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| MMmmmm.... a little sweetness after 10 days of tumultuous football, hard work and tough decisions. |
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Sunday foodie
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The morning after: "Power outage" in Spanish football...
...breaks hearts all over the globe.
================================================================
by PAM
First, both FC Barcelona - the current Cup holder - and Real Madrid CF were ousted by Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich in their respective 'say-what??' Champions League semi-finals... at home. And then, three days after Barça's deprivation of a chance for a back-to-back European win, the most illustrious Spanish football knight currently in-charge of the formidable Barça helm called it "quits"! Pep Guardiola will step down as Barça's manager at the end of the season. Yep, after four exciting seasons and staggering 13 trophies, which included a treble on his first year of tenure as Barça's head coach, the 41-year old, regarded by many as among the most successful football managers in Europe to date, who turned Barça into a phenomenal football force that it is today, announced his decision to not renew his contract with FC Barcelona. Pep will turn the Barça helm over to his assistant, Tito Vilanova, at the end of the season. Surprising? Uhm... not really. Sad? Absolutely!
***
Short circuit on the pitch....
Barça was disappointingly held by a 10-man über defensive Chelsea crew in their Catalan fortress, Camp Nou, in a 2-2 draw that robbed them of the chance to defend
El Clasico of penalty misses. And the
winner is... bad luck!their title via 3-2 defeat, on aggregate. Two sublime goals from the Catalan powerhouse brought the score to 2-0 in the first-half of the match, which was enough to turn the tide from their 0-1 loss in Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the tie, to a winning 2-1 lead. However, on stoppage time in the first-half, Ramires got away from the scattered Barça defense and beat Victor Valdes to a successful assault of the Barça goal, bringing the score to 2-2 on aggregate, with the Blues leading via away goal rule. That shook Barça's confidence. Fernando Torres cemented the Blues lead through a lucky break, and beating Valdes in their one-on-one duel in front of the Blaugrana goal, with less than a minute to play on stoppage time. While Barça dominated possession and attempts on goal, luck was not on their side, with Peter Ĉech shooing it away most of the time. Lionel Messi buried his face in his jersey in his utter disbelief and disappointment as the final whistle was blown after missing a penalty kick that would have been Barça's ticket to Munich before even Torres came on.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, managed to match the Bavarians, stride por stride, gained grounds via Cristiano Ronaldo's brace of great goals in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to bring their 2-1 deficit in Munich to 2-3. Crissy et al. ran
The Bavarians... uh, nah, they didn't?like they were Munich-bound and José Mourinho shouted instructions from the touchline like a manager with one hand on the Cup... until Pepe brought down Mario Gómez in the area, and the German squad was awarded a penalty, which Arjen Robben connected. That brought the score to an all-even 3-3 on aggregate with one away goal each, forcing a 30-minute extension time... and, later, a penalty shoot-out! Man! While the brilliant Iker Casillas made a lot of incredible saves during the match, he choked in the "lottery", allowing the first two goals from David Alaba and Gómez to come through! On the other hand, one of the 2010 World Cup wonder German young guns, Manuel Neuer, made himself his team's hero by stopping the King of Penalty, Crissy, and later, Kaka in
Uhm... yeah, they did!their respective attempts! Awesome!!! Crissy's face then was a picture of... uhm, well, Oscar-worthy pain? :) While Toni Kroos failed via a sublime save from San Iker, Xabi Alonso kept it simple... and safe - he scored for Real Madrid! 2-1 - for Munich, whew! Munich's captain, Philipp Lahm missed, too... and all of a sudden, there's hope for Madrid... until the nerve-wracked Sergio Ramos messed it up with a fly ball that sent over cheers to Munich! And then, the moment of truth: Bastian Schweinsteiger kept it together, held a poker face, and fooled Casillas, who hurled his weight on the opposite side where Basti sent the ball to bring Bayern Munich a mere inch away from claiming their 5th European Cup. As usual, the Bavarians peeled off their shirts on the pitch to celebrate their success. Cheers! :)
And so, summing up this last week's European saga... Spanish brilliance sparked bright and beautiful in small fireworks on the pitch... and then all the lights went out, pfffft: short-circuit! Oh, well....
***
Oh, Pep!
It isn't like we weren't expecting this. Obviously, all the pressure of being one of the most successful European football managers of all time, certainly the most successful FC Barcelona manager, at a very young age of 41, has weighed down heavily on Pep Guardiola. His explanation for stepping down says it all: "The reason is simple: four years is enough. I'm drained and I need to fill up."
If you think about his age, his young family (who obviously see very little of him, given his herculean task as the manager of the arguably greatest football
Pep Guradiola, one of the best
and most accomplished managers
of all time. Class act!squad of all time), his physical and mental health given the demands of his job and his level of competitiveness, the stratospheric expectations from him and his men given their unprecendented success, I don't think there is a man, no matter how brilliant and talented, that can stay in the level where he put himself on without collapsing from sheer physical exhaustion and breaking down mentally from all the relentless pressure at some point. Indeed, four years is a long time to stay at such a high level.
Do I think that Pep "threw in the towel" as many (mostly in Madrid) suggest, given that the announcement of his decision not to renew contract with Barcelona came after failing to defend the La Liga title against Real Madrid via a 2-1 loss in El Clásico and the UEFA Champions League ouster in the semi-final round? No, not at all. As he explained, he has made his intentions known to his Club since October last year. And with big and crucial matches coming up, he chose to wait until they're all over to make his decision public rather than announcing it on February, like in the previous years.
Pep is right, four years is enough. And he is right when he said that after
Visionary trainor and game architect.sometime, it's either you get tired of the players or the players get tired of you. And while Barça remains to be an incredibly massive force in the football world and the relationship between him and his players is still amicable, it is the best time to step down... to turn over the helm to someone else with enough energy to match the demands of the job, all while the Club is "good and healthy", too. I imagine that, as a manager, the last thing you would like to do is to turn over a wreck of a team to the next caretaker. Hopefully, this will freshen up things within Barça as they rise again from nagging injuries and strayed focus among some "celebrity" players who basked a little bit too much in their team's success, and prepare to bounce back next season, re-claim La Liga and the UEFA Champions League titles.
Are we going to miss Pep? DEFINITELY! There is no doubt about that! How is
Making brilliant players world-class phenomena! it possible to not miss the brilliant tactician who gave the football world the most beautiful way of playing football - graceful in its inherited tiki-taka rythmn, fierce and fast in its steady attacks, exciting in its brilliant free-flowing spontaneity, joyful in its cohesive teamwork-based movements - through the incredible Barça, his Barça? How can one withstand watching football and not have that visionary manager who turned the pure potential talent that was the youthful Lionel Messi into the mercurial magician that he is today, hailed three years in a row now as the BEST PLAYER in the World? How is it possible to not miss the wonderful manager who re-molded and re-packaged Xavi Hernandez as one of the VERY BEST midfielders to play this beautiful game - ever! How can you not miss the manager who made Andrés Iniesta believe
Making winning look easy, joyful and beautiful. that he can be this sheer awesomeness that could captivate fans of the beautiful game, regardless of Club affiliation and loyalty, as the biggest superstar of the 2010 World Cup? How could one not miss the manager who gave Carles Puyol the second wind in his career, even when the man was short on depth of talent, by merely capitalizing on El Capitan's burning passion for the game alone, and extracting incredible brilliance in the process? How is it possible to not miss the manager who found brilliance in seemingly ordinary players like Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez, and turned them to world-class, World Cup-winning talents? Why wouldn't one miss manager who has eye for talents even before they bloom as he illustrated in his trust for youngsters like Thiago Alcantara, Christian Tello and Isaac Cuenca? And, how could you not miss that youthfully dashing and good-looking manager (there, I said it
Passionate, animated... just brilliant.already!) whose cool stance and composure amidst joyful or adverse situations had given a whole new meaning to football's definition as the "beautiful game"? NO, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. Pep will be thoroughly missed!
While it's incredibly saddening to see him go, we can't help but feel gratitude for those four years of wonderful, wonderful football that he created! It's hard to imagine how the football world would be like after he leaves Barça... but life goes on, and Pep deserves some peace and quiet with his loved ones, and the time to recuperate from the incredibly gut-draining, energy-zapping, soul-gnawing, heart-tearing gloriously brilliant football that he himself created... and that the whole world enjoyed immensely! And now that he has given his confidence in Tito Vilanova's capacity to lead Barça in reaching new heights of greatness next season, because "in Pep we trust", then we feel confident in Vilanova, too, moving forward... except, there will be no more of those animated "Pep moves" on the touchlines after the 1st of July.
Therefore, as we say, "from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, PEP," we also wish him all the very best! Godspeed, "el puto amo"!
***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
================================================================
by PAM
First, both FC Barcelona - the current Cup holder - and Real Madrid CF were ousted by Chelsea FC and FC Bayern Munich in their respective 'say-what??' Champions League semi-finals... at home. And then, three days after Barça's deprivation of a chance for a back-to-back European win, the most illustrious Spanish football knight currently in-charge of the formidable Barça helm called it "quits"! Pep Guardiola will step down as Barça's manager at the end of the season. Yep, after four exciting seasons and staggering 13 trophies, which included a treble on his first year of tenure as Barça's head coach, the 41-year old, regarded by many as among the most successful football managers in Europe to date, who turned Barça into a phenomenal football force that it is today, announced his decision to not renew his contract with FC Barcelona. Pep will turn the Barça helm over to his assistant, Tito Vilanova, at the end of the season. Surprising? Uhm... not really. Sad? Absolutely!
***
Short circuit on the pitch....
Barça was disappointingly held by a 10-man über defensive Chelsea crew in their Catalan fortress, Camp Nou, in a 2-2 draw that robbed them of the chance to defend
El Clasico of penalty misses. And the
winner is... bad luck!their title via 3-2 defeat, on aggregate. Two sublime goals from the Catalan powerhouse brought the score to 2-0 in the first-half of the match, which was enough to turn the tide from their 0-1 loss in Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the tie, to a winning 2-1 lead. However, on stoppage time in the first-half, Ramires got away from the scattered Barça defense and beat Victor Valdes to a successful assault of the Barça goal, bringing the score to 2-2 on aggregate, with the Blues leading via away goal rule. That shook Barça's confidence. Fernando Torres cemented the Blues lead through a lucky break, and beating Valdes in their one-on-one duel in front of the Blaugrana goal, with less than a minute to play on stoppage time. While Barça dominated possession and attempts on goal, luck was not on their side, with Peter Ĉech shooing it away most of the time. Lionel Messi buried his face in his jersey in his utter disbelief and disappointment as the final whistle was blown after missing a penalty kick that would have been Barça's ticket to Munich before even Torres came on.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, managed to match the Bavarians, stride por stride, gained grounds via Cristiano Ronaldo's brace of great goals in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to bring their 2-1 deficit in Munich to 2-3. Crissy et al. ran
The Bavarians... uh, nah, they didn't?like they were Munich-bound and José Mourinho shouted instructions from the touchline like a manager with one hand on the Cup... until Pepe brought down Mario Gómez in the area, and the German squad was awarded a penalty, which Arjen Robben connected. That brought the score to an all-even 3-3 on aggregate with one away goal each, forcing a 30-minute extension time... and, later, a penalty shoot-out! Man! While the brilliant Iker Casillas made a lot of incredible saves during the match, he choked in the "lottery", allowing the first two goals from David Alaba and Gómez to come through! On the other hand, one of the 2010 World Cup wonder German young guns, Manuel Neuer, made himself his team's hero by stopping the King of Penalty, Crissy, and later, Kaka in
Uhm... yeah, they did!their respective attempts! Awesome!!! Crissy's face then was a picture of... uhm, well, Oscar-worthy pain? :) While Toni Kroos failed via a sublime save from San Iker, Xabi Alonso kept it simple... and safe - he scored for Real Madrid! 2-1 - for Munich, whew! Munich's captain, Philipp Lahm missed, too... and all of a sudden, there's hope for Madrid... until the nerve-wracked Sergio Ramos messed it up with a fly ball that sent over cheers to Munich! And then, the moment of truth: Bastian Schweinsteiger kept it together, held a poker face, and fooled Casillas, who hurled his weight on the opposite side where Basti sent the ball to bring Bayern Munich a mere inch away from claiming their 5th European Cup. As usual, the Bavarians peeled off their shirts on the pitch to celebrate their success. Cheers! :)
And so, summing up this last week's European saga... Spanish brilliance sparked bright and beautiful in small fireworks on the pitch... and then all the lights went out, pfffft: short-circuit! Oh, well....
***
Oh, Pep!
It isn't like we weren't expecting this. Obviously, all the pressure of being one of the most successful European football managers of all time, certainly the most successful FC Barcelona manager, at a very young age of 41, has weighed down heavily on Pep Guardiola. His explanation for stepping down says it all: "The reason is simple: four years is enough. I'm drained and I need to fill up."
If you think about his age, his young family (who obviously see very little of him, given his herculean task as the manager of the arguably greatest football
Pep Guradiola, one of the best
and most accomplished managers
of all time. Class act!squad of all time), his physical and mental health given the demands of his job and his level of competitiveness, the stratospheric expectations from him and his men given their unprecendented success, I don't think there is a man, no matter how brilliant and talented, that can stay in the level where he put himself on without collapsing from sheer physical exhaustion and breaking down mentally from all the relentless pressure at some point. Indeed, four years is a long time to stay at such a high level.
Do I think that Pep "threw in the towel" as many (mostly in Madrid) suggest, given that the announcement of his decision not to renew contract with Barcelona came after failing to defend the La Liga title against Real Madrid via a 2-1 loss in El Clásico and the UEFA Champions League ouster in the semi-final round? No, not at all. As he explained, he has made his intentions known to his Club since October last year. And with big and crucial matches coming up, he chose to wait until they're all over to make his decision public rather than announcing it on February, like in the previous years.
Pep is right, four years is enough. And he is right when he said that after
Visionary trainor and game architect.sometime, it's either you get tired of the players or the players get tired of you. And while Barça remains to be an incredibly massive force in the football world and the relationship between him and his players is still amicable, it is the best time to step down... to turn over the helm to someone else with enough energy to match the demands of the job, all while the Club is "good and healthy", too. I imagine that, as a manager, the last thing you would like to do is to turn over a wreck of a team to the next caretaker. Hopefully, this will freshen up things within Barça as they rise again from nagging injuries and strayed focus among some "celebrity" players who basked a little bit too much in their team's success, and prepare to bounce back next season, re-claim La Liga and the UEFA Champions League titles.
Are we going to miss Pep? DEFINITELY! There is no doubt about that! How is
Making brilliant players world-class phenomena! it possible to not miss the brilliant tactician who gave the football world the most beautiful way of playing football - graceful in its inherited tiki-taka rythmn, fierce and fast in its steady attacks, exciting in its brilliant free-flowing spontaneity, joyful in its cohesive teamwork-based movements - through the incredible Barça, his Barça? How can one withstand watching football and not have that visionary manager who turned the pure potential talent that was the youthful Lionel Messi into the mercurial magician that he is today, hailed three years in a row now as the BEST PLAYER in the World? How is it possible to not miss the wonderful manager who re-molded and re-packaged Xavi Hernandez as one of the VERY BEST midfielders to play this beautiful game - ever! How can you not miss the manager who made Andrés Iniesta believe
Making winning look easy, joyful and beautiful. that he can be this sheer awesomeness that could captivate fans of the beautiful game, regardless of Club affiliation and loyalty, as the biggest superstar of the 2010 World Cup? How could one not miss the manager who gave Carles Puyol the second wind in his career, even when the man was short on depth of talent, by merely capitalizing on El Capitan's burning passion for the game alone, and extracting incredible brilliance in the process? How is it possible to not miss the manager who found brilliance in seemingly ordinary players like Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez, and turned them to world-class, World Cup-winning talents? Why wouldn't one miss manager who has eye for talents even before they bloom as he illustrated in his trust for youngsters like Thiago Alcantara, Christian Tello and Isaac Cuenca? And, how could you not miss that youthfully dashing and good-looking manager (there, I said it
Passionate, animated... just brilliant.already!) whose cool stance and composure amidst joyful or adverse situations had given a whole new meaning to football's definition as the "beautiful game"? NO, IT'S NOT POSSIBLE. Pep will be thoroughly missed!
While it's incredibly saddening to see him go, we can't help but feel gratitude for those four years of wonderful, wonderful football that he created! It's hard to imagine how the football world would be like after he leaves Barça... but life goes on, and Pep deserves some peace and quiet with his loved ones, and the time to recuperate from the incredibly gut-draining, energy-zapping, soul-gnawing, heart-tearing gloriously brilliant football that he himself created... and that the whole world enjoyed immensely! And now that he has given his confidence in Tito Vilanova's capacity to lead Barça in reaching new heights of greatness next season, because "in Pep we trust", then we feel confident in Vilanova, too, moving forward... except, there will be no more of those animated "Pep moves" on the touchlines after the 1st of July.
Therefore, as we say, "from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, PEP," we also wish him all the very best! Godspeed, "el puto amo"!
***
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The taste of defeat...
...is as bitter as victory is as, oh, so sweet.
==========================================================
by PAM
No luck... and a lot of luck
And so, the current Cup holders took their last bow from this season's UEFA Champions League race - defeated in their very own "fortress". Without luck, the mighty FC Barcelona was reduced to almost an ordinary team as they were ousted by the visiting London team, Chelsea FC, in the second leg of their semi-final tie at the formidable Catalan "fortress", Camp Nou. And, I concede, it was a showing that was hard to be particularly proud of... with the Blues being reduced to 10 men before half-time as their captain, John Terry, shown a straight red card after knocking down Alexis Sánchez in the area, the visitors, with tons of luck on their side, still managed to keep their composure, stayed focused on their objective to move on to the final even when they were down, 2-0, and survived the attack from the hosts... winning with a convincing 2-2 scoreline, 3-2 on aggregate.
***
Barça was wanting a hero...
Nope, Lionel Messi didn't show up tonight... well, at least, not the Messi "we know" - no "red cape", no "magic wand"... and wouldn't
Leo? Is that you? But... where's the
red cape? and the magic wand?
Impostor! Where's our hero?you know it, he failed to connect a penalty shot and was shown a yellow card, too! Aww... what happened? Yep, it was an impostor who was wearing the #10 Barça jersey out there! For whatever it's worth, the impostor was almost perfect in copying Leo's dribbling brilliance... and he had Leo's awesome eye for little cracks in the opponents' defense and to issue great assists, too.
But, yeah, it was Sergio Busquets who showed the presence of mind and brought home the opening goal to put Barça ahead in the second leg of the tie. It was supplemented by a fantastic finishing of Messi's pass by Don Andrés Iniesta into a fine goal to bring the scoreline to 2-0, in favor of the Catalans. There was much jubilation among the crowd, as it appeared that the Catalans were going to be on a goal rampage at Camp Nou - a redemption from the last two defeats, one of which was in an El Clásico, at Camp Nou no less? But just before half-time, Ramires, in a fine run of his own was found by the ball-stealing Frank Lampard, got away from the Catalan defense and beat, uhm, who else but Victor Valdes (?!!), to kick the crucial away goal that put Chelsea in a serious contention of a spot in the final, 2-1. Chelsea led on away goal at half-time courtesy of the same duo who played Didier Drogba to slot the winning goal in Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the tie, Ramires and Lampard.
==========================================================
by PAM
No luck... and a lot of luck
And so, the current Cup holders took their last bow from this season's UEFA Champions League race - defeated in their very own "fortress". Without luck, the mighty FC Barcelona was reduced to almost an ordinary team as they were ousted by the visiting London team, Chelsea FC, in the second leg of their semi-final tie at the formidable Catalan "fortress", Camp Nou. And, I concede, it was a showing that was hard to be particularly proud of... with the Blues being reduced to 10 men before half-time as their captain, John Terry, shown a straight red card after knocking down Alexis Sánchez in the area, the visitors, with tons of luck on their side, still managed to keep their composure, stayed focused on their objective to move on to the final even when they were down, 2-0, and survived the attack from the hosts... winning with a convincing 2-2 scoreline, 3-2 on aggregate.
***
Barça was wanting a hero...
Nope, Lionel Messi didn't show up tonight... well, at least, not the Messi "we know" - no "red cape", no "magic wand"... and wouldn't
Leo? Is that you? But... where's the
red cape? and the magic wand?
Impostor! Where's our hero?you know it, he failed to connect a penalty shot and was shown a yellow card, too! Aww... what happened? Yep, it was an impostor who was wearing the #10 Barça jersey out there! For whatever it's worth, the impostor was almost perfect in copying Leo's dribbling brilliance... and he had Leo's awesome eye for little cracks in the opponents' defense and to issue great assists, too.
But, yeah, it was Sergio Busquets who showed the presence of mind and brought home the opening goal to put Barça ahead in the second leg of the tie. It was supplemented by a fantastic finishing of Messi's pass by Don Andrés Iniesta into a fine goal to bring the scoreline to 2-0, in favor of the Catalans. There was much jubilation among the crowd, as it appeared that the Catalans were going to be on a goal rampage at Camp Nou - a redemption from the last two defeats, one of which was in an El Clásico, at Camp Nou no less? But just before half-time, Ramires, in a fine run of his own was found by the ball-stealing Frank Lampard, got away from the Catalan defense and beat, uhm, who else but Victor Valdes (?!!), to kick the crucial away goal that put Chelsea in a serious contention of a spot in the final, 2-1. Chelsea led on away goal at half-time courtesy of the same duo who played Didier Drogba to slot the winning goal in Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the tie, Ramires and Lampard.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Defeated, but not toppled...
...from the seat of greatness - Barça's latest story at Camp Nou.
==========================================================
by PAM
And so, Real Madrid CF finally prevailed, handing FC Barcelona their first defeat in El Clásico in 8 La Liga meetings (the second in 15 matches overall since December 2008) via a 2-1 victory last Saturday (early morning of Sunday in this part of the world)... in Camp Nou, no less! José Mourinho is at the doorstep of
Mourinho's Los Blancos, finally tasting victory
over Guardiola's Barça in La Liga.unprecedented personal glory: winning the respective leagues of four different European countries where football is almost a religion (in Portugal, in England, in Italy, and now, soon in Spain). Not bad for a manager who didn't play the game professionally! His Madrid men, one of the most expensive assembly of some of footie world's best players presently, finally fulfilled their team's promise in what must be the decider in this year's contest for the Spanish La Liga Primera Division title, with all due respect to their next opponents. With Los Blancos seven points clear above Blaugranes, with only four more games to play, Pep Guardiola and his captain, Carles Puyol and another key player, Andrés Iniesta, the "other" little genius of the Catalan side no less, may have, in effect, conceded the title to their biggest rival in their respective post-match interviews. While not conceding greatness, as they insisted that they have dominated the match - not a completely unfounded claim either, considering how exhausted this overworked team is this season - they have congratulated their rivals and vowed to their loyal fans that Barça's continuous quest for higher level of greatness this season... and beyond this season, does not end after the final whistle was blown in the last El Clásico at Camp Nou. Naturally, culés all over the world have no doubt about that... in fact, even when the scoreboard showed that Barça was not on top, no culé would concede greatness to Madrid... only this last Clásico, maybe.
==========================================================
by PAM
And so, Real Madrid CF finally prevailed, handing FC Barcelona their first defeat in El Clásico in 8 La Liga meetings (the second in 15 matches overall since December 2008) via a 2-1 victory last Saturday (early morning of Sunday in this part of the world)... in Camp Nou, no less! José Mourinho is at the doorstep of
Mourinho's Los Blancos, finally tasting victory
over Guardiola's Barça in La Liga.unprecedented personal glory: winning the respective leagues of four different European countries where football is almost a religion (in Portugal, in England, in Italy, and now, soon in Spain). Not bad for a manager who didn't play the game professionally! His Madrid men, one of the most expensive assembly of some of footie world's best players presently, finally fulfilled their team's promise in what must be the decider in this year's contest for the Spanish La Liga Primera Division title, with all due respect to their next opponents. With Los Blancos seven points clear above Blaugranes, with only four more games to play, Pep Guardiola and his captain, Carles Puyol and another key player, Andrés Iniesta, the "other" little genius of the Catalan side no less, may have, in effect, conceded the title to their biggest rival in their respective post-match interviews. While not conceding greatness, as they insisted that they have dominated the match - not a completely unfounded claim either, considering how exhausted this overworked team is this season - they have congratulated their rivals and vowed to their loyal fans that Barça's continuous quest for higher level of greatness this season... and beyond this season, does not end after the final whistle was blown in the last El Clásico at Camp Nou. Naturally, culés all over the world have no doubt about that... in fact, even when the scoreboard showed that Barça was not on top, no culé would concede greatness to Madrid... only this last Clásico, maybe.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
"Ignite"!
It finally came to "life"! Woohoo!
=========================================================
by PAM
It took a while... but the dream finally came true... and through!
The maiden issue of "Ignite", the Thomasian Chemical Engineering Product Innovation Magazine, is already out in limited circulation. The magazine is primarily the Department's yearly 'product portfolio' of sorts, which features products exhibited in the yearly "UST Chemical Engineering-Rebisco Product Innovation Challenge + Mini Expo". It also contains feature articles on the event and the winners of the Challenge. The maiden issue features products from the 2011 edition of the Mini Expo dubbed as "InnoVision", organized and participated in by the UST Chem. E. Batch 2012 - the Neo-Centennial Batch - under the very able leadership of Mr. Aaron Joseph J. Peñano, Miss Heidy V. Cruz, Mr. Emmanuel P. Jimenez and Mr. John Lester C. Lim.
=========================================================
by PAM
 |
| A dream and vision realized... by persistence and labor of love. |
It took a while... but the dream finally came true... and through!
The maiden issue of "Ignite", the Thomasian Chemical Engineering Product Innovation Magazine, is already out in limited circulation. The magazine is primarily the Department's yearly 'product portfolio' of sorts, which features products exhibited in the yearly "UST Chemical Engineering-Rebisco Product Innovation Challenge + Mini Expo". It also contains feature articles on the event and the winners of the Challenge. The maiden issue features products from the 2011 edition of the Mini Expo dubbed as "InnoVision", organized and participated in by the UST Chem. E. Batch 2012 - the Neo-Centennial Batch - under the very able leadership of Mr. Aaron Joseph J. Peñano, Miss Heidy V. Cruz, Mr. Emmanuel P. Jimenez and Mr. John Lester C. Lim.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Oy, Idol!
My picks...
======================================================
by PAM
...of course, my awesome and delirium-inducing "namesake", Phillip Phillips! ;) Pure, no-frill talent!
======================================================
by PAM
...of course, my awesome and delirium-inducing "namesake", Phillip Phillips! ;) Pure, no-frill talent!
And that classy diva-ishly stylish girl with incredible, incredible super talent to match - Jessica Sanchez!
Both will make worthy Idols... great to listen to with just the right voice timbre... tender when telling a story through their music, controlled painstakingly and not squeaky at all when hitting big notes, coated with just the right amount of affective soul and rockin' grit, punctuated with perfect singing style - none too flashy and not trying too hard, but not short on sumptuous visual flavor either. With a dash of endearing candour, aaw-inducing flirty little looks, and emotionally charged movements on stage thrown in whenever necessary, both are beautiful to watch, too - very engaging. Both got that perfect blend of talent and star quality that will surely prove delicious with the polishing its getting in their Idol stint.
I'd really love to see these two duel in the final: awesome talent vs. super talent! :) Can't get any better than that - seriously!
***
Video credits: Thanks, YouTube, for the links.
Road to Munich hiccups...
...for Barça... and, okay, Los Blancos, too!
=========================================================
by PAM
Yeah, Tuesday and Wednesday (Wednesday and Thursday this side of the world) had been a 'stunning' two-day football affair. I'm still speechless until now. I'm still pinching myself just to make sure that what transpired during the past two days were real... and that I wasn't having a nightmare.
So, both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF took care of La Liga business last weekend, with the World's Best Player, Lionel Messi (who cares what you think, Mr. Pelé?), and the flashy Blanco diva, Cristiano Ronaldo, setting the record
Messi and Ronaldo, La Liga Megastars... 41 goals
each... and counting!for the most number of goals scored in the Liga history in one season - a staggering 41 goals each! That also brought Messi's goal tally this season in all competitions to 63 goals. Oh, boy! What a boy, this boy! Oy!
After their respective Liga competitions over the weekened, four points still separated the Spanish giants as El Clásico loomed this coming weekend, with the Blancos enjoying the coveted lead over the defending Campeones from Barcelona. With five matches still to be played, including the Clásico, the result of this weekend's "Clash of the Titans" could easily decide the Liga overall outcome... and therefore, the Culés and the Madridistas are holding on to their seats in high-tension anticipation. "Bloodbath" alert!
But first, there's the first leg of their respective UEFA Champions League (UCL) Semi-final tie with Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge in London for Barça, and FC Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany for Real Madrid. Both are not small matter by all means and standard, of course! But with many people wishing (or dreading, depending on one's heart condition) a UCL Clásico final, the semis talks were not as big as the coming Clásico - a possible preview of what might be a "Munich Mutilation" via a UCL Final. Of course, it was the 'most wrong' way to deal with football matters, as the past two days showed! The results were astonishing! Well, one is more astonishing than the other though. :)
=========================================================
by PAM
Yeah, Tuesday and Wednesday (Wednesday and Thursday this side of the world) had been a 'stunning' two-day football affair. I'm still speechless until now. I'm still pinching myself just to make sure that what transpired during the past two days were real... and that I wasn't having a nightmare.
So, both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF took care of La Liga business last weekend, with the World's Best Player, Lionel Messi (who cares what you think, Mr. Pelé?), and the flashy Blanco diva, Cristiano Ronaldo, setting the record
Messi and Ronaldo, La Liga Megastars... 41 goals
each... and counting!for the most number of goals scored in the Liga history in one season - a staggering 41 goals each! That also brought Messi's goal tally this season in all competitions to 63 goals. Oh, boy! What a boy, this boy! Oy!
After their respective Liga competitions over the weekened, four points still separated the Spanish giants as El Clásico loomed this coming weekend, with the Blancos enjoying the coveted lead over the defending Campeones from Barcelona. With five matches still to be played, including the Clásico, the result of this weekend's "Clash of the Titans" could easily decide the Liga overall outcome... and therefore, the Culés and the Madridistas are holding on to their seats in high-tension anticipation. "Bloodbath" alert!
But first, there's the first leg of their respective UEFA Champions League (UCL) Semi-final tie with Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge in London for Barça, and FC Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany for Real Madrid. Both are not small matter by all means and standard, of course! But with many people wishing (or dreading, depending on one's heart condition) a UCL Clásico final, the semis talks were not as big as the coming Clásico - a possible preview of what might be a "Munich Mutilation" via a UCL Final. Of course, it was the 'most wrong' way to deal with football matters, as the past two days showed! The results were astonishing! Well, one is more astonishing than the other though. :)
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday foodie
 |
| Yum! Watch out Krispy Kreme.... |
 |
| ...the donut and coffee craze in Bali, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Shanghai is now in Manila, too! Good job! |
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Saturday photo
by PAM
As for contemplative relaxation these summer days, for the past how many nights, I have been re-reading Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" - on worn out paperback... for the fifth time! Yet, I still drool over the obvious brilliance with which Professor Eco knitted his remarkable thoughts, his wacky sense of humor, and incredible imagination into an impressive tapestry of fictional phenomenon - this book - that is both timeless and boundless. A mystery about a series of deaths in an ancient abbey in the Alps of Italy, set in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic Church was underfire, the novel put together catholicism, philosophy, politics and greed, and the twisted passion of conservatism, fundamentalism and extremism with the purest intentions to pursue the holy life of a faithful, in a truly delicious blend of intellectual discourse that relentlessly challenged the reader to get thoroughly involved in processing Prof. Eco's thick slices of radical propositions as the mystery unraveled achingly. The last couple of times that I re-read this novel, while the narration went on the same route, it seemed to reveal new things to me each time. It felt like, each time I revisited, Prof. Eco kept expressing new opinions on ideas unveiled by different authors and philosophers in their own writings... when, in fact, it was I who didn't have the necessary breadth of experience and learnings to put the remarkable depth of Prof. Eco's abysmal profundity within my intellectual reach each time. Of course, I may not be able to reach that depth at all either... no matter how hard I tried! Oh, well....
+The+Name+of+the+Rose+-+1.jpg) |
| "I felt confused, afraid of my own thoughts." (Adso of Melk) |
Yeah, it's that time of year... when it's possible to have those lazy days, savor being woken up in the morning by the cheerful chirping of the birds as the warm fingers of the sun touch your face gently on the bed rather than being summoned from your slumber by the irritating sound of that "bossy" alarm clock before the break of dawn. It's that time of year when it is possible to enjoy sipping warm coffee and biting into those nicely prepared pan de sal sandwiches or eating that traditional Filipino breakfast of fried rice, egg and longganisa with slices of fresh tomato and grilled eggplant in an unhurried start of the day. Yes, it's summer break in this part of the world!
While there are still a few big deadlines scattered in the calendar for the next two months, at least, those can be worked on without too much 'gear-shifting' and 'sprinting'. Besides, those are 'my kind of deadlines'... unraveling 'mysteries' that kept taunting and luring my students and I in the lab last semester. Unraveling the clues is like swimming in that sparkling sea of exciting new things, refreshing the mind and the soul as the 
A Rose of an obra... "Temptations,
to be sure; intellectual pride."
(Adso of Melk)knots of the mysteries are slowly figured out. These are far more enjoyable than laboring over voluminous test papers and lab reports a month ago... without pause, and in a big hurry, too, that contemplation becomes an unaffordable luxury with the little time given us! Ah, what a torture... especially for faithful Academics who view contemplation as a vital part of spiritual sustenance at work. And it was supposed to be an exciting culmination of a semester's worth of hardwork! Therefore, these summer days are those when work can be truly enjoyable... and the reasonable space of time between deadlines now affords us to hope for a satisfying finish.
A Rose of an obra... "Temptations,
to be sure; intellectual pride."
(Adso of Melk)knots of the mysteries are slowly figured out. These are far more enjoyable than laboring over voluminous test papers and lab reports a month ago... without pause, and in a big hurry, too, that contemplation becomes an unaffordable luxury with the little time given us! Ah, what a torture... especially for faithful Academics who view contemplation as a vital part of spiritual sustenance at work. And it was supposed to be an exciting culmination of a semester's worth of hardwork! Therefore, these summer days are those when work can be truly enjoyable... and the reasonable space of time between deadlines now affords us to hope for a satisfying finish.
As for contemplative relaxation these summer days, for the past how many nights, I have been re-reading Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" - on worn out paperback... for the fifth time! Yet, I still drool over the obvious brilliance with which Professor Eco knitted his remarkable thoughts, his wacky sense of humor, and incredible imagination into an impressive tapestry of fictional phenomenon - this book - that is both timeless and boundless. A mystery about a series of deaths in an ancient abbey in the Alps of Italy, set in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic Church was underfire, the novel put together catholicism, philosophy, politics and greed, and the twisted passion of conservatism, fundamentalism and extremism with the purest intentions to pursue the holy life of a faithful, in a truly delicious blend of intellectual discourse that relentlessly challenged the reader to get thoroughly involved in processing Prof. Eco's thick slices of radical propositions as the mystery unraveled achingly. The last couple of times that I re-read this novel, while the narration went on the same route, it seemed to reveal new things to me each time. It felt like, each time I revisited, Prof. Eco kept expressing new opinions on ideas unveiled by different authors and philosophers in their own writings... when, in fact, it was I who didn't have the necessary breadth of experience and learnings to put the remarkable depth of Prof. Eco's abysmal profundity within my intellectual reach each time. Of course, I may not be able to reach that depth at all either... no matter how hard I tried! Oh, well....
Friday, April 13, 2012
QOTD
QOTD #2
================================================================
by Philipina A. Marcelo
 |
| "Hapag ng Pag-asa" by the late Filipino artist, Joey Velasco. |
"There are words that give power, others that make us all the more derelict, and to this latter category belong the vulgar words of the simple, to whom the Lord has not granted the boon of self-expression in the Universal tongue of knowledge and power."- Adso of Melk
from "Il Nome della Rosa" ("The Name of the Rose")
by Umberto Eco
(Translated from the Italian by William Weaver)
***
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Just being lazy...
...'cause on vacay! :)
================================================================
by PAM
I know, I 'whine' - not so often... but often enough - about vacation not coming soon enough... especially when the going gets impossibly and punishingly tough in the workplace for a 'normal' human being to take! :) Three or four days of vacation is glorious, I think... beyond that, while I still cannot lay my eyes on backlog from work, the bed surprisingly seem to have ceased as inviting as it was five days ago! And, it was Holy Week, too... the beach wasn't as enticing as it normally did, even when all the Week's obligations have already been fulfilled. Therefore, today... time to go on a trip - to the bookstore! :) Wait... how 'bout we check what's on-line and what's playing in the sports channel first? Brilliant! Hey, I never said I wasn't boring!
***
Oldie and wisey
So, I came across this interesting article about how wisdom is related to age, and how this relationship varies among Americans and among Japanese. As Asian (reasonably familiar with Japanese culture) who lived a number of years in the US, I find the article truly "entertaining". The link to the article arrived in my inbox (ages ago, apparently) from The Economist. Hmm... so, we learned that the...
Making the author conclude that...
***
Footie beautie!
Yeah, I did watch football on Holy Week....
And so, from 10 points in early March, it became 4 this part of April! Yes, yes, yes... and yes (!), I'm talking about the lead of Real Madrid CF over FC Barcelona at the Primera Division of the Spanish La Liga! After their successful ventures in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final round last week, qualifying in the semis, the two Spanish football giants went into the weekend, separated by six points - with the Blancos on top - and then emerged with only 4 points separating them.
Barça faced Real Zaragoza last Saturday with overgrown flowering grass at La Romareda. What the... uhm, sad joke was that about? Oh, well.... Pep Guardiola made some changes in his starting line-up compared to his first XI against AC Milan at the UCL QF in the middle of the week. In the absence of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué (who was injured) in the starting line-up, the World Champions didn't seem as superior as they should be over the hosts, who were playing splendid football! But then, Lionel Messi was on the pitch... so, what else could any side who has this genius could ask for? None apparently. Eventually, his genius shone through!
And so, after heart-breaking misses (I can just imagine) from the hosts, fine saves from Victor Valdes (about time, too!), a lucky follow-up goal from the hosts, a wonderful picking-up-remnants goal from the focused Catalan Captain, Carles Puyol, emotionally charged air where yellow cards were waved and the Zaragoza squad getting reduced to ten men, lady luck showed which side she favored amidst the flowering grass! Messi hit his 59th (via a vintage Messi, Alexis-assisted thing of beauty) and 60th goals (via spot kick) of the season (37th and 38th for La Liga) in all competitions. Therefore, the "flowery day" at the La Romareda was the day when Messi became the first man to reach 60 goals in a single season since the 1972-73 season, getting closer to breaking Gerd Müller's record of 67 goals in
Hmmm... it's that bad, eh? But, come now, Crissy... hush!that season for Bayern Munich. Oh, my... and the 'little man' is only 24! Wait, there's more... the magic man also assisted Pedro Rodriguez in the latter's rare goal after coming back from injury-induced hiatus, bringing the final tally to a 4-1 win for Barça.
Over at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the hosts were held by the visiting massive force that was Valencia CF, in a scoreless draw, 0-0, on Easter Sunday. Hmmm... I wonder what kind of 'conspiracy theory' this time is being toyed with by José Mourinho's "special mind" to put the blame on for his side's unsuccessful run in their very own turf. If Pepe's frustration, which he expressed like a wounded animal by kicking his own teammate, is anything to go by, the draw must be indeed very bad. Therefore, maybe it would serve everyone well if they caged Mou and his beloved pet, Pepe, for a while... or until the "hurt" subsided. Oh, and we're not even talking about Cristiano Ronaldo's "pain" yet... on second thought, uh, nah, let's not go there... too "painful"! ;)
The current fourth place, Valencia, was gunning for points - any point at all - to keep their bid for a place in the UCL next season
Hmmm..., amigo, I believe that ball is mine.intact. The draw proved costly for Real Madrid, who dropped 2 points, cutting their lead over Barça to only 4 points now, with seven more La Liga matches to be played, one of them is El Clásico coming up on April 21 (April 22 in this side of the world) at Camp Nou! Oh, boy... I'm not sure if I could pack enough courage to watch that Clásico... it might just turn to a 'gory bloodbath', especially with Mou and Pepe's growling emotional state... that Dani Alves do not have a drop of appreciation for! *sigh* And, just imagine how Crissy Ronaldo would hurt if he missed a... uhm, spot kick?? Talk about (melo)drama!
But, yeah, the weekend did blow the La Liga Table wide open! Whoa, hello adrenalin! Vacation, you are so welcome! Please stay! :)
Over at the English Premier League, looks like Manchester City's bid to win the League title this season collapsed in slow motion right before Roberto Mancini's very eyes as the Gunners' Spanish playmaker, Mikel Arteta, kicked the winning goal for Arsenal home, to claim 1-0 victory in their weekend meeting. Before this must-win match for both sides, Manchester United won against QPR, 2-0, at lunchtime, widening their lead over second place, Manchester City, to eight blistering points, with only six more matches to be played. Of course, City failed miserably to respond, getting walloped by Arsenal instead at tea time. Their win over City moved the Gunners to third place, keeping their hope for UCL qualification next season alive. If you think about where Arsene Wenger and his men were at the beginning of the season, this achievement is quite a feat, I must say! It's the reverse of the high-spending Manchester City's case, who ventured to capture the League title this season with hefty amount of money invested on buying football superstars whose antics on-and-off the pitch are proving to be too much to handle for Mancini. Oh, well... I guess it's a matter of management, after all... and that Wenger is still a more bankable manager?
While there were many 'collapsed' dreams, unfruitful attempts, diva-ish hurtings and heartbreaking misses over the weekend... they were all delivered via beautifully played games. Therefore, hurray, footie beautie!
***
Photo credits: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
================================================================
by PAM
I know, I 'whine' - not so often... but often enough - about vacation not coming soon enough... especially when the going gets impossibly and punishingly tough in the workplace for a 'normal' human being to take! :) Three or four days of vacation is glorious, I think... beyond that, while I still cannot lay my eyes on backlog from work, the bed surprisingly seem to have ceased as inviting as it was five days ago! And, it was Holy Week, too... the beach wasn't as enticing as it normally did, even when all the Week's obligations have already been fulfilled. Therefore, today... time to go on a trip - to the bookstore! :) Wait... how 'bout we check what's on-line and what's playing in the sports channel first? Brilliant! Hey, I never said I wasn't boring!
***
Oldie and wisey
So, I came across this interesting article about how wisdom is related to age, and how this relationship varies among Americans and among Japanese. As Asian (reasonably familiar with Japanese culture) who lived a number of years in the US, I find the article truly "entertaining". The link to the article arrived in my inbox (ages ago, apparently) from The Economist. Hmm... so, we learned that the...
"...five crucial aspects of wise reasoning: willingness to seek opportunities to resolve conflict; willingness to search for compromise; recognition of the limits of personal knowledge; awareness that more than one perspective on a problem can exist; and appreciation of the fact that things may get worse before they get better."and that...
"Americans do get wiser with age... Japanese (high) scores, by contrast, hardly varied with age."
Making the author conclude that...
"...Japanese learn wisdom faster than Americans."Are you fascinated now? Ah, just you wait 'til you read the "exchange of wisdom" between readers in the comments section! Fun read, I think... but do proceed, with caution, open mind... and, uhm, wisdom! :)
***
Footie beautie!
Yeah, I did watch football on Holy Week....
And so, from 10 points in early March, it became 4 this part of April! Yes, yes, yes... and yes (!), I'm talking about the lead of Real Madrid CF over FC Barcelona at the Primera Division of the Spanish La Liga! After their successful ventures in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final round last week, qualifying in the semis, the two Spanish football giants went into the weekend, separated by six points - with the Blancos on top - and then emerged with only 4 points separating them.
Barça faced Real Zaragoza last Saturday with overgrown flowering grass at La Romareda. What the... uhm, sad joke was that about? Oh, well.... Pep Guardiola made some changes in his starting line-up compared to his first XI against AC Milan at the UCL QF in the middle of the week. In the absence of Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué (who was injured) in the starting line-up, the World Champions didn't seem as superior as they should be over the hosts, who were playing splendid football! But then, Lionel Messi was on the pitch... so, what else could any side who has this genius could ask for? None apparently. Eventually, his genius shone through!
And so, after heart-breaking misses (I can just imagine) from the hosts, fine saves from Victor Valdes (about time, too!), a lucky follow-up goal from the hosts, a wonderful picking-up-remnants goal from the focused Catalan Captain, Carles Puyol, emotionally charged air where yellow cards were waved and the Zaragoza squad getting reduced to ten men, lady luck showed which side she favored amidst the flowering grass! Messi hit his 59th (via a vintage Messi, Alexis-assisted thing of beauty) and 60th goals (via spot kick) of the season (37th and 38th for La Liga) in all competitions. Therefore, the "flowery day" at the La Romareda was the day when Messi became the first man to reach 60 goals in a single season since the 1972-73 season, getting closer to breaking Gerd Müller's record of 67 goals in
Hmmm... it's that bad, eh? But, come now, Crissy... hush!that season for Bayern Munich. Oh, my... and the 'little man' is only 24! Wait, there's more... the magic man also assisted Pedro Rodriguez in the latter's rare goal after coming back from injury-induced hiatus, bringing the final tally to a 4-1 win for Barça.
Over at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, the hosts were held by the visiting massive force that was Valencia CF, in a scoreless draw, 0-0, on Easter Sunday. Hmmm... I wonder what kind of 'conspiracy theory' this time is being toyed with by José Mourinho's "special mind" to put the blame on for his side's unsuccessful run in their very own turf. If Pepe's frustration, which he expressed like a wounded animal by kicking his own teammate, is anything to go by, the draw must be indeed very bad. Therefore, maybe it would serve everyone well if they caged Mou and his beloved pet, Pepe, for a while... or until the "hurt" subsided. Oh, and we're not even talking about Cristiano Ronaldo's "pain" yet... on second thought, uh, nah, let's not go there... too "painful"! ;)
The current fourth place, Valencia, was gunning for points - any point at all - to keep their bid for a place in the UCL next season
Hmmm..., amigo, I believe that ball is mine.intact. The draw proved costly for Real Madrid, who dropped 2 points, cutting their lead over Barça to only 4 points now, with seven more La Liga matches to be played, one of them is El Clásico coming up on April 21 (April 22 in this side of the world) at Camp Nou! Oh, boy... I'm not sure if I could pack enough courage to watch that Clásico... it might just turn to a 'gory bloodbath', especially with Mou and Pepe's growling emotional state... that Dani Alves do not have a drop of appreciation for! *sigh* And, just imagine how Crissy Ronaldo would hurt if he missed a... uhm, spot kick?? Talk about (melo)drama!
But, yeah, the weekend did blow the La Liga Table wide open! Whoa, hello adrenalin! Vacation, you are so welcome! Please stay! :)
Over at the English Premier League, looks like Manchester City's bid to win the League title this season collapsed in slow motion right before Roberto Mancini's very eyes as the Gunners' Spanish playmaker, Mikel Arteta, kicked the winning goal for Arsenal home, to claim 1-0 victory in their weekend meeting. Before this must-win match for both sides, Manchester United won against QPR, 2-0, at lunchtime, widening their lead over second place, Manchester City, to eight blistering points, with only six more matches to be played. Of course, City failed miserably to respond, getting walloped by Arsenal instead at tea time. Their win over City moved the Gunners to third place, keeping their hope for UCL qualification next season alive. If you think about where Arsene Wenger and his men were at the beginning of the season, this achievement is quite a feat, I must say! It's the reverse of the high-spending Manchester City's case, who ventured to capture the League title this season with hefty amount of money invested on buying football superstars whose antics on-and-off the pitch are proving to be too much to handle for Mancini. Oh, well... I guess it's a matter of management, after all... and that Wenger is still a more bankable manager?
While there were many 'collapsed' dreams, unfruitful attempts, diva-ish hurtings and heartbreaking misses over the weekend... they were all delivered via beautifully played games. Therefore, hurray, footie beautie!
***
Photo credits: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Happy Easter!
 |
| Happy Easter! May God gift us with colorful, joyful and beautiful day today... and always! |
Saturday, April 7, 2012
+Light.jpg)
Friday, April 6, 2012
Visita Iglesia
Thanking God for His love.
================================================================
by PAM
Visita Iglesia is one of our family's most cherished Catholic traditions. Like many Filipino Catholic families, on Maundy Thursday, we visit at least seven churches to follow the Way of the Cross, two stations per church. We usually let the young ones in the family lead the prayers to encourage them to reflect on the Passion of Jesus Christ, and the immeasurable love of God, our Father, who sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from the bondage of sins. We hope that through their reflections, they would mature to become good Christians and devout Catholics, with hearts filled with love for God, and with compassion for humanity - like the most devout followers of Jesus Christ, the saints and martyrs.
Because the Manila Cathedral is still under renovation, we changed our 'usual route' of Quezon City-to-Manila, where the Manila Cathedral was usually our last
Holy Week reflections.....stop. This time, we went around Quezon City, moving southeast from our place towards the Monasterio de Sta. Clara de Manila... and the St. Pio's Chapel in Libis was our last stop. Our late mother was a devotee of Padre Pio, even before his canonization to sainthood by Pope John Paul II, and so, we have always wanted to establish a devotion to him, too.
It was our first time to visit the St. Pio's Chapel, and we were very happy that we did include it in our list of Iglesias this year. It was our first time to experience actually carrying a wooden cross each as we completed the Way of the Cross. The Stations were beautiful, and the place so serene and peaceful, it did encourage a soulful reflection. We thought we have already seen the most conducive place for praying the Way of the Cross in Quezon City at the well-kept garden of the Sta. Maria della Strada Parish Church in Katipunan, Quezon City... but the carefully prepared stations at the St. Pio's Chapel were just divine. One of my young nieces enthused that she would like to follow the entire Way of the Cross at St. Pio's next year. The kids then started to ask questions about Padre Pio with much curiosity. I know that somehow, our mother led us to Padre Pio's... and it warms my heart to realize that her grandkids, whom she never met, now shares with her an endearment for the venerable priest. Faith works in truly amazing ways!
As per tradition, our Visita was capped with eating very, very late meal together (almost 2:00 in the morning), sharing light moments... with a priceless stop at the street food stalls along the way for quick bites.
***
================================================================
by PAM
.jpg) |
| Visita Iglesia on Maundy Thursday with family... a commemoration of the Passion of Christ, and a celebration of God's love for mankind. |
Visita Iglesia is one of our family's most cherished Catholic traditions. Like many Filipino Catholic families, on Maundy Thursday, we visit at least seven churches to follow the Way of the Cross, two stations per church. We usually let the young ones in the family lead the prayers to encourage them to reflect on the Passion of Jesus Christ, and the immeasurable love of God, our Father, who sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from the bondage of sins. We hope that through their reflections, they would mature to become good Christians and devout Catholics, with hearts filled with love for God, and with compassion for humanity - like the most devout followers of Jesus Christ, the saints and martyrs.
Because the Manila Cathedral is still under renovation, we changed our 'usual route' of Quezon City-to-Manila, where the Manila Cathedral was usually our last
Holy Week reflections.....stop. This time, we went around Quezon City, moving southeast from our place towards the Monasterio de Sta. Clara de Manila... and the St. Pio's Chapel in Libis was our last stop. Our late mother was a devotee of Padre Pio, even before his canonization to sainthood by Pope John Paul II, and so, we have always wanted to establish a devotion to him, too.
It was our first time to visit the St. Pio's Chapel, and we were very happy that we did include it in our list of Iglesias this year. It was our first time to experience actually carrying a wooden cross each as we completed the Way of the Cross. The Stations were beautiful, and the place so serene and peaceful, it did encourage a soulful reflection. We thought we have already seen the most conducive place for praying the Way of the Cross in Quezon City at the well-kept garden of the Sta. Maria della Strada Parish Church in Katipunan, Quezon City... but the carefully prepared stations at the St. Pio's Chapel were just divine. One of my young nieces enthused that she would like to follow the entire Way of the Cross at St. Pio's next year. The kids then started to ask questions about Padre Pio with much curiosity. I know that somehow, our mother led us to Padre Pio's... and it warms my heart to realize that her grandkids, whom she never met, now shares with her an endearment for the venerable priest. Faith works in truly amazing ways!
As per tradition, our Visita was capped with eating very, very late meal together (almost 2:00 in the morning), sharing light moments... with a priceless stop at the street food stalls along the way for quick bites.
.jpg) |
| A time for worship is a time for savoring family togetherness, too. |
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
La Pulga y Don Andrés...
...son grandes!
==========================================================================
by PAM
FC Barcelona vs. AC Milan
UEFA Champions League Quarter-final tie, 2nd leg
3rd April 2012, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Of course, Lionel Messi weaved his amazing magic again at Camp Nou to keep
Italy's best meet World's best. Game on!FC Barcelona's hope to retain the Champions League title in the Catalan capital alive and well. He did it via amazing runs and a brace of goals - this time, both from the spot. The two goals pushed Barça to an early lead in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final tie with AC Milan. And it was a happy, happy, happy thing, especially that one of those goals was record-setting! While that was pure Messi awesomeness, I think it was Don Andrés Iniesta who lighted the fireworks of brilliance on the pitch this time around! The "pale assassin" slotted in the third goal that provided the necessary cushion to Barça's precarious 2-1 lead in the first-half of their match with the visitors from San Siro! Iniesta's sublime goal, a remnant from a Messi attempt, brought the scoreline to 3-1, on aggregate, against the Italian Serie A's best to ensure a place for Barça in the UCL semi-final round.
***
Off to a flying start!
As expected, the match kicked off with both sides at full speed. I thought Dani Alves fouled Clarence Seedorf twice with
Gerard Piqué and Ibra...tower-ful both.harder-than-necessary push, but only the second one was called. Gerard Piqué did great intercepting Zlatan Ibrahimović's early runs for the Barça goal.
At 4:38 minutes of play, Messi did a great run against three Milan defenders, getting through impressively - as usual - but Christian Abbiati did a fine save. Awesome job - for both men! And that was going to be the theme of the match, actually.
At 6:13 minutes, Dani Alves sent a nice cross to Cesc Fàbregas, who was behind Messi. Fàb flicked the ball beautifully in one touch to Messi in front of the Milan goal. Messi, with two Milan defenders on both his sides, stopped the ball with his chest and attempted to send a volley over Abbiati's head... but missed! "He's human after all," was all the stunned commentator could utter in disbelief. Then again, one cannot discount the Rossoneri defenders around Messi.
At 8:54 minutes of play, there was a commotion between Barça's captain, Carles Puyol, and Alessandro Nesta - battle of muscles... aaaw!
At about 9:30 min, there was a big Barcelona run... Messi was running against two Milan defenders, he kicked the ball to the speeding Xavi, who miscalculated his control of the ball... but saved the ball and quickly returned it to
Leo Messi celebrating goal #1 with Cesc Fàbregas.Messi, who was still finding his position. But Messi quickly got the ball to position for a sure goal as Abbiati was still paying Xavi, and Dani Alves behind him, his divided attention. Nesta and Luca Antonini did what they had to do: threw and entangled themselves with the speeding Messi, who was thrown down - mostly by Antonini's impact. Penalty! The little "magic man" himself took the shot... and it resulted to Messi's 50th goal in the UCL. Therefore, La Pulga became the youngest player (at 24 years) to reach a half century of goals in the Champions League! Aaawww, brilliant! :) More importantly for Camp Nou, Barça pushed through in front to take the early lead, 1-0. Awesomeness! :)
The next how many minutes were relatively calmer run from Barça, just trying to make some chances to cushion their lead... and a more tactically disciplined run from Milan, especially defensively, trying to stop Barça from scoring more. The result was a treat for football fans all around the globe! Both teams did fantastic in a fast-moving game, tactic vs. tactic runs, trying to outwit each other in a great execution of the 'beautiful game'. Oy!
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by PAM
FC Barcelona vs. AC Milan
UEFA Champions League Quarter-final tie, 2nd leg
3rd April 2012, Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Of course, Lionel Messi weaved his amazing magic again at Camp Nou to keep
Italy's best meet World's best. Game on!FC Barcelona's hope to retain the Champions League title in the Catalan capital alive and well. He did it via amazing runs and a brace of goals - this time, both from the spot. The two goals pushed Barça to an early lead in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarter-final tie with AC Milan. And it was a happy, happy, happy thing, especially that one of those goals was record-setting! While that was pure Messi awesomeness, I think it was Don Andrés Iniesta who lighted the fireworks of brilliance on the pitch this time around! The "pale assassin" slotted in the third goal that provided the necessary cushion to Barça's precarious 2-1 lead in the first-half of their match with the visitors from San Siro! Iniesta's sublime goal, a remnant from a Messi attempt, brought the scoreline to 3-1, on aggregate, against the Italian Serie A's best to ensure a place for Barça in the UCL semi-final round.
***
Off to a flying start!
As expected, the match kicked off with both sides at full speed. I thought Dani Alves fouled Clarence Seedorf twice with
Gerard Piqué and Ibra...tower-ful both.harder-than-necessary push, but only the second one was called. Gerard Piqué did great intercepting Zlatan Ibrahimović's early runs for the Barça goal.
At 4:38 minutes of play, Messi did a great run against three Milan defenders, getting through impressively - as usual - but Christian Abbiati did a fine save. Awesome job - for both men! And that was going to be the theme of the match, actually.
At 6:13 minutes, Dani Alves sent a nice cross to Cesc Fàbregas, who was behind Messi. Fàb flicked the ball beautifully in one touch to Messi in front of the Milan goal. Messi, with two Milan defenders on both his sides, stopped the ball with his chest and attempted to send a volley over Abbiati's head... but missed! "He's human after all," was all the stunned commentator could utter in disbelief. Then again, one cannot discount the Rossoneri defenders around Messi.
At 8:54 minutes of play, there was a commotion between Barça's captain, Carles Puyol, and Alessandro Nesta - battle of muscles... aaaw!
At about 9:30 min, there was a big Barcelona run... Messi was running against two Milan defenders, he kicked the ball to the speeding Xavi, who miscalculated his control of the ball... but saved the ball and quickly returned it to
Leo Messi celebrating goal #1 with Cesc Fàbregas.Messi, who was still finding his position. But Messi quickly got the ball to position for a sure goal as Abbiati was still paying Xavi, and Dani Alves behind him, his divided attention. Nesta and Luca Antonini did what they had to do: threw and entangled themselves with the speeding Messi, who was thrown down - mostly by Antonini's impact. Penalty! The little "magic man" himself took the shot... and it resulted to Messi's 50th goal in the UCL. Therefore, La Pulga became the youngest player (at 24 years) to reach a half century of goals in the Champions League! Aaawww, brilliant! :) More importantly for Camp Nou, Barça pushed through in front to take the early lead, 1-0. Awesomeness! :)
The next how many minutes were relatively calmer run from Barça, just trying to make some chances to cushion their lead... and a more tactically disciplined run from Milan, especially defensively, trying to stop Barça from scoring more. The result was a treat for football fans all around the globe! Both teams did fantastic in a fast-moving game, tactic vs. tactic runs, trying to outwit each other in a great execution of the 'beautiful game'. Oy!
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