Godfall

For some, Tennis is a bore. While others, live for it. Nowadays, Tennis has become more popular, thanks to the athletes who plays like they are going on a catwalk show. But apart from the usual glitz and glamour of the sponsors, we can't deny there's hard talents in those courts.

Nowadays, you can't talk about Tennis without touching a topic about Roger Federer. The FedererExpress, as he is fondly called. you think about him and you think about Sampras and Agassi combined. No, that's an understatement. you can even add Borg and Lendl in the mixture. Crazy, isn't it? Yeah, maybe, but that's what Roger Federer is for the moment. If you compare his greatness and dominance in Tennis to any other sports legends, you instinctively think of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Ronaldinho. He IS that good. How good, you say? how about winning Wimbledon 4 consecutive times, then the US Open and Australian Open three times respectively. The Roland Garros (freanch open) has remained just the only Everest for Federer to conquer before he can be called the greatest ever. A title he almost got twice, if not for a flamboyant Spaniard named Rafael Nadal. He reached 17 consecutive finals and won 56 consecutive hard court matches. He ranked up there for all time finals wins with 46 wins for 59 finals entered.

He has been called with so many adjectives throughout his career that sometimes it's even absurd. We have elevated him to god-like status and if this was ancient Greece, he may as well have a place in Mt. Olympus.

But then these past two weeks, the unthinkable happened. He lost. We blink. Thought if it's just the beer or are we seeing a conspiracy by the universe. But it is true. He lost-- not once, but twice! In consecutive tournaments, and with THE SAME man! And it's not even in a final. Last week's lose was at the Indian Wells, and this week at the Miami Masters both on the hands of Argentine Guillermo Canas. We panicked. Think. And we feel better. Because like every other sportsman, greats fall. And Federer--as special as he is-- ain't no exception.

This is a setback, of course. And pretty sure Federer will bounce from this and win more tournaments than ever. But for us, it's just a reminder that like us, Federer too, is mortal.

Art Share

I'm pretty caught up with work and at the same time trying to finish some comics drawing. So I'll just share some pictures of my favourite painter who had a painting spree last week (school holiday).

In the house...








...and at East Coast beach park, where we had camping.

Greatest 5 HITS

This is actually a meme from Carey. It called for me to post the best post (this is subjective in every way, of course, since I'm viewing this in my own perspective) from Five bloggers that I'd chose in my blogroll. It's hard since it's like you're being asked to chose a greatist hits from all your favourite singers. What I did is just point randomly and did what I picked. If they were already tagged by others, I just exclude them.

Anyway, Here's the ever-enforced rules:

1. Choose five blogs randomly from your blogroll.
2. For each blog, choose at least one entry (you could add more) which is your favorite post by this blogger.
3. Include a link to this post and explain why you like it.
4. The chosen five bloggers are considered tagged and they will also have to do the same in their blogs.

So here's my take:

1.Insightful Personhood (Aly)
Favourite post: Expectations
Reason: Amidst a world that taks about women empowerment and feminism, it's refreshing to know that there are still women who choose to be homemakers and never regret a second for giving up their career for family.

2. Under the Canopy (Ipanema)
Favourite post: Pole Dancing is Fun
Reason: I guess because this post made me laugh. And I hardly laugh reading blogs-- moreso if it's this anonymous gal's blog. When I go there and read, I expect hard-line current events. So thumbs up for a refreshing read.

3. Gentle & Compassionate (Ghee)
Favourite Post: Cold War on Valentines' Day
Reason: I like how Ghee demonstrated that Valentines' Day is not just about partners and passion. That it's also about bonding with daughters (in her case, shopping!)--about family. Something that I can really relate well.
4. Warmstone (Bing)
Favourite Post: More than the Days of the Calendar Month
Reason: Again, I think I like this most because it's about family and about loving someone irregardless of time and age. Remind me of Adam Sandler's Grow Old with You. And, it has a poem too, and the real bright smiles that has weathered tests through times.

5. Wish You were Here (Señor Enrique)
Favourite Post: Shine On You Crazy Diamond
Reason: Eric is a prolific blogger who draws from experiences and nostalgia and elicit emotions from his readers. it's really hard to pinpoint one post that I like since I like so many from this guy's proses. I chose this post among the rest since I'm a big fan of Pink Floyd and this guy was the subject of maybe my most favourite song of the band, Wish You were Here-- A song that I associate with someone i lose and still gets me emotional whenever I hear it.

Digital DNA Imprint

I've just discovered IMAGINI which determines your character through choosing visuals. And really, I am impressed how closely it pinpointed some of my traits and attributes.

Below is my widget, a summarized arrays of visuals that made up my Visual DNA. But you can further read how IMAGINI assesses my character here.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

When Genius Deserts You

*Note: This post was made last Thursday but was only published by blogger today because of spams going into my blog. It's cleared now, I hope.

Genius is innate. Either you have it , or you don't. It's that ability that made Einstein see 3- dimentional objects in his mind while creating mathematical theorems and formulas. It's the swiftness in Picasso's hand while paint glides from brush to canvas effortlessly. It's that athletic impossibility that modern-day sportsmen show while we ordinary mortals can't even dare to imagine improbable in our meager and limited thoughts.

In sports, genius is about claiming greatness. Exceptional athletes wanted to be demanded of, they want to dominate teams-- both their own and the enemy. They own the stage. They hug the spotlight. And they deliver the goods in such way and style that we ordinary expectators ran out of adjectives and praises for such deeds. In World Cup '86, Maradona single handedly pass through six opponents to claim a goal against England in such extraordinary fashion. He always wanted the ball. Because only when the ball is with him that he became somebody else... Somebody not us.

In modern football, only two athletes come to my mind when I think of genius-- Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry. Ronaldinho with his wizardry in the pitch and turning out football moves that defies biomechanics; Henry with his gracefulness and finesse with the ball, caliper- precision strikes and field leadership. Incidentally, they came from the opposing teams that slug it out in last season's champion's league final. It was in which Ronaldinho's team Barcelona took the honors and left Arsenal (Henry's team) grasping on regrets.

Lately I've been burning the candles of dawn (these past two days to be more precise) to again watch my favourite football team slug it out for Europe's most prestigious competition, the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, in its last 16 tie.

Arsenal was taking Holland's PSV Eindhoven while Barcelona took on another English heavyweight and another favourite of mine Liverpool. I was expecting firecrackers and goal fest from the two modern gods of football. As if I absolutely knew that they will lead each of their teams for the onslaught of the opposing team's doom to oblivion.

...It was never meant to be. Arsenal was a a mere shadow of their mighty self as PSV disposed them 2-1 and left Henry injured in the last minute. Barcelona was a bigger disappointment. Never even half the team that they were last year, they scored but haven't really turned out a performance and spirit of champion that they, more often than not, demonstrate. They vowed to Liverpool 2-2 on an away goal role.

And so, with the blow of whistle for the end of the game played in two different stadiums, two of the greatest teams that I admire most-- two teams that came to the finals last year undefeated, two teams I've expected to leave a firebrand on their way to a finals clash repeat-- has danced their swansong for this year's Champion's League, taking broken hearts, shattered dreams and hard lessons they will carry for next year's attempt for glory.

I guess, even genius have their off-day.