Ashna Mallowe blog

Nadal downs Tomic as Australian hopes die

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal's quest to win four consecutive grand slam titles survived a feisty third-round challenge from teenager Bernard Tomic as record crowds flocked to the Australian Open in the hope of local success on Saturday.

Although never a real scare, the threat from the Australian 18-year-old during a 6-2 7-5 6-3 win was such that the Spanish world number one admitted he will have to improve, especially with his main rivals in ominous form.

Andy Murray and Robin Soderling, potential semi-final opponents for Nadal, galloped into the second week. Murray, runner-up to Roger Federer last year, dismantled Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-16-2 while Soderling trounced Czech qualifier Jan Hernych 6-3 6-1 6-4.

Tomic's expected defeat ended home hopes in the singles after fifth seed Samantha Stosur was beaten by Czech Petra Kvitova 7-6 6-3 -- a defeat she was at a loss to explain.

"I don't really know how I lost it," she said as Kvitova thwarted her attempt to become the first home women's champion at the Australian Open since 1978.

Nadal, bidding to become only the third player to hold all the majors at once, was forced out of his comfort zone by Tomic.

Playing with the freedom of a man with nothing to lose and roared on by a partisan crowd, the 199th-ranked teenager rattled the Spaniard at the start of the second set, firing rasping forehand winners about the court to take a 4-0 lead.

The scowl on Nadal's face deepened as he mixed up his game to regain the lost ground, darting to the net more frequently and peeling sweat-drenched off his torso at the changeovers.

"He's good, no?," said Nadal, who will face Croatian Marin Cilic in the next round. "I have to play better if I want to reach the quarter-finals. It was a difficult match. Even if I didn't play my best tennis, for me to win in three sets ... is a very positive result for me."

GENUINE CONTENDER

While Tomic was an extremely long-shot for the men's title, his compatriot Stosur was considered a genuine contender to end Australia's 33-year wait for a singles champion here.

The fifth seed was unable to meet the weight of expectation that had helped draw 77,121 people to Melbourne Park, however, and crumpled under the pressure after leading the first set tiebreaker 5-3.

"I think I've played a lot better (than last year), handled myself a lot better and everything else, but I lost a round earlier," said the French Open finalist. "What do you do? That's sport, I guess."

Stosur picked Kim Clijsters to win the title and the three-times U.S. Open champion continued to glide through the women's draw, beating French birthday girl Alize Cornet 7-6 6-3.

Women's second seed Vera Zvonareva reached the fourth round with a 6-3 7-6 win over Lucie Safarova, keeping her on track for a maiden grand slam title.

Murray and Soderling are both yet to drop a set as they raced toward a quarter-final showdown. "It was good," fifth seed Murray said after an 82-minute breeze. "Served well. Hit the ball clean from the back. That was it."

Soderling, looking every bit the top-four player he has become, said a Nadal-Federer final was by no means a formality.

"I think there's many guys who can actually compete against them and have a chance to win the tournaments like this when they're playing well," said the Swedish fourth seed.

Murray faces Juergen Melzer next after the Austrian went through against former runner-up Marcos Baghdatis who retired with a finger injury in the fourth set.

Two men's seeds toppled early. Tenth-ranked Mikhail Youzhny crashed out 6-4 7-5 4-6 6-4 to Canadian qualifier Milos Raonic and 2008 runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost 3-6 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1 to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Big-serving Raonic played with a confidence that belied his ranking of 152nd and his victory over Russian Youzhny surprised everybody but himself.

"I know I can play well and I know I can play at this level," said the 20-year-old. "I can't say I would be shocked if I wasn't here. But I'm not really shocked I am here."

Cilic, a semi-finalist last year, set up his date with Nadal by beating American John Isner 4-6 6-2 6-7 7-6 9-7.

The Croatian sealed victory after four hours and 33 minutes -- some seven hours short of Isner's record match against Nicolas Mahut last year at Wimbledon -- and the players embraced at the net.

Such respect was absent from a fiery doubles encounter that pitched Indians Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes against Spanish/Argentine duo Feliciano Lopez and Juan Monaco.

The match ended with the players having to be separated by officials as tempers boiled over, Lopez and Monaco unhappy at the Indians' use of the Spanish word for "let's go."

"I've been using 'vamos' for about 16 or 17 years," said Paes. "Whether it's 'vamos' or 'allez', we're Indian. Nobody has a patent."

(Editing by Martyn Herman)

TPM hires The Hill’s Crabtree, plans D.C. expansion

Talking Points Memo is preparing for a significant expansion in 2011, including plans to roughly double the size of theWashington, D.C., bureau by the end of the year.

To kick things off, TPM has hiredas a reporter and senior editor. She'll work with managing editor David Kurtz on expanding the five-person D.C. bureau, which .

TPM editor and publisher Josh Marshall, who's based in the New York City headquarters, spoke to The Cutline about how Crabtree fits into the site's D.C. plans.

"It's critical for us to have someone with her experience covering Washington, her sources, her knowledge of how the city works, to build out our D.C. team," Marshall said.

Although Crabtree's primary responsibility will be reporting, Marshall said she'll also help mentor journalists with less experience covering Washington. The latest hire is another indication that Marshall is committed to building TPM into a larger news operation.

Marshall, who10 years ago, hasadding editors, reporters and business-side staffers. Crabtree will be TPM's 20th staffer, he said, adding that "quite a few more" are on the way.

Marshall said that he'll have a "more detailed announcement" on TPM's expansion plans early next month.

Currently, TPM operates at a profit, according to Marshall. And the site's operating revenue comes from advertising.

But TPM also started bringing in outside investors to help expand the site in July 2009. Marc Andreessen, the Netscape co-founder and investor in several startups, led an initial round of investment in the

Correction: Text fixed to make clear that TPM's operating revenue comes from advertising, not outside funding sources. Recent investments in TPM will go toward expanding the site.

8 Ways to Bring Chanukah to Life This Year, With G-dcast

Jewish animation studio G-dcast (rhymes with podcast) shares its new Chanukah family cartoon, PLUS, 8 fun ways to bring the Festival of Lights to life. Chanukah comes "early" this year - right after Thanksgiving - giving families the chance to celebrate the holiday as a special experience completely distinct from "the other December holiday." But what's the meaning of Chanukah apart from presents and menorahs and latkes? G-dcast is an animation studio that has brought the story of Chanukah to life in a five minute cartoon that's perfect for watching on your mobile device or on the web right before you light those candles this year.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) November 23, 2010

Jewish animation studio G-dcast (rhymes with podcast) shares its new Chanukah family cartoon, PLUS, 8 fun ways to bring the Festival of Lights to life.

Chanukah comes "early" this year - right after Thanksgiving - giving families the chance to celebrate the holiday as a special experience completely distinct from "the other December holiday." But what's the meaning of Chanukah apart from presents and menorahs and latkes?

G-dcast is an animation studio that has brought the story of Chanukah to life in a five minute cartoon that's perfect for watching on your mobile device or on the web right before you light those candles this year.

G-dcast's on Fire with 8 Fun Ways to Celebrate the 8 Days of Chanukah.

1. Watch G-dcast’s new Chanukah video with your friends or family to learn what the holiday is really all about.

2. Enter G-dcast's Chanukah contest - tell us what you learned from the video and get a chance to win an iPod Touch, a Chanukah gift basket or a delicious kosher gift basket!

3.Challenge yourself to explain what the holiday means to someone who doesn’t know the story.

4. Celebrate the miracle of the oil by indulging in fattening, oily foods: Make sweet potatoes latkes, have an olive oil tasting party, or serve jelly donuts.

5. Wear your identity on your sleeve like the Maccabees did!Find a Jewish t-shirt to wear online.

6. Wrestle (like the Greeks) with a new Jewish idea- pick up a book, magazine, or surf the web to learn something you didn’t know about Judiasm.

7. Learn how to play Dreidel: the instructions are embedded in our cartoon.

8. Download the free G-dcast Chanukah MP3 -“I’m Just Fine” - from the G-dcast site. Play it for your kids and talk about what the lyrics mean. Download the song here:

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Sarah LeftonG-dcast(415)754-3672Email Information

Protests in Kabul ahead of much-delayed election results

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan election candidates took to the streets of Kabul on Wednesday to protest against a polling process they say was corrupt and shameful ahead of the expected announcement of final results from the September 18 vote.

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) has said it would announce the winners of 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, or wolesi jirga , after a delay that lasted more than two months due to investigations into fraud complaints.

The credibility of the eventual result will weigh heavily on U.S. President Barack Obama's review of his Afghan war strategy, due to be released next month, amid rising violence and sagging public support, especially after a fraud-marred presidential election last year.

Consistent allegations of vote fraud in both polls have raised questions about the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government at a time when U.S. and NATO officials have been re-examining their long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

The protesters, mostly candidates who failed to win a seat and their supporters, have organized a string of demonstrations in the capital and warned that failure to address grievances about the poll would only push Afghans toward the insurgency.

Some of the protesters, including a handful of women and turban-wearing men, looked like they had travelled from outside Kabul.

"We have gathered here today to protest against the illegal election," said lawmaker Noor ul Haq Olomi, from southern Kandahar province, the Taliban's heartland.

"It doesn't matter who is winning or losing, we will continue to protest until the officials in the government hear us and the Afghan people learn about the widespread fraud that happened during this election."

Disgruntled candidates, lawmakers and supporters have in recent weeks called for the September poll to be scrapped and a new election ordered.

A U.N.-backed election watchdog said on Sunday nearly one in 10 winning candidates had been disqualified for fraud.

Sunday's disqualifications by the U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) cleared the way for the Afghan government's IEC to release the final results.

There were more than 6,000 complaints lodged with ECC and the IEC has already thrown out almost a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast as invalid. The IEC also is being investigated by the attorney general's office over election fraud.

Late on Tuesday, Afghan television also reported two election officials had been suspended by the attorney general's office for "making statements against the national interest". The attorney general's office declined immediate comment.

(Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Paul Tait and Miral Fahmy)

Sara Bareilles and Pharrell? Awkward as it sounds

NEW YORK – The idea of Sara Bareilles and Pharrell working on music sounds odd enough — but it's not nearly as awkward as the actual event.

The piano-playing songstress was exploring a new sound for her sophomore CD when she decided to try and work with the hitmaker for Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani and more. When she walked in for her recording session, Pharrell was getting a haircut.

It went downhill from there.

"I'm not a very good collaborator and I didn't really know how to do it. ... I felt really uncomfortable with just the process and so I think that's why we didn't really get anything out of it," Bareilles said.

Though the 30-year-old earned Grammy nods for her breakthrough hit, "Love Song," Bareilles said she struggled to come up with new material for the follow-up to her platinum-selling 2007 debut, "Little Voice."

"I hadn't really prepared for what would come after that," she said.

Then she recorded "Uncharted," a pop tune about messing up — and moving along. Things got easier after that.

Bareilles talked recently about the steps that led to "Kaleidoscope Heart," out this week.

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The Associated Press: Why is songwriting with others tough for you?

Bareilles: I'm not a great co-writer. I have a lot of respect for people that can do it well, I'm just terrible at it. ... I don't know. I feel like what comes out of it is always something I feel a sense of detachment to and it sort of makes me feel like, I don't know, unable or unwilling to want to sing it as a part of my normal repertoire.

AP: Those songs you recorded with Pharrell — where will they end up?

Bareilles: I would love to probably re-approach it instead of using what we ended up with. I'd love to do it again now that it's not such a new experience. I think I have that tendency where my knee-jerk reaction is to sort of clam up and close myself off from doing something I've never done before. And it's totally something I'm trying to let go of. I don't know why I get so, I don't know, nervous? I think I was star-struck, honestly.

AP: How did you come up with the first single?

Bareilles: "King of Anything" was sort of a pep talk, it's actually very similar to the way "Love Song" came about. ... It was written at the point where I was just starting to share the music and then people start to give you their feedback on it and you're like, "Oh, you don't like that part and you think I should change those words." (Laughs.) ... There's lots of people that aren't going to like this record, you know, that don't like my music anyway and people feel very vocal. Like, people are really brave in what they say to you these days.

AP: Did you always want to be a singer?

Bareilles: I don't know if I articulated that in my brain as a child, but I think I always felt like that was where I was the most confident and at peace and felt like it was my calling. I think I always thought I would do theater though because I grew up doing musical theater. So I think I always sort of anticipated, like, being on Broadway or something.

AP: Heading to Broadway soon?

Bareilles: Oh god I would love it. ... I have mad respect for the performers on Broadway and I would only want to do it if I could do an incredible job. ... So I think I would have some homework to do before I could step up on stage.

AP: A lot of contemporary singers have delved into a more electro-pop, dance sound. Are you next?

Bareilles: I feel like it would feel like wearing somebody else's underwear because it's really not (laughs) ... it doesn't feel kind of congruent with who I really think I am musically. But you never know. There's great collaborations out there and I think there would be a way to do it musically where it felt good to me, but it's not immediately a genre I've always loved or wanted to do.

AP: You should do a song witCarlos Santana.

Bareilles: Me and Santana? OK. Can you make that happen? Give him a call.

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