My Favorite Shots from The Blizzard of 2014

I've been tweeting some blizzard photos over @mlyhlssgolf (featuring such immortal hashtags as #futilitymeetexercise, #moveoverSisyphus, and #blizzardhacks), but that doesn't allow me to arrange related shots.  So here's a little tour of The Constructivist Family's neighborhood from Tuesday to Friday.

Let's start with the view from right near the end of my driveway on Wednesday morning.

Compare it to the view from my neighbor's flat roof looking in the opposite direction from a few houses to the right of mine relative to the previous picture.  This one was taken Friday morning.

Next up are a couple of shots of our front entryway (which fortunately we never use anyway), first from Wednesday morning (in the aftermath of round 1) and next from Thursday night (in the midst of round 2):

The snow and ice formations on our back roof were strange and beautiful.  The first 2 are from Wednesday morning:

This one's from just about 25 hours later:

Let's go back to some street views, these ones featuring my trusty shovel (which for maybe the 2nd time since we moved to Hamburg actually needed an assist from a neighbor's snowblower)!  First from Thursday morning (this one I did by myself); you can see half of the neighbor's house across the street that kicked off this photoessay:

Next is the same time, opposite point-of-view:

Here's a close-up from Friday morning:

I was excited because I had just reached the edge of my driveway.  Yup, I probably spent about 5 hours just shovelling off the road this week.  The plows just couldn't keep the streets their normal width.

So here are my 3 favorite shots of the week.  The first is from about lunchtime on Wednesday, when I had cleared my flat roof off for the 2nd time of the week and all seemed well with the world:

Next up is an action shot from Tuesday (while onechan and imoto were still excited about playing outside!):

I'm nostalgic for how low those mounds at the end of my driveway were back then!  Didn't realize my shovel photobombed that shot until just now, either!

Here's the Full Metal Archivist wishing everyone a good night yesterday evening:

Here's hoping this turns out to be the worst one we have to deal with in our entire time in Hamburg!

[Update (2:58 pm):  Onechan has other ideas.  After the Full Metal Archivist and I cleared enough snow off our garage roof that the girls could climb up onto and slide down it safely, she exclaimed, "This is the best day ever!!  I can't wait for the next huge storm!"  Here are some photos from this morning:

And to top it off:

Yup, hot chocolate and the FMA's own twist on kimchi jigae!]

The Golf Gods, They Are Jealous Gods

I'm telling you, it seems like every time The Constructivist Family is about to take one of our patented road trips/pilgrimages to the site of a major international skating competition lately, my body betrays me.  This past spring, an awful stomach bug had me doubled over in pain and dazed for most of the World Figure Skating Championships.  And now this morning, I tweaked my back at the gym so bad that I had to shamble/shuffle/limp/grimace my way through the last day of work before the start of our fall break, which The Full Metal Archivist, onechan, imoto and I will be enjoying in scenic Detroit while we occupy Skate America.

All I can say is, thank you very much, golf gods.  It's not enough that you torment me on the course and deploy the Mostly Harmless jinx against my favorite golfers--no, now you also have to go and punish me for following Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada and the rest of the skaters there for a few days!  I get it:  the way the Skate America schedule works out, I'll probably be able to watch only the final round of this week's LPGA/KLPGA tournament, and probably only part of it at that--and that's only if the hotel we switch to on Sunday has Golf Channel.  So I guess I deserve this lower back pain and stiffness by some sick, twisted logic--you know, the kind you golf gods specialize in.

But hear this, o ye golf gods:  we splurged for all-access tickets and, by gum, we shall use them!  We're cutting through Canada early tomorrow morning and plan to be in the Joe Louis Arena by noon!  It's not like I've broken my back like American skater Max Aaron did a few years ago....

Japan Women's Open Saturday: Moving Backwards Day

You know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Mika Miyazato made 4 bogeys--twice as many as she had made in the previous 2 days--and had to settle for a 73 to drop to -3 for the week.

No, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Mika Miyazato bogeyed 2 of her last 4 holes and went +2 over her last 7 holes on moving day and extended her lead to 5 shots.

No, no, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when only one golfer, Erika Kikuchi, made up ground on Mika Miyazato--and she did it by firing an even-par 72 to stay at +2.

No, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when Shiho Oyama, who made 6 birdies yesterday, made 6 bogeys yesterday, including 3 in her last 4 holes, to fall to +4, yet didn't fall out of the top 10.

No, no, no, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when living legend Yuri Fudoh, who's won 50 times on tour and earned well north of a billion yen in her career, shot an 81 today.

No, no, no, wait, wait, wait, you know conditions were tough on the 3rd day of the Japan Women's Open when the top living Japanese female golfer on the planet, Ai Miyazato, shot a birdieless 80.

I'll stop there, but you get the picture, right?

Aaargh--I just can't do it!  Shiho Toyonaga got a hole in one and still shot a 77.  Tomoko Kusukabe got on a 6-hole bogey train on her way to 80-ville.  Yukari Baba got off one stop earlier, but still found herself in 80-ville at the end of the day.  Ayako Uehara finished bogey-bogey-bogey-double to secure her 80.  And the list goes on!

So who besides Kikuchi is in position to benefit if Mikan falls prey tomorrow to the big-time troubles that have plagued the rest of the field?  Ji-Yai Shin, Bo-Mee Lee, Soo-Yun Kang, and Asako Fujimoto are "only" 6 shots behind her, Miki Saiki joined Oyama 7 back, Sakura Yokomine, Teresa Lu, and Harukyo Nomura are 8 off the pace, and Rikako Morita, Sun-Ju Ahn, Na-Ri Lee, and Mihoko Iseri managed to stay within single digits of Miyazato.

A lot depends on which Mikan will show up tomorrow.  Will it be the Mikan who gave up a 5-shot lead in 2009 or the Mikan who went wire-to-wire in 2010?  Will it be the Mikan who jumped out to the lead in 2011 but finished 79-81 on the weekend?  Or will it be the Mikan who put together a final-round 71 last year but just couldn't chase Shanshan Feng down?

Japan Women's Open Friday: And Then There Were Two

The Japan Women's Open is the most prestigious tournament on the JLPGA for a reason:  it makes the U.S. Open in the pre-Mike Davis era look like a walk in the park!  This tournament values gaman--the ability to endure with patience and not give up--more than any other I know of.

Case in point:  Mika Miyazato and Shiho Oyama are the only golfers under par in the entire field, Mikan by shooting her 2nd-straight 3-birdie 70 to get to -4, and Oyama by throwing 6 birdies at the field to break 70 and move to -1.  Ji-Yai Shin put together a 5-birdie 69 of her own to move into at tie for 3rd at -1 with Yuri Fudoh, Sakura Yokomine, Soo-Yun Kang, Harukyo Nomura, Japan Women's Amateur runner-up Yumi Matsubara, and 1st-round co-leader Mihoko Iseri.  1 shot further off the pace are money-list leader Rikako Morita, 1st-round co-leader Miki Saiki, former money-list leader Sun-Ju Ahn, and last year's runner-up on the money list Bo-Mee Lee, among several Japanese young guns, while Ji-Hee Lee, 1st-round co-leader Teresa Lu, Mamiko Higa, and Japan Women's Amateur champion Haruka Morita are still in the top 20 at +3.

But when In-Kyung Kim is +5 (along with last year's money-list leader Mi-Jeong Jeon and last week's winner Na-Ri Lee), when Ai Miyazato is +6 (she started -1 and bogey-free in her 1st 7 holes, but eneded up with a 74), and fewer than 65 players are less than double digits over par, you know there's a whole lot of gaman going on this week in Japan!

Daikin Orchid Ladies Friday: Logjam at the Top after Ji-Yai Shin Withdraws

Yukari Baba, Shinobu Moromizato, Na-Ri Kim, So-Hee Kim, Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Yui Kawahara are your co-leaders at -4 after the 1st round of the JLPGA's season opener, the Daikin Orchid Ladies, but the biggest story coming out of Okinawa today is that Ji-Yai Shin had to withdraw after 8 holes due to wrist pain. 

There are still plenty of big international names in the hunt, such as Inbee Park at -3, Mi-Jeong Jeon and Bo-Mee Lee at -2, Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, and Momoko Ueda at -1, Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, and Teresa Lu at E, and Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, and Yuko Mitsuka at +1, but the loss of the #7 player in the Rolex Rankings threatens to overshadow the action on the course.  Baba, Sattayabanphot, So-Hee Kim, Bo-Bae Song, Jeon, and Yuko Saitoh were the only players to make their way around Ryukyu Golf Club without a bogey, while Kaori Aoyama made the most birdies (8, but she's not leading because she had fewer pars than bogeys on the day!).

Here's a quick run-down of the scores from the top 10 and notables:

T1/-4 Yukari Baba, Shinobu Moromizato, Na-Ri Kim, So-Hee Kim, Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Yui Kawahara (68)
T7/-3 Inbee Park, Bo-Bae Song, Rui Kitada, Kaori Aoyama (69)

T11/-2 Mi-Jeong Jeon, Bo-Mee Lee, Hiromi Mogi, Kumiko Kaneda, Yumiko Yoshida, Erika Kikuchi, Megumi Kido, Mizusu Narita, Hsuan-Yu Yao (70)
T25/-1 Sakura Yokomine, Ji-Hee Lee, Momoko Ueda, Soo-Yun Kang, Saiki Fujita, Mayu Hattori, Nikki Campbell, Kaori Ohe, Da-Ye Na (71)
T37/E Sun-Ju Ahn, Miki Saiki, Teresa Lu, Ayako Uehara, Hyun-Ju Shin, Na-Ri Lee, Yuki Ichinose, Mina Nakayama, Miki Uehara, Sae Yamamura, Mamiko Higa [a] (72)
T53/+1 Yuri Fudoh, Mika Miyazato, Yuko Mitsuka, Akane Iijima, Ji-Woo Lee, Kotono Kozuma (73)
T64/+2 Young Kim, Harukyo Nomura, Rikako Morita, Ritsuko Ryu, Asako Fujimoto, Esther Lee, Lala Anai, Asuka Tsujimura, Aiko Kaneda, Ming-Yen Chen, Minami Oshiro [a], Chiharu Oshiro [a] (74)
T84/+3 Erina Hara, Ah-Reum Hwang (75)
T88/+4 Porani Chutichai, Ayaka Kaneda (76)
T97/+5 Satsuki Oshiro (77)
T101/+6 Hiromi Takesue, Sakurako Mori (78)
T103/+7 Maiko Wakabayashi (79)

That's a lot of Kanedas and Oshiros in the field.  Wonder if they're related to each other?

Notable by their absence were Ai Miyazato (#9 in the latest Rolex Rankings), Shanshan Feng (#12), Chie Arimura (#15), Shiho Oyama (#36), Li-Ying Ye (#88), Tamie Durdin (#133), Mie Nakata (#143), Yun-Jye Wei (#236), Mika Takushima (#252), and Tao-Li Yang (#406).  Feng and Yi are rocking the LET's World Ladies Championship, at -6 and -4 respectively after the 1st round, while Wei shot a solid 72 and Yang struggled to a 75 there.  But it appears that Miyazato, Arimura, and Oyama will be delaying their JLPGA debuts.  Google translate isn't really helping me understand Arimura's latest blog post, but my best guess is that she doesn't feel that she's completed her off-season training (plus she may be dealing with nagging injuries and a little burnout).  Although she looked great with Miyazato, Ahn, and Saiki in the latest Tour Stage commercial, it doesn't look like she's entered in next week's event, either, so I'm wondering what's up with her.  Oyama's blog is similarly difficult to translate, but it's possible she or someone from her team may simply have forgotten to submit an entry form...?  Since she's not entered in next week's Yokohama Tire PRGR Ladies Cup, either, there may be more to the story, however.  Miyazato was never planning to enter the JLPGA season opener, but she just revealed on her blog that she had a high fever the night before the final round of the HSBC Women's Champions.  Although she felt better in the morning and was able to play well, she had a relapse--complete with fever, chills, and low blood pressure--soon after it.  Either because of her illness or in reaction to her medication, she even fainted in her hotel bathroom the day she was supposed to fly to Los Angeles!  She did eventually make it back there and is glad to have some time to rest before the LPGA starts up again. 

What Shin and Miyazato are going through shows just how tough the life of a world-class professional golfer can be.  Best wishes for quick recoveries to both!

Been There, Done That

I've come in DFL in the 2 biggest tournaments I've ever played--the ECAC Championship during college golf and the New York State Mid-Amateur at the height (so to speak) of my competitive career--and I'm not just talking by a shot or 2. The fairways at Bethpage Black started too far out for the kind of player I was then and I was beaten down by the Western NY weather and the course conditions after my previous round had been erased.

So I know a little teeny tiny bit of what Kevin Roman must be going through right now. He had the kind of nightmarish start on the back at Hazeltine you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy: 5 bogeys in his 1st 6 holes. But after parring out he went and hit for the cycle on the front: 1 birdie, 2 pars, 2 bogeys, 3 doubles, and a triple. Right now he's alone at +15, the worst of the 5 players so far to fail to break 80 today at the PGA Championship.

But he still has a chance to avoid DFL tomorrow. Show them what you're made of tomorrow, Kevin!

[Update 1 (5:07 pm): Kevin doesn't start till late afternoon tomorrow, so if anyone wants to share their stories of golf trauma/humiliation or bouncebacks/comebacks in comments, have at it!]

[Update 2 (8/16/09, 6:12 am): Jay Flemma gives it a try. By the way, Kevin eagled the par-5 7th to get back to +2 early in his round Friday, then struggled the rest of the way for an 81. He ended up tied for last, but within 7 shots of Adam Scott. Guess that's not saying that much, these days.]

Is Momoko Ueda Tougher Than Juli Inkster?

Earlier this month we found out from Ron Sirak that Juli Inkster was in labor for an entire year, but thanks to the wonders of teh intertubes, we now know that Momoko Ueda is playing in the Crystal Geyser Ladies JLPGA event a mere week after having her wisdom teeth removed. Why is it my Momo-chan news always makes you go, "itai!"?

Babelfish Poetry: For Momo-chan

Just want to make a small point about the beauty that can come from non-standard English--in this case, the babelfish translation of a Japanese news report of Momoko Ueda's painful fingernail accident. I've just removed some words and punctuation marks, inserted some line and stanza breaks, changed some capitalizations, and voila: a pretty damn good imagist poem.

The seeing eye dog surprised
the flash of the cameraman of the multitude produced
to run, suddenly.

Being flurried, tries probably to grasp the lanyard
“the painful [tsu]!” with voice was increased
being caught to the cord which was pulled

It peeled the nail of the left hand middle finger
the nail which peels off even cruelly fell to the land
the blood dripped from the finger

For a while holding down the finger
at that place
which it cannot move

It is painful
the face was twisted with pain
the tear floated in the eye

News Flash! Momoko Ueda Injury

The Full Metal Archivist called me over my lunch break to tell me about a grotesque accident that befell Momoko Ueda recently. Apparently something happened in a photo shoot that ripped the fingernails completely off at least one hand. I'll try to get confirmation on this and details when I get home. I haven't seen this story hit the English-language media or golfosphere. Anyone read/hear anything about it?

[Update 1 (7:13 pm): All right, this is the basic story coming out of the Kyodo News Service. Ueda was in a photo shoot for the Yonex Ladies event this week on the JLPGA when a flash startled the service dog (seeing-eye dog?), causing it to lunge away. Ueda reached out with her left hand to grab the dog's leash, but lost at least a few fingernails when she couldn't stop the dog. (Itai!!--now I know why those extra-long fingernails of hers have always worried me.) She's withdrawn from the tournament. More later when I can get a working translation of Ueda's latest blog post from the Full Metal Archivist.]

[Update 2 (7:47 pm): Ah, nothing special, just a quick note to her fans saying she hopes nobody gets the wrong impression about service dogs from her accident. Gotta keep those sponsors happy (according to the FMA)....]

[Update 3 (8:02 pm): From what I can understand of the babelfish translation of a Japanese web site that Go-Kimmie-Go provided at Seoul Sisters.com, Ueda only lost 1 nail, on the middle finger of her left hand. BTW, do you think babelfish could pass the Bivens test?]