The Virgin and Child with Saint Anneis anoil
paintingbyLeonardo da VincidepictingSt
Anne, her daughter theVirgin
Maryand theinfant Jesus. Christ is shown
grappling with a sacrificiallambsymbolizing hisPassionas the Virgin tries to restrain him. The painting was commissioned as
the high altarpiece for the Church ofSantissima
AnnunziatainFlorenceand its theme had long preoccupied
Leonardo.
TheVirgin of the Rocks (sometimes theMadonna of the Rocks) is the name used for two paintings byLeonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, and of a composition which is identical
except for several significant details. The version generally considered theprime version, that is the
earlier of the two, hangs inThe
Louvrein Paris and the other in
theNational Gallery,
London. The paintings are
both nearly 2 metres (over 6 feet) high and are painted in oils. Both
were painted on wooden panel; that in the Louvre has beentransferred to canvas.
Saint Anne (also known as Ann or Anna) of David's
house and line, was the mother of the Mary and grandmother of Jesus according to apocryphal Christian and Islamic tradition.
Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels, nor in the Quran.
Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come only from New
Testament apocrypha, of which the Gospel of James (written
perhaps around 150) seems to be the earliest that mentions them.
Throughout history, various groups of people have considered
themselves to be chosen people by
a deity for a purpose, such as to act as the deity's agent on earth.
In monotheistic faiths references to God are used in
constructs such as "God's Chosen People". The phenomenon of a
"chosen people" is particularly common in the Abrahamic tradition,
where it originally referred to the Israelites. Some claims of chosenness are
based on parallel claims of Israelite ancestry, as is the case for
the Christian Identity and Black Hebrew sects- both which
claim themselves (and not Jews) to be the "true Israel". Others claim
a "spiritual" chosenness, including most Christian denominations, who
traditionally believe the church has replaced Israel as the People of God.
※Sagrada Família
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona,
designed by Catalan Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926).
Gaudí's work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and
in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it
a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral, which
must be the seat of a bishop.
※Definition
Pain In The Ass:someone who has no purpose but to piss you off.
Futile: incapable of producing any useful result; pointless, in
vain.
Fertile:
(of soil or land) producing or capable of producing abundant vegetation or
crops.
Genre, "kind" or "sort", is anycategoryofliterature,music, or other forms of art or
entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres form by conventions that change over
time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued. Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of
borrowing and recombining these conventions.
The terms "situational comedy"
or "sitcom" weren't commonly used
until the 1950s, The first television sitcom is said to be Pinwright's Progress, ten episodes
being broadcast on the BBC in the United Kingdom between
1946 and 1947. In the United States, director and producer William
Asher has been credited with being the
"man who invented the sitcom", having directed over two dozen of the
leading sitcoms, including I Love Lucy, from the 1950s through the
1970s.
※The Raven
"The Raven"
is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe.
First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality,
stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of
a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the
man's slow fall into madness.
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet,
essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition
between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views
in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon,
often called the father of free verse. His work was very controversial in its time,
particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was
described as obscene for its overt sexuality.
Jane
Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte
Brontë. It was published on 16 October 1847, by Smith, Elder &
Co. of London, England, under the pen name "Currer Bell." The
first American edition was published the following year by Harper &
Brothers of New York.
No
Strings Attached is a 2011
American romantic comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and
written by Elizabeth
Meriwether. Starring Natalie
Portman and Ashton
Kutcher, the film is about two friends who
decide to make a pact to have "no strings attached" casual
sex without falling in love with each other. The film was released in
the United States on January 21, 2011.
"A Great People Has
Been Moved to Defend a Great Nation"
Good evening.
Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack
in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in
airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military
and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives
were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of
airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge -- huge structures
collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet,
unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our
nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist
attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot
touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent
the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're
the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will
keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil -- the very worst of
human nature -- and we responded with the best of America. With the daring of
our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to
give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our
government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's
prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington D.C.
to help with local rescue efforts. Our first priority is to get help to those
who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at
home and around the world from further attacks. The functions of our government
continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be
evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open
for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the
American economy will be open for business as well.
The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts.
I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement
communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will
make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those
who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined
me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people,
I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and
assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all those who want
peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against
terrorism.
Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the
children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and
security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a Power
greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
fear no evil for you are with me.
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in
our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and
we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go
forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.
White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant(WASP) is an informal, sometimes
disparaging termfor a closed social
group of high-status and influentialwhite AmericansofEnglish Protestantancestry. It is also sometimes applied to those of
Scottish Protestant and Irish Protestant ancestry. The term applies to a group
who control disproportionate financial, political and social power in the
United States.
InChristian traditiontheHoly Chaliceis the vessel whichJesusused at theLast Supperto serve the wine.The Holy Chalice in the form of the
"Holy Grail" became a topos inArthurian romancein the high medieval period. InRoman Catholicrelic venerationof the later medieval period, two artifacts,
one kept in Genoa and the other in Valencia, were identified as the Holy
Chalice.
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities
mentioned in the Book of
Genesis and
throughout the Hebrew Biblethe New Testament and in the deuterocanonical books, as well as in the Quran and
the hadith. According to theTorah,
the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were allied with the cities ofAdmah,ZeboimandBela. These
five cities, also known as the "cities of the plain", (from Genesis
in theAuthorized Version) were situated on theJordan Riverplain in the southern region of the land ofCanaan.
The plain, which corresponds to the area just north of the modern-dayDead Sea,was compared to the garden of Eden as
being a land well-watered and green, suitable for grazing livestock.
The translation was largely the work
of St. Jerome, who, in 382
AD, was commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Vetus Latina ("Old Latin") collection of biblical
texts in Latin then in use by the Church. Once published, it was widely adopted
and eventually eclipsed the Vetus Latina and, by
the 13th century, was known as the "versio vulgata" (the
"version commonly-used") or, more simply, in Latin as vulgata or
in Greek as βουλγάτα ("Vulgate").
※Book Of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, often called
the Revelation to John,
the Apocalypse of John, The Revelation, or simply Revelation or Apocalypse, is a book of the New
Testament that occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. Its
title is derived from the first word of the text, written
in Koine Greek: apokalypsis, meaning "unveiling" or
"revelation". The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic document
in the New Testament canon (although there are
short apocalyptic passages in various places in the
Gospels and
the Epistles).
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also
known as the Lost Son, Running Son, Loving Father, or Lovesick Father) is one of
the parables of Jesus which appears in Luke 15:11-32. Jesus
Christ shares it with his disciples, the Pharisees and others.
Elizabeth
II has been Queen of
the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand since 6 February 1952. She is also Head of the
Commonwealth and the queen of 12 countries that have become independent
since her accession: Jamaica, Barbados, the
Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and
Nevis.