posted in personal, tv at 10:05 pm by danvk

Back in 2001, I was in first period French class when the planes hit. A messenger came by and told my French teacher, but evidently she decided it wasn’t significant enough to merit interrupting class. I got a confused story of what had happened by my locker after class and was glued to the TV for the rest of the school day. I didn’t tune in to the news until after the first tower had collapsed. So I missed much of the initial reaction.

I’ve always wanted to watch the TODAY show broadcast from that day, to see the initial confusion as to what happened, then the realization of what was going on after the second plane hit. I’d scoured around online a few times before, but always come up empty. So I was thrilled to see that MSNBC was showing a “minimally-edited” replay of the 9/11/2001 TODAY show last night.

Read the rest of this entry »

09.06.07

The Token US Open Post

Posted in news, sports, tennis at 11:49 am by danvk

ten_g_federer_1951.jpgIt’s time once again for a token Grand Slam post. The 2007 US Open is winding its way to the final weekend. There have been some surprises, like defending champ Maria Sharapova’s early exit, and some fun matches, like James Blake’s loss to Tommy Haas in a fifth-set tiebreak.

Last night’s match between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer was the most hyped of the tournament. The result was no surprise. Federer won in straights. The messaging on this match has been spectacularly consistent: Roddick played brilliantly, but there’s no shame in losing to the greatest player of all time. I think this is crap. People need to stop going so easy on Roddick. He’s 1-14 against Roger all-time and 0-9 since 2004. He hasn’t taken a set off the guy this year. Maybe if people stopped patting him on the back after every loss and telling him how close he came, then he’d be forced to regroup and find a way to deliver.

One highlight of the match was Andre Agassi’s debut as an announcer. Great players often make great announcers, and John McEnroe is the best in the business. Andre didn’t pipe up too frequently, but everything he said was interesting. Here’s one exchange:

When Roddick stared down Federer and bellowed after a 138 mph ace to get to 4-4 in the first set, Agassi said: “There’s a fine line between getting pumped up and waking a sleeping giant, I assure you.”

Another great moment came when Andre revealed how he used to deal with Boris Becker’s. He picked up on a tell — whenever Boris stuck his tongue out before a serve, he was sure to go down the middle. What an edge that would give you! I wonder if Roger’s picked up on anything like that. Andy’s serve just doesn’t seem to phase him.

My picks — Justine Henin beats Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Women’s final Saturday. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic beats David Ferrer in the semis before losing a close final to the man himself, Roger Federer.

09.05.07

A Sculptural Salute

Posted in personal, reviews, sports at 10:43 pm by danvk

I took a walk around the San Jose State University campus yesterday, and stumbled upon this statue:

sjsu-statue.png

It’s based on the famous photograph of the black power salute at the 1968 Olympics:

carlos-smith.jpg

Although less controversial now than it was at the time, I was still surprised to see this moment memorialized as a statue. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.

Read the rest of this entry »