My favorite chocolate ambassador featured in a superb story that has nothing to do with chocolate

Engaging. Well-researched. Candid. Written in the first person sans the all-about-me tendency. 

That's what I think of GQ Magazine's cover story on Swiss tennis player Roger Federer for its annual Style Bible issue for 2017, written by Rosecrans Baldwin. Reading it truly awakened in me the desire to write again. That, and reinforced my admiration for the often-referred-to-as-The-Greatest-Tennis-Player-of-All-Time and chocolate ambassador of sorts. 

Will Roger Federer ever be done?
By Rosecrans Baldwin

Photo by Craig McDean

Federer and those extraordinary shots

I just have to share these two clips because Roger Federer is simply amazing. The world's number 2 in tennis recently won the championship title of the Gerry Weber Open, a tournament I had never heard of till a week or two ago. I wasn't even aware there was such a place as Halle -- it's in Germany and it's where the said tournament is held each year.

So today my mother and I watched part of the replay of the championship game, and after the awarding came some highlights of the previous week's matches. One showed Federer returning a shot in a curious position (seated on the ground), and I just had to look that one up. The Swiss player is known for excellence and giving his all when he's out on the court, and it seems he never gives up even when it looks like an impossible shot is the only thing that will save the point.

I found the clip showing that seated-on-the-ground shot, as well as another impressive return from the same tournament. Roger Federer has not been called Superman for nothing!







And here's another one, from a US Open match:






* Photo from Roger Federer Fans Facebook page

"The Fight of the Century"

May 2, 2015: the day Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather face each other in the ring for a much anticipated match.

Perfect diversion, too, from the scorching summer heat we're experiencing in the Philippines.

Go, Pacman!! 


And if you don't exactly pay attention to boxing, here's something I found quite interesting (and helpful) -- A Non-Boxing Fan's Guide to Mayweather-Pacquiao

Twins, tennis & truly amazing shots!

A lot of women the world over give birth, and while the transmission of life is a marvelous phenomenon to contemplate from time to time, it happens quite often that it has somewhat been taken for granted.

A couple of weeks ago, however, had me -- and countless others -- overjoyed over a piece of news about the birth of twins, primarily because their dad was tennis great Roger Federer, and also since these were the younger siblings of twin sisters. How amazing is that? I was amused by a comment below one of the articles I read -- imagine if all four kids grew up to be legendary tennis players as well, and all you'd see in the Grand Slams are "Federer vs. Federer" or "Federer/Federer vs. so and so" (a doubles team is not unlikely), said the commenter. Then of course on the sidelines would be, who else? Dad and Mom Federer!

Well, I'm just heartened by the Swiss Mister's sense of priorities, as shown in the story.

Meanwhile, below are some videos that reveal more about the World's current number 4. Enjoy!












* Photo of the Madrid Open Final 2012 from RogerFedererFans.com

How Life is going around the world

Would you like to go around the world in 8... headlines? Here's a glimpse of news and features concerning life and family matters.

Bolivia says no to abortion: Recognizes "right to life" from conception
by Youth Defence | La Paz, Bolivia | LifeNews.com | 2/17/14 7:16 PM

A judge in Bolivia has ruled that abortion is considered a crime and that the law of the land recognizes the ‘right of life from the moment of conception’. 



Pro-Life students fight back after University of Alabama crushes free speech
by Kristan Hawkins | Montgomery, AL | LifeNews.com | 2/17/14 11:26 AM

Today, Students for Life of America is calling for the University of Alabama to reverse their decision to tear down a pro-life bulletin board and issue an apology to Bama Students for Life.



DOH exec: If RH Law is junked, implementation still on
By Camille Diola (philstar.com) | Updated February 17, 2014 - 3:55pm

MANILA, Philippines - A Department of Health (DOH) official admitted that the contents of the controversial Reproductive Health Law can still be implemented by the agency even without the measure.

Doctor Ruben Siapno, DOH National Capital Region assistant regional director, said in a recent media conference that family planning services can still be provided even if the Supreme Court decides that the law is unconstitutional.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday ordered changes to a draft of new criminal legislation in response to an international outcry warning it would severely limit justice for victims of domestic abuse, his spokesman said. - See more at: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/afghan-leader-orders-changes-womens-rights-law#sthash.1BDrlxzj.dpuf

Belgium poised to complete legalization of euthanasia for children
February 17, 2014

Euthanasia is a culture of death which knows no boundaries.  Once begun, it spreads like cancer to include additional diseases, conditions and even age groups.  The latest domino to fall is action in Belgium to legalize euthanasia for children.  Yes — for children.  In December, the Belgian Senate voted for legalization by a 50-17 vote and the Chamber of Representatives followed suit last week by an overwhelming vote of 88-44 with 12 abstentions to approve.   

King Philippe, Belgium’s constitutional head of state, is expected to sign the legislation into law.



Urgent: Tell the FDA what you think about "three-parent" embryos
Sunday, February 16, 2014

On February 25th and 26th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be having a meeting to discuss allowing the technique that creates embryos with three genetic parents to proceed to clinical trials. The "three-parent" embryo technique is also called mitochondrial replacement, maternal spindle transfer, or oocyte modification. 



Pope urges engaged couples to build marriage on "rock of love"
By Elise Harris

Vatican City, Feb 14, 2014 / 08:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a special encounter with engaged couples, Pope Francis emphasized that to love someone forever is possible if we are humble, and that marriage should be a celebration filled with joy.



"She will live on forever within Iver": Canadian "brain dead" woman gives birth to healthy son
By Peter Baklinski / Tue, Feb. 11, 2014, 13:32 EST

VICTORIA, British Columbia, February 11, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Canadian father and husband is experiencing an impossible mix of emotions at the birth of his first child followed by the passing of his wife, who was declared ‘brain dead’ by doctors in December.



Disabled brother inspires Alex Bilodeau's gold medal run
Reuters, Feb. 10/ 6:15 pm EST

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia - Alex Bilodeau toiled for fours years to retain his Olympic moguls title on Monday but said that was nothing compared to the struggles of his inspirational brother, who has cerebral palsy. - See more at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/disabled-brother-inspires-alex-bilodeaus-gold-medal-run#sthash.rIx5w3xE.dpuf

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia - Alex Bilodeau toiled for fours years to retain his Olympic moguls title on Monday but said that was nothing compared to the struggles of his inspirational brother, who has cerebral palsy. - See more at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/disabled-brother-inspires-alex-bilodeaus-gold-medal-run#sthash.rIx5w3xE.dpuf

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia - Alex Bilodeau toiled for fours years to retain his Olympic moguls title on Monday but said that was nothing compared to the struggles of his inspirational brother, who has cerebral palsy. - See more at: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/disabled-brother-inspires-alex-bilodeaus-gold-medal-run#sthash.rIx5w3xE.dpuf

Away from the court...

Roger Federer, whom sports analysts and even former tennis players consider the greatest tennis player of all time, sets his sights on other important things. The 31-year-old has a Foundation.






Roger Federer Foundation

Window-washing superheroes plus some more

For a bit of light reading, here's a mix of news and features, starting with an interesting idea that was carried out somewhere in the United States and which made quite a number of kids gleeful. It's not fresh news (it took place in October last year), but a retweet led to its resurfacing.


Superhero window washers at children's hospital

Mexican artists turns guns into musical instruments

More Beyonce, less Sasha Fierce

Ash Wednesday kicks off 40 Days for Life in record-breaking 261 locations around the world

Beyond the call of duty
 

Basketball pros to become Catholic campus missionaries

The world's top 10 bike rides

Ring action for today

The Pacquiao-Marquez boxing match in Vegas happens in a few hours, and since I don't relish real fighting (okay, it's considered a sport, but what transpires is no cartoon or video game either, so people really do inflict pain on each other and it always ends up with real injuries), below is the kind of boxing I'd much rather go for :-)

To Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao, do your best and let your sportsmanship, humility and unparalleled skill shine once again!





Okay, I just came across another boxing clip, this time featuring Buster Keaton, whom I first heard about from my old penpal nearly 20 years ago but just never had the chance to look up till today. Hilarious! I'm sharing it here as well --

The Swiss I miss

I had been wanting to blog about ordinary everyday stuff but couldn't seem to find enough time or a few leisurely minutes to do it.

Now that I have a few minutes for some leisurely blogging as I let dinner be digested, all I can think about is.... chocolates! And, since my mother right now is watching some tennis match featuring the world's former #1 but still decidedly the best player -- he does elevate the level of tennis somehow -- Roger Federer, combine chocolates and Federer and what have you got?







That one up there is a behind-the-scenes peek of a Lindt truffles TV commercial. And the one below is the "extended cut" of the finished product. I've never even tasted Lindt chocolate, and though I used to be more picky as far as chocolate is concerned, I've come to feel a special affinity to what local makers produce. There is just a special kind of satisfaction that comes with finishing a box of Curly Tops that I can never explain :-)

So, here is the 1-minuter featuring the Swiss Mister and the little brown delectable spheres:

He's a (life-) lover and a fighter

I've bookmarked some articles that reveal just what Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao is made of, but yesterday's editorial cartoon from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and a recent news article from CBCP News will have to do for now. More to come soon!





Boxing champ Pacquiao uncovers Lagman's misleading claims of amended provisions

MANILA, May 19, 2011—In what started out as a seemingly one-sided debate Wednesday between a neophyte and a veteran legislator, with the newcomer looking hesitant in some instances, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman ended up admitting to the newbie that certain provisions of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill he had been claiming amended were, in fact, still intact in House Bill 4244.

Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao queried the bill's principal author on the provision regarding a two-child ideal family size, saying that such a measure may lead to a population drop in the country.

Lagman replied that the bill's authors had already removed the two-child ideal, adding that it would take a century before a feared "demographic winter" would set in.

After expressing his concern over the bill’s P3 billion proposed annual budget, the world boxing champion then focused on mandatory sex education, which the bill requires for students from Grade 5 to 4th Year high school in all schools as well as for out-of-school youth.

"Puwede po bang tumanggi ang isang estudyante sa pamamagitan ng kaniyang mga magulang?" the solon asked, airing his concern that more students will be unable to graduate from high school should they miss their sex ed classes.

"Ang compulsory sex education ay labag sa constitution," he added.

Lagman replied that the provision on mandatory sex education had also been amended.

"Wala na nga pong obligasyon na ito, tinanggal na nga ito," the Albay congressman said. "Walang basehan 'yung apprehension na walang makaka-graduate. Exempted sa pag-attend, exempted din sa pagkuha ng periodic tests. Ang mga estudyante po ay makakagraduate."

The Sarangani congressman then brought up the question of whether or not employers will be required to provide condoms and other artificial contraceptives to their employees, as stipulated by the RH bill.

He expressed concern that this would disregard the religious convictions of employers who believe that the measure goes against their beliefs.

"Amended na ang provision na ito. Hindi mo yata narinig dahil nag-eensayo ka para sa laban mo," Lagman countered. "Incomplete ang impormasyong ibinigay sa iyo. Hindi ito sapilitan."

In an unexpected turn in the line of questioning, the pound-for-pound fighter then asked the solon from Albay why there were amendments to the bill when they were still in the period of interpellations. Once a bill has passed the committee level, amendments may only be proposed and accepted during the period of amendments that comes after the period of interpellations.

Lagman responded by relating the March 22 deviation he and ACT-TEACHERS Party List Rep. Antonio Tinio carried out in which the proposed amendments were merely voiced out. This took place after the Committee on Population and Family Relations had already formally approved the Committee Report.

Pacquiao then asked Lagman by what rules these supposed amendments were accepted, as the period of amendments were yet to be reached. Lagman was unable to provide an answer.

In other words, the so-called amendments that Lagman and the bill's co-authors have been insisting are still proposed amendments. The current version of House Bill 4244—which contains provisions on mandatory reproductive health and sex education (Sec. 16), ideal family size (Sec. 20), and employers' responsibility to provide RH services to employees (Sec. 21), as well on malicious disinformation under "punitive acts" (Sec. 28)—stands. (Diana Uichanco)

Red corner

Since Pambansang Kamao Manny Pacquiao has displayed commendable sportsmanship again in today's boxing match with Shane Mosley, coupled with the fact that he won...






CONGRATULATIONS, MANNY PACQUIAO!

Man on a mission

While looking for a photo of Mrs. Pam Tebow and son Tim, I stumbled on this January 2009 Washington Post article. Very interesting. No wonder the star quarterback seems so well-grounded.

An excerpt:

On the first of now-annual missionary trips with his father, Tebow stood behind a microphone and told the assembled high school students about his Christian faith, putting to the test evangelistic skills honed through years of speech classes at home.

Six years later, Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, has become so comfortable addressing crowds that he spoke to inmates at a Florida prison in April. And he has seen so much poverty and despair during his visits to the Philippines that he can't imagine getting stressed out over something as inconsequential as the BCS national championship game on Thursday, when his No. 1 Gators will face No. 2 Oklahoma.

"Pressure is not having to win a football game; pressure is having to find your next meal," Tebow said this weekend. "Even though we love it so much, football is still just a game. A lot of people bleed over it and love it, and I'm one of those people. But at the end of the day, I know what's more important, and pressure is definitely not football."

Read A Man With a TwoFold Mission

Even the tennis world's superman surprises himself

World No. 1 Roger Federer plays an elegant game, but he sure can throw spectacular shots when the need arises :-)

On September 15 at 4am (Manila time) is his match with Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro for the US Open Championship title.

Talking about caffeine...

I'm trying to lay off the caffeine for a while (not that my body is anywhere close to being addicted to it). Who knows if the one cup of coffee a day has something to do with the headaches I've been experiencing lately? So, the MD advised that we go for the process of elimination.

Looks like now I'll see how much of a difference there is between real coffee and decaf :-)

Meanwhile, cola (and other addictives) commercials continue to outdo one another. Here are two I particularly like. Enjoy!

Five gruelling sets

It's not fun to watch Roger Federer almost scrambling against his opponent. But that's just how it looked during the first three sets of today's game with Czech player Tomas Berdych; fortunately, the Swiss reigned in the end, making it through the 4th round of the Australian Open.

Here's how an interesting writeup about the match begins:

It was all going so well. Roger Federer looked as well groomed and carefully turned-out and as ever, and the Rod Laver Arena had greeted him like a favoured eldest son. He was playing, in Tomas Berdych, a man he had beaten seven straight times, and the sun was shining in the Melbourne afternoon sky. All was right with the world as far as the Australian Open’s second seed was concerned.

And then the match started.

Full article at the Australian Open website

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