TFTD - 23/09/2012

Thought for the day

Doubt is a pain too lonely

to know that faith is his twin brother. - Khalil Gibran

Take home – Chico Xavier

He is widely regarded among Brazilians as the foremost proponent of the Spiritist movement. The anniversary of his birth is also being marked by the release of a film biography.

Chico Xavier is one of the most famous and prolific practitioners of psychograph, commonly known as spirit writing or automatic writing. Using this technique of transcribing without awareness or premeditation, Xavier produced over 400 books, some of them in foreign languages in which he was not fluent.

The respect for Xavier in Brazil is akin to the reputation of Mother Teresa in India. He was hailed as a living example of a true Christian, thanks to his dedication to making himself and his talents as a medium available to anyone who requested them. The wealth he accumulated from donations and the success of his writings was immediately distributed among the needy of Uberaba and numerous charities.

Despite the power and appeal of his message, Xavier eagerly professed that none of the abilities attributed to him were really his, but that he was only a channel for the work of the spirits. He never professed to perform miracles such as healing people. The phenomenon of psychography, or spirit writing, is an age-old mystery and decried by skeptics, who point out there's no way to prove the author of the writings is anyone other than the writer. Proponents of automatic writing, however, insist that although deception is not unheard of, there are genuine practitioners of spirit writing, like Xavier. The most famous proponents of automatic writing were the Surrealists of early 20th century France.

During Xavier's lifetime, Liberation Theology became popular in the Catholic churches of Brazil and throughout Latin America, a religious philosophy that distances itself from many of the Pope's strict dictates, for example, and like Spiritists, views death as simply another dimension. It is common to hear these Catholic priests in Brazil speak about reincarnation to their congregants

Chico Xavier may have been an honest medium in more than the coincidence of his departure on the day of the World Cup finals. He also may have seen what challenges lay ahead for a country that straddles the old and new world. Perhaps he was trying to prepare Brazilians and people everywhere for a time when "foreign" was no longer in the dictionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chico_Xavier

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2002/jul/11/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries1

http://www.paranormalreview.com/articles/20100415_2

http://www.brazzil.com/articles/218-april-2010/10377-chico-xavier-a-brazilian-saint-for-whom-world-was-a-big-family.html

Picture of the day, Eyjafjallajökul, Iceland

The volcano Eyjafjallajökull, in Iceland, just before dawn on April 23, 2010: The worst is over. Lava flows freely. Earlier, as it punched through the ice cap, it triggered a meltwater flood that destroyed roads and farms, and a steam explosion that hurled ash into the stratosphere, stopping air traffic for a week.

Wisdom Message

The parents gave you this body and fostered the intelligence and love that are embedded in it; so, gratitude is their due. If you do not honour the parents who are the creators in human form, how can you learn to honour the Creator in Divine Form? Moreover, the parents reveal to you the glory of God and the means of worshipping Him; they are the first representatives of the authority which you meet with, authority modified by love and care. Learn to bend before that authority and you will learn how to submit before the Lord.

Recipe for the day -  Green Side Salad

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/salad-recipes/simple-green-side-salad

TFTD - 17/09/2012

Thought for the day

“It is of practical value to learn to like yourself.

Since you must spend so much time with yourself

you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.” - Norman Vincent Peale

Take home – Juscelino Kubitschek, the ambitious man of Brazil

Juscelino Kubitschek, in full Juscelino Kubitschek De Oliveira, president of Brazil (1956–61) noted for his ambitious public works, especially the construction of the new capital, Brasília.

Kubitschek attended the Diamantina Seminary, worked his way through medical school at the University of Minas Gerais (graduated 1927), and did internships in surgery in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. He became head of the surgical division of the military Medical Corps of the state of Minas Gerais in 1932 and represented Minas Gerais in the Federal Chamber of Deputies from 1934 to 1937 and 1946 to 1950. As mayor of Belo Horizonte (1940–45) he distinguished himself in city planning and the establishment of medical clinics and other public service facilties. As governor of Minas Gerais (1951–55) he concentrated on highway construction, power plants, and agricultural and industrial development.

Kubitschek campaigned for president on a platform of “power, transportation, and food” and won in a three-man race as the perceived political heir of the deceased Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas. While in office Kubitschek pushed forward the rapid development of Brazil’s machinery, hydroelectric, steel, and other heavy industries, and he built 11,000 miles (18,000 km) of new roads and highways. Most important, perhaps, he moved the national capital from Rio de Janeiro to a new city called Brasília lying 600 miles (1,000 km) inland from the coast. Kubitschek intended the new inland capital to accelerate the settlement and development of Brazil’s vast interior. The price of his ambitious development efforts was persistent and rapid inflation, however, a problem exacerbated by the need to spend vast sums for the rehabilitation of the drought-afflicted northeast region. Elected to the Senate in 1962, Kubitschek was nominated for president by the Social Democratic Party in 1964. The military junta that took power that same year forced him into exile. He returned to Brazil in 1967 to become a banker. He died in an automobile crash.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/324243/Juscelino-Kubitschek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juscelino_Kubitschek

Picture of the day- Litlanesfoss, Iceland

At Litlanesfoss, the waterfall cross-sections an ancient lava flow, which formed columns as it cooled.

Wisdom Message

Be firm to not discard the one Name and Form you have selected carefully; even if someone speaks ill about them. Hold fast to your chosen deity and save yourselves. At the same time, do not cavil at others’ chosen deities. Undermining the faith of another or disturbing your own - both are wrong. Faith is a plant of slow growth. Its roots go deep into the heart. Silence is the best spiritual practice to guard faith. Hence I insist that you adopt this as the first and most important step in your spiritual journey. The Lord’s feet, eyes and face is compared to the Lotus, because He is like the Lotus - unaffected by the environment it is in. You too, must be smiling at all times, imparting joy to all around you and making their burden lighter. – Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Article for the day – Without Music, Apple Would Be Nothing

http://business.time.com/2012/09/14/without-music-apple-would-be-nothing/

TFTD - 03/09/2012

Thought for the day

“Ultimately the bond of all companionship,

whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation…" - Oscar Wylide

Take home - Getúlio Vargas

Getúlio Vargas brought social and economic changes that helped modernize the country. Although denounced by some as an unprincipled dictator, Vargas was revered by his followers as the “Father of the Poor,” for his battle against big business and large landowners. His greatest accomplishment was to guide Brazil as it weathered the far-reaching consequences of the Great Depression and the accompanying polarization between communism and fascism during his long tenure in office.

Vargas was born in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, into a family prominent in state politics. Contemplating a military career, he joined the army when he was 16 but soon decided to study law. In 1908, shortly after graduating from the Porto Alegre Law School, he entered politics. By 1922 he had risen rapidly in state politics and was elected to the National Congress, in which he served for four years. In 1926 Vargas became minister of finance in the Cabinet of President Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, a post he retained until his election as governor of Rio Grande do Sul in 1928. From his position as state governor, Vargas campaigned unsuccessfully as reform candidate for the presidency of Brazil in 1930. While appearing to accept defeat, Vargas in October of that year led the revolution, organized by his friends, that overthrew the oligarchical republic.

As an elected president restrained by congress, a profusion of political parties, and public opinion, Vargas was unable to satisfy his labour following or to placate mounting middle-class opposition. Thus, he resorted increasingly to ultranationalistic appeals to hold popular support and incurred the animosity of the U.S. government, which encouraged intransigent opposition from his enemies. By mid-1954 criticism of the government was widespread, and the armed forces, professing shock over scandals within the regime, joined in the call for Vargas’s withdrawal. Rather than accept forced retirement, Vargas took his life on Aug. 24, 1954. His dramatic deathbed testament to the country led to a great resurgence of mass support, allowing for a rapid return of his followers to power.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/623309/Getulio-Vargas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get%C3%BAlio_Vargas

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/vargas.htm

http://countrystudies.us/brazil/16.htm

Picture of the day – The River Tami near Pančevo, Vojvodina, Serbia

There are several elements in this photograph, including the contrasting colors of the sky, trees, and airplane, which underscore the simplicity of the composition, and the slightly imperfect reflection in the water. The airplane makes a feeling of a dragonfly surveying its domain.

Wisdom Message

Every individual soul is destined to lose its separate name and form and merge in the Formless and Nameless. Some believe that since the particular, individual soul is caught up in birth and death, it can never attain the merger with the eternal. No! Using the opportunity of this birth, you must strive to break the bonds and cleanse yourself from sin. Attaining merger with Divinity is the only goal worth striving for. The scriptures have laid down the steps to attain peace, contentment and joy. Get acquainted with them through the learned people and experience these virtues. Never forget this – the first and most important step in the spiritual path is to remove the weeds in the garden of your heart, by plucking away the bushes of lust and greed, hate and pride. Clear the ground thus, and plant the fragrant flowering plants of love, and the sweet fruits of virtue will soon emerge. - Baba

Article for the day -What Successful People Do With The First Hour Of Their Work Day

How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3000619/what-successful-people-do-first-hour-their-work-day?goback=.gde_53482_member_154628582

TFTD - 20/08/2012

Thought for the day

Everyone thinks of changing the world,

but no one thinks of changing himself. - Leo Tolstoy

Take home – Nelson Rodrigues

Nelson Rodrigues was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress), considered revolutionary for the complex exploration of its characters' psychology and its use of colloquial dialog. He went on to write many other seminal plays and today is widely regarded as Brazil's greatest playwright.

As a playwright, Rodrigues is frequently considered a realist, mostly on account of the self-acknowledged influence exerted on him by the dramatic work of Eugene O'Neill.It was this petit-bourgeois, almost lumpen viewpoint, that explained Rodrigues' antipathy towards the higher middle-class intelligentsia that made much of the political Left of the period ("I'm not moved by marches of the ruling classes", was he to say before a march of protesters against the military dictatorship)

A fervent, spontaneous anticommunist already before the military coup d'etat of 1964, Rodrigues was generally regarded as apolitical before the dictatorship, during which he was to engage in constant clashes and running feuds with the Left. During much of the 1960s and early 1970s, he included incendiary attacks in his newspaper column against various opponents of the dictatorship—a list that ranged from leaders of leftist movements and guerrilla organizations to the bishop of Olinda Helder Câmara and the Catholic literary critic Alceu de Amoroso Lima, eventually leading charges of being an apologist for the dictatorship. One of his collections of articles - where he offered, in an almost daily basis, an exquisite mix of adulation for the dictatorship and denunciation of allegedly communist plots-he proudly titled O Reacionário (The Reactionary).

"I am a child who sees love through a keyhole. That's all I've ever been. I was born a child, and am bound to die a child, and the keyhole is my lens as a writer. I am, and have always been, a pornographic angel."

"Man finds happiness only in the superfluous. Under communism, he has only the essentials. How abominable and ridiculous!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Rodrigues

Picture for the day – Goatherd, Somalia

A little girl who walks two to three hours to the well to get water for her goats and her family

Website for the day

PRB informs people around the world about population, health and the environment and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and future generations.

http://www.prb.org/

Article for the day – Brazil, a racial paradise

http://unexploredbrazil.blogspot.com.br/2012/08/brazil-racial-paradise.html

TFTD - 13/08/2012

Thought for the day

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:

condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:

forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” – Jesus of Nazareth

Take home – Ray Kroc, the McDonald man

How do you create a restaurant empire and become an overnight success at the age of 52? As Ray Kroc said, “I was an overnight success all right, but 30 years is a long, long night.”

Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation. He wanted to serve burgers, buns, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama.

In 1954 he was surprised by a huge order for 8 multi-mixers from a restaurant in San Bernardino, California. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, and was stunned by the effectiveness of their operation.  They produced a limited menu, concentrating on just a few items—burgers, fries and beverages—which allowed them to focus on quality at every step.

Kroc pitched his vision of creating McDonald’s restaurants all over the U.S. to the brothers. In 1955 he founded the McDonald’s Corporation, and 5 years later bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold its 100 millionth hamburger.

In 1961, Ray launched a training program, later called Hamburger University, at a new restaurant in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. There, franchisees and operators were trained in the scientific methods of running a successful McDonald’s. Hamburger U also had a research and development laboratory to develop new cooking, freezing, storing and serving methods. Today, more than 80,000 people have graduated from the program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kroc

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197544

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history/the_ray_kroc_story.html

Picture for the day

The symmetry of the bird and its reflection are what first drew me to this image. I also love the energy captured in the forward movement of the bird as it races across the frame

Wisdom Message

Schooling is not merely for food and delight, for earning a living and to enjoy leisure. Its true purpose should be to activate the qualities of wisdom in action, non-attachment and discriminatory power (Viveka, Vairaagya and Vichakshana). The root is education and the fruit should be virtues. Every school must shape its students into citizens, worthy of the country’s precious heritage and spiritual wealth. Otherwise, all schooling is a waste of time and money. Schools are the temples of the Goddess of Wisdom who grants to each child the wisdom to grasp the Ultimate Truth and acquire knowledge that will dispel ignorance forever. The school must facilitate this and ensure stability in all the students to practice the virtues of Truth, Righteousness and Peace, through the blossoming of Love. – Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Soup for the week – English onion soup with sage and cheddar

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/english-onion-soup-with-sage-cheddar

Article for the day – 10 trends driving big data in financial services

http://www.networkworld.com/slideshow/52214

TFTD - 06/08/2012

Thought for the day

“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.” – Gore Vidal

Take home- The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is a prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite Basilica located in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to the Our Lady of Aparecida, (a variant of the Immaculate Conception) as the principal Patroness of Brazil. Its official title in Portuguese is Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, roughly translated as Our Lady of Conception who Appeared. As of 2011, it enjoys the greatest Marian pilgrimage in the world, ranking above Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes.

 In 1717 three fishermen were sent to catch fish in the Paraoba River for the governor of São Paulo because it was a religious day of abstinence and he wasn't allowed to eat meat. The three companions tried and tried, but no fish were entering their nets. When they were at the point of giving up, they caught in their net the headless body of a statue of the Blessed Mother. Bewildered they continued fishing and rowing down the stream. Soon they also caught the head of Our Lady. Now that the Mother of God was on board with them, they caught so many fish that their boat almost sank. This was reminiscent of the story in Luke 5, where the disciples couldn't catch any fish until Jesus appeared and told them where to cast their nets. Soon their boats filled almost to the point of sinking.

                                                                                                   

According to China Galland on the other hand, all the efforts of the Divine Mother in Brazil accomplished little to end slavery, though it did ensure her a great following among the oppressed to whom she is a symbol of liberation. Galland also retells a traditional story: "One day a slave was traveling with his master near the small shrine that had been constructed for Aparecida. The man entreated his master to stop the wagons and let him pray at the door of the shrine. As soon as he knelt down in the doorway, the heavy chains he wore fell off his hands and feet, and the wide iron collar around his neck broke apart. His master declared him free: the Virgin herself seemed to command it."

Galland paraphrases Archbishop Dom Aloysius Lorscheider's explanation of the Virgin's title 'Mother of the Excluded of Brazil': "All who have been marginalized by conventional society are upheld and revered in the figure of this Virgin - the poor, the broken, and the dark. She is their champion. She is black because she is the Mother of All." Brazilians call her Mari-ama. Ama to them is the black wet nurse who nurses black and white children without discriminating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_National_Shrine_of_Our_Lady_of_Aparecida

Picture of the day – River House, Serbia

A house in the middle of the Drina River near the town of Bajina Basta, Serbia.  The long exposure and autumn colors make for a beautiful scene, but, of course, it’s the house that captures my imagination. I want to know more about this dwelling with the little red kayak: 

 

Website for the day – Pinterest

A content sharing service that allows members to "pin" images, videos and other objects to their pinboard.

 www.pinterest.com

Soup for the day – Creamy Asparagus soup with poached egg on toast

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetarian-recipes/creamy-asparagus-soup-with-a-poached-egg

TFTD - 25/06/2012

Thought for the day

" Problems were not created to outlive you. You were created to outlive problems. There's a shift coming your way in no time. Just be strong because you will certainly go through this." -  Osemeke Smek Uwakina

Take home – Henry Louis Gates, Jr

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is a highly regarded African-American educator and scholar. He directs of the W. E. B. DuBois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard. He received a MacArthur Foundation grant in 1981 to support his research for the Black Periodical Literary Project. He entered the public eye in 2009 related to a conflicting report of a break-in and racial prejudice. Educator, author, editor. Born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia. Gates excelled as a student, graduating from Yale University in 1973 with a degree in history. He continued his education at Clare College, which is part of Cambridge University in England. He finished his doctorate degree in 1979, making him the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from the university.

In the 1980s Gates became known as a leading scholar of African-American literature, history, and culture. He built his reputation in part on his talents as a researcher. At the start of the decade, he began working on the Black Periodical Literature Project, which uncovered lost literary works published in 1800s. Gates received a grant from the prestigious MacArthur Foundation in 1981, which helped support his scholarship in African-American literature. He had rediscovered what is believed to be the first novel published by an African-American in the United States. Gates republished the 1859 work by Harriet E. Wilson entitled Our Nig in 1983. 

Recently, Gates has been involved in a number of interesting educational projects for television. He wrote and produced several documentaries: Wonders of the African World (2000), America Beyond the Color Line (2004), and African American Lives (2006). Gates has plans for more documentaries, including a documentary special on the heritage of talk show host Oprah Winfrey and a sequel to African American Lives. Gates has also earned numerous honors. In addition to his MacArthur Fellowship, he was chosen by the National Endowment for the Humanities to give the Jefferson Lecture, was inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution in 2006, and named as one ofTime magazine's 25 Most Influential Americans in 2007. He also has more than 50 honorary degrees.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~amciv/faculty/gates.shtml

http://www.biography.com/people/henry-louis-gates-jr-9307556

  

Picture for the day- An interesting scene from kerala, India. An elephant is being transported.

Wisdom Message

YEARN to fill your heart with Him, not with you. Your yearning must be warm, so warm that it can be called "Thapas" (Heat). Become hot (earnest). Now it is only a lukewarm longing, a surface activity. Examine yourselves how far you have filled your heart within. Measure the heights you have reached with the yardstick of virtue, serenity, fortitude and equanimity. You now become easy victims of lust, anger, malice, envy and the rest of that evil brood; the atmosphere of the heart is polluted by the ego-fumes. - Baba

Article for the day – How much data we generate every minute

·         Email users send more than 204 million messages;

·         Mobile Web receives 217 new users;

·         Google receives over 2 million search queries;

·         YouTube users upload 48 hours of new video;

·         Facebook users share 684,000 bits of content;

·         Twitter users send more than 100,000 tweets;

·         Consumers spend $272,000 on Web shopping;

·         Apple receives around 47,000 application downloads;

·         Brands receive more than 34,000 Facebook 'likes';

·         Tumblr blog owners publish 27,000 new posts;

·         Instagram users share 3,600 new photos;

·         Flickr users, on the other hand, add 3,125 new photos;

·         Foursquare users perform 2,000 check-ins;

·         WordPress users publish close to 350 new blog posts.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57458895-93/heres-how-much-data-we-generate-every-minute/