Nightlighters Dance: Cruzin' Into Summer

Did You Know? - Marriott was founded by J. Willard Marriott in 1927 when he and his wife, Alice Sheets Marriott, opened a root beer stand in Washington, D.C.

As a Mormon missionary in the sweltering, humid summers in Washington D.C, Marriott was convinced that what residents of the city needed was a place to get a cool drink. The Marriotts later expanded their enterprise into a chain of restaurants and hotels.

They opened their first hotel, the Twin Bridges Marriott Motor Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia, in 1957. Their second hotel, the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, is Marriott International's longest operating hotel, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Their son, J.W. (Bill) Marriott, Jr., led the company to spectacular worldwide growth during his more than 50-year career. In March 2012, at age 80, he turned the CEO responsibilities over to Arne Sorenson, while he assumed the title of Executive Chairman.

Did You Know? - Confetti is small pieces or streamers of plastic, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at parades and celebrations, especially weddings (and game shows, following the end of a milestone or the occasion of a big win).

The origins are from the Latin confectum, with confetti the plural of Italian confetto, small sweet. Modern paper confetti traces back to symbolic rituals of tossing grains and sweets during special occasions, traditional for numerous cultures throughout history as an ancient custom dating back to pagan times,. but adapted from sweets and grains to paper through the centuries..

Did You Know? - On ships with more than one level, deck refers to the level itself. The actual floor surface is called the sole, the term deck refers to a structural member tying the ships frames or ribs together over the keel.

In modern ships, the interior decks are usually numbered from the primary deck, which is #1, downward and upward. So the first deck below the primary deck will be #2, and the first above the primary deck will be #A2 or #S2 (for "Above" or "Superstructure").

Some merchant ships may alternatively designate decks below the primary deck, usually machinery spaces, by numbers, and those above it, in the accommodation block, by letters.

Ships may also call decks by common names, or (especially on cruise ships) may invent fanciful and romantic names for a specific deck or area of that specific ship, such as the Lido deck of the Princess Cruises' Love Boat.

Did You Know? - Ship motions are defined by the six degrees of freedom that a ship, boat or any other craft can experience:

Heave - is the linear vertical (up/down) motion

Sway - is the linear lateral (side-to-side) motion

Surge - is the linear longitudinal (front/back) motion

Pitch   - is the rotation of a vessel about its transverse (side-to-side) axis. An offset or deviation from normal on this axis is referred to as 'trim' or 'out of trim'.

Roll - is the rotation of a vessel about its longitudinal (front/back) axis. An offest or deviation from normal on this axis is referred to as list or heel. Heel refers to an offset that is intentional or expected, as caused by wind pressure on sails, turning, or other crew actions. List normally refers to an unintentional or unexpected offset, as caused by flooding, battle damage, shifting cargo, etc.

Yaw - is the rotation of a vessel about its vertical axis. An offset or deviation from normal on this axis is referret to as deviation or set

Did You Know? - A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or tuxedos). The cummerbund was first adopted by British military officers in colonial India as an alternative to a waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use. The modern use of the cummerbund is as a component of black tie.

The word Cummerband, which entered English vocabulary in 1616 via what is now Afghanistan and the use of cummerbands by tribal warriors and later adopted by the languages of the Indian subcontinent such as Hindi and Urdu, is originally a Persian compound (کمربند) comprising kamar (waist) + bund (closed).

Song - Beyond the Sea

Charles Trenet, with music taken from his song "La Mer" and lyrics by Jack Lawrence.

Trenet had composed "La Mer" (which means "the Sea") with French lyrics completely different and unrelated to the English language version that Lawrence later wrote. Trenet's French version was a homage and ode to the changing moods of the sea, while Lawrence, by just adding one word "Beyond" to the title, gave him the start whereby he made the song into one of a dear lover mourning for a lost love, boyfriend/girlfriend, or beloved sweetheart.