The May Queen is also known as The Maiden, the goddess of spring, flower bride, queen of the faeries, and the lady of the flowers. The May Queen is a symbol of the stillness of nature around which everything revolves. She stands for purity, strength and the potential for growth, as the plants grow in May. She is one of many personifications of the energy of the earth.
She was once also known as Maid Marian in the medieval plays of Robin Hood and of the May Games - she is the young village girl, crowned with blossom, attended by children with garlands and white dresses. Some folklorists have drawn parallels between her and Maia, the Roman Goddess of Springtime, of Growth and Increase whose very name may be the root of "May".
The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride or walk at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a white gown to symbolise purity and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a May pole celebrating youth and the spring time.
According to popular British folklore, the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over. The veracity of this belief is difficult to establish, but while in truth it might just be an example of anti-pagan propaganda, frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult and human sacrifice are still to be found in popular culture today. The Wicker Man, a cult horror film starring Christopher Lee, is a prominent example of this.
In 1557, a diarist called Henry Machyn wrote:
"The xxx day of May was a goly May-gam in Fanch-chyrchestrett with drumes and gunes and pykes, and ix wordes dyd ryd; and thay had speches evere man, and the morris dansse and the sauden, and a elevant with the castyll, and the sauden and yonge morens with targattes and darttes, and the lord and the lade of the Maye".
Translation: On the 30th May was a jolly May-game in Fenchurch Street (London) with drums and guns and pikes, The Nine Worthies did ride; and they all had speeches, and the morris dance and sultan and a elephant with a castle (saddle in the shape of a castle) and the sultan and young moors with shields and arrows, and the lord and lady of the May".
Many areas keep this tradition alive today, most notably the Brentham Garden Suburb, England which hosts it annually. This has the record of the oldest unbroken tradition although the May Queen of All London Festival at Hayes Common in Bromley is a close contender. A May queen is selected from a group of 13 upwards girls by the young dancers. She returns the next year to crown the new May Queen and stays in the procession.
A May Day celebration held annually in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada has the distinction of being the longest running May Day celebration of its kind in the British Commonwealth. This May Day celebration began in 1870 and is approaching one hundred and forty years of age. Archival film footage of New Westminster's May Day celebrations from 1932-1962 can be seen online at Quest for the Queens.
Mutual fund
A mutual fund is a kind of investment that uses money from investors to invest in stocks, bonds or other types of investment. A fund manager (or "portfolio manager") decides how to invest the money, and for this he is paid a fee, which comes from the money in the fund.
Mutual funds are usually "open ended", meaning that new investors can join into the fund at any time. When this happens, new units, which are like shares, are given to the new investors.
There are thousands of different kinds of mutual funds, specializing in investing in different countries, different types of businesses, and different investment styles. There are even some funds that only invest in other funds.
Modular Audio Recognition Framework
Modular Audio Recognition Framework (MARF) is a computer program that tries to understand voice, sound, speech, text and human language in general. In MARF, scientists and programmers write algorithms using Java. MARF consists of Lego-like algorithm pieces that can be added or replaced easily. MARF itself can be piece in other computer programs or used for learning, education, and making MARF itself better. A few example programs are provided to show how to use MARF. There is also a lot of documentation of the project. MARF and its programs are published under a BSD-style license.
Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist (in "") is a popular manga and anime series created by Hiromu Arakawa and serialized in Enix's (now Square Enix) "Monthly Shonen Gangan". The manga has been made into two different anime shows, one in 2003 which follows its own story, and a 2009 show which follows the story of the manga. A film, "The Conqueror of Shamballa" was made for the 2003 show, and "The Sacred Star of Milos" was created for the 2012 show.
The plot focuses on a world where alchemy is a main form of science. Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse, fail to resurrect their mother. When Alphonse's body is destroyed, Edward sacrifices his arm and leg during the alchemy in order for Alphonse's soul to be transferred in a suit of armour. Their friend, Winry Rockbell, makes prosthetic parts for Edward's limbs. As the series progresses, the brothers solve the case about the Philosopher's Stone, a forbidden material breaking the law of Equivalent Exchange.
"Fullmetal Alchemist" became one of the most critically acclaimed Japanese franchise.
Edward Elric: The main protagonist of the series. He is brave and proud, the only thing getting him along is the promise he made to his younger brother, Alphonse, that he will get him his body back, and himself his limbs. He is shorter than the average teen and hates it when someone comments on his height, mostly getting frustrated or hurting them with his metal fist, even his brother gets the same punishment.
Alphonse Elric: Edward's younger brother, whose soul is attached to an empty suit of armour, after a failed attempt to resurrect their mother. The deal was his body for hers, though what happened once the transmutation had finished showed it didn't work. In order to bring back his brother, Edward did his own transmutation, giving away his arm for Alphonse. Alphonse was then placed into the armour and now their journey takes them to try to find the Philosopher's Stone, the only thing that can defy the rule of equivalent exchange, to give back Alphonse's body and Edward's limbs.
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride is a English doom metal band. They are from West Yorkshire. The band formed in 1990.
Modular
Something is modular when it consists of two or more pieces that are easy to replace. These are usually simple objects. They can be connected together to form more complex objects. For example, Lego pieces are modular. Complex objects may by themselves be modular and used to create even more complex objects by piecing them together.
Framework
Framework is a term describing established practices in a society, science, software development, or hardware design that can be repeatedly applied to solving problems. The problems are solved uniformly (in the same or very similar way) in a framework.
Documentation
Documentation is something that people read for instructions or information on how to
do or use things. Documentation may consist of one or more documents on paper, a web page,
a file, and other media.
Bobby pin
A bobby pin (also known as a kirby grip or a hair grip) is a clip that goes in one's hair to hold individual strands of hair in place.
Pre-production
Pre-production is the time before making a movie, play, or other performance when all the things that will be needed to make it are prepared.