Pagoda

A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves, built in traditions originating in historic East Asia or with respect to those traditions, common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Sri Lanka and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near viharas. In some countries, the term may refer to other religious structures. In Vietnam and Cambodia, due to French translation, the English term Pagoda is a more generic term referring to a place of worship, although pagoda is not an accurate word to describe a Buddhist vihara. The modern pagoda is an evolution of the Ancient Nepal stupa, a tomb-like structure where sacred relics could be kept safe and venerated. The architectural structure of the stupa has spread across Asia, taking on many diverse forms as details specific to different regions are incorporated into the overall design.

Etymology

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. The film stars Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and Danny Glover.

It follows the lives of three gifted siblings who experience great success in youth, and even greater disappointment and failure after their eccentric father leaves them in their adolescent years. An ironic and absurdist sense of humor pervades the film.

Hackman won a Golden Globe for his performance. The screenplay was nominated for an Academy Award. In 2008, a poll taken by Empire ranked it as the 159th greatest film ever made.

Plot

Royal Tenenbaum explains to his three children, Chas, Margot, and Richie, that he and his wife, Etheline, are separating. Each of the Tenenbaum children achieved great success at a very young age. Chas is a math and business genius, from whom Royal steals money. Margot, who was adopted by the Tenenbaums, was awarded a grant for a play that she wrote in the ninth grade. Richie is a tennis prodigy and artist. He expresses his love for adopted sister Margot through many paintings. Royal takes him on regular outings, to which neither of the other children are invited. Eli Cash is the Tenenbaums' neighbor, and Richie's best friend.

Pagoda (Efteling)

Pagoda (or "Pagode" in Dutch) is an unobtrusive variation of an observation tower in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven and started flying in 1987.

History and details

The Pagoda, developed by Intamin as a flying island, is described by Efteling as a "flying temple".

It consists of a 155 tons weighing cabin and a 225-ton hydraulic arm which pivots it from the ground up to a height of 60 metres.

The counterweight of 340 tons sinks 30 metres into the ground.

To maintain the balance of the cabin itself the weight of the 100 visitors is distributed over its two sides.
The rotating cabin has a 15 metre high pagoda on top of it.

Etymology studies indicated that the word pagoda means tomb in Thai (ธาตุเจดีย). Preoccupied with upsetting a whole nation, as with Fata Morgana, Efteling choose the Dutch word "pagode" as the ride name.

Ride length: 4 minutes
Ride capacity: 1500 passengers/ hour
Cost: €3.6 million

References

Fetus

In human development, a fetus (/ˈfiːtəs/; plural "fetuses"), also spelled foetus, is a prenatal human between its embryonic state and its birth. The fetal stage of development tends to be taken as beginning at the gestational age of eleven weeks, i.e. nine weeks after fertilization. In biological terms, however, prenatal development is a continuum, with no clear defining feature distinguishing an embryo from a fetus. The use of the term "fetus" generally implies that an embryo has developed to the point of being recognizable as a human; this is the point usually taken to be the ninth week after fertilization. A fetus is also characterized by the presence of all the major body organs, though they will not yet be fully developed and functional and some not yet situated in their final anatomical location.

Etymology

The word fetus (plural fetuses) is from the Latin fētus (“offspring”, “bringing forth”, “hatching of young”). The British, Irish, and Commonwealth spelling is foetus, which has been in use since at least 1594. It arose as a hypercorrection based on an incorrect etymology (i.e. due to insufficient knowledge of Latin) that may have originated with an error by Isidore of Seville in AD 620. This spelling is the most common in most Commonwealth nations, except in the medical literature, where fetus is used. The etymologically accurate original spelling fetus is used in Canada and the United States. In addition, fetus is now the standard English spelling throughout the world in medical journals. The spelling faetus was used historically.

Fetus (biology)

A fetus (sometimes spelled foetus) is a stage in the development of viviparous organisms. This stage lies between the embryonic stage and birth.

The fetuses of most mammals are situated similarly to the homo sapiens fetus within their mothers. However, the anatomy of the area surrounding a fetus is different in litter-bearing animals compared to humans: each fetus of a litter-bearing animal is surrounded by placental tissue and is lodged along one of two long uteri instead of the single uterus found in a human female.

Development at birth varies considerably among animals, and even among mammals. Altricial species are relatively helpless at birth and require considerable parental care and protection. In contrast, precocial animals are born with open eyes, have hair or down, have large brains, and are immediately mobile and somewhat able to flee from, or defend themselves against, predators. Primates are precocial at birth, with the exception of humans.

The duration of gestation in placental mammals (i.e. mammals other than monotremes and marsupials) varies from 18 days in jumping mice to 23 months in elephants. Generally speaking, fetuses of larger land mammals require longer gestation periods.

Foetus (band)

Foetus is the primary musical outlet of J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus on Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. After 1995 the name permanently became Foetus, though the related project The Foetus Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1997 and continues.

Thirlwell acts as the sole instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and producer for all Foetus works and as such is the only member of the band. Other artists may occasionally collaborate with Thirlwell on Foetus works but are not considered members of Foetus. Thirlwell is solely responsible for the musical output of the band.

J. G. Thirlwell has many side-projects, in which he frequently goes by the name Clint Ruin. One such grouping is Wiseblood with former Swans member Roli Mosimann. The material tends toward the realm of the darkest and most sexual Foetus songs, with Mosimann's Swans lineage showing in the slow, crushing pacing of many tracks. Thematically, Wiseblood's lyrics center around the misanthropic exertion of power, typically via murder, sex or assault. Wiseblood existed on-and-off from the mid-1980s through early 1990s.