FOR FRIENDS FAR & WIDE.

News.

	21 July 2004 PHOTO DIARY. We went back to the JP Morgan Chase Open again today to watch Serena Williams play against Eleni Danilidou. Nicki bought a jumbo tennis ball. Come to think of it, Serena's outfit matched the color of the ball. The 90-degree heat didn't faze Serena. Eleni didn't stand much of a chance. We managed to get Serena to sign Nicki's big-ass tennis ball after the match. Her autograph is more of a delirous squiggle. We also saw Lindsey Davenport play Anne Kremer. Lindsey is a freak giantess of a woman, and hits the ball like one, too. Inbetween matches, we roamed the various booths, including the one hosted by Segway. Nicki took a spin, too. We admired the giant panda next to Panda Express, which, we were told, is Chinese for "yummy." We saw five matches altogether over about eight hours' time. The award for Best Player Name went, without a doubt, to Anna Smashnova.   Back to main PHOTO DIARY. I managed to score free tickets to the JP Morgan Chase Open being held at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Working in the same building as Ticketmaster has its perks. We watched Venus Williams square off with Ashley Harklroad. Venus regularly served over 110 miles per hour. Seeing it in real life is different than seeing it on TV. It's better. Ho boy. Needless to say, it was pretty one-sided. Venus dispatched Ashley in just under 50 minutes. Venus soaked up the applause. Poor Harklroad. The crowd hardly noticed her. Afterwards, Nicki caught up with her old buddy Roger Federer. Tomorrow, we go back for more. And Serena will be there!   Back to main 20 July 2004 MOVIE: I, ROBOT (2004). A policeman defends Chicago against a futuristic robot menace. But hey--it's not as bad as you think. Sure, Will Smith half-heartedly swaggers through this movie with a cartoonish machismo that borders on old-skool jive-talking; sure, most of the movie is spent escaping fireballs, swarms of robots-gone-bad, and such. But filmmaker Alex Proyas, who gave us his visually inventive but flawed Dark City a while back, does take pains to make sure that the movie makes good, logical sense. He also take time inbetween firefights to allow for some existential reflection, however brief, that do geniune, however brief, justice to the story's foundation as a work of speculative fiction. Who am I? Why was I created? And so on. Combined with a few rockin' scenes of robots going mano-a-mano (just for the sheer spectacle of it) and a nifty Audi of the future (with spheres for wheels. What next? Cheese clothing?), Proyas has created something actually worth watching this summer. That's pretty much it, I guess. Count on a game coming out of all this, too. It's a human thang. You wouldn't understand.   Back to main Archives. 17 August 2003 — 24 August 2003 — 31 August 2003 — 07 September 2003 — 14 September 2003 — 02 November 2003 — 09 November 2003 — 16 November 2003 — 23 November 2003 — 30 November 2003 — 07 December 2003 — 01 February 2004 — 08 February 2004 — 15 February 2004 — 22 February 2004 — 29 February 2004 — 07 March 2004 — 14 March 2004 — 21 March 2004 — 28 March 2004 — 04 April 2004 — 11 April 2004 — 18 April 2004 — 25 April 2004 — 02 May 2004 — 09 May 2004 — 16 May 2004 — 23 May 2004 — 30 May 2004 — 06 June 2004 — 13 June 2004 — 20 June 2004 — 27 June 2004 — 04 July 2004 — 11 July 2004 — 18 July 2004 — 25 July 2004 — 01 August 2004 — 08 August 2004 — 15 August 2004 — 22 August 2004 — 29 August 2004 — 05 September 2004 — 12 September 2004 — 19 September 2004 — 26 September 2004 — 03 October 2004 — 10 October 2004 — 17 October 2004 — 24 October 2004 — 31 October 2004 — 07 November 2004 — 14 November 2004 — 21 November 2004 — 28 November 2004 — 05 December 2004 — 12 December 2004 — 19 December 2004 — 26 December 2004 — 02 January 2005 — 09 January 2005 — 23 January 2005 — 30 January 2005 — 06 February 2005 — 13 February 2005 — 20 February 2005 — 27 February 2005 — 13 March 2005 — 20 March 2005 — 27 March 2005 — 03 April 2005 — 10 April 2005 — 17 April 2005 — 24 April 2005 — 01 May 2005 — 08 May 2005 — 22 May 2005 — 29 May 2005 — 05 June 2005 — 12 June 2005 — 19 June 2005 — 26 June 2005 — 03 July 2005 — 10 July 2005 — 17 July 2005 — 24 July 2005 — 31 July 2005 — 07 August 2005 — 14 August 2005 — 28 August 2005 — 04 September 2005 — 25 September 2005 — 02 October 2005 — 09 October 2005 — 30 October 2005 — 06 November 2005 — 13 November 2005 — 20 November 2005 — 27 November 2005 — 04 December 2005 — 18 December 2005 — 01 January 2006 — 08 January 2006 — 15 January 2006 — 22 January 2006 — 05 February 2006 — 26 February 2006 — 12 March 2006 — 19 March 2006 — 26 March 2006 — 02 April 2006 — 16 April 2006 — 23 April 2006 — 30 April 2006 — 07 May 2006 — 14 May 2006 — 21 May 2006 — 04 June 2006 — 18 June 2006 — 25 June 2006 — 16 July 2006 — 23 July 2006 — 06 August 2006 — 13 August 2006 — 03 September 2006 — 17 September 2006 — 01 October 2006 —