Phila

There is no surer method of evading the world than by following Art, and no surer method of linking oneself to it than by Art.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832), considered the supreme genius of modern german literature in poetry, drama, literature, philosophy and science.

Picture: Philadelphia Museum of Art (Philadelphia means fraternal love), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; April 2008

Dolphins

'The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time.'

(Abraham Lincoln 1809 - 1865, 16th President of the U.S.A.)

'A melhor coisa acerca do futuro é que vem um dia de cada vez'.

(Abraham Lincoln 1809 - 1865, 16º Presidente dos E.U.A.)

Pic: The Dolphin Show at Lisbon Zoo, May 2010

Work

Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius
(Chinese teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, 551-479 BC)

Escolha um trabalho que ame e não terá de trabalhar um único dia na sua vida.
Confúcio (Filósofo Chinês, 551 aC - 479 aC)

Pic: Twilight at Coimbra/Coimbra ao entardecer.

Deadly

For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), Literature Nobel 1907

in 'The Female of the Species'

[R. Kipling was the first English language writer to receive the Literature Nobel prize, and he remains today its youngest-ever recipient.]

Em todas as espécies a fêmea é mais mortífera que o macho.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), Nobel da Literatura 1907

in 'The Female of the Species'

[R. Kipling foi o primeiro autor de língua inglesa a receber o Nobel da Literatura, e ainda hoje é o mais jovem a tê-lo recebido.]

Pic: My 60 L aquarium in 2006 with a couple of Apistogramma trifasciata and some guppy 'endlers' / O meu aquário de 60 L em 2006 com um casal de Apistogramma trifasciata e alguns guppies 'endlers'.

The way

Our own distinction of right and wrong is founded too much upon the immediate convenience of the community, and does not inquire sufficiently deeply into the ultimate effect.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930),

in 'The Stark Munro Letters'

A nossa noção de certo e errado é muito dependente da visão imediata da sociedade e não tem em conta a sua consequência a longo prazo.

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930),

in 'The Stark Munro Letters'

Pic: My garden pond in Summer'08 with a female Gymnogeophagus meridionalis taking care of a school of newborn offspring / O meu lago no Verão de 2008 com uma fêmea Gymnogeophagus meridionalis a tomar conta de vários recém-nascidos.

Wishes

They told us not to wish in the first place, not to aspire, not to try; to be quiet, to play nice, to shoot low and aspire not at all. They are always wrong. Follow your dreams. Make your wishes. Create the future. And above all, believe in yourself.
Joseph Michael Straczynski (1954-)

Pic: Altura beach, Algarve - Portugal

Rough

As to women, I agree that each has three or four souls, but none of them a reasoning one.
Henryk Sienkiweicz, 1846-1916, "Quo Vadis" - Petronius to Marcus Vinicius, in Ch. 3

Quanto às mulheres em geral, estou convencido de que todas elas possuem três ou quatro almas, mas nem uma única alma que seja capaz de raciocinar.
Henryk Sienkiweicz, 1846-1916, "Quo Vadis" - Petrónio para Marco Vinício, cap. 3


Pic: A wonderful postcard of the Washington National Aquarium, the oldest public aquarium in USA (1873)

Lotus

It's no good trying to keep up old friendships. It's painful for both sides. The fact is, one grows out of people, and the only thing is to face it.
W. Somerset Maugham (Cakes and Ale or The Skeleton in the Cupboard, 1930)

Não vale a pena lutar para manter velhas amizades. É doloroso para ambos os lados. O facto é que as pessoas vão-se afastando e a única solução é aceitar isso.
W. Somerset Maugham (Destino de um Homem, 1930)

Pic: My garden pond during summer, lotus flower surrounded by C. auratus, C. facetum, M. opercularis. / O meu lago de jardim no Verão: flor de nenúfar rodeada por C. auratus, C. facetum, M. opercularis.

Mermaid

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.
Aristotle (B.C. 384–322)

Em todas as coisas da natureza há algo de maravilhoso.
Aristóteles (384-322 A.C.)

Pic: Mermaid Garden - Coimbra, Portugal (Setembro 2008)

U.C.

No man should go through life without once experiencing healthy, even bored solitude in the wilderness, finding himself depending solely on himself and thereby learning his true and hidden strength.
Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), american novelist, poet and artist in 'Lonesome Traveler' (1960)

'Nenhum homem devia passar pela vida sem experimentar pelo menos uma vez a saudável e até aborrecida solidão.'
Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), escritor americano

Pic: University of Coimbra, August 2008,
Universidade de Coimbra, Agosto de 2008

Happy Squirrel

Life wouldn't be worth living if I worried over the future as well as the present. When things are at their worst I find something always happens.
W. Somerset Maugham, "Of Human Bondage" (1915), ch. 66

A vida não valeria a pena ser vivida se eu me preocupasse com o futuro tanto como com o presente. Quando as coisas estão muito más, acontece sempre alguma coisa que vale a pena.
W. Somerset Maugham, "Servidão Humana" (1915), cap. 66

Pic: squirrel being loved, Central Park, NYC, NY - USA

Incident

Happiness in this world, when it comes, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us a wild-goose chase, and is never attained. Follow some other object, and very possibly we may find that we have caught happiness without dreaming of it.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 19th-century American novelist and short story writer

Pic: Lisbon Aquarium feeding time