Flora (deity)

In Roman mythology, Flora (Latin: Flōra) was a Sabine-derived goddess of flowers and of the season of spring – a symbol for nature and flowers (especially the may-flower). While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth.

Etymology

Her name is derived from the Latin word "flos" which means "flower". In modern English, "Flora" also means the plants of a particular region or period.

Festival

Her festival, the Floralia, was held between April 28 and May 3 and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, drinking, and flowers. The festival was first instituted in 240 B.C.E but on the advice of the Sibylline books she was given another temple in 238 B.C.E. At the festival, with the men decked in flowers, and the women wearing normally forbidden gay costumes, five days of farces and mimes were enacted – ithyphallic, and including nudity when called for – followed by a sixth day of the hunting of goats and hares. On May 23 another (rose) festival was held in her honor.

Floraí

Floraí is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.

See also

References

Coordinates: 23°17′S 52°19′W / 23.283°S 52.317°W / -23.283; -52.317

Flora (given name)

Flora is a feminine given name that may refer to:

People

Richard Cockle Lucas

Richard Cockle Lucas (24 October 1800 – 18 May 1883) was an English sculptor and photographer.

Career

Lucas was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the son of Richard Lucas and his wife, Martha Sutton (who died shortly after childbirth).

At the age of twelve, he was apprenticed to an uncle who was a cutler at Winchester, where his ability at carving knife handles revealed his skill as a sculptor. He moved to London, aged 21, and studied at the Royal Academy Schools. From 1828, he was a regular contributor to the Royal Academy, receiving silver medals for architectural drawing in 1828 and 1829.

His son Albert Dürer was born in 1828 in Bayswater and by 1846 the family was living at Nottingham Place in central London. In 1849, the family moved out of London, probably for health reasons, to Otterbourne, near Winchester, where Lucas may have become a friend of the Victorian children's author, Charlotte Mary Yonge.

Lucas then moved to Chilworth near Romsey in about 1854 where he had the "Tower of the Winds" built to his own design. This house stood opposite the former "Clump Inn". In 1865, he built a second home, "Chilworth Tower", about half a mile from the first.

Banks (singer)

Jillian Rose Banks (born June 16, 1988), known simply as Banks (often stylized as BANKS), is an American singer and songwriter from Orange County, California. She releases music under Harvest Records, Good Years Recordings and IAMSOUND Records imprints of the major label Universal Music Group.

She has toured internationally with The Weeknd and was also nominated for the Sound of 2014 award by the BBC and an MTV Brand New Nominee in 2014. On May 3, 2014, Banks was dubbed as an "Artist to Watch" by FoxWeekly.

Early life

Jillian Rose Banks was born in Orange County, California. Banks started writing songs at the age of fifteen. She taught herself piano when she received a keyboard from a friend to help her through her parents' divorce. She says she "felt very alone and helpless. I didn't know how to express what I was feeling or who to talk to."

Career

2013–present: Breakthrough and Goddess

Banks used the audio distribution website SoundCloud to put out her music before securing a record deal. Her friend Lily Collins used her contacts to pass along her music to people in the industry; specifically Katy Perry's DJ Yung Skeeter, and she began working with the label Good Years Recordings. Her first official single, called "Before I Ever Met You" was released in February 2013. The song which had been on a private SoundCloud page ended up being played by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe. Banks released her first EP Fall Over by IAMSOUND Records and Good Years Recordings.Billboard called her a "magnetic writer with songs to obsess over." Banks released her second EP called London by Harvest Records and Good Years Recordings in 2013 to positive reviews from music critics, receiving a 78 from Metacritic. Her song "Waiting Game" from the EP was featured in the 2013 Victoria's Secret holiday commercial.

The New Classic

The New Classic is the debut studio album by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. It was released on 21 April 2014, by Def Jam Recordings in United States, Virgin EMI in United Kingdom and affiliated record labels in other countries. Azalea came to prominence, after releasing her debut mixtape Ignorant Art and subsequently aligning herself with American rapper T.I. and his Hustle Gang imprint. Azalea first mentioned plans for the album in December 2011, but after numerous delays and label conflicts, Azalea eventually secured herself a record contract through Island Def Jam Music Group (now defunct). Though generally categorized as a hip hop album, The New Classic also incorporates elements of other genres, such as EDM, dance-pop and trap music in its production.

Goddess (2013 film)

Goddess is a 2013 Australian romantic comedy film, directed by Mark Lamprell. The film stars singer Ronan Keating, Laura Michelle Kelly and Magda Szubanski.

Plot

Elspeth Dickens (Laura Michelle Kelly) dreams of finding her "voice" despite being stuck in an isolated farmhouse with her twin boys (Phoenix and Levi Morrison). A webcam she installs in her kitchen becomes her pathway to fame and fortune, making her a cyber-sensation. Through singing her funny sink-songs into the webcam, Elspeth becomes a cyber-sensation.

While her husband James (Ronan Keating) is off saving the world's whales, Elspeth is offered the chance of a lifetime. But when forced to choose between fame and family, the newly anointed internet goddess almost loses it all.

Cast