Miyamoto Musashi Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵?, c. 1584 – June 13, 1645), also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku,[1] was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and the author of The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書, Go Rin No Sho?), a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today. Biography[edit] Birth[edit] The details of Miyamoto Musashi's early life are difficult to verify. Munisai and Musashi's birth date[edit] Munisai's tomb says he died in 1580, which obviously conflicts with the accepted birth date of 1584 for Musashi. Because of the uncertainty centering on Munisai (when he died, whether he was truly Musashi's father, etc.), Musashi's mother is known with even less confidence. Munisai's tomb was correct.
The Winter King The Winter King is the first novel of the Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. It was published in 1995 in the UK by Penguin Group. Plot introduction[edit] The novel is divided into five parts. Plot summary[edit] Part One: A Child in Winter[edit] The Kingdom of Dumnonia is in chaos. Mordred and his mother are brought to Merlin's hall at Ynys Wydryn (Glastonbury), where she and the child are placed under the care of Merlin's priestesses, Morgan (Arthur's sister) and Nimue (Merlin's lover). High King Uther summons a high council of the Kings of Britain at Glevum (Gloucester). After Uther dies Mordred, still only a baby, is pronounced King of Dumnonia. The group flee with Gundleus in pursuit. Part Two: The Princess Bride[edit] In the aftermath of the battle Arthur imprisons Gundleus but treats him with respect as he is a King. When Prince Tristan, Edling of Kernow, arrives in Dumnonia and demands recompense for the massacre, Owain blames an Irish raiding party.
No Logo Focus[edit] However, while globalization appears frequently as a recurring theme, Klein rarely addresses the topic of globalization itself, and usually indirectly. (She would go on to discuss globalization in much greater detail in her 2002 book, Fences and Windows.) Summary[edit] The book comprises four sections: "No Space", "No Choice", "No Jobs", and "No Logo". "No Space"[edit] The book discusses how brand names such as Nike or Pepsi expanded beyond the mere products which bore their names, and how these names and logos began to appear everywhere. Klein argues that large multinational corporations consider the marketing of a brand name to be more important than the actual manufacture of products; this theme recurs in the book and Klein suggests that it helps explain the shift to production in Third World countries in such industries as clothing, footwear, and computer hardware. "No Choice"[edit] "No Jobs"[edit] "No Logo"[edit] Criticism[edit] Awards[edit] The book won the following awards:
Bushido Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. Photograph by Felice Beato Bushidō (武士道?) Bushido, a modern term rather than a historical one, originates from the samurai moral values, most commonly stressing some combination of frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and honor unto death. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, some aspects of warrior values became formalized into Japanese feudal law.[2] The word was first used in Japan during the 17th century.[3] It came into common usage in Japan and the West after the 1899 publication of Nitobe Inazō's Bushido: The Soul of Japan.[4] In Bushido (1899), Nitobe wrote: ...Bushidō, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe.... Nitobe was not the first person to document Japanese chivalry in this way. Historical development[edit] Early history to 11th century[edit] Bushidō in Gyo-Kaisho style Kanji. The Kojiki is Japan's oldest extant book. 13th to 16th centuries[edit] 17th to 19th centuries[edit] Tenets[edit]
Martial arts The martial art of boxing was practiced in the ancient Thera. Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development. Variation and scope[edit] Martial arts may be categorized along a variety of criteria, including: By technical focus[edit] Unarmed Grappling Weapon-based Those traditional martial arts which train armed combat often encompass a wide spectrum of melee weapons, including bladed weapons and polearms. Sometimes, training with one specific weapon will be considered a style of martial arts in its own right, which is especially the case in Japanese martial arts with disciplines such as kenjutsu and kendo (sword), bojutsu (staff), and kyudo (archery). By application or intent[edit] Combat-oriented Health-oriented Spirituality-oriented Martial arts can also be linked with religion and spirituality.
Richard III (play) Shakespearean history play The Tragedy of Richard the Third, often shortened to Richard III, is a play by William Shakespeare, which depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England.[1] It was probably written c. 1592–1594. It is labelled a history in the First Folio, and is usually considered one, but it is sometimes called a tragedy, as in the quarto edition. Richard III concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy which also contains Henry VI, Part 1, Henry VI, Part 2, and Henry VI, Part 3. It is the second longest play in the Shakespearean canon and is the longest of the First Folio, whose version of Hamlet, otherwise the longest, is shorter than its quarto counterpart. Richard III's group [edit] Earl of Richmond's group The play begins with Richard of Gloucester, the youngest brother of King Edward IV of England, describing Edward's re-accession to the throne (implying the year is 1471, after the Battle of Tewkesbury): Free will and fatalism
Roverandom "Roverandom" is a novella written by J.R.R. Tolkien, originally told in 1925. It deals with the adventures of a young dog, Rover. In the story, an irritable wizard turns Rover into a toy, and Rover goes to the moon and under the sea in order to find the wizard again to turn him back into a normal-sized dog. It was submitted for publication in 1937 after the success of The Hobbit, but was not published for over sixty years — finally being released in 1998. Characters[edit] Major Rover(andom) - The main character. Minor Tinker - The cat who Rover lived with before becoming a toy.Little Boy Two - The boy who owned Rover as a toy. Places[edit] The Moon - Rover goes to the Moon seeking the Man in the Moon's help. Sources[edit] Tolkien, JRR., Roverandom.
7 Must-Read Books on Music, Emotion & the Brain by Maria Popova What Freud has to do with auditory cheesecake, European opera and world peace. Last year, Horizon’s fascinating documentary on how music works was one of our most-liked pickings of 2010. But perhaps even more fascinating than the subject of how music works is the question of why it makes us feel the way it does. Today, we try to answer it with seven essential books that bridge music, emotion and cognition, peeling away at that tender intersection of where your brain ends and your soul begins. We love the work of neuroscientist and prolific author Oliver Sacks, whose latest book, The Mind’s Eye, was one of our favorite brain books last year. Why music makes us feel the way it does is on par with questions about the nature of divinity or the origin of love. Patel also offers this beautiful definition of what music is: Sound organized in time, intended for, or perceived as, aesthetic experience. Donating = Loving Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. Share on Tumblr
Samurai Samurai around the 1860s Samurai (侍?), usually referred to in Japanese as bushi (武士?, [bu͍ꜜ.ɕi̥]) or buke (武家?), were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany persons in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class. History Asuka and Nara periods Following the Battle of Hakusukinoe against Tang China and Silla in 663 AD that led to a Japanese retreat from Korean affairs, Japan underwent widespread reform. The Taihō Code classified most of the Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks, each divided into two sub-ranks, 1st rank being the highest adviser to the Emperor. Heian period Ultimately, Emperor Kammu disbanded his army.
History of martial arts Although the earliest evidence of martial arts goes back millennia, the true roots are difficult to reconstruct. Inherent patterns of human aggression which inspire practice of mock combat (in particular wrestling) and optimization of serious close combat as cultural universals are doubtlessly inherited from the pre-human stage, and were made into an "art" from the earliest emergence of that concept. Indeed, many universals of martial art are fixed by the specifics of human physiology and not dependent on a specific tradition or era. Specific martial traditions become identifiable in Classical Antiquity, with disciplines such as shuai jiao, Greek wrestling or those described in the Indian epics or the Spring and Autumn Annals of China. Early history[edit] Minoan youths boxing, reconstruction of a Knossos fresco (1500 BC). Wrestling is a human universal, and is also observed in other great apes, especially in juveniles. Africa[edit] Detail of the wrestling fresco in tomb 15 at Beni Hasan.
Romeo and Juliet An 1870 oil painting by Ford Madox Brown depicting Romeo and Juliet's famous balcony scene Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Shakespeare's use of his poetic dramatic structure, especially effects such as switching between comedy and tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story, has been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. Characters Synopsis Meanwhile, Benvolio talks with his cousin Romeo, Montague's son, about Romeo's recent depression. L’ultimo bacio dato a Giulietta da Romeo by Francesco Hayez. Sources Date and text Title page of the first edition Themes and motifs
The Art of War Inscribed bamboo slips of The Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong in 1972, dated back to the 2nd century BC. The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a high-ranking military general, strategist and tactician. The text is composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare. It is commonly known to be the definitive work on military strategy and tactics of its time. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics, and "for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name. The book was first translated into the French language in 1772 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot and a partial translation into English was attempted by British officer Everard Ferguson Calthrop in 1905. Themes[edit] Sun Tzu considered war as a necessary evil that must be avoided whenever possible. The 13 chapters[edit]
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Illustrated by Maria Popova What charcoal has to do with democracy, equality and the cultural necessity for absurdity. A couple of weeks ago, after raving about one of our all-time favorite books, Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything, reader Ian Shepherd alerted us to the recent publication of an illustrated version of the book. Needless to say, A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition is just as fantastic as you’d expect. Today, courtesy of Ian’s photographic skills, we take a peek inside as we await our copy in the mail: For the uninitiated, the book is a captivating exploration of how life evolved and how we humans came to make sense of it all. “This is a book about how it happened. A Short History of Nearly Everything: Special Illustrated Edition is currently 34% off on Amazon but wherever you choose to grab it, the important thing is that you do — it’s eye and brain candy of the best kind. Images by Ian Shepherd Donating = Loving Share on Tumblr