Few men have lived life as full as late Italian Renaissance mannerist artist, Benvenuto Cellini. Born in 1500, Cellini would be thrilled that we still talk about his life five hundred years after his birth. After all, that is what he intended. That is why he began his autobiography at the age of fifty-eight, confident that history would remember him. And remember him we do, not only as a master goldsmith and sculptor, but as an author who wrote one of the most significant documents of the sixteenth century.

Copyright 2006 Melanie Light

Copyright 2006 Melanie Light

Leonardo is known to have kept horses, along with dogs, cats and other animals. Although numerous animal studies are found throughout Leonardo's drawings, his most frequent animal sketches are of horses. His renderings are extremely detailed and life-like. He infused his renditions of animals with nobility a characteristic that stemmed from his deep love and respect for the animals he sketched and painted.

For many years, Valencia Spain has been struggling to be recognized as the third most important city after Madrid, its capital and Barcelona. It has long been notorious for its Valencia Fallas Festival but now, after having been chosen for the Americas Cup host city and having opened its latest building in the impressive City of the Arts and Sciences, Valencia is becoming well-known world-wide.

Sail along with Valencia Spain

Beautiful to look at and fun to collect, postcards have been a favored means of traveling communication for many years. Even in these modern days, when the penned letter is often neglected in favor of email, postcard sales continue to hold their own. The reason is simple; no matter what the mood, no matter where you are, theres a postcard for every occasion.

While porcelain had been made in France from the 17thC, it was a soft paste or pate tendre, but following the discovery of kaolin this changed to hard paste in 1769, which quickly prevailed across the continent. Hard paste, a mixture of kaolin and petunse, or china clay and china rock, fired to a temperature of in excess 1300 degrees centigrade with the glaze usually in a single firing results in a vitrified bright, glassy appearance, in which the enamels are fused into the body.

After a year of silence, Osama bin Laden has filled the worlds headlines with an audiotape, and the predictable opinions are being heard. Is his offering of a truce a sign of weakness or strength? Is he making such statements because he is harried or is the statement a result of the recent U.S. missile attack in Pakistan? All of these questions are to be expected from a media that has usually asked: Is he really alive? Where is he? It rarely asks: What did he say/mean?

Online Technology Source

Computers:

First Computer Invented:

Most people when they think of first computer invented they think Bill Gates. This, however, is not true, for the computer was invented long before Bill Gates was around. Bill Gates only revolutionized the computer, buy creating a more compact and useful form of the computer and making it available to everyone with a job.

A history of setting industry standards by letting consumers' expectations for product performance and concerns for safety take center stage is Case's real claim to fame.

Inventor Jerome Case founded the company in 1842. What began as a company meant to build threshing machines has been transformed into a major manufacturer of construction equipment. The company's longevity in a highly competitive arena reflects the success of their commitment to the industry and the consumer.

One of the most influential wars the United States ever participated in was the Civil War. Fought on the soil of America, this fierce battle pitted brothers and friends against each other. While firearms had already been invented, the military sword was the weapon of choice when fighting was close and personal. Here are some of the American manufacturers of military swords during the Civil War.