Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto. Video ...

Italian artist Girolamo di Tommaso da Treviso created the ceremonial shield around 1535. Courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art This intricate Renaissance shield was never used in battle—but its ...

A silver-and-gold clay palomino rears, facing a black wolf of clay designed on the medieval-style shield. A white, clay rabbit, representing kindness, is above the horse, communicating readiness for ...

Back in 2001, Shannon Cramer saw something that would change her life, she just didn’t know it at the time. The then freshman in high school laid eyes on the movie "Lord of the Rings." “I was like, oh ...