Robbers, Bibles, Rainbows, Machines, Nightmare

So I'm not quite done yet with my year-end lists.

The previous two years, I listed the 20 most played songs from my it's-not-an-iPod-it's-a Creative Zen Vision M, but I'm not gonna do that now (since I wasn't able to reset the songs' play count at the start of '09.) So I'm just gonna list my 10 most listened-to albums (based on last.fm, which probably isn't very accurate either, because my last.fm widget doesn't usually work when I'm in the office, and I had some issues with using the widget on Windows Media Player, but enough side comments.) Here they are:

1. Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards

2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible

3. Radiohead – In Rainbows

4. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine

5. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

6. Duffy – Rockferry

7. Up dharma Down – Fragmented

8. The Perishers – Let There Be Morning

9. Kings of Leon – Only by the Night

10. Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer

So none of these albums were actually released in 2009, but whatever, I'm wired to be late in many, many ways.

I think CWK's Robbers & Cowards probably made it to #1 on the strength of this brilliant, brilliant song (not to say that the rest of the album isn't great, because it is.) Neon Bible and In Rainbows are two of my favorite albums of the decade. I mean, those CD's are outstanding work, and in the case of In Rainbows, literally priceless.

If Robbers & Cowards was on repeat because of one song, then Extraordinary Machines was probably on repeat solely because of the lines "I was feeding on the need for you to know me, devastated at the rate you fell below me." (you get bonus points from me if you know what song that came from) (without googling it up) (bonus points are irredeemable, btw.)

So that's my music list for 2009. I'd love to see yours :-) (no really, I do. I'm not just being polite.)

Best Of '09... Part 2

Best Viral Videos of 2009:

JK Wedding Entrance Dance

In second place:

Kanye Interrupts Taylor Swift at the VMA's

(worth mentioning: Baby Dancing to Single Ladies, and Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent Audition)

Best Weirdly Awesome/Awesomely Weird TV Character:

Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

In second place:

Sue Sylvester, Glee

Best Dessert Place of The Year:

Classic Confections (Nono's Chocolate Oblivion cake)

In second place:

Tie: Cafe Breton (Adam and Eve crepe), Wicked Kitchen (Gluttony)

Best Fish Dish I Tasted For The First time This Year:

Cookbook Kitchen's Parmesan Crusted White Fish

In second place:

Fely J's Tilapia with Sweet Plum Sauce

Best Sandwich for Lunch In the Office:

Subway's Italian B.M.T. in Parmesan Oregano Bread with Honey Mustard and Sweet Onion dressing

In second place:

Delifrance's Frech Dip Roast Beef

Most "I don't get it..." Music Trend of 2009:

Justin Bibier being popular (I mean come on, his voice is exactly a quarter of an octave lower than Alvin and the Chipmunks')

In second place:

K-Pop girl bands.

Most Annoying Showbiz Issues of 2009:

Hayden Kho sex tapes. (Seriously, a senate hearing? So you just couldn't find anywhere else to waste our tax money on, Bong Revilla?)

In second place:

Manny Pacquiao's alleged extra-marital affair with Krista Ranillo. (At least he didn't try to beat Tiger Woods' list of hoes.)

Best Starbucks Pastry That I Eat With My Cafe Mocha:

Banoffee Pie

In second place:

Cinnamon Swirl

2009 Pinoy Hero:

Muelmar Magallanes

In second place:

Efren Peñaflorida

Best Of '09... Part 1

Best movie I saw this year:
(500) Days of Summer

In second place:

Up

Most under-appreciated TV shows (because I don't know any friend who watches this show):

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

In second place:

The Soup

Best Trip I Took In 2009:

Coron, April 2-6

In second place:

Caramoan/CWC, Feb 21-24

Best Nickelodeon TV show:

Spongebob Squarepants

In second place:

The Fairly Odd Parents

Best "The Amazing Race" elimination:

Season 15, Dubai Leg Part 2: Mika and Canaan gets eliminated after Mika refuses to go down a 90-foot waterslide, allowing Globetrooters Flight Time and Big Easy to overtake them (this after the GTs fell behind by almost an hour when they couldn't figure out the right sequence that would open the combination lock of a briefcase that holds their next clue)

In second place:

Season 14, Beijing Leg Part 2: Kisha and Jen gets eliminated after Jen insists on taking a bathroom break, allowing Jaime and Cara to overtake them (this after Kisha and Jen gets U-Turned, and Jaime and Cara got lost for 3 hours++ finding a Chinese Opera House)

Most Unwelcome News of the Year:

Typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) Flood + Damages. :(

In second place:

Ampatuan Massacre. Grrrr.

Most Addicting Website of the Year:

Facebook

In second place:

Tie: Television Without Pity/Twitter

Best Sporting Event of the Year:

Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam title in Wimbledon, 16-14 in the 5th set, over Andy Roddick

In second place:

Roger Federer wins his 14th Grand Slam title and 1st ever French Open to complete a career Grand Slam.

Before Our Noche Buena Starts...

Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, and Merry Christmas to you all!

Here are some Christmas things I found on youtube:

Wherever you are and whoever you're with, enjoy the happy, special moments this day brings and the love of the people around you!

And The Weekend Brought Friday

A week late on the follow up post, but anyway:

So after the GO!EMEA Team Building/Pool Party at Pansol, next on the agenda was the company-wide Christmas Party on Thursday night, ok food, ok venue, but it pales hugely in comparison to the Christmas parties of previous years. Back then, it was an actual party, everyone got a door prize, and beer was overflowing; this year, there was neither.

There was the usual Jam and Groove performances though:

Groove@HP performance

The next day, we had our group/tower/bundle's offsite team building. Since we had the Christmas party the night before, and the bus to Subic was scheduled to leave Makati at 5am, that meant no sleep for me. I decided that I would just sleep on the bus, but the travel time from Manila to Subic wasn't that long... so I didn't get that much sleep. So I thought I'd just sleep while I was on the ferry, but the ferry ride didn't take too long either, so I though I would just stay at the assigned room and sleep till lunch time. Except the room wasn't available yet, check in time wasn't until 1PM. By this time I was pissed.

But since Christmas is coming, I'll just be generous and just say that I enjoyed riding the banana boat (side note: this guy didn't), playing tag on the swimming pool (and bullying our teammates who couldn't swim by tagging them and swimming to the deeper end), eating dinner in the open garden (food for lunch was CRAP!), watching our teammates/managers dance/rap/embarrass themselves for charity (I have incriminating videos), and drinking/walking around the island from room to room to look for drinking buddies.

Pics!

It Started On A Monday

So this was a really busy week...

It started out last Monday, when weeks usually do. Our team (Global Operations EMEA + CDW L3, both current and former members) and the Capacity Management Team rented a pool house in Pansol, Laguna. And getting there was a challenge. For me, at least. So I decided that since Laguna is down south, and I live down south, it made sense to just join the carpool from one of the gas stations at South Luzon Expressway. I've done this several times, so I didn't really think I would run into problems, but then I usually wait at the Shell station. This time I decided to wait at the Petron station, because I got a text from Jerwin (who lives in Laguna) that he'll be waiting there too. Anyway, when I finally got to Alabang, I couldn't find a jeep that would stop at Petron. Turns out I had to go inside the Alabang terminal and ride a GMA-bound jeep. So when I finally found the jeep, I told the driver that I'll be getting off at the Petron station, but I guess he didn't understand me because he kept on driving until we got to Carmona exit, about 4 kms away. I got off just after the toll gate, and since I wasn't familiar with the area, I just decided to ride a jeep back to Alabang and retrace my steps. Luckily, the other carpool groups coming from Makati were still at the Sucat exit, so I texted them to wait for me at the Shell station, which is a lot easier to get to from Alabang. I arrived at the Shell station at just about the same time as the carpool group, and it was smooth sailing from there.

So the point of this story is: Good thing I know how to take public transpo.

Once we got to the pool house in Pansol, we had lunch (pork adobo cooked by Cez, and tilapia that was expertly gutted by Cla), swam for a bit, played cards, and had dinner (liempo grilled by the new hires.) We also sang our lungs out all night on the videoke (especially Cla, most especially Cla. BTW, tell me if you wanna see her straight-from-the-heart wild and awesome "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" performance :p) and got drunk on beer, vodka and Bacardi 151, which is how team buildings should be. We left early the next day and went back to work in the afternoon.

Pics!

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Now playing: Up Dharma Down - the world is our playground and we will always be home
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Polar Opposites Don't Push Away

I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre.

It's the work of barbaric monsters. Something like this should not go unpunished, and should not be forgotten. This shouldn't be handled with kid-gloves just because the main suspects of the crime are allies of the president.

It's sickening that this was done, and for such a shallow reason as the illusion of "power". I condemn the Ampatuan Massacre and I condemn all political war clans who hold such abusive power.

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I support the Reproductive Health Bill.

Because it can prevent this:

Official estimates put annual abortions at 400,000 to 500,000, and rising. The World Health Organization estimate puts the figure at nearly 800,000, one of the highest rates of unsafe abortions in Asia.

Seventy percent of unwanted pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion said Jean-Marc Olivé, the country representative of the World Health Organization. One of four pregnancies in the Philippines end in abortion, according to Pro-Life Philippines, an anti-abortion group.

According to the Department of Health, nearly 100,000 women who have unsafe abortions every year end up in the hospital.

The Philippines, with its high population growth rate (2.6 percent) and low rate of contraceptive use (an estimated 35 percent) also has an increasing number of teenage pregnancies. As many as 17 percent of all unsafe abortions are done on teenage or young mothers, according to the Department of Health.

Compounding the problem is the fact that 36 percent of Filipino women become pregnant before marriage and 45 percent of all pregnancies are either unwanted or ill-timed, according to the World Health Organization.

The source of that quote is the article Philippines abortion crisis from The New York Times, an article that was written 4 years ago but is sadly still valid today (and whose figures are likely with even worse now.)

The RH Bill will help prevent unwanted pregnancies and all the troubles that are attached to it. It will help couples plan their family's future, and help them attain these plans by making the means more accessible. It will help educate people on how to act responsibly when it comes to their reproductive and sexual health.

Because that's what education does, and that's what this bill brings. What it doesn't bring is narrow-mindedness on issues and ills that are actually affecting hundreds of thousands of Filipino women and men.

I support the Reproductive Health Bill and I will support the politicians who bravely take a stand for it, even if it means they stand against the political blackmail that the Philippine Catholic church is sending out.

It's Elementary.

Ika nga ni Sherlock Holmes: Change is afoot.

Well, no, that's not what he actually says, but it fits my narrative, so whatever.

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500 Days of Summer = Awesome Movie. In fact, it's the best movie I've seen this year. It's like the '00s version of Before Sunrise for me (the only other romantic movie that I actually like.) (Yes, I know neither movie actually ends up with anyone being together, which isn't really romantic, but that's what makes them awesome and true.) (and please don't judge me and my ideas of romance just based on the types of romantic movies I like) (yes I'm being defensive)

Also, Zooey Deschanel rocks my socks. Zooey is in a folksy band called She and Him, where she's all kinds of awesome.


See? Eto pa:


No wonder Tom went in and out of a couple of quarterlife crises because of her.

Nasty Santi

That typhoon was nasty, eh? Was up all night because of work, and the wind was howling like a hungry wolf. And when I say howling winds, I mean HOWLING (and yes, it was literally howling, I'm not even misusing "literally" here. However, I have to admit that I've never personally heard a hungry wolf howl before.)

The tube connecting our water tank to the pressure tank also got deattached during the typhoon, so I had to put my plumber's cap on and reattach it (by using a straw rope to tie the thing together, ha!)

I also just found out that the banana, jackfruit and other trees in my parents garden in Quezon got uprooted. But I get the feeling from my mom's text message that she's is more concerned about the TV antenna getting uprooted from the roof (there's no cable tv in their hilly provincial area.)

The good thing about this typhoon is it looks like it didn't create as much damage as Typhoon Ondoy (as of the moment, at least.) And it's gone within 24 hours, and right before Halloween and the Monday holiday comes around too. OTOH, a typhoon on Halloween would've made for one befittingly spooky night.

(and since tonight is Halloween, and electricity was out earlier in the morning, I decided to get in bed and re-read The Wake. The artwork on this Sandman volume is all kinds of epic.)

Keep safe and have a happy Halloween!

Da da da, da da, Da da da.

Great song, awesome voices.

Randomly stalking people while singing? Sounds like a great idea while walking around the streets of Paris.

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And here's another good one. Great old school song sung by a great old school voice.

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Been watching the 15th season of the Amazing Race on Studio 23. They broadcast it via satellite, so it starts on time, and with no commercial breaks. Best way to watch TAR! Only six teams left, and I like all of them. It's been a pretty good season so far, they've been to Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia and Dubai. The last Dubai episode was AWESOME.

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I had another bout with the flu 2 weeks ago which lasted for more than a week. Never went to the doctor though so I have no idea what kind of flu I had. What's annoying is this is the 2nd time I've gotten the flu this year, after paying for flu vaccine earlier. Before the vaccine, I've gotten the flu maybe once or twice in my life.

Thanks, flu vaccine. You were worthless.

Us vs Typhoon Pepeng

Typhoon Pepeng/Parma has really devastated Northern Luzon, and has been pouring a huge amount of rain for about a week now.

Barangay Balili, La Trinidad, Benguet

Here are some tweets from @mlq3 via Danny Durante:

Rainfall 8am yesterday to 8am today is 685 mm., more than Ondoy in Manila.

Ave rainfall in baguio october past 30 yrs only 461mm, but within 24 hours has reachd 685mm already.

(and again, it's been raining there for a week already...)

and via @PlanetEarth101:

NDCC said people affected by Pepeng has reached over 1million people with nearly 40,000 inside 162 evacuation centers

The mountainous topography of Northern Luzon means they're very prone to landslides, and at the same time, the heavy rains has already brought floods to the provinces

Typhoon Pepeng may not have affected Manila as badly as the tropical storm Ondoy did, but I hope people still pour in as much help this time as they did last week for Ondoy victims.

Let's donating as much as we can:

http://www.redcross.org.ph/Site/PNRC/wtd.aspx

http://www.quezon.ph/2009/09/26/how-to-help/

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/27/09/tropical-storm-ondoy-how-you-can-help

http://www.kapusofoundation.com/donate

Problem Record #66369

I'm not an expert on flood control... but I do hope the government finds a few of them, and ensure that the plans they come up with gets implemented. Also, I hope our infrastructures and disaster management (prevention, response and recovery) is improved in direct response to the Ondoy calamity.

I don't think I'm alone in wanting to read the post-mortem report on what went wrong and what are the next steps so that we can avoid another disaster like this (because storms like Ondoy will come to our islands again and again...) (Asiaaid, pagawa ng PR) (sorry, work-related line...)

I also hope people realize that we can do something about this. Nagging and blaming the government isn't the only option. Let's be more environmentally concerned (taking food out from a fast food store? Tell the server you don't need the plastic. Got trash? DON'T THROW IT ON THE STREETS!) Unfortunately, I still see people in the city throwing candy wrappers, cigarette butts and small papers around... As one of the better blog posts I've read about Ondoy said, in a democracy, we the people are the government, we don't need to wait for them to do something. And it's true. Getting pissed at government officials can only do so much... If we don't actually hold them (and ourselves) accountable for the problems that we are encountering, if we don't monitor their (and our own) actions, and if we don't make solutions for the problems on our level, then how can we expect change to happen for our country?

Lastly, just because it can't be said enough: Seeing the spirit of volunteerism and the amount of care and compassion that people have shown for the typhoon victims, and our general resilience against these kinds of dire situations makes me really proud as a Filipino. While do have our problems, we don't suck people! We're actually pretty great!

p.s. US Open 2009

I've been a bit busy the past 3 weeks (with work, with bugging/harassing PLDT customer service about my suddenly non-existent phone and internet connection, and finally, with watching out for crazy ass Ondoy), so I haven't been able to write about the semifinal and final matches of the US Open... and if you kept up with it, there were some crazy matches there.

After 3 weeks, I've finally been able to catch up with work (I think), my phone and net has finally been fixed (after 1 whole week, DAMN YOU PLDT!), and Ondoy and his evil stepbrother Pepeng have gone away, so I think this might be a good time to catch up...

On the men's side, Juan Martin Del Potro wins his first grand slam in sensational manner, beating 5-time US Open champ and world #1 Roger Federer in 5 sets, 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 4–6, 7–6 (7–4), 6–2. JMDP previously defeated #2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in straight sets, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2. That was really huge result for the (then) 20 year-old Argentine. He joins Roger, Rafa and Novak as the recent Grand Slam winners, and puts himself firmly in contention for the grand slams next year (I'm putting Murray out of that circle until he bucks the trend and actually wins one.)

Congratulations JMDP!

Anyway, while DelPo won that tournament, I have post this, since it's definitely one for the Hall of Fame Career highlight reels:

On the women's side, Caroline Wozniacki got to her first grand slam final by beating Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-3, 6-3. That's a great result for Caroline, who's always been on the brink of a grand slam breakthrough the past two years. Unfortunately for her though, she ran into a more formidable Belgian, Kim Clijsters. If at the start of the year, someone said that Kim would win a grand slam in 2009, I think even Kim would've laughed at that person's face... But after playing in only 2 other WTA tournaments this year, Kim mounted an amazing career comeback by winning her second grand slam title, becoming the first non-ranked player to win the US Open, and the first mother to win a grand slam since 1980.

2005 and 2009 US Open Champ Kim Clijsters with daughter Jada

Kim did it by beating Venus in the fourth round and Serena in the semis too.

Speaking of Serena, it wasn't just the semifinal match that she lost...

Totally lost her mind too.

Before the semis start...

Just a quick review of the results just before the semifinal matches start... (it's been raining here in Manila the whole day and looks like it's been raining in NY too, the Kim-Serena semifinal match has been delayed by rain.)

On the men's side, Andy Murray followed the other Andy in an early exit, losing to the 16th seed Croatian Marin Cilic. Though Murray has had good results the past months (and even overtook Rafa for the #2 ranking), he hasn't been playing his best tennis (in the matches I've seen him play, at least). Losing to Cilic in straight sets in the 4th round might be a sign that he's not coping well with the "Can he win a Grand Slam"/"He's #2 over Rafa" pressure, or it might just spur him on to lift his game to match Roger and Rafa in the Grand Slams. The bottom line for him though is 0 Grand Slams for 2009.

But you know what the best news here is? We won't have to see this face while watching the US Open Men's Final:

/cheapshot

Cilic went on to lose to JMDP (who is my pick as the finalist who'll play Roger in the final) in the quarters. Roger will face Novak Djokovic in the first semis, while JMDP is still waiting for Rafa and Fernando Gonzales' match to finish (suspended last night due to rain.) Rafa's knee injury has flared up again, so Gonzo might sneak that one in...

For the women's draw, the news has been all about Melanie Oudin's huge run (with a little bit of Kim's great comeback sandwiched in the news). She beat 4 Russians to get to the quarters (former Junior #1 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva, 3-time Grand Slam champ and Screaming Shriekster extraordinaire Maria Sharapova, and former #3 and current top 10 player Nadia Petrova.) Unfortunately for her, current French Open champ

Svetlana Kuznetsova lost to #9 Caroline Wozniacki, and Oudin's tennis powers apprently doesn't work out as well versus blonde Danish tennis players. Caroline won their quarterfinal match easily, 6-2, 6-2.

I've been waiting for Caroline to get a big grand slam result since last year, but she would usually lose in the 3rd or 4th rounds, to the point that I was starting to think she won't make it and the Azarenka really was this year's teen queen... But now Caroline has made the semis (Azarenka's best was a QF at the French Open and Wimbledon), and has a pretty good chance to reach the finals. She'll be facing the other surprise of the tournament, unseeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer. With Dinara and Jelena getting the upset axe, Yanina sneaked in to the semis playing big, aggressive tennis. It's great to see another Belgian coming up the ranks, a year after Justine retired. And speaking of Belgians, Kim Clijsters' comeback is officially a success. She beat Venus Williams in the 4th round 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 and will now be up against Venus' little younger sister, Serena for a place in the final. I want Kim to win, if only to spur Justine Henin to make a comeback of her own, but this match (and the whole tournament) will probably go to Serena.

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I'm using Google Chrome right now instead of Firefox... And while I'm liking some of it's features, I don't think it can handle the US Open website too well. The browser hangs a lot, especially when I open the Live Scores page. Boooooo Google Chrome!

US Open Men's Draw, Update #1

While the women's field has been decimated, there are no such upsets on the Men's side. No teen-aged sensation to talk about either (I think that spot may be reserved for Grigor Dimitrov next year...) All the top 16 male players made it to the 3rd round, the first time in Open-era history, and in the Round of 16, the 14 of the top 16 made it.

The only two casualties? #9 Frenchman Gilles Simon, who had to retire in his 3rd round match vs former #1 (and former King of Clay before a guy named Rafael Nadal came around) Juan Carlos Ferrero. JCF was a finalist here a few years ago, so it's not like he's a pushover on the hard courts. Too bad for Gilles, who was in a bit of a slump during the clay season... he was starting to get good results again, the knee injury came at a really bad time for him.

The other casualty is #5 Andy Roddick, who got served out of the court by the unseeded 6'9'' giant John Isner in another heart-breaking (for Roddick) scoreline of 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)

The only match I saw Roger play so far was the first one, against 18yo American Devin Britton. He played well enough there, but according to some reports I read, he didn't seem to be as precise in his match against Hewitt. Same thing with Rafa, I only saw his first round match. He easily dumped the just-returning-from-my-coccaine-ban Richard "Reeshard" Gasquet and I was really impressed with his shots and his movement. It didn't seem like he came from injury at all. It will be interesting to see if Roger can hang on to his good pre-US Open form, and if Rafa can keep his body injury-free even while playing 5-set hardcourt matches.

Dark horses? Last year's US Open runner-up Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro. Murray didn't play well Wimbledon, where the hometown pressure may have been a factor. This time he doesn't have as much pressure to win, so he might be able to pull this off. On the other hand, JMPD doesn't have to deal with much pressure. In fact, not much attention has been given to him since most of the contender spotlight still falls among the top 4. That may be good for him (I predicted that he'll go all the way to the finals... so he better not screw this up, at least for my sake.)


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Now playing: Sufjan Stevens - A Good Man Is Hard To Find
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US Open Women's Draw, Update #1

Ok, so far half of the players I picked to make the quarters in the women's draw have already lost. Olats. Including Elena Dementieva who I was rooting for to win it all... Booooo!!! The silver lining is it was 17-year old Melanie Oudin who beat her.

It's a silver lining to me because Oudin actually has a nice, thinking game (and not the brainless baseline ball-bashing style that makes the WTA Tour so booorrrriiing to watch.) She also reminds me a lot of Martina Hingis and Justine Henin, she's like a 17 year-old hybrid of the two (ok, ok, with less talent and less firepower than Hingis and Henin, but hey, she's got time to improve on that.) And also, she's got a hot fraternal twin watching her matches from the stands. (edit: wait, that hot girl isn't her twin sister, says this article)

Maybe Melanie just happens to play really well against tall, blonde, pretty Russians, because she followed her win over Elena with another win in the 3rd round against Maria Sharapova (who was serving awfully... 21 double faults in the match!) Their match lasted for almost 3 hours, but I only got to see the second half of the last set. Masha was really serving badly, but when her serve landed in, her groundstrokes looked as big as ever. Melanie did what she did against Elena, which was hit the ball deep and find the angles at the right moments. She was really able to control the rallies despite not having the same power that Shazza has. She also had great footwork, which was a good advantage to have over the taller-by-8-inches Shriekapova. (yes, I collect Maria Sharapova nicknames)

#1 Dinara Safina is also out, after barely surviving against Australian teenager Olivia Rogowska in the first round, and barely surviving again in the 2nd round, she finally fell to 19-yo Czech Petra Kvitova in the 3rd round. Last year's runner-up, Jelena Jankovic has also been booted out by Kazakh (by way of Russia) Yaroslava Shvedova, who could really pass for Scarlett Johansson's athletic sister. This year's tall blonde teen phenom, Victoria Azarenka, also fizzled after some good Grand Slam results earlier this year, losing in the 3rd round to the Italian Francesca "Sapakan Tayo sa Kanto" Schiavone.

In other, non-upset related news, Kim, Venus and Serena are all still in it, and Flavia Pennetta is ripping through the draw. She's lost just 6 games in 3 matches (though that didn't help Dinara at the French Open...) Caroline Wozniacki is also still in it, and she faces Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in the quarters. If she doesn't choke, she's got a good chance to reach the finals. Interestingly enough, I think Melanie Oudin will be her biggest obstacle there.

And, in other, weird news: one of Yanina Wickmayer, Gisela Dulko, Kateryna Bondarenko and Petra Kvitova will reach the semis. This is not a prediction, this is an actual fact. A WTF how-the-hell-did-that-happen fact.

Lastly, and more importantly, Daniela Hantuchova is in the 4th round! Woohoo! She'll face Serena next, where she'll most likely lose, but I'm just glad that Daniela looks to be getting back her form and is getting to the 2nd week of the Grand Slams.


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