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One day, about seven years ago, the theater agent Menno Plukker was walking with an associate on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal, near the Place des Arts. Suddenly, he noticed a poster announcing that Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company was to appear that evening in a work called “Bertolina,” by a choreographer whose name he didn’t know: Sharon Eyal. Plukker, who represents cutting-edge artists such as…

Article source: http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/footloose-former-batsheva-dancer-breaks-her-silence.premium-1.525591

IT was the morning after the night before.

Chelsea had just beaten Benfica in the Europa League final in Amsterdam with a
last-minute goal from Branislav Ivanovic and their fans were still
celebrating in the bars and cafes along Nieuwendijk Centrum.

I made my way to Schipol Airport for the flight back home.

Typically, it had been delayed almost three hours. How to fill the time?

I shouldn’t have asked.

The phone went. It was the office. There was breaking news — David Beckham had
just announced his retirement.

What could possibly happen next?

Inside nine days Alex Ferguson had gone after 27 years at Manchester United,
rank outsiders Wigan had won the FA Cup only to lose at Arsenal three days
later and be relegated, Roberto Mancini had been sacked by Manchester City,
Chelsea had won their second European trophy inside 12 months… and now
Goldenballs was on his way.

You couldn’t make it up.

And there was still time for the final Sunday of the season.

A day on which Ferguson would bow out after 1,500 games at Old Trafford with
an astonishing 5-5 draw at West Bromwich while his successor David Moyes bid
farewell to Everton after 518 at Goodison — and another 234 with Preston.

They would be joined by a Who’s Who of some of the greatest players ever to
grace the Premier League.

Jamie Carragher saluted the Kop for the last time after 737 matches in the
shirt of his beloved Liverpool, while Paul Scholes, another one-club man,
waved goodbye to United after 720.

And there were more. Phil Neville played his 693rd and last game after
distinguished and understated service for Manchester United and Everton,
while Michael Owen’s youthfully glittering but eventually injury-plagued
career with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Manchester United ended in
the jersey of Stoke at Southampton.

The previous night, Beckham had said an emotional au revoir in Paris with PSG.

And it still wasn’t over. Just two days later Tony Pulis became the TENTH Prem
manager to part company with his club when Stoke pulled the rug from under
him.

It left Arsene Wenger, without a trophy in eight years but through to his 16th
consecutive season of Champions League football after Arsenal’s 1-0 win at
Newcastle, as the grand old man of English football at the age of 63 and
after 953 matches as Gunners’ boss.

Incredibly, Alan Pardew — under threat at Newcastle — was the second-longest
serving boss of a Premier League club, having been at St James’ Park for
just two years and 163 days.

Brendan Rodgers, in charge of Liverpool for under a year, was fifth. As I
said, you couldn’t make it up.

So how did it all come to this? At the start of one of the most momentous
seasons in Premier League history there was no suggestion, not even the
merest inkling, it would work out the way it did.

Manchester City were still bathing in the warm afterglow of their first title
in 44 years.

Chelsea were European champions, Fergie was hell-bent on reclaiming the title
after blowing an eight-point lead by signing Robin van Persie.

And QPR were spending millions to ensure there was no repeat of their last-day
survival a few months earlier. There were certainly no signs of the storm
clouds to encircle Stamford Bridge as Chelsea got off to a flier.

On October 20 they beat Tottenham 4-2 at White Hart Lane to stand top of the
table after taking 22 points out of 24.

Roberto Di Matteo, immensely popular with the fans, was at the height of his
powers and seemingly the new golden boy of management.

The only blot on the landscape had been a shock 4-1 thrashing by Atletico
Madrid in the European Super Cup in Monaco on August 31, an evening when
Falcao showed just how good he really was.

But after that win over Spurs, Chelsea and Di Matteo would go into a tailspin.

They would lose successive games to Shakhtar (a) and Manchester United (h),
draw with Swansea (a) and Liverpool (h) and then lose at Di Matteo’s former
club West Brom.

Chelsea had “slumped” to third and Di Matteo’s future had all but been
settled.

It most definitely was when they lost 3-0 to Juventus in Turin three days
later to more or less confirm they would become the first European champions
to fail to qualify from the group stage. And the identity of the new man to
take over the reins?

Rafa Benitez, to Chelsea fans the devil incarnate himself.

Elsewhere, Manchester City were also crashing out of the Champions League.

Drawn in the group of death with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax they
would muster only three group points, the lowest tally by any English side
ever.

Already, the rift between chief Mancini and his players, that would eventually
turn into an unbridgeable chasm, was beginning to show with the City boss
publicly criticising goalkeeper Joe Hart.

City had also been humbled 4-2 at home by struggling Aston Villa in the League
Cup.

United, despite losing their opening game at Everton 1-0, would then arrive at
the Etihad on December 9 top of the table with 13 wins and two defeats.

They would storm into a 2-0 lead before City came back to level at 2-2 after
Mancini had substituted the embarrassing Mario Balotelli, the rolling-on of
a saga that would finally end with Balotelli shipped out to AC Milan.

City were just congratulating themselves on the draw when Van Persie produced
a brilliant last-minute free-kick to steal all three points.

It was the sort of winning goal Ferguson had spent £22million for.

And it was a continuation of a rich vein of title-winning form from the
Dutchman who had announced himself with a hat-trick at Southampton on
September 2 — two goals coming in the last three minutes of normal time
after Saints had led 2-1.

Elsewhere, the great spending spree at Loftus Road had come to nothing with
QPR taking just four points from their opening 12 games.

It couldn’t go on and Mark Hughes was sacked on November 23 with Rangers still
searching for their first win.

Enter Harry Redknapp, confident he could turn things round. Millions more
would be spent all to no avail.

Arsenal were having another of those screwball seasons, beating Southampton
6-1, Spurs and Reading both 5-2, hitting seven past Newcastle and five
against West Ham.

But come the New Year they had lost the ones that mattered — losing four and
drawing one against the big three of United, City and Chelsea.

And what of Rafa?

Barracked everywhere he went by Chelsea fans, he put a brave face on it.

But the results were as inconsistent as those being achieved by Wenger at
Arsenal.

Inside four days Chelsea beat Leeds 5-1 in the League Cup and then vaporised
Aston Villa 8-0 at the Bridge. They then won at both Norwich and Everton.
Astonishingly, they then lost 1-0 at home to Redknapp’s QPR.

But back they came again by hammering Southampton 5-1 in the FA Cup — only to
be beaten 2-0 at home by Swansea in the first leg of the Capital One Cup
semi-final.

Now the knives really were out for Benitez.

Swansea, under the impressive Michael Laudrup, would go on to reach the final
where, in one of the great romantic stories of the season, they would meet
giant- killers Bradford City.

The League Two side had captured the public imagination with victories over
Wigan and Aston Villa.

But it was the penalty shoot-out win over Arsenal at Valley Parade in the
quarter-final that provided one of the biggest nights of the season — and
the biggest shock.

Wembley was one step too far. And on February 23, Swansea exploited the gulf
in class to run out 5-0 winners to clinch their first major trophy.

The Bradford fans, though, would do their club proud.

United were now carrying everything before them and, by the time they met
Champions League opponents Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on February 13, had
strung together a league run of 14 wins and three draws. A 1-1 draw in Spain
left them slight favourites to edge the return in Manchester.

Arsenal, the only other English survivors, were not so lucky.

Drawing form team Bayern Munich, runaway leaders of the Bundesliga, they were
totally outplayed at The Emirates and fortunate to be on the end of only a
3-1 defeat.

So all roads led to Old Trafford. A Sergio Ramos own goal just after half-time
seemed to have put United on their way to the quarter-finals.

Then enter referee Cuneyt Cakir. The Turkish official stunned Old Trafford and
all the neutrals by sending off Nani for an aerial challenge on Alvaro
Arbeloa in the 56th minute and the dynamic of the game changed immediately.

Jose Mourinho sent on the attacking Luka Modric to exploit the extra space in
midfield.

And it was the former Spurs man who scored a superb equaliser within 10
minutes.

Of course, it had to be Cristiano Ronaldo who provided what would be the
winner just three minutes later at the far post.

Ronaldo didn’t celebrate while Mourinho, in the uncharacteristic role of
diplomat, claimed that the best team had lost.

The other major talking-point of the night was Ferguson’s omission of Wayne
Rooney. That he should start United’s most important game of the season with
Rooney’s backside planted very firmly on the bench confirmed what many
people had started to suspect.

That the veteran manager was ready to wash his hands of a player who had once
been United’s talisman.

It was a story that would run and run until the end of the season and the
revelation Rooney had asked for a transfer.

It would be a statement of intent by the England player even though his heart
still remained firmly at Old Trafford.

And what of Arsenal? They went to the Allianz Arena trailing 3-1 and produced
the shock of the round.

Bayern, perhaps, should have been warned by Arsenal’s comeback against AC
Milan the previous season when they almost overcame a 4-0 deficit from the
San Siro with a 3-0 win at home.

Arsenal would beat a casual Bayern 2-0 to level the tie at 3-3 but still go
out on away goals.

Even more astonishingly it was only the Germans’ third defeat of the season
and their only reverse in a run of 39 games.

Back at the Etihad, things had come to a head with Balotelli after a
training-ground ruck with Mancini. Now even the City boss, and so-called
father figure to the madcap striker, had to admit defeat.

And on January 31 Balotelli’s chaotic career in England ended when he was
moved on to AC Milan.

It was another turning-point in Mancini’s own career with many wondering just
why he had gambled so heavily on his young fellow countryman.

A couple of weeks earlier, Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese had brought the
curtain down on manager Nigel Adkins. It was a surprise to many seeing
Adkins had taken Saints from League One to the Prem with successive
promotions — and they were still three points above the drop zone.

Then again, nothing is too much of a surprise with Cortese.

Brian McDermott, as popular at Reading as Adkins had been at Saints, would
also get the bullet at the start of March.

A few weeks later and it was the turn of Martin O’Neill at Sunderland after a
run of eight games without a win.

Incredibly, or so it seemed at the time, owner Ellis Short went for Paolo Di
Canio.

A narrow 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in his first game was followed by a remarkable
3-0 win at hated rivals Newcastle.

It was Sunderland’s first victory on Tyneside in 13 years and, by the final
whistle, Wearside had a new hero as Di Canio’s name rang round St James’
Park. And now we headed for the run-in — stopping first at Anfield on April
21 for one of the most extraordinary events of the season.

Spurs had beaten Manchester City 3-1 earlier in the afternoon.

And few of us on Merseyside that day expected the Liverpool-Chelsea game to
knock Tottenham off the back page.

Halfway through the second half all that would change when Luis Suarez bit
Ivanovic’s arm. Once again, the Uruguayan was on the front page for all the
wrong reasons.

The FA would eventually hand out a 10-game ban and, with it, place Suarez’s
future at the club in considerable doubt.

Liverpool would question the length of the ban on grounds of victimisation,
pointing out Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe had virtually escaped scot-free for
taking a chunk out of Javier Mascherano in 2006.

On that occasion a booking was deemed sufficient. As far as the title was
concerned, nothing was going to stop United claiming their 20th and a 13th
for Ferguson and Ryan Giggs.

And they did it on April 22 when, with a month to spare, they beat Aston Villa
3-0 at Old Trafford.

Ferguson had bought Van Persie to win the title and the Dutchman did it in
style with a 33-minute hat-trick.

His second was one for the archive and the goal of the season. A beautiful
ball over the Villa defence from Rooney seemed to be landing perfectly for
Van Persie to take one touch before attempting a shot past Brad Guzan.

Instead, the United striker hit it first time with his left foot and the ball
was in the back of the net before the Villa keeper knew it had even left the
Dutchman’s boot. Van Persie would complete the season with 26 goals in 35
league starts.

Meanwhile, Arsenal were finally clicking into gear.

And yet it had seemed all over for the Gunners on March 3 as Spurs, with
Gareth Bale on his way to 21 league goals and three Footballer of the Year
awards, beat them 2-1 at White Hart Lane.

At this stage, Spurs were seven points clear with 10 games to go.

Yet, in a remarkable run, Arsenal took 27 points from 30 to pip Spurs on the
last day of the season.

And what was happening to our old mate Rafa?

Well, interim manager or not, he was having the most stupendous end to the
season.

Unluckily beaten by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final — they didn’t
actually start playing until the second half — they then hit a purple patch
at the time that counted. The City game would be the last they would lose
all season as they embarked on a run of eight wins and two draws.

Basel were beaten home and away in the Europa League semi-final and United
edged out 1-0 at Old Trafford as Eden Hazard and Juan Mata confirmed all
their wonderful ability.

They would go all the way to Amsterdam and another European trophy — even if
it was against the run of play.

But the highlight for most Chelsea fans will have come at Villa Park on May 11
when Frank Lampard scored twice to take his career tally to 203 and so pass
Bobby Tambling’s club record.

That a season that for so long appeared to be his last at the club should end
in such triumph — and with another year’s contract — says everything about
Lampard’s character, self-belief, motivation and good sense in not throwing
any toys out of any pram at any time.

Later on the same day, Wigan would win the FA Cup when a late header from Ben
Watson gave them a thrilling and deserved victory over favourites Manchester
City.

Roberto Martinez’s side played all the football on an afternoon that was a
tribute to the Wigan manager and his side.

And a fitting reward for the time, energy and cash poured into the club by
chairman Dave Whelan.

It was an afternoon that will be remembered by everyone connected with the
club for many more years than the trauma of relegation that would follow
just three days later.

So what a season. It may not have been the best in the history of the Premier
League, in fact it was one of the poorest.

But the events of 2012-2013 mark it down as a season like no other.

Especially one event in particular. The bombshell landed on Wednesday May 8
when Manchester United confirmed Alex Ferguson would finally be leaving.

Just four days later, we all assembled at Old Trafford for his last home game.

It didn’t seem possible. After more than a quarter of a century, it was soon
going to be over, seemingly in a blink of the eye.

He got his guard of honour, the tributes were paid, the 20th trophy presented
before a lap of the pitch with his 11 grandchildren.

And he kept it together throughout. There was sentiment but no sentimentality.
There was praise but nothing too gushing.

Just as Sir Alex would have wanted. Only once did he waver — and that was a
week later after his final game at West Brom.

As he and his players grouped to face and applaud the travelling United fans,
Giggs ushered him forward to take his final bow.

Only then did you see a momentary tear in his eye. Only then did the enormity
of it all strike home.

But it passed soon enough. Human frailty was for others not the old curmudgeon
with the hairdryer.

And so it WAS all over and we were left to ask: Where do we go from here?

Well, there’s a new manager at United. And a new manager at City.

And old wotsisface coming in at Chelsea. And, maybe, Wenger’s last season at
Arsenal.

And a World Cup season getting ready to unfold.

Just about enough there to be getting on with.

Article source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4942342/2012-13-The-season-you-couldnt-make-up.html

Gepubliceerd op 22 mei 13, 09:50

ALMERE/JEROEN OOSTERHEERT – De Stichting OndernemersSpringplank houdt volgende week het starters event ’De Eerste Stap’ naar succescol ondernemerschap. Het evenement wordt door ondernemers en voor ondernemers gehouden. Dat is volgens Wim Strik, voorzitter van de stichting en mede-organisator de kracht van het evenement.

,,Er worden evenementen gehouden door allerlei instanties, maar meestal zijn de sprekers of cursusleiders daar geen ondernemers. Bij dit evenement is dat wel het geval. Iedereen vertelt vanuit de ervaring als ondernemer’’, geeft Strik aan.

Tijdens het evenement wordt er onder andere gesproken door Erik de Hey over vormgeving, Ingrid Kiezebrink over stijl en Dick Swart over verkooptechnieken. ,,Ruim een jaar geleden zaten we toevallig met een aantal ondernemers bij elkaar. Toen hebben we gezegd dat we iets moeten doen zonder dat het geld kost. Dat is ons via een aantal sponsoren gelukt en vandaar dat we de stichting hebben opgericht. Uiteraard hopen we dat we er zelf opdrachten aan over kunnen houden, maar dat is niet de eerste insteek. Ons gaat het meer om dat we iets doen waar we hopelijk iets aanhebben en we zien het daarom als een netwerkplus-evenement.’’ De middag in het Mac3Park begint op 31 mei om 13.00 ur. Aanmelden is nodig in kan via www.ondernemersspringplank.nl.

Neem nu een proefabonnement op uw regionale dagblad!

Article source: http://www.almerevandaag.nl/almere/article22560853.ece/Stichting-houdt-startersevent

Leeuwarden – Leeuwarden kleurt oranje tijdens Koninginnedag

Leeuwarden kleurt oranje tijdens Koninginnedag

* Laatste update: 26-04-2013 | 16:47

Leeuwarden – De Leeuwarden binnenstad bruist tijdens Koninginnedag van de activiteiten. Zo zijn er dance-events met nationale en internationale DJ’s achter de draaitafel, vrijmarkt in de binnenstad en kindervrijmarkt en het Koninginnedagconcert in de Prinsentuin. Het Wilhelminaplein is

omgedoopt tot het Leeuwarder Muziekplein voor jong en oud. Leeuwarden heet jaarlijks zo’n honderdduizend bezoekers welkom in de Friese hoofdstad tijdens Koninginnedag. Om dat in goede banen te leiden, werkt de gemeente nauw samen met de hulpdiensten en nemen we enkele preventieve maatregelen.

Geen glas, helder!

Bij grote evenementen komt veel glas op straat terecht. Glas en scherven leiden tot onveilige situaties. Daarom is drank in glaswerk, traytjes en andere grote verpakkingen niet toegestaan in de binnenstad tijdens Koninginnedag. De horecaondernemers helpen glas op straat te voorkomen door op de

terrassen in plastic te schenken. Dit jaar zijn ook de slijterijen en supermarkten in en om de binnenstad om hulp gevraagd. Zij bieden in de winkelschappen ruim voldoende alternatieven voor drank in glaswerk. Ook tijdens Bevrijdingsdag en Hemelvaartsdag is drank in glas, traytjes en

bulkverpakkingen in het centrum niet toegestaan. Geen glas, helder!

Bereikbaarheid

De binnenstad is voor het overgrote deel niet toegankelijk voor gemotoriseerde voertuigen. Zo is onder andere de Groeneweg op 30 april 2013 van 00.00 tot 24.00 gesloten voor doorgaand verkeer. Dat betekent meteen dat parkeergarage Oldehove 30 april is gesloten. Ook rijden er geen bussen in het

vrijmarktgebied. Arriva communiceert hierover op de gebruikelijke wijze.

Eenrichtingsverkeer voor voetgangers

Tijdens Koninginnedag kan het zo druk in de binnenstad worden, dat er opstoppingen ontstaan in de Doelesteeg en de Kleine Kerkstraat. Als het heel erg druk wordt dan geldt in die straten eenrichtingsverkeer voor voetgangers. Met borden worden de looproutes aangegeven. De gemeente communiceert

die dag over afsluitingen en eenrichtingsverkeer via het twitteraccount @Gemeente_LWD met gebruik van #KD058.

Volg live de kroning op een groot scherm!

Op het Wilhelminaplein, die dag het Leeuwarder Muziekplein, en de Prinsentuin kan men vanaf 10.00 uur livebeelden zien van de abdicatie van de Koningin, de balkonscA”ne en de inhuldiging van de Koning. Maar daarnaast worden ook het concert aEUR~Samen voor OranjeaEUR(TM) in Ahoy, het

Koningslied, de Koningsvaart en het optreden van DJ Armin van Buuren samen met het Concertgebouworkest live uitgezonden. Het Nationaal ComitA(c) en KPN plaatsen hiervoor grote schermen in dertien steden van twaalf provincies. Naast Leeuwarden staan de schermen in Groningen, Almere, Arnhem,

Utrecht, aEUR~s- Hertogenbosch, Maastricht, Middelburg, Amsterdam, Rotterdam ,aEUR(TM)s-Gravenhage, Zwolle en Assen. Via de schermen kan men ook livebeelden van deze steden zien. Kijk voor meer informatie op www.mijndroomvooronsland.nl.

Article source: http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/inp/2013/04/26/T837.htm

Kanye’s missive about America’s corrupt prison system makes an appearance at a prison

The second weekend of Kanye West’s “New Slaves” projections is underway, occurring in 22 additional cities, beginning last night. Though the projection was the same as the one premiered last week, there remains a significant attraction to witnessing it in person, at least for videographers/photographers. Amateur video has already starting appearing on YouTube from Friday’s Amsterdam showing. In this one, you can hear fans enthusiastically rapping along to the song; and this documentary-like clip captures the excited crowd, waiting around for the projection to begin. West continues to refine the event-rap grandeur that he’s been developing for a few years, but now with an IRL viral, flashmob appeal.

On Friday night, “New Slaves” was projected in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Houston, and Tucson. The Philadelphia projections were worth noting, in particular, because of their location: West’s face appeared on two museums, the Franklin Institute and the Barnes Foundation, making explicit West’s high-art, art-rap aspirations for his music, and then another projection appeared at the Eastern State Penitentiary. The penitentiary is no longer in use as a prison, and now operates as a museum and historic site. Eastern State also has ghost tours around Halloween called “Terror Behind the Walls.” By projecting “New Slaves” on the side of a former prison (that has been turned into a cool tourist destination for the whole family), West certainly highlights the message of a song about how lightly we take incarceration and the prison-industrial complex. “New Slaves” projections will be happening all weekend. A map on West’s official website reveals locations and times.

UPDATE: According to the Houston Chronicle, police shut down the Rothko Chapel screening of Kanye West’s “New Slaves” last night. Fans at the chapel to watch the projections were threatened with trespassing tickets. Ultimately, all three of the Houston screenings (the other two were at the Central Library and the George Bush Monument) were cancelled. According to the Houston website A Day and a Dream, cancellations sent Kanye fans to the other locations, adding to the chaos. “Technical difficulties” seemed to delay the library screening, but later on, it was cancelled altogether. Additionally, A Day and a Dream  suggests a hovering police presence throughout the night: “Patrol cars had been flying by the library all night batting an eyelash to the crowd of people on the sidewalk but finally upped patrols around 12:45.” Understandably, local police probably hate big deal rapper-fueled pop-up events because they’re just a big headache, but given the lyrical content of and buzz over “New Slaves,” the possibility of something more nefarious about these police shutdowns doesn’t seem entirely out of the question.

 

Article source: http://www.spin.com/articles/kanye-west-new-slaves-yeezus-projections-philadelphia-prison-industrial-complex/

I accepted the boarding pass for my flight from Vienna to Amsterdam and headed through security. I told myself to chill, my stop was six hours and I had a lounge pass tucked into my wallet. I’d recheck in Amsterdam and then spend the morning napping in the KLM lounge.

At the check-in desk in Amsterdam, I asked the clerk what the problem was, why I couldn’t check in, why I couldn’t get my bag through.

“It’s terrible,” she said, “but they’re responsible for your luggage. If they lose it, they have to pay to have it shipped. They don’t want to do that.”

“But it’s with the same airline, both of my flights are KLM/Delta.”

“I know,” she admitted. “It makes no sense.” She shook her head.

I felt somewhat placated. It wasn’t a huge annoyance, but I wanted someone to agree that it was ridiculous. Off I went to clear security again and to breathe the rarified air of the frequent flier lounge.

“No. This pass is no good here.”

“But it says on the website that …”

“Yes, but not for day passes. We don’t take the day pass here. Delta doesn’t pay for the use of the lounge, so we don’t take their passes.”

I thought I’d understood the rules; I’d read them before buying my pass. I couldn’t bring a guest, but I only wanted to bring… myself. Obviously I had not studied the small print with enough detail. And I’d made the mistake of asking the KLM Twitter account, not the Delta Twitter account, about access. What I don’t understand about airline partnerships could fill a book.

“You can buy a pass for 45 Euros.”

I’d spent 50 dollars to buy the lounge pass. It’s not so much money, but I was getting crankier and crankier. I was trying not to get angry. I was tired. I’d been up since 4:30 that morning. I knew I’d be tired; I rarely sleep well before a long flight.

“But you’re partners,” I said. “You give me partner status everywhere else.”

“Let me see what I can do,” said the desk clerk, who then called a supervisor, a cool woman in uniform who offered to sell me a pass for 45 Euros. I looked at the KLM agent, angry at her and at myself for not making sure I’d understood the small print.

I told myself to chill. Again. Schiphol is a nice airport. There are worse places to spend a few hours drinking coffee and people watching and dozing in lounge chairs. There’s good food, and Wi-Fi that’s not great, but is fast enough for complaining on Twitter about how you’re angry at your airlines.

“Get more coffee,” I thought. “You’re just tired. This isn’t a big deal.”

I got coffee and juice and a sandwich on good brown bread with very fresh mozzarella. I opened my laptop and complained. I drank my juice. I drank my coffee. I hammered away on my keyboard, the picture of a crabby, tired traveler on a stopover.

This business with my lounge pass was the last act in a comedy of errors in my travels to Europe and back. Thanks to a cargo problem on my outbound flight two weeks earlier, my connection in Schiphol to Frankfurt was airtight. I was the last passenger to board the plane – my luggage would not make it. I was not particularly worried. I’d seen a series of flights to Frankfurt following mine. Worst case? My bag would show up while I was sleeping. I could chill.

I went to report the missing luggage at the Delta counter in Frankfurt.

“You need KLM,” said the man at the desk.

“But I checked in on Delta… and there’s nobody there.”

“There HAS to be somebody there,” he said, clearly exasperated, and then, walked me back to the KLM desk. There was nobody there. I walked out into arrivals and asked at the information desk, and then, was directed back into the baggage hall.

The clerk had materialized, removed the “Closed” sign, and was taking missing baggage reports from two impatient Israelis who’d boarded just before I did. It was my turn.

“Here’s your claim number and the website where you can find out when your bags will arrive.”

I stowed the printout with my documents and headed to the hotel. It took me 15 minutes to get there. My luggage was reported on the ground and ready for delivery not long after I’d had lunch. At about 12 hours, I asked for help in calling the number given to me by the clerk at the baggage desk.

“Oh, lord, don’t call that number! They’ll charge you by the minute!”

“Wait, I have to pay them to tell me where my stuff is? That’s crazy.”

I checked with customer service online. “Your luggage is on the ground and ready for delivery,” they said.

“Well, I KNOW that,” I replied. “I’ve know that for 24 hours now.” My bag did finally appear, nearly 36 hours after I’d arrived.

“We’re sorry for the delay,” said the note from KLM. “We hope you understand.”

I’d had it with ground services by the time I returned to Schiphol two weeks later. Any one of these events in isolation I’d have written off as bad luck, a bad day, or general travel mishaps. But the aggregation was making me irritable. The Delta KLM partnership began to feel like a an embittered marriage, kept together for the sake of the kids. I imagined them bickering after the little airplanes had gone to bed. “You said you would…”

I gazed past the plastic chairs and iPad-using Germans and families of bleary Americans in sweatshirts, breakfasting in various states of disconnection with their surroundings. Just on the edge there was the pale purple glow of the Yotel, a pod hotel that offers hourly cabins with showers. I looked at my crumpled, useless lounge pass, at my overpriced juice, at my angry typing on the weak Wi-Fi and then, I checked in for three and a half hours of attitude adjustment.

It cost me 46 Euros for the stay. For that, I got a tiny, clean, super efficient cabin with a comfortable single bunk, a shower and toilet, a TV (which I did not turn on), a powerful Wi-Fi connection, unlimited non-alcoholic drinks (which I did not take sufficient advantage of) and some much needed private space in which to reset my state of mind.

It was money well spent. When I checked out of my cabin after a short nap and some silent lethargy, I felt human again.

Airline partner terms are unclear, delays happen, the mystery of why you can check in here and not there – these things are all part of the process. The follies of transit are a critical part of travel and often, they are unavoidable. As a seasoned traveler, it’s rare that I let this stuff get under my skin.

But sometimes, when patience wears thin, you can throw a few bucks at a problem and not make it go away, but at least make it better. Upgrade your seat to Economy Plus, spring for a taxi and get an airport hotel the night before the early flight. Don’t buy the Day Pass, that way lies madness, but get yourself something nice. Travel is totally glam, but sometimes, it’s wearing and takes a toll. Give yourself a break. Book the pod for a few hours and make yourself human again.

Plus, you can use that refreshed energy for complaint letters to the airlines on the long flight home.

Article source: http://www.gadling.com/2013/05/25/follies-and-fixes-in-long-haul-travel/

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There is no easy recipe for success in the ICC Champions Trophy, Gary Kirsten said on Saturday, ahead of his swansong tour as Proteas head coach.

“There is no success package available out there on the market that we can use,” Kirsten said in Johannesburg before the team’s departure for a pre-tournament training camp in Amsterdam.

“We’ve got an experienced group of guys and in these types of events, you need a bit of luck to go your way and some big individual performances.

“I’m confident we can compete, doing the best we can, knowing it’s a tough tournament. Even if we don’t win, at least we’ll give it our best shot.”

With Jacques Kallis unavailable for selection and Graeme Smith injured, it was an opportunity for some of the younger members of the squad to stamp their authority on the game.

South Africa won the Champions Trophy in 1998, but success in major one-day international (ODI) tournaments has since eluded them.

The Proteas will spend five days in a training camp in Amsterdam and also play the first of their two warm-up matches against Holland on Friday.

It will be the first time the team has been together since the end of March when Pakistan toured South Africa.

“It’s always difficult getting together after a break. We faced the same challenges when we went to England last year and we were criticised for our lack of preparation,” said Kirsten, who guided India to the 2011 World Cup title.

“But, in the time we have, we will do our best to get everyone match ready. In this tournament, you have got to be on your game straight away.”

Kirsten said the old adage of peaking at the right time did not work at this tournament, where the top two teams went directly into a semifinal.

“At the Champions Trophy you only have five games to play if you go all the way to the final.”

Kirsten said he was looking forward to his last tournament in charge – with Russell Domingo set to take over the reins – and was aware that at some stage South Africa had to cross the line to win a trophy.

“This is another opportunity to do so. We’re mindful of the obstacles but we’ve broadened the base of our one-day team and we’ve got individuals who can make key contributions in key situations.

“We’ll give it our best shot to deal with the mental component as well because we know we have the skills to compete with best in the world, no doubt about that.”

On his own career, Kirsten said he hoped to still be involved in the game in some capacity and would not be unduly disappointed if they did not come home victorious.

“I don’t do this job to win trophies. I know I’m measured by that, but I love the work and I love trying to make individuals the best they can be,” he said.

“It’s about getting things right on a daily basis and that’s what I enjoy doing.

“I take the focus off the result and help the players to be the best they can be. If it ends with the team making more progress than they have before in these tournaments, I’ll be happy.”

The Proteas play their second warm-up game against Pakistan at the Oval in London on June 3 before their opening match of the Champions Trophy against India in Cardiff on June 6.

Article source: http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/130525/No_easy_way_to_lift_trophy_Kirsten

Anton DiSclafani may be a new author, but she’s all for an “old-fashioned reading experience.”

“I’m not ironic,” says the 31-year-old, who lives in University City and teaches at Washington University. “There’s an earnestness to my writing.”

Last year a publisher paid at least a million bucks for that lack of irony — and a plot-driven historical story set in rural Florida and North Carolina during the Great Depression.

When DiSclafani’s “The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls” goes on sale June 4, readers can expect to be transported to an insular world of horses, Southern debutantes and boarding schools, plus the kind of hormone-driven longings common to most teenagers. In other words, “Yonahlossee” is one of those books that seem made for summer reading.

Summer books aren’t only notorious potboilers or “beach reads.” They can be finely composed and serious. But more often than not, they offer the chance to escape into another world — say, pre-Revolutionary Afghanistan or the crowded streets of Shanghai. Reading about trouble in the frigid woods of the Ukraine can be a fascinating way to block out the sounds of noisy kids lining up at the diving board or feelings that Midwest humidity is heavier than a soaked beach towel.

Although nonfiction examinations of everything from the latest presidential election to the life of actress Ava Gardner will be available, what many readers look for during the languid summer months are something like a literary trip to riding camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Advance reviews of DiSclafani’s novel have been largely positive, with Kirkus Reviews calling it “an unusually accomplished and nuanced coming-of-age drama.”

DiSclafani’s publisher has already sent her to London, where she met with a book club that received advance editions. She’s also scheduled for about 15 tour stops this summer, including several places where she has personal connections: St. Louis, where she lives with her husband, writer Mathew Smith; Florida, where she grew up riding horses; Georgia, where she attended Emory University; and North Carolina, where her family has a cabin.

Her novel has some basic links to DiSclafani’s real life, and an actual “Yonahlossee” resort exists. But the author says she just borrowed the name for her fictional girls school. In the book, heroine Thea Atwell is the horse-loving daughter of a physician, like DiSclafani, whose father is a neurosurgeon in Ocala, Fla. But unlike Thea, the author has no twin brother, memories of an highly inappropriate camp crush or, presumably, a terrible secret.

DiSclafani, who had never even published a short story, says she was surprised when her first novel actually sold, not to mention at the unusual seven-figure price (she won’t disclose the exact amount). She wrote the novel over about 2 1/2 years, spending many mornings working at a St. Louis Bread Co. on Delmar Boulevard, and revised it with help from her agent, and then publisher, Riverhead Books.

As a creative writing teacher whose big publishing advance seems to offer an exit from a life of Smart Boards and seasonal work at Williams-Sonoma, DiSclafani knows she’s having “a different experience than many first-time writers” have.

But she plans to keep teaching after spending mornings writing: “I need to be around people.”

Here’s a selection of titles about other people and places coming this summer. Summaries are taken from publishers’ information and advance reviews. Some “summer” books have already been released; check online booksellers for specific on-sale dates. Titles are listed by month and organized alphabetically by the author’s last name.

MAY AND JUNE

Fiction

“Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Knopf) • From the author of “Half the Yellow Sun,” a story of two Nigerian teens who fall in love, but are separated after their country comes under a dangerous dictatorship. Years later, the successful adults meet again in the homeland.

“Inferno” by Dan Brown (Doubleday) • Harvard scholar Robert Langdon, who has survived “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Lost Symbol,” must now decipher a Dante-inspired riddle.

“The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman (William Morrow) • A middle-aged man returns home and sitting by a pond, remembers a strange encounter from his childhood. Gaiman’s first book for adults since 2005.

“Flora” by Gail Godwin (Bloomsbury) • A wry adolescent and her young caretaker deal with heartbreak during the summer of 1945.

“The Black Country” by Alex Grecian (Putnam) • Scotland Yard’s new Murder Squad has its hands full with a family missing in the coal-mining midlands in this historical thriller.

“Bad Monkey” by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf) • Will Hiaasen ever run out of goofy gatorland-inspiration for his South Florida satires? Apparently, and thankfully, not.

“And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) • What looks to be a summer blockbuster begins with a poor Afghan man who decides to sell one of his children. From the author of “The Kite Runner.”

“The Flinch Factor” by Michael Kahn (Poison Pen) • St. Louis sleuth Rachel Gold returns to face a powerful developer, a wacky judge and a corpse found on “Gay Way.”

“Joyland” by Stephen King (Hard Crime) • Pulpy paperback about a college student who works as a carny in 1973 and confronts things that will change his life.

“TransAtlantic” by Colum McCann (Random House) • From the winner of the National Book Award for “Let the Great World Spin,” this puddle-hopping novel links imagined and real events, such as Frederick Douglass’ trip to Dublin and Sen. George Mitchell’s Good Friday peace talks.

“A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” by Anthony Marra (Hogarth) • Set in 2004 Chechnya, a girl must survive after her father is hauled off and her country disintegrates.

“Red Sparrow” by Jason Matthews (Scribner) • A CIA veteran publishes his first novel about a Russian “Sparrow School” that teaches young women how to use sex to learn secrets.

“The Son” by Philipp Meyer (Ecco) • In 19th-century Texas, Comanches raid a homestead, kidnapping a 13-year-old boy who is adopted and nurtured by the chief. After living as an Indian, Eli McCullough goes on to become a ruthless oil man and father.

“Choke Point” by Ridley Pearson (Putnam) • The team of Knox and Chu work to shut down a nasty Amsterdam sweatshop that enslaves young girls. From the prolific and popular St. Louis County thriller writer.

“Red Moon” by Benjamin Percy (Grand Central) • Werewolves, an oppressed minority, turn to terrorism while trying to reach equality in this supernatural thriller.

“Circle of Shadows” by Imogen Robertson (Viking) • The fourth novel in the historical suspense series The New York Times called “CSI: Georgian England.”

“Big Brother” by Lionel Shriver (HarperCollins) • Shriver, who added to parents’ angst with “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” now takes a sharp look at Americans’ obsession with food and how it affects families.

“Sisterland” by Curtis Sittenfeld (Riverhead) • Twin sisters seem to have sixth senses, and one cashes in on hers as an adult psychic. But the St. Louis-set story really focuses on the other sister, the young mother embarrassed by her weird twin, who predicts that the Lou is going to be hit by a big earthquake.

“The Child Thief” by Dan Smith (Pegasus Crime) • The mutilated bodies of children are found during a cold winter in 1930 in the Ukraine. When another child goes missing, a war veteran must investigate.

“The Silver Star” by Jeannette Walls (Scribner) • The author of the great memoir “The Glass Castle” knows negligent mothers from her own life. In her new novel, one leaves her 12- and 15-year-old daughters to fend for themselves, and, they do — even moving across country and finding jobs.

“Revenge Wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger (Simon Schuster) • Years after she quit working for dragon lady Miranda Priestly, Andy has started a bridal magazine and is engaged herself. But everything doesn’t seem right to the heroine of “The Devil Wears Prada.”?“The Enigma of China” by Qiu Xiaolong (Minotaur) • Chief Inspector Chen investigates the hanging death of a Shanghai city official — did he really commit suicide? Publishers Weekly gives the St. Louis author a starred review for the next book in this popular mystery series.

Nonfiction

“The Center Holds” by Jonathan Alter (Simon Schuster) • A campaign study of President Barack Obama’s fight for a second term.

“The Guns at Last Light” by Rick Atkinson (Holt) • The master of narrative military history ends his Liberation Trilogy with this admired account of the 1944-45 fighting in Western Europe.

“Mickey and Willie” by Allen Barra (Crown) • The similarities and secret lives of New York baseball icons Mantle and Mays.

“Here Is Where” by Andrew Carroll (Random House) • Carroll, who will visit St. Louis next month, explores America’s unmarked historic sites and forgotten events.

“Hitchhiking With Larry David” by Paul Samuel Dolman (Gotham) • Memoir by an aging writer who spent a summer on Martha’s Vineyard and meets a fair number of notables by sticking his thumb out for rides.

“The Astronaut Wives Club” by Lily Koppel (Grand Central) • Maybe their experiences weren’t as thrilling as those of John Glenn and other Mercury Seven heroes, but the astronauts’ wives also became instant celebrities and fashion icons during the early days of the space program.

“The Tao of Martha” by Jen Lancaster (NAL) • Can hapless humor writer learn to arrange a perfect charcuterie platter a la Martha Stewart?

“Tower of Basel: The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World” by Adam LeBor (PublicAffairs) • The story of the Bank for International Settlements, where bankers from around the world have met since 1930.

“Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography From Grantham to the Falklands” by Charles Moore (Knopf) • This biography is even-handed but “not likely to sway either detractors or admirers one way or another,” Kirkus Reviews predicts.

“The Unwinding” by George Packer (Farrar, Straus Giroux) • Disturbing look at how the United States has declined over the last 50 years.

JULY

Fiction

“The Highway” by C.J. Box (Minotaur) • Two girls, and even their car, disappear on a remote country road.

“Light of the World” by James Lee Burke (Simon Schuster) • A serial killer escapes prison and heads toward Montana, which just happens to be the summer vacation spot of New Orleans’ Dave Robicheaux.

“Affliction” by Laurell K. Hamilton (Berkley) • Micah’s father seems to be dying from a new, strange “zombie disease” that challenges stalwart vampire hunter Anita Blake. The latest from the St. Louis County fantasy master.

“Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger” by Beth Harbison (St. Martin’s) • Humorous chick lit from the author of “When in Doubt, Add Butter.”

“The Last Word” by Lisa Lutz (Simon Schuster) • Izzy Spellman’s professional life is never easy, but she didn’t help it by staging a hostile takeover of the family business. We learn what happens next in the latest episode of the humorous mystery series.

“Kiss Me First” by Lottie Moggach (Doubleday) • Psychological thriller by a new British author finds danger when a young woman falls under the influence of an online charmer.

“Visitation Street” by Ivy Pochoda (Ecco) • On a summer evening, two Brooklyn teens set sail on a raft, but only one makes it back to shore.

“The English Girl” by Daniel Silva (Harper) • Gabriel Allon must find out what happened to a young woman who disappears on the island of Corsica.

“Unseen” by Karin Slaughter (Delacorte) • Popular thriller writer sends her detective, Will Trent, undercover as a motorcycle-riding ex-con.

“Byzantium” by Ben Stroud (Graywolf) • Collection of stories set in various locales, including ancient Constantinople and slave-era Havana.

Nonfiction

“Ava Gardner” by Peter Evans (Simon Schuster) • Revealing book based on conversations the author had with the actress before she died. Gardner, who married Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra, also counted Howard Hughes among her lovers.

“Her Best-Kept Secret” by Gabrielle Glaser (Simon Schuster) • Are women drinking more to cope with the stresses of motherhood and jobs? Glaser says more are downing bottles of wine at an alarming rate and entering treatment centers.

AUGUST

Fiction

“Archangel” by Andrea Barrett (Norton) • New collection from the admired story writer.

“The Girl You Left Behind” by Jojo Moyes (Viking) • A mystery and love story revolve around a World War I soldier’s portrait of his young wife, Sophie, who is desperate to see her husband. Decades later, the portrait resurfaces when a husband gives it to his wife.

“Night Film” by Marisha Pessl (Random House) • Has it really been seven years since Pessl’s “Special Topics in Calamity Physics”? Her new novel is billed as a literary thriller that involves a reclusive cult-film director father and the suspicious suicide of his daughter.

Nonfiction

“Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East” by Scott Anderson (Doubleday) • Title seems to say it all in this new look at adventurer T.E. Lawrence.

“Collision 2012” by Dan Balz (Viking) • The Washington Post’s chief correspondent puts the latest presidential election in context.

Article source: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/dive-right-in-to-summer-books/article_4fa2f143-b9d9-565b-baf4-56d39772d17b.html

Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands leads a pretty fascinating life. For one, she’s married to Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, which means she gets to wear the best designers and go to the fanciest royal events. She also gets to ride Segways (check out the pic in the slideshow). And she gets to hang out with her stylish sister-in-law, Queen Maxima, all the time!

But one thing that sets Princess Laurentien apart from all the other glorious royals is her unique hair. Instead of opting for standard long locks like Maxima and Kate Middleton, Princess Laurentien rocks an edgy cropped cut. Whether she’s accessorizing with earrings, tiaras, (really interesting) fascinators or just keeping it natural, her hair always adds that extra touch of cool.

In honor of her birthday on May 25, we’re looking back at her trend-setting hair and style. Don’t you think her cut is a perfect summer hair choice?

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• May 2013

• April 2013

• March 2013

• September 2012

• September 2010

• June 2010

• December 2009

• September 2008

• April 2008

• October 2007

• September 2007

• April 2007

• February 2007

• October 2006

• August 2006

• October 2005

• September 2005

• August 2005

• April 2005

• April 2005

• June 2004

• April 2004

• April 2003

• December 2002

• December 2002

• The Netherlands’ Queen Beatrix Formally Abdicates

  Tens of thousands packed Amsterdam’s central square waiting for this – the moment Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands handed the throne to her eldest son, Willem-Alexander. “Dear mother, today you resigned from your reign, 33 moving and inspiring years for which we are deeply grateful,” said the new King, thanking his mother for her service. After the announcement, the crowd joined the royal family to sing their national anthem and celebrate the queen’s retirement.

Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/25/princess-laurentien-hair-photos_n_3328119.html

Back in 1999 — a gut-wrenching 14 years ago — a theater just north of Wrigley Field was filled on weekend nights with the nervous laughter of people on dates. “Pick-Ups and Hiccups” (a title with admirable descriptive prowess), was a hugely popular sketch-comedy show that poked fun at the absurdity of the mating ritual, a time-honored way to attract a crowd. The show was the work of a couple of wildly disparate writer-performers.

She was zany and quirky and tough to categorize. Her characters were mostly neurotics. When it came to dating, she was all about the hiccups. He was handsome, wry and smooth. So handsome, wry and smooth, in fact, you had the sense some of the young women in the audience would have preferred to drop their goofy, beer-bellied dates and go for him instead. He was all about the pickups, starting with the aspirations of the young professional women in the audience.

The young Seth Meyers would hang around after the show, charming the pants off a changing array of articulate but giggly 20-somethings.

• Chris Jones

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  Seth Meyers at The Vic Theater during the TBS Just for Laughs festival in 2011.

Meyers had met his professional partner, Jill Benjamin, while they both were working at Boom Chicago, the improbably successful Amsterdam outpost of Chicago-style sketch comedy founded in the early 1990s by three guys from Evanston. By the time Meyers and Benjamin had headed to the Netherlands, Boom Chicago was a proven hit with the Dutch, almost all of whom speak English, to answer the obvious question. It was — and still is — a kind of cultural Chicago consulate that deserves some attention from Choose Chicago, the city’s new tourism arm. What other authentic, permanent representative is promoting Chicago comedy anywhere else in Europe?

But back to Meyers. This month, he was named to a very select club that people rarely leave: hosts of late-night TV talk shows on major networks. He’ll take over NBC’s “Late Night” from Jimmy Fallon next year: it’s David Letterman’s old slot. This is likely to draw increased U.S. media attention to Boom Chicago, to stir some memories in the heads of those singles who flocked to “Pick-Ups and Hiccups” at the old Live Bait Theater and, given the prominence of Meyers’ gig, it’s as good a time as any to probe the changing profile of the people who come out of the Chicago comedy scene and make it very big.

But first, here’s what hasn’t changed. Talent needs other talent to thrive. Despite his period of European exile, Meyers certainly was fortunate enough to be in Chicago during an extraordinarily fertile era of Chicago comedy, a time when Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch of Second City also had their own sketch-comedy show (“Dratch and Fey”) and when Amy Poehler was to be seen working at i.O., just a few blocks down Clark Street. This remarkable mid-to-late-1990s Chicago comedic ferment (stretch just a little further back, and you also net Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell), has been underanalyzed and underappreciated to date, but I suspect that soon will change. Its alums now make up much of America’s entertainment establishment.

The moment in this town has certain commonalities with the era of the Compass Players, and even with the early days of the Steppenwolf Theatre. “Pick-Ups and Hiccups” may have looked like no more than a collection of gags about dating, which is pretty much what it actually was, but it was being performed at an amazing moment in the history of Chicago comedy. It was a time when there was enough of a confluence of individual capability that performers were able to challenge one another at a crucial moment and thus thrive. True fame and fortune required this group to leave Chicago, of course. It always does. But the real formation and development of their work happened here, right in front of the eyes of those of us fortunate enough to be watching.

Meyers’ ascension is also notable in another way: It confirms the rise of the Chicago writer-performer, with the writer part driving the bus.

That’s especially the kind of writer-performer who, it feels, could be moonlighting as a presidential speechwriter, or op-ed columnist, or news broadcaster. Even more than Fey in the past few years (Fey’s persona retains more of an anti-establishment streak), the genial and smart Meyers has ridden the wave of the collapse of the once-solid boundary between news and entertainment. As hitherto stolid news organizations have become interested in show business, and as late-night talk shows have become more driven by current events rather than performances, the camera-ready, poly-hyphenate likes of Meyers have become ever more attractive.

Back in the day, stars emerging from the Chicago scene were more likely to be sweaty characters like John Belushi, Gilda Radner, George Wendt or Chris Farley, or iconoclasts like Alan Arkin or Bill Murray. One did not readily picture any of these figures delivering jokes to White House correspondents or wearing suits. Neither did the decision-makers in the media business. None of these earlier stars were really known as writers, even though write they all did. Chicago’s calling card was the instinctive, excessive, no-holds-barred, innately talented physical comedian: a risk-taker and creature of a thousand characters. These were performers rather than personas. You could not imagine those old-school stars interviewing anybody else on a couch, after delivering a wry, up-to-the-minute monologue on Barack Obama’s relationship with Congress.

On a more modest level, perhaps, the Radner-Belushi-Murray axis was also in the wheelhouse of Benjamin, Meyers’ hugely gifted partner of 14 years ago. As Meyers readily admits, Benjamin’s remarkable characters were what made “Pick-Ups and Hiccups” such a great show. All Meyers had to do was play himself: His was the essential, normative persona, the Hugh Grant to Benjamin’s Tori Spelling (a comparison they made themselves back then). Meyers mostly had to tee up Benjamin and watch her hit the ball, hilariously, into the rough.

But even on that night 14 years ago, I distinctly remember thinking that Meyers, a wry creature of the fairway, was on his way to fame and fortune and that nobody would ever quite know what to do with Benjamin, who now is a Los Angeles-based actress and improviser with several TV shows to her credit, including the Disney Channel’s “Austin Ally,” and a one-woman comedy show, “Jill Benjamin Is Stuck in the 1980s.”

A few years ago, Meyers was the emcee at her wedding to John Henson, the host of the ABC game show “Wipeout.”

cjones5@tribune.com

Twitter @ChrisJonestrib

Article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/ct-ae-0526-jones-20130525-5,0,3804296.column