Sword

Frank Frazetta, the fantasy painter and illustrator whose images of sinewy warriors and lush vixens graced paperback novels, album covers and comic books for decades and became something close to the contemporary visual definition of the sword-and-sorcery genres, died Monday after suffering a stroke the night before. He was 82. Frazetta had gone out to dinner with his daughters Sunday and then had a stroke at his home in Boca Grande, Fla. He died at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Fla., his manager Rob Pistella told the Associated Press.

Simon Atherton and his team crafted more than 900 swords, shields and other weaponry for "Clash of the Titans," but he's always been a pretty peaceful guy. "I don't really like shooting animals and things," he said. "And even though weapons like firearms and swords are functional, there is a lot of artistic input that goes into the weapons as well. People decorate them and make them into things that are quite beautiful. So all of these crafts that come into it fascinate me -- engraving, working with wood to make the stocks and the handles for swords."

Arawak men and women, naked, tawny, and full of wonder, emerged from their villages onto the island's beaches and swam out to get a closer look at the strange big boat. When Columbus and his sailors came ashore, carrying swords, speaking oddly, the Arawaks ran to greet them, brought them food, water, gifts. He later wrote of this in his log: They . . . brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells.

The gladiators of ancient Rome may have endured horribly violent lives, but they also saw plenty of overheated sex. At least that's the version of history on display in "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," a sword-and-sandals epic that Starz, the premium cable network, rolls out Jan. 22. Viewers who recall the old Kirk Douglas film about the Roman slave who leads an uprising may rub their eyes in disbelief. The Starz take has naked flesh to spare, not to mention more blood than the Red Cross.

There were inscriptions written above the entrance of the Temple of Apollo at the Oracle of Delphi, and the two most famous ones were cautionary words of wisdom: "Know thyself" and "Nothing too much." Those bits of ancient advice are worth considering as two Hollywood studios hope to launch film franchises that use Greek mythology as the unlikely premise for popcorn entertainment. "These are the stories that began storytelling in many ways," director Louis Leterrier said a few months ago on the London set of his "Clash of the Titans," the Warner Bros.

Lou Dobbs' departure from CNN is a mixed blessing for the cable news channel. On one hand, his propensity to spout his opinions on controversial topics such as free trade and immigration had irritated bosses at CNN and its parent company, Time Warner Inc. Although rival channels MSNBC and Fox News have commentators who wear their political views on their sleeves, CNN says it wants its talent to keep their thoughts to themselves. On the other hand, Dobbs is one of CNN's few solid performers, and his Wednesday departure leaves big shoes to fill.

The sword maker inserts an 18-inch shaft of metal into his red-hot kiln. Then he adds his special ingredient: a human thighbone. The bone, says Kuo Chang-hsi, is supposed to purify the metal and give it a special aura. For the last 30 years, the craggy-faced blacksmith has been replicating ancient Chinese and Japanese swords. At 65, he is Taiwan's last known practitioner of the art. His workshop is a dimly lighted set of rooms crowded with sword-making equipment. Framed photographs of him with local politicians and foreign visitors attest to his celebrity.

Even in the best of times, few California households can easily afford a 44% increase in their children's college tuition within two years. The proposal to raise University of California undergraduate fees to about $10,300 a year by the fall of 2010 -- including a midyear fee hike in January -- would come as a financial shock to many families and a real hardship for some. Yet there is no way to avoid at least some tuition increase. The university has made substantial cuts, including work furloughs and layoffs.

At the outset of each episode of "Swords: Life on the Line," the camera flashes past a monument to fishermen who've died in the line of duty. But where will they build the monument to the camera people and field producers who might someday lose their lives documenting their travails for television audiences? More so than "The Deadliest Catch," the show on which it is most closely modeled, or any of the several subsequent tough-man employment docu-series that have landed in its wake, "Swords: Life on the Line" (Discovery, 9 p.m. Tuesdays)

Fewer than seven shopping days remain until baseball's trade deadline. And if you're wondering what's on the Dodgers' wish list, Friday's 6-3 loss to the Florida Marlins provided a not-so-subtle hint. Think pitching. Specifically in the bullpen, where a mostly young group of Dodgers relievers are beginning to show their age.