Ehcg

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin The ability to frame a situation is considered 'spin' by politicians and media pundits. It's the ability to situate your view on an issue to your advantage. There's the 'Nuclear Reduction Treaty' which on it's surface sounds like a pretty good idea. But in the world of 'spin' what something is called is not necessarily what's inside and in a very Orwellian twist, the actual substance of this treaty is to prolong the nuclear standoff between the U.S. and Russia and stockpile more weapons. Reduction? The 'frame' around this treaty sounded pretty darn good though. This name game happens all the time in politics. The greatest, most...

I have been an avid fan of role playing games since I was very young. I can remember getting my hands on the original Dungeons & Dragons rpg very long ago. This opened a world of fantasy, imagination and creativity for me. I can remember the hours upon hours I spent engulfed in this game. Role playing games appeal to a creative person with an active imagination. These games give you the ability to live in the stories that you are accustomed to reading. You are granted the ability to take the protagonist of the story wherever you would like him or her to go. To truly experience the role playing game, you have to learn to become the hero, your character, within the story. Stop using your mind to make...

The Samsung D840 is the slimmest slider, even slimmer than the flagship Samsung D900. Its thickness of 11.5 mm surpasses the tall claims of other slim phones. The phone comes in a smart steel casing and available in two colour solution - silver and black. With its ever growing popularity, other colour variants are expected too. The Samsung D840 has a smooth sliding action with auto-finish mechanism - an art perfected by the manufacturers over the years. Functionally too, the Virgin Mobile Phones Samsung D840 surpasses the flagship D900 and many other slim phones in its price bracket. This triband supporting handset works in more than 100 major countries across the globe with exceptional network...

The Japanese Katana developed in the 16th century is undoubtedly the best martial arts weapon ever created. It was broadcasted so in several international documentaries and certainly deserves this title with its technological perfect structure and fearsome cutting capability allegedly able to split a man from throat to groin in one swing. The Katana's physical body can be divided into 2 main sections - the blade and hilt. Let's begin with the blade. The blade point Kissaki is the most difficult part to be forged and polished making it one of the main determining factors to a sword's value. There are 3 types of Kissaki categorized by their length - Ko-Kissaki (short), Chu-Kissaki (medium) and O...

Ever since humans looked toward the sky for some kind of meaning to life and answers to the big questions, astrology has been a part of many people's lives. The fact that essentially every culture has, at different times, looked towards the stars for understanding speaks to the universal nature of astrology. As it evolved from one end of the globe to the other, it took on a different significance and gravity. Some cultures used it to determine laws and punishments, others for love and spirituality. The growth of astrology is marked with peace, war, abundance and famine. Human history can be charted with the history of astrology. Here are a few interesting facts about the history of astrology...

Ancient Yayoi warriors developed weapons, armour and a code during the ensuing centuries that became the centrepiece for the Japanese Samurai. Early weapons included bows, arrows and swords. Armour included a helmet that protected head and neck, a breastplate that protected the chest, arm and shoulder protectors plus a belly wrap. Later armour included protection for the legs and thighs. Armour changed as the type of battles changed. A big change occured in the 5th century when horses were introduced to Japan. Another change occured in the 15th century because of the constancy of war and the introduction of guns into battle. The code developed from the Chinese concept of the virtues of warriors...

By dropping atomic bomb, the most devastating weapon in human history, on Japanese civilian the United States had ended World War II. By engaging a small team of the topmost scientists this weapon of mass destruction was developed under complete secrecy as part of a huge research program. When the war ended the United States churned out the rubble and chaos to find out how much its enemies had advanced in their secret programs for weapons development. They found that in comparison with the Manhattan Project the Germans' progress in developing atom bombs was in a primitive stage. But in other spheres the Germans and the Japanese had advanced and to measure that the United States became preoccupied...

All over the world there have been many different ways to manipulate metals in order to obtain beautiful and unique shapes. Although they were meant at first to create practical objects, they have later become the primary process of creating decorative objects such as jewelry. The art of manipulating metals has been taken to another level in the early centuries of the 2nd millennium in Japan. The swords obtained here were recognized as being the best in quality and endurance by rights, because some of them still have a sharp edge after a few hundred years. In Japan there were many sword types: katana, nodachi, wakizashi, tanto, kwaiken and many others. Each of these swords is grouped according to...

Tarot cards consist of twenty-one trump cards, the fool and one extra face card for every other suit in the deck. Various areas in Europe use the deck to play games with organized rules, but in English-speaking countries, tarot cards find their utility in the field of fortune telling. The tarot cards began along with other cards in the 14th century. Historians theorize that they were created in Islamic countries, but the initial historical information in the English-speaking world is the Christian area of Bern, Switzerland. The older tarot cards contained only sixteen trump cards as compared to twenty-one in modern decks. A deck of tarot cards, as they are used today, contains 78 cards, all of...

Kendo is one of the few martial arts that necessitates the use of several protective gear aside from the traditional kimono or gi. Practitioners look threatening and quite ominous with their black hakama (wide pants covering the legs), bogu body armor (for the torso, shoulders and part of the head), the men or helmet and the metal grilled mask, and of course, the sword. The katana, or samurai sword was the centerpiece of Japanese history. Noble samurai held these in almost god-like regard. To these medieval warriors, the sword was an object of profound veneration and is one ot the three sacred treasures of Japan. According to Japanese folklore, when Susa no wo no Mikota, nephew of Amaterasu- the Sun...