The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript in Latin of the four Gospels of the New Testament together with some extra texts and tables.
It was created by Celtic monks about 800 AD or slightly earlier. The text of the Gospels is mostly taken from the Vulgate bible, and it has several passages from earlier versions of the Bible, such as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy. and Ireland's finest national treasure.
The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells are outstanding. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of the art of the British Isles. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, and Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements have Christian symbolism.
The manuscript today is 340 folios (separate sheets, written on one side). Since 1953, it has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum. There are ten full-page illustrations, and text pages that are vibrant with decorated initials and interlinear miniatures. The writing of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The colours used were gathered from many substances, some of which were imports from distant lands.
The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells which was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at the library of Trinity College, Dublin. The library usually displays two of the four volumes at a time, one showing a major illustration and the other showing a typical text page.
In 1951, the Swiss publisher Urs Graf Verlag Bern produced the first facsimile of the Book of Kells. Most of the pages were reproduced in black-and-white photographs, and the edition also had 48 colour reproductions, including all of the full-page decorations.
Under licence from the Board of Trinity College Dublin, the art publishers Thames and Hudson produced a second facsimile edition in 1974. This edition had all the full-page illustrations in the manuscript and a section of text page ornamentation, with some enlarged details of the illustrations. The reproductions were all in full colour.
By 1986, Swiss publisher Faksimile-Verlag had a process that used gentle suction to straighten a page so that it could be photographed without touching it. They got permission to publish a new facsimile. After each page was photographed, a single-page facsimile was prepared so the colours could be carefully compared to the original and adjustments made where necessary. The completed work was published in 1990 in a two-volume set containing the full facsimile and scholarly commentary. One copy is held by the Anglican Church in Kells, on the site of the original monastery.
In 1994, Bernard Meehan, Keeper of Manuscripts at Trinity College Dublin, produced an introductory booklet on the Book of Kells, with 110 colour images of the manuscript.
A digital copy of the manuscript was produced by Trinity College in 2006. A rare copy of the Book of Kells can also be seen for free at The Little Museum of Dublin.
Cher Lloyd
Cher Lloyd (born 28 July 1993) is a British singer and rapper. She has several hit songs, including "Want U Back". Lloyd became famous when she finished fourth in the seventh series of "The X Factor".
Lloyd's first single "Swagger Jagger" was released in June 2011. Even though the song received mixed reviews, the single entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the Irish Singles Chart. Her second single "With Ur Love" was released on 31 October 2011. It features Mike Posner, and reached number four in the UK, and number five in Ireland. Her first album "Sticks and Stones" peaked at number four in the UK Albums Chart and at number seven on the Irish Albums Chart. "Sticks and Stones" was released on 4 November 2011, in Europe, and produced three singles, "Swagger Jagger", "With Ur Love" featuring Mike Posner, and "Want U Back" featuring Astro, respectively. A re-release for North America was released on 2 October 2013, producing three singles as well. The singles released were "Want U Back", "Oath" featuring Becky G, and "With Ur Love". Lloyd released her second album, "Sorry I'm Late" on 27 May 2014. "Sorry I'm Late" only produced two singles - "I Wish" featuring T.I. and "Sirens". Lloyd was signed to Universal Music Group in early 2015, and is currently working on her third studio album. She married Craig Monk at a private ceremony on 18 November 2014.
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor and musician. He was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire to a New Zealander father and English mother. He moved to Geelong, Victoria, Australia, when he was three. His television roles include Mike Young in "Neighbours" from 1986-1989 and "Mildred Pierce", for which he won an Emmy Award. His movie roles include: Ed Exley in "L.A. Confidential" and Leonard Shelby in "Memento".
He has been married to Kate Mestitz, a psychologist, since March 1997. He is a long-standing supporter of the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League. Pearce does not believe in God but believes "we're all connected."
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). It is the British of the Oscars. As of 2008, it happens in the Royal Opera House, in London. Before, it was at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square. The 65th British Academy Film Awards took place on 12 February 2012.
BAFTA was formed in 1947 as The British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell and others. In 1958, the Academy merged with The Guild of Television Producers and Directors to form The Society of Film and Television. This became The British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1976.
BAFTA is supported by a membership of around 6,000 people from the movie, television and video game industries.
The Academy's awards are look like a theatrical mask. They were designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe in 1955.
The ceremony used to take place in April or May. Starting in 2002 it takes place in February in order to be before the Oscars. The awards are mostly open to all nationalities. There is an award for "Outstanding British Film" and "Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Producer or Director". The Short Film and Short Animation awards are also only for UK movies.
The Awards ceremony is broadcast on British television, usually the day after it has taken place. It is mostly broadcast on BBC One.
List of active volcanoes
List of active volcanoes includes volcanoes which are erupting, or have erupted in modern times. Many volcanos have erupted dozens of times in the past few thousand years, but are not erupting at this moment. Some scientists consider a volcano "active" if it has erupted in the holocene (historic times) period.
Most volcanoes live many thousands of years and erupt many times. However, most do not erupt even once in a human lifespan. Signs of unrest such as unusual earthquake activity or significant new gas emissions are signs that a volcano is active. An example of an active volcano is Mount St. Helens in the United States (US).
There are more than 1,500 volcanoes that could be active today. An estimated 500 million people live near active volcanoes.
Planet Venus has more volcanoes than Earth. Some may be active.
There are active volcanoes in every part of the world. There are about 1,500 active volcanoes, many in the region of the Pacific Ocean.
The Pacific "Ring of Fire" is an arc around the Pacific Ocean where there are 400+ volcanoes.
Other regions of active volcanoes include the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and other places.
Hollywood Boulevard