Monday, February 18, 2008

Reprint and Fragrance Education: Perfume and History Fragrance - Is it Heaven Scent? By Andrew Regan These days, the vast majority of men and women consider a quick squirt of their favourite perfume or aftershave an intrinsic part of their morning ritual. You could argue that the criteria for the scent you wear each day should purely be based around the smell that you, yourself, find most pleasing; but the marketing of fragrances means that they are considered a key tool in alluring a partner and therefore at either a conscious or sub-conscious level we are all buying fragrances that we hope will please others too. So, from this can we deduce that fragrances were developed to assist in our mating rituals? Actually no - the history of perfume actually has more spiritual roots, originally created for religious purposes to honour the gods. It is recorded that ancient civilisations dating as far back as 7000 years ago were using fragrance as part of their offerings to their countless deities. Fires were created, to which were added a fragrant 'pot pourri' of aromatic wood, incense, gum resins, herbs and spices and people walked through the smoke to wear the perfume. In fact, the word perfume stems from the Latin term per fumum, meaning "through smoke". It was from these origins that the concept of perfume arose, with techniques for extracting and preserving fragrances through boiling, pressing, drying, distillation and even blending with fats practised throughout the ancient world. However it was not until Roman monks discovered the distillation of alcohol that perfume production, in the true sense of the word, became possible. The multi-million pound industry that we know today perhaps began its journey in earnest in the 18th century, with the establishment of a number of perfume houses. Techniques were improved and the "juices" as perfumers called their products became more sophisticated, and throughout the ages women have loved perfume including many famous women of our times. At one time fragrance was a luxury for royalty; in 800BC, The Queen of Sheba used perfume to seduce King Solomon. Catherine de Medici - future wife of Henry II - brought her own perfumer with her as part of her entourage when she came to Britain, and she even established a perfume laboratory in Provence! Queen Elizabeth I was famous for her love of perfume; her clothes, gloves and shoes were steeped in the fragrance from damask roses and even the rooms of her palaces were sprinkled with scent. Perhaps these historical women were the forerunners of today's celebrities whose names are now closely associated with fragrance - albeit for more commercial reasons! Kylie, J Lo, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Paul and even Jade Goody have all placed their monikers on a bottle of scent! In fact, it could be argued that in today's culture there are some who see celebrity as an almost 'god-like' status, so perhaps we haven't come that far from the religious roots of perfume all those thousands of years ago. Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Regan http://EzineArticles.com/?Fragrance---Is-it-Heaven-Scent?&;id=966066 2:13:29 AM    comment []

China Bans Horror Movies By Zonk on won't-someone-think-of-the-braaaaaiiinnnnsss KublaiKhan writes "According to an article on Reuters, the Chinese censors have decided that horror movies are verboten. 'Offending content included "wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals, strange and supernatural storytelling for the sole purpose of seeking terror and horror," the administration said. This is apparently a sort of Chinese version of the Jack Thompson effect, as the "mental health of adolescents" is cited as one of the reasons for the ban. Presumably, this ban Ñ much like the spitting ban Ñ is intended to improve China's image in the rest of the world before the Olympics open; but given the Streisand effect, would this ban perhaps unintentionally spur a surge of horror movie popularity in China?" Blizzard has had trouble with skeletons in World of Warcraft , and I imagine this decision stems from similar objections. Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link 1:45:27 AM    comment []

Is Microsoft just Screwing with Yahoo's Mind? By Zonk on inserting-the-nano-probes The Narrative Fallacy writes "This week Cringely offers up a speculative piece asserting that Microsoft might not really care if its bid to buy Yahoo succeeds or not Ñ Bill Gates just wants to disrupt Yahoo and poach the company's employees. 'Microsoft's offer for Yahoo has thrown that company and several others into a tizzy. Yahoo can't be getting much work done, that's for sure ... Redmond's real goal may be simply to poach people from Yahoo, and this deal could help them do just that.' Cringley says there is plenty of precedent for Microsoft's behavior Ñ Microsoft's bids for Borland and for Intuit back in the 1990s sent both companies into a tailspin. 'A failed Microsoft bid, even one involving a termination fee, could lead to horrific results for the company. Remember that Yahoo is staggering here while Intuit was at the top of its market and its game.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot. Link 1:43:51 AM    comment []

Skin as a Battlefield. What causes the burnlike skin lesions associated with Stevens-Johnson syndrome? By C. CLAIBORNE RAY. [NYT > Health] more info than this is needed 1:35:40 AM    comment []

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