The Penny Lilac was a postage stamp in Great Britain. It was first issued on 12 July 1881. It was used until 1901. This stamp remained the standard letter stamp for the rest of Victoria's reign, and huge numbers were printed.
WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 (also known as WrestleMania XVI) was the sixteenth yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It happened on April 2, 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim, California. This WrestleMania is different from others, because it is the only WrestleMania not to feature at least one standard one on one wrestling match. It is also the only WrestleMania to use the year in its name.
Lucas Sang
Lucas Sang (February 12, 1961 - January 1, 2008) was a Kenyan runner who raced at the Olympic Games in 1988. He and his team made it to the final of the 4X100 relay race.
Sang was killed in Kenya during the riots about the election. He was killed when a group of men threw stones and rocks at him. His body was later burned.Fiesole
Fiesole is a town in Tuscany, near Florence. In 2003, 14.100 people lived there.
Mugello region
Mugello is a landscape north of Florence in northern Italy. It is separated by the Santerno River's valley by the Futa Pass.
In ancient times it was on the border between the area settled by the Ligurians (the Magelli tribe, whence the name), the Etruscans and the Gauls. The Roman colonization left sparse traces, as the Mugello was mostly an agricultural area. In the Middle Ages it was home to numerous castles, and was later acquired by the Republic of Florence. Several families of the city built there partician villas, like those of the Medici in Cafaggiolo and the Trebbio. Recent is the creation of the artificial Lake of Bilancino on the Sieve (river) river.
The area gave name to the Mugello Circuit (Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello) which is a race track that hosts an annual Moto GP event.
Friar
Friars are special monks that do a service to a community and that lead a simple life, rather than living like ascets in a monastery.
There are two classes of orders known as friars, or mendicant orders: the four "great orders" and the so-called "lesser orders".
The four great orders were mentioned by the Second Council of Lyons (1274), and are:
The lesser orders are:
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites (sometimes simply Carmel; ) is a Roman Catholic religious order. It was founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, from which the order receives its name. Saint Bertold has traditionally been associated with the founding of the order, but few clear records of early Carmelite history have survived.
Samael
Samael () (also Sammael and Samil) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic beliefs and stories, as well as Christian tradition and demonology. There are also other religions that believe in stories of Samael. It is said that he was the guardian angel of Esau and a patron of the sinful empire of Rome.
Samael is often accorded with Satan because he often has grim and destructive duties. He is often considered a fallen angel, like Satan and the chief of the evil spirits. One of Samael's roles in Jewish beliefs is that of the Angel of Death. In this belief, he is a fallen angel but remains one of the Lord's servants. As a good angel, Samael supposedly lives in the seventh heaven, although he is said to be the chief angel of the fifth heaven.
The website Catholic.org says Samael is a "Power", which means he is the chief of many warrior angels.
Powers are warrior angels against evil, who defend the world and people. They fight against evil spirits who attempt to bring chaos through human beings. The chief is said to be either Samael or Camael, both angels of darkness.
In Jewish beliefs, Sammael is said to be the Angel of Death, the ruler of the Fifth Heaven, and one of the seven regents of the world served by two million angels; he resides in the Seventh Heaven. "Yalkut I, 110" of the Talmud says Samael is Esau's guardian angel. In "Sotah 10b", Samael is Esau's guardian angel.
In the "Sayings of Rabbi Eliezer", he is said to be the one who tempted Eve, then seduced and impregnated her with Cain. Some sources identify Gadreel as the angel that seduced Eve; although, other Hebrew scholars say that it was Samael who tempted Eve as the Serpent.
Samael is also sometimes said to be the angel who wrestled with Jacob, and also the angel who held back the arm of Abraham as he was about to sacrifice his son.
According to "The Ascension of Moses" (Chapter IV - Aggadah - The Legend of The Jews - By Louis Ginzberg) Samael is also mentioned as being in 7th Heaven:
"In the last heaven Moses saw two angels, each five hundred parasangs in height, forged out of chains of black fire and red fire, the angels Af, "Anger," and Hemah, "Wrath," whom God created at the beginning of the world, to execute His will. Moses was disquieted when he looked upon them, but Metatron embraced him, and said, "Moses, Moses, thou favorite of God, fear not, and be not terrified," and Moses became calm. There was another angel in the seventh heaven, different in appearance from all the others, and of frightful mien. His height was so great, it would have taken five hundred years to cover a distance equal to it, and from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet he was studded with glaring eyes, at the sight of which the beholder fell prostrate in awe. "This one," said Metatron, addressing Moses, "is Samael, who takes the soul away from man." "Whither goes he now?" asked Moses, and Metatron replied, "To fetch the soul of Job the pious." Thereupon Moses prayed to God in these words, "O may it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, not to let me fall into the hands of this angel."
In "The Holy Kabbalah" (Arthur Edward Waite, 255), Samael is described as the "severity of God", and is listed as fifth of the archangels of the world of Briah. Samael is said to have married Lilith after she left Adam. According to Zoharistic cabala, Samael was also mated with Eisheth Zenunim, Na'amah, and Agrat Bat Mahlat - all angels of prostitution.
Samael is sometimes confused in some books with Camael, an archangel of God, whose name means "He who sees God".
Samael is shown as a character in the Megami Tensei video game series. The archangel is shown in the games as a blood-red serpent. He is a member of the Vile Clan and is a persona of the Death Arcana.
In the Silent Hill video games, Samael is the name of one of the town's gods. He is shown as an anthropomorphic goat.
In the film Hellboy, one of the main characters is a giant hell-hound called Sammael, who Hellboy nicknames "Sammy".
In Lucifer, the TV and comic series, Samael is Lucifer Morningstar's original name before he left Heaven.
Samael plays an important role in the central plot of the first Darksiders title.
In the web cartoon Purgatony, Samael judges the souls of the dead while working in an office in Purgatory.
In the manga and anime Blue Exorcist, Samael is the true name of the demon Mephistopheles, and he is a son of Satan as well as a brother of Lucifer. As in biblical legend, he displays both good and evil aspects, but is the demon of Time rather than of Death.
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city in Umbria. As of 2008, about 21,000 people lived there. The city has a history going back to Roman times.
Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence