Cliff Lee

Cliff Lee aces Rockies from the mound, bases:

"He got really, really good as the game went on," said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. "It was to the point where, by the third inning, I don't know if he missed a spot. ... We certainly didn't get too many pitches to swing at. He was pretty much on the corners."

Lee, the 2008 American League Cy Young award winner, was acquired by the Phillies to pitch big games in October, and he rewarded them Wednesday. The bottom line will say that he allowed six hits in a 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the National League division series. What it won't mention is this: Things could have been different, very different, if not for a couple of fortuitous developments. MORe

12:28 AM | 0 comments | Read More

World Sight Day

World Sight Day to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment:

World Sight Day, celebrated on October 8th, is an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment as a major public health issue. World Sight Day is coordinated by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) under the global initiative of VISION 2020. This year, the theme for World Sight Day is Gender and Eye Health.

Why is blindness so prevalent for women and children in the developing world? Women and children face a greater risk of vision loss as a result of men's ability to access eye care services twice as often as women. In essence, two-thirds of blind people around the globe are women and girls. Blindness has become a barrier towards women's independence and their meaningful contribution to their family and community at large.

Blindness has many causes, among them are sanitation, water and nutrition. The lack of access to reliable and affordable health care results in cataracts and trachoma advancing to the stage of blindness. The good news is that 80 per cent of blindness in the developing world can be prevented, in which effective strategies can also successfully address the inequality of eye care services between men and women.

Operation Eyesight Universal is currently drilling wells in Kenya's Narok District as part of their Trachoma control project launched in 2007, and is implementing the World Health Organization's full SAFE strategy to eliminate trachoma. The SAFE strategy includes clear guidelines for Surgery, Antibiotics, Face washing and Environmental Infrastructures which consists of the building of wells and latrines to eliminate re-infection.

Operation Eyesight's ultimate goal is to eliminate blinding trachoma from this region for men, women and children. The provision of clean water will improve sanitary conditions in the communities, eliminate the potential for infection, and allow women to continually contribute to their families.

Trachoma is a disease of the eye caused by bacterial infection and is easily spread. The disease progresses gradually until scarring from prolonged infection causes the eyelashes to turn inward and scratch the cornea, leading slowly and painfully to complete blindness. In the developing world, about 80 million people are affected by trachoma and over 8 million suffer the late painful stage of the disease.

Source: OPERATION EYESIGHT UNIVERSAL

12:16 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Queen Latifah: 'Persona' grata

Queen Latifah: 'Persona' grata:

NEW YORK — Stepping off the elevator at a posh Midtown hotel, Queen Latifah is approached by a fan who notes, with some surprise, that she has slimmed down.

Latifah smiles easily. "I needed to," says the rapper/singer/songwriter/actress/film producer/celebrity spokeswoman, who last year added the Jenny Craig diet line to her string of endorsement deals.

But the multitasking artist born Dana Owens isn't here to discuss her weight loss, or to promote anyone's product other than her own. Settling into a booth in the lobby, Latifah orders English Breakfast tea, with milk and sugar, and begins talking about her new album, Persona. It's her first collection of original, hip-hop-driven songs in more than a decade, following two albums on which she covered traditional pop, jazz and soul tunes.

Persona contributors include fellow notables such as Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes and the production team Cool & Dre. Results range from the driving single Cue the Rain, which Latifah describes as "almost a rock record," to My Couch, "where I'm imagining that my guy has had a hard day of work, and I'm going to make sure he has all the loving he wants when he gets home. There's a lot of love on this album."

Latifah, 39, is less forthcoming about her romantic life. "I never comment on that," she says, gently but firmly. But she does open up about the inspiration for The World, an uncharacteristically hard-bitten track. In the song, Latifah alludes to having been molested as a 5-year-old child; her assailant was a male babysitter.

"It was important for me to write that, to get it off my chest," she says. "And to discuss it with a therapist, and tell my parents — which I did, eventually, though it took me about 20 years. And hopefully it will be helpful to someone out there who has gone through a similar situation."

The incident "left me not knowing how to deal with certain things. Boys can put pressure on you, and I didn't do so well with saying no. I had a lot to figure out, and I did eventually, but it was tough. We have to do a better job of looking out for our young girls, because there are predators out there."

Latifah also expresses concern for her female peers. "Never in my career do I remember rap being so male-dominated. In videos, women are basically shown as the girl you shake the booty with. They're objectified. There are females out there who can rap, who listen to rap. Missy and Lil' Kim and the young up-and-coming ones need an opportunity to be heard. I think we're all masculine and feminine, and a society can't be right if you don't honor the feminine voice."

Such forthright positions are integral to Latifah's enduring appeal, says former Vibe editor Alan Light. "Hip-hop applauds succeeding on your own terms, and she's done that. She's always been true to the image she created: proud, strong, socially aware. Those qualities are there whether in her music, her movies or when she's hosting award shows."

Though Latifah likes to play film characters who share her strength, "they don't have to be that way," she says. "A good script is always the starting point." Having voiced the role of a pregnant mammoth for this summer's animated Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, she'll turn up next year opposite fellow rapper/actor Common in the romantic comedy Just Wright.

Latifah also will kick off a month-long concert tour Nov. 1 in Seattle. "I know I'll have so much fun rocking these new songs on stage, and, of course, playing older favorites." Covergirl, the tour's sponsor, has launched a video contest on QueenLatifah.com to choose opening acts in select cities. A grand-prize winner will score a record contract and the chance to be featured in a national print ad for Latifah's Covergirl Queen Collection.

Light says there will be little pressure to boost Persona's commercial performance: "Her recordings are more important symbolically at this point, to show she hasn't left that world behind. She's never turned her back on hip-hop, but I think it's always been clear that she's not going to stay in just one place."

Or, he might add, rest on her laurels. "I've been in this business long enough that I've had great days and days when I'm over it," Latifah says. "But then someone will tell me their daughter was inspired by my being a big girl who's successful, or I'll meet a grown woman I inspired.

"The other morning I was (out shopping), and a lady told me how much I meant to her and to women of color, and women in general. When I hear that, I know that I'm doing the right thing, and that I should keep going."MORE

1:02 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Serena Williams wins, will regain No. 1 ranking:

Serena Williams is headed back to the top.

Williams needed only to win her second-round match at the China Open on Tuesday to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, because the current top-ranked player, Dinara Safina, couldn't get past that early round at the tournament.

Coming in, Williams had to fare better than Safina in Beijing to move to the top of the rankings next week. Safina lost to local wild card entry Zhang Shuai in the second round Monday.

Williams then needed just over one hour for a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.

"It feels pretty good. I'm really excited, I guess," Williams said. "I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, but I'm obviously happy to be there because I feel like I've been working so hard all year and just happy to be back."

Safina's loss made No. 226 Zhang the lowest-ranked woman to defeat a No. 1. Julie Coin of France was ranked 188th when she beat then-No. 1 Ana Ivanovic at the 2008 U.S. Open.

"I would like to take some break now. ... I'm very upset with myself," Safina said.

In other action, Maria Sharapova rallied for a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win over Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, and Peng Shuai of China upset defending champion Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Melinda Czink of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3.

In men's play, defending champion Andy Roddick lost to Polish qualifier Lucasz Kubot 6-2, 6-4, and top-seeded Rafael Nadal had a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over Cypriot wild card Marcos Baghdatis.

Williams has spent a total of 72 weeks as No. 1, including from Feb. 2 to Apr. 19 this year. The American said her focus for the rest of the year would be the WTA Tour Championships in Doha at the end of October.

"This is a tough part of the year. It's kind of toward the end and everybody's bodies are starting to ache, you're really fighting and you just do your best," she said.

Sharapova, who last week won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo for her first tournament victory since returning from a 10-month injury layoff, recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the final set, winning five games in a row as ninth-ranked Azarenka struggled.

After winning the second-set tiebreaker, Azarenka broke Sharapova three times to take a commanding lead. The tide turned in the eighth game, when Sharapova won a break of her own.

"I knew that if I just kept steady and maybe I got an extra ball back and kept going for it and being aggressive, maybe good things will happen," Sharapova said. "And today they did, and I certainly felt like I stepped it up when I needed to.

"I realized I certainly don't want to be going home. I don't want to be leaving China that soon, so I just went for it. I kept being aggressive and I stayed positive — I think that gets you a long way."

Jankovic, who retired in last week's Tokyo final, said her arm and wrist still bother her. She said it was especially apparent in the third set.

"I couldn't hit the ball hard enough," she said.

Roddick got an early flight home after his first-round loss.

"I was trying stuff out there and nothing seemed to be working too well," Roddick said.

James Blake of the United States will stick around longer. He stopped Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Safina's older brother, Marat Safin, enjoyed support from the Chinese fans on his way to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jose Acasuso of Argentina.

Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion and winner of the inaugural China Open in 2004, has announced plans to retire at the end of the year.MORE

12:59 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Man Booker Prize

Novel Set in Henry VIII’s Court Wins Booker Prize:

Hilary Mantel won the 41st annual Man Booker Prize on Tuesday night for “Wolf Hall,” a historical novel about Henry VIII’s court centered on the king’s adviser, Thomas Cromwell.In the run-up to Tuesday’s ceremony at the Guildhall in London, Ms. Mantel, 57, was the overwhelming favorite, with the bookmakers William Hill giving “Wolf Hall” odds of 10-11, the shortest odds ever for a nomineeMs. Mantel beat out the literary lions J. M. Coetzee and A. S. Byatt, both previous winners of the prize, and deprived Mr. Coetzee of the chance to become a three-time winner of the award. She was the first favorite to win since Yann Martel won for “Life of Pi” in 2002.

Accepting the award, Ms. Mantel said, “I had to interest the historians, I had to amuse the jaded palate of the critical establishment and most of all I had to capture the imagination of the general reader.”

James Naughtie, a BBC broadcaster who led the panel of judges, described “Wolf Hall” as “a thoroughly modern novel set in the 16th century,” praising it for the way it “probes the mysteries of power by examining and describing the meticulous dealings in Henry VIII’s court, revealing in thrilling prose how politics and history is made by men and women.”

Mr. Naughtie revealed that the decision was not unanimous and that the five-judge panel was split this year 3 to 2 in favor of “Wolf Hall.” In a report on the Web site of the Guardian newspaper, guardian.co.uk, Mr. Naughtie said the panel’s decision “was based on the sheer bigness of the book, the boldness of its narrative and scene-setting, the gleam that there is in its detail.”

The Man Booker Prize, Britain’s most prestigious literary award, is conferred every year to a novel written by an author from Britain, Ireland or the Commonwealth nations. The award comes with a check for about $80,000 and usually results in a bump in sales. Last year’s winner, “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga, for example, has sold 236,000 copies in paperback in the United States, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales. “The Gathering” by Anne Enright, which won in 2007, has sold 300,000 paperback copies.

Ms. Mantel, who has written 10 novels, a collection of short stories and a memoir, spent five years writing “Wolf Hall” and is already working on a sequel. This was her first time being nominated for the Booker Prize.

“Wolf Hall,” published by Fourth Estate in Britain and Henry Holt & Company in the United States, was widely praised among reviewers. Writing in The New York Times on Monday, Janet Maslin said the book’s “main characters are scorchingly well rendered,” adding that “their sharp-clawed machinations are presented with nonstop verve in a book that can compress a wealth of incisiveness into a very few well-chosen words.”

And in The Sunday Telegraph of London, Lucy Hughes-Hallett wrote that Ms. Mantel “makes that world at once so concrete you can smell the rain-drenched wool cloaks and feel the sharp fibers of the rushes underfoot.”

The Booker Prize was perhaps most notable this year for its lack of controversy. In previous years, details of the judges’ deliberations have been catnip for London’s literary society and the shortlists have often been scrutinized as much for who is left off as for who is included. This year, several heavyweights — and former winners — were left off the long list of finalists, but that was largely viewed as a measure of the strength of the year’s offerings in literary fiction.

The shortlist of finalists for the award were Ms. Byatt for “The Children’s Book,” ; Mr. Coetzee for “Summertime,” Adam Foulds for “The Quickening Maze,” Simon Mawer for “The Glass Room,” and Sarah Waters for “The Little Stranger.”More

12:10 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Man Booker Prize

12:10 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Man Booker Prize

Novel set in Tudor times wins Booker prize:

LONDON (AFP) – "Wolf Hall," a historical novel about King Henry VIII's advisor Thomas Cromwell, won its British author Hilary Mantel the coveted Booker literary prize.

"I can tell you that at this moment, I'm happily flying through the air," said Mantel, 57, as she accepted the honour at a ceremony at London's Guildhall.

"I hesitated for such a long time before beginning to write this book -- actually for about 20 years."

One of the most prestigious awards in English-language literature, the annual Booker Prize goes to the best work of fiction by an author from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.

It comes with a winner's cheque for 50,000 pounds and all but guarantees worldwide readership and an upsurge in book sales.

Last year's winner was India's Aravind Adiga for his debut novel "The White Tiger", which has sold more than half a million copies and been translated into 30 languages.

"Wolf Hall" emerged the winner after more than three hours' deliberation by the Booker judges, who were split three to two on giving it the prize.

Chairman of judges and broadcast journalist James Naughtie said the book demands "hard work" but yields "fantastic rewards."

"Hilary Mantel has created what one of the judges has said was a contemporary novel, a modern novel, which happens to be set in the 16th century," he said.

"We thought it was an extraordinary piece of story-telling."

Mantel, a 57-year-old former social worker, spent five years writing "Wolf Hall" and is currently working on a sequel.

Set in the 1520s, it tells the story of the ruthless Cromwell's rise to prominence in the Tudor court of Henry VIII.

South African-born Australian J.M. Coetzee was in the running for his fictionalised memoir "Summertime", while A.S. Byatt's "The Children's Book" was her nominated work.

Completing the shortlist of nominees was Adam Foulds for "The Quickening Maze", Simon Mawer for "The Glass Room" and Sarah Walters for "The Little Stranger".

Previous winners of the Booker Prize include Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro, Margaret Atwood, Ben Okri and Thomas Keneally.

MORE

12:04 AM | 0 comments | Read More