The safe in the bank has only money.
Very disappointed will be those who think

they will find wealth in it.

( Carlos Drummond de Andrade )

BEIN' GREEN

BEIN’ GREEN
( By Joe Raposo * For Sesame Street / Kermit )

It's not that easy bein' green

Having to spend each day the color of the leaves

When I think it could be nicer being red or yellow or gold

Or something much more colorful like that

It's not easy bein' green

It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things

And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're

Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water

Or stars in the sky

But green's the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

And green can be big like an ocean

Or important like a mountain

Or tall like a tree

When green is all there is to be

It could make you wonder why

But why wonder, why wonder?

I am green and it'll do fine

It's beautiful!

And I think it's what I want to be

Life is the homework we brought back with us.

When we realize, is already six o'clock

When we realize, is already Friday ...

When we realize, the year is over ...

When we realize, we have lost the love of our life.

When we realize, 50 years have gone by !

Now it's too late to flunk.

If one day another chance was given me,

I would not even look at the clock.

I would keep on walking forward and tossing along the way

the useless golden shells of the hours.

That said, I tell you: don't stop from doing something you like

because of lack of time...

the only thing lacking will be that time

that unfortunately will never come back

Mario Quintana

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

"Carmen Forever Miranda"

* The Carmen Miranda Centennial *

Anyone can use the title "Brazilian Bombshell" like I do ... but in fact there will always be only one true individual that can be called "The Brazilian Bombshell" ! And that is Carmen Miranda ... that if still alive would be turning 100 today , February 9th .And alive she is ... in the minds and hearts of those , like myself, that idolize her.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia that gives a little idea of who this remarkable woman was :

"Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha , better known by the stage name Carmen Miranda ; February 9, 1909 – August 5, 1955) was a Portuguese born Brazilian samba singer and actress most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Her family moved to Brazil shortly after her birth. Famous for promoting Brazil in her role as an entertainer, Miranda was a Broadway star, one of the highest-paid artists in Hollywood, and by some accounts the highest-earning woman in the United States. She achieved stardom in motion pictures, cast in musical roles and often wearing a hat topped with tropical fruit, which has become her iconic visual identity. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Carmen Miranda has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard. She is considered the precursor of Brazilian the musical movement called 'Tropicalismo".

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

More on Carmen can be also found in:

http://carmen.miranda.nom.br/

And on the Carmen Miranda Museum official site:

http://carmen.miranda.nom.br/gal_museu.htm