Latest news with #Skyy
Telegraph
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Stop satirising millennials – it isn't compelling fiction
About halfway through Allegro Pastel, the fourth novel by the prize-winning German writer Leif Randt, Jerome, a website designer, is on his sofa kissing Marlene, whom he went to school with, while Tanja, a young novelist who lives in Berlin, is going through a frosty patch with Janis, the tattooed guy she dumped Jerome for. A few months earlier, Jerome and Tanja were having 'slightly melodramatic' sex on the same couch. Soon, they'll exchange some tortured emails about missing each other, drop a pill at a wedding, kiss, and ultimately fail to get back together. The first of Randt's novels to be translated into English, Allegro Pastel follows the length of Jerome and Tanja's relationship, from early romantic stirrings – they meet at the premier of the webseries adaptation of Tanya's first novel – through to Tanja's sudden, inexplicable aversion to Jerome when he reveals the website he's designed for her on her 30th birthday. This curdling of their desire into awkwardness and regret is a potentially fruitful story. But the question that emerges is: who cares? For one, Randt doesn't hide how unlikeable his main characters are. Jerome's prejudices are never far from the surface and even Tanja admits her own caprice and vanity. As a narrative gambit, such characters could be interesting if the two weren't so shallowly observed. Tanja's character appears to be based principally on her love of badminton and Decathlon; Jerome's 'inner personality' becomes meaningful when it 'no longer reminded him of the text-to-speech function on his laptop, but sounded more like himself reading an iMessage'. The writing is also astonishingly poor. Randt frequently squashes his characters' thoughts into clunky logical structures: 'On the one hand… on the other'. Perhaps it's simply an awkward translation – or perhaps it's an attempt to scathingly criticise the ennui of a certain kind of European millennial (an endeavour also made by Vincenzo Latronico with his recently published novel, Perfection.) But such impoverished interiority hardly makes for a compelling read. You wonder why Randt bothered with fiction when a flow chart would do. And bafflingly, where there are opportunities for emotional texture, Randt instead delivers extraneous information. That includes the width of Jerome's mattress (1.4m-wide, if you're curious), various emojis, and a litany of brand names. Should we care, for instance, that Jerome serves Skyy vodka to Tanja, that Marlene uses an iPhone 8, that Tanja prefers EasyJet to Ryanair, and that they listen to Spotify in a rented Tesla? Brands can work as a shorthand for a type of person: but that's marketing or cultural semiotics, not fiction. I gave Allegro Pastel the benefit of the doubt for longer than usual, mostly because I wondered whether it could really be so bad. Was it actually a sly pastiche or a smart self-parody? Was there a deadpan humour I wasn't quite getting? Unfortunately, Allegro Pastel simply is an empty book about vapid people. Sentences such as: 'Jerome could link most of his personal characteristics to his upbringing,' show that novels can be pitched as 'ironic' and yet still become parodies of themselves.
Los Angeles Times
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
‘I haven't had my dad around': How UCLA's Skyy Clark kept going amid father's illness
Skyy Clark's phone kept ringing in class. It was his second day of summer school at UCLA, so he didn't answer. When one of his brothers sent him a message on Snapchat, he finally relented and looked to see what was going on. Dad's in the hospital. He had a stroke. Bolting from his seat, Clark called his father. At first, Kenny Clark seemed fine, his wry sense of humor intact even from a hospital bed. 'He was joking around and sending us selfie videos,' Skyy said, 'and was like, 'They're about to discharge me' and everything, and then something crazy happened.' At the time, Skyy and his father were on the verge of a mutual homecoming. After a lifetime's worth of detours that included four high schools and three colleges, Skyy was going to play for the hometown Bruins and his family was planning to move nearby. Kenny had trumpeted his son's new college choice by suggesting a playful spin on one Louisville fan's relentless social media campaign to have UCLA's Mick Cronin fill the Cardinals' coaching vacancy. Alongside Skyy's announcement that he would transfer from Louisville to UCLA, he added — at his father's urging — the same hashtag that had been littering 'X' timelines for months: '#MickIsThePick.' Now, Skyy was left to contemplate a season without his most steadying influence and No. 1 fan nearby. Three days after his stroke, Kenny suffered a series of complications that would threaten his life. Skyy forged on without the father who had attended practically every game and missed only a handful of workouts being there to support him. Hourlong phone calls every day couldn't begin to compensate for his absence. 'This is the first year,' Skyy said, 'I haven't had my dad around.' Said Kenny: 'It's hard as hell.' The tattoo on Skyy's left thigh reflects their bond. It's an image of Kenny holding his young son while kissing him on the cheek. 'That's my baby picture right here,' Skyy said, pulling up the hem of his shorts to show the tattoo. 'That's me, that's him.' Long before Skyy bounced his first basketball, his father had established the family's athletic heritage. After starring as a wide receiver at the University of Central Florida, Kenny signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Known for his swagger and flamboyant touchdown celebrations, he returned two kickoffs for the Vikings during the 2003 season before a back injury forced his retirement. Kenny went on to become his son's first coach. Though he played basketball in high school, Kenny liberally supplemented his knowledge of the game in hopes of accelerating Skyy's early growth. 'Whatever I needed to learn about basketball, he was studying,' Skyy said, 'so if it was something about shooting, something about pick-and-roll, he was watching videos and learning everything he could to teach me.' One lesson became a mantra: Whatever you do, do it with everything you've got. As a high school freshman, Skyy found that increasingly hard to do while making a 50-mile commute each way from his home in Santa Clarita to Oaks Christian High in Thousand Oaks. After half a year of rising at 5 a.m., Skyy abandoned the endeavor for sanity's sake and returned to Heritage Christian in Northridge, where he had attended middle school. Cronin showed up at his games, sitting in the stands while the coach's daughter did homework. When the pandemic hit, the family decided it wanted to live somewhere that was less restrictive with health regulations and more open to a sense of normalcy. The Clarks packed their things and made the three-day drive to Nashville, Tenn., Skyy enrolling at Ensworth High. Skyy spent his final high school season at Montverde Academy in Florida, winning the Geico national basketball championship while being limited by his recovery from a torn knee ligament. The injury didn't limit him as a freshman at Illinois, Skyy starting the first 12 games and becoming a significant contributor. But on a trip home for Christmas, he noticed his dad's health deteriorating because of diabetes. Kenny was in constant pain and nearly unable to see. Skyy returned to Illinois for one more game before figuring his father needed him more than his team. He announced his departure for family reasons, keeping Kenny's condition private. As the oldest of six siblings — including brother, ZZ, who plays for UC Santa Barbara — Skyy felt a responsibility to take charge of his father's care. He accompanied him to medical visits, made sure he exercised and even pricked his finger for blood tests. 'I basically became like a registered nurse,' Skyy said. 'It was cool because he's always been helping me my whole life, so for me to have that chance to do that for him, it just felt like a full-circle moment right there.' Transferring to Louisville for his sophomore season would allow him to stay close to the family's Nashville home, about a 2½-hour drive away. Skyy became the leading scorer on a bad team, his 13.2 points per game unable to save the Cardinals from a losing season or coach Kenny Payne from losing his job. That prompted his latest move. Skyy picked UCLA, the college he said he would have attended from the start had he finished high school on the West Coast. It was all coming together for the Los Angeles native whose family was going to join him. 'We had closed on a house and everything,' Kenny said. Then came that dreadful news. Just when it seemed as if Kenny had stabilized from his initial stroke, three uneventful days in the hospital leaving the family encouraged, came a massive setback. Kenny suffered a series of more debilitating strokes and slipped into a coma. He woke up after about a month, though it was just the start of a lengthy recovery that required several more months of hospitalization. 'I'm just happy he's still here,' Skyy said. Father and son talked daily, the conversations revolving around more than Kenny's rehabilitation and Skyy's season. 'We talk about everything — we talk about basketball, we talk about life, like, literally anything,' Skyy said. 'He's really just been telling me to keep working hard, but he's been telling me how much he's proud of me, how I've handled myself this year.' Taking on a far different role than he had at Louisville, Skyy has sacrificed scoring while becoming one of the most selfless players in the Big Ten. The junior guard takes charges, grabs offensive rebounds despite being one of the shortest players on the team and plays through injuries he won't mention unless someone brings them up. 'I've got jammed fingers, I've got jammed thumbs, I've got all types of injuries,' Skyy finally conceded when asked what he had pushed through without missing a game. 'Yeah, I mean, if I can still walk, I can still run, I can still breathe, I'll be all right once the adrenaline kicks in.' Along the way, Skyy has impressed his coach with an influence far exceeding his averages of 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. 'Skyy's a tough-ass kid,' Cronin said. 'Just to get what we've been able to get from him this year, I'm ecstatic because I know what he's been going through in the situation with his family. If you guys knew it all, you'd be shocked that he's even been able to play this year.' Kenny has watched every game on television, joking that it has its advantages because he gets to watch replays. He especially savored Skyy's season-high 17-point performance against USC earlier this month, when he made seven of 10 shots to go with six assists and three steals. 'The USC game, I saw it all come together,' Kenny said. 'I was like a proud papa.' Having sufficiently recovered during rehabilitation, Kenny reached his own milestone Sunday when he moved back home. He's been able to stand up and take a few steps, doctors telling the family that he should be able to walk again in about two months if he remains diligent with his strengthening exercises. Skyy briefly hoped his father would be able to make the three-hour drive to Lexington, Ky., for the Bruins' NCAA tournament opener against Utah State on Thursday, but that desire proved overly ambitious given the circumstances. Kenny will watch once more on television, having encouraged his son to be aggressive because deep March runs are all about guard play. They might still get that mutual homecoming. Skyy has committed to returning to UCLA for his final college season and Kenny is planning on making that move back to Southern California. 'God willing,' Skyy said, 'he'll be able to come back out here for sure next season.' That would allow them to trade phone calls for hugs, the father holding his son firmly once more.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UCLA men's winning streak comes to an end against Illinois
Skyy Clark's three-pointer was well off the mark, UCLA's latest empty possession triggering more vitriol. 'Skyy you suck!' chanted the Illinois students who felt jilted by the Bruins guard's departure from their beloved team more than a year ago. The Illini were no less forgiving on the court. Scoring with ease and disrupting every UCLA player besides Tyler Bilodeau, Illinois ended the Bruins' nearly monthlong winning streak after withstanding an epic comeback over the final minutes. Trailing by 16 points with less than five minutes to play, UCLA was within two points after it made 10 consecutive shots and Sebastian Mack made two free throws with 12.8 seconds left. After the Illini broke the Bruins' press, UCLA's William Kyle fouled Ben Humrichous, who made the first free throw and missed the second. But Illinois' Tomislav Ivisic tipped out the offensive rebound, the Bruins were forced to foul again and two more Illini free throws sealed their fate during an 83-78 loss Tuesday night inside State Farm Center. UCLA's defense was too pliable in allowing the Illini to shoot 50.9% on the way to ending the Bruins' seven-game winning streak. Illinois was also the far tougher team, outrebounding UCLA (18-7 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) by 13 while also grabbing 10 offensive rebounds. Read more: 'The things I do aren't normal.' UCLA's Eric Dailey Jr. thrives on relentless work Bilodeau finished with 25 points, making nine of 17 shots and seven of 12 three-pointers, while fueling a comeback that seemed unlikely given the way the Illini were getting almost everything they wanted offensively. Kasparas Jakucionis scored 24 points to lead Illinois (17-8, 9-6). Clark's return to Illinois was not a quiet one. Students were on the UCLA guard — who spent his freshman season here — from the moment they spotted him before the game. 'Quitter!' the students chanted before heckling him while he shot practice free free throws in front of them. As if that wasn't enough, two students positioned behind UCLA's basket scribbled messages on whiteboards. '#55 5 teams 5 years' one message read, alluding to Clark having also played at Louisville in addition to a series of high schools. 'When you guys leave, Skyy knows where the door is,' read another message. There was another more pressing irritant for the Bruins. Read more: UCLA overcomes teamwide illness to rout Penn State for its seventh straight win Coming off a stretch in which they took care of the ball at a historic level, committing just three turnovers in back-to-back games for the first time since the statistic was tracked starting with the 1976-77 season, the Bruins were not nearly as meticulous Tuesday. When Dylan Andrews lost the ball to conclude a sloppy stretch by his team, UCLA had its fourth turnover and only 6:10 had elapsed. The Illini paired the extra possessions with some cold shooting by the Bruins to zip into an early 11-point lead that they eventually extended to 15. A turning point came when UCLA's Aday Mara entered the game with about six minutes before halftime, the big man disrupting Illinois' offense as the Bruins went on a 12-5 run fueled by two Bilodeau three-pointers. With his team trailing only 31-25 at the game's midpoint despite a fairly dreadful showing, UCLA coach Mick Cronin turned toward his bench and clapped in encouragement as the Bruins headed for the locker room. They would not be in nearly as good of a mood the next time they headed there. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
UCLA men's winning streak comes to an end against Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Skyy Clark's three-pointer was well off the mark, UCLA's latest empty possession triggering more vitriol. 'Skyy you suck!' chanted the Illinois students who felt jilted by the Bruin guard's departure from their beloved team more than a year ago. The Illini were no less forgiving on the court. Scoring with ease and disrupting every UCLA player besides Tyler Bilodeau, Illinois ended the Bruins' nearly monthlong winning streak after withstanding an epic comeback over the final minutes. Trailing by 16 points with less than five minutes to play, UCLA was within two points after it made 10 consecutive shots and Sebastian Mack made two free throws with 12.8 seconds left. After the Illini broke the Bruins' press, UCLA's William Kyle fouled Ben Humrichous, who made the first free throw and missed the second. But Illinois' Tomislav Ivisic tipped out the offensive rebound, the Bruins were forced to foul again and two more Illini free throws sealed their fate during an 83-78 loss Tuesday night inside State Farm Center. UCLA's defense was too pliable in allowing the Illini to shoot 50.9% on the way to ending the Bruins' seven-game winning streak. Illinois was also the far tougher team, outrebounding UCLA (18-7 overall, 9-5 Big Ten) by 13 while also grabbing 10 offensive rebounds. Bilodeau finished with 25 points, making nine of 17 shots and seven of 12 three-pointers, while fueling a comeback that seemed unlikely given the way the Illini were getting almost everything they wanted offensively. Kasparas Jakucionis scored 24 points to lead Illinois (17-8, 9-6). Clark's return to Illinois was not a quiet one. Students were on the UCLA guard who spent his freshman season here from the moment they spotted him before the game. 'Quitter!' the students chanted before heckling him while he shot practice free free throws in front of them. As if that wasn't enough, two students positioned behind UCLA's basket scribbled messages on whiteboards. '#55 5 teams 5 years' one message read, alluding to Clark having also played at Louisville in addition to a series of high schools. 'When you guys leave, Skyy knows where the door is,' read another message. There was another more pressing irritant for the Bruins. Coming off a stretch in which they took care of the ball at a historic level, committing just three turnovers in back-to-back games for the first time since the statistic was tracked starting with the 1976-77 season, the Bruins were not nearly as meticulous Tuesday. When Dylan Andrews lost the ball to conclude a sloppy stretch by his team, UCLA had its fourth turnover and only 6:10 had elapsed. The Illini paired the extra possessions with some cold shooting by the Bruins to zip into an early 11-point lead that they eventually extended to 15. A turning point came when UCLA's Aday Mara entered the game with about six minutes before halftime, the big man disrupting Illinois' offense as the Bruins went on a 12-5 run fueled by two Tyler Bilodeau three-pointers. With his team trailing only 31-25 at the game's midpoint despite a fairly dreadful showing, UCLA coach Mick Cronin turned toward his bench and clapped in encouragement as the Bruins headed for the locker room. They would not be in nearly as good of a mood the next time they headed there.
