"End of a Dream"

World No. 1 Henin quits pro tennis
Updated: May 14, 2008, 6:06 PM EST

The determination that helped Justine Henin beat bigger, stronger opponents time and again was fading.

"I decided," the 25-year-old Belgian said, "to stop fooling myself and accept it."
Henin retired from tennis Wednesday, an abrupt ending to a career in which she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent more than 100 weeks ranked No. 1.

She announced her decision at a news conference 1 1/2 weeks before the start of the French Open, where she has won the past three titles and four overall.

Put simply, she realized she was burned out, and became the first woman to quit the sport while atop the WTA rankings.

"I always based everything on this motivation — this flame — that was in me. And once I lost that, I lost many, many things," Henin said.

Surprising as her departure was to the rest of the world, it seemed somehow inevitable to her.

After reaching the final at each Grand Slam tournament in 2006, she won 10 tournaments in 2007, including two majors. But this season, she started to find it an ever bigger chore to pack her luggage to travel to tournaments. Her legs felt heavy when she should have been dancing in the backcourt, ready to turn another one of those sparkling backhands into a winner.

Full story here .

The Beauty of Venice on a Budget

Welcome to Venice, Italy...

Yes, the title is true. You can travel to Venice in a tight budget but your stay will surely be memorable.

The charms of Venice extend beyond its canals and historical treasures to some of its smaller hotels.

What better way to travel the canals but by Gondola.

Ai do Mori Hotel

The room are all quite compact and simply furnished but you won't get anything nearly as good at this price anywhere else in the city.


Link: Venice best budget hotels

A Shattered Dream?

My Dream Machine will take me to the future circa 2013...

My fellow Earthlings, GLOBAL WARMING IS A FACT! Unless we do something about it, we are into something terrible. A cataclysm of great magnitude never been seen since the deluge.

Be a part of a solution to the problem. Live and let live...

A NASA image shows the Arctic Polar ice cap in 2004. The 1979ice boundary is superimposed. Compared to 1979, thew north polar ice cap is now 20% smaller during the summer. Arctic temperatures are rising twice as fast as they are in the rest of the world.

Link/Links: Arctic summer circa '2013'

The Island of Dreams

Welcome to Ellis Island!

Have you seen the 1972 film adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel, The Godfather? Therefore, you're familiar with the scene in which the young Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) was getting in line and to have a medical inspection. That place is where my Dream Machine takes me today. The place is/was Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

If you immigrated to America by ship during the 1900's you'll enter by way of Ellis Island, once the main gateway to America. It was shut down in 1954, but now is getting a new look. A $250 million restoration project, which began three years ago, aims to repair the damage of time.

ELLIS ISLAND NOW...

Main Building today

Main Hall today

ELLIS ISLAND THEN...

Ellis Island circa 1900

Ellis Island circa 1910

Link: Ellis Island

Photos:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/

Superman: Up, Up and Away!

Are you a fan of superheroes? Who's your favorite? I am a big fan of Superman. I have a collection of his movies in DVD, tumblers, pencils, erasers, comics, paper bags, mugs, etc.

Do you know how much it will cost you to own the comic where Superman first appeared? It's so expensive that the only way have one is to dream about it. You will see the superhero lifting a car in the cover.

Superman was created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. in 1938.

The character of Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938).

It is the most valuable comic book today with a present day value in 'near mint condition': approximately $1,380,000.

Photo:
http://www.worldsgreatestcritic.com/

Ouray, Colorado: Revisited

WELCOME TO OURAY, COLORADO...

What better place to go to rekindle the memory of Ayn Rand than Ouray, Colorado- "the Switzerland of America"... please bring with you a copy of the book.

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. The book is over one thousand pages in length and approximately 645,000 words. This was Ayn Rand's last work of fiction and her magnum opus.

The novel's title is an allusion to the Greek Titan Atlas who held up the pillars of the universe on his shoulders.

John Galt's speech is the core of Atlas Shrugged, Galt explains the philosophy of Objectivism in Chapter "This is John Galt Speaking." It comprises 56 pages of the book.

Throughout the novel, people repeat a platitude Dagny (Taggart) greatly resents: "Who is John Galt?" It is a reflection of their helplessness as the saying means "Don't ask important questions, because we don't have answers."

But towards the closing of the novel, it will be answered.

To answer the question "Who is John Galt?"

Visit:

http://www.amazon.com/

Photo:

http://www.mhsweblogger.com/

Link:

http://www.ouraycolorado.com/

In Memoriam

My Dream Machine back-pedal in the mid 1980's at Teacher's Village, Quezon City, Philippines.

My late dear friend, Jing Javier, was some kind of a visionary. What am I about to write here happened a few weeks prior to his departure. He's going to the US.

I visited him one day after work in his home. While we were talking about his favorite subject which was Philosophy, he suddenly stand-up and went to his room. After a while he returned with something in his hand. I noticed that he was holding a book, a paperback copy.

He was telling me to bring the book home with me and read it. The book was so thick that I told him, "Why don't we just play a game of chess and forget about the book?" "No, bring it home with you and read it," he said insistently.

But we did play chess and afterwards I go home with the book.

Many years have passed since then. One day, I was told by his uncle that he was already dead. I was speechless but my mind was full of questions. How come? He was still so young and yet... Another brilliant mind suddenly gone by. (He was a graduate of Philosophy and Economics).

Now I understand why he was insistent in wanting me to read the book. It's happening right now in our country. The philosophy that was the theme of the book is now being applied here by our government BUT in the reversed.

Brain drain is the name of the game in country nowadays. To those who are not familiar with the term, it simply means- migration of professional people ( as scientists, inventors, professors, physicians, nurses, etc.) from one country to another usually for higher salaries and better living conditions. These are intellectual people(s) which are needed here in our country. But why do they go elsewhere? Maybe our people in the government are downplaying the real meaning of this philosophy or they do not know how to apply it or they are not familiar with it.

I will try to tell something about this book and the philosophy behind it in my next post. I am a great fan of the author and must admit that she's very hard to discern.

Thank you my friend for sharing to me your wisdom and giving me a chance to know this brilliant woman. Hope we see each other in the spirit world.

The book: ATLAS SHRUGGED
The author: AYN RAND
The philosophical theme(s): The Philosophy of Objectivism

Check it out:
http://www.amazon.com

Photo:
www.cuddlecards.com/jufriend5.html