A Blog For English Lovers

Easter Themed Wedding Celebrations

2010-04-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

What can be a better time for marriage than Easter, when one can hear the birds singing melodious songs, giving a warm welcome to the spring season. After chilly winters, springs are very refreshing. Kids are excited about Easter egg painting and the blooming flowers spread their fragrance everywhere. So the Easter theme wedding is not only going to be interesting but also a special one.

Here are some ideas for an Easter wedding celebration:

* Easter has a lot to offer like Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, spring flowers etc. Thus there can be many ideas for deciding on the theme.
* Predominant colours of Easter wedding can be cream, white and yellow. For the contrast concept, green would look fabulous. The green colour reminds us of the fresh green leaves. The colour of the sky as in blue can also be incorporated.
* During the Easter festivity, the churches are beautifully decorated with fresh lilies and tulips. So, for people who believe in court marriage, the venue for their special moment is already beautified.
* Easter wedding invitations should reflect the flavour of the festivity. As the base, anything right from bunny rabbit to cute looking yellow chickens to beautifully painted Easter eggs can be incorporated.
* The bride can choose some soft fabrics for her wedding dress like velvet, chiffon, and georgette. Intricate designs, beautiful beads and sequin work characterize a bride's wardrobe. Light shades like pink would be a fantastic choice to make. The bride can embellish her hair with spring flowers. It will look awesome and unique.
* The groom can wear a light coloured suit. A pure white suit will look just perfect.
* Easter recipes will serve as the perfect menu for the day.
* Decorate the marriage venue according to the festivity.

Festive Ideas for an Easter Breakfast

2010-04-02T16:24:00.000-07:00

For a spring look: cress, narcissi, bread plait, fresh orange juice in tall glasses, baked Easter bunnies and green-coloured eggs.

A wreath of narcissi, hay and twigs.

Easter garden bunnies to keep the Easter spirit everywhere.

A tray full of Easter products for a quality Easter breakfast delivery service.

Easter Sunday is packed with activities. There's the early morning church service, a mid-morning Easter egg hunt, late-day family gatherings and visits in between.
The day off can be started right with one of the above-mentioned breakfast ideas to suit both style and Easter elegance.

Easter Traditions & Facts

2010-04-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

Easter Facts

Easter is a grand festival of Christians. There are many interesting facts about Easter that we are all unaware of.

Here are some Easter facts:

The name Easter owes its origin to Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.
Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.
Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
From the very early times, the egg has been considered to be the most important symbol of rebirth.
The initial Easter baskets were given the appearance of bird's nests.
The maiden chocolate eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies.
Next to Halloween, the Easter holiday paves the way for confectionary business to boom.
When it comes to eating of chocolate bunnies, it is the ears that are preferred to be eaten first by as many as 76% of people.
In the catalogue of kids' favourite Easter foodstuff, red jellybeans occupy top most position.

When Is Easter

Easter is the most important festival of Christians as it is observed to honour the Jesus' return to life. Easter is a festivity of colours and joy. It brings a message of hope along. It conveys the message that after the dark clouds, there is a ray of silver lining. Easter has a lot of significance especially for the Roman Catholics. They use the Julian calendar for the purpose of calculating the Easter day date.
Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the full moon night of the spring season. Generally the Gregorian calendar is used for the purpose of computing the Easter date. In many countries, Easter Monday is granted as a legal holiday.

Easter History

The origin of the Easter festival dates back to the Pagan times. It is celebrated to honour Jesus’ return to life. There are many legends associated with Easter history. One Easter story says, that the very name Easter has been derived from Eostre, who was the Anglo Saxon Goddess of spring. Thus, it is also said that the Easter celebration is actually dedicated to the refreshing spring season. This Pagan holiday, Easter is one of the principal religious festivals of Christians. It was earlier addressed as the festivity of Eostre that always occurred during the period of vernal equinox, when the ratio of day to night was exactly the same.
But some of the legends say, that this festival Easter actually owes its origin to the Hebrew tradition, instead of the Christian tradition. According to the Hebrew lunar calendar, it falls in the first month also known as ‘Nisan’. According to Hebrew tradition, the reason behind its celebration is that, it was during this period, that Israel after having suffered for 300 years finally got rescued from the bondage of Egypt. But in all the legends, one thing that is emphasized is that, Easter is a grand holiday that is celebrated to glorify the victory of life over death and light over darkness.

Easter Traditions

Easter Colours

The Easter colours wheel encompasses innumerable colours. Most of the people are unaware of the Easter colour philosophy. In fact, all the colours of Easter have their own unique significance. If one is indicative of brightness, the other represents the darkness of our sins.

1 - RED: this colour is associated with the blood that Jesus Christ shed for mankind. Thus the colour red is a symbol of love and sacrifice for goodness of humanity.
2 - WHITE: this Easter colour signifies purity and grace.
3 - GREEN: the colour green brings rays of hope. Green is the colour of grass.
4 - PURPLE: Easter colour purple is indicative of royalty. It is said that the colour purple brings wealth.
5 - YELLOW: it is the colour that is related to the brightness of sun. It’s a colour that brings joy and happiness.
6 - BLACK: it is the colour that indicates the evil side. To put it other words, we can say black signifies darkness.
7 - ORANGE: it is the colour that represents hope. It is associated with the dawn of day.
8 - PINK: Easter colour pink indicates fresh beginning.

Easter Cards

The trend of exchanging greeting cards for Easter has become very popular. In fact, this tradition of gifting friends and relatives with Easter cards is a back dated practice. But year-by-year, gift galleries are witnessing a boom in the sale of Easter cards and other gifts. People are spending loads of money on these cute gift items. Next to Christmas, Valentine Day and Mothers day, the fourth largest greeting card selling holiday is Easter.
In this hi technology contemporary world, people have begun to send Easter e cards. The best part about these online cards is that, there are multiple websites that provide with the facility of sending free e cards. There are beautiful animated bunny cards and Easter egg cards. Not only can we find animated cards, but also the musical ones. Also there are no hassles of their delivery. There are religious Easter cards with a social message that guide us to lead a truthful life. On the other hand, there are cute colourful bunny cards especially meant to be exchanged among children. One can shop for these cards, but hand made Easter cards have their own significance because they have a personal touch attached. Hopefully, this custom of wishing each other Happy Easter through Easter greeting cards will never fade.

Holidays & Celebrations: Easter Symbols

2010-04-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

Easter Eggs

When the time approaches for Easter celebration, the first thing that strikes our mind are Easter eggs. In the catalogue of Easter symbols, Easter eggs occupy the top most position. Eggs symbolize fertility. For many decades, there has been a trend of exchanging Easter eggs among friends and relatives. Easter egg decoration is the favourite fun activity of kids during Easter week. In fact every Easter, Easter egg-colouring competitions are held.
It is at Easter that ladies prepare yummy recipes and in this special menu, chocolate Easter eggs are always a must. During the Easter festivity, Easter eggs make a place for themselves everywhere, then be it Easter table decorations or Easter delicious recipes. These days Easter eggshell ornaments are very in. People embellish their houses with handmade painted Easter eggs.
In the ancient times, these Easter eggs were very brightly coloured, giving a warm welcome to the spring season. The colour of Easter eggs also has its own significance. For example a red Easter egg symbolizes the blood that Jesus Christ shed for the goodness of mankind. The green colour represents holiness. There is a social message attached to different coloured Easter eggs, which if followed, can take the life of man to the path of success.

Easter Bunny

When the spring season heads its way towards us, the first thought that strikes our mind is undoubtedly the Easter festivity. And when the talk is about Easter, it is definitely incomplete without the mention of Easter bunny and Easter eggs. Most of us are ignorant about the origin of the Easter bunny. Easter bunny is a symbol associated with fertility and the reason behind is that, it has a very quick speed of reproduction.
There are many legends associated with the history of Easter bunny. Some legends suggest that this grand festival Easter got its name from the Anglo- Saxon goddess called Eostre, who was always seen along with her pet bunny rabbit. It's astonishing to know that, it was the very bunny of this goddess that had laid the first coloured eggs. Easter bunny has become famous for starting the tradition of Easter egg hiding. Thus, the kids' favourite game of Easter egg hunt can be attributed to Easter bunnies.
Today, Easter bunny occupies the most dominant position amongst all symbols of Easter. In the contemporary times, Easter bunnies are found sailing smoothly virtually everywhere. The gift galleries are stocked with cute bunny rabbit stuff toys. Not only are they adorning homes, but have become the source of flourishing business for confectionary shops too. Chocolate bunny rabbit cookies and cakes sell like real hot cakes during the Easter spring season. This symbol of Pagan times, Easter bunny, symbolizes new life.

Easter Candles

To celebrate the resurrection of Lord Jesus, Easter candles are lighted in churches. These decorative candles for Easter symbolize Jesus' return to life. They are associated with new life. Among the Easter candles, the most famous one is the Paschal candle. These paschal candles comprise engravings of the cross and the Greek letters alpha and omega that signify that the Lord is omnipresent.
The beeswax, out of which the Easter candle is prepared, represents the purity of Jesus Christ, its wick signifies humanity and the flame is indicative of the Jesus' divine nature. These decorative Easter candles not only adorn the house but also have a social message attached to them. This explains the reason why beautifully decorated Easter candles are selling like real hot cakes in the market.
The trend of embellishing the house with homemade Easter candles is very in. They are inexpensive and enable you to tantalize your senses and come up with some creative ideas. Making candles at home is great fun. Easter bunny candles are among the kids' favorite crafts. So light the candles and let the light of Jesus come into your house.

Easter Cross

The Easter cross has a lot of significance for the Christian community. A cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, reminding us of the blood that Jesus shed in lieu of the sins committed by mankind. It is a sacred symbol that signifies faith. An empty Easter symbol cross, on the other hand, is indicative of the resurrection of Lord Jesus that represents the triumph of goodness over the evil spirit and life over death. Thus as a symbol of Easter, the cross is indicative of both crucifixion and resurrection. If, on one hand, it signifies sacrifice, then on the other hand, it is a symbol of new life.
Different kinds of crosses are famous among various Christian groups. For example among Catholics and Protestants, the Latin cross is in usage and Eastern Orthodox churches have adopted the Greek cross. Crosses of different lengths can be spotted but six to seven feet long looks real impressive. It is used for prayer purpose during the Lent season. But on Good Friday, the cross, usually a wooden one, is covered with black, a colour for mourning for the death of Jesus. Black on the cross is meant to remember the sacrifices of Jesus but before Easter Sunday, the draping in black is removed and the cross is decorated with flowers to honour Jesus' return to life. Thus, the Easter cross has a lot of significance for Christians.

Cool Ideas for Easter Home Decor

2010-04-02T15:07:00.000-07:00

Easter is a major festival of Christians. It is observed to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Since this festival has a lot of significance, it undoubtedly calls for some special celebration. Now when the talk is about Easter celebration, the first thing that strikes our mind is decoration. Easter decoration is a very comprehensive term that encompasses activities to embellish the entire house.

Here are some ideas regarding decorations for Easter that will truly adorn your sweet home and make it look more beautiful:

* Prepare invitations for the party. Give a personal touch to the invitation card. Do not forget to write a personalized message on it.
* Place a banner saying," the bunny loves you" on the main entrance. It will look really cute.
* Easter bunnies add on to the look of the bedroom. So place lots of colourful stuffed bunnies in different corners.
* Easter table decoration is incomplete without a beautifully decorated Easter basket. Stock it with some jellybeans and chocolate bunny rabbits and place it in the centre of the table.
* Shop for Easter-coloured bed sheets and table covers maintaining the Easter theme. You can buy things in prints of bunnies, Easter eggs, hot cross buns or else some beautiful motif lilies.
In the drawing room, place a flower vase and fill it up with fresh lilies. Tulips can be a great alternative.
* Paint Easter eggs, using different Easter colour tissues and place them in a bowl.
* Use your creative imagination and add on some beautification effects to the food. Cook some nice yummy dishes for your guests like chocolate bunny cookies.

Food & Cooking: Easter Delicacies

2010-04-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Easter Cake

When the season heads its way towards spring, the first thing that strikes our mind is undoubtedly yummy chocolate Easter cake. It is during this time, when newspapers and magazines are all flooded with the receipes of Easter cakes. Easter's bunny cake recipe is one such dish that sails smoothly in almost every home.
In fact, confectionary shops earn a very good business, during the Easter festivity, through the sale of delicious creamy Easter cakes. As a part of the Easter feast, people in Eastern Europe relish the taste of the skirt-shaped Easter cake called babka, which means little old woman. In Italy, Easter cakes usually acquire the shape of a bunny rabbit, the most prominent symbol associated with Easter. In other countries Easter cakes can be spotted in the shape of lamb.

Here are some of the famous Easter cake recipes:

Easter bunny cake
Easter lamb cake
Jellybean confetti cake
Marshmallow peeps cupcakes
Floral raspberry cake
Coconut almond cake
Daffodil Easter cake
Easter bonnet cake

Easter Cookies

Easter, being one of the most prominent festivals of Christians, is celebrated on a large scale, in which houses are adorned with splendid easy to make Easter crafts like Easter eggshell ornaments and Easter bunny rabbit stuff toys. Special dishes are prepared to honour the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And when the talk is about Easter feast, how can we forget our Easter cookie recipes?
During the Easter festivity, all the cookery shows are dedicated to Easter recipes especially recipe for Easter cookies. In the catalogue of cookies for Easter festivity, the top position is occupied by Easter's bunny cookie recipes for kids. It is not just about having sweets, but the prime moto is to have a gathering of family, friends and relatives on one day, when everybody can sit together and share their happy moments with each other.
Preparing these Easter cookies is not only pocket friendly, but also gives immense pleasure because of the personal touch attached to it. It is during the Easter springtime when magazines are all filled with cookie recipes by famous chefs. The reservoir of yummy cookie recipes is really large comprising different kinds of cookies like gingerbread Easter bunny cookies, meringue kisses for Easter, Easter dream bar cookies and Apricot Squares for Easter.

Easter Hot Cross Buns

Easter hot cross buns recipe is not just a yummy dish that is served on the Easter festivity, but the cross-pastry icing that is done on the bun, reminds us of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Eating hot cross buns is a tradition that is passed over from one generation to another. From the Pagan times, it has been a custom to eat these Easter symbols: hot cross buns at breakfast time on Good Friday. And since then, this tradition has become a major part of Easter celebration.
One can relish the different flavours of hot cross buns that are added on in different proportions to make a perfect combo of sweet, spicy and fruity taste. These hot cross buns are baked at home in the oven and served hot. That is why they are called hot cross buns. These buns sell like hot cakes during Easter springtime, implying good business for the bakery shops.
People have a belief that hot cross buns protect us from evil spirits and have the magical power of curing. This explains the reason why in ancient times, people used to hang these buns on the kitchen ceilings. This Easter, enjoy the delicious recipe of hot cross buns and don't forget to serve it hot.

Food & Cooking: Easter Dinner

2010-04-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Easter festival calls for the preparation of special Easter dinner recipes. But Easter dinner is not just about yummy dishes for Easter, but it's about the entire atmosphere, that sets the mood for people to celebrate an Easter dinner party. In fact, it comprises everything from music to decorations to food and drinks etc.

Here are some dinner ideas for Easter:

* Give your house a new look, giving a warm welcome to the Easter spring season. Tinsel your house with articles that reflect the beauty of nature.
* Set the table beautifully. Table decorations form major part of house embellishments. Give your centre table a colourful look. In the heart of the table, place an Easter basket and stock it with gorgeous fresh lilies. Shop for some exquisite eggshell ornaments and keep them at different corners to adorn your sweet home.
* Dance on the tune of some nice famous Easter songs.
* Easter lamb recipe finds a special place for itself on the Easter festivity.
* For appetizers, there can be nothing better than hot cross buns. This recipe is exclusively prepared during the Easter week. In the catalogue of Easter appetizers, there are multiple options like Pineapple Salsa, Spiral-Sliced Ham, Cornbread Muffins, and Dilled Potato Salad etc.
Special dishes for the Easter dinner include Assorted Rolls with Butter, Cheesecake with Sliced Strawberries, Smoked Ham with Cranberry Chutney and Dilled Peas and Potatoes Vinaigrette, etc.
When it is the time for Easter dinner party, Easter chocolate bunny cookies cannot be forgotten.

Easter Dinner Recipes

When the spring season heads its way, celebration time begins. The celebration is not just dedicated to the refreshing springtime, but also to the Easter festival, that is enjoyed by people to honour Jesus' return to life. There are many symbols associated with the Easter time like Easter eggs, bunny rabbits, lamb, etc.
Easter, being one of the most important holidays of Christians, invites for special party. Many days before Easter arrives, women start surfing the net and magazines to check out the dinner recipes for Easter.

Here is a list of some mouthwatering Easter dinner recipes:

Honey garlic meatballs
Baked smoked ham
Spring salad
Stuffed Easter lamb
Rosemary Garlic Buttered Potatoes
Simple Baby Asparagus
Minted Baby Carrots
Blueberry Muffins
Apple Glazed Sausage and Bacon
Honeydew Salad Wedges

Easter Flowers & Floral Bouquets

2010-04-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Easter celebration, there is undoubtedly no better idea than presenting our loved ones with beautifully decorated Easter flower baskets. Easter flowers will blossom your life by spreading their fragrance everywhere. The beautiful view of blooming flowers will shower its freshness and fill your life with golden charming moments.
There are lots of sentiments attached to flowers. In fact, flowers convey the eternal feelings of your heart. There are different flowers that can make their way to Easter flower bouquets. Read further to know about flowers for Easter and their significance...
Chrysanthemum (general) - it indicates cheerfulness and the fact that you are truly a precious friend.
Chrysanthemum (white) - Truthfulness
Chrysanthemum (yellow) - it's a case of more than friendship as in slighted love.
Daffodil - it conveys that you are the only one for me and everything seems to be bright, when you are around.
Azalea - it conveys to the person to take care of himself/herself for your sake.
Lily (white) - It indicates purity and also says that it's a wonderful experience knowing you.
Tulip (red) - Declaration of Love
Tulip (general) - Perfect Love
Tulip (variegated) - Beautiful Eyes

Flowers: Easter Lilies

2010-04-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Easter lily is a symbol associated with motherhood. A symbol of Easter, the white lily signifies purity and hope. There are many legends related to the Easter lily flower. It's not just a flower meant to adorn house, but it has a lot of significance too. According to Roman mythology, the white Lily is associated with Juno, the queen of gods. It is said that at the time when queen Juno was feeding her baby son Hercules, some milk fell from the sky. The part of it that remained above the earth, paved way for the formation of Milky Way and the rest of it that fell onto the earth, led to the blooming of beautiful white lilies. White lilies are then an outcome of the milk of the mythological queen of heaven, Hera, through which these gorgeous flowers had sprung.

As part of the Easter tradition, to honour Jesus' resurrection, churches are decorated with beautiful white lilies. At homes, they find a special place for themselves in colourful flower baskets. Also, they serve as wonderful Easter gifts, heading their way to splendid flower bouquets. Since the white lily symbolizes purity, it is often associated with mother Mary. This explains the reason why the paintings for Easter picture saints presenting gorgeous white lilies to mother Mary, while congratulating her for being the mother of Jesus. Thus, the Easter lily is a sacred flower that marks the commemoration of Jesus' return to life.

Traditional Costumes in the World of High Fashion

2010-03-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Fashion designers adopt typical clothes from different countries and add them to their collections. These garments are worn by famous models on the catwalks of Pars, London, New York, San Pablo and Buenos Aires.

Kimonos, for example, are traditional Japanese style clothes. "Kimono" meant "something you wear" originally. Long ago, people in Japan wore kimonos every day. Now, people only wear a kimono for special occasions such as formal ceremonies.
A kimono is a robe shaped like a "T". Normal kimonos reach to the ankles, and have very long sleeves. Kimonos for women usually have colourful designs of flowers and butterflies. People wear a wide belt called an obi with their kimono. Obi belts are also colorful.
Women's kimonos are all the same size. Ladies fold them and tuck them to make them the right size. People who are very tall or heavy have to have kimonos especially made for them.
There are different types of formal and casual kimonos. Kimonos are usually made of silk, but there are cotton and polyester kimonos as well.
Kenzo, the famous Japanese fashion designer, introduced the kimono in his fashion shows and John Galliano showed kimonos in one of his last collections for Dior.

A sari is a type of clothing for women. It is mostly used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is a very long strip of cloth which women wrap around their body. There are different kinds of saris for different occasions.
British model and actress Elizabeth Hurley wore a 4000 pound ($7800) pink silk sari for her traditional Indian-style wedding to Indian businessman Arun Nayar. The costume had been created by Indian designer Tarun Tahiliani. She required her dames of honour to wear a pink sari too. Chanel also included saris in their last Paris collection.

A kilt is a traditional Scottish garment, usually in a tartan pattern. It is worn by men and its origin has to do with the heavy rains that fall in Scotland all through the year. By wearing skirts, men did not get their trousers dirty! In the XX century, the kilt began to be worn by women and fashion designers incorporated them in their collections as well. British designer Vivienne Westwood revolutionized fashion by adopting kilts and traditional elements of Scottish design such as tartan fabric in her collections.

A poncho is a garment designed to keep the body warm, or if made from a watertight material, to keep dry during rain. It was created by the Peruvians and is now known in over 150 countries over the world. Alternative ponchos are now designed as fashion items. They are the same shape but of different material. They are designed to look fashionable and provide warmth while remaining breathable and comfortable, rather than to ward off wind and rain. These are often made out of wool or yarn, knitted or crocheted. Some fashion designers have even created them in fine materials such as silk or velvet. Enchanted Emerald Forest offers bridal ponchos made in chiffon in a variety of delicate colours such as white, lavender, ivory, baby pink and mauve and some other audacious hues such as red, purple, powder blue, royal blue, black and fuchsia pink.

Espadrilles are casual flat or high-heel fashion sandals wich usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of rope or rubber material moulded to look like rope. They were typically worn by gauchos and by workers but today even most Hollywood celebrities have at least one pair of them in their wardrobe. Floral print espadrilles for men became a sensation last spring. High-heel canvas espadrilles have been popularized by Stella McCartney in momochromatic or tropical print versions.

Fans look typically Spanish but they really have an Oriental origin. Japanese and Chinese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. In the 15th century, Portuguese traders brought fans to Europe from China and Japan. Top fashion designers have used fans as accessories for their haute couture dresses. Victorian fans made of delicate lace are commonly incorporated in bridal collections. Fans made of white feathers are also used to complement wedding apparels.
Last year the French firm Louis Vuitton and Spanish actress Rossy de Palma co-designed limited edition fans. The actress is an ambassador to OrphanAid Africa to where a portion of the fans' proceeds were donated.

Women of Easy Virtue in Art

2010-03-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

It would be wrong to think that only respectable women inspired artists throughout history. The decadent and oppressive reality of prostitutes and brothels has lent its colours to writers, painters and musicians who used them as a source of inspiration for their works.

England

The obscure world of harlotry inspired the great English painter William Hogarth. In the series of paintings known as A Harlot's Progress (later published as engravings) he depicts the miserable fate of a country girl who began a prostitution career in town from its starting point to its tragic end: the whore's death of venereal disease and the following merciless funeral ceremony. The sequel of the series, A Rake's Progress, shows in eight pictures the reckless life of Tom Rakewell, the son of a rich merchant, who wastes all his money on luxurious living, whoring, and gambling, and ultimately finishes his life in Bedlam.

Holland

Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh is said to have had an unrequited love story (which later became an obsession) with a French prostitute, to whom he sent his dismembered ear.

Italy

Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio ultimately had to flee Rome for murdering the pimp, Ranuccio Tomassoni, in a botched castration attempt. The dispute evidently revolved around Fillide Melandroni, a coveted prostitute, who posed for many of Caravaggio's paintings, including Judith Beheading Holofernes and Saint Catherine. Anna Bianchini and Fillide Melandroni were two well-known courtesans who frequented powerful art patrons and who served as models for Caravaggio’s painting Martha and Mary Magdalene.

France

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) was a French postimpressionist painter, lithographer, and illustrator, who documented the bohemian nightlife of late-19th-century Paris. Toulouse-Lautrec is well known for his paintings of prostitutes and courtesans. Lautrec used to hang around the Moulin Rouge and other cabarets of the Montmartre district of Paris . He also frequented the theatre, the circus, Parisian brothels and often dance halls along with prostitutes, who mingled among the clientele in search of business. The dance halls commissioned Lautrec to create advertising posters. After its opening, the Moulin Rouge dance hall reserved a table for Lautrec every night, and displayed his paintings. Prostitutes befriended, supported, and modelled for the unesthetically pleasing, crippled man who would one day be remembered as one of the great artists of 19th-century France. As a purchaser of their services, Toulouse-Lautrec also had more direct dealings with prostitutes. Indeed, sometimes he would pack up and move into a brothel for days or months on end. He enjoyed shocking acquaintances by giving the address of a brothel as his place of residence. He grew close to his prostitute models; he played games with them, brought them presents, and accompanied them to his studio, restaurants, circuses, or theatres during their time off.
Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885), was a French poet, novelist, and playwright. In his very famous novel Les Miserables, Victor Hugo portrays the life of the less fortunate. One of the characters in this book is Fantine, the mother of Cossette, who, in order to support herself and her daughter turns to the only mode of bringing in greater sums of money for women at the time, prostitution.
Alexandre Dumas’ first novel, Camille, is about a courtesan who sacrifices her happiness for her lover's good. Camille was based on an affair Alexandre had with Marie Duplessis when he was only twenty-one. He described his camellia lady as "one of the last of those rare courtesans who had a heart". The story was finally immortalized by Giuseppe Verdi in his famous opera La Traviata.

United States

One of the most moving moments in the book The Catcher in the Rye, written by Salinger, is the one describing Holden Caulfield’s encounter with Sunny, a young prostitute girl in a green dress. On seeing she is so young and how innocent she looks, Holden gets extremely depressed. Therefore, Holden lies to Sunny that he just had an operation on his spinal cord and he does not feel like having sex with her. In the end, Holden lets her go and pays five dollars to her while she asks for ten.

Argentina

Painter Antonio Berni is well-known for two of his stock characters: Juanito Laguna and Ramona Montiel. Ramona Montiel, a very poor girl who grew up in the slums and who later turned to prostitution, is depicted in many of Berni’s works.

Women of ill repute in Rock Music

The hit song "Roxanne" by the rock band The Police was written about a prostitute in Paris. Police lead singer Sting wrote the song, inspired by the prostitutes he saw near the band's seedy hotel while in Paris, France, in October 1977 to perform at the Nashville Club. The name of the song, Roxanne, comes from the name of the character in the play Cyrano de Bergerac, an old poster of which was hanging in the hotel foyer.

"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States whose most successful version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964. Alan Price of the Animals has stated that the song was originally a sixteenth-century English folk song about a Soho brothel, and that English emigrants took the song to America where it was adapted to its later New Orleans setting.

In 1969 the Beatles recorded "Maggie May", a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a sailor.

Argentine pop-folk music composer León Gieco wrote a song called Love Song for Francisca about a woman who engages in prostitution to raise her daughter. Although the song is about an obscure topic, it contains plenty of visually powerful colourful images (black wine, cinnamon skin, dressed in green, dressed in pink).

Sources:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/
http://www.subcortex.com/
http://www.wikipedia.com/

* This blog post is also featured on the COLOURlovers Forum.

Neuschwanstein, A Fairytale Castle

2010-03-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Neuschwanstein Castle (in German Schloss Neuschwanstein) actually means New Swan Stone Castle. It is a castle that was made in the 19th century by the Bavarian king Ludwig II. The castle is in south Germany. It is one of the most famous sites among tourists.

The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Bride in Red: Hindu Wedding Ceremonies

2010-03-27T21:13:00.000-07:00

Before the ceremony:

Before getting married, the bride at a Hindu wedding ceremony does everything to make sure her wedding day is a lucky one. A holy mam studies the horoscopes of the bride to choose the right day for the wedding, so that the marriage will be long and happy. Will the marriage be a happy one if the wedding takes place on Wednesday, or would it be better to wait until the full moon on Friday?

On the wedding day itself

After checking all the signs very carefully, the wedding day is chosen. There are the weeks of preparation and excitement that are common to all cultures, and then finally, on the wedding day itself, before helping her with her dress, the bride's sisters and female friends paint her hands and feet with henna. Henna is a reddish-orange dyestuff prepared from the dried and ground leaves of the henna plant. When she is ready, she puts on a red sari, the colour which will bring her good luck for the marriage. A sari is an outer garment worn chiefly by women of India and Pakistan, consisting of a length of lightweight cloth with one end wrapped about the waist to form a skirt and the other draped over the shoulder or covering the head. Red is believed to be a lucky colour since it is supposed to provide protection against the evil eye.

During the ceremony

During the ceremony, the groom's relatives place a small mark of red paste on her forehead to show she is a married woman. After decorating the bride with jewels, they cover both her face and and that of the groom with a veil. And then she is married. During the reception, the guests enjoy a feast of food and drink, while the bride and groom sit together and share their meal.

Did you know?

When an Indian bride first steps into her new home, she has to undergo the ritual of her having to dip her feet in red water and walk bare feet on the floor of the house. That custom symbolizes the beginning of her new role as a married woman.

Cool Link:

More about this topic at:
India - The Color Red: Simplicity, Purity and Candor

* This blog post is also featured on the COLOURlovers Wedding Forum.

Bread Soldiers: Meant To Be Eaten, Not For War

2010-03-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

We generally tend to associate the word "soldier" with war and military activities. However, the word soldier is also a cookery term which means a strip of bread or toast that is dipped into a soft-boiled egg.
What is the ideal width for a toast soldier? The answer, according to Mike Minton (who has just invented a new labour-saving toast-cutting device to make the perfect soldier), is 22mm. Although dipping toasted bread into a soft-boiled egg cannot be an exclusively English pastime, the nickname does seem to be a typically English whim. Why the English started calling the thin dipping strips of toast “soldiers” is anybody’s guess, but astonishingly, the term does not appear in the Oxford English Dictionary in its breakfast context until 1966. Some people think they are called soldiers because they are (or should be) uniform size, standing firm and straight like soldiers do.

Maternity Benefits in the UK and the US

2010-03-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Maternity is the state of being a mother:
Maternity suits you!
It is also a hospital department for the care of women before and after giving birth and for the care of newly-born babies:
Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.
As an adjective, maternity means “for pregnancy and giving birth”:
a maternity dress
the hospital’s maternity ward
Maternity allowance (also maternity benefit) is money provided by the British government to a woman before and after the birth of her child if she does not receive maternity pay.
Maternity pay (also Statutory Maternity Pay) is a benefit women receive in Britain. It is money paid to a woman by her employer before and after the birth of her child if she has worked for that employer for more than six months.
Maternity leave is the time a mother spends away from work immediately before or after the birth of her baby. Maternity leave is taken with premission from the employer and usually with part or full pay. In Britain, the law says that women who have worked for an employer for more than six months must be given maternity leave with some pay by the employer. In the US, maternity leave is decided by the employer, but many employers do not allow very much.

French-Canadian Influence in the Kitchen: Cajun Cuisine

2010-03-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

Cajun is a member of a people living in Louisiana in the US, who were originally French-Canadian. Cajuns have their own language, which is related to French, and they are also known for their lively music, and for their cooking, which is spicy and uses a lot of fish and shellfish. Traditonal dishes of Cajun cuisine are gumbo (a stew or soup whose key ingredient is okra, the African plant okingumbo) and Jambalaya, which is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence consisting of rice.

Cool Link:

Learn more about Cajun Cuisine.

Animals in Britain: Foxhunting

2010-03-27T06:54:00.001-07:00

Fox hunting is the sport of hunting foxes with foxhounds by people riding on horses.
Fox hunting takes place in the UK between November and early spring. The horse riders usually wear red coats, and the hunt is controlled by the Master of Foxhounds.
Foxhunting is thought of as a sport for rich people who own land in the countryside. Many people think that fox hunting is cruel and want parliament to pass a law against it, but foxhunters argue that it helps to control the number of foxes.

Did you know?

The term stirrup cup originally referred to a drink offered to a man mounted on horseback and about to depart for the hunt. Now, the phrase refers to the drinking vessel itself. Commonly connected with hunting, many of the cups are made of silver and engraved with mottoes taken from the chase. They are usually in the form of a fox’s head or, more rarely, the head of a greyhound or hare.

Exclusively for Men: Mancakes

2010-03-25T17:36:00.001-07:00

Mancakes are cupcakes especially designed for men. They come in such macho men flavours as bacon, rum and coke, and beer. These two links offer information about the places where they are cooked and the man who created them.

Cool Links in English:
Culinary Curiosities: Mancakes are selling like hotcakes in Toronto bakery
The man behind the masculine cupcake

Diesel: A Stupid or a Smart Campaign?

2010-03-25T17:35:00.001-07:00

Diesel, the international jeans brand, has launched “Be Stupid“, a campaign that encourages consumers to take risks and move beyond the smart and sensible track for life. The campaign, developed at Anomaly London, includes online, press and outdoor advertisements featuring “stupid” acts, a digital recruitment campaign for the Diesel music video/2010 catalogue, and viral activity outlining the company’s Stupid philosophy.

Diesel Stupid Philosophy

Like balloons, we are filled with hopes and dreams. But. Over time a single sentence creeps into our lives. Don’t be stupid. It’s the crusher of possibility. It’s the worlds greatest deflator. The world is full of smart people. Doing all kind of smart things… Thats smart.

Well, we’re with stupid. Stupid is the relentless pursuit of a regret free life. Smart may have the brains…
but stupid has the balls. The smart might recognize things for how they are. The stupid see things for how they could be. Smart critiques. Stupid creates. The fact is if we didnt have stupid thoughts wed have no interesting thoughts at all. Smart may have the plans… but stupid has the stories.

Smart may have the authority but stupid has one hell of a hangover. Its not smart to take risks… Its stupid.
To be stupid is to be brave. The stupid isnt afraid to fail. The stupid know there are worse things than failure… like not even trying.

Smart had one good idea, and that idea was stupid. You can’t outsmart stupid. So don’t even try. Remember only stupid can be truly brilliant.

So, BE STUPID

Click on the link below to play the video in YouTube:

The Official Diesel Be Stupid Philosophy

Diesel Campaign Posters

Cool Links: Real Locations of Sex and the City

2010-03-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

The stores, restaurants and locations featured in Sex and The City, including the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, the iconic French bistro Pastis and the renowned Magnolia Bakery, famous for its celebrated cupcakes.

Cool Links in English:

The Real Locations Of Sex And The City - Pt 1
The Real Locations Of Sex And The City - Pt 2
The Real Locations Of Sex And The City - Pt 3

Word Distinction: Price, Cost and Charge

2010-03-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Compare price, cost and charge. When talking about the money needed to buy a particular object, the usual word is price:
What is the price of this watch?
Cost is like price, but is used less for objects and more:
a) for services
the cost of having the house painted
b) for general things
the cost of living
the cost of food
The amount of money you pay for something is what it costs you:
How much did this watch cost you?
The person who is selling goods or services to you charges you for them:
How much did he charge you for repairing the car?
Charge means “a sum of money demanded especially for allowing somebody do something”
There will be a small charge for admission to the museum.

A Taste of Switzerland: Fondue

2010-03-21T10:22:00.001-07:00

The cooking term fondue refers to:

1 cubes of meat or seafood cooked in hot oil and then dipped in any of various sauces
2 hot sauce-like melted cheese or chocolate in which bread or fruits are dipped

Etymologically, the word come from the French fondue, literally ‘melted’, from fondre ‘to melt’.

Fondue is a dish typically eaten in Switzerland and the cheese fondue and the chocolate fondue are the most common varieties. Fondue is prepared in a caquelon, which is a cooking vessel of stoneware, ceramic, enamelled cast iron or porcelain. The word caquelon is from a Swiss French term originating in the 18th century derived from the Swiss German word Kakel meaning an earthenware casserole.

Shopping for Fun: Punny Store Names

2010-03-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

Classical rhetoricians favoured the important-sounding term paronomasia -playing on the sounds and meanings of words. Linguists refer to them as homophones - different words that are pronounced the same way (not weigh). And psychologists use phrases like ambiguity resolution and bistable illusion.
We simply call them puns. And whether or not you're a fan of word play, puns are inescapable.
Here are some sites featuring the shamelessly punny names of English-speaking shops, bars, hair salons, restaurants, dog groomers and service stations.
The 50 Best Pun Stores
Shop Horror - The Best of the Worst in British Shop Names

Celebrity Gossip: Fears & Phobias

2010-03-20T14:02:00.001-07:00

What do celebrities fear? A little known fact about Oprah Winfrey is that you will never see her chewing a stick of gum. Ever. Sometime in her childhood, the time in a person's life when fears often start, Winfrey developed a chewing gum phobia. Learn about celebrities' fears and phobias at this link:
Fears and Phobias of 25 Big Celebrities

Curious Fictional Names: Yen Sid

2010-03-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yen Sid is the powerful sorcerer in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, appearing as an old man with a long beard and robes that extended to the floor. The nickname ("Disney" spelled backwards) was given by Disney animators, as the sorcerer in the The Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia had no onscreen name, nor does the character in the original Goethe poem "Der Zauberlehrling", the inspiration for the music piece by Paul Dukas.

Source: Wikipedia

Cocktails: Shaken, Not Stirred

2010-03-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

The most famous martini drinker of them all, James Bond, preferred his martinis "shaken, not stirred". And he preferred them ice-cold, so cold that the bartender would risk frostbite when shaking the martini in a shaker. To shake the martini vigorously in ice was thought to alter the drink’s molecular structure and eliminate the oily mouth feel from the gin. Shaking also made the drink temporarily cloudy as tiny oxygen bubbles appeared.
Seems James was onto a more healthy technique, as well. It appears that shaking a martini produced the most antioxidants.
Of course, James Bond used both vodka and gin in his martinis and the resulting antioxidant effect is not known.
From Casino Royale, 1953, Chapter 7, James Bond's drink of choice was the vesper, named for the beautiful double agent in Ian Fleming's book of the same name:

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel.

Got it?"

The Dukes Hotel Cocktail Bar in Mayfair, London, England, is where Ian Fleming concocted the famous line "shaken, not stirred" in reference to how James Bond, his fictional British Secret Service agent, preferred his martinis. The phrase was first used in Fleming’s book, Diamonds Are Forever, written in 1956. Interestingly, James Bond did not use the phrase in Diamonds Are Forever. He first used it in Dr. No, written two years later, in 1958. In the book You Only Live Twice, written in 1964, the phrase reverts to "stirred, not shaken".

Cool Links:

Shaken, not stirred - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Very British: The Deerstalker

2010-03-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

The deer·stalker is a tight-fitting hat with visors in the front and back, originally worn by hunters. It is popularly associated with the famous detective Sherlock Holmes.

Cool Links:

More about the deerstalker:

Deerstalker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Garter Belts: Why Do Men Love Them?

2010-03-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Sharing this discussion I opened on the COLOURlovers forum:
Garter belts: why do men love them?

Cool Link:
More about garters and their history at
Garter (stockings)

US & UK Customs: Making A Wish

2010-03-13T12:12:00.000-08:00

There are several customs in the US and UK that involve making wishes, although people do not really believe that they can affect the future. In the US, people make a wish when they first see a star at night, and in the UK people say that you should make a wish when you see a shooting star.
People also make a wish after blowing out the candles on their birthday cake.
Some public places have fountains, or wishing wells, and people make a wish as they throw a coin into the water. In the US, people think of a wish and then try to blow all the seeds off a dandelion (= a wild plant that has yellow flowers and then white balls of seeds), and say that their wish will become true if all the seeds come off in one blow. Another tradition for making a wish is to pull on a wishbone (= the small V-shaped bone in a cooked chicken). Two people each hold one of the ends of the bone and pull on it, and the person who pulls off the larger piece of bone makes a wish.
Wishes are very important in stories, especially fairy tales such as Aladdin, about a boy who rubs a magic lamp, and genie (= a magical spirit) comes out and allows him to make three wishes.

Times Square New Year's Eve

2009-12-31T09:38:00.003-08:00

Times Square is a large square (a broad, open area, with buildings on all sides) in New York City, close to many theatres. Each year there is a big New Year's Eve celebration in Time Square, and at midnight a large red ball is lowered down a building to show that the New Year has begun.

Celebrating New Year in the US and UK

2009-12-31T09:38:00.001-08:00

The new year is thought of as a time to celebrate, and people often hope that the new year will bring good changes in their lives, and more happiness or better luck. Some people make special promises about improving their behaviour or stopping bad habits, called New Year’s resolutions. People usually promise to do things such as lose weight, or stop smoking, but most people do not manage to succeed with their resolutions for very long.
People in the US and UK celebrate New Year’s Eve (December 31st) especially by going to parties and drinking a lot of alcohol. It is traditional to stay awake until midnight to ‘see the New Year in’ (= experience the start of the new year). People typically count the last few seconds until it is midnight, and then shout ‘Happy New Year’. Then people traditionally sing a special song called Auld Lang Syne, and friends kiss each other.
In Scotland, New Year’s Eve is an especially important celebration, and is known as Hogmanay.
The first day of the year, Janurary 1st, is called New Year’s Day and it is a public holiday in both the US and the UK.

Holidays & Celebrations: Hogmanay

2009-12-31T09:26:00.015-08:00

Hogmanay is the Scottish name for New Year's Eve and the parties and celebrating that take place on that night.

In Scotland Hogmanay is a very important celebration and people often celebrate more than they do at Christmas. Some Hogmanay traditions are also followed by people in other parts of the UK and in parts of the US. These including singing a song called Auld Lang Syne at midnight, and going first-footing, which means going to friends' houses after midnight to wish them a Happy New Year.

* New Year's Superstitions

It is thought to be lucky if the first person entering your home in the new year is a tall dark man carrying a piece of coal and some food.

Holiday Places for the British: Majorca

2009-12-31T09:26:00.013-08:00

Majorca is a Spanish island in the West Meditarranean Sea, the largest of the Balearic Islands, which is very popular with tourists. In The UK it is often thought of as a place where many people go for inexpensive holidays. Some British people think that parts of the island have been spoiled, because there are many new buildings and places of entertainment for tourists.

Holidays & Celebrations: SAD day

2009-12-31T09:26:00.011-08:00

In response to the huge push by retailers for people to buy all of their candy, flowers and greeting cards February 15 has been declared Singles Awareness Day. This is the day that all of the single people can proudly stand up and show that it is OKAY to be single!
Sure, some people would prefer to have their February celebration on February 14, but others appreciate the break from the commercialism.

Activities

The goal of Singles Awareness Day is to let singles have celebrations, get-togethers, etc. and to exchange gifts with their single friends. The awareness day was established by single people who were just sick of feeling left out on Valentine's Day, and support of the day is growing every year. Suggested activities for this day are sending yourself flowers, planning parties for other singles to mix and meet and to participate in some sort of single's event. This is especially recommended if you don't WANT to be single. Of course, for those who do like being single it's a blessing and a reason to have some fun!

Date of celebration

Originally, Singles Awareness Day was celebrated on Februrary 13 but the date was moved due to the negative connotations of the unlucky number. Most singles, however, referred to February 14 as Single's Awareness Day (acronym: SAD) until it just became too depressing! Choosing the next day allowed single people a chance to turn this into a celebration rather than a festival of self-pity or whatever they were doing before. It seems like a refreshing change of pace to know that you can survive Valentine's Day and move on to YOUR day, doesn't it?
And if you are happy to be single, then February 15 is your day to tell the world. The date is approaching quickly, so it might be time to start planning your party right now.

Did you know?

On this day many people wear green, as it is considered to be the 'opposite' of red.

Video promoting SAD day

Being Alone on Valentine's Day

2009-12-31T09:26:00.009-08:00

Whether you are intentionally single on Valentine's Day or you have recently ended a relationship, there are plenty of fun and entertaining ways to spend your Valentine's Day. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that it's not all about the candy, card and flowers that bombard us all in the retail world.

If you would like to make Valentine's Day special for someone else – perhaps even a stranger – there are plenty of options. One suggestion is to send yourself roses at work with a blank card. This will be entertaining and puzzling to your office-mates, and on the way home you can distribute a single rose to people that you pass who look like they could use the pick-me-up. After all, sometimes the best joy is that of giving happiness to others.

If you have the evening free, why not call a local hospital or nursing home to find out if there's a patient who doesn't have family visiting frequently and drop in to wish them a Happy Valentine's Day complete with flowers or a goodie basket. This might turn out to be the most rewarding day of your life. If you choose this route, be sure to have some tissues as it could turn into a teary experience for both of you.

If you'd rather just spend some time on yourself, why not schedule a hair and nail appointment at your favorite salon? Or consider getting a massage or other spa treatment that you have been holding off on for whatever reason? Then treat yourself (and maybe a friend!) to dinner at your favorite fancy restaurant.

There's no shame in being single on Valentine's Day!

One of the most preferred activities among singles is getting together with friends for dinner and a movie. Why not schedule something like this for February 14 too? Your single friends will appreciate the time out, and so will you.

It is so important to remember that you are defined by who YOU are, and not who you are dating (or not dating!). Although not be single by choice – it's ok to forego the traditional commercial sentiments of romance associated with February 14! And most importantly, if you are single this year due to a recent loss of a loved one or partner it is ok to admit to your family and friends that it's a rough day for you – ask for their support and they will be there for you.

Valentine's Day is a commercialized holiday – to the retailers it's about hearts and flowers (and dollar signs). Consider yourself lucky if you don't have to participate in that madness.

History of Valentine Cards

2009-12-31T09:26:00.007-08:00

It is believed that the "valentine" was the first greeting card.

Valentine's Day is the second largest card sending and receiving day each year only surpassed by Christmas. One billion valentine cards are sent each year.

The first written valentine is attributed to a young Frenchman, Charles, Duke of Orleans. From his confinement in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, Charles fought his lonely confinement by writing romantic poems or rhymed love letters to his wife in France. About sixty of them remain. They can be seen among the royal papers in the British Museum.

During the fifteenth century, one valentine showed a drawing of a knight and a lady, with Cupid in the act of sending an arrow to pierce the knight's heart.

By the sixteenth century written valentines were so common that St. Francis de Sales, fearing for the souls of his English congregation, sermonized against them.

During the seventeenth century people made their own valentines using original verse or poems copied from booklets with appropriate verse. The Victorians took the cards to elaborate lengths, trimming them with lace, silks and satins and embellishing them with special details like feathers, flowers, Cupids and hearts, gold leaf, hand painted details and even sweetly perfumed sachets.

The first commercial valentines appeared circa 1800 and were rather simplistic. Cards were hand-delivered. Until the mid-1800's, the cost of sending mail was beyond the means of the average person, and the recipient, not the sender, was expected to pay the cost of mailing. It wasn't until the advent of the penny posts that the modern custom of sending Valentine's cards really gained critical mass.

By the 1830's and 1840's Valentines contained delicate and artistic messages. Valentines made of fine papers and decorated with satin, ribbon, or lace commanded high prices. They had pictures of turtledoves, lovers' knots in gold or silver, bow and arrows, cupids, and bleeding hearts. All of these symbols have become associated with love and lovers.

In the 1840's the first mechanical valentines were introduced. By pulling a tab, a figure or object on the card could be made to move. Some had elaborate honeycomb pop-outs or various other three-dimensional features.

Manufactured Valentine cards didn't appear until the end of the nineteenth century.

"Penny" postcards, which were popular from about 1890 to 1917, were called penny postcards because they were mailed with a one-penny postage stamp.

It was very "proper" at that time to collect and display your collection of postcards and trade cards in the parlour. Friends and guests would often sit for hours, leafing through the album while they visited.

The penny postcard became so popular during this era that photographers, studios, printers, and business were always trying to find new and exciting subjects to satisfy an audience that was hungry for new ideas to impress their friend at home.

To make their cards stand out, people often sought out real photographic postcards. Instead of mass-produced lithographs, these were actual photographs made with a postcard printed back.

The photography studios often employed women to hand tint and colour the black & white photo postcards. Some of the best photo postcards came from Germany, which was also famous for its detailed and colourful lithography. Popular subjects for these photo postcards were women, children, flowers, and young lovers, posed and arranged in an effort to portray the idealized virtues of the Victorian Era.

A Mount Holyoke College student, Miss Esther Howland, crafted the first U.S. made valentines. Her father, a stationer in Worcester, MA, imported valentines every year from England. Esther, however, decided to create her own valentine messages. Around 1830 she began importing lace, fine papers, and other supplies for her valentines. She employed several assistants and her brothers helped market her "Worcester" valentines. As one of our first successful U.S. career women her sales amounted to about $100,000 per year in 1847 not bad for that era!!

A purchased valentine became the most popular way to declare love during the early decades of the nineteenth century.

We've seen a change from the heavy sentimentality of earlier days to what can best be described as a light touch. Nowadays a valentine usually accompanies a more elaborate gift of candy, flowers, perfume, etc.

American school children usually celebrate St. Valentine's Day with a party at school. Prior to the party the children make a decorated box with a slot in the top. During the party the children distribute valentines to their classmates' Valentine's Box.

Valentine cards are manufactured on an enormous scale today that range from the sentimental to sophisticated to humorous valentines. There is a valentine for everyone--sweetheart, spouse, children, parents, teacher and even your pet!

Symbols Found on Valentines

* Ribbons, Laces and Frills
Ribbons and frills have been associated with romance since the days of knighthood when a knight rode into battle with a ribbon or scarf given him by his lady fair. The word "Lace" comes from a Latin word meaning a “noose” or to "snare".
Victorian women carried lace handkerchiefs, if a woman dropped her handkerchief a man might pick it up and return it to her thus giving a reason to meet him or talk. She might even drop her lace handkerchief on purpose!

* Rings
In some countries men and women exchange rings when they become engaged or marry. Valentines Day has been traditionally a popular day for giving an engagement ring.

* Hearts
To a beloved, there is no symbol as important as the heart. To give someone your heart means to give to him or her one's whole being, for the heart is at the center of one's existence. The heart stands for the most profound and noblest of human emotions- that of love. Thus a heart, pierced by the cupid's arrow, has become the most famous of the valentine's symbols.

* Cupid
Cupid, the mischievous son of the Goddess of Love, Venus, is supposedly responsible for people falling in love. According to the myths, anyone being hit by Cupid's arrow falls in love with the first person he/she sees. His mischievous intentions have led to some entertaining situations in various legends. Cupid in the Roman mythology has Eros, the son of Aphrodite, as his counterpart in the Greek Myths. The names of both these Gods are used synonymously with the concept of love today.
Cherubs are descendants of Cupid. They are depicted as lovable little winged creatures without arrows and quivers. Cherubs were typically not mischievous like Cupid.

* The Rose
The rose, which is undoubtedly the most popular flower in the world, speaks of love and has been the choice of lovers in every century. If you rearrange the letters of the word rose you get Eros, the god of Love.
The rose was a favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is a color that stands for strong feelings. Thus a red rose is a flower of love.
There are formal meanings of different colored roses in some cultures. Each of these meanings is still used in society today, so choose your color with care.
White roses are for true love and purity of the mind.
Red roses are for love and passion.
Yellow roses are for friendship.
Black roses mean farewell.
Pink roses mean friendship or sweetheart.

* Love Knot
A series of winding and interlacing loops with no beginning and no end. It is a symbol of endless lover. People made love knots from ribbons or drew them on paper. Often a message was written on the love know. The message had no beginning or end it could be repeated endlessly.
Young women in strict Muslim households used to send their pledges of love to young men through messages woven through the knots of a carpet in an Arab tradition.

* Hands
A lady's hand was a favorite decoration that depicted "femininity." Adding a frilly cuff and a jeweled ring on the third finger enhanced its beauty. Clasped hands represent those of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and were symbols of the friendship between their countries of Germany and England.
When a man proposed marriage he “asked for her hand” The hand became a symbol of marriage and lover. Soon gloves also became a symbol of love.

* Love Birds and Doves
It was thought that birds chose their mate on February 14.
Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in Africa. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs.
Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mates all their lives. The males and females both care for their babies. Because these birds are symbols of fidelity, loyalty, and love, they have become the most endearing symbols of the spirit of Valentine's Day.

* Puzzik
A puzzik is a quaint sort of homemade valentine circa 1840, which was a puzzle that the receiver had to solve. Not only did she have to decipher the message but also to figure how to refold the paper once it was opened. The order of the verses was usually numbered, and the recipient had to twist the folds to determine what was being said.

* Rebus
Although it had many forms, a rebus usually was a romantic verse written in ink with certain words omitted and illustrated with a picture. Meant to be a riddle, they were not always easy to decipher.

* Watch Papers
Popular when men carried pocket watches, these were made to fit the back or front of a pocket watch.

Cool link to another blog:

Vintage Valentines

Cool Link to another site:

History of the Card

Holidays & Celebrations: Valentine's Day

2009-12-31T09:26:00.005-08:00

Valentine's Day is a holiday that happens on February 14. It is the day of the year when lovers show their love to each other. This can be done by giving flowers, chocolates or Valentine's cards. Love notes can be given to one another. These notes are called valentines.

Symbols of Valentine's Day are heart shapes, roses, and Cupid with his arrows.

Valentine's Day is named for two martyred Christian saints named Valentine.

Since the 15th century Valentine's pairs are formed in England. English emigrants took the Valentine's custom to the United States. After the Second World War, US soldiers brought this festival to Europe.

Legend

In the third century after Christ, Valentine was the bishop of Terni (Italy). He performed weddings for couples who were not allowed to get married. They may not have been allowed to get married because the parents did not agree with the connection or because the bridegroom was a soldier or a slave, so the marriage was forbidden. Valentine gave to the married pairs flowers from his garden. That's why flowers play a very important role on Valentine's Day. This did not please the emperor. On February 14, 269 AD, Valentin was beheaded because of his Christian faith.
An expansion of the legend combines the day of death of Valentine with the Roman festival Lupercalia. It was the festival of the great goddess Lupa, which is the feminine word for wolf. She was the Great She-Wolf who nursed the twin babies, Romulus and Remus, who later became the founders of Rome. During the annual ceremony, the temple priestesses (lupae) wrote their names on strips of papyrus. These were picked by young men. After the lottery, the youngsters walked through the city and got the blessings of the citizens. The martyr Valentine became the patron saint of the lovers. Still in the Middle Ages, as in France or in Belgium, people were chosen by the lottery to live a year with each other and people prayed to Saint Valentin to make love potions and charms.

United States and Europe

In the 19th century, the custom of sending Valentine's Cards became very popular. The cards usually have pictures of hearts or flowers and contain some sort of poem, message, or code. Codes and simple messages give some people the courage to show their true feelings to the person they love. Today, some people still use mysterious codes to show their love. People can use newspapers to give a coded message to their loved one, giving other readers a view of the couples' intimacy with one another.
Famous for the popularity of the celebration is the folk song called "Die Vogelhochzeit" ("The Birds' Wedding").

China

In China, a holiday called Qi Xi is also called "Chinese Valentine's Day", especially by younger people. Qi Xi is traditionally held on the 7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar. In recent years, it has become more like Valentine's Day in other countries.

Holidays in UK: Hallmark Holidays

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Some holidays are known around the world - Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter. Some are strictly religious observances - Rosh Hashanah, Eid-ul-Fitr, Ascension Day. Others are specific to individual nations - Waitangi Day, Bastille Day, Australia Day. But in the United States, they have some unique Hallmark holidays that are not widely observed by anyone other than greeting card companies. Some are even acknowledged by the federal government as nationally proclaimed holidays, but this does not guarantee increased recognition by society. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States.

March 30th has been the official date for National Doctors' Day since 1933, when the holiday was first established as Doctors' Day. The date was chosen for its significance in the surgical profession - March 30, 1842 was the first day a surgeon used general anesthesia. Hallmark has only one card for National Doctors' Day. Secretary's Day, also known as Administrative Professionals Day, was formally established in 1952. The idea came from two professionals: Mary Barrett, the president of the National Secretaries Association, and C. King Woodbridge, president of Dictaphone Corporation. Those who recognize this holiday typically do so with a card or flowers; some managers will give their secretaries time off. Hallmark offers 36 cards for Secretary's Day, plus an additional 26 in Spanish.

In 1982, a joint resolution in Congress proclaimed May 6th as the national day for recognition of nurses; in 1991, the holiday was extended to a full week of celebration in part because nurses are often required to work long and strange hours. Hallmark had been making "You've Graduated Nursing School" cards since the 1950's, but they began making official National Nurses Day cards in 1992, and there are 23 card designs today. Nurses are also honoured with gifts, dinners, and flowers.

In 1935, Congress proclaimed the first Sunday in August Friendship Day. The day is meant to encourage creative ways to show friendship, but some have said that setting aside a reserved day for friendship means we do not have good friendship practices during the rest of the year. Hallmark has no paper cards specifically for Friendship Day, but they do have 15 e-cards for the day; the company also has a line of friendship cards that are available all year round.

Mother's Day is in May, Father's Day is in June, and Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labour Day. It was initiated in 1970 by Marian McQuade, who spread the idea throughout her state. The holiday is intended to honour grandparents, and give both grandparents and grandchildren the opportunity to show love for each other. Grandchildren are especially encouraged to recognize the strength and guidance older relatives can offer to them. Hallmark offers 50 designs for Grandparents Day cards, including one design with slots for a gift card. The backs of the cards mention the purpose of Grandparents Day, and more than three million of these cards are sold annually.

One of the more esoteric holidays recognized by Hallmark is National Clergy Appreciation Day, which is the second Sunday in October. Suggestions for celebration include inviting the pastor to dinner, sending the minister a gift, and making donations or offerings in the priest's name. Hallmark has 35 cards for this holiday, including some with the artwork of Thomas Kinkade or Max Lucado.

National Boss Day (also called Boss's Day) was created in 1958. A woman in Illinois named Patricia Haroski contacted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and registered the holiday on October 16th, which happened to be her father's birthday - she felt he was a good example of a good boss. Haroski felt that employees were not aware of the work bosses did to make companies run smoothly, and created the day to help improve employee-employer relations. As with Secretary's Day, traditional gifts include a card, lunch, or flowers. The first cards for National Boss Day were made by Hallmark in 1979. When the 16th falls on a weekend, many employees choose to honour their boss on the Friday or Monday closest to the day.

Always observed on the third Saturday in October, Sweetest Day is a regional celebration that is gaining popularity around the country. It started in Cleveland in 1922, when philanthropist Herbert Birch Kingston looked for a way to bring joy into the lives of the downtrodden, including orphans and shut-ins. He decided to distribute candy and small gifts to these people, and movie stars Ann Pennington and Theda Bara participated by passing out gifts. Sweetest Day is mostly observed in the Great Lakes region, but as that population has moved to different locations around the country, the holiday is turning up in other areas. Hallmark itself offers 142 card designs for the holiday, whose purpose now also includes the sharing of love and friendship amongst celebrants.

British Comedians: Harry Enfield

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Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield (born 30 May 1961 in Horsham, West Sussex, England) is a British comedian, actor and writer, and occasionally director.

Enfield writes and appears in his own television programmes, and has invented many humorous characters that are stereotypes of people in British society. His characters include
Loadsamoney, Kevin the teenager. who is always unhappy and says "I hate you" to his parents, and Wayne and Waynetta Slob.

Kisses and Jewels in Sexist Commercials

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Kays is a jewellery company that is located all around the world. It is one of the leading jewellery brands in the world. Its slogan is "Every Kiss Begins with Kay". It is the number one jewellery store brand in the United States by sales and number of stores.
Most Kay stores are in malls, but many new stores are being opened outside malls in power strips and lifestyle centers.
Recently, Kay Jewelers Outlet stores have been opened. Kay Outlet stores offer a much broader selection of clearance styles and previously owned jewellery.

Kay Commercials

Kay Jewelers Commercials have been labelled sexist and embarrassing to women. There is one featuring a man and a woman in a log cabin. The commercial deliberately shows the woman as a weak creature: she is frightened by the storm and gasps, turning to her man for protection. The commercial has been criticized for showing an image of a woman as if, instead of being an adult, she were a six-year-old child. Kay commercials often portray women as materialistic creatures who are only interested in jewels or who need a jewel to be motivated to kiss a man.

The motif developed by Kay repeats that of the song sung by Nicole Kidman in the film Moulin Rouge, particularly the line in which she says:

A kiss on the hand may be quite continental,
But diamonds are a girl's best friend.
A kiss may be grand, but it won't pay the rental
On your humble flat, or help you feed your
pussy cat.

This motif had appeared before when Marilyn Monroe sang exactly the same song in the movie All About Eve.

Legend & Literature in Cornwall

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Cornwall, in the south-west of England, is a place which attracts tourists all the year round. It has mild weather and a spectacular coastline with beautiful bays and coves.
Not surprisingly, there are a hundred and one things for tourists to do in Cornwall. Seaside resorts like Newquay, which have wide, clean beaches, are very popular with families and also with people who like water sports, especially windsurfing and surfing. Land's End -the famous "last place" in mainland Britain- has restaurants, amusements and wonderful coastal views. People who prefer to get away from the crowds can visit one of the many fishing villages along the coast, watch the seals at Cornwall's Seal Sanctuary or go inland onto the moors where the scenery is much wilder.
History lovers will enjoy seeing the village and ruined castle of Tintagel, where they can learn about Camelot and the legend of King Arthur. Or they can visit Poldhu Cover near Mullion, where Marconi, the Italian inventor, sent the first wireless signal across the Atlantc in Canada in 1901.
Cornwall has plenty to offer those who are interested in art and literature. Many artists and writers have lived and worked there. Famous names include the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, who had her studio in St Ives, the writer Daphne du Maurier, who wrote her best selling novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn, and the poet John Betjeman. Also in St Ives there is a branch of the famous art gallery, the Tate.
Like many beautiful places in the world there is another side to Cornwall, which visitors do not always see. Cornwall is quite isolated and, apart from tourism, there is not a lot of work for local people. Mining and fishing, which were once major industries, have almost disappeared and there is a high level of unemployment. The result is that many young Cornish people move away to places where they are more likely to find jobs.
Cornwall may sound like a tourists' paradise, but local people know that life can be hard when visitors leave.

Language & Places: The Ritz Hotel

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The Ritz is a large, very expensive hotel named after the original Swiss owner, César Ritz. Several large cities including London and Paris have Ritz hotels.
The Hôtel Ritz in the heart of Paris, France, is one of the most prestigious and luxurious hotels in the world and is one of the seven recognized Parisian palace hotels. Established in 1898, it is the oldest Ritz Hotel in the world. The Ritz Hotel London is a 133-room hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London.
The Ritz is also used to refer to any very luxurious and expensive establishment (usually used with a negative meaning):
This isn't the Ritz, you know.
The expression put on the Ritz (sometimes not capital) means to assume a superior air or make an ostentatious display. To put on the Ritz means to show that one is wealthy by living in a large house, giving parties, etc:
He really puts on the Ritz to impress people.
The informal adjective ritzy means luxurious or elegant. It also means glamorous, fashionable and expensive.

* Ritz Crackers

Rtiz crackers are a type of cracker (= thin biscuit) sold in boxes in the US and UK. They are designed to be eaten on their own or with a topping. They are circular in shape, salted lightly on one side, and have small scalloping around the edges. The crackers were named “Ritz” after the Ritz-Carlton hotels in the US because the name conjured up the image of wealth and glamour.

Did you know?

French fashion designer Coco Chanel died in the Hôtel Ritz Paris of a heart attack in 1971. She was 87 years old.

Types of Parties: Clambakes

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A clambake is an outdoor party, especially a seashore outing where clams and fish and other foods are usually cooked on heated rocks covered by seaweed. A clam is a shellfish with two shells joined together, used as food. Seaweed is the term applied to any of various plants growing in the sea, especially marine algae.

The Pasadena Rose Parade

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Bollywood Dreams

The Broadway float

Swans and roses for the Sierra Madre float

The Rose Parade is a parade held every year in Pasadena, California, on January 1st with many large vehicles covered with flowers, marching bands and horse riders. The parade is shown on television all over the US.

Wedding Cakes in UK and US

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In the UK a traditional wedding cake is a fruitcake covered with white icing. It is arranged in three levels or tiers, with the largest tier on the bottom and and the smallest tier on the top.
The bride and groom cut the cake together and give pìeces of it to friends at the wedding reception. Some couples keep the top tier because it is traditional to save it until their first child is christened.
In the US the cake is also decorated with white icing and it is arranged in tiers but it is not fruitcake. The bride and groom cut the cake together and then feed a small piece to each other. It is traditional for the bride and groom to try to make a mess on each other’s faces with cake.

The Poet Behind the Celebration

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Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 - July 21 1796) was a famous poet born in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. Some of his most famous poems include To A Mouse, Auld Lang Syne, and Tam O'Shanter. Burns is seen as the national poet of Scotland. Much of his work is written in a "light" Scots accent known as Lowland Scots, rather than English. His poem and song A Man's A Man For A' That was sung at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. His poem (and song) Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and Scots Wha Hae served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country.

Burns Night, effectively a second national day, is celebrated on 25 January with Burns suppers around the world, and is still more widely observed than the official national day, Saint Andrew's Day. Burns suppers are most common in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but occur wherever there are Burns Clubs, Scottish Societies, expatriate Scots, or lovers of Burns' poetry. Burns suppers may be either formal or informal. Informal suppers typically include haggis (a traditional Scottish dish), Scotch whisky and the recitation of Burns' poetry. Formal dinners are hosted by organisations such as the Freemasons or St Andrews Societies and occasionally end in a céilidh (a traditional Gaelic social dance event) when ladies are present.

Tam O'Shanter

This is the title of a long, humorous poem by Robert Burns written in 1891, which tells the frightening story of a farmer called Tam O'Shanter who is chased by witches.

To the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns

The title of a toast (= when people drink a glass of alcohol to show respect for someone) to the poet Robert Burns, usually made at parties on Burns Night.

Architecture: Blenheim Palace

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Blenheim Palace is a residence near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, built (1705–24) by the English Parliament as a national gift to John Churchill, 1st duke of Marlborough. During the War of the Spanish Succession, he had led the English to victory over the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim in Germany in 1704. The palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, with a great deal of involvement by Nicholas Hawksmoor, and is regarded as the finest example of truly Baroque architecture in Great Britain.

Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726) was an English architect and restoration comedy writer. He designed large houses for upper class people, including Blenheim Palace, one of the best examples of the Baroque style in the UK, and Castle Howard. His plays include The Relapse and the Provok’d Wife.

In the early 18th century Queen Anne’s gardener, Henry Wise, designed the grounds of the palace in the formal style of André Le Nôtre’s famed gardens for Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles in France. Little remains of Wise’s landscaping, however, because tastes changed in the mid-18th century, and Lancelot (Capability) Brown was asked to redesign the grounds in his pastoral style of informal or seemingly natural landscapes of woods, lawns, and waterways. Sir Winston Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace.
In 1987 the palace and its surrounding property were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The 2,100-acre (850-hectare) estate, which has remained in the Churchill family, is open to the public.

Dancing in the US and UK

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Many people in the US and UK enjoy dancing, and music is usually played at parties and other celebrations so that people can dance. Schools often have dances or discos for their students, and in the US most schools have a special formal dance at the end of the school year, called a prom.
Charity organizations and UK universities have formal dances called balls where women wear long dresses and men wear dinner jackets. When young people want to dance, they go clubbing, meaning that they go to night clubs with their friends. American line dancing is extremely popular in the UK, and is done by people of all ages in pubs or community centres.

Ballroom dancing is a formal kind of dancing done in pairs or groups to special music, such as the waltz or the foxtrot. Ballroom dancing is usually done by older people, and considered old-fashioned by many young people.

A dance-band is a group of musicians who play music for dancing to. A dance floor is a special floor for dancing on. A dance hall is a large public room where people pay to go and dance. Dance halls are rather old-fashioned now and are connected in people's minds with dancing before the 1960s. Many older style dances, where people waltz etc, are now held in hotels.

Dance studio is a large room usually with mirrors on the walls and bars to hold onto where people learn or practise danding.

Dancing girl is a professional woman dancer in a place of popular entertainment. People sometimes use the expression "Bring on the dancing girls" meaning "Let's add some more excitement to this occasion!"

Drinks: Coffee in UK & US

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Coffee is especially popular in the US, where people drink it regularly. People drink coffee at work, and most companies allow their workers to have a coffee break (= a short period when you can rest and have coffee). In the both the US and the UK, people often drink coffee at the end of an evening meal. People also eat after eight mints (= milk chocolate enclosing a mint fondant) with coffee after their evening meals. Some people also believe that drinking coffee will help you become sober after you have drunk too much alcohol.

Types of Coffee

black coffee - coffee without added cream or milk
java - a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
coffee substitute - a drink resembling coffee that is sometimes substituted for it
Irish coffee - sweetened coffee with Irish whiskey and whipped cream
cafe au lait - equal parts of coffee and hot milk
cafe noir, demitasse - small cup of strong black coffee without milk or cream
decaf, decaffeinated coffee - coffee with the caffeine removed
drip coffee - coffee made by passing boiling water through a perforated container packed with finely ground coffee
espresso - strong black coffee brewed by forcing hot water under pressure through finely ground coffee beans
cappuccino, cappuccino coffee, coffee cappuccino - equal parts of espresso and hot milk topped with cinnamon and nutmeg and usually whipped cream
ice coffee, iced coffee - a strong sweetened coffee served over ice with cream
instant coffee - dehydrated coffee that can be made into a drink by adding hot water; "the advantages of instant coffee are speed of preparation and long shelf life"
mocha coffee, mocha - a superior dark coffee made from beans from Arabia
Turkish coffee - a drink made from pulverized coffee beans; usually sweetened
cafe royale, coffee royal - black coffee with Cognac and lemon peel and sugar

White Coffee

In English-speaking countries, "white coffee" is used to refer to regular black coffee that has had milk, cream or some other "whitener" added to it. Cream varieties (often called "creamers" in the U.S.), can be made of dairy milk, corn syrup derivatives, soy, or nut products. Sweeteners used include cane sugar or artificial ingredients.
In the United States, white coffee may also refer to coffee beans which have been roasted to the yellow roast level and when prepared as espresso produces a thin green brew. American white coffee is very highly caffeinated, being only lightly roasted. It is the length of the roasting process, producing successively darker color, which removes the caffeine from the coffee beans. White coffee is generally used only for making espresso drinks, not simple brewed coffee.
In Malaysia, Ipoh white coffee refers to a drink made from coffee beans roasted in margarine.
There is also a form of white coffee, native to Yemen, which refers to the ground shell of the coffee bean. This form of coffee earns its name from its color, and is brewed in the same manner as regular coffee, only with some spices added.
Herbal Tea
"White Coffee" is an herbal tea, invented in Beirut, made with orange blossom water. Traditionally served after meals in Lebanon and Syria, it is often accompanied by candied rose petals, served in tiny, delicate dishes. White coffee is a sedative, and calms the nerves while stimulating digestion after a particularly rich or heavy meal. In Lebanon, orange blossom water is given to fussy babies; it is also used as a perfume, either in the bathwater or directly on the skin.
Lebanese and Syrian white coffee contains absolutely no coffee.

Royals: Hampton Court

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A large building southwest of London, which belonged to Henry VIII and was used as a royal palace until the 18th century. It is open to the public, and there is a famous maze (= a system of narow paths, separated by tall hedges, which is difficult to find your way through.)

Cool Link:

Visit Hampton Court Palace

Going Places: Hawaii

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Hawaii is a US state in the Pacific Ocean which consists of eight main islands, known as the Hawaiian Islands. Its capital city, Honolulu, is on the island of Oahu.
In the US, Hawaii is seen thought of as a place where many people go for a holiday, especially for their honeymoon. The islands are known for their volcanoes, warm beaches, bright blue water and palm trees, and for particular foods such as macadamia nuts, and pineapples.
One of the strongest stereotypes of Hawaii is that of Hawaiian women dancers, who have long dark hair, wear grass skirts and leis (= a circle made of flowers that you wear around your neck), and who do a dance called the “hula” by shaking their hips from side to side.

Hawaiian Punch

A type of sweet, bright red, non-alcoholic drink with a fruit taste, often drunk by children in the US.

Hawaiian shirt

A shirt with short sleeves, made from thin, brightly coloured cloth, with patterns of Hawaiian things such as flowers, palm trees and ocean waves.

Fun Facts: Why do People Yawn & Why is it Contagious?

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You’re sitting in the middle of class, listening to a boring discussion, and you just can’t help but yawn. A classmate who was looking at you saw you yawn, and unconsciously yawned too. Why do people yawn? And why do people yawn after seeing someone else yawn?
Yawning is an interesting behavior that is being done not only by humans, but also by animals. Most individuals assume that yawning is brought about by boredom or exhaustion. Others don’t know why they yawn, except that they see someone else yawn first, and yawn too.
Although scientists still cannot pinpoint the exact biological mechanisms of a yawn, they agree that it is an involuntary reflex that controls the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
What is a yawn?
Technically speaking, a yawn is a reflex wherein the individual opens his mouth and inhales deeply, followed by a slow exhalation. This is one among the many involuntary reflexes managed by the nerve and spinal centers.
Why yawn?
Many scientists believe that the beginning of a yawn is due to fatigue or boredom. During these moments, breathing is thin and shallow, and less oxygen is brought to the lungs. When you yawn, more oxygen gets into your lungs and into your brain, making you feel more alert and energetic.
Effects of Yawning
When you yawn, the sudden rush of oxygen into your system increases your heart rate and eliminates the carbon dioxide buildup in the lungs and blood stream. Oxygen is also brought to the brain. Yawning ventilates the lungs and restores normal breathing.
Why is yawning contagious?
Scientists don’t really know why one person yawns when he sees another one yawn. And, this seemingly “contagious” behavior not only affects humans, but can be observed in animals as well. Others believe that it is because of the power of suggestion, but there’s really no exact explanation to this.
Also, another thing worth pondering on is that fetuses in the womb also yawn. Because they do not take in oxygen to their lungs until after birth, their act of yawning remains a mystery. Another thing that questions the theory of yawning is that even individuals who already have a high level of oxygen in their blood stream still yawn. If this is the case, what purpose does yawning serve?
There’s really no certain and direct answer to the reason behind yawning and why it is contagious. However, it is definitely something interesting to think about. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one to discover the answer to this great mystery!

Royal Ladies in the Kitchen

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Duchess is the nobility title given to the wife or widow of a duke. Duchess potatoes are mashed potatoes mixed with cream, eggs, butter, and seasonings, piped onto a baking sheet or platter, sprinkled with grated cheese, and browned in the oven. They are also called pommes de terre or duchesse potatoes.
Two real duchesses who became very important in English history are:

- Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

Her name at birth was Bessie Wallis Warfield but she will be rembered as the Duchess of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson was the American divorcee for whom King Edward VIII gave up the throne of Great Britain. She met the future king (then Prince of Wales) early in the 1930s and a few years later they became lovers, though she remained married to her second husband, businessman Ernest Simpson. Matters came to a head when Edward became king in 1936. Simpson filed for divorce from her husband, but the royal family and the British government would not allow Edward to marry her. In December Edward stepped down as king, saying in a radio broadcast "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love." They were married in France on 3 June 1937, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and spent the rest of their lives in exile from England, living mainly in France and the United States. In 2003 the British government released documents showing that while she was involved with Edward in the years before he became king, Simpson also was having an affair with a London car dealer named Guy Trundle.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were buried together on the grounds of Windsor Castle... The Duke and Duchess visited Germany in 1937 as guests of Adolf Hitler, creating the lasting impression that they were Nazi sympathizers... Her first marriage took place in 1916, to U.S. Navy pilot Earl Winfield Spencer, but barely lasted a year... She is often credited with the popular saying, "No woman can be too rich or too thin."

- Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

The title Duke of York is a title of nobility given to the second son of the British monarch. The current Duke of York is The Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II. Andrew currently has no male heirs and (since his 1996 divorce) is unmarried. The wife of the Duke of York is known as the Duchess of York. Duchess of York is the principal title held by the wife of the Duke of York since the creation of the title in 1384. The title is gained with marriage alone and is forfeited upon divorce. Sarah Ferguson was duchess of York from 1986 to1996. Following their high-profile marriage and divorce, she became known as Sarah, Duchess of York (the proper address for the divorced wives of peers). In addition, she lost the style of Royal Highness as well as all other dignities related to the title of British princess. Contrary to popular belief, Sarah, Duchess of York, is not The Duchess of York for that is the title reserved for the wife of the Duke of York. She retains only the style, not the title of Duchess of York. This is to emphasize her changed status from wife to former wife of the Duke of York.

Food & Cooking: Ladies & Fingers

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Lady Fingers

Ladyfingers (called Savoiardi in Italian, meaning "from Savoy") are light and sweet sponge cakes roughly shaped like a large, fat finger.
Today, their most common usage is in trifles, charlottes, and tiramisu. They are typically soaked in a sugar syrup or liqeuer, such as coffee for the tiramisu dessert.
Ladyfingers originated in the late 15th century at the court of the Duchy of Savoy, and were created to mark the occasion of a visit of the King of France.
Later they were given the name Savoiardi and recognised as an "official" court biscuit. They were particularly appreciated by the young members of the court and offered to visitors as a symbol of the local cuisine.

Lady's finger

Lady's finger is another name given to the okra plant, widely cultivated in in southern United States and West Indies and characterized by its long green edible pods.

Originating in Africa, the plant is cultivated in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions around the world.

Lovespoons: A Welsh Tradition

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For centuries in Wales, lovespoons have been handcarved in wood with symbols of love to be given as gifts, and the tradition is now spreading quickly around the world as people look for a truly special way of celebrating a Wedding, Anniversary, Engagement, Birthday or just to say Thank You.

HISTORY:

The custom of carving and giving Welsh Lovespoons originated in Wales hundreds of years ago. The young men of today would probably buy flowers, chocolates or jewellery as a token of affection. Centuries ago in Wales, the young lover would also give gifts of sweets or cakes; but they would also give a special, more personal gift to the object of their desire, the Welsh Love Spoon.
The young man would spend hours carving the spoon with his own hands, in the hope that the girl would accept it. If the girl accepted the spoon, she would demonstrate her interest in him and they would commence on a relationship, which is the origin of the word 'spooning'.
This was a custom that was not confined to Wales, but happened across Europe, especially in Celtic countries. Because the rural peasant people used wooden spoons to eat and prepare food, they had to carve numerous simple spoons for this purpose. It is very likely therefore that more intricate carvings developed naturally from this, and the most beautiful spoons were kept to give as gifts.
Young men had a lot of time on their hands during the long winter evenings, and while some would turn to poetry or composing songs, others would carve all kinds of things such as kitchen utensils or toys for the children from spare pieces of wood.
It is easy to imagine a young man after a hard day's work, in a period of no radio or television or cars, spending his leisure time during dark evenings carving a spoon for the girl he loved. Spoons could also suggest food on the table, and a cosy family life, which would impress on the girl his ability to care for her and a family.
Wales was a poor society whose youth could not afford presents of expensive jewellery, and therefore they would do their utmost to create as beautiful spoons as possible. At that time, practical skills in a husband would have been very desirable and a beautifully carved spoon would demonstrate the young man's skills. The carvers would attempt to create more and more intricate designs as they vied for the attractions of a certain girl. The more complicated and difficult to carve a design, the more it would symbolise the depth of the creator's love and desire to labour on behalf of his loved one. It is also possible that the size of the spoon would reflect the carver's love, but the spoons do vary considerably in size from 8cm to a meter in length. It is possible that the shape of spoons lying together suggested the pattern of lovers lying together.

MATERIALS:

Traditionally, the spoons were carved from one piece of wood. The most popular wood was sycamore, but we also have examples of using yew, oak, boxwood and even fruit trees such as apple or wild cherry. Wood with a close grain had to be dried because fresh wood could split as it dried. The carver would use a trunk and split it in half before forming the rough shape of the spoon in one of the halves.
If the young man succeeded in capturing the girl's heart, then the spoon would be treasured and proudly displayed on one of the walls of their home, much as a wedding photograph would be today. It is quite possible also, that a particularly popular girl would receive several spoons from would-be suitors; but it is unlikely that a youth would spend too much time and effort if he did not think he had a realistic chance of winning the girl. When a girl accepted the spoon, the young people would more than likely then embark on a relationship and be seen as a 'couple' by their community.
It must be remembered that the custom of 'engaging' and having a Wedding ceremony was not common in rural Wales until the end of the 18th century, and the majority of young couples would simply co-habit.
Today as well as being a gift of affection or a memento of a visit to Wales, Lovespoons are given for many special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, births, engagements, christenings, house warming and St. Valentines Day.

SYMBOLS:

Each Symbol has a different Meaning. There has been much debate on the significance of the different symbols and motifs used in the carving of lovespoons. Many of the young carvers were shy and unwilling to show their emotions, and this would attempt to convey their true feelings through the use of various symbols. Many of the symbols to convey love have been used from the earliest spoons, and are familiar throughout Europe. For instance, a chain would mean a wish to be together forever, a diamond would mean wealth or good fortune, a cross would mean faith, a flower would mean affection, or a dragon for protection etc. Over the centuries, many more symbols and motifs have been added and as the love spoons became more elaborate and decorative, they have become collectables.

The Colours of Intelligence: Bluestockings

2009-12-30T10:33:00.009-08:00

The term bluestocking is used as an old-fashioned pejorative description for an intellectual woman. What is especially odd about the term, though, is that the first bluestocking was a man. He was a learned botanist, translator, publisher and minor poet of the eighteenth-century named Benjamin Stillingfleet. He wrote an early opera and also published the first English editions of works by the Swedish botanist Linnaeus.
The story starts in the early 1750s, when a group of independently minded women decided to break away from the stultifying sessions of card playing and idle chatter which was all that tradition allowed them. They began to hold literary evenings, in direct imitation of the established salons of Paris, to which well-known men of letters would be invited as guests to encourage discussion.
One of the leading lights of this group was Mrs Elizabeth Montagu, a powerful and rich figure in London society (she was the cousin of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who brought smallpox inoculation back from Turkey). Literary and theatrical luminaries like Samuel Johnson, David Garrick and Lord Lyttleton attended what she and her friends referred to as conversations, but which Horace Walpole, a frequent guest, called petticoteries. Another regular visitor was Joshua (later Sir Joshua) Reynolds, who, to complete the circle of associations, painted a portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, in 1786.
Mr Stillingfleet was asked to attend by Mrs Vesey, one of the group. He felt he had to decline, as he was too poor to afford the formal dress then required for evening events, which included black silk stockings. According to Fanny Burney, who told the story later, Mrs Vesey told him to come as he was, in his informal day clothes. Which he did, wearing his blue worsted stockings, and started a trend.
Admiral Edward Boscawen, who was known to his friends as “Old Dreadnought” or “Wry-necked Dick”, was the husband of one of the more enthusiastic attendees. He was very rude about what he saw as his wife’s literary pretensions and is said to have derisively described the sessions as being meetings of the Blue-Stocking Society. So those who attended were sometimes called Blue Stockingers, later abbreviated to blue stockings. (Another name was the French form Bas Bleu, which Hanna More, another member, used in her poem, The Bas Bleu, or Conversation, which gives a lot of information about the group.)

Smoking in the US and UK

2009-12-30T10:33:00.007-08:00

In both the US and the UK there are more and more restrictions on people smoking in public places, because smoking is considered bad for your health.
In the US most restaurants are divided into smoking and non-smoking areas. In both the US and the UK some restaurants and most office buildings do not allow smoking at all. Most plane journeys are also non-smoking. The governments of both countries demand that cigarette companies print a health warning on cigarette packets.
Fewer people smoke now because of the health risks, although it is common for young people to try smoking. Many people who smoke regularly do actually want to stop, and some use nicotine patches to help them.

The Poet Behind the Musical

2009-12-30T10:33:00.005-08:00

Cats is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the music. Most of the words come from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which is a book of poems by T.S. Eliot. In this musical, the cats act like people and have different personalities. Many things happen in this musical, but one of the important things is that a cat is chosen to go to the "Heaviside Layer", which is like a heaven for cats.
Cats was first shown in London in 1981, with Elaine Paige first playing the role of Grizabella who sings "Memory", a memorable song in the show. It was shown on Broadway starting in 1982. The musical has since been made into many languages, and it has been shown around the world.

Magazines in US & UK: Seventeen

2009-12-30T10:33:00.003-08:00

Seventeen is a US magazine for teenage girls, containing pictures and articles about fashion, health, popular music, boys, etc. and answers to readers’ questions about personal problems. In the UK there is a similar magazine called J-17.

Literature & Cookies: Madeleines

2009-12-30T10:33:00.001-08:00

A madeleine is a delicate, scallop-shaped French tea cake often served with fruit or sherbet. In its preparation, flour, eggs, and sugar are beaten with a large proportion of butter, incorporating as much air as possible; then grated lemon rind and vanilla extract, and sometimes rum, are added. After baking in the customary 12-shell tin, the pastry is served plain or dusted with confectioner’s sugar.
The origins of the madeleine are disputed, but it was brought to its acme, and thence to broad fame, in the 18th century by the pastry chefs of Commercy and Liverdun, two communes of the Lorraine region in northeastern France.

The French author Marcel Proust immortalized the madeleine in his cycle novel Remembrance of Things Past, in which a taste of the cake is said to have evoked the surge of memory and nostalgia. Madeleines are perhaps most famous outside France for their association with involuntary memory in the Marcel Proust novel À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past in the first translation, more recently translated as In Search of Lost Time), in which the narrator experiences an awakening upon tasting a madeleine dipped in tea:

She sent out for one of those short, plump little cakes called petites madeleines, which look as though they had been moulded in the fluted scallop of a pilgrim's shell. And soon, mechanically, weary after a dull day with the prospect of a depressing morrow, I raised to my lips a spoonful of the tea in which I had soaked a morsel of the cake. No sooner had the warm liquid, and the crumbs with it, touched my palate than a shudder ran through my whole body, and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place…at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory…

— Remembrance of Things Past, Volume 1: Swann's Way

Did you know?

Some sources say madeleines may have been named for a 19th century pastry cook, Madeleine Paulmier, but other sources have it that Madeleine Paulmier was a cook in the 18th century for Stanisław Leszczyński, whose son-in-law, Louis XV of France, named them for her.

Cool Links: Fruit Liqueurs

2009-12-30T10:32:00.004-08:00

Liqueur is a flavoured and sweetened distilled liquor (an alcoholic beverage made by distillation rather than by fermentation) with alcohol content ranging from 24 percent to 60 percent by volume. Liqueurs are produced by combining a base spirit (an alcoholic beverage, especially distilled liquor), usually brandy, with fruits or herbs and are sweetened by the addition of a sugar syrup composing more than 2 1/2 percent of the total beverage by volume.
The word liqueur is derived from the Latin liquefacere, meaning “to make liquid.” Liqueurs were probably first produced commercially by medieval monks and alchemists. They have been called balms, crèmes, elixirs, and oils and have been used over the centuries as medicines and tonics, love potions, and aphrodisiacs.
Fruit liqueurs are produced by the infusion method, in which fruit is steeped in the spirit, which absorbs aroma, flavour, and colour.

Cool Link:
Cook's Thesaurus: Fruit Liqueurs

Very British: Toby Jugs

2009-12-30T10:32:00.003-08:00

In Britain, a toby jug is a small container for drinking from, in the form of a fat old man wearing a three-cornered hat . People sometimes collect toby jugs because some are worth a lot of money.

Cool Link:

THE site for the Toby Jug Collector including a complete gallery of images of different types of toby jugs:
Toby Jug Collecting

Éclairs: Naughty But Nice

2009-12-30T10:32:00.001-08:00

An éclair is a small finger-shaped cake made of a special kind of pastry, with cream inside and usually chocolate on top. Éclairs are generally thought as being very tasty but rather bad for you. They have been used in advertisements with the words ‘Naughty but Nice’. Éclairs make a lovely dessert when served with French vanilla ice cream, or as a tasty addition to a lovely brunch.

Did you know?

The word éclair comes from the French éclair, lit. "lightning," from Old French esclair, from esclairare "to light up, make shine," from Latin exclarare "light up, illumine," from ex- "out" + clarus "clear." The sense is perhaps the "lightness" of the confection.

Cool Link:
Éclair (pastry)

Language: Idioms with the word "pill"

2009-12-30T05:51:00.001-08:00

a bitter pill to swallow (also bitter medicine)
Fig. an unpleasant fact that has to be accepted. (Does not involve pills or swallowing.)
It was a bitter pill for her brother to swallow when she married his enemy.
We found his deception a bitter pill to swallow.

more (something) than Carter has (liver) pills
Fig. a great deal of something. (Older; refers to a product called Carter's Little Liver Pills.)
Why he's got more problems than Carter has pills!
Bobby has more marbles than Carter has liver pills!

on the pill
taking birth control pills.
Is it true that Mary is on the pill?
She was on the pill, but she isn't now.

pop pills
to take too many pills (usually in continuous tenses)
Soon she was popping pills again in an effort to cope with the increasing pressure of her job.

sugar/sweeten the pill
(British, American & Australian) also sugar-coat the pill (American) to make something bad seem less unpleasant
The government have cut income tax to sweeten the pill of a tough budget.

Queen Victoria and the Victorian Era

2009-12-30T05:50:00.009-08:00

Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the British queen from 1837 until her death, and she also had the title 'Empress of India'. She was queen for 64 years, longer than any other British king or queen, during a period of great change.
While Victoria was queen, the UK became one of the richest and most powerful countries in the world, as a result of the growth of industry and the development of the British empire.
Victoria was marrried to a German prince, Prince Albert, and his sudden death in 1861caused her great and lasting unhappiness.

* The Victorian period

When people think now of the 'Victorian' period, it is often seen as a time of strict moral standards, when people were very serious, marriages were always permanent, and sex was never mentioned. Victoria herself is supposed to have said "We are not amused" when someone told her something funny.
Victorian buildings are typically made of red brick and often decorated on the outside. Inside, they usually had furniture made of dark-coloured wood, an a lot of ornaments and photographs in frames. The fireplaces were usually highly decorated and surrounded by attractive tiles.
The term Victoriana refers to attractive objects made in the Victorian period, such as toys, pictures, lamps, plates, etc, that people like to collect.

An example of Victoriana: a Victorian tea set

Cool Link:

A website offering a complete insight into the Victorian era in terms of its political and social issues, gender matters and visual arts.
The Victorian Web: An Overview

Very British: The Willow Pattern

2009-12-30T05:50:00.007-08:00

The willow-pattern ware, sometimes porcelain but frequently opaque pottery, originated in Staffordshire, England, c.1780. Thomas Minton, then an apprentice potter, developed and engraved the design, presumably after an old Chinese legend. It portrays the garden of a rich mandarin whose young daughter elopes with his secretary. The lovers, overtaken on the bridge by her father, are transformed by the gods into birds and flutter beyond his reach. The scene with its willow tree covers the central part of a plate, dish, or bowl, with a border of butterflies, daggers, a fret, or other motif. The blue-and-white chinaware on which it appeared became immensely popular, and the design was reproduced with variations by many European potters and even in Asia, where it is still constantly employed, most of the ware being exported to Western countries.

Cool Link:

The Willow Pattern Story

Special Vocabulary: Snow

2009-12-30T05:50:00.003-08:00

- blizzard: nevasca; tempestad de nieve

- chionophobia: quinofobia, miedo irracional a la nieve

- covered with snow: cubierto de nieve

- edelweiss: flor de nieve; estrella de la nieve; estrella alpina

- slush: aguanieve

- snow: nieve / nevar

- snowball: bola de nieve

- snow blindness: ceguera por reflejo de la nieve

- snow block: bloqueo de nieve

- snowboard: tabla para nieve

- snow boot: bota para nieve

- snow-bound: varado por la nieve

- snowdrift: acumulación de nieve

- snowfield: campo nevado

- snowflake: copo de nieve

- snowman: muñeco de nieve

- snowmobile: moto de nieve

- snow plough: pala de nieve

- snowslide: alud de nieve

- snowsuit: traje / equipo para nieve

- snowstorm: tormenta de nieve; ventisca

- Snow White: Blancanieves

- stiff peak: punto de nieve

- white as snow: blanco como la nieve

- White Christmas: Navidades Blancas

- whiteout: falta de visibilidad por caída de nieve

Places & Literature: The Algonquin Hotel

2009-12-30T05:50:00.001-08:00

The Algonquin Hotel is a historic hotel located at 59 West 44th Street in Manhattan (New York, New York). This 174-room hotel opened in 1902. Its first owner-manager, Frank Case (who bought the hotel in 1927), established many of the hotel's traditions. Perhaps its best-known tradition is hosting literary and theatrical notables, most prominently the members of the Algonquin Round Table.

In June 1919 the hotel became the site of the daily meetings of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of journalists, authors, publicists, and actors who gathered to exchange bon mots (= well-chosen word(s), particularly a witty remark) over lunch in the main dining room. The group met almost daily from 1919 until roughly 1929 Some of the core members of the "Vicious Circle" included Robert Benchley, Heywood Broun, Marc Connelly, Jane Grant, Ruth Hale, George S. Kaufman, Neysa McMein, Dorothy Parker, Harold Ross, Robert E. Sherwood and Alexander Woollcott.

Very British: Tea as a Meal

2009-12-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

Afternoon tea is a drink of tea and sometimes a light meal taken at about four o'clock in the afternoon. In the UK afternoon tea is traditionally a rather formal meal where you drink tea and eat sandwiches (especially cucumber sandwiches), scones and cakes. Not many British people now have this type of meal at home, but it is still served in hotels and in special tea rooms that serve tea in delicate , finely decorated cups.

Cool Link:

More about tea as a meal:

Tea (meal)

French Cooking Terms

2009-12-29T12:08:00.005-08:00

Here is a list of French cooking terms, for those who are interested in venturing into more gourmet cooking.

Bain-marie A roasting pan or baking dish partially filled with water to allow food to cook more slowly and be protected from direct high heat. Used for custards and terrines.
Bavarois Creamy pudding that is made with cream and eggs, then set with gelatin.
Beignets Fritters.Small dollops of dough that are fried.
Beurre Manié Butter and flour mixed together in equal parts and used to thicken liquids.
Beurre Noisette Browned butter.
Bisque A shellfish soup that has been thickened.
Blanquette A stew made from meat that has not been browned or fried. Usually refers to stews made of lamb, chicken or veal.
Bouchées Small puff pastry cases.
Bouillon Broth or stock.
Bouquet Garni A mixture of fresh herbs tied together with string and used to flavor stews, soups etc. It refers to a mix of parsley, bay leaf, thyme (and sometimes celery stalk). The bouquet is removed before serving.
Brunoise Vegetables cut into very small diced pieces.
Canapé An appetizer consisting of a small bread or biscuit base covered with a flavored topping. Chapelux Browned bread crumbs.
Chine To remove the backbone from a rack of ribs.
Concasser To chop roughly
Consommé Broth that has been made clear.
Coulis A thick sauce usually made from one main ingredient, such as raspberry coulis.
Court Bouillon Flavored liquid used for cooking fish.
Crêpes Very thin pancakes.
Croquettes A mixture of potato with ground cooked meat, fish or poultry formed into balls, patties or other shapes and coated with a breading before frying.
Croustade Bread piece dipped in butter and baked until it is crisp.
Croûte Crust Sometimes refers to a pastry crust, sometimes to toasted or fried bread.
Croûtons Small cubes of bread used as a garnish is salads and soups. DarioleSmall mould shaped like a castle used for moulding salads or baking cakes.
Déglacer To deglaze, to loosen browned juices and fat from the bottom of a frying pan or saucepan by adding liquid, bringing to a boil and stirring. The liquid is usually water, wine or broth.
Dégorger To extract juices from meat, fish or vegetables, usually by salting them, then soaking or washing. It is usually done to remove a strong taste.
Dépouiller To skim off the scum that accumulates at the top of a stock or sauce.
Duxelles Finely chopped raw mushrooms, used as a stuffing. Sometimes combined with chopped ham or scallops.
Entrecôte Sirloin steak.
Entrée The term used to refer to something served before the main course but is used now to refer to the actual main course.
Entremet Dessert or sweet, but not including pastries.
Escalop A thin slice of meat that is often pounded out to make it thinner.
Farce Stuffing.
Flamber or Flambé To set alcohol on fire.
Frappé Something that is iced or set on or in a bed of ice.
Fricassé A stew made from poultry, meat or rabbit that has a white sauce.

Glace de Viande Reduced brown stock used to add color and flavor to sauces.
Gratiner or Au Gratin To sprinkle the surface of a cooked food with bread crumbs and butter, and sometimes cheese and brown under the broiler. The finished food is referred to as au gratin as in au gratin potatoes.
Hors d'Oeuvre First course or appetizer.
Jus or Jus de Viande The juices that occur naturally from cooking.
Jus Lié A thickened gravy.
Liaison Ingredients used for thickening sauces, soups or other liquids.
Macédoine Small diced mixed vegetables, usually containing at least one root vegetable. Sometimes also means a mixture of fruit, like fruit salad.
Marmite French word for a covered earthenware container for soup. The soup is both cooked and served in it.
Mirepoix A mixture of braising vegetables.
Mortifier To hand meat, game or poultry.
Moulè-â-manqué A cake tin that is wider at the base than at the top and only about 1" in depth.
Napper To coat, mask or cover with something.
Noisette The word literally means "nut". It usually means nut brown in color. For example, beurre noisette is butter browned over heat until it becomes a nut brown color. It can also refer to boneless rack of lamb that is rolled, tied and cut into rounds. The word can also refer to hazelnuts.
Nouvelle Cuisine A term that refers to the style of cooking that features lighter dishes with lighter sauces and very fresh ingredients.
Panade A very thick mixture, usually made from a combination of flour, butter and milk, that is used as a base for dishes such as soufflés and fish cakes.
Paner To coat with egg and crumbs before frying.
Papillote A wrapping of parchment paper around fish or meat used for cooking. The paper retains moisture in the food.
Parisienne Refers to potatoes molded into balls with a melon scoop and fried or roasted.
Pâte A basic mixture or paste. Often refers to uncooked dough or pastry.
Pâté A paste made of liver, pork or game. PâtisserieA sweet or pastry, it also refers to a cake shop.
Piquer To insert fat, bacon, ham etc into meat or poultry.
Poussin A young chicken.
Quenelle Minced fish or meat mixture that is formed into small shapes and poached. It also refers to a shape that the minced mixture is made into.
Ragoût A stew
Réchauffée Reheated food.
Repere Flour mixed with water or egg white and used to seal pans when cooking food slowly. Often used when cooking a ragoût.
Revenir To quickly fry meats or vegetables in hot fat to warm them through.
Roux Melted butter to which flour has been added. Used as a thickener for sauces or soups.
Rouille Garlic and oil emulsion used as flavoring.
Sautoir A deep frying pan with a lid, used for recipes that require fast frying, then slow cooking.
Terrine Pâté or mixture of minced ingredients, baked or steamed in a loaf shaped container.
Timbale A dish cooked in a mould that is higher than it is wide and has sloping sides.
Velouté A type of sauce made from butter, flour, cream and stock.
Vol-au-vent A large pastry case made of puff pastry that is usually used as a container for creamed dishes, such as creamed chicken.

Very British: Cruft's Dog Show

2009-12-29T12:08:00.003-08:00

Cruft's is a famous British competition for dogs, officially called Cruft's Dog Show, which is held every year in London. Judges at the show decide which is the best animal in the country for each type of dog (the "best of breed"), and they also decide which is the best dog of all, which gets the title "Cruft's supreme champion".

Cool Link:
Crufts Website

Word Distinction: Body Shape

2009-12-29T12:08:00.001-08:00

Thin is a general word to describe people who have little or no fat on their bodies. If someone is thin in a pleasant way, we say they are slim (or less common) slender.
I wish I were as slim / slender as you.
We could also say lean (= thin in a strong and healthy way):
a lean, muscular body
If they are too thin, they are skinny (= informal), underweight or, worst of all, emaciated:
He looks very thin/skinny/emaciated after his illness.
The prisoners were emaciated.
Thin can be used for things:
a thin pole
but not usually for flat surfaces (especially surfaces where a person might go) or for openings. Instead we say narrow:
a narrow road / a narrow bed
Fine is used to describe that are thin when you are giving the idea of careful, sensitive work
She drew with a fine pen.
fine silk thread

Cool Links: Eating Utensils & Table Etiquette

2009-12-29T12:07:00.001-08:00

From prehistoric times to our days, see how much eating utensils have evolved. Check out this cool link:

A History of Dining Utensils

Where do you put your knife and fork and salad fork? Who do you sit where? All about table etiquette at these two links:

Proper Table Manners
Table Manners in Different Cultures

Language & Mythology: Achilles' Heel

2009-12-29T12:06:00.009-08:00

Achilles was a hero in Greek mythology. He was an important person in the Trojan War, and in Homer's Iliad. Achilles was the son of Peleus and the nereid Thetis.
The meaning of the phrase Achilles' heel is "a weak or vulnerable factor".

The legend of Achilles has it that he was dipped into the river Styx by his mother Thetis in order to make him invulnerable. His heel wasn't covered by the water and he was later killed by an arrow wound to his heel.

In the Trojan War, Achilles was the best Greek warrior-hero. He killed Hector, but was killed by Paris, who shot his heel with a poisoned arrow.

Although the legend is ancient, the phrase Achilles' heel wasn't picked up in English until the 19th century. It is used as a metaphor for vulnerability, as in the earliest citation, an essay by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in The Friend; a literary, moral and political weekly paper, 1810:
"Ireland, that vulnerable heel of the British Achilles!"

Beatles: One of My Favourite Photos of Them

2009-12-29T12:06:00.007-08:00

Photo session for the album "Abbey Road"
Somewhere in England - 1969

Looking absolutely casual, self-absorbed, bored, totally bored... A picture that foredooms the end... One of my favourite ones of The Beatles...

British & American Stereotypes: Real Men

2009-12-29T12:06:00.005-08:00

A quiche is a flat open pastry case filled with a mixture of eggs and cream and such things as cheese, bacon and vegetables.
In Britain and and the US there is an association of quiche with weakness, especially in men, as in the saying “Real men don’t eat quiche”, used in a humorous way. There is even a guide to all that is truly masculine called Real Men Don't Eat Quiche by Bruce Feirstein, which was a bestselling book on stereotypes about masculinity.

I'd Rather Be with a Real Man(TM) Any Day!
by 3rd WWWave
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Real Men

Real men read books and like foreign movies better than Hollywood ones.

Real men stroke me lightly all up and down my body, tickle my feet, and massage my back, without assuming it's foreplay.

Real men love exotic food, and aren't afraid to try new dishes.

Real men aren't afraid to touch other men, and are comfortable around gay men even if they're straight.

Real men like to watch me play sports. (And maybe even play with me on a coed team).

Real men like colored underwear.

Real men practice at least one kind of expressive art (music, painting, writing, etc). Working on cars does not count.

Real men like getting flowers as much as giving them.

Real men like to play, and know that it has nothing to do with foreplay and everything to do with being young at heart.

A real man likes to lean against a tree and watch the sunset fade.

Real men like furry and cuddly baby animals as much as women do.

A real man knows how to train an animal with patience and a calm attitude, rather than by force of will.

Real men throw away the can that they opened and ate from, instead of leaving it on the kitchen counter.

Real men clean bathrooms. Including scrubbing the toilet. And the bathtub.

Real men clean up after the pet that just hacked all over the carpet, instead of waiting 12 hours for the woman to come home from work and clean it up.

Real men buy thier wives seasons tickets to plays and theatres instead of sporting events.

Real men remember anniversaries and birthdays and other sentimental events.

Real men listen.

Real men kneel to me gracefully.

Real men clean the kitchen.

Real men eat quiche.

Real men change diapers.

Real men wear latex boots and perfume and NOTHING ELSE, and grow their hair down to their kneecaps.

Real men get me white wine and ice cream whenever I ask, and think nothing of driving 125 miles to a Japanese restaurant to pick me up some sushi when I feel like it.

Real men do not leave the seat up.

Real men give me footrubs and backrubs.

Real men respond to all demands with, "Yes, Milady."

Real men do laundry. My laundry.

Real men get my car tuned up when I'm too lazy to pry my ass out of bed and drop it off. They also feed my cats and clean the catbox.

Real men cook. REAL real men also wash the dishes.

Real men read Shakespeare aloud to their lovers.

Real men read.

Real men actually like going to musicals and the ballet and aren't just humoring their wives.

Real men cry at sad movies.

Real men kill the ants and then fucking clean them up plus removing what attracted them in the first place.

Real men buy sexy underwear for themselves. (And model it proudly for me.)

Real men have no fear of pink.

Real men don't shrivel when someone calls them gay.

...Real men are people, not wind-up dolls.

Japan & America in an Opera

2009-12-29T12:06:00.003-08:00

Madama Butterfly (Madame Butterfly), is an Italian tragic opera, by Giacomo Puccini. Though Madame Butterfly is one of Puccini's most successful operas, Madame Butterfly was hissed and booed at its first performance in Milan’s famous opera house La Scala in 1904.

This is the basic plot summary of Puccini’s opera:

Act I:
Pinkerton, an American naval officer, has taken lease of a house in Nagasaki, Japan. He is going to live here with his future Japanese wife, Butterfly. Butterfly, (Cio-Cio-San) a giesha, is only 15-years-old. Goro, the marriage broker, while showing Pinkerton his new house, introduces him to Suzuki, his wife's maid. Sharpless, the American consul, warns Pinkerton of getting married. Pinkerton tells him that the is happy with his Japanese bride, but adds that one day he will marry a real "American bride." Butterfly enters and the family gathers for the wedding. Cio-Cio-San shows Pinkerton a dagger that was once used by her father to commit hara-kiri. The wedding ceremony is disrupted by angry family members, including Butterfly's uncle, a Buddhist priest. As the family leaves after the wedding, the couple celebrates their love and their first night alone together.

Act II:
About three years have passed and Butterfly has not heard from Pinkerton. He abandoned her after the wedding to return to America. Butterfly is convinced that he will return to her. Sharpless has received a letter from Pinkerton telling him that he has married an American woman, Kate. He states in the letter that he is bringing Kate along on a trip to Nagasaki. Butterfly will not allow Sharpless to read her the letter. She tells Prince Yamadori, a suitor, that she is still happily married. Finally, Sharpless tries to convince her to take Yamadori, and asks her what she would do if Pinkerton never returned to her. She says that she would return to being a geisha, or better yet die. Then she shows Sharpless a blue-eyed boy; Pinkerton's child. A cannon is heard being fired in the distance. She sees that it is Pinkerton's ship and she is convinced that he has finally returned for her. Butterfly has Suzuki scatter flower petals as she puts on her bridal gown for her husband's return.

Act III:
Pinkerton arrives with Kate, but Butterfly is asleep, having waited up all night for his arrival. Pinkerton, seeing her sleeping, realizes that he cannot face the woman that he deserted and he leaves. Suzuki sees the American woman (Kate) and realizes that she is Pinkerton's wife. Sharpless and Pinkerton ask Suzuki to persuade Butterfly to give up the child. Butterfly, while searching for Pinkerton, stumbles upon Kate. Butterfly agrees to give up her son, on the condition that Pinkerton be the one who comes to retrieve him. Butterfly, having asked to be left alone to say goodbye to her son, gives him an American flag. She then stabs herself with her father's dagger, just as Pinkerton runs in, calling out her name. She dies.

Names from Books: Pollyanna

2009-12-29T12:05:00.012-08:00

Pollyanna is the main character in the Book Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor Porter, who is a young girl who always believes something good will happen. People sometimes use her name to describe someone who is always cheerful and always expects good things to happen, especially when they have not had much experience of the world.

American Presidents: Washington & The Cherry Tree

2009-12-29T12:05:00.011-08:00

When George Washington was about six years old, he was made the wealthy master of a hatchet of which, like most little boys, he was extremely fond. He went about chopping everything that came his way.
One day, as he wandered about the garden amusing himself by hacking his mother's pea sticks, he found a beautiful, young English cherry tree, of which his father was most proud. He tried the edge of his hatchet on the trunk of the tree and barked it so that it died.
Some time after this, his father discovered what had happened to his favourite tree. He came into the house in great anger, and demanded to know who the mischievous person was who had cut away the bark. Nobody could tell him anything about it.
Just then George, with his little hatchet, came into the room.
"George,'' said his father, "do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!''
This was a hard question to answer, and for a moment George was staggered by it, but quickly recovering himself he cried:
"I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.''
The anger died out of his father's face, and taking the boy tenderly in his arms, he said:
"My son, that you should not be afraid to tell the truth is more to me than a thousand trees! Yes - though they were blossomed with silver and had leaves of the purest gold!''

Phrase Origins: Bread & Roses

2009-12-29T12:05:00.009-08:00

The slogan "Bread and Roses" originated in a poem of that name by James Oppenheim, published in The American Magazine in December 1911, which attributed it to "the women in the West." It is commonly associated with a textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts during January-March 1912, now often known as the "Bread and Roses strike".
The slogan appeals for both fair wages and dignified conditions.
The Lawrence strike, which united dozens of immigrant communities under the leadership of the Industrial Workers of the World, was led to a large extent by women. Many claim that during the strike some of the women carried a sign that said, "We want bread, but we want roses, too!" No reliable evidence has yet been found to verify thisand the claim has been rejected by some veterans of the Lawrence strike.The strike was settled on March 14, 1912, on terms generally favourable to the workers. The workers won pay increases, time-and-a-quarter pay for overtime, and a promise of no discrimination against strikers.

Did you know?

The term boulangerie refers to a French or French-style bakery. The boulangerie Bread & Roses, 7 rue de Fleurus, in Paris, is well-known for its celeb clientele. (Among the frequent customers are actress Catherine Deneuve and designer Inès de la Fressange.) But it is also famous for its Puissance Dix baguette. Literally translated, the name means "the power of 10," a reference to the 10 flours--including chestnut, buckwheat, corn, and rye--incorporated into the dough.

Literature: The Bloomsbury Group

2009-12-29T12:05:00.007-08:00

Portrait of Virginia Woolf painted by the writer's sister, the celebrated artist Vanessa Bell.

The Bloomsbury group was the name given to a literary group that made the Bloomsbury area of London the centre of its activities from 1904 to World War II. It included Virginia Woolf , Leonard Woolf (Virginia’s husband), E. M. Forster , Vita Sackville-West (Virginia’s friend and lover), Roger Fry , Vanessa Bell (Virginia’s sister), Clive Bell (Virginia’s brother-in-law) , Adrian Stephen (Virginia as Vanessa’s brother) John Maynard Keynes, and Lytton Strachey, to name only a few. The “Bloomsberries”, as the members of the group were called, often met to talk about their own writing, other people’s writing, painting, love, politics… They also helped each other with their work.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) was a British writer who was an important member of the Bloosmbury Group and is admired by feminists. Her novels, such as To the Lighthouse and The Waves, use the style called Stream of Consciousness, and she is regarded as one of the most important English writers of the 20th century.

(Giles) Lytton Strachey (1880-1932), by Dora Carrington, 1916.

Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) was a British writer who was a member of the Bloosmbury Group and is known especially for his book Eminent Victorians, which describes the lives of four famous 19th century country people in a humorous and not very respectful way.
It must be acknowledged that the Bloomsbury Group has often been more admired for non-literary reasons; indeed, the Bloomsberries shared the desire to challenge the strict Victorian social norms, and demonstrated a sexual freedom that was ahead of their time. Some members had bisexual tendencies, such as Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, who were lovers.
The Bloomsbury Group was rather elitist and exclusive. It has been highly criticized for its snobbishness and selfishness. The group was also reproached with its pacifism during the First World War.
Despite the numerous critics that were aimed at it, the Bloomsbury Group has had a wide-ranging influence, both in art and in society, even though that influence remains highly controversial. The Bloomsberries did play a significant part in the advent of a new modern world.

Stereotypes: Green Brigades

2009-12-29T12:05:00.005-08:00

The green-ink brigade is a collective term for people who write abusive or threatening letters to people in the public eye.
[from the idea that only the eccentric would write in green ink]

Cool Link:
The green-ink brigade

The Green Wellie Brigade is a humorous or insulting name for rich people who live in the country and enjoy country life, especially hunting and horseriding. The name comes from the green Wellingtons (= rubber boots) that some of them wear. They are also distinguishable by their wax jackets.

Literary Subgenres: Black Lace Books

2009-12-29T12:05:00.003-08:00

Black Lace Books specialize in erotic romance written by female authors specifically for heterosexual female readers. The collection does not publish novels written by men partly as a marketing scheme, partly to better appeal to their target demographic. The books explore women's sexuality as well as such themes as BDSM, group sex and bisexuality. The books began to be published in 1993, over 250 titles have been published and over three million books have been sold. In 2006, Black Lace developed three specific lines: contemporary, historical and paranormal novels. Black Lace also publishes short story anthologies, novella collections and in 2007 launched its first trilogy, a series of werewolf erotica by Mathilde Madden.

The Chocolate the Lady Loves

2009-12-29T12:05:00.001-08:00

Milk Tray is a type of chocolate made by Cadbury’s and sold in a box. In the UK, advertisements for Milk Tray show a man making a dangerous and difficult journey, for example swimming across a lake or climbing a mountain, to bring chocolates to an attractive woman. At the end of his journey, the advertisement says: “And all because the lady loves Milk Tray.”
James Coombes was the actor who played the debonair man of mystery who braved danger to surreptitiously deliver a box of chocolates to his lover. The Milk Tray man was undoubtedly the hero of one of the most famous advertising series of all time.

Weird Words: Jaywalking

2009-12-27T08:45:00.010-08:00

To jaywalk is to cross the streets in a careless and dangerous way, especially in the wrong place or without paying attention to the traffic lights. Jaywalking is against the law in some countries and and most states of America but the police usually do not stop people for it. If someone is picked up for jaywalking, it is usually because the police want them for some other reason.

Very British: Marks and Spencer

2009-12-27T08:45:00.009-08:00

Marks and Spencer is a large British store that sells mainly clothes and food. Its goods are sold under the name St Michael and the company is often informally called M & S or Marks or Marks ad Sparks.
Marks and Spencer clothes are sold at reasonable prices, but are of very good quality. Many people in the UK buy their underwear from Marks and Spencer. Their food products include a lot of things that are easy to prepare or ready to eat, and are popular especially with people who do not have time to cook. Marks and Spencer is one of the best known and most respected businesses in the UK, and people from other countries often shop there they visit the UK.

Food & Eating: The Cartoon Character and the Sandwich

2009-12-27T08:45:00.007-08:00

Dagwood sandwich is a tall, multi-layered sandwich made with a variety of meats, cheeses and condiments. It was named after Dagwood Bumstead, a central character in the comic strip Blondie. Dagwood frequently makes enormous sandwiches. American cartoonist Chic Young, began drawing the huge sandwiches in the comic strip during 1936.

Though the actual contents of Chic Young's Dagwood sandwich remain obscure, it obviously contains large quantities and varieties of cold cuts, sliced cheese and vegetables, plus additional slices of bread. An olive pierced by a toothpick or wooden skewer usually crowns the edible superstructure. “Dagwood sandwich” has been included in Webster's New World Dictionary, and “Dagwood” (referring to the sandwich) has been included in the American Heritage Dictionary.

A Taste of Cornwall: Cornish Pasty

2009-12-27T08:44:00.017-08:00

A Cornish pasty is a folded piece of pasty, usually for one person to eat, which contains small pieces of meat, potato and other vegetables.
Cornish pasties can be served piping hot, crisp and golden brown and just out of the oven, or eaten cold as a lunch buffet snack with a sprig of parsley.

There is as much folklore around the Cornish Pasty as there are recipe variations. Whatever the truth there is no doubt that the pasty formed an important part of many working Cornishmen's diet, be they miners, farmers, or fishermen. With the decline of the mining industry in Cornwall many Cornishmen were forced to emigrate, as far afield as the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa taking the pasty recipe with them.

Word Distinction: Degrees of Cleverness

2009-12-27T08:44:00.015-08:00

In Britain, bright and smart (which is sometimes derogatory) are informal words for clever:

She is one of the brightest in the class.

He tries too hard to be smart.

But in the US, clever is often derogatory and bright and smart are used more often and more approvingly:

the smartest boy in class

She's very bright.

In both countries quick is an informal word meaning bright and able to learn fast:

Her children are very quick.

Brainy is an informal word which means very bright, often at academic work, but sometimes suggests that someone is rather odd and does not have a very good social life:

a brainy professor who is hopeless at parties

Brilliant is a very strong word meaning extremely bright:

He's a brilliant mathematician.

Clever clogs is an expression used to someone when they have just made what they think is a very clever remark or suggestion:

"Put it in the other way up." "I tried that an hour ago. Come on, clever clogs, you can do better than that!."

Language & Food: Beef Stroganoff

2009-12-27T08:44:00.013-08:00

Beef Stroganoff is meat cooked with onions, sour cream, and usually mushrooms:
beef stroganoff with noodles
Various explanations are given for the name, it presumably derived from some member of the large and important Stroganov family, perhaps Alexander Grigorievich Stroganoff of Odessa or a diplomat, Count Pavel Stroganov. The Stroganovs or Strogonovs (Russian: Строгановы, Строгоновы), also spelled in French manner as Stroganoffs, were a family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen of the 16th – 20th centuries who eventually earned nobility.

The Stroganov Palace is a Late Baroque palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The palace was designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov in 1753-1754. The interiors were remodeled in the 1790s and first decade of the 19th century. Today, the palace is part of the Russian Museum.

Swans and their symbolic significance

2009-12-27T08:44:00.011-08:00

A great mass of myth, tradition and poetry has gathered in praise of the swan, the spotless bird whose whiteness, strength and grace have made it a living manifestation of light itself...
It is common knowledge that Apollo, the god of poetry and prophecy, was born on Delos on a seventh day. On that day sacred swans flew seven times round the island and then Zeus presented the young god with a chariot drawn by white horses as well as his lyre. This causes Victor Magnien to write that the swan symbolizes "the powers of poetry and of the poet himself". The swan thus becomes the image of the divinely inspired poet.
The swan is also part of alchemical symbolism. Alchemists have always regarded it as an emblem of mercury, being of the same colour and as mobile. Its volatility, too, is displayed by its wings.
In the Far East the swan is the symbol of gracefulness, nobility and valour. This is why the Mongols made the Chou Emperor, Mu, drink swan's blood. it is also the symbol of music and of song.
The fable that the swan sings but one beautiful song just before it dies seems to have strong appeal to the poets. There are references to the dying swan's lovely singing in English as far back as Chaucer and Ben Jonson, for instance, hung the phrase "Sweet Swan of Avon" on Shakespeare.
Swan is one of the oldest words in English and its ancient roots are perhaps related to the source of the English word "sound".
There is also a Black Swan, not disacralized, but charged with occult and inverted symbolism. One example can be found in Andersen's story The Travelling Companion, drawn from the depths of Scandinavian folklore. A bewitched and bloodthirsty maiden is seen in the shape of a black swan. When the swan is dippped three times into cleansing water, it turns white and the princess, freed from the spell, is able at last to love her young husband.

Literary Subgenres: Bodice Rippers

2009-12-27T08:44:00.009-08:00

A bodice ripper is a sexually explicit romantic novel; usually in a historical setting and always with a plot involving the seduction of the heroine. This popular modern variety of romantic are peopled by pirates, highwaymen, wenches etc. A classic example is Kathleen Winsor's best selling romance, Forever Amber (1944).
Origin
These books owe much in style to the work of English romantic novelists like Jane Austen and Emily Bronte. Nevertheless, the term itself is American. Its first reference in print is from The New York Times, in December 1980.
It soon caught on and appears numerous times in the US press from that date onward. The genre is commercially highly successful, but isn't taken seriously by most literary critics. Most examples are judged by more base criteria than the classic works of Austen or the Brontes. Bodice Rippers are strictly formulaic and the plot usually involves a vulnerable heroine faced with a richer and more powerful male character, whom she initially dislikes. Later, she succumbs to lust and falls into his arms. The plot device usually includes seduction scenes happening at frequent intervals. Depending on the author or publishing house style, the principal characters must marry. It is virtually obligatory for the cover picture to show the swooning, ample-bosomed heroine.

Cool Links: Origin of Greatest Brand Names

2009-12-27T08:44:00.005-08:00

People often wonder where the brand names of the best-selling companies come from. These two links offer some explanations.

World's greatest brand name. Where does it come from?

List of company name etymologies

Divorce in the US and UK

2009-12-27T08:44:00.003-08:00

Divorce is legal in the US and UK. A husband or wife can get a divorce for reasons of adultery, unreasonable behaviour such as mental or physical cruelty, desertion (= when one of them leaves) or separation (= when they no longer live together).
Some married couple prefer a divorce in which neither the husband nor the wife is blamed for the end of the marriage. In this case they usually get a no-fault divorce, which is allowed in most US states and in the UK. In both countries, a special court decides how to divide the couple’s property between them, and who will get custody of their children (= the legal right to take care of them). If one of the couple is financially dependent on the other, the court will usually order the other to pay alimony (Am E) or maintenance (Br E). In the US a court also decides how much child support a husband or wife should pay to help support their children. In the UK, however, a government organization called the CSA (Child Support Agency) decides how much maintenance should be paid.
Today in the UK around 40% of the marriages end in divorce, and in the US the figure is almost as high as 50 %.

Romantic Deco: Four-poster Beds

2009-12-26T05:23:00.007-08:00

A four-poster bed is a large bed with posts at the four corners to support a frame for curtains, used especially in former times. They are thought of as very special and romantic, and are often put in honeymoon suites in hotels.
Apart from four-poster beds, a gorgeous honeymoon suite also offers champagne, chocolate-covered strawberries and breakfast in bed. Breathtaking honeymoon suites also feature beautiful views and impeccable service.

Four-poster beds are also common features in romantic bedrooms for teenage girls.

Wedding Destinations: Gretna Green

2009-12-26T05:23:00.005-08:00

Gretna Green is a village in the south of Scotland famous for runaway weddings. This village is in the border with England. Until 1929, the marriage laws were less strict in Scotland than in England, and so many young English couples, whose parents did not want them to get married, ran away to get married in Grenta Green.

Gretna Green is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations.
Gretna's famous runaway marriages began in 1753 when an Act of Parliament, Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act, was passed in England, which stated that if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then consent to the marriage had to be given by the parents. This Act did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to get married at 14 and girls at 12 years old with or without parental consent. Since 1929 both parties have had to be at least 16 years old but there is still no consent needed. In England and Wales the ages are now 16 with consent and 18 without. Before these changes occurred, many elopers fled England, and the first Scottish village they encountered was Gretna Green.

Families in the US and the UK

2009-12-26T05:23:00.003-08:00

A nuclear family from the past

In the US and the UK, there is a traditional idea of a typical family, called a nuclear family, which consists of a mother, a father and children. Typically, the father goes out to work and the mother takes care of the home and the children. Although this type of family is often praised by politicians and often shown in advertisements, fewer and fewer real families are actually like this.
Most married women now have jobs, and there more one-parent families partly because of divorce and partly because some women have children without being married. Divorce also leads to more complicated families, if parents who are divorced then get married again and have more children.
There are also some families in which the partners are homosexual people living together as if they were married. As a result of these changes, there are now many different types of family. Another type of family, the extended family, a large family group all living together, including grandparents, cousins etc used to be common in former times but is now very unusual in the US and UK.

Royals: Princess Diana

2009-12-26T05:23:00.001-08:00

The Late Princess of Wales' Likes and Dislikes

Likes: Her children (loves not likes), America, Jimmy Choo shoes (her "tart trotters" she called them for their height), Goutal perfume, pearls, Butler & Wilson faux jewels, massage and aromatherapy, chicken and shephard's pie, chocolates like kit kats, walks by the sea, books on Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn, videos (what was the one Burrell mentioned in his book as her favorite?), Jantzen swimsuits, stuffed animals, Fogal tights, la Perla underwear, and events allowing her to meet and interact with the needy.

Dislikes: Tiggy the nanny, tiaras (too heavy; gave her headaches), the paparazzi (distinct from the photographers who worked with her for beautiful photos), the men who "run" the Family, events in hot weather, alcohol ("I'm afraid I'll become addicted like too many others in my family), the Prince of Wales' carpet in the Front Hall at Kensington Palace ("gaudy"), "people who make money off of me." (if only she knew how many did it after her death!).

Pictures above: Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales, in 4 photos of her life - The 5th Year since her Passing -

Social Groups: Gypsies in the UK and the US

2009-12-25T07:02:00.005-08:00

A gypsy is a member of a dark-haired race which may be of Indian origin. Gypsies live in the UK and most European countries, but very gypsies live in the US.
Gypsies typically do not live in one place, but travel from place to place while living in a caravan. In the past, their caravans were pulled by horses, and were usually brightly-painted.
Gypsies do various jobs to earn a living, but traditionally they are thought of as horse traders, musicians, basket makers, and fortune tellers.
In the UK some people do not trust gypsies, and treat them with disapproval because the gypsy way of life is so different from the way most British people live. In the US people imagine that gypsies have an interesting life, travelling and not worrying about money.

Did you know?

Romani is the language of the Gypsies, belonging to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family, but incorporating extensive borrowings from local European languages. Most of its 250 000 speakers are bilingual. It is extinct in Britain

Phrases from History: I See No Ships

2009-12-25T07:02:00.003-08:00

Horatio Nelson (1758-1805) was a British admiral (= high-ranking officer in the navy) who is Britain’s most famous naval leader. He lost an arm and the sight in an eye during the wars against Napoleon, and he became very popular after winning several battles at sea. His most famous battle was the battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in which he was killed. Before the battle he said to his men “England expects that every man will do his duty” and as he lay dying he is believed to have said “Kiss me Hardy” to his friend Thomas Hardy. He is also known for having a romantic affair with an upper class woman called Lady Hamilton. After his death, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column were built to honour him.

" I See No Ships"

The Battle of Copenhagen was a naval battle between the British and the Danish in 1801. The British navy under Lord Nelson had received orders to leave the area because Danish ships were approacing. Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye and said "I see no ships". His ships remained where they were, and in the battle that followed the Danes were defeated.