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"As the branches are careening down," he says, his eyes following his arm arcing in front of him, "they lift upward. The leaves have a ... lifted-up quality to them." His fingers outline and accent these delicate, language-eluding forms. He's talking about the iconic Monterey cypress near Stanyan and Fell streets, where the Panhandle meets Golden Gate Park. Lit up from head to toe shortly after Thanksgiving every year, it's San Francisco's unofficial Christmas tree.

that's not a species, you see   -Fritz Maytag

 

American skier Resi Stiegler is out for the Olympic season after breaking two bones in her left leg in a crash in giant slalom training, the US Ski Team said Friday. Stiegler, a 2006 Olympian, had surgery to repair her broken tibia and femur. "This was a serious injury for Resi, but her spirit is strong," US Ski Team medical director Richard Quincy said in a statement.

This was a serious injury for Resi, but her spirit is strong   -Richard Quincy

 

They haven't tried to dodge the slings and arrows this week, they have braced themselves and accepted the barrage. But now England plan to fire a few shots of their own and boy oh boy, do they need to. After last week's wretched display against Argentina, Martin Johnson and his team have a point to prove to a disillusioned, sceptical public, as they readily admit.  

Surfing takes Molokai boy around the world and to the top of the NSSA leaderboard. Ka'oli Kahokuloa didn't stand up the first time he was on a surfboard, but then again most nine-month-olds can barely stand up at all. A few months before Ka'oli's first birthday, his dad took him out to the waves of Rock Point on Molokai.  

Two watch captains on the Swedish yacht Ericsson 4 which won the Volvo round-the-world race earlier this year have been named jointly as New Zealand sailors of the year. Brad Jackson and Stu Bannatyne were announced winners at the 2009 Yachting New Zealand Excellence Awards last night. The pair, two of the world's most experienced and successful ocean racers, joined another New Zealander Mark Christensen as the only sailors to have won the famous round-the-world race three times.  

Team New Zealand and Synergy will race in a winner takes all match at the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in Nice tonight. Team New Zealand protested the result of the second semifinal race this morning with the jury penalising Synergy Russia half a point for a collision and Team New Zealand a point. Despite winning both races on the water, Dean Barker and his teammates go into a deciding showdown tonight tied nil all.  

Relatives of the New Zealand crew who died in the Air New Zealand A320 crash in France a year ago head to France next weekend for the unveiling of a plaque in their memory. The Airbus A320 crashed into the sea near Perpignan, killing all five New Zealanders and two German crew on board. The crash occurred while the plane, which had been leased to German airline XL Airways, was undergoing acceptance trials before being handed back to Air New Zealand.  

The International Jury for the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d'Azur has penalised Synergy Russia Sailing Team a half point for a collision with Emirates Team New Zealand at the finish of their second Semi Final race earlier on Saturday. In the second race Emirates Team New Zealand had been penalised in the pre-start for gybing too close. The crew carried that penalty around the course.  

Thousands of people are expected to take part in a march in Auckland today, calling on politicians to be more responsive to public opinion. March for Democracy organiser Colin Craig has put hundreds of thousands of dollars into publicising the demonstration. He wants politicians to follow the wishes of the majority.