Saffron (pronounced /ˈsæfrɒn/) is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel. Together with the styles, or stalks that connect the stigmas to their host plant, the dried stigmas are used mainly in various cuisines as a seasoning and colouring agent. Saffron, long among the world's most costly spices by weight, is native to Southwest Asia and was first cultivated in Greece. As a genetically monomorphic clone, it was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, and Oceania.
The saffron crocus, unknown in the wild, likely descends from Crocus cartwrightianus, which originated in Crete or Central Asia;C. thomasii and C. pallasii are other possible precursors. The saffron crocus is a triploid that is "self-incompatible" and male sterile; it undergoes aberrant meiosis and is hence incapable of independent sexual reproduction—all propagation is by vegetative multiplication via manual "divide-and-set" of a starter clone or by interspecific hybridisation. If C. sativus is a mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, then it may have emerged via plant breeding, which would have selected for elongated stigmas, in late Bronze-Age Crete.
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.
Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.
Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied". When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II. Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School. At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.
Love can be a chore. For Alan, it's a job.
Plot
A Wish Where The Wind Once Blew is a fantasy tale of a Fairy's journey of discovery that leads her into a world where the complexities of life are broken down into their simplest forms. Stuart Gillies wrote this project in late 2010 after his good friend Eva Markvoort passed away from the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis. Influenced by the cinematic film making style of the band Sigur Ros, Stuart decided to make a music based short film following the journey of a fairy with broken wings. Filmed on location in Vancouver on a shoestring budget, this film aims to raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis and give a feeling of love, life and hope to an international audience.
Plot
Having finally worked up the courage, Joe will tell the girl of his dreams he'd like to take her out for dinner, after suffering two years of tuna baguettes and plain crisps in the café she works. Will she accept, or will he end up in a right old pickle?
Plot
A mockumentary about a burlesque dance troupe, co-managed by choreographer Jack Fontaine and costumer Jill Monroe. The troupe begins a downward spiral when it becomes entangled with a former neo-burlesque star, Rosie Bubbles.
Keywords: actress-breaking-typecast, burlesque, burlesque-dancer, fan-dancer, improvised-dialogue, mockumentary, partial-female-nudity
A short film about people.
Plot
This animation series is about some animals on a deserted tropical island, where various things are mysteriously found. Most of them want to cohabit happily: the leader Ovide and his cousin named Saphron, the cook and gardener, both platypuses, the red lizard Polo who's the janitor and muscles, the seagull Groaner, the koalas Do, re and Mi and the kangaroo Mathilda, against whom the evil serpent Cy and his intrinsically gentle helper Bobo the toucan conceive horrible plans, which always fail in the end. Bizarly there is also a TV broadcast with a platypus-announcer.
Spirit rise to greet the sun
Takes my hand and beats the drum
Tries to make me understand
We're as one in a sea of sand
I'm praying for rain
To see desert flowers again
The eagle flies up towards the sun
High above the fields of babylon
In one claw he holds an olive branch for peace
In the other twelve arrows for his enemies
I'm praying for rain
To see desert flowers again
Spirit rise to help us see
The loving face of humanity
Devoid of fear and free from greed
Devoted to the greater need
I'm praying for rain
To see desert flowers again
The locust is born upon the wing
It's hunger seems as boundless as the great river plain
Where the tigris weaves its way toward the sea
Through a great desert in the heart of man
I'm praying for rain