hottest new Italian actress

Caterina Moranti

jpr: looks very much like one of my sisters-in-law

End of The Love Lock?

Paris, the city of love , is about to end  one of its ‘love  traditions.’  Couples have  been demonstrating their love by affixing padlocks with their initials on them  to the Pont des Arts bridge before throwing the key into the River Seine.  A million locks weighing 45 tonnes caused a partial collapse of the bridge.  The  city begins cutting them off on Monday. Ce l vie -- ce l’amour.

Hey. Rome, Listening?

Been pondering the overwhelming Irish vote in support of gay marriage. Read some comments by prominent Irish intellectuals.  Why the most Catholic country in the world would reject the will of the Church in vast numbers, across all counties, but one, all classes, city and rural, educated and not?  And why this blatant anti church issue?  The answer -- payback for the church’s abuse of power; sexual, financial, in the national schools they ran, in their slave labor orphanages. in the murder of 1,000’s of newborns dumped in pits and more.  The vote has little to do with gay rights and everything to do with removing the church from secular life.  Good news.

the flower cereustryx

jpr: considered by some as the most beautiful flower!

Ode to a Baby

A bit of talcum
Is always walcum.

~~ Ogden Nash

New Baby Names, 2014

 

Interesting new names recorded by the Gov't in 2014. Five baby boys were named Dagger, five were named Renegade. Six boys were named Kaliber and another six named Bulut. Seven daughters were christened Roket.  Billion was given to five boys for the first time last year, Million  to 11 boys and Amillion was given to 11 babies of both genders. Lay is the new name for seven little girls, Sadman for five boys and, disturbingly, Swastik for seven boys.   Five little girls got the name Knowledge, and five little boys have been given the name Legendary at birth. Just amazing ---- what can you even say.

Polly Shannon

Seen in Tom Selleck TV movies. Very fine actress.

Another for JP's Gallery

Roxane Duran, 22, is a rising French actor of Spanish and Austrian Parents.  Watch for her.

flowers for sale on mother's day

Two young girls (ages 8 & 9) were going about the neighborhood asking, "do you want to buy a flower?" They were carrying two boxes.

"What kind of flowers do you have?" I asked.

"Dandelions!" They answered as the smaller girl open the larger box for inspection.

"I'll take one for my dog." Says I while walking my brute on a  field.covered with the things.

"How much are they?" I asked.

"25 cents each!" The little one replied.

I gave the larger child one dollar which she put in the smaller box. (Lot's of bucks in there.)

I was given three little flowers. That's a dollar!: The elder child stated.

"Hey!" Complained I. "Thought they were 25 cents each!"

"25 cents for one, 50 cents for two, and three for a dollar!" The older child declared.

This child will assuredly work for the government when she grows up.

soul cake

A soul cake, a soul cake,
Please, good missus, a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum or a cherry,
Any good thing to make us all merry,
A soul cake, a soul cake,
Please, good missus, a soul cake.
One for Peter, two for Paul,
And three for Him that made us all.


A Soul cake is a small round cake which is traditionally made for All Saints Day or All Souls' Day to celebrate the dead. The cakes, often simply referred to as souls, were given out to soulers (mainly consisting of children and the poor) who would go from door to door on Hallowmas singing and saying prayers for the dead. Each cake eaten would represent a soul being freed from Purgatory. The practice of giving and eating soul cakes is often seen as the origin of modern Trick or Treating.

Irish Children circa 1970

jpr: could have taken this photo in Appalachia!

Children of Appalachia circa 1970

jpr: Could this pic have been taken in Ireland?

Appalachian wild life

Prairie warbler

Another Useless Factoid

A 65-year-old German woman has given birth to quadruplets after undergoing an artificial insemination procedure, Annegret Raunigk had three boys and a girl by

Caesarean section at a Berlin hospital on Tuesday. They were born prematurely at 26 weeks but have a "good chance of surviving". Annegret Raunigk, a single mother, already has 13 children and seven grandchildren, and is the world's oldest woman to have quadruplets. Is it just me or is something very wrong here?

My hero section

Johnathan Goldsmith......he captures the male ego perfectly!

He learned his distinctive accent from his friend and sailing partner, Fernando Llamas

shazamm!

May flowers ...are there any better??

Beautiful Maxx

Got this dog as a pup about 18 years ago.  Hyper as any Aussie could be but true blue, teachable, and a loved member of the family for always. 

Famke Janssen

The lady proves their is beauty in middle age.

You cannot get a deal like this in the Big East!!!

got me two pretty good used tires, $30 each (plus terbacky surcharge).  savings:  next months rent.

++

Yes Yes Yes!

Do's you знать the улица address of the special yummy очень вкусный, приятный womans?

Beautiful Woman from Yakovlev & Aleeva

Seem's there is more of Russia then vodka.

stone worshiping in Appalachia

don't watch this!

instant insanity!!!!

painting from a mirror

Trivia

• The left handed Bacchus suggests the reflection of a live actor onto a canvas prior to painting.

painting with a mirror

This is a painting with a mirror, not a painting from a mirror. Old masters made paintings from an image reflected from a mirror onto a canvas!

St. Columba

Saint Columba (Irish:'church dove' 7 December 521 – 9 June 597) a contemporary of St. Columbanus, was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. He founded the important abbey on Iona, then part of Ireland, in order to convert the Picts of northern Scotland.  The abbey became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. Columba is credited with many miracles.

Another Useless Factoid

Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame, and countless other popular works, was actually Sgt. Roddenberry,  LAPD, retired.  He began his writing career while a serving police officer, penning several episodes of Highway Patrol starring Broderick Crawford.  Who knew.

St Columbanus

In the  6th century, Europe was in decline with the loss of the Roman Empire. It was said no scholar could there be found. An Irish monk arrived and founded monasteries in France and Italy. The scholastic, medicinal, and instructional practices of the Irish came with him.

Slow TV, Great News

Iceland has joined the trend for "slow television" by broadcasting 24 hours of live lambing. The national public broadcaster invited viewers to tune in from the comfort of their sofas, as sheep at a farm in the northern region welcomed their new arrivals. The lamb-athon was inspired by famous slow TV broadcasts in Norway, including sheep-shearing, knitting marathons, 12 hours of wood burning, and 130 hours of  a cruise ship sailing up the Norwegian coast.  BBC announced it was getting in on the act, with a series of slow TV broadcasts of a two-hour canal journey, and a three-hour tour of the National Gallery without voiceover or extra sound effects.  Anything beats ‘real house wives, honey boo-boo, the Kardashians, etc.’

The bog

A bog is a wet land, but this wetland is a very deceptive place. Although it can look (and sometimes feel) like land (perhaps with some small ponds or pools of water dotting the land, as well); in fact, it is more like a spongy "floating carpet" of land. Underneath the surface, the bog is full of water--about 90-95% water. Bogs are primarily composed of water and peat (which is decaying plants)

http://www.jamesmdeem.com/books.bog.science.html

A Prayer by Anne Bronte

My God (oh, let me call Thee mine,
Weak, wretched sinner though I be),
My trembling soul would fain be Thine;
My feeble faith still clings to Thee.

Not only for the Past I grieve,
The Future fills me with dismay;                              
Unless Thou hasten to relieve,
Thy suppliant is a castaway.

I cannot say my faith is strong,
I dare not hope my love is great;
But strength and love to Thee belong;
Oh, do not leave me desolate!

I know I owe my all to Thee;
Oh, TAKE the heart I cannot give!
Do Thou my strength--my Saviour be,
And MAKE me to Thy glory live. --

That's Some Fish.

British fishing trailer's crew got a surprise when they found a 7 foot, 131 pound ell in their nets.  But its only the second largest on record. 

A Legend Passes

RIP

The Irish Bridgets

The young women who emigrated from Ireland between 1840 and 1930 were called “The Irish Bridgets.” Irish Immigrant Womenworked in Domestic Service.

Most Americans during that time period only employed one servant, and that was a ‘maid of all work.’ She worked 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week, taking care of their homes and their children.

Some of these maids were as young as 13 years of age.

snapping turtle

The modern snapping turtle evolved over 40 million years ago, while anatomically modern humans emerged only 200,000 years ago. Snapping turtles hung out with dinosaurs, but they're not closely related at all.

jpR: Saw my first snapper Of the year in vernal pool this early a.m.

Blake Lively

See the film Elvis and Anabele!

Mag went bankrupt shortly after this issue

this is one of the more flattering pix I found of her

Daily aphorism from the Aphorist of the Millenium

"The Last thing I want to do is to hurt you; but its still on the list."

Emma Thompson

Simply a great actress!

More Heroes.

Jean Thurel (6 September 1698 – 10 March 1807) was a fusilier of the French Army with an extraordinarily long career that spanned over 90 years of service in the Touraine Regiment without interruptions and at the lowest rank. Born in the reign of Louis XIV and dying during that of Napoleon I, Thurel lived in three different centuries and served three different monarchs. He was severely wounded in battle on two occasions. Three of his brothers were killed in the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. One of his sons, a corporal and a veteran in the same company, died at the Battle of the Saintes.  When his regiment was ordered to march to the coast to embark on ships, he was given the opportunity to travel in a carriage due to his advanced age. The 88-year-old Thurel refused the offer and marched the entire distance on foot, stating that he had never before traveled by carriage and had no intention of doing so.  He died at 108.

cherry blossoms

Surprise...I found one these trees in bloom out in woods from my kitchen view!! Lovely!

Manhattanhenge

Manhattanhenge – sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice– is a semiannual occurrence during which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough ofManhattan in New York City. The neologism is derived fromStonehenge, where the sun aligns with the stones on the solsticeswith a similarly dramatic effect.

Michela Quattrociocche

Rising star in Italian films.

Macabre Neighbor Alert

New neighbor on the street - was gonna bring em some sponge cake and Koolait - not sure i should go through with it after seeing how they decorated front yard - maybe i'll invite Father Hooligan to accompany me.  Saw an old lady and several kids hanging around.

What kind of person puts this in their front yard, other than the Munsters.

.

Lá Na Máithreacha Sona Daoibh! (Happy Mother’s Day)

“Tis the month of Mary,

Blessed Queen of the May,

Mother of God we pray you,

Bless and protect all mothers,

On this their special day.”

~ Irish Prayer

“God could not be everywhere,

So He invented mothers.”

~ Old Proverb

“There is but one and only one on earth,

there is no other.

In Heaven a noble work was done

when God gave man a Mother.”

~ Irish Blessing

Portulaca oleracea

the plant loves it hot and dry.
a favorite of me grandma....she is remembered on this day....i has a bit of her tough edge i fears

motherhood

The nest vocation!!

THE MOTHER by Padraic Pearse (1879-1916)

 "I do not grudge them; Lord, I do not grudge
 My two strong sons that I have seen go out
 To break their strength and die, they and a few,
 In bloody protest for a glorious thing.
 They shall be spoken of among their people,
 The generations shall remember them,
 And call them blessed;
 But I will speak their names to my own heart
 In the long nights;
 The little names that were familiar once
 Round my dead hearth.
 Lord, thou art hard on mothers:
 We suffer in their coming and their going;
 And tho' I grudge them not, I weary, weary
  Of the long sorrow -- And yet I have my joy:
 My sons were faithful, and they fought."

He wrote this poem for his mother just before he and his brother went out to fight in the Rising of 1916.
Pearse and fourteen other leaders, including his brother Willie, were court-martialled and executed by firing squad 
after the Easter Rebellion.

Manuela Arcuri

A Berlusconi interest.

maypole

The cutting of a great tree and bringing it to a village to use as a May Pole was a great event in 

Medieval village life. It's origin comes from an ancient fertility rite.

A tall vertical pole decorated with streamers or ribbons that were held by dancers who performed May Pole dancing to celebrate May Day. The May Pole was erected on the Village Green or a similar open space about which the rustic May-day sports were held.

May Pole dancing featured the young girls perform circle dances around a tall pole, painted in stripes, which was decorated with garlands of flowers and other emblems. The youngest girls danced in the inner circle whilst the older girls danced in the outer circle. The girls each held a ribbon which was attached to the May Pole. May Pole Dancing involved circular steps during which the ribbons were intertwined and plaited. The May pole dancers would then unravel the ribbon by retracing their steps.

Miscellaneous uses of Coca Cola

Pour a little in a cup and set it out an hour before a picnic, away from your site; it will attract wasps and bees so they’re not bugging you and your grub.

Make your hair curly; pour flat Coke onto long hair, leave for a few minutes then rinse.

 Remove gum from hair; dip into a small bowl of Coke, leave a few minutes. Gum will wipe off. Remove (or fade) dye from hair by pouring diet Coke over it.

Honor....

Schloss Itter, an Austrian Castle from Middle Ages, was a unit of the Dachau concentration camp in the last days of WW2.  it housed VIP prisoners, prominent politicians and military figures to be use as bargaining chips, including two former prime ministers of France, and the elder sister of Gen de Gaulle.  In May 1945 , the German guards at Schloss Itter fled. But the French prisoners were trapped, surrounded by roaming units of the Waffen SS and Gestapo.  The French sent out two prisoners to find help.  The found a German major, Josef (Sepp) Gangl.  A highly decorated Wehrmacht officer. Gangl could not protect the prisoners, he only had about 20 soldiers loyal to him. Taking a big white flag, Gangl met with the closest American unit, a tank battalion led by Capt Jack Lee.  Led by Lee, a small group of Americans, with Gangl and his men, parked a tank at the entrance to the castle.  At dawn on 5 May, they were attacked by the Waffen SS.  The battle went on for hours, but the Nazi’s were defeated and 100 prisoners taken.  Maj. Josef Gangl was killed by an SS sniper.  Buried nearby, he remains a local hero.

yeah!

Spring

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

When daisies pied and violets blue

   And lady-smocks all silver-white

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue

   Do paint the meadows with delight,

The cuckoo then, on every tree,

Mocks married men; for thus sings he,

                         Cuckoo;

Cuckoo, cuckoo: Oh word of fear,

Unpleasing to a married ear!

Adaptation of First Century Viking Warrior Prayer

Lo, There do I see my Father 
Lo, There do I see my Mother and 
My Brothers and my Sisters 
Lo, There do I see the line of my people back to the beginning 
Lo, They do call to me 
They bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla (paradise)
Where thine enemies have been vanquished 
Where the brave shall live Forever 
Nor shall we mourn but rejoice for those that have died the glorious death.

from the movie 13th warrior

On Valor Words To Live By.

35	Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once. Of all the wonders that I yet have heard, It seems to me most strange that men should fear, Seeing that death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come.

Shakespeare 'Julius Caesar'

~ Mark Twain ~

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time."

twain and family