Eye Candy: Cross Thompson

Much love to Rod McCollum for alerting me to the hotness that is model Cross Thompson. Clearly, other people agree. Do you?

Books To Read

As regular readers of this blog know, I have been disappointed with the recent winners (and nominees) of the Hugo Awards, the novels which are considered by fans the best works of science fiction so I have started reading the winners of both the Hugo and Nebula award. (Think of it as a song which wins the Oscar and the Grammy). The Nebula award used to be the novels considered by writers the best work of science fiction although for awhile it seemed like Hugo was "hard" sci-fi and the Nebula was fantasy-oriented.

Thanks to Wikipedia, the list of books which have won both the Hugo and Nebula award are:

1966/1965 Novel: Dune by Frank Herbert (READ, A+)
1970/1969 Novel: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (READ, A+)
1971/1970 Novel: Ringworld by Larry Niven (READ, A)
1973/1972 Novel: The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (READ, A+)
1974/1973 Novel: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (READ, C)
1975/1974 Novel: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (READ, A+)
1976/1975 Novel: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (READ, A+)
1978/1977 Novel: Gateway by Frederik Pohl (READ, A-)
1979/1978 Novel: Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre
1980/1979 Novel: The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
1984/1983 Novel: Startide Rising by David Brin (READ, A+)
1985/1984 Novel: Neuromancer by William Ford Gibson (READ, B-)
1986/1985 Novel: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (READ, A+)
1987/1986 Novel: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (READ, A+)
1993/1992 Novel: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
1998 Novel: Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman
2002 Novel: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (READ, A)
2004 Novel: Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold

On this list are some of my favorite novels of all time (Dune, Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead. The Gods Themslves and The Dispossessed). All of the ones I have read on this list are excellent, except for Rendezvous With Rama which is incredibly dated and Neuromancer, which I barely finished and did not enjoy at all.

I have reviews pending for American Gods, The Forever War and Forever Peace.

WIMBLEDON 2008: Women's Top 10 Preview

The Wimbledon Women's Singles draw is now available. Here are my prediction's for the Top 10 Seeded players.

1. Ana IVANOVIC (SRB). The reigning Roland Garros champion is now the World #1 player and is playing her first major tournament seeded #1. Last year she had the misfortune to be in the path of Venus Williams' rampage to the title although she did play a stirring match against Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinal the round before her thumping loss to Venus. Happily, this year Ivanovic's draw insures an almost clear path to a semi-final clash with 2-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams. Different Williams sister, same result. PREDICTION: Semi-finalist.

2. Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB). Last year, the less successful of the Serbian duo had her string of major semi-finals snapped by shock Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli in a tough 3-set 4th round match. It was that match that made many a fan of "Maid Marion" although in the past year the Frenchwoman has not been able to repeat her success, she has managed to stay very close to the Top 10. Wimbledon has been Jankovic's least successful slam, never getting past the 4th round here. But this year Jankovic enters the grass court tournament having taken an unusual hiatus (for her) since the Roland Garros heartbreaker she lost to Ivanovic. Thanks to her improved seeding Jankovic shouldn't face another Top 10 seed until she meets Venus in the quarter-final, if Venus gets that far. PREDICTION: Quarter-finalist.

3. Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS). As usual, the draw is pretty kind to the WTA's "It Girl." Sharapova has potential match-ups with Sybille Bammer or Dinara Safina/Lindsay Davenport/Elena Dementieva/Lucia Safarova before a blockbuster semifinal against Venus. Sharapova likes grass and will be looking for revenge against whomever makes it out of the top half of her quarter. Personally I hope that it is Lindsay, but I think it will be Safina. And that's probably good news for Sharapova. PREDICTION: Semi-finalist.

4. Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS). This year Sveta has a very nice draw and should have few problems getting to a quarterfinal against Serena. Unfortunately, Sveta appears to only play well every other year at Wimbledon and 2008 is scheduled to be an off year. As long as no-one tells her this, she should be able to match her best result at Wimbledon, otherwise Aggie Radwanska or one of the Bondarenko sisters could take her out in one of the early rounds. Losing early in a Wimbledon warm-up shouldn't increase her confidence. PREDICTION: Quarter-finalist (at best).

5. Elena DEMENTIEVA (RUS). If she survives a 3rd round match-up with Lindsay Davenport, the quietest of the Russians will face Safina who just beat her at the 2008 French Open and then Sharapova after that. That is a gauntlet few players would survive and Dementieva has never played her best at Wimbledon, preferring the hard courts of America. PREDICTION: 3rd Round Loss.

6. Serena WILLIAMS (USA). Serena has already expressed "sadness" about Justine Henin's recent departure from competitive tennis and if you believe that I have a great bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Her draw is definitely tricky, with a potential 3rd round match with fading Amelie Mauresmo and a 4th round match with quirky Marion Bartoli. After that she could face a quarterfinal against Kuznetsova and a semifinal against Ivanovic. All of these are matches the 8-time Grand Slam champ could win with about half of them being matches she should win. I'll put my money on another all-Williams final. PREDICTION: Finalist.

7. Venus WILLIAMS (USA). The "best grass court player of her generation" (as commentator Mary Carillo calls her) is the defending Wimbledon champion. In typical Williams fashion, Venus has not played a single grass court match since her Cinderella run to the final in 2008. However, she has a pretty good draw, with only Sania Mirza, Daniela Hantuchova and Jankovic standing in her way of a potential semifinal showdown with Maria Sharapova (or possibly Lindsay Davenport). The question is, will Venus circa 2007 show up or will it be Venus circa 2004? Not having seen her play recently, I still give her great odds to get to her seventh Wimbledon final in 9 years. PREDICTION: Finalist.

8. Anna CHAKVETADZE (RUS). (Un)fortunately for Chakvetadze, she is in newly minted World #1's quarter of the draw which is relatively free of dangerous players. But it only takes one to take you out of the tournament and Ivanovic will happily do the job. PREDICTION: Quarter-finalist.

9. Dinara SAFINA (RUS). The 2008 French Open finalist has put the physical side of her game together and is starting to maximize her considerable tennis talent. Now comes the harder question of whether she can make the parallel improvements to her mental fortitude. A quarterfinal run at Wimbledon will indicate she is well on her way to doing just that. PREDICTION: Quarter-finalist.

10. Daniela HANTUCHOVA (SVK). The only player in the Top 10 who is
not from Russia, United States or Serbia, the Slovak is an excellent
grass court player, and if she is healthy should do well at Wimbledon this year. After last year's operatic loss to Serena Williams in the Round of 16, Hantuchova
can't be too happy that this time it's Venus that she could meet in this year's Round of 16. PREDICTION: 4th Round Loss.

WIMBLEDON 2008: Men's Top 10 Preview

The 2008 Wimbledon Championships begin on Sunday. The following preview was begun before the draw was released, but updated afterwards.

1. Roger FEDERER (SUI). The 5-time Wimbledon champion has had a horrible 2008 (for him), coming into The Championships for the first time since 2003 without having won either a major or ATP Masters Series title. In addition, the last Grand Slam match he played, at the Roland Garros final a scant few weeks ago, the World #1 suffered his worst defeat ever, losing 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 to his arch-nemesis and World #2 Rafael Nadal. All of these factors multiply to increase the odds against Federer winning his sixth consecutive Wimbledon title. However, he has won 59 grass court matches in a row, and if there is any court in the world where he can still impose his will by sheer determination, it is Centre Court at Wimbledon--but this time he will have the person who took him out of the 2008 Australian Open in his half of the draw, Novak Djokovic. I think Roger will appreciate the opportunity for revenge. PREDICTION: Champion.




2. Rafael NADAL (ESP). The 4-time consecutive French Open champion has also managed to be in the Wimbledon final for the last two years and in 2007 was a point or two from an unassailable lead in the 5th set. Miraculously, Federer was able to escape to win the title. In the year since that unlucky defeat Nadal has improved his game by quantum levels: his two-handed backhand is now a dangerous weapon, his serve which was previously merely effective is now occasionally lethal and his confidence is at near stratospheric levels. He really believes that he can beat anyone on any surface at any time. At Queen's Club he proved that he could beat the #4 and #3 best grass court players in the world (Roddick and Djokovic). Whether this can be repeated at Wimbledon will be revealed in the next fortnight. PREDICTION: Finalist.



3. Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB). For most of this year, Djokovic has been considered the hottest player on tour having won the 2008 Australian Open title and two ATP Masters Series titles (Indian Wells and Rome). There was much discussion that the ever decreasing gap between the World #3 and the World #2--until the clay court season. Nadal has now defeated Djokovic relatively easily in three consecutive matches and the two have played an astonishing 11 times in the last year with Nadal winning 8 of their showdowns including every Grand Slam match The only way the two will meet at Wimbledon is in the Men's Final which would be a repeat of the Queen's final which was won by Nadal. PREDICTION: Semi-finalist.



4. Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS). The hapless Russian finally broke through at "the fifth Slam" this year to capture his second ATP Masters series title in Miami. However he has never been able to get past the semifinal round of any major--it's highly unlikely that will change at Wimbledon. PREDICTION: Early round loss.



5. David FERRER (ESP). Although there are now two Spaniards in the Top 5 players in the world, only one of them really has a chance to win the tournament. David Ferrer is not that Spaniard. PREDICTION: At best Quarter-finalist.
   


6. Andy RODDICK (USA). The 2-time Wimbledon finalist has the game to win the title this year, but does he have the belief? The resurgent Nadal took out the American at Queen's, where Roddick had previously won the title 4 times before. And Djokovic has the weapons and tennis acumen to take out the American's more rounded game. If Roger Federer did not exist Roddick would probably have 5 Grand Slam titles (3 Wimbledons and 2 US Opens) instead of the sole 2003 US Open title. Unfortunately for Roddick, Federer does exist but fortunately they are in opposite sections of the draw thus year. PREDICTION: At least Semi-finalist.



7. David NALBANDIAN (ARG). A surprising Wimbledon finalist (losing to Lleyton Hewitt in 2002) at age 20 a year ahead of his arch-rival Roger Federer, the hard hitting Argentine with impeccable timing and questionable stamina has long been a thorn in the side of the winner of every Wimbledon Men's singles title since 2003. Last year Nalbandian evened out their head-to-head rivalry by winning two consecutive matches on hard courts on his way to winning consecutive ATP Masters Series tournamenys in Madrid and Paris. Unfortunately, Nalbandian has not been able to find his late 2007 form this year and it is unlikely that he will make a mark on the 2008 Championships. PREDICTION: 4th Round Loss.
   
   
8. Richard GASQUET (FRA). Last year's surprising Wimbledon semi-finalist (by defeating Roddick in a garish display of over 90 winners) has not been making much of a splash on the ATP Tour or in the major tournaments since then. Although perhaps it was the Frenchman's breakthrough that spurred his countrymen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils to great success in the first two major tournaments of 2008. However, since his pitiful performance in Davis Cup against the U.S. this spring "Richie Red Shoes" has been worse than pitiful, he has been absent. PREDICTION: Early Round Loss.



9. James BLAKE (USA). The second best American player has long been in the shadow of his lightning-serving compatriot but has managed to follow up his breakthrough year in 2006 to maintain his berth in the Top 10 for nearly two years. Unfortunately he has not been able to bring his best tennis to the majors so far (except at his hometown Grand Slam in New York City). He definitely has the game and the physical athleticism to do well on grass. Tough break being in Roddick's quarter of the draw. PREDICTION: 4th Round Loss.



10. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP). Being a finalist at the 2006 Australian Open has been a career highlight so far for the flashy Cypriot who has repeatedly been involved in some of the best matches in Grand Slam tournaments (v. Hewitt in Australia this year, v. Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2007 and v. Agassi at U.S. Open in 2006) but rarely actually winning these thrillers. Hopefully he will bring his brilliant game and desire-to-win to Wimbledon and perhaps this time he'll win a repeat thriller against Djokovic in the quarterfinal, although a possible 4th round match against Nalbandian could have even more fireworks. PREDICTION: Quarter-finalist.

Maine Homophobes Drop Gay Rights Law Repeal Efforts

More good news about heterosexual supremacists failing to repeal hard-fought gay rights rights victories. This time the good news is out of Maine.

The [Christian Civic League of Maine] would have had to collect more than 55,000 signatures by next January to place its proposal on the statewide ballot in November 2009.

Thursday the organization conceded it has collected only about 5,000 signatures.

The proposal would have banned same-sex marriage and civil unions, wipe out existing laws giving limited rights to gay and lesbian couples, removed LGBT protections under the state's Human Rights Act, and would remove funding from the Attorney General's Office to investigate discrimination claims.

The Simpsons Couch Gag Montage

Hat/tip to Queerty.

Another Gay Math Professor in the Media

This week's New York Times Science section has an interview in the Tuesday June 17th edition about Manil Suri, 48, a full Professor of Mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who is also a published novelist! I had heard of "the math professor author" in the newsletter of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM News).

Professor Suri has published two books, The Death of Vishnu (his debut novel which was published in 2001 to wide acclaim, from being long-listed for the Booker Prize to winning numerous industry prizes) and The Age of Shiva which came out this year.

What's most interesting to me, though, was not only finding another mathematician who is a person of color who has numerous outside interests out of mathematics, but that we also do the same kind of mathematics (numerical analysis!)

Another interesting facet of Professor Suri (which didn't seem to come out in the SIAM News story) was that he is also gay (which did make it into the New York Times interview):

Q. HOW OLD WHERE YOU WHEN YOU ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES?

A. Twenty. I had obtained a fellowship to Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh. Immediately, I was surprised how easy it was to set down roots here. Unlike immigrants from other parts of the world, I had the language. I’d seen American movies and had read Mad magazine. There was no culture shock.

In America, I finally had a chance to investigate my own sexuality and take small hesitant steps in that direction. Today, I’m with my partner of 18 years.

One thing I was shocked by was how much Americans hated mathematics. You almost needed an antidefamation league for mathematicians. People actually took pleasure in explaining how bad they were at it. There’s a doll here that says, “I hate math.” You wouldn’t be able to sell such a doll in a sari.

Barack Obama's First General Election Ad

POLL: Obama Leads in FL, OH, PA

TPM Elelection Central has this report on a Quiinnipiac poll which shows that Barack Obama is leading John McCain in three "swing states" of Florida (27 electoral votes), Pennsylvania (21 electoral votes) and Ohio (20 electoral votes). In 2004, if John Kerry had won Ohio he would have been elected president.

Florida
Obama (D) 47%, McCain (R) 43%
Margin of error: ±2.6%

Ohio
Obama (D) 48%, McCain (R) 42%
Margin of error: ±2.6%

Pennsylvania
Obama (D) 52%, McCain (R) 40%
Margin of error: ±2.5%

This is the first poll to show Obama leading in Florida. If the election were held today, Barack Obama would be elected President. Unfortunately, exactly four years ago, John Kerry was also polling ahead of George W. Bush (and we all know what happened in November 2004!)

NYC Stops Use of Rapid Oral HIV Test Due To High False Positive Rate

The always useful Kaiser Daily HIV Reports has an article about the unusually high false positive rate of OraSure's oral rapidHIV tests (OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV 1/2 Antibody Test) used in NYC which has led to their use being discontinued as of May 27, 2008. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has switched to OraSure's blood-based rapid HIV test (OraQuick ADVANCE Rapid HIV Test).

From the June 16 Bloomberg article quoted in the Kaiser report:

The rate of false positives from the OraQuick Advance Rapid HIV 1/2 rose as high as 1.1 percent over the past eight months, or more than five times the level claimed in the kit's labeling, city health officials said. While the test meets U.S. standards and remains on the market, New York's sexually transmitted disease clinics stopped using it to screen saliva on May 27, said Susan Blank, director of the city's Bureau of STD control.

The $12 test is the only one cleared in the U.S. to test saliva for signs of HIV. It generated $32.7 million in 2007 sales, or about 40 percent of company revenue, Orasure said in February. The kit has performed better elsewhere, according to company spokesman Ron Ticho, who said Orasure is cooperating with U.S. regulators reviewing the New York results.

Nothing links the false positives to how the clinics have used the test, Blank said in a June 13 e-mail. ``So far, false positives have not been linked to handling, storage conditions, lot numbers, clinic sites and test operators,'' she wrote.

California November 2008 Ballot Measures

The Los Angeles Times has a good summary of the eleven(!) ballot propositions which Secretary of State Debra Bowen has announced have qualified for the November 4, 2008 statewide general election:

1. "Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century." Authorizes issuance of $9.95 billion of general obligation bonds to create a high-speed passenger train network beginning with a line between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
2. "California Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act." Prohibits confinement of farm animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie down, stand up, or fully extend their limbs.
3. "Children's Hospital Bond Act." Authorizes issuance of $980 million in bonds to build, renovate and equip children's hospitals.
4. "Sarah's Law: the Child and Teen Safety and Stop Predators Act." Requires parental notification prior to minors' abortions.
5. "Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act of 2008." Establishes a California secretary of rehabilitation and parole and other departments, offices and programs intended to provide rehabilitation and alternative sentencing for drug defendants.
6. "Safe Neighborhoods Act." Establishes an Office of Public Safety Education and Information and appropriates $12.5 million annually to pay for it and other programs; establishes a California Early Intervention, Rehabilitation and Accountability Commission to evaluate publicly funded anti-crime programs and sets standards for such programs; appropriates $92.5 million annually to help counties house juvenile offenders; appropriates $50 million for a Juvenile Probation Facility and Supervision Fund; broadens the admissibility of hearsay evidence; establishes a Crimestopper Reward Reimbursement Fund and appropriates $10 million annually to fund it; stiffens penalties for threatening judges and witnesses and for various gang-related crimes; broadens civil actions against gangs; and establishes other programs and laws intended to protect crime victims and more effectively deter crime and punish criminals.
7. "The Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008." Establishes mandatory renewable energy threshold for the L.A. Department of Water and Power and other government utilities.
8. "California Marriage Protection Act." Outlaws same-sex marriage by adding the following words to the state Constitution: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."
9. "Marsy's Law: the Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008." Broadens role of victims and victims' families in parole hearings and restricts frequency of hearing.
10. "The California Renewable Energy and Clean Alternative Fuel Act." Authorizes $5 billion in bonds ($9.8 billion with interest), much of which would provide rebates to buyers of hybrids and other alternative-fuel cars and fund research.
11. "Voters FIRST Act." Redistricting Constitutional Amendment and Statute. Would transfer the power to re-draw Assembly, state Senate, and Board of Equalization district lines, once every 10 years after census data come in, from the political parties and elected officials to a 14-member citizens' commission.

It still too early for the measures to have Propsition Numbers and this only the list as of June 18, 2008. It's still possible for the legislature to put measures on the ballot, probably as part of a budget deal. Bowen's office says that the last day for her to announce where a measures has qualified through signature gathering is June 26, 2008.

Mad Professah's general rule is to vote NO on statewide propositions because they are usually promulgated by conservative interests trying to enact legislation by avoiding the Democratic-controlled State Legislature. It looks like this there is no compelling initiative in this list of measures that would cause me to change that policy: VOTE NO!

Oregon LGBT Rights Laws Safe From November Repeal

The heterosexual supremacists in the state of Oregon that were attempting to repeal that state's recently enacted Oregon Family Fairnesss Act and Oregon Equality Act admitted today that they have failed to get enough signatures to put repeal measures on the November 4 ballot.

They had previously failed (by a mere 116 signatures!) to repeal the domestic partnership law (Oregon Family Fairness Act) back in October 2007. They were able to delay it from going into effect on time and are still engaged in a federal lawsuit to declare the law unconstitutional.

The Oregon Equality Act bans discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in housing, employment, public accommodation, education and public services throughout the state.

Al Gore Endorses Obama

Al Gore endorsed Barack Obama at a rally in Detroit, Michigan.

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

Since gay marriage is now legal in California, I am posting this amusing list of "Why Gay Marriage Is Wrong" I found at DailyKos.

1. Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Plus, Gay marriage killed the dinosaurs! DUH!

This list comes from the Facebook group, Against Gay Marriage? Then Don't Get One and SHUT THE FUCK UP (UCLA Chapter).

Waiting 55 Years To Get Married...

Del Martin, 87, and Phyllis Lyon, 84, getting married Monday June 16, 5:01pm in San Francisco City Hall by Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Gay Marriage Is Now Legal In California!

As of 5:01pm on Monday June 16th, marriages in California will be provided to same-sex couples: gay marriage is now legal! Congratulations!

Obama Campaign Announces National LGBT Vote Director

On Wednesday, the Obama for America campaign announced that David Noble, currently director of public policy and governmental affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will start June 21st as the Director of the National LGBT Vote.

I wonder if John McCain has someone reponsible for getting out the LGBT vote for him?

Gay Boys Have Bigger Penises Than Straights?!

In light of gay marriages beginning on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times summarizes the scientific research that indicates which characteristics of humans seem to vary with sexual orientation in an article entitled "What does gay look like? Science keeps trying to figure that out." These are known as "sexual orientation correlates."

A brief summary of the research is:

These scientists are searching for innate traits that might not appear to be related to sexual orientation or even to standard clichés. So measuring a subject's shoe size is permissible; asking about ownership of Barbra Streisand albums would be cheating. Some inborn traits might be expected if homosexuality is -- as most scientists believe -- rooted in biology, and they might provide clues about the biological origins of sexual orientation.

[...]

Big brothers. Study after study -- including one of 87,000 British men published last year -- has found that gay men have more older brothers than straight men do. Only big brothers count. Lesbians don't show such patterns.

The numbers: Each older brother will increase a man's chances of being gay by 33%, says Ray Blanchard of the University of Toronto, an expert on the "big-brother effect." That's not as dramatic as it might sound. A man's chance of being gay is pretty low to begin with -- perhaps as low as 2% (lowered from 10% by researchers in the early 1990s). So having one older brother ups the chance to only about 2.6%.

[...]

Left hand vs. right hand. The hand you use to sign your name might have something to do with what gender you are drawn to.

The numbers: More lefties -- or at least more somewhat-ambidextrous folks -- crop up in the gay population than among straight people, several studies have shown. An analysis of more than 23,000 men and women from North America and Europe in 2000 found that being non-right-handed seems to increase a man's chances of being gay by about 34%, and a woman's by about 90%.

[...]

Hair whorl. How does your hair grow? This might reflect your sexual orientation.

The numbers: A 2004 study of nearly 500 men -- 272 on Delaware's Rehoboth Beach, popular with gay men, 200 on a beach without that reputation -- found that hair on the heads of men on the gay beach was 3.5 times more likely to grow in a counterclockwise direction. (Scalp hair typically resembles a clockwise-rotating typhoon.)

[...]

Penis size. If exposure to testosterone in the womb influences sexual orientation, scientists reckon that straight and gay people would differ in body parts strongly affected by testosterone, such as the penis.

The numbers: Anthony Bogaert of Brock University in Ontario and his colleagues re-analyzed data on 5,000 gay and straight men from sexologist Alfred Kinsey's famous files, collected from the 1930s to the 1960s. The results, published in 1999, showed that gay men had longer, thicker penises than did straight men: on average, about 6.5 inches long and 4.95 inches around when erect, versus 6.1 inches long and 4.8 inches around for straight men.

Hmmmm, since I have no experience with the penises of straight men, I can't really comment on this topic!

Nadal Wins 1st Grass Court Title; Federer Wins 55th

Rafael Nadal became the first Spanish player in 36 years to win a grass court title on Sunday by defeating World #3 Novak Djokovic 7-6(6) 7-5 at the Stella Artois Championships, a warm-up tournament for Wimbledon held at the Queen's Club in London.

Roger Federer won his 59th consecutive grass court match en route to winning his 5th consecutive Halle title (55th ATP Tour title overall) at the Gerry Weber Open by defeating Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4. It was Federer's 10th title on grass, he has never lost a grass court final.

Eva Paterson Commentary on Marriage Equality

Eva Paterson of the Equal Justice Society has a commentary published in the San Francisco Chronicle urging a no vote on the November ballot measure to amend the California Constitution to prevent gay marriage.

She explicitly makes the comparison between the controversy and social upheaval over interracial marriage in the 1960s following the United States Supreme Court's Loving v. Virginia decision legalizing interracial marriage and 2008's controversy over same-sex marriage in California following the state Supreme Court's legalizing same-sex marriages.

What gay men and lesbians are experiencing now as they seek to marry feels very familiar to me. The state has no right to tell anyone who they can or cannot love or marry. That is why this ballot initiative is misguided and cruel.

There are good people who continue to hold different beliefs about marriage for gay and lesbian couples. But amending our state Constitution is different. Writing a statement of inequality into the founding document of our state affects everyone's status in our community. It would say to some Californians that they are second-class citizens. We have gone down that road before, and we know where it leads.

That is why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama have both clearly stated their opposition to the proposed California constitutional amendment, even though they do not personally support marriage for gay and lesbian couples. they are opposed because a constitution is different. If a European-American Republican governor and an African-American Democratic presidential candidate can agree on that principle, then I believe the people of California can rally around it as well.

Committed, loving gay and lesbian couples will begin legally marrying next week. Do not take their marriages away from them in November.

We are stronger as a community when we come together to strengthen all of our relationships. Divided, we are weaker.

Barack Obama's Birth Certificate

What other presidential candidate has had to prove that they are "a real American" by releasing their actual birth certificate? Here's Barack Obama's, which was posted on DailyKos recently.

It's a good thing "Barack Obama has it easy because he's Black." (as Geraldine Ferraro and othre Clinton supporters claimed repeatedly during the Democratic presidential primary fight.

Triskaidekaphobia!

Today is Friday the 13th. I'm scared that M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, The Happening, is going to suck as much as his last one. What are YOU scared of?

Obama Extends Lead Over McCain in Tracking Poll

Barack Obama leads John McCain 48%-42% in the latest daily Gallup tracking poll (published June 11). The next poll will be Friday June 13th.

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon To Marry Legally Mon June 16

Del Martin and Phyllyis Lyon are a lesbian couple who have been together for over 55 years, will become the first same-sex couple to be married legally in San Francisco's historic City Hall on Mon June 16th at 5pm.

They were also one of the first couples to be married by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in March 2004 and were plaintiffs in one of the cases combined during the In Re Marriage Cases litigation which resulted in California's marriage laws being declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court.

Lyon, 83, said it was "heartwarming" that the city wants her and Martin, 87, to be the first couple to marry, but she said they are just a small part of what will happen as same-sex marriage begins in California.

"Hundreds of thousands of couples will be getting married this time, and that's the important thing," Lyon said. "It's something that has been due for a long time, and thank god, it's here."

Lyon and Martin first met in Seattle in 1950 and moved in together in a Castro Street apartment on Valentine's Day 1953. Two years later, Lyon and Martin, and three other lesbian couples founded the Daughters of Bilitis, which historians call the first lesbian organization in the United States. Lyon and Martin have been leaders of the lesbian community ever since.

Congratulations, Phyllis and Del!

Norway Enacts Gay Marriage Law

Norway is poised to become the sixth country in the world to give full marriage rights to same-sex couples. Currently, The Netherlands (2001), Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005)and South Africa (2006) all allow same-sex couples to enter into civil marriage. The state of Massachusetts allowed same sex marriage starting May 17, 2004.

Starting at 5:01 pm on June 16, 2008 same-sex couples will be able to get married in California. Professor Art Leonard of New York Law School has noted that most of these countries have smaller populations than California (38 million). To wit:

The largest is South Africa, with a population of almost 48 million, then Spain with about 45 million, then California, with about 38 million, followed by Canada, 33 million, the Netherlands, 16.5 million, Belgium, 10 million, and little Massachusetts, rounding out the list with 6.5 million.

In a few weeks we can add Norway to the list, with about 4.5 million. Surely the other Scandinavian countries of Sweden (9 million) and Denmark (5.5 million). Finland (5 million) and Iceland (300k) are not Scandinavian, but they are culturally related. All of these countries (like most of Europe) currently have "registered partnerships" which are a countrywide version of domestic partnership or civil union.

LGBT Advocacy Groups Discourage Federal Marriage Lawsuits

Joe.My.God and the mainstream media are reporting on the rather lengthy joint statement ("Make Change, Not Lawsuits) by nine LGBT advocacy groups (Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Freedom To Marry, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Equality Federation, American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal) that was issued on Tuesday urging same-sex couples newly married in California to restrain themselves from filing lawsuits. An excerpt:

Now that we’ve won marriage in California, should we be bringing cases in other states or suing the federal government? If not, what can we do to help secure the freedom to marry nationwide?

Bottom Line. If you’re ready and it’s right for you, get married in California. If you do, claim the name and act like what you are--married. But don’t go suing right away. Most lawsuits will likely set us all back. There are other ways to fight which are more likely to win.

Summary: The fastest way to win the freedom to marry throughout America is by getting marriage through state courts (to show that fairness requires it) and state legislatures (to show that people support it). We need to start with states where we have the best odds of winning. When we’ve won in a critical mass of states, we can turn to Congress and the federal courts. At that point, we’ll ask that the U.S. government treat all marriages equally. And we’ll ask that all states give equal treatment to all marriages and civil unions that are celebrated in other states.

[...]

There are many things people can and should do—urgently—to get marriage nationwide.

Working together we can defend the transformative wins in Massachusetts and California and build on them until we win equality, liberty and justice for all.

But one thing couples shouldn’t do is just sue the federal government or, if they are from other states, go sue their home state or their employer to recognize their marriage or open up the health plan. Pushing the federal government before we have a critical mass of states recognizing samesex relationships or suing in states where the courts aren’t ready is likely to get us bad rulings. Bad rulings will make it much more difficult for us to win marriage, and will certainly make it take much longer.

P.F. Chang Is NOT Chinese

Why do people eat at P.F. Chang's China Bistro? The "P.F." stands for Paul Fleming, who founded the chain in Scotsdale, AZ in 1993.

Fleming, a native of Louisiana who had worked in the oil business, entered the restaurant business in the early 1980s when the global oil glut devastated the petroleum industry in the Gulf of Mexico and sent Louisiana into a deep recession. He managed to gather together enough funds to open a franchise of New Orleans-based Ruth's Chris Steak House in Beverly Hills, California. Fleming had immediate success in a tough business. Eventually, he would acquire the franchise rights for Ruth's Chris Steak Houses in California, Arizona, and Hawaii, and he would also purchase other restaurant franchises, including four Z'Tejas Grills and one Nola's Mexican Restaurant. But it was not until he opened P.F. Chang's China Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 1993 that he began his own, rather unique chain. As president of Fleming Chinese Restaurants Inc., he started up and managed the first four restaurants in the fledgling enterprise. Fleming claimed that his principal motivation was his fondness for Chinese food, which he wanted to make available to all comers at reasonable prices in a less intimidating format than that of most Chinese restaurants.

As far as I'm concerned, P.F. Chang's is to chinese food what Taco Bell is to Mexican food. 'Nuff said.

NY TIMES story that gay couples argue like straights

The New York Times has an article in today's paper ("Gay Unions Shed Light on Gender in Marriage") which says that next week's impending commencement of same-sex marriages in California provides researchers with an excellent opportunity to study gender differences in long-term relationships. In fact, there has already been some research in this area, which the article summarizes:

A growing body of evidence shows that same-sex couples have a great deal to teach everyone else about marriage and relationships. Most studies show surprisingly few differences between committed gay couples and committed straight couples, but the differences that do emerge have shed light on the kinds of conflicts that can endanger heterosexual relationships.

[...]

One well-known study used mathematical modeling to decipher the interactions between committed gay couples. The results, published in two 2003 articles in The Journal of Homosexuality, showed that when same-sex couples argued, they tended to fight more fairly than heterosexual couples, making fewer verbal attacks and more of an effort to defuse the confrontation.

Controlling and hostile emotional tactics, like belligerence and domineering, were less common among gay couples.

Same-sex couples were also less likely to develop an elevated heartbeat and adrenaline surges during arguments. And straight couples were more likely to stay physically agitated after a conflict.

Obama Takes Lead In Daily Gallup Poll

Prince Turns 50

Thanks to commenter Wonder Man I was alerted that Prince turned 50 years old this weekend (June 7).

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Nadal Demolishes Federer to Win 4th Title

World #2 Rafael Nadal defeated World #1 Roger Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0. Nadal had eleven (or seven) unforced errors to Federer's 30-something. It wasn't a match it was a mis-match!

A Delegate For Obama

Craig Hickman, proprietor of Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog, which I contribute pieces to regularly has become an official Maine Democratic delegate for Barack Obama.

Congrats, Craig!!

Exactly 150 Days Until Election Day

It is 150 days until Californian's will vote on whether to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. Please make your voice heard!

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Men's Final Preview

Roger Federer SUI (1)	vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2).

Historic. That's the first word that comes to mind as I think about this match-up between the presumptive Best Clay Court Player Ever and the presumptive Greatest Of All Time for the third consecutive year in the Roland Garros final.

This time around Federer is playing in his fifteenth Grand Slam final (12-2) after having been in sixteen consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Four of those major finals have been against Nadal in 2006 and 2007 and they have split them equally, with Nadal winning both of the matches played on clay and Federer winning both matches played on grass.

On Sunday they will play a fifth major final, with the stakes, as usual, high for both combatants. If Federer wins, he will finally complete his career Grand Slam and move 1 major title closer to catching Pete Sampras' all-time record total of 14. If Nadal wins, he will have won 4 consecutive French Open titles, matching Bjorn Borg's wins from 1978-1981. Either way, history will be made on Sunday.

PREDICTION: Nadal in 5 sets.

Ivanovic Wins 1st Title

Ana Ivanovic defeated Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 to win her first title at Roland Garros.

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Women's Final Preview

Dinara Safina RUS (13)	vs. Ana Ivanovic SRB (2).

The brand new World #1 from Serbia is in her second consecutive final of the year as well as her second consecutive Roland Garros final. She's favored to defeat "Marat's little sister" who has twice stared down match point (against Maria Sharapova in the 4th round and Elena Dementieva in the quarters) in this tournament but is miraculously through to her first major final. Could this be the year of the Russian exactly four years after the first all-Russian final of Myskina-Dementieva? Doubtful.

Ivanovic dug deep in her semi-final against compatriot Jelena Jankovic when she lost the second set despite being up 3-1. In the decisive third set she proceeded to fall behind 3-1, fought back to even the score at 4-4 through some extremely hard hitting and athletic defense and eventually denied the older Jankovic her first "bite at the apple" in a major final.

In her semifinal, Safina played her third consecutive countrywoman, Svetlana Kuznetsova, who surprisingly was even more nervous than Safina was and unfortunately was unable to play her best tennis, thus handing Safina her first major final. If Safina wins, Dinara and Marat would become the first brother-sister sibling pairs to win major titles. If Ivanovic wins, she will be the first woman from her country to win a major tennis title, and amazingly someone from Serbia will have won the first two titles of 2008.

PREDICTION: Ivanovic in 3 sets.

Mariah Carey's "Bye Bye" Video

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Men's Semifinals PREVIEW

MadProfessah previewed the 2008 French Open Women's semifinals a few days ago. Today I'm going to preview the Men's Semifinals.

Roger Federer SUI (1) versus Gael Monfils FRA.This match is extremely important for the host nation France who have had to wait seven long years since they have had one of their own in a men's semifinal. It's been 25 long years since Yannick Noah's Cinderella run to the title in 1983. However, Federer has played Monfils three times (twice this year) and never lost to the fiery young Frenchman. Monfils has long been talked about as a potential Top 10 player, having been the Top Junior in the World four years ago, when he almost won the Junior Grand slam in 2004 (lost in the 3rd round of the Junior draw of the U.S. Open) but this is his first big splash at a Grand Slam. Happily for him it happened at his country's major. Federer has now been in a record 16 consecutive semifinals, every since tournament for the last four years, starting with the 2005 French Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. Federer has proved himself the second best player on clay since then, and will have another chance to prove this on Sunday. PREDICTION: Federer, in four sets.

Novak Djokovic SRB (3) vs. Rafael Nadal ESP (2). This match, although it is scheduled first, is actually the more important (and likely to be the higher quality) showdown. The World #2 ranking (and thus eventually the World #1 ranking) could be at risk depending on the result. Thanks to his performance earlier this year having won 2 ATP Masters titles (Indian Wells and Rome) and the first major of the year (beating Federer along the way) Djokovic is a few hundred points behind Nadal. .If Nadal loses, Djokovic will become World #2, and if were to beat Federer in the final he would almost certainly end the year at #1. However, both of those events are very unlikely. The most likely event is Nadal winning this semifinal showdown to produce a Federer-Nadal showdown for the third consecutive year in the Roland Garros final. Nadal has been clearly the sharpest player in Paris this year, demolishing talented Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals on his 22nd birthday by giving up a mere 3 games in the match (for the second round in a row!) In fact, Nadal has obliterated his competion at the 2008 Roland Garros, losing a total of 24 games in 5 rounds. Last year, Nadal defeated Djokovic easily to reach the final, and it looks like even they both are playing better this year than last, Nadal has improved more. PREDICTION: Nadal, in three sets.

The Veepstakes Begin in Earnest for Obama

kennethinthe212 posted this picture of the current popular contenders to be Barack Obama's running mate. They are:

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE)
NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg
Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark
Sen Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC)
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Gov. Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Gov. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)
Former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA)
Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM)
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)
Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA)

Mad Professah is surprised to not see our favorite, Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) on the list, or Markos Zuniga's fave, Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT). I think a Governor should have an edge over a current Senator.

Ridley-Thomas Leads Parks 45%-39%

In the hotly contested 2nd District Los Angeles County supervisorial race to replace Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Mad Professah-endorsed Mark Ridley-Thomas ended up placing first in a crowded field with 45.29% of the vote.

MRT will be in a November run-off with Los Angeles City councilman Bernard Parks (39.8%).

Text of CA Supreme Court Order Denying Stay

Pam has posted the text of the Cal Supreme Court order refusing to re-hear the case. There will be no delay in the implementation of the gay marriage ruling. All the justices signd the order, with the issenting Justices Baxer, Chin and Corrigan expressing support for the stay.

Gay Marriages In California WILL Begin June 17!

The California Supreme Court has voted 4-3 to refuse to delay implementation of its ruling that same-sex couples have equal access to marriage in California.

"It would have been unprecedented to postpone constitutional rights based on speculation of how a political scenario may or may not play out," San Francisco city attorney Dennis Herrera said.

"Folks can get married on June 17," he said.

[...]

The court's original ruling becomes final at 5 p.m. on June 16, opening the way for gay marriages to start the next day.

[...]

Massachusetts is the only U.S. state that allows same-sex marriage, but offers licenses only to its own residents. California has no residency requirement, which means gays from across the United States will be able to go there to marry.

Mad Professah and The Other Half intend to tie the knot on August 8, 2008.

Gael Monfils Reaches French Open Semis

Unseeded 21-year-old 6' 4" Gael Monfils of France reached the semifinals of Roland Garros on Thursday by winning the "battle of the hotties" by defeating #5 seed David Ferrer. Monfils becomes the second black tennis player(from France!) to reach a Major Final in 2008 after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga accomplished the same feat at the Australian Open, where he went on to lose the final against Novak Djokovic. Monfils will have to defeat World #1 Roger Federer, who also won on Thursday (in 4 sets) against 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez.

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Women's Semifinals PREVIEW

The 2008 French Open Women's semifinals are now set. Mad Professah correctly predicted all 4 of the women's quarterfinal match results.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4) vs. Dinara Safina RUS (13). For the third round in a row there is an important match between fellow Russians. The first was Dinara Safina's stunning come from behind victory over Maria Sharapova in the fourth round despite being down a match point and featuring two close tie-break sets. The round after that featured the knock down, drag out battle between Safina and Elena Dementieva. That match was a reprise of the final of the Qatar German Open, which Safina won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. This time Dementieva was forced to eat a bagel 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-0 in the deciding set after blowing her chances to win in straight sets. Kuznetsova had a much easier path to the semifinal and sports a 4-3 head-to-head against Safina, with all but two of these matches being on clay. The Safina playing in this tournament, however, is a player we have never seen before. Clearly, she wants to be the second member of her family to bring home a major trophy to Mom (and coach). I still think that at some point, the magnitude of her results will start weighing on her mind and the bubble will pop, although I'd be very pleased if it doesn't happen until after the final. Regardless, the Russian who gets to the final is likely to lose against the Serbian in the other half of the draw. PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 3 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) vs. Ana Ivanovic SRB (2). The bottom half of the draw has featured last year's finalist Ana Ivanovic working methodically through the draw in an attempt to give herself another chance to win a French Open final. The two Serbs have played six times before but Jankovic has only managed to win once.

As I said before, it looks like revenge (and shame!) are two excellent motivating forces for producing excellent tennis. After being demolished by Serena Williams in the 2007 Australian Open final, Maria Sharapova returned to Melbourne with a mission to erase last year's final from everyone's memory and managed to win the title without dropping a set. Last year, Ana Ivanovic got to the final of Roland Garros and then was so overwhelmed by the occasion she couldn't play a fraction of her game and lost easily to Justine Henin in two uncompetitive (and ugly) sets. In 2008, Ivanovic returned to Paris with a mission, and she has so far not lost a set and has been handing out beatdowns (and bagels) to everyone in her path to the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. Even if Jankovic were 100% (which she clearly isn't) she would have difficulty beating Ivanovic in this mode. The only question now is which Russian will he Serbian have to beat to win her first major title (and possibly claim the World #1 slot). PREDICTION: Ivanovic in 2 sets.

CA Openly Gay Candidates Win Primaries

Openly gay Assemblymember Mark Leno easily won the hotly contested Democratic primary in State Senate District 3 last night with 43% of the vote, while openly lesbian incumbent Carole Migden placed 3rd with 27.7% behind Joe Nation at 29.3%.

Openly gay John "Tony's Cousin" Perez won his primary in the State Assembly District 46 race with more than 54% of the vote.

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano won his uncontested primary to replace Mark Leno in the California Assembly in District 13.

Sadly, Greg Pettis and Chris Cabaldon lost their primaries by just over 1000 votes each, in Assembly District 80 (Palm Springs) and Assembly Distrist 8 (West Sacramento), respectively.

So, as Mad Professah predicted many weeks ago the new LGBT Legislative Caucus in 2009 will be: State Senators Christine Kehoe and Mark Leno, and Assemblymembers John A. Perez and Tom Ammiano, a reduction to 4 members from last session's 5 and down from a high of 6 in 2005.

In the last three years term limits have forced John Laird, Sheila Kuehl and Jackie Goldberg out of the Legislature.

Mad Professah had endorsed Perez and Leno in their contested primaries.

Obama Clinches Democratic Nomination

Barack Obama is likely to become the next President of the United States. He clinched the Democratic Presidential nomination today.

FRENCH OPEN 2008: Women's Quarterfinals

The 2008 Roland Garros Quarterfinals are almost set. The second Grand Slam of the year is reaching its second week without either of the Williams sisters, who lost within hours of each other in the 3rd round.

Dinara Safina RUS (13) Maria Sharapova RUS (1) vs. Elena Dementieva RUS (7). For the second time in three years "Marat's little sister" has defeated the WTA's "It Girl" at the toughest Grand Slam in the fourth round. But not only did Dinara Safina beat Sharapova at the French Open, she came back from an almost impossibly lost position to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Again. In 2006, Safina was down 1-5 in the 3rd set against her Russian compatriot and ended up winning the match 7-5 by losing only 3 of the last 31 points. This year Sharapova held a match point on her serve at 5-3 in the second set but lost that point and the set in a tiebreak. The third set was pretty close, but Safina prevailed 6-2 to end Sharapova's chances of a career or calendar Grand Slam. Safina goes on to face Elena Dementieva, who had a surprisingly difficult time defeating Vera Zvonareva in 3-sets. This quarterfinal should be the humdinger of the four. PREDICTION: Safina in 3 sets.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (4) vs. Kaia Kanepi EST or Petra Kvitova CZE. Every two years Svetlana Kuznetsova seems to be breakthrough at the French. In 2006 Kuznetsova reached the French Open final before losing to Justine Henin in a match in which only one player (Henin) competed. However, Kuznetsova has been playing well since that final and although her ranking has fallen to #4 recently (from her high of #2) it is theoretically possible for her to reach the #1 position her friend Justine vacated a ew weeks before the tournament, and who has also said she would like Kuznetsova to replace the Belgian as the French Open titleist. PREDICTION: Kuznetsova in 2 sets.



Carla Suarez Navarro ESP vs. Jelena Jankovic SRB (3). With the retirement of the 4-time and defending French Open champion Justine Henin alll eyes turned to Serbian Jelena Jankovic (and Ana Ivanovic) as the two highest ranked players yet to win a major title (Jankovic hasn't even reached a major final, while her Serbian "sister" has been in 2 in the last year). However, at this tournament Jankovic has been struggling to win against lower ranked players and complaining about the heavy conditions ausing injury while playing with large portions of her bidy wrapped. Regardless, she should have more than enough game against a surprise quarterfinalist Mad Professah had never even heard of to make her second consecutive Grand Slam final, where she lost to the eventual champion, Maria Sharapova. However, she will be facing Ivanovic who has looked the sharpest of all the top players, and who has beaten her Serb compatriot 5 times of the 6 matches they have played.
PREDICTION: Jankovic in 2 sets.


Patty Schnyder SUI (10) vs. Ana Ivanovic SRB (2). Ana Ivanovic is playing the 2008 Roland Garros tournament like a woman on a mission after being embarassed by Justine Henin in the 2007 Roland Garros final. Her fourth round match was a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Petra Cetkovska.
Patty Schnyder is a crafty lefty player who took Sharapova to a 3-set match last year (which she should have won) and is always a difficult opponent on any surface. With the departure of Henin and Sharapova, Ivanovic is the player to beat in order to win the title, and I'm doubtful anyone left in the draw will be able to do that.
PREDICTION: Ivanovic in 3 sets.