Quotes: She rules.

Amelia Earhart sent this prenuptial letter to fiancée George Putnam in 1931: pic.twitter.com/Qx90XGTrq7
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) June 17, 2014

Quotes: Making the world a better place.

Brilliance. Pass it on. RT @B_RussellQuotes: The whole problem with the world... pic.twitter.com/PoxPBYMRDp

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) May 18, 2014

The "Must" List: Only God Forgives

*Dear Ryan Gosling: Why are you so adorable?

*I've been addicted to @Longform for quite some time now. Let's just say that it's the main reason why I am not getting a lot of sleep these days. If you're on Twitter and you absolutely love reading longform non-fiction stuff, Longform is a must follow. Some of my favorites: Love and Madness in the Jungle, The Mind of a Con Man, Al Gore's Golden Years and A Murder Foretold (this should at least be made into a movie), among others.

*Chechnya =/= Czech Republic. What is happening, people?! *shakes head*

*Thanks for this, Paulo Coelho.

*Who needs the Avengers when you have Uncle Ruslan and Charles Ramsey?

*The next great Hollywood sports movie should come this list. Most compelling story in the list would've be that of Baron Gottfried von Cramm's. Nazis. Homosexuality. Tennis. Rebellion. What more can you ask?

*Buzzfeed + Foreign Policy = MFEO.

*CNN calls itself "The World Leader in News". After this and this, I am not so sure anymore.

*And we end this post with another golden quote from tennis star and self-help guru, Ana Ivanovic:

Ana's Oscar speech: "The funny thing as well is that it's all the time within you, you just have to find it. People will tell you things -
— Tumaini (@tumcarayol) April 26, 2013

if you wanna hear, you don't wanna hear. It's not until you find it within you that the confidence will come back."
— Tumaini (@tumcarayol) April 26, 2013

Quotes: Respect.

Do not ever underestimate my ability to find shit out.

— TED (@Laughbook) April 4, 2013

I don't think I need to be in the NBI/FBI/CIA/Mossad or get a law degree to sniff out fake social media accounts. Come on.

The "Must" List: Words of wisdom

*Kinda bummed that there's no mention of Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in this video.

*It's becoming really hilarious now how often I see pictures of Roger Federer crying. Come on, guys.

*Jennifer Lawrence, hands down, is the biggest winner of the recently concluded Academy Awards.  After this, this, this, this and this, really, how can people not fall in love with her? (Even the IR guy that I follow on Twitter wants her to run for Congress.) Funny, down-to-earth and extremely charming, JLaw definitely won herself a lot of fans during Oscar night. Her ability to poke fun at herself is indeed very disarming. I do wish that some media outlets would stop calling her a "starlet" nowadays. Duh. She has several awards under her belt now, is the lead star of the Hunger Games franchise (which contributed to archery's massive popularity during the Olympics on US cable tv) and is the face of Miss Dior. JLaw has earned every right to be called a "star". Anyway, it's really great when someone who you started following because you found her hilarious in one interview almost two years ago hits the big time.

*From the video vault of awesomeness: Michelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon doing the "mom dance".

*Who knew that the way to Kim Jong Un's heart was Dennis Rodman? I'm still not giving up on my peace plan.

*Words of wisdom from Ben Affleck: "...you have to work harder than you think you possibly can. You can't hold grudges. It's hard but you can't hold grudges. It doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life, cause that's gonna happen. All that matters is that you gotta get up."

*Words of wisdom from Ted:

Shit happens. I mean, look at your face.
— TED (@Laughbook) March 3, 2013

Don't assume my tweets are about you. But if you’re affected by them, then that obviously means you’re guilty of something.
— TED (@Laughbook) March 1, 2013

Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman. Then be Batman.
— TED (@Laughbook) February 28, 2013

Quotes: Can't stop laughing.

"Justin Bieber followed you" *stops breathing, falls off chair, screams, crys, jumps around the room* ... *clicks icon, fake account* TRUE.

— They call me Jerry (@JBsexykidrauhl) February 10, 2013

Quotes: Oh, the what-could-have-beens...

When you witness a silky-smooth game like that from Ivanovic, you can only wonder what might have been.
— Ed McGrogan (@EdMcGrogan) January 20, 2013

Uhm, like, 5 Grand Slam titles lost? (This is my blog so I have the right to be delusional.) So Ana just lost to Agnieszka Radwanska in the 4th round of the Australian Open, 2-6 4-6. Radwanska was just serving like a GOAT (fantastic placing) and was not giving away a lot of errors. Ana, despite having a lot of chances, just couldn't serve well and hit winners consistently. Sigh. Call me (maybe) crazy but I really do believe that Ana Ivanovic is still capable of winning Grand Slams (yes, with an "s"). I don't know when but there's reason to hope after seeing her play this past couple of weeks. (For a short history of how really, really good she was and her struggles from 2008 onwards, click here.)

Quotes: Hello there, 2013.

From zenmind-nomind:

Happy New Year: 2013

May you be at peace.
May your heart remain open.
May you realize the beauty of your own true nature.
May you be healed.
May you be a source of healing for this world.

Quotes: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Got this from a friend's post on Facebook. Worth sharing.

Christmas gift suggestions
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Quotes: Words of wisdom

Revenge? Nah, I'm too lazy. I'm just going to sit here and let karma mess you up.
— TED (@Laughbook) December 15, 2012

*BOOM* *mic drop*

Quotes: Note to self

LOVE your enemy but never forget: he is not your friend
— Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho) December 8, 2012

Thank you, Mr. Coelho.

The "Must" List: Muppets against Romney? LOL.

Here's a round-up of a few must read/see/view things that you guys might find interesting.

* So, there's Sesame Street Diplomacy and now there's US presidential candidate Mitt Romney going after Big Bird during his first live debate with incumbent president Barack Obama. Who knew that these muppets could wield so much power and influence?  

* Thanks, Patricia Evangelista, for telling us what the future could look like with Sen. Tito Sotto as the King of Cyberspace. God save the Philippines.

* Roger Federer being, well, like Roger Federer:

"I think he's done so well," Federer added. "His reaction was amazing after not winning Wimbledon against me.
"Then coming back to win the Olympics and bringing the victory home for his first Grand Slam at the US Open was great to see.
"I was very impressed and I'm sure that's going to give him confidence for what's to come.
"How me, Novak and Rafa - whenever he comes back - and the rest of the players will play will have a little bit of an impact.
"But, overall, Andy has some control over that himself now."

* Novak Djokovic dancing Psy's Gangnam Style. Tennis is so cool.

* And I've missed you too.

* Anna Wintour is a big fan of tennis. She's also a big fan of Homeland. Who knew that we had a lot of things in common?

* Team Nicki Minaj or Team Mariah? Let BuzzFeed help you decide.

Quotes: What a dork.

From Ana Ivanovic's Facebook post:

On my way to Tokyo. I recently learnt that foods like sushi and shrimp tempura, which I love, aren't eaten all that often among Japanese people. Relatively speaking, sushi is eaten more often in places like London and New York. Still, I will eat sushi for a whole week, hopefully longer :)

Don't ever ever ever change. 

The "Must" List: Grand Deception?

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. 

*Cute guys edition: Ryan Gosling does ballet? I need a video ASAP. Brody Jenner's single, y'all. (Oh wait, I shouldn't have announced that. Darn.)  Unintentional hilarity still follows Andy Murray.

*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. 

Quotes: Bow down to the Queen.

Those who belong at the top never forget their way back. #MariaSharapova twitter.com/niketennis/sta…
— Nike Tennis (@niketennis) June 7, 2012

From Maria Sharapova's Roland Garros trophy acceptance speech:

"I proved that no matter how many punches I took in my career, I've always gotten back up," she said. 

"I never made excuses for me, not to myself, not to people.  I always relied on my own talent, on the help of my team. At the end of the day, that's really what gets me through and gets me up. I have a tremendous amount of belief and pride in what I do.  I love my work.  I've always said this:  I love playing tennis. I had so many outs in my career.  I could have said, I don't need this.  I have money; I have fame; I have victories; I have Grand Slams.  But when your love for something is bigger than all those things, you continue to keep getting up in the morning when it's freezing outside, when you know that it can be the most difficult day, when nothing is working, when you feel like the belief sometimes isn't there from the outside world, and you seem so small. But you can achieve great things when you don't listen to all those things."

Won Wimbledon in 2004 at the age of 17. WTA Tour Championships winner in 2004. Brief stint as world number 1 in 2005. US Open champ in 2006. Australian Open winner in 2008. "Inherited" the #1 ranking when Justine Henin retired unexpectedly for the first time during the spring of 2008. Suffered a debilitating right shoulder injury that almost ended her career and was out of the women's tour from mid-2008 until early 2009. Won Roland Garros in 2012 even if she thinks that she plays like this on clay. Tenth woman in history to win a career Grand Slam. World no. 1 yet again and rightful Queen of the Tennis World. (Yeah, she's still the highest paid female athlete in the world.) Not too shabby, Maria Sharapova. Not too shabby at all.

Quotes: Who run the world? Girls.

From Politico:

Hillary Clinton can’t be bothered by chatter about her physical appearance, the secretary of state told CNN’s Jill Dougherty in an interview on Tuesday.

Asked about a photo of her wearing very little make-up that was tauntingly posted on yesterday’s Drudge Report, Clinton replied, “I feel so relieved to be at the stage I'm at in my life right now, Jill, because if I want to wear my glasses, I'm wearing my glasses.”

“If I want to pull my hair back, I'm pulling my hair back,” Clinton, who’s known to sport scrunchies occasionally, added. “At some point it's just not something that deserves a whole lot of time and attention. If others want to worry about it, I'll let them do the worrying for a change.”

Hillary "Hillz" Clinton = awesome. See also exhibits A and B.

Quotes: I Am Number Four

Andy Murray gives everyone a lesson in perspective in his recent interview with Sport magazine (via Beyond the Baseline):

“I’d be disappointed [if I don't reach the last four at a Grand Slam], but very few people can say they’re in the top four in the world at what they do. You wouldn’t view the fourth-best businessman in the world as a failure.”