Conduct This

The Kids Got Energy, Now Watch Him Conduct - Conduct? Clockwise from top left -1. Swish, three points at the buzzer; 2. Local Youth Takes Fourth Place in Air Guitar Competition; 3. Well Done Class, Now the Plie; 4. My Afro Always Flies When I'm Groovin To The Temps.

Venezuelan prodigy Gustavo Dudamel makes his debut with the New York Philharmonic this week. What does a conductor really do anyway? Of course he leads the orchestra in rehearsal, including pauses for specific instruction -where the 26 year old Dudamel's "comments focused largely on color and character". I'm sure the venerable stars of the NY Philharmonic appreciate this - "give me green, no bluer, bluer, that's it almost aqua - now mean, meaner, downright nasty - that's it, fantastico." Maybe it's not that easy to get to fantastico, “Do you want higher, lower, what?” a percussionist asked with a slight tone of exasperation. “Something different,” Mr. Dudamel said, “but not keys.” (Laughter.) Something different - thanks a lot kid, I'd like you to hear something different, bend down so your head is right next to this gong.

And then, of course, there's game day. The conductor cues the orchestra so they start in unison. By game time the orchestra pretty much knows the score, but the conductor might coax a little emphasis here, tweak the timing there. In the case of the NY Philharmonic, I suspect they will be on their own once Mr. Dudamel strikes up the band. Most of these players have been at the top of their game since before Dudamel was born. If they look to his energetic gyration for direction while in concert, they risk bursting out in either laughter or tears.

One Answer Only +

32 Down - "Nothing to it": easyasabc

What Does IHTFP Mean Again? A little tougher than abc, but you can figure it out.

SportsShortz

Nascar Hits A Bump In The Road - Wow, you probably catch some big air off a bump at 160 mph. Picture of stock cars in Manhattan is fun, but why have no cabs cut into the line? Let's see what the drivers would do with no police escort and some rush hour midtown traffic.

College Basketball - No. 5 Rutgers Survives Scare - The Scarlet Knights will finish the season as scheduled despite the resurrection of Don Imus on the Farm Channel.

Boozer and Brewer lead Jazz to victory - Vintner adds 10 assists as Onetoomany is ticketed on drive to hoop after finishing triple double.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-College Football - Rutgers Continues Quest for Meaning - In a lame duck match up of disappointed Big East also-rans, Rutgers hopes to secure a bid to the International Bowl, played in Toronto on Jan. 5 - If this is a search for meaning, the team was better off when they lost all their football games and left January free to read Kant.

Celts Turnaround Inspires Isaih Thomas to Keep Plugging - Zeke, after wasting a fortune year after year on disappointing "stars" you were supposed to sign Kevin Garnett, not draw inspiration from his success in Boston.

Russians Play Down Davis Cup Chances / Talk of Efforts to Fix Matches Rattles Pro Tennis- Canny Russian coach Shamil Tarpishchev puts his team's chances at only 35%, although they are the defending champs. Shamil is just trying to push the odds his way a little before he gets his money down. At least it sounds like he's planning to bet on his own team. Note to US team - eat only with the team and let the tasters sample every meal. Note to US tasters, keep your insurance premiums fully paid.

One Answer Only +

1 Down - "You sure said it!": [amen]tothat - [amen]=a single square

See Turkmenistan Rising (but it was a close call) the most recent post by As Good As News in its role as the as the official blog of "reclusive" Turkmenistan. We finally turned the Times coverage around, but fear not Turkmen, we remain ever vigilant, ready to post again if the need arises.

Speak out Huck

To Muslim Girls, Scouts Offer a Chance to Fit In / In Iowa, Mormon Issue Is Benefiting Huckabee -Mitt just needs to campaign as a girl scout. Is this really a "Mormon Issue" or a bigoted Iowa Republicans issue? If the same poll showed Iowans were not voting for a Jewish candidate, because Jews are not Christian, would the Time's headline have read "Jew Issue", or "antisemitism"?

The origins of the Latter Day Saints, and even some of the Mormon's relatively recent views on Africans, are strange. So what, take a look at the origins of nearly every religion and you will find something a little odd. The first Jew was ready to slaughter his own son because he heard a mysterious voice. If Christ lived today, died and came back, we would be arguing about the grassy knoll in the crucifixion video and branding his faithful as a bunch of conspiracy nuts. If the Mormons seem a little different, it's mostly because their history is more recent.

Religion can matter. I would not vote for a member of an Islamist sect, even a girl scout, if that sect was dedicated to the destruction of the US, regardless of what the candidate said about his or her personal views. Resign your membership if you disagree with your religion, but don't belong to a religion, or any other organization, that is fundamentally opposed to your country or your performance of the duties of the office you seek. I would not vote for a Roman Catholic candidate for District Attorney who campaigned on a plan to prosecute doctors for murder whenever they performed a legal abortion.

The question is not simply to what religion does the candidate belong, but it's not that complicated. What does the job require, what does the candidate say about his or her own beliefs as they relate to the job - is there any tenet of the candidate's organized religion or personal beliefs that will prevent the candidate from performing the duties of the office?

I'm not aware of any tenet of the Latter Day Saints that would prevent Mitt from doing the job of President. Mitt might choose to make a speech about his beliefs and how they mesh with his vision of service to his country, but he should not have to defend himself on this issue. Gov. Huckabee, who is a committed Baptist, should be more than happy to speaks out against intolerance. He would actually gain votes. The socially conservative Iowa Republicans who are worried about Mormonism will stick with Huckabee because of his consistency on abortion and gay marriage. A gracious stand against religious intolerance might add some undecided voters for Huckabee without reducing his social conservative base.

One Answer Only +

55 Across - What you might do next?: buyamap

As Good As News needed to buy a map to find Turkmenistan, but not to spot the NY Time's snide treatment of this proud Asian republic, which sits north of Iran along the Caspian Sea's eastern shore.

As Good As News could not overlook the Time's complete inability to use the name Turkmenistan without the adjective "reclusive" (murky and isolation were often thrown in for good measure) and the Time's persistent failure to distinguish between the old regime of President for life Niyazov, a paranoid psychotic, and Turkmenistan's new President, Doc Gurby, a dentist, dental professor, health minister and now President of an administration that has shown some bent toward incremental improvements in both personal freedom and the economy. After a trial period involving frequent, but brief, comments in defense of the Turkmen, As Good As News became the self appointed offical blog of reclusive Turkmenistan, and responded in-kind to a sneering column by C.J. Chivers, the Times man in Ashgabat. Read the Times piece first, it's funny in its own snarky way, then enjoy the rebuttal in To The Ramparts Turkmen.