Life & People

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal i/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/; Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ], officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa, is a country located in Southwestern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are Portuguese territory as well. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.[1]

The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. After a period of Roman rule followed by Visigothic and Suebian domination, in the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, who were later expelled by the Knights Templar. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation-state.[2] In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery, Portugal expanded western influence and established the first global empire,[3] becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers. In addition, the Portuguese Empire was the longest-lived of the modern European colonial empires, spanning almost 600 years, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999 and granting of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories that are now part of 53 different sovereign states. However, the country's international status was greatly reduced during the 19th century, especially following the Independence of Brazil, its largest colony. After the 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese First Republic was established, itself being superseded by the "Estado Novo" authoritarian regime. Democracy was restored after the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution in 1974.

As of 2011, the population of Portugal was 10,562,178, of which 547,733 live in Lisbon, the country's capital and largest city, located in the South, and 237,591 in Porto, also known as Oporto, the second-largest city, located in the North. The country is a democratic republic with a president (currently Aníbal Cavaco Silva) and prime minister (currently Pedro Passos Coelho). Since the 1990s, Portugal's economic development model has been slowly changing from one based on public consumption to one focused on exports, private investment, and development of the high-tech sector. The Portuguese currency is the euro (€) and the country's economy is in the eurozone.

Portugal is a developed country with a very high Human Development Index, the world's 19th-highest quality-of-life as of 2005, and a strong healthcare system. It is one of the world's most globalized and peaceful nations:[4] a member of the European Union and the United Nations, and a founding member of the Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, OECD, NATO, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the eurozone and the Schengen Agreement.

Portuguese Proverb

Love

¶ An old man in love is like a flower in winter.

Notes

[1]^ "Leite de Vasconcelos, José. Cale e Portucale. Opúsculos Vol. V – Etnologia (Parte I) Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional, 1938" (in Portuguese).
[2]^ Brian Jenkins, Spyros A. Sofos, "Nation and identity in contemporary Europe", p. 145, Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0-415-12313-5
[3]^ Melvin Eugene Page, Penny M. Sonnenburg, p. 481
[4]^ Global Peace Index. Institute for Economics and Peace. visionofhumanity.org (June 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Portugal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal

Poland and Polish

Poland and Polish

Poland

Poland Listeni/ˈpoʊlənd/ (Polish: Polska), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe, bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the sixth most populous member of the European Union, and the most populous post-communist member of the European Union. Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions.

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

Polish Proverbs

Appearance

¶ A hippo does not have a sting in its tail, but a wise man would still rather be sat on by a bee.

Language

¶ Words must be weighed, not counted.

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

Robert M. Pirsig

Robert M. Pirsig

Quotes·Quotations by Robert M. Pirsig

Religion·Faith

¶

@ The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.

Piper (Drive Angry)

Piper (Drive Angry)

Phyllis Diller (1917- )

Phyllis Diller (1917- )

Phyllis Diller (born Phyllis Ada Driver; July 17, 1917) is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes self-depricating jokes about her age and attractiveness (or supposed lack thereof), her terrible cooking, and about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder. Diller's signature is her unusual laugh.

Quotes·Quotation

Advice

¶ Never go to bed angry. Stay up and fight.

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

Phoebe Cates (1963- )

Phoebe Cates (1963- )

Phoebe Cates Kline (born Phoebe Belle Cates; July 16, 1963), better known as Phoebe Cates, is an American film actress, model, and entrepreneur. She is known for her roles in several teen films, most notably Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins.

Quotes·Quotations by Phoebe Cates

Celebrity

¶ I was only 17 when I did my nude scenes in Paradise (1982). They were serious and more difficult because they were not easily justified. But the topless scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) was funny, which made it easy.

¶ If the film, play or any project I`m involved in requires some sort of violence or nudity to advance the plot, scene or character in any way, then I would be considered unprofessional not to oblige. Of course, I want to make sure -- and I think I always have -- that the scenes are shot in good taste. I try to have some control; now that I know what I`m capable of including in a contract, I can continue that control. Nudity is not something I necessarily want to avoid and yet it`s not the most fun thing in the world to do. It`s part of the job as far as I`m concerned because you bare yourself emotionally and that`s just as terrifying as baring yourself physically. It`s all part of acting.

¶ In this business, if a girl wants a career, she has to be willing to strip. If you`ve got a good bod, then why not show it?

¶ Young people are more sophisticated today, thanks to magazines and movies and even porno cable television. As a New Yorker I think I`ve matured faster than other young people. I`m street smart.

Kid

¶ Kids today are much more independent than their parents were. We`re really into getting jobs and we mature sexually much earlier than a generation ago. Or, at least, we are involved in sex earlier.

Phoebe Cates as Sarah from Paradise (1982)

¶ I was only 17 when I did my nude scenes in Paradise (1982). They were serious and more difficult because they were not easily justified. But the topless scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) was funny, which made it easy.

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

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773)

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773)

Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG (22 September 1694 – 24 March 1773) was a British statesman and man of letters.

A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London. After being educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he went on the Grand Tour of the continent. The death of Anne and the accession of George I opened up a career for him and brought him back to England. His relative James Stanhope, the king's favourite minister, procured for him the place of gentleman of the bedchamber to the Prince of Wales.

Quotes·Quotation by Lord Chesterfield

Advice

¶ Hear one side and you will be in the dark. Hear both and all will be clear.

Knowledge·Wisdom

¶ Be wiser than other people, if you can, but do not tell them so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chesterfield
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield

Barack Obama (1961~ )

Barack Obama (1961~ )

Barack Hussein Obama II (i/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn ɵˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States, and the first African American to hold the office. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, running unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives in 2000.

Quotes·Quotations by Barack Obama

Father

¶ They're our mentors and they're our role models. They set an example of success and they push us to succeed, encourage us when we're struggling, and they love us even when we disappoint them, and they stand by us when nobody else will. (2009 Father's day)

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

Peter Finch (1916-1977)

Peter Finch (1916-1977)

Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 1916 – 14 January 1977) was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a Best Actor award from the Golden Globes. He was the first of two people to win a posthumous Academy Award in an acting category; the other was fellow Australian Heath Ledger.

Quotes·Quotation by Peter Finch

Peter Finch as Howard Beale from Network (1976)

¶ I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!

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

Peter Boyle (1935-2006)

Peter Boyle (1935-2006)

Peter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. (October 18, 1935 – December 12, 2006) was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein (1974).

Boyle, who won an Emmy Award in 1996 for a guest-starring role on the science-fiction drama The X-Files, won praise in both comedic and dramatic parts following his breakthrough performance in the 1970 film Joe.

Quotes·Quotation by Peter Boyle

Peter Boyle as Wizard from Taxi Driver (1976)

¶ A man takes a job, you know, and that job becomes what he is.

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

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