Kidding..where is your sense of humor!

Anyway, to kick of Net Impact Week, we had William Rosenzweig, the cofounder and CEO of The Republic of Tea. Bill is now a managing partner of Physic Ventures ($100M), a new VC fund focused on health and sustainable living and his list of accomplishments includes being the SVP of Odwalla and the CEO of Hambrecht Vineyards and Wineries.

I think that Bill did an amazing job not only as a speaker but in demonstrating his passion for what he does and giving us a fair understanding of what it takes to, well, be somewhat successful (and very successful if luck is on your side). 

Here are some key takeaways from the lecture:

1) Invest in what has heart and meaning.  This one is simple – do something that you are passionate about.  If you are passionate about having a personal jet, do it.  If buying that pair of Pradas will make you happy, go for it. Do what will satisfy you.

2) Practice reciprocity and generosity. Figure out how you can provide value to people vs. how they can be useful to you. Be generous; treat people like they are old friends.

3) Show up! Personal conversations are a lot more powerful than email, Facebook, etc. Build relationships based on trust. Show people that you are really committed via face to face interactions.

4) Don’t avoid niches. Don’t avoid businesses or industries that are not fully ripe yet. 

5) See systems and converging sectors. To spur innovation, two different cultures can coexist at one firm (engineers and businesspeople).

6) Pursue balance and integration. Focus on forming partnerships with other people. Form teams.  For new ventures, people look at the team, not just the entrepreneur.  Take care of your relationships over time; seeds don’t bloom overnight.

7) Dare to dream big. Establish big audacious goals.  Learn from your and other peoples mistakes.

8) Humility is energy. We are all infallible. Be the leader that defines what success looks like.

9) Know “how much is enough”. “He who knows when enough is enough will always have enough.” This may be paradoxical to some MBAs since they may be in constant pursuit of being the best, intellectually or financially.

10) Cultivate your garden. Take care of yourself. Stop and reflect; plan a day where you have no plans.

I know that some of these points may sound a little hokey but they really seemed to make a lot of sense from Bill’s perspective.  He also explained his transition from entrepreneurship to venture capital, saying that he liked to coach and teach and wanted to have a greater impact via working with different firms.  Finally, Bill was nice enough to give us a map showing Physic’s investment philosophy, which was helpful in understanding the mantra of the company: to invest in keeping people healthy, or more specifically, to invest in technology enabled products and services to cause paradigm shifts in personal and planetary health. 

Recently Released 2nd-Year Resume Books: (in alphabetical order)
*discounted "All Candidate" combo package with alumni resumes

Boston College – Carroll School of Management
Carnegie Mellon – Tepper School of Business*
Cornell University – The Johnson School
Duke University – The Fuqua School of Business
Emory University – Goizueta Business School*
Harvard University – Harvard Business School
IESE Business School
Indiana University – Kelley School of Business*
MIT – Sloan School of Management*
Rice University – Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management*
Temple University – Fox School of Business
The University of Iowa – Henry B. Tippie College of Business
University of Pennsylvania – The Wharton School*
University of South Carolina – Moore School of Business
University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business*
UC Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business*
Vanderbilt University – Owen Graduate School of Management*
Yale University – Yale School of Management

Go here for a full list of schools, resume databases available, prices, and release dates: http://www.mbafocus.net/resumepricesdates

Note: Many of these 2nd-year resume databases are offered for discounted prices as “All Candidate” combo packages with alumni/experienced hire candidates as well as 1st-year interns. For more information and pricing of combo packages, sign in to the Direct Order website here: https://www.MBAFocus.com/orders and/or click on the school of interest.

Groet

Thiadmer

Elas simplesmente me fascinam. E como um bom fã, tenho sempre que me mantar atualizado com as notícias do mundo das letras. E sexta-feira, li um artigo um tanto quanto interessante (eu até diria polêmico) escrito por um português em 2007 falando sobre a fonte mais conhecida do mundo: Helvetica. Abaixo segue o artigo na integra (inclusive com a escrita de Portugal) acrescido de alguns links e imagens que tomei a liberdade de incluir. Depois darei minha opinião para iniciarmos mais uma agradável, democrática e inteligente discusão. Enjoy it!

=============================================

PORQUE É QUE PRECISAMOS DA HELVETICA?
por Paulo Heitlinger, Fev/2007

O 50º aniversário da Helvetica – uma família de fontes criada em 1957 pelo suíço Max Miedinger – foi o pretexto para rodar um documentário que ilustra a expansão do conhecido typeface. Reacende-se uma polémica que já vem de alguns anos atrás e que merece a pena retomar. Vejamos porquê.

Quando o editor suíço Lars Müller publicou o seu livrinho Hommage to Helvetica (que entretanto está à venda a bom preço nas lojas da FNAC), argumentava que "este typeface sabe fazer tudo, e é neste aspecto que é genial ... Tive vontade de publicar este livro para reagir contra a inflação das fontes. Temos hoje cerca de 30.000 fontes, mas que não servem para grande coisa. Em vez de inventar novas fontes, valia mais renovar a tipografia com as fontes existentes. É este o caminho para o qual aponta o sucesso da Helvetica".

Em resposta a Lars Müller, tenho a argumentar que para um suíço a Helvetica pode servir para muitas aplicações, mas para mim não serve para grande coisa, pois falta-lhe qualquer personalidade tipográfica. Ça manque du charme, diriam os franceses. Temos milhares de fontes disponíveis para as mais variadas aplicações, de modo que a questão pertinente será: Para que é que nós precisamos ainda dessa letra de horripilante estética, criada à cinquenta anos para atender às necessidades de clientes à procura de uma letra "despersonalizada", "neutra", apta a garantir-lhes um fácil acesso a um mercado global?

[Será a fonte Helvetica mais conhecida que a Suíça? Inventada na Basileia há 50 anos, este typeface já conheceu duas reformas e vários revivalismos. Objecto de culto entre jovens gráficos sem grande inspiração e propensos a trends globais, a Helvetica mereceu as honras do livro Helvetica, Homage To A Typeface, que rapidamente esgotou a primeira edição. Pouco maior que um passaporte helvético, e como este de capa vermelha, com um H em vez da cruz branca, este livrinho reúne centenas de fotos a ilustrar a omnipresença deste tipo, utilizado tanto para logótipos de multinacionais como a Panasonic, a Texaco, a Samsung, a Hoover, a Lufthansa, a Kawasaki, a Evian, a Agip, a BMW e a Caterpillar, como para sinaléticas urbanas, de Hong-Kong até Istambul.]

O TREND DA GLOBALIZAÇÃO PERSISTE

A resposta, embora não goste dela, é simples. Em pleno século XXI, a Helvetica continua em uso, por força do persistente revivalismo que nos atinge há anos. O conceituado designer e crítico canadiano Nick Shinn, denunciando os maléficos efeitos da authority of mass fashion, escreveu: "A Helvetica regressou em grande. Na rua, vemo-la em campanhas publicitárias de empresas tão diferentes como a IBM e The Gap. Nas vendas online, está sempre no topo das listas das fontes mais vendidas..."

[Posters do filme Helvetica]

A fonte que o typeface designer e ensaísta Nick Shinn apelida com toda a pertinência de face of uniformity tem vindo a ocupar posições para as quais nunca foi concebida, mas os designers contemporâneos, com medo de afirmar as suas raizes culturais e os contextos regionais, preferem a "fonte sem personalidade". Nunca uma fonte tão estéril, de tão fraca legibilidade e pobre estética teve uma proliferação tão virulenta – nefastos efeitos da globalização em princípios do século XXI... (Não perca o artigo de Nick Shinn em www.shinntype.com/Stories/Uniformity.pdf)

HISTORIAL DA HELVETICA

A Helvetica é a fonte mais associada à tipografia a suíça do pós-guerra e à "Escola Internacional", por causa da sua crónica falta de personalidade. Surgiu nos anos 50, na conjuntura de recuperação económica depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Inúmeras empresas alemãs e suíças, ávidas de se lançarem de novo nos mercados internacionais, precisavam de uma letra clara, neutral, moderna, internacional, com boas relações com todos os países e culturas – com as características da Suíça, portanto...

O importante era que essa letra fosse "moderna" e que não tivesse qualquer associação nacional, ou qualquer ligação cultural específica. Especialmente na Alemanha do pós-guerra procurava-se uma fonte neutra, que não lembrasse o vergonhoso passado nazi do país, que, agora "democratizado" de fachada, o queria ultrapassar o mais depressa possível. O tipo eleito pelas empresas multinacionais foi a Helvetica, a fonte da globalização dos anos 60 e 70 (e, como já veremos, também do século XXI).

[Smile for Helvetica]

Nos anos 20 e 30, tinham sido os adeptos da Bauhaus os que exigiam uma tipografia universal, apta para todas as aplicações, todos os fins, todos os idiomas e todas culturas. Nessa época, as reivindicações dos vanguardistas causaram pouca ressonância; muito mais tarde, depois da guerra, a indústria e o comércio tinham finalmente captado a mensagem, e exigiam: "Venha uma letra universal!"

A Helvetica foi desenhada para ser uma versão modernizada da Akzidenz Grotesk (propriedade da H. Berthold AG). Começou por ser comercializada como Neue Haas Grotesk, por se tratar de uma reformulação da Haas Grotesk (propriedade da fundição Haas, a empresa que encarregou Max Miedinger de modernizar a fonte).

[Akzidenz-Grotesk]

A primeira versão foi apresentada em 1957, na feira Graphic 57, realizada em Lausanne. Esta fonte, então chamada Helvetia, foi introduzida no mercado paralelamente à famosa Univers, de Adrian Frutiger.

[Univers]

Pouco depois, a fundição alemã D. Stempel AG comprou os direitos da Helvetia, adicionou-lhe vários pesos e graus de condensado e rebaptizou-a com o nome de Helvetica, relançando-a em 1961. Nessa época, já 50% do capital da D. Stempel AG se encontrava em posse da Linotype AG, representando dentro do grupo Linotype o sector de "tipos metálicos de fundição" para composição tradicional, manual – a fotocomposição tinha começado por volta do ano de 1955.

A Helvetica não teve por auxiliar de parto um conceito estrutural como aquele que Adrian Frutiger inteligentemente deu à sua Univers, quando inventou uma sistemática numérica para calibrar os pesos e graus de condensação/expansão. Esta falta de sistemática reflectiu-se na pobre estética das variantes e tornou necessário um redesign, lançado como Neue Helvetica em 1980.

[Imagens do filme]

SUCESSO MUNDIAL

Apesar destes entraves, a Helvetica foi a fonte de maior sucesso nos anos 60 e 70 – pelo menos, foi a fonte mais usada. Substituiu rapidamente a antiga Akzidenz Grotesk de 1897, que, no jocoso dizer de Erik Spieker- mann, já mostrava "muitas rugas".

A sua falta de personalidade nacional ou regional – é com todo o direito que é chamada "a fonte sem carácter" – foi por vezes compensada pelo emprego de cor, por exemplo, em posters publicitários. De resto, a imaginação criativa dos que optaram pela Helvetica ficava reduzida a explorar as formas acentuadamente geométricas, a compor em ângulos diagonais e/ou a tirar partido da vasta gama de pesos e cortes da letra que passou a ser a fonte universal e global da segunda metade do século XX .

A FONTE DAS MULTINACIONAIS

A partir da década de 1960, inúmeras empresas internacionais adoptaram a Helvetica para a sua comunicação. A Lufthansa, a conselho de Otl Aicher, adoptou-a para Corporate Typeface. A KLM, a American Airlines e outras companhias aéreas seguiram este trend. Depois veio a BASF, consórcio químico-farmacêutico que nessa época já ocupava em todo o globo 300 oficinas de impressão, além de inúmeras agências de publicidade. Também os consórcios Bayer e Hoechst, outros dois gigantes do ramo químico, passaram a usar a Helvetica em qualquer parte do mundo onde fizessem negócio. No ramo automóvel, seguiram-se a Opel e depois a BMW, que usa hoje uma fonte parecida com a Helvetica. A MAN e a AEG optaram igualmente pelo "tipo sem características".

[Pra quem não gosta]

Decididamente, a omnipresente Helvetica passou a ser conotada como uma fonte "moderna, progressista, cosmopolita, internacional". Mas na realidade, continuou a ser uma fonte de pobre estética, pacatamente burguesa, estridentemente aborrecida, sem charme, sem elegância – e falha de qualquer temperamento, vitalidade ou emoção. Por isso mesmo, a Helvetica foi a campeã do Estilo Internacional, opção preferida por mestres do desenho gráfico, como os suíços Max Bill e Josef Müller-Brockmann. Passados 45 anos depois da introdução, a Linotype listava 115 diferentes membros da família de fontes Helvetica hoje presente no mercado ...um longo bocejo tipográfico.

[Comparação]

UM FALGELO CHAMADO ARIAL

A Helvetica tem sido violentamente pirateada – outra expressão da sua ubiquidade e popularidade. Quem não queria investir no produto original, comprava um dos múltiplos clones, muito mais baratos: cópias ainda piores que o original, chamadas "Swiss", "Geneve", "Zürich", etc. De mal a pior, a degradação continuou quando a ainda jovem Microsoft decidiu poupar-se a aquisição da Helvetica e encomendou, em 1982, a fonte Arial à Monotype. A Arial, um dos Windows core fonts, integrados no pacote do sistema operativo, é outra fonte de inigualável banalidade e consegue ser mais feia que o original. Entretanto, até a Microsoft já notou isso; na nova versão do Windows, a Helvetica e a Times já não fazem parte dos core fonts...

[A matriz e a cópia]

Por fim, falta responder à pergunta feita no título deste artigo: Para nada.

Filme: www.helveticafilm.com
Entrevista: www.aiga.org/content.cfm/lights-camera-helvetica

=============================================

Agora quem fala sou eu, Daniel! =)

Direto e reto: gosto da Helvetica. De verdade, gosto mesmo! Acho que mesmo sem "frufrus", ela tem personalidade. Creio que a personalidade dela é exatamente essa: "não ter nada demais".

Nós damos de cara com essa fonte quase todos os dias, somos bombardeados por ela mesmo sem percebermos. Marcas que usamos e desejamos, admiramos ou repudiamos usam a dita cuja. Basf, American AirLines (wou! ainda serei cliente de vocês!), Panasonic, Jeep, LG, Microsoft, BMW, Lufthansa, Mitsubishi, Texaco, 3M, e muitas outras.

Depois de ler esse artigo na sexta, passei o final de semana com a minha atenção voltada pra isso, pra ver propositalmente o alcance do tipo. Fiquei pasmo! As placas de transido, as lojas na 13 de Maio e no Cambuí, as milhares de placas de candidatos, letreiros, totens, outdoors, escolas, textos publicitários, as placas de mesa aqui no escritório... é uma loucura! Praticamente em quase todo o lugar que se olha, eu encontro a tal da Helvetica “me olhando”.

Não que eu tenho reparado nisso somente agora, mas nunca havia mensurado (ou pelo menos tentado) como ela é usada. Percebo que a Helvetica vai muito além do que o Paulo Heitlinger falou. Essa "febre" se estende a todos os humildes e reles mortais que quando abrem o Word, a fonte default é a ARIAL (lê-se "bastardinha da Helvetica”).

No meu caso, essa fonte já está impregnada dentro do meu cérebro, os meus olhos nem respondem mais a palavras com ela... oh céus, estou num caminho sem volta! Quando parei pra pensar nisso (sim sim, eu fiz uma pequena meditação sobre uma fonte tipográfica!) pude ter a certeza: se todos nós escrevêssemos como "um computador", nossa grafia seria a Helvetica. Creio que isso que acontece comigo (não sei se com todos vocês também) é resultado do que o Paulo citou: ela é a fonte do século XX.

Apenas não concordo. Categoricamente. com uma afirmação dele: de que a Helvetica seja "fraca de legibilidade". Isso, ao meu ver, é um absurdo. Por ser tão "limpa", de formas extremamente geométricas e de ótima relação altura x largura, ela é de perfeita legibilidade. Claro que, faço essa defesa em casos onde a fonte é usada em textos artísticos. Sobre textos longos, minhas convicções estão aqui. As demais afirmações são totalmente passíveis de análise.

E vocês pessoal: qual sua opinião? Concorda totalmente com o Paulo? Qual sua análise técnica da Helvetica?

NOTA: as imagens comparação Arial x Helvetica, comparação Grotesk-Helvetica-Univers 55, Univers e Grotesk e palavras linkadas foram disponibilizados por este blog para maior conforto e compreensão de seus leitores. Todo o restante do texto redigido por Paulo Heitlinger, está em sua versão integral, sem qualquer alteração.

Women's Singles:

Women's tennis has a crisis. Since Justine Henin retired no player earned the crow of being World No. 1. Players like Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova lost early, all other top players played not on a very high level.
But there have been some positive players on the other hand. German qualifier Anna-Lena Groenefeld and French wildcard winner Severine Bremond are still in business and above all Gronefeld showed some attractive tennis...

Notable results:

1st round:
Anna-Lena Groenefeld & Ekaterina Makarova were the players of the first round. German Groenefeld who had a bad time in the past and made her comeback some weeks ago upset 11th seed Daniela Hantuchova in two easy sets. Russian Makarova won vs. her compatriot and 10th seed Anna Chakvetadze after being a set down.
No. 1 seed Ana Ivanovic had some problems with Vera Dushevina but won in three sets.

--- [1] Ana Ivanovic (SRB) def. Vera Dushevina (RUS) 6-1 4-6 6-4
--- [16] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) def. [Q] Stefanie Vogele (SUI) 2-6 6-2 6-2
--- [Q] Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) def. [11] Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 6-4 6-2
--- Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) def. [31] Virginie Razzano (FRA) 6-4 6-1
--- [L] Mariana Duque Marino (COL) def. Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 0-6 6-3 6-2
--- Na Li (CHN) def. [24] Shahar Peer (ISR) 2-6 6-0 6-1
--- Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) def. [10] Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 1-6 6-2 6-3
--- Tamira Paszek (AUT) def. [22] Maria Kirilenko (RUS) 6-3 3-6 6-4

2nd round:
The biggest surprise in this second round definitely is the win of qualifier Julie Coin over the world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic who has had problems with her thumb never showed her quality. On the other hand Julie Coin played maybe the match of her life.
Ivanovic's Serbian compatriot Jelena Jankovic had many problems with Swedish Sofia Arvidsson but won in three close sets. Some other seeded players like Olympic Bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva and Hungarian Agnes Szavay had to say 'goodbye' after the second round.

--- [Q] Julie Coin (FRA) def. [1] Ana Ivanovic (SRB) 6-3 4-6 6-3
--- [W] Severine Bremond (FRA) def. [20] Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) 7-5 6-3
--- Tathiana Garbin (ITA) def. [13] Agnes Szavay (HUN) 5-7 6-2 6-3
--- Anne Keothavong (GBR) def. [25] Francesca Schiavone (ITA) 6-2 3-6 6-4
--- Tatiana Perebiynis (UKR) def. [8] Vera Zvonareva (RUS) 6-3 6-3
--- [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) 6-3 6-7(5) 7-5

3rd round:
Anna-Lena Groenefeld is the player of the week. The German qualifier won in the first round vs. Daniela Hantuchova, now - in the 3rd round - French teenager Alizé Cornet was her victim. French wildcard player Severine Bremond is a surprising player too. In the 4th round she'll play vs. Serena Williams.
After Ana Ivanovic the next top player lost. 3rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova lost in three sets vs. Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik.

--- [16] Flavia Pennetta (ITA) def. [19] Nadia Petrova (RUS) 4-6 6-4 6-3
--- [Q] Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) def. [17] Alizé Cornet (FRA) 6-4 7-5
--- [W] Severine Bremond (FRA) def. Tathiana Garbin (ITA) 7-5 3-6 6-4
--- [9] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) def. [18] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) 6-0 6-3
--- [28] Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) def. [3] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 6-3 6-7(1) 6-3
--- [21] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) def. [14] Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 6-4 6-4

4th round:
The bottom half of the draw already played the 4th round on Sunday. Olympic Gold medalist Elena Dementieva had no problems with Chinese Na Li. Patty Schnyder, Sybille Bammer and 2nd seed Jelena Jankovic reached the quarterfinals too.

--- [5] Elena Dementieva (RUS) def. Na Li (CHN) 6-4 6-1
--- [15] Patty Schnyder (SUI) def. [28] Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 4-6 6-3 6-3
--- [29] Sybille Bammer (AUT) def. [12] Marion Bartoli (FRA) 7-6(3) 0-6 6-4
--- [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB) def. [21] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3-6 6-2 6-1

Next week:

The top half has to play the 4th round on Monday:

[32] Amélie Mauresmo (FRA) --- [16] Flavia Pennetta (ITA)
[Q] Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) --- [6] Dinara Safina (RUS)

[4] Serena Williams (USA) --- [W] Severine Bremond (FRA)
[9] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) --- [7] Venus Williams (USA)

Two quarterfinals (bottom half) are already fixed:

[5] Elena Dementieva (RUS) --- [15] Patty Schnyder (SUI)
[29] Sybille Bammer (AUT) --- [2] Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Men's Singles:

The male top players are still in business. New World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, titleholder Roger Federer and last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic all in all had not much problems to reach the 4th round. The player of the week is qualifier Gilles Muller from Luxembourg who won two five-setters after being 0-2 sets down.

Notable results:

1st round:
German qualifier Bjorn Phau was supposed to be an easy opponent for Olympic Gold medalist Rafael Nadal but it was hard work for the new World No. 1. Phau fought but in the end Nadal won in straight sets.
There were some exciting five-setter in the first round. The most exciting perhaps was the win of unseeded German Tommy Haas over French star Richard Gasquet. The most surprising winners in round one were Japanese Kei Nishikori (won vs. Juan Monaco) and German qualifier Andreas Beck (won vs. John Isner).

--- [1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. [Q] Björn Phau (GER) 7-6(4) 6-3 7-6(4)
--- Sam Querrey (USA) def. [22] Tomas Berdych (CZE) 6-3 6-1 6-2
--- [9] James Blake (USA) def. Donald Young (USA) 6-1 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4
--- [Q] Andreas Beck (GER) def. John Isner (USA) 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(3)
--- Kei Nishikori (JPN) def. [29] Juan Monaco (ARG) 6-2 6-2 5-7 6-2
--- Jürgen Melzer (AUT) def. [27] Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 2-6 6-4
--- Tommy Haas (GER) def. [12] Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-7(3) 6-4 5-7 7-5 6-2

2nd round:
In round two there were not much upsets. Only the wins of Mardy Fish over Paul-Henri Mathieu and of qualifier Gilles Muller over German Tommy Haas were surprising. Portuguese qualifier Rui Machado was close to an upset vs. 13th seed Fernando Verdasco from Spain but in the end the favourite took hold.
All top stars and favourites mostly have easy wins. Merely last year's semifinalist David Ferrer from Spain and Scot Andy Murray had to fight in close matches.

--- Mardy Fish (USA) def. [24] Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-2 3-6 6-3 6-4
--- [4] David Ferrer (ESP) def. [Q] Andreas Beck (GER) 4-6 7-5 6-3 7-6(5)
--- [6] Andy Murray (GBR) def. Michael Llodra (FRA) 6-4 1-6 7-5 7-6(7)
--- [15] Tommy Robredo (ESP) def. Marat Safin (RUS) 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4 6-0
--- [Q] Gilles Muller (LUX) def. Tommy Haas (GER) 2-6 2-6 7-6(5) 6-3 6-3
--- [13] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) def. [Q] Rui Machado (POR) 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-7(6) 6-0

3rd round:
This round there were some surprises and some exciting five-setters. Seeded players like James Blake, David Nalbandian and David Ferrer lost. Especially Gaucho David Nalbandian made a very poor performance vs. Gael Monfils.
Stanislas Wawrinka and Andy Murray both fought back after being 0-2 sets down. Luxembourgian qualifier Gilles Muller has been the most surprising player of the tournament so far. After winning over Tommy Haas after being 0-2 sets down he succeed the same way vs. 18th seed  Nicolas Almagro from Spain.

--- Sam Querrey (USA) def. [14] Ivo Karlovic (CRO) 7-6(5) 7-6(5) 6-2
--- Mardy Fish (USA) def. [9] James Blake (USA) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4)
--- [32] Gael Monfils (FRA) def. [7] David Nalbandian (ARG) 6-3 6-4 6-2
--- Kei Nishikori (JPN) def. [4] David Ferrer (ESP) 6-4 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-5
--- [10] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. [Q] Flavio Cipolla (ITA) 5-7 6-7(4) 6-4 6-0 6-4
--- [6] Andy Murray (GBR) def. Jürgen Melzer (AUT) 6-7(5) 4-6 7-6(5) 6-1 6-3
--- [Q] Gilles Muller (LUX) def. [18] Nicolas Almagro (ESP) 6-7(3) 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(6) 7-5

Next week:

The second week continues from Monday with the 4th round:

[1] Rafael Nadal (ESP) --- Sam Querrey (USA)
Mardy Fish (USA) --- [32] Gael Monfils (FRA)

Kei Nishikori (JPN) --- [17] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
[10] Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) --- [6] Andy Murray (GBR)

[8] Andy Roddick (USA) --- [11] Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
[15] Tommy Robredo (ESP) --- [3] Novak Djokovic (SRB)

[5] Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) --- [Q] Gilles Muller (LUX)
[23] Igor Andreev (RUS) --- [2] Roger Federer (SUI)

Ivanovic ser ustabil ut. Hun gjorde mange enkle feil, og virker forknytt i spillet. Kan vanskelig se for meg at hun vinner US Open i år.

Federer er videre, det samme er Nadal. Mats Wilander om hvorfor Federer har problemer med kampene mot Nadal:

First of all, Federer's backhand is not that bad - it's just that Nadal has a cross-court forehand that duels with Federer's backhand. There's not many guys who can handle Nadal's topspin, which gets really high. Roger, as everybody else, has a problem with it. People forget, Roger plays one guy in the whole year who plays like Rafael. That's the worst case scenario, because he doesn't play anybody like him at all, not even close, for six matches. It's a nightmare scenario for Roger. All he can do is cut down the length of the rallies, and not get involved in long rallies. Once Nadal hits his ball to his backhand, that means that Federer has played one shot too many in the rally. He should rather hit the ball into the stands like Sampras used to do.

Hele intervjuet med Wilander ligger her.

What mobile enterprise users really need is a computing solution (HW, OS, apps), bundled and serviced by a provider. Internal, external -- it really should not matter to the user, only to the one paying the bill!

This should be done as generically as possible, to enable a mobile worker to truly work where and when they need to. I noticed this several years ago, as I traveled overseas, that borrowing a colleague's laptop meant more adaptation to the hardware than to the software.

With so many HW vendors becoming service firms, to quote a young child on a family car trip: "Are we there yet?"  Me thinks not, but I suspect there are a few firms covertly working on such a service as we speak...This then makes the SMB equally as competitive in terms of infrastructure than the large enterprise, and then knowledge and content would drive competition, not the size of the server farm.

So in closing why not give Jeremy Mayfield another chance ?

So in the end I do believe that if it werent for the click you must be in todays nascar that jeremy would be sporting a new ride about now discusing the future .

ps. I apologize for the grammar I am not an English Major !!

Update The leading candidate for possible open rides is Casey Mears

This helps prove my point here is his stats remember this is in hendrick equipment not haas not bdr but hendrick motorsports the grand daddy of them all !

OK here is another tidbit of information The other Driver that is being considered ahead of mayfield is non other than David Stremme I will leave the bad mouthing to someone else I do not know enough about him .All that I can say is what I have been able to find on him I would still hire Mayfield over him sorry David

Please I encourage you to leave a comment I am very interested in hearing your comments !!!

At UCLA, some of the top men's tennis players have gathered to compete in the Countrywide Classic.

Yesterday, Tommy Haas, who has won the tournament twice, took on 19-year-old Donald Young, and to everyone's surprise, Young beat Haas in two sets.

While I am a pretty new fan of tennis, I can't help but be amazed by Young. Haas is a legend, even in Los Angeles. (Kate Hudson, a friend and fan, was in the stands with Haas' girlfriend.) This scrappy, up-and-coming kid just kept firing back, and through pure endurance beat Haas. He obviously has a great career in front of him.

Spain's Carlos Moya played Xavier Malisse of Belgium. It took three sets and a tiebreak for Moya to beat Malisse.

North American MBA Programs

Babson - Olin - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/26/08 - Price: $0.00

Babson - Olin - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/31/08 - Price: $0.00

Baruch - Zicklin - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/22/08 - Price: $0.00

Baruch - Zicklin - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/22/08 - Price: $0.00

Boston College - Carroll - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/08/08 - Price: $0.00

Boston College - Carroll - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/22/08 - Price: $0.00

Carnegie Mellon - Tepper - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/08/08 - Price: $0.00

Carnegie Mellon - Tepper - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/14/08 - Price: $0.00

Carnegie Mellon - Tepper - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Columbia Business School - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/15/08 - Price: $250.00

Columbia Business School - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/14/08 - Price: $250.00

Columbia Business School - Alumni - Released: TBD - Price: $500.00

Cornell - Johnson - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/05/08 - Price: $225.00

Cornell - Johnson - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/24/08 - Price: $225.00

Dartmouth - Tuck - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/22/08 - Price: $250.00

Dartmouth - Tuck - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/10/08 - Price: $250.00

Dartmouth - Tuck - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $500.00

Duke - Fuqua - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/08/08 - Price:$250.00

Duke - Fuqua - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/24/08 - Price:$250.00

Duke - Fuqua - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $500.00

Emory - Goizueta - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/10/08 - Price: $0.00

Emory - Goizueta - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Emory - Goizueta - Alumni - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

FIU - Chapman - Academic Year 2008-2009 - Released: 10/05/08 - Price: $0.00

FIU - Chapman - Experienced Hire - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Georgetown - McDonough - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/27/08 - Price: $0.00

Georgetown - McDonough - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/29/08 - Price: $0.00

Georgia State - J. Mack Robinson - Class of 2009 - Released: 07/18/08 - Price: $0.00

Georgia State - J. Mack Robinson - Class of 2010 - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

Harvard Business School - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/08/08 - Price: $300.00

Harvard Business School - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/03/08 - Price: $300.00

Indiana - Kelley - Class of 2009 - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

Indiana - Kelley - Class of 2010 - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

Indiana - Kelley - Alumni - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

LSU - E.J. Ourso - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $0.00

LSU - E.J. Ourso - Class of 2010 - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

MIT - Sloan - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $250.00

MIT - Sloan - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/12/08 - Price: $250.00

MIT - Sloan - Alumni - Released: TBD - Price: $500.00

NYU - Stern - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/25/08 - Price: $250.00

NYU - Stern - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/03/08 - Price: $250.00

Northwestern - Kellogg - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/15/08 - Price: $250.00

Northwestern - Kellogg - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/12/08 - Price: $250.00

Northwestern - Kellogg - Alumni - Released: 07/15/08 - Price: $500.00

Ohio State - Fisher - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/14/08 - Price: $0.00

Ohio State - Fisher - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/06/08 - Price: $0.00

Ohio State - Fisher - Alumni - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $395.00

Rice - Jones - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/12/08 - Price: $0.00

Rice - Jones - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/23/08 - Price: $0.00

Rice - Jones - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Stanford University GSB - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/27/08 - Price: $250.00

Stanford University GSB - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/14/08 - Price: $250.00

Syracuse - Whitman - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/18/08 - Price: $0.00

Syracuse - Whitman - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/10/08 - Price: $0.00

Temple - Fox - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $0.00

Temple - Fox - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/12/08 - Price: $0.00

Thunderbird - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Thunderbird - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/23/08 - Price: $0.00

Thunderbird - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Tulane - Freeman - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Tulane - Freeman - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/01/08 - Price: $0.00

UC Berkeley - Haas - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/11/08 - Price: $400.00 (combo only)

UC Berkeley - Haas - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/10/08 - Price: $400.00 (combo only)

UC Berkeley - Haas - Experienced Hire - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

UC Irvine - Paul Merage - Class of 2009 - 09/10/08 - Price:$0.00

UC Irvine - Paul Merage - Class of 2010 - 12/10/08 - Price:$0.00

UC Irvine - Paul Merage - Alumni - 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

UCLA Anderson - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/22/08 - Price: $250.00

UCLA Anderson - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/06/08 - Price: $250.00

UCLA Anderson - Experienced Hire - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $500.00

British Columbia - Sauder - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/11/08 - Price: $0.00

British Columbia - Sauder - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/11/08 - Price: $0.00

British Columbia - Sauder - Alumni - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Chicago GSB - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/08/08 - Price:$250.00

Chicago GSB - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/06/08 - Price:$200.00

Chicago GSB - Alumni, Evening, EMBA - Released: 10/01/08 - Price: $0.00

North Carolina - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/13/08 - Price: $250.00

North Carolina - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/06/08 - Price: $250.00

Notre Dame - Mendoza - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Notre Dame - Mendoza - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/06/08 - Price: $0.00

Notre Dame - Mendoza - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Pennsylvania - Wharton - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/05/08 - Price: $300.00

Pennsylvania - Wharton - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/07/08 - Price: $300.00

Pennsylvania - Wharton - Experienced Hire - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $525.00

South Carolina - Moore - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

South Carolina - Moore - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $0.00

Southern California - Marshall - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $0.00

Southern California - Marshall - Class of 2010 - Released: 12/03/08 - Price: $0.00

Southern California - Marshall - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Texas at Austin - McCombs - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/15/08 - Price: $225.00

Texas at Austin - McCombs - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/05/08 - Price: $225.00

Virginia - Darden - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/18/08 - Price: $250.00

Virginia - Darden - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/20/08 - Price: $250.00

Virginia - Darden - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $500.00

Western Ontario - Ivey - Spring 2009 Graduates - Released: 11/05/07 - Price: $0.00

Western Ontario - Ivey - Fall 2009 Graduates - Released: 07/08/08 - Price: $0.00

Western Ontario - Ivey - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Vanderbilt - Owen - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/27/08 - Price: $0.00

Vanderbilt - Owen - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/13/08 - Price: $0.00

Vanderbilt - Owen - Alumni - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

WUSTL - Olin - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/20/08 - Price: $0.00

WUSTL - Olin - Class of 2010 - Released: 09/27/08 - Price: $0.00

WUSTL - Olin - Alumni - Released: 09/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Yale School of Management - Class of 2009 - Released: 09/15/08 - Price: $250.00

Yale School of Management - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/10/08 - Price: $250.00

European MBA Programs

Erasmus - Rotterdam - Released: TBD - Price: $0.00

IESE - Graduates - Released: May 2009 - Price: $0.00

IESE - Interns - Released: May 2010 - Price: $0.00

London - LBS - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: £200.00 (combo only)

London - LBS - Class of 2010 - Released: 11/01/08 - Price: £200.00 (combo only)

London Business School - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: £295.00

Oxford - Saïd - MBA & MFE Class of 2009 - Released: October 2008 - Price: $0.00

Warwick - Class of 2008 - Released: Sept 2009 - Price: $0.00

Warwick - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Asian MBA Programs

Singapore - NUS - Class of 2009 - Released: 08/17/08 - Price: $0.00

Singapore - NUS - Class of 2010 - Released: 10/16/08 - Price: $0.00

Singapore - NUS - Alumni - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Professional Associations

National Association of Women MBAs - Resumes - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $795.00

NAWMBA - Job Postings - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $0.00

Forté Foundation- MBA Women Resumes - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $495.00

Forté - Undergrad Women Resumes - Released: 08/01/08 - Price: $395.00

Forté Foundation- MBA Women Job Postings - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

Forté - Undergrad Women Job Postings - Released: 06/02/08 - Price: $0.00

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Makrokosmos convoque les sens en plusieurs temps. Le rythme se propage à l'intérieur du corps, diffusion du toucher, le son, ample et dispersé, investit l'ouïe mais, prioritairement, c'est la vue que l'œuvre privilégie.

On voit ce que l'on écoute. Les sons peuvent se détacher les uns des autres et s'ordonner dans l'espace ; ils composent une image rythmée par les formes et les couleurs, équivalent musical des résonances de Kandinsky. En exergue, des citations littéraires renforcent la suggestion picturale : Dans la nuit / La terre lourde / Des étoiles s'écroule / Dans la solitude / Avec elle nous tombons / Un Etre pourtant / Eternellement retient / Dans ses mains légères / Notre chute (Rilke). La représentation du cosmos reste abstraite tout en devenant sensible. Aussi, d'une étrange manière, cette musique est-elle profondément bouleversante, révèlant un champ d'expressions où les disciplines se confondent, glissent discrètement de l'une à l'autre. S'il s'agissait d'une oeuvre purement contemplative, elle devrait en assumer le poids, et s'exposer au danger d'un certain statisme. Or, c'est tout le contraire. Fluide, légère, elle retranscrit le mouvement circulatoire du cosmos, dont elle donne une vive impression physique : regroupements de notes, accélération soudaine, zones de flottement, circulations internes, balancements, oscillations, ascensions et chutes.

Petite digression : Crumb joue parfois sur le graphisme des partitions. L'augenmusik, la musique pour les yeux, est l'équivalent musical des calligrammes. Rien ne transparaît à l'écoute, mais l'acte n'en est pas moins signifiant, puisqu'il réaffirme la prévalence du regard.Autonome, cette musique s'inscrit néanmoins dans une tradition. Crumb reconnaît s'être inspiré de Bartók (Mikrokosmos, 1926) et de Debussy, compositeur particulièrement visuel. On décèle dans le troisième mouvement, L'Avènement (Le silence infini des espaces m'effraie) des réminiscences de La Cathédrale Engloutie, tant au niveau sonore que dans la montée impressionnante du piano. A cela s'ajoute l'ambition de réaliser une véritable œuvre technique globale, à la manière de Bach, Chopin, Liszt. Mais l'approche diffère forcément. C'est une recherche de texture, une caractérisation du piano par une confrontation avec les percussions. Lesquelles, démultipliées, sont à tour de rôle convoquées pour leur timbre davantage que pour leur fonction rythmique. Leur diversité n'est ni décorative ni aléatoire (vibraphone, xylophone, cloches, tam-tam, cymbales, crécelle, maracas, glockenspiel, claves...) : la sonorité propre à chaque instrument entre en résonance avec une couleur spécifique du piano. Interviennent aussi les performances physiques du pianiste : chant, psalmodies, sifflements et grognements, qui appuient sporadiquement les pianos amplifiés. En prolongement, les morceaux de Gervasoni et de Georg Haas s'invitent comme échos de Makrokosmos. Les activités imaginaires et intellectuelles sont ici confondues. L'instabilité des composants peut éveiller un certain malaise chez l'auditeur, et simultanément lui communiquer une force bizarre, comme si le vacillement permanent des sons engendrait une chorégraphie complexe d'où naîtrait, finalement, un nouvel équilibre.

In the competitive strategy course that I am taking this summer, half of the course focuses on Game Theory. Per Wikipedia "Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences (most notably economics), biology, engineering, political science, computer science (mainly for artificial intelligence), and philosophy." In the field of business, it talks about how to understand situations as they apply to business interactions and based on that understanding make best use of the environment (inc. competitors, etc). It tells you what you could do to maximize your chances of winning.

I find it truly fascinating. What fascinates me most about it is it's relevance in our everyday professional lives. It explains the logic behind how certain interactions could be in your favor, vs. other that would not. Its good to realize that you are not working in isolation, and that any step taken by you would like invoke a response from your competitors. It's good to know what the other party might be thinking when negotiating. I find myself using this more and more often at my current job. Its also fascinating because it helps you improve in a field that MBAs are trained for - people management. Many other courses teach you the same, but there's a certain smartness about this approach (perhaps because its roots are in Mathematics) which will make me think more of the subject even after the course ends.

One of the recommended books on this subject (within the domain of Competitive Strategy) is "Thinking Strategically" by Nalebuff and Dixit. Although I am still going through it, it is turning out to be an entertaining and thought provoking read.

I had started my journey with just ISB,Hyderabad as my only aim.. Gradually I opened up to NUS. Next in were middle-tier US-schools, which were a bit affordable in terms of living expenses and chances of scholarship.. But as I delved deeper into the B-school research, I almost fell in love with the MBA programs that top US universities offer.. And to make my dreams true, I got to know that all top universities offer you a loan without any co-cosigner !!
"Check your pocket and the loan conditions before you apply", advised the gurus.. But from my latest experiences, I'd refine that to  "Check your pocket and the loan conditions even before you start researching a program." In case, you'e very sure that you can't get somebody to co-sign your loan, this is the first thing that you should look for, else it can be quite annoying if you get to know about it after you've decided that it's a school that you'd love to atend.

Tepper gave me my first heart-break in this regard.. Last year, when I was still contemplating about apping for Fall'08, I had set my eyes on Tepper.. I loved their General Mgmt program and vistas that are open for you in the tech-industry once you graduate from there.. I had even sent them my GMAT score..(though that was mostly w/o research, just went by the CMU brand name at that time). Later got to know that Tepper strictly needs a cosigner or a credit history in US before provide loans to international students. Talked to a current student and she confirmed the same.. Had done some of my research by then and it really pinched to drop it off my list..  :(

A similar thing occured with Haas last week.. Before I started researching on Haas, I had made sure that the school does provide loans to international students w/o a cosigner .. What I missed out was that the maximum amount one can borrow is limited to the cost of tuition minus any scholarships that you get, which means even if i manage to get in with a decent schol, I'd need to bear the cost of living. And for Haas, that comes to be in order of  a whopping INR 17 Lakhs for 2 years!! :-o
So had to drop Haas too!!  :(

After this, I decided to follow the mantra listed above.. Instead of delving into details of specialization, available career choices, city, class-size, chanes of getting in etc, I started exploring the availability of no-cosigner loans at all the colleges that I had still not struck off my list.. Of course, I'd be applying the other filters later, but no use exploring a school which you can't afford.. RIght??

 The funda here is simple:: Any school that needs a cosigner for any loan is surely a no-go for me. Any school that offers a no cosigner-loan upto cost of attendance remains on my list. (to be checked for rest of the details). And what about schools offering a no-cosigner loan upto costs of tuition?? Well, these are something I need to check.. Will depend on the city and the expenses involved and whether I can afford the same..

So here goes a first level round up of whatever I discovered over last 48 hours:

• No cosigner loan upto full cost of attendance::Stanford,Ross,Tuck,Duke,Emory,Yale.
• No cosigner loan upto full cost of tuition::Haas, Kenan-Flagler,Kelley.
• Need a cosigner :: Tepper, UCLA Anderson, Mccombs, Fisher, Marshal.

I know a number of names are missing from this list.. Those are either the schools that I had already dropped off my list for some other reasons or the ones that I've not started researching yet or those for which I cud locate a clear statement on the issue on their site.

Hope this list is useful to others too..  Just adding the customary disclaimer:: Though I've taken care to cross-check things from my personal record-sheet before posting it here, still I'd advise everyone to do his/her own research before taking a decision.. (Also do let me know if you locate any discrepancy in the data above.)

BTW, I do feel that this was just the right time i discovered this. I was in process of pruning the list of my target schools and as you can see above the first level pruning is done for me by just applying the no-cosigner filter. :)
So coming up next:: the list of the schools I''d be apping to. (Have already delayed it by 3 weeks. :( )

Because I was caught up in a traffic jam for two hours in the morning I missed the match of world No. 7 James Blake in his match vs. the German Björn Phau :(

The first match I watched was French old hand Fabrice Santoro vs. Rainer Schuettler. It was an interesting match with some worth seeing shots. Then I moved to the Gerry Weber Stadion (centre court) to watch Nicolas Kiefer in his match vs. Dutch hope Robin Haase. After a bad first set of Kiefer with many unforced errors he played much better and won the match in three sets.

The match of the day came shortly after when Tommy Haas played vs. the Czech Radek Stepanek. It was the first match of Haas after a long shoulder injury. It was - to tell the truth - a really boring match because both served very well. So it came that there were only a few good shots. At the end Haas won.

Before I left I attended for a few games the doubles match of Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner vs. No. 2 seed team Martin Damm / Pavel Vizner.

Because I had to get up early next morning and I had a trip of four hours back to Berlin I had to leave at six o'clock...

All pics I made that day you can find in the gallery. I also updated the player lists where you now can click on the name of your preferred player and can watch all the pics of her or him ;)

The next tournament I've planed to attend so far will be WTA Stuttgart in October...