Writer Rose

Ancient Greek Spartan Pottery

Many people think of the Spartans as purely a militaristic society, but in actuality they lived sophisticated lives, which were reflected in their pottery.

What distinguishes pottery from Laconia (the area that surrounded and was run by the city-state of Sparta) was the colors they used, in particular a purplish dye.

Tyrian purple is a red-purple that comes from molluscs that occurred locally, and the Spartans used this on everything - their warriors cloaks were dyed with it, they dyed cloth for export, and of course it shows up on the pottery.

Best Glass Storage Containers

Everyone needs kitchen food containers, if only to make our kitchens more organised. Initially we buy plastic containers and then end up discarding them and purchasing glass storage containers.

Why choose glass? To begin with, glass looks stylish and pleasing. You can place a glass cookie jar out in the open on the sideboard for a retro 1950's look.  And you can keep glass containers containing dry foods such as pasta and spices out on display as they add color and interest to your kitchen. Plastic containers simply don’t look good enough to display.

Clothing of Ancient Greece

The period we think of as "Ancient Greece" or classical Greece lasted from about the 8th century BC to about the 2nd century BC, by which time the Romans were pushing into Greek territory. Before that, we have the Mycenaen period (the era depicted in the Illiad) from 1600 to 1100 BC, which was followed by the Greek Dark Ages (1100 BC to 800BC).

Black Figure and Red Figure Pottery of Ancient Athens

Pottery in ancient Athens differed from that in the rest of Greece, partly due to the style of the paintings on the pots, and partly due to the type of clay used. Attica (the area surrounding Athens) had iron-rich red clay, which gave all their pots a red look.

The Kings of Mycenae - what we know from their shaft graves

Everyone is familiar with Mycenaean Greece from Homer's epic poems the Illiad and the Odyssey, which are set in this period.

The Mycenaean era is a Bronze age era, which dated from about 1900 BC to 1100 BC.

We have only two sources of information about it - the archaelogical evidence and Homer's poems, which were written 500 years after this era, and mix in mythology about the gods with historical fact.

ProtoCorinthian Pottery of Ancient Greece

In the 7th Century BC, there were two main hubs of pottery making in Ancient Greece - Corinth, and Attica (the area surrounding Athens). Other city-states made pottery too but not of the same quality, and during this century, the Corinthians were miles ahead of the Athenians in the quality of their pots (Athens of course catches up and supercedes Corinth in the 6th and 5th centuries BC).

How to make a video using Windows Movie Maker

Almost half of all internet activity at the moment consists of watching videos. Most of the videos watched are on Youtube, but people watch videos on other media such as Facebook, Vimeo and of course on the sites of the major broadcasters (BBC, NBC and so on).

After you've watched a few videos the creative bug will hit you and you'll want to make one of your own. But you probably think it's too difficult. Actually it's not, thanks to Windows Movie Maker.

Magna Tiles Best Price Plus Some Magna Tiles Alternatives

Magna Tiles toys are beautifully made sturdy magnetic building blocks in a range of colors, both clear and solid.

They are in huge demand this Christmas (not helped by a flooding in one of their factories in the summer which destroyed inventories).

This page aims to show you where you can get them at the best prices, and we also list some Magna Tiles Alternatives in case you can't get the real thing.

Online Earnings Adventure - My Story

Everyone seems to be doing earnings diaries, so I thought I'd follow suit and do mine!

It's not nearly as spectacular as everyone else's, but I live in hope!

Body Pillows for Pregnant Women

Maternity pillows come in all shapes and sizes.

This page looks at three main shapes - the C-shaped pillow, the U-shaped pillow, and the pregnancy wedge pillow.

Whichever pillow you decide to go for, maternity pillows (sometimes called body pillows) definitely make sleepingduring pregnancy a lot easier. This page lists the best brands of maternity pillows that are available.

Mass Extinction of Life on Earth

Most people are familiar with the mass extinction of life on earth during the late Cretaceous era, when the dinosaurs that roamed the earth were killed off, and only smaller scale animals were left.

What is not widely known is that the mass extinction of the dinosaurs was not the first mass extinction to happen during the Earth's history - and may not be the last. This page is the history of all such events 

Squidoo statistics - all you need to know

Squidoo.com was the very first revenue sharing web 2.0 site to be launched on the internet, and is now 7 years old.

The site seems so vast and their revenue sharing model so opaque, that I've hesitated to join it. But given people keep saying how well they do on the site, I decided to investigate their stats before making my mind up whether to join or not.

I thought I'd share what I've found - this page collates stats on Squidoo that are publicly available on the net. 

How Alexander The Great Was Portrayed in Antiquity

It is well known that Alexander the Great was one of the greatest generals and leaders of all time (he had never been defeated). Part of what made Alexander so successful was that he wasn't just good at battle, he was good at keeping the peace afterwards - he won a lot of territory because gates of cities were opened for him as his reputation preceded him,and a big weapon in his armour was how he was portrayed. 

Best Glass Teapots

Glass teapots have become very popular recently with the advent of Chinese "flowering teas", which are green tea leaves that are designed to unfurl in a flower shape when you add hot water.

Flowering tea balls add elegance to the ritual of taking tea, and obviously you need a glass teapot to be able to watch the display.

This page showcases the best glass teapots available.

Guy Fawkes Night

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot!

It's a rhyme that every generation of British school children have been reciting for over 400 years and it refers to the plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament in 1605. It was the big terrorism event of the 17th Century.  

Zujava statistics - everything you wish to know

I love stats, and I thought it would be fun and interesting to put together a page of statistics on Zujava, based on information that exists on the web.

Hope everyone finds this page useful!

Christian Symbolism: Chi Rho and the Cross - where do they come from?

If you've ever watched a Catholic mass in progress (e.g. the funeral mass of Pope John Paul II), you will have seen the symbol left on the robes of the cardinals and bishops.

Like many people, I originally thought it was the symbol of the Pope (that's what I thought the "P" was for) - but I was wrong. Instead it was the Chi Rho, the oldest symbol of Christianity on earth. Read on to find out how it came about, and how it differs from the more pagan symbol of the cross.

Common English Names

The Anglo-sphere is huge, thanks to the British Empire, and English names are common across the world as a result.

Britain as we know it has been going since 1066, but prior to that had a different history.

On this page we look at how English names evolved, how the Norman invasion completely changed what we think of as traditionally English names, and we also list the most popular English names being given to newborn girls and boys

Unique Girls Names

Choosing a name for your baby daughter is always a challenging task - you want a name that is pretty and individual, but not weird and not one that will get her bullied in class (that also means making sure it can't be abbreviated into anything hurtful). It needs to be a name that you like, but also one that she will like having too. And it needs to go well with your surname.

Infobarrel Statistics - see how this site is performing

Infobarrel is a revenue sharing site which allows you to put in your Adsense ID and you get your code displayed on 75% of the page impressions.

The site started in June 2008 and was one of many clones of hubpages.

This page aims to look at the site's metrics and statistics, using data which is available on the web. I hope you find it useful.

Wizzley statistics - all you need to know

This page aims to show all the statistics available on the web for Wizzley.com, which is a revenue sharing site that was founded in May 2011.

I hope you find it useful.

Common Italian Names

When naming babies, many parents are drawn to Italian names - they roll off the tongue and evoke a certain grace and style, especially for girls.

Interestingly, many of the names we think of as Italian date only as far back as the Renaissance, with older Roman based names falling out of favor.

This page looks at some of the most popular Italian names (including the types of names Italians are naming their newborn babies now)

Hard Anodized Aluminum Cookware Sets

When looking for a cookware set, pans made from aluminum top the list because they conduct heat so efficiently, making cooking quick and easy.

Modern aluminum pans have been put through an anodizing process, whereby the outermost skin of the aluminum is turned into a hard shell made of aluminum oxide, which is non-corrosive. This protects the aluminum from reacting with acids and other elements, to ensure the pan lasts a long time.

The Psychology of Color

It was Carl Jung who first noticed that certain colors had an effect on the behaviors of his patients, and since then color psychology has intrigued those who study human behavior.

It was business and advertising who saw the potential of color psychology to influence people to buy their products, and some of the best experts on the subject work for the major retailers.

Fashion stylists too saw the importance in color in making someone look great as opposed to merely good.

Most Popular Girls Names

Every generation has it's popular names, but with the advent of the internet some names have gone global, partly because parents search for prospective names online. As a result we have a new generation of children who will have names in common across borders.

Here are the most popular names given to baby girls at the moment.

Best Dutch Ovens

Dutch ovens are popular if you are into one-pot cooking, or making casseroles, pot roasts, stews and other dishes that require simmering, as well as if you enjoy outdoor cooking and camping. This makes them a versatile piece of cookware.

This page aims to review the best enamelled dutch ovens for use in the kitchen either in the oven or on a stove top.

In my personal opinion, the Staub dutch ovens are the best (they look classier and have features the others don't), but I've also included Le Creuset and Lodge ovens for comparison.

Internet Marketing and SEO Resources

I just thought I'd create a page full of resources I use when trying to rank my stuff.

(I've really created this page just so I have all my stuff in one place and can add to it as I discover new resources - my own little bookmark page!)

Hope people find it useful.

Digital Kitchen Nutritional Scales

Digital nutritional food scales can not only weigh food like traditional scales, but they have a nutritional calculator built in, to track the calories and sugar content of the food you are weighing.

If you are trying to lose weight or are on a specialist diet for medical reasons, these scales can really help you control portion size and what goes into your meals before you cook them.

Tassimo Single Serve Coffee Makers

There are many different brands of single cup coffee makers, and this page will be reviewing the Tassimo and comparing it to it's main rivals.

Soup Diet Recipe

Soup diets have been gaining in popularity because they help you lose weight fast.

Please note that soup diets can't and shouldn't be sustained for more than a week.

However if you need to lose some weight quickly because you need to fit into a wedding dress or you've been invited to a formal party or other occasion where you need to look good, the soup diet can help you lose some pounds.

Top Books On Time Management

The discipline of Time Management was invented in Denmark to try to ensure expensive executives were getting the most out of their day. Since then it has spread across the world with most businesses and a lot of individuals applying it to their lives.

This page looks at the best time management books that are available in the market at the moment.

Unusual Valentines Gifts For Him

It's tough choosing a Valentines gift for your man that he'll really like.

Something unique that will melt his heart at your thoughtfulness and romance, but at the same time is not so sugary that he won't be seen dead using it or wearing it. 

Here is a list of the best Valentines gift ideas for Him. 

Best Hard Anodized Skillet

Everyone needs a good quality skillet to make scrambled eggs or a fry-up. Hard anodized aluminum skillets work pretty well as the aluminum conducts heat quickly (which means you don't need a high heat), and the nonstick interiors of the frying pans ensure you don't need to use cooking oil.

This page lists the best hard anodized skillets available at the moment.

Best Ice Cream Makers

Why bother with homemade ice cream? Because you can control the ingredients, you can use fresh fruit and luscious cream, and exclude all the artificial flavors and additives that you get in store bought ice cream.

Ice cream makers take the effort out of it, there's an electric mixing paddle to beat the mixture stiff. The built in freezer bowls mean that the mixture cools immediately. This is homemade icecream with a gadget to do the tough bits.

Here are the best ice cream makers available:

Coco by Chanel

The House of Chanel practically invented modern perfume.

This page is devoted to my favourite fragrance, Coco Eau de Parfum, which I wore on my first date with my husband. It was first released in the 1980's and has remained a favorite ever since

Best Chef Knife

Most experienced cooks find they only need about two knives, and often just one - a chef's knife.

The ideal chef's knife is about 7 to 10 inches long and can be used for any number of tasks in the kitchen.

The best chef's knives are either Japanese or German, and this page shows you where to get both (and I've included a Swiss brand, Victorinox as well).