On This Day
295 BC – The first temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, is dedicated by Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges during the Third Samnite War.[1]
Venus (/ˈviːnəs/, Classical Latin: /ˈwɛnʊs/; genitive Veneris /ˈwɛnɛrɪs/)[a] is a Roman goddess, whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.
The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality. She is usually depicted nude in paintings.
Read more ->
Born On This Day
1858 – Ellen Willmott, English horticulturalist (d. 1934)[20]
Ellen Ann Willmott FLS VMH (19 August 1858 – 27 September 1934)[1] was an English horticulturist. She was an influential member of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a recipient of the first Victoria Medal of Honour, awarded to British horticulturists living in the UK by the society, in 1897. Willmott was said to have cultivated more than 100,000 species and cultivars of plants and sponsored expeditions to discover new species.[2] Inherited wealth allowed Willmott to buy large gardens in France and Italy to add to the garden at her home, Warley Place in Essex.[3] More than 60 plants have been named after her or her home, Warley Place.[4]
Read more ->
FYI
By Atlas Obscura: Meet the former town of Coca-Cola millionaires; The Funniest Plaques; The Kalamazoo Gals and more ->
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova: Midweek pick-me-up (birthday edition): “Peter Rabbit” creator Beatrix Potter’s little-known scientific studies and stunning illustrations of mushrooms
By Collin Marshall, Open Culture: The Beatles’ 8 Pioneering Innovations: A Video Essay Exploring How the Fab Four Changed Pop Music
Open Culture: Watch The Weight of the Nation Free Online: An Emmy-Nominated HBO Documentary Films Series on Obesity
By Colin Marshall, Open Culture: Make Body Language Your Superpower: A 15-Minute Primer on Body Language & Public Speaking from Stanford Business School
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: How Doctor Who First Started as a Family Educational TV Program (1963)
The Passive Voice: The Power of Trust
The Carmenator and I watched this and he kept beaking me as if to say: “Don’t even think about trying this on me.”
Recipes
By Hey Jude: Half ‘n’ Half Jam – English X French Plum – 2in1 Combo
By Kristin Gambaccini Blog: Homemade Fruity Pop-Tarts
By Paul Kita, Men’s Health: There’s Only One Right Way to Cook Scrambled Eggs
By chiraj: Vegetable Cheese Wraps
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- New Orleans Chicken Wings November 19, 2024Why settle for plain chicken wings when you can have bold, spicy, New Orleans sass?! Tossed in Creole seasoning and garlic butter then baked until golden, the smell alone will make you drool. Easy enough for dinner, excellent for parties. Get in my belly! New Orleans Chicken Wings Today’s recipe is inspired by New Orleans... […]Nagi
- Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger October 24, 2024This is my copycat of the FAMOUS Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger! A homemade Peri Peri Sauce does double duty as the marinade for the Portuguese style grilled chicken and to make a tingly creamy Peri Peri “Perinaise” pink sauce. Excellent for summer BBQs! Nando’s copycat Peri Peri Chicken Burgers Nando’s is a global chain... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 22 November 22, 2024Picture of the day Sanderling (Calidris alba) looking for food on the beach of Westkapelle, Netherlands
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 21 November 21, 2024Picture of the day This technical illustration shows early hot air balloon designs. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on this day in 1783.
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?