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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!
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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! :)
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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!
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Photo credits: Photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
