Life was always a laugh with Maeve
I FIRST encountered Maeve Binchy in the early 1960s when I was a schoolgirl at Miss Meredith’s School, aka Pembroke School in Ballsbridge. She had not long finished her H.Dip and had spent some time teaching in Cork, which she told us she disliked greatly. She taught us history and, because there was no one else to do it, Latin and religious knowledge. She loved history and instilled a love of the subject in many of her pupils, including this one.
Her Latin was merely sufficient to get her through her arts degree at UCD.
She kept a translation of Virgil and Homer and the other texts on the Leaving and Inter curriculum on her lap under the desk. We knew this and she knew we knew. But we carried on regardless. We didn’t learn much and what we did we learned off by heart. Her religious knowledge classes involved simply reading from the books prescribed by the diocese. She had no interest and neither did we.
Miss Meredith’s was a slightly unusual school. Both for its pupils and its teachers. Ms Binchy fitted in very well.
History, I remember, was the first class of the morning. If we were late we got locked out. Something the other teachers never did. She was truly shocked when on the rare occasions she was late we locked her out. We in turn expressed surprise and shock when we saw her disappear across the road into Searson’s pub for the duration of the class.
I didn’t see much of her for a number of years. I was working for some months in The Irish Times when she started submitting freelance articles, mostly about her travels, which were extensive, and about her time working in a kibbutz in Israel, which she greatly enjoyed and spoke of for years afterwards. I amused my colleagues when I continued to call her Ms Binchy even after she took over from Mary Maher as women’s editor.
They were wonderful times. Maeve was such fun to work with and so anxious to learn newspaper ways. She got on wonderfully with everyone in the office. She often told the story of how, searching for a picture to illustrate a cookery article which featured a recipe for a stew, she ended up publishing a picture of open-heart surgery. These were the days of black and white. She got away with this and other hilarious episodes and was a favourite with the editor, Douglas Gageby, and her immediate boss, news editor Donal Foley.
She pretended to be afraid of Gageby and in a way she was as she came to newspapers later than others and had little knowledge of their customs and ways. She was always afraid of missing a big story or putting a foot wrong as her forte was colour and features rather than news.
These late 1960s and early 1970s were the days of long, boozy lunches and public-relations junkets. It was a different world to today’s media. Maeve worked hard and enjoyed it all.
When I worked in Belfast, Maeve sometimes came up north for a story or to see friends but when I became London editor of The Irish Times and she requested a transfer so she could be with her husband to be, Gordon Snell, we became great friends. Maeve wrote wonderful features, diaries and colour stories – most notoriously on the British royal family and their weddings – and I covered the hard news. She started work very early – for a morning newspaper person – and finished at about 2pm. There was then, inevitably, a long lunch.
All her old friends from Dublin were constantly dropping in to see her but morning was for work and afternoons were for socialising and research. She developed a technique of listening to, or perhaps lip-reading, other people’s conversations and writing them up with great effect. To this day I still believe some of these conversations were made up. After all, I sat beside her as she wrote them.
Through her fame she attracted bores and obsessives but she had a wonderful way of dealing with them. On one occasion she actually hid under the desk until they went away. Life really was a laugh and through it all the work got done.
She and Gordon were wonderful hosts in their small house in west London.
They knew dozens of interesting people – mostly in the arty world. She told me that she was a lark and he was an owl but they managed their writing lives very well. Even in later years they shared a study. By then she was writing wildly successful novels and the occasional newspaper piece. He continued to write acclaimed children’s books.
She enjoyed her early retirement from The Irish Times. She wanted to concentrate on novels and she wanted to stay in London. For a long period they kept a house in both cities until moving to their Dalkey home some years ago. She still loved her holidays but ill-health restricted her movements.
Nonetheless, when I last saw her a few months ago she was in a wheelchair but still cheery and bright and terrifically welcoming. We will all miss her.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Managing the flow of life
Managing the flow of life
Our true, original rhythm is like the quiet and gentle yet powerful and relentless existence of Nature which, unhindered by external events, maintains its equipoise always. Life, too, is a flow of energy. Our thoughts, actions and speech, all create energy and when the 'free flow' (of energy) is hindered we are uncomfortable and face problems.
Problems faced in life are an obstacle, a puzzle or an entanglement. Problems as obstacles have more to do with the act of living in this world; they are blocks in the path that obstruct progress. Puzzles are about situations and persons, where one is confused because of lack of understanding. Entanglements are about the mind and its complications; that is, the mind getting into a particular 'vritti', a compulsive spiral of thoughts.
In case of an obstacle, what is required is an objective assessment about the current skills of an individual and the nature of obstacle. Next step would be to assess what skills are required to overcome the obstacle. The most crucial decision comes after the assessment and that is whether one goes to acquire those skills or the obstacle can be simply bypassed so that we can continue with the flow of life. We all have, at some time or other, enjoyed the music which a river makes as it flows. The river makes music even as it lives with rocks (obstacles) that hinder its path. The river bypasses them, caresses them continuously and in the process smoothens their rough edges and in the meantime also makes music as it gurgles away towards its destination.
When confronted with a puzzle, what is required is a simple yet profound act of stepping back to reflect calmly. Doing so helps us clear cobwebs in the mind and vaporise delusions and illusions. I have a friend who, when unable to decode or decide, takes a journey (in thought) to a hilltop from where he can look at the problem, the various dramatis personae and their actions and thoughts and motivations behind those actions. This trip, almost at all times unravels the puzzle he is confronted with. Other ways to handle a puzzle is to seek guidance of a guru or a teacher in whom one has faith.
The most difficult problem to handle is the one related to entanglement, as it relates to the mind which is unable to disentangle itself from compulsive obsessive thinking.
Entanglements of the mind in the modern world are often about managing relationships. The emotionally stressful and enervating relationships which sap your energy can be put in perspective through reflection but that does not bring the mind out of the negative spiral. The way to counter this negative emotion is to create a counter-force.
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati of Satyananda Yoga says, emotion is energy in motion, and to manage this energy and keep it in positive mode you can chant mantras. If you wish to pull yourself out of a negative spiral, the way out is to chant mantras.
Mantra is a strong positive energy. Chanting transforms the state of an individual and creates positive vibrations at subconscious level. They are like rays of light in a dark room which become brighter and brighter - similarly with repeated chanting you can break the shackles of negative energy holding you back. You will then be set free.
Finally, if nothing works, just step aside and let the Divine take care of your problem. For that, you have to surrender.
Our true, original rhythm is like the quiet and gentle yet powerful and relentless existence of Nature which, unhindered by external events, maintains its equipoise always. Life, too, is a flow of energy. Our thoughts, actions and speech, all create energy and when the 'free flow' (of energy) is hindered we are uncomfortable and face problems.
Problems faced in life are an obstacle, a puzzle or an entanglement. Problems as obstacles have more to do with the act of living in this world; they are blocks in the path that obstruct progress. Puzzles are about situations and persons, where one is confused because of lack of understanding. Entanglements are about the mind and its complications; that is, the mind getting into a particular 'vritti', a compulsive spiral of thoughts.
In case of an obstacle, what is required is an objective assessment about the current skills of an individual and the nature of obstacle. Next step would be to assess what skills are required to overcome the obstacle. The most crucial decision comes after the assessment and that is whether one goes to acquire those skills or the obstacle can be simply bypassed so that we can continue with the flow of life. We all have, at some time or other, enjoyed the music which a river makes as it flows. The river makes music even as it lives with rocks (obstacles) that hinder its path. The river bypasses them, caresses them continuously and in the process smoothens their rough edges and in the meantime also makes music as it gurgles away towards its destination.
When confronted with a puzzle, what is required is a simple yet profound act of stepping back to reflect calmly. Doing so helps us clear cobwebs in the mind and vaporise delusions and illusions. I have a friend who, when unable to decode or decide, takes a journey (in thought) to a hilltop from where he can look at the problem, the various dramatis personae and their actions and thoughts and motivations behind those actions. This trip, almost at all times unravels the puzzle he is confronted with. Other ways to handle a puzzle is to seek guidance of a guru or a teacher in whom one has faith.
The most difficult problem to handle is the one related to entanglement, as it relates to the mind which is unable to disentangle itself from compulsive obsessive thinking.
Entanglements of the mind in the modern world are often about managing relationships. The emotionally stressful and enervating relationships which sap your energy can be put in perspective through reflection but that does not bring the mind out of the negative spiral. The way to counter this negative emotion is to create a counter-force.
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati of Satyananda Yoga says, emotion is energy in motion, and to manage this energy and keep it in positive mode you can chant mantras. If you wish to pull yourself out of a negative spiral, the way out is to chant mantras.
Mantra is a strong positive energy. Chanting transforms the state of an individual and creates positive vibrations at subconscious level. They are like rays of light in a dark room which become brighter and brighter - similarly with repeated chanting you can break the shackles of negative energy holding you back. You will then be set free.
Finally, if nothing works, just step aside and let the Divine take care of your problem. For that, you have to surrender.
Friday, July 27, 2012
'Life Of Pi' Trailer Now Online
'Life Of Pi' Trailer Now Online
Based upon the bestselling book by Yann Martel, "Life of Pi" tells the story of a young man’s incredible survival at sea against impossible odds. A remarkable technological breakthrough in 3D epic adventure, "Pi" is an emotionally captivating experience that will inspire, touch and transport audiences to a place of discovery that they will never forget.
Winner of the pretigious Literary Awards Hugh Maclennan Prize for fiction in 2001 and the Man Booker Prize in 2002, Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" is now a movie adaptation by 20th Century Fox helmed by filmmaker Ang Lee and is starred by newcomer Suraj Sharma as the titular character Pi Patel.
When Pi Patel, a son of a zookeeper turned sixteen, his family emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship due to the prevalence of political unrest. An extraordinary God-loving boy whose passion for stories is unmatched, has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and practices his native Hinduism along with Christianity and Islam.
When the ship capsized due to a massive storm, Pi finds himself in the company of a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger aboard a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. Finally reaching the shores of the coast of Mexico, the Bengal tiger who goes by the name of Richard Parker flees to the jungle and Pi left on his own is interrogated by the Japanese authorities who refuse to believe his account.
On board the titular character is Suraj Sharma as Pi who debuts in the film. Suraj Sharma, 17, is a student who lives with his mathematician parents in Delhi, India. He has no previous acting experience and was cast following an extensive, months-long search. Over 3000 young men auditioned for the part.
Sharma landed the role of the lead role after a worldwide talent search headed by the film’s director Ang Lee, Academy Award-winning filmmaker for his work in “Brokeback Mountain.” “Suraj is Pi,” Lee continued. “During his audition, he filled the room with emotion, much of which he conveyed simply through his eyes. His natural ability to believe and stay in the world of the story is a rare treasure.”
Lee, whose many other honors include an Oscar nomination for his direction of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and whose “Sense and Sensibility” was a Best Picture nominee, shot “Life of Pi” in 3D, utilizing groundbreaking techniques to capture the story’s epic scope.
Since Ang Lee came aboard the project at the end of 2008, he has worked to create a singular vision of Martel’s unforgettable tale. The all-audience experiential movie event will take us through a young man’s incredible adventure – at turns thrilling and spiritual; joyous and harrowing; humorous and tragic. Audiences will follow Pi Patel as he travels from an exotic zoo in India on a voyage across the Pacific, where he survives a shipwreck and is cast adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger as his only company. Adrift in an endess expanse of ocean, Pi struggles to survive and train his companion, landing on a magical island that offers the two their only respite on their desperate journey.
Commented Yann Martel, "I'm thrilled that Ang is adapting 'Life of Pi' to film. He's a brilliant, versatile director, with a stunning visual sensibility. He can capture the most intimate emotion as well as the most dynamic action. He's the perfect filmmaker to bring Pi’s epic journey to the screen”
David Magee (“Finding Neverland”) adapted Martel’s book. Gil Netter (“Marley & Me,” “The Blind Side”) is producing. The director of photography is Claudio Miranda, who collaborated with David Fincher on several films, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Miranda recently shot “Tron: Legacy” in 3D. Avy Kaufman is the casting director.
Commented Ang Lee, “It has been a daunting and exciting process to develop a motion picture that brings Yann Martel’s fascinating, mind-boggling story to the big screen. Casting the sixteen-year old Pi was particularly challenging. We searched throughout India for a young man who had the innocence to capture our attention, the depth of character to break our hearts, and the physicality needed to embody Pi on his journey."
Fox 2000 Pictures president Elizabeth Gabler stated, “It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Ang Lee as he and his team brings this amazing film to life. We believe that “Life of Pi,” with its tremendous scope, groundbreaking visuals, and a story that embraces the triumph of the human spirit will be a cinematic event for audiences of all ages, all over the world.”
“Life of Pi” is a Twentieth Century Fox release to be distributed nationwide by Warner Bros. on Jan. 8, 2013.
Based upon the bestselling book by Yann Martel, "Life of Pi" tells the story of a young man’s incredible survival at sea against impossible odds. A remarkable technological breakthrough in 3D epic adventure, "Pi" is an emotionally captivating experience that will inspire, touch and transport audiences to a place of discovery that they will never forget.
Winner of the pretigious Literary Awards Hugh Maclennan Prize for fiction in 2001 and the Man Booker Prize in 2002, Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" is now a movie adaptation by 20th Century Fox helmed by filmmaker Ang Lee and is starred by newcomer Suraj Sharma as the titular character Pi Patel.
When Pi Patel, a son of a zookeeper turned sixteen, his family emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship due to the prevalence of political unrest. An extraordinary God-loving boy whose passion for stories is unmatched, has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and practices his native Hinduism along with Christianity and Islam.
When the ship capsized due to a massive storm, Pi finds himself in the company of a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger aboard a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. Finally reaching the shores of the coast of Mexico, the Bengal tiger who goes by the name of Richard Parker flees to the jungle and Pi left on his own is interrogated by the Japanese authorities who refuse to believe his account.
On board the titular character is Suraj Sharma as Pi who debuts in the film. Suraj Sharma, 17, is a student who lives with his mathematician parents in Delhi, India. He has no previous acting experience and was cast following an extensive, months-long search. Over 3000 young men auditioned for the part.
Sharma landed the role of the lead role after a worldwide talent search headed by the film’s director Ang Lee, Academy Award-winning filmmaker for his work in “Brokeback Mountain.” “Suraj is Pi,” Lee continued. “During his audition, he filled the room with emotion, much of which he conveyed simply through his eyes. His natural ability to believe and stay in the world of the story is a rare treasure.”
Lee, whose many other honors include an Oscar nomination for his direction of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and whose “Sense and Sensibility” was a Best Picture nominee, shot “Life of Pi” in 3D, utilizing groundbreaking techniques to capture the story’s epic scope.
Since Ang Lee came aboard the project at the end of 2008, he has worked to create a singular vision of Martel’s unforgettable tale. The all-audience experiential movie event will take us through a young man’s incredible adventure – at turns thrilling and spiritual; joyous and harrowing; humorous and tragic. Audiences will follow Pi Patel as he travels from an exotic zoo in India on a voyage across the Pacific, where he survives a shipwreck and is cast adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger as his only company. Adrift in an endess expanse of ocean, Pi struggles to survive and train his companion, landing on a magical island that offers the two their only respite on their desperate journey.
Commented Yann Martel, "I'm thrilled that Ang is adapting 'Life of Pi' to film. He's a brilliant, versatile director, with a stunning visual sensibility. He can capture the most intimate emotion as well as the most dynamic action. He's the perfect filmmaker to bring Pi’s epic journey to the screen”
David Magee (“Finding Neverland”) adapted Martel’s book. Gil Netter (“Marley & Me,” “The Blind Side”) is producing. The director of photography is Claudio Miranda, who collaborated with David Fincher on several films, including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Miranda recently shot “Tron: Legacy” in 3D. Avy Kaufman is the casting director.
Commented Ang Lee, “It has been a daunting and exciting process to develop a motion picture that brings Yann Martel’s fascinating, mind-boggling story to the big screen. Casting the sixteen-year old Pi was particularly challenging. We searched throughout India for a young man who had the innocence to capture our attention, the depth of character to break our hearts, and the physicality needed to embody Pi on his journey."
Fox 2000 Pictures president Elizabeth Gabler stated, “It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Ang Lee as he and his team brings this amazing film to life. We believe that “Life of Pi,” with its tremendous scope, groundbreaking visuals, and a story that embraces the triumph of the human spirit will be a cinematic event for audiences of all ages, all over the world.”
“Life of Pi” is a Twentieth Century Fox release to be distributed nationwide by Warner Bros. on Jan. 8, 2013.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Life in the fast lane: Olympic lanes zip VIPs across London, but leave other drivers confused
Life in the fast lane: Olympic lanes zip VIPs across London, but leave other drivers confused
London 2012: Traffic jams on the roads, train problems underground, and a fancy cable car frozen in the air.
Wednesday saw an uncertain test of the British capital's Olympic transport plan, as lanes reserved for Olympic VIPs came into force two days before the start of the games and the city's creaky subway system struggled with glitches.
Traffic jams blocked some of the main routes into the city as the wildly unpopular "Games Lanes" took effect. The 30 miles (48 kilometres) of lanes are to operate from 6 a.m. to midnight throughout the games, and cars or taxi cabs that stray into them face a 130-pound ($200) fine.
Thousands of London drivers have switched to public transport, only to encounter severe delays on several underground subway lines caused by power supply problems and signal failures. Severe delays were reported Wednesday on the city's Central and Hammersmith subway lines with ripple delays affecting other lines.
Even London's new river-crossing cable car — opened last month — hit a problem, with a technical fault stranding passengers above the River Thames for roughly half an hour.
British officials — who have been advising Londoners for weeks to plan ahead, allow extra time for travel or just stay home — advised a stiff upper lip.
"There will be a lot of disruption and London is a congested city anyway," Transport Secretary Justine Greening told BBC television.
As a host city, London is as cosmopolitan as they come, but transport is its weak spot: Traffic often clogs up on its narrow, historic roads, bus schedules can change at a moment's notice, and the famous Underground suffers from daily delays and infrastructure that in parts is more than a century old.
For a city of its size, London has surprisingly few highways or wide thoroughfares, which means that most roads have multiple traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. Olympics organizers have repeatedly urged people to avoid driving their cars, to walk and bike ride around, and for spectators to go to events using public transport.
"Drivers do have somewhere to go, but it's been a bit confusing," said Paul Watters, head of road policy at the British Automobile Association. "We know it's going to be tricky and difficult, and it's bound to be full of teething problems. We're almost there now so hopefully it will be better."
Critics argue that the Olympic VIP road lanes — open only to athletes, officials, journalists, emergency services and games marketing partners — are elitist and make life difficult for everyone else. Britain relies on traffic cameras to spot infractions, so many people won't know they've been ticketed till the bad news arrives in the mail.
To make things even more confusing, the lanes will be open to regular drivers if Olympic traffic is light, with the information displayed on electronic signs.
The International Olympic Committee had specifically demanded the lanes be created after learning lessons from previous games — one of the worst being Atlanta in 1996, where bus drivers got lost and some athletes arrived moments before their events.
In London, some of the loudest opposition to the Olympic VIP lanes has come from the city's cabbies, who have staged two recent demonstrations that brought central London traffic to a standstill. They say being banned from Olympic lanes jeopardizes their business by creating much longer — and costlier — cab rides for customers.
"We're not going to be able to drop passengers where they want to go," said Lee Osborne of the United Cabbies Group, which protested with about 50 cabs at Tower Bridge on Tuesday. "Traffic in London is pretty bad as it is, and now passengers are going to suffer with the meter just ticking away."
But cabbies called off a planned protest Wednesday, saying in a statement that "we don't want to make a bad situation worse."
There was good news for London-bound travellers, however, when a union called off a pre-Olympics strike by immigration staff at London's Heathrow Airport. The 24-hour-long walkout had been planned for Thursday, the day before the games' opening ceremony — potentially snarling incoming traffic on one of the busiest days at Europe's busiest airport.
London's Tube network is the most popular way to get across town, but it groans with age — its first line, the Metropolitan, opened in 1863. Today, that line still runs alongside more than a dozen others in a half-modernized system that handles up to 4 million trips a day.
London's entire transit network handles an average of 12 million trips a day — and officials are expecting up to 3 million extra journeys each day during the Olympics.
In all, the British government has injected 6.5 billion pounds ($10 billion) to upgrade the transport network for the games. Whether that is enough is still an open question.
"It can't even cope in normal times, all it takes is one problem and the whole system gets paralyzed," said Tony Shelton, an accountant who was riding the Northern line. His journey was only slightly delayed but he said: "I'll probably avoid coming into town."
London 2012: Traffic jams on the roads, train problems underground, and a fancy cable car frozen in the air.
Wednesday saw an uncertain test of the British capital's Olympic transport plan, as lanes reserved for Olympic VIPs came into force two days before the start of the games and the city's creaky subway system struggled with glitches.
Traffic jams blocked some of the main routes into the city as the wildly unpopular "Games Lanes" took effect. The 30 miles (48 kilometres) of lanes are to operate from 6 a.m. to midnight throughout the games, and cars or taxi cabs that stray into them face a 130-pound ($200) fine.
Thousands of London drivers have switched to public transport, only to encounter severe delays on several underground subway lines caused by power supply problems and signal failures. Severe delays were reported Wednesday on the city's Central and Hammersmith subway lines with ripple delays affecting other lines.
Even London's new river-crossing cable car — opened last month — hit a problem, with a technical fault stranding passengers above the River Thames for roughly half an hour.
British officials — who have been advising Londoners for weeks to plan ahead, allow extra time for travel or just stay home — advised a stiff upper lip.
"There will be a lot of disruption and London is a congested city anyway," Transport Secretary Justine Greening told BBC television.
As a host city, London is as cosmopolitan as they come, but transport is its weak spot: Traffic often clogs up on its narrow, historic roads, bus schedules can change at a moment's notice, and the famous Underground suffers from daily delays and infrastructure that in parts is more than a century old.
For a city of its size, London has surprisingly few highways or wide thoroughfares, which means that most roads have multiple traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. Olympics organizers have repeatedly urged people to avoid driving their cars, to walk and bike ride around, and for spectators to go to events using public transport.
"Drivers do have somewhere to go, but it's been a bit confusing," said Paul Watters, head of road policy at the British Automobile Association. "We know it's going to be tricky and difficult, and it's bound to be full of teething problems. We're almost there now so hopefully it will be better."
Critics argue that the Olympic VIP road lanes — open only to athletes, officials, journalists, emergency services and games marketing partners — are elitist and make life difficult for everyone else. Britain relies on traffic cameras to spot infractions, so many people won't know they've been ticketed till the bad news arrives in the mail.
To make things even more confusing, the lanes will be open to regular drivers if Olympic traffic is light, with the information displayed on electronic signs.
The International Olympic Committee had specifically demanded the lanes be created after learning lessons from previous games — one of the worst being Atlanta in 1996, where bus drivers got lost and some athletes arrived moments before their events.
In London, some of the loudest opposition to the Olympic VIP lanes has come from the city's cabbies, who have staged two recent demonstrations that brought central London traffic to a standstill. They say being banned from Olympic lanes jeopardizes their business by creating much longer — and costlier — cab rides for customers.
"We're not going to be able to drop passengers where they want to go," said Lee Osborne of the United Cabbies Group, which protested with about 50 cabs at Tower Bridge on Tuesday. "Traffic in London is pretty bad as it is, and now passengers are going to suffer with the meter just ticking away."
But cabbies called off a planned protest Wednesday, saying in a statement that "we don't want to make a bad situation worse."
There was good news for London-bound travellers, however, when a union called off a pre-Olympics strike by immigration staff at London's Heathrow Airport. The 24-hour-long walkout had been planned for Thursday, the day before the games' opening ceremony — potentially snarling incoming traffic on one of the busiest days at Europe's busiest airport.
London's Tube network is the most popular way to get across town, but it groans with age — its first line, the Metropolitan, opened in 1863. Today, that line still runs alongside more than a dozen others in a half-modernized system that handles up to 4 million trips a day.
London's entire transit network handles an average of 12 million trips a day — and officials are expecting up to 3 million extra journeys each day during the Olympics.
In all, the British government has injected 6.5 billion pounds ($10 billion) to upgrade the transport network for the games. Whether that is enough is still an open question.
"It can't even cope in normal times, all it takes is one problem and the whole system gets paralyzed," said Tony Shelton, an accountant who was riding the Northern line. His journey was only slightly delayed but he said: "I'll probably avoid coming into town."
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
A life that soared
A life that soared
In reviewing Sally Ride’s education and professional career, it would be easy to assume one was talking about five or six people, not one. She held degrees in physics, astrophysics, English and engineering. She could fly a jet airplane and she helped develop a robotic arm for the space shuttle. All this was while she was in her early 30s.
Oh, and there was her career as the first American woman in space with NASA.
Ride died Monday in San Diego. She was only 61 and had suffered from pancreatic cancer. Her shortened life was one of breathtaking accomplishment in which she overcame sometimes insulting questions about special problems she might have in space as a woman (before her two shuttle flights) and sexism.
But she was a success as an astronaut, rightly aware that her accomplishments gave all young women a few extra degrees of horizon.
Her career as an astronaut began when she saw that NASA was accepting applications. By 1983, she was chosen for her first shuttle mission on the Challenger and flew again the following year. Her plans to go up again were of course canceled with the explosion of the Challenger in 1986.
Ride played a prominent role on the investigation committee appointed by President Reagan to look into the disaster. She asked some of the toughest questions.
But Sally Ride wasn’t through. She formed a company to encourage science education and had a distinguished career as a university professor.
Ride’s life and career reflected not just brilliance of mind but courage of heart. Her legacy stands as one that could inspire all young people, not just girls and young women but any youngsters with hopes and dreams and drive. It’s hard to imagine a better life’s goal than to “be like Sally Ride.”
In reviewing Sally Ride’s education and professional career, it would be easy to assume one was talking about five or six people, not one. She held degrees in physics, astrophysics, English and engineering. She could fly a jet airplane and she helped develop a robotic arm for the space shuttle. All this was while she was in her early 30s.
Oh, and there was her career as the first American woman in space with NASA.
Ride died Monday in San Diego. She was only 61 and had suffered from pancreatic cancer. Her shortened life was one of breathtaking accomplishment in which she overcame sometimes insulting questions about special problems she might have in space as a woman (before her two shuttle flights) and sexism.
But she was a success as an astronaut, rightly aware that her accomplishments gave all young women a few extra degrees of horizon.
Her career as an astronaut began when she saw that NASA was accepting applications. By 1983, she was chosen for her first shuttle mission on the Challenger and flew again the following year. Her plans to go up again were of course canceled with the explosion of the Challenger in 1986.
Ride played a prominent role on the investigation committee appointed by President Reagan to look into the disaster. She asked some of the toughest questions.
But Sally Ride wasn’t through. She formed a company to encourage science education and had a distinguished career as a university professor.
Ride’s life and career reflected not just brilliance of mind but courage of heart. Her legacy stands as one that could inspire all young people, not just girls and young women but any youngsters with hopes and dreams and drive. It’s hard to imagine a better life’s goal than to “be like Sally Ride.”
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
A life cut short: Remembering the tragedy of Amy Winehouse
A life cut short: Remembering the tragedy of Amy Winehouse
Ours is a culture that loves to celebrate youth, but there are those 30 and older who will tell you that leaving one's 20s behind is like a revelation.
Growing out of that decade often means growing out of bad decision-making, frustrated searching and feeling generally as though life's a pinball machine -- and you're the ball.
As you age, hopefully you realize that what you've lost in youthfulness you've gained in wisdom. In the best scenarios, you know how to bounce back from bumps and are better at avoiding valleys. You appreciate your mistakes, but you'll be damned if you'll repeat them.
As much as we'd hoped she would, Amy Winehouse never got that far.
When she died at 27 last July, few truly knew the intimate details of her personal life. The public could really know only what we'd read about, seen and heard -- that she was a troubled young woman struggling with drug and alcohol abuse and that whatever was plaguing her threatened to overshadow a superb talent.
Ahead of her standout performance via satellite at the 2008 Grammy Awards, the singer was enmeshed in negative press and a few in the media openly questioned how long she'd survive. She went on to win five awards that night, including best new artist. She owned that evening and touched hearts with her look of utter amazement and how she fled into the arms of one of her back-up singers when she bested artists such as Beyonce and Rihanna for record of the year.
The tragedy of Winehouse's passing wasn't just that the predictions came true, or that we'd lost an undeniably great talent, but also that she lost a fight so early in life. This was an artist who was blessed with the presence of someone who'd seen it all and a voice from another lifetime, a woman who could write about and then sing to life some of love's darkest sides. She sang us through our own rough spots and regrets, but couldn't seem, in the public's eye, anyway, to do the same for herself.
"I don't write songs because I want my voice to be heard or I want to be famous or any of that stuff," Winehouse told CNN in a 2007 interview. "I write songs about things I have problems with and I have to get past them and I have to make something good out of something bad."
We can't pretend to know her struggle with alcohol or substance abuse, but we've all felt some variant of the longing, loneliness, hurt and infatuation she put into her music. Winehouse presented those emotions in a visceral way with which we could connect. She could take a personal experience and strike a note of universal truth.
Take, for example, "Rehab," her Grammy-winning but controversial track from her autobiographical second album "Back to Black." It's about the time her management tried to get her sober and she refused. But it was the smirking wisecracks and stubborn defiance that had us singing along.
On her jazzy 2003 debut "Frank," it was the beautifully sung, detailed story of wounded pride on "You Sent Me Flying," and the tsk'ing, sneering disappointment in a lover on "Stronger Than Me."
"You Know I'm No Good" provided a sultry soundtrack for the flawed and self-critical while "Tears Dry on Their Own" is an anthem of resolve. The album's title track, Winehouse explained in that 2007 interview, the aftermath of a broken love.
Her massive appeal was backed by strong production on both albums, thanks to collaborations with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, and of course that voice -- rich, evocative and captivating. Those elements helped her songs' content to shine; everything's discussed with brash honesty and often a sense of humor.
"There's no point in saying anything but the truth," Winehouse told the Guardian in 2004. "Because, at the end of the day, I don't have to answer to you, or my ex, or ... I shouldn't say God ... or a man in a suit from the record company. I have to answer to myself."
That frankness and headstrong independence is what we loved about her and could relate to. Although some talked callously about her struggles, there was still an underlying hope that she'd push past her problems. So when she couldn't, her July 23 death felt to many like a sucker punch.
At the time of her death, it appeared that Winehouse was focused on recovery. An inquest last fall ruled that she'd died of alcohol poisoning and a family spokesman said at the time that "Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol, and it is a source of great pain that she could not win in time."
Who knows what the next few years of her life could have brought. That question will always linger and is the difficulty of watching someone pass on so young -- those of us left living know just how much more life can bring. Perhaps she would have found, as Slate wrote in 2008, that "there are other, better things to romanticize than hard times and hard booze."
Instead, we're left to hope that when she died, she still felt the same way as she did when she spoke to Harper's Bazaar in 2010.
Holding on to nary an unfulfilled goal, she said, "If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl."
Ours is a culture that loves to celebrate youth, but there are those 30 and older who will tell you that leaving one's 20s behind is like a revelation.
Growing out of that decade often means growing out of bad decision-making, frustrated searching and feeling generally as though life's a pinball machine -- and you're the ball.
As you age, hopefully you realize that what you've lost in youthfulness you've gained in wisdom. In the best scenarios, you know how to bounce back from bumps and are better at avoiding valleys. You appreciate your mistakes, but you'll be damned if you'll repeat them.
As much as we'd hoped she would, Amy Winehouse never got that far.
When she died at 27 last July, few truly knew the intimate details of her personal life. The public could really know only what we'd read about, seen and heard -- that she was a troubled young woman struggling with drug and alcohol abuse and that whatever was plaguing her threatened to overshadow a superb talent.
Ahead of her standout performance via satellite at the 2008 Grammy Awards, the singer was enmeshed in negative press and a few in the media openly questioned how long she'd survive. She went on to win five awards that night, including best new artist. She owned that evening and touched hearts with her look of utter amazement and how she fled into the arms of one of her back-up singers when she bested artists such as Beyonce and Rihanna for record of the year.
The tragedy of Winehouse's passing wasn't just that the predictions came true, or that we'd lost an undeniably great talent, but also that she lost a fight so early in life. This was an artist who was blessed with the presence of someone who'd seen it all and a voice from another lifetime, a woman who could write about and then sing to life some of love's darkest sides. She sang us through our own rough spots and regrets, but couldn't seem, in the public's eye, anyway, to do the same for herself.
"I don't write songs because I want my voice to be heard or I want to be famous or any of that stuff," Winehouse told CNN in a 2007 interview. "I write songs about things I have problems with and I have to get past them and I have to make something good out of something bad."
We can't pretend to know her struggle with alcohol or substance abuse, but we've all felt some variant of the longing, loneliness, hurt and infatuation she put into her music. Winehouse presented those emotions in a visceral way with which we could connect. She could take a personal experience and strike a note of universal truth.
Take, for example, "Rehab," her Grammy-winning but controversial track from her autobiographical second album "Back to Black." It's about the time her management tried to get her sober and she refused. But it was the smirking wisecracks and stubborn defiance that had us singing along.
On her jazzy 2003 debut "Frank," it was the beautifully sung, detailed story of wounded pride on "You Sent Me Flying," and the tsk'ing, sneering disappointment in a lover on "Stronger Than Me."
"You Know I'm No Good" provided a sultry soundtrack for the flawed and self-critical while "Tears Dry on Their Own" is an anthem of resolve. The album's title track, Winehouse explained in that 2007 interview, the aftermath of a broken love.
Her massive appeal was backed by strong production on both albums, thanks to collaborations with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, and of course that voice -- rich, evocative and captivating. Those elements helped her songs' content to shine; everything's discussed with brash honesty and often a sense of humor.
"There's no point in saying anything but the truth," Winehouse told the Guardian in 2004. "Because, at the end of the day, I don't have to answer to you, or my ex, or ... I shouldn't say God ... or a man in a suit from the record company. I have to answer to myself."
That frankness and headstrong independence is what we loved about her and could relate to. Although some talked callously about her struggles, there was still an underlying hope that she'd push past her problems. So when she couldn't, her July 23 death felt to many like a sucker punch.
At the time of her death, it appeared that Winehouse was focused on recovery. An inquest last fall ruled that she'd died of alcohol poisoning and a family spokesman said at the time that "Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol, and it is a source of great pain that she could not win in time."
Who knows what the next few years of her life could have brought. That question will always linger and is the difficulty of watching someone pass on so young -- those of us left living know just how much more life can bring. Perhaps she would have found, as Slate wrote in 2008, that "there are other, better things to romanticize than hard times and hard booze."
Instead, we're left to hope that when she died, she still felt the same way as she did when she spoke to Harper's Bazaar in 2010.
Holding on to nary an unfulfilled goal, she said, "If I died tomorrow, I would be a happy girl."
Monday, July 23, 2012
Life not so ruff for India's pampered pooches
Life not so ruff for India's pampered pooches
The Dalmatian celebrated with a cake of flour, cheese and chicken tikkas, garnished with a rib-shaped biscuit on top and spent the day splashing in a swimming pool and chasing her 20 canine friends at a sprawling dog resort.
"It was like I was having my daughter's birthday party," said Priyamvada Sharma, Oreo's owner, who also has a 2-year-old female Labrador. "We had every possible type of biscuit and bone any pet shop would have."
Oreo is one of a growing number of pampered pooches in India lavished with indulgent care - and a growing range of products - as the ranks of the middle-class increase and pet owners spare nothing for their furred darlings.
Sharma's pets have been brought up in luxury. They have a full-time maid and are regulars at grooming parlours and swimming pools.
While some years ago the concept of branded pet food was unheard of in India, and dogs were often fed table scraps, the market is now flooded with pet dietary and health products.
There are also pet salons, upscale vet clinics, pet couture, pet nannies, dog walkers, reiki therapists, grooming specialists, dog-friendly hotels and air-conditioned kennels mushrooming across big cities.
Quite a contrast to when Maura Sabin, from the United States, first came to live in India with her two cats and was far from impressed by India's vet services.
"Twenty years ago...they knew horses and they knew dogs and that is all they knew," she said.
DOGS IN THE MAJORITY
A Euromonitor research report estimates that India's pet industry is expected to grow 22 percent this year and reach 4.5 billion rupees (around $81 million), in a nation where the per capita income is $1,256. Dogs account for 80 percent of all pets in India, with cats and fish also popular.
Preeti Kumar quit her job as a teacher to start a pet grooming salon with her husband in 2007, one of the first in New Delhi. She now runs seven salons in the city offering services such as aroma therapy baths, herbal massage and hair colouring.
People buy certain breeds because it is a status symbol, she said.
"There are people who do buy a breed like St. Bernard which is actually not meant for Delhi weather because it is a huge, hairy pet," said the 37-year-old Kumar, who owns 13 dogs including boxers, poodles, pugs, and also imported exotic breeds such as the Bedlington terrier and Cairn terrier.
"One of the most popular breeds because of the Vodafone ad is the pug," she added, referring to an ad that made the breed a darling of the middle-class.
Many abandon or neglect these dogs once their fascination wears off, but the idea that pets could be family members is gaining wider acceptance - and prompting major cash outlays.
"I wanted to buy a small car, but I had to buy a bigger car because of my dog," said Natasha Adlakha, a freelance writer who has a golden retriever called Google and spends around $400, or 20 percent of her monthly salary, on the dog.
While a decade ago, it was common for dogs to sleep outside the house or in the garage, now some owners keep their air-conditioner on 24 hours a day just for their pets. Sharma also got a wrought-iron bed, with a velvet mattress, for her dog.
Even religious rules are being bent for the sake of the dogs' well-being.
Sharma cannot cook or eat chicken in her house, but these restrictions do not apply to her "girls." Her maid prepares a stew for them with seasonal vegetables, turmeric and expensive dog food every morning.
The breakdown of the traditional joint family structure in India also appears to have contributed to the changing attitude towards pets. Young urban Indians are earning more and marrying late, with pets often becoming their replacement children.
The 25-year-old Sharma said that anybody who wants to marry her must take on her pets as well.
"If I were to get married, I would only get married to someone who would love my dogs as much I love my dogs and they will come with me." (Reporting By Diksha Madhok, editing by Elaine Lies)
The Dalmatian celebrated with a cake of flour, cheese and chicken tikkas, garnished with a rib-shaped biscuit on top and spent the day splashing in a swimming pool and chasing her 20 canine friends at a sprawling dog resort.
"It was like I was having my daughter's birthday party," said Priyamvada Sharma, Oreo's owner, who also has a 2-year-old female Labrador. "We had every possible type of biscuit and bone any pet shop would have."
Oreo is one of a growing number of pampered pooches in India lavished with indulgent care - and a growing range of products - as the ranks of the middle-class increase and pet owners spare nothing for their furred darlings.
Sharma's pets have been brought up in luxury. They have a full-time maid and are regulars at grooming parlours and swimming pools.
While some years ago the concept of branded pet food was unheard of in India, and dogs were often fed table scraps, the market is now flooded with pet dietary and health products.
There are also pet salons, upscale vet clinics, pet couture, pet nannies, dog walkers, reiki therapists, grooming specialists, dog-friendly hotels and air-conditioned kennels mushrooming across big cities.
Quite a contrast to when Maura Sabin, from the United States, first came to live in India with her two cats and was far from impressed by India's vet services.
"Twenty years ago...they knew horses and they knew dogs and that is all they knew," she said.
DOGS IN THE MAJORITY
A Euromonitor research report estimates that India's pet industry is expected to grow 22 percent this year and reach 4.5 billion rupees (around $81 million), in a nation where the per capita income is $1,256. Dogs account for 80 percent of all pets in India, with cats and fish also popular.
Preeti Kumar quit her job as a teacher to start a pet grooming salon with her husband in 2007, one of the first in New Delhi. She now runs seven salons in the city offering services such as aroma therapy baths, herbal massage and hair colouring.
People buy certain breeds because it is a status symbol, she said.
"There are people who do buy a breed like St. Bernard which is actually not meant for Delhi weather because it is a huge, hairy pet," said the 37-year-old Kumar, who owns 13 dogs including boxers, poodles, pugs, and also imported exotic breeds such as the Bedlington terrier and Cairn terrier.
"One of the most popular breeds because of the Vodafone ad is the pug," she added, referring to an ad that made the breed a darling of the middle-class.
Many abandon or neglect these dogs once their fascination wears off, but the idea that pets could be family members is gaining wider acceptance - and prompting major cash outlays.
"I wanted to buy a small car, but I had to buy a bigger car because of my dog," said Natasha Adlakha, a freelance writer who has a golden retriever called Google and spends around $400, or 20 percent of her monthly salary, on the dog.
While a decade ago, it was common for dogs to sleep outside the house or in the garage, now some owners keep their air-conditioner on 24 hours a day just for their pets. Sharma also got a wrought-iron bed, with a velvet mattress, for her dog.
Even religious rules are being bent for the sake of the dogs' well-being.
Sharma cannot cook or eat chicken in her house, but these restrictions do not apply to her "girls." Her maid prepares a stew for them with seasonal vegetables, turmeric and expensive dog food every morning.
The breakdown of the traditional joint family structure in India also appears to have contributed to the changing attitude towards pets. Young urban Indians are earning more and marrying late, with pets often becoming their replacement children.
The 25-year-old Sharma said that anybody who wants to marry her must take on her pets as well.
"If I were to get married, I would only get married to someone who would love my dogs as much I love my dogs and they will come with me." (Reporting By Diksha Madhok, editing by Elaine Lies)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Life expectancy a factor in PSA testing
Life expectancy a factor in PSA testing
How long a doctor expects an older man to live is the new determining factor for whether the man is screened for prostate cancer, U.S. experts say.
Dr. David Samadi -- vice chairman of the department of urology, and chief of robotics and minimally invasive surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York -- said the newly released American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines put into writing what prostate cancer experts have been espousing for years.
The ASCO guidelines advise men with a life expectancy of less than 10 years to forgo routine PSA screening, suggesting the potential side effects and potential complications of treating prostate cancer may outweigh the benefits.
For men with a life expectancy of 10 years or more, the guidelines support a man's right to choose, encouraging a thorough discussion of the benefits and risks of testing, Samadi said.
"It's personalized medicine, plain and simple," Samadi said in a statement. "Whether 10 years is the magic number for PSA screening depends on the patient, but the recommendation that men have a choice gets us back on track."
The PSA debate came to a head in this year, fueled primarily by concerns over whether a man should expose himself to the potential side effects of prostate cancer treatment, chief among them problems with urinary incontinence and the ability to have sex.
"Is it worth it? That's what they're asking. But that's a choice each man must make for himself," Samadi said. "As experts, our role is to provide an accurate picture of their health and an education about the pros and cons of prostate cancer testing and treatment."
How long a doctor expects an older man to live is the new determining factor for whether the man is screened for prostate cancer, U.S. experts say.
Dr. David Samadi -- vice chairman of the department of urology, and chief of robotics and minimally invasive surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York -- said the newly released American Society of Clinical Oncology guidelines put into writing what prostate cancer experts have been espousing for years.
The ASCO guidelines advise men with a life expectancy of less than 10 years to forgo routine PSA screening, suggesting the potential side effects and potential complications of treating prostate cancer may outweigh the benefits.
For men with a life expectancy of 10 years or more, the guidelines support a man's right to choose, encouraging a thorough discussion of the benefits and risks of testing, Samadi said.
"It's personalized medicine, plain and simple," Samadi said in a statement. "Whether 10 years is the magic number for PSA screening depends on the patient, but the recommendation that men have a choice gets us back on track."
The PSA debate came to a head in this year, fueled primarily by concerns over whether a man should expose himself to the potential side effects of prostate cancer treatment, chief among them problems with urinary incontinence and the ability to have sex.
"Is it worth it? That's what they're asking. But that's a choice each man must make for himself," Samadi said. "As experts, our role is to provide an accurate picture of their health and an education about the pros and cons of prostate cancer testing and treatment."
Thursday, July 19, 2012
The Open 2012: David Duval in love with life and Lytham
The last Open winner at Lytham shows his love for the course and says injuries caused his downturn, not domestic bliss
Even at the moment of his greatest triumph, David Duval took great care to maintain a healthy sense of perspective. "This is just a silly old game," he smiled on the Sunday evening of the last Open played here at Lytham & St Annes, the Auld Claret Jug cradled lightly in his arms. "All we are doing is playing a game."
A calm, gentle and mature demeanour had served the 29-year-old first-time major winner well: he'd bounced back from a humbling at the previous year's Open at St Andrews, where as 54-hole leader he'd taken four shots to escape the Road Hole bunker on his way to a final-round 75.
It would serve him well over the following decade, too, albeit in vastly different circumstances. Duval, expected to be Tiger Woods's chief rival during the 2000s, would win no more major titles. Nor, a close shave in the 2009 US Open at Bethpage Black apart, would he even seriously compete for one. Instead his time was spent floundering in one long well-documented slump. He crashed from world No1 to 172nd in the rankings. In his annus mirabilis of 2001, he won nearly $3m in prize money; four years later, his annual haul was a mere $7,630.
In a slump, but not the slough of despond. In fact Duval's story is as warm and as life-affirming as they come, the tale of a content man who realises there is a whole world outside the boundaries of the golf course.
"I fully understood the magnitude of the accomplishment of winning the Open, the height of the mountain," reflects Duval, now 40. "It was a bit of an existential moment and time period for me. But that sure as hell wasn't all there was. My life in general has blown up exponentially in a wonderful way, with meeting my wife, having an instant family with stepchildren and having a couple of kids of my own biologically. I don't see my stepchildren any different, they're like my kids. I've got a wife that loves me. I love her. Maybe it's not cool to say, but I think she hung the moon. I've been lucky."
Yet Duval is unwilling to offer domestic bliss and lack of focus as a facile excuse for a career not quite fulfilled. "Is it my attitude? When it was pouring yesterday, I was out on the range hitting balls, soaked. I've worked my tail off. Unfortunately I've had multiple nagging little injuries. I've had tendonitis in both shoulders. I've got it in my elbows. I have bone bruises in my knees, which I've never really talked about before. I have a back problem that's well documented, had tendonitis in my wrists. I've had vertigo. So, I mean, there's a laundry list of problems.
"And that stuff, you know, wrecks golf games. The big detriment about wonderful athletes, wonderful golfers and football players, is that we're sometimes not smart enough to stop. Our egos think we can just play and get through it. And I did, and all it did was get worse and wreck my game and wreck my confidence. In hindsight, the big mistake I made in my career was not stopping sometime in early 2002 and not playing again until '04. I should have taken at least a year, maybe more off, got healed, and protected my confidence. Just given away that year and a half, not the eight years like I did."
The intelligent and thoughtful Floridian has only escaped the cut three times since winning at Lytham in 2001. He ended his title defence at Muirfield tied for 22nd, while the only other two weekend sorties – auguring well for this week – came at the only two subsequent stagings of the Open in the north-west, at Hoylake in 2006 and Birkdale two years later. "I feel good about what I'm doing," says Duval. "I played well last week at the John Deere, hitting 31, 32 out of 36 greens, hit most all of the fairways. I understand there's some things a little more important than golf, but it doesn't mean I don't love it, don't think I'm really good at it, don't think I can be really great at it again, and don't desire to be."
Furthermore, if Duval could pick and choose a championship to mount a comeback at, this would be the one. "Players spout about tournaments and the best weeks of the year, but when you hear this is the best week of the year, that's when they're finally telling you the truth. They say that in a lot of places, but the majority of players feel like this is the biggest and best golf tournament." Such effusiveness is only to be expected from a former Open champion, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is particularly heartfelt. Lytham's club professional, Eddie Birchenough, recalls running into Duval in the clubhouse on the evening of his 2001 win. "
He was as high on life as I've ever seen anyone, absolutely hyper," says Birchenough who, to put this in context, was at the club when Whirlwind Seve laid the course to waste on the final day in 1988. "His eyes were glazed, they were darting everywhere. His speech upon lifting the trophy was gentlemanly, gracious and humble. He was famous for wearing those wraparound shades but it opened a door into his spirits. He is a very nice man indeed."
Lytham's love is certainly reciprocated by Duval. "I haven't been here for 11 years, and it was kind of cool to see my name on the club board, in the gold ink on the wood, along with the other tournaments they have and stuff. It makes you feel like you're kind of part of the club. I like it here."
Even at the moment of his greatest triumph, David Duval took great care to maintain a healthy sense of perspective. "This is just a silly old game," he smiled on the Sunday evening of the last Open played here at Lytham & St Annes, the Auld Claret Jug cradled lightly in his arms. "All we are doing is playing a game."
A calm, gentle and mature demeanour had served the 29-year-old first-time major winner well: he'd bounced back from a humbling at the previous year's Open at St Andrews, where as 54-hole leader he'd taken four shots to escape the Road Hole bunker on his way to a final-round 75.
It would serve him well over the following decade, too, albeit in vastly different circumstances. Duval, expected to be Tiger Woods's chief rival during the 2000s, would win no more major titles. Nor, a close shave in the 2009 US Open at Bethpage Black apart, would he even seriously compete for one. Instead his time was spent floundering in one long well-documented slump. He crashed from world No1 to 172nd in the rankings. In his annus mirabilis of 2001, he won nearly $3m in prize money; four years later, his annual haul was a mere $7,630.
In a slump, but not the slough of despond. In fact Duval's story is as warm and as life-affirming as they come, the tale of a content man who realises there is a whole world outside the boundaries of the golf course.
"I fully understood the magnitude of the accomplishment of winning the Open, the height of the mountain," reflects Duval, now 40. "It was a bit of an existential moment and time period for me. But that sure as hell wasn't all there was. My life in general has blown up exponentially in a wonderful way, with meeting my wife, having an instant family with stepchildren and having a couple of kids of my own biologically. I don't see my stepchildren any different, they're like my kids. I've got a wife that loves me. I love her. Maybe it's not cool to say, but I think she hung the moon. I've been lucky."
Yet Duval is unwilling to offer domestic bliss and lack of focus as a facile excuse for a career not quite fulfilled. "Is it my attitude? When it was pouring yesterday, I was out on the range hitting balls, soaked. I've worked my tail off. Unfortunately I've had multiple nagging little injuries. I've had tendonitis in both shoulders. I've got it in my elbows. I have bone bruises in my knees, which I've never really talked about before. I have a back problem that's well documented, had tendonitis in my wrists. I've had vertigo. So, I mean, there's a laundry list of problems.
"And that stuff, you know, wrecks golf games. The big detriment about wonderful athletes, wonderful golfers and football players, is that we're sometimes not smart enough to stop. Our egos think we can just play and get through it. And I did, and all it did was get worse and wreck my game and wreck my confidence. In hindsight, the big mistake I made in my career was not stopping sometime in early 2002 and not playing again until '04. I should have taken at least a year, maybe more off, got healed, and protected my confidence. Just given away that year and a half, not the eight years like I did."
The intelligent and thoughtful Floridian has only escaped the cut three times since winning at Lytham in 2001. He ended his title defence at Muirfield tied for 22nd, while the only other two weekend sorties – auguring well for this week – came at the only two subsequent stagings of the Open in the north-west, at Hoylake in 2006 and Birkdale two years later. "I feel good about what I'm doing," says Duval. "I played well last week at the John Deere, hitting 31, 32 out of 36 greens, hit most all of the fairways. I understand there's some things a little more important than golf, but it doesn't mean I don't love it, don't think I'm really good at it, don't think I can be really great at it again, and don't desire to be."
Furthermore, if Duval could pick and choose a championship to mount a comeback at, this would be the one. "Players spout about tournaments and the best weeks of the year, but when you hear this is the best week of the year, that's when they're finally telling you the truth. They say that in a lot of places, but the majority of players feel like this is the biggest and best golf tournament." Such effusiveness is only to be expected from a former Open champion, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is particularly heartfelt. Lytham's club professional, Eddie Birchenough, recalls running into Duval in the clubhouse on the evening of his 2001 win. "
He was as high on life as I've ever seen anyone, absolutely hyper," says Birchenough who, to put this in context, was at the club when Whirlwind Seve laid the course to waste on the final day in 1988. "His eyes were glazed, they were darting everywhere. His speech upon lifting the trophy was gentlemanly, gracious and humble. He was famous for wearing those wraparound shades but it opened a door into his spirits. He is a very nice man indeed."
Lytham's love is certainly reciprocated by Duval. "I haven't been here for 11 years, and it was kind of cool to see my name on the club board, in the gold ink on the wood, along with the other tournaments they have and stuff. It makes you feel like you're kind of part of the club. I like it here."
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
USA TODAY interview: Elton John's life a 'constant delight'
He once favored Minnie Mouse costumes and towering Mohawk wigs. Now, as he sips coffee in his elegant dining room, Elton John wears a navy blazer, dress shirt and dark pants, which all adds up to a Midwestern-bank-president look.
But then there are his spectacles.
On this late-June morning, rock megastar John is quite literally looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps the round pink lenses perched on his nose are a fashion statement, but they also seem an appropriate accessory for a man who proclaims his belief in the goodness of human beings, his conviction that his friend Rush Limbaugh doesn't truly oppose gay marriage, and his own good fortune.
PHOTOS: Elton John's fight for AIDS awareness
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," John says. Since he swore off alcohol and cocaine 22 years ago, "it's been a joyride. … I have a child, which I thought I'd never have. And my life is a constant delight."
It's also a life of constant achievements, among them the best-selling single of all time, Candle in the Wind 1997, which he sang at the funeral of his friend Princess Diana; an Academy Award for a song from The Lion King; 57 Billboard Top 40 hits; a knighthood bestowed by the queen in 1997. And in 2010, John, who had thought he was too old to become a father, celebrated the birth of his son, Zachary, who was conceived from a donated egg.
Now John, 65, is bringing his celebrity and his optimism to a project of deadly gravity. For two decades, John, who is gay, has poured his time and money into the battle against AIDS. Today he publishes a book, Love Is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS (Little, Brown, $27.99), which implores readers to help end the global stigma against those infected with the virus and the equally widespread stigma against those most vulnerable to HIV infection, such as gay people and users of intravenous drugs.
"We have to get rid of this stigma, which I think is the biggest barrier to progress," John says, his words pouring out with rapid-fire passion. "We need to stop the ignorance and the hatred. … It's very idealistic, saying love is the cure, but it really is."
John spoke with USA TODAY at his countryside mansion, where in the garden a bronze statue of Mercury gazes over a large fountain and beds of white lilies. Inside, superb black-and-white photos of jazz musicians hang on the walls, and exquisite porcelain dishes and vases nearly hide the tabletops.
Over the course of an hour-long conversation, John is loquacious, funny, catty and disarmingly candid about his own failings. Though he is now one of the most veteran of celebrity AIDS activists, he does not seem to have forgiven himself for being late to the cause.
"I lost maybe 60 or 70 people to AIDS," he says quietly, but "I did nothing for the HIV movement in the 1980s."
At the time, HIV infection meant ostracism as well as certain death. People with AIDS often became outcasts, vulnerable to violence and rejection. They were forced out of schools and fired from jobs for fear that they would pass on the disease to others with a sneeze or a handshake. A swimming pool in West Virginia was closed after a gay man with AIDS took a dip.
While his friends died by the dozens, John was lost in a haze of cocaine and alcohol addiction, combined with bulimia and a monstrous temper that led him to throw tantrums if he didn't like the curtains in his hotel room. He also was promiscuous and now considers it a "miracle" that he didn't get infected with HIV.
He was "out of control," John writes in his book. "I was going to change, or I was going to die."
The turning point
Then, in 1986, John befriended Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who had contracted HIV from blood-based treatments for his hemophilia. Shunned by his classmates and neighbors, White spoke publicly about the disease before dying in 1990 at age 18. John, shattered, sang at White's funeral and helped bear his casket.
White and his family "made me want to change, to be a better person," John writes. "Our friendship was the catalyst that helped to change my life."
Even so, he needed one final push. It came shortly after White's death, when John's companion at the time, Hugh Williams, walked out on the singer to go into rehab. John shut himself in his house and snorted cocaine for a week, according to his book. Then, overcome by misery and loneliness, he tracked Williams to an Arizona clinic and hurried to see him — only for Williams to confront him with a devastatingly long list of the star's addictions. That did it. John entered rehab himself and has been sober ever since.
It's easy now, he says. "If I ever find myself in a situation where there are drugs, I can smell the cocaine. I can feel it in the back of my throat, that horrible feeling of taking the first hit of cocaine. And I leave."
His attempt to overcome bulimia was aided by a close friend who was arguably the world's most famous bulimic: Princess Diana. The two often would compare notes on the condition.
"It was so nice to talk to someone — 'Oh, you did that too?' " he says. "And she said it was so awkward to run to the toilet after the meal. … It helps you feel not so bad about yourself, and it's a little bit of camaraderie."
According to John's book, Diana was mulling a role as an ambassador for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which John started after becoming sober, before her death in a car crash in 1997. Now John's foundation is collaborating on several AIDS projects with a charity founded by Diana's younger son, Prince Harry, in the African nation of Lesotho. John says he sees his lost friend when he looks at Harry and his older brother, William.
"I see (Diana's) beauty in William, the kind of upright beauty," John says. "William is just beautiful and stoic. He has his mother's grace. And Harry has his mother's wit and naughtiness."
Making a difference
Even without Diana's involvement, John's AIDS foundations — one in Britain, one in the USA — have won widespread respect and now give away more than $18 million a year. John's U.S. foundation has "done a lot of important, cutting-edge stuff that nobody else would do," such as supporting programs that supply clean needles to addicts, says Kevin Frost, head of The Foundation for AIDS Research, a non-profit that receives funding from John's foundation.
After his son, John's AIDS advocacy is "the most important thing in his life," says his friend David Burtka, a correspondent on E! News and the partner of actor Neil Patrick Harris. "He has to do it, because his heart is telling him to do it."
John's hope of eroding stigmas has led him into some deeply unlikely alliances. After he agreed to perform at Limbaugh's wedding in 2010, the two men bonded over music and formed a friendship, despite Limbaugh's conservative views.
"He sends me the loveliest e-mails," John says. "What I get from Rush privately and what I get from Rush publicly are two different things. I'm just trying to break him down."
Now the cause that has consumed so much of John's energy has reached a historic crossroads. For the first time since the epidemic began, scientists say they have the treatments and prevention techniques to slash the spread of the virus. John's book exhorts readers to recognize the moment and lobby for the money needed to seize this chance.
The disease can be conquered "with a little bit more compassion, a little bit more cash," John says. "It's an incredible opportunity."
Experts on HIV cheer the book's message about the new possibilities in the fight against the virus. But scientists are more cautious about the book's bold assertion that HIV "would simply cease to exist" if the medicine and prevention methods now in hand were applied worldwide.
"We can prevent millions and millions of new infections," says Mark Dybul, who headed President George W. Bush's international AIDS program, but "we're not going to eradicate HIV with the current technologies and current advances."
The only disease humans have eliminated is smallpox, "and that took tremendous effort and money," as well as a vaccine, says Sally Blower, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California-Los Angeles. She emphasizes that she has not read John's book.
In response to the scientists' comments, the head of the U.S. branch of the Elton John AIDS Foundation says John is merely describing what's possible in an ideal world. If drugs and prevention techniques could be supplied to everyone, and worked with 100% efficiency, AIDS cases would melt away, says the foundation's Scott Campbell. The book isn't trying to spell out a global AIDS strategy, he says — it's trying to inspire readers.
Their 'happy-natured boy'
At this crucial moment in the fight against AIDS, there are more claims than ever on John's time. He has a spouse, filmmaker David Furnish, 49, who entered into a civil partnership with John in 2005, and now a son, Zachary, born to a surrogate mother on Christmas Day 2010.
It's not clear whether Furnish or John is Zachary's biological father — the sperm of both men was used in the fertilization process — but the cherubic little boy John proudly carries into the room to meet a reporter has long golden hair. Furnish's hair is dark; John's is reddish-blond.
Zachary "has brought to David and me the most incredible pleasure, and he's brought us the most incredible sense of responsibility and love," John says. "He comes with us everywhere. He loves traveling. He loves people. … He's just a happy-natured boy."
Before Zachary's birth, when John looked out a car window, he studied the fashions, the vehicles and the men and women. He was, he admits, a "lech."
Now, he says, his gaze is focused differently: "Who's that kid? What's he wearing? What's his mum pushing him in? … It's just changed the way I think, all for the better, thank God."
Far from leaving his AIDS work behind now that he's a dad, John says fatherhood "has probably helped me in my advocacy, because I want (Zachary) to live in a better place. I want him to live in a stigma-free world. It's never going to happen, because it's an impossible dream. … But the situation can improve."
But then there are his spectacles.
On this late-June morning, rock megastar John is quite literally looking at the world through rose-tinted glasses. Perhaps the round pink lenses perched on his nose are a fashion statement, but they also seem an appropriate accessory for a man who proclaims his belief in the goodness of human beings, his conviction that his friend Rush Limbaugh doesn't truly oppose gay marriage, and his own good fortune.
PHOTOS: Elton John's fight for AIDS awareness
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world," John says. Since he swore off alcohol and cocaine 22 years ago, "it's been a joyride. … I have a child, which I thought I'd never have. And my life is a constant delight."
It's also a life of constant achievements, among them the best-selling single of all time, Candle in the Wind 1997, which he sang at the funeral of his friend Princess Diana; an Academy Award for a song from The Lion King; 57 Billboard Top 40 hits; a knighthood bestowed by the queen in 1997. And in 2010, John, who had thought he was too old to become a father, celebrated the birth of his son, Zachary, who was conceived from a donated egg.
Now John, 65, is bringing his celebrity and his optimism to a project of deadly gravity. For two decades, John, who is gay, has poured his time and money into the battle against AIDS. Today he publishes a book, Love Is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS (Little, Brown, $27.99), which implores readers to help end the global stigma against those infected with the virus and the equally widespread stigma against those most vulnerable to HIV infection, such as gay people and users of intravenous drugs.
"We have to get rid of this stigma, which I think is the biggest barrier to progress," John says, his words pouring out with rapid-fire passion. "We need to stop the ignorance and the hatred. … It's very idealistic, saying love is the cure, but it really is."
John spoke with USA TODAY at his countryside mansion, where in the garden a bronze statue of Mercury gazes over a large fountain and beds of white lilies. Inside, superb black-and-white photos of jazz musicians hang on the walls, and exquisite porcelain dishes and vases nearly hide the tabletops.
Over the course of an hour-long conversation, John is loquacious, funny, catty and disarmingly candid about his own failings. Though he is now one of the most veteran of celebrity AIDS activists, he does not seem to have forgiven himself for being late to the cause.
"I lost maybe 60 or 70 people to AIDS," he says quietly, but "I did nothing for the HIV movement in the 1980s."
At the time, HIV infection meant ostracism as well as certain death. People with AIDS often became outcasts, vulnerable to violence and rejection. They were forced out of schools and fired from jobs for fear that they would pass on the disease to others with a sneeze or a handshake. A swimming pool in West Virginia was closed after a gay man with AIDS took a dip.
While his friends died by the dozens, John was lost in a haze of cocaine and alcohol addiction, combined with bulimia and a monstrous temper that led him to throw tantrums if he didn't like the curtains in his hotel room. He also was promiscuous and now considers it a "miracle" that he didn't get infected with HIV.
He was "out of control," John writes in his book. "I was going to change, or I was going to die."
The turning point
Then, in 1986, John befriended Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who had contracted HIV from blood-based treatments for his hemophilia. Shunned by his classmates and neighbors, White spoke publicly about the disease before dying in 1990 at age 18. John, shattered, sang at White's funeral and helped bear his casket.
White and his family "made me want to change, to be a better person," John writes. "Our friendship was the catalyst that helped to change my life."
Even so, he needed one final push. It came shortly after White's death, when John's companion at the time, Hugh Williams, walked out on the singer to go into rehab. John shut himself in his house and snorted cocaine for a week, according to his book. Then, overcome by misery and loneliness, he tracked Williams to an Arizona clinic and hurried to see him — only for Williams to confront him with a devastatingly long list of the star's addictions. That did it. John entered rehab himself and has been sober ever since.
It's easy now, he says. "If I ever find myself in a situation where there are drugs, I can smell the cocaine. I can feel it in the back of my throat, that horrible feeling of taking the first hit of cocaine. And I leave."
His attempt to overcome bulimia was aided by a close friend who was arguably the world's most famous bulimic: Princess Diana. The two often would compare notes on the condition.
"It was so nice to talk to someone — 'Oh, you did that too?' " he says. "And she said it was so awkward to run to the toilet after the meal. … It helps you feel not so bad about yourself, and it's a little bit of camaraderie."
According to John's book, Diana was mulling a role as an ambassador for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which John started after becoming sober, before her death in a car crash in 1997. Now John's foundation is collaborating on several AIDS projects with a charity founded by Diana's younger son, Prince Harry, in the African nation of Lesotho. John says he sees his lost friend when he looks at Harry and his older brother, William.
"I see (Diana's) beauty in William, the kind of upright beauty," John says. "William is just beautiful and stoic. He has his mother's grace. And Harry has his mother's wit and naughtiness."
Making a difference
Even without Diana's involvement, John's AIDS foundations — one in Britain, one in the USA — have won widespread respect and now give away more than $18 million a year. John's U.S. foundation has "done a lot of important, cutting-edge stuff that nobody else would do," such as supporting programs that supply clean needles to addicts, says Kevin Frost, head of The Foundation for AIDS Research, a non-profit that receives funding from John's foundation.
After his son, John's AIDS advocacy is "the most important thing in his life," says his friend David Burtka, a correspondent on E! News and the partner of actor Neil Patrick Harris. "He has to do it, because his heart is telling him to do it."
John's hope of eroding stigmas has led him into some deeply unlikely alliances. After he agreed to perform at Limbaugh's wedding in 2010, the two men bonded over music and formed a friendship, despite Limbaugh's conservative views.
"He sends me the loveliest e-mails," John says. "What I get from Rush privately and what I get from Rush publicly are two different things. I'm just trying to break him down."
Now the cause that has consumed so much of John's energy has reached a historic crossroads. For the first time since the epidemic began, scientists say they have the treatments and prevention techniques to slash the spread of the virus. John's book exhorts readers to recognize the moment and lobby for the money needed to seize this chance.
The disease can be conquered "with a little bit more compassion, a little bit more cash," John says. "It's an incredible opportunity."
Experts on HIV cheer the book's message about the new possibilities in the fight against the virus. But scientists are more cautious about the book's bold assertion that HIV "would simply cease to exist" if the medicine and prevention methods now in hand were applied worldwide.
"We can prevent millions and millions of new infections," says Mark Dybul, who headed President George W. Bush's international AIDS program, but "we're not going to eradicate HIV with the current technologies and current advances."
The only disease humans have eliminated is smallpox, "and that took tremendous effort and money," as well as a vaccine, says Sally Blower, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of California-Los Angeles. She emphasizes that she has not read John's book.
In response to the scientists' comments, the head of the U.S. branch of the Elton John AIDS Foundation says John is merely describing what's possible in an ideal world. If drugs and prevention techniques could be supplied to everyone, and worked with 100% efficiency, AIDS cases would melt away, says the foundation's Scott Campbell. The book isn't trying to spell out a global AIDS strategy, he says — it's trying to inspire readers.
Their 'happy-natured boy'
At this crucial moment in the fight against AIDS, there are more claims than ever on John's time. He has a spouse, filmmaker David Furnish, 49, who entered into a civil partnership with John in 2005, and now a son, Zachary, born to a surrogate mother on Christmas Day 2010.
It's not clear whether Furnish or John is Zachary's biological father — the sperm of both men was used in the fertilization process — but the cherubic little boy John proudly carries into the room to meet a reporter has long golden hair. Furnish's hair is dark; John's is reddish-blond.
Zachary "has brought to David and me the most incredible pleasure, and he's brought us the most incredible sense of responsibility and love," John says. "He comes with us everywhere. He loves traveling. He loves people. … He's just a happy-natured boy."
Before Zachary's birth, when John looked out a car window, he studied the fashions, the vehicles and the men and women. He was, he admits, a "lech."
Now, he says, his gaze is focused differently: "Who's that kid? What's he wearing? What's his mum pushing him in? … It's just changed the way I think, all for the better, thank God."
Far from leaving his AIDS work behind now that he's a dad, John says fatherhood "has probably helped me in my advocacy, because I want (Zachary) to live in a better place. I want him to live in a stigma-free world. It's never going to happen, because it's an impossible dream. … But the situation can improve."
Marissa Mayer and work-life nirvana
The latest poster child for work-life nirvana is Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's newly appointed CEO - who is seven months pregnant.
Cali Williams Yost, a flexible work expert, says Mayer's pregnancy is noteworthy and symbolic, but not career-defining.
Here are edited excerpts from an interview with Yost, a working mother of two daughters, based in Madison, New Jersey, and author of the forthcoming "Tweak It: Small Changes/Big Impact-Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day" (Center Street, January 2013).
Q. What does Mayer's pregnancy mean for working women?
A. She is a powerful symbol of what people still think is impossible. The hullabaloo is that she challenges an outdated mindset. That's why the fact that this is even happening is amazing; however, it's not so amazing that it should be the sole focus of her tenure as the CEO of a company. It's something to be remarked upon as what's possible. It's an example of how people combine work and life in a way that works for them.
My hope is that her story shows us that having a life - whatever that looks like, be it a pregnancy or an aging parent - should not keep you from doing your job. There will be women who don't want to do what she's doing, and there will be other women who look at her and say, "That's me."
Q. But most CEOs are not female.
A. Right. The only way women who are not very wealthy, in control of their schedules and in very senior positions can combine pregnancy and work is if we have all things we don't have now. That includes affordable and reliable childcare, some kind of paid leave as well as eldercare support. For the normal, average, everyday woman, it's much tougher.
Q. Why is "having it all" suddenly considered a failed theory?
A. We keep getting trapped in the limiting "all-work/no-work" dichotomy and fail to see the countless possibilities in between.
Look at the recent Atlantic Magazine cover story that's generated so much buzz. Anne-Marie Slaughter - who is a politics and international affairs professor at Princeton University and a former State Department official - chronicles the struggle of juggling a high-pressure job with the needs of her family. She went from an incredibly flexible work environment in academia as a professor at Princeton to a very inflexible one at the State Department.
Q. So how can we fix the problem?
A. There will always be people who choose to work all the time, and there will always be people who don't work for pay - but neither of them are the majority. We need to focus on everyone else. We still struggle to find ways to describe working differently - stay-at-home is not the alternative to working.
People need to be able to reset their careers when circumstances change. In Slaughter's case, her son began to have some trouble in her absence (while she was in her State Department post), and she was going to lose a tenured position at an Ivy League school if she didn't go back. She made a change, but continued to work full-time for professional and personal reasons.
Q. Do women need to be more selfish with their careers?
A. Everyone needs to be more creative. A woman I know was offered a job as head of information technology for an investment bank. The guy who had the job before her worked 24/7. She had two kids and didn't want to work every minute of the day. The team created a system of shifts so the globe was covered. Nobody worked every night. She was even able to telecommute on Wednesdays.
The other people on her team didn't like working constantly, either. And they were all men. They welcomed the conversation about working better, smarter and flexibly. And guess what? They were more productive when they altered the way they worked.
Q. Has the weak economy changed the role of flexibility in the workplace?
A. People are less afraid to work flexibly after the downturn. There may be more hesitancy to raise your hand to make a big change such as, "I want to work three days a week," and more willingness to embrace small, manageable changes in the way work is done - maybe coming in later and leaving later to get to the gym. Small changes like that can make a real difference.
Q. Is striking a good work arrangement only a challenge for women?
A. Men also make tough decisions to work differently because of family considerations.
Bill Galston made headlines when he left the Clinton White House, where he was a senior economic adviser, because he missed his son. Now he works for a think tank. Joe Scarborough left Congress because his 14-year-old son needed him in Florida, and Washington was too far away. He now hosts Morning Joe on MSNBC. Alec Baldwin stopped doing movies for a period of time and joined 30 Rock because, as a divorced dad, he needed a more regular schedule.
Male law firm partners take positions as in-house counsel at companies so they can have more regular hours to be with their families.
Q. Why don't guys have guilt? Do women prioritize differently?
A. A Pew Research study recently asked how important is it for a man to be a good provider in a marriage. Some 67 percent of respondents said it's very important. But only 33 percent said it was very important for women.
Society expects a man to be the breadwinner. That's radically different from the expectations of women. What that does is limit the freedom of men to make different work-life decisions. As a result, when they choose work over their families, even if that's not in their heart, they feel it's what they should do.
(Reporting by Lauren Young; Editing by Linda Stern and Leslie Gevirtz; The YOUNG BUCKS column appears monthly and at additional times as warranted. Lauren Young tweets at www.twitter.com/laurenyoung. Read more of her work at blogs.reuters.com/lauren-young)
Cali Williams Yost, a flexible work expert, says Mayer's pregnancy is noteworthy and symbolic, but not career-defining.
Here are edited excerpts from an interview with Yost, a working mother of two daughters, based in Madison, New Jersey, and author of the forthcoming "Tweak It: Small Changes/Big Impact-Make What Matters to You Happen Every Day" (Center Street, January 2013).
Q. What does Mayer's pregnancy mean for working women?
A. She is a powerful symbol of what people still think is impossible. The hullabaloo is that she challenges an outdated mindset. That's why the fact that this is even happening is amazing; however, it's not so amazing that it should be the sole focus of her tenure as the CEO of a company. It's something to be remarked upon as what's possible. It's an example of how people combine work and life in a way that works for them.
My hope is that her story shows us that having a life - whatever that looks like, be it a pregnancy or an aging parent - should not keep you from doing your job. There will be women who don't want to do what she's doing, and there will be other women who look at her and say, "That's me."
Q. But most CEOs are not female.
A. Right. The only way women who are not very wealthy, in control of their schedules and in very senior positions can combine pregnancy and work is if we have all things we don't have now. That includes affordable and reliable childcare, some kind of paid leave as well as eldercare support. For the normal, average, everyday woman, it's much tougher.
Q. Why is "having it all" suddenly considered a failed theory?
A. We keep getting trapped in the limiting "all-work/no-work" dichotomy and fail to see the countless possibilities in between.
Look at the recent Atlantic Magazine cover story that's generated so much buzz. Anne-Marie Slaughter - who is a politics and international affairs professor at Princeton University and a former State Department official - chronicles the struggle of juggling a high-pressure job with the needs of her family. She went from an incredibly flexible work environment in academia as a professor at Princeton to a very inflexible one at the State Department.
Q. So how can we fix the problem?
A. There will always be people who choose to work all the time, and there will always be people who don't work for pay - but neither of them are the majority. We need to focus on everyone else. We still struggle to find ways to describe working differently - stay-at-home is not the alternative to working.
People need to be able to reset their careers when circumstances change. In Slaughter's case, her son began to have some trouble in her absence (while she was in her State Department post), and she was going to lose a tenured position at an Ivy League school if she didn't go back. She made a change, but continued to work full-time for professional and personal reasons.
Q. Do women need to be more selfish with their careers?
A. Everyone needs to be more creative. A woman I know was offered a job as head of information technology for an investment bank. The guy who had the job before her worked 24/7. She had two kids and didn't want to work every minute of the day. The team created a system of shifts so the globe was covered. Nobody worked every night. She was even able to telecommute on Wednesdays.
The other people on her team didn't like working constantly, either. And they were all men. They welcomed the conversation about working better, smarter and flexibly. And guess what? They were more productive when they altered the way they worked.
Q. Has the weak economy changed the role of flexibility in the workplace?
A. People are less afraid to work flexibly after the downturn. There may be more hesitancy to raise your hand to make a big change such as, "I want to work three days a week," and more willingness to embrace small, manageable changes in the way work is done - maybe coming in later and leaving later to get to the gym. Small changes like that can make a real difference.
Q. Is striking a good work arrangement only a challenge for women?
A. Men also make tough decisions to work differently because of family considerations.
Bill Galston made headlines when he left the Clinton White House, where he was a senior economic adviser, because he missed his son. Now he works for a think tank. Joe Scarborough left Congress because his 14-year-old son needed him in Florida, and Washington was too far away. He now hosts Morning Joe on MSNBC. Alec Baldwin stopped doing movies for a period of time and joined 30 Rock because, as a divorced dad, he needed a more regular schedule.
Male law firm partners take positions as in-house counsel at companies so they can have more regular hours to be with their families.
Q. Why don't guys have guilt? Do women prioritize differently?
A. A Pew Research study recently asked how important is it for a man to be a good provider in a marriage. Some 67 percent of respondents said it's very important. But only 33 percent said it was very important for women.
Society expects a man to be the breadwinner. That's radically different from the expectations of women. What that does is limit the freedom of men to make different work-life decisions. As a result, when they choose work over their families, even if that's not in their heart, they feel it's what they should do.
(Reporting by Lauren Young; Editing by Linda Stern and Leslie Gevirtz; The YOUNG BUCKS column appears monthly and at additional times as warranted. Lauren Young tweets at www.twitter.com/laurenyoung. Read more of her work at blogs.reuters.com/lauren-young)
Friday, July 13, 2012
Life’s A Pitch: Modric no longer welcome at Spurs
Life’s A Pitch: Modric no longer welcome at Spurs
Unfortunately for him, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy put the kibosh on those plans and forced Modric to fulfil his contractual obligations and stay at the club. But having expressed a desire to leave, and to Chelsea as well, he was never the same player in many Spurs fans’ eyes after that.
One year on and the realisation is that Modric will now get his move. The hope of most Spurs fans now is that, not only do they get a bucketload of cash for him, but that he also moves to a European team, rather than come up against them in the Premier League.
But for any fans still hoping he stays, Iain Macintosh has some words of warning. While also a huge fan of the Croat’s ability, he believes selling a highly valuable asset such as Modric, who clearly wants out, will be the difference between Spurs progressing or not under new head coach Villas-Boas.
Not convinced? Well, read his article. And while you’re at it, have a look at the continuing debate on our Premier League select XI where this week we’re choosing our central midfielders, of which Modric is among the contenders.
Other Spurs content on the site sees Mike Calvin explain how Villas-Boas is the focal point of Tottenham’s quiet revolution. But for him to succeed, the Life’s a Pitch team explains that he needs to prove he has learned lessons from his abject failure at Chelsea.
Talking of Chelsea, Jim Campbell reckons Roman Abramovich is trying to turn the Blues into Barcelona. Find out why.
Elsewhere, we look at all the juiciest transfer rumours and have a new competition on the site to win a signed photo of Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick against Man City.
Unfortunately for him, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy put the kibosh on those plans and forced Modric to fulfil his contractual obligations and stay at the club. But having expressed a desire to leave, and to Chelsea as well, he was never the same player in many Spurs fans’ eyes after that.
One year on and the realisation is that Modric will now get his move. The hope of most Spurs fans now is that, not only do they get a bucketload of cash for him, but that he also moves to a European team, rather than come up against them in the Premier League.
But for any fans still hoping he stays, Iain Macintosh has some words of warning. While also a huge fan of the Croat’s ability, he believes selling a highly valuable asset such as Modric, who clearly wants out, will be the difference between Spurs progressing or not under new head coach Villas-Boas.
Not convinced? Well, read his article. And while you’re at it, have a look at the continuing debate on our Premier League select XI where this week we’re choosing our central midfielders, of which Modric is among the contenders.
Other Spurs content on the site sees Mike Calvin explain how Villas-Boas is the focal point of Tottenham’s quiet revolution. But for him to succeed, the Life’s a Pitch team explains that he needs to prove he has learned lessons from his abject failure at Chelsea.
Talking of Chelsea, Jim Campbell reckons Roman Abramovich is trying to turn the Blues into Barcelona. Find out why.
Elsewhere, we look at all the juiciest transfer rumours and have a new competition on the site to win a signed photo of Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick against Man City.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Romanian leader in Brussels, pledging democracy
In the latest clash between the poor Balkan state's two dominant political forces, premier Victor Ponta's leftist Social Liberal Union (USL) wants to remove the conservative Basescu for good by a referendum the government has called for July 29.
Ponta's government has accompanied the impeachment bid with a string of emergency decrees that have broadened its power but raised concerns that it may be skirting constitutional checks and balances and backsliding on obligations to democracy.
Following rebukes from the European Union, EU paymaster Germany and the United States, Ponta must convince fellow EU leaders he is respecting common principles or jeopardize an IMF aid deal designed to buttress an economy now in recession.
The dispute could mean a negative assessment later this month from EU officials who are monitoring Bucharest's judicial system and anti-corruption efforts. Previous such EU reports have been cited before as grounds for keeping it and its Balkan neighbor Bulgaria out of the bloc's passport-free travel area.
Both were allowed five years ago to join the union, but EU partners have remained wary of their democratic credentials and a culture of graft, two decades after communist rule ended.
Ponta travelled to Brussels on Wednesday for meetings on Thursday with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Later on Wednesday, he was to meet the speaker of the EU parliament.
"I will restate my unswerving commitment to democracy and the rule of law," Ponta said in a statement ahead of the visit.
"I will leave them in no doubt as to my determination to uphold the Romanian constitution and European values."
IMPEACHMENT MOVE
At issue is how Ponta's government has pursued the impeachment of Basescu, including making an abortive attempt to dismiss constitutional judges and replacing the national ombudsman with one of its own party loyalists - a move that effectively removed any means of countering emergency decrees.
The USL changed the rules on recall referendums, so that a simple majority of ballots cast, rather than of registered voters, would suffice to oust Basescu, a folksy former sea captain.
The constitutional court upheld the first part of that law on Tuesday but introduced a minimum 50-percent turnout threshold to validate a referendum - giving Basescu a fighting chance to survive, even if his supporters stay away from the ballot.
Ponta has called for an extraordinary session of parliament to bring the referendum laws into line with the court ruling.
That brought a cautious welcome from U.S. ambassador Mark Gitenstein, who warned that failure to do so would "knowingly provoke a very dangerous constitutional crisis".
Ponta said his government's actions were "fully constitutional, and in line with EU standards".
He added: "I will listen intently to my EU counterparts, and if there is a convincing case that EU norms are being breached, which was never the intention, we will change course."
POWERS CLASH
The dispute is the latest clash between Basescu and his center-right allies versus the Socialists, reformed heirs of the Communist party once run by one of the Soviet bloc's most unyielding dictators, Nikolai Ceaucescu.
Ponta's camp insists Basescu has abused the constitutional powers of what they say is a mostly ceremonial post as head of state to favor his political allies.
Politicians close to Basescu say his adversaries are retaliating for the corruption conviction this year of former prime minister Adrian Nastase, a senior member of Ponta's USL.
Last week, Basescu's interim replacement as president - Crin Antonescu - appeared to suggest that a pardon for Nastase could not be ruled out if Basescu were removed and replaced. Basescu loyalists seized on that comment to argue that the USL was gunning for the president for purely partisan reasons.
Analysts say Ponta might rethink his drive to oust Basescu now the judges have ruled the referendum must reach a minimum turnout - and given the possibility that the constitutional court could also withhold its validation of any result.
In 2007, Basescu survived a similar impeachment referendum launched by the Socialists. But since then, he has faced wider public criticism, accused of failing to do his share to root out corruption. Years of painful austerity measures by previous right-of-center governments have also taken their toll, driving Basescu's personal approval rating down to about 10 percent.
The USL did well at local elections held last month and is expected to be re-elected in a parliamentary vote in the autumn.
But Ponta is also under pressure. He has faced calls to resign since being accused of plagiarizing his doctoral thesis, while the saga of Nastase's conviction was back in headlines that embarrassed the USL last month, when the former premier tried to kill himself before starting his jail sentence.
Ponta's government has accompanied the impeachment bid with a string of emergency decrees that have broadened its power but raised concerns that it may be skirting constitutional checks and balances and backsliding on obligations to democracy.
Following rebukes from the European Union, EU paymaster Germany and the United States, Ponta must convince fellow EU leaders he is respecting common principles or jeopardize an IMF aid deal designed to buttress an economy now in recession.
The dispute could mean a negative assessment later this month from EU officials who are monitoring Bucharest's judicial system and anti-corruption efforts. Previous such EU reports have been cited before as grounds for keeping it and its Balkan neighbor Bulgaria out of the bloc's passport-free travel area.
Both were allowed five years ago to join the union, but EU partners have remained wary of their democratic credentials and a culture of graft, two decades after communist rule ended.
Ponta travelled to Brussels on Wednesday for meetings on Thursday with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. Later on Wednesday, he was to meet the speaker of the EU parliament.
"I will restate my unswerving commitment to democracy and the rule of law," Ponta said in a statement ahead of the visit.
"I will leave them in no doubt as to my determination to uphold the Romanian constitution and European values."
IMPEACHMENT MOVE
At issue is how Ponta's government has pursued the impeachment of Basescu, including making an abortive attempt to dismiss constitutional judges and replacing the national ombudsman with one of its own party loyalists - a move that effectively removed any means of countering emergency decrees.
The USL changed the rules on recall referendums, so that a simple majority of ballots cast, rather than of registered voters, would suffice to oust Basescu, a folksy former sea captain.
The constitutional court upheld the first part of that law on Tuesday but introduced a minimum 50-percent turnout threshold to validate a referendum - giving Basescu a fighting chance to survive, even if his supporters stay away from the ballot.
Ponta has called for an extraordinary session of parliament to bring the referendum laws into line with the court ruling.
That brought a cautious welcome from U.S. ambassador Mark Gitenstein, who warned that failure to do so would "knowingly provoke a very dangerous constitutional crisis".
Ponta said his government's actions were "fully constitutional, and in line with EU standards".
He added: "I will listen intently to my EU counterparts, and if there is a convincing case that EU norms are being breached, which was never the intention, we will change course."
POWERS CLASH
The dispute is the latest clash between Basescu and his center-right allies versus the Socialists, reformed heirs of the Communist party once run by one of the Soviet bloc's most unyielding dictators, Nikolai Ceaucescu.
Ponta's camp insists Basescu has abused the constitutional powers of what they say is a mostly ceremonial post as head of state to favor his political allies.
Politicians close to Basescu say his adversaries are retaliating for the corruption conviction this year of former prime minister Adrian Nastase, a senior member of Ponta's USL.
Last week, Basescu's interim replacement as president - Crin Antonescu - appeared to suggest that a pardon for Nastase could not be ruled out if Basescu were removed and replaced. Basescu loyalists seized on that comment to argue that the USL was gunning for the president for purely partisan reasons.
Analysts say Ponta might rethink his drive to oust Basescu now the judges have ruled the referendum must reach a minimum turnout - and given the possibility that the constitutional court could also withhold its validation of any result.
In 2007, Basescu survived a similar impeachment referendum launched by the Socialists. But since then, he has faced wider public criticism, accused of failing to do his share to root out corruption. Years of painful austerity measures by previous right-of-center governments have also taken their toll, driving Basescu's personal approval rating down to about 10 percent.
The USL did well at local elections held last month and is expected to be re-elected in a parliamentary vote in the autumn.
But Ponta is also under pressure. He has faced calls to resign since being accused of plagiarizing his doctoral thesis, while the saga of Nastase's conviction was back in headlines that embarrassed the USL last month, when the former premier tried to kill himself before starting his jail sentence.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Microsoft Signs Two New Patent Licensing Deals Covering Android, Chrome
Microsoft said Monday that two more companies had signed patent agreements covering their Android and Chrome devices, under the company's IP (intellectual property) licensing program that already has over 1,100 licensing agreements.
The software giant said it would earn royalty from the two deals but did not provide details.
The agreement with Coby Electronics, a maker of Internet TVs, tablets, and other consumer electronics, provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Coby's products running the Android or Chrome platform, while the patent agreement with Aluratek provides coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Aluratek's e-readers and tablets running the Android or Chrome platform.
Microsoft said the program launched in December 2003 was developed to open access to Microsoft's research and development investments and its patent and IP portfolio, though some critics claim Microsoft views it as a revenue stream. A number of companies including Samsung have signed up for Microsoft's Android licensing program, but Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, has not signed.
Microsoft claims Android infringes some of its patents, hence the requirement for these licensing agreements.
One holdout, Barnes & Noble settled patent litigation with Microsoft over its Android-based Nook e-reader in April as part of a broader alliance with Microsoft. Barnes & Noble and a new subsidiary set up with Microsoft under the terms of the alliance will pay Microsoft royalties for its Nook and tablet products.
Motorola and Microsoft have legal disputes in a number of countries, including one over patent infringement by the Xbox before the U.S. International Trade Commission. A Munich court ruled in May that Motorola infringes on a Microsoft patent relating to SMS messaging.
The software giant said it would earn royalty from the two deals but did not provide details.
The agreement with Coby Electronics, a maker of Internet TVs, tablets, and other consumer electronics, provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Coby's products running the Android or Chrome platform, while the patent agreement with Aluratek provides coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Aluratek's e-readers and tablets running the Android or Chrome platform.
Microsoft said the program launched in December 2003 was developed to open access to Microsoft's research and development investments and its patent and IP portfolio, though some critics claim Microsoft views it as a revenue stream. A number of companies including Samsung have signed up for Microsoft's Android licensing program, but Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, has not signed.
Microsoft claims Android infringes some of its patents, hence the requirement for these licensing agreements.
One holdout, Barnes & Noble settled patent litigation with Microsoft over its Android-based Nook e-reader in April as part of a broader alliance with Microsoft. Barnes & Noble and a new subsidiary set up with Microsoft under the terms of the alliance will pay Microsoft royalties for its Nook and tablet products.
Motorola and Microsoft have legal disputes in a number of countries, including one over patent infringement by the Xbox before the U.S. International Trade Commission. A Munich court ruled in May that Motorola infringes on a Microsoft patent relating to SMS messaging.
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