Happy Father´s Day

Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) Joseph (1642) in Louvre Museum

There are many saints called Joseph, but the greatest of all, of course, is the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus. 

Joseph , the son of Jacob, was chosen to be the spouse of Mary when he was 30 years old. According to tradition he died when he was 60 years old, in the year 29 A. D.

In Portugal, Father´s Day is on March 19, Saint Joseph´s Day.

Happy Father´s Day!

"Any Fool Can be a Father, but it takes a real man to be a Daddy"

Philip Whitmore Snr

Read about June 17 Father´s Day

17th March

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His day is on 17th March. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have attended a parade at a military barracks to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Catherine handed out shamrocks to soldiers from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards at Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire.

Read about Ireland and St Patrick´s Day.

Trinity College, Dublin 

 2006

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21823313

Carlos Cerqueira Painting Exhibition

March 14-21 2013

Noah´s Ark. Acrylic on canvas. 2012, 90x70cm

The former headmaster of my school- Paula Vicente Middle School in Lisbon (Restelo)- has revealed himself to be an artist of great sensitivity in his painting exhibition at the local community centre.

Junta de Freguesia de S. Francisco Xavier

R. João Paiva 11, 1400-255 Lisboa

(Monday-Friday from 10 am-6pm)

Carlos A. Cerqueira

Pope Francis

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church have chosen as their new pope a man from almost "the end of the world" - the first non-European pontiff of the modern era and the first-ever member of the Jesuit order.

The new pope, Jorge Bergogolio, who served as archbishop of Buenos Aires, adopted the name Francis shortly after being elected by cardinals. It is the first time this name is used by a pope.

The new pope, revealed himself to the world from a balcony at the Vatican today more than an hour after white smoke poured from the chimney above the Sistine chapel.

Popes in the 20th and 21st centuries

Leo XIII (1878-1903)


Pius X (1903-1914)


Benedict XV (1914-1922)


Pius XI (1922-1939)


Pius XII (1939-1958)


John XXIII (1958-1963)


Paul VI (1963-1978)


John PauI I (1978)


John Paul II (1978-2005)


Benedict XVI (2005-2013)


Francis (2013- )



References:

Duffy. Eamon. Saints and Sinners. A History of the Popes. Yale University Press, 1997

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/europe/vatican-pope-selection/index.html

March 1957

 S  M Tu  W Th  F  S

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10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31

Nat king Cole " When I Fall in Love"

Fats Domino "Blueberry Hill"

The 29th Academy Oscar Awards were presented including:

Best Picture:"Around the World in 80 days" 

Best Director: George Stevens for "Giant"

Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman for "Anastasia"

Best Actor: Yul Brynner for "The King and I"

TV Program on CBS:

Lassie

President Eisenhower and  Prime Minister Harold MacMillan of Great Britain continued their meetings in Bermuda as the two world leaders discussed opportunities to mend the English-US relations damaged  by policy differences in the Middle East.

A British Parliamentary Act signed by Queen Elizabeth II established life imprisonment as the most severe penalty for murder. The debate on whether or not to abolish capital punishment would become a most important issue in countries around the world.

 My sister and I on my Baptism Day

March 11 2013

Baptism Day

My sister and I on my Baptism Day. The cake represents Socorro Church in Funchal, Madeira 

Let it be

Let it be is the name of a song written by Paul McCartney. It was released 43 years ago, on March 6, 1970.

The lyrics were inspired by a dream the singer had of his mother who had died some years before. "She came to him, in his time of trouble, speaking words of wisdom"…

Let it be was The Beatles last album.

The Falkland Islands

Showcase in my school

The Falkland Islands, which are governed by the United Kingdom, lie in the Atlantic Ocean about 500km off the coast of Argentina. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and oil reserves. The islands are also claimed by the Argentinians, who call them the Islas Malvinas. On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. As a result, The United Kingdom sent an expeditionary force to retake the islands. The Falkland Islands announced it would hold a referendum over its political status in early 2013, with the objective of sending "a firm message to Argentina that islanders want to remain British".

                                                        Stanley, The Falkland Islands

The Caribbean

Choroni, Venezuela

On the Caribbean Islands, tourist luxury and local poverty live side by side. The islands were colonized by the Europeans, who took black slaves from Africa to work on the farms. Today the population is a mixture of many peoples. The main languages are English, Spanish and dialects called patois, which are mixtures of African and French or English.

Aruba- Aloe Vera plantation in Aruba













Aruba- Eagle Beach. The Divi-Divi tree

Curaçao- view from the hotel balcony

Isla Margarita

Isla Coche

 Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

                         

St. Lucia

Barbados

1910 house. The windows are like those in Demerara, Georgetown (English Guyana)   

Few places can offer such an extraordinary beauty as that of Archipelago Los Roques National Park.

Cardinal O’Malley in Rome for conclave

Photo: http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/

Pope Benedict resigned on Feb. 28.This is something that hasn’t happened for nearly six centuries, since Celestine V in 1294. The 85-year-old Pope confessed that his age and health were the reasons for stepping down. 

 As a consequence The Vatican summoned a conclave of cardinals that will convene in 15 to 20 days after the resignation. Cardinals eligible to vote — those under age 80 — will meet within the Vatican City and take an oath of secrecy. There are currently 117 cardinals, including O’Malley, who is 68 years old, eligible to vote. I knew Cardinal O`Malley when he was bishop of Fall River. I must also confess that I loved to meet him during my stay in the USA from 1999 to 2005. His sermons were often full of humor and despite being a humble man in his Franciscan habit, wearing his sandals, Cardinal O´Malley is very smart and able to speak many languages. I met him several times in different events from a demonstration in favour of the independence of east Timor, to religious processions. Perhaps, most importantly he presented the high school diploma to my son who attended a catholic school that belonged to the diocese of Fall River. Although I know it is difficult for Cardinal O´Malley to become the next Pope, because he is both an American and a member of the Order of the Capuchins I would love to see him as the next pope.

In this photograph we are in the consulate of Portugal in New Bedford where Bishop O´Malley attended the Cocktail Party of our National Day.

The 85th Academy Awards

The most important annual celebrity event in Show Biz takes place in Los Angeles. It's Oscar Night, that dazzling evening when the prestigious Academy Awards are presented for the best achievements of the year in motion pictures. The 85th Annual Academy Awards was presented yesterday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre, in Hollywood, California, formely known as the Kodak Theatre. The host was Seth MacFarlane.

The first Academy Awards were held on May 16, 1929 at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel.

The Chinese Theatre which is rich in movie tradition, with its cement handprints and footprints in the forecourt, opened in 1927 and hosted the ceremony of the Oscars from 1944 to 1946. 

After moving the ceremony to many different places, a new, permanent home for the Oscars was built, and it returned the Oscars to downtown Hollywood where they started. Since its opening, the Kodak Theatre has been the home of the annual Academy Awards Ceremonies since 2002. Kodak paid a large amount of money for the naming of the theatre but since it went bankrupt in January 2012, the Group who owns the building renamed it ‘Hollywood & Highland Center’ during last year’s Academy Awards.

 

The Oscar was named by Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian, who remarked in 1931 (upon seeing the statuettes), "Why it looks like my Uncle Oscar!" Her uncle's full name, by the way, was Oscar Pierce.

"Titanic" and "All About Eve" are the two most nominated films in Oscar history with 14 nominations each. 'Titanic' went on to win 11 of those awards.
The three movies that won the most Oscars were:


Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Titanic (1997) and Ben-Hur (1959). All three movies won 11 statuettes.


Second place is held by West Side Story, which won ten Oscars.

The actress with the most Academy Awards for Best Actress is Katharine Hepburn, who won four of the golden statuettes in 1932, 1967, 1968 and 1981.
The title for the most Best Actor awards, though, is shared by seven different actors: Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Fredric March, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks who each won two Oscars.





The actor with the most total Oscar nominations is Jack Nicholson, who was nominated 12 times (winning three times - twice for Best Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor.)

Meryl Streep holds the record for the most total Oscar nominations, with 16 nominations and winning twice.

The 85th Academy Awards

Best Picture

Argo

Actor in a Leading Role

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Actor in a Supporting 

Christoph Walz in Django Unchained

Actress in a Leading Role

Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook

Actress in a Supporting Role

Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables

Best Director

Ang Lee in Life of Pi


Best Original Song
Adele in Skyfall

Idioms (2)

www.clever-pants.com

e-mail: portugal@clever-pants.com

This month’s idioms are based on some of our favourite foods. How many do you know?

idiom (n): an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made

Pie 

It's as easy as pie

If something is as easy as pie, it is very, very easy!

"Learning how to ride a bike is as easy as pie!"

To have a finger in many pies

If you have a finger in many pies, you are involved in a lot of different things.

"He's always busy doing something. He has his fingers in many pies."

Tea

It's not my cup of tea

If something isn't your cup of tea, it's something you don't like or aren't interested in.

"I know opera is very popular, but it's really not my cup of tea."

It's as useful as a chocolate teapot

If something is as useful as a chocolate teapot, it is totally useless!

"At the beach this summer we only had factor 5 suncream, which was about as useful as a chocolate teapot!"

Beans

To be full of beans

If you are full of beans, you have lots of energy.

"The children are full of beans in the morning, but they always need a little sleep by the middle of the afternoon."

To spill the beans

To spill the beans is to tell someone about something, especially something you shouldn't tell someone about.

"We spent ages planning Kate's surprise party, but John spilled the beans and mentioned it to her the day before!"

Fruit

To go bananas

To go bananas is to go completely crazy.

"When they told the children about the JustinBieber concert, they went bananas!"

It's a case of sour grapes 

A case of sour grapes is when someone reacts to someone else's good news in a jealous way.

"Jennifer thinks she didn't get the job because she's a woman, but I think it's just a case of sourgrapes."

© Clever Pants 2012

www.clever-pants.com

Quotes with humor

Air Force One

No dia 18 de fevereiro celebra-se o dia dos presidentes nos EUA.

Lê aqui sobre alguns presidentes americanos.

Informa-te mais sobre este dia.

Air Force One

Air Force One é o nome de código dado a qualquer avião, que transporte o presidente dos Estados Unidos. No entanto, a maioria das pessoas liga aquela denominação ao símbolo do poder e prestígio americanos, assim como a Casa Branca ou a Estátua da Liberdade. 

O primeiro presidente a usar um avião especial e privado nos atos presidenciais foi Franklin D. Roosevelt, em 1943. Depois, o Boeing 707, que serviu os presidentes Dwight Eisenhower a George H. W. Bush foi substituído pelo Boeing 747, em 1990. No entanto, tem muitas transformações, tornando-o bastante diferente dos aviões comerciais, por exemplo: pode ser reabastecido no ar e tem mais autonomia, podendo voar directamente de Washington a Tóquio; e existem cerca de 87 telefones a bordo, que podem por o presidente em ligação com qualquer pessoa no mundo. Transporta 26 membros de tripulação e 76 passageiros. A suite presidencial tem casa de banho com duche e ao lado uma mini clínica com tudo o que é essencial para fazer face a casos de emergência. Perto desta área fica o escritório do presidente, o compartimento do pessoal que trabalha diretamente com ele, uma sala de conferências, sala de trabalho com computadores e o gabinete dos serviços secretos. 

Foi o presidente Kennedy, quem autorizou que o nome Air Force One (usado pelos serviços secretos encarregados de proteger os presidentes), fosse tornado público. Custa mais de 40,000 dólares por hora viajar neste avião especial. 

A ocasião mais dramática vivida a bordo do Air Force One foi o momento em que o presidente Lyndon Johnson fez o juramento de tomada de posse como Presidente da República, ao lado da viúva do Presidente Kennedy, após o assassinato deste último no Texas (1963), durante a viagem de regresso a Washington.

Outro momento dramático registou-se em 11 de Setembro de 2001, o dia dos atentados terroristas em Nova Iorque, quando o presidente George W. Bush foi obrigado a utilizar o Air Force One, como refúgio e centro mais importante da presidência, para manter as comunicações com a capital entre a Florida ( região que visitava naquela data) e o estado do Louisiana, onde existia uma base aérea bem equipada, porque a residência oficial, a famosa Casa Branca poderia ser alvo de ataque terrorista. 

Referência:

Walsh, Kenneth T. Air Force One. A History of The Presidents and Their Planes. 1st edition. New York, Hyperion, 2003


Take a look at President Obama's plane in pictures - Air Force One: The Traveling White House.

Valentine´s Day Cake

1 scant cup sugar

6 large egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg whites

1 1/8 cups all purpose flour, sifted

Butter for the pan

Beat the sugar and the egg yolks together until they are very pale in colour; mix in the vanilla. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Delicately fold them into the egg mixture, turning it over from the bottom to the top. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture. When it is incorporated pour the batter into the heart-shaped pan. Bake until the cake is golden and has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. When it is cold cover with a custard sauce:

2 cups milk

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

1 scant cup sugar

4 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour.

Bring the milk to the boiling point, add the vanilla and remove from the heat. In a large bowl beat the egg yolks together with the sugar until the mixture is pale, then add the flour. Very slowly pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and stir constantly- do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and let it cool. Drop it over the cake and decorate with raspberries.

Note: You can cook the cake in two pans and use the cream and raspberries in the middle, too.

Don´t forget to butter and flour the pan in advance.

Bon appetit!

The first time I tried this recipe

Can you guess how cold it was outside?

This cold

and now a Valentine´s Day dinner table

Happy Valentine´s Day!