(Because I don't want to flood my followers' timelines on Twitter.) *Just finished reading Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife and it's probably one of the best novels that I've read in a while. The story deals with themes such as war, death, family, myth, storytelling, superstitions, among others. I think the subplot that resonated the most with me was that of Luka's, the wife beater. While many of the characters in the novel deals with the death of a person, Luka had to deal with the death of his dream of becoming a famous musician. Here was a guy who knew from the very beginning what he wanted and suffered at the hands of his father because of it, only to return to their backward village later on as a failure and be consumed and ruined by his utter disappointment and heartbreak. This is a must read for those who are interested in Balkan history (and
maybe even those who like Serbian tennis players ... sorry, the big tennis fan in me had to put
that one out there). I also recommend it as well to fans of the magical
realism genre. *U.S. Anti-Doping CEO Travis Tygart, who is widely regarded as a hero for having tirelessly pursued Lance Armstrong and exposing him as a fraud, also came out with an interview on 60 Minutes to once again denounce Armstrong's lies during his confession to Oprah. Tsk, tsk. Some people just never change, do they? *Also watched Gangster Squad. Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte and Emma Stone. Seriously, how can you go wrong with this cast? I wasn't really happy with it, though. The movie had a lot of potential, really, and could have been like Argo if the producers asked Ben Afflect to direct it and write the screenplay. Anyway, I would still recommend this movie to fellow Ryan Gosling lovers. *Must watch Youtube videos: A Pep Talk from Kid President to You and Disney's Paperman.
@retireleo wow, tough words from an anon Internet troll. why not use your name and photo, coward? Have some more fritos and keep typing
— Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) November 19, 2012
*These tweets just made me love Anderson Cooper even more.
*I would like to extend my belated congratulations to President Barack Obama for winning another term as US President. However, I think that the real winner of this election is sports nerd/statistician, Nate Silver.
*From the Manila Standard Today: "The true tragedy of Philippine politics is that we have people like
Senator Sotto who are put in positions of power where they can do great
damage with only a modicum of learning." Is it really that hard to offer a genuine apology, Senator Tito Sotto?
Here's a round-up of a few must read/see/view things that you guys (as in the 5 people who read my blog) might find interesting.
*I humbly submit the above video as evidence as to why women tennis players deserve equal prize money. Oh. Hi there, Gilles Simon. Who's the most popular out of the four of you there? (Video courtesy of @OnTheGoTennis)
*Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor and probably the best cyclist that ever lived, is going to be stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles and banned for life from the sport that he dominated after refusing to defend himself from allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs. This early 2011 investigative piece from Sports Illustrated
sheds some light into the issue and even hints at a grand deception on
the part of Armstrong and his entourage to cover-up his long-term doping. After reading this article, I can't help but compare Armstrong to Tiger Woods,
another superstar who spectacularly fell from grace after being
involved in a sex addiction controversy, and how far celebrities and
their handlers would go to appear "clean", deceive people and cover up any negative publicity. I know that
Armstrong is revered more than Woods mainly because of
his work with Livestrong but, after reading SI's article, I can't
help but still feel betrayed. I love sports and admire athletes who
work really hard and sacrifice a lot of things just to be able to
compete and be the best that they can be. It's a shame when they cheat
by relying on performance-enhancing drugs and don't do the hard work
that other athletes do. It's also unforgivable when they act out like Mafia bosses and ruin the lives and career of people who dare expose them as frauds.
*Here's a nice Strong is Beautiful campaign photo featuring Ana Ivanovic from the WTA. I can't help but feel emotional (you know how we tennis fans can be) after reading the following tagline: "Strong is…never giving up the struggle to be as great as you know you can be. Strong is Women’s Tennis."
It's no secret that I'm a big Ana Ivanovic fan (just run through my
previous posts) and, of course, I know very well how enormously talented
she is and how hard she works to get back to where she once was before
the slump happened (Grand Slam champion, former world no. 1). It just
sucks big time that her results since late 2008 have not been
commensurate to her abilities. I still hope against hope that someday
she will somehow recover what she lost during her long slump (e.g.
ranking points, a couple of titles, Queen Bee locker room status,
endorsement deals). Thanks for keeping the faith, Hitler.
*How hard is it to be a wannabe Secretary of State or Foreign Affairs Secretary? Just ask Steve Walt.
*Vladimir Putin doesn't have a sense of humor. Another post from Steve Walt:
Meanwhile, over in Moscow, the punk band Pussy
Riot got sentenced to two years in jail for "hooliganism," all because
they had
the temerity to poke some harmless fun at Vladimir Putin and made the
mistake
of doing it inside a Russian Orthodox Church. Now there's a real threat
to public order! And the government's lame response is revealing:
throwing young
female musicians in jail is like taking out a full page ad in the
world's
leading newspapers announcing "We are afraid of independent thinking and
have absolutely no sense of humor." In a world where success
increasingly depends
on tapping into the energy, imagination, and initiative of the
citizenry, Putin
is telling young Russians to be dull and conformist. I think he's also
betraying a profound sense
of insecurity: when a three-person punk band is a threat to society, you
know
that the government has lost all perspective. He's got Madonna ticked off too, although I'm not sure that matters all that much.
*The Philippines lost a good public servant last week. While a lot of tributes have been written about DILG Secretary and multi-awarded former Naga City major Jesse Robredo, this piece written by Patricia Evangelista is probably my favorite. RIP, Sec. Robredo. Your brand of leadership will surely be missed.
