"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

Oddly Enough News Article Reuters.com

Well, actually, not really in Denmark, but close, very close... :D
That's how the article begins: "A Norwegian court has sentenced a woman to nine months in jail for raping a man..." and it goes on...
At the very end, the article states: "Norway has long traditions of equality". I wouldn't call this equality, at least in a sense, because to rape a man, a woman can't be equal to a man; she has to be way bigger and/or stronger... :D Anyways...
That's the world we live in!
Ah, by the way, this photo is not from the article, it is just a photo I found on the internet...

In the map below you can see how close both countries are.

Interacting Galaxies

Interacting Galaxies

I still can't believe that these days we have people that does not believe God exists...

We can see His love spread everywhere. A never-ceasing creation, a constant interaction with everything. Life everywhere.
A galactic hug to everybody.

Do you want to learn how to dance?

How to dance properly - zefrank.com

Well, well, well. If you want to know how to dance properly, DON'T visit this site... :) This guy is nuts... :) He even makes Elaine's - from Seinfeld - steps.

Worth a visit!

Crowds drawn to pig olympics in China

Boston.com / News / Odds & ends / Crowds drawn to pig olympics in China

I don't know if this worth a visit, but, anyways...

In China some people organized what they are calling the "Pig Olympics". See thos two pigs swimming on the picture beside? Well, they are competing to figure out which one is the best.

The species that is used is a midget species from Thailand. They are said to be good in sports.

An 8 year-old boy who presented a gold medal to one of the winners said "I never thougth that a pig could be so clever".

The pigs may be clever. Are we being clever?

Charlie Chaplin

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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±     ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°   ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²Û±  °ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±  ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  °ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±± °ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ± ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±±²     ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ °°ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²±°    ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²   ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°   ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ             ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ° °  ÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±° ²²ÛÛÛÛ                      ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°    ÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ± Û±±ÛÛÛ                           ÛÛ ±±Û   ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ±  ÛÛÛ                           °ÛÛ±²±  ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ° ±   Û±        °                   ÛÛ ±  ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°  ²                                ± °²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±                                    ²±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°                                  ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°                              ²  ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±                             ±  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  °            ±ÛÛ±           °±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ° °           ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ        °±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ±± ²           ²ÛÛÛÛÛ         ±±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  °°                          ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ°   ±                           ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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ÛÛÛÛ±°     ±    Û±²                ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ    ° ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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° ±²°        ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ        ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
±Û±      °°ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ²ÛÛ  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛ      ² ÛÛÛÛÛ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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²ÛÛ   ±°²ÛÛÛÛÛ²ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ                       ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛ   ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  CHARLES SPENCER CHAPLIN  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛ  ±ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ  16/04/1889 - 25/12/1977  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛÛ  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ                       ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
ÛÛ±  ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ
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"Engrish"

Engrish.com

Teach Arithetic? What is this? (this picture I found some time ago and can't recall where I got it from)

I'm not a natural born english talker. But probably everybody that comes here already knows this. I can say that not only for how I'm writing (someone that is american or that knows more english than I do, probably knows that I'm using improper words and prepositions in my writings) but also because of the themes that I've been talking about.

However, when we study something knew, one of the first things we do is to make mistakes. And with mistakes we learn how not to make them anymore, or at least this is the goal to achieve when learning. On the other hand, to get rid of some old mistakes is really, really hard.

The day before yesterday I was surfing the web when I saw a shark... :) Well, of course it was not a real shark , but I really got scared! :D A web site made with actual photographs of english errors found in advertisements, in street banners, in products... I got scared with so many mistakes, but I laughed more than anythnig else. There are some pearls inside the web site. It really worth a visit. Click on the link at the top of this post to go there.

But, as entrée, I'll put here two that I think are very hilarious...


Ground-father and Ground-mother? Where are they?


Is it chocolate with milk or milk with chocolate?

APOD: 2005 April 7 - Solar Eclipse in View

APOD: 2005 April 7 - Solar Eclipse in View

Tomorrow we will have a not so common event. A Solar Eclipse. Click on the link above for a picture taken in November 2003 of another one. This picture on the left "was shot during the total eclipse of the Millennium on 1999 August 11 from Lake Hazar, Turkey."

This year's Solar Eclipse will be more visible "across the Pacific Ocean, beginning south of New Zealand and just ending in Venezuela." If you are in some location where it can be seen, be sure to take serious precautions. Please follow the instruction set on this page.

When I see these events from the Nature, that still today wonders all of us, I keep telling myself that the ancient people, that could not understand what was really happening up above, could only think that this could be a real sign of the end of the times...

Maybe it is, who knows... :) Just kidding!

NCAA Tournament

Musics and videos from the NCAA
CBS Sports complete coverage of the Finals

I can't play nothing of basketball. But I have fun watching it. A few minutes ago, the 2005 NCAA championship finished. UNC (University of North Carolina) against Illinois. The final score for the game was 75 UNC x 70 Illinois. (above you see the photo of Sean May, the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the Final Four of NCAA.

As everybody already know here, I'm not American, so, I knew the NCAA existed because of Michael Jordan that came from there (and by coincidence, from North Carolina). But I never watched a game before. Today I watched the final. And what a game. Like every single good basketball game all was decided only at the final 2 minutes. :) UNC was 15 points ahead in the end of the first half, but with just 2 minutes to go, they were tied!

What a game!

In the end, the TV played what I discovered is the official hymn of the NCAA. A beautiful song about encouragement, the value of fight for what we believe called "One Shining Moment". I know there are lots of people out there that finds the lyrics too cheesy, but, for me, I see it beyond cheese (by the way, I love cheese :) ), it is a great hymn to continue the struggle, not only for the ball game, but for the game of life.

Below is a part of the lyrics and some links for the ones that wish to listen. I really like the song.

One Shining Moment

“Feel the beat of your heart
feel the wind in your face
it's more than a contest
it's more than a race...
And when it's done
win or lose
you always did your best
cuz inside you knew...
that one shining moment, you reached for the sky
one shining moment, you knew
one shining moment, you were willing to try
one shining moment . . .”

Here you can see a Video Clip of the song with images from the 2002 Championship
Here you listen to the TV Version of the song
Official Site of the composer of "One Shining Moment"

Congratulations North Carolina. Congratulations Illinois. Win or lose, I always believe that the important is really to compete.

Curt Schilling, red sock, and Red Sox

Boston Red Sox: Information From Answers.com

I'm not a big fan of Baseball. Where I come from we don't have baseball. Brazil's main sport is Soccer.

However, I think America won a new fan last season. I think I'm a lucky guy. Before this year, I have been in the U.S. three other times. My first was back in 1996, with my father. We spent near a week between New York and Miami. My secont trip was in 2002 to visit my brother that lives here since 1998 (I think). This second time I was here for 17 days. And the last time was last year (2004), again to visit my brother. I came to stay for two months, but stayed for five and a half. I thank God for many things that happened that period.

And one of them was that I knew the story of the Red Sox and the famous "Curse of the Bambino". But, the most important, was that I saw here they break the curse. For the ones who don't know, the "Curse" was a period of time when the Red Sox didn't win the "World Series" (the final games between the champions of two leagues of Baseball here in the US) since 1918. 86 years without winning a championship. Bostonians were completely crazy, and still are, because of this curse. But now it is over. And today (04/03/05) a new season begins.

Watching the final games last year against the Yankees (their biggest adversary) I could see why Americans love so much this sport. It is not the most entertaining evento of the world, but it has its magic. Last year, at least for me, one of the highlights of the finals was Curt Schilling, Sox's pitcher. Even with his hurt ankle (see picture of his red blooded sock during one of the games), he played to win and won the game for the Sox. Some of the other great players that won the title are: Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, and Bill Mueller, among others.

86 years without winning a title. And I was here to see it. Last friday I bought a Red Sox cap to prepare for the next season. I won't be able to go to the games, but once in a while I'll watch some of them on tv.

Today the game is against the Yankees again. I don't have a good feeling about it, because they are playing at Yankees Stadium, but it will be a party anyway.

Go Sox. And don't make Bostonians wait another 86 years to win another title.

College Writing

Hi Everyone,

Today, er I mean, yesterday, I finished my first class in Bunker Hill Community College. It was College writing I.

Last tuesday we had our final exam, that talked about Graffiti and I passed. Yesterday we had to give our teacher the final version of the research paper. Everybody in the class should do one essay containing around five written pages about any subtopic that versed around the theme Sweatshops.

At first, almost nobody in the class liked the theme. One of the reasons was that few people there, including me, knew what were sweatshops. But, once again, our teacher proved to be right when decided for this topic. We had a lot of material, so much that was hard to focus on only two or three references to put on the paper.

After finishing it (I wrote about the liaison between Soccer and Child Labor), I felt very well, because now I know not only a new word, but I can really see that there a lot of problems in the world that are much bigger than mine. This makes me feel even more commited to life and commited to try to help our world to be a better place to live.

I'm glad for a lot of things today. For finishing my first class in english, doing everything well. I'm happy for the text that I wrote. And also happy for the opportunity to know new people, new friends that make our lives much more easy and light to carry on.

Ah, and by the way, today is April Fool's day (click here for another interesting link), but everything I just said is completely true and accurate... :)

In 2004, April First, "National Public Radio's news program All Things Considered announces that the United States Postal Service, as part of its "Go Postal" program, is launching a "National Portable Zip Codes Program," which will allow individuals to keep their old zip codes if they move within the United States. [14]"