La Vie Parisienne, April 26, 1924

April is the fourth month of the year. The Romans called it Aprillis, thought to come from the verb apeirre, meaning "to open", in reference to the opening and flowering of plants. April was sacred to the Goddess Venus, her festival, Veneralia, being celebrated on the first day of the month, and it was thought that maybe April was originally Aphrillis, taken from her Greek counter-part Aphrodite. The Anglo-Saxons knew April as ēastre-monaþ, named after the Goddess Eostre, and this word, ēastre, later became Easter, the name of the Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Mark's Eve takes place on the 24th, and superstition says that the ghosts of the people doomed to die that year will pass into the local church. The Finnish word for April is huhtikku, meaning "slash-and-burn moon", referencing the slashing and burning of plants to make fields. 

The birth flower for April is the daisy, and the gemstone is the diamond. Zodiac signs are Aries, the ram, and Taurus, the Cretan bull killed by Theseus. In Egypt, Taurus was associated with the cow Goddess Hathor.

April in other languages: Avril (French)
April as a name: April
Flowers: Daisy, Bellis (Bellis perennis is the scientific name of the common daisy), Madelief ("daisy"), Marguerite ("daisy")
Gems: Diamond, Diamanto ("diamond"), Almast ("diamond"), Kaimana ("diamond" and "sea power")
Zodiac: Aries, Ovid ("a sheep"), Kreios/Crius ("lord, master" or "ram"); Fintan ("white fire" or "white bull"), Gopala ("cow protector"), Enikő ("deer" or "cow"), Byron ("place of the cow sheds"), Hathor.
Fourth: Anan ("fourth born child"), Raabi'a ("fourth")
Other: Aprillis, Aphrillis, Venus, Aphrodite, Easter, Eostre, Mark.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia Welcome a Baby Boy

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia

Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland, and his wife Sofia Hellqvist, have welcomed their first child together, a baby boy they have named Prince Alexander Erik Hubertus Bertil, Duke of Sodermanland.

The Graces: From Thalia to Hegemone

"Graces" by Agita Keiri

The Graces, also known as the Charites, were the Goddesses of charm, beauty, fertility, nature, and human creativity, and are usually referred to as only three: Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. Usually they are said to be daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, a Goddess portrayed as a mermaid. They have also been credited as daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite, or Helios and the naiad Aegle. However, there are many other minor Goddesses named as Graces, and I will be covering their names, along with the common three. Firstly I will list their name, then the meaning, and finally what they are the Goddess of.

Aglaea - "Splendor, beauty" - Splendor, beauty, glory, adornment
Euphrosyne or Euthymia - "Mirth, meriment" and "In good spirits" - Joy and mirth and the incarnation of beauty and grace
Thalia - "To blossom" - Abundance, festivity, and banquets; Thalia is also the muse of comedy and pastoral poetry

Cleta - "Splendid, famous"
Hegemone - "Mastery" - Plants; She was thought to represent Autumn
Auxo - "Increase" - Plants; Represented Spring, and was also a Horae
Peitho - "Persuasion" - Persuasion and seduction, also known as Suada or Suadela in Rome
Phaenna - "Shining"
Pasithae or Pasithee - "Goddess of All" or "Relaxation" - Relaxation, meditation, hallucination
Charis - "Grace, kindness" - Sometimes a name of a Grace, sometimes used just as an a sort of epithet
Cale or Kale - "Beauty"
Antheia or Anthea - "Flower, blossom" - Flowers and flowery wreaths; Antheia was also a epithet of the Goddess Hera.
Eudaimonia - "Human flourishing" - Happiness
Paidia - "Play" - Playfulness
Pandaisia - "Banquet" - Banquets
Pannychis - "Night festivities" - Festivity

Bond Girls Pt. 2

Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny in "Spectre"

Octopussy (1983):
Octopussy (Maud Adams)
Magda (Kristina Wayborn)
Penelope Smallbone (Michaela Clavell)
Bianca (Tina Hudson)

A View to a Kill (1985):
Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts)
Kimberley Jones (Mary Stävin)
May Day (Grace Jones)
Pola Ivanova (Fiona Fullerton)

The Living Daylights (1987):
Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo)
Linda (Kell Tyler)

Licence to Kill (1989):
Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell)
Lupe Lamora (Talisa Soto)

GoldenEye (1995):
Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco)
Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen)
Caroline (Serena Gordon)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997):
Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh)
Paris Carver (Teri Hatcher)
Inga Bergstrøm (Cecilie Thomsen)

The World Is Not Enough (1999):
Christmas Jones (Denise Richards)
Elektra King (Sophie Marceau)
Molly Warmflash (Serena Scott Thomas)

Die Another Day (2002):
Giacinta "Jinx" Johnson (Halle Berry)
Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike)
Peaceful Fountains of Desire (Rachel Grant)

Casino Royale (2006):
Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)
Solange Dimitrios (Caterina Murino)

Quantum of Solace (2008):
Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton)
Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko)

Skyfall (2012):
Eve Moneypenny (Naomie Harris)
Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe)

Spectre (2015):
Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux)
Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci)
Eve Moneypenny

Anne Hathaway Has a Baby Boy

Adam and Anne

Anne Hathaway has welcomed her first child with her husband Adam Shulman, a baby boy they named Jonathan Rosebanks Shulman.

Agnes Bruckner Welcomes Baby Boy

Agnes Bruckner

Actress Agnes Bruckner and her husband Alefaio Brewer have had their first child together, a baby boy they named Sebastian Lopeti.