For other use, see ERA.

Era is a word used in English since 1615, derived from Late Latin æra, era "an era or epoch from which time is reckoned," probably identical with Latin æra "counters used for calculation," plural of æs "brass, money". The Latin word's use in chronology seems to have begun in Visigothic Spain, where it appears in the History of Isidore of Seville, and in later texts. The Spanish era is calculated from 38 BC, perhaps because of a tax levied in that year, or due to a miscalculation of the Battle of Actium, which occured in 31 BC.

Like epoch, "era" in English it originally meant "the starting point of an age;" the meaning "system of chronological notation" is c.1646; that of "historical period" is 1741.

In chronology, an era is the highest level for the organization of the measurement of time. A calendar era span of many years which are numbered beginning at a specific epoch, which often marks the origin of a state or cosmology, the birth of a leader, or another significant historical or mythological event; it can be called after either accordingly.

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NPR Topics: Arts & Entertainment

Xbox's 'Braid' A Surprise Hit, For Surprising Reasons
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:40:00 -0400
It's no shoot-'em-up, and not quite a blockbuster. But at nearly 100,000 downloads and counting, the moody "meaning-of-life" time-tripper feels like a game that a grown-up can play — and maybe should.
Don Cheadle's Spy Turn
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:15:00 -0400
In his latest movie, Traitor, Don Cheadle plays a CIA operative who goes undercover to work with a terrorist group — but then becomes a suspected terrorist himself.
Minorities Get Little Respect On The Big Screen
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400
As the summer movie season draws to a close, Morning Edition commentator John Ridley weighs in on what he thinks has been a really bad spell for minorities at the multiplex — both for actors and moviegoers.

NYT > Arts

Art Review: Ancient Art, Served on a Present-Day Platter
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:26:30 -0000
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s fine Latin American collection is back on view after three years’ absence, but it gets lost in the new nightclublike décor.
The Past Was a Mess; Let’s Mine It for Some Laughs
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:24:38 -0000
The British comedian Russell Brand, who will host the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, is notorious for possessing a rap sheet as long and knotted as his tousled locks.
The TV Watch: One First Is Celebrated. What About the Second?
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:25:21 -0000
Amid the hoopla for the first female also-ran, Democrats are soft-pedaling Senator Barack Obama’s breakthrough.

Arts & Culture

Under Suspicion
David Denby Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Jiří Menzel’s “I Served the King of England” is a Czech national epic served up with champagne and truffles. This graceful and leisurely movie, adapted from a 1974 novel by the masterly Bohumil Hrabal, covers an enormous time span, starting in the nineteen-thirties, then passing through the . . .
Three’s Company
Hilton Als Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In 1969, Larry Neal, a black writer, published an essay titled “Any Day Now: Black Art and Black Liberation.” In it, Neal tried to clarify the goals of the Black Arts Movement, an ideological aesthetic that was first laid out by the poet and activist Amiri Baraka, after Malcolm X’s . . .
The Theatre
Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
BOYS IN TIGHTS “Billy Elliot,” the long-awaited musical adaptation of the film about an unlikely aspiring young ballet dancer, which is a hit in London’s West End, has music by Elton John and a book and lyrics by Lee Hall. Stephen Daldry directs, at the Imperial (previews begin Oct . . .

Christian Science Monitor | Arts & Entertainment

Review: 'I.O.U.S.A.'
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Documentary about America's monstrous national debt is this year's 'An Inconvenient Truth.'
Review: 'Hamlet 2'
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Irreverent comedy about a nutty drama teacher's remake of Will's play skids off rails.
Review: 'The Rocker'
Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:00:00 -0500
A superannuated, would-be rock star is so passionate about his second chance at stardom you want to cheer him on in this oddball comedy.

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