Li Na: Half Killer, All Role Model

Li Na cracks a smile during practice.

You see that smile in the above pic? Well, that's one side of the 7th-ranked tennis player Li Na, but her other side is a killer. I'm envious because Li Na has mastered that art of being charming and funny off the tennis court, but on the court she is like a U.S. Marshal running down a fugitive measuring precisley before she pulls the trigger.

I'm envious of her perfect balance between being tough when she has to be and a fun-loving person the rest of the time. For me, I struggle with being too nice to the point of getting taken advantage of. That's why I see Li Na as a role model.

She's a Killer 

On-court, at her most dangerous her shots sound like heavy metal music. in that way, she reminds me of Lindsay Davenport. The most surprising characteristic about Li Na's game is that it's patient, making her a patient woman. Big Babe Tennis! I hear ya Mary Carillo!

But she's not just a brainless machine like Rocky IV's Ivan Drago, but she's got a strategy. She makes many unforced errors, and just as many winners like any big babe should, but she's learned to be smart.

She'll put just enough spin on the ball to keep her opponents off balance, and then she'll follow that with a ridiculously low and flat shot that jumps off the racquet like a bullet. Shooting the fugitive.

Big Babe Tennis

She's been described by her peers as "sneaky aggressive." While someone like Sharapova will broadcast her power shots with her loud screams and big windups, Li Na hits with a compact swing taking the ball early. Her winners often seem like they came out of nowhere. Davenport!

At 29 she's reached the last 2 Grand Slam finals: in a 3-set thriller at the Australian Open and the French Open. She's blossomed late in her career, and I love it. I'm 24 and I'm a late bloomer too. I've experienced things later and I often feel like I'm trying to catch up. Still, when success comes later, that means you're wiser and know what do with an opportunity when it's in your grasp.

So, who wouldn't want to be a tough, fun-loving, patient, smart, risk-taking and aggressive person? Well, that's what we all can learn from Li Na.

Bright Light Bright Light's Love Part II Revisited



Bright Light Bright Light is ready to hear your confession.



10 months after the video for Bright Light Bright Light's "Love Part II" premiered, the song and video affects me even more. I've decided to revisit the video and re-experience its rapture.

"Love Part II" really is this dark, existental video that reminds me that life is short. It hits me in the heart for two reasons: Rod Thomas's performance and Alun Davies' art directon.

At the start he's dressed in all black looking like a priest ready to hear your confession. By the time the second chorus hits, he's unzipped his black jacket to reveal a t-shirt with the collar a bit crooked. The crooked shirt makes Rod look younger, someone who could never be confused for a priest. Instead he might be the one asking for confession.

Dressed in all black

Every time he sings the word "love," he gets showered with confetti. The confetti shower reminds me of a wedding, when the newlyweds are showered with rice. The existentialism is made quite clear when Rod looks upwards, as if to God or some higher power.

There's one scene where a gloved hand covers Rod's eyes. They look like the same gloves worn by the duo behind Rod who wear cheese wedge hats. The duo represents fear, and fear "blinds" Rod preventing him from being in love. At the same time, the duo is the pair of hands on a clock causing so much anxiety.

Existential. Rod looks up, as if to God or some higher power.

In the ending scenes, Rod is wearing a button-down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and his collar unbuttoned. The lighting is red = love. Valentine's Day. Cupid!

The smashed glass all over the floor and Rod laying on it is definitely apocalyptic. At the end of the video, Rod rests his head on the broken glass and closes his eyes. The message is simple: He wants to experience love before he dies. And the clock was ticking.

I hope I experience love, openly and in every way.