Farewell, Andy...

Andy Roddick's announcement—on his 30th birthday—that he planned to retire at the end of this year's U.S. Open might have been surprising only because of its timing. Despite a career in which he won 32 titles, including the 2003 U.S. Open, and holding the world #1 ranking, Roddick had struggled in the last several years, and his ranking plummeted to #22.

This afternoon, after losing in four sets to 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, an emotional Roddick called it a career. "For the first time in my career, I’m not sure what to say," he told the crowd. "My gosh. Where do I start? Since I was a kid I’ve been coming to this tournament and I felt lucky just to sit where all of you are sitting today, to watch this game, to see the champions that have come and gone. I’ve loved every minute of it."

While Roddick's career was marked as much by his successes as some stunning disappointments, including a devastating five-set loss to Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon final (he lost 16-14 in the fifth set), and sometimes he failed to achieve more than expectations demanded, he is still to be commended for carrying himself as a true champion and serving as a role model for young American tennis players. And it's hard not to forget the brash, spiky-haired, visor-wearing 18-year-old who took the tennis world by storm.

Beyond his achievements on the courts, Roddick has followed the model of fellow champion Andre Agassi in his immense generosity. In 2004 he won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his charitable efforts, and founded the Andy Roddick Foundation, which has as its goal to improve the quality of life and enhance educational and economic opportunities for all children based on the principles of respect for family, education, and morality. To date. the Foundation has raised over $10 million.

While the tennis world will miss seeing Roddick on the courts (and some may particularly miss the shirtless practices, but it is what it is), there is little doubt he won't be gone for long. With his quick wit and disarming personality, it wouldn't be surprising to hear him doing commentary on matches sometime soon. And certainly, for a person with a heart and a giving spirit as big as his, the world will continue to benefit from his contributions.

Thank you, Andy, for an excellent career, for demonstrating how exhilarating the ups can be and showing how you can still achieve despite the downs. And thank you for being a role model on and off the courts. Well played.

Book Review: "Say Nice Things about Detroit" by Scott Lasser

Yes, you can go home again. But do you want to? Scott Lasser's new novel, Say Nice Things about Detroit, strives to answer those questions.

David Halpert hasn't really been back to his hometown of Detroit in more than 25 years. Most people flee that city and never come back, but trying to recover from a divorce and the death of his son, and help his father with his ailing mother, David decides to return. Shortly thereafter, he learns about the murder of his high school girlfriend, Natalie, and her half-brother, Dirk, who was an FBI agent.

Reconnecting with Natalie's family, he finds they are dealing with their own pain, and he begins a relationship with her younger sister, Carolyn, who is visiting from California to help her mother through her grief. Carolyn is pondering an escape from her own marriage, and as her relationship with David grows in intensity, she, too, considers moving back to Detroit, but wonders what effect it might have on her young son. And what does moving from Los Angeles back to a declining Detroit really mean for her life?

At the same time as the book focuses on David and Carolyn's relationship against the backdrop of their struggling hometown, it also flashes back to key points in Dirk's relationship with his close friend, Everett, and Everett's son, Marlon, whose troubled life also intersects with David and Carolyn's.

Scott Lasser is a very good writer, and he has created a very compelling and interesting story. I had a feeling of inevitability as I was reading the book, and I hoped that the plot wouldn't unfold quite the way I feared it might. The characters are really complex, and while I understand that the flashbacks were necessary to underscore Dirk's relationship with his family and Marlon, I felt they were a little distracting to the flow of the story. But in the end, this is a powerful story of second chances, and believing yourself worthy of happiness.

Movie Review: "Lawless"

Sometimes you (or at least I) go into a movie not knowing what to expect. I hadn't heard much about Lawless save seeing the preview while at a movie last weekend, and interestingly enough, the crowd in that theater seemed fairly negative about the movie and its prospects. But buoyed by two fairly positive reviews and my admiration of several actors in the film, we decided to give it a try, and I'm really glad I did.

Prohibition is in full swing during the Great Depression, and the Bondurant brothers run a successful bootlegging operation in rural Franklin County, Virginia. The Bondurants, led by Forrest (Tom Hardy, brooding and powerful) and Howard (Jason Clarke), are believed to be invincible, because both have cheated death. Their youngest brother, Jack (Shia LaBeouf), wants to be taken seriously as a member of the operation, but his combination of cocky bravado, quick temper, and his lack of belief that he is tough, tends to get him into difficult situations his brothers must bail him out of.

Special Deputy Charles Rakes (a marvelously creepy Guy Pearce) arrives from Chicago determined to get a piece of all of the bootlegging operations in Franklin County, and eventually, all but the Bondurants give in. Which, of course, just makes Rakes angrier and more vindictive, and he sends more and more violent trouble their way. Which, of course, they are more than happy to meet head-on, in a tremendously bloody and violent scene.

When one of Jack's schemes succeeds, his cockiness grows, and he begins to court shy preacher's daughter Bertha Minnix (a luminous, if underused, Mia Wasikowska). And as you might imagine, it also gets him into trouble, which leads to the frenzied and violent climax of the movie. But even if the movie is somewhat predictable, the performances and the action lift it beyond the average.

The movie is based on a true story and a book written by one of the Bondurant's grandsons. It's tremendously well-acted—Pearce's character could have veered into almost comic territory in lesser hands; Hardy gives a strong performance as a man of few words but deeply burning strength and fury that is the antithesis of his portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises; and Jessica Chastain rises above the typical supportive female role, bringing nuance to her role. And Shia LaBeouf brought some of the same cocky, self-assuredness he demonstrated in the last Indiana Jones movie.

I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but certainly wished a few things could have been different. Chastain's character remained a bit of an enigma throughout the film, and there were a few loose ends that were never tied up with regard to her. I can't help but wonder if Gary Oldman, who played a famed Chicago mobster, saw some of his scenes wind up on the cutting room floor, as his character almost seemed like an afterthought. And at times, I felt like the violence took one step too many toward gratuitousness.

This is certainly not a happy, lighthearted movie, but I was tremendously impressed with the job director John Hillcoat (The Road) did with giving the film a truly appropriate look and feel. I hope people see the film; I'm not sure if its being unrated will limit its audience. But it's definitely worth a watch.

I'd say he made OUR day...

Clint Eastwood's speech during the Republican National Convention last night has been one of the most popular topics in the media since then. Some have called the speech inspirational, some called it a rambling mess, and some wondered just what on Earth Eastwood was thinking. (I'm not asking for a political opinion here.)

One photo that's been making the rounds on the interwebs today seems all too prescient. (As someone put it, "Leave it to the Simpsons to predict the future.")

Immediately after Eastwood's speech, the Twitter handle @invisibleobama began picking up followers left and right. And the handle @Eastwoods_Chair already has more than 2000 followers.

But as funny as that is, the latest craze sweeping Twitter is "Eastwooding." Forget "Tebowing," pictures of empty chairs and benches, as well as pictures of people lecturing an empty chair can be found all over the web. Here are some fun ones:

And my personal favorite, Clint "Eastwooding" Blue's Clues
:

Whoever said social media isn't productive hasn't gotten swept up in a craze like this.

Goodbye, England's rose...

Unbelievably, it was 15 years ago today—August 31, 1997—that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were tragically killed in a car crash in Paris. While Diana's legacy lives on, both through the amazing charitable work and social crusades she was involved in, and of course, through her children, Prince William and Prince Harry, her loss is still felt across the world.

Diana's death is one of those moments you can remember vividly. Friends of mine from summer camp, Scott Fisher and Jon Gosset, were visiting another old friend, Robert Honigman, and we had all gotten together for dinner. When we returned to Robert's house, the news was reporting that Diana had been in a car crash but that she had only broken her arm.

By the time I arrived back at my house, the news had changed drastically, and the world was notified of her untimely, tragic death. It seemed so unreal to believe that someone so full of life and passion, so committed to making the world a better place, so devoted to her children, and so determined to rise above the tragedy and tumult in her life in order to make her mark.

Despite her leaving this world far, far too soon, I think there's little doubt she left an indelible mark on our world. We all were fortunate that she was willing to share herself, her passions, and her zeal with the world.

We truly were the lucky ones.

Knockout...

Okay, I don't normally use this blog to ogle, but sometimes there are pictures just too good not to share...

Apparently this is from an upcoming episode of White Collar. Matthew Bomer really is a living Ken doll. This picture certainly knocks me out!!

Book Review: "Every Day" by David Levithan

In 2010, John Green and David Levithan wrote one of my favorite books of the year, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, an incredible story about relationships, being yourself, and taking a chance to break out of your shell. Now it appears that John Green and David Levithan have written two of my most favorite books of 2012—Green's amazing, heartbreaking, hopeful The Fault in Our Stars, and now, Levithan's new book, Every Day.

Reading Every Day requires you to suspend your disbelief, but it will be well worth it. It is the story of A. Every day A wakes up in the body of another teenager. There is no rhyme or reason to whose body A wakes up in on a given day—male, female, straight, gay, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, fat, thin, well-adjusted, or mentally ill. For one day, A becomes that person, accesses their memories, speaks in their voice, follows their daily routine, and interacts with their friends. And at the end of 24 hours, A leaves that person with some memories of what happened the previous day, but because A does very little to disrupt the lives of those A inhabits, they're generally none the worse for wear. It's a lonely life—A can't build relationships with anyone because the next day A is someone completely different.

But one day A meets Rhiannon, the girlfriend of the boy whose body A inhabits that day. And although this has only happened a few times before (and with both boys and girls, as A doesn't identify with a particular gender), A falls for Rhiannon—hard. And suddenly, all A wants to do is be with Rhiannon, no matter whose body A inhabits that day. Which leads to some interesting, intriguing, and troublesome consequences. A longs to have a "normal" life with Rhiannon, but how can it work when A is someone different every single day? Is it possible to love someone for who they are inside, and disregard their exterior completely?

While the premise of this book may sound hard to grasp, Levithan is an amazing storyteller and he quickly draws you into A's story. Getting a glimpse into a different person's life every day is a fascinating concept, one that forces you to empathize and identify with their struggles and victories. This is definitely not a book that passes judgment on anyone's life, and I love the diversity of teenagers whose lives A inhabits. But no matter how unusual A's story is, the emotions A feels, the desire to love, be loved, build a life with one person, and, ultimately, be remembered, are universal. This is a beautiful, unusual, moving, and tremendously affecting book.

David Levithan and, as I mentioned earlier, John Green (along with many other authors), once again prove that the genre of so-called "young adult" fiction is full of talent and worthy of exploration by adults of all ages. It's not all dystopia, mean girls, and magic. This is not our generation's "young adult" fiction, that's for sure.