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Right Back Atya': Alexei Grigorov of Russia stares intently at the ball as he prepares to return it with a backhand swing. Top seed Grigorov and dozens of other young tennis players participated in yesterday's Copa del Café (Coffee Bowl) tennis tournament held at the Costa Rica Country Club in Escazú, a suburb southwest of San José. |
| Harmony Reforma | Tico Times. |
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| Groundhog Day a la Tica Predicts Rainy February |
Yesterday saw a light drizzle around lunchtime in San José, a rarity for this time of year and, according to local lore, a foretelling sign of rains to come. As yesterday was Jan. 2, legend has it that February, the second month, will be rainy, too. |
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| Grateful Dead and Phish Fans Come Head to Head in Jacó |
Deadheads and Phish-heads, take note. The central Pacific coastal town of Jacó Saturday night will host a benefit to promote environmental education with musical guests hailing from such legendary U.S. bands as The Grateful Dead and Phish. |
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| Red Cross Death Toll Soars in Costa Rica |
This week has already seen at least five murders and four fatal road accidents, according to a report by the Red Cross. |
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| Banner Year for Costa Rica's Government Finances |
The central government closed 2007 with the lowest fiscal deficit in two decades, according to preliminary projections from the Finance Ministry. The development owes itself mostly to a 27.4% jump in tax revenues. |
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‘Michael Clayton' Well
Done but Nothing New |
I asked my friend if he wanted to go with me to see “Michael Clayton.” His response: “Why do you need to see him?”
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Groundhog Day a la Tica Predicts Rainy February |
Yesterday saw a light drizzle around lunchtime in San José, a rarity for this time of year and, according to local lore, a foretelling sign of rains to come. As yesterday was Jan. 2, legend has it that February, the second month, will be rainy, too.
Here in Costa Rica, old wives claim the meteorological office needs no more scientific system to predict the weather than to note the climate on the first 12 days of January.
Slightly reminiscent of United States and Canada's Groundhog Day, in which a groundhog forecasts an early or late spring, in Costa Rica the soothsaying beasts are early-January drops. The 12 days are known as las pintas because they paint ( pintar, in Spanish) the weather for the forthcoming year, each day representing one month. If it rains tomorrow, the fourth day of January, for example, you can expect it to rain in April, the fourth month of the year.
For the dry season, it has been unusually precipitous, with hard rains over the Christmas holiday. This had no bearing on the pintas, but nevertheless caught Ticos off guard.
Residents in neighboring Nicaragua have also experienced an unusual dampening of their dry season.
Whether the legend will prove true this year, wait one month, and time will tell.
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-Tico Times
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Grateful Dead and Phish Fans
Come Head to Head in Jacó |
Deadheads and Phish-heads, take note. The central Pacific coastal town of Jacó Saturday night will host a benefit to promote environmental education with musical guests hailing from such legendary U.S. bands as The Grateful Dead and Phish.
Veteran Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, recently honored along with former bandmates for lifetime achievement at the Grammy Awards, will team up with Phish bassist and singer Mike Gordon as well as guitarist Scott Murawski of the band Max Creek.
The bands bridge two generations of peace-loving listeners, mastering a style of folk-fused rock that prizes live performance and lengthy, entrancing improvisation.
They are scheduled to take the stage at 8 p.m. and will play three sets of covers and originals at the Doce Lunas hotel, according to co-organizers the Jacó-based Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce.
It's not the first time Kreutzmann and Murawski share a bill. Fans of both the Dead and Phish – known as Deadheads and Phish-heads, respectively – found each other on the same tour circuit in 2006 following the Rhythm Devils, a band made up of Kreutzmann, Murawski and guitarist Steve Kimock.
The show is just one of the latest projects supported by the chamber of commerce to foment environmental awareness on Costa Rica's Pacific coast (TT, Aug. 24, 2007). A portion of the benefit's p roceeds will help fund environmental education programs in the schools in the canton of Garabito.
Tickets, $20 a head, are being sold online at
http://mikegordontickets.rlc.net/MikeGordon/calendar.aspx, or in person at the Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce or at the door.
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-Tico Times
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Red Cross Death Toll Soars in Costa Rica |
This week has already seen at least five murders and four fatal road accidents, according to a report by the Red Cross.
Sadly, this begins the year right where 2007 left off.
Violent deaths in Costa Rica numbered 34 between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve 2007, casting a shadow over a festive holiday week and rounding off a year in which incidents of fatal road crashes and murders soared.
The figures only include deaths that occurred at the scene of an accident or crime, without counting people who died later in the hospital.
From Dec. 24 to 31, a total of 13 people died in automobile accidents and eight were murdered.
The Red Cross' annual tally rose by 54, to 966, from 2006 to 2007. Its medics treated almost 3,000 people who were seriously injured, the report said.
A total 399 fatalities last year were from road accidents, the main cause of death in the Red Cross report, followed by shootings and stabbings, which claimed 203 lives. Another 104 lives were lost in drownings.
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-EFE
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Banner Year for Costa Rica’s Government Finances |
By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net
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The central government closed 2007 with the lowest fiscal deficit in two decades, according to preliminary projections from the Finance Ministry. The development owes itself mostly to a 27.4% jump in tax revenues.
The government's newfound bounty also allowed for a significant increase in social spending, an important factor in the decrease in poverty marked earlier in 2007 (TT, Nov. 9, 2007).
Finance Minister Guillermo Zúñiga predicted the government would close the year with a deficit of about $84 million, or 0.4% of the country's gross domestic product.
“With these data, it strengthens the possibility of closing the year with a much lower fiscal deficit,” Zúñiga said, according to the Associated Press.
“It could be that we break even or that we come out with a surplus, but I prefer to be reserved and say that it will be 0.4% of the gross domestic product, at least.” |
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‘Michael Clayton’ Well Done but Nothing New |
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I asked my friend if he wanted to go with me to see “Michael Clayton.” His response: “Why do you need to see him?”
Named for its protagonist, a “fixer” in a New York law firm, “Michael Clayton” the movie is the latest legal-suspense thriller to be offered up by Hollywood. With a superb cast headed by George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, the only reason a film like this would fail would be because of those behind the camera. Thankfully, that is not the case. Tony Gilroy, who makes his directing debut with this film, has crafted a textbook example of how to successfully write and direct a suspense thriller not for dummies.
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| Title Role: George Clooney plays a “fixer” in a big New York law firm in “Michael Clayton.” |
Photo courtesy of
Clayton Productions LLC |
The movie is well executed, though the pace is a bit slow and the plot somewhat predictable. In a recent surge of end-of-movie twists and turns that we've seen come out of Hollywood, “Michael Clayton” makes no effort to tease you along toward a mind-blowing twist at the end, yet it manages to keep you interested the whole way through. And the predictability seems not to be a weakness but rather a strength that helps to establish tension and a solid storyline.
Despite all this, the film doesn't have the entertainment value you might expect. With the possible exception of legal thriller addicts and John Grisham buffs, this movie can definitely wait for home viewing. The formula used here offers nothing new for those familiar with the genre.
The performances are excellent, however. The presence of a large number of unknown actors in supporting roles does not go unnoticed; they perform well in the backdrop of the story and their unknown faces add a sense of genuineness to the film. With this and other movies such as the “Ocean's Eleven” series, Clooney and fast friend Steven Soderbergh – executive producers of “Michael Clayton,” along with James Holt and Anthony Minghella – seem big on seeking out new talent to complement already known names.
Though new to directing, Gilroy – who has some excellent writing credits under his belt, including the Bourne series – definitely has an eye for stimulating shot compositions. I will be first in line when his next film, “Duplicity,” starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, comes out, with what I'm sure will be a more mature and experienced approach.
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