MONDAY MIRTH

Any port in a storm it would seem.   This is definitely a 'smile' one and I hope you will keep smiling through the coming week.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision, also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis.  It was laocated in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selcuk in present-day Turkey).  One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world, it was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401 AD.  Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain:

The first sanctuary (Temenos) antedated Ionic immigration by many years, and dates to the Bronze Age.  Callimachus, in his Hymn to Artemis, attributed it to the Amazons.  In the 7th century BC, the old temple was destroyed by a flood.  Its reconstruction began around 550 BC, under the Cretan architect Chersiphron and his son Meagenes, at the expense of Croesus of Lydia:  the project took 10 years to complete.  The temple was desctroyed in 356 BC by an act of arson and was again rebuilt, this time as the Wonder.

The fame of the Temple of Artemis was known in the Renaissance as demonstrated in this imagined portrayal of the temple in a 16th-century hand-coloured engraving by Martin Heemskerck:

Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the list of the Seven Wonders, described the finished temple:

I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, the the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the hosue of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand".

This model of the Temple of Artemis, at Miniaturk Park, Instabul, Turkey, attempts to recreate the probable appearance of the first temple:

A drum from the base of a column from the 4th-century rebuilding now housed in the British Museum:

There is so much more to be found on Wikipedia if you are interested.  The pictures above come from there.  It is well worthwhile checking it out.

WEDNESDAY WISDOM

I think many would agree that the words here are very true.  We may complain but.......................

MONDAY MIRTH

This was on the bottom of Ray's email where he sent the poem posted yesterday.  The picture is so cute I just had to share it with you.  The words?  Well, that's a different matter!!!

SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT No 13

You may have seen this before but I felt it worth a repeat.  It was sent via email from England by Phil's cousin Ray Pinks.  (I first found this cousin of Phil's when doing genealogy and since then, we have become really good friends and he keeps us up-to-date with family happenings).

Just a little poem:

Another year has passed and we're all a little older.
Last summer felt much hotter, and winter felt much colder.
There was a time, not long ago. when life was quite a blast;
Now I can fully understand about "living in the past".
We used to go to weddings, football games and lunches,
Now we go to funeral homes and after-funeral brunches.
We used to have hangovers, from parties that were gay;
Now we suffer body aches and just wile the night away.
We used to go out dining, and couldn't get our fill,
Now we ask for doggie bags, come home and take a pill.
We used to often travel to places near and far;
Now we get sore asses from riding in the car.
We used to go to nightclubs and drink a little booze,
Now we stay at home at night and watch the evening news.
That, my friend, is how life is and now my tale is told;
So enjoy each day and live it up...before your'e too damned old!

THINKING ALLOWED

I was searching among words of wisdom when I came across this quote from John Lennon.  I had read it before and always thought how much depth of feeling there was in these words.  Hope you don't mind me sharing it with you today.   I think in this instance John got it exactly right.

FRIDAY FAVOURITES

This tune has been in my head on and off all week so I thought maybe if I shared it I'd get rid of it out of my head.   I've always enjoyed nonsense songs and this one certainly fits the bill.   There is a rendition where Ringo Starr sings it with a different band but I prefer the Beatles' singing it so here it is with the lyrics.  Once again I made my choice from YouTube.