Federer's Feet of Clay

To those of you familiar with tennis please excuse the pun. I just watched a tape of the Roger Federer v Rafael Nadal semi-final at the French Open. This was the match that everybody had been anticipating. The world's undisputed #1 versus the 19 year old clay wunderkind.

The result was a rare defeat for Federer who had been 46-2 so far this year. Nadal was just too consistent, hitting the lines with machine like precision, while Federer hit 62 unforced errors to just 32 for the Spaniard.

I'm disappointed. Perhaps one expects too much sometimes of Federer. He possesses such a sublime, rarefied talent. Watching him play tennis must be like having heard Mozart play the piano, his talent and skill sometimes seems beyond that of a mere mortal. But alas he too has been stopped on the slow red clay of Roland Garros like other great tennis virtuosos before him such as Sampras and McEnroe. The game on clay is so different. The power of the serve is dampened and many groundstrokes that would have been winning shots on another surface are readily returnable .

Credit must be given to Nadal. He combines not only the consistency that is traditionally rewarded at Roland Garros, but also a shot making talent that sees winners flow from his racket almost as easily as Federer's. With the weight of great expectations already on his young shoulders he took his opportunities and converted them without succumbing to nerves or the pressure of the occasion.

The Politics of Being Hit In The Groin

I was walking through a shopping arcade this afternoon minding my own business. A woman was walking along holding the hand of what looked like her 6 year old daughter. As I walked past to the right of them I felt something smack me in the groin. The girl had just swung her arm out as far she could and whack! I reflexively doubled-over though fortunately it wasn't painful. My immediate reaction was of just complete, utter and total disbelief. I mean what the f--ck just happened???

I straightened up and turned to see the mother and child just walking along oblivious to the whole incident. I probably should have ran after them and scolded them off (yeah and then get accused of harassment), in particular the mother. But I had to get a phone and it was nearly closing time at the shops, so I just went on about my business.

Now I feel a sense of why people vote conservative. I mean yes I suscribe to liberal values and all but when you see things like undisciplined children out of control it makes you angry. I'm tired of old conservative platitudes like 'back to basics', or 'family values', but if it helps discipline the little savages then it's not all bad.

Just the other day I read that in Britain there is this phenomenon of "Happy Slapping". Basically children and teenagers go around slapping adults on the back but in some cases they just attack adults and take videos and photos of these attacks to share with their firends. Yes this all sounds a bit like an urban myth, but people especially the fringe elements of progressive child-rearing need to understand an important point. CHILDREN ARE NOT INNOCENT.

It's shocking but beyond those angelic faces lie crude and primative beasts capable of all manner of deceit and manipulation. I became aware of this ironically enough when I was a child which is not to say I was cunning or manipulative, but in so much as I realised that some children could be. You know the type of kids who harass other children, but only when the teacher isn't watching etc. These are probably the children who grow up to become corporate psychopaths and politicians skilled in the black arts of duplicity, spin, shifting the blame and bastardisation.