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The big names in professional tennis are players like Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, all of them winners of Grand Slam tournament trophies from the US Open to Wimbledon to Roland Garros and the Australian Open.

At this year’s US Open tournament in New York’s Flushing Meadows, all four of these competitors are making a run to the Finals, but it’s a 15-year-old women’s player from Delray Beach, Florida who has captured, if not the limelight, at least plenty of attention.

Teenage sensation Coco Gauff made a thrilling run to the fourth round of this year’s Wimbledon, only to follow up with her main-draw debut at the US Open, winning the first two matches to advance to the third round.

The tennis fans are definitely getting behind Gauff, and at the press conference following her winning match in the first round, she remarked that the “crowd really helped me the whole match,” and playing on the second biggest court was a “really great atmosphere to play in.”

The future of women’s tennis most likely belongs to Gauff but reality set in during a third round straight-set loss to defending US Open champion Naomi Osaka, who came to the tournament ranked No. 1. Nevertheless, time should be on Gauff’s side in the coming years.

As is the case with Gauff, the thrill of the US Open is to witness emerging talent that will mature and develop over time before the debilitating accumulation of aches and injuries set in.

Even the almost invincible Federer has shown signs of strain as a 38-year-old player. On the main stage of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Swiss pro lost the first sets of his first two winning matches, appearing to be sluggish before regaining his form in the third round.

Serena Williams, who last won the US Open title in 2014, is nearing her 38th birthday and still going strong. She was featured on the opening night stage in an easily victorious match with Maria Sharapova, who incidentally last won a Grand Slam at the French Open in 2014.

While the American women are performing well, the men are another story. The drought continues as the American men haven’t won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.

John Isner, from Greensboro, North Carolina, came into the tournament ranked N. 14, representing America’s best hope. After winning three straight-set matches in the first two rounds, he lost to Croatian Marin Cilic in the third round.

With Isner holding the highest ranking of the American men, his loss means that no American is in the men’s draw heading into the quarterfinals for only the third time since 1968 when Grand Slam tournaments allowed professionals to compete with amateurs in the Open era.

While the sports action is almost overwhelming, the US Open offers plenty of delights for foodies to enjoy. The culinary options keep expanding, and maybe this is driven by surveys indicating that millennials are foodies.

I have no idea of the demographics of the US Open crowd, but I would say the majority would be the 40-and-over crowd. Nonetheless, dining options are plentiful from the Food Village to the fancy restaurants.

The gourmet food stalls at the Food Village, which are accessible to everyone, appear to remain slow to offer the plant-based healthy options favored by vegans, or even vegetarian dishes. Yes, there’s a difference between the two.

Renowned chef David Burke, who has a sit-down restaurant with a menu of Cuban-Asian-American fusion dishes and cocktails, has upgraded his Fish Shack with new offerings but the cold Maine lobster roll remains the most popular.

Meanwhile, vegan options are limited to the organic tofu soy blend vegetable and rice or noodles at the Korilla BBQ stand or the vegan organic tofu with avocado, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, edamame, and black sesame seeds served with tofu Caesar at the Poke Yachty concession.

More celebrity chefs are opening up shop. “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio is serving sandwiches and salads at the Wichcraft stand, where the lobster BLT sandwich will set you back 29 bucks, which did not fit with my lunch budget.

James Beard Award winner chef Jose Andres is also a first timer with his Butterfly stands at the Food Village and inside the main stadium. A diner in the mood for tacos, tortas and the signature ceviche should grab a bite.

A sporting highlight at this year’s Open did not involve a match or even temper tantrums from some players. A long-awaited honor was bestowed on a trailblazing tennis player who broke the color barrier three years after Jackie Robinson did the same in baseball.

Althea Gibson made her 1950 debut at Forest Hills, the site of the then-U.S. National Championships, at the age of 23 and a year later she became the first black athlete to play at Wimbledon and won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1956.

A giant sculpture bust of Gibson, created by sculptor Eric Goulder, resting on five granite blocks in front of Arthur Ashe Stadium is a fitting tribute.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo star in “Captain Horatio Hornblower.” Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The 1951 adventure drama, “Captain Horatio Hornblower,” starring Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo, screens at the Soper Reese Theatre on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 1 and 6 p.m.

Entry to the film is by donation.

This swashbuckling high seas drama, set in the late 1800s in Central America, finds its hero caught up in the shifting political tensions between Spain and England.

Peck takes on the role of the title character, a famous Napoleon-era British captain created in the novels of C.S. Forester (who also wrote “The African Queen”).

Filmed in stunning Technicolor with a marvelous score, the Raoul Walsh-directed film is full of exciting battle scenes juxtaposed by gentle and moving romantic moments.

The movie is sponsored by the Lakeport Yacht Club. Rated G. Run time is 1 hour and 57 minutes.

The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport, 707-263-0577, www.soperreesetheatre.com .
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.

Let's hope that by the time this column appears all fires in California have been extinguished.

I wanted to offer you a poem that shows us what that beautiful but arid state can look like before it's caught fire.

The poet, Dana Gioia, served as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and has been a friend to, and advocate for, poetry for many years.

This poem appeared in the anthology, “Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California,” from Scarlet Tanager Books.

California Hills in August

I can imagine someone who found
these fields unbearable, who climbed
the hillside in the heat, cursing the dust,
cracking the brittle weeds underfoot,
wishing a few more trees for shade.

An Easterner especially, who would scorn
the meagerness of summer, the dry
twisted shapes of black elm,
scrub oak, and chaparral, a landscape
August has already drained of green.

One who would hurry over the clinging
thistle, foxtail, golden poppy,
knowing everything was just a weed,
unable to conceive that these trees
and sparse brown bushes were alive.

And hate the bright stillness of the noon
without wind, without motion,
the only other living thing
a hawk, hungry for prey, suspended
in the blinding, sunlit blue.

And yet how gentle it seems to someone
raised in a landscape short of rain—
the skyline of a hill broken by no more
trees than one can count, the grass,
the empty sky, the wish for water.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©1986 by Dana Gioia, "California Hills in August," from Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California, (Lucille Lang Day and Ruth Nolan, Eds., Scarlet Tanager Books, 2018). Poem reprinted by permission of Dana Gioia and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2019 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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‘GOOD BOYS’ (Rated R)

Comedic actor, writer and director Seth Rogen may have been a creative force behind films like “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express,” but for “Good Boys” his presence is felt even if only as one of the producers.

In all respects, “Good Boys,” which is prominently rated R in its advertising, is the crass, vulgar silliness that one expects from a Seth Rogen project, and it could prove offensive to some viewers.

The odd thing is that the central characters involved in the shenanigans are a trio of 12-year-old sixth graders who call themselves the “Beanbag Boys” at their middle school.

The narrative anchor to the story is Max (Jacob Tremblay), who seems to be the one in the group most interested in girls, particularly a classmate with whom he appears not to have ever engaged in a conversation.

Invited by a bunch of cool kids to a kissing party, Max realizes that this could be his opportunity for a first kiss with his crush, Brixlee (Millie Davis), who he wishfully imagines to one day marry.

Max and his buddies, Thor (Brady Noon) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams), don’t have the first clue about puckering up with a member of the opposite sex, and they need instruction fast.

First they turn to the Internet, only to find some really disturbing but funny videos. The next plan is not any better as it involves spying on teenage neighbor Hannah (Molly Gordon), catching her in a clinch with a boyfriend.

Borrowing Max’s dad’s drone for surveillance, things go wrong when Hannah and her friend Lily (Midori Francis) destroy the drone, and the boys resort to theft of Hannah’s purse which has a supply of the illegal substance “Molly.”

A wild adventure ensues when the girls chase after the boys to retrieve the drugs, and the boys need to find a way to buy a replacement drone before Max’s dad (Will Forte) returns from a business trip and Max is grounded for life.

Max is not alone in his worries. Lucas is coping with the news that his parents are splitting up and Taco Tuesdays could be in jeopardy. A talented singer, Thor struggles with trying to be tougher than he really is.

Because getting a new drone is so vital, they skip school and set off on an odyssey of epically bad decisions that include dealing with a frat house to get drugs, stealing a beer from a convenience store and dashing across a busy freeway.

A lot of the humor in “Good Boys” is that the tweens encounter situations and inanimate objects with which they are vastly unfamiliar. Funny bits involve a dildo and thinking that anal beads make a necklace.

An even funnier scene happens when the boys mistake a sex doll for a CPR dummy for kissing practice and later sell it to a creepy older guy (Stephen Merchant) who had intended only to buy a rare fantasy game card.

Yes, the comedy borders on the dumb, juvenile and gross, while the boys curse like sailors on shore leave, and the trademark shock humor of the Seth Rogen variety abounds in spades.

The surprise is that “Good Boys” manages to juggle the raunchy comedy with an air of innocence, and in the end the “Beanbag Boys” redeem themselves as the nerdy kids of their true selves.

‘ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA’ ON SHOWTIME

Though Kirsten Dunst has an impressive acting resume in television and film, one may never think of her again as Mary Jane Watson in the “Spider-Man” films after a tour de force performance in the latest Showtime cable series.

The darkly comedic story about one woman’s relentless pursuit of the American Dream in the ten-episode series “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” launches Dunst’s Krystal Stubbs into the world of multilevel marketing.

Living in a small Orlando-adjacent town in 1992, Krystal is a minimum wage worker at the Rebel Rapids water park, which by all appearances poses no commercial threat to Disney World or any other amusement park.

Her husband Travis (Alexander Skarsgard) is burning the candle at both ends, trying to hold down an office job while spending any free time listening to clichéd motivational tapes by Obie Garbeau II (Ted Levine).

What Garbeau is selling is the fast buck dreams of his pyramid scheme multilevel marketing enterprise called Founders American Merchandise (FAM) where recruiting a downline is the key to wealth.

Garbeau’s acolyte is the excitable, gung-ho Cody Bonar (Theodore Pellerin), who desperately needs Krystal to pick up the pieces of her husband’s commitment to the cult-like following of the Garbeau get-rich-quick system.

When Krystal is left to fend for herself and the care of her infant child and her house is repossessed because of a heavy fine imposed for alligator poaching (don’t ask!), she becomes determined to make a better life for herself.

“On Becoming a God in Central Florida” may reel you in for the ride once you’ve made it to the third episode.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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Konocti Art Society pieces ready for the 2019 Kelseyville Pear Festival in Kelseyville, Calif. Courtesy photo.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Konocti Art Society shows and sells art at the WestAmerica Bank during the Kelseyville Pear Festival which is Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Konocti Art Society artists display many types of art – watercolor, oil, acrylic, pastels-originals, prints, cards, ceramics, sculptures, jewelry and fabric arts.

Members of the Konocti Art Society are Leah Adams, Jo Bergesen, Lucia Boyle, Judy Cardinale, Linda Crayne, Barbara Funke, Dawn Griffith, Gerri Groody, Jan Hambrick, Annette Higday, Karen Hook, Barbara Kossen, Jeanne Landon-Myers, Diana Liebe, Karen Magnuson, Gay McComb, Carolyn Morris, Patty Oates, Diane Stawicki and Phyllis Thiessen.

During the month of September, pear-shaped art will be on display at WestAmerica Bank as part of a raffle benefiting the Lake County Arts Council’s Summer Youth Art Camp.

During the month of September tickets can be obtained at WestAmerica Bank. Tickets are $5 for 6 tickets or $1 each.

Tickets also be available the day of the Kelseyville Pear Festival.

The drawing for several pieces of pear art will be Saturday, Sept. 28, at 3 p.m. at WestAmerica Bank during the Kelseyville Pear Festival.
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‘WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE’ (Rated PG-13)

Maria Semple’s comedy adventure novel “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” would seem to be one of the more challenging adaptations to translate to the big screen for a wide audience.

According to the press notes, Semple’s “Bernadette” is an epistolary novel that unfolds over the course of a series of correspondences in which letters and emails are the primary source material.

For the uninitiated like myself, an epistolary novel is loosely defined as a series of documents in which the reader is privy to the private thoughts and feelings of the character.

To turn Semple’s novel to the silver screen feature “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” the best bet was to hand over the challenge to director Richard Linklater (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Holly Gent and Vince Palmo).

The most compelling reason to see this film is the awesomeness of Cate Blanchett as the titular character, a brilliant Seattle resident who is withdrawn but does not hide her dismissive attitude to most people.

Most amusing of all is how Bernadette Fox seeks to either rudely ignore or otherwise annoy her immediate neighbor Audrey (Kristen Wiig), going so far to erect on her property line a warning sign that proves to be offensive.

In a faux documentary style, where university professor Paul Jellinek (Laurence Fishburne) is one of several interviewed professionals, we learn that Bernadette was once a pioneering architect of tremendous vision.

Formerly based in Los Angeles and the legendary winner of a MacArthur Grant, Bernadette enjoyed notoriety for the ambitious “Twenty Mile” house that was built entirely from scrap materials within a 20-mile radius.

After this property was bought and demolished by a wealthy entrepreneur, Bernadette’s creative spirit was so crushed that she gave up her career for marriage to Elgie Branch (Billy Crudup) and moved to Seattle.

Two decades later, Bernadette finds the meaning of her life is centered around her teenage daughter Bee (Emma Nelson), who’s for all intents and purposes is her best and only friend.

Bernadette’s husband, Elgin, has become such a big deal as a Microsoft engineer that he is a largely absent spouse and father due to work and perhaps because of a new assistant who is not aloof and distant like his wife.

The family lives up on hill in an old, crumbling mansion that has irresistible historic charm but badly needs renovation and numerous roof leaks awaiting repairs.

Running the household is not Bernadette’s forte; her antisocial trait is evident in the fact that she has outsourced errands to an India-based personal assistant named Manjula because even a trip to the pharmacy is daunting.

On rare public outings, Bernadette hides behind large dark sunglasses that seem to shield her from an anxiety disorder that comes with a desire to avoid uncomfortable situations and even an encounter with an admirer of her architectural achievements.

Now married for a long time, Bernadette’s acerbic wit and caustic sarcasm, along with a general attitude of contempt for anyone outside the family, brings increasing dismay and alarm to Elgie who frets about his wife’s avoidance of social interaction.

Roused to stage an intervention, Elgie recruits a psychiatrist (Judy Greer) to assess Bernadette’s extreme behavior, a condition that may have been exacerbated by an abundant supply of her multi-colored prescription pills for unknown or unknowable maladies.

You can easily imagine the scorn that Bernadette exhibits when confronted in this way, and things get no better when an FBI agent arrives to investigate her relationship with the mysterious personal assistant’s involvement in identity theft.

Meanwhile, the smart, spirited Bee has persuaded her parents that a family trip to Antarctica would be a nice vacation before she heads off to an elite boarding school on the East Coast.

The Antarctica trip is the touchstone to the movie’s title, which of course raises an issue as to Bernadette’s whereabouts. As it happens, Bernadette simply disappears from home one night without so much as leaving a note.

Bee has figured out that her mother has already embarked on a journey to the ice-covered landmass of the Earth’s southernmost continent, and she and her father will have to catch up.

Having had an earlier encounter with Professor Jellinek at a Seattle café, Bernadette may have taken heed of his entreaty that she must regain her ability to create, presumably something architectural.

A lack of familiarity with Maria Semple’s novel proves not to be an impediment to enjoying the quirky adventure of the protagonist. I leave it to others to determine if liberties taken with the source material diminish the film in any significant way.

Cate Blanchett, who inhabits the complex role so deftly that no one else could justifiably play the part, captures every neurotic twist of a character irresistible to watch.

From the perspective of an unqualified observer on the film’s literary fidelity, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is a touching, captivating and frequently hilarious adventure into the world of a prickly middle-aged woman on a journey of rediscovery.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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