29 August 2008

The naughty elephant

Have you heard about naughty boys and girls? Do they really exist? I can listen to your "Yes, they do".
have you heard about naughty tigers or naughty lions? Do they really exist? I can listen your "No!"
But I can assure you that there are naughty elephants! Baby elephants, of course! If you don't believe in me, try this news from Sri Lanka. As you can see naughty elephants are those who disobey their parents. This elephant tried to run away from home and fell into a well. "All's well that ends well!" The baby elephant was saved by the people from the village. The baby animal is safe now, near Mum Elephant and Dad Elephant. They made him promise to behave well, from now on!

Image source here

28 August 2008

THE ANT AND THE CHRYSALIS

An Ant nimbly running about in the sunshine in search of food cameacross a Chrysalis that was very near its time of change. The Chrysalis moved its tail, and thus attracted the attention of the Ant,who then saw for the first time that it was alive. "Poor, pitiable animal!" cried the Ant disdainfully. "What a sad fate is yours!While I can run hither and thither, at my pleasure, and, if I wish,ascend the tallest tree, you lie imprisoned here in your shell, with power only to move a joint or two of your scaly tail." The Chrysalis heard all this,
but did not try to make any reply. A few days after,when the Ant passed that way again, nothing but the shell remained.Wondering what had become of its contents, he felt himself suddenly shaded and fanned by the gorgeous wings of a beautiful Butterfly."Behold in me," said the Butterfly, "your much-pitied friend! Boast now of your powers to run and climb as long as you can get me to listen." So saying, the Butterfly rose in the air, and, borne alongand aloft on the summer breeze, was soon lost to the sight of the Ant forever.

27 August 2008

Great People

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta said.
Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
"Around the world, not only in the poor countries, but I found the poverty of the West so much more difficult to remove. When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person that is shut out, that feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person that has been thrown out from society - that poverty is so hurtable and so much, and I find that very difficult." She also said in her Nobel Lecture.
She dedicated all her life, all her time, all her health, all her faith to the poor, the very poor men, women, children.
She did it in specific places, where everything seemed to be harder, much harder, than in the rest of the planet. She was a great soul in a small and thin body.
She was born on 27th August, 1910.

THE ANT AND THE DOVE



AN ANT went to the bank of a river to drink. It was very thirsty.
It fell into the water and was swept away. It could not swim and was on the point of drowning.
A Dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf with her beak and let it fall into the stream close to the ant.
The Ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank.
Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid his net out for the Dove, which sat in the branches.
The Ant, seeing what he was up to, stung him in the foot.
In pain the birdcatcher threw down the net, and the noise made the Dove fly away.

26 August 2008

Stuff to remember

Chris Gardner- "You got a dream... You gotta protect it. People can't do somethin' themselves, they wanna tell you you can't do it. If you want somethin', go get it. Period."
That's why I love watching movies: some can teach us what parts of life are really important. Dreams are, for sure!

23 August 2008

"The nerve that never relaxes, the eye that never blanches, the thought that never wanders, the purpose that never wavers - these are the masters of victory".

Edmund Burke

THANKS NELSON ÉVORA


21 August 2008

The gold medal is his!

Nelson Évora was born in April 20th, 1984, in Ivory Coast. But since his father was from Cape Verde, Nelson got Cape Verde's nationality. As his father, Paulo, began to work early in his life as a ships foreman , he could reform early too, and, wishing to give a good education to his children, he brought them to Portugal. At that time, Nelson was 5 years old.
The destiny wanted that Évora's family fixed in Odivelas, on the floor upon João Ganço, former national record-holder and first man in Portugal to pass over 2m in the high jump. João Ganço had three little children and David, one year older than Nelson, became his best friend. One day, João Ganço, seeing them playing in the street, suggested Nelson to start practicing athletics, following David's example, and, just like that, Nelson sportive career was started.
Nelson began, like almost everyone in Portugal, to participate in road competitions included in Loures' Tournament, and he and David dominated their step. At the age of 10, Nelson joined Odivelas Futebol Clube, and jumped 1,64m in high jump... when his height was around 1,40 m.
At the age of 13 he improved his mark in high jump to 1,75m and in long jump to 5,50m. That meant no rivals at his level... not even in combined events.
As Nelson and David leaded the sights, Benfica invited them to join the team, and, thanks to the better training conditions, Nelson started to reveal his natural talent and physical skills to the jumps.
When he was 15, he raised a fantastic mark in high jump: 1,98m. In long jump, he did 6,46m, and in the first triple experience, he jumped 14,35m. A terrible injury in his knee made him change to horizontal jumps. That's why he improved no longer in high jump. Otherwise, at 16 he almost reached 7m and 15m barrier (in long and triple jump).
At the age of 17, he represented Portugal for the first time at European Youth Olympic Festival, bringing a gold medal in long jump. He jumped 7,55m in long jump and 16,15m in triple jump.
When Nelson turned 18 years old in 2002, he chose to become portuguese and he got second nationality. He justified that because his life is all here..., he feels like he is more portuguese than cape verdean or marfinese.
As a junior, Nelson joined F.C. Porto and showed himself as an hot prospect's athlete at world level. In 2002, he participated in the Junior World Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, and placed in 6th in triple jump. In 2003, he was double junior European's champion in Tampere (Finland): in long jump, 7,83m and in triple jump, 16,43m
Many invitations from north american universities started to appear, but Nelson, a homemade young guy and really connected to his friends and coach, didn't accept them. Without his family around, he isn't totally happy because, for him, “having love nearby, is the most important...”
In 2004, he returned to his heart's team, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, but that was a year bungled by an injury that almost stopped his first presence in the Olympic Games which took place in Athens. However, he had a fantastic recovery just in time to participate in the Games. There, even if Nelson hadn't qualified for the final, the presence was worthy for Nelson to win experience and to feel the great environment that this kind of competitions has in itself.
In 2005, Évora won the bronze medal in the triple jump with 16,89m at Under 23 European's Championships, in Erfurt (Germany) and he participated in the World Championships in Helsinki, but, there, he missed the final for very little...being the 14th in the qualifyings. During that year, he returned to his first passion, helping his team, Benfica, and he jumped 2,07m without any specific training...
In the following season, Nelson jumped with no doubts to the big world circuit when he was world leader for a couple of weeks in Indoor Season with a jump of 17,19m in Moscow. In that day, he beat the portuguese national record that belonged to Carlos Calado, bronze medalist in Edmonton 2001, in long jump. Also in Moscow, he participated in the Indoor World Champs, in which he got the 6th place. In Gotenburg, in the European's Championships, he took the 4th place with 17,07m (during the qualifying, Evora jumped 17,23m – a new national record). He also participated for fun in the long jump and got the 6h position with 7,91m.
In 2007, Evora had a long season. He participated in Indoor European's Championships in Birmingham, in the triple jump, in which he got the 5th place. In that competition, Nelson got an injury in the first attempt and he couldn't fight for the podium. He became, for the first time, a regular presence in the biggest European's meetings, and in Madrid, he set a new personal best: some impressive 17,51m. And in August, at Osaka, Nelson Évora entered to history, becoming world champion in the triple jump with a huge mark, 17,74m (2nd world's best mark of the year). 2007 was the year of the big confirmation in seniors from whom had already been one of the best youths but, don't make the mistake of thinking that Évora will stay by here... No way, because “show must go on...”
And now, the gold medal is his! Congratulations, Nelson!
Sources-Text and Photo

20 August 2008

Have you heard about these two?

Who are these two? The Ant and the Grasshopper!
Listen... Read... Ask someone to read and listen... It's up to you!
In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart's content. An Ant walked by, grunting as he carried a plump kernel of corn.
"Where are you off to with that heavy thing?" asked the Grasshopper.
Without stopping, the Ant replied, "To our ant hill. This is the third kernel I've delivered today."
"Why not come and sing with me," said the Grasshopper, "instead of working so hard?"
"I am helping to store food for the winter," said the Ant, "and think you should do the same."
"Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; "we have plenty of food right now."
But the Ant went on its way and continued its work.
The weather soon turned cold. All the food lying in the field was covered with a thick white blanket of snow that even the grasshopper could not dig through. Soon the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger.
He staggered to the ants' hill and saw them handing out corn from the stores they had collected in the summer.
Then the Grasshopper knew:
It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

Sources- text and image

19 August 2008

THESE BENDS

I’m more than a little lost and found
But this town, it is dead
And there’s to many hypocrisies in my head
And it just wind, wind, unwinds me out

Just give me some time
Then give me a place, (somewhere new)
Bewildering concepts of time and space
They all just wind, unwind, wind out of me

A year and a day and three broken hearts are
Books lined up on the shelves of
Too many words I said
But I just wind, wind, unwind myself

Ghosts of a thousand memories
Have taken over this place just
Faces in dreams and corners
They help me wind, wind unwind myself out

Of this place and at this time
I need a new escape
When is my next escape?
Or release, from me, my mind, my fears, my dreams
So I don’t wind, wind, unwind, myself out of here

Victoria Mcvicar

18 August 2008

THANKS VANESSA!!!!


The first...

...olympic medal in Olympic Games for Portugal
Vanessa Fernandes makes history and bring Silver.
The 1st medal for Portugal comes from the fabulous triathlete.

"Everything is different for these Olympics, really different. In my first Olympics I was young. In the race I went with the girls and see what I can do. But in the last four years I won some things and I put my name a little high in triathlon. The mentality is different and my goals are different and I'm growing up," said Fernandes.
Image source-Público

17 August 2008

O SOL VAI FICAR SOLTEIRO

Sol e Lua Lua e Sol
tanto querem namorar
dia e noite noite e dia
não se podem encontrar.

Só se vêem no momento
em que um vai o outro vem
dia e noite noite e dia
um aqui o outro além.

Solta o Sol o seu suspiro
desatado fica o nó
dia e noite noite e dia
quando a Lua o deixa só.

Anda o Sol a soletrar
os seus versos mais ardentes
dia e noite noite e dia
se um se apaga o outro acende.

Um daqui outro dali
a brincar aos cin'cantinhos
dia e noite noite e dia
Sol e Lua são sozinhos.

Se um se vai o outro vem
seja Inverno seja Verão
dia e noite noite e dia
Sol e Lua solidão.

José Fanha

16 August 2008

SPORT IN NEW ZEALAND

The All Blacks perform a haka before a match against France in 2006.

Sport has a major role in New Zealand's culture, with the unofficial national sport of rugby union being particularly influential. Other popular participatory sports include cricket, bowls, netball, soccer, golf, swimming and tennis. New Zealand has strong international teams in several sports including rugby union, netball, cricket, rugby league, and softball. New Zealand also does traditionally well in the sports of rowing, yachting and cycling. The country is internationally recognised for performing well on a medals-to-population ratio at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games.
Rugby union, which is commonly referred to as simply rugby in New Zealand, is closely linked to the country's national identity. The national rugby team, the All Blacks, have the best win to loss record of any national team, and are well known for the haka (a traditional Māori challenge) that they perform before the start of international matches. New Zealand is also well known for its extreme sports and adventure tourism. Its reputation in extreme sports extends from the establishment of the world's first commercial bungee jumping site at Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand in November 1988.

15 August 2008

ZARA ANTÓNIA

Happy birthday, dear Zara. We all love you!

Kids' stuff. Again!

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goofball.
(Poor dads!)
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
(Some moms can even find soup under the bed!)
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
(There's nothing to do about it. Even a twelve-year-old child can see that!)
image source: Getty images
goofball-a barbiturate or tranquilizer pill, especially when taken for nonmedical purposes.(this and other definitions here)

14 August 2008

kids' stuff

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head. image source:getty images

Talk! Talk! Talk!


I must refer that I don't like gossiping at all. But talking... Oh, my God, I love talking!
That's what friends are for, aren't they? And friends can help a lot when you have problems. I have to thank all my friends for having listened to me whenever I needed!

13 August 2008

HISTORY OF THE GAMES

The stadium at the 1896 Athens Games, the first of the modern Olympics.

The Olympic Games are the creation of the Ancient Greeks with records of the first competition dating back to 776 BC. The Games reigned supreme in Ancient Greece for 12 centuries until in 393 AD Emperor Theodosius founded them to be a pagan celebration and thus ended the competition.
It wasn't until the late 1800's that Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin began researching and rallying support for the rebirth of the Olympic Games. His hard work succeeded and in 1896 Athens was the host city of the first of the modern Olympic Games.

WATERMELON

One of the tastiest ways to keep cool in summer is to munch on ice cold watermelon. No summer picnic is complete without watermelon.
Watermelon Muffins Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
· 1-1/2 cups flour
· 2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1 pinch salt
· 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
· 6 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature
· 2/3 cup sugar
· 2 eggs
· 1/2 cup milk
· 1/2 cup watermelon juice
· 1/2 cup watermelon pulp
· 1/2 cup raisins
Preparation:
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in large bowl. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs. Whip in milk, watermelon juice, pulp, and raisins. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients; blend just to incorporate. Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 25 minutes. Transfer muffins to wire rack; cool.
Yield: 12 servings

11 August 2008

One of my favourite songs!

Here's a little song I wrote,
You might want to sing it note for note,
Don't worry, be happy

In every life we have some trouble,
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy

Dont worry be happy now
Dont worry be happy
Dont worry be happy
Dont worry be happy
Dont worry be happy
Ain't got no place to lay your head,
Somebody came and took your bed,
Don't worry, be happy

The landlord say your rent is late,
He may have to litigate,
Dont worry (small laugh) be happy,

Look at me I'm happy,
Don't worry, be happy

I give you my phone number,
When your worried, call me,
I make you happy

Don't worry, be happy

Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style,
Ain't got no girl to make you smile
But don't worry, be happy

Cause when you worry, your face will frown,
And that will bring everybody down,
So don't worry, be happy

Don't worry, be happy now...

Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy
Don't worry, be happy

Now there this song I wrote
I hope you you learned it note for note
Like good little children

Dont worry be happy

Listen to what I say
In your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Dont worry be happy
Be happy now

Dont worry, be happy
Dont worry, be happy
Dont worry, be happy
Dont worry, be happy
Dont worry
Dont worry be happy
Don't worry, don't worry, don't do it,
Be happy,put a smile on your face,
Don't bring everybody down like this

Don't worry, it will soon pass whatever it is,
Don't worry, be happy,
I'm not worried.

Bob Marley

It's "admit you're happy month"! Let's celebrate.
image source: getty image

EYES

Eyes- Paired organs of vision, the movements, lid positions, and pupil size of which reveal a great deal about our emotions, convictions, and moods.
We are enthralled by eyes. From the moment of birth we respond to our mother's eyes as if programmed to do so. Eye contact shows personal involvement and creates intimate bonds. Mutual gaze narrows the physical gap between us.
Please, take care of your eyes!

10 August 2008

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

"Everthing about him was old except his eyes and they were the same colour as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated."


COMIC CONCEPT

Raz is my favourite artist! You can see more at http://pmrazael.blogspot.com

9 August 2008

Golden Moments

Los Angeles, 12 August 1984

Carlos LOPES raises the Portuguese flag after winning the marathon.
Like the Portuguese Poet Manuel Alegre wrote, this man is not a hero only because of this medal, this marathon. He's a hero because he reaches further and further inside himself.
We thank you a lot for the pride we felt on that golden day.
And everyday!

8 August 2008

Olympic Games - 2008

The National Stadium on the night before the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

BEIJING, August 8 - After a century of anticipation and seven years of preparation, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games kicked off at 8:00 in the National Stadium (also known as "Bird's Nest") in Beijing. Delegations from 205 countries and regions are a part of the greatest gathering in the history of the Olympic Games.
The Beijing Olympic Games started today and will end on August 24. More than 100,000 of the world's top athletes will compete fiercely for 302 gold medals in 28 sports.
Good Luck!

7 August 2008

TIAGO PIRES IN THE GOLD COAST

AUSTRALIA


The Gold Coast is a city and local government area in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. It is the second most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous city in the country. Gold Coast City is renowned for its sunny subtropical climate, popular surfing beaches, expansive waterway and canal systems, a skyline dominated by high-rise apartment buildings, active nightlife and wide variety of tourist attractions.

Time to read poetry again

Wait on! Yes, I fell on that desert strand, at that dread hour
Which God concedes to his own
For the interval in which the soul is steeped
In dreams which themselves are God.


But what matters the sandy shore, and death and misadventure,
If I kept myself with God?
It is He that I dreamed myself as who is everlasting,
It is as This One that I shall return.


Fernando Pessoa, in Message, translated by Mike Harland
A legend tells that the young King Sebastian didn't die in Alcacer-Quibir ans that one foggy morning he may return. That's why we Portuguese People are so good at waiting. All the solutions will be brought by Sebastian. Eça de Queirós said that even the lottery is a kind of sebastianism!The statue of King Sebastian, in Lagos.

6 August 2008

Peace, again!


Image Source: Here

6th August: a day to remember!

COMMITMENT TO PEACE
-Children's Peace Declaration―

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony: August 6, 2008

8:15 a.m., August 6, 1945.
Countless precious lives were lost in a sudden, intense flash and blast.
Sixty-three years have passed, but the children who were out demolishing buildings and working in factories that day still have not returned. Just like us, they left the house every day with "See you later!" and came back with "I'm home!" But in an instant, even this ordinary, daily routine was snatched away by the atomic bombing.

The atomic bombing also torments people who managed to survive it.
People suddenly fall ill due to the effects of radiation.
People shut their hearts, unwilling to remember that day.
People who lost their beloved family and friends are tortured by the question, "Why did I survive?"
But our generation lives because these people survived. We live because of the peaceful city they built us. Now, we want to say "thank you" to these survivors, from the bottom of our hearts.
We think that year by year, vital memories of the atomic bombing and anger toward nuclear weapons are fading from people's hearts. However, war and violence that steal lives are not concepts from a distant past.
At this very moment, infants and adults and children our age alike are losing their lives to territorial struggles and religious differences.

Considering the magnitude of the lives lost, we cannot speak of peace without knowing the facts.
If nobody knows the facts, the same mistakes will be made again and again, and those who were wounded and died in war will have their wish for peace snuffed out. So, we will start by knowing, thinking about and learning from the reality of what happened in Hiroshima, and conveying this reality to many people, in order to create a peaceful world by the time we are grown up.
We want great numbers of people from around the world to come to Hiroshima, site of the Peace Memorial Ceremony and place of profound prayer. We want people to understand the message of Hiroshima and the nature of war, and experience the preciousness of peace for themselves.
Now, we want people to listen to the voice of the children who wish for peace.
Keep watching, everyone.
We will leam from the reality of atomic bombing and war.
We will transmit the spirit of Hiroshima to the next generation.
And we pledge to convey a message of peace to people throughout the world.

Children's Representatives
Honoka Imai (sixth grade, Hiroshima City Noboricho Elementary School)
Sota Hondo (sixth grade, Hiroshima City Yoshijima-higashi Elementary School)

5 August 2008

MARVÃO

Go there and see...with your own eyes!


4 August 2008

How dare I?

I imagined one of Sophia's beautiful poems in English...

I won't hurt you with my poems

My eyes stop when I think of you
I won't take my regret to make a song

There’ll be trees and skies but no poems
Too human to be told
Your world was simple and hard
daily and limpid
Sophia loved the sea! She even wrote that after her death she would come and take all the moments that she hadn't lived by the sea! Only a poet could say so.

3 August 2008

Meet them in Zaragoza

Fluvi is a courageous and funny little drop of water. He will shape a greener and less polluted world with a little help from his friends. Together with his faithful best friend Ica and their friends Nico and Laurita, they will live fantastic adventures to counterbalance the disasters caused by Sec.
Ica is Fluvi's best friend. She thinks saving the world is good fun, but it scares her a little as she is the smallest drop of water and Fluvi takes too many risks.
Sec was a humble slub before contaminated waste changed him into what he is today: an evil being who wants to make everything filthy and vile.
Nico is a six years old boy. One day, he discovered Fluvi by accident and ever since they have been inseparable. Nico is very brave, although he always arrives late and can't stand having a sister who spends so much time in the bathroom.
Laurita is Nico's sister and one of Fluvi and Ica's best friends. Although she is cheeky, capricious and lazy, she is a good friend, flirty and very optimistic.
Raspa was a peaceful slub before he changed into what he is today. He is Sec's foolish henchman, and the only thing he wants in life is to please his boss.
Source:Here
Visit "Portugal" in Zaragoza.

2 August 2008

ANNIVERSARIES

First roller skating ring opened in the UK (1875)

What a shame : )

Things I’m Not Good At

What a shame I’m not good at making my bed
Or washing the dinner dishes.
What a pity I’m awful at broccoli-eating
And feeding my sister's fishes.
So sad I’ve no talent for cleaning my room,
All those jobs—it’s so hard to get through them.
(If I tell you I’m no good at those kinds of things,
Maybe then you won’t ask me to do them.)

Jeff Moss

1 August 2008

ANNIVERSARIES

* In 1774, Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in the laboratory at Bowood House, Wiltshire, England.

* The eleventh Olympic Games opened in Berlin, in 1936.

AUGUST

August, the eighth month of the year and the sixth month of the Roman calender. The Romans called the month Sextilis, which means sixth. Eight years before Jesus was born the name of the month was changed to Augustus in honour of the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar, because many of the important events in his life happened around that time of the year.
The Anglo-Saxons called it Weod Monath, which means Weed month, because it is the month when weeds and other plants grow most repidly.

August is the busiest time for tourism, as it falls in the main school holiday of the year, the summer holidays, which lasts for six weeks for state run schools.