Thursday, April 9, 2009

An Angel for May

An Angel for May is a great novel that can make you drop your tears.The story is about a boy that was lost into the past time.There,he found a girl riding a wildboar name Mary that not as normal as other people.He discovers about Mary's life that was not good as other people.Eventhough Mary is smelly and quite dirty,after sometime,he become s happy to be friend with Mary.He becomes care and concern about Mary.When he get to come back to his real life,he discover that Mary is the old lady that spend her life at the rubbish area.I suggest to people out there..let's read the story!

Chocolate

Chocolate made from the cocoa bean has been with us for thousands of years. Today we know chocolate as three main types. The difference is in the amount of cocoa solids they contain. Dark chocolate has the highest, varying between 35% to 70% or more, while milk chocolate has at least 10% and the addition of milk solids. White chocolate is in fact not chocolate at all as it contains cocoa butter, not cocoa solids.
The discovery of dark chocolate’s health benefits has been promoted widely. It helps to prevent bad cholesterol, is full of powerful antioxidants and recently found to ease persistent coughs. These are just a few of the health and nutritional benefits bestowed on chocolate.
Chocolate is also a natural aphrodisiac possessing a lustful seductive quality that marries well with Valentine's Day, a day dedicated to expressions of love and the number one holiday for chocolate sales. Over one billion dollars worth of chocolate is sold during the time leading up to Valentine's, and men make 75% of those purchases.
A 20-gram (.70 ounce) square of premium rich dark chocolate has only 100 calories and provides that small indulgence of affordable luxury, so enjoy every last bite.

Horoscope:Virgo

Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Virgo. In western astrology, the sign is no longer aligned with the constellation as a result of the precession of the equinoxes. In astrology, Virgo is considered a "feminine", negative (introvert) sign. It is also considered an earth sign and is one of four mutable signs. Virgo is traditionally ruled by the planet Mercury, but Ceres and several other planets have been suggested as the ruler of Virgo by some modern astrologers. Being the sixth sign of the zodiac, Virgo has been associated with the astrological sixth house.
Individuals born when the Sun was in this sign are considered Virgo individuals. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun is in Virgo roughly from August 24 to September 22, leaving it at the moment of autumnal equinox by definition. Under the sidereal zodiac, it is currently there roughly from September 17 to October 17. The Sanskrit name of Virgo in Hindu astrology is Kanyā.

The History of Lady Godiva

Godiva was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry, in England, in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
At the time, it was customary for penitents to make a public procession in only their shift, a sleeveless white garment similar to a slip today and one which was certainly considered "underwear." Thus, some scholars speculate, Godiva may have actually travelled through town as a penitent, in her shift. Godiva's story may have passed into folk history to be recorded in a romanticised version. Another theory has it that Lady Godiva's "nakedness" may refer to her riding through the streets stripped of her jewellery, the trademark of her upper class rank. However, both these attempts to reconcile known facts with legend are weak; there is no known use of the word "naked" in the era of the earliest accounts to mean anything other than "without any clothing whatsoever."
According to the popular story, Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering grievously under her husband's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would strip naked and ride through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows, she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair. Only one person in the town, a tailor ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom, disobeyed her proclamation in one of the most famous instances of voyeurism.In the story, Tom bores a hole in his shutters so that he might see Godiva pass, and is struck blind. In the end, Godiva's husband keeps his word and abolishes the onerous taxes.
The oldest form of the legend has Godiva passing through Coventry market from one end to the other while the people were assembled, attended only by two knights.This version is given in Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover (died 1236), a somewhat gullible collector of anecdotes, who quoted from an earlier writer. The later story, with its episode of "Peeping Tom," appeared first among 17th century chroniclers.
Moreover, there is no trace of any version of the story in sources contemporary with Godiva, a story that would certainly have been recorded even in its most tame interpretations. Additionally, with the founding of Coventry circa 1043, there was little opportunity for the city to have developed to an extent that would have supported such a noble gesture. Lastly, the only recorded tolls were on horses. Thus, it remains doubtful whether there is any historical basis for the famous ride.
Like the story of Peeping Tom, the claim that Godiva's long hair effectively hid her nakedness from sight is generally believed to have been a later addition (cf. Rapunzel). Certain other thematic elements are familiar in myth and fable, the resistant Lord (cf. Esther and Ahasuerus), the exacted promise, the stringent condition and the test of chastity. Even if Peeping Tom is a late addition, his being struck blind demonstrates the closely knit themes of the violated mystery and the punished intruder (cf. Diana and Actaeon)
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Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution.

'Pride and Prejudice'

I have just read a book entitled 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austin. I am sure that the story is very familiar because it was just come out in movie that presenting Keira Knitely as the main character.The story is about Elizabeth Bennet, a country gentleman's daughter in 19th Century England. She is one of five daughters, a plight that her father bears as best he can with common sense of his daughters Jane and Elizabeth, and a general disinterest in the silliness of his daughters - Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Elizabeth is his favorite because of her level-headed approach to life, whilst Elizabeth's mother's greatest concern is getting her daughters married off to well-established gentlemen. Only Jane, Elizabeth's older sister, is nearly as sensible and practical as Elizabeth, but Jane is also the beauty of the family, and therefore, Mrs. Bennet's highest hope for a good match.
When Mr. Bingley, a young gentleman of London, takes a country estate near to the Bennet's home, Mrs. Bennet begins her match-making schemes without any trace of subtlety or dignity. Despite Mrs. Bennet's embarrassing interference, Mr. Bingley and Jane become fond of one another. Mr. Darcy, who has accompanied Bingley to the country, begins his acquaintance with Elizabeth, her family, and their neighbors with smug condescension and proud distaste for the all of the country people. Elizabeth, learning of his dislike, makes it a point to match his disgust with her own venom. She also hears from a soldier for whom she has a fondness that Darcy has misused the man. Without thinking through the story, Elizabeth immediately seizes upon it as another, more concrete reason to hate Mr. Darcy. She contradicts and argues with Darcy each time they meet, but somewhere along the way he begins to like Elizabeth.
When Bingley leaves the countryside suddenly and makes no attempts to contact Jane anymore, the young woman is heartbroken. Elizabeth, who had thought well of Bingley, believes that there is something amiss in the way that he left Jane in the lurch. Only when Elizabeth goes to visit her friend at the estate of Darcy's aunt does the mystery begin to unfold. After several encounters with Mr. Darcy while visiting her friend, Elizabeth is shocked when Darcy proposes to her. Elizabeth refuses him and questions him about his ungentlemanly conduct, the way that he misused her soldier friend, and his role in the manner of Bingley's abandonment of Jane. Darcy writes a letter to explain himself, and Elizabeth is embarrassed to learn that she had been misled about the facts of her concerns about the matters involving Darcy. In his turn, Darcy reflects on Elizabeth's criticisms and makes an effort to improve his manners in order to try to win her back. Elizabeth goes on a tour of the country and, coincidentally, they meet face-to-face while she is touring the gardens of his estate with her aunt and uncle. Darcy behaves with gentlemanly conduct and treats her relations with extreme diffidence. Elizabeth sees this to possibly mean that he still harbours affections for her, but before they can take this a step further it is derailed by a shocking event. Elizabeth learns that one of her younger sisters, Lydia, has run away with the very soldier who misled Elizabeth and the rest of her family about Mr. Darcy. She returns home immediately.
When the indignity of her sister's elopement is straightened out, Elizabeth is surprised when Darcy returns to the country with Bingley. She expected that the shame of her sister's actions had ruined any chances of a relationship with Mr. Darcy, or Jane and Bingley. Elizabeth learns from her aunt that Darcy did a great part to help get her younger sister properly married to the infamous soldier. She is confronted by Darcy's aunt about her "engagement" to Darcy, her rebuff, convinces Darcy that her affections have changed. He proposes a second time with Elizabeth accepting.
I like Elizabeth character very much because i think she very interesting women.

April fool!

The origin of April Fools' Day is obscure. One likely theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, which it replaced. In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool may have been someone who did this prematurely. Another possible origin is that April 1 was counted the first day of the year in France. When King Charles IX changed that to January 1, some people stayed with April 1. In the eighteenth century the festival was often posited as going back to the times of Noah. An English newspaper article published on April 13th, 1789 said that the day had its origins when he sent the raven off too early, before the waters had receded. He did this on the first day of the Hebrew month that corresponds with April. A possible reference to April Fools' Day can be seen in the Canterbury Tales (ca 1400) in the Nun's Priest's tale, a tale of two fools: Chanticleer and the fox, which took place on March 32nd.
The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon: like the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, France, and the USA, the jokes last all day.