Body piercings have seen a resurgence of interest in the last ten to twenty years and are becoming more and more a part of the mainstream Western culture. Take a look at any fashion or entertainment magazine and you’ll see plenty of well-known celebrities with body piercings like navel rings or a labret. You might be surprised to find out that piercing is actually an ancient form of expression that most cultures have practiced at some time or other for thousands of years.

Egyptian body piercings reflected status and love of beauty

The earliest known mummified remains of a human that was pierced is over 5,000 years old. This worthy gentleman had his ears pierced with larger-gauge plugs in his ears, so plugs may be one of the oldest forms of body modification there is! We also know that the Egyptians loved to adorn themselves elaborately, and even restricted certain types of body piercings to the royal family. In fact, only pharaoh himself could have his navel pierced. Any one else who tried to get a belly button ring could be executed. (Tell that to Britney Spears!) Almost every well-to-do Egyptian wore earrings, though, to display their wealth and accent their beauty. Elaborate enameled and gold earrings frequently portrayed items in nature such as lotus blossoms.

Body piercings are also mentioned in the Bible. In the Old Testament it’s obvious that body jewelry is considered a mark of beauty and wealth, especially for Bedouin and nomadic tribes. In many cases, body jewelry was given as a bridal gift or as part of a dowry. It is clear that piercing was a sign of status and attractiveness in Biblical times.

Romans were practical piercers

Romans were very practical people, and for them piercing almost always served a purpose. Roman centurions pierced their nipples not because they liked the way it looked, but to signify their strength and virility. It was a badge of honor that demonstrated the centurion’s dedication to the Roman Empire. As a symbol, it was important and served a specific function, unifying and bonding the army. Even Julius Caesar pierced his nipples to show his strength and his identification with his men.

Genital piercing through the head of the penis was performed on gladiators, who were almost always slaves, for two reasons. A ring through the head of the penis could be used to tie the organ back to the testicles with a length of leather. In gladiatorial combat, this prevented serious injury. With a large enough ring or bar, it also prevented the slave from having sex without the owner’s consent. Since the gladiator was “property,” a stud fee could be charged to another slave owner for the highly prized opportunity to raise the next generation of great fighter.

Making love or war, piercing makes it better

Going across the ocean at around the same time, the Aztecs, Maya and some American Indians practiced tongue piercing as part of their religious rituals. It was thought to bring them closer to their gods and was a type of ritual blood-letting. The Aztec and Maya were warrior tribes, and also practiced septum piercing in order to appear fiercer to their enemies. Nothing looks quite as frightening as an opponent sporting a huge boar tusk thrust through his nose!

This practice was also common among tribes in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Some of the materials commonly used were bone, tusks and feathers. Hundreds of years later, French fur trappers in Washington State discovered American Indian tribes who wore bones through their septum and called them the Nez Perce, meaning “Pierced Noses” in French. It’s interesting that civilizations separated by thousands of miles and even centuries often developed a love for the same kind of body piercings to enhance certain features, isn’t it?

In Central and South America, lip labrets were popular for purely aesthetic reasons – women with pierced lips were considered more attractive. In fact, the holes were often stretched to incredible size as progressively larger wooden plates were inserted to emphasize the lips as much as possible. (Kind of like collagen today). The Aztecs and Maya also sported lip labrets of gold and jade, many of them elaborately carved into mythical or religious figures or sporting gemstones. These were seen as highly attractive and to enhance sexuality.

As the world moved into the dark ages, interest in piercing died down somewhat and the medieval church began to condemn it as sinful. For a few hundred years, Western civilization abandoned the practice. As the Renaissance went into full swing, however, interest in piercing began to pick up again.

A new era and a new interest in body piercings

Sailors became convinced that piercing one ear would improve their long-distance site, and so the site of a sailor with a gold or brass ring became common. Word also spread that should a sailor be washed ashore after a shipwreck, the finder should keep the gold ring in exchange for providing a proper Christian burial. Sailors were both religious and superstitious, so they generally spent a lot for a large gold earring to hedge their bets.

Men became much more fashion-conscious during the Renaissance and Elizabethan eras, and almost any male member of the nobility would have at least one earring, if not more. Large pearl drops and enormous diamond studs were a great way to advertise your wealth and standing in the community. It could also designate royal favor if your earring was a gift from a member of the royal family.

Women, not wanting to be outshone by the men in all their finery, began to wear plunging necklines, with the Queen of Bavaria introducing the most outrageous, which consisted of not much at all above the waist. In order to adorn themselves, women began piercing their nipples to show off their jewelry. Soon they began wearing chains and even strands of pearls draped between the two.

Men and women both discovered that these nipple piercings were also delightful playthings in bed, adding sensitivity to the breasts and giving the men both visual and tactile stimulation. Men began getting pierced purely for pleasure as well. While not entirely mainstream, piercing of the nipples and, occasionally, the genitals, continued to hold interest for members of the upper crust of society in Europe on and off for the next few hundred years.

The next resurgence of interest was, surprisingly, during the Victorian age, which is usually seen as very repressed. Prince Albert, future husband of Queen Victoria, is said to have gotten the penis piercing that is named after him in order wear the tight-fitting trousers so popular at the time. The ring could then be attached to a hook on the inside of one pant leg, tucked safely away between the legs for a neat, trim look. Although we have no record of Victoria’s response to the piercing itself, there is ample evidence she was wildly in love with her husband and almost never left his side after their marriage!

Soon, Victorian men were getting Prince Albert’s, frenums and a variety of other piercings purely for the pleasurable sexual effects, and women were doing the same. By the 1890’s, it was almost expected that a woman would have her nipples pierced. In fact, some doctors at the time suggested it improved conditions for breastfeeding, although not all agreed. It was an interesting double standard –- plenty of people were doing it, but no one was talking about it.

Modern-day body piercings

In the last hundred years or so, body piercings in the Western world have mostly been limited to the ears, a standard hold-over from the fact that both men and women wore earrings during Elizabethan times. The Puritan movement did away with men wearing earrings, however, and it didn’t really regain popularity until recently.

Nose rings found new interest when young people (they were called hippies then) from the U.S. began traveling in India extensively looking for enlightenment in the 1960’s. They noticed the nostril rings that most women had been wearing there since the sixteenth century. In India, this was a form of traditional, accepted adornment and was often linked to an earring by a chain. For rebellious teens from America, it was a great form of rebellion.

After bringing nose piercings back to the U.S., the interest in body piercings of all kinds quickly caught on during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Celebrities, sports stars and singers all began sporting a variety of piercings. Soon, high school students and even stay-at-home moms were flashing new body piercings. And the rest, as they say, is history!

This article on the "History of Body Piercings" reprinted with permission.
Copyright 2004 Evaluseek Publishing.

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About the Author:
Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a lot about body jewelry, belly button rings and tongue rings. She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not.

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Body piercing has grown so much in popularity in recent years that it has become almost mainstream, with more and more people sporting navel rings and multiple ear rings. Facial piercings, surface piercings and lots of others to choose from can make things confusing. If you don’t know what to expect when you decide to get a piercing, it can be even more intimidating. Here are some of the top questions people have about body piercing.

1. I want to get a body piercing. How much will it cost?

The cost of a body piercing varies depending on several factors, including where you’re located, how close to a major city you are, and what kind of piercing you’re having done. Generally the more difficult the piercing, the higher the cost. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for as well, so don’t depend entirely upon cost to choose your piercer. If a piercer is charging significantly under the market cost in your area, he may be cutting corners in areas he shouldn’t, such as sterilization and other safety procedures.

On average, the cost of piercings fall somewhere in these ranges:

• Ears (lobes, cartilage, etc.)…..anywhere from $25-$50
• Navel……………………………..$45-$55
• Tongue……………………………$45-$55
• Labret…………………………….$50-$60
• Eyebrow…………………………..$40-$50
• Nipple……………………………..$45-$55
• Nostril…………………………….$45-$55
• Genital…………………………….$75-$100

2. Does it hurt?

In simple terms, yes. Does it hurt much? Most people will tell you, “No, not really.” It’s usually more like a pinching or popping sensation than anything. The sensation of pain is relative—some people feel it more than others. The adrenalin rush of the piercing usually means the pain in minimal.

After the initial pain when the needle goes through the piercing, you may feel some dull pain or an aching sensation for a few hours, which can be relieved with an over the counter pain reliever. One piercing that does hurt a bit more than others is the tongue piercing, which will swell and be sensitive for a few days. Ice chips and popsicles will help soothe the pain of this kind of new piercing.

3. How long does it take a body piercing to heal?

The healing time for a body piercing varies depending upon what you’ve had pierced. Some parts of the body heal more quickly than others. For instance, if you pierce your earlobes, you can expect them to heal within two months and be ready for jewelry other than the original piercing jewelry.

The belly button is in an area that heals slowly, however, because it’s right where the body twists and turns, which slows the healing process. It also doesn’t get as much air circulation because it is covered much of the time. It can take up to six months or even a year for a belly button piercing to heal completely.

Some general healing times are:

• Ear lobes……….6-8 weeks
• Cartilage………..4-8 months
• Eyebrow………..6-8 weeks
• Nostril…………..3-4 months
• Septum………….6-8 months
• Labret…………..2-3 months
• Tongue………….4-6 weeks
• Nipple…………..4-6 months
• Navel……………5 months-1 year
• Genitals…………6 weeks-6 months

The better you care for a body piercing, the more quickly it will heal, so be sure to discuss the proper care of your piercing with the piercing professional who does your body piercing to ensure a quick, clean piercing and you will heal in the least amount of time possible.

4. How can I tell if a piercing is infected, or it’s just normal healing stuff?

All body piercings will have some drainage during the first several days. This is because you have basically given your body a puncture wound, and your body will bleed for a while, and then have drainage of some fluids as it heals. These fluids are actually good for you, as they keep the area moist and clean and will wash away some of the dirt and germs that might otherwise stay in the area.

Bleeding should stop within a few hours or the first day and be only small amounts. Often it will look watery. Drainage will be mostly a clear, watery discharge, although it can sometimes be somewhat white in color. The drainage will form “crusties” around the jewelry that can be washed off with warm, soapy water when you clean your piercing each day.

A piercing is infected when the discharge is either green or yellow. Also, if the area becomes swollen or inflamed again after the initial swelling has subsided. Any time you see green or yellow pus or discharge; you should see a doctor and get appropriate medical treatment. It won’t necessarily mean you have to remove your piercing; you may simply have to take a course of antibiotics. If the area becomes red and inflamed with red streaks radiating out from the area, see a doctor right away.

5. What should I look for in a good body piercing studio?

A good body piercing studio must first and foremost be clean, clean, and clean! The most common cause of infection is piercings is simple exposure to germs, so look for a piercing parlor that is very strict about its cleanliness and sterilization procedures. They should have a separate room where nothing else is done but piercings.

They should always have an operational autoclave, which is a wet steam sterilization unit that is to be used to clean and sterilize all tools and equipment used during piercing. They should also pierce only with single-use, disposable needles that are pre-wrapped. Ask them if this is what they use, and insist that the needles not be opened until they are actually ready to do your piercing so that you can confirm they are sterile-wrapped.

Look for experience and qualifications. Have all the piercers been through an apprenticeship program? If so, for how long did they train and where? Also make sure they are licensed to operate a piercing studio by their state’s department of health. In most states this is now mandatory. Also check the date to make sure it isn’t expired. Finally, look for a certificate of membership in a professional society such as the Association of Professional Piercers, an organization that supports safe and professional piercing practices and offers extensive ongoing training.

6. Why can’t I just pierce myself?

You can pierce yourself, but it’s not really a good idea. It’s simply too hard to keep the area in your own home (or wherever you happen to be) clean and sterile enough. You also may have trouble lining up and placing a piercing squarely where you want it, and if you lose your nerve half-way through the piercing, you’re stuck with it half done.

If you do it at home, you’ll probably do it on an impulse, which will mean you won’t have the right tools. Piercing needles are incredibly sharp in order to reduce the pain and make a good, clean cut. No matter how sharp that sewing needle is at home, it’s not as sharp as a piercing needle, so it will hurt more, bleed more, and may not heal as cleanly.

7. What should I clean my piercing with?

Today most professional piercers agree that the best way to clean a fresh piercing is with a mild antibacterial soap. These should not contain perfumes or dyes, which can irritate a piercing and lead to discomfort or an allergic reaction. There are a few on the market that are specifically designed for body piercings, including Provon® and Satin®.

After cleaning, you should follow up with a sea salt water soak. Sea salt is available at natural health stores, piercing and tattoo studios and a variety of other stores. The sea salt solution helps soothe the area and draw impurities out of the wound to promote faster healing. H2Ocean is an excellent pre-mixed sea salt solution that can be sprayed on for ease of use. It’s highly recommended by many professional piercers and is convenient especially if you’re traveling or on the go.

8. What kind of jewelry should a piercing be done with?

A body piercing is, in the simplest terms, a puncture wound, so you want to use a high quality metal that won’t react with your body chemistry to create an allergic reaction or contaminate the open wound.

Never use cheap or base metals to get a body piercing. The best metals to use are titanium or surgical steel, both or which are essentially inert and won’t react with your body. In some cases, you can use high quality gold, but even this sometimes creates a reaction because of the nickel content, so do be cautious.

Once a piercing is completely healed, you have more leeway on what you can use, but if you are at all nickel sensitive, you will probably always have to stick with surgical steel and titanium for your body piercings, unless you are using alternatives such as glass, which is completely non-reactive and safe for nearly everyone.

9. What causes migration? Is it the same as rejection?

Rejection is a more severe form of migration. Migration is when a body piercing begins to move through the flesh because the body is trying to force it out of the skin and get rid of it. In some cases, the body only partially succeeds, and the piercing “migrates” so that it ends up being crooked or misaligned.

When the body completely forces a piercing out of the body, it is called a “rejection,” because the body has completely rejected the piece of jewelry, basically “spitting it out.” This is because any piercing jewelry is a foreign object that the body sees as an invader to be gotten rid of, especially if the piercing is poorly done so that the jewelry aggravates the skin tissues.

10. What if I want to become a professional piercer?

Behave responsibly. Visit a few piercing parlors that you know are top quality and ask about internship programs and other options. Order some videos that take you through the introductory steps of piercing and educate you on the process of proper preparation and sterilization. Many of the larger piercing websites offer these video series’ at a reasonable cost.

You should also take courses in first aid in blood borne pathogens and other illnesses that are commonly transmitted by needles. Many of these courses are offered through community colleges or local hospital extensions. The most important thing is to be fully trained and completely experienced in all manner of piercing before setting yourself up as a piercer on your own—both for your own legal protection and the safety and well-being of those who come to you for body piercing.

The Association of Professional Piercers (www.safepiercing.org) is an excellent source of information on how to get started as a professional piercer.

In Conclusion

Body piercing and wearing body jewelry should be an informed choice, not a snap decision. If you have been thinking about getting a body piercing, talk to others who have done the same and get their feedback. Ask them if they are happy with the results and for their suggestions on good piercing studios. Ask yourself if you’re ready for the commitment to proper care and the expense of a body piercing.

Remember that a body piercing is a form of body modification that will affect how others perceive you. Obviously, this is part of the appeal for most people. However, the reactions will be mixed, and you should keep in mind that while some people will love it, others will not. So think through the consequences of body piercing thoroughly before you proceed. Then, if you decide its right for you—follow the tips above for a safe, attractive body piercing you’ll be proud to wear!

This article on the "Top 10 Questions about Body Piercing" reprinted with permission.
Copyright © 2004 Evaluseek Publishing.

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About the Author
Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a lot about body jewelry, eyebrow rings, and labret jewelry. She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not.

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They were fierce hill tribes in what is now Scotland, and we called them Picts. The name seems to mean "The Painted People" for they were known to love bright body art and multi-coloured clothing. They were artists, prolific carvers of stone and from the carved standing stones still found in the region around Loch Ness, we can see that the Picts were fascinated by animals, carefully etching their likeness into the surface of the stone. And they left us a mystery.

For all the animals depicted on the Pictish stones are lifelike and easily recognisable, except for one. This exception is a strange beast with a long elongated beak or muzzle, a head spout, and with flippers instead of feet, somewhat like a swimming elephant. This Pictish beast is the earliest known reference to the belief that took hold in the Scottish Highlands at least 1,500 years ago, that Loch Ness is home to a mysterious underwater animal. The Loch Ness Monster.

Columba stood for no nonsense, even from a monster. He had ordered one of his monks to swim across the loch to fetch a boat when, halfway across, the beast appeared and rushed at the swimmer, roaring in a most frightening way. The Saint himself jumped in the loch crying out at the monster "Go no further, nor touch the man! Go back!". Thus commanded, the monster fled. The great Columba converted most of Scotland to Christianity and apparently converted Nessie too, for it is said that until he went out on the waters and soothed the beast, she had been a murderess.

In Scottish folklore, large animals are associated with many bodies of water from small streams to the largest lakes, often labeled Loch-na-Beistie on old maps. These water-horses, or kelpies, are cousins of the Irish Pooka and have similar magical powers but often malevolent intentions. They are dragons under water, lurking with ravenous intent, waiting for the onset of darkness in the long Northern nights before they come forth and devour the Innocent.

The monster, sea serpent, kraken and other mythological creatures have formed a part of folklore since the beginning of time. Around the world there are reputed to be sea serpents or monsters in many bodies of fresh water. Nessie in Loch Ness, Morag in Loch Morar, Shielagh in Loch Shiel, Lizzy in Loch Lochy, Champ in Lake Champlain, Ogopogo in Lake Okanagan and, quaintly, Wally in Lake Wallowa.

While research has been conducted at many of these lakes, Loch Ness is the icon for monsters and Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster is, without doubt, the grandmother of them all. It is to Loch Ness where myriad researchers have flocked with their cameras and sonars, webcams and mini submarines, their hopes, fears and dreams of solving the mystery of Nessie.

She is reported to have an elongated neck that quite often protrudes from the water with a small head, diamond shaped flippers and three distinct humps on her back followed by a tail. Sone say that she lives under or around Urquhart Castle and many photographs (mostly fake) have been taken of her in the vicinity.

The sedimentary rocks which cradle Loch Ness are some of the oldest in the world. The sandstones were originally laid down in warm seas when Scotland was located in the latitude where Australasia is today. As the continents drifted northwards the land became squeezed into the dry centre of the super-continent Pangaea.

400 million years ago, the Great Glen side slip fault was created. This Great Glen, almost cutting Scotland in two, is home to the black waters of Lochs Ness, Oich, Lochy and Linnhe

As the continents began to break up and cluster around the north pole, great Scottish mountains, which would have been Himalayan in size were gradually worn down to the stumps which you see today. Scotland was still in the grip of the ice twelve thousand years ago, but the main advances were over and the land was beginning to rebound from being depressed into the mantle. The surface of Loch Ness would have been at a similar elevation to sea level.

Anything living in the Loch today must have arrived from the freezing North Sea up the River Ness after the final retreat of ice.

Many scientists and zoologists will admit to half- believing that a large aquatic animal does in fact exist in Loch Ness. There are numerous theories as to her identity, including a snake-like primitive whale known as a zeuglodon, a type of long-necked aquatic seal, giant eels, walruses, floating mats of plants, giant molluscs, otters, a "paraphysical" entity, mirages, diving birds and most popularly, a plesiosaur. Nessie was even given a scientific name "Nessiteras rhombopteryx" named by Sir Peter Scott so that Nessie could be added to the British Register of officially protected wildlife.

The name, translated from Greek means "The wonder of Ness with the diamond shaped fin". Over the years many have noted that if you rearranged the letters of Nessiteras rhombopteryx, it can be made to read "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S".

This may mean something - or it may mean nothing at all.

Nessie is either there, or she’s not. I like to think she has outwitted our efforts to trap her, pin her down, categorise her, tame her and turn her into tea towels. And one day you may get to see her yourself. Long may she live in the loch !

Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, grief counsellor and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions, and specialises in Croning and other celebrations for women. http://celebrant.yarralink.com

Folklore includes a traditional trickster figure, the subject of many stories in a cycle. Trickster tales are in the animal tales genre, with the trickster himself — he seems always to be male — identified with a particular animal. These include the fox in Japan, mouse deer in Southeast Asia, the coyote and the spider among the Native Americans, the tortoise and spider in West Africa, and the mantis in Southern Africa.

These tales feature a trickster-hero who may be regarded as both creator god and innocent fool, evil destroyer and childlike prankster.

Tricksters are usually small in size next to the large, strong animals that appear in the same folktales. Tricksters survive by their wits, but they do more than just survive. They constantly play tricks on the animals around them, outwitting and mistreating their powerful neighbours even when these larger animals haven’t done anything to deserve it. Occasionally he overreaches himself and finds that he’s been too clever for his own good.

It’s the Trickster who points out the flaws in our carefully managed societies. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates complex schemes and generally plays with the Laws of the Universe. He constantly questions the rules, and causes us to question these same rules. The Trickster appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded, when old ways need to be changed.

The Trickster is a creator, a joker, a truth teller, a story teller, a transformer. We are most accessible to the gifts of the Trickster when we ourselves are at, or near, boundaries - when we are experiencing transition states. As an archetype, the Trickster, the boundary dweller, finds expression through human imagination and experience.

Trickster tales are great favourites in many cultures. They represent the underdog who uses skill and cunning to outwit a superior. West African trickster animals have a significant presence in the New World, when they travelled as part of the folklore of enslaved Africans. The rabbit is best known as Br’er Rabbit in the folktales documented by Joel Chandler Harris in the USA. We also find him in his modern avatar, Bugs Bunny !

The spider is best known as Anansi, and you find him throughout the former English and French colonies of the West Indies.

The role of the slave trickster tales was an important one giving a sense of pride and hope for the future. They showed that the weak could conquer the strong. The tales were devices that taught helplessness can triumph over virtue and mischievousness is better than malice. For the slaves, trickster folklore was also a weapon by which they were able to take subtle revenge on their masters.

Susanna Duffy is a Civil Celebrant, grief counsellor and mythologist. She creates ceremonies and Rites of Passage for individual and civic functions, and specialises in celebrations for women. http://celebrant.yarralink.com

From the creative explosion marking the outset of the universe to our advanced human stage in evolution, some fifteen billion years have elapsed. This advanced stage refers to the natural abilities and the cultural realizations of our species. While these natural abilities have virtually not changed in the last hundred thousand years, these cultural realizations have progressed exponentially over the same period. The former depend on a biological memory – the genetic information that is stored in human cells and can be transmitted through reproduction. The latter depend on a social memory – the didactic information that is stored in human libraries and can be transmitted through education. Together these two memories and modes of transmission supply the necessary tools to perpetuate and ameliorate humanity. The problem is that humans rarely use these tools to the maximum. They reproduce very well; more than five billion people testify to that; but they could do better in every other respect, witness the many instances of weakness and wickedness that tarnish their image.

Having said this, their existence can never be perfect. The worthiness and especially the effectiveness of their efforts will always be limited and perfectible. Such is their human condition. They can achieve great things, thank God! Yet this greatness cannot be absolute, thank God again! This imperfection hides a sublime advantage that can only be fathomed and cherished by a life lover. It ensures the maintenance of a dynamic state in pursuit of fulfillment, which is essential for the act, the dignity, and the joy of living.

Conversely, the attainment of infinite health, strength, pleasure, wisdom, glory, wealth, and every other object of one’s desires would amount to an infinite satisfaction that would kill these desires. This attainment is impossible because it is incompatible with life. Perfection and death go together like two inseparable lovers in a single tomb. They send a shiver down my spine. Who can look on death as the ideal of life? Perfection is fit for a stone. It may appeal to a wretchedly tired soul in dire need of a rest. Dead, however, would this soul not adopt the opposite stance after a lengthy bout of mineral tranquility? Would it not dream of having a second chance to live and love life?

Many may think the human condition could be better without being perfect. What is the meaning of this betterment, which bears no relation to the one that ought to be accomplished by human means within the limits of this condition? Do many wish God would increase these means or reduce these limits? For what purpose? To make life easier? Closer to death! Can they not see the beauty of the imperfection as it is? Can they not appreciate that the peak of human fulfillment entails a steep mountain to climb and the constant risk of falling?

Admittedly, it is hard not to lament one’s challenging human condition while painfully struggling to rise to the challenge, especially if the difficulties are serious and numerous. Correlatively, it is hard then not to reckon that there is room for improvement in the creation. I for one have long indulged in this sort of lamenting and reckoning. With hindsight, I am now in a good position to size up my error. God was not to blame for my unhappiness at the time; my attitude was at fault. I had failed to realize that the extreme difficulties I was faced with were exceptional opportunities for spiritual development and enlightenment, just as an obstacle can keep ivy in the dark and become the instrument of its ascension to a superior place in the sun.

Laurent Grenier’s writing career spans over twenty years. During this time he has broadened and deepened his worldview, by dint of much reflection and study, and in the end has crafted “A Reason for Living,” his best work to date.

Official web site: http://laurentgrenier.com/ARFL.html

Towards the end of Million Dollar Baby the character Scraps, ex boxing great turned gym porter, says of a character who has been away from the gym for a while, "And then a ghost walked in." This is an inadvertant commentary on almost all the principal characters in the film, and thier relationships to each other.

Scraps (Morgan Freeman) is a ghost for Frankie (Clint Eastwood), as is Maggie (Hillary Swank) - the former because he lost sight in one eye in a match, many years ago, partly due to Frankie, and the latter because as time goes on she becomes a surrogate for his long gone daughter who refuses to reconcile with him (we are not told exactly what went wrong between Frankie and his daughter, though we see that he has a shoebox full of letters he sent her marked RETURN TO SENDER).

Frankie goes to Mass every day; the priest tells him, "Write to your daughter." Scraps and Maggie bond because both have been trained by Frankie. Scraps and Maggie, without knowing it, become mirrors of each other, each having been gravely hurt in boxing matches with Frankie as their manager. Yet, at the same time, they mirror each other in another way - boxing is their whole life (Maggie tells Frankie at one point, "If I don’t have this, I have nothing"; Scraps literally lives in the gym, in a small space in a corner with a curtain.

He never leaves the place (Frankie invites him to come to Vegas for a fight and he says, "Do you know what this place would look like if I left it?") Everyone whom Frankie seems to care about in his life has been gravely hurt by him - his daughter, Maggie, and Scraps. The gym is a place of vicousness and street consciousness - a bully beats an annoying punk to a bloody pulp, only to be knocked out cold in turn by Scraps. Frankie and Maggie are both on horrible terms with their immediate families, and Scraps has no family in sight;it is such a nonissue for him that none is ever even mentioned.

In this world, in these lives, the characters share much that is bleak and dismal, yet the end effect of the film on the viewer is one of hope, respect, and dignity nonetheless. Any time one character turns to another, their souls,their cores, relate - and in this way these relationships reveal to us some of the essential truths about humanity.

Peter Quinones is the author of Amethyst Secrets, published by I Universe. His website is http://www.cultureboutique.com

Let’s trace the number of Chinese characters from Han Dynasty 汉朝 (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.)

说文解字 (Shuwenjiezhi) - The first complete dictionary that listed all Chinese character was published in Han Dynasty 汉朝 at around 100 A.D. It was regarded as the the origin of Chinese characters. It included 9,353 characters.

康熙字典(Kangxi) - the well known classic of Chinese dictionary was published in 1716 of Qing Dynasty 清朝. The Kangxi dictionary included about 46,964 characters compiled in 42 booklets. Most of the characters were unused and rare variant accumulated over the centuries. Those characters were regrouped under 214 radicals still in use today in many dictionaries to classified characters in traditional form.

The first official simplified form characters were published in 1956 by the People’s Republic of China. Many additions and modifications to the original list were adopted since. The list included 6,500 simplified characters.

Nowadays the simplified form characters are used in China and Singapore, the traditional form characters are still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and most of the overseas Chinese communities.

In 1952, literacy for peasants was defined as knowledge of 1,500 characters and literacy for labour workers as knowledge of 2,000 characters.

A well educated person can probably recognize more than 6,000 characters.

Since Chinese words are generally composed of two or three characters, a few thousand characters can be used to understand hundreds and thousands of words.

The Chinese computerized fonts for words processor include 6,500 characters of the simplified form and 13,500 of the traditional form.

Rosie From Learn Chinese Language Online (http://www.learn-chinese-language-online.com)

The goal of Learn Chinese Language Online (LCLO) is to reduce the Mandarin Learning curve, promote and introduce the most efficient way to grasp the broad foundation of Chinese language.

Preview: "Shipping containers" have yet nothing to do with "housing" in Romania. Is there any chance that they will soon? Belonging to Eastern European block, released in 1989 from communist oppression, Romania has already experienced 15 years of less and less stunning freedom.

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I read a few articles about shipping container housing. It took me about five minutes to realize this subject makes your mind frolic endlessly on an imaginary (however not utopian) land. Those articles belong to some very respectable gentlemen (at least that was the impression they made on me, at first reading) – that praise living in shipping containers.

Let’s go cheap

A 40 foot-long shipping container could reach to $1,500-2,000. I started asking myself questions about how this subject could become a solution for homeless people in Romania (that’s where I live), where flats cost (at least) $20,000. And they’re not 40 foot-long.

At the same time, Romania has a lot of peripheral categories: the poor, the old, the young, the unemployed, the pitman, the gypsy, the orphan, the student.

Could they benefit from this recent discovery that living in some kind of shoe-boxes can be really cool and trendy? I’ll try to answer that.

A few advantages from a Romanian point of view: for peripherals it’s cheap, for artists it’s unconventional the subject is quite green you can "camp" anywhere you want (Romania has not few spectacular landmarks) the result you get using shipping containers can be anywhere between "plastic" and "platinum", practical and fantasy, serious and ludic - you can move your "house" around. At least that’s what LOT/EK people are trying to prove by their "mobile dwelling unit" project. Earthquakes, floods and sliding land are some serious problems in Romania, so being able to leave the place at a snail’s pace may be useful. - most Romanians live in blocks of flats that pretty much look like overcrowded shipping containers (and usually inadequate to modern standards: water supply, heating, insulation, comfort etc). Could shipping container houses actually mean a reasonable escape? Maybe, if they are properly transformed and adapted to living conditions. - A sad fact is that few Romanians actually have the possibility to pay $2,000 cash for a house-to-be.

If you are not a Romanian 2007 could be, in the optimist version, the year that Romania will join EU. Compared to Western standards, Romanian land properties are very cheap. Land-purchase conditions are the same for both Romanians and foreigners.

A few observations to Mr Doug Casey’s reportage about his Romanian adventure (http://www.escapeartist.com/efam17/Romania.html).

Given the reasons Mr. Casey liked Romania, I quickly made some "counts". The average Romanian needs to work (at a medium economy salary rate of $11 per day) 2272 days to buy an apartment; or, 103 months (I excluded weekend days of course, they don’t pay); or 9 years. This without considering any interest. And supposing that this particular individual doesn’t eat, dress or pay rent. Just work his butt off. In real terms, he needs more than nine years, probably 25. That’s pretty much for an average ephemeride that lives an average 75 years life.

Mr. Casey’s mentioning of the brief trial and execution of the Ceausescu couple has suddenly brought to my senses a smell of a Dogville atmosphere that I have never before associated with Romania. Of course, I’m talking about the movie dog-ville, not the real one.

That takes me back to the initial idea that shipping container housing is a subject that gives you some chalk drawn-squares (or parallelepipeds in our case) that make you want to play like kids do with their Lego pieces.

But here are a few more questions:

Where do you find those imaginative grown-ups that are able to play with shipping containers in a coherent / artful manner?

What would their work be worth in the end?

How much do utilities cost (water, energy, gas supply etc.)?

Would the authorities be open to hear this as an alternative solution to traditional housing?

About The Author

Iulia Pascanu

E-mail address: iulia.pascanu@neomedia.ro

Iulia Pascanu writes for http://www.shipping-container-housing.com where you can find information about building with shipping containers and shipping containers industry.

“Game” Theory

This article was inspired by Mick Napier’s book „Improvise: scene from the inside out“ in which he draws comparisons between Physics and Improvisation. It made me think – I know a little bit about game theory (I majored in it) and it has the word “game” in it, so chances are it’ll have something in common with improvising, which is really nothing else but playing games. And, not so surprisingly, there are some rather powerful parallels:

• To make everybody look good, you have to have cooperation. You have probably heard of the prisoner’s dilemma. It is about two suspects, who are separated and each asked to confess. If one confesses and the other denies, the first gets off easy, the other gets 10 years. Being a snitch pays off. If both confess they each get 5 years. If both deny just 1. So, obviously the best solution is for both to deny. But if this expected, they will deviate and confess. Actually, it is always better to confess! So if there are no other means of cooperation then both will confess and get 5 years, which is far from the best outcome where both get 1 year. This debunks effectively the notion that individual selfishness maximizes common welfare!

The challenge here compares well with “going for the funny” (i.e. selfish behavior) in an improvised scene. If you do you’ll get a laugh, sure. But if you both start going for the jokes you will look very silly. So, resist that urge and always play from the top of your intelligence. It’s worth the effort.

• One of the most important things in improvisation is to be completely aware of everything going on in the scene. To be affected by it and not “script ahead” in your mind just to end up saying that stupid disconnected line that you thought would be so funny. In Game Theory too, this is an important rule. A strategy must be a best answer to the other players move. You must consider explicitly the reaction of the other players when you make your decision. Take the “winners curse” for example. You want to acquire a company that is worth somewhere between 0 and 100 dollars. Once you acquire the company it will be worth 1.5x that amount because of your better management. But here’s the catch: only the seller knows what the actual worth is. So, what do you offer him? Take a second to think about your answer. Did you say 50 dollars? Because that is the expected value of the firm? You’re in good company. But you were wrong. The correct answer is 0. Why 0? Well, let’s say you offered $50 and the other party accepts. They will have only accepted your offer if the actual value is between 0 and 50 dollars, right? That means an expected value of $25. For you that is worth 1.5 times as much, or $37.5. The deal doesn’t sound so good anymore? The same applies for every other amount offered. What you had to do to find this solution was simple enough: Put yourself in the other guy’s shoes and think about your best answer to what she might do. Sound familiar?

• According to subgame perfectness you are not allowed to make unbelievable threats like “If you enter my market I will fight even though it costs me a lot of money”, if this is not in your best interest once the event occurs. The way around this issue is to invest in “sunk cost”. E.g. financial constructs, advertising, or your reputation that make it clear it will cost you dearly if you do not live up to your word. I.e. make it so expensive to bail that the threat once again becomes credible. In improvisation too you cannot bail on your offers. If you stuttered at the top of the scene, keep on stuttering. It’s your contract with the audience. Yet, it is sometimes tempting to do so. Or, often you let go of it out of plain carelessness. So, invest highly at the top of the scene so it becomes impossible to go back.

• Trembling hand perfectness – Means you must have an answer even to the most irrational moves. What if you find yourself in a world that cannot exist (an “unreached information set”)? E.g. your competitor makes an incredibly stupid mistake. And sells PCs direct to consumer, no intermediaries. Although you know so well how important service is to your customers. What if this happens? How do you react? Basically, game theory says you have to have an answer for these situations too. The parallel to Improv? It’s almost too obvious isn’t it: you always have to have an answer. Nothing should throw you off balance. There’s a horse in your kitchen? Right where you’re baking that cake? Fine, work with that. Pet the horse, ride it over to the sink, milk it. Do whatever comes naturally to your character. React sincerely to it and you will be rewarded with interesting scenes. This one touches the very heart of improvisation as well as so many other business or private challenges: Take everything as a gift and be enough of a person to accept it. Then add to it. Yes And!

About the Author:

Henrik Kiessler is currently global Manager for CRM at a large Pharmaceutical firm. He lives in Vienna, Austria. He studied Game Theory with the acclaimed Werner Gueth in Frankfurt. He studied improvisation in Chicago with Second City and the Annoyance theater. The currently performs with ImproX (http://improx.fesch.at) in Vienna.

The cow is a mother to mankind whom we should love,respect and protect. Her milk is the life blood for many species, including humans. Her dung provides fuel and bricks for millions of rural families across Asia . Her urine is medicine for the sick. When she dies her skin provides us warmth and protection through clothing.

In Astrology, the cow or bull is the symbol of the sign Taurus, a sign representing earth, nature and all its bounties. In Vedic Astrology, the cow’s many wonderful qualities are emphasized through the various nakshatras. She is one of the universal mothers represented by the constellation Krittika. Her unlimited resourcefulness is associated with the constellation Rohini, whose symbol, ‘an oxen cart pulling a fresh harvest’ highlights the fertility aspect of both the earth and the cow. ‘Bhooma Devi’ or ‘Mother Earth’ is symbolised as a cow in the Vedic tradition, as just like the earth, the cow is an endless giver of resources and nourishment.

The cow’s nourishing aspect is associated with the constellation Pushya, which has a cow’s ‘milk giving udder’ as its main symbol and is a constellation related to motherhood and dependability. The cow’s patient and gentle nature is associated with the constellation Uttara bhadrapada,which has cow as its sexual animal.

In the Vedic pantheon of gods, the bull or cow is the vehicle of Lord Siva, and a symbol of strength and endurance. Vishnu’s avatar form of Krishna, took the incarnation of a cowherd who enchanted cows and other living beings with his flute playing. His association with cows highlighted the importance of protecting and respecting the earth and its creatures. In the Vedas, one can find the story of the divine cow Kamadhenu, "the wish fulfilling cow" who is the dear treasure of the seven celestial sages. She emerged from the churning of the celestial ocean, along with many other treasures including the divine nectar of immortality, amrita ". As she is greatly desired for her endless gifts and bounty she remains under the care and protection of the sages. In all ancient cultures cows have played an important role in helping man understand his duty and relationship to the natural environment.

It is a great tragedy that in today’s world, cows and other highly sentient beings, are the undeserving victim of barbarous tortures and all manner of atrocities in the name of satisfying man’s palate and greedy nature. It is a reflection of the current world cycle Kali Yuga (an age where ignorance and darkness reign), that the most gentlest and innocent of creatures are put through the worst treatment imagineable in the most mindless manner. This sort of ignorance breeds more ignorance and creates much negative karma for the individual and collective.

The darker forces controlling the planet have deliberately conditioned humans into believing that meat is an essential part of dietary survival, and by over breeding cows in large numbers, have succeeded in destroying much of the earth’s fertile land in order to feed these genetically & hormonally tampered creatures; land which could otherwise be used to grow crops that increase the world’s food supply a thousand fold.

There is no good reason why humans should eat meat. The physical constitution of humans is much more similar to herbivore mammals than carnivores. Eating meat produces a whole range of detrimental effects. At the most basic level it harms our physical health, but much more complex and subtle damage happens on the mental, emotional and spiritual planes. There is enough information and proof on the subject, if one takes the time to look.

With today’s high tech global transatlantic communications, vegetarian food sources of every type are available to anyone just about anywhere on the planet. There is enough agricultural knowledge and technology to grow crops in areas that suffer from extreme climates or other hazardous conditions.

Humans have ability to access a basic level of compassion inside themselves, which they clearly express in regard to their household pets, but not to cows, pigs, sheep, chicken etc. who are equally sensitive and feel the same levels of pain and fear as the domestic dog or cat.

No great feats of heroism or sacrifice are required to contribute to the enlightenment of the planet. Just by making simple changes in our every day living routine like discriminating what / what not to eat, can have significant and far reaching impact on the future destiny and wellbeing of all.

Oja Spirit is based in Britain and aims to enhance greater public awareness of Jyotish. It is owned & managed by Veno. Veno also runs OSFA LTD (Orion School & Foundation for Astrology with Prash Trivedi, the world’s leading expert on Jyotish and Vedic science.

Veno’s education in Jyotish began in 1992. She has learnt Jyotish from many sources but her most valued education has been her last five years of intensive study under Prash Trivedi. She has been a practising Jyotishi (astrologer) since 1994.

She co-published her first book "Sun, The Cosmic Powerhousein 2003 with Sagar Publications, India and has illustrated a pioneering work about nakshatras by Prash titled "The 27 Celestial Portals" due for release early 2005.

Veno has appeared on BBC radio and London Television with Prash to highlight the importance of introducing Jyotish to the west.