In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as well. Peach blossoms, most cherry blossoms, some almond blossoms are pink. Plum blossoms, apple blossoms, orange blossoms, some cherry blossoms, most almond blossoms are white. Blossoms provide pollen to pollinators such as bees, initiate cross-pollination necessary for the trees to reproduce by producing fruit. Blossom trees have a tendency to lose their flower petals in wind-blown cascades covering the surrounding ground in petals; this attribute tends to distinguish blossom trees from other flowering trees. The ancient Phoenicians used almond blossoms with honey and urine as a tonic, sprinkled them into stews and gruels to give muscular strength. Crushed petals were used as a poultice on skin spots and mixed with banana oil, for dry skin and sunburn. In the ancient herbals the crab apple was used as treatment for boils, splinters, coughs, colds and a host of other ailments ranging from acne to kidney ailments.

Many dishes made with apples and apple blossom are of medieval origin. In the spring and physicians would gather the blossoms and preserve them in vinegar for drawing poultices and for bee stings and other insect bites. Descending from China and south east Asia, the earliest orange species moved westwards via the trade routes. In 17th century Italy peach blossoms were made into a poultice for bruises, eczema and stings. In ancient Greek medicine plum blossoms were used to treat bleeding gums, mouth ulcers and tighten loose teeth. Plum blossoms mixed with sage leaves and flowers were used in plum wine or plum brandy as a mouthwash to soothe sore throats and mouth ailments and sweeten bad breath. Fragrance extraction Millais, John Everett. Apple blossoms. Lady Lever Art Gallery. "In Pictures: Your blossoming spring". BBC Nature

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land, dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrology and are of significant concern in agriculture, civil engineering and public health. Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as a river, lake, or ocean, in which the water overtops or breaks levees, resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or drown domestic animals. Floods can occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel at bends or meanders in the waterway. Floods cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers.

While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy travel and access to commerce and industry. Some floods develop while others can develop in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain. Additionally, floods can be local, impacting a neighborhood or community, or large, affecting entire river basins; the word "flood" comes from a word common to Germanic languages. Floods can happen on flat or low-lying areas when water is supplied by rainfall or snowmelt more than it can either infiltrate or run off; the excess accumulates in place, sometimes to hazardous depths. Surface soil can become saturated, which stops infiltration, where the water table is shallow, such as a floodplain, or from intense rain from one or a series of storms. Infiltration is slow to negligible through frozen ground, concrete, paving, or roofs. Areal flooding begins in flat areas like floodplains and in local depressions not connected to a stream channel, because the velocity of overland flow depends on the surface slope.

Endorheic basins may experience areal flooding during periods when precipitation exceeds evaporation. Floods occur in all types of river and stream channels, from the smallest ephemeral streams in humid zones to normally-dry channels in arid climates to the world's largest rivers; when overland flow occurs on tilled fields, it can result in a muddy flood where sediments are picked up by run off and carried as suspended matter or bed load. Localized flooding may be caused or exacerbated by drainage obstructions such as landslides, debris, or beaver dams. Slow-rising floods most occur in large rivers with large catchment areas; the increase in flow may be the result of sustained rainfall, rapid snow melt, monsoons, or tropical cyclones. However, large rivers may have rapid flooding events in areas with dry climate, since they may have large basins but small river channels and rainfall can be intense in smaller areas of those basins. Rapid flooding events, including flash floods, more occur on smaller rivers, rivers with steep valleys, rivers that flow for much of their length over impermeable terrain, or normally-dry channels.

The cause may be localized convective precipitation or sudden release from an upstream impoundment created behind a dam, landslide, or glacier. In one instance, a flash flood killed eight people enjoying the water on a Sunday afternoon at a popular waterfall in a narrow canyon. Without any observed rainfall, the flow rate increased from about 50 to 1,500 cubic feet per second in just one minute. Two larger floods occurred at the same site within a week, but no one was at the waterfall on those days; the deadly flood resulted from a thunderstorm over part of the drainage basin, where steep, bare rock slopes are common and the thin soil was saturated. Flash floods are the most common flood type in normally-dry channels in arid zones, known as arroyos in the southwest United States and many other names elsewhere. In that setting, the first flood water to arrive is depleted; the leading edge of the flood thus advances more than and higher flows. As a result, the rising limb of the hydrograph becomes quicker as the flood moves downstream, until the flow rate is so great that the depletion by wetting soil becomes insignificant.

Flooding in estuaries is caused by a combination of storm surges caused by winds and low barometric pressure and large waves meeting high upstream river flows. Coastal areas may be flooded by storm surges combining with high tides and large wave events at sea, resulting in waves over-topping flood defences or in severe cases by tsunami or tropical cyclones. A storm surge, from either a tropical cyclone or an extratropical cyclone, falls within this category. Research from the NHC explains: "Storm surge is an additional rise of water generated by a storm and above the predicted astronomical tides. Storm surge should not be confused with storm tide, defined as the water level rise due to the combination of storm surge and the astronomical tide; this rise in water level can cause extreme flooding in coastal areas when storm surge coincides with spring tide, resulting in storm tides reaching up to 20 feet or more in some cases." Urban flooding is the inundation of land or property in a built environment in more densely populated areas, caused by

Kevin Tostado is an American documentary filmmaker. He founded the independent film company Tostie Productions in 2004. Born in San Diego, CA, Tostado received a B. S. in electrical and computer engineering from Olin College in 2006. In addition to his work producing films, Tostado has written articles for New Jersey Lifestyle Magazine and has been interviewed by NPR's "More Than a Game", The Independent, several other television and radio stations regarding his film career and projects, his debut film, Yellow Lights, won awards for Best Feature and Best Cinematography at the Indie Fest USA film festival in Anaheim, California. Tostado co-directed, co-produced, co-wrote Yellow Lights with fellow Olin College alumnus, Tom Kochem, while the two of them were in their senior year of college; the film stars actors Bennett Chabot, Aja Munsell, Andrew Tsang, Amanda Hurley. The 88-minute film was shot for $500; as a companion to the film, the soundtrack for Yellow Lights features an original score for the film by Brian Shih and Sean McBride, as well as tracks from New England indie music groups The Whatnot and the Jon Frederik Band.

Tostado followed up with Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story in 2011 a documentary that examines how the game of Monopoly became the world's most popular proprietary board over its 75-year history, as well as following the players that are competing in the United States and World Monopoly Championships that are held every 4–6 years. This film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Anaheim International Film Festival in 2010 where it premiered, played at the Austin Film Festival and River Run Film Festival; the film launched theatrically in March 2011 in San Diego and was well received in the local press. Rotten Tomatoes reports the film as 85% fresh by 13 critic reviews. On April 29, 2014, the 51" version of the film received five Regional Emmy nominations from the Pacific Southwest Chapter of NATAS; the film went on to win Emmy awards in four of the five categories for which it was nominated, including Outstanding Achievement in Documentary, Directing and Musical Arrangement/Composition.

Tostado was an associate producer on Suds County, USA, a documentary about the rise of microbreweries in San Diego County, California. The film is narrated by Kevin Murphy. Tostado was a producer on Eternity: The Movie, shot in San Diego in Summer 2012; the film stars Barrett Crake, Myko Olivier, Nikki Leonti, Eric Roberts, Martin Kove, Jon Gries. The film is a parody of the 1980s told through the eyes of a fictional R&B duo as we follow their rise and fall; the film held its World Premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival on March 8, 2014, had its theatrical premiere in New York City on October 17, 2014. This will be followed by a limited theatrical release in cities in the U. S. and Canada. Tostado was the director of photography for The Drucker Files, a webseries for NBC's Heroes; the webseries shot in California at the offices of Grapevine Productions. The webseries starred David Pitcher, Kimberly Arland, Mark Ford, Rome Kanda, Alice Amter. Tostado co-produced Research. A webseries starring Gabriel Diani, Barry Bostwick and Doug Jones and directed by Adam Hall.

This webseries premiered on YouTube in June and July 2013. Kevin Tostado on IMDb Tostie Productions website Interview with Tostado on NBC San Diego

Ilias Miniatis was a Greek clergyman and preacher. At the Flanginian School he learned Ancient Greek and Latin and became interested in mathematics and philology, he was ordained early. He preached God's word at his home island, Cephalonia, at Corfu and at Constantinople, his preachings are considered exemplars for modern ecclesiastical rhetoric. As of his language, it is simple Modern Greek and his style has something dramatical and hymnographic, his eloquent preachings are collected into the book "Διδαχαί", first published at Venice on 1725. An older book is "Η Πέτρα του Σκανδάλου" about the Photian schism. Many historians consider him a student of Frangiscos Scoufos and others an imitator of Paolo Segneri. With his speeches he helped the development of ecclesiastical rhetoric and the configuration of Modern Greek language. Τσουράκης, Διονύσιος. Βιογραφίες Ελλήνων Λογοτεχνών και Συγγραφέων, pp. 246–247

Until the Whole World Hears is the fourth studio album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns. Released on November 17, 2009, the album was produced by Mark. A Miller and features a sound, described as'pure American rock','soft adult contemporary', and'CCM'. Lyrically, the album discusses Christian subjects such as God and salvation, with several songs being reinventions of classic hymns; until the Whole World Hears sold over 167,000 copies in its first week, Casting Crowns' highest sales week to date, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. In the United States, the album ranked as the 37th best-selling album of 2010 and the 137th best-selling album of 2011, it has sold over 1.1 million copies and been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Until the Whole World Hears received a mixed-to-positive reception from critics and was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards.

Three singles were released from the album: the title track, "If We've Ever Needed You", "Glorious Day". The title track and "Glorious Day" both peaked atop the Billboard Christian Songs chart, while the latter peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Two album cuts, "To Know You" and "Joyful, Joyful" appeared on the Christian Songs chart, peaking at numbers 27 and 3, respectively. Casting Crowns' lead vocalist Mark Hall has stated that the band's songs "have always come from our ministry in the church, they start as messages on Wednesday night, things we're teaching our teenagers and their families". Hall stated that the musical sound of their songs is written so as not to conflict or detract from the lyrics, comparing the musical elements of his songs to a plate that the'meat', the lyrics, are served on. A philosophy that "fuels" the album is the idea of putting "faith in action". "Always Enough" was written. Another song on the album, the title track, was inspired by the Biblical character of John the Baptist.

Several songs on the album are reinventions of hymns. Until the Whole World Hears was produced by Mark A. Miller, it was recorded by Sam Hewitt, Michael Hewitt, Dale Oliver at Zoo Studio in Franklin, Tennessee. Crowd vocals on the title track and "Blessed Redeemer" were recorded by Carter Hassebroek, Darren Hughes and Billy Lord at Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. Digital editing was handled by Michael Hewitt; the album was mastered by Andrew Mendelson, Shelly Anderson, Natthaphol Abhigantaphand and Daniel Bacigalupi at Georgetown Masters in Nashville. The overall sound of Until the Whole World Hears has been described as'pure American rock','soft adult contemporary', and'CCM'. Robert Ham of Christianity Today regarded the album as comparable to the sound of rock bands Creed and Nickelback. One critic observed that most of the songs on the album "start off with chords plunked out on a piano or strummed on a guitar, letting the song build toward a massive wave of sound".

The title track has been described as having a "real rock vibe" infused by electric guitar riffs, while "Shadow of Your Wings" has been described as an "unashamed rock-n-roll jam". "Joyful, Joyful" is driven by a "pulsing" and "driving" string section that "calls to mind Coldplay's'Viva la Vida'". "Mercy" and "Blessed Redeemer" feature female-fronted vocals, the former sung by Megan Garrett and the latter sung by Melodee DeVevo. Every track on Until the Whole World Hears features references to Christian subjects such as God and salvation. "Joyful, Joyful", "Blessed Redeemer", "Glorious Day" were adopted from classic hymns. "Holy One" and "Shadow of Your Wings" are taken word for word from the Book of Psalms. "If We've Ever Needed You" and "Always Enough" are "darker inspirational anthems", while other songs explore themes such as repentance and forgiveness. Until the Whole World Hears had first-week sales of 167,000 copies, Casting Crowns' best sales week to date, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and at No. 12 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart.

The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album Platinum, signifying shipments of over 1,000,000 copies. By April 2011 Until the Whole World Hears had sold over 800,000 copies, as of March 2014 the album has sold 1.1 million copies. Billboard magazine ranked Until the Whole World Hears as the best-selling Christian album and the 37th best-selling album overal

Hunter's Room is a 2007 painting by the German artist Neo Rauch. It depicts a group of people carrying crossbows in a room with a map on the back wall and birds hanging from the roof; the painting was part of the exhibition Para, made for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and shown there in 2007. Peter Schjeldahl of The New Yorker wrote about the characters in the painting: "Their poses have the charged solemnity of Balthus, without the erotic crackle. Nothing seems to be at issue for them, but masterly areas of the painting, astonishingly varied in style, captivate." Marian Brown St. Onge wrote, it was written for a 2009 anthology of poems inspired by paintings by Rauch. Press material for the Para exhibition