Swiss Mister to greet 2009 with a match

Roger Federer will be in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 1, 2009 for the first game of the Capitala World Tennis Championship, where he faces Spaniard and current No. 1 Rafael Nadal. I think this tournament consists of exhibition games so they should be fun.

For Federer's 2009 tour schedule, look here.

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Tennis ace Federer ready for Abu Dhabi

By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter Published: December 29, 2008, 23:33

Abu Dhabi: After having lost the world No 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal and being denied his sixth successive Wimbledon title by the Spaniard, Roger Federer will attempt to regain lost glory in 2009 in the $250,000 (Dh917,500) Capitala World Tennis Championship starting in Abu Dhabi on January 1, 2009. The three-day tournament features both Federer and Nadal along with the world's top ten tennis players - Andy Murray, Nikolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and James Blake. Hoping for a better start to the year compared to last year, Federer said he was looking forward to starting the year on a winning note. "I am looking forward to the tournament in Abu Dhabi taking place for the first time, as well as the entire season of 2009," Federer said on his website. "After a wonderful and very relaxing seaside holiday I am now in the final stage of preparation for the new season. "Never before have I started a tennis-year as early as the one ahead. I will be back in action. There are such a large number of challenges lying ahead - facing them, working hard and giving my best is my goal," Federer said. The 28-year-old Swiss ace, who was overshadowed by Nadal in 2008, said, "Looking back at the past 365 days brings back a lot of unforgettable experiences. But there are, of course, also the tough moments I had to go through.

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Full story at Gulfnews.com

** Photo of Federer on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab Hotel, Abu Dhabi, courtesy of Marshu.com

One story, two versions

The Dec. 26 incident involving a mayor, a Cabinet Secretary, several bodyguards, a 56-year-old man and his teenage son and daughter will develop over the next weeks. Opinions will be formed, but what is important is that more facts will be brought out. Based on the details that either side has revealed, at least one is not sticking to the truth.

Regardless of the accuracy of the facts that have so far made it to the media, some principles revolving aruond power, integrity, empathy and apathy are worth considering. Here's an insightful piece by Nick of Filipino Voices.

Here's a Philippine Star article titled "We were attacked first - DAR chief" filed Dec. 29. The following video from GMANews.tv was posted also on Dec. 29, so some significant developments may have taken place since then.

"Stille Nacht" marks 190th anniversary

"Silent Night" for small Austrian village, 190 years later
21 December 2008 - 1:00 a.m. EST

OBERNDORF, Austria, (AFP) - Born on a cold night in the chapel of a small Austrian village, "Silent Night," the most famous Christmas carol in the world, celebrates this year its 190th anniversary.

The song, known as "Stille Nacht" in the original German, was first performed on December 24, 1818, in the tiny hamlet of Oberndorf, as a local assistant priest, Joseph Mohr, sought to comfort his flock, racked by poverty and misery in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.

"He asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, a teacher, to compose the music for six verses he had written two years prior, and they performed the song together at mass with the help of a simple guitar," says Renate Ebeling-Winkler, a historian and expert on the topic.

The song was an immediate success but remained a close-kept secret for many years, until an organ delivery-man from Tyrol took note of it on his way through the village.

It soon became a favourite with Tyrolean singers, travelling up and down the continent in the winter to earn money.

"Admired for its resistance to Napoleon, Tyrol was very popular with allied countries and its best singers, like the Rainer family, were world stars," notes Ebeling-Winkler.

These artists gave "Silent Night" -- which became known as a "popular Tyrolean song" -- worldwide fame, performing it at the royal court in London in 1827, in Moscow in 1831 and in New York in 1839.

Full article here

Seeing through marketing schemes

One of the books I've been reading the past several months is giving me a deeper insight into the world of marketing for children. With the increasingly manipulative nature of advertising, it seems that almost nothing is left untouched by commercialization. "Buy this! Buy that! Must-have's! The 'it' bag!" and other such alluring strategies just get to me from time to time. What's worse is that many people fail to see through all the hype and actually fall for notions that imply that a particular product is what they need to be complete, or having a particular body type or some trendy hair style will make them better persons. But that's generally for grownups.

When children are spared from exposure to the consumer culture, they're happier and healthier, and they enjoy better family relationships. Studies have already shown this. However, in this respect, it's the parents who fall for the sometimes-false claims of marketers, because marketers know how to play on the insecurities of parents. And doing this will make their products move.

Back to the book I'm reading. It's called Buy, Buy Baby: How consumer culture manipulates parents and harms young minds, by investigative journalist Susan Gregoy Thomas who used to be a senior editor at U.S. News & World Report, and it's pretty revealing. I'm sharing an excerpt from the Introduction. Maybe over the next few weeks I'll type more portions that I think parents ought to be aware of, if only to help them make better choices when it comes to their families' media awareness, media consumption and consumer culture.

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Problem-solving deficit disorder

Still, in the past decade something unique, and uniquely concerning, has been unfolding with the past decade's development of a baby and toddler market. For one, the long-term impact of the baby genius phenomenon may be anything but educational. Many in the field of early child development suspect that babies and toddlers reared on TV, videos, and blinking, beeping "smart" toys may ultimately suffer from cognitive problems. Diane E. Levin, a professor in the early childhood education department at Wheelock College in Boston, calls the phenomenon "problem-solving deficit disorder." Levin contends that such products essentially overstimulate very young children, so that instead of using their own resources to solve a problem or an uncomfortable feeling -- Mom is in the shower, boredom, and so on -- they apply those resources to processing the dazzling object that has been placed before them. Over time, Levin says, babies and toddlers accustomed to getting this kind of sensory "hit" when they feel uncomfortable may not just become dependent on having that hit but may even lose the ability to work through feelings and ideas independently or with the help of a trusted friend. Marie Anzalone, who is on the faculty of Columbia University's occupational therapy program, reports that she frequently treats very young children from low-income as well as upper-middle-class families who appeared glazed over and numb, which she believes is an ingrained response to overstimulation from technology toys and television. These toddlers simply cannot integrate the sensory overload to which they are routinely subjected; to cope, they begin to tune out.

Constant distractions are known to impair children's cognitive development in other ways, too. A University of Massachusetts study conducted by the preeminent academic researcher Daniel R. Anderson on the effects of television on young children showed that even the seemingly benign practice of keeping the television running in the background at home can be disastrous for toddler's development because it interferes with their ability to concentrate on their own activities. The study reported that one-year-olds' focused play is reduced by half when the television is on, even if the children are not specifically tuning in to the programming. Focused play -- which, as the celebrated preschool pioneer Maria Montessori pointed out, is the work of childhood -- is essential for normal cognitive development. In other words, it is essential for little brains to grow.

(emphasis mine)

"That's what X'mas is all about, Charlie Brown"

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, everyone is very much into the spirit of the season, but not the real spirit, the real Reason why we have Christmas in the first place -- that is, except Charlie Brown. "Ohhh, even my little sister!" he groans in one scene, exasperated that even Sally has fallen into the commercialism trap that pervades the Yuletide season. "If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself. Just send money. How about 10's and 20's?" Sally dictates to Charlie Brown, who is helping her with her Santa's list.

Probably the simplest way in which one can explain the true meaning of Christmas is in the scene below -- from the award-winning 1965 TV special, A Charlie Brown Christmas -- with Linus giving a monologue of sorts. That it comes from a simple child gives it (in my opinion) much impact.

Two babies

With a gleeful expression like Yasmine Catalo's as she was photographed for this month's issue, it's hard not to smile along with her.


More about what's on the pages at Petrufied's blog. As for me, I'm happy that besides such a charming baby girl, gracing the cover is also a representation of the Baby in the manger. At this time, we need reminders of that first Christmas in Bethlehem, if only to remember the Who at the heart of this entire season of hope and joy. Otherwise, it's just one great time for marketers, entrepreneurs and anyone out to make a buck -- and a sellout to consumerism.

Oh by the way, in case you haven't noticed yet, I've put a playlist on my blog. I added three Christmas songs to the list to give you a feel of the season :-)