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by Philipina A. Marcelo
The day that just ended was rather bizarre for me. I’ve been sick, so I spent the day at home. I was planning to take it easy and sleep all day… but, instead, I was drawn into a dramatic three-way tug-of-war among my favorite me-time activities: watching sports (most of the time tennis), reading philosophy, and admiring photography.
On the blue corner: Rogers Cup was on… World #1, Roger Federer - the newest dad in the tour - was not exactly just working out in the second round; two former World #1, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Lleyton Hewitt, were battling it out to advance to the third round; the 2007 Rogers Cup champ, Novak Djokovic, was hanging on to dear life in the second round; UK's #1, Andy Murray cruised to the third round while Nikolay Davydenko struggled to get past his opponent; and defending champ Rafa Nadal began his much awaited comeback in the tennis scene since falling in the semis in Paris this year through the men’s doubles. Bizarre that seven of the very best of today's men’s tennis were out there, on the blue hard court of Montreal, doing their thing - drama por drama - so early in the tournament!On the white corner: I’ve been so mesmerized by my former student Michelle Pangilinan's photographs of the white sand beaches of the Philippines. From the nearby Puerto Galera beaches of Mindoro, to the cheerful clear waters and dramatic sunset of Boracay, to the enigmatic and captivating beauty of Camiguin Island beaches, to the crystal clear waters, nestled in beautiful green islets, of
Coron, Palawan – totally drowning! It was bizarre that, out of 493 friends, my mouse should take me to her Facebook photo albums... when my eyes were watering from intense fever.On the gray corner: Ah, those gray alleys of philosophy coming to an intersection with economics and social issues… there could only be one point of intersection: Amartya Sen! There he was, in his quiet and dignified Nobel Laureate form, sitting on the set of "HARDtalk" no less, talking about his new book, "The Idea of Justice". Hah... so that was what it was like to watch philosophy... I've always wondered. Bizarre that one of the people I've appreciated from a distance and now beginning to admire as an Academic role model should come for an interview on one of my favorite talk shows on a day when I can actually watch it with undivided attention! But what's bizarrely upsetting was that Stephen Sackur, Sen’s fellow Cambridge alumnus and Harvard guy, was not interviewing him! Where's the joy in that?
Speaking of bizarre… people have been wondering all day about a Russian cargo vessel that left Finland en route to Algeria that “seemed to disappear on the face of the earth”, as per BBC news anchor's amazed declaration. Before this, I was lulling myself to sleep on Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering feature story on "aerodynamic (cable suspension) bridges"... reiterating structure reinforcement to withstand wind. I heard keywords (or catch phrases?) like "natural excitation limit" and "synchronous lateral excitation"... uh, yes, pertaining to bridges.
Bizarre day, I tell ya!
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Photo credits: (1) Roger Federer: I grabbed from the Rogers Cup website (2) Bulabog Beach, Boracay, Philippines by Michelle Pangilinan.
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