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This is what it should be like for everybody, don't you think? The childlike pleasure he derives from the game is matched by that of his rapt audience, who are regularly treated to displays of his craft and inventiveness.

Ronaldinho has been shortlisted for FIFA's world player of the year for the second straight time. For the women, the candidates are last year's player of the year Birgit Prinz of Germany, Shannon Boxx of the United States and Marta of Brazil. FIFA

A life of artistic turmoil ends He always had those same eyes and that same grin. Always. He was the sweetest person behind all of those dark lyrics

Congrats to Roger D. Hodge! I will never forget his final paper in that Faulkner class we took. I understood then that, as a writer, he was light years ahead of me. Yea Sewanee 's Right! the Magazine: Harper's

I've checked this site out before but a few weeks ago I sat with it for awhile and I learned. I like what's going on over at ::aurgasm:: To quote: Take an active approach in finding music you love. Only you can find what you love. Immerse yourself in it. Buy the CD. Go to the show and meet your favorite artist afterwards. Tell them their music changed you. Support the artists whose work you adore. Be passionate about music. It'll love you back. Go check it out for yourself ::aurgasm::

The 25-year-old was favourite to claim the Ballon D'Or (European Player of the Year), having already won the 2004 Fifa World Player of the Year and the inaugural FIFpro award. More here and here .

Now, there are many, many people in the world, but relatively few with whom we interact, and even fewer who cause us problems. So, when you come across such a chance for practicing patience and tolerance, you should treat it with gratitude. It is rare. Just as having unexpectedly found a treasure in your own house, you should be happy and grateful to your enemy for providing that precious opportunity. His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Walk the Line ...go see it. Joaquin has a magical performance. There are moments where he gets the essence of Johnny so eloquently it will bring tears to your eye. The moment when Johnny sings "Folsom Prison Blues" for Sam Phillips is one of the moments. Well done story too, no glaring gaps that I know of and T-Bone Burnett hits the nail on the head with the music.

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us be thankful. The Buddha

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo , whose career has been sidelined since 2003 by a battle with hepatitis C, is working on an album that is being produced by Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale . I'm not terribly familiar with John but a new Al record is always cause for celebration!

Manchester United are searching for a new shirt sponsor after Vodafone ended their current £36million deal two years early.

Eclectic singer-songwriter succumbs to lung cancer at forty-five. He is best known, however, for carving a personalized, often brooding take on country blues, marked by his mastery of the slide steel guitar and other stringed instruments.

Chris Whitley 1960-2005 Damnit! Damnit! I've loved Chris since "Big Sky Country" and this saddens me. He was so talented. He and his music were charismatic in a way few musicians can imagine. the Man: Chris Whitley the Music: Discography the Obit: Chris Whitley has died . Chris, I will miss you. Thanks for the shows and thanks for letting me tape.

Player blames hair-growth product for a positive doping test.

Just as material things are made of dust, so too are our perceptions and thoughts mere dust. Just as it takes only a moment to wipe the dust from the surface of a mirror, so it takes only a moment to become enlightened, the moment all defiled intentions are cleared from our consciousness, we will see ourselves in the mirror of perfect truth. Master Hsing Yun, " Describing the Indescribable "

Katharine K. Wilkinson from Atlanta, a graduate of the University of the South, plans to study environmental policy. More here . the Alma Mater : University of the South the Scholarship: Rhodes Trust the Prize: University of Oxford

If you wish to move in the One Way do not dislike even the world of senses and ideas. Indeed, to accept them fully is identical with true Enlightenment. The wise man strives to no goals but the foolish man fetters himself. There is one Dharma, not many; distinctions arise from the clinging needs of the ignorant. To seek Mind with the [discriminating] mind is the greatest of all mistakes. Seng-tsan, " Verses on the Faith Mind "

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia has made history by becoming the first elected woman president in Africa. Former football star George Weah, till now the best-known Liberian in the world, has disputed the results.

Ever since the advent of so-called Ping-Pong diplomacy in 1971, when U.S. table tennis players became the first Americans invited into China since the Communist takeover in 1949, sports has been perceived to build bridges between countries and cultures. Ugly incidents at three of the five World Cup soccer playoffs Wednesday night have seriously undermined that perception. This is so sad but I don't think we should be surprised; we learned a long time ago how much these events mean to the players and countries involved.

In the beginning mindfulness takes away worries and fears about past and future and keeps us anchored in the present. In the end it points to the right view of the self. Ayya Khema, " Be an Island "

I'm just fucking tired. I have been out of it for a couple of weeks now. First there was the whole going back to work, then there was the training, next was the store moving and the relearning, and most recently, there was dental surgery and my Aunt visting. My work has worn me out. But inertia is a funny thing. I know I can't stop yet. The surgery went as well as can be expected I guess. Recovery has gone pretty well too. Last night was the first night I didn't take pain pills or Advil before bed and it was alright. I still have some stitches but slowly they are coming out and slowly I am brushing the repaired gums like normal. Remember...FLOSS PROPERLY and go to the dentist. Work has been ok. It's been tense. I don't really know what's going on, I'm too new to know all the dynamics but there is the sense that some of the staff have lost the desire to participate in anything. I can't be more specific b/c I can't put my finger on exactly what's u...

I have taught the way without making any distinction between inner and outer teaching. For in respect of the truth there must be no such thing as the "closed fist" of the teacher, who hides some essential knowledge from the pupil. Secrecy is the mark of false doctrine. Digha Nikaya

It is good to control your words and thoughts. The seeker who is in control feels free and joyful. Listen to that seeker who guards his tongue and speaks wisely. Such a one is humble and does not exalt himself. Dhammapada

"HUGELY PROMISING" ( NY TIMES ) GUITARIST/SONGWRITER REACHES SPIRITUAL HIGHER GROUND WITH BEST ALBUM TO DATE, SONGLINES , SET FOR FEB 7 RELEASE ON COLUMBIA Songlines Press Release: "What a special guitarist. [Derek Trucks] does not waste a note. And his strange pastiche of musical influences - John Coltrane-Eric Clapton-Ali Akhbar Khan-Wes Montgomery - isn't just an impressive list of styles; it remains unified and in effect from beginning to end." - THE NEW YORK TIMES On February 7, 2006, Columbia Records will release Songlines , the first new recording by The Derek Trucks Band in nearly four years, and the first studio album to feature the full-throated, impassioned vocals of newest DTB member, Mike Mattison. Songlines signals the DTB's arrival at a spiritual plateau after a decade long journey of musical discovery, and cements Trucks' reputation as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. While Songlines embraces the group's big-eare...

Guard against anger erupting in mind; in mind, be restrained. Having abandoned mental misconduct, live conducting yourself well in mind. Those restrained in body --the enlightened-- restrained in speech & in mind --enlightened-- are the ones whose restraint is secure. Dhammpada, 17, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, known as the "Iron Lady", has claimed victory as the first woman to be elected president in Liberia, and Africa as a whole .

Since I am in this category now... Research shows that marriage contributes to good health, and people who are healthier tend to live longer. Married men and women are less likely to have drinking problems, commit suicide, and develop mental problems. They also tend to eat more healthfully and exercise more frequently. What is it about marriage that leads to a longer, healthier life? Is marriage a means to achieving better health? Beliefnet: Health and Healing

Don't forget to bring the good experiences of meditation into your daily activities. Instead of acting and reacting impulsively and following your thoughts and feelings here and there, watch your mind carefully, be aware, and try to deal skillfully with problems as they arise. If you can do this each day, your meditation will have been successful. Kathleen McDonald, " How to Meditate "

Yesterday was a 2.5 hour surgical marathon...and I'm not done yet! Everything went well although the drive home was excruciating! The doctor expects a full and wonderful recovery and some time in the new year I will go back for round 2 (the left side of my mouth). The idea with this is to clean out all the gunk b/t my gums and my jaw/bone/tooth and then the gume will heal around the tooth like it should. Because the surgery is so intense (and expensive) this periodonist splits the procedure between two calendar years. Today my jaw is a little tender and a little swollen but nothing too bad. I still might take tomorrow off.

If somebody meditates with a wholesome attitude, with right attention and mindfulness, then whether he has expectations or not he will gain insight. It's like filling a bowl with oil seeds and pressing them or milking a cow by pulling the udder or filling a jar with cream and churning it. It's the right method. Majjhima Nikaya

Haven't written much recently. This retail schedule is wrecking havoc with my routine. Davis-Kidd has moved. The new digs are nice although a bit frustrating. Just as I was learning where things were in the store we all have to relearn. Some of the sections haven't been returned to their alpha order and some sections don't have their proper labels. There have been all sorts of tech glitches too but it's all getting ironed out. New England Revolution & LA Galaxy are in the MLS Championship Game. I'm behind schedule on my GRE studies. Today is D-Day (Dental Surgery Day #1). Wish me luck!

Focus, not on the rudenesses of others, not on what they've done or left undone, but on what you have & haven't done yourself. Dhammapada, 4, translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

( From soccernet.com ) African gong list: Samuel Eto'o Didier Drogba Michael Essien Emmanuel Adebayor Marouane Chamakh The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said the list would be whittled down to three candidates on November 19 after a vote of the coaches of the continent's 53 national teams.

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has backed referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez's decision to ask for a message to be broadcast over the public address system in Getafe asking the home fans to stop racist chanting. Rijkaard backs intervention

At a time when people are so conscious of maintaining their physical health by controlling their diets, exercising and so forth, it makes sense to try to cultivate the corresponding positive mental attitudes too. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 1963

If a person does evil, he shouldn't do it again & again, shouldn't develop a penchant for it. To accumulate evil brings pain. If a person makes merit, he should do it again & again, should develop a penchant for it. To accumulate merit brings ease. Dhammapada, 9, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

If you wish to understand yourself, you must succeed in doing so in the midst of all kinds of confusions and upsets. Don't make the mistake of sitting dead in the cold ashes of a withered tree. Emyo

Gains: don't treat your own with scorn, don't go coveting those of others. A monk who covets those of others attains no concentration. Even if he gets next to nothing, he doesn't treat his gains with scorn. Living purely, untiring: he's the one that the devas praise. Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Don't be afraid of doing good. It's another name for happiness, for all that is dear and delightful--this phrase "doing good." Whoever would live well, Long lasting, bringing bliss-- Let him be generous, be calm, And cultivate the doing of good. By practicing these three, These three bliss-bringing things, The wise one lives without regret His world infused with happiness. Itivuttaka Sutta