Judit Polgar Sighting at 9 Queens!

Upcoming event:

The Unive Tournament in Hoogeveen takes place 16th-24th October 2009 with a new sponsor.

The main four player tournament has: Vassily Ivanchuk, Judit Polgar, Sergei Tiviakov and Anish Giri. There is an open alongside.
Details http://www.univechess.nl/

Unive Tournament Hoogeveen (NED), 16-24 x 2009
cat. XVII (2663)

Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2746
Polgar, Judit g HUN 2693
Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2697
Giri, Anish f NED 2517

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For a great chess lesson on using decoys from one of Judit Polgar's games as black against GM Yasser Seirawan (white), check out this page at 9 Queens. Hmmm, I think I need to study this really hard...

9 Queens is putting together a chess work book using games and puzzles exclusive from and by women:

Coming Soon
If you’d like to see more tactics like this from world-class female players, you’re in luck! We are putting together a workbook highlighting the lives and games of some of the best female chess players in the world, including Judit Polgar, Humpy Koneru, and Alexandra Kosteniuk. More information about how to get a workbook will be available soon!

The workbook is due out in October. For further information, send email.

Update: The Topper Site, South Carolina

Hmmm, as far as I can tell, there is no new "news" in this account - reports from this site surfaced back in 2004 about evidence pushing back man's presence in North American to 50,000 years ago. It is interesting, though. I find it hard to believe that other than some archaeological evidence, DNA evidence points to a purely "Asian" origin for ALL so-called "native Americans." But they didn't get here 50,000 years ago. I believe the most recent "wave" of Asian immigrants (if present hypotheses are correct), arrived in northwest Canada from Siberia just a couple thousand years ago. And the "Clovis" people are popularly assumed to have arrived some 13,000 years ago.

Did all of the people who made up the Topper encampment from 50,000 years ago, and all of their offspring, die off? Is the science wrong? And if so - whose science is wrong? What are we missing here?

Sunday, Jun. 28, 2009
Archaeological treasure trove surfaces in S.C.
By Liz Mitchell - The (Hilton Head) Island Packet

HILTON HEAD — An archaeologist who’s been digging at the Topper Site in Allendale County for 11 years is uncovering new evidence that could rewrite America’s history.

University of South Carolina archaeologist Albert Goodyear found artifacts at this rock quarry site near the Savannah River that indicate humans lived here 37,000 years before the Clovis people. History books say the Clovis were the first Americans and arrived here 13,000 years ago by walking across a land bridge from Asia.

Goodyear’s discovery could prove otherwise.

His findings are controversial, opening scientific minds to the possibility of an even earlier pre-Clovis occupation of America.

The site is named for Beaufort County resident David Topper, a forester who led Goodyear to the site in the early 1980s. Goodyear only began intense examination of the site in 1998, after flooding of the Savannah River forced him from a nearby dig, according to several histories of the Topper site.

Goodyear believes it was a factory for the Clovis people, where they came to make tools. He also believes it was used long before the Clovis arrived.
So far, he’s found two sets of artifacts at Topper:

• Stone flakes and tools made of flint and chert that date to the Clovis era
• A fire pit containing plant remains that date to at least 50,000 years ago, which suggest man was in South Carolina long before the last ice age.

“The controversy is heightened because that’s just about the time, according to old-world archaeologists, when our species were starting to move away from Africa and get into Australia,” Goodyear said. “That’s true, and there’s no reason to think it’s not... .. But the bottom line is are these artifacts really legitimately associated with 50,000-year-old sediments? And, based on our digging, I think the answer is yes.”

Goodyear finished his 12th dig at the site earlier this month and said he’s found more artifacts there that were “undeniably human made” in the layers of dirt dating to pre-Clovis and Clovis eras.

Dennis Stanford, head of the archaeology division and director of the Paleo-Indian Program at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, visited Topper earlier this month to observe the excavation.

“The Topper site is probably one of the most important sites being excavated in the country today,” Stanford said in a news release. “It’s a whole new chapter of history unfolding. ... The Smithsonian stands for the acquisition and dispersion of science and knowledge to human communities, and that’s exactly what is happening here.”

In the pre-Clovis layer, Goodyear found a “core,” which is rock altered by human hands that would have been used to quarry or make tools. This year, he also found more flakes and stone chisel-like pieces.

In the Clovis layer, Goodyear found a scraper tool, which he has not seen before among Clovis artifacts. It suggests the people might have been skinning animal hides, which could mean they were living at Topper for a few months at a time, instead of just the few weeks they would need to make tools.

“One scraper doesn’t prove anything,” he said. “But we’re wondering if there was another set of activities besides quarrying and making artifacts there. We are going to look at that next year. That would make Topper a much more complex site for Clovis.”

Goodyear said the artifacts at Topper are “sort of the Clovis library.”

“It’s what’s in their Sears and Roebuck catalogue,” he said. “From that tool kit you make inferences about what they are doing there.

“What we are trying to get at is, how do these humans organize themselves across the South Carolina and Georgia landscape?” he said. “As we understand how the tools function and where they distribute, then we are going to be able to say, wow, they were much more sedentary than we believed, or they’re not and just use quarries to refill their gas tank.”

Goodyear said Clovis artifacts have been found as far as 100 miles away.

“We know they are moving,” he said. “But the question is, are there places where they’re staying for a while? We’re just wondering if there might be more to Topper than we know so far based on all of our digging.”

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Here's the old news from 2004:

From Science Daily, November 18, 2004:
New Evidence Puts Man In North America 50,000 Years

Illegal Antiquities Trade: Mesopotamian Vase

How will we ever solve this culture-destroying problem?

Archeology 30.06.2009
Mesopotamian vase sheds light on Germany's artefacts trade

A legal dispute surrounding an antique golden vase being held in a museum vault in Mainz shines light on the surprisingly important role Germany plays in the often shady world of antiques trading.

The case sounds more like an esoteric crime novel than a simple legal tussle, involving as it does archaeologists, rare-coin dealers, customs officials, and the Iraqi embassy in Berlin.

At its heart is a golden vase just six centimeters high that may or may not have its origins in ancient Mesopotamia.

The vase is currently being held by Michael Mueller-Karpe, an archaeologist at the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz, Germany. Three years ago he was charged with providing the court with an expert opinion on the provenance of the object, which is at the center of a lawsuit over fencing illegally trafficked goods.

Archaeologist refuses to comply
Now Mueller-Karpe is ignoring a court order, and refuses to turn the vase back over to the customs officials who confiscated it. The Iraqi embassy in Berlin has asked him not to, he says. Apparently they believe the object is safer where it is.

Contrary to reports in the German media, the Stuttgart Customs Investigations Office is not about to break into the vault at the Roman-Germanic museum and grab the vase by force.

"I don't know how that rumor got started, but it's not true," said Dieter Peulen, the acting director of the Stuttgart Customs Investigation Office.

He would, however, like to get the object back.

"I've never seen anything like this before," said Peulen. "At the moment, [the vase] has been confiscated by customs. [Mueller-Karpe] doesn't own it. In my opinion, the court has requested him to give it back, and he should do so."

The vase showed up in Germany years ago in the catalog of a Munich auction house, designated as a Mediterranean piece from the Roman Iron Age. But someone familiar with Mesopotamian art spotted it, and sued the auctioneer for breach of the Foreign Trade Law.

Stolen objects transit through Germany
As part of the suit, customs officials brought the object to the museum in Mainz to have its provenance checked.

Mueller-Karpe said the vase is "most probably" around 4,500 years old, and believes it was stolen by grave robbers from the ancient royal cemetery in the city of Ur, Iraq. Its provenance may be researched further as the case moves through the courts, said customs official Peulen.

International traffic in antiques and artefacts from Iraq has bloomed since the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to the Spiegel Online newsmagazine, of the 15,000 pieces that were robbed from the National Museum in Baghdad in the wake of the US invasion in 2003, just 6,000 have been returned. Many of the missing objects - and more stolen from grave robbers around Ur - make their way through German auction houses at some point on their travels.

Indeed, the case sheds light on Germany's overall role in both antiques trading and antiques trafficking - a distinction that is often hard to make when it comes to the sale of ancient objects, experts say.

'Unfortunate' legal situation
Germany was the last industrial country to sign a UNESCO convention on protecting cultural heritage, and its loose demands for documentation on exports of some ancient objects seen as being friendly to fencers and smugglers.

"The legal situation in Germany is very unfortunate for us," the Iraqi culture attache in Berlin told Spiegel Online. The burden of proof, "especially for objects stolen by grave robbers," is too high, he said. "Even an expert opinion with a probability of provenance of 95 percent isn't enough for the courts."

According to Mueller-Karpe, the two-handled vase - which he believes is a "miniature version" of a Sumerian-era vase that would have served a functional purpose - remains in the museum for the time being.

He told dpa news agency that it would be too dangerous for him to give it back to customs authorities, since the Iraqis have threatened that anyone who is involved in helping fence stolen goods could face a sentence of up to five years in Iraq.

Since he is frequently on archaological digs in Iraq, Mueller-Karpe said, the sentence threat means he would lose his opportunity to work.

Author: Jennifer Abramsohn
Editor: Kate Bowen

Ancient Writing: Cherokee Syllabary

From Archaeology Magazine Online. Sorry, I could not get the Cherokee syllable-figures to show up here. (Image: The earliest writing in the system developed by the Cherokee known as Sequoyah has been found in a Kentucky cave. (Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C./Art Resource)

From the Trenches
Ꮞ Ꮙ Ꮿ Was Here
Volume 62 Number 4, July/August 2009
By Eric A. Powell
The Cherokee known as Sequoyah. (Courtesy Fred Coy National Portrait Gallery)

In 1819, Cherokee silversmith George Gist—better known as Sequoyah—completed work on the Cherokee syllabary, a written script in which each character represents a syllable. By 1825, most Cherokee had adopted the system and Sequoyah ( Ꮞ Ꮙ Ꮿ in Cherokee*) was hailed as a folk hero for inventing the first Native American system of writing in North America.

Now University of Cincinnati archaeologist Kenneth Tankersley has discovered that Cherokee characters engraved alongside petroglyphs in a southeastern Kentucky cave are the earliest known examples of Sequoyah's syllabary, dating back to 1818, or perhaps even earlier.

Tankersley, a member of the Cherokee Nation and Piqua Shawnee tribes, found the characters in a cave sacred to Native Americans as the burial place of Red Bird, a prominent Cherokee chief who was tomahawked to death in 1796 by two white men in a fur trading dispute. Red Bird was known to have created some of the petroglyphs in the cave, which include abstract ancient symbols as well as glyphs representing bears, bats, deer, and birds.

Sequoyah had relatives who lived near the cave and he taught the syllabary to Cherokee boys studying at a local school called the Choctaw Academy. "It's likely that Sequoyah would have visited the cave at some point to pay respects to Red Bird," says Tankersley. "We also know that he visited caves for inspiration while he was working on his syllabary, and that he incorporated rock-art motifs into the system."

Tankersley has identified 15 characters in the cave— Ꮢ, Ꮕ, Ꮇ, Ꮧ, Ꮐ, Ꮰ, Ꮋ, Ꮴ, Ꭵ, Ꮊ, Ꮶ, Ꮍ, Ꮗ, Ꮀ, Ꮻ— accompanied by a date carved in the same hand that could be 1818 or 1808. "The characters don't spell any words—they read almost like ABCs," says Tankersley, who is also intrigued by the ambiguous date.

Accounts of Sequoyah's life agree that he started working on the syllabary sometime around 1809. If the characters in Red Bird's cave date to 1808, there is only one person who could have created them.

"My gut tells me Sequoyah left these characters in the cave," says Tankersley. "But without a time machine, that's archaeofantasy. If it wasn't him, then it was someone Sequoyah taught at the Choctaw Academy, and who was practicing drawing them out just as we would practice our ABCs. Regardless, the person is leaving these characters alongside traditional symbols in a sacred place. For the Cherokee, this syllabary was sacred too."

Tankersley points out that it's not surprising to find examples of Sequoyah's syllabary alongside petroglyphs. "In 1818 Cherokee were adopting the trappings of European life, living in three-story buildings, tending orchards, and eating off of china, but they were still visiting sacred places like Red Bird's cave and practicing their way of life," he says. "It's important to remember that Native American history and archaeology don't disappear after Europeans arrive."

Eric A. Powell is deputy editor at ARCHAEOLOGY.
*If you do not see the Cherokee characters, they are shown below:
Sequoyah
(oops, no they aren't)
15 characters

© 2009 by the Archaeological Institute of America

Southwest Chess Club: Independence Swiss!

Sign up for a one day tournament this coming Sunday! Allen Becker has notified us of this great way to cap what promises to be a beautiful Independence Day weekend in Milwaukee:

Chessplayers,

We are having a Swiss tournament this Sunday, to help fill a chess tournament void this holiday weekend. Note that due to insurance factors, all players must be club members (but you can join the club this Sunday, $10 per year, or Free for 18 and under or college students).

We know this is last-minute publicity, but please consider coming to play. If you wish to indicate your intention to play, via email, that will be helpful to us. There is no "early" entry fee; you can sign up this Thursday at the club, or from 11:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m. on Sunday.

Please note that we are in the lower level of the St. James Catholic Church's Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin (just south of Rawson & 27th) . PLEASE Use the south driveway, and park in the south parking lot (the usual club lot).

Here are the tournament details (with Flyer attached):

Independence Swiss

Sunday, July 5, 2009

The Southwest Chess Club

** Club Members Only **
Can Join Club on July 5

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day
USCF Rated (Dual Rated) -- ONE SECTION SWISS

TIME LIMIT:
Round 1: Game in 45 Minutes
Rounds 2, 3, and 4: Game in 60 Minutes

ENTRY FEE: $ 20
Checks payable to Southwest Chess Club

(Club Membership: $10; Free if 18 or under or in college)

SITE REGISTRATION: 11:15 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.

ROUNDS: 12 Noon – 2:00 pm -- 5:00 pm – 7:15 pm

Pairings by WinTD; no computer entries

PRIZES

1st— $45 C $30
2nd— $40 D $30
A $30 E & Below $30
B $30
Overall prize structure based on 30 total entries;
Class prizes awarded with minimum 3 players in each class.

Tournament Directors: Allen Becker and Robin Grochowski

SITE: Usual Club Location: St. James Catholic Church in the lower level of the Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin, WI.

PLEASE Use south driveway, and park in the south parking lot (the usual club lot).

ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker —6105 Thorncrest Drive— Greendale , WI 53129 http://us.mc379.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=allenbecker@wi.rr.com
414-423-0206 (home) or 414-807-0269 (cell)

Sets, Boards and Clocks Provided, but Bring your own clock
Half point byes: available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Name: __________________________________________________

USCF ID#: ________________ Rating: _________ Expire Date: ___________
Address: ______________________________________
City: _____________________ State : _______ Zip: _________
Phone: ________________ e-mail Address: ________________

Musing on Stone Age Music

Reported here (and everywhere, it seems) was the latest about really old flutes discovered in Germany.

This article wanders (and wonders) about really old music. You know what I'd really like to hear, a composition from the few remaining stone-age tribes in existence today, to get a feel for what music may have sounded like 30,000 years or so ago. Hmmm, with You Tube and whatnot, there should be something out there??? Anyone with a heads up, please let me know (if you read this). (Image: bones as musical instruments, image from Irish Musical Instruments).

From The New York Times
Pondering Prehistoric Melodies
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: June 27, 2009
“I have a reasonable good ear in music,” says Bottom in Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” “Let’s have the tongs and the bones.”

A Stone Age ancestor living near what is now Ulm, Germany, did Bottom one better. He took the hollow bone of a griffon vulture, carved five holes in it and made one of the first flutes known to exist. (Perhaps it was a she; there are lots of great women flutists.) [In fact, it has now been acknowledged that probably a majority of the cave artists were females; and it makes sense that, given the small size of the bone and ivory flutes that have been discovered, the smaller hands of female musicians would have plyed upon them, just like the smaller hands of female artists plyed the colors upon the walls of ancient caves where early people lived).

This was at least 35,000 years ago — maybe even 40,000 years ago. Could it have been around the time of the birth of human-made melody, a period when speech perhaps began to develop? It must have been a fine improvement on the whack of tongs and bones.

A report of the flute’s discovery last week gives rise to all sorts of speculation about the origins of music and how it creates a palpable link between us and our prehistoric predecessors.

“It’s easier to think of them as conscious, autonomous individuals if they’re making music,” said Sato Moughalian, a New York-based professional flutist. “To make the step from just breathing to actually producing a sound requires a different sense of self.”

At the least, the find delights flute players, who like to point out that their instrument (outside of percussion) is the most elemental of all. No reeds to blow past, no strings to make vibrate, no mouthpiece to buzz.

“It’s very simple,” Robert Langevin, the principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic. “There’s no intermediate thing to produce the sound. Our way of breathing is similar to the way of singers.” And nothing is more natural to the human organism than breathing.

Of course, Mr. Langevin and his colleagues play something much different than the cave flute. Their flutes are generally made of metal (sometimes even gold), have keys and pads that cover holes. They are also played sideways.

The five-hole vulture bone flute has a notched end, across which the player blows. Its discovery was reported in an article in the journal Nature.

Nicholas J. Conard of the University of Tübingen in Germany was one of the authors. He said an experimental archaeologist named Wulf Hein made a reproduction and recorded several tunes, including “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The flute’s basic scale replicates the notes accompanying the line “Oh say can you see,” Dr. Conard said.

The flute and several other types found nearby indicate a high-level of musical and technological sophistication, he said. While the nature of the music they made at the time is unknown, “There had to have been Paganinis, Mozarts, Hendrixes,” he said.

The discovery is also a reminder that music was present at the earliest flowering of human culture, an idea that musicians and music lovers can embrace with great joy, said Steven Stucky, a composer (who has written a double concerto for flutes and orchestra). “This must have been a fundamental part of life,” he said.

It is, of course, impossible to establish how humans became musical. The song of birds and patter of rain may have provided examples. “Once humans got the musical bug going, I can imagine sort of looking at everything,” said Peter Schickele, the composer and alter ego of P. D. Q. Bach. “Can you hit it, can you blow it, can you make a sound out of it?” He added, “I’ve done a fair amount of that in my own life.”

Dr. Conard suggested music strengthened and extended social bonds, perhaps contributing to the evolutionary survival of homo sapiens. The flute was found in an area also inhabited by Neanderthals, who — according to the archaeological record — did not appear to be very musical.

About 10,000 years later, they fell extinct. [NOT a logical conclusion to this otherwise good article, but evidence of the author getting lazy and going for the easy punch line against "ape man" Neanderthal. Bad form, tsk tsk.]

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Wow - learn more about the ancient practice of using bones to make music: The Bones - Ancient to Modern, by Sue E. Barber

War Forces Archaeologists to Leave Indus Valley

...and leave it to the looters who don't give a flying fig about the historical significance of their "loot" -- all they care about is how much they can sell it for to a middle-man who, in turn, will sell it to an expediter who, in turn, will sell it to an expediter on the other side of the world who, in turn, will sell it to either a private collector or an unethical antiquities dealer who features "on the side" showings to wealthy individuals and less than ethical museum curators -- all off the books, of course.

Indus Valley’s secrets to remain buried: Insecurity forces archaeologists to abandon excavations
Daily Times.com.pk
June 29, 2009
By Afnan Khan

Archaeology Department official says embassies had been warning the experts to leave, Benazir’s assassination proved final straw

LAHORE: Foreign archaeologists involved in excavation work to explore the Indus Valley Civilisation in Pakistan have left the country due to the war-like situation.

The experts from the US, Europe and UK uncovered the mysteries of the Indus Valley Civilisation for the world during their research spanning decades. The teams, consisting of senior professors Dr Richard H Meadow, Professor JM Kenoyer, Dr Jean-Francois Jarrige and late Prof George F Dales, had conducted extensive research in different parts of Pakistan. A majority of the areas that were a part of the Indus Valley Civilisation became Pakistan after the partition of the sub-continent in 1947.

Sources in the Federal Archaeology Department told Daily Times that the experts were working despite the tense security situation in the region after 9/11, but had to leave the country after the increase in the wave of violence and terrorism, which led to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Final departure: “Their embassies were already warning them to be careful while working in the areas like Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Taxila, Mehrgarh and other areas in Pakistan, all of them finally left the country after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,” an Archaeology Department official told Daily Times.

The Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back to 2,600BC, mainly covered the area that is now Pakistan, with its traces in neighbouring countries like India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China.

However, the sources said, the international experts were still keen on resuming the abandoned research work in the country, despite being worried about the security situation. They said the experts were wondering when, if ever, they would be able to resume their excavation.

The sources said the researcher had now been compelled to focus only on the parts of the Indus Valley Civilisation in the Indian state of Gujarat, especially in the city of Lothal. This has deprived Pakistan of a chance to promote its soft image in the world.

Prof Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, an internationally renowned authority on the Indus Valley, who had been researching in Harappa since 1986, told Daily Times that he spent a key part of his life working on the research work in Pakistan but was left with no other option but to leave the country after the assassination of Bhutto.

Kenoyer said he was likely to visit Pakistan in 2010, in order to resume his high-profile research, but said the return totally depended on the law and order in the country.

Federal Archaeology Department Northern Circle Director Salimul Haq told Daily Times that there was not a single foreigner working on any research or excavation project in the country.

He said the department tried its best to facilitate the researchers, but their own embassies were sceptical about their stay in Pakistan. He said the local archaeologists were trying to take over the research work.

Art historian Prof Dr Ajaz Anwar told Daily Times that local archaeologists lacked the expertise to continue the excavation work, as compared to experts from Harvard, Cambridge, Berkley and other globally acclaimed educational institutions.

Anwar said the foreign explorers had been responsible for the excavations and explorations, and the locals had made almost no contribution.

Anwar said the statue of the fasting Buddha, placed in the Lahore Museum, was damaged during its digging by the locals. He said the locals had stuck the broken arm of the statue with traditional cement, instead of using the appropriate material, despite the fact that it was damaging for the splendid piece of art.

Famous historian Prof Dr Mubarak Ali said the departure of international archaeologists was a great loss for the country and the government should try to convince and facilitate these people to come back to Pakistan.

St. Paul?

Hmmmm, well, the Holy Father of Rome has announced to the world that bones discovered in a certain tomb in 2006 are, in fact, those of St. Paul the Apostle.

This seems rather strange, since there was nothing in the article to indicate when or how theremains were moved from where they were, according to legend, originally buried, and where they ended up. Anyway, here is the article --

From Guardian.co.uk
Pope claims human remains belong to St Paul
Fiona Winward in Rome
Monday 29 June 2009

Human remains found beneath the Vatican have been identified as belonging to St Paul, Pope Benedict XVI said, apparently laying to rest the mystery of a tomb first discovered in the city in 2006.

Archaeologists found material and fragments of bone dating to the first or second century AD inside the tomb at the basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome.

Vatican experts claim the tomb's position, underneath the epigraph Paulo Apostolo Mart (Paul the Apostle and Martyr), at the base of the main altar is proof that it belongs to the apostle.

The pope said the tomb had not been opened but that a probe inserted through a small hole had revealed traces of purple linen decorated with gold sequins, blue material and red incense grains as well as the remains. "Small fragments of bone were carbon dated by experts who knew nothing about their provenance and results showed they were from someone who lived between the first and second century," he said.

"This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of Paul the apostle," he said, adding that the discovery "fills our souls with great emotion".

The pope made the announcement from the basilica as he celebrated the end of the Pauline year, which has marked the 2,000th anniversary of the apostle's birth. It also comes a day after Vatican archaeologists uncovered what they believe to be the oldest icon of St Paul in a Rome catacomb, dating to the late fourth century.

St Paul was a Roman Jew who converted to Christianity after he saw a light on the road to Damascus. His letters in the New Testament are considered highly influential in Christian thinking.

Tradition holds that Paul was beheaded by the Emperor Nero around AD 62-65 and buried in a vineyard over which the Emperor Constantine built a basilica in 324. St Paul Outside the Walls is the second biggest church in Rome after St Peter's.

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But - this Dutch expert says no no no...

No proof that Vatican bones are St Paul's, says Dutch expert
Europe News
Jun 29, 2009, 16:28 GMT

Dresden, Germany - Responding to the claim by Pope Benedict XVI that the bones of St Paul have been found in Rome, a Dutch expert, Rengert Elburg, said Monday this can never be proven.

Elburg, an expert on archaeological study of old bones and organic remains for the government of the German state of Saxony, told the German Press Agency dpa in an interview, 'It's impossible to establish that it's him.'

Even a genetic analysis of the bones in a sarcophagus marked as Paul's would reveal nothing, because there were no proven descendants whose DNA could be compared.

'But the bones could tell you the sex and age of death of the person,' he said. A face could be reconstructed if a skull were in the grave. 'But we don't know how Paul looked, so that doesn't help identify the body,' he said.

Elburg said scientists were likely to check for links to the historical account of the beheading of St Paul, the author of copious letters and first interpreter of Christianity.

'Traces of beheading can be identified with absolute certainty,' he said.
The cut was usually found between the third and fourth vertebrae.

Elburg counselled maximum precision in opening the sarcophagus, saying, 'It will be comparable to opening the tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh.' Fabric in a coffin could fall apart at a touch.

He said dry, outside air would not damage fabric or the bones. The presence of any clothing was likely to depend on whether the sarcophagus had been hermetically sealed for 20 centuries.

'Roman fabrics in the time of St Paul were of very high quality. They had wool, linen and even silk,' he said.

The pagan Romans embalmed their bodies, but Christians did not, he added. 'Doubtless nothing like that was done with this early Christian person,' he said.

The Pope said Sunday that a probe through a tiny hole in the sarcophagus at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Wall proved they contained remains from the time of Christ.

The Triple Chess Goddess Has Spoken

...to me. Specifically - in the person of GM Susan Polgar, in her column in the Lubbock Avalanche Journal (online version). How does she DO that?

This is really spooky...

This week's column is geared to no less than - BEGINNERS. Such as yours truly. Oh, I know I know, I've been playing chess for nearly 40 years now, and never progressed a whit in my game in all this time. The only thing I think I know about chess at this point in my life is that the end-game usually means there are many less pieces on the board and one has more room to run.

It isn't as if I don't know these things - except I don't really know them at all. So -

Polgar: Try these basic chess principles to help you become a better player
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Story last updated at 6/28/2009 - 5:30 pm

Here is the question of the week: What are some of the most important things novice/ scholastic chess players need to know about chess?

Chess is a very easy game to learn, but harder to master [you ain't kidding]. Here are some very important principles in chess that will help you become a better player.

• Control the center
• Develop your pieces as soon as possible
• Castle as soon as possible
• Keep your pieces protected
• Have lots of fun. Win with grade. Lose with dignity

And once you've got the hang of the above, you should also remember:

• Every move should have a purpose.
• What is the idea behind your opponent's move?
• Always think before you move. There is no take back in chess. So make your decision carefully.
• Learn to make plans. Planning is one of the most important elements of the game of chess.
• Analyze your games and learn from your mistakes. Every player, from beginner to world champion, makes mistakes. It is very important to go over your games to find mistakes and learn from them.
• Pace yourself wisely.

Oh oh... I am in trouble. Big trouble. I can't keep all of these things in my head! I can't keep even half of them in my head. There's a reason why some people do not play chess, and I'm Exhibit #1.

Shira Chess Challenge!

Training Update:

Those of you who follow this blog know that I am "in training" for an upcoming three-game match against Shira Evans, which will start on July 31, 2009. Periodically I will be reporting here on my training progress.

This is my second Update.
(First Training Update)

Don't ask me how I did it darlings, because I have no idea! But somehow I did finally get the Chessbase Lite thingy that Chess Daddy had sent to me to download properly to my computer. Or I should say, I managed to get it unzipped using a free unzip program, as I had managed to get it downloaded during First Training Update.

I can now open it and "virtually press" all of the buttons and everything, like opening and closing the program! Except I cannot figure out how to get the data bases into the thingy. No data bases, no training. There's nothing inside of the thingy to do. End of story.

You may no doubt have deduced by now that I am technologically challenged, just as I am chessly challenged. That's what comes from learning chess at the ripe old age of 18 - NOTHING!

So, I am now into Plan B, and scrupulously avoiding calling Chess Daddy to see if he can talk me through how to get the data bases into the thingy.

Plan B is to play as much chess as I can squeeze in. I am playing "correspondence" chess. I have two games going at present. They are both in early days (very early days). One is going okay, I think. The other - ohmygoddess! Let me put it this way, I should have resigned on move 6. I started with a standard opening, 1. e2 to e4. But early on I moved my left hand knightess out, thinking that, you know, like "control the middle of the board." BAD MOVE. The other side proceeded to make a series of moves that had me moving my knightess all over the place while he (or she) was slowly and steadily developing pieces. I saw exactly what was happening and I was helpless to stop it.

CHESS SUCKS.

Well, okay, to be absolutely fair, chess is a fine game but JAN AS A CHESSPLAYER SUCKS.

But rather than resigning, that old Newton stubborness came to the fore and I stuck with it; I finally got my knightess out of danger (temporarily) and have now also managed to move a few other pieces into some semblance of defense (flimsy) - which isn't saying much as I'm playing WHITE. EEK! I fully expect to go down in flames (soon) in this game, but not without the best fight I can muster. We Newtons do not know the meaning of the word surrender. Ha!

I swear to the Great Triple Chess Goddess, POLGAR SISTERS, that I will NEVER EVER move my left knightess out on move 2 again. EVER. No matter how tempted I may be to do so. EVER.

I can tell you this much - I am now really THINKING about each and every move I make before I make it. And thank the Triple Chess Goddess that this is correspondence chess because I really do get a "take back" because I've been making some really crappy moves and then looking at the board a 40th or more time and going OHMYGODDESS, WHY DID YOU MOVE THERE?

Auction Watch

From Sotheby's, an auction held October 8, 2008.

Arts of the Islamic World
Sale: L08222 Location: London Auction Dates: Session 1: Wed, 08 Oct 08 10:00 AM

LOT 84 AN IVORY CHESS PIECE, EGYPT OR SYRIA, 10TH-11TH CENTURY8,000—12,000 GBPLot Sold. Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium: 17,500 GBP

MEASUREMENTS
measurements note4.5cm. height 4cm. diam.

DESCRIPTION
Of solid cylindrical form with rounded edges, one half of the top with a flat surface in keeping with the shape of the base, the other side split by the central raised boss, curves down each side, two large cruciform motifs incised on both the front and back, similar dot motif clusters on either side placed above the three band indentation wrapping around the object, drilled concentric circles to the base

CATALOGUE NOTE
This abstract form is an impressive example of a group of ivory chessmen with decorative patterns carved into the surface. Existent in the early Islamic centuries, this form has traditionally been associated with the arrival of the game from India. However it seems likely that both figural and abstract forms were already in use prior to this. This piece is a symbolic representation of both the 'King' and the throne which is demonstrated by the form of the chess piece. (Emphasis added) A related piece was sold in these rooms on 30th April 1998, lot 1.

Closely comparable ivory pieces can be found at the British Museum (A. Contadini: 'Islamic Ivory Chess Pieces, Draughtsman and Dice' in Islamic Art in the Ashmolean Museum, ed. James Allan, Oxford, 1995, Part Im pp.111-154). Two more were excavated at Aachen in 1925 and are discussed with other examples by Manfred Eder (Bagdad-Bergkristall-Bernedictiner Zum Ex-orient des Schachspiels, Aachen, 2203 esp.pp.36-36 and 76-77). Further ivory pieces are exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a larger version was sold at Christie's, 11 April 2000. A similar 'King' can also be found in the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin (Ernst Kühnel, Die Islamische Elfenbeinskupturen, Berlin, 1971, no.9, pl.V) Kühnel dates that piece to the eight or ninth century and attributes it to Egypt.

The Blenko "Chess Piece"

Gorgeous! From Heart of Glass blog:

This stunning decanter made in 1959 stands just UNDER 15 " tall. The official Blenko color is referred to as Charcoal. The shape is fantastic, often referred to as the "Chess Piece". This was designed by Wayne Husted for Blenko in 1959, Blenko catalog #5922s. The base has the acid etched / sand blasted Blenko logo.

Ancient Wells in Cyprus

These wells are very old - dating back to 10,500 years ago to 9,000 years ago! There is a also a mystery surrounding the remains of a young woman found in one well:

From Physorg.com
June 24th, 2009
By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS , Associated Press Writer -->
(AP) -- Archaeologists have discovered a water well in Cyprus that was built as long as 10,500 years ago, and the skeleton of a young woman at the bottom of it, an official said Wednesday. Rest of article (AP copyright).

Coverage at BBC Online:
Stone Age wells found in Cyprus
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Archaeologists have found a group of water wells in western Cyprus believed to be among the oldest in the world.

The skeleton of a young woman was among items found at the bottom of one shaft.

Radiocarbon dating indicates the wells are 9,000 to 10,500 years old, putting them in the Stone Age, the Cypriot Antiquities Department says.

A team from Edinburgh University has found six such wells, near the coastal town of Paphos. They are said to show the sophistication of early settlers.

According to Thomas Davis, director of the Nicosia-based Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute, "the fact that they were using wells and that they tapped into the island's water table shows heightened appreciation for the environment".

The latest five-metre (16-foot) shaft to be discovered had small natural channels in the bedrock at the bottom, confirming it was a water well.

In addition to a poorly preserved young woman's skeleton the silted-up well contained animal bone fragments, worked flints and some stone jewellery.

The wells were unearthed by an excavator at a construction site.

They date from the time that permanent settlements first appeared in Cyprus, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The "Alexander" Sarcophagus

An interesting feature article from the Wall Street Journal online edition:

Masterpiece/JUNE 28, 2009, 11:39 A.M. ET
Who’s in the Alexander Sarcophagus?
Not Alexander the Great, though he battles heroically in its high-relief friezes

By JUDITH H. DOBRZYNSKI
Sidon, a port city about 25 miles south of Beirut whose rich history dates to 4000 B.C., was among the most successful of the Phoenician city-states. In the fourth century B.C., it fell to Alexander the Great, entering a Hellenistic age that lasted for more than 100 years until the Romans took over. It changed hands several more times before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.

So it is not surprising that when, in the mid-1800s, archaeologists started exploring Sidon, they found treasures. The French turned up (among other things) a sarcophagus that belonged to a Phoenician king named Eshmunazar II and sent it back to the Louvre. Later, a Turk named Osman Hamdi Bey, who had studied in Paris, became director of the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul and began leading his own excavations in Sidon. In 1887, his team hit upon more than two dozen sarcophagi. Many were stunning, including the Sarcophagus of Mourning Women, which shows 18 comely, elegant females in varying expressions of grief; it’s now in the Istanbul museum.

But the star discovery was clearly a fantastically beautiful burial chamber depicting Alexander in battle and at hunt in high-relief. One glance told the Ottoman archaeologists that it was made for someone special. Given its date—fourth century B.C.—and its Hellenistic style, they proposed that it belonged to Alexander.

It didn’t, everyone now says. Alexander’s tomb has never been found (though a few academics argue that a sarcophagus found in Alexandria and now at the British Museum is his; the British Museum disagrees). The specimen in question, which nevertheless became known as the Alexander Sarcophagus, was likely carved for Abdalonymos, a gardener of royal blood who was made Sidon’s king by Alexander in 332 B.C. (some scholars disagree about this, too).

But there is no debate about its status as a masterpiece. The Alexander Sarcophagus sits in a place of honor at the Archaeological Museum and is unmistakably a work of the highest artistic order, among the most important classical antiquities ever discovered. It is totally intact and in almost perfect condition. Despite its 2,000-plus years, it bears traces of the garish reds, yellows and other colors it once wore.

Made of Pentelic marble—the same stone used for the structures on the Acropolis—the sarcophagus tells a story on each of its four sides. Two are battle scenes; two show hunts. Alexander, with his determined visage and curly cropped hair, is instantly recognizable and decidedly heroic. In fact, while the depictions on the friezes are accurate as to the style of arms and dress and detailed reputedly even to the fingernails (I couldn’t get that close), and while they are realistic, not idealized figures, the overall result contains more than a dash of propaganda.

The first and perhaps greatest panel depicts the battle of Issus in 333 B.C., the crucial moment when Alexander of Macedonia defeated Persia for primacy in Asia Minor. The Persian emperor Darius III had expected an invasion and, because Alexander’s reputation preceded him, chose to lead his own army. But though Alexander was outnumbered, he outmaneuvered Darius tactically; his troops waged a fierce and bloody battle, destroying the Persian army.

On this frieze, Alexander rides a rearing horse, charging a Persian and trampling another one underfoot. The sculpture is so three-dimensional that it practically steps off the stone. Alexander, his face intense, makes eye contact with a Persian he targets with a spear (presumably made of metal, and missing, as are all the spears made for the sarcophagus); the Persian cowers in fear. Nearby, an equally fervent pair of warring foot soldiers are at each other’s throats. And so it goes throughout what could be construed as six scenes: Alexander’s army shows its muscles, literally (especially the leg muscles), while the Persians are covered in historically accurate trousers and head coverings that conceal theirs. You can read the agony on the face of a dying Persian, one among many scattered on the ground. Alexander’s army simply shows determination.

On the opposite long frieze, however, things have changed. Alexander is now in control of a unified country, and the Greeks and the Persians, still easy to discern by their dress (some Greeks are nude, and all are bare-headed), are happily hunting lion and stag together. Again, Alexander rides a rearing horse, his mantle flowing in the wind, a dog near his feet. He encourages the Persian—perhaps Abdalonymos—ahead of him, whose horse encounters a hungry lion. The lion’s claws pierce the horse, and his jaw bites its stomach. But Abdalonymos attacks with a spear, while another Persian prepares to land a blow on the beast with an ax.

The second most prominent figure in both scenes, some scholars believe, is Alexander’s close friend from Macedonia, Hephaestion.
The two short sides are similar, if simpler. One depicts the Battle of Gazza in 312 B.C.; in the other, Persians, including another figure thought to be Abdalonymos, hunt a panther.

The Alexander sarcophagus is shaped like a temple, with a pitched roof adorned with carved scale-like tiles. Gargoyles sit on the edges. Small friezes have been carved in the pediments. Between the roof and the friezes, and below them, panels are trimmed in vine leaves, Greek labyrinths and egg-and-dart motifs. The proportions work.

No one knows who made this exquisite object. Some experts have suggested that the hand of as many as six sculptors can be detected, but the work is so consistently good that you could have fooled me.
There was a painter, too. Near the sarcophagus in the Archaeological Museum, the Turks have placed a model displaying what one part of the sarcophagus, Alexander on his charging horse, would have looked like had its colors remained. To eyes now expecting Greek artifacts to be white marble, the magenta, red and gold seem to clash. But even then, it’s easy to see a jewel of a piece.

—Ms. Dobrzynski writes about the arts for The Wall Street Journal and other publications and blogs at Real Clear Arts.

Evidence of Grain Storage Predates Agriculture

Article at Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, complete with photographs, technical information, and proposed reconstructions of what the structures looked like.

Evidence for food storage and predomestication
granaries 11,000 years ago in the Jordan Valley
Ian Kuijt (a,1) and Bill Finlayson(b)
(a)Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; and (b)Council for British Research in the Levant, Jubaiha, Amman
11941, Jordan
Edited by Ofer Bar-Yosef, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved May 15, 2009 (received for review December 16, 2008)

Published online before print June 22, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812764106

Here's a less technical summary from Yahoo.news:
Study: Food storage began well before farming
Associated Press
Mon Jun 22, 5:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON – People were storing grain long before they learned to domesticate crops, a new study indicates. A structure used as a food granary discovered in recent excavations in Jordan dates to about 11,300 years ago, according to a report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

That's as much as a thousand years before people in the Middle East domesticated grain, the research team led by anthropologist Ian Kuijt of the University of Notre Dame said.

Remains of wild barley were found in the structure, indicating that the grain was collected and saved even though formal cultivation had not yet developed.

The granary was between two other structures used for grain processing and residences, discovered in excavations at Dhra', near the Dead Sea. The granary was round with walls of stone and mud. The researchers said it had a raised floor for air circulation and protection from rodents.

The ability to store food is essential for the development of farming, the researchers said.

"The granaries represent a critical evolutionary shift in the relationship between people and plant foods, which precedes the emergence of domestication and large-scale sedentary communities by at least 1,000 years," they reported.

The research was funded by the British Academy, the Council for British Research in the Levant, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the University of Notre Dame.

Some Cave Artists Were Female

Well, duh. It amazes me that it took this long for the science dudes to figure this out! (Note: there are four, possibly five, hand stencils shown in this section of cave and they're all of female hands. I assme at least one of the artists was left-handed because it is the right hand that was stenciled).

From the National Geographic News
PICTURES: Prehistoric European Cave Artists Were Female

June 16, 2009--Inside France's 25,000-year-old Pech Merle cave, hand stencils surround the famed "Spotted Horses" mural.

For about as long as humans have created works of art, they've also left behind handprints. People began stenciling, painting, or chipping imprints of their hands onto rock walls at least 30,000 years ago.

Until recently, most scientists assumed these prehistoric handprints were male. But "even a superficial examination of published photos suggested to me that there were lots of female hands there," Pennsylvania State University archaeologist Dean Snow said of European cave art.

By measuring and analyzing the Pech Merle hand stencils, Snow found that many were indeed female--including those pictured here. (Also see: pictures of hand stencils through time.)
—Photograph courtesy Dean Snow

A Tale of the Goddess Durga

Carvings tell story of ancient female solidarity
Retno K. Djojo, Contributor, East Java
Fri, 06/26/2009 1:08 PM Lifestyle

Whatever the era or situation, women's issues have always cropped up, and the relief panels at Candi Tegowangi, in Pare, Kediri, are testimony that in East Java also, issues concerning the fate of woman were not swept under the carpet.

Instead, they are made overt, portrayed on the temple's walls for subsequent generations to learn from the past and prevent problems from recurring.

The beautifully sculpted relief panels at Tegowangi also show that female solidarity in defending their cause was a force to be reckoned with.

It was someone no less than Prince Sadewa, one of the Pandawa brothers in the Mahabharata Hindu epic, who had a rude awakening to the presence of female solidarity when he was literally dragged by his mother, Goddess Kunti, to address the case of Goddess Durga.

Though initially reluctant on being taken to face the hideous Goddess Durga and her ogress-like handmaids, Sadewa willingly conducted a purification rite. The relief panels show Sadewa sitting cross-legged and in deep meditation to undo the wicked spell cast upon Durga and her handmaids by Lord Shiva.

Shiva, Durga's husband, had cast the spell on his wife in a fit of anger, rendering the beauty into something hideous. Realizing his mistake, he decreed that the spell could be undone with the help of Sadewa.

The purification rite instantly restored beauty to Durga and her companions. Durga's honor was restored, and she became known in a new role as benevolent Goddess Uma. As token of gratitude she awarded Sadewa the title of Sudamala, which means "savior".

The relief panels at Tegowangi, which date back to the Majapahit era, display exquisitely fine workmanship. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who mentioned the existence of this ancient temple in his journal The History of Java, admired the rich decorations on the temple's walls and staircase. The pillars and panels are adorned with sculptures in a great variety of forms, demonstrating the artisans' creativity.

Entirely constructed of andesite, the temple, measuring 11.2 meters on each side with a height of 4.35 meters, was built as a repository shrine for an important dignitary of the Majapahit kingdom, Bhre Matahun, who died in 1388. But work on the temple's wall could not be completed, so a large portion on the temple's wall behind the 13th panel has been left blank. It should have contained the purging of wicked infiltrators into the Pandawa camp through the joint efforts of Goddess Uma and Sadewa.

The temple staircase and parts of its platform, which functioned as a place for worship, have suffered severe damage, but visitors can still enjoy the excellent workmanship of those ancient artisans.

Visitors to the temple should not waste the opportunity to view a smaller temple located just a stone's throw away from the main temple and enjoy another series of fine workmanship on the temple walls.

The smaller temple, Candi Pariwara, measuring 4.34 meters on each side, has relief panels with animal figures, placed in rectangular, diamond or circular frames. The temple's staircase is guarded by ornate statues, including a lion figure.

The Earliest Wheeled Vehicles

Men and their toys! When I was in high school the guys who attracted the girls had muscle cars, 450 hp eight (or more) cylinder Roadrunners, etc., with jazzy racing stripes :)

Those days are long gone, but men have always liked their wheeled toys. Here, for instance, is a specimen (in miniature) from the 2nd half of the 3rd millenium BCE; if I'm doing my math right, that is about 2500-2000 BCE. If that is a "nostril" I'm seeing, than this is probably a camel - otherwise, my first impression was "possibly a horse." My question is - why isn't it out in front of the cart instead of looking like a "camel figurehead" (like on a ship) built into the cart? It was obviously not meant to be a real-life representation of a camel-pulled cart. The camel has no legs, for one thing, and there are no reins showing. It seems it was not meant to represent reality.

On the other hand, I could easily imagine this model as a very early rook (the old war chariot chess piece used by the Persians). (Image: Lyubov Kircho, Early Wheels: This model dates to near the second part of the 3rd millennium B.C. and shows one of the first known carts. The model is now in St. Petersburg's State Hermitage museum.)

The title of the article below is a bit misleading, because nowhere in the body of the article does it mention when this particular model was discovered and excavated; instead, it mentions "a new analysis." That seems to be a tip-off that this particular artifact (and others) have been known for some time.

Models of Earliest (Camel-Pulled) Vehicles Found
Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

June 26, 2009 -- Some of the world's first farmers may have sped around in two-wheeled carts pulled by camels and bulls, suggests a new analysis on tiny models of these carts that date to 6,000-5,000 years ago.

The cart models, which may have been ritual objects or children's toys, were found at Altyndepe, a Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlement in Western Central Asia near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Together with other finds, the cart models provide a history of how wheeled transportation first emerged in the area and later developed.

"Horsepower" is a common term today, but the ancients had bull-power, followed by camel-power, researcher Lyubov Kircho explained to Discovery News.

"I think that the carts pulled by bulls were mostly used in agriculture in the 4th millennium, when the climate was more humid," said Kircho, who is at the Institute for the History of Material Culture at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

His study, published in Russian, appears in the journal Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia. An English version has been accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists.

Friday Night Miscellany

Hola Darlings!

The weather has turned somewhat more humane today, thank Goddess! The dew point has dropped from 70 to 58 and so I am able to breathe normally again. It's summer and hot, but bearable and, more importantly, I don't risk a weather-induced asthma attack by just walking to and from the bus stop! Tomorrow there is supposed to be a breeze, too, with the high temperature at only 81F, so I can get all of my yard work done.

Tonight has a theme: Horrors of Mother Nature EEK EEK EEK!

• I'm starting out this Friday night's edition of the Miscellany with an incredible paranoid fantasy. I laughed so hard while reading it I nearly peed my pants! Well, okay, I did - but just a little bit...
  
  
• This is from http://www.infowars.com/. I haven't seen this site before (paranoid fantasies are not my thing) but I'm sure there must be a kazillion of them out there right now, probably multiplying like rabbits since - GASP! - a Black African Radical Islamist Nazi who is not even a US citizen and was born to a Commie whore mother is now President of the US of A. GASP! And his wife is a Zombie. GASP! The dog, too. GASP GASP!! And the dog was a Voodoo Priest in a former life (everyone knows that, YAWN).
  
  I selected a few particularly juicy selections from the lengthy article for your reading enjoyment, darlings. Perhaps we should email Ms. Minton and ask her to show us past articles she has written about such monstrous conspiracies that have come true! GASP!

Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder
Barbara Minton
Natural News
June 25, 2009

Using the “swine flu” as a pretext, the defendants [President Obama, numerous appointees, bankers, two pharmaceutical companies, and a host of others] have preplanned the mass murder of the U.S. population by means of forced vaccination. They have installed an extensive network of FEMA concentration camps and identified mass grave sites, and they have been involved in devising and implementing a scheme to hand power over the U.S. to an international crime syndicate that uses the UN and WHO as a front for illegal racketeering influenced organized crime activities, in violation of the laws that govern treason.

. . .pharmaceutical companies consisting of Baxter, Novartis and Sanofi Aventis are part of a foreign-based dual purpose bioweapons program, financed by this international criminal syndicate and designed to implement mass murder to reduce the world’s population by more than 5 billion people in the next ten years. Their plan is to spread terror to justify forcing people to give up their rights, and to force mass quarantine in FEMA camps. The houses, companies and farms and lands of those who are killed will be up for grabs by this syndicate.

Okay - go ahead and wipe out 5 billion of us but please, start with the asshole Ayatollahs in Iran. Problem is, if the world's population is reduced to 1 billion from over 6 billion, none of that property, natural resources and land that this alleged international criminal syndicate is going to suck up at bargain prices (or for free) is going to be worth a flying fig for hundreds of years to come because there won't be any people around to CONSUME. Duh! No people to consume, no way to make wealth. Obviously none of these criminals who form this international syndicate have read "The Wealth of Nations." Geez, what is this world coming to when supposedly highly educated super-criminals intent on taking over the world haven't even read "The Wealth of Nations?"

The other obvious "gotcha" is this - if one is going to play Almighty Goddess and destroy most of the population of the earth, one had better make sure that one has considered ALL contingencies before executing one's plan. The problem is that if humans are attempting to play Almighty Goddess, they do not have Almighty Goddess' powers to control everything and anything or, even with the aid of the most powerful computers, anticipate everything and plan accordingly. Unleashing a lethal virus among the population - ala "The Stand" (probably the best book Stephen King ever wrote) introduces the chance for random mutations to develop, and there will ALWAYS be some people who will NOT DIE LIKE THEY SHOULD. Uh oh. Mother Nature can be such an unruly bitch.

There will also be some people who will not be vaccinated no matter what - like me.

And just what does this international criminal syndicate expect people to do once they start dying because they've been vaccinated? People are not as stupid as governments (and international criminal syndicates) imagine. We are usually just busy doing other things - like, uh, living! Thing is, they cannot vaccinate the entire population of the USA in one day so that we all die at the same time. There are simply not enough people around to poke people with needles to insure this. Do you suppose the people who have not been vaccinated at that point won't be able to put 2 and 2 together and shoot to kill anyone who attempts to come near them with a needle as they see wave after wave of vaccinated people dying? Come on, dudes.

• Nope - you can never anticipate what Mother Nature may or may not do. Here's an interesting example of how She acts in strange and uncanny ways - in ways that cannot be anticipated or even understood; even with a great deal of study we do not entirely understand how interrelated and complex is the system under which our Earth works. Check this out:
  Ozone hole has unforeseen effect on ocean carbon sink
  12:54 26 June 2009
  by Kate Ravilious

Yet more about the incredible possibilities (and potential horrors) that are lurking under Mother Nature's Terra Incognito. Here's a great teaser quote:

Research over the past two decades has shown that the energy trapped in ice within the permafrost and under the sea rivals that in all oil, coal and conventional gas fields, and could power the world for centuries to come. Imagine putting a match to an ice cube, and the damn thing bursts into flame...

Ice on Fire: The next fossil fuel
24 June 2009 by Fred Pearce

• And yet another good trick Mother Nature played on stupid Homo Sapiens Sapiens (we're supposed to be the Crowning Achievement of EVOLUTION? Geez!) when Hurricane Andrew blew through Florida and environs in 1992, shattering windows of pet shops that released Burmese pythons (and who knows what else?) into the local environment: "...counting pythons in the wild is a daunting task. Scientists don't have an accurate estimate of how many pythons are in Florida. "It's certainly in the thousands, or tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands," said Gibbons."

And now, they're coming to get us, us northerners, slithering their way north as sure as shooting...

Burmese pythons slithering their way north?
By ALYSIA PATTERSON – 2 days ago

RUN - RUN FOR THE HILLS! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!

White Mares and Crop Circles

Epona is a Celtic horse goddess - a White Mare. A nice play of words could be made on Night Mare, and probably was, hmmm...

Great Britain is known for the outlines of large white horses carved into underlying chalk deposits. Most of the horses aren't very old - at least, they cannot be classified as "ancient."

There is one "white horse" that has drawn more than the usual attention by way of strang crop circle formations (for years). It's located near the Village of Alton Barnes in Wiltshire, England, on Milk Hill. This chalk horse outline is not ancient. It seems it was first created around the year 1812.

Above is a photo of a current crop circle that appeared in a field lying below the Alton Barnes (or Milk Hill) white horse. The image is from Crop Circle Connector.com and was reported just a few days ago, on June 21, 2009. The first day of Summer. The photo was taken by Lucy Pringle.

In this depiction, Epona reminds of an older goddess, The Mistress of Beasts, a/k/a Astarte a/k/a Artemis. In those older renditions of the Goddess, she is sometimes depicted as a tree (Tree of Life) flanked on either side by rampant deer-like creatures or other wild life, sometimes depicted as a Goddess or woman with a crown flanked by rampant wild beasts. This image of Epona is from Wikipedia and dates to the 4th century CE from Greek Macedonia, and depicts the Goddess Epona flanked by two pairs of horses. The four knights on the chessboard???

This Little Thing is Worth - Ohmygoddess!

From the Mail Online
The beep that made me leap: Housewife discovers £250,000 gold treasure after seven years of hunting with a metal detector
By Dalya Alberge
Last updated at 11:18 PM on 24th June 2009
(Image: (c) David Crump. Tiny: The 2.8cm by 2.3cm treasure)

After seven years of combing fields and beaches with a metal detector, the only thing housewife Mary Hannaby had to show for her hobby was an old dental plate.

But all those efforts paid off when her first proper find turned out to be a 15th-century gold treasure valued at £250,000 or more.

The find is thought to be part of a high-quality reliquary or pendant, and depicts the Holy Trinity.

Mrs Hannaby, 57, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, heard her metal detector's tell-tale beep while out on one of her regular six-hour Sunday detecting walks with her son, woodcarver Michael, 33.

For 500 years, the treasure had lain buried four inches below the ground, despite repeated ploughing.

The discovery is all the more astonishing as this was not the first time the Hannabys had scoured the arable field between Ashridge and Great Gaddesden.

'You get a buzz every time you get a signal, but chances are it won't be anything,' said Mrs Hannaby.

'This time, it popped up all of a sudden,' said her son. 'You can literally miss things by inches. We couldn't believe it. We always dreamed of finding treasure.'

And the pair struck gold again when the landowner refused Mrs Hannaby's offer to split the money equally and said he wanted only 30 per cent, saying he would never have known about the treasure if not for her.

Under the Treasure Act of 1996, finders must report potential treasure such as gold and silver objects more than 300 years old. Finders are offered the market value for their discoveries which museums have first option to buy.

At 2.8cm by 2.3cm, the treasure is barely larger than a postage stamp, but its importance is exciting experts. Roger Bland, head of treasure at the British Museum, describes it as an 'important find', and regrets that the museum does not currently have the funds to buy it.

Carolyn Miner, sculpture specialist at Sotheby's, was 'awestruck' when the Hannabys first showed the treasure to her and will auction it in London on July 9.

As one of only three of its kind to have survived, the find could be worth even more than £250,000, and its engraving is being compared to that of the Middleham Jewel, which sold at auction for £1.3 million in 1986 and was later resold to the Yorkshire Museum for £2.5 million.

Former pub kitchen worker Mrs Hannaby hopes the sale proceeds will pay off her mortgage.

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Unbelievable that such a small piece could potentially be worth that much money. It doesn't appear to be even well done technically wise, compared, for instance, to some Scythian gold pieces I've seen that are a couple thousand years older. Ach!

Farrah Fawcett's Best Performance

Farrah Fawcett died today.

I will always remember Farrah's performance in a made-for-tv movie I saw years ago.

I couldn't remember the name of the movie or what year it was, but I found it at Amazon.com: "The Substitute Wife." She played a worn-out prostitute who was recruited by a farmer in the 1880's or thereabouts, whose wife was dying. The wife had sent him out to find a replacement woman who would take over as his wife and mother to their several children once she had died.

I thought it was the best thing Ms. Fawcett ever did. Nuanced, hard and vunerable at the same time, proud and humble, weary-wise and yearning for love, that finally came, when all thought and hope had long since vanished from her life.

Two VHS videos of this movie are going for $146.99 while I'm writing this. I suppose more may come on the market now, and the price will go even higher.

Like lots of other people back then, I watched "Charlie's Angels." I wasn't particularly a Farrah fan (no sex appeal for me!), but I liked Kate Jackson and I thought the most beautiful of the three original Angels is Jaclyn Smith. The three of them together were (to steal a phrase) DY-NO-MITE!

Shira Chess Challenge!

Hola!

I still cannot believe that I am doing this. For details, please see "Shira Chess Challenge" at Chessville.

I've already run into BIG problems. I am so frustrated, I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs (and drinking lots of wine). Of course that won't solve the issues.

My volunteer trainer, Kelly Atkins, has sent me some stuff I'm supposed to use to study. Fine. I needed WinZip to download it. Fine. I had previously downloaded a trial version of WinZip to my laptop before Mr. Don and I left for New York in May. So I fired the laptop up tonight and turned on the program, and tried to download the files Kelly sent me. No go. Seems the trial program has expired. FINE. They wanted me to BUY the program to download the files. No frigging way!

I email Kelly - I'm not going to BUY this program to open a few files. Kelly emails back you can download this and that for free. I hunt around on the internet and find that. I figure out how to download that to my computer. Fine. After I get this THING downloaded to my computer and showing on my desktop, I get an email from Kelly with a different thing attached. Here, he says, download this.

No thank you darling.

Except I cannot get the thing I downloaded to work. I keep getting strange Windows-type messages that may as well be written in ancient Greek, I do not understand them.

In addition to not understanding any of the buttons inside this program (Chessbase Lite) and what they are supposed to do or what they mean, and clicking on all of them doesn't do anything except generate more error messages, I cannot find the files that I THOUGHT I had finally managed to download - I saw them go SOMEWHERE on my computer - from the email attachments Kelly had sent to me.

So I'm stuck. This is NOT FINE.

When things are NOT FINE like this, it's time to pull the plug. I can feel my blood pressure rising rapidly and my ears are burning (always a really bad sign, people).

So I'm moving to Plan B. I'll play online chess until the Match Dates and cross my fingers and hope for the best.

I was suspicious about being able to learn anything from a database anyway. I HATE databases. The way I learn things is by having a real live person walk me through stuff bit by bit - whether it be learning how to type, or learning how to draw, learning how to smoke (which I gave up in 1989) or learning how to use a comptuer and a mouse. I was the last one at the place I used to work to get an actual desktop computer, and the very last person to learn how to use a mouse - and I was dragged, kicking and screaming and biting, all the way. It was an extremely traumatic experience for all involved. I couldn't even bring myself to touch the mouse thing for weeks, and continued to create documents using DOS. I thought it was absolutely repellant. Whoever dreamed up the horrid name of MOUSE for a computer tool? UGH! I still don't like it. I don't like it so much I use my right hand to use it, because I do not want to touch it with my real hand (I'm left-handed). Yes, I know, that sounds psychotic. I feel somewhat psychotic at the moment.

I cannot learn stuff by staring at words on a computer screen or moving chess pieces around on a computerized board. Nothing sinks in, I don't "get" it. I'm just not built that way. Even for Shira, I'm not going to go out and hire a face-to-face trainer!

World's Oldest Flute?

Nah - the specialists rejected the oldest flute recovered from an archaeological dig and dated to 44,000 years ago because the archaeologist who uncovered THAT flute suggested it might have been made by so-called "Neanderthal" man. But this one (story follows) is a very important find, nonetheless. I just don't agree with their continued emphasis on a distinction between so-called "Neanderthal" and so-called "modern" human.
But read this story - I think there's something else going on here.

Prehistoric flute in Germany is oldest known
By PATRICK McGROARTY, Associated Press Writer Patrick Mcgroarty, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jun 24, 1:30 pm ET

BERLIN – A bird-bone flute unearthed in a German cave was carved some 35,000 years ago and is the oldest handcrafted musical instrument yet discovered, archaeologists say, offering the latest evidence that early modern humans in Europe had established a complex and creative culture.

A team led by University of Tuebingen archaeologist Nicholas Conard assembled the flute from 12 pieces of griffon vulture bone scattered in a small plot of the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany.

Together, the pieces comprise a 8.6-inch (22-centimeter) instrument with five holes and a notched end. Conard said the flute was 35,000 years old.

"It's unambiguously the oldest instrument in the world," Conard told The Associated Press this week. His findings were published online Wednesday by the journal Nature.

Other archaeologists agreed with Conard's assessment. [Of course they would, because to do otherwise might cast the entire taught "human time-line of development" in doubt and trash generations of work, including perhaps their own work.]

April Nowell, a Paleolithic archaeologist at the University of Victoria in Canada, said the flute predates previously discovered instruments "but the dates are not so much older that it's surprising or controversial." Nowell was not involved in Conard's research. [I'll take the reporter's word for that - but perhaps she has an ax to grind - see below.]

The Hohle Fels flute is more complete and appears slightly older than bone and ivory fragments from seven other flutes recovered in southern German caves and documented by Conard and his colleagues in recent years.

Another flute excavated in Austria is believed to be 19,000 years old, and a group of 22 flutes found in the French Pyrenees mountains has been dated at up to 30,000 years ago.

Conard's team excavated the flute in September 2008, the same month they recovered six ivory fragments from the Hohle Fels cave that form a female figurine they believe is the oldest known sculpture of the human form. Together, the flute and the figure — found in the same layer of sediment — suggest that modern humans had established an advanced culture in Europe 35,000 years ago, said Wil Roebroeks, an archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands who didn't participate in Conard's study. [It could equally suggest that "Neanderthal" man, who also lived in the cave (but dates of occupation were not given in this article), was more creative than the experts give him credit for.]

Roebroeks said it's difficult to say how cognitively and socially advanced these people were. But the physical trappings of their lives — including musical instruments, personal decorations and figurative art — match the objects we associate with modern human behavior, Roebroeks said. [Like those 80,000 to 100,000 year old shells with drilled holes found in an African cave many miles away from the seashore? According to conventional thinking and time line, those can't have been made by so-called "modern" man, so who made them then?]

"It shows that from the moment that modern humans enter Europe ... it is as modern in terms of material culture as it can get," Roebroeks told The AP.
He agreed with Conard's assertion that the flute appears to be the earliest known musical instrument in the world. [Emphasis on earliest known. We don't know what else is out there, waiting to be discovered.]

Neanderthals also lived in Europe around the time the flute and sculpture were made, and frequented the Hohle Fels cave. Both Conard and Roebroeks believe, however, that layered deposits left by both species over thousands of years suggest the artifacts were crafted by early modern humans. [Did the evidence show "Neanderthal" and "modern" human lived in the cave at separate times? Overlapping times? If overlapping, how was "Neanderthal" occupation distinguished from "modern" human occupation?]

"The material record is so completely different from what happened in these hundreds of thousands of years before with the Neanderthals," Roebroeks said. "I would put my money on modern humans having created and played these flutes." [Oh, really? Wanna go to Vegas, baby?]

In 1995, archaeologist Ivan Turk excavated a bear bone artifact from a cave in Slovenia, known as the Divje Babe flute, that he has dated at around 43,000 years ago and suggested was made by Neanderthals.

But other archaeologists, including Nowell, have challenged that theory, suggesting instead that the twin holes on the 4.3-inch-long (11-centimeter-long) bone were made by a carnivore's bite. [Hmmmm, interesting, April Nowell pooh-poohed Ivan Turk's discovery back in 1995. Do these two have a prior history???]

Turk did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment. [One cannot assume that email ever reached him. I've sent lots of emails out and have never received a "bounce-back" that the email address was no longer a good one, but in fact, was not. And if the email did reach Turk, perhaps he had his own reasons not to respond, that have nothing to do with the Hohle Fels discovery.]

Nowell said other researchers have hypothesized that early humans may have used spear points as wind chimes and that markings on some cave stalactites suggest they were used as percussive instruments. But there is no proof [how does one prove the use of wind chimes? And to which "other researchers" is she referring?], she said, and the Hohle Fels flute is much more credible because it's the oldest specimen from an established style of bone and ivory flutes in Europe. [What established style? Turk's flute was made out of bone and had two holes and an approximate length of 4 inches. Did Nowell do a comprehensive comparison of the two discoveries? Of Turk's discovery against all other bone flutes discovered thus far? No explanation is given for Nowell's extraordinary comment.]

"There's a distinction between sporadic appearances and the true development of, in this case, a musical culture," Nowell said. "The importance of something like this flute is it shows a well-established technique and tradition." [This statement is ridiculous! First, what are the "sporadic appearances" to which she is referring? Second, what does she mean by "the true development of ... a musical culture? Is she distinguishing between someone "accidentally creating" a bone flute, and someone deliberately creating a bone flute? But how did the invention of the bone flute come about if not at first by accident? It was Nowell who dismissed the idea that a 43,000 year old flute discovered in a Slovenian cave by archaeologist Ivan Turk could have been created by so-called "Neanderthal." Why? Did Nowell already have a vested interested in her "modern" human theory in 1995? Is there something else going on here?]

Conard said it's likely that early modern humans — and perhaps Neanderthals, too — were making music longer than 35,000 years ago. But he added the Hohle Fels flute and the others found across Europe strengthen evidence that modern humans in Europe were establishing cultural behavior similar to our own. [Again, assumes a distinction between so-called "Neanderthal" behavior and so-called "modern" human behavior, but does the available evidence really support this - or is it just being interpreted according to still existing 19th century prejudices and assumptions? Does someone have a book deal pending? I've no idea, but sometimes in this type of dispute money is involved, one way or another.]

Egyptologists are starting to go back and re-examining records of excavations and artifacts recovered from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and, with new methods of analysis, are gaining new insights (and correcting erroneous assumptions that were made years ago). Perhaps the specialists who focus on prehistoric man could benefit from doing the same. Just saying...

Ancient Egypt: Potentially Really Important Findings

Here's the article from the Egypt State Information Service:

Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Archaeological discovery in Saqqara

Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said on 23/6/2009 that a group of Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a number of ushabtis - an ushabti is a funerary figurine placed in a tomb as a substitute for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife - and remains of animal bones and birds inside a hole near the Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities team was originally rehabilitating the southern front of the step pyramid when they came upon this crevice, said SCA Secretary General Zahi Hawwas in a statement issued Tuesday. They also found a layer of cement inside the hole, Hawwas added.

Golden shells were discovered in the southern tomb, the SCA official said, believing ancient Egyptians could have used them to decorate wooden caskets or to place on top of car tonnages (material composing Egyptian funerary masks). Hawwas said that the SCA group unearthed 30 granite blocs that, put together, [rest of sentence was not online at the time I copied this article].

Samir Abdel-Raouf, the head of the team, said they found adobe bricks bearing the names of Djoser's daughters and his different titles along the corridor, noting that all pieces are now being renovated to form a coffin in which the wooden casket is placed with the mummy of King Djoser inside.
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This is not the clearest article. First it mentions a "hole," then a "crevice," and then a "corridor." There are major differences in what each means!

My primary interest is in the bird remains. Are they as old as the Step Pyramid itself? From what dynasty might they be dated? Were there remains of FIVE birds discovered? Inquiring minds want to know.

If anyone out there can provide more information on this discovery, please post info! Thanks.

Goddesschess Has a Makeover - Redux!

dondelion is continuing his fevered work on updating the look, feel and organization at Goddesschess.com. He has improved site navigation and updated many features (seen and unseen) in our quest to maintain now 10-years old (but who's counting) Goddesschess as a go-to website.

Public Square (newly added, featuring announcements of interest and our ongoing sponsorships), Access Mundae (a summary of recently added articles and features with direct links), and Showcase (special focus) have found a new home in the right-hand column.

Our popular Goddesschess search feature is now easier to find, located at the top of the right-hand column.

Random Round-up, featuring weekly news about Chess, the Goddess, and Everything (and sometimes laying clues as to our ongoing research), is now featured in the center column, just beneath easy-to-use-navigation buttons to the Goddesschess blog, Chess Femme News, and a not-yet functioning Site Map (memo to self: email Mr. Don about that...)

We hope you'll find this new and improved version of Goddesschess to your liking. Ten years online with plans for the next fifty...

Intact Thracian Setlement Discovered

Well - it was intact. Now that this article has hit the news (if it hasn't already been looted through leaks of confidential information from the digging team), after all the "hints" given in this article about the dig's location, it sure won't be "intact" for long. How stupid!

Story at Novinite.com
Bulgarian Archaeologists Uncover Intact Thracian Settlement
Culture June 23, 2009, Tuesday

A team of Bulgarian archaeologists has uncovered a Thracian settlement close to the southeast town of Nova Zagora.

The team of Konstantin Gospodinov and Veselin Ignatov from the city of Burgas hope that their finding would be the first Thracian settlement to be uncovered in its entirety.

The settlement is located along the Blatnitsa River. It had a moat around it, and include large buildings rising above the ground, news.dir.bg reported.
So far the archaeologists have discovered remains of stored grain, weaving looms, pottery including imported ceramics made by the ancient Greeks.

They have also found parts of decorations made of bronze, glass, and bones, as well as alloys of gold, silver, and copper.

Among their most precious findings is a silver coin from the nearby Greek coastal town of Apolonia (today's Sozopol) dating back to 5th century BC. The coin is cited an example showing the trade relations between the Thracian-populated interior and the Greek towns along the Black Sea coast.

The Thracian settlement in question existed in the 6th-5th century BC.

Southwest Chess Club: Upcoming Events

Hola darlings!

My adopted chess club, the Southwest Chess Club - is a great place to spend a Thursday evening, so rumor has it. I've never actually been there, but then, I wouldn't wish to cause a riot by appearing before my adoring fans (cough cough) :)

This Thursday, June 25, 2009, sees the final round of the Sizzling Summer Cook-off Swiss, a two section, three round tournament that began on June 11. Round 2 was held on June 18th. The third and final round starts promptly at 7:00 PM start time each night.

Here are some upcoming events:

SWCC Simul Kickoff:
July 2
Lecture and a simul. This is a free event.

Southwest Chess Club Championship:
July 9, 16, 23, 30 & August 6 & 13
6-Round Swiss in One Section. Game/100. USCF Rated. EF: $7 (must be a member to participate). SWCC Membership $10 (can join prior to first round). (Two ½ point byes available in rounds 1 through 5 if requested at least 2-days in advance; no byes available for round 6.)
TD is Becker; ATD is Grochowski.

Location: St. James Catholic Church in the lower level of the Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin. Parking in rear, enter through south door.

Southwest Chess Club: Popular Lecture Series!

This Thursday night:

This week's lecture (6:00-7:00 pm) will be given by Expert Ray Hayes. His topic is:

"Lipnitsky and Development of the Soviet School of Chess"

Last week's lecture by John Veech was excellent, and Ray Hayes' lectures last summer were popular.

Come on out and enjoy some chess instruction, and stay to play some casual chess!

Location: St. James Catholic Church in the lower level of the Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin. Parking in rear, enter through south door.

Tamil Nadu Dig Reveals Iron Age Finds

From The Hindu.com
Monday, June 22, 2009 : 1905 Hrs
Iron Age graveyard unearthed in Tamil Nadu

Dindigul (PTI): A glass bead-making unit and an Iron Age graveyard, both about 2,500 years old, have been unearthed during the ongoing excavation in and around Porunthal, 12-km from here, an archaeology expert said.

The excavation made at Paasi Medu (bead mound) venue, a site spread over 5.5 hectares on the ancient East-West Trade route linking Tamil Nadu and Kerala, revealed presence of a glass bead manufacturing unit, Prof K Rajan, Archaeology Department, University of Pondicherry, told reporters at Palani near here on Sunday.

They also recovered thousands of beads in various colours including red, white, black, yellow, maroon and green from the site along with 30 identical redware bowls, triangular terracotta pieces and two furnaces.

This could have been the place where glass beads had been manufactured in ancient Tamil Nadu, he said.

"We feel that this place might have been a glass bead manufacturing factory. It should be around 2,500 years old," said former archaeology professor Shanmugam.

The 'Indo-Pacific' beads could have been exported through Musiripattinam in Thrissur district of Kerala. The glass unit was the first such found in India, Mr. Rajan said.

"We recovered only slightly damaged beads," he said. The study of the site revealed Porunthal had been a trade centre.

A statue of a bull was yet another finding. A first Century AD Terracotta figurine of a male had also been unearthed besides ivory dice, earrings and copper coin. [Parts from a board game, perhaps? Photos - we need photos!]

The team doing research at the site included students and professors from Puducherry University, Tamil University, Mangalore University and Srivenkateswara University.

They found several iron age burials at the foothills of the Westerghats near Chinna Gandhipuram. The graves found at the site had been fenced by boulders.

Archaeology officials said these cist burials were of simple nature. A burial with 12.5-metre-diametre revealed the rich culture of the people of the area.
There were two decks and two port holes in the bicameral cist. About 3,000 beads of semi-precious stones were also recovered around the skeletal remains.

The findings suggest that people could have performed some ritual for the dead, they said.

From near the burials, mud pots of red, black and shining black were also found.

Chinese Bronze Horse Repaired

(Image: from the original excavation in 2008) An interesting article, with a very good video in English, about how this extraordinary 1,700 year old bronze cast horse is being repaired after its excavation in 2008.

Excavated bronze horse statue repaired in Hubei
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-21 20:25:42

BEIJING, June 21 -- The back part of China's largest bronze horse, excavated at the end of 2008 from a tomb of Wei or Jin Dynasties, dating back 1,700 years, was destroyed. But now, through half a year's efforts of archaeologists, the horse statue has been successfully repaired as a whole.

The 162-cm-tall and 161-cm-high relic weighed a ton before being repaired. With a unique style and realistic shape, it is about the same size of a real horse.

Archaeologists speculated that the bronze horse might be cast in term of the favorite horse of the tomb's host. As the biggest bronze horse statue ever found in China, it is of great value on archaeological and historical research.

When unearthed, the bronze horse was just consisted of its front part, two hind legs, half a tail and some remnants. With reference to outline features, historical materials and remnants of horses from East Han to Wei and Jin dynasties, archaeologists finally reshaped it successfully.

The bronze horse has characteristics of early Mongolian horses, such as thick neck, round buttock and short legs, said Yi Zelin, archaeologist of Xiangfan.

Experts say it is so amazing that the lifelike statue is still a semi-finished article shaped with mud. Only mud and some remnants could be used for the repair. The workers built a steel frame in the horse's belly and shaped the horse with wet mud step by step, which was the most crucial part of the repair.

We plan to get its shape exactly with plaster cast outside and next is to cast it with polymeric and alloy material. The final step is to make it as the ancient one through relevant techniques, said Yi.

To make it seem like an antique, the back part also needs to be cast with bronze. Archaeologists may have more and more technical difficulties in the future.

Xinhua news agency correspondents reporting from Xiangfan.
Editor: Mo Hong'e

It Was In Persia that Chess Was First Perfected

From Press TV - I understand it's a semi-official adjunct of the Iranian government. I couldn't make this kind of stuff up!

Guardian Council: Over 100% voted in 50 cities
Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:38:30 GMT

Iran's Guardian Council has admitted that the number of votes collected in 50 cities surpass the number of those eligible to cast ballot in those areas.

The council's Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, who was speaking on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) Channel 2 on Sunday, made the remarks in response to complaints filed by Mohsen Rezaei -- a defeated candidate in the June 12 Presidential election.

"Statistics provided by Mohsen Rezaei in which he claims more than 100% of those eligible have cast their ballot in 170 cities are not accurate -- the incident has happened in only 50 cities," Kadkhodaei said.

The spokesman, however, said that although the vote tally affected by such an irregularity is over 3 million, "it has yet to be determined whether the amount is decisive in the election results," reported Khabaronline.

Three of the four candidates contesting in last Friday's presidential election cried foul, once the Interior Ministry announced the results - according to which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner with almost two-thirds of the vote.

Rezaei, along with Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, reported more than 646 'irregularities' in the electoral process and submitted their complaints to the body responsible for overseeing the election -- the Guardian Council.

Mousavi and Karroubi have called on the council to nullify Friday's vote and hold the election anew. This is while President Ahmadinejad and his Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli have rejected any possibility of fraud, saying that the election was free and fair.

MMN/SME/MMN

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Ohmygoddess, are you kidding me? Over 3,000,000 fraudulent votes in 50 cities but the ministry in charge of free and fair elections isn't concerned because it has yet to be determined that this cheating affected the ultimate outcome.

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And here is a very interesting post from the Lede Blog (New York Times):

167. June 21, 2009 5:52 pm
Neil, No. 25: NO, these are quite obviously NOT the same people who “chant ‘Death to the USA’ at soccer stadiums… [etc.]…”

So many people with little direct experience of totalitarian regimes retain the most superficial of impressions based on glimpses of carefully stage-managed events organized by totalitarian partocracies, in which trained, disciplined masses of supernumeraries perform on cue… as in North Korea.
The ‘Death to the USA’ people would be the enforcers sent out by Ahmadinejad & Khamenei to SLAUGHTER AND MAIM these protesters we are watching turn out by the millions all across Iran to reclaim their country.

Get your head around the numbers, Neil, and ‘Friends of Neil’: it only takes about 1000-5000 faces to create an impressive staged event to fill up a TV screen with hordes… But in a city of 12 million or so, i.e. about the size of Tehran, we do not often see a crowd of 500,000 to 2 Million –– reassembling day after day even in the face of threats to life & limb & Family & livelihood –– unless there is something far more serious afoot than a propagandist photo op such as the regular Friday ideological marches denouncing America that the Ayatollahs decreed are to take place, without fail, which are run and manned by their own most privileged details of followers…

The good old Communist Party of the Soviet Union was really good at this kind of thing, too, only their mass events all had to do with “how much we love Lenin” (just as the ones in North Korea all have to do with “how much we adore our Radiant Glorious Life-giving Leader.”

No one could ever take these kinds of required totalitarian rituals seriously –– and you mustn’t. The ongoing mass protests in Iran are the Real Thing, though: as their relentless popularity reveals. No staged event ever draws the kind of attention a real upswell of popular unity commands.

Which leads me to this:

*HOW KHAMENEI LOST IRAN:*

If you think about it, at last Friday’s sermon, Khamenei had only two courses of action open to him:

1 - Accede to the calls for a new election, or

2 - Certify the declared election results as Correct and Truthful.

He knew that if he were to follow the first path — announce a retaking of the vote — his candidate, Ahmadinejad, would lose, and his own power would inevitably shrink as the new leadership would have less reason to rely on his own “Supreme Powers” given the popular support the new President and his supporters (Khatami, Rafsanjani et al.) already had.

How did Khamenei know this? Because HE HAD THE ACTUAL VOTE COUNT; he knew the actual result.

As the protesting masses argue, and demonstrate, the majority vote, by a very healthy margin, was with Moussavi. Indeed, the Interior Ministry had already confirmed this to the winner, even before Khamenei decided — personally decided, upon receiving the news — to simply discard the vote results.

Khamenei’s very refusal to go along with a relative moderate request, for a rerun of the vote, betrays his complicity in the falsification. Because it was obviously much simpler, and safer, to order a revote — if Khamenei was honestly convinced that his own preferred candidate had just scored “AN OVERWHELMING LANDSLIDE.”

If there was a landslide for Ahmadinejad, why fear a revote?

The only reason to refuse a second vote was because Khamenei KNEW that Ahmadinejad had lost… Not merely lost, but been soundly trounced, coming in Third, with a measly five to six million votes…

And because Khamenei had put his imprimatur on an outrageous lie, a huge and shameful fraud, he cold not possible follow the first — most reasonable — option available to him, without exposing himself as a fraud, cheat, lie and traitor to the very ideals he pretends to exemplify…

This left him with only the second option as a recourse: to insist on the “correctness and complete unassailability” of the false vote count that had been promulgated in such haste, and to hope that a brutal crackdown would quickly stifle resistance as those “little people of no actual consequence” caved in to their “Supreme Leader.”

It was a mad hope, and of course, as we can now see, a crazy gamble.

Or, as one of history’s wisest sages once so beautifully put it in the original English: “Oh, what a wicked web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”

By following his basest instincts not once, but twice: first, by decreeing the falsification of the vote, and then by insisting this was “the correct result”, Khamenei not only revealed the horrible stuff of which he is made, but sealed his own doom, and the doom of the system that had raised such a one as he was to the dizzying pinnacles of Absolute Power.

And so he fell, foolishly, into a very clever trap laid for him by far wiser men, former colleagues who had probably grown weary of his peremptory, absolutist, ridiculously rigid and ultimately unintelligent ways — Rafsanjani, Khatami, Moussavi, Karroubi…
It was in Iran, after all, that chess was first perfected.

— Maria Ashot

2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship

Here is a profile of one of the players who will playing in the 2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship:

CENDRINA BILODEAU-SAVARIA
One of the players is Cendrina Bilodeau-Savaria (born 2000). She doesn’t have a FIDE rating (yet), but she is an up and coming young player in Canada. Her current Canadian Chess Federation rating is 1149.

In the 2008 Canadian Youth Chess Championships, Cendrina finished in second place: [1. Kelly Wang (QC) 7.0 points; 2. Cendrina Bilodeau-Savaria (QC) 6.0 points; 3. Janet Peng (ON) 3.5 points]. (Readers of this blog and Goddesschess will remember that Kelly Wang won the "Promoted Pawn" prize sponsored by Goddeschess at the 2008 Canadian Open.)

Cendrina qualified for the Canadian Girls U-8 Team for the 2008 World Youth Chess Championships held in Vietnam [Team: Under 8 Girls: Kelly Wang, Cendrina Bilodeau-Savaria, Janet Peng, Christine Gao]. She finished in 32nd place in her category, with 5.5/11 out of 55 players. The Girls U-8 Canadian Team finished in 5th place overall

Cendrina also played in the E Group in the 2008 Canadian Open Championships, starting as player 67 (Canadian rating 976) out of 87 players. How’d she do? She finished in 65th place with 3.5/9.

Chessplayer Makes Good Playing Poker

News from pokernewsdaily.com:

Jordan Smith (scarface_79) Wins $2,000 No Limit Holdem Event at 2009 WSOP
By Brett Collson for POKER NEWS DAILY Posted on June 21, 2009

For the first time in the year’s WSOP, two women made the final table of an open event. Laurence Grondin, from Montreal, and Almira Skripchenko, from Paris, were each members of the final table of Event #36. Only one female (Annie Duke) had made a final table in the first 35 events this year.

Skripchenko exited in seventh place and it was Smith who did the dirty work. Grondin raised from late position and Smith made the call.

Skripchenko then moved all-in from the small blind, Grondin got rid of her hand, and Smith called. Skripchenko’s pocket kings were well in front of the pocket fives of Smith, but a five on the flop spelled disaster for Skripchenko, who failed to catch a king on the turn or river to seal her elimination. The former European chess champion earned $78,664.

(Photo credit: Almira en las WSOP 2006 - Fotografía Chess Base)

Arianne Caoili Back in the News (in a good way)

Background articles at Goddesschess on WIM Caoili:

Chess Prodigy Caoli Threatens to Relinquish Citizenship
Inquirer News Service, April 14, 2001, Dennis U. Eroa
(Posted at Goddesschess in 2002)

The Tussle in Turin!
June 10, 2006
By Jan Newton

More:

Queens to marketing pawns - sex sells everything
Rachel Wells
June 11, 2006
(Photo from this article)

WIM Caoili is back in the news, this time in a positive feature article. She currently plays chess under the Australian flag, having switched her home base and her federation from the Philippines (I don't know when, but it was some time after I posted the Eroa article - see above - in 2002).

Born in 1986, she is now 22-23 years old, and her current FIDE ELO is 2172. Her most recent event was in April, the Doeberl Cup Premier, where she finished with 4.5/7 (about the middle of the pack of a large group of players, including several chess femmes) and did well enough to gain 26 ELO points. However, she stated at the end of the article (following) that her focus in now on her studies and travelling, not chess.

Chess Queen Arianne Caoili's Next Move
By Greg Stolz
June 22, 2009 12:00am
AFTER something of a chequered past, Gold Coast chess queen Arianne Caoili is now making all the right moves, according to her old coach.

Discover Channel Special On Egypt

Upcoming special on the Discovery Channel (too bad I don't subscribe to cable or satellite, but maybe I'll be able to watch it online). (Photo: Archaeologist Kara Cooney):

Discovery digs 'Egypt' series
Network gives show a six-episode run
Thurs. June 11, 2009
By JON WEISMAN

Discovery Channel is giving world civilization series "Out of Egypt" a six-episode run over three Mondays beginning Aug. 17 and airing back-to-back episodes at 9 and 10 p.m.

"Egypt" was co-created by archeologist and UCLA professor Kara Cooney with her husband, Neil Crawford. Cooney hosts and serves as lead researcher and writer for the show, which compares and contrasts patterns of far-flung cultures.

Cooney told Daily Variety that the concept for the show sprang from a desire to essentially desensationalize the typical "mysteries of the Pharaohs" approach to ancient Egypt.

Among the peoples and archeological sites profiled are the Mayans of Central America, Incas of Peru and Singhalese of Sri Lanka.

"We didn't want it to be too much of a setpiece show," Discovery prexy-g.m. John Ford said. "We wanted it to be clambering around things and moving in and around the structures wherever (Cooney) was, so the style is to be more immersive and less traditional a documentary."

Cooney said her first experience in television was giving an interview to "Today" about the 2005 King Tut exhibition in Los Angeles, and "Out of Egypt" represents her formal debut on a TV production.Ford said the demographic target for "Out of Egypt" is adults 25-54. L.A.-based Digital Ranch is the production company for the series.

I'm Just in It for the Cookies

(Image: ancient Egyptian gaming piece with image of dog. Notice the collar, pointed ears and long tail. It is possible that several different breeds of dogs arose in ancient Egypt, including basenji, saluki, greyhounds, mastiffs, and others. See Egypt: The Dogs of Ancient Egypt).

A look at dogs and "speech" (as in the kind of sounds that humans make). Maybe dogs can't talk in proper English, but they manage to communicate quite effectively with their human "masters" nonetheless! I know, I owned three doggies for a long time, until the last one passed to the Happy Hunting Ground in 2004. For sure the same goes on with dogs in different languages, all around the world.

Story from Scientific American Online

Fact or Fiction: Dogs Can Talk
Are human speech-like vocalizations made by some mammals equivalent to conversation--or just a rough estimation of it?
By Tina Adler

Maya, a noisy, seven-year-old pooch, looks straight at me. And with just a little prompting from her owner says, "I love you." Actually, she says "Ahh rooo uuu!"

Maya is working hard to produce what sounds like real speech. "She makes these sounds that really, really sound like words to everyone who hears her, but I think you have to believe," says her owner, Judy Brookes.

You've probably seen this sort of scene on YouTube and David Letterman. These dog owners may be onto something: Psychologist and dog expert Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia tells the story of a colleague who always greeted her dog, Brandy, with a cheerful, two-syllable "Hel-lo!" It wasn't long until Brandy returned the greeting, which sounded very much like her owner's salutation, says Coren, author of How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog–Human Communication.

But do dogs really talk? Back in 1912 Harry Miles Johnson of Johns Hopkins University said, emphatically, "no." In a paper in Science, he generally agreed with the findings of Oskar Pfungst of the Institute of Psychology at the University of Berlin who studied a dog famous for its large vocabulary. The dog's speech is "the production of vocal sounds which produce illusion in the hearer," Johnson wrote.

He went on to warn that we should not be surprised if "scientists of a certain class…proclaim that they have completely demonstrated the presence in lower animals of 'intelligent imitation'." [Scientist of a "certain class? - what the hell does that mean?]

Nothing in the last century has really changed that scientific opinion. (No one has ever questioned whether dogs communicate with each other, but calling it "talking" is something else.) So what are Maya and her cousins doing? It's more appropriate to call it imitating than talking, says Gary Lucas, a visiting scholar in psychology at Indiana University Bloomington. Dogs vocalize with each other to convey emotions—and they express their emotions by varying their tones, he says. So it pays for dogs to be sensitive to different tones. Dogs are able to imitate humans as well as they do because they pick up on the differences in our tonal patterns.

Lucas likens this behavior to that of bonobos, primates that can imitate some tonal patterns, including vowel sounds, pitch changes, and rhythms, studies show. "The vocal skills of some of the dogs and cats on YouTube suggest that they might also have some selective tonal imitation skills," he says.

What's happening between dog and owner-turned-voice-coach is fairly straightforward, Coren says: Owner hears the dog making a sound that resembles a phrase, says the phrase back to the dog, who then repeats the sound and is rewarded with a treat. Eventually the dog learns a modified version of her original sound. As Lucas puts it, "dogs have limited vocal imitation skills, so these sounds usually need to be shaped by selective attention and social reward."

In the Letterman video "a pug says, 'I love you' and it's very cute, but the pug has no idea what it means," Coren says. "If dogs could talk, they would tell you, 'I'm just in it for the cookies.'"

Scientists have made some progress in their study of this important subject: They've learned why dogs, and other animals, have rather poor pronunciation and, for example, completely botch consonants. They "don't use their tongues and lips very well, and that makes it difficult for them to match many of the sounds that their human partners make," Lucas says. "Try saying 'puppy' without using your lips and tongue."

Rest of article.

**************************************************************************
Note the resemblance between the word "basenji" (a breed of dog that may have arisen in ancient Egypt) and "basij/basiji" - the name for the government-backed but unofficial thugs who are evidently responsible for all terror, property damage, home invasions and killings of innocent protesters in Iran at this moment. Geez, those basiji are giving dogs a bad name!

Medieval English Cooking Recipes

Now available online! LOL! I saw a headline "Forme of Cury" and wondered - what does that mean? Now I know (sort of):

From the BBC Online
Richard II porpoise recipe online
Page last updated at 18:02 GMT, Thursday, 18 June 2009 19:02 UK

Chefs searching for an authentic medieval way to cook a porpoise can now look up the recipe online.

The Forme of Cury, compiled by master cooks to Richard II, is part of a collection of medieval texts held by the John Rylands Library, Manchester.

Now an edition of the cookbook dating from the early 15th Century, compiled in about 1420, has been digitalised and uploaded to the library's website.

John Hodgson, keeper of manuscripts, said it contained hundreds of recipes.
Among them are exotic dishes featuring porpoise and more recognisable names like blancmange.

Mr Hodgson said the latter was different to the modern interpretation - a rice dish, highly spiced and sugared. Such ingredients were extremely expensive and beyond the income of most ordinary people during Richard II's reign.

The recipe begins "For to make blanc mange" and goes on to say "put rice in water all night and in the morrow, wash it clean".

"It's not a like a modern cookery book so it doesn't give you exact quantities and times," said Mr Hodgson.

"It's very much suck it and see, but great for experimenting.

"The complete book - all 100 pages - is now available online so that anybody who is interested in cookery, well, you could actually make some of the recipes now."

The original manuscripts which make up the Forme of Cury are thought to date back to 1390.

***************************************************************

Well, that only goes to show, you can learn something new every day. I thought blancmange was a custard-like pudding (that maybe used tapioca as a thickener), and had nothing to do with rice. Somehow I cannot reconcile blancmange and rice pudding!

I wonder if "cury" means "curry? -- pointing to the Indian spice? The dish called "curry?" (Just what is a "curry" anyway?) Did "cury" mean something else in 14th century England?

Oh - I just watched the embedded video at the BCC article and the way the dude say "cury" sounded rather like "cookery" so perhaps the word has nothing to do with "curry" at all but means "cookery" in 14th century English lingo.

The Limits of Etymological Dictionaries

For those of you who do not find the subject absolutely fascinating (like I do), you can skip this post.

Can You Trust Your (Etymological) Dictionary?
The Oxford Etymologist
June 10, 2009
By Anatoly Liberman

Liberman discusses the difficulty often encountered in tracing origins of words, and explores two examples, the English words "boy" and "girl."

A Nude Mona Lisa?

Well, judge for yourself...

From the Telegraph.co.uk
Naked Mona Lisa goes on show
A naked portrayal of the Mona Lisa, which was once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, forms one of the highlights of the biggest exhibition ever held on the Renaissance genius.

By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 7:04PM BST 15 Jun 2009

The mysterious portrait of a semi-nude woman, looking straight at the viewer with an enigmatic smile and with her hands crossed, bears a remarkable resemblance to Leonardo's world famous painting.

Hidden for almost a century within the panelled walls of a library, the portrait appears to have been inspired by the Mona Lisa, which hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris and was painted by the Italian master in the early 1500s.

It will form one of the centrepieces of a new exhibition at the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, near Florence, where Leonardo was born in 1452.

"The frontal look, the position of the hands, the spatial conception of the landscape, with columns at the sides, show a clear link with the Mona Lisa's iconographic theme," Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the museum, told Discovery News.

The naked portrait once belonged to Napoleon's ambassador to the Vatican, Cardinal Joseph Fesch, and was rediscovered after being hidden inside the walls of his private library for nearly a century.

Art experts believe the portrait of the topless woman was probably not painted by da Vinci, but that the artist may have painted a similar picture, now lost, which then inspired one of his imitators to create this work.

"I think it is very likely that Leonardo da Vinci conceived a naked Mona Lisa," said Carlo Pedretti, a world authority on da Vinci.

The exhibition, which opened at the weekend and lasts until Sept 30, consists of more than 5,000 works spanning 500 years which were inspired by the Mona Lisa, including paintings, sculptures and new media images.

The exhibition will look at why the painting, known in Italy as La Gioconda, became such a famous icon.

It will explore the history of the painting, including the possible identity of the woman who posed for Leonardo, and the latest scientific research into the portrait.

See also Nude Mona-Lisa Like Painting Found at the Huffington Post, which has a little bit more information not so sensationalized. Interestingly, among the comments it was pointed out that this painting could be worth twice as much as the actual Mona Lisa! It's amazing to me that this inferior painting could potentially be worth more than the Mona Lisa. Geez.

Special Killke Culture Tomb Discovered

From Andina:

(Image from site)

Ancient tomb found in Machu Picchu archaeological park

Lima, Jun. 17 (ANDINA).- Archaeologists at the National Institute of Culture (INC) have found a pre-Inca tomb in the Salapunku archaeological site, located inside the Machu Picchu Archaeological Park in Cusco, southeastern Peru.

Archeologists said the unearthed remains were most likely of an adult female dating back to the ancient Killke culture. The group inhabited the region from 900 to 1200 A.D., prior to the Incas.

Francisco Quispe is leading excavations in the ruins. He says the funerary ceramics and bird skeletons also discovered in the tomb are strong indications that the grave belonged to the Killke.

Francisco Quispe said, "The most important discovery regarding this tomb was that it was closed, meaning it corresponds very likely to a female."

The tomb was discovered in a rocky area alongside a mountain called Wakaywillka considered by pre-Hispanic populations as the guardian of the Vilacanota valley. Archeologists have unearthed nine other graves in the same area.

Quispe says the tomb was positioned differently from regular ones.

Francisco Quispe, archeologist, said, "The location of this tomb is also very important. In an archeological monument, the tombs are always facing the extremes because when they die, their remains serve as guardians of the monument. In this case, the monument is beneath it."

The Inca empire is based in the city of Cuzco -- Peru's top tourist destination. The area is also the launching point for the ruins of Machu Picchu considered one of the new seven wonders of the world.

The archaeological site of Salapunku is at 2,631 meters above sea level in the foothills of the La Veronica mount and it occupies an area of 229.420 square meters.
(END) FZC/JOT/AVC

Goddess Tlaltecuhtli

From Art Daily:

(Image: Tlaltecuhtli Monolith. Photo: Hector Montaño/INAH.)

MEXICO CITY.- Cult to dual deity Tlaltecuhtli (lord/lady) among Mexica people was restricted to priesthood, as pointed out by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, who remarked that despite the great impact it had in Aztec worldview, as birth and life giver, there is no temple known to present devoted exclusively to Tlaltecuhtli.

During his participation in the conference series “Gods in Codices” organized by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Matos Moctezuma remarked that according to sources, there is no register of Tlaltecuhtli festivities in Aztec calendar, although it is considered one of the most important deities of Mexica pantheon.

For what is known through codices, the cult to this deity was reserved to priests who were in charge of presenting the offerings.

The INAH emeritus professor commented that at present there are more than 40 Tlaltecuhtli representations, outstanding the zoomorphic, feminine one, with her mouth open, showing her fangs; the joints present a skull mask, she has claws, and her legs are open. Her main function was to devour corpses.

“Tlaltecuhtli devoured and then gave birth to them through her womb, wherever their destiny pointed out. The deity had the dual function of consuming and giving birth to earthly beings. She had a great impact in Mexica society, awakening fear and respect as Kali in India” declared Matos Moctezuma.

“Tlaltecuhtli is also represented as part of other Aztec deities; for instance, she appears on the inferior side of Coatlicue monumental sculpture exhibited at the National Museum of Anthropology, as well as on the bottom of the Chac Mool found in 1947 in Guatemala Street, Mexico City”, he pointed out.

In other feminine representation, the most abundant, the dual deity shows her back, because she is essentially with her chest on the ground. In the masculine representations, the same iconographic elements appear but showing the front, mentioned the archaeologist.

At the conference series developed by the National Library of Anthropology and History (BNAH) the archaeology doctor pointed out that according to recent investigations, we now know that Tlaltecuhtli sculptures were deposited face up or upside down, when carved on great blocks; if represented on vessels, it occupied the inferior side, because it had to be facing the ground.

The Tlaltecuhtli monolithic sculpture found in front of Templo Mayor in October 2nd, 2006 is 4 meters high by 3.5, approximately 40 centimeters thick, and weights 12 tons. Its size allows perceiving the magnificent carving, outstanding the huge mouth from where a blood torrent exits, and a skin covering, concluded Matos Moctezuma.

Allah-u-Akbar

(Times reported are New York time)

4:54 p.m. New York Times Op-Ed columnist Roger Cohen was out on Tehran’s streets on Saturday and has filed this account of what he witnessed. Here is some of what he reports:

I don’t know where this uprising is leading. I do know some police units are wavering. That commander talking about his family was not alone. There were other policemen complaining about the unruly Basij. Some security forces just stood and watched. “All together, all together, don’t be scared,” the crowd shouted.

I also know that Iran’s women stand in the vanguard. For days now, I’ve seen them urging less courageous men on. I’ve seen them get beaten and return to the fray. “Why are you sitting there?” one shouted at a couple of men perched on the sidewalk on Saturday. “Get up! Get up!”

Another green-eyed woman, Mahin, aged 52, staggered into an alley clutching her face and in tears. Then, against the urging of those around her, she limped back into the crowd moving west toward Freedom Square. Cries of “Death to the dictator!” and “We want liberty!” accompanied her.

There were people of all ages. I saw an old man on crutches, middle-aged office workers and bands of teenagers. Unlike the student revolts of 2003 and 1999, this movement is broad. [...]

Later, we moved north, tentatively, watching police lash out from time to time, reaching Victory Square where a pitched battle was in progress. Young men were breaking bricks and stones to the right size for hurling. Crowds gathered on overpasses, filming and cheering the protesters. A car burst into flames. Back and forth the crowd surged, confronted by less-than-convincing police units.

I looked up through the smoke and saw a poster of the stern visage of Khomeini above the words, “Islam is the religion of freedom.”

Later, as night fell over the tumultuous capital, from rooftops across the city, the defiant sound of “Allah-u-Akbar” — “God is Great” — went up yet again, as it has every night since the fraudulent election, but on Saturday it seemed stronger.

3:09 p.m. The BBC has posted accounts from several eyewitnesses of today’s events in Tehran, including this one, from someone identified as Siavash:

I was part of the protest in Valiasr Square. When we got there, there were riot police and plain clothes guards shooting at people, I could see that people had been shot and were on the ground. There were also water cannons. We decided to head towards Azadi Square, and there were guards on motorbikes and attacking people with batons.

There were thousands of people out on the streets the police were using tear gas - the whole experience was terrifying. Towhid (Unity) Square looked like a battle ground.

There were lots of female protestors - I saw a guard attack one women and then she went back up to him and grabbed him by the collar and said ‘why are you doing this? Are you not an Iranian?’ - he was totally disarmed and didn’t know what to do but her actions stopped him.

There were no ambulances around - people were helping each other - helping the wounded - taking them to safety away from further attacks.
Another opposition supporter who contacted the BBC said:

We will continue to protest and we have several reasons to do so. First because we demand our rights. Second because were not afraid. Third - we will not be fooled. And fourth - in this way, the true face of this regime will be revealed to the whole world.

2:19 p.m. The video of a young woman who was apparently shot in Tehran today has been uploaded to many Web sites and Facebook pages this afternoon. One of our readers comments:

Make special note of that unarmed innocent Girl shot and bleeding from her mouth, nose, eyes, ears…..hundreds of copies just went up on Youtube.

The tide of the ‘79 revolution was turned overnight by a similar front-page photo of a Soldier at point blank range shooting an un-armed protester.

Update 1:45 p.m. CNN has aired a very graphic and disturbing video clip which was uploaded to YouTube and Facebook on Saturday, showing a young woman who has been shot, bleeding profusely. (WARNING: Please be advised before you click on the link below that these are truly horrifying images.)

On both Facebook and YouTube, the video comes with this explanation, written by someone who says that he was present when this video was shot and describes what it shows:

Basij shots to death a young woman in Tehran’s Saturday June 20th protests At 19:05 June 20th Place: Karekar Ave., at the corner crossing Khosravi St. and Salehi st. A young woman who was standing aside with her father watching the protests was shot by a basij member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had clear shot at the girl and could not miss her. However, he aimed straight her heart. I am a doctor, so I rushed to try to save her. But the impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet had blasted inside the victim’s chest, and she died in less than 2 minutes. The protests were going on about 1 kilometers away in the main street and some of the protesting crowd were running from tear gass used among them, towards Salehi St. The film is shot by my friend who was standing beside me. Please let the world know.

Again, we have no way of knowing when or where the video was shot, or if this reader’s account is accurate, due to the intense restrictions on first-hand reporting imposed on the press inside Iran.

More.

President Obama said it best: The world is watching.

The Never-Ending Question...

(Image: Famous medieval chessplayer Paolo Boi and "Satan" as a seducing woman)

Since the first days of Goddesschess, I've been fascinated by the eternal debate, variously phrased (usually in negative terms toward females): "Why can't women play chess as well as men?"

Over time, we gathered together various articles and writings from the internet and called it "The Ever-Changing, Never-Ending Question" under Chess and Gender.

Famous male chessplayers Fischer and Kasparov, among others, disparaged the chessplaying skills of females. (Both later modified their views on female chessplayers, allowing that at least some females could play as well as a man. They totally ignored the intriguing question of why all men -- as superior players -- didn't play equally well.)

Chessbase has now weighed in on the subject in an article by newly-weds WGM Natalia Pogonina and Peter Zhdanov: Women and men in chess – smashing the stereotypes. It's light-hearted, but not light-weight. In particular, the couple have zeroed in on the very thing that could change the entire tenor of this never-ending discussion: how the question is framed.

Personally, I think they're on to something significant by recognizing that more women than men do not play chess because women are, in general, more mature and intelligent than men. The question could thus be framed as "Why don't more men waste less time playing chess and contribute more to the betterment of society?" Yeah. I like how that sounds.

The more serious question underlying this light-hearted discussion is why so many males have such a fear of recognizing females as equals; so much fear, in fact, that it has been institutionalized in patriarchal religious "laws" that give tremendous power to females as "temptresses" and "sinners" who lead poor, weak-minded, weak-spirited males astray along the path to Perdition.

Geez, guys!

Whoa! Numbers Phenomena!

(Image: From the Egyptian "Book of the Dead." I cannot "read" it but I think the numbers of "four" and "three" speak for themselves).

For all you people who have experienced this -- you go to bed, you're tired, you fall asleep. You wake up; its dark in your room. You roll over and glance at the clock and try to focus your eyes (LOL!), and the clock says 11:11, or 10:10, 3:33, 5:55, or - I'm really good at this one - 4:44.

4:44 and 11:11 show up more often than not during my restless nights but the one that really bugs me is 5:55, because my alarm is set to go off at 6 a.m. 5:55 drives me nuts! Do I put my head back down on the pillow and "rest" for another five minutes, drifting off into la-la land where I'm half awake/half asleep and have wild dreams? But then the clock radio blares and I'm jarred awake, bleary-eyed and groggy? Or do I lay there tense and irritated and already pissed off at the world in general as I wait for the clock radio to click to 6 a.m. and "wake up" to the latest bad news and atrocities they always report? Do I get up before the alarm goes off, something I am always loath to do because it gives extra precious minutes to that "work world" that I hate?

I came across this while checking out the latest at The Daily Grail. I haven't listened to the broadcast - I haven't listened to any broadcasts by Binnall of America so I cannot give a recommendation - but this one sounds fascinating, and it comes with a very lengthy overview of what was discussed on the radio show, which you can download or listen to online:

6.16.9
Marie Jones & Larry Flaxman (2 Hours, 3 Minutes) (Program link)
Longtime friends of the program, Marie Jones & Larry Flaxman, return to the show for a fun-filled and informative edition of BoA:Audio. We'll be talking about the 11:11 phenomenon along with the esoteric elements of numbers in general. ...

I gave a VERY brief summary, above. They talk about 2012 for awhile, evidently. I've got to tell you, I don't think there's anything to all the "2012" nonsense that's been buzzing around certain parts of the internet, and even talked about in newspaper articles. If I'd been alive when 1000 CE rolled around, I'd have been much more likely to think something momentous would happen then - the transition between all those nines (999) and the Big One (1000 -- one followed by three zeros, eek!) It didn't.

Ahhh, this post about numbers takes me back to those heady days of the old Art Bell (Coast to Coast) discussion board and Mark Borcherding, our resident expert on numerology and all things Maya. It was Mark who recommended Bonnie Gaunt's book "Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid: Window on the Universe" that revealed a whole new world of numbers of which I'd been ignorant! That book, in turn, led me to the very best book I've ever read about numbers and their meaning: Michael Schneider's "A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Sciences - A Voyage from 1 to 10."

Numbers - people spend their entire lives studying them, trying to understand them - mathematicians, physicists. I can tell you that I sure don't and probably most of humankind doesn't, either! Oh, I know that we have a generally universal agreement on basic counting systems, for instance, one-two-three... And we have agreed to certain rules about calculations, such as one plus three equals four, and two multiplied by two equals four, things like that. But I have read that there are still some isolated tribes in South America who have no words that are akin to what numbers "mean" to us. What is it like to live in such a society, where there are no such things as "numbers?" I can't even imagine it, when I stop at the supermarket nearly every day to pick up milk, bird seed, wine, bread, or whatever, and for each and every item there is a "price" - a number - and if I don't have the symbolic "cash" to pay for the items I want to buy, I cannot obtain them. Then I am very upset and angry, and hungry and thirsty. Geez! And then "credit cards" were invented out of plastic. Double Geez!

Did You Have an "Imaginary" Friend as a Kid?

I did. Her name was Merriweather, and I didn't think she was imaginary at all because I could see her quite clearly, although no one else could except, perhaps, my sister Debbie who maybe saw her at least a couple of times when she was with me. Looking back with the eyes and experience of an adult, I know now she wasn't imaginary.

"Seeing" things runs in our family. I think my sister, who was terribly shy as a child, just didn't want to be seen as strange by the other kids - there was a "mob" of us who went to St. Rose's grade school and we'd walk together every day. I had no such problem. I loudly declared what I saw and dared anyone to call me a liar!

Merriweather was an "older" woman, but nearly anyone would be old to me at that time because I was in 4th grade, probably 8 years old. She was also "tall", again most any adult would have seemed tall to me at the time, because I was a small kid (I was only 5'1" at age 15 and did not reach my adult height of 5' 3-3/4" until my mid-20s). She wore her hair in an upswept do with curls in the front, and a long sleeved gown with a small "train" in the back, that would trail around behind her when she moved. I don't recall that she ever spoke to me, and she never frightened to me, so I'm thinking she was not what the following article calls an "NCC." I think now that Merriweather was a probably a "ghost," and from my recollection of her costume, perhaps from the late 19th or early 20th century. I only saw her in a certain location (a long-vacant store front that we passed every day on the way to school) - she didn't follow me around or appear in my room at night, for instance. Not sure now how I knew her name, since she didn't talk to me. Hmmm...

What I like about this article is that it does not assume that children who "see" things are just "imagining" it!

Invizikids: Imaginary Childhood Friends

Maybe I wrote about this before? Seems familiar. If so, apologies!

Face to Face with Priestess Meresamun

Modern technology at work! Here are two renditions (center and right) of what Meresamun may have looked like, based upon CT scans of her mummy. The image on the left is from her mummy cartonnage case and at the time of Meresamun's death, would not have been intended to be a true representation of what she looked like (that happened much later in Egyptian history) but was, rather, an idealized image.

Getting By On Her Looks
"Priestess of Amun"
by Eti Bonn-Muller
Using crystal-clear 3-D images from Meresamun's historic scans, two forensic artists reconstruct the face of a 2,800-year-old Egyptian priestess

She was more than just a pretty face. The ancient Egyptian Meresamun, who lived around 800 B.C., was a working girl, a priestess-musician who served Amun, the preeminent deity of Thebes. Her mummified remains, sealed 2,800 years ago in a skintight coffin of cartonnage (layers of linen and plaster), were examined by researchers at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute in September 2008 using the latest in CT scanning technology, a "256-slice" machine that produced startlingly vivid images. For months, she has since been the immensely popular subject of the Oriental Institute Museum's exhibition, The Life of Meresamun: A Temple Singer in Ancient Egypt.

Now, the headline-making CT images have helped two individuals--each working separately with 3-D STL (stereolithography) images of Meresamun's skull produced from the scans, but using different techniques--reconstruct Meresamun's face. Michael Brassell is a Baltimore-based forensic artist for NamUs (pronounced "name us"), the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System established by the National Institute of Justice. He created traditional hand-drawn pencil sketches (digitally colored for an "artsy" effect), using the exact same methods he employs when helping the police track down a cold-case victim. Josh Harker, a forensic artist who lives in Chicago and was originally trained as a sculptor, worked digitally, leveraging the latest software and imaging technology.

"I was delighted to have two very different techniques," says Emily Teeter, an Egyptologist at the Oriental Institute Museum and curator of the Meresamun exhibition. "How often do you look at a police sketch in the paper--of some creep or some unfortunate missing person--and say, 'Yeah, I wonder if they really looked like that?' But there is a lot of similarity between the two reconstructions." The main differences, she points out, are in the shapes of the chin and the nose. "But they both have the same overbite, very much the same cheekbones, and the same shape of the eyes."

Rest of article at Archaeology (online).

Stormy Weather!

Not the Lena Horne song - the real deal! Last night was tornado warnings and flooding and strong winds, lots of thunder and lightning! Between about 7 p.m. last night and when things finally calmed down around 10 p.m. (although it continued raining moderately) we got 4-5 inches of rain in my area, but that wasn't even close to the record-breaking rains falling further to the west where at one point it was raining 14 inches an hour! (That's in addition to the 3-4 inches we received Thursday night-Friday morning). Strong winds too - I had to clean up a rather messy storm-tossed yard filled with leaves and downed branches from my mini grove of trees (back yard) this morning, and the deck was a wet soggy mess, but I didn't lose any major branches, the trees all stayed upright and there was no hail, so no damage to the siding.

Polish Fest down at the lake front (it opened yesterday) would have been pelted, too, unfortunately.

Today has dawned sunny, hot, but much less humid, and there is a breeze that will help dry things up a bit. The swimming pool that had appeared in my back yard last night is gone this morning, thank Goddess! Flooding continues along streams and rivers locally as the cresting water makes it way toward Lake Michigan. People will flock toward the lake front today and tomorrow to enjoy the great weather, so hopefully there will be a good turnout for the simul with GM Josh Friedel at the Southwest Chess Club tent this evening (sign up starts at 5:00 p.m.)

The grass needs to be cut but it's full sun in the front (I missed the shady window between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m.) and too shady in the back yard and still too wet in both yards; I'll cut the front this evening after 6 p.m. when the sun swings around to the back of the house, giving me shade to work in, and I'll save the back yard cutting for tomorrow. I cleaned off the deck and it just needs to dry off. I'll settle there later with the lap top to enjoy this great weather while it lasts. These hot breezy dry days don't show up too often!

While the elements were raging about me last evening, I was working on an article for Chessville - stay tuned.

The Land of Firdousi

For those of you who have been following events the past week in Iran, the land where it is quite possible the game of chess as we recognize it first became amalgamated, I've been following the blogs at The New York Times and the Guardian.co.uk. This is from The Lede at The New York Times tonight:

Update 6:21 p.m.
A Twitter feed that seems to be associated with the Moussavi campaign posted this message one hour ago:
Mousavi & Karoubi ask supporters NOT to attend Friday prayers (which is being delivered by supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei)

Update 6:09 p.m.
Iran’s Press TV reports that the country’s Supreme Leader will be leading the prayers on Friday at a university in the capital:
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei will lead this week’s Friday prayers in Tehran University.
“The massive turnout of the Iranian nation in the Friday prayers congregation will manifest the solidarity and unity among Iranians,” IRNA quoted Iran’s Friday prayers headquarters as saying.
The Guardian reports that Iran’s chief cleric, who also heads its government, “is expected to combine a call for calm tomorrow with a warning of severe consequences if protests continue.”


I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, but I don't have a good feeling. I hope I am wrong.

Delphi

(Image: From Nigel Pennick, "Secret Games of the Gods," Pythia, c. 400 BCE. Notice the 3x3 checkered board motif in the border, that dates back to at least 6,000 BCE in the lands around the Mediterranean. The "roof" of the embrasure where the Pythia is installed is also checked, perhaps replicating the older checkerboard-patterned palenques for deceased kings and special warriors used in archaic Greece and, even earlier, the checkered ceilings of the enclosures holding the mummies of ancient pharaohs. Notice also the eight-pointed "rosette" on the side of the Pythia's stool, which I assume is matched by another on the other side. The 8-point rosette is long associated with the goddess Inanna, who travelled to the Land of No Return and entered the underworld to retrieve her deceased lover/son, and successfully returned. The Pythia holds a shallow bowl or dish in her left hand and an oracle branch in her right hand. The holding of the dish or bowl in her left hand is significant. In "Christian" times, left-handed people, particularly females who were left-handed, were often persecuted and/or killed as "witches.")

A selection from Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Legends."

Delphi

"Womb"; Greece's oldest, most famous oracle, where Mother Earth was worshipped under the name of Delphyne, the Womb of Creation, along with her serpent-son and consort Python.(1) At various times the oracle was said to belong to the Sea-goddess, or the Moon-goddess, various designations of the same primal Mother, whoses priestess-daughters, the Pythonesses, controlled the rites. Eventually the patriarchal god Apollo took it over, retaining the Pythonesses, but claiming to have placed the serpent in his underground uterine cave, whence came the oracle's inspiration. Apollo murdered the priestess Delphyne, and held the oracle until it was closed by the Christian emperor Thedosius. After him, Arcadius had the temple entirely destroyed.

Notes:
(1) Graves, G.M., 1, 80.

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Compare to this information from Wikipedia entry on Delphi:

The name Delphois starts with the same four letters as δελφύς delphus, "womb" and may indicate archaic veneration of Gaia, Grandmother Earth, and the Earth Goddess at the site.[4][5] Apollo is connected with the site by his epithet Δελφίνιος Delphinios, "the Delphinian." The epithet is connected with dolphins (Greek δελφίς,-ῖνος) in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (line 400), recounting the legend of how Apollo first came to Delphi in the shape of a dolphin, carrying Cretan priests on his back. The Homeric name of the oracle is Pytho (Πυθώ).[6]

Notes 4, 5 and 6 (referenced above):

(4) Fontenrose, Joseph, The Delphic Oracle: Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue of Responses (1978). pp.3-4. "Such was its prestige that most Hellenes after 500 B.C. placed its foundation in the earliest days of the world: before Apollo took possession, they said, Ge (Earth) [Gaia] and her daughter Themis had spoken oracles at Pytho. Such has been the strength of the tradition that many historians and others have accepted as historical fact the ancient statement that Ge and Themis spoke oracles before it became Apollo's establishment. Yet nothing but the myth supports this statement. In the earliest account that we have of the Delphic Oracle's beginnings, the story found in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (281-374), there was no Oracle before Apollo came and killed the great she-dragon, Pytho's only inhabitant. This was apparently the Delphic myth of the sixth century".

(5) Farnell, Lewis Richard, The Cults of the Greek States, v.III, pp.8-10, onwards. "The earth is the abode of the dead, therefore the earth-deity has power over the ghostly world: the shapes of dreams, which often foreshadowed the future, were supposed to ascend from the world below, therefore the earth-deity might acquire an oracular function, especially through the process of incubation, in which the consultant slept in a holy shrine with his ear upon the ground. That such conceptions attached to Gaia is shown by the records of her cults at Delphi, Athens, and Aegae. A recently discovered inscription speaks of a temple of Ge [Gaia] at Delphi. ... As regards Gaia, we also can accept it. It is confirmed by certain features in the latter Delphic divination, and also by the story of the Python."

(6) Odyssey, VIII, 80


The legend about Apollo assuming the shape of a dolphin carrying Cretan priests on his back is a classic gloss of patriarchal take-over of a goddess shrine - blatant, actually! I don't think I've read a clearer example of this type of masculine glossing over of older matriarchal and/or goddess-oriented myths. Foreign invaders brought their alien war-gods with them, and took over what was there before. Sadly, a story oft-told throughout history. Today we call it propaganda.

Hales Corners Challenge X!

It's early days yet, darlings, but I am pleased to announce that Goddesschess will be funding chess prizes just for the chess femmes who participate in this upcoming USCF Grand Prix event sponsored by my adopted chess club, the Southwest Chess Club (of Hales Corners):

HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE X!

There was a great turn-out for the Hales Corners Challenge IX in April, 2009 (107 players - a record!), and I was so happy to see so many chess femmes playing, particularly in the Reserve section.

I'm greatly looking forward to Challenge X. I don't have dates yet, but I'm assuming it will be held around the same time this year that it was in 2008 (October), when Goddesschess first funded some special prizes (in Hales Corners Challenge VIII).

For Challenge X, we first offered a somewhat increased level of funding for prizes for the chess femmes over those paid in Challenge IX. But after discussing it with further with my partners - as it was pointed out to me - the Reserve section attracted the most female players in both Challenge VIII and Challenge IX.

We have therefore increased the number of prizes available to chess femmes who will be playing in both the Reserve and Open sections in Challenge X, and increased our prize fund by 80%, to $190.

Details will be forthcoming when the Club publishes its official flyer!

We would love to see the best turn-out yet of chess femmes for the Hales Corners Challenge X. Please spread the word. The more chess femmes who play in each Hales Corners Challenge, the more Goddesschess will increase its funding of special prizes just for them.

Funding prizes for chess femmes in our now TWO adopted chess clubs is a way of showing our commitment to increasing the number of femmes who play in clubs and participate in their tournaments. To that end, you may have read here recently that we have adopted a club in Montreal, Quebec (Canada), which is hosting the 2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship to be held September 11 - 13, 2009 in Montreal: Club d'echecs Ahuntsic. Goddesschess is funding special prizes such for the chess femmes in the 2009 Montreal Open too. More info on the Montreal Open.

Oh, we're just tickled pink - except pink doesn't show up too well against the white background of this blog so we're sticking with red for now :)

Shira Evans and Her Amazing Foundation: Update

Shira has her next project - in Portugal! She'll be headed there sometime toward the end of July/beginning of August. More details as I learn them.

In the meantime, check out this video of Shira's recent Computer Lab with kids in Ashkelon, Israel.

I wrote awhile ago that Shira invited me to a casual game of chess at the ICC, where she is a member. Having some knowledge of Shira's level of play, I declined, but then I got this brain storm (post-menopausal hot flash in the head) and I started brewing up something in my Magic Goddesschess Cauldron (in reality, a rather large dish that I borrowed from those fabulous Las Vegas Showgirls, Bambi and Candi). I'll let you know soon -- in the meantime, there's lots of other stuff to write about tonight. Enjoy!

Something is Brewing...

Darlings, I'm sorry I have not been paying as much attention to this blog as I usually do. I've been very busy (1) watching what is going on in Iran after the recent Presidential election and (2) plotting something chessly with the lovely Shira Evans -- up to my ears!

I promise, all will be revealed soon at Chessville. In the meantime, please bear with me. Or is that - please bare with me? No - it has to be please BEAR with me. Grrrrrrrwwwwwllllll...

Chess set image: from The Chess Piece. I can't tell which pieces are the King, Knight and Rook. The small bears are the pawns, and the sole femme on the board must obviously be the Queen, and lovely she is. So, who is the King?

Goddesschess Has a Makeover!

Hola darlings!

Like any ageless Goddess, from time to time Goddesschess has a "make-over" of her home page to update Her look. In celebration of our 10th year online, dondelion has been working on a new look in top secret and now it has been - revealed!

Access Mundae features recent additions to Goddesschess' selection of essays and articles on chess history, ancient board games, poetry, chess art, and chess sundry.

Public Square features special announcements, Goddesschess sponsorships and - we'll see...

Random Roundup features a wealth of archaeological and other information every week. Sometimes there's a theme, sometimes there are clues to follow a path. All materials are presented to provoke thought and encourage dialog. Now RR features its very own drop down menu so you can more easily access its archives!

The Showcase and Classic Quotes features have been relocated to the center column. Showcase highlights matters and items of special interest to Goddesschess folks. Classic Quotes are - just that, all related to chess, of course :) They are changed out periodically (there's no set schedule) - so if you see one that you like, save it, because they aren't archived!

As always, our left-hand navigation menu remains so you can zero-in on where you want to go and what you want to view. We encourage you to explore. Goddesschess is a treasure trove meant to be savored and enjoyed.

GM Josh Friedel at Polishfest! UPDATE!

Here is the current news I have from Allen Becker of Southwest Chess Club regarding GM Josh Friedel's simul this coming Saturday, June 20, 2009 at Milwaukee's beautiful festival grounds (Mayer Festival Park also known as the Summerfest Grounds) on Lake Michigan:

GM Friedel will start his simultaneous exhibition sometime after 5:00 pm. Signups at the [Southwest Chess Club] booth will begin at 5:00 pm (the evening shift at the chess booth), and the simultaneous should start between 5:30-6:00, depending on the number of people signed up.

Would love to see a huge crowd, forcing GM Friedel to wear rollerblades in order to get around the course of the simul! Okay, so call me a dreamer, lol! Come out come out, Milwaukee, and test your chess mettle against a home-grown GM (and I don't mean one of those cars from Detroit).

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

Damn! We missed it by about 7 weeks. The Met is hosting this fantabulous exhibit starting June 23, 2009 through September 20, 2009. I received the Summer 2009 Exhibitions and Programs calendar in the mail today and on the cover is this gorgeous carved ivory representation of a female riding a "fantastic creature." Personally, I think it is a simorgh -- or the inspiration for the meat-eating "gryphon" that Harry Potter flew! It's sort of a dragon, horse, bird.

Unfortunately, my scanner is on the fritz - damn! It would break now! And a quick search didn't locate the photo, which is copyrighted anyway. Double double damn. Well, I'll figure out a way, but probably not tonight.

Stay tuned...

Southwest Chess Club: Popular Lecture Series!

Whew! I was sooooo excited about the Southwest Chess Club's announcement that GM Jesse Krai will be manning the Club's chess booth at Polish Fest (at Milwaukee's beautiful lakefront festival grounds) this Saturday night that I forgot about this announcement (see post below)! Mea culpa!

Our popular Summer Lecture series begins this Thursday, 18 June, at 6:00 pm. John Veech will be lecturing on The Art of the Swindle. John is Wisconsin's newest Expert.

The Southwest Chess Club meets every Thursday night from 6:00 PM at the St. James Catholic Church in the lower level of the Parish Center building (immediately in front of the church). The address is 7219 South 27th Street in Franklin. The club opens at 6 PM, Tournament Games at 7 PM (we have a tournament in progress this Thursday, Round 2).

Here is a map to the club. We are just south of Rawson on 27th, and close to I-94 in Franklin.

GM Josh Friedel at Polishfest!

Wow! Fantastic news! Southwest Chess Club (the "it" chess club in southeastern Wisconsin, JanXena says so) is sponsoring a booth at Polish Fest at the Summerfest Grounds on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan, June 19 - 21, 2009.

GM Josh Friedel will be at Polish Fest Saturday night - June 20, 2009. Come to the booth and play GM Friedel for only $2. Don't miss this opportunity!!

GM Friedel is one of our newest American GMs - American chess has been on a tear lately, producing GM Larry Kaufman (in 2008), GM Jesse Krai (2007), GM Josh Friedel (in 2008) and GM-elect Robert Hess (in 2009) over the past couple of years. GM Friedel earned his final GM norm at the 2007 Foxwoods Open, and was the first American player to earn a GM title in 10 years! Jesse, methinks you started something here...

Goddess, I'm really tempted to visit and stand in line, paying $2.00 just to get my butt handed to me in six moves - but maybe I can last 19 or even 20, hmmm...

SATURDAY NIGHT! What does that mean? What TIME Saturday Night? Guys, come on, this is very important to us femmes. We have to know how long we have to get ready and then get down there and then stand in line looking gorgeous - and if it's raining or something we have to bring along all our weatherproof armor (ironclad hairspray, for instance). That sort of stuff slows a femme down, so someone be a dear and post when the GM is going to be at the Southwest Chess Club booth!

Hooray for GM Josh Friedel! Hooray for Southwest Chess Club!

Please visit the Southwest Chess Club chess booth at Polish Fest at the Summerfest grounds this weekend.

The Summer Solstice: Praying to Water

This is an absolutely fascinating article by astrologer Dan Furst, "Praying to Water: The Summer Solstice of June 2009," Date: 2009-06-15, at the Llewellyn Journal. I never thought about the Summer Solstice in terms of water and the Goddess until I read this article this evening. Wow!

Excerpt:

The hot water has been packing them in too, according to another Ellen Barry report on the famous Witch’s Well of Tuhala in Estonia.2 This spectacular hot spring has long been sacred to the local animist religions of Taarausk, centered on worship of the forest god Taara—it’s intriguing how many green deities from so many traditions bear versions of this sacred name—and Maausk, which means “faith of the earth.” Under the center of Tuhala, fifteen rivers flow through underground caverns, crashing and rumbling in sounds that are said to be ghost witches in their sauna, beating one another with birch branches until the Witch’s Well erupts, as it did this winter for the first time in three years. When it does, witches and shamans and students of magic come to do ritual, and mothers bathe their babies in the earth-scented mist and warm water. . . .

I'm just wondering off the cuff if Taarausk, centered on worship of the forest god Taara—it’s intriguing how many green deities from so many traditions bear versions of this sacred name—and Maausk, which means “faith of the earth" might not be related to the sacred bull (tauro/toros/tauros), which is related to lunar "horns" (the crescent Moon), an archaic symbol of divine power worn by early goddesses around the world. How ironic, since the "bull" is a male animal, probably meaning that early iconographers totally misinterpreted what they were seeing through a patriarchal gloss! A tip-off to the "mother earth" identity of this goddess is the fact that she was worshipped in a forest -- sacred groves and, in desert areas, sacred trees, were icons of the Goddess. And then there is Ma or Ma-a (mother or mother-of, in just about all languages). It's clear from both words that "usk" means "earth." Thus, the "forest god Taara" and "Maausk" is really identifying a Mother Goddess of the Earth, who perhaps shows herself only during particular phases of the Moon, and the two words combined in archaic times in a local dialect to form a regional Earth/Moon Goddess.

Could "Taara" also be related to the distant "Tara" in Ireland, the legendary seat of the very first Kings of the land, known in former days as the "Emerald (green) Isle?"

Here is Ellen Barry's article at The New York Times. It made me sad.

Tuhala Journal
A Hole in the Ground Erupts, to Estonia’s Delight
By ELLEN BARRY
Published: December 8, 2008
TUHALA, Estonia — All day, people crunched through the frost-encrusted woods, in snowsuits, leather jackets and perilous heels, until they came to the spot where the water was churning. According to legend, the witches of Tuhala were taking a sauna underground, beating each other vigorously with birch branches, oblivious to the commotion they were creating on the surface.

The famed Witch’s Well of Tuhala erupted last week for the first time in three years, attracting pilgrims from all over Estonia. Exhaling puffs of vapor in the slanting light, the visitors dangled pendants to test energy fields and held arthritic fingers perfectly motionless over stones.

“Estonia is full of natural magic,” said Mari-Liis Roos, 37, a translator who had come to Tuhala with her husband and son. “It’s hard to describe. Sometimes you don’t want to explain these things, because it is so personal.” [I thought Mari-Liis' name is very interesting. Mari = Mother or Mother Earth and Liis could be a variant of Lily, a sacred symbol of many ancient goddesses].

Estonia has been bullied into a series of belief systems over the centuries, from Catholicism to Lutheranism to Russian Orthodoxy and Soviet Atheism. Seventeen years after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Estonia is one of the world’s most secular nations; in the 2000 census, only 29 percent of its citizens declared themselves followers of a particular faith.

That does not mean they are atheists. Craving an authentic national faith, Estonians have been drawn to the animistic religions that preceded Christianity: Taarausk, whose god was worshiped in forest groves, and Maausk, which translates as “faith of the earth.”

Ancient beliefs have survived in the form of folk tales. In stories, the sins of humans reverberate in nature — lakes fly away to punish greedy villagers, or forests wander off in the night, never to return. Trees demand the respect of a tipped hat, and holes in the ground must be fed with coins.

In the case of Tuhala, the physical world begs for such explanations. The settlement, believed to be 3,000 years old, sits on Estonia’s largest field of porous karst, where 15 underground rivers flow through a maze of caverns, audible but unseen by human inhabitants. [How do they know 15 rivers meet there? They must have been traced. Interestingly, 15 is one of the ancient sacred numbers.]

One result is sinkholes large enough to swallow horses — the Horse’s Hole, as it is known, appeared in 1978 — or people, as in the Mother-in-Law’s Hole. Streams appear and disappear like phantoms.

The most famous oddity is the Witch’s Well. Geologists believe that after flooding rains, underground water pressure builds to the point that water shoots up out of the ground, usually for a few days. Each time it happens, people travel great distances to see it.

Ellu Rouk, 69, a thin woman with clear blue eyes, walked away slowly after a few moments by the well. She said she had a deep involvement with the natural world. Her special ally is a birch tree in her yard, so powerful that a malicious neighbor has plotted to kill it, she said. When she cuts roses and sets them in a vase, she said, they sprout roots.

These dramas, she said, are an “inheritance” from her ancestors.

“There is an old Estonian god, Taara,” Ms. Rouk said. “He lives. He exists. Though there are people who would like to get rid of him.”

“Christians,” she added, “have no respect for nature.”

Magic seems to be back in fashion, said Evi Tuttelberg, who lives in a 500-year-old farmhouse near the well. Ms. Tuttelberg, 80, used to laugh when her mother-in-law reported seeing flaming devils flying over Tuhala. In her mother-in-law’s day, people left offerings of money and food at the “sacred juniper” and spoke of secret underground chambers hidden in the fields.

Then Estonia entered its long Soviet period, and witches and wood elves receded from public discourse. The same went for the Witch’s Well, she said.

“No one used to talk about it,” she said. “It was just a hole in the ground.”

But this year, it was a marvel. A fresh and loamy scent rose from the forest floor; electric-green moss sprang underfoot, and water had frozen into beads on bare branches. People wheeled their newborns all the way to the water’s edge and watched as mist rose from the cropland.

Ants Talioja, whose family has owned the land for 11 generations, wandered around proud and distracted, like the headwaiter of a restaurant. When he stopped moving for a moment, though, his expression was pained. There are plans to build a limestone quarry about a mile and a half from the Witch’s Well, and Mr. Talioja said he feared that the project would drain the water that coursed mysteriously under Tuhala.

That would mean this year’s eruption could be the last. Mr. Talioja, 62, was born over that flowing water, and he said he believed that it had given his family certain gifts; one woman in his family lived to the age of 105.

The mining company has offered to pipe in fresh drinking water to compensate for the 1,000 wells that could run dry, he said. But it was clear from the grim expression on Mr. Talioja’s face that piped-in water was no substitute.

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Is there a possible connection between this legend of the Witch's Well and the legends of the Celtic EACH UISCE (pronounced agh-iski), also AUGHISKY --known also as Cabyll Ushtey ("Highland Water Horse"). Also EACH UISGE (ech-ooshkya) -- and (agh-iski) The water-horse?

Goddess: Baba Yaga

Ohmygoddess! I posted this photograph here on 6/24/09 because of my comment, which you'll be able to read below, about "babushkas." This is a photo from around 1960, and I remember that coat (it had brown velvet-covered buttons and brown velvet corded trim), so it was winter and very cold! That is my three younger sisters and me (I'm on the right, second row, my taller cousin Cookie is to my left, slightly behind), and two of my cousins - Cookie and Tootsie, daughters of one of my mother's sisters, Aunt Diane a/k/a Aunt Christine. Five of us are wearing babushkas. Notice the old television set to the far left and the very contemporary 1950's style drapes, LOL!

Juliette Frette is back at Examiner.com with an article about the Goddess Baba Yaga, "Wild Woman:"

Baba Yaga (pronounced bah-bye yegg-ah) is known as the Slavic "wild woman," a sacred old hag who is otherwise considered a goddess of birth and death. Although many goddesses cross-culturally seem to have some sort of reign over the beginnings and endings of life, this one has a unique image all her own. . . .

Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" does not have an entry under "Baba Yaga," "babau" or "Wild Woman." However, she does have an entry under HAG:

Originally "Holy Woman," the Hag was a cognate of Egyptian heq, a predynastic matriachal ruler who knew the words of power, or hekau.(1) In Greek she became Hecate, the Crone or Hag as queen of the dead, incarnate on earth in a series of wise-women or high priestesses.

Hebrew "wisdom" in Proverbs 8 is Hokhmah, from Egyptian heq-maa or Heka-Maat, the underworld Mother of widsom, law, and words of power.(2) Greek and Roman cognate hagia meant holy, especially as applied to the principle of female widsom, Hagia Sophia (see Sophia, Saint). Similarly in Israel, a haggiah was a holy day. Certain Jewish religious literature dating back to Israel's matriarchal period was probably written by wise-women, since it was called the Haggadah. Later patriarchal rabbis declared this material "not legal."(3)

In northern Europe, the Hag was the death-goddess corresponding to Hecate, like the Hag of the Iron Wood whose daughter or virgin form was Hel.(4) Old Norse hagi meant a sacred grove, the Iron Wood, a place of sacrifice. Haggen meant to chop in pieces, which is what happened to sacrificial victims dismembered for a feast. [EEK! This gives entirely new meaning to Robert Graves' discussions about "king sacrifice" and the maenads I was reading about yesterday who participated in the Dionysian "orgies" where men were literally torn apart. Compare also the horse-Valkyries or horse-masked priestesses of Freya, known as volvas, who tore part the acient kings of Sweden in ritual sacrifice.] "Hags" may have been priestesses of sacrifice, like the Scythian matriarchs who butchered for their sacred cauldrons and read omens in entrails.(5) Northmen colonized Scotland, where a haggis or "hag's dish" was made of internal organs. Until the 19th century, people kept the New Year festival of Hagmena, Hag's Moon, going in disguise from house to house, begging cakes. A chronicler said: "On the last night of the old year (pecularliarly called Hagmenai), the visitors and company made a point of not separating till after the clock struck twelve, when they rose, and mutually kissing, wished each other a happy New Year." This is still the custom. But a contemproary clergyman said the Hagmena meant the Devil was in the house.(6)

Devilish qualities were attributed to stone idols of the Hag, such as the famous Stone of Scone, still used at each British monarch's coronation. This stone once represented the Hag and her spinning wheel - i.e., Arianrhod, Goddess of the Wheel of Fate. A danish ballad said the Hag of Scone led the "swarthy Elves;" but she was turned to stone by an incantation of the missionary St. Olave: "Thou Hag of Scone, stand there and turn to granite stone."(7) Helvetian converts to Christianity were compelled to batter to pieces sacred stones in which their Goddess dwelt, reciting her formula, "Once I was the Goddess and now I am nothing at all."(8)

In the 16th century, "hag" was synonymous with "fairy."(9) Old High German called a wise-woman Hagazussa, that is, a moon-priestess.(10) Though "hagiology" still means the study of holy matters and saints, the root word hag declined in its meanings. Shakespeare's verb hagged meant to be bewitched. His noun haggard meant a hawk, a harpy, or an intractable woman.(11)

The Hag as death-goddess, her face veiled to imply that no man can know the manner of his death, was sometimes re-interpreted as a nun. Christianized legends were invented for these veiled figures.(12)

Notes:
(1) Book of the Dead, 351.
(2) Budge, G.E. 1, 296.
(3) Encyc. Brit. "Haggdah."
(4) Sturlson, 39.
(5) Wendt, 137.
(6) Hazlitt, 296.
(7) Wimberly, 36.
(8) Thorsten, 336.
(9) Scot, 550.
(10) J.B. Russell, 16.
(11) Potter & Sargent, 70.
(12) Graves, W.G., 409.

Antiquities Theft

Several stories about antiquities theft hit the news this past week. The losses that these thiefs have inflicted upon the rest of humankind is incalculable. In many instances, we will never know where the artifacts came from, their context, their stories, things that could help us learn more about our collective past as human beings.

Arrests Made In Sale Of American Indian Artifacts
by Howard Berkes
June 10, 2009 (NPR -- National Public Radio)
A two-year undercover sting aimed at a black market in ancient American Indian artifacts has led to federal indictments in Utah naming 24 people.
The indictments unsealed Wednesday resulted in an early morning sweep in three states. About 150 federal agents, sheriffs' deputies and local and tribal police served arrest and search warrants in Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. Archaeologists were along to help identify artifacts.

"Today's action is a sad reminder that the stealing and destruction of archaeological and American Indian treasures from public lands is a highly lucrative business," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at a Salt Lake City news conference. "We will not tolerate that kind of activity in the United States." . . .

... and in a macabre twist, one of those charged has been found dead:

Man indicted in artifact theft probe found dead
Posted: June 12, 2009 02:59 PM CDT
Authorities say a Blanding physician indicted in a federal investigation into the theft of ancient artifacts in the Four Corners region has been found dead. . . .


1,600 antiquities for Italy
FBI sending back stolen artifacts found in Berwyn
By Margaret Ramirez and Robert Mitchum Tribune reporters
June 9, 2009
The secret collection John Sisto kept in his Berwyn bungalow had letters written by kings, Vatican documents penned by Catholic popes and even a handwritten book preface by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

In all, federal officials found an astounding treasure-trove of about 3,500 ancient artifacts, religious relics, rare manuscripts and other historic items after Sisto's death in March 2007.

Federal officials said Monday that the results of a two-year investigation determined that 1,600 of those items were stolen from Italy and shipped to the U.S. to be sold. The items, with an estimated value of $5 million and $10 million, will be returned to Italy later this week, according to FBI spokesman Ross Rice. . . .

Photo gallery of some of the stolen items at the Chicago Tribune Online


True story of looted pottery may never be known
Editors note: This is a mystery story involving precious artifacts stolen from ancient graves. In order to tell it fully it had to be divided into three chapters. The first part introduced the major characters and the second chapter involved what was stolen. Today's final chapter sums up the story.
By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
June 10, 2009
(Mobile New Sun Online)

AVON PARK -- Special agent Tim Carpenter is an art crime expert with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In March of 2009 he was called in by the management of the Crystal Lake Club after a large collection of pre-Columbian pottery was discovered in the home of Edgardo Sosa, a resident who had died in November of 2007 without any heirs.

Normally, Carpenter told the News-Sun in a telephone interview, a case of this kind would be a criminal matter. Since an international treaty in 1972 and the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 -- which is a U. S. law upgraded most recently in 1996, and designed to protect historical artifacts -- it is illegal to transport antiquities or own them without proper providence or permits. Even then, museums have found, some artifacts still have to be returned. . . .

Did Basket Weaving "Teach" Humans to Count?

Interesting article. It's amazing how much we still don't know about events that are significantly profound to human civilization and that occurred relatively "recently" in terms of the human time line.

Don't quote me on this, but I think evidence shows that the weaving of cloth (from wool, flax, animal hairs) and weaving of baskets, etc. (i.e., making wicker-work fences around crops to keep critters out, the making of larger wicker-work fences to keep critters in) probably occurred around the same time. It makes sense that the two skills would have been developed about the same time, as much the same technique in plaiting hair, weaving cloth and weaving a basket or a wicker fence is involved, although different materials are used.

This article dates the earliest evidence of basket-making to about 10,000 years ago. I think woman was weaving much earlier than this -- doesn't Venus Willendorf exhibit some evidence of woven hair or wearing a woven head covering? (Check out these close-ups of the Venus of Willendorf we all know and love; see also this article that suggests weaving to make clothing occurred as far back as 26,000 years ago) We probably learned to "weave" (braid) our hair early on, just to keep it out of the way, thousands of years before hair pins (or scissors) were invented. It wouldn't have taken much of a leap to discern that if hair could be woven, so could a lot of other pliable materials...

Story from Science Daily
Basket Weaving May Have Taught Humans To Count
ScienceDaily (June 8, 2009) — Did animals teach us one of the oldest forms of human technology? Did this technology contribute to our ability to count? These are just two of the themes due to be explored at a conference on basketry at the University of East Anglia.

The event, which takes place today and tomorrow (June 5-6), is part of Beyond the Basket, a major new research project led by the university exploring the development and use of basketry in human culture over 10,000 years.

Basketry has been practised for millennia and ranges from mats for sitting on, containers and traps for hunting, to fencing and barriers for animals or land, partitions and walls - all of which have been central to culture.

Beyond the Basket is a two-and-a-half year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of its Beyond Text programme. The research will explore the role of basketry in human culture and focus on various parts of the world, both in the past and present, from Europe to Amazonia, central Africa and Papua New Guinea.

The aim is to identify the mechanical traditions of making and the ways in which basketry is implicated in wider patterns of understanding, for example the order of society or the design of the universe. It will also show the impact of woven forms on other media, such as pottery, painting, and stone sculpture and architecture, and look at the future of basketry and the solutions it could offer to current issues, whether technical or social.

Project leader Sandy Heslop, of the School of World Art and Museology at UEA, said: “Basketry is a worldwide technology and is the interaction between human ingenuity and the environment. It tends to make use of, and therefore has to be adapted to, local conditions in terms of resources and environment.

“Without basketry there would be no civilisations. You can’t bring thousands of people together unless you can supply them, you can’t bring in supplies to feed populations without containers. In the early days of civilisations these containers were basketry.

“We may think of baskets as humble, but other people and cultures don’t. They have been used for storage, for important religious and ceremonial processes, even for bodies in the form of coffins.”

It is about 10,000 years ago that evidence for basketry starts to appear in North America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Today its uses and influences are still seen, from the bamboo scaffolding often used in Asia, to contemporary architecture, for example the ‘Boiler Suit’ - the name given to the ‘woven’ steel tiles encasing the boiler room at Guy’s Hospital in London.
Mr Heslop said: “Beyond its practical uses, basketry has arguably been even more influential on our lives, since it relies on the relationship of number, pattern and structure. It therefore provides a model for disciplines such as mathematics and engineering and for the organisation of social and political life.

“Given the range of uses of basketry the associations of the technology are very varied. Some are aggressive, others protective, some help create social hierarchies others are recreational.”

The conference, Beyond the Basket: Construction, Order and Understanding, will look at various themes including: design and production, environmental issues, commercial and historical perspectives, weaving in architecture, and the mathematics of basketry, as well as more anthropological and archaeological topics. Among the speakers will be experts from North and South America, as well as the UK.

Beyond the Basket will culminate in an exhibition and accompanying book in 2011. The exhibition will include ancient material recovered by excavation as well as more recent examples of basketry from around the world and will enable people to experience basketry directly.

For further information about Beyond the Basket and to view images visit http://projects.beyondtext.ac.uk/beyondthebasket

Adapted from materials provided by University of East Anglia, via AlphaGalileo.

Egypt to Villagers: MOVE YOUR BUTTS!

(Image: Old Qurna, from Tour Egypt, article by Lara Iskander, where she wrote: The old Gourna village is built over Pharaonic tombs, many of which were not discovered yet. The residents were famous for being able to bring up suspiciously authentic Egyptian monuments from their cellars. The antiquities [authorities] were having trouble controlling the tomb-robbing occurring in the areas of the Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles nearby. And so, the perfect solution seemed to be to move the seven thousand locals whose economy depended on tomb looting.)

From the Times Online:
June 13, 2009
Death of a village outside Luxor that lived off ancient tombs
James Hider in Luxor

Just outside the Valley of the Kings a set of ancient tombs has created a very modern controversy.

Western archaeologists accuse the Egyptian Government of forcibly displacing thousands of people from a unique local community to open up the site as a new tourist attraction, while the authorities say that the villagers have damaged tombs and stolen mummies.

The village of Qurna, on the outskirts of Luxor, arose more than a century ago when farmers on the banks of the Nile fled seasonal flooding and moved into the shelter of pharaonic tombs that dot the rocky bluffs above the river. People built elaborate houses of mud brick and wood around the caves and, with the advent of tourism, made a living showing visitors their in-house tombs and selling souvenirs.

But five years ago President Mubarak decided that Luxor was becoming a slum, overrun with hawkers and unauthorised buildings that were obscuring and damaging its ancient treasures. He appointed a former army general, Samir Farrag, to clean up Luxor.

“One of the first orders of the President was to transfer the people of Qurna,” said General Farrag, now the city’s governor. So arose the village of New Qurna, a grid of pink and cream concrete terraces farther into the desert, lacking the character of its predecessor but provided with running water, a post office, schools and sewerage for the 3,000 families moved there.

Most families did not go willingly and they complain that the tiny modern houses have broken up traditional, sprawling households and squeezed them into stifling boxes with facilities scarcely better than those of their former primitive homes. “They just wanted us out. There’s no benefit for us to be here,” said Umm Mohammed Tayyeb, a mother of six, who complained that the water ran so infrequently that she had resorted to storing it in large earthenware urns, as she had done in the old village.

Most villagers said that the authorities had forced them out of their old homes by turning off the electricity. More worryingly, some of the first houses built in New Qurna, two years ago, are already falling apart.

“My kids sleep here — it could collapse on them,” said Ahmed Rustum, whose house, like those of his neighbours, is webbed with deep floor-to-ceiling cracks. [See, contra, this article at Tour Egypt, about how the village was designed and the materials used in its construction].

Some international experts on Egypt say that the Government is sacrificing a unique community to cash in on tourism. “The Egyptian authorities are now determined to sterilise the area, creating a kind of archaeological tourist park stripped of any trace of anything living or anything relating to the more modern [Roman onwards] history of the site,” said one expert from Britain, who asked not to be named for fear of being banned from the country.

Ahmed Tayyeb, who earns his living by restoring tombs, denied that the old villagers had damaged the burial sites. He said that bull- dozers used to demolish many of the houses probably did far more damage, although General Farrag insisted that houses over tombs were demolished by workers using only sledgehammers. “It destroyed a unique way of life,” Mr Tayyeb said.

Sabah Mahmoud, a resident of Qurna, said the international community had done nothing to protect the villagers, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), which has deemed the huge temple at nearby Karnak a World Heritage Site. “Unesco is asleep,” he said. [Is it UNESCO's responsibility to protect illegal squatters, even if they have been there 100 years?]

The controversy over Luxor may hurt Egypt’s nomination of its former Culture Minister, Farouq Hosni, as the next head of Unesco. Mr Hosni’s campaign is already faltering after it emerged that he had publicly called for the burning of Hebrew language books in the Alexandria library.

But Zahi Hawass, the head of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities, backs the Government. He said that Qurna residents had stolen treasures from the graves and even hidden mummies to display to tourists for cash. “Not all of these were good people. Some of them destroyed inside the tombs,” he said.

Under the plans, a handful of the houses in Old Qurna will remain standing over their ancient tombs and be open to tourists. One is still inhabited by Umm Sayyid, a 76-year-old woman who was born and married in it and brought up her children and grandchildren there. She was unsentimental about moving, saying she would be ready to move if offered decent housing.

One of her daughters muttered: “Don’t listen to what the men say. This house is too much work.”

2009 Susan Polgar World Open for Girls

This tournament attracts players from all over the country and is held in conjunction with the National Open and the Susan Polgar World Open for Boys. This year held at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 4-6, 2009.

The winners of each section in the Girls' event earned an invitation to the Susan Polgar National Invitational, which will take place July 26 - 31, 2009 at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. The lovely young ladies who won are (from right to left): Linda Diaz (NY), Joanne Koong (CA), Brianna Guillen (TX), Emily Nguyen (TX), Christina Kao (CA). Photo: from Susan Polgar's blog. In addition, scholarships to Texas Tech University valued at $36,000 were each awarded to Sayaka Foley (AZ) (not pictured), Linda Diaz (NY), and Joanne Koong (CA).

Congratulations to each of the winners!

Here are the players and their standings in each of the Girls sections:

Under 19
No. Ttl Name Team St Rate Pts
1 Diaz,Linda V NY 1817 5.0
2 Foley,Sayaka B WC001 AZ 1707 4.0
3 Delamerced,Anna Cusi OH 1443 3.0
4 Hoang,Cindy K TK001 NM 1145 3.0
5 Sierra,Lily TK001 NM 1116 3.0
6 He,Stephanie MD 1113 3.0
7 Perez,Bernadette Anne TX 853 2.0
8 Sanchez,Audrey Racquel TM001 TX 480 2.0
9 Drake,Kristen Marie VCR01 ID 738 2.0
10 Zheng,Emily CA 659 2.0
11 Gonzalez,Victoria UH001 TX 466 1.0

Under 14
No. Ttl Name Team St Rate Pts
1 Koong,Joanne CA 1617 5.0
2 Lampman,Becca Marie Xiufang WA 810 4.0
3 Ukoli,Elizabeth TX 1181 3.5
4 Treiman,Lauren UT 1288 3.0
5 Wang,Willa BC001 CA 1074 3.0
6 Anthopoulos,Shelley CA 1099 3.0
7 Zhou,Diana CA 885 3.0
8 Baker,Katherine TX 1137 2.5
9 Martinez,Alexia LC NV 972 2.5
10 Pemsler,Carmen VCR01 ID 606 2.5
11 Tisserand,Cecilia CG001 LA 777 2.5
12 Nicklen,Frances IV001 CA 756 2.5
13 Patterson,Katie Rae VCR01 ID 742 2.0.
14 Lambert,Maria Luisa IV001 CA 788 2.0
15 Walia,Sakshi IA001 CA 1019 1.5
16 Zheng,Belle BC001 CA 501 1.5
17 Simonyan,Yelena CA 641 1.0

Under 11
No. Ttl Name Team St Rate Pts
1 Kao,Christina IA001 CA 1345 4.5
2 Guillen,Brianna A BR001 TX 1249 4.5
3 Mortera,Victoria BR001 TX 1191 4.0
4 Cancio,Aiya CE101 AZ 1006 4.0
5 Eng,Rachael CE101 AZ 1349 4.0
6 Lu,Jennifer BC001 CA 1106 4.0
7 Chawla,Alisha NC001 CA 1250 4.0
8 Geary,Colleen UC001 AZ 355 3.5
9 Chang,Evangeline WA 1051 3.0
10 Deng,Queena BC001 CA 1329 3.0
11 Trang,Yvonne U TX 1059 3.0
12 Shao,Stephanie BC001 CA 1133 3.0
13 Provine,Shayna IL 481 3.0
14 Lambert,Adriana Valeria IV001 CA 423 3.0
15 Torres,Arissa Jade IA001 CA 1036 3.0
16 Wang,Ashley DU001 CA 460 3.0
17 Cardenas,Christalia AP001 TX 953 3.0
18 Wu,Iris Y S BC001 CA 897 3.0
19 Homidan,Jesslyn BC001 CA 734 3.0
20 Min,Kathy CD001 ID 500 3.0
21 Chillakanti,Mahima NC001 CA 579 3.0
22 Guillen,Sarai Alejandra BR001 TX 1162 2.5
23 Marquez,Alexis I BR001 TX 721 2.5
24 Lahoti,Nandna CE101 AZ 853 2.0
25 Mata,Isabel M TV001 IL 802 2.0
26 Lalonde,Arianna M WC001 AZ 206 2.0
27 Salvaryan,Alice CA 864 2.0
28 Alba-jimenez,Sandra Michelle AL001 TX 517 2.0
29 Mata,Victoria A TV001 IL 847 2.0
30 Morrison,Carrie CE001 AZ 101 2.0
31 Garcia,Bethamee Kyoko IV001 CA 235 2.0
32 Mann,Nicole CE001 AZ 395 2.0
33 Lopez,Jessica Anne HC001 CA 287 2.0
34 Jin,Carol CD001 ID 442 2.0
35 Deangelis,Olivia Raine VCR01 ID 2.0
36 Tam,Kayleen Alejandra ID 342 2.0
37 Tegtmeyer,Sara SV001 NV 395 1.5
38 Drake,Jolie Michele VCR01 ID 293 1.0
39 Sussman,Allison J TV001 IL 131 1.0
40 Chillakanti,Kirthi NC001 CA 204 1.0
41 Tanner,Cassandra J AZ 231 1.0
42 Ray,Cody Belle AZ 1.0
43 Ervin,Haley S CE001 AZ 188 1.0
44 Liu,Esther CA 177 0.0

Under 8
No. Ttl Name Team St Rate Pts
1 Nguyen,Emily Quynh CC001 TX 952 5.0
2 Ho,Desiree CA 858 4.0
3 Duffy,Madisyn CO 3.0
4 Yu,Jennifer R BC001 CA 737 3.0
5 Peterson,Gia CA 191 3.0
6 Bepar,Naisha WI 754 2.0
7 Barkemeyer,Jessica CO 2.0
Karabanoff,Evelyn CC002 TX 721 2.0
Van Voorhis, Kathe NV 331 0.5
10 Yang,Zhenni Jennie AZ 102 0.5

Iranian Girls U-20 Chess Championship

While the world was focused on the drama of a "democratic" (ahem) presidential election in Iran, chess femmes who live there were busy playing some serious chess. Now we know the election was rigged because Mr. "Imabadman" won with about 2/3rds of the vote, in a country where more than a third of the voters are under the age of 20. Hmmm. Did they get lost on their way to the polls after their text-messenging was cut off?

Well, I don't care a whit about Iranian politics. I do care about their chess femmes. This event was held on May 26, 2009. It appears to have been 3 rounds, but only 2 rounds have been reported at chess-results.com. What I find particularly encouraging for the future of women's chess in Iran, is that 20 of the 37 young women who played in this event entered with no FIDE rating!

Rank after Round 2
Rk. Name FED Rtg Club/City Pts.
1 Saeidpour Mona IRI 1829 Tehran 2,0
2 Vakilpour Azin IRI 1819 Gilan 2,0
3 WFM Hejazipour Mitra IRI 2097 Kh. Razavi 2,0
　 Alavi Homa IRI 1916 Tehran 2,0
Rahimi Tara IRI 1862 Golestan 2,0
6 Vardkar Mariam IRI 1811 Kh. Razavi 2,0
7 Asgarizadeh Minoo IRI 1947 Tehran 2,0
8 Azadvari Zahra IRI 1833 Tehran 1,5
9 Bagheri Taleghani Nadia IRI 1783 Tehran 1,5
10 Khalaji Hanieh IRI 1914 Tehran 1,5
11 Derakhshani Dorsa IRI 1749 Tehran 1,5
12 Farhadyar Kiana IRI 0 Tehran 1,0
13 Ghayebi Maral IRI 0 Mazandaran 1,0
14 Afshar Niusha IRI 1807 Tehran 1,0
　 Hakimifard Raana IRI 1784 Tehran 1,0
16 Seyfikar Sima IRI 0 Hamedan 1,0
17 Ghaemmaghami Pegah IRI 1580 Tehran 1,0
　 Sayyadi Parisa IRI 0 Golestan 1,0
19 Moradi Kimia IRI 1802 Tehran 1,0
20 Rashvand Avehei Negar IRI 0 Karadj 1,0
21 Azizi Khatere IRI 0 Gilan 1,0
22 Nikrou Noushin IRI 1555 Karadj 1,0
　 Omidian Nasab Shadi IRI 0 Tehran 1,0
24 Davoodi Yasaman IRI 0 Hormozgan 0,5
25 Moheimani Shadi IRI 0 Golestan 0,5
26 Khandan Zahra IRI 0 Golestan 0,0
27 Eftekhari S Mehrnaz IRI 0 Gilan 0,0
　 Mirzaei Negar IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
29 Ghaziolsharif Kimiya IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
　 Rezaei Panah Maedeh IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
31 Zare Zahra IRI 0 Yazd 0,0
32 Najafi Morvarid IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
　 Sadoughi Solmaz IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
34 Assadi Sara IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
　 Ghafouri Sima IRI 0 Tehran 0,0
36 Hamidi Kousha Nazli IRI 0 Hamedan 0,0
37 WFM Hakimifard Ghazal IRI 2072 Tehran 0,0

2009 Maia Chiburdanidze Cup

International Open Women Chess Tournament Maia Chiburdanidze Cup
04.06-14.06.2009
Tbilisi, Chess Palace
(Georgia, 0179 Tbilisi, M.Kostava str. 37a).

I'm on the hunt for current standings. Unfortunately, the official website link doesn't work and I couldn't find this tournament at chess-results.com.

Here's the full list of participants (from Susan Polgar's blog):

RANK ID_No NAME TITLE WT FED RAT GAME BIRTHDATE SEX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) 13601903 Dzagnidze, Nana.............. g wg GEO 2541 24 01.01.1987 w
2) 14111330 Muzychuk, Anna............... m wg SLO 2533 28.02.1990 w
3) 13300601 Mkrtchian, Lilit............. m mg ARM 2479 09.08.1982 w
4) 13601458 Javakhishvili, Lela.......... m wg GEO 2463 0 23.04.1984 w
5) 13600656 Lomineishvili, Maia.......... m wg GEO 2447 22 11.11.1977 w
6) 14114550 Muzychuk, Mariya............. m mg UKR 2441 21.09.1992 w
7) 13602446 Melia, Salome................ m wg GEO 2440 31 14.04.1987 w
8) 13602055 Khukhashvili, Sopiko......... m wg GEO 2424 26 04.01.1985 w
9) 13600320 Khurtsidze, Nino............. m wg GEO 2424 22 28.09.1975 w
10) 13601440 Gvetadze, Sopio.............. m wg GEO 2364 22 15.11.1983 w
11) 13602640 Khotenashvili, Bela.......... wg wg GEO 2364 18 01.06.1988 w
12) 13601431 Charkhalashvili, Inga........ wg wg GEO 2363 30 23.04.1983 w
13) 13602659 Purtseladze, Maka............ m wg GEO 2327 9 18.02.1988 w
14) 13602888 Guramishvili, Sopiko......... wm wm GEO 2325 38 01.01.1991 w
15) 13301314 Galojan, Lilit............... wg wg ARM 2323 17.06.1983 w
16) 1206435 Hamdouchi, Adina-Maria....... wg wg ROU 2314 25.08.1979 w
17) 13602993 Batsiashvili, Nino........... wg wg GEO 2300 26 01.01.1987 w
18) 13603108 Mikadze, Miranda............. wm wm GEO 2290 11 18.09.1989 w
19) 13600737 Tqeshelashvili, Sopio........ wg wg GEO 2276 0 23.10.1979 w
20) 13600486 Tereladze, Sopiko............ wm wm GEO 2276 0 06.09.1972 w
21) 13600419 Khurtsilava, Inga............ wm wm GEO 2270 0 17.04.1975 w
22) 1205480 Ionica, Iulia-Ionela......... wg wg ROU 2266 04.07.1980 w
23) 13604040 Arabidze, Meri............... wf wf GEO 2258 22 25.02.1994 w
24) 13603434 Tsatsalashvili, Keti......... wm wm GEO 2254 38 10.06.1992 w
25) 13601926 Andriasian, Siranush......... wm wm ARM 2235 04.01.1986 w
26) 13600346 Khmiadashvili, Tamar......... wg wg GEO 2216 0 27.11.1944 w
27) 13600427 Nikoladze, Sopio............. wm wm GEO 2211 0 02.12.1973 w
28) 13602586 Gavasheli, Ana............... wm wm GEO 2202 0 06.03.1987 w
29) 13602560 Vakhania, Alexandra.......... GEO 2150 8 01.12.1986 w
30) 13604031 Zhorzholiani, Meri........... wf wf GEO 2135 0 20.07.1990 w
31) 13603663 Bokuchava, Madona............ wf wf GEO 2120 9 30.10.1990 w
32) 13601164 Tsalughelashvili, Lile....... wf wf GEO 2113i 0 28.09.1979 w
33) 13600397 Melashvili, Nino............. GEO 2100i 0 04.10.1961 w
34) 13602810 Meskhi, Teona................ GEO 2065 9 03.01.1989 w
35) 13603248 Mzhavia, Kristine............ GEO 2059i 0 14.02.1989 w
36) 13601911 Tandashvili, Margarita....... GEO 2055i 0 19.11.1958 w
37) 13603400 Beridze, Tinatin............. GEO 2054 0 08.03.1991 w
38) 13604252 Jalabadze, Natia............. GEO 2041 22 01.03.1994 w
39) 13604643 Rizhamadze, Patman........... GEO 1991 13 08.12.1992 w
40) 13605224 Goglidze, Eka................ GEO 1942 0 28.06.1991 w
41) 13605518 Unapkoshvili, Nani........... GEO 1930 23 05.07.1995 w
42) 13603221 Kalandadze, Nino............. GEO 1925 0 17.12.1988 w
43) 13605348 Kuchava, Ana................. GEO 1922 19 22.03.1995 w
44) 13600974 Imnadze, Nato................ GEO 1885 24 04.05.1996 w
45) 13605470 Tevzadze, Mariam............. GEO 1836 6 23.03.1993 w
46) 13600940 Gogishvili, Dea.............. GEO 1810 26 19.02.1996 w
47) 13601580 Kobeshavidze, Lika........... GEO 1803 34 22.02.1995 w
48) 13605356 Macharashvili, Tekla......... GEO 1786 18 31.01.1996 w
49) 13403729 Mammadzade, Gunay............ AZE 1764 19.06.2000 w
50) 13609335 Kankia, Mariami.............. GEO 1743 0 04.10.1990 w
51) 13603191 Khomeriki, Nino.............. GEO 1625 11 10.03.1998 w
52) 13600990 Liparteliani, Ana............ GEO 1562 16 29.01.1996 w
53) 13605569 Valishvili, Mariam........... GEO 1542 13 21.09.1996 w
54) 13605259 Imnadze, Nino................ GEO 09.09.1960 w
55) 13607847 Shubitidze, Mariam........... GEO 25.08.1999 w
56) 13603515 Tedoshvili, Ana.............. GEO 11.09.1998 w
57) 13606018 Tsomaia, Ia.................. GEO 28.05.1997 w
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a report on standings from The Week in Chess reported on June 8, 2009 (after Round 3 of 9):

Maia Chiburdanidze Cup Tbilisi (GEO), 5-12 vi 2009 Leading Round 3 of 9 Standings:
Pl Name Ti NAT Elo Pts
1 Muzychuk, Mariya m UKR 2441 3
2 Khotenashvili, Bela wg GEO 2364 3
3 Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2533 2.5
4 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2479 2.5
5 Khukhashvili, Sopiko m GEO 2424 2.5
6 Purtseladze, Maka m GEO 2327 2.5
7 Galojan, Lilit wg ARM 2323 2.5
8 Andriasian, Siranush wm ARM 2235 2.5
9 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2541 2.5
10 Melia, Salome m GEO 2440 2.5
11 Batsiashvili, Nino wg GEO 2300 2
12 Arabidze, Meri wf GEO 2258 2
13 Charkhalashvili, Inga wg GEO 2363 2
14 Guramishvili, Sopiko wm GEO 2325 2
15 Khmiadashvili, Tamar wg GEO 2216 2
16 Melashvili, Nino GEO 2100 2
17 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2463 2
18 Gvetadze, Sopio m GEO 2364 2
19 Hamdouchi, Adina-Maria wg ROU 2314 2
20 Tsatsalashvili, Keti wm GEO 2254 2
21 Gavasheli, Ana wm GEO 2202 2
22 Beridze, Tinatin GEO 2054 2
23 Lomineishvili, Maia m GEO 2447 2
24 Khurtsidze, Nino m GEO 2424 2
25 Vakhania, Alexandra GEO 2150 2
26 Macharashvili, Tekla GEO 1786 2
27 Mikadze, Miranda wm GEO 2290 1.5
57 players

Bat Girl and Chess

I don't remember if I've written about Sarah a/k/a Bat Girl and her website, Sarah's Chess Journal.

It's a fascinating collection of information about chess players and chess history.

I don't know why she is Bat Girl, but then, most people don't understand why I'm sometimes called Jan Xena :) After awhile it just gets to be too much to keep explaining over and over...

Check out Bat Girl's archives. I'm adding her site to my list of links - she is in very exclusive company there, darlings! (ok, you can stop laughing now) P.S. I don't know who Bat Girl is, we've never "met" online or otherwise. I can only say this about her: she sure does now how to do research!

Friday Night Miscellany

A short (very short) version, as I'm tired and it's time to go lay my head upon my pillow and dream sweet dreams...

From The Daily Grail - all answers given without reading the article in question)

Is Stonehenge a gateway to the infinite? (Answer: Yes)

We all have fingerprints… ever wonder why? (Answer: No)

What’s in a name? Heavyweight, unstable Element 112 has an identity crisis. (Answer: Is it undergoing menopause?)

Startup turns human waste into fuel… No sh*t? (Answer: People have been burning dried-up poop in various forms for thousands of years. Now someone has finally figured out a way to make money from it??? Duh!)

Good night.

2009 Ukrainian Women's Chess Championship

Final standings, information from The Week in Chess:

ch-UKR w Evpatoria (UKR), 23-31 v 2009
　
1. Doluhanova, Evgeniya wg UKR 2240 7½ 2436
2. Vasilevich, Tatjana m UKR 2399 7½ 2437
3. Kalinina, Olga wm UKR 2159 7 2421
4. Shvayger, Yuliya wf UKR 2160 6 2227
5. Breslavska, Galina wf UKR 2202 6 2195
6. Arutyunova, Diana wg UKR 2264 5½ 2162
7. Tsirulnik, Maritsa 　UKR 2094 5½ 2223
8. Aslanian, Ludmila K wm UKR 2145 5½ 2191
9. Dolzhikova, Kateryna wm UKR 2291 5½ 2120
10. Andrenko, Irina 　 UKR 2201 5½ 2091
11. Huda, Maryana wg UKR 2247 5 2180
12. Ostroverkhova, Elena 　 UKR 2036 5 2265
13. Kostiukova, Liubov m UKR 2220 5 2112
14. Gritsayeva, Oksana wf UKR 2325 5 2178
15. Zingaylo, Anastasiya 　 UKR 2092 5 2140
16. Korniyuk, Mariya 　 UKR 2043 5 2234
17. Goreskul, Alyona wg UKR 2248 5 2086
18. Horoschavina, Olga 　UKR 2073 5 2131
19. Kol'ba, Anastasiya UKR 1845 5 2103
20. Mamedova, Leila 　UKR 2003 4½ 2082
21. Krasiuk, Kateryna UKR 2035 4½ 2085
22. Ivanenko, Olga I UKR 2002 4½ 2147
23. Orlyanskaya, Darya wf UKR 2053 4½ 2158
24. Tantsiura, Marja UKR 2008 4½ 2055
25. Rakhmangulova, Anastasiya UKR 2069 4½ 2099
26. Cherednichenko, Elena wf UKR 2134 4½ 2054
27. Yushko, Olga 　UKR 2113 4½ 2073
28. Bogdan, Darya UKR 1929 4½ 2007
29. Barantseva, Alexandra UKR 1892 4 1996
30. Zingaylo, Antonina UKR 1671 4 1991
31. Petrova, Irina wf UKR 1986 3½ 1961
32. Rudakova, Zhanetta UKR 2026 3½ 1964
33. Feduk, Ivanna UKR 1962 3½ 1967
34. Bezkorovaina, Marija UKR 1875 3½ 1907
35. Trofimova, Anastasiy UKR 1984 3½ 1964
36. Antoshkiv, Anastasiya UKR ---- 3½ 1931 (comes in without a FIDE rating and goes home with 1931 ELO!)
37. Kravchenko, Yana UKR 2046 3 1907
38. Gnidash, Natalia 　 UKR ---- 3 1856 (see comment for 36)
39. Feduk, Irina UKR 1947 3 1853
40. Shitjuk, Bogdana 　 UKR ---- 3 1823 (see comments for 36 and 38)
41. Potapova, Margarita UKR ---- 1 1647 (see comments for 36, 38, and 40)
42. BYE

Engraved Pigments Point to Ancient Symbol Tradition

Hello Ece, are you reading this? This one is just for you.

Story from Sciencenews.org
Engraved pigments point to ancient symbolic tradition
Incisions on ochre from a South African cave suggest modern human behavior emerged around 100,000 years ago (Image: Geometric patterns incised on pieces of ancient pigment, such as these 100,000-year-old finds, may reveal the surprisingly ancient origins of modern human behavior.Credit: Courtesy of C. Henshilwood and F. d’Errico)

By Bruce Bower
Web edition : 1:03 pm

Scientists excavating a Stone Age cave on South Africa’s southern coast have followed a trail of engraved pigments to what they suspect are the ancient roots of modern human behavior.

Analyses of 13 chunks of decorated red ochre (an iron oxide pigment) from Blombos Cave indicate that a cultural tradition of creating meaningful geometric designs stretched from around 100,000 to 75,000 years ago in southern Africa, say anthropologist Christopher Henshilwood of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and his colleagues. Their report appears online and in an upcoming Journal of Human Evolution.

Much debate surrounds the issue of when and where language, religion, symbolic decorations and other facets of modern human behavior originated. Researchers such as Henshilwood hypothesize that modern human behavior developed gradually in Africa, beginning more than 100,000 years ago. Others posit that a brain-boosting genetic mutation around 50,000 years ago fostered modern behavior in Africa. Some researchers suspect that behavioral advances first appeared in Europe, Asia and Africa at that later time.

Possible examples of symbolic behavior from around 100,000 years ago — such as proposed human burials in the Middle East and pigment use in Africa — have been controversial.

"What makes the Blombos engravings different is that some of them appear to represent a deliberate will to produce a complex abstract design," Henshilwood says. “We have not before seen well-dated and unambiguous traces of this kind of behavior at 100,000 years ago.”

Further studies need to confirm that the ancient incisions were not the result of, say, slicing into ochre with stone tools in order to remove powder quickly, cautions anthropologist Curtis Marean of Arizona State University in Tempe, who studies ancient human behavior at another South African cave (SN: 10/20/07, p. 243). [Anyone looking at the patterns scored into the small pigment stones would probably conclude otherwise. One would not have to score a specific geometric pattern into a pigment stone in order to remove colored pigment to mix paint. Any way of pulverizing pigment off the stone would do, including just making gouges. This is just common sense.]

Even if the Blombos pigments contain intentional designs, fully modern human behavior — such as the use of figurative art (SN: 6/20/09, p. 11) — didn’t emerge until tens of thousands of years later, contends archaeologist Nicholas Conard of the University of Tuebingen, Germany. [Hmmm, could this contention possibly have anything to do with the fact that, for instance, the Willendorf Venus was found in Germany, and dates to c. 35,000 years ago?]

Henshilwood and study coauthor Francesco d’Errico of the University of Bordeaux I in Talence, France, disagree. In their view, the Blombos pigments bear intentionally fashioned designs that held some sort of meaning and were passed down the generations for 25,000 years. Thus, the two researchers say, it’s likely that a 100,000-year-old society already steeped in symbolic behavior originally produced the ochre engravings.

In 2002, Henshilwood’s team described evidence of symbolic engravings on two other ochre pieces from Blombos Cave. Those 77,000-year-old finds were excavated in 1999 and 2000.

Engraved chunks of pigment in the new analysis were unearthed during the same excavations. Specimens came from either of three sediment levels with estimated ages of 72,000 years, 77,000 years and 100,000 years.

A microscopic analysis indicates that ochre designs were made by holding a piece of pigment with one hand while impressing lines into the pigment with the tip of a stone tool. On several pieces, patterns covered areas that had first been ground down.

Geometric patterns on the ochre pieces include cross-hatched designs, branching lines, parallel lines and right angles. [See images at beginning of article].

Pigment powder had also been removed from many of the recovered ochre chunks. Incised patterns may have served as models for pigment designs applied to animal skins or other material, the scientists speculate.

Excavations of Blombos Cave sediment from before 100,000 years ago have begun. “The discovery of more, and perhaps even more striking, engravings is very possible,” Henshilwood says. [That remains to be seen...]

Nine mysteries of Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb

Amazing how 8's and 9's keep cropping up time and time again in ancient board game iconography.

Story from the People's Daily Online. I don't know why Questions 5 through 7 were left blank with no answers - not even an attempt at answers. Really bad form, People's Daily Online! Bad form!

17:09, June 11, 2009

The silent guardians of the tomb of Chinese emperor Qinshihuang are among the most important archeological finds of the 20th century. In the more than three decades since the underground legions of Terra Cotta Warriors were unearthed, millions from China and around the world have visited this eighth wonder of the world. However, until now there are still many mysteries about the tomb of Qinshihuang, which leave limitless space for people's imagination. Here are the nine most frequently questioned ones.

First: How deep is the underground palace?

According to history books like Shih Chi where the author Si Maqian comments, "down through three streams of spring", it is believed that the underground palace of Qin Shihuang's tomb is much deeper than can be reached. But how deep is it? That is still an unresolved question today.

Second: How many doors dose the underground palace have?

Actually the answer to the number of underground palace doors was put in Shih Chi thousands of years ago. However, it did not get attention from scholars.

Third: Is it true that the palace has many astronomical and geographical scenes?

According to what is recorded in the Shih Chi, the underground palace has many astronomical and geographical scenes. Is it true or not? Or, do the descriptions about the palace have some other meanings?

Fourth: Does mercury really exit in the palace or not?

The Shih Chi says Qin Shihuang created rivers and seas with mercury. And similar words appear in Han Shu, too. However, we may never know the truth about it.

Fifth: How many rare jewels and precious stones did the palace seal and what are they?

Sixth: Was the coffin of Qin Shihuang made from copper or wood?

Seventh: Whether the underground palace has empty space or not?

Eighth: About the automatic transmitter.

It is well known that Qin Shihuang had spent huge efforts on preventing thieves. According to the Shih Chi, there is hidden equipment that can launch crossbows automatically to kill intruders. If this passage of words is true, that equipment could be the earliest automatic theft-proof equipment

Ninth: Is the body of Qin Shihuang well-preserved?

The well-preserved female mummified body discovered in the 1970s gave the whole world a great shock. Since that woman would have been alive around the same time as Qin Shihuang, people started to think of the possibility of a mummified Qin Shihuang. However, all the mysteries are still unknown until such time as the underground palace can be revealed before the people.

By People's Daily Online

"Schoolgirls" Clinch Victory!

Yeah, but these are not your ordinary schoolgirls :)

Story at http://www.star.co.uk/ (serving South Yorkshire) (Photo from story: Winners: Francesca Fozard, Amy Greenhough, Rebekah Brown, Evie Hollingworth, Anna Cunningham and Megumi Parbrook)

Schoolgirls clinch victory in national chess championship
Published Date: 11 June 2009
By Richard Marsden
BRAINY schoolgirls from South Yorkshire tested their tactics and concentration to the limit to win a national chess championship.

Evie Hollingworth, aged 14, and Megumi Parbrook, 11, from Sheffield, Francesca Fozard, 13, from Barnsley, and Anna Cunningham, 11, from Rotherham, made up two-thirds of the victorious under 14s girls Yorkshire team.

They were joined by Rebekah Brown, 14, from Leeds, and Amy Greenhough, 13, from Bradford, to win the day-long contest in Leicestershire.

Opponents were from Lincolnshire, Worcestershire, Kent, and reigning eight-times champions Surrey.

The competition involved three rounds of games lasting almost two hours each. Yorkshire got off to a stunning start, winning every match in the first round and remaining undefeated in the second with four wins and two draws.

Going into the last round, the team was two points ahead of Kent and after losing two games, it came down to a nailbiting finish resting on the result of the last game – Yorkshire against Kent.

Delighted team manager John Hipshon said: "It was a thrilling and tense finish. A victory for either player would have resulted in their team taking the title but our player kept her cool under pressure and won.

"It was a very tough competition at a high standard. To come away with the trophy is a real achievement."

Iryna Zenyuk Simul

WFM Iryna Zenyuk will be giving a simul on June 13, 2009 at the Jackson (Wyoming) Chess Club, starting at 5:30 p.m., as part of a tournament scheduled for that day:

Rounds will begin at 9 and 11 a.m., and 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. at 3155 Beech Bluff Road. Directions and a map are available at the club's Web site, jacksontnchessclub.com. Registration will be from 8 to 8:30 a.m. on site for $35. A variety of food and beverages are included in the entry fee.

All participants in the tournament will be able to take part in the simul.

Full article.

Iryna, who moved to the United States in 2001, finished 7th in the 2008 U.S. Women's Chess Championship after winning one of the qualifying spots.

New Research Resources Online - for Free!

Great news for researchers and people interested in ancient history and archaeology!

Story 1: The University of Chicago News Office (reported at newswise.com)
Source: University of Chicago
Released: Tue 02-Jun-2009, 16:00 ET
Scholarship on Ancient Middle East Becomes Free Digitally

Newswise — A wealth of material that documents the ancient Middle East has become available through a new, free online service at the Oriental Institute.


The material comes from the extensive collection at the institute, which is a major publisher of important academic books on the languages, history and cultures of the ancient Middle East. The effort began in 1906, when the University started issuing publications that have been essential for studying the past.


Since that time, more than 272 books have been published, ranging from dictionaries of the Assyrian and Hittite languages, to historical and archaeological studies and oversized folio volumes that document Egyptian temples and tombs.


Gil Stein, Director of the Oriental Institute, said, “Our publications are the lasting record of our excavations and research. They are fundamental tools for scholars of the ancient Middle East throughout the world. Making these books available to our colleagues, to educators and the public reflects our mission to share knowledge.”


Publication of its research is a central tenet of the mission of the Oriental Institute. Equally important is making that research accessible to scholars and individuals throughout the world.


Toward that end, in October 2004, the Oriental Institute announced the Electronic Publications Initiative, which stated that all publications of the Oriental Institute would be simultaneously published in print and electronically.

New titles are made available for free download at the same time they are issued in print. Individuals, libraries and institutions may download one complimentary copy for personal use from the Oriental Institute’s Web site: https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/.

More than a thousand copies of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary have been downloaded since May 2008.
To date, 147 Adobe PDFs (portable document files), each containing an entire book, can be accessed at the site. Many of those titles are older publications that have long been out of print. An additional 125 older titles, which comprise the institute’s Egyptological collection published since the 1920s, such as the Epigraphic Survey, are being scanned in preparation for free Internet distribution.


Another 138 older titles, which document the institute’s research on Anatolian, Arabic, Iranian, Mesopotamian, Syro/Palestinian cultures, among others, will continue to be scanned and distributed as time and funds permit.


Response to the EPI has been overwhelming, with positive comments received from all over the world. Complimentary Web distribution ensures that publications of the Oriental Institute, whether new or old, are made available to everyone with access to the Internet, especially in countries where the institute conducts research.


Thomas Urban, manager of the Publications Department at the Oriental Institute, said, “Technology now makes it possible for us to make these works widely available. So much effort goes into each volume—the author’s original research, editorial work, artwork and photography. It is rewarding that these books, many of which are long out of print, can be consulted.”

Statistics on downloads of electronic files and sales of printed books have been carefully tracked, and the Publication Sales office has noted that the availability of free downloads has not adversely impacted the sale of the printed volumes. In fact, the availability of free PDFs of titles has increased print sales. After the complimentary distribution of 21 titles—books that had not been accessible via the Internet before 2008—print sales of those same titles increased by 7 percent compared to the previous two years.

“It seemed counterintuitive that making the electronic files available without charge would actually stimulate the sale of hard copies, but that is what we are seeing,” Urban said. “We suspect that people are sampling the book through the download, then they decide they want a hard copy. This is an important message to others who are contemplating making their books available on the Internet,” he added.


Print copies of the publications are available through the Oriental Institute’s distributor, David Brown Books: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/.

© 2009 Newswise. All Rights Reserved.

Story 2: From voxy.co.nz (New Zealand)
Archaeologists Unveil New Zealand Digital Resource
Tuesday, 9 June, 2009 - 14:27

An online digital resource that records archaeological sites in New Zealand called ArchSite (www.ArchSite.org.nz) will be officially launched on Wednesday 10 June at the New Zealand Archaeological Association's (NZAA) annual conference in Wellington. In 2007 the Department of Internal Affairs contributed funding to the NZAA to develop the Site Recording Scheme (SRS) into an online resource, with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) and Department of Conservation providing support as project partners. The SRS - the largest non-government archaeological site recording scheme in the world - has been active for 51 years and currently holds 61,000 paper records on this country's archaeological sites. NZAA president and NZHPT archaeologist Dr Matthew Schmidt said having the online service will make it much easier for members of the public, archaeologists and organisations to access information.

"The public will be able to access archaeological data and use it for a range of things - for example, site management, education on our early history and appreciating Maori, Pakeha and Chinese heritage.

"The launch night will mark the time when subscribers to the full online SRS service can access information. Basic information on New Zealand archaeological sites will also be able to be accessed by the public for free."

The SRS has become crucial in supporting the archaeological provisions of the Historic Places Act 1993 and the protection of artefacts under the Protected Objects Act 1975. The online service will provide 'feature streaming' so archaeological site data can be directly fed into Geographic Information Systems (GIS). In addition, an interactive web service will enable recorded archaeological sites to be viewed against a geographic map of New Zealand and allow information layers, such as topographic maps, survey information and legal descriptions for properties, to be displayed.

"We're pretty much at the halfway mark of this project. It has taken 18 months of hard work to develop and build the system and over the next 18 months the NZAA will continue to add, refine and check digitised data," Dr Schmidt said.

"The Site Recording Scheme was originally a special interest database but is now used, particularly by local authorities, in planning and legal issues for site identification, protection and management."

The NZAA is an independent, non-profit voluntary association made up of professional and amateur member archaeologists. It was founded in 1956 and in 1958 it established the NZAA Site Recording Scheme - a paper-based system containing field notes, plans, photographs and drawings of archaeological sites throughout New Zealand and from the off-shore islands. The NZAA's annual conference runs in Wellington from 10-14 June, with its theme this year being Archaeology in the Digital Age.

Story 3: From Ansa.it
Italy puts Baghdad Museum online
June 9, 2009

(ANSA) - Rome, June 9 - The treasures of Baghdad's National Museum went online for the first time Tuesday as Italy inaugurated the Virtual Museum of Iraq as part of an ongoing cultural collaboration between the two countries.

Looted during the United States-led invasion in 2003, the Baghdad Museum partially reopened in February after six years but the website is designed to make its most important artefacts accessible to everyone.

The site (www.virtualmuseumiraq.cnr.it), in Arabic, English and Italian, offers visitors the chance to walk through eight virtual halls and admire works from the prehistoric to the Islamic period, while videoclips reconstruct the history of the country's main cities.

''It's not a simple container of the objects in the museum but a real virtual journey, created for the general public and the scientific community, across 6,000 years of Mesopotamian history,'' said Italy's National Research Council Director Roberto De Mattei.

Among the artefacts on display in the Sumerian hall of the virtual museum is the famous Warka Mask, a marble head of a woman from Uruk dated to 3,400-3,100 BC, which, as with many of the works, visitors can rotate to get an almost 360 degree view.

In the Assyrian hall visitors can also admire colossal limestone statues of human-headed, winged bulls called lamassu, dated to the eight and ninth centuries BC, that guarded the ancient cities of Nimrud on the River Tigris and Dur Sharrukin, modern-day Khorsabad.

Presenting the website Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the virtual museum ''has allowed Italy's excellence in this field to shine and above all to make culture a tool to allow a population that has suffered greatly from the war to get back on their feet, to find through their own cultural and historic heritage a sense of unity''.

The speaker of Italy's lower house, Gianfranco Fini, who promoted the virtual museum as foreign minister in 2005, was also present at the inauguration.

Italy contributed one million euros and provided expert staff to help restore the museum, creating a restoration laboratory in Baghdad and overhauling the museum's Assyrian and Islamic galleries.

In February Frattini said Italy would help Iraq create a new police unit to fight the trafficking of stolen works based on Italy's crack team of art cops, who have gained a worldwide reputation for their work in recovering stolen works and stopping illegal trading.

He said Italy also planned to help reopen the museums of Najaf and Nassiriya near the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, recorded in the Bible as the birthplace of Abraham.

Present-day Iraq lies on the site of ancient Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Baghdad museum boasts one of the best collections of ancient artefacts in the world.

Around 15,000 of the museum's relics were carried off during a 48-hour looting spree in 2003 in the wake of the US invasion.Denounced as the most catastrophic theft of antiquities since World War II, the plundering sparked international outrage and condemnation of America for failing to prevent the thefts. [Yeah, right. And no outrage against the locals who carried out the massive looting? What a crock of you know what!]

Italian art cops were enlisted in the race to track down the looted treasures.

While around 6,000 works have been returned, including the Warka Mask, many other pieces are still missing.

The police believe many of the treasures found their way to a collection centre [where? Iran, for instance? It's well known the Revolutionary Guard who prop up the regime for the Ayatollahs are up to their necks in trafficking illegal antiquities] for smuggled Iraqi artefacts which has contacts with interested buyers, particularly in Britain, Switzerland and the United States.

Treasure Trove: Two Tons of Ancient Coins!

Ohmygoddess! Here's the story:

Two tonnes of ancient coins found in history-laden Chinese province
www.chinaview.cn 2009-06-10 15:49:24

XI'AN, June 10 (Xinhua) -- More than two tonnes of ancient coins dating back to as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907) have been unearthed on a playground of a primary school in Shaanxi Province, northwest China.

Zhao Aiguo, director of the cultural relics protection and tourism bureau in Liquan County, Shaanxi, told Xinhua Wednesday that the coins were found when workers were excavating the grounds Tuesday for construction of another building.

They reported their discovery to the bureau and soon more than 70 archaeologists, officials and police were sent to the site.

It took more than five hours to dig the ancient coins out of a vault made of grey bricks.

Zhao said they were in circulation for more than 750 years during the Tang, Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) Dynasties.

The vault measures 1.5 meters in width and length and one meter in height. It is believed to have been built during the Yuan Dynasty.

The coins have been sent to a local museum and archaeologists were counting them. Because there were so many, it might take a week to know the exact number and categories, Zhao said.

The site of the discovery was part of a temple built by an ancient emperor in memory of his mother between 180 BC and 157 BC. Zhao cited archaeologists as saying that the coins might be donations from believers who visited the temple.

In 2006, archaeologists in the same province discovered an ancient tomb, possibly of a coin collector, dating back more than 600 years. It contained more than 150 coins of 20 kinds from the Tang, Song and Jin (1115-1234) Dynasties, spanning about 600 years.

Editor: Yao

Goddess Alive!

At last.... Oh, Miss Etta James, sing it for us, lady!

Here's a magazine dedicated only to the Goddess:

GODDESS ALIVE!

Oops! Mea culpa! I see from the copyright notice at the bottom of this magazine that it's been available since at least 2002. Er. Well, better late than never, darlings.

Well - knock me off my chair with a feather! The current issue (Issue No. 15 - Spring/Summer 2009) starts with a short piece (online) featuring what sure looks like a rock carving of a fecund female, popularly known as a "Venus": The Acheulian Ancient Mother: The Oldest Goddess in the World. Take a look!

The thing is, "[T]he figurine was found between two layers of volcanic ash, the upper one 232,000 and the lower one 800,000 years old."

Okay - so you're thinking this HAS to be wrong. And so did I - except earlier today (one of those synchronicity things that regularly crops up in my life), I just happened to briefly read at Science Daily (don't have a url) that so-called "modern man" dates back to about 200,000 years ago. So much for Cro-Magnon Man appearing 35,000 years ago like I was taught in high school years ago. Ha!

So, it is entirely possible that this little "Venus," beautifully shaped using the natural properties of the stone on which she was carved, is as old as "modern man," and possibly even older - much older. What is even more intriguing is that this discovery raises the possibility that the "hominids" who lived in this area where the Venus was found had enough cognitive abilities to create art that predated by far, the oldest representations of "art" of which we are aware; this was something of which the experts say only "modern man" was capable.

I need to do more research on this intriguing find from the Golan Heights in 1981.

Chess Camp Begins!

Summer camps and outreach sponsored by the Wisconsin Scholastic Chess Federation are all ready to go! All right!!!

WSCF Summer Camps Begins
Tournament Dates Reservation Begin
In this Newsletter:
Summer Camps Begin
Juneteenth Days on June 19
Tournament Date Resevations Begin

WSCF Summer Chess Camp Registration and Information Form.

WSCF summer camps are designed for the beginner to intermediate player, grades K - 12, rated 1400 and below in the Wisconsin and USCF Rating systems. All students will be challenged at their level with
individual assignments as needed. Students will work toward their pawn, knight and bishop certificates. All camps will conduct a 5 round Swiss tournament and all participants will receive a medal. Top three participants
will receive a WSCF t-shirt. Camps are designed for a balance of teaching, chess play, competitive play and fun.

Questions to: WSCFSummercamps@wisconsinscholasticchess.org.
If registering with the WSCF, complete and mail to WSCF Summer Camps, P.0. Box 170843,
Whitefish Bay, WI 53092

June 22 - 23 - 24 Wausau Chess Camp For Information and Registration download information flyer for the Wausau Chess Camp. $60

June 22 - 26 JCC Mequon Water Park 1:00 - 4:00 pm $95, $125 Non-member Register with the JCC at 262-964-4444 or on their website at http://www.jccmilwaukee.org/

June 29 - July 2th Kohler Elementary School 8:30 - 12:00 noon $45
333 Upper Road Kohler, WI 53044

July 6 - 10 JCC Mequon Water Park 1:00 - 4:00 pm $95, $125 Non-member Register with the JCC at 262-964-4444 or on their website at http://www.jccmilwaukee.orgj/

July 13 - 14 - 15 Advanced Camp with Dr. Sheldon Gelbart and John Veech.
This camp will work on end game strategy and study famous endgames of the masters. Will also work on overall strategy, tempo and time management. For players over 1200 in the Wisconsin and USCF rating systems. 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. $105. At Our Lord and Savior United Methodist Church. 5000 Sunnyslope Road New Berlin 53151 Register with on line form and mail to WSCF.

July 20 - 24 N'Joy Coffee and Tea, 8:30 to 12:00 , $60 651 Walton Drive Plymouth, WI 53073

August 3 - 7 JCC Mequon Water Park 1:00 - 4:00 pm $95, $125 Non-member Register with the JCC at 262-964-4444 or on their website at www.jccmilwaukee.org

August 10 - 14 Peawaukee Elementary School Camp 8:30 - 12:00 noon , $60 Lake Elementary School, Cafeteria, 436 Lake St. Pewaukee 53072

August 17 - 21 Daniels-Mardak Boys & Girls Club, 1:00 - 4:30, Free for B&G mem; $25 students living in City of Milwaukee; $60 outside Milwaukee.
3500 Mother Daniels Way, Milwaukee, WI 53209 Register for this camp by
mail or submit at any Milwaukee Boys & Girls Clubs.

August 17 - 21 Whitefish Bay Recreation Department Chess Camp 8:30 to 12:00 $75 resident/$85 non-resident. Course code: 160506 Lydell Community Center 5205 N. Lydell Avenue, 53217
Register with the Whitefish Bay Recreation Dept. at 414-963-3947

Registration: Complete this form print and mail to WSCF.
Circle the camp(s) above you wish to attend. Do not register here for JCC's or Wausau camp or Whitefish Bay Camp.

Student Name _________________________________________ Birth Date ________________
Address ____________________________________ City ________________ Zip ___________
School of Attendance _____________________________________________________________
Wisconsin Rating ____________ USCF ______________ No rating _________ (please check)
Parents/Guardians Name ________________________________________________________________
Phone(s) : Home___________ Cell ____________ Work____________ Enclosed: _$______

Juneteenth Days Chess Tent
Each of the last two years WSCF has put up a chess tent on June 19th and take part in one of the largest celebration of Juneteenth Day in the country. We pass out WSCF Literature, sell boards and t-shirts and take on all comers for $2. If they win they get their money back. Youth pay a $1. Come by and play chess or make a donation to WSCF.

2009-2010 Tournament Reservations
We are currently scheduling dates for the upcoming season. Some months fill up quickly so please contact Bob at http://us.mc379.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bob@wisconsinscholasticchess.org asap. We will send you a contract and you can send back a deposit. If deposits are not recieved by Sept. 10 we will take your school off the schedule and not put the tournament in the program catalog. We are also interested in editing or evolving the contract. We are looking for a small committe of 4 -6 past tournament hosts to go over and discuss procedures and pricing. We will do this via a chat room and email that will be set up for that purpose. This work needs to be done by August 1st so contracts can go out. If you would like to be on this committee please let us know asap.

2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship

Check out the uber-cool website for the 2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship! September 11 - 13, 2009.

Goddesschess is pleased to sponsor three Class Prizes just for the chess femmes in Classes B, C and D this year.

Here is some background about the Montreal Championship:

The first official Montreal Championship dates to 1923.

In 1938, a women's club, "La Circle Femina," was born. With its yearly club championship tournaments, it was dynamic enough to give birth to distinct Women's Championship events from 1949 to 1952. Then it stopped. It was shortly revived in 1964 and 1966, after which there are no records of any subsequent event.

The tradition of a large open championship was established in 1950 and (with minor variations), has been going strong ever since. The Canadian player who has won the most Championship titles is Montreal-born GM Kevin Spraggett (now resides in Portugal), who won it EIGHT times!

In addition to the link to the official website above, you can find more information about this great event at the official website for the Quebec Chess Federation (Federation quebecoise des echecs).

It will be held at the Centre de loisirs (Recreation Center) Sts-Martyrs-Canadiens, a grand, beautiful place that took my breath away the first time I saw it. Here is a photo that dondelion took of yours truly in one of the gardens at the Center in October, 2002. It's twin JanXenas under the sign of the pesch en kef - run for the hills, EEK!

Southwest Chess Club: Sizzling Summer Cook-off Swiss!

Hola everyone! My adopted chess club, Southwest Chess Club, is introducing a new tournament just in time for summer! How about a nice blue font, to celebrate the gorgeous robin's egg blue summer skies! Tom, are you serving grilled brats and hotdogs???

This Thursday, June 11, a new tournament starts at the Southwest Chess Club. The Sizzling Summer Cook-off Swiss is a two section, three round tournament with games on June 11, 18 and 25 (7 PM start time each night). Time Control is Game in 100 minutes. See details below. We plan to start promptly at 7:00 p.m. this Thursday. Registration is 6:30-6:50 p.m. I will close the registration at 6:50, and if you arrive after first-round pairings are prepared, you will have to take a 1/2-point bye in the first round.

However, if you want to play but anticipate being a few minutes late, please e-mail me at: tfogec@fogec.com, or call me (414-425-6742) anytime this week up until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, so I can include you in the pairings. If you need a first round half point bye, please let me know as soon as possible.

I hope to see everybody on Thursday for the Sizzling Summer Cook-off Swiss.

Remember we continue to play at our new location: St. James Catholic Church, 7219 S. 27th Street, Franklin, WI 53132. Use the south entrance to the Parish Center building, which is directly in front of the church.

Tom Fogec
Tournament Director
414-425-6742
tfogec@wi.rr.com

Sizzling Summer Cook-off Swiss: June 11, 18 & 25
3-Round Swiss in Two Sections. (Open and Under 1600) Game/100
minutes. USCF Rated. EF: $5. One ½ Point Bye
available for any round (except last round) if requested at least 2-days
prior to round. TD is Tom Fogec; ATD is Robin Grochowski.

2009 French Women's Chess Championship

I saw the announcement today at Chessdom.com:

The French Women Chess Championship 2009 (National féminin 2009) will take place in Nimes, the south of France, from 10th to 22nd of August 2009. Jean-Claude Moingt (President of the French Chess Federation) first announced the news on Chess & Strategy in November 2008, now details are available.

There will be 6 participants in a double round robin. It is a change from last year when 12 players competed in the event. This year's contenders for the French title are:
IM Almira Skripchenko 2449, IM Sophie Millet 2379, WGM Maria Leconte 2334, IM Silvia Collas 2316, WFM Nino Maisuradze 2261, WFM Pauline Guichard 2257

Average ELO: 2332,7

Update: Shira Evans and Computer Labs for Kids

Here is the latest on Shira Evans' Foundation, Computer Labs for Kids, that provides free laptop computers and training on how to use them to underprivileged children around the world. I'm summarizing in my own words:

The Egypt trip has, unfortunately, been cancelled. However, thanks to a friend that Shira knows through ICC (Internet Chess Club), Shira will next be travelling to Portugal and she is very excited about this new project. I can't wait to hear about it.

You can follow Shira's projects at Facebook, where she posts her videos and updates on her projects. You can also find her videos at You Tube.

Shira wants to play a game of chess with me on ICC! LOL! All the years I was reporting on Shira's results at the various tournaments she played in as an American chess femme, all those emails we exchanged, it never occurred to me that Shira didn't realize that I am the worst chess player in the entire world and, quite possibly, the entire Universe. I'm nearly certain I didn't represent myself to her as a great WGM, for instance :))) Geez - I don't even have an account at ICC!

Oh oh, panic time...

Hmmm, okay, I just had a hot flash in my brain (I still occasionally get them even though I'm post-menopausal for nearly 10 years now). Would you pay $$$ to see me get my newly-toned and much trimmer butt handed to me on a chessboard by Ms. Shira? All $$$ would be donated directly to Computer Labs for Kids.

Well, just a thought. Who can I get as a trainer...

Photo: From the official website of the Wyoming Chess Association and the Cheyenne Chess Club, at the time of the 2nd Tri-State Championship,
October 15 - 16, 2005, in Jackson, Wyoming. Shira is the chess femme on the right.

A Different Kind of Fraud at the Brooklyn Museum

Mr. Don and I spent May 17th exploring the Brooklyn Museum - wish we'd had two full days dedicated to doing that instead of only one. Now I came across this sad story at The New York Times. Geez!

Arts, Briefly
Former Brooklyn Museum Employee Arrested
By ROBIN POGREBIN; Compiled by DAVE ITZKOFF
Published: June 5, 2009

A former payroll manager for the Brooklyn Museum stole more than $620,000 from the institution by issuing fake paychecks that were directly deposited into his bank account, according to court papers made public on Thursday. The former employee, Dwight Newton, 40, faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud if convicted. Mr. Newton worked at the museum, right, from 2002 until he resigned in 2008. Starting in 2005, the complaint said, he created a payroll profile for a fictitious employee with the name “Brooklyn Museum” or “Brooklyn” and subsequently issued checks that went into his personal account.

The theft was discovered during a routine annual review of payroll documents, the museum said. Mr. Newton was arrested and charged on Thursday and was released on bond. He was not available for comment on Friday. A woman who answered the phone at his home in East Brunswick, N.J., said, “No comment.”

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This Newton is no known relative of mine! According to family lore, our Newton family name was translated from the French words for "new town" sometime in the late 18th century or early 19th century when my great-great-great-(great?)-grandfather was working as a lumberjack near what is now Antigo, Wisconsin (Wisconsin wasn't a state back then and Antigo probably didn't exist) and the locals couldn't wrap their tongues around the French pronounciation of our surname. Well, that's the family lore, at least. That same family lore further reports that the ancestral Newton came over to Louisiana, which was then French territory, some time during the 1700's - no reason given for leaving France behind but, based upon his descendants, it probably was not due to religious persecution :)

Family lore further reports that said Newton, with his family (no mention of family coming over from France, so I assume said Newton Pater married or, at the very least, procreated, upon arrival in the New World), worked their way up the Mississippi River, presumably leaving Newton family seedlings all along the way, until finally settling down to work as lumberjacks in the Antigo (Wisconsin) area.

I am given to understand that I have third or fourth or fifth removed cousins still in and about Antigo whom I've not met, and am unlikely to do so. Wait - I believe those are cousins on the side of my Grandmother Ida Newton, whose maiden name was Bellanger (my dad insisted that the name was pronounced in the French way, Be-LAUN-shay), whose second cousin of a second cousin (or something like that) was the mother (or father) of a famous major league pitcher whose last name was Bellanger, only I don't remember his first name and I don't remember what team he pitched for, but it had to have been sometime in the 1950's or early 1960's.

The person I remember most from all of the behind-the-hands talk about ancestors is my Uncle Jack Bellanger, who almost never showed up but I do remember as a handsome "old man" with sparkling blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled, tall and lean, and always dressed in a suit and driving a big car. I realize now, as I did not as a child, that Uncle Jack was actually my Grandmother Newton's brother - don't know if he was an older brother or younger brother. I don't remember what color hair he had, only that he wore a big ring with a blue stone on one of his hands (I don't remember which hand) and he was always smartly dressed. And he seemed to always have money, or at least, what passed for money in our family, which isn't saying much. By all accounts (whispered around the dining table after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners) Uncle Jack was a real lady-killer and he may have been married several times. I don't exactly remember, but I have a vague recollection that Uncle Jack died either shortly before, or shortly after, my Grandmother Newton died, I think that was about 1960 - I was 8 or 9 and you don't think about such things at that age. Now that I'm thinking about it, I believe I heard a story somewhere along the line that it may have been Uncle Jack who introduced my dad to his first wife (something I only heard about in half-whispered conversations when I used to hid under the dining room table after meals). I think her name was Victoria - or else that was the name of my older half-sister born of the marriage. Anyway, it didn't last long and ended in divorce (or maybe an annulment). And then my father met my mother and the rest, as they say, is history -- four daughters and two sons later. Eek!

With such illustrious antecedents, no way am I related to a dude in East Brunswick, New Jersey named Dwight. Anyway, we don't have such a dweeby name as Dwight in our family line!

Blast from the Past: Those Las Vegas Showgirls "Do" Tessellations!

(Image: Tiled ceiling showing use of tessellated patterns, Shiraz, Iran).

Goddess' truth! As I was looking up the definition of onomatopoeia for the previous post about domestication of cats, I grabbed my trusty 30+ year old edition of Webster's Collegiate Dictionary off the bookshelf in the den and flipped it open as I settled it above my computer keyboard; it opened to pages 1204 and 1205. On the upper right hand side, page 1205, are the key words "tessellation (to) tethering."

When I saw "tessellation" I immediately thought of a Las Vegas Showgirls article that Isis and I put together many moons ago! Check it out:

Chess - Tesselations - Knight's Tour - Escher - "Harry Potter
May 20, 2003

(Note to self: Please take Mr. Don to task for forgetting his editing task to such an extent that he omitted to close the quote at the end of "Harry Potter. Of course, I suppose that could have been taken as a sign of things to come back then...)

For further information on the blow-your-mind subject of tessellations:

Lots of cool tessellation graphics at Tessellations.org
Refresher on what a tessellation is from Math Forum: What Is a Tessellation?

The word tessellation is derived from the Latin word for tile - "tesserae" - as in mosaic tiles. Although the art of creating amazing mosaics out of small bits of colored clay or stone tiles was known from before the Roman period, my recollection is that it was the Persians under Islamic rule who took the art to its highest form, creating intricate geometrical colored patterns out of myriad tesserae and larger glazed bricks. See, for instance, Iran: Visual Arts: History of Iranian Tile.

New Evidence on Domestication of Cats

(Image: Bastet, from the Louvre Museum, 26th Dynasty, 664 - 332 BCE)

It's a lengthy article. Here are the key points summarized neatly at Scientific American Online:

• Unlike other domesticated creatures, the house cat contributes little to human survival. Researchers have therefore wondered how and why cats came to live among people.


• Experts traditionally thought that the Egyptians were the first to domesticate the cat, some 3,600 years ago.


• But recent genetic and archaeological discoveries indicate that cat domestication began in the Fertile Crescent, perhaps around 10,000 years ago, when agriculture was getting under way.


• The findings suggest that cats started making themselves at home around people to take advantage of the mice and food scraps found in their settlements.

From the June 2009 Scientific American Magazine
The Evolution of House Cats

By Carlos A. Driscoll, Juliet Clutton-Brock, Andrew C. Kitchener and Stephen J. O'Brien

It is by turns aloof and affectionate, serene and savage, endearing and exasperating. Despite its mercurial nature, however, the house cat is the most popular pet in the world. A third of American households have feline members, and more than 600 million cats live among humans worldwide. Yet as familiar as these creatures are, a complete understanding of their origins has proved elusive. Whereas other once wild animals were domesticated for their milk, meat, wool or servile labor, cats contribute virtually nothing in the way of sustenance or work to human endeavor. How, then, did they become commonplace fixtures in our homes?

Scholars long believed that the ancient Egyptians were the first to keep cats as pets, starting around 3,600 years ago. But genetic and archaeological discoveries made over the past five years have revised this scenario—and have generated fresh insights into both the ancestry of the house cat and how its relationship with humans evolved.

Cat’s Cradle
The question of where house cats first arose has been challenging to resolve for several reasons. Although a number of investigators suspected that all varieties descend from just one cat species—Felis silvestris, the wildcat—they could not be certain. In addition, that species is not confined to a small corner of the globe. It is represented by populations living throughout the Old World—from Scotland to South Africa and from Spain to Mongolia—and until recently scientists had no way of determining unequivocally which of these wildcat populations gave rise to the tamer, so-called domestic kind. Indeed, as an alternative to the Egyptian origins hypothesis, some researchers had even proposed that cat domestication occurred in a number of different locations, with each domestication spawning a different breed. Confounding the issue was the fact that members of these wildcat groups are hard to tell apart from one another and from feral domesticated cats with so-called mackerel-tabby coats because all of them have the same pelage pattern of curved stripes and they interbreed freely with one another, further blurring population boundaries.

In 2000 one of us (Driscoll) set out to tackle the question by assembling DNA samples from some 979 wildcats and domestic cats in southern Africa, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the Middle East. Because wildcats typically defend a single territory for life, he expected that the genetic composition of wildcat groups would vary across geography but remain stable over time, as has occurred in many other cat species. If regional indigenous groups of these animals could be distinguished from one another on the basis of their DNA and if the DNA of domestic cats more closely resembled that of one of the wildcat populations, then he would have clear evidence for where domestication began.

In the genetic analysis, published in 2007, Driscoll, another of us (O’Brien) and their colleagues focused on two kinds of DNA that molecular biologists traditionally examine to differentiate subgroups of mammal species: DNA from mitochondria, which is inherited exclusively from the mother, and short, repetitive sequences of nuclear DNA known as microsatellites. Using established computer routines, they assessed the ancestry of each of the 979 individuals sampled based on their genetic signatures. Specifically, they measured how similar each cat’s DNA was to that of all the other cats and grouped the animals having similar DNA together. They then asked whether most of the animals in a group lived in the same region.

The results revealed five genetic clusters, or lineages, of wildcats. Four of these lineages corresponded neatly with four of the known subspecies of wildcat and dwelled in specific places: F. silvestris silvestris in Europe, F. s. bieti in China, F. s. ornata in Central Asia and F. s. cafra in southern Africa. The fifth lineage, however, included not only the fifth known subspecies of wildcat—F. s. lybica in the Middle East—but also the hundreds of domestic cats that were sampled, including purebred and mixed-breed felines from the U.S., the U.K. and Japan. In fact, genetically, F. s. lybica wildcats collected in remote deserts of Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were virtually indistinguishable from domestic cats. That the domestic cats grouped with F. s. lybica alone among wildcats meant that domestic cats arose in a single locale, the Middle East, and not in other places where wildcats are common. (Emphasis added).

Rest of article.

Excerpts:

• To get a bead on when the taming of the cat began, we turned to the archaeological record. One recent find has proved especially informative in this regard.
  
  In 2004 Jean-Denis Vigne of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and his colleagues reported unearthing the earliest evidence suggestive of humans keeping cats as pets. The discovery comes from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where 9,500 years ago an adult human of unknown gender was laid to rest in a shallow grave. An assortment of items accompanied the body—stone tools, a lump of iron oxide, a handful of seashells and, in its own tiny grave just 40 centimeters away, an eight-month-old cat, its body oriented in the same westward direction as the human’s.
  
  Because cats are not native to most Mediterranean islands, we know that people must have brought them over by boat, probably from the adjacent Levantine coast. Together the transport of cats to the island and the burial of the human with a cat indicate that people had a special, intentional relationship with cats nearly 10,000 years ago in the Middle East. This locale is consistent with the geographic origin we arrived at through our genetic analyses. It appears, then, that cats were being tamed just as humankind was establishing the first settlements in the part of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent.


• Although the exact timeline of cat domestication remains uncertain, long-known archaeological evidence affords some insight into the process. After the Cypriot find, the next oldest hints of an association between humans and cats are a feline molar tooth from an archaeological deposit in Israel dating to roughly 9,000 years ago and another tooth from Pakistan dating to around 4,000 years ago.
  Testament to full domestication comes from a much later period. A nearly 3,700-year-old ivory cat [c. 1700 BCE] statuette from Israel suggests the cat was a common sight around homes and villages in the Fertile Crescent before its introduction to Egypt. [Baloney!] This scenario makes sense, given that all the other domestic animals (except the donkey) and plants were introduced to the Nile Valley from the Fertile Crescent. But it is Egyptian paintings from the so-called New Kingdom period—Egypt’s golden era, which began nearly 3,600 years ago [c. 1500 BCE - after the Hyksos were kicked out rulership]—that provide the oldest known unmistakable depictions of full domestication. These paintings typically show cats poised under chairs, sometimes collared or tethered, and often eating from bowls or feeding on scraps. The abundance of these illustrations signifies that cats had become common members of Egyptian households by this time.

[Well known associations of the lion with the ancient Egyptian Sun God, RA, and the association of the lioness or lion-headed goddess as one of the "Eyes of Ra" - Sekhmet, an aspect of equally ancient Goddess Het-Hert (Hathor) indicate a much older association between the ancient Egyptians and cats. As far as I am aware, both of these deities pre-date the founding of the dynastic period in ancient Egypt, c. 3500-3400 BCE and are therefore at least 5500 to 5400 years old, and quite possibly older. See, for instance, this information from the Louvre Museum indicating that the bones of a cat were discovered in a predynastic tomb dating to around 4000 BCE - that is, about 6000 years ago].

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For information on the Egyptian cat Goddess, Bast or Bastet, see:

Tour Egypt, The Gods of Ancient Egypt - Bast
Per-Bast.org

For information on the importance of the cat in ancient Egypt (this would extend to any country where grain and other crops subject to the ravages of mice and rat infestations were a problem), see:

Wikiland Mythology: Why were cats important in ancient Egypt?

One of the key points I gleaned from this information is that the ancient Egyptians called cats "miu" or "miut" ("he or she who mews" - the "t" sound or glyph at the end of Egyptian words often designated a female) for the "meowing" sound that they made! That article cited above I found at the Louvre Museum says that "'The Ancient Egyptian word for cat was "mau", an onomatopoeia for mewing.' "

Onomatopoeia is just a fancy word for this definition (from my trusty Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: "the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it."