Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, originally uploaded by ~~~AiDualC~~~.

Merry Christmas

... and don't over indulge :-)

Clever !

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Nikon D700 DSLR cake

Not only was Flickr user fsumaria surprised with this very original Nikon D700 DSLR cake for her birthday, but her husband gave her the real camera as well. Some people have all the luck!
The cake was made by a bakery in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, the outside was made of fondant and the inside is red velvet cake.

Popular reading

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Les Marionettes

Litany

Ladainha dos póstumos Natais

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que se veja à mesa o meu lugar vazio

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que hão-de me lembrar de modo menos nítido

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que só uma voz me evoque a sós consigo

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que não viva já ninguém meu conhecido

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que nem vivo esteja um verso deste livro

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que terei de novo o Nada a sós comigo

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que nem o Natal terá qualquer sentido

Há-de vir um Natal e será o primeiro
em que o Nada retome a cor do Infinito


David Mourão-Ferreira, in "Cancioneiro de Natal"


Rough translation:

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which one will see my empty seat at the table

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which I'll be remembered less clearly

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which only a voice will evoke me alone with it

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which no one I knew is alive anymore

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which not even a verse in this book is alive

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
In which I'll have Nothingness again with me

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which not even Christmas will have any meaning anymore

There will come a Christmas and it will be the first
in which Nothingness will again become the hue of Infinity

David Mourão-Ferreira, in "Cancioneiro de Natal"

Happy Birthday, Tom Waits

"Don't you know there ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk"...

Sometimes my soul is the colour of your sound, Tom.

Christmas Tree 2008

Well, the Christmas decorations are up even though I don't especially feel like celebrating Christmas this year. The kids helped a lot. Lots of scented candles to help relax and feel cosy.

Just heard from Nia's mother. Things are going to be even harder than expected.

Where's justice?

It's been a year today since my very dear friend Mauricio Levy was brutally murdered in the garage of his own home. His confessed murderer, who stabbed him more than 10 times in the chest and in the face while he was still sitting in his car after returning from work, is under house arrest and hasn't stood trial after all this time. It's been very difficult to come to terms with this atrocity. All I hope now is that, after two postponements, the justice of man may finally be done without any further delays.

Evelyn de Morgan, Lux in Tenebris, 1895

Uploaded by Gatochy

Smile

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

-- Buddha --

The Guardian reads that new research has confirmed that happiness is catching: if those around you are happy, chances are you'll be happy too. I guess that the reverse logic is also true and that if everyone around you is miserable you'll be depressed pretty soon, too.

So, for the sake of general well-being - including our own - we should try to put on a happy face and be cheery even when we feel that Life sucks big time. Hopefully after a while it won't be an effort to smile and be cheery anymore and we'll be contributing to the happiness of those we love. We already knew this but I guess it's good to be reminded of it.

Nia's having her bone marrow transplant as I write this and tomorrow is the first anniversary of my best friend's brutal murder. I feel pretty miserable but what good does it do to go around in a foul mood with a sad frown on my face? Just makes everyone else miserable too. So I'll keep my chin up and smile. As long as we have to put up with Life, we might as well try making the best of it for everyone around us.

My favourite Chanel

Now borrow and spend!

The Bank of England has just cut interest rates by one percentage point from 3% to 2%, their lowest level since 1951.
Let's jump-start the economy: spend, spend more, spend even more, never stop spending even if you have to borrow all you spend and drown in a sea of debt. What's the use of saving anyway?

It's soooooooo cold!

It's -4ºC outside, very clear, very icy and no snow! Brrrrrrrrrr....!

The sudden thundering of obscured and concealed sounds

". . . so that the monotonous fall of the waves on the beach, which for the most part beat a measured and soothing tattoo to her thoughts seemed consolingly to repeat over and over again as she sat with the children the words of some old cradle song, murmured by nature, ‘I am guarding you—I am your support," but at other times suddenly and unexpectedly, especially when her mind raised itself slightly from the task actually in hand, had no such kindly meaning, but like a ghostly roll of drums remorsely beat the measure of life, made one think of the destruction of the island and its engulfment in the sea, and warned her whose day had slipped past in one quick doing after another that it was all ephemeral as a rainbow—this sound which had been obscured and concealed under the other sounds suddenly thundered hollow in her ears and made her look up with an impulse of terror."

Virginia Woolf in "To the Lighthouse"

Meaningless sound and fury

photo by Luisa Cruz

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

--William Shakespeare in Macbeth--

Aim high

Urban Furniture: Basket From Spy

Aim high... and be prepared to fail.

Night

Georgia O'Keeffe - New York, Night - 1929

One of the very few Georgia O'Keeffe paintings that I like.

Ana's French homework

Ana had to come up with a short essay for her 3rd year French class on what she thinks her future will be like at several different ages. What she wrote really amused me!

French Homework – Ana W.

18- À 18 ans, j’irai à l’université, je parlerai cinq langues (Anglais, Portugais, L’Allemand, Français et Italien), et j’aurai mon permis de conduire. Aussi, j’achèterai ma propre, rouge, petite voiture et je conduirai mes amis autour!! =D Nous irons au cinéma, les magasins, etc... Je regarderai films d’horreur comme The Ring, The Fog et The Shining parce que je serai 18!

24 - À 24 ans, j’habiterai aux Etats-Unis, parce que c’est un pays intéressant et moderne, ou au Portugal, parce que c’est mon pays natale! Aussi, je travaillerai dans une école primaire (parce que j’aime les enfants), j’achèterai une maison grande et moderne, et je rencontrerai l’homme de mes rêves...

30- À 30 ans, je visiterai la Suisse parce que c’est un beau pays. Aussi, j’aurai une petite famille, et j’achèterai un chien (labrador). J’adore les chiens!! Ils sont adorables. Et j’achèterai un chat blanc et noir, parce que les chats sons doux.

40- À 40 ans, je serai une scientiste, parce que j’aime la science et c’est mon sujet préféré. Je voudrai voir le monde en bateau parce que je voudrai visite Dubai, Tokyo, Berlin, Rome, Californie, etc... Aussi, j’irai voir la grande muraille de Chine. C’est magnifique !

60- Je serai retraité, très heureuse et relâché. =)

Flippin' Finn

Finn at 5 months.

Directed by Nia

Voice-off: Clara

Stunts: Finn

Let there be light

Creative Egg Light by Igor Pinigin

When pigs grow wings and fly!

UK 'closer' to adopting the euro

The UK is "closer than ever before" to joining the euro, according to the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.

Speaking on a French radio show, he said British politicians were considering the move because of the effects of the global credit crunch.

In the same interview, Mr Barroso also forecast that interest rates will drop in Europe.

However Downing Street said its position on the euro remained the same.

Mr Barroso acknowledged "the majority" of British people continued to oppose joining the eurozone.

But he said the recent economic uncertainty had made the currency a far more attractive option.

Confidential conversations

In the RTL radio/LCI television broadcast, the former prime minister of Portugal said: "We are now closer than ever before.

"I'm not going to break the confidentiality of certain conversations, but some British politicians have already told me, 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off'. "

He said that the current poor economic situation had emphasised the importance of the euro and the UK but added he believed a move would not take place in the immediate future.

"I know that the majority in Britain are still opposed, but there is a period of consideration under way and the people who matter in Britain are currently thinking about it", he said.

The value of sterling compared with other currencies has fallen during the credit crunch, and the UK government has had to spend massively in recent months to try to support the economy.

'Awaiting decisions'

During the interview, Mr Barroso highlighted the situation in Denmark - an EU state that voted against joining the eurozone in 2000, but is now considering holding a new referendum on the single currency.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "We have no comment on this. Our position on the euro is the same - it has not changed."

Mr Barroso also said he expected the European Central Bank (ECB) to make a clear move to cut interest rates next week.

He said the conditions were right for a fall, but did not give further details adding: "I am awaiting decisions from the European Central Bank that go in this direction."

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the ECB, has said that the bank could cut rates in the coming week as long as there is evidence that inflation pressures have eased.

The European Union has called for a 200bn euro boost across Europe to help stimulate an economic recovery.

--from The BBC --

Me in a nutty nutshell

Your Personality is the Rarest (INFJ)

Your personality type is introspective, principled, self critical, and sensitive. Only about 2% of all people have your personality - including 3% of all women and around 1% of all men. You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Rara avis, that's me, what else?!...