A Frosty Morning

It was a bitterly cold morning. The temperature had plummeted during the night and when morning came the countryside was a canvas of white frost, and an eerie silence reigned over the land. Neither man nor beast could be seen anywhere. But for all its harshness, it was an awesome landscape and a magical moment. It was as if time had stood still and Nature held its breath.

"I am the hoarfrost that covers the land.

White, sharp, hard and cold.

I have frozen the land across its length and breadth,

high and low, in meadow and on heath.

I have subdued all of nature, thrown a mantle of silence over it.

I am the frost that lingers and loiters with cruel intent,

that stiffens the grass and stills the brook.

I am the frost that makes you shiver, makes you shake.

I am the hoarfrost that blankets the land,

I am the cold white sand."

The Sayings of Buddha

"Se vc pensa que a melhor maneira de atingir o coraçao de um homem é pelo estômago, saiba que está mirando muito alto..."

"If you think the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach, think again because you're looking too high..." *

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"Crianças no banco dianteiro podem causar acidentes. Acidentes no banco traseiro podem causar crianças."

"Children on the front seat can lead to accidents. Accidents on the rear seat can lead to children."

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"Viva cada dia como se fosse o ultimo. Um dia vc acerta."

"Live each day as if it were your last. One day it will be."

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"Todas as pessoas inteligentes sao cheias de duvidas! (eu acho)"

"All intelligent people are full of doubts! (I think)"

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"Mulheres sao como piscinas: O seu custo de manutençao é muito elevado se comparado ao tempo que passamos dentro delas."

"Women are like swimming-pools: The cost of their upkeep is very high compared to the time we spend in them."

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"Ainda estou refletindo... daqui á pouco falo algo muito sabio..."

"I'm still reflecting... in a while I'll come up with something very wise..."

"Se tudo o que é bom dura pouco, eu ja deveria ter morrido há muito tempo!"

"If everything that's good lasts only a short time, I should've died long ago!" *

* "O seu futuro depende de seus sonhos. Nao perca tempo, vá dormir!"

"Your future depends on your dreams, so don't waste any time, go to bed!"

Well, there you have it, folks! Such wise sayings to live by. And we can't have enough of them, can we? Buddha certainly knew a thing or two, the old rogue! And no doubt those worry-beads he's twiddling in his sweaty little mitts must help him concentrate and inspire him. In fact, I'm thinking of getting some for myself !

(Based on a presentation by 'Humortadela.com.br'.)

Lighthouse under attack

The storm had been brewing all day and as dusk fell it came off the sea and struck land. It hurled the raging waters with full force against the rocky promontory, sending huge waves up the sides of the lighthouse that stood there, a lonely sentinel half way between land and sea.

The water swirling about its base frothed and raged and repeatedly slammed against the lighthouse’s sides, sending long foamy tentacles high into the air as though it sought to snuff the very eye of the lighthouse, the guiding beacon at its summit.

The roaring gale raged ceaselessly, smashing against the surrounding rocks and overrunning the coastal strip. Time after time it drove giant waves onto the land, engulfing everything in its path like a devouring pitiless behemoth.

As night fell the tempest showed no sign of abating. If anything, its fury was now even more terrible and its howling roar had grown deafening. In the midst of this raging maelstrom the lighthouse stood its ground whilst taking the full force of the storm.

Tall and proud the lighthouse stood, though battered by the storm.

No pounding wave nor beating wind could shake its firm resolve.

And there it stands as tall and proud as well it stood before its trial,

and bright its beacon burns to guide all ships that come in sight,

for proud the lighthouse stands, unbroken and defiant all the while.

The Fab Four - Beatlemania

The Beatles - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) -were four Liverpool lads, all from a poor background, who appeared on the scene at the beginning of the 1960s like a breath of fresh air to revolutionise the world of popular music and who won the hearts of millions of young people all over the world.

The Beatles in their heyday, clean-cut and besuited, wowing the public with their new brand of popular music and fresh-faced talent, and being acclaimed with the shouting and screaming of crowds of frenzied fans. They rocked the venues where they played and left their indelible mark on society. Rock on, guys, rock on! Our Fab Four doing what all good Englishmen do, taking tea, in proper china teacups from a beautiful teapot to match! All very civilised, all very English, all very... proper. This may be the one and only time they were snapped politely partaking of the traditional english beverage like good little boys. You wouldn't catch their rivals, the Rolling Stones, doing this, would you? The Boys in their bright and brash Sergeant Pepper outfits - pretty, aren't they? But Girls, would you have taken any one of them home to meet the parents? Be honest now.

The Beatles epitomised an era when barriers were coming down and taboos were being broken, when young people were freer than ever to do their 'thing' and had the cash to do it. Society was changing, the world was changing, and the Beatles were a motor for much of that change. Rightly or wrongly, young people (and not so young), copied and mimicked them, listening to their music and their pronouncements and believing that the world was changing for the better.