Did Zahi Hawass really write this? Well, maybe he did, in light of the half-faint 'praise' given to some of the most powerful females who ever walked the earth, even if their names are not on the tongues of most historians, who mostly seem to be male. Why, exactly, is that, when history is actually the domain of women?
This article was published by that great bastion of free speech and liberality, 'Asharq Alawsat' -- "The Leading Arabic International Daily - English Edition." Whooookay.
Women in Pharaonic Egypt
24/06/2010
By Dr. Zahi Hawass
Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat- When we talk about the grand history of [Egypt] which extends more than fifty centuries into the past, we find ourselves continually speaking about the ancient Egyptian man, whether this is ancient Egyptian engineers who built temples and pyramids, the ancient Egyptian doctors who carried out the first medical operations in human history, or the ancient Egyptian artists who carved huge statues and inscribed hieroglyphics on the walls of temples and tombs. However we rarely find mention of ancient Egyptian women, as if this great civilization was built by men alone, and as if ancient society was comprised solely of men, which of course is something that is completely untrue.
Yes, there is a clear injustice regarding how the role that was played by ancient Egyptian women in building this ancient civilization is portrayed in comparison to how the role of men is portrayed; however what is strange is that this injustice is a product of modern research and did not exist within ancient Egyptian society. Women played an important role in ancient Egyptian civilization, and they also enjoyed unparalleled luxury compared to other women at the time, and this is why when I decided to publish a book about the role played by women in Pharaonic Egypt I decided that the best and more accurate title for this would be "Silent Images: Women in Pharaonic Egypt."
After a long examination of Pharaonic antiquities I discovered that ancient Egyptian women were represented by a number of goddesses, such as the goddess "Isis" who was the goddess of fertility and worshipped as the ideal mother, the goddess "Hathor" who personified motherhood and was worshipped as a protector, "Sekhmet" the warrior goddess, and "Bastet" the protector goddess. Upper Egypt also worshipped its own patron goddess "Nekhbet" while Lower Egypt worshipped the patron goddess "Wadjet." This represents the religious aspect; however at the political level the wife of the pharaoh also played an important role with regards to the continuation of the royal line, while ancient Egyptian princesses could also politically increase the strength of the ruling family through marriage.
Pharaonic Queens bore the burden of rule and raising their young children and teaching them to govern, for example Queen-Consort "Ankhesenpepi II" the mother of Pharaoh "Pepi II" ruled in her son's name until he was old enough to take power.
Queen "Khentkaus II" also acted as regent for her two young sons Pharaoh "Neferefre" and his successor "Nyuserre Ini" protecting the throne until the latter came of age. Prior to this, historical sources have preserved the name of Queen "Nimaethap" for the important role she played as regent and for her protection of the throne for her son Pharaoh "Djoser" the first King of the Third Dynasty.
Throughout ancient Egypt's history, the names of just a few ruling Queens have been made known, with the great Queen "Hatshepsut" – who became a legend amongst ancient women – enjoying the longest and most successful reign. Hatshepsut ruled over an Egyptian golden age during which ancient Egypt was unrivalled in power in the Near East.
During a 20-year reign, Queen Hatshepsut protected the borders of her empire, wearing the same royal regalia as worn by male Pharaoh's. She attributed her birth and divine right to rule to the ancient Egyptian god Amun-Ra. Queen Hatshepsut did indeed rule over Egypt, and she was responsible for the construction of a beautiful temple complex [Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut] at Deir al Bahari on the west bank of the Nile.
Just one visit to this magnificent temple – which was constructed by a woman – is sufficient for anybody to feel the glory and grandeur of Egypt's past, which is something that fill's one's soul with the conviction that the earth belongs to those who take action, for history does not remember those who don't.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Southwest Chess Club: Summertime Fun!
Hola, darlings!
Now that Goddess has decided not to drown out Wisconsin after all and has, at least temporarily, called a halt to incessant torrential downpours, horrific displays of lightning bolts that have started more than one fire in the area, and nearly non-stop house-rattling thunder, people are pouring (a 'poor' choice of words, har har) into the streets to do what they can while these precious few days of cooler temperatures, sunshine and MUCH lower dew points (my knees finally stopped aching today about 3:34 p.m.) last -- I don't know what the forecast is for the 4th of July and I don't want to know! Right now, it's lovely outside and for the past two nights it's been cooling down sufficiently at night so one can crank open one's windows and enjoy fresh cool air, snuggle under a blanket and get a good night's sleep free of the fear of being wiped out by a tornado.
The Big Gig a/k/a Summerfest is building up to its grand climax this weekend. I am SO looking forward to a three-day weekend as July 4th falls on a Sunday this year that means we get the official national holiday off on Monday, July 5th! Whoopee!
Right in step is my dear adopted chess club, Southwest Chess Club, with lots of action ongoing this summer.
For those of my observant readers (ahem) you will notice that it has been quite awhile since I referred to it as the Southwest Chess Club of Hales Corners. That is because during some nasty flooding weather (rather reminds me of this year) a couple of years ago, the basement of the bank where the Southwet (har) Chess Club used to meet was flooded out and what was originally thought to be a temporary displacement has turned into what seems to be a permanent one. The Club no longer meets in Hales Corners, as no suitable location made itself available at the time.
I digress - what is most important is that the Club held together and its strong leadership found a new place for the members to congregate once a week :) And so, without further ado - here's some of the upcoming events:
SWCC Simul Kickoff: July 1 (tomorrow night, darlings):
John Becker (2009 SWCC Club Champion) will give a lecture followed by a simul. This is a free event.
LECTURE: 6:15 pm
SIMUL: 7:00 pm
John will be going over his recent simul game vs GM Yermolinsky (interesting game w/o any major errors, and full of tactics!). Also, a game or two that would fall under the idea of creating complications when standing worse or heading towards a blocked position.
The Joe Crothers Memorial SWCC Championship
July 8, 15, 22, 29 & August 5 & 12:
Nn honor of the recently deceased club President, Joe Crothers.
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.
Resuming on July 15:
THURSDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES – Summer 2010
Every Thursday night at 6:00 PM (right before the usual games begin). Instructive lectures. Watch the Southwest Chess Club blog for weekly announcements.
Now that Goddess has decided not to drown out Wisconsin after all and has, at least temporarily, called a halt to incessant torrential downpours, horrific displays of lightning bolts that have started more than one fire in the area, and nearly non-stop house-rattling thunder, people are pouring (a 'poor' choice of words, har har) into the streets to do what they can while these precious few days of cooler temperatures, sunshine and MUCH lower dew points (my knees finally stopped aching today about 3:34 p.m.) last -- I don't know what the forecast is for the 4th of July and I don't want to know! Right now, it's lovely outside and for the past two nights it's been cooling down sufficiently at night so one can crank open one's windows and enjoy fresh cool air, snuggle under a blanket and get a good night's sleep free of the fear of being wiped out by a tornado.
The Big Gig a/k/a Summerfest is building up to its grand climax this weekend. I am SO looking forward to a three-day weekend as July 4th falls on a Sunday this year that means we get the official national holiday off on Monday, July 5th! Whoopee!
Right in step is my dear adopted chess club, Southwest Chess Club, with lots of action ongoing this summer.
For those of my observant readers (ahem) you will notice that it has been quite awhile since I referred to it as the Southwest Chess Club of Hales Corners. That is because during some nasty flooding weather (rather reminds me of this year) a couple of years ago, the basement of the bank where the Southwet (har) Chess Club used to meet was flooded out and what was originally thought to be a temporary displacement has turned into what seems to be a permanent one. The Club no longer meets in Hales Corners, as no suitable location made itself available at the time.
I digress - what is most important is that the Club held together and its strong leadership found a new place for the members to congregate once a week :) And so, without further ado - here's some of the upcoming events:
SWCC Simul Kickoff: July 1 (tomorrow night, darlings):
John Becker (2009 SWCC Club Champion) will give a lecture followed by a simul. This is a free event.
LECTURE: 6:15 pm
SIMUL: 7:00 pm
John will be going over his recent simul game vs GM Yermolinsky (interesting game w/o any major errors, and full of tactics!). Also, a game or two that would fall under the idea of creating complications when standing worse or heading towards a blocked position.
The Joe Crothers Memorial SWCC Championship
July 8, 15, 22, 29 & August 5 & 12:
Nn honor of the recently deceased club President, Joe Crothers.
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.
Resuming on July 15:
THURSDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES – Summer 2010
Every Thursday night at 6:00 PM (right before the usual games begin). Instructive lectures. Watch the Southwest Chess Club blog for weekly announcements.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Orkney Venus - Update
The eyes of the Goddess are always upon us...
From the Scotsman.com
Orkney Venus dig reaches exciting phase, says expert
Published Date: 29 June 2010
An ARCHAEOLOGICAL dig where the Orkney Venus was found last year has entered an "exciting phase" as excavations resumed.
Archaeologists hope the Links of Noltland dig will reveal more about people who lived on the Orkney island of Westray thousands of years ago.The sand dunes protecting the area have been reduced by winds over the past few decades.
Yesterday project manager Richard Strachan, an archaeologist with Historic Scotland, said: "The project is reaching a very exciting phase, as we race against the wind to recover the archaeological remains of the extensive settlement extending for about 1,000 years from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
"We are concentrating on defining the enigmatic and unique cattle skull building uncovered at the end of last season."
The Orkney Venus is the earliest carving of a human figure found in Scotland.
Earlier coverage:
From BBC Online:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8309503.stm
16 October 2009
From Heritage Key:
Archaeologists On Orkney Come Face-to-Face With A Neolithic Scot
Submitted by MalcolmJ on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 14:09
Also from Heritage Key:
Orkney Venus And Holm of Papa Westray Lintel Stone Could be Sisters
Submitted by MalcolmJ on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 19:18
Do you see the eyes of the Goddess in the lintel stone? These remind me of other neolithic 'bird goddess' eyes I've seen.
From the Scotsman.com
Orkney Venus dig reaches exciting phase, says expert
Published Date: 29 June 2010
Archaeologists hope the Links of Noltland dig will reveal more about people who lived on the Orkney island of Westray thousands of years ago.The sand dunes protecting the area have been reduced by winds over the past few decades.
Yesterday project manager Richard Strachan, an archaeologist with Historic Scotland, said: "The project is reaching a very exciting phase, as we race against the wind to recover the archaeological remains of the extensive settlement extending for about 1,000 years from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age.
"We are concentrating on defining the enigmatic and unique cattle skull building uncovered at the end of last season."
The Orkney Venus is the earliest carving of a human figure found in Scotland.
Earlier coverage:
From BBC Online:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8309503.stm
16 October 2009
From Heritage Key:
Archaeologists On Orkney Come Face-to-Face With A Neolithic Scot
Submitted by MalcolmJ on Thu, 08/27/2009 - 14:09
Also from Heritage Key:
Orkney Venus And Holm of Papa Westray Lintel Stone Could be Sisters
Submitted by MalcolmJ on Thu, 09/17/2009 - 19:18
Do you see the eyes of the Goddess in the lintel stone? These remind me of other neolithic 'bird goddess' eyes I've seen.
North American Mitochondrial DNA Study Reveals Surprise with More Predicted
From a press release at eurekalert.org
Public release date: 28-Jun-2010
Mitochondrial genome analysis revises view of the initial peopling of North America
June 29, 2010 – The initial peopling of North America from Asia occurred approximately 15,000-18,000 years ago, however estimations of the genetic diversity of the first settlers have remained inaccurate. In a report published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have found that the diversity of the first Americans has been significantly underestimated, underscoring the importance of comprehensive sampling for accurate analysis of human migrations.
Substantial evidence suggests that humans first crossed into North America from Asia over a land bridge called Beringia, connecting eastern Siberia and Alaska. Genetic studies have shed light on the initial lineages that entered North America, distinguishing the earliest Native American groups from those that arrived later. However, a clear picture of the number of initial migratory events and routes has been elusive due to incomplete analysis.
In this work, an international group of researchers coordinated by Antonio Torroni of the University of Pavia in Italy performed a detailed mitochondrial genome analysis of a poorly characterized lineage known as C1d. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed down through the maternal lineage, and mtDNA sequence markers are extremely useful tools for mapping ancestry. Similar to other haplogroups that were among the first to arrive in North America, C1d is distributed throughout the continent, suggesting that it may have been also present in the initial founding populations. However, C1d has not been well represented in previous genetic analyses, and the estimated age of approximately 7,000 years, much younger than the other founding haplogroups, was likely inaccurate.
To resolve these inconsistent lines of evidence, the group sequenced and analyzed 63 C1d mtDNA genomes from throughout the Americas. This high-resolution study not only confirmed that C1d was one of the founding lineages in North America 15,000 to 18,000 years ago, but revealed another critical insight. "These first female American founders carried not one but two different C1d genomes," said Ugo Perego of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and primary author of the study, "thus further increasing the number of recognized maternal lineages from Beringia."
These findings raise the number of founding maternal lineages in North America to fifteen. Furthermore, this work emphasizes the critical need for comprehensive analysis of relevant populations to gather a complete picture of migratory events.
Alessandro Achilli of the University of Perugia, a coauthor of the report, suggests that the number of distinct mitochondrial genomes that passed from Asian into North America is probably much higher. "These yet undiscovered maternal lineages will be identified within the next three to four years," Achilli noted, "when the methodological approach that we used in our study will be systematically applied."
Public release date: 28-Jun-2010
Mitochondrial genome analysis revises view of the initial peopling of North America
June 29, 2010 – The initial peopling of North America from Asia occurred approximately 15,000-18,000 years ago, however estimations of the genetic diversity of the first settlers have remained inaccurate. In a report published online today in Genome Research (www.genome.org), researchers have found that the diversity of the first Americans has been significantly underestimated, underscoring the importance of comprehensive sampling for accurate analysis of human migrations.
Substantial evidence suggests that humans first crossed into North America from Asia over a land bridge called Beringia, connecting eastern Siberia and Alaska. Genetic studies have shed light on the initial lineages that entered North America, distinguishing the earliest Native American groups from those that arrived later. However, a clear picture of the number of initial migratory events and routes has been elusive due to incomplete analysis.
In this work, an international group of researchers coordinated by Antonio Torroni of the University of Pavia in Italy performed a detailed mitochondrial genome analysis of a poorly characterized lineage known as C1d. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is passed down through the maternal lineage, and mtDNA sequence markers are extremely useful tools for mapping ancestry. Similar to other haplogroups that were among the first to arrive in North America, C1d is distributed throughout the continent, suggesting that it may have been also present in the initial founding populations. However, C1d has not been well represented in previous genetic analyses, and the estimated age of approximately 7,000 years, much younger than the other founding haplogroups, was likely inaccurate.
To resolve these inconsistent lines of evidence, the group sequenced and analyzed 63 C1d mtDNA genomes from throughout the Americas. This high-resolution study not only confirmed that C1d was one of the founding lineages in North America 15,000 to 18,000 years ago, but revealed another critical insight. "These first female American founders carried not one but two different C1d genomes," said Ugo Perego of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and primary author of the study, "thus further increasing the number of recognized maternal lineages from Beringia."
These findings raise the number of founding maternal lineages in North America to fifteen. Furthermore, this work emphasizes the critical need for comprehensive analysis of relevant populations to gather a complete picture of migratory events.
Alessandro Achilli of the University of Perugia, a coauthor of the report, suggests that the number of distinct mitochondrial genomes that passed from Asian into North America is probably much higher. "These yet undiscovered maternal lineages will be identified within the next three to four years," Achilli noted, "when the methodological approach that we used in our study will be systematically applied."
Forgery exhibit opens in London's National Gallery
Article.
By ANDREW KHOURI, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 29, 1:57 pm ET
LONDON – An exhibit that combines X-rays, microscopy, and Botticelli opens this week at The National Gallery, detailing how scientists and others have unraveled some of the art world's mysteries.
The exhibit, "Close Examination — Fakes, Mistakes & Discoveries," shows how techniques such as infrared imaging, X-rays and mass spectrometry were used to properly attribute works of art and sniff out forgeries. Art historians and conservators have also contributed to the effort.
Among the more than 40 paintings on show is "The Virgin and Child with an Angel," which was acquired by The National Gallery in 1924 and attributed to Italian painter Francesco Raibolini, known as Francia.
But a 2009 investigation unmasked the painting a fake, finding that the underdrawing was done in graphite pencil — an instrument not available to the Renaissance painter.
The exhibit also explores how paintings evolved over time. "Woman at a Window," a 16th century work by an unknown Italian artist, was altered to reflect the prudishness of the Victorian era [image, right, before restoration in 1978]. The woman, originally a blond with a seductive gaze and a revealing bodice, was transformed into a brunette with more modest dress and a reserved expression. [See A Blonde's Dark Secret.]
When the gallery discovered the change during cleaning in the late 1970s, it removed the new layers of paint and the woman's racy look was restored.
While the experts' work through the years has shown that once-prized paintings were fakes, it's also made previously obscure work more prominent.
The 15th-century painting "Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels," was thought to be painted by a pupil of the Italian master Sandro Botticelli. But, after cleaning and restoration in 2002, the gallery now attributes the painting to Botticelli himself.
Betsy Wieseman, co-curator of the exhibit, said such discoveries take time, but are rewarding.
"You know it doesn't happen in an instant. It is a much slower process, but there often does come that moment when your heart goes pitter-pat, and you suddenly think 'Oh my goodness this is not what I thought it was going to be.'"
Entry to the exhibit, which opens Wednesday, is free and runs until Sept. 12.
Date and time
30 June – 12 September 2010
Sainsbury Wing Exhibition
Admission free
By ANDREW KHOURI, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 29, 1:57 pm ET
LONDON – An exhibit that combines X-rays, microscopy, and Botticelli opens this week at The National Gallery, detailing how scientists and others have unraveled some of the art world's mysteries.
The exhibit, "Close Examination — Fakes, Mistakes & Discoveries," shows how techniques such as infrared imaging, X-rays and mass spectrometry were used to properly attribute works of art and sniff out forgeries. Art historians and conservators have also contributed to the effort.
Among the more than 40 paintings on show is "The Virgin and Child with an Angel," which was acquired by The National Gallery in 1924 and attributed to Italian painter Francesco Raibolini, known as Francia.
But a 2009 investigation unmasked the painting a fake, finding that the underdrawing was done in graphite pencil — an instrument not available to the Renaissance painter.
When the gallery discovered the change during cleaning in the late 1970s, it removed the new layers of paint and the woman's racy look was restored.
While the experts' work through the years has shown that once-prized paintings were fakes, it's also made previously obscure work more prominent.
The 15th-century painting "Saint Francis of Assisi with Angels," was thought to be painted by a pupil of the Italian master Sandro Botticelli. But, after cleaning and restoration in 2002, the gallery now attributes the painting to Botticelli himself.
Betsy Wieseman, co-curator of the exhibit, said such discoveries take time, but are rewarding.
"You know it doesn't happen in an instant. It is a much slower process, but there often does come that moment when your heart goes pitter-pat, and you suddenly think 'Oh my goodness this is not what I thought it was going to be.'"
Entry to the exhibit, which opens Wednesday, is free and runs until Sept. 12.
Date and time
30 June – 12 September 2010
Sainsbury Wing Exhibition
Admission free
Friday, June 25, 2010
2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship - Field SET - AT LAST!
Excerpted and modified from report at the United States Chess Federation:
10-player field and will feature nine rounds of tournament play. Reigning U.S. Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih to defend her title this year in Saint Louis against a strong field of contenders.
"Encouraging more women and juniors to play chess are both vital goals of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis," said Executive Director Tony Rich. "So we are very excited to host the tournaments simultaneously."
Grandmaster commentary will be provided by GM Ben Finegold and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Saint Louis resident and #1-ranked US player GM Hikaru Nakamura will also provide special commentary for two days yet to be determined.
The field for the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship is as follows:
•IM Anna Zatonskih: Defending Champion (2518, #1 US)
•IM Irina Krush: Rating (2493, #2 US)
•WGM Camilla Baginskaite: Rating (2387, #4 US)
•WGM Sabina Foisor: Rating (2356, #5 US)
•WGM Katerina Rohonyan: Wildcard (2331)
•WIM Alisa Melekhina: Rating (2323, #7 US)
•WFM Iryna Zenyuk: U.S. Women's Open Champion (2305)
•WFM Abby Marshall: Rating (2211, #11 US)
•WFM Tatev Abrahamyan: Rating (2342, #6 US)
•WIM Beatriz Marinello: Rating (2206, #13 US)
The 2010 U.S. Women's Championship will feature a $65,000 prize fund, the largest prize fund in the history of the tournament. The breakdown is as follows:
1st: $16,000
2nd: $12,000
3rd: $9,000
4th: $7,000
5th: $5,500
6th: $4,500
7th: $3,500
8th: $3,000
9th: $2,500
10th: $2,000
July 16 will be the player's rest day, which will feature an all-day celebration in honor of the two-year anniversary of the CCSCSL. The event will feature a block party and special appearances by top-level grandmasters and members of the professional tennis team the Saint Louis Aces including special guests to be named.
Spectators are encouraged to come down to the club to enjoy the commentary and witness the action live. Games begin at 2 PM Local time (3 PM EST) each day. Live spectators need only to purchase a club membership, which is just $5/month for students or $12/month for adults. The live streaming coverage of grandmaster commentary and play-by-play can be followed online at www.uschesschamps.com.
Complete Schedule of Championship Events
Friday, July 9, 2010 - Arrival Day
6:00pm - Opening Ceremony, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd
Saturday, July 10, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 1
Sunday, July 11, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 2
Monday, July 12, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 3
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 4
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 5
Thursday, July 15, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 6
Friday, July 16, 2010
Players' Rest Day
All-Day Activities Celebrating Two-year Anniversary of the CCSCSL
Saturday, July 17, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 7
Sunday, July 18, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm, Round 8
Monday, July 19, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm, Round 9
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10:00am - 12:00pm - Possible Tie Breaker
12:00pm - 5:00pm - Community Day
7:00pm - 9:00pm - Closing Ceremony and Reception
10-player field and will feature nine rounds of tournament play. Reigning U.S. Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih to defend her title this year in Saint Louis against a strong field of contenders.
"Encouraging more women and juniors to play chess are both vital goals of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis," said Executive Director Tony Rich. "So we are very excited to host the tournaments simultaneously."
Grandmaster commentary will be provided by GM Ben Finegold and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Saint Louis resident and #1-ranked US player GM Hikaru Nakamura will also provide special commentary for two days yet to be determined.
The field for the 2010 U.S. Women's Championship is as follows:
•IM Anna Zatonskih: Defending Champion (2518, #1 US)
•IM Irina Krush: Rating (2493, #2 US)
•WGM Camilla Baginskaite: Rating (2387, #4 US)
•WGM Sabina Foisor: Rating (2356, #5 US)
•WGM Katerina Rohonyan: Wildcard (2331)
•WIM Alisa Melekhina: Rating (2323, #7 US)
•WFM Iryna Zenyuk: U.S. Women's Open Champion (2305)
•WFM Abby Marshall: Rating (2211, #11 US)
•WFM Tatev Abrahamyan: Rating (2342, #6 US)
•WIM Beatriz Marinello: Rating (2206, #13 US)
The 2010 U.S. Women's Championship will feature a $65,000 prize fund, the largest prize fund in the history of the tournament. The breakdown is as follows:
1st: $16,000
2nd: $12,000
3rd: $9,000
4th: $7,000
5th: $5,500
6th: $4,500
7th: $3,500
8th: $3,000
9th: $2,500
10th: $2,000
July 16 will be the player's rest day, which will feature an all-day celebration in honor of the two-year anniversary of the CCSCSL. The event will feature a block party and special appearances by top-level grandmasters and members of the professional tennis team the Saint Louis Aces including special guests to be named.
Spectators are encouraged to come down to the club to enjoy the commentary and witness the action live. Games begin at 2 PM Local time (3 PM EST) each day. Live spectators need only to purchase a club membership, which is just $5/month for students or $12/month for adults. The live streaming coverage of grandmaster commentary and play-by-play can be followed online at www.uschesschamps.com.
Complete Schedule of Championship Events
Friday, July 9, 2010 - Arrival Day
6:00pm - Opening Ceremony, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd
Saturday, July 10, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 1
Sunday, July 11, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 2
Monday, July 12, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 3
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 4
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 5
Thursday, July 15, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 6
Friday, July 16, 2010
Players' Rest Day
All-Day Activities Celebrating Two-year Anniversary of the CCSCSL
Saturday, July 17, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm - Round 7
Sunday, July 18, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm, Round 8
Monday, July 19, 2010
2:00pm - 8:00pm, Round 9
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10:00am - 12:00pm - Possible Tie Breaker
12:00pm - 5:00pm - Community Day
7:00pm - 9:00pm - Closing Ceremony and Reception
7,000 Year Old Projectile Points found in Vermont (USA)!!!
From the RutlandHerald.com
Artifacts dating back to 5000 B.C. found in Rutland Town
By PATRICIA MINICHIELLO
STAFF WRITER - Published: June 24, 2010
Ancient artifacts dating back roughly 7,000 years ago to 5000 B.C., were found by state archeologists on land near Thomas Dairy in Rutland Town recently.
John Thomas, one of the landowners, said the pointed projectiles looked like arrowheads and were discovered in at least two different locations on his property. (Image: The photo depicts 16 projectiles dating back to 5000 B.C. found on land near Post Road in Rutland Town owned by Orin Thomas and Sons. Northeast Archaeology Research Center)
“One was close to Carey’s Auto and another abuts the development on Blue Ridge acres,” Thomas said Tuesday.
The discovery occurred as a part of an archeological dig — a standard procedure prior to subdivision — by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Scott Dillon, a survey archeologist with the division, said 16 projectiles were found at one location and appeared to be intentionally buried together in a pit. He said the relics studied by experts from the Northeast Archaeology Research Center Inc. were from the Native American era.
“These findings are quite rare and priceless. They really paint a picture of people living in the Rutland area 7,000 years ago.”
Dillon said the artifacts included stoneworking tools, fire-cracked rock and containers for cooking.
“They would heat up rock and drop the rock into the pot to heat up the food,” Dillon said of the Native American people who used these tools. When asked how much these items are worth, Dillon would not put a price tag on them.
“People do sell projectile points, but their monetary value is insignificant compared to their cultural value,” he said. “Their cultural value far outweighs the possibility of selling an artifact on eBay.”
After the discoveries were made, the state created buffer zones around the sensitive material and put a restriction on the land for anything but agriculture use.
Despite the buffer zone determination, four lots on the Thomas property were subdivided, a portion of which will soon be sold to the federal government to build a 70,000-square-foot Armed Forces Reserve Center.
On Tuesday, an Act 250 permit was granted for the Thomas subdivision, according to Bill Burke from Rutland’s Act 250 office.
Regarding the artifacts, Thomas said although the findings are not a financial burden yet, he feels they could be in the future.
“Anytime anyone encumbers the land, I feel that it could be a problem or expense very easily,” Thomas said.
When asked how he feels about the discovery of ancient relics on his land, Thomas answered bluntly.
“I feel that if these historic preservation people want to preserve these artifacts, they should put them in a museum and leave me alone.”
Artifacts dating back to 5000 B.C. found in Rutland Town
By PATRICIA MINICHIELLO
STAFF WRITER - Published: June 24, 2010
John Thomas, one of the landowners, said the pointed projectiles looked like arrowheads and were discovered in at least two different locations on his property. (Image: The photo depicts 16 projectiles dating back to 5000 B.C. found on land near Post Road in Rutland Town owned by Orin Thomas and Sons. Northeast Archaeology Research Center)
“One was close to Carey’s Auto and another abuts the development on Blue Ridge acres,” Thomas said Tuesday.
The discovery occurred as a part of an archeological dig — a standard procedure prior to subdivision — by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
Scott Dillon, a survey archeologist with the division, said 16 projectiles were found at one location and appeared to be intentionally buried together in a pit. He said the relics studied by experts from the Northeast Archaeology Research Center Inc. were from the Native American era.
“These findings are quite rare and priceless. They really paint a picture of people living in the Rutland area 7,000 years ago.”
Dillon said the artifacts included stoneworking tools, fire-cracked rock and containers for cooking.
“They would heat up rock and drop the rock into the pot to heat up the food,” Dillon said of the Native American people who used these tools. When asked how much these items are worth, Dillon would not put a price tag on them.
“People do sell projectile points, but their monetary value is insignificant compared to their cultural value,” he said. “Their cultural value far outweighs the possibility of selling an artifact on eBay.”
After the discoveries were made, the state created buffer zones around the sensitive material and put a restriction on the land for anything but agriculture use.
Despite the buffer zone determination, four lots on the Thomas property were subdivided, a portion of which will soon be sold to the federal government to build a 70,000-square-foot Armed Forces Reserve Center.
On Tuesday, an Act 250 permit was granted for the Thomas subdivision, according to Bill Burke from Rutland’s Act 250 office.
Regarding the artifacts, Thomas said although the findings are not a financial burden yet, he feels they could be in the future.
“Anytime anyone encumbers the land, I feel that it could be a problem or expense very easily,” Thomas said.
When asked how he feels about the discovery of ancient relics on his land, Thomas answered bluntly.
“I feel that if these historic preservation people want to preserve these artifacts, they should put them in a museum and leave me alone.”
******************************************************************
It will be interesting to see what happens here - the clash among the land owner, the scientists and the preservationists. What I want to know is, from experts' perspective, how do these points compare with "Clovis" technology and the much older Aurignacian period points found in parts of France and Spain? How do they fit in, overall, with the peopling of America?
Very Sad News from Southwest Chess Club - Death of President Joe Crothers
The President of my adopted chess club, Joe Crothers, has passed away. The following information from Tom Fogec of Southwest Chess Club:
June 22, 2010:
It is with great sadness that I must inform you that Joe Crothers, President of the Southwest Chess Club, has passed away. Joe collapsed Sunday evening while playing chess at the Southwest Chess Club pavilion at Polish Fest and died later at the hospital. He was a wise and valued leader of our club and will be greatly missed. Arrangements are still pending, but likely to appear in tomorrow's Journal Sentinel. If you would want to offer any thoughts or reminiscences regarding Joe, you can do so at our club blog.
June 24, 2010:
Obituary:
Crothers, Joe L. Age 84. Went home to be with his Lord and Savior on June 20, 2010. Survived by his cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Joe was retired from the Ladish Corp. and enjoyed his chess club, card playing and golf. Visitation will be held at the funeral home Friday, June 25, from 4-7 PM and Saturday, June 26, 10 AM, Vigil Service to follow at 10:30 AM. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. HARTSON FUNERAL HOME, 11111 W. Janesville Road.
http://www.hartsonfuneralhome.com/
June 22, 2010:
It is with great sadness that I must inform you that Joe Crothers, President of the Southwest Chess Club, has passed away. Joe collapsed Sunday evening while playing chess at the Southwest Chess Club pavilion at Polish Fest and died later at the hospital. He was a wise and valued leader of our club and will be greatly missed. Arrangements are still pending, but likely to appear in tomorrow's Journal Sentinel. If you would want to offer any thoughts or reminiscences regarding Joe, you can do so at our club blog.
June 24, 2010:
Obituary:
Crothers, Joe L. Age 84. Went home to be with his Lord and Savior on June 20, 2010. Survived by his cousins, nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Joe was retired from the Ladish Corp. and enjoyed his chess club, card playing and golf. Visitation will be held at the funeral home Friday, June 25, from 4-7 PM and Saturday, June 26, 10 AM, Vigil Service to follow at 10:30 AM. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. HARTSON FUNERAL HOME, 11111 W. Janesville Road.
http://www.hartsonfuneralhome.com/
One More Time - What Really Was It That Killed King Tut?
From Isis:
King Tut died of blood disorder: German researchers
Wed Jun 23, 1:14 pm ET
BERLIN (AFP) – Legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably killed by the genetic blood disorder
sickle cell disease, German scientists said Wednesday, rejecting earlier research that suggested he died of malaria.
The team at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in the northern city of Hamburg questioned the conclusions of a major Egyptian study released in February on the enigmatic boy-king's early demise.
That examination, involving DNA tests and computerised tomography (CT) scans on Tutankhamun's mummy, said he died of malaria after suffering a fall, putting to rest the theory that he was murdered.
But the German researchers said in a letter published online Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association that closer scrutiny of his foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
"We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," the letter said.
"(The) radiological signs are compatible with osteopathologic lesions seen in sickle cell disease (SCD), a hematological disorder that occurs at gene carrier rates of nine percent to 22 percent in inhabitants of Egyptian oases."
Tutankhamun's death at about 19, after 10 years of rule between 1333 to 1324 BC, has long been a source of speculation.
One of the most common genetic disorders, sickle cell disease causes blood cells to take the shape of a crescent instead of being smooth and round, thereby blocking blood flow and leading to chronic pain, infections and tissue death.
The researchers called for further DNA tests on Tutankhamun's mummy for a definitive cause of death.
King Tut died of blood disorder: German researchers
Wed Jun 23, 1:14 pm ET
BERLIN (AFP) – Legendary pharaoh Tutankhamun was probably killed by the genetic blood disorder
sickle cell disease, German scientists said Wednesday, rejecting earlier research that suggested he died of malaria.
The team at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in the northern city of Hamburg questioned the conclusions of a major Egyptian study released in February on the enigmatic boy-king's early demise.
That examination, involving DNA tests and computerised tomography (CT) scans on Tutankhamun's mummy, said he died of malaria after suffering a fall, putting to rest the theory that he was murdered.
But the German researchers said in a letter published online Wednesday by the Journal of the American Medical Association that closer scrutiny of his foot bones pointed to sickle cell disease, in which red blood cells become dangerously misshaped.
"We question the reliability of the genetic data presented in this (the Egyptian) study and therefore the validity of the authors' conclusions," the letter said.
"(The) radiological signs are compatible with osteopathologic lesions seen in sickle cell disease (SCD), a hematological disorder that occurs at gene carrier rates of nine percent to 22 percent in inhabitants of Egyptian oases."
Tutankhamun's death at about 19, after 10 years of rule between 1333 to 1324 BC, has long been a source of speculation.
One of the most common genetic disorders, sickle cell disease causes blood cells to take the shape of a crescent instead of being smooth and round, thereby blocking blood flow and leading to chronic pain, infections and tissue death.
The researchers called for further DNA tests on Tutankhamun's mummy for a definitive cause of death.
*******************************************
The fight here seems to be whether Tut had sufficient "sub-Saharan ancestry" - that is - from black Africa -- to inherit the genetic variation that causes sickle cell anemia; see Wikipedia info which is written in plain English and agrees with other things I've read on the subject. This is a genetic defect which affects predominately black Africans -"sub-Saharans." The Germans seem to be saying Tut did have this genetic variance and, therefore, at least some of his ancestry is from black Africa. Official Egypt hasn't addressed the subject and, by implication, is therefore saying that the Germans don't know their shit from shinola.
Bitching and Moaning
Egoddess, what a week! I am so fricking tired, I can barely keep my eyes open. But I've been neglecting posting here, and the natives are restless. Our stats have taken a DIVE - but mysteriously, actually. One day we're getting like 800 visitors a day, the next day we drop down to 200 and it doesn't change? Yeah, right. Something happened with the stats long before I stopped frenetically posting here five times a day!
Speaking of days, the last TEN have been a ceaseless round of hot and mega-humid weather followed by fierce storms with non-stop lightning (of which I have a morbid fear), loud house-shaking thunder, and torrential downpours of up to 4 inches at a time, depending upon which part of the city you are located. This week I had not one uninvited swimming pools in my backyard -- the usual one along the north lot line where the yard slopes to a low spot -- there was also one formed along the south lot line, and I could just visualize it's insidious waves of water rotting out my fence posts, one by one! The fence posts that I had Kevin the Handiman reinforce with metal rods last November when I was attempting to get the house into shape to sell (don't get me started on THAT topic).
No rain yesterday or today, but it's been unrelentingly hot and so humid, I just cannot stand it. It was 85 degrees downtown at 5 p.m. when I walked out of the office building I work in, and that's within spitting distance of Lake Michigan, a natural air-conditioner. It was much worse when I got off the bus 50 minutes later and seven or so miles inland (about due west). It felt like it was about 200 degrees F. I am breaking a sweat sitting here in my air-conditioned home just thinking about how AWFUL it is outside. I mean, come on people, who breaks a sweat while standing still and under no stress just by exiting her front door? Yours truly does!
This climate has, I think, driven me mad. Yep, I'm officially over the bend. More storms are forecast for after midnight tonight, and I can already see the clouds starting to pile up on the western horizon, a sure sign we are in for yet another blow. Tomorrow, more of the same, except the action is forecast to be "scattered" - whatever the hell that means. One cannot cut the grass if it gets drenched in a 30 minute downpour.
So I rushed home from work tonight, even though totally out of any get-up-and-go whatsoever. One freezes on the air-conditioned buses which are set to one temperature only - ARCTIC COLD. I had enough of a coccoon of gcld air about me when I exited the bus to get me through the first block and a half - the hardest part of my non-stop climb up hill toward home. I didn't even break a sweat until I turned onto 81st street, just 3 more blocks and I'm home! That's how frozen I was from that damn bus ride.
I trudged upstairs, changed into junk clothes, drenched myself in bug spray (I HATE the stuff as much as the bugs LOVE me. I have high octane carbon dixoide emissions, it seems, and the bus just cannot get enough of me, so bug spray is a necessary evil). Since I did not have enough steam last weekend to cut the front lawn, it is doubly tall this week - six inches and even more in some spots. I'm tired, I'm bitchy, I hate the bug spray I'm drenched in. I just want to play on the internet researching yet another family tree I am researching, but duty calls -- with the weather forecast, I MUST cut tonight, or invest in a couple of sheep and keep them permanently chained in the front yard from now on to chomp on the grass. I don't think the neighbors or the City of Greenfield would approve.
Yechy. That's what I am now. Yechy and funky after spending a good hour shoving that damn lawnmower around through that tall grass. I think I lost 10 pounds in sweat. I am attempting to replace those 10 pounds with 10 pounds of wine. I cut the grass extra tall but even so, the sod web worm damage is now quite apparent. I would very happily murder each of those sod web worm larvae with my bare hands, if I could find them! To make matters even worse now, my stupid neighbors to the south - I REALLY HATE THOSE PEOPLE, I REALLY REALLY HATE THEM - had the only serious shade tree in the front of both of our lawns cut down. It was a well developed Norway maple and there wasn't a thing wrong with it, but earlier in the week it did lose a branch because it was too heavy. The tree hasn't been pruned in years, duh! A branch broke off and fell on and smashed the hell out of a honeysuckle bush I have bordering the front lot line very near the curb. I came home and went EEK, figured out what happened, and cleaned up my smashed shrub. It was easy to figure out what had happened, I could see the "wound" on the maple where the branch had broken away. I didn't bitch and I didn't complain to my neighbors (ha, an abuse of the word!). Such things do happen when one has trees. Anyway, the next day I get home from work and the rest of that nice maple tree is gone! Now my front lawn will get even MORE sun exposure from the south, the kind those little bugger sod web worms just LOVE to breed in.
I really, really HATE my neighbors to the south.
Great, just great, now the sod web worms will have even MORE FRICKING SUN to breed and grow in and eat up yet more of my lawn in the sunny summer time. Where can I rent a cannon - I want to blow up their house - with them in it.
I am plotting my revenge. I am checking out local tree growers and will bid out a project. Preferably two large trees are going to go into my front yard as close to that fricking south lot line as I can get them, allowing for future tree growth. And then I'm going to get myself one of those electric leaf blower thingies, and in the fall I will get busy and make sure I blow all of my leaves just over the south lot line right on to their front lawn - like they used to do with their maple tree leaves, depositing them on my lawn.
I am also going to firebomb their mailbox. Tonight - during the middle of the storm (I can't sleep during these storms anyway). They may just think it was struck by lightning, tee hee hee...
Speaking of days, the last TEN have been a ceaseless round of hot and mega-humid weather followed by fierce storms with non-stop lightning (of which I have a morbid fear), loud house-shaking thunder, and torrential downpours of up to 4 inches at a time, depending upon which part of the city you are located. This week I had not one uninvited swimming pools in my backyard -- the usual one along the north lot line where the yard slopes to a low spot -- there was also one formed along the south lot line, and I could just visualize it's insidious waves of water rotting out my fence posts, one by one! The fence posts that I had Kevin the Handiman reinforce with metal rods last November when I was attempting to get the house into shape to sell (don't get me started on THAT topic).
No rain yesterday or today, but it's been unrelentingly hot and so humid, I just cannot stand it. It was 85 degrees downtown at 5 p.m. when I walked out of the office building I work in, and that's within spitting distance of Lake Michigan, a natural air-conditioner. It was much worse when I got off the bus 50 minutes later and seven or so miles inland (about due west). It felt like it was about 200 degrees F. I am breaking a sweat sitting here in my air-conditioned home just thinking about how AWFUL it is outside. I mean, come on people, who breaks a sweat while standing still and under no stress just by exiting her front door? Yours truly does!
This climate has, I think, driven me mad. Yep, I'm officially over the bend. More storms are forecast for after midnight tonight, and I can already see the clouds starting to pile up on the western horizon, a sure sign we are in for yet another blow. Tomorrow, more of the same, except the action is forecast to be "scattered" - whatever the hell that means. One cannot cut the grass if it gets drenched in a 30 minute downpour.
So I rushed home from work tonight, even though totally out of any get-up-and-go whatsoever. One freezes on the air-conditioned buses which are set to one temperature only - ARCTIC COLD. I had enough of a coccoon of gcld air about me when I exited the bus to get me through the first block and a half - the hardest part of my non-stop climb up hill toward home. I didn't even break a sweat until I turned onto 81st street, just 3 more blocks and I'm home! That's how frozen I was from that damn bus ride.
I trudged upstairs, changed into junk clothes, drenched myself in bug spray (I HATE the stuff as much as the bugs LOVE me. I have high octane carbon dixoide emissions, it seems, and the bus just cannot get enough of me, so bug spray is a necessary evil). Since I did not have enough steam last weekend to cut the front lawn, it is doubly tall this week - six inches and even more in some spots. I'm tired, I'm bitchy, I hate the bug spray I'm drenched in. I just want to play on the internet researching yet another family tree I am researching, but duty calls -- with the weather forecast, I MUST cut tonight, or invest in a couple of sheep and keep them permanently chained in the front yard from now on to chomp on the grass. I don't think the neighbors or the City of Greenfield would approve.
Yechy. That's what I am now. Yechy and funky after spending a good hour shoving that damn lawnmower around through that tall grass. I think I lost 10 pounds in sweat. I am attempting to replace those 10 pounds with 10 pounds of wine. I cut the grass extra tall but even so, the sod web worm damage is now quite apparent. I would very happily murder each of those sod web worm larvae with my bare hands, if I could find them! To make matters even worse now, my stupid neighbors to the south - I REALLY HATE THOSE PEOPLE, I REALLY REALLY HATE THEM - had the only serious shade tree in the front of both of our lawns cut down. It was a well developed Norway maple and there wasn't a thing wrong with it, but earlier in the week it did lose a branch because it was too heavy. The tree hasn't been pruned in years, duh! A branch broke off and fell on and smashed the hell out of a honeysuckle bush I have bordering the front lot line very near the curb. I came home and went EEK, figured out what happened, and cleaned up my smashed shrub. It was easy to figure out what had happened, I could see the "wound" on the maple where the branch had broken away. I didn't bitch and I didn't complain to my neighbors (ha, an abuse of the word!). Such things do happen when one has trees. Anyway, the next day I get home from work and the rest of that nice maple tree is gone! Now my front lawn will get even MORE sun exposure from the south, the kind those little bugger sod web worms just LOVE to breed in.
I really, really HATE my neighbors to the south.
Great, just great, now the sod web worms will have even MORE FRICKING SUN to breed and grow in and eat up yet more of my lawn in the sunny summer time. Where can I rent a cannon - I want to blow up their house - with them in it.
I am plotting my revenge. I am checking out local tree growers and will bid out a project. Preferably two large trees are going to go into my front yard as close to that fricking south lot line as I can get them, allowing for future tree growth. And then I'm going to get myself one of those electric leaf blower thingies, and in the fall I will get busy and make sure I blow all of my leaves just over the south lot line right on to their front lawn - like they used to do with their maple tree leaves, depositing them on my lawn.
I am also going to firebomb their mailbox. Tonight - during the middle of the storm (I can't sleep during these storms anyway). They may just think it was struck by lightning, tee hee hee...
A 9 Queens Academy - for Femmes Only!!!
Sorry for the short notice - but if you are within shooting, er, driving distance of Tucson and are curious about 9 Queens and what those wonderful people do, please check it out!
9 Queens Academy on Sunday, June 27 from 2-4 pm at the Sahuaro Girl Scout Resource Center. We will offer free chess lessons for women and girls of all ages and abilities and host our first ever "Ladies Checkmate Challenge." Prizes available for all female players including beginners. For more information visit our website.
9 Queens is grateful to Bookmans- the official sponsor to the Tucson Queens Academy series and to the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council for hosting the fun!
9 Queens is grateful to Bookmans- the official sponsor to the Tucson Queens Academy series and to the Sahuaro Girl Scout Council for hosting the fun!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sad News from Southwest Chess Club
Very sad news, I received an email today from Tom Fogec of the Southwest Chess Club:
It is with great sadness that I must inform you that Joe Crothers, President of the Southwest Chess Club, has passed away. Joe collapsed Sunday evening while playing chess at the Southwest Chess Club pavilion at Polish Fest and died later at the hospital. He was a wise and valued leader of our club and will be greatly missed. Arrangements are still pending, but likely to appear in tomorrow's Journal Sentinel. If you would want to offer any thoughts or reminiscences regarding Joe, you can do so at our club blog. It is: http://swccchess.blogspot.com/
It is with great sadness that I must inform you that Joe Crothers, President of the Southwest Chess Club, has passed away. Joe collapsed Sunday evening while playing chess at the Southwest Chess Club pavilion at Polish Fest and died later at the hospital. He was a wise and valued leader of our club and will be greatly missed. Arrangements are still pending, but likely to appear in tomorrow's Journal Sentinel. If you would want to offer any thoughts or reminiscences regarding Joe, you can do so at our club blog. It is: http://swccchess.blogspot.com/
STORMY Weather!
We've been receiving torrential downpours of rain inbetween bouts of incredibly humid (high dew point) weather, either unbearably hot or downright chilly. This spring - in May - I have run my central air conditioning and had my heat on close to Memorial Day weekend! Unbelievable crazy weather. Last night topped it all.
I was working on the computer as usual; I had listened to earlier forecasts and knew that severe weather was forecast. About 8: 15 p.m. the program I had on t.v. was interrupted by the local network weather people and the doppler radar shot they flashed on the screen turned my blood cold! The weather was ripe for the formation of tornadoes. And it was nearly dark outside.
It wasn't raining or blowing winds in Milwaukee County or in my little corner thereof, on the southwest side, when this first flashed on the screen, but it was aimed right at my house, I swear to Goddess! By 9:10 p.m. the non-stop distant thunder creeping closer and closer every second accompanied by non-stop intense lightning flashes convinced me to stop my internet activities. I unplugged everything I could to protect against power surges and scampered downstairs (closer to the basement, just in case I had to make a mad dash for cover) to watch the weather coverage which had now taken over full-time.
At 9:15 p.m. the tornado sirens went off. I scampered to the basement but could hear the t.v. quite clearly from overhead. I hovered in the basement, scared half to death, for the next 45 minutes. Should I have brought a t.v. down with me? Should I have brought a radio? What about my computers - if I lost them, oh my! Finally, at about 10:05 p.m. when it sounded as if the worst of the storm had passed over, I cautiously went back upstairs. The t.v. had stayed on the entire time although the lights in the basement had flickered a few times. And I realized then - duh! - I had no fricking working flashlights in the house! But of course since I didn't take one downstairs with me anyway, even if I'd had a working flashlight upstairs in the junk drawer I don't think I would have risked a trip back upstairs to try and fetch it if the power went out just so I wouldn't be in the dark in the basement (with the bugs, eeeeeeeewwwwwwww) - it could be right at that moment that my giant tree would choose to crash into the kitchen, or part of my neighbor's swing could come smashing through the window. Fortunately, my power stayed on.
I was utterly exhausted after all the tension and weather drama, and could not even think about going to bed. Finally, about 12:20 a.m. I felt I might be able to fall asleep, and knew today was going to be a sleep-deprived day.
Sleep-deprived, you bet! I had whopper killer dreams last night. Not that I remember a fig leaf about them, but they sure were intense - it was a relief to get out of bed this morning at 6 a.m. when the alarm went off (I was actually awake before then, but drifting in and out of la-la land). In fact, lately my dreams have been as intense as our weather. Last Saturday night I don't know what the hell I was doing but when I finally got up Sunday morning I realized I had somehow managed to pull a muscle on the right side under my arm. Don't know how that was possible unless I was sleepwalking and doing some heavy lifting, which is an absolutely terrifying thought. Or else I was tossing around so much on the bed and got tangled in the covers, and then was wrestling with goddesss knows what imaginery beings while trying to get untangled, that I somehow managed to twist something out of order. This isn't the first time this has happened. But, fortunately, it is a rare event.
So, how the hell do you prepare for a tornado you can't see when it's pitch black outside? Answer: you don't. When the sirens go off you run for cover full speed ahead. Because people were either smart and did so, or lucky, we had no fatalities last night despite all of the severe weather. The town of Eagle to the west of me about a county over got hammered badly. Even my own area, despite no one (as far as I know) losing a roof or having their windows blown out by tornadic or straight-line winds, had visible damage that I could see as I took the bus northeast toward downtown on the lake, this morning. Plenty of large branches down, plenty of split trees were visible as the bus rolled along.
Today dawned hot, uber humid. It's only gotten worse as the day increased. I'm breaking into a sweat just thinking about what it felt like out there, while I'm sitting here typing in my air-conditioned home! It was absolutely, incredibly YUCKY out there. I broke a sweat in the blink of an eye with no activity other than walking - very slowly - home from Walgreens, where I stopped when I got off the bus, to get an extra flashlight and a supply of D size batteries! Now at least I'll have some light other than candles if the power goes out. I knew enough last night not to bother to take candles downstairs with me, because who the hell would use candles during a tornado, when windows could blow out at any moment? So if the tornado didn't blow my house down I'd risk burning it down instead? Duh!
How bad it it out there? My poor ankles accurately reflect the moisture content in the air - and they blow up even larger the more the temperature rises. Despite being on water pills and exercising daily, they blow up with retained water like elephantine's disease when the dew points goes above 60, unless the temperature is below 50 degrees F. Right now it's at 73 dew point, and the air temperature was 87F at 4:20 p.m. when I left the office. It's hotter here, away from Lake Michigan, Milwaukee's refrigerator. I hope you cannot imagine what my ankles look like, they are gross, and the skin is stretched tight to the ouchy point. I must go upstairs and put my feet up, and catch a nap, because we're in for Round 2 of STORMY Weather tonight, sometime after midinight.
Great, just great. Just what I need, less sleep. I think I'm already hallucinating from sleep deprivation, I dread what I'll be like tomorrow morning after more sleeplessness and unrelieved stress. That is, if I survive the night!
Some news coverage of the storm from local television.
Unbelievably, some looters attempted to take advantage of the chaos in the early morning hours today. I have not before heard about looters at storm damage sites in Wisconsin. This is gag-me stuff. I am SO GLAD those fricking a-holes were caught red-handed. Trust me, if they are stupid enough to go to a jury trial, they will get 30 years each! People around here don't take kindly to looters taking advantage of other peoples' misfortune. This happened in Muskego, Wisconsin, a small community to the southwest of my location - not very far away as the crow flies.
Raw video taken by an incredibly stupid woman (does she know the meaning of the word COW?) of the tornado that destroyed so many homes in Eagle, Wisconsin last night. It's very difficult to listen to the increasingly panicked cries of her children begging her to return to the basement captured on the video as she acted as if she were in Oz rather than in a tornado zone.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship
Live commentary will once again be provided by WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Ben Finegold. I so enjoyed listening to them last year through my headphones at the office while I was pretending to work, all the time clicking constantly on the games to see what the heck was going on as I listened to Jen and Ben.
There is still not much going on at the event the website for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, official host and sponsor of the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship, 2010 U.S. Women's Chess Championship, and 2010 U.S. Juniors' Closed Chess Championship. I "hear" stuff is going on at the Facebook site - so if you're a member of Facebook check it out.
The total prize fund will be at least $64,000.00. PLUS -
Goddesschess and 9 Queens are pleased to present a "Fighting Chess Award" prize of $1,000.00!!!
Stay tuned for further details.
Native American Finds Could Date to 1,000 BCE
Native site on Patuxent could date to 1000 B.C.
Was village visited by Ohio mound-builders?
June 13, 2010|
By Frank D. Roylance, The Baltimore Sun
When they first detected traces of an 800-year-old wigwam on a bluff over the Patuxent River last year, archaeologists celebrated what they said was the oldest human structure yet found in Maryland.
Now, deeper excavation at the site — the front lawn of a modest rental house — is yielding details of much earlier settlement, extending its history back to at least 3,000 years ago.
"As far as I know, it's older than anything in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, perhaps the oldest structures in the Chesapeake region," said Ann Arundel County archaeologist Al Luckenbach, leader of the dig.
And that's just the age that's been established by carbon-14 dating. Slicing deeper in the sandy bluff overlooking the Patuxent's broad marsh, Luckenbach's crew has found stone tools suggesting that humans were exploiting the river's abundance as far back as 10,000 years ago.
Called Pig Point, the site is producing a gusher of ancient artifacts — decorated pottery, tools crafted from stone and bone, ornaments and food waste that have begun to fill in the details of life along the Patuxent River centuries before Europeans arrived.
"Some of the ceramics that have come out of this site are really just astounding," said Maureen Kavanagh, chief archaeologist at the Maryland Historical Trust and a specialist in ceramics.
There have been pot fragments with incised angular decorations or rims crimped like a pie crust — both different from any ever found in Maryland. Diggers found an intact paint pot the size of a child's fist, and a miniature, decorated pot the size of a thimble.
"These really have us scrambling to figure out what they represent," Kavanaugh said. "Some of these artifacts are one of a kind, and we don't have an easy way of fitting them into our mental template. … It's a great, great site."
Archaeologists say some of their discoveries are so exotic in this region that they suggest Pig Point was a center of trade among native people as far-flung as Ohio, Michigan and New York.
Even today, the town site overlooks broad expanses of wild rice and Tuckahoe — river plants that would have helped to feed the native people. Geese, heron, osprey, bald eagles still patrol the shores. Tiny fish roil the shallows.
Trash middens unearthed in the dig are yielding the remains of freshwater mussels, oysters, fish, beaver, muskrat, otter, deer, duck, nuts and more. Archaeologists have also found carbonized corn kernels, evidence of agriculture.
Rest of article.
Was village visited by Ohio mound-builders?
June 13, 2010|
By Frank D. Roylance, The Baltimore Sun
When they first detected traces of an 800-year-old wigwam on a bluff over the Patuxent River last year, archaeologists celebrated what they said was the oldest human structure yet found in Maryland.
Now, deeper excavation at the site — the front lawn of a modest rental house — is yielding details of much earlier settlement, extending its history back to at least 3,000 years ago.
"As far as I know, it's older than anything in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, perhaps the oldest structures in the Chesapeake region," said Ann Arundel County archaeologist Al Luckenbach, leader of the dig.
And that's just the age that's been established by carbon-14 dating. Slicing deeper in the sandy bluff overlooking the Patuxent's broad marsh, Luckenbach's crew has found stone tools suggesting that humans were exploiting the river's abundance as far back as 10,000 years ago.
Called Pig Point, the site is producing a gusher of ancient artifacts — decorated pottery, tools crafted from stone and bone, ornaments and food waste that have begun to fill in the details of life along the Patuxent River centuries before Europeans arrived.
"Some of the ceramics that have come out of this site are really just astounding," said Maureen Kavanagh, chief archaeologist at the Maryland Historical Trust and a specialist in ceramics.
There have been pot fragments with incised angular decorations or rims crimped like a pie crust — both different from any ever found in Maryland. Diggers found an intact paint pot the size of a child's fist, and a miniature, decorated pot the size of a thimble.
"These really have us scrambling to figure out what they represent," Kavanaugh said. "Some of these artifacts are one of a kind, and we don't have an easy way of fitting them into our mental template. … It's a great, great site."
Archaeologists say some of their discoveries are so exotic in this region that they suggest Pig Point was a center of trade among native people as far-flung as Ohio, Michigan and New York.
Even today, the town site overlooks broad expanses of wild rice and Tuckahoe — river plants that would have helped to feed the native people. Geese, heron, osprey, bald eagles still patrol the shores. Tiny fish roil the shallows.
Trash middens unearthed in the dig are yielding the remains of freshwater mussels, oysters, fish, beaver, muskrat, otter, deer, duck, nuts and more. Archaeologists have also found carbonized corn kernels, evidence of agriculture.
Rest of article.
Western Zhou Dynasty Tortoise Shell
A chronology from about.com:
The Bronze Age Shang Dynasty in China is roughly dated between 1700-1050 BC, and, according to the Shi Ji, it began when the first Shang emperor, T'ang, overthrew the last of the Xia (also called Erlitou) dynasty emperors. They in turn were overthrown by the first rulers of the Zhou Dynasty, in 1046 BC.
Shang Dynasty Chronology
•Erlitou (or Xia dynasty) 1850-1600 BC (Erlitou, Xinzhai)
•Early Shang (Erligang) 1600-1435 BC (Erligang, Zhengzhou, Yanshi, Xingyang Dashigu, Anyang)•Middle Shang 1435-1220 BC (Yanshi)
•Late Shang (Yinxu) 1220-1050 BC
Archaeological evidence for the Shang Dynasty suggests that the story is far more complex and that the use of the term 'Shang dynasty' or 'Shang civilization' is confusing, and 'Shang period' might be of more use. Settlement patterns of the Shang period include dispersed villages like Taixi, walled settlements like Gucheng and Zhengzhou, and ritual or ceremonial centers like Erlitou and Anyang.
Important advances of the Shang Dynasty are the creation of writing, on oracle bones, bones and turtle shells used to record dreams and public and private events and sacrifices. Ritual bronzes were first created at Erlitou, which may or may not represent the early part of the Shang Dynasty, depending on which scholar you listen to.
As you can see from this map of the area of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the area in China is basically the same. Information from paulnoll.com:
Western Zhou Dynasty Map - (1100 to 771 BC - 331 Years)
Article from National Geographic News:
Ancient Psychic Shell?
Published June 15, 2010
Photograph from Imagechina/AP
Not much is known about tortoise-shell divination during the Western Zhou period, Sena said, but during the preceding Shang dynasty, the process involved heating the shell and interpreting the cracks that formed.
"Holes are bored in the back of the shell to make it easier to crack during the divination process," Sena explained.
"Someone then 'reads' the cracks. We don't know how exactly—it may be the shape of the crack or the sound it makes when it's heated," he added.
"The diviner would ask a question and the crack provided an answer."
Tang Dynasty Pottery and Persian Glassware Found in Central Java
More evidence of the broad trade connections that existed during the 9th century CE in the rest of the world while Europe was going through its 'Dark Age.'
Story at Vivanews.com
Chinese Ancient Earthenware Found in Dieng
The discovery may reveal the economic situation in the Old Mataram kingdom.
Senin, 14 Juni 2010, 10:32 WIBArfi Bambani Amri
VIVAnews - A student from the Department of Archaeology of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, discovered ancient items in the Dieng Temple complex situated between Banjarnegara and Wonosobo, Central Java. The items found during a research conducted on June 2-11, 2010, are considered earthenware produced by Chinese Dinasty of Tang around 9th century and Persian broken glasses.
The discovery completes historical evidences illustrating the connection between the Old Mataram kingdom and China as well as the Middle East through trade routes.
This has been the first and important discovery which may reveal the economic situation in the Old Mataram kingdom.
"We're doing excavation and identification in two spots inside the Dieng Temple complex," said Chief of the research team, Dr Mahirta, on June 12.
"The excavation takes place on the surface of incorrupt soil. Through the excavation, we found some ancient goods such fragments of eartenware similar to those discovered on a shipwreck in Belitung, pieces of grinded earthenware shaped into coins, Persian ancient glasses, and charcoal, which can be used to date back historical items."
Dozens of brown and yellow earthenware, said Mahirta, were made in the center of earthenware products in North China during the era of Tang Dinasty.
Meanwhile, based on the analysis over the ancient glasses, it is concluded that the goods were originated from Persia, referring to their particular colors of blue and green. The broken glasses are among other findings considered the oldest. "The findings prove that Middle East trade routes in the ninth century passed by silk road starting from India, Strait of Malacca, eastern coast of Sumatra, northern coast of Java and Maluku. At that time of years, the merchants bought spices from Indonesia," he said.
Meanwhile, an archaeologist from the National University of Singapore, Prof John Norman Miksick, explained that the data recording the overland trade routes of the ninth century is still rare. "It is only within these last 15 years that new historical evidences have been found on the land, one of which is from Dieng," he said.
According to Miksick, the efforts to discover historical evidences, concerning especially with earthenware produced in the Tang Dinasty, have been conducted through various excavations. However, accurate data has been difficult to be recorded because researchers are busy focusing on the excavations of other sites.
Dieng plateu, according to Head of the Department of Archaeology of Gadjah Mada University, Prof Inayati Adrisiyanti, is only known as home for temples. However, the findings emphasized the economic activities of the locals in the ninth century.
--
Translated by: Bonardo Maulana W
• VIVAnews
Story at Vivanews.com
Chinese Ancient Earthenware Found in Dieng
The discovery may reveal the economic situation in the Old Mataram kingdom.
Senin, 14 Juni 2010, 10:32 WIBArfi Bambani Amri
VIVAnews - A student from the Department of Archaeology of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, discovered ancient items in the Dieng Temple complex situated between Banjarnegara and Wonosobo, Central Java. The items found during a research conducted on June 2-11, 2010, are considered earthenware produced by Chinese Dinasty of Tang around 9th century and Persian broken glasses.
The discovery completes historical evidences illustrating the connection between the Old Mataram kingdom and China as well as the Middle East through trade routes.
This has been the first and important discovery which may reveal the economic situation in the Old Mataram kingdom.
"We're doing excavation and identification in two spots inside the Dieng Temple complex," said Chief of the research team, Dr Mahirta, on June 12.
"The excavation takes place on the surface of incorrupt soil. Through the excavation, we found some ancient goods such fragments of eartenware similar to those discovered on a shipwreck in Belitung, pieces of grinded earthenware shaped into coins, Persian ancient glasses, and charcoal, which can be used to date back historical items."
Dozens of brown and yellow earthenware, said Mahirta, were made in the center of earthenware products in North China during the era of Tang Dinasty.
Meanwhile, based on the analysis over the ancient glasses, it is concluded that the goods were originated from Persia, referring to their particular colors of blue and green. The broken glasses are among other findings considered the oldest. "The findings prove that Middle East trade routes in the ninth century passed by silk road starting from India, Strait of Malacca, eastern coast of Sumatra, northern coast of Java and Maluku. At that time of years, the merchants bought spices from Indonesia," he said.
Meanwhile, an archaeologist from the National University of Singapore, Prof John Norman Miksick, explained that the data recording the overland trade routes of the ninth century is still rare. "It is only within these last 15 years that new historical evidences have been found on the land, one of which is from Dieng," he said.
According to Miksick, the efforts to discover historical evidences, concerning especially with earthenware produced in the Tang Dinasty, have been conducted through various excavations. However, accurate data has been difficult to be recorded because researchers are busy focusing on the excavations of other sites.
Dieng plateu, according to Head of the Department of Archaeology of Gadjah Mada University, Prof Inayati Adrisiyanti, is only known as home for temples. However, the findings emphasized the economic activities of the locals in the ninth century.
--
Translated by: Bonardo Maulana W
• VIVAnews
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Latest Robert J. Fischer (a/k/a Bobby Fischer) News
I remember a few months back when 'Sis first mentioned to me the possibility that Fischer's body might be exhumed I told her it was an April Fool's joke perpetrated by chess gadfly Sam Sloan and dismissed it.
Just goes to show - 'Sis knows all.
For those who do not follow the game of chess, Robert James Fischer is American's greatest chess hero. He became the only American in the modern era of chess to become the World Chess Championship, by defeating Russian opponent Boris Spassky (or is that Spaasky?) in 1972 in a World Chess Championship match held over the course of weeks in Raikjevik, Iceland. I'm tired and I'm not checking my spelling, hope you can figure out the correct versions of the names. Fischer was probably already half insane back then, but by 1975 he was totally over the bend and for various reasons decided not to defend his title. The Russians promptly reclaimed the title by default when Fischer did not appear for the scheduled match, and it went to GM Anatoly Karpov, who held it until he was, in turn, defeated in a match by GM Garry Kasparov, a Russian by citizenship but a renegade at heart.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Fischer died in 2008 while living in Iceland. His heirs were (1) a Japanese woman who says she is Fischer's wife (2) a young girl purported to be Fischer's daughter of a woman of Philippine descent and (3) the two sons from the legitimate marriage of Fischer's older sister, who predeceased him. Oh, and I believe the U.S. Government is claiming probably all of the money in whatever Fischer's actual estate is value wise, for back taxes, plus penalties, plus interest -- long story. For those of you interested in more back-story, just google Bobby Fischer and the 1992 Yugoslavia 're-match' against Boris Spassky (or Spaasky).
Hocus pocus beanie focus, etc. etc. The Icelandic version of the U.S. Supreme Court has come down with a ruling that says the parties may have Fischer's body exhumed to extract DNA for testing to determine paternity of the alleged Filippina daughter.
I don't understand why they couldn't have just tested DNA in items that survived Fischer's death. Surely Fischer left some personal articles after he died that had sufficient DNA of his for testing. I mean, come on - a comb, a hairbrush, or a toothbrush? For that matter, what about scraping for skin flakes from his bed sheets? What about his used underwear? He died wearing something, after all. Come on, folks. We have the tchnology to "grab" that DNA today.
So what is with this exhumation baloney? Is this just a grab for publicity by a bankrupt country? It sounds pretty stinky-cheesy to me.
Best headline about the whole brou-ha ha: Body of chess champion Bobby Fischer to be exhumed to check if he mated. From Daily Grail, Daily News Scan, posted by Turner Young, June 18, 2010.
Just goes to show - 'Sis knows all.
For those who do not follow the game of chess, Robert James Fischer is American's greatest chess hero. He became the only American in the modern era of chess to become the World Chess Championship, by defeating Russian opponent Boris Spassky (or is that Spaasky?) in 1972 in a World Chess Championship match held over the course of weeks in Raikjevik, Iceland. I'm tired and I'm not checking my spelling, hope you can figure out the correct versions of the names. Fischer was probably already half insane back then, but by 1975 he was totally over the bend and for various reasons decided not to defend his title. The Russians promptly reclaimed the title by default when Fischer did not appear for the scheduled match, and it went to GM Anatoly Karpov, who held it until he was, in turn, defeated in a match by GM Garry Kasparov, a Russian by citizenship but a renegade at heart.
Anyway, to make a long story short, Fischer died in 2008 while living in Iceland. His heirs were (1) a Japanese woman who says she is Fischer's wife (2) a young girl purported to be Fischer's daughter of a woman of Philippine descent and (3) the two sons from the legitimate marriage of Fischer's older sister, who predeceased him. Oh, and I believe the U.S. Government is claiming probably all of the money in whatever Fischer's actual estate is value wise, for back taxes, plus penalties, plus interest -- long story. For those of you interested in more back-story, just google Bobby Fischer and the 1992 Yugoslavia 're-match' against Boris Spassky (or Spaasky).
Hocus pocus beanie focus, etc. etc. The Icelandic version of the U.S. Supreme Court has come down with a ruling that says the parties may have Fischer's body exhumed to extract DNA for testing to determine paternity of the alleged Filippina daughter.
I don't understand why they couldn't have just tested DNA in items that survived Fischer's death. Surely Fischer left some personal articles after he died that had sufficient DNA of his for testing. I mean, come on - a comb, a hairbrush, or a toothbrush? For that matter, what about scraping for skin flakes from his bed sheets? What about his used underwear? He died wearing something, after all. Come on, folks. We have the tchnology to "grab" that DNA today.
So what is with this exhumation baloney? Is this just a grab for publicity by a bankrupt country? It sounds pretty stinky-cheesy to me.
Best headline about the whole brou-ha ha: Body of chess champion Bobby Fischer to be exhumed to check if he mated. From Daily Grail, Daily News Scan, posted by Turner Young, June 18, 2010.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Friday Night Miscellany
Hola darlings! I haven't done one of these in a long time - and I'm dodging thunderstorms right now - I've got a clear spot but I don't know how long; the weather radar looks ominous!
A real mixed bag of items this evening:
This is interesting. If these findings hold up to scrutiny (and I'm sure there will be intense scrutiny because there are a lot of vested interests at stake), this new evidence that helps in pin-pointing the dates for ancient Egyptian dynasties is block-buster news in the world of archaeology. From Science Daily:
Constraining the Reign of Ancient Egypt: Radiocarbon Dating Helps to Nail Down the Chronology of Kings, Researchers Say
ScienceDaily (June 18, 2010) — For several thousands of years, ancient Egypt dominated the Mediterranean world -- and scholars across the globe have spent more than a century trying to document the reigns of the various rulers of Egypt's Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Now, a detailed radiocarbon analysis of short-lived plant remains from the region is providing scientists with a long and accurate chronology of ancient Egyptian dynasties that agrees with most previous estimates but also imposes some historic revisions.
From politifi.com: GA Sen. Isakson apologizes for 'unwashed' remark
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amid rising heat over recent comments in which he referred to voters as the "unwashed," Sen. Johnny Isakson issued an apology Thursday, saying he meant no harm.
"It was a poor choice of words," Isakson said in a statement Thursday. "I didn't mean anything derogatory by it, and I sincerely apologize."
The apology came two days after Isakson, an incumbent who's up for re-election, made an off-the-cuff remark about a speech that Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle of Nevada gave to him and other Republican senators on Capitol Hill.
"It wasn't the kind of speech you would give to the unwashed back home," Isakson said of Angle's talk. His comments first appeared on a Fox News Web site. "She was talking to her colleagues." . . .
Yeah, right, Mr. Senator Incredibly Stupid Jerk! We really believe you.
Taming the Night Mare
Posted by Greg at 12:30, 18 Jun 2010
by Ryan Hurd
Personally, I don't think being visited by a "uistache" (various spellings) - Night Mare also known as a Water Horse in the old Celtic legends - is meant to be a terror-inducing experience. But because we are not familiar with the ancient symbolism, we don't know what the hell is happening and we fall back on half-remembered whisperings from childhood about demons and such. If we have no frame of reference within which we can interpret an experience, yeah, it may very well be terror-inducing! In psychological terms, a visit from a uistache is simply receiving a visit from our unconscious mind. Unfortunately, in today's western societies, this is terra incognita!
It's our loss; for the most part, we've lost the ability to appreciate chess as a meeting of those seen-and-unseen worlds meeting on a neutral plane of existence, where the elements of each reality can interact and play with each other freely, without pre-conception or constraint.
A real mixed bag of items this evening:
This is interesting. If these findings hold up to scrutiny (and I'm sure there will be intense scrutiny because there are a lot of vested interests at stake), this new evidence that helps in pin-pointing the dates for ancient Egyptian dynasties is block-buster news in the world of archaeology. From Science Daily:
Constraining the Reign of Ancient Egypt: Radiocarbon Dating Helps to Nail Down the Chronology of Kings, Researchers Say
ScienceDaily (June 18, 2010) — For several thousands of years, ancient Egypt dominated the Mediterranean world -- and scholars across the globe have spent more than a century trying to document the reigns of the various rulers of Egypt's Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. Now, a detailed radiocarbon analysis of short-lived plant remains from the region is providing scientists with a long and accurate chronology of ancient Egyptian dynasties that agrees with most previous estimates but also imposes some historic revisions.
*************************************************************
I haven't written much about idiot politicians - that's not our primary focus despite their giving us constant fodder! But geez - I literally spit out a mouthful of coffee earlier today at the office while perusing The Wall Street Journal (I actually read it, darlings!) when I came across an article about a politician who called his constituents "unwashed" as in "the great unwashed masses...". LOL! Found plenty of commentary about this story this evening. Here is one report:From politifi.com: GA Sen. Isakson apologizes for 'unwashed' remark
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amid rising heat over recent comments in which he referred to voters as the "unwashed," Sen. Johnny Isakson issued an apology Thursday, saying he meant no harm.
"It was a poor choice of words," Isakson said in a statement Thursday. "I didn't mean anything derogatory by it, and I sincerely apologize."
The apology came two days after Isakson, an incumbent who's up for re-election, made an off-the-cuff remark about a speech that Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle of Nevada gave to him and other Republican senators on Capitol Hill.
"It wasn't the kind of speech you would give to the unwashed back home," Isakson said of Angle's talk. His comments first appeared on a Fox News Web site. "She was talking to her colleagues." . . .
Yeah, right, Mr. Senator Incredibly Stupid Jerk! We really believe you.
***********************************************************
From the Daily Grail, here's a sort of over-view of what psychologists call "sleep paralysis" and other people (mostly NOT psychologists) call lots of other things, and it's pretty good:Taming the Night Mare
Posted by Greg at 12:30, 18 Jun 2010
by Ryan Hurd
Personally, I don't think being visited by a "uistache" (various spellings) - Night Mare also known as a Water Horse in the old Celtic legends - is meant to be a terror-inducing experience. But because we are not familiar with the ancient symbolism, we don't know what the hell is happening and we fall back on half-remembered whisperings from childhood about demons and such. If we have no frame of reference within which we can interpret an experience, yeah, it may very well be terror-inducing! In psychological terms, a visit from a uistache is simply receiving a visit from our unconscious mind. Unfortunately, in today's western societies, this is terra incognita!
It's our loss; for the most part, we've lost the ability to appreciate chess as a meeting of those seen-and-unseen worlds meeting on a neutral plane of existence, where the elements of each reality can interact and play with each other freely, without pre-conception or constraint.
Exhumed Bones Confirmed to Be Queen Eadgyth
From BBC News:
14:04 GMT, Friday, 18 June 2010 15:04 UK
German cathedral bones 'are Saxon queen Eadgyth'
Scientists have revealed that they think bones found in a German cathedral are those of one of the earliest members of the English royal family.
The remains of Queen Eadgyth, who died in 946, were excavated in Magdeburg Cathedral in 2008.
The granddaughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, the Saxon princess married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 929.
The findings were presented at the University of Bristol on Thursday. A spokesman from the university said the bones were the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial.
As the half sister of Athelstan, who is considered to have been the first king of all of England, Eadgyth had at least two children with Otto and lived most of her married life in Magdeburg, in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt. She died aged about 36.
She was buried in the monastery of St Maurice but her bones were moved at least three times. She was finally interred in an elaborate tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510, wrapped in silk in a lead coffin.
A study of the bones at the University of Mainz confirmed that the remains were those of a woman who died aged between 30 and 40.
Professor Kurt Alt found evidence that she was a frequent horse rider and ate a high-protein diet, including a lot of fish, hinting at her high status.
Director of the project Professor Harald Meller, of Germany's State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, said: "Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up, so it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of Eadgyth.
"It is incredible that we have been able to do this using the most recent analytical techniques."
Banished to a monastery
Crucial evidence came from the study of teeth in Eadgyth's upper jaw.
Researchers at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and the Institute of Anthropology at Mainz University studied strontium and oxygen isotopes that mineralise in the teeth when they form. Dr Alistair Pike, from the University of Bristol, explained: "By micro-sampling, using a laser, we can reconstruct the sequence of a person's whereabouts, month by month up to the age of 14."
They found the isotope results exactly matched records of Eadgyth's childhood and adolescence in Wessex.
Professor Mark Horton said: "Eadgyth seems to have spent the first eight years of her life in southern England, but changed her domicile frequently, matching quite variable strontium ratios in her teeth. Only from the age of nine, the isotope values remain constant.
"Eadgyth must have moved around the kingdom following her father, King Edward the Elder, during his reign.
"When her mother was divorced in 919 - Eadgyth was between nine and 10 at that point - both were banished to a monastery, maybe Winchester or Wilton in Salisbury."
Her bones will be reburied in Magdeburg Cathedral later this year, 500 years after they were interred there in 1510.
Prior stories from early 2010:
Tomb of the Saxon Queen: Discovered, Alfred's granddaughter
By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 10:13 AM on 21st January 2010
Unearthed: the remains of England's first princess
By Tom Clarke
Updated on 20 January 2010
Bristol University professor has a bone to pick with Saxon queen
Wednesday February 10, 2010
It must have been a lonely journey, as the two young sisters travelled through the night leaving behind the land they called home, knowing they would never return.
The year is AD929, and Eadgyth and Eadgifu, two Saxon princesses – the granddaughters of Alfred The Great, and daughters of Edward the Elder – have been sent away from the Wessex kingdom of their childhood, which is now ruled by their powerful half-brother King Athelstan.
In the kind of ruthless diplomatic move that would give him a place in the history books as the first true king of all England, Athelstan has sent his half-sisters to Germany in the hope that Otto, Duke of Saxony, will choose one to be his wife.
As a future king of the Germans and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto is destined to be one of the key figures in European royalty.
After careful consideration Otto chooses the 19-year-old Eadgyth (pronounced Edith), leaving her sister to travel on to the Alps to successfully woo her way into another European royal family – most likely, the French.
But for Eadgyth it is the start of her new life in Saxony, where she will go on to provide Otto with two heirs before her death in AD946 at the age of 36 – certain in the knowledge that she would never again see her native Wessex.
But now, more than a thousand years on, the Saxon queen is to make a return to the land of her birth.
Archaeologists in Germany recently opened a 16th century tomb in Magdesburg Cathedral and found a plaque inside claiming that the bones at rest there were those of Queen Eadgyth.
Experts have confirmed the skeleton is that of a woman in her 30s, but next week parts of the skeleton will be brought to Bristol University for expert analysis.
The head of the university's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Professor Mark Horton, will lead the project to try to identify the remains as those of Eadgyth.
I catch up with Mark – who is known to millions as a TV presenter on programmes such as Coast and Time Team – as he busily prepares the dusty archaeology laboratory for a royal visitor.
"This is one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years," he says. "After all, if this is Eadgyth, these will be the oldest bones of an English royal – given that she was the half-sister of the first king of all England.
"Athelstan himself has a tomb at Malmesbury, but it is believed to have been emptied during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
"But even without Henry VIII's drastic reforms, royal relics tended to be moved around a lot in the Middle Ages anyway.
"But it's wonderful to bring Eadgyth back to Bristol – which would have been on the edge of the kingdom of Wessex that we believe she would have known from her childhood."
Specifically it will be a sample of her teeth and a leg bone that will be borrowed from Eadgyth's tomb and transported across Europe to the Bristol lab,
Mark and his team have been tasked with analysing the samples to try to pinpoint the place of upbringing of the mystery skeleton.
"If we can prove that this person grew up in Wessex rather than in Saxony, then we stand a good chance of it being Eadgyth," Mark says. "But it might be that when this tomb was built in 1510, nobody knew where Eadgyth's actual bones where, so they simply used the skeleton of another 30-something woman from the city.
"DNA testing wouldn't get us anywhere, because we don't know what Eadgyth's DNA would have been anyway," he says, as he rearranges countless boxes of human remains to clear a space on the central table.
"What we need to do is to carry out isotope testing using a technique called laser ablation on the enamel of the teeth and bones.
"The isotopes that build up in your teeth around your early teenage years leave telltale traces of the geology of your local area, because the minerals in drinking water differ. The geology here in south-west England is very different from the geology over in eastern Germany, so it would give a very clear indication that these truly are the remains of a woman who may have been raised in Wessex and later moved to Saxony. "
Mark says there is more to the project than correctly identifying the body in the tomb as Eadgyth.
"The other great benefit of this sort of study is that it inspires people to learn more about history," he says. "If you like, we're illuminating a little corner of the Dark Ages.
"When you're being taught at school, it can seem like English history didn't begin until 1066. People often don't know the first thing about the Saxons. So I hope this project will encourage others to make the effort to learn more."
The testing process is expected to take a few months. But Mark hopes Eadgyth will be returned and laid to rest in her tomb once again in July.
"She must have thought she would never find her way back to Wessex, even for a brief visit such as this," he says. "It's a great honour for us to play host to such a special guest."
14:04 GMT, Friday, 18 June 2010 15:04 UK
German cathedral bones 'are Saxon queen Eadgyth'
Scientists have revealed that they think bones found in a German cathedral are those of one of the earliest members of the English royal family.
The granddaughter of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, the Saxon princess married Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, in 929.
The findings were presented at the University of Bristol on Thursday. A spokesman from the university said the bones were the oldest surviving remains of an English royal burial.
As the half sister of Athelstan, who is considered to have been the first king of all of England, Eadgyth had at least two children with Otto and lived most of her married life in Magdeburg, in what is now the state of Saxony-Anhalt. She died aged about 36.
She was buried in the monastery of St Maurice but her bones were moved at least three times. She was finally interred in an elaborate tomb at Magdeburg Cathedral in 1510, wrapped in silk in a lead coffin.
A study of the bones at the University of Mainz confirmed that the remains were those of a woman who died aged between 30 and 40.
Professor Kurt Alt found evidence that she was a frequent horse rider and ate a high-protein diet, including a lot of fish, hinting at her high status.
Director of the project Professor Harald Meller, of Germany's State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology, said: "Medieval bones were moved frequently and often mixed up, so it required some exceptional science to prove that they are indeed those of Eadgyth.
"It is incredible that we have been able to do this using the most recent analytical techniques."
Banished to a monastery
Crucial evidence came from the study of teeth in Eadgyth's upper jaw.
Researchers at the University of Bristol's Department of Archaeology and the Institute of Anthropology at Mainz University studied strontium and oxygen isotopes that mineralise in the teeth when they form. Dr Alistair Pike, from the University of Bristol, explained: "By micro-sampling, using a laser, we can reconstruct the sequence of a person's whereabouts, month by month up to the age of 14."
They found the isotope results exactly matched records of Eadgyth's childhood and adolescence in Wessex.
Professor Mark Horton said: "Eadgyth seems to have spent the first eight years of her life in southern England, but changed her domicile frequently, matching quite variable strontium ratios in her teeth. Only from the age of nine, the isotope values remain constant.
"Eadgyth must have moved around the kingdom following her father, King Edward the Elder, during his reign.
"When her mother was divorced in 919 - Eadgyth was between nine and 10 at that point - both were banished to a monastery, maybe Winchester or Wilton in Salisbury."
Her bones will be reburied in Magdeburg Cathedral later this year, 500 years after they were interred there in 1510.
Prior stories from early 2010:
Tomb of the Saxon Queen: Discovered, Alfred's granddaughter
By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 10:13 AM on 21st January 2010
Unearthed: the remains of England's first princess
By Tom Clarke
Updated on 20 January 2010
Bristol University professor has a bone to pick with Saxon queen
Wednesday February 10, 2010
It must have been a lonely journey, as the two young sisters travelled through the night leaving behind the land they called home, knowing they would never return.
The year is AD929, and Eadgyth and Eadgifu, two Saxon princesses – the granddaughters of Alfred The Great, and daughters of Edward the Elder – have been sent away from the Wessex kingdom of their childhood, which is now ruled by their powerful half-brother King Athelstan.
In the kind of ruthless diplomatic move that would give him a place in the history books as the first true king of all England, Athelstan has sent his half-sisters to Germany in the hope that Otto, Duke of Saxony, will choose one to be his wife.
As a future king of the Germans and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto is destined to be one of the key figures in European royalty.
After careful consideration Otto chooses the 19-year-old Eadgyth (pronounced Edith), leaving her sister to travel on to the Alps to successfully woo her way into another European royal family – most likely, the French.
But for Eadgyth it is the start of her new life in Saxony, where she will go on to provide Otto with two heirs before her death in AD946 at the age of 36 – certain in the knowledge that she would never again see her native Wessex.
But now, more than a thousand years on, the Saxon queen is to make a return to the land of her birth.
Archaeologists in Germany recently opened a 16th century tomb in Magdesburg Cathedral and found a plaque inside claiming that the bones at rest there were those of Queen Eadgyth.
Experts have confirmed the skeleton is that of a woman in her 30s, but next week parts of the skeleton will be brought to Bristol University for expert analysis.
The head of the university's Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, Professor Mark Horton, will lead the project to try to identify the remains as those of Eadgyth.
I catch up with Mark – who is known to millions as a TV presenter on programmes such as Coast and Time Team – as he busily prepares the dusty archaeology laboratory for a royal visitor.
"This is one of the most exciting historical discoveries in recent years," he says. "After all, if this is Eadgyth, these will be the oldest bones of an English royal – given that she was the half-sister of the first king of all England.
"Athelstan himself has a tomb at Malmesbury, but it is believed to have been emptied during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
"But even without Henry VIII's drastic reforms, royal relics tended to be moved around a lot in the Middle Ages anyway.
"But it's wonderful to bring Eadgyth back to Bristol – which would have been on the edge of the kingdom of Wessex that we believe she would have known from her childhood."
Specifically it will be a sample of her teeth and a leg bone that will be borrowed from Eadgyth's tomb and transported across Europe to the Bristol lab,
Mark and his team have been tasked with analysing the samples to try to pinpoint the place of upbringing of the mystery skeleton.
"If we can prove that this person grew up in Wessex rather than in Saxony, then we stand a good chance of it being Eadgyth," Mark says. "But it might be that when this tomb was built in 1510, nobody knew where Eadgyth's actual bones where, so they simply used the skeleton of another 30-something woman from the city.
"DNA testing wouldn't get us anywhere, because we don't know what Eadgyth's DNA would have been anyway," he says, as he rearranges countless boxes of human remains to clear a space on the central table.
"What we need to do is to carry out isotope testing using a technique called laser ablation on the enamel of the teeth and bones.
"The isotopes that build up in your teeth around your early teenage years leave telltale traces of the geology of your local area, because the minerals in drinking water differ. The geology here in south-west England is very different from the geology over in eastern Germany, so it would give a very clear indication that these truly are the remains of a woman who may have been raised in Wessex and later moved to Saxony. "
Mark says there is more to the project than correctly identifying the body in the tomb as Eadgyth.
"The other great benefit of this sort of study is that it inspires people to learn more about history," he says. "If you like, we're illuminating a little corner of the Dark Ages.
"When you're being taught at school, it can seem like English history didn't begin until 1066. People often don't know the first thing about the Saxons. So I hope this project will encourage others to make the effort to learn more."
The testing process is expected to take a few months. But Mark hopes Eadgyth will be returned and laid to rest in her tomb once again in July.
"She must have thought she would never find her way back to Wessex, even for a brief visit such as this," he says. "It's a great honour for us to play host to such a special guest."
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Computer Labs for Kids: A New Los Angeles Initiative!
Shira Evans' Computer Labs for Kids has a new program on schedule and right now is training her volunteers. Here is what she wrote on June 10th:
This month we are starting a brand new three month program for illiterate kids of all ages in South Central LA.
Values that last...
As part of our new course program, the children will be sharing with us how they plan on improving their environments. Plan on checking with us to hear the exciting news they have to share.
And this update on June 15th:
I am happy to say that our training on Saturday went great. The ladies from Messiah Full Gospel Bible Fellowship have generously volunteered their time to serve as mentors to kids who really need help.
We went over the program outline including The Way to Happiness topics we will be covering as well as the software programs designed to increase literacy and boost IQ.
The volunteers came up with many good recommendations. For example, I'm off to the store to find headphones (which will help provide a distraction free environment).
The story of how this project came to be is quite remarkable in itself....
Just I few weeks ago I had the idea to go to California Pizza Kitchen. While there I started talking to a wonderful lady who turned out to be one of the clergy for All Saints Church in Pasadena. When hearing of our work, she wanted to connect me up with the minister of Messiah Full Gospel Bible Fellowship as they minister to young in need in South Central LA.
From there I met with the Pastor of MFGBF and started coordinating our project. Then, like a miracle, the funds came in from a college sorority far way in Atlanta, Georgia (Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University) who heard of our work around the world. They held a fundraiser and raised the exact amount of funds we needed to buy the laptops for these kids.
Thank you for your interest in our charity.
Sincerely,
Shira
New Course Starting this Month!
This month we are starting a brand new three month program for illiterate kids of all ages in South Central LA.
Values that last...
As part of our new course program, the children will be sharing with us how they plan on improving their environments. Plan on checking with us to hear the exciting news they have to share.
And this update on June 15th:
I am happy to say that our training on Saturday went great. The ladies from Messiah Full Gospel Bible Fellowship have generously volunteered their time to serve as mentors to kids who really need help.
We went over the program outline including The Way to Happiness topics we will be covering as well as the software programs designed to increase literacy and boost IQ.
The volunteers came up with many good recommendations. For example, I'm off to the store to find headphones (which will help provide a distraction free environment).
The story of how this project came to be is quite remarkable in itself....
Just I few weeks ago I had the idea to go to California Pizza Kitchen. While there I started talking to a wonderful lady who turned out to be one of the clergy for All Saints Church in Pasadena. When hearing of our work, she wanted to connect me up with the minister of Messiah Full Gospel Bible Fellowship as they minister to young in need in South Central LA.
From there I met with the Pastor of MFGBF and started coordinating our project. Then, like a miracle, the funds came in from a college sorority far way in Atlanta, Georgia (Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University) who heard of our work around the world. They held a fundraiser and raised the exact amount of funds we needed to buy the laptops for these kids.
Thank you for your interest in our charity.
Sincerely,
Shira
Chess News!
It's been awhile since I looked at the tournaments at The Week in Chess, etc. I've been so hung up working on the family tree stuff (now working on Mr. Don's family and his family is sure a lot more interesting than mine...)
First up - a chess acquaintance dating back to 2001, NM Brian Wall of Colorado, took clear first place at the NAO Oklahoma held over Memorial Day Weekend (May 29 - 31, 2010) (29th North American FIDE Open, held in Stillwater, Oklahoma). [Not to be confused with the North American Open promoted by CCA each year]. Brian scored 8.5/10 in a field of 74 players. Great playing, Brian, congratulations! From the website of the Oklahoma Chess Federation:
May 28-31, 2010 - 29th North American FIDE Open - Stillwater - 20 GPP 10-SS G/90+30 sec, Quality Inn - 2515 W. 6th Ave (Hwy-51) Stillwater, OK 1-405-372-0800. HR: 65-65-65. One section open to all. EF: $50 at door. $10 OCF membership required from all players. Reg: Fri 10:30-11:45; Rds: Fri 12, 4:30, Sat-Sun 9-1:30-6:00, Mon 9-1:30. $$G 2,250 will not be lowered. $$G, $400, 300, 200. 100 $$G $300 each class ($150-100-50) A,B,C,D & below. Unr. competes in D & below. $50 - upset, Three (3) half pt byes rds 1-8; Free Parking. Ent: Frank Berry, 402 S. Willis, Stillwater, OK 74074. fkimberry@AOL.com NC, CMV, LS, W, USCF, OCF, FIDE.
There is a cross-table -- go to the website, click on "Cross Tables" in the left-hand column, scroll down to 29th North American FIDE Open, click.
Cramling and Cori are having a tough time. Cramling seems off form this year; Cori is gaining tons of experience and insight playing against this field where the next rated player is more than 100 ELO points above hers. Cramling stands at 1.5/5, Cori at 1.0/5. With only 2 rounds to go the ladies will both go home with negative scores.
Nr Naam Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score
1 GM Peng, Zhaoqin 2397 x 1 1 1 11 1 6.0
2 Haast, Anne 2220 0 x ½ ½ ½ 11 3.5
3 IM Lanchava, Tea 2364 0 ½ x 0½ 1 1 3.0
4 WGM Muhren, Bianca 2295 0 ½ 1½ x ½ ½ 3.0
5 WFM Slingerland, Caroline 2080 00 ½ 0 ½ x ½ 1.5
6 Dirksen, Marieke 1976 0 00 0 ½ ½ x 1.0
First up - a chess acquaintance dating back to 2001, NM Brian Wall of Colorado, took clear first place at the NAO Oklahoma held over Memorial Day Weekend (May 29 - 31, 2010) (29th North American FIDE Open, held in Stillwater, Oklahoma). [Not to be confused with the North American Open promoted by CCA each year]. Brian scored 8.5/10 in a field of 74 players. Great playing, Brian, congratulations! From the website of the Oklahoma Chess Federation:
May 28-31, 2010 - 29th North American FIDE Open - Stillwater - 20 GPP 10-SS G/90+30 sec, Quality Inn - 2515 W. 6th Ave (Hwy-51) Stillwater, OK 1-405-372-0800. HR: 65-65-65. One section open to all. EF: $50 at door. $10 OCF membership required from all players. Reg: Fri 10:30-11:45; Rds: Fri 12, 4:30, Sat-Sun 9-1:30-6:00, Mon 9-1:30. $$G 2,250 will not be lowered. $$G, $400, 300, 200. 100 $$G $300 each class ($150-100-50) A,B,C,D & below. Unr. competes in D & below. $50 - upset, Three (3) half pt byes rds 1-8; Free Parking. Ent: Frank Berry, 402 S. Willis, Stillwater, OK 74074. fkimberry@AOL.com NC, CMV, LS, W, USCF, OCF, FIDE.
There is a cross-table -- go to the website, click on "Cross Tables" in the left-hand column, scroll down to 29th North American FIDE Open, click.
********************************************
IM Irina Krush tried for her second GM norm again playing in Group A at the Copper State International. Krush didn't get her norm, but McKenzie Molnar did. Molnar finished in 2nd overall (10 players in the A Group) with 6.0, tied with GM Timur Gareev (UZB 2599); Krush finished in 7th with 4.0. Standings for all groups. **********************************************
The 2010 Ruy Lopez International Chess Festival is going on, and in the Masters Group GM Pia Cramling (SWE 2536) and WIM Deysi Cori (PER 2409) are battling for first place with six chess dudes. GM Ivan Cheparinov is running away with the event, scoring 4/5, and his last two games are against Cramling and Cori. Cramling and Cori are having a tough time. Cramling seems off form this year; Cori is gaining tons of experience and insight playing against this field where the next rated player is more than 100 ELO points above hers. Cramling stands at 1.5/5, Cori at 1.0/5. With only 2 rounds to go the ladies will both go home with negative scores.
*************************************************
The Dutch Women's Championship (June 11 - 20, 2010) is taking place at the moment. Here's the website. Sorry, I do not read Dutch so I cannot tell you very much. I'm not sure, but it looks like the six women are playing something like a double-round robin. So far, GM Pen Zhaoqin is on cruise control, scoring 6.0/6! None of the other players are close to her.Nr Naam Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 Score
1 GM Peng, Zhaoqin 2397 x 1 1 1 11 1 6.0
2 Haast, Anne 2220 0 x ½ ½ ½ 11 3.5
3 IM Lanchava, Tea 2364 0 ½ x 0½ 1 1 3.0
4 WGM Muhren, Bianca 2295 0 ½ 1½ x ½ ½ 3.0
5 WFM Slingerland, Caroline 2080 00 ½ 0 ½ x ½ 1.5
6 Dirksen, Marieke 1976 0 00 0 ½ ½ x 1.0
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Ancient Female Figurine 'Factory' Uncovered
Reported at the Cyprus Mail (online):
Ancient figurine ‘factory’ uncovered
Published on June 10, 2010
A BRITISH archaeology team has located evidence for the production of cruciform figurines such as the Idol of Pomos (image, left, not from the article), which is depicted on the Cypriot one and two euro coins, the Antiquities Department said yesterday.
The evidence comes from a settlement of 3000 BC located at Souskiou near Palaepaphos. The Pomos sculpture represents a woman with her arms spread. It was probably used as a fertility symbol.
“This is the first time that such detailed information on this subject has come to light in Cyprus,” a statement from the Department said.
“Among the remnants of a house lay the tools for making the figurines together with abundant fragments or chippings from the initial stages of production. These come from pebbles and blocks of raw material which the sculptors obtained, ultimately from the Troodos Mountains. A further production stage is evident from roughouts in which the figures begin to emerge from the parent rock. Also present were nearly finished figurines that were discarded because of imperfections.”
This unique evidence will allow archaeologists to reconstruct the techniques used by the prehistoric artisans and to see how the craft was organised within the Chalcolithic community. They said it was already clear that the workshop functioned in a building where domestic tasks were also carried out.
“There were many such houses at Souskiou which must have been a vibrant centre for the production of these iconic images. Eventually it may be possible to establish the characteristics of the Souskiou style and so to source some of the many figurines in museums,” the announcement added.
In another part of the settlement, the team investigated “rich economic data” such as animal bone, ceramics, charcoal and bone needles. “Normally washed away by erosion, the material here was trapped beneath buildings that were constructed over this ashy dump of food remains. It may have been deposited by temporary visitors to Souskiou before it was formally settled,” it said.
The four-week field work at the site was conducted by a team from the Lemba Archaeological Research Centre and the University of Edinburgh under the direction of Professor Edgar Peltenburg.
Ancient figurine ‘factory’ uncovered
Published on June 10, 2010
The evidence comes from a settlement of 3000 BC located at Souskiou near Palaepaphos. The Pomos sculpture represents a woman with her arms spread. It was probably used as a fertility symbol.
“This is the first time that such detailed information on this subject has come to light in Cyprus,” a statement from the Department said.
“Among the remnants of a house lay the tools for making the figurines together with abundant fragments or chippings from the initial stages of production. These come from pebbles and blocks of raw material which the sculptors obtained, ultimately from the Troodos Mountains. A further production stage is evident from roughouts in which the figures begin to emerge from the parent rock. Also present were nearly finished figurines that were discarded because of imperfections.”
This unique evidence will allow archaeologists to reconstruct the techniques used by the prehistoric artisans and to see how the craft was organised within the Chalcolithic community. They said it was already clear that the workshop functioned in a building where domestic tasks were also carried out.
“There were many such houses at Souskiou which must have been a vibrant centre for the production of these iconic images. Eventually it may be possible to establish the characteristics of the Souskiou style and so to source some of the many figurines in museums,” the announcement added.
In another part of the settlement, the team investigated “rich economic data” such as animal bone, ceramics, charcoal and bone needles. “Normally washed away by erosion, the material here was trapped beneath buildings that were constructed over this ashy dump of food remains. It may have been deposited by temporary visitors to Souskiou before it was formally settled,” it said.
The four-week field work at the site was conducted by a team from the Lemba Archaeological Research Centre and the University of Edinburgh under the direction of Professor Edgar Peltenburg.
The Peopling of the Americas: Skull Studies Say Done in Two Migrations
What I want to know is - how did these scientists determine that both waves of settlers arrived here THE SAME WAY? Also not mentioned in the article, how long was it between the waves, and what happened to the earlier settlers? Did they all die out? Were they subsumed into the later wave of migrants? Does any of this research answer the questions raised by other evidence of settlers via one or more Pacific Ocean routes or from an Atlantic Ocean ice-age sea route?
An AFP report at Yahoo News
Skulls show New World was settled twice: study
Mon Jun 14, 6:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two distinct groups from Asia settled in the New World and not one single migration as suggested by previous genetic studies, experts said Monday after comparing the skulls of early Americans.
Paleoanthropologists from Brazil, Chile and Germany compared the skulls of several dozen Paleoamericans, dating back to the early days of migration 11,000 years ago, with the more recent remains of more than 300 Amerindians.
"We found that the differences between Early and Late Native American groups match the predictions of a two-migration scenario far better than they do those of any other hypothesis," they said.
"In other words, these differences are so large that it is highly improbable that the earliest inhabitants of the New World were the direct ancestors of recent Native American populations."
Their landmark research found differences in the cranial morphology that could only be explained by the fact that the last common ancestor of the Early and Late Native American groups came from outside the continent.
The experts agreed the differences were best explained by a scenario in which a first wave of settlers came across the Bering Strait from Northeast Asia followed by a second group from East Asia much later via the same route.
"We conclude that the morphological diversity documented through time in the New World is best accounted for by a model postulating two waves of human expansion into the continent originating in East Asia and entering through Beringia," they said.
"This disparity between our results and those of most genetic studies points to a large gap in our understanding of the peopling of the New World."
GEE! Ya think so? Duh - OF COURSE IT DOES. Glad to finally read a scientist admitting it in print to the general public!
An AFP report at Yahoo News
Skulls show New World was settled twice: study
Mon Jun 14, 6:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two distinct groups from Asia settled in the New World and not one single migration as suggested by previous genetic studies, experts said Monday after comparing the skulls of early Americans.
Paleoanthropologists from Brazil, Chile and Germany compared the skulls of several dozen Paleoamericans, dating back to the early days of migration 11,000 years ago, with the more recent remains of more than 300 Amerindians.
"We found that the differences between Early and Late Native American groups match the predictions of a two-migration scenario far better than they do those of any other hypothesis," they said.
"In other words, these differences are so large that it is highly improbable that the earliest inhabitants of the New World were the direct ancestors of recent Native American populations."
Their landmark research found differences in the cranial morphology that could only be explained by the fact that the last common ancestor of the Early and Late Native American groups came from outside the continent.
The experts agreed the differences were best explained by a scenario in which a first wave of settlers came across the Bering Strait from Northeast Asia followed by a second group from East Asia much later via the same route.
"We conclude that the morphological diversity documented through time in the New World is best accounted for by a model postulating two waves of human expansion into the continent originating in East Asia and entering through Beringia," they said.
"This disparity between our results and those of most genetic studies points to a large gap in our understanding of the peopling of the New World."
GEE! Ya think so? Duh - OF COURSE IT DOES. Glad to finally read a scientist admitting it in print to the general public!
Oldest Cave Paintings Yet in Europe?
A new discovery - up to 35,000 year old cave paintings!!! I did a quick search but could not find any drawings or photographs of the cave painting/drawings. Here is the article:
Physorg.com
Ancient cave paintings found in Romania
June 13, 2010 Romanian experts have discovered the most ancient cave paintings found to date in Central Europe, aged up to 35,000 years old, Romanian and French scientists said Sunday.
The pictures show animals including a buffalo, a horse and even a rhinoceros.
"It is for the first time in Central Europe that... art this old has been found and confirmed", said a joint statement from the Romanian Federation of Speleology -- the scientific study of caves -- and Jean Clottes, an expert working with UNESCO.
It is a "major discovery" and "its authenticity is certain", Clottes, a specialist in prehistoric art, told AFP. He was called on by Romanian specialists to certify the discovery.
His team included cavers, a paleontologist, an archaeologist and two cave art specialists and estimated the drawings were "attributable to a period of ancient rock art, the Gravettian or the Aurignacian (between 23,000 and 35,000 years ago)."
Carbon tests must confirm these estimates, they said.
The black-paint drawings, discovered three or four months ago in the Coliboaia cave in northwestern Romania, depict animals, including a buffalo, a horse, bear heads and rhinoceros, federation chief Viorel Traian Lascu said.
(c) 2010 AFP
Physorg.com
Ancient cave paintings found in Romania
June 13, 2010 Romanian experts have discovered the most ancient cave paintings found to date in Central Europe, aged up to 35,000 years old, Romanian and French scientists said Sunday.
The pictures show animals including a buffalo, a horse and even a rhinoceros.
"It is for the first time in Central Europe that... art this old has been found and confirmed", said a joint statement from the Romanian Federation of Speleology -- the scientific study of caves -- and Jean Clottes, an expert working with UNESCO.
It is a "major discovery" and "its authenticity is certain", Clottes, a specialist in prehistoric art, told AFP. He was called on by Romanian specialists to certify the discovery.
His team included cavers, a paleontologist, an archaeologist and two cave art specialists and estimated the drawings were "attributable to a period of ancient rock art, the Gravettian or the Aurignacian (between 23,000 and 35,000 years ago)."
Carbon tests must confirm these estimates, they said.
The black-paint drawings, discovered three or four months ago in the Coliboaia cave in northwestern Romania, depict animals, including a buffalo, a horse, bear heads and rhinoceros, federation chief Viorel Traian Lascu said.
(c) 2010 AFP
9 Queens Action Thursday June 17, 2010 in Tucson!
Summer Chess Extragavanza
Join 9 Queens and the Youth Volunteer Corps of Southern Arizona as we host an afternoon of free chess lessons, games and contests. Beginners: learn how to play a game of chess (using chess passports provided by Bookmans) and get a free slice of pizza! Intermediate and advanced players come by for pizza, casual games and fun.
This event is free and open to the public.
Note: This is a family friendly event; no alcohol will be served during the event.
Location: Sky Bar, 536 North 4th Avenue, Tucson, Arizona
http://www.skybartucson.com/
This event is free and open to the public.
Note: This is a family friendly event; no alcohol will be served during the event.
Location: Sky Bar, 536 North 4th Avenue, Tucson, Arizona
http://www.skybartucson.com/
Monday, June 14, 2010
Mommie and Daughter: Crow and Kitten
I have seen some interesting animal and bird relationships during my 20 years here at Maison Newton, so I believe this 100%, particularly knowing how intelligent crows are.
Video - Unlikley Friends from UTube
Video - Unlikley Friends from UTube
Sunday, June 13, 2010
The Cult of Mithras
Interesting article about this ancient cult - even more interesting that it is at a website that advertises the John Birch Society. I didn't know those dudes were still around. Wow. The comments after the article made me spit out my coffee laughing - geez! But now I have to clean up this computer, yechy...
Iran Halts Production of ‘Neda’ Figures
This is what happens when religious zelots and the cynics who back them (raping their country in the meantime for all the money they can get) run a country. Watch out America, if certain right wing-nuts get their way, we'll end up being a North American 'Iran' - with moose-hunting, to boot.
From The New York Times
By WILLIAM YONG
Published: June 9, 2010
TEHRAN — A factory in Iran has been closed down after trying to mass-produce statuettes of people who were killed in the protests that followed last year’s disputed presidential election, among them Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old who became an icon of the opposition when a video of her shooting was broadcast around the world.
The pro-government Aty News Web site reported on Wednesday that the factory, in the northern province of Semnan, was closed after just one month, though officials denied the closure.
The Web site reported that the managing director, identified only by his initials, H. M., had intended to produce figurines of Ms. Agha-Soltan and had campaigned for one of the defeated candidates in last year’s presidential election.
It also states that the factory’s 40 female employees were discovered working without the head coverings and loose-fitting clothes required by Iranian law, and that they were mixing freely with male staff members.
Ms. Agha-Soltan became a martyr for Iran’s opposition, after her death from a gunshot wound was captured on a video that circulated widely on the Internet. Government security forces killed around 70 people in their effort to suppress the protests last year, according to human rights groups.
Neda Agha-Soltan’s memory was revived in a 70-minute HBO documentary, which was broadcast last week over the Voice of America’s satellite news channel, days before the June 12 anniversary of the presidential election, which the opposition says was stolen. Opposition leaders have called for mass rallies to observe the anniversary, though the government is assembling an enormous security force to prevent them.
Mass-produced statuettes of Ms. Agha-Soltan would have been intolerable for the Iranian government, which has continued to deny that members of the government-financed Basij militia were responsible for her death last June. Iran’s state-controlled media have issued various explanations for her death, including the allegation that a BBC correspondent had arranged for her to be shot as part of a news media war against the country.
In January, Iran’s international English-language news channel, Press TV, carried a report claiming that Ms. Agha-Soltan faked her death with the aid of accomplices who later killed her on her way to the hospital.
Last month, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that the Intelligence Ministry had produced a new documentary on Ms. Agha-Soltan that would include further evidence that her death was part of a “Western plot.”
From The New York Times
By WILLIAM YONG
Published: June 9, 2010
The pro-government Aty News Web site reported on Wednesday that the factory, in the northern province of Semnan, was closed after just one month, though officials denied the closure.
The Web site reported that the managing director, identified only by his initials, H. M., had intended to produce figurines of Ms. Agha-Soltan and had campaigned for one of the defeated candidates in last year’s presidential election.
It also states that the factory’s 40 female employees were discovered working without the head coverings and loose-fitting clothes required by Iranian law, and that they were mixing freely with male staff members.
Ms. Agha-Soltan became a martyr for Iran’s opposition, after her death from a gunshot wound was captured on a video that circulated widely on the Internet. Government security forces killed around 70 people in their effort to suppress the protests last year, according to human rights groups.
Neda Agha-Soltan’s memory was revived in a 70-minute HBO documentary, which was broadcast last week over the Voice of America’s satellite news channel, days before the June 12 anniversary of the presidential election, which the opposition says was stolen. Opposition leaders have called for mass rallies to observe the anniversary, though the government is assembling an enormous security force to prevent them.
Mass-produced statuettes of Ms. Agha-Soltan would have been intolerable for the Iranian government, which has continued to deny that members of the government-financed Basij militia were responsible for her death last June. Iran’s state-controlled media have issued various explanations for her death, including the allegation that a BBC correspondent had arranged for her to be shot as part of a news media war against the country.
In January, Iran’s international English-language news channel, Press TV, carried a report claiming that Ms. Agha-Soltan faked her death with the aid of accomplices who later killed her on her way to the hospital.
Last month, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported that the Intelligence Ministry had produced a new documentary on Ms. Agha-Soltan that would include further evidence that her death was part of a “Western plot.”
Oldest Evidence of Beekeeping
I'm sure I've read about this before - some time ago, actually. Hmm.... Sent by Isis, and all over the news:
Story at the csmonitor.com
Archaeologists discover beehives from ancient Israel
Archaeologists discover beehives from ancient Israel 3,000 years ago. They appear to be the oldest evidence for beekeeping ever found, scientists reported.
By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Senior Writer / June 9, 2010
Recently discovered beehives from ancient Israel 3,000 years ago appear to be the oldest evidence for beekeeping ever found, scientists reported.
Archaeologists identified the remains of honeybees — including workers, drones, pupae, and larvae — inside about 30 clay cylinders thought to have been used as beehives at the site of Tel Rehov in the Jordan valley in northern Israel. This is the first such discovery from ancient times.
"Although texts and wall paintings suggest that bees were kept in the Ancient Near East for the production of precious wax and honey, archaeological evidence for beekeeping has never been found," the researchers, led by Guy Bloch of Israel's Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote in a paper in the June 8 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
IN PICTURES: Insect swarms
The hives have a small hole on one side for the bees to come and go, and on the other side is a lid for the beekeeper to use to access the honeycomb. The archeologists used carbon dating on grains that had spilled from a broken storage jar next to the hives to estimate that they were about 3,000 years old.
"The exceptional preservation of these remains provides unequivocal identification of the clay cylinders as the most ancient beehives yet found," the researchers wrote.
The scientists used a high-resolution electron microscope to study the bee remains, and found that their legs and wings suggest they belonged to a different subspecies than the bees currently found in Israel. In fact, the ancient bees most closely resemble those found in modern-day Turkey. That suggests the ancient people may have imported a specialized bee species for its superior characteristics, such as a milder temper or better honey production.
The researchers found three rows of these hives in a courtyard that used to be part of a large architectural complex during the 10th to 9th centuries B.C.
"The location of such a large apiary in the middle of a dense urban area is puzzling because bees can be very aggressive, especially during routine beekeeping practices or honey harvesting," the researchers wrote. They speculate that maybe the honey was so valuable it was worth placing in such a congested area to keep it safe.
Overall, the findings "suggest that beekeeping already was an elaborate agricultural practice in Israel 3,000 years ago," Bloch and colleagues wrote.
***************************************************************
Aha! I knew it. This discovery was reported in September, 2008 at about.com and may be several years old. Note the reference to the similarity of the hives found in Israel to hives depicted in ancient Egyptian tomb art. So, perhaps the Tel Rehov hives are the oldest (yet) discovered in Israel, but they aren't the oldest on record.
Here is another report, a blog account dated September 5, 2008.
Story at the csmonitor.com
Archaeologists discover beehives from ancient Israel
Archaeologists discover beehives from ancient Israel 3,000 years ago. They appear to be the oldest evidence for beekeeping ever found, scientists reported.
By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Senior Writer / June 9, 2010
Recently discovered beehives from ancient Israel 3,000 years ago appear to be the oldest evidence for beekeeping ever found, scientists reported.
Archaeologists identified the remains of honeybees — including workers, drones, pupae, and larvae — inside about 30 clay cylinders thought to have been used as beehives at the site of Tel Rehov in the Jordan valley in northern Israel. This is the first such discovery from ancient times.
"Although texts and wall paintings suggest that bees were kept in the Ancient Near East for the production of precious wax and honey, archaeological evidence for beekeeping has never been found," the researchers, led by Guy Bloch of Israel's Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote in a paper in the June 8 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
IN PICTURES: Insect swarms
The hives have a small hole on one side for the bees to come and go, and on the other side is a lid for the beekeeper to use to access the honeycomb. The archeologists used carbon dating on grains that had spilled from a broken storage jar next to the hives to estimate that they were about 3,000 years old.
"The exceptional preservation of these remains provides unequivocal identification of the clay cylinders as the most ancient beehives yet found," the researchers wrote.
The scientists used a high-resolution electron microscope to study the bee remains, and found that their legs and wings suggest they belonged to a different subspecies than the bees currently found in Israel. In fact, the ancient bees most closely resemble those found in modern-day Turkey. That suggests the ancient people may have imported a specialized bee species for its superior characteristics, such as a milder temper or better honey production.
The researchers found three rows of these hives in a courtyard that used to be part of a large architectural complex during the 10th to 9th centuries B.C.
"The location of such a large apiary in the middle of a dense urban area is puzzling because bees can be very aggressive, especially during routine beekeeping practices or honey harvesting," the researchers wrote. They speculate that maybe the honey was so valuable it was worth placing in such a congested area to keep it safe.
Overall, the findings "suggest that beekeeping already was an elaborate agricultural practice in Israel 3,000 years ago," Bloch and colleagues wrote.
***************************************************************
Aha! I knew it. This discovery was reported in September, 2008 at about.com and may be several years old. Note the reference to the similarity of the hives found in Israel to hives depicted in ancient Egyptian tomb art. So, perhaps the Tel Rehov hives are the oldest (yet) discovered in Israel, but they aren't the oldest on record.
Here is another report, a blog account dated September 5, 2008.
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