As Far As You Know

I arrived in Bermuda a short while ago. The island is beautiful: the first thing a visitor sees is sparkling clear bright blue water next to the airport. It's quite hot here, without being stifling.

The flight down was a breeze. We were in the air not much more than 90 minutes, I think. I had a row of seats to myself, so there was plenty of space to stretch out a bit. The journey was made easier by my recent acquisition of the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones, which effectively cancel the background rumble of the jet. While they are pricey, the sound quality is excellent.

The other new toy I put through its paces on the plane was my portable DVD player: the Panasonic LS-55. It boasts 10+ hours of play on a single battery charge, which is enough to watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy on a long intercontinental flight!

I am about to head out to rent a scooter for the length of my stay here, as it's the most practical way to get around. More about Bermuda later.

Andy Roddick prevailed in a tight 6-4, 7-6 victory over Lleyton Hewitt in the second semifinal of the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati. The Australian dominated the rivalry before today, winning six of seven and the last three encounters, including a big showdown in the Australian Open semis in January. So when Roddick clinched the win this evening, he was visibly pumped. Next up for Andy is Roger Federer, who prevailed in a closer-than-expected three-setter over Robby Ginepri.

I watched the semis this afternoon and this evening on ESPN Deportes, the Latin American version of the cable network. Curiously, the matches were broadcast with English commentary, though with different analysts than ESPN uses back in the States.

• The first thing I saw on the television in Bermuda when I settled into my place was a James Bond movie: Sean Connery in You Only Live Twice, to be specific. A little later yesterday afternoon, Thunderball was playing. Apparently AMC is running a Bond marathon all weekend, which I've been sampling on and off, as the exotic setting here does conjure up a certain Ian Fleming feel!

• The scooter is the way to go in terms of getting around down here. Non-natives can't rent cars and while you can do pretty well via bus and ferry service, with the scooter you can make your own schedule. I've thought of getting one of these back home since I was in college. Maybe the gasoline prices of 2005 will make it easier to rationalize such a purchase!

• Sundays seem to be very quiet here. Most shops are closed and when I drove (scooted?) to the St. George's end of the island in the morning to do some exploring, there were very few vehicles on the road.

• Roger Federer was impressive coming off a six-week layoff after Wimbledon to beat Andy Roddick today. The Swiss player may just be too good for the American to beat with any consistency. (I got to watch this match on the CBS feed, though it was on ESPN Deportes as well.) Anyone willing to bet against Federer in Flushing Meadows next week?

• Since the place I am staying has a full kitchen--it's more like a small apartment than a hotel room--I picked up some salmon burgers to cook. I don't know if these are available back home, but they certainly are good!

In light of a convincing win over her countrywoman and nemesis Justine Henin-Hardenne and the fact that she has only lost one match all summer on the hardcourt circuit, can anyone doubt that Kim Clijsters is the player to beat in the women's draw at the Open next month?

This is priceless:

Yeah, I could tell you about it, but just click here and be surprised.

Usually I get most of the Sunday New York Times a day early, what with many sections being included Saturday's home delivery. Down here in Bermuda, I got Sunday's edition a day late, so I caught up with the world over lunch this afternoon. A highlight of the Sunday paper most weeks is Frank Rich's column, which is consistently brilliant. Rich was on form this past weekend, with a spot-on indictment of the Bush crowd's penchant for character assassination. This is one of the things that I despise about these people now running the show: they are willing to do just about anything to get--or stay in--power. These "chickenhawks" in charge of the war are now facing Cindy Sheehan who is positioned to expose their hypocrisy for what it is. Here is a tasty snippet from Rich's column:

Once Ms. Sheehan could no longer be ignored, the Swift Boating began. Character assassination is the Karl Rove tactic of choice, eagerly mimicked by his media surrogates, whenever the White House is confronted by a critic who challenges it on matters of war. The Swift Boating is especially vicious if the critic has more battle scars than a president who connived to serve stateside and a vice president who had "other priorities" during Vietnam.

The most prominent smear victims have been Bush political opponents with heroic Vietnam r�sum�s: John McCain, Max Cleland, John Kerry. But the list of past targets stretches from the former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke to Specialist Thomas Wilson, the grunt who publicly challenged Donald Rumsfeld about inadequately armored vehicles last December. The assault on the whistle-blower Joseph Wilson--the diplomat described by the first President Bush as "courageous" and "a true American hero" for confronting Saddam to save American hostages in 1991--was so toxic it may yet send its perpetrators to jail.

True to form, the attack on Cindy Sheehan surfaced early on Fox News, where she was immediately labeled a "crackpot" by Fred Barnes. The right-wing blogosphere quickly spread tales of her divorce, her angry Republican in-laws, her supposed political flip-flops, her incendiary sloganeering and her association with known ticket-stub-carrying attendees of Fahrenheit 9/11. Rush Limbaugh went so far as to declare that Ms. Sheehan's "story is nothing more than forged documents--there's nothing about it that's real."

But this time the Swift Boating failed, utterly, and that failure is yet another revealing historical marker in this summer's collapse of political support for the Iraq war.

Of course, the fact that this commentary appeared in the Times means that, as usual, the President's apologists will dismiss such sentiments as part of the pervasive "liberal media" that supposedly dominates American life (in spite of the considerable evidence to the contrary!).

Given that the Mac OS has a market penetration supposedly under 5%, the following data--charting visits to this web site in August 2005 to date--is fascinating.

Today was literally a day at the beach. The above picture is of Horseshoe Bay Beach, one of a string of beaches on Bermuda's south shore that I checked out today. As one who frequented the white sands of Long Island's south shore while growing up, I am very picky about my beaches and these are first rate: ample white sand, crystal clear blue water at a perfect temperature, the protection of coral reefs just offshore, and and spectacular scenery all around.

Aside from basking in the solar radiation today, I went into Hamilton for the papers and a haircut in the morning and explored the western half of Bermuda and took a ferry back to the center of the island before hitting the beaches.

I am staying in Paget, which is perfectly situated for my needs. A scooter ride into the "city" of Hamilton is less than ten minutes (it's really just a town: the tallest buildings are the huge pair of cruise ships docked on Front Street each day) and the beaches are even closer.

Tomorrow afternoon I head back to "the real world," but not before a last session on the beach in the morning.

As has been widely reported, Pat Robertson, former Republican candidate for the presidency and self-proclaimed "Christian" leader, publicly called for the assassination of Venezuelan president Chavez on his program The 700 Club. One more illustration of the hypocrisy of Robertson and his ilk: false prophets who cloak themselves in a narrow interpretation of the Christian faith that somehow always seems to line up with the accumulation of wealth, lower taxes, Second Amendment rights, sexism, homophobia, and Bush foreign policy.

I've arrived in Bermuda, as has the entire team, and the weather is fine, the waters are alluring, and the Coral Beach and Tennis Club is comfortable and welcoming. We are on Atlantic time here, which means we all had to set our clocks yet another hour ahead for the second time in twelve hours!

We are lucky to be staying at the Coral Beach & Tennis Club, set right on Elbow Beach in Paget Parish in Bermuda. The club has eight Har-Tru tennis courts (as well as two squash courts, a fitness center, and quick access to the beach). Our accommodations are on the grounds as well and breakfasts and dinners are included in our arrangements. The dining room is fancy--blazers are required in the evening--but not so stuffy to make it uncomfortable. These are clearly nicer digs than we are used to having on our training trips.

I am using down time here in Bermuda to get caught up on reading and some DVDs that have been accumulating. Amazing Journey is a documentary history of The Who, with lots of footage of the band from the 1960s to the present. It's worth a viewing.

Chuck Klosterman's latest compilation of essays, mostly short articles written for Esquire and Spin, is a very entertaining collection.

I watched the direct-to-video release The New Frontier last night and early this morning. This animated feature, set in the 1950s and featuring DC heroes, greatly exceeded my expectations.

Won't be long now until Indy is back in action.

We've had our first batch of rough weather in our time in Bermuda, with heavy winds and rain this morning. But the clay courts are drying out now and we expect to be back in action before lunchtime later this morning.

I am packed up and ready to head to the airport. It's a bit sad to have to leave Bermuda after a week of spectacular weather (especially for March), good tennis, and a terrific location.