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Thursday, March 31, 2016

Anderson Cooper's non-Vanderbilt Fortune

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

“It was important to me, and I think important to my parents, that I be on my own and figure things out on my own and kind of forge my own path," the CNN anchor says.
Anderson Cooper comes from American royalty, but says he won't ever see part of the Vanderbilt family's lavish fortune – and he's totally okay with that. Sitting…
YAHOO.COM

Forbidden City’s Secret Garden

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Within the former imperial palace is an 18th-century garden that has been closed since China’s last emperor departed, in 1924. Bamboo marquetry, silk painting, jade carving, and 18th-century glass art adorn 27 structures around four tree-lined courtyards in the Qianlong Garden, which was built between 1771 and 1776 as a retirement retreat for the Qianlong Emperor, the longest-reigning Chinese emperor. continue

Post-restoration interior of Juanqinzhai (2008) (photo by Si Bing/Palace Museum)
Post-restoration interior of Juanqinzhai (2008) (photo by Si Bing/Palace Museum)

Harvard's storied pigment library

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The history of pigments goes back to prehistoric times, but much of what we know about how they relate to the art world comes from Edward Forbes, a historian and director of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University from 1909 to 1944. Considered the father of art conservation in the United States, Forbes traveled around the world amassing pigments in order to authenticate classical Italian paintings. Over the years, theForbes Pigment Collection—as his collection came to be known—grew to more than 2,500 different specimens, each with its own layered backstory on its origin, production, and use. continue

Portrait of Edward Waldo Forbes, undated. Photograph by Bachrach. Fogg History Photographs, Fogg Benefactors, file 1.Harvard Art Museums Archives

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Story of Cities Series

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


Peter the Great enlisted conscripts, convicts and prisoners of war to build him a city from scratch on Hare’s Island.
Built on a swamp at the cost of thousands of lives, Peter the Great’s ‘antidote to Moscow’ has survived uprisings, sieges and floods to become Europe’s third largest city. But is history now catching up with St Petersburg?

Story of cities #9: Kingston, Jamaica – a city born of 'wickedness' and disaster

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Downtown Kingston, the conflicted heart of Jamaica’s modern capital, was born of disaster. A battered pocket watch, its hands frozen at exactly 11:43, memorialises the moment on 7 June 1692 when an earthquake ripped through this English Caribbean colony. Mountains split, buildings shattered and a tsunami swept away uncountable bodies, living and dead, as the earth’s convulsions exhumed corpses from their graves. continue

A depiction of the earthquake that destroyed much of Port Royal in 1692, by Jan Luyken and Pieter van der Aa. Illustration: Alamy
A depiction of the earthquake that destroyed much of Port Royal in 1692, by Jan Luyken and Pieter van der Aa.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Rockefeller family will leave oil industry after 146 years

The multi-billion-dollar Rockefeller Family Fund has announced plans to withdraw all funds from the oil industry after 146 years in the business.

The charitable fund slammed Exxon Mobil Corp as 'morally reprehensible' for 'misleading' the public about how much fossil fuels contribute to climate change.

Though only a sliver of the endowment's modest $130 million in assets is invested in fossil fuels, the move is notable. 

A century ago John D. Rockefeller Sr. made a fortune running Standard Oil, a precursor to Exxon Mobil. 

The charity said it will said it will 'eliminate holdings' in Exxon as soon as possible, and would also divest from coal and Canadian oil sands. Link

A century ago John D. Rockefeller Sr (pictured) made a fortune running Standard Oil, a precursor to Exxon
A century ago John D. Rockefeller Sr (pictured) made a fortune running Standard Oil, a precursor to Exxon

10 Medieval rabbits that hate Easter and want to kill you

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

At this time of year, rabbits are loved as cuddly-wuddly lickle fluffykins that hide eggs.

But in the Middle Ages there were no chocolates and those cuddly-wuddly wabbits were determined to murder you.  shucks ... read on

(via)

Princess Margaret 'had an affair' with 1950s crooner Eddie Fisher


His list of lovers made Warren Beatty's conquests appear amateur.

But there is one affair that 50s chart star Eddie Fisher apparently kept quiet – a dalliance with the Queen’s younger sister.
The revelation comes from the US crooner’s daughter and eldest of his four children – Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher – who said her father had a ‘beautiful’ romance with Princess Margaret. continue


Young love: Princess Margaret and Eddie Fisher at a charity ball at the Dorchester in London in 1953
Young love: Princess Margaret and Eddie Fisher at a charity ball at the Dorchester in London in 1953

Citizen Kane actress and Orson Welles' assistant, dies at 100

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


(Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Casa Rosada

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


Image result for casa rosada

ARGENTINA'S CASA ROSADA

Known in Argentina as the 'Government House,' Casa Rosada has housed the Argentinian president's office since the 1860s. 

Its balcony is widely recognized as the country's leaders have historically made use of it for important addresses. 

Juan Perón memorably spoke from the balcony to some 250,000 or more people after his October 1954 arrest.

Several days later Perón married the actress Eva Duarte. 

Fondly known as Evita, their political rise is romanticized in the play and movie of the same name: Evita.

La Casa Rosada is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. The palatial mansion is known officially as Casa de Gobierno.

Nixon Aide Speaks

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception



"Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did."

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

Monday, March 21, 2016

Life Magazine

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The Brink of Oblivion: Color Photos From Nazi-Occupied Poland, 1939-1940

See Photos of Nancy Reagan From Ronald’s Gubernatorial Campaign

LIFE With Batman: Rare Photos From the Set of the Classic TV Show

American Atrocity: Remembering My Lai


Leonard McCombe—LIFE Magazine

See Julie Andrews’ Debut as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady

The musical premiered on Broadway on March 15, 1956

The Queen of mischief:


As the Queen climbed into the open carriage for a birthday drive through the streets of Windsor, there on the seat lay a bouquet of flowers and beside it a birthday card in an envelope.

First, she smelled the flowers. Then, as she settled back on the cushioned seat, she opened the envelope and looked at the card — and burst into peals of laughter.

The card, which was signed by all the staff in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, where the royal carriages and horses are kept, depicted Miss Piggy, the Muppet character.

‘I thought, “Well, she can’t sack us all,” ’ says coachman Alfred Oates, now 76, who was with the Queen for 57 years. ‘But there she was, as the crowds could see, laughing the whole way round.’ Link...

Always game for a laugh: A smiling Queen waves to the crowds in 1961
Always game for a laugh: A smiling Queen waves to the crowds in 1961

communist plot to abduct Shirley Temple


Shirley Temple was the target of one of the world's most dangerous terrorist groups when she was US ambassador to Ghana in 1974, secret files reveal.

Senior officials believed that the Japanese Red Army were going to abduct the actress while she was serving in her first full diplomatic post. The papers, sent to then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's office, were obtained by Daily Mail Online after an FOIA request led to them being declassified more than 40 years on.  

Temple had been warned she was in their sights and that they had dispatched terrorists to Accra, the capital of Ghana. 
The U.S. embassy in the African nation sent an urgent warning to Washington telling them that the Red Army was in the area and 'specialized in hijacking and kidnapping'. Link

Turn of career: Shirley Temple Black, who died last year, became the U.S. ambassador to Ghana in 1974 and remained in the post until 1976. In her first year there was intelligence of a Communist kidnap plot
Turn of career: Shirley Temple Black, who died last year, became the U.S. ambassador to Ghana in 1974 and remained in the post until 1976. In her first year there was intelligence of a Communist kidnap plot

Was Coco Chanel a German spy?



French intelligence officers believed that Coco Chanel worked as a spy for the Nazis during the Second World War, according to newly released documents.

An informant had told authorities that the designer was the lover - and agent - of German intelligence officer Baron Hans Gunther von Dinklage.

Historians released documents from the secret services' archives today, which include files on celebrities they deemed suspicious. Link ...

French intelligence officers believed that Coco Chanel worked as a spy for the Nazis during the Second World War, according to newly released documents
French intelligence officers believed that Coco Chanel worked as a spy for the Nazis during the Second World War, according to newly released documents

Historic Trip to Cuba

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


Yesterday, President Obama made history. For the first time ever, Air Force One touched down in Havana, Cuba.
MEDIUM.COM|BY BEN RHODES

historic Havana mansion hosts America's first family

The mansion in Havana where U.S. President Barack Obama and his family spent two nights has survived war, revolution and an Albanian occupation.

Built from 1939 to 1942, the two-story building is more than half the size of the White House, according to U.S. State Department data, and was constructed with the finest materials and craftsmanship of the time. Link ...

A view from the gardens shows the terrace of the U.S. ambassadorial residence where the first family will stay in Cuba
A view from the gardens shows the terrace of the U.S. ambassadorial residence where the first family will stay in Cuba

Einstein in March

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception


Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

How Albert Einstein Celebrated His Birthday

The physicist was born on March 14, 1879

Bette Davis

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

T-rex

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The oldest known members of this group of carnivorous dinosaurs were tiny, about the size of dogs.
Tyrannosaurus rex, the behemoth king of the late ages of the dinosaurs, grew its brain before its noteworthy body. That’s according to scientists at the…
PBS.ORG

Empress Candace Of Ethiopia

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Candace or Kandake was the name given to any Queen or Empress of Ethiopia by the Europeans, and these great woman were seen to be wives of the Gods or…
URBANINTELLECTUALS.COM|BY URBAN INTELLECTUALS

Dating 1930s Style


Heather with her fiancé Michael Cox in 1942 and her dog Blanché
Heather with her fiancé Michael Cox in 1942 and her dog Blanché


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treasure-laden San Jose galleon found in Colombia

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The wreck of a Spanish ship laden with treasure that was sunk by the British more than 300 years ago has been found off the Colombian coast, says President Juan Manuel Santos.
The wreck of the San Jose, a treasure-laden Spanish galleon sunk by the British 300 years ago, has been found off the Colombian city of Cartagena, President…
BBC.COM

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Elizabeth Taylor ... unseen photos



YES SHE CANNES Elizabeth Taylor napping on a friend’s yacht near Cannes in 1993 with her Maltese Terrier Sugar, her constant companion, who died in 2005
YES SHE CANNES Elizabeth Taylor napping on a friend’s yacht near Cannes in 1993 with her Maltese Terrier Sugar, her constant companion, who died in 2005

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