Apologies to my regular readers for taking this mini-sabbatical from Mostly Harmless! Probably the main reason I've been too busy to blog has been all the extra time I've been putting into meeting with my students this past month to consult with them on their critical essays and final research projects. Although most of them chose not to do web authoring projects, a good number did; here are links to their work:
Imoto turns 8 today. She's an amazing girl. She's into so many things!
She's working hard to get to Level 2 at gymnastics. Don't know if down the road she'll try out acrobatic gymnastics:
Or rhythmic gymnastics:
But right now she's inspired by the Fab Five from the 2012 Olympics:
She also likes to play golf with me. I hope we can do a lot more of that this summer!
I'm really glad imoto likes to laugh. We definitely share a sense of humor. She loves watching How It Should Have Ended on youtube. Here's one of her favorites:
Yup, she loves Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit! Not to mention Frozen, Tangled, Brave, Powerpuff Girls, Pretty Cure, and Winx Club, to name a few more!
Best of all, she's a hard worker, great student, kind friend, and loving sister!
Alena Sharp played virtually flawless golf over the 1st 36 holes of the Symetra Tour's season-opener in Mesa, Arizona (13 birdies, 1 double bogey), as she opened up a 3-shot lead on Jennie Lee, but she made things interesting when she stumbled out of the gate in her final round with 3 bogeys in her 1st 4 holes. Even as Emily Talley fired a bogey-free 65 to finish early at -9 (she was later joined by Sadena Parks and Becca Huffer, who both shot 68s), and Sharp's playing partners Lee and Marissa Steen fought back from early problems themselves, the LPGA veteran hung tough and sandwiched a lone bogey between pairs of birdies (on 8 and 9 and then on 12 and 13) to get back to -12. By the time the final threesome got to the 16th tee, though, Lee had pulled within 2 shots and Steen within 3 of Sharp's lead. After Lee bogeyed 16 and Sharp bogeyed 17, Sharp led both of her challengers by 2 shots. And a walkoff birdie sealed the deal, giving the Canadian her 1st career Symetra Tour victory after 2 runner-up finishes last season (the 1st at this very event).
While I'm excited to discover that Parks is a fan of animated film and an American Ethnic Studies graduate from the University of Washington, I'm disappointed that Mitsuki Katahira closed with a 75 to fall outside the top 60, Yueer Cindy Feng could never get it going all week and needed to birdie her last 2 holes to finish at E (T35), and Hannah Yun ended up with a 74 that dropped her to T21 (although she did show a lot of fight by bouncing back from a pair of early doubles today). At least Cheyenne Woods played solid golf after a rough 1st 15 holes to the tournament, finishing T14 (tied with, among others, Fiona Puyo, who fired a 6-birdie 67 today), 3 shots behind Lee Lopez and 2 behind Lindy Duncan, who both closed with fine 68s. It was also great to see Sara Brown's name near the top of the leaderboard again; she finished at -7 on the strength of a 5-birdie 69.
The tour next travels to City of Industry, California, where Birdie Kim, Jennifer Song, and Kim Welch join the show, but it's looking like Sharp will sit this one out. Let's see who can join her in the 2014 winner's circle!
Just saw on Japanese TV that Hayao Miyazaki held a press conference to announce his retirement. At the end, the anime legend told reporters this would be his last public appearance. Miyazaki's films have meant a lot to the Constructivist family and we're sad to see him go. But when you leave behind Totoro, Spirited Away, Ponyo, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaa, and Studio Ghibli, he'll never really be gone.
Which leads me to the end of Futurama. I love the way the last episode tunnels back to the first episode and makes the entire series into a long time loop. Pretty meta way to get at the way all fictional characters end up repeating the same words and actions--and a pretty romantic way to convince us that for Frye and Leela, at least, this would lead to happiness and love rather than despair or boredom. If I weren't so busy, I'd watch every episode in order as a tribute!
When I left the sleepy media tent at Locust Hill Country Club around 11:30 am today, just as the clouds had stopped opening up (at least for the time being), I expected to head past the putting green on my way to the driving range and my car for a quick drive back to Hamburg, so my parents could have one day off before heading back on the road again to help out with onechan and imoto's cousins in Connecticut. Instead, as I approached the putting green and saw a crowd gathered around it, it felt like someone had flicked a switch and turned the intensity back on. Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Ji-Yai Shin, and about a dozen other pros had their game faces on as they quickly prepared for their practice rounds and tried to figure out how much the rains had softened and slowed down the greens at Locust Hill. About the only people who seemingly weren't drawn into the serious vibe were Tiffany Joh and her pals, but even their high spirits seemed a product of the heightened energy and concentration of everyone getting ready to play. If you've seen any episodes from the Dragon Ball animation franchise, you'll know what I'm referring to in the subtitle. Don't get me wrong--nobody was going all Super Saiyan just yet...
...but you certainly could feel the players' power levels rising....
Onechan, a 1st-grader, is trying to read a 50-page "Step 3" illustrated story based on The Incredibles--which we've been watching every other day for the last few weeks (not to mention watching the awesome short "Jack-Jack Attack" much more often!). Guess which words and phrases she's been having no problem reading on her own....
"bad guy"
"attacked"
"ran for our lives"
"his own robot"
"after us"
"Syndrome's guards"
"in trouble"
"powers"
"pretend to be normal"
"not a real Super"
"slipped into her force field"
"super speed"
"she set us free too"
"with his remote control"
"We got there just in time"
"turned into a fireball"
"Super-strong little monster"
"We have the best family!"
"save the day"
Oh, and guess who's going trick-or-treating as Violet?
Just heard the news of Satoshi Kon's passing. After Hayao Miyazaki, he was probably my favorite anime director. From his contribution to the animated sf anthology Memories (1995) to his first feature film Perfect Blue (1997), to his 2 best movies, Millennium Actress (2001) and Tokyo Godfathers (2003), to the tv series Paranoia Agent (2004) and his last film Paprika (2006), he was nearly always pitch-perfect, mystifying, engrossing. He will be missed.
Hannah Yun graciously agreed to continue our ongoing/intermittent email conversation after we signed off on Part I in early February. With the Futures Tour kicking off this ThursdayFriday, we thought it was high time to wrap things up. Technical difficulties aside, I had a great time and I want to thank Hannah and her family for the chance to interview her. I wish her the best this week and over the rest of her golfing career!
[Note to BerubeWatch fans of MH's days of yore (rather than "fore!") (10:01 am): Head on over to Citizen of Somewhere Else for my invocation of Berube's response to the Habermas-Lyotard debate/conundrum in light of the SUNY vs. UUP leadership throw-down currently happenin' in the Empire State. Excelsior!]
THE CONSTRUCTIVIST (2/3/10): Over the years now that I've been following women's golf closely and blogging about it, I've developed an informal taxonomy of kinds of players. To me, it seems like there are bombers like Lorena Ochoa, Ya Ni Tseng, Michelle Wie, Suzanne Pettersen, Vicky Hurst, Maria Hjorth, and Brittany Lincicome who may struggle with accuracy off the tee more (Lincicome, Wie) or less (Ochoa), but who know how to take advantage of their length; there are straight shooters like Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Brittany Lang, Song-Hee Kim, and Sun Young Yoo who may not be quite as long as the bombers but reach the fairway much more reliably; and there are precision players like Paula Creamer, Ji-Yai Shin, Ai Miyazato, Seon Hwa Lee, Morgan Pressel, and Natalie Gulbis whose games are keyed by their ability to hit the fairway most of the time. Sure, there are players who are difficult to characterize--is Miyazato long enough off the tee to be considered a straight shooter instead of a precision player?--and the lines between kinds of players aren't that hard and fast. But generally the bombers average around 270 yards and hit the fairway less than 65% of the time; the straight shooters average between 255 and 265 yards and hit the fairway between 65% and 75% of the time; and the precision players average under 255 yards and hit the fairway over 75% of the time. In other words, to be successful on the LPGA, as all of the players I've named have been, you need to be more accurate the shorter a hitter you are and longer the less accurate a ball striker you are. So what do you think of this breakdown? If you think it's generally accurate, how would you identify yourself as a golfer within it? If not, what other category would you put yourself in and who else belongs in it? What kind of player would you most like to be?
HANNAH YUN: Well one thing that links all those great players together is that they all have a strong short game. Being 5'2" and 120 lbs., I've always had to keep it in play in order to compete. This past off-season I started working on making my swing more efficient, which helped me gain distance while maintaining my accuracy; I normally hit around 10-11 fairways a round. It was nice to see that I was hitting my drives consistently with Maria Hjorth a couple weeks ago because she's one of the longer LPGA players. I personally believe that it's possible to be both long and accurate.
By the way, I realized I never asked what classes you teach.
TC (2/5): Hey, you're not trying to change the subject there, are you? ;) I teach introductory world literature, American Studies, and multiethnic studies courses, intermediate-level courses in American literature, science fiction, and critical theory, and a range of advanced courses, usually on topics in those areas. All my syllabi are online at my home page. Check 'em out when you get a chance! I'll have some questions for you that connect to the American Identities course I'm teaching this semester in a little while, but for now I want to keep the focus on what kind of player you aspire to be. I don't know if you caught my blog post that elaborated on my opening question or fellow LPGA blogger Hound Dog's thoughtful response, but it sounds to me from your answer that you're aspiring to be a very rare kind of player, let's say a "straight-up bomber." The only players I can think of who attained that for any length of time in recent memory have been Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa. Nothing like setting your sights high, eh? If you don't mind sharing the information, what are the normal distances you hit each club (assuming no wind or slope or anything like that)?
HY (2/8): You want me to look at all your syllabi? Why do you think I left school? haha All of your classes seem like they have thought provoking topics, though.
I like to hit my 7-iron 150 yards; I'm not big on trying to max out my irons 'cause I figure that's why we have 14 clubs :P. My coach helped me to be more efficient with energy transfer in my swing so that lets me maximize distance but still maintain my accuracy. We've been tinkering alot with my driver and I just changed shafts to Graphite Design's new Tour AD shaft in my R9 head. I was able to go on the trackman system during a demo day at our club a couple days ago and it said I was hitting it over 260.
TC: Hey, "when you get a chance" can mean 15 years from now! So, OK, in my system, then, you'd have recently graduated from "precision player" to "straight shooter." I've just erased 4 different attempts to politely suggest that your becoming a "straight-up bomber" is dependent on whether you're still growing--each time I looked at one of them, I imagined you reading it and reacting like Ed does in Full Metal Alchemist when anyone comments on his (lack of) height. Let me hasten to add that I'm 5'6" and can sometimes hit a 7-iron 150, and that's only because I switched from forged irons to Callaway X-14 Steelheads some years ago.... I just couldn't see myself playing often enough to deserve Mizunos. :(
Since you brought up equipment, I'm wondering if you have any hybrids in your bag, and if so, how many and when/why you switched to them. Also, have you noticed any patterns in how the new grooves rules have affected your iron play and particularly your wedge game?
HY (2/14): Haha I'm used to people calling me short so I don't mind :) But I've never actually watched FMA so don't exactly know how Ed would react. But if it's like any other anime character that gets upset, I'm guessing flames in the background? haha
I have a 19 degree Taylormade Raylor that I use instead of a 5w actually. I found that I'd rather have an extra wedge to give me more scoring options than having a small gap between my woods. Also, the Raylor is designed to go through the rough better. I'm not sure if you remember, but the concept is similar to the La Jolla fairway woods that came out about 6-7 years ago.
I have the new grooves for all my wedges and irons but thankfully I haven't noticed a significant difference between the old and new grooves. Of course, I don't spin it as much as the guys but the only place I could tell a difference from was the bunker... Good for me I guess :P
TC: Bingo! I'll see if I can embed a youtube clip of Ed losing his temper here when this goes on the blog, but you already have an admirable knowledge of anime conventions. What do you like to watch? And draw?
[Too brilliant an AMV not to link to, even though there's no real reaction to what we've been talking about in it. The contrast between Ouran High School Host Club and FMA is too awesome to pass up.--TC]
[Ah, this one is short and sweet!--TC]
Interesting that you're not seeing all that much difference with the new grooves. From what I've been reading, we might see more "flyers" from the rough with them. If they put more of a premium on hitting the fairway, more power to you, eh? In a post I wrote today giving my reasons why I think Ai Miyazato will be LPGA Player of the Year in 2010, I speculated that the "bombers" on tour might have more of an adjustment to make than any other kind of player. Have you been talking about this with other players? Anything you've been hearing that might confirm my theory?
So you go driver, 3-wood, raylor, then 3-iron and 3 wedges, right? (Or do you skip down to 4-iron and carry 4 wedges?) Have you experimented with different loft combinations since you got the new grooves, or are you happy with your regular configuration?
Sorry to ask so many questions--been saving them up! ;)
HY (2/15): I haven't watched any anime in a while but I think my favorites would be Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo. I read the Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece manga though. I only did a few sketches a couple years ago but I don't really draw a lot; I think I go through phases.
Right, if players see any change it'll most likely be from the rough, since it used to spin the same as when the ball would be in the fairway. The higher swing speed players will see more of a difference since they spin the ball more, which is why the guys will see a bigger difference than the women.
I go Driver, 3w, Raylor, then 4 iron. I used to use a 58, 52, PW configuration but I recently switched to a 60, 56, 52, and PW. I'm still trying to experiment with other lofts but I'm sticking with the one I have for now.
That's ok! Keep the questions coming :)
TC: Ah, an Adult Swim fan! I loved Cowboy Bebop and was fine with Samurai Champloo. But my favorites were Ghost in the Shell and Full Metal Alchemist. These days I'm keeping up with the new season of the latter through youtube and fandub sites like Anime Crazy, as we, ahem, haven't had cable for almost 3 years, ever since we got back from a year in Japan and realized there were only a few channels in the States we ever felt like watching. Through youtube, my girls have gotten into older shoujo anime like Ojamajo Doremi and Pretty Cure. And of course we're all huge Miyazaki fans. But I draw the line at moe romancey stuff like Kimi No Todoke that my wife is trying to get them into. I'll stick to the fantasy romancey stuff in Inuyasha, thank you very much. My older daughter turned 6 last December and is just starting to read in both English and Japanese. I'm really curious to see what manga she gets into. How old were you when you first started reading it? What got you into it? And do you read any from Korea/in Korean?
Makes sense to go to 4 wedges now that you're longer, I think. Having a lot of options from 100 yards in is what it's all about! How much time do you spend practicing with your wedges relative to your woods and irons? What kinds of games do you play to keep yourself focused while practicing those 30-to-100-yard shots?
HY (2/19): Mmm... I think I started getting into anime a few years ago because one of my friends in high school showed me. I've never read any Korean manga, though. Wow your older daughter can read Japanese already?! I can speak Korean well enough but I'm not very good and reading and writing :(
I try to spend an equal amount of time on every area unless I feel I have to focus in on one thing. I get bored easily so I try to mix things up and do different types of drills every day to keep myself competitve and focused during practice. The most important thing in pitching, and ball striking in general, is the strike and distance control so that's what I work on to hone in from 30 to 100 yards. Did I spell that right?
I'll do extra on things if I feel that I'm lacking in that area but I try to even out the time I spend on each part of my game.
TC: Well, she can sound out Japanese, which is a lot easier to do than in English, once you've got the basic hiragana alphabet memorized (she's even got a lot of katakana--mostly used for Japanizations of non-Japanese words--down, which is more than I can say now), because the sounds of the characters hardly ever change. Her vocabulary is pretty decent for someone who only spent 6 months in a Japanese day care center almost 3 years ago now, but we can't wait to get back there for a month or more at a time so she can experience elementary school there and get back in a setting where her friends are using Japanese all the time. She's kind of unilaterally decided that the official language here at home when she plays with her younger sister is English, so neither are speaking all that much Japanese over the course of a day--basically just when they're home with mom and I'm not there.
I'm assuming you grew up hearing a lot of Korean at home and that the Korean/Korean-American communities where you lived in California were large enough that you had friends your age who spoke it, too. Am I right? I'm wondering if there's anything in Korean pop culture today that's drawing kids in America to the Korean language.... What we're finding here in western NY is that there are a small number of American dad-Japanese mom families in Buffalo, but not really a critical mass of kids who have spent time in Japan recently enough for many of them to really get or stay fluent in their once-a-week Japanese class. The interest level in Japanese among the kids is pretty uneven. Miyazaki helps--all the little kids love Ponyo and Totoro, and even the older kids--but the pull of American pop culture and English is super-strong, as you'd expect. Our girls are dual citizens until they hit 21, when they have to choose between the U.S. and Japan (assuming the rules don't change). Do you have dual citizenship? What kind of attachment do you feel to Korean and Korea?
Oh, and by the way, were you all playing in a blizzard on the SunCoast Series this week? Those scores hurt my eyes!
HY (3/6): Sorry, Bruce! For some reason I thought I replied to this and was waiting for the next question.
I grew up speaking Korean with my mom because she didn't used to be very good at English but I don't remember speaking a lot of Korean outside with other kids. In fact, I became closer to other Korean-American kids when I started playing in the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association). I'd say my pronunciation is good but my vocabulary is limited to the basics.
I think Korea is the most popular in all of Asia and is even popular in some parts of the US in the entertainment industry; I know that most people who watch anime also watch Korean dramas. For such a small country Korea has really expanded out into the world, whether it's in business, sports, music, or tv shows.
I was born in San Jose, CA, so I'm a citizen in only the US. We used to go to Korea about once a year when I was little but we haven't been there since I was 10. I'm proud of being Korean and I enjoy listening to Korean music and watching shows online but see myself as an American. There was a big Korean community in San Jose but we moved to San Diego when I was 9 and there weren't that many Koreans there. Then we moved here to Florida when I was 12 so I basically grew up drinking sweet tea haha. This is actually a subject that comes up often between my parents and me because the two cultures are very different and I worry that when other Koreans see me they expect me to follow the Korean culture. Since I grew up here, I'm not comfortable following that although I have an idea on what to do. But at the end of the day, I stand firmly as an American with a proud Korean heritage :).
TC (3/16): No problem, Hannah. Things have gotten crazy on this end, what with New York state politics getting more melodramatic than any J- or K-drama, funding for public higher education becoming even more of a political football than usual, and little ol' me as chair of our University Senate feeling a responsibility to speak up for SUNY. I'm really worried that the state is going to cut us so sharply in the coming years that we'll soon be losing campuses like the LPGA was losing tournaments at the end of the Bivens era.... (Check out this month's posts at Citizen of Somewhere Else if you ever need a reason to get excited again about golf!)
And sorry for the delay on my end--this is the 4th try for getting this email through to your address!
My girls were both born in Dunkirk, NY, but we decided to do the paperwork needed to get them Japanese citizenship. We want them to be equally comfortable in both cultures until they're old enough to decide which country they want to be a citizen of (although why they can't keep dual citizenship their entire lives is beyond me). Now the struggle is as much financial as anything. It's looking very unlikely that we all can afford to go on a summer trip to Japan this year, now that the girls are being charged full fares. Guess who's going to be the odd one out if our tax refund isn't large enough? No fair! (Although the one bright side for me would be that I'd get to start playing golf regularly again, if I were left behind!)
So I'm wondering about a few things now as the Futures Tour kickoff event is about to begin. Obviously, playing golf as your job is a lot different than playing it as an amateur. What have been the biggest differences for you? What would you say you've already learned from/about being a professional golfer? And what are your goals this season on the DFT?
HY: I think it's good to be as knowledgeable as you can about every culture and I don't mean to step out of line but I'm sure your daughters will be thankful to you and your wife as they get older; especially because it's part of their heritage. I've only heard good things about Japan so I do feel bad for you...at least you get to play golf though. Give or take right? :)
It's definitely different playing as a professional than as an amateur. I think the biggest difference is the mindset I have going into a tournament and strategically planning how I want to play the course. Score is always the most important thing but one stroke on the Duramed Futures Tour could be worth hundreds of dollars. My parents have fully supported me throughout my life but I'd like to start being able to take the pressure off them as soon as I can; especially because my dad turned 61 last December and I feel bad for him haha. Plus I'd like to buy my first car this year ^_^. But all joking aside I've realized that I have responsibilities now as a professional golfer so I have to play to the best of my abilities. I also have to play smarter around the course to take as much stress off as possible while giving myself the most opportunities to score. My goal is to always be in contention every week and earn my LPGA Tour card for next year. I learned a lot last year and I'm continually learning but I have much more confidence in my game this year.
Thank you for your time and your patience! I know I took a long time on some questions but thanks for this great opportunity, I had a lot of fun during this experience. If there's anything I can do to help just let me know and I'll be continuing to read your blog! :)
Check it out: there's a new animated Star Blazers movie that's been out in Japan for almost a month!
It goes by Star Blazers: Rebirth in English and Space Battleship Yamato in Japanese.
I encourage you to check out parts 2 and 3 of this promo. Go for the clips from the new movie and original show, stay for the evolving conversation between the cartoony comic relief dad and son--no Japanese needed. Now all I need is the movie to come to the States--with subtitles!
Oh, and there's also a live-action movie starring SMAP's Kimutaku coming out late this year:
The last 5 minutes of that teaser put me in the mood for the theme song of the show my brother, father, and I used to get up at 6 am to watch when I was a kid!
Here's the anime du jour at the Constructivist household. It's called Kimi Ni Todoke and the Full Metal Archivist calls it "the Bible of moe." What's moe? Mao Asada would like to know. (Hint: Mao Asada is moe and so is her reaction to the question posed to her at the end of the video.) For more details, check out the hottest new anime in Japan and around the world at AnimeKuro. What's striking about "Reaching You" is how a subculture into fetishing the purity and innocence of young girls has gone mainstream via the manga and anime. And what's striking about the Discovery Channel International Made in J-Pop Culture documentary is the subtitles posted on it in Japanese on youtube:
Japanese pop culture is fascinated by how American (and other) pop culture is fascinated with Japanese pop culture. Check out the channel of the samuraitoshi3 to see what I mean.
Me, I'll go back to Karen Tei Yamashita's Circle K Diaries (2001).... Somehow I find the Discovery Channel's borrowing tropes from its nature documentaries less interesting than early Yamashita writing about the permutations and mutations of Brazilian, Japanese, and American identities.
At least Ryo Ishikawa makes 2 appearances here....
[Update 1 (6:36 am): Not exactly an inspired performance by Mao-chan in Moscow this weekend:
But check out the little girl shouting "Mao-chan, gambatte!" ("go for it, Mao-chan!") at the start and "sugoi" ("wow! amazing!") at the end of this home video of her free skate. Cho kawaii!]
[Update 2 (11/9/09, 4:11 am): And now I find out it's not even Ryo-kun but instead Ryota Ito in the video....]
The final round of the Samsung World Championship turned into a duel between 2 players: Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato. But it sure didn't look that way for the 1st hour or so of play today. Choi picked up where she left off yesterday, making birdies on the 2nd and 4th and eagle on the par-5 6th to get to -19 overall. Meanwhile, Miyazato parred her 1st 6 holes and Ji-Yai Shin started par-bogey-birdie-bogey to join Miyazato at -12. But almost immediately, Miyazato started chipping away at Choi's lead. Birdies at 7 and 8 brought her to -14, while Choi bogeyed 9, 10, and 11 (narrowly avoiding a double) to fall to -16. 5 holes, 5 shots.
I was watching the NBC coverage with the same friends who saw M.J. Hur beat Suzann Pettersen and Michele Redman in a playoff a few weeks ago, and both husband and wife had almost the same reaction when they 1st saw Choi's face, about half an hour apart: "How old is she--17?" "She looks like she's 15!" And, yeah, Choi did look pretty young while her game was deserting her, but she held on and fought back with 3 straight pars, forcing Miyazato to come and get her. Miyazato responded with clutch approach shot after clutch approach shot. She birdied 12 with a fairway wood in her hands and 16 (for the 3rd day in a row) with a 3-hybrid that she stuck to 4 feet. When Choi missed a knee-knocker on 15 a hole behind her, all of a sudden it was Miyazato at -16 and the former leader at -15. When Miyazato's drive on 17 hit a ridge and bounded forward an extra 20 yards and she stuck yet another approach shot, it looked like the tournament was hers for the taking. But she couldn't handle the curving 10-footer, missing on the low side. And then she had to watch Lorena Ochoa butcher the final hole ahead of her, just as Choi had to watch her playing partner Shin butchering the 17th. Choi managed to make par, but by then Miyazato had decided to go for the par-5 green in 2, despite having made bogey on Friday, when she dumped it in the greenside pond. And she did it again on Sunday.
It's easy to 2nd-guess her decision in retrospect, but look at it this way: she was playing awesome golf; she trusted her fairway woods, having hit 57 of 71 greens in regulation for the tournament and 14 of 17 that day, many with the exact club in her hands; she was looking to force Choi to make an eagle to tie her (thereby increasing the pressure on her 2nd shot into the green); plus, with her wedge game and putting so strong, odds were she could save par even if disaster did strike. Well, Miyazato certainly gave herself a chance to do just that, putting her recovery shot about 12 feet above the hole. But she completely babied the putt and could only wait to see if Choi would win with a birdie, lose with a bogey, or head back to the 18th tee for a playoff with a par.
And Choi certainly made it interesting. A perfect drive gave her a great angle to the green, but after she hit her approach shot, she hung her head as if it was the worst shot of her life. Turns out she was either relieved or couldn't bear to watch the ball in the air (she later said it was because she knew she hadn't hit it solidly), but either way, it stayed dry, ending up just short of the green in a narrow neck of fairway. Choi elected to putt from a couple of yards off the fringe, and like so many putts on the back, she left this one short, in knee-knocker range. But this time the 4-footer was dead center and Na Yeon Choi had followed Ai Miyazato as the 2nd player to get off my list of the best players on the LPGA without a win.
Of course I was down for Ai-sama and couldn't stop going over her decision on the 18th fairway with my friend as our kids played in the playground afterwards. Taking the water out of play would still have given her a good birdie chance--as playing partner Paula Creamer could attest--while taking bogey out of the equation. But hindsight is 20-20 and I certainly was happy for the visibly nervous Choi, whom I had followed for several holes at the Wegmans. And hey, if the Bills could come back so strong from last week's baka baka baka baka baka baka loss to the Patriots (sorry, a little Ponyo reference there) like they did this week, I expect Ai-sama to come back even stronger from this loss. She's now 2nd on the money list behind Ji-Yai Shin, tied with Shin for 2nd in scoring average (only .13 behind Kerr), 2nd to Shin in rounds in the 60s (by 1), 2nd behind Angela Stanford in rounds under par percentage, tied with Shin for 4th in birdie rate (3.97 per round), 1st in top 10 rate (.632), tied for 1st in putts per green in regulation (although Shin and Song-Hee Kim are actually a few thousands below her 1.752 average), and 3rd in the Player of the Year race. And you know what? I still don't believe she's truly put it all together in a single round in any of her last 7 top 10 or better finishes.
I leave you with the Golf Channel highlights, just in case you were watching football instead!
[Update 1 (10:48 pm): CatherineForsythe focuses on Paula Creamer's latest injury (her back) and Choi's comeback win, while Stephanie Wei wonders how people will react to more Asian dominance on the LPGA.]
[Update 2 (11:30 pm): Ryan Ballengee does the quick take on Choi's win.]
[Update 3 (11:40 pm): Just thought I'd check the field list for this coming week's CVS event to make sure Ai-sama's name was still on it--and guess what? It's not. She's headed to Japan a week early to get ready for the Japan Women's Open. Shinobu, Sakura, Momoko and the gang had better watch out for her! The field list for this coming week's JLPGA event is incomplete, so there's still a chance she'll decide to tune up at the Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open, where Momo-chan is the defending champion, but my guess is she'll take the week off to celebrate, rest, and prep for the JWO.]
[Update 4 (9/21/09, 9:50 am): Jamie RS is really finding his voice, don't you agree?]
[Update 5 (2:05 pm): Great game story by Marc Figueroa--he clarifies Miyazato's intent nicely on her 2nd shot on 18 and moves between description and quotation and context adroitly.]
A Mostly Harmless regular pointed me to an article by Junko Hirabayashi about Catherine St-Onge, a Canadian singer who's made it big in Japan performing "anison," or animated songs, in Japanese. Sounds like Quebec's answer to Jero!
Sony Music Japan International, which signed up St-Onge after she won the singing contest, calls her the only "genuine" Western anison singer who debuted in Japan.
"I believe this is the first case a non-Japanese singer wannabe who has no Japanese background survived under the same conditions Japanese competitors did," said Sony Music's Yuichi Nakanishi.
Will she be the next Hikaru Utada? Only time will tell! Gambare, HIMEKA-san!
Just a little public service announcement for those who come to Mostly Harmless looking for stuff on sf, anime, and other aspects of American and transnational popular culture: I've got students in both my undergraduate classes this semester signing up as co-authors on the sf@SF blog, which is now on "science fiction--and more--at SUNY Fredonia." I've just posted a brief observation on the odd choice of commercials that run during Onegai My Melody on veoh.com and Ouran High School Host Club on youtube.com. We should have several posts per week up from a variety of writers this semester. Check it out when you get a chance!
