Good riddance Justine

Tsk Tsk Justine. What a terrible, terrible show of bad sportsmanship. You had a stomach ache? You doubled your anti-inflammatory meds for your shoulder problem, which led to your tummy troubles? You won $600,000 for retiring because you "didn't have any legs"?? You take away what should be a sweet victory for Mauresmo by retiring because you knew that you couldn't win the match when you stepped onto Center Court? I have stayed awake at nights watching this long tournament unfold, and I feel like this is one of the worst (only 4th time in women's finals history) displays of unsportsmanlike behavior I've seen. No, I'm not a fan of Henin-Hardenne. But, all my personal feelings aside, I think this was a terrible end to a pretty damn good tournament. I've seen Samparas puke on the court, Roddick writhe with muscle cramps in between points, Venus play with a pectoral muscle strain, Serena down Pepto Bismol on the sidelines, Lindsay hit balls with a whole host of injuries, Clijsters hit amazing shots with a bad wrist AND hip, but this Justine? A sour stomach from meds? Give me a break. And, you are not gracious in defeat. No, not you. Instead, during your post match interview, you claim you had no pace on the ball, you were playing away from your baseline, therefore allowing Mauresmo to have "time" make shots, and lessen her chance for error. So, really, had you been playing 100% the title would have been yours, right? Get over it. You were outmatched, plain and simple, and you freaked, and threw in the towel rather than suffer a good ol fashioned ass kicking. This is another blow to women's tennis, but I hope people will begin to see through Henin-Hardenn's sorry tactics. There's other people out there with a pretty backhand--and I think one of them goes by the name of Mauresmo.

Grizzly Man

Last night we watched the documentary *Grizzly Man,* detailing the life of Timothy Treadwell. For those that don't know the story, Treadwell had been spending the past 13 summers living among grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. In October of 2003 he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death the day before he was set to head back to CA. The majority of the documentary consists of video shot by Treadwell during his summer "expeditions", revealing some unbelieveable footage of grizzly bear activity/behavior. What made Treadwell such an interesting subject was his persistent belief that he could live, survive, and eventually become a part of the grizzly bear habitat/community. Some of the footage shows him touching grizzlies on the nose, swimming with grizzlies, camping next to fox dens, etc. Of course, his behavior drew the ire of many for what they considered his naivete, and the "dengerous" message he was sending about humans attempting to live among wild animals. All of these concerns are valid and interesting, but what I want to focus this entry on is Werner Herzog's (director) treatment of Treadwell's material.

All documentaries, at some level, reveal the filmmaker's desire to convey a certain message. Although this film has garnered much critical acclaim, I think Herzog's manipulation of Treadwell's story ultimately detracts from the compelling story of his life. Thus, while viewers might ponder the ethical questions concerning the attempts of "man" to conquer nature, I became distracted by Herzog's attempt to conquer Treadwell. For example, on several different occasions, Herzog inserts himself in the film via narration to take issues with some of Treadwell's positions about grizzlies and nature, or to simply censor Treadwell's anger against the Park service. In one revealing scene, Treadwell is seen ranting at his camera over the park service (they were threatening to ban him from the park because he wouldn't follow their rules about keeping safe distances from the bears), poachers, and others who wish to kill or harm animals. Herzog allows viewers to see this footage, but turns the volume down because he (Herzog) doesn't think Treadwell is being "fair" to the National Park service. This certainly raises interesting research and methodlogical questions, and I'm thinking this would be a good film for a research methods course. All that said, Herzog does have sympathy for Treadwell, and I am definitely glad such a film was made. It's a must see if you ever get a chance.

Happy 2006.