Nymphaeum (in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habitations to the local nymphs. They were sometimes so arranged as to furnish a supply of water, as at Pamphylian Side. A nymphaeum dedicated to a local water nymph, Coventina, was built along Hadrian's Wall, in the northernmost reach of the Roman Empire. Subsequently, artificial grottoes took the place of natural ones. The nymphaeum in Jerash, Jordan (illustration, above right), was constructed in 191 AD. The fountain was originally embellished with marble facing on the lower level, painted plaster on the upper level, and topped with a half-dome roof, forming a giant niche. Water cascaded through seven carved lion's heads into small basins on the sidewalk. The nymphaea of the Roman period, which extended the sacral use to purely recreational ones, were borrowed from the constructions of the Hellenistic east. The majority of them were rotundas, and were adorned with statues and paintings. They served the threefold purpose of sanctuaries, reservoirs and assembly-rooms. A special feature was their use for the celebration of marriages. Such nymphaea existed in Corinth, Antioch and Constantinople; the remains of some twenty have been found in Rome and many in Africa. The so-called exedra of Herodes Atticus (which corresponds in all respects to a nymphaeum in the Roman style), the nymphaeum in the palace of Domitian and those in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli (Tibur) — five in number — may be specially mentioned)

The Jerash nymphaeum in Jordan........................

Nymphaeum of the Villa Giulia in Rome...........................

The Nymphenbad of the Zwinger palace in Dresden, Germany..........................

FYI: From my Architecture topic folder

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Off to work.............................

Orange - An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae; it primarily refers to Citrus × sinensis, which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related Citrus × aurantium, referred to as bitter orange. The orange originated in a region encompassing Southern China, Northeast India, and Myanmar, and the earliest mention of the sweet orange was in Chinese literature in 314 BC. As of 1987, orange trees were found to be the most cultivated fruit tree in the world. Orange trees are widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates for their sweet fruit. The fruit of the orange tree can be eaten fresh, or processed for its juice or fragrant peel. As of 2012, sweet oranges accounted for approximately 70% of citrus production. In 2019, 79 million tons of oranges were grown worldwide, with Brazil producing 22% of the total, followed by China and India.

Orange is the color between yellow and red on the spectrum of visible light. Human eyes perceive orange when observing light with a dominant wavelength between roughly 585 and 620 nanometers. In traditional color theory, it is a secondary color of pigments, produced by mixing yellow and red. In the RGB color model, it is a tertiary color. It is named after the fruit of the same name. The orange color of many fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and oranges, comes from carotenes, a type of photosynthetic pigment. These pigments convert the light energy that the plants absorb from the Sun into chemical energy for the plants' growth. Similarly, the hues of autumn leaves are from the same pigment after chlorophyll is removed. In Europe and America, surveys show that orange is the color most associated with amusement, the unconventional, extroversion, warmth, fire, energy, activity, danger, taste and aroma, the autumn and All Hallowtide seasons, as well as having long been the national color of the Netherlands and the House of Orange. It also serves as the political color of the Christian democracy political ideology and most Christian democratic political parties. In Asia, it is an important symbolic color in Buddhism and Hinduism.

There are 26 places in the world named Orange!
Orange can be found in 6 countries throughout the world. In some countries the place can be found more than once. For example America and France. America has the highest number of places called Orange, spread across 20 regions. The majority of the cities named Orange can be found above the equator. The northern most place is in the region Rhone-Alpes in France. The southern most place is in the region New South Wales in Australia.

Paparazzi (or singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects go about their usual life routines. Paparazzi tend to make a living by selling their photographs to media outlets that focus on tabloid journalism and sensationalism (such as gossip magazines). Paparazzi tend to be independent contractors, unaffiliated with mainstream media organizations, and photos taken are usually done so by taking advantage of opportunities when they have sightings of high-profile people they are tracking. Some experts have described the behavior of paparazzi as synonymous with stalking, and anti-stalking laws in many countries address the issue by seeking to reduce harassment of public figures and celebrities, especially when they are with their children. Some public figures and celebrities have expressed concern at the extent to which paparazzi go to invade their personal space. The filing and receiving of judicial support for restraining orders against paparazzi has increased, as have lawsuits with judgments against them. Due to the reputation of paparazzi as a nuisance, several countries and states restrict their activities by passing laws and curfews,[citation needed] and by staging events in which paparazzi are specifically not allowed to take photographs. In the United States, celebrity news organizations are protected by the First Amendment. To protect the children of celebrities, California passed Senate Bill No. 60 in September 2013. The purpose of the bill is to stop paparazzi from taking pictures of children or wards in a harassing manner because of their parent's occupation. This law increased the penalty for harassment of children. California Civil Code sections 1708.7 and 1708.8 explicitly address stalking and invasion of physical privacy)

Mickey Hargitay (father of actress Mariska Hargitay from the tv show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) assaults the "king of paparazzi" Rino Barillari while a woman hits him with her purse—Via Veneto 1963...............

and of course............................Lady Gaga....

and apparently a line of jewelry.....................

Calling it a night...............................

Quack can be the sound a duck makes. It can also be a verb to describe the sound a duck makes.

A quack can also be a person who dishonestly pretends to have medical skills or knowledge.

The Rockettes (are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since 1932 (91 years ago), performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an annual Christmas show, and for performing annually since 1957 at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. There have been over 3,000 women who have performed as Rockettes since the New York Christmas Spectacular opening night in 1933. The Rockettes also conduct the Rockette Summer Intensive for dancers aspiring to be Rockettes. The Rockettes group now consists of 80 women split into two casts. As in the past, however, each cast only has 36 dancers on stage at one time. The origins of the Rockettes can be traced to 1925, when impresario Russell Markert of St. Louis, Missouri, billed a group of women dancers as the Missouri Rockets. Following a positive reception locally, the dance team began a nationwide tour. Among their admiring audiences in New York City was Samuel (“Roxy”) Rothafel, owner of the new Roxy Theater. He acquired the troupe, doubled its size, and dubbed the dancers the Roxyettes. After opening the Radio City Music Hall—the world’s largest indoor theatre—he enlarged the troupe again in order to fill the hall’s Great Stage. The dance team became known as the Rockettes in 1934)

The original Missouri Rockets.......................

Russell Markert working on a routine during rehearsal with the Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall, New York, 1949.........................

Calling it a night.........................

Sandringham House - is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) estate in the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house is listed as Grade II* and the landscaped gardens, park and woodlands are on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

The site has been occupied since Elizabethan times, when a large manor house was constructed. This was replaced in 1771 by a Georgian mansion for the owners, the Hoste Henleys. After 1836 the property changed hands several times until 1862. In 1862 Sandringham and just under 8,000 acres of land were purchased for £220,000 for Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, as a country home for him and his future wife, Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Between 1870 and 1900, the house was almost completely rebuilt in a style described by Pevsner as "frenetic Jacobean". Albert Edward also developed the estate, creating one of the finest shoots in England. Following his death in 1910, the estate passed to Edward's son and heir, George V, who described the house as "dear old Sandringham, the place I love better than anywhere else in the world". It was the setting for the first Christmas broadcast in 1932. George died at the house on 20 January 1936. The estate passed to his son Edward VIII and, at his abdication, as the private property of the monarch, it was purchased by Edward's brother, George VI. George was as devoted to the house as his father, writing to his mother Queen Mary, "I have always been so happy here and I love the place". He died at Sandringham on 6 February 1952. 

On the King's death, Sandringham passed to his daughter Elizabeth II. The Queen spent about two months each winter on the Sandringham Estate, including the anniversary of her father's death and of her own accession in early February. In 1957, she broadcast her first televised Christmas message from Sandringham. In the 1960s, plans were drawn up to demolish the house and replace it with a modern building, but these were not carried out. In 1977, to mark her Silver Jubilee, the Queen opened the house and grounds to the public for the first time. Unlike the royal palaces owned by the Crown, such as Buckingham Palace, Holyrood Palace and Windsor Castle, Sandringham (along with Balmoral Castle in Scotland) is owned personally by the monarch. In 2022, following the Queen's death, Sandringham passed to her son Charles III.

YouTube

Sandringham Estate Tour: Queen Elizabeth II's Private Home

Sandringham Estate Tour: Queen Elizabeth II's Private HomeIf you have ever wondered about where the Queen spends her Christmases, it's here at Sandringham. A...

Taco Tuesday (is a custom in many US cities of going out to eat tacos or in some cases select Mexican dishes, typically served in a tortilla on Tuesday nights. Restaurants will often offer special prices, for example, "$1 fish tacos every Tuesday night". It is popular in many big cities across the nation, and especially popular in the beach cities of Southern California. Taco Tuesday is similar to Happy Hour in that restaurants vary in their participation, hours, and specials offered. The Wyoming-based fast food restaurant Taco John's was granted a trademark for "Taco Tuesday" in 1989, and has defended against other restaurants using that phrase. Taco John's trademark extends to all the United States except New Jersey; in New Jersey, Gregory's Restaurant & Bar of Somers Point trademarked the term in 1982. In 2019, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player LeBron James began sharing social media posts on Instagram about his family's weekly taco dinners dubbed "Taco Tuesdays". Through shell company LBJ Trademarks LLC, he filed a trademark on the term "Taco Tuesday" for use in downloadable audio/visual works, podcasts, social media, online marketing, and entertainment services. The request was denied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, stating that Taco Tuesday was "a commonplace term, message or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment." In practice, Taco John's has been unable to stop widespread use of the term regardless. Many taco fans disagree with the idea that any one entity can "own" the term "Taco Tuesdays")

YouTube

Taco Tuesday song

The Taco Tuesday Song!#TacoTuesday #TacoSong #Tacos

Off to work...................................

Uncle Sam - On September 7, 1813, the United States gets its nickname, Uncle Sam. The name is linked to Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied barrels of beef to the United States Army during the War of 1812. Wilson (1766-1854) stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for United States, but soldiers began referring to the grub as “Uncle Sam’s.” The local newspaper picked up on the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for—and personification of—the U.S. federal government. In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902) began popularizing the image of Uncle Sam. Nast continued to evolve the image, eventually giving Sam the white beard and stars-and-stripes suit that are associated with the character today. The German-born Nast was also credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as well as coming up with the donkey as a symbol for the Democratic Party and the elephant as a symbol for the Republicans. Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam was created by artist James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960). In Flagg’s version, Uncle Sam wears a tall top hat and blue jacket and is pointing straight ahead at the viewer. During World War I, this portrait of Sam with the words “I Want You For The U.S. Army” was used as a recruiting poster. The image, which became immensely popular, was first used on the cover of Leslie’s Weekly in July 1916 with the title “What Are You Doing for Preparedness?” The poster was widely distributed and has subsequently been re-used numerous times with different captions.

YouTube

Who Was Uncle Sam ? Was he a real person?

In this video, I'll answer the question, "who was Uncle Sam?" The United States of America goes by several monikers: America, the U.S. of A., the Land of Op...

Virtual Reality (VR is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), education (such as medical or military training) and business (such as virtual meetings). Other distinct types of VR-style technology include augmented reality and mixed reality, sometimes referred to as extended reality or XR, although definitions are currently changing due to the nascence of the industry. Currently, standard virtual reality systems use either virtual reality headsets or multi-projected environments to generate some realistic images, sounds and other sensations that simulate a user's physical presence in a virtual environment. A person using virtual reality equipment is able to look around the artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features or items. The effect is commonly created by VR headsets consisting of a head-mounted display with a small screen in front of the eyes, but can also be created through specially designed rooms with multiple large screens. Virtual reality typically incorporates auditory and video feedback, but may also allow other types of sensory and force feedback through haptic technology)

Calling it a night..........................

Windor Castle - is an English royal residence that stands on a ridge at the northeastern edge of the district of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. The castle occupies 13 acres (5 hectares) of ground above the south bank of the River Thames. Windsor Castle comprises two quadrilateral-shaped building complexes, or courts, that are separated by the Round Tower. The latter is a massive circular tower that is built on an artificial mound and is visible for many miles over the surrounding flatland. The court west of the Round Tower is called the lower ward; the court to the east is called the upper ward.

There was a royal residence at Windsor in Saxon times (c. 9th century). William I (“William the Conqueror”) developed the present site, constructing a mound with a stockade about 1070. Henry II replaced this with the stone Round Tower and added outer walls to the north, east, and south. In the 13th century Henry III completed the south wall and the western end of the lower ward and built a royal chapel on the site of the present-day Albert Memorial Chapel. Edward III made this chapel the center of the newly formed Order of the Garter in 1348 and converted the fortress buildings in the upper ward to residential apartments for the monarchs. These apartments were rebuilt by Charles II and later reconstructed by George IV for use by visitors of state in addition to the monarchs.

The lower ward includes St. George’s Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel. St. George’s Chapel, designed to be the chapel of the Order of the Garter, was begun by Edward IV and is one of the best examples of Perpendicular Gothic-style architecture. It was completed in 1528 and restored between 1921 and 1930. It ranks next to Westminster Abbey as a royal mausoleum and contains the bodies of Henry VI, Edward IV, Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Charles I, Edward VII, and George V. The chapel also contains the impressive insignia of the Knights of the Garter. Albert Memorial Chapel, built by Henry VII as a royal mausoleum, was restored by Queen Victoria and named in memory of her consort. In this chapel are buried George III, George IV, and William IV.

Aerial view of the castle from the south: from left to right, the Lower Ward, the Middle Ward and Round Tower, the Upper Ward and East Terrace garden, with the Long Walk in the lower right hand corner. The River Thames can be seen in the upper left of the picture.

Windsor Castle, seen from the north; (l to r) Upper Ward, Middle Ward, Round Tower, St George's Chapel, Lower Ward and Curfew Tower

YouTube

Visit Windsor Castle: Official Video

View the official video for visitors to Windsor Castle, the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world, and one of the official residences of Her Majest...