Possible Sacred Well Discovered in Wales

From BBC News

29 June 2011 Last updated at 08:25 ET
Possible holy well discovered in Cwmbran woods
Amateur archaeologists have uncovered what they say may be a holy well in woodland in Cwmbran, Torfaen.

They were working on a dig to discover more about a settlement that dates back to the 16th Century that they already knew about.
But they came across the well at Green Meadow Woods and believe it is much older.
Richard Davies from the Ancient Cwmbran Society said it may shed light on the area's religious history.
Mr Davies said between 15 and 20 volunteers had been working hard at the site for the last week.
He said the settlement they were originally investigating dated back to around 1520, but the well was older.
"We are relatively certain its purpose was not for watering animals," he said.
"We are not sure whether its a holy well, a baptism pool or something else."
Holy wells can date back to the second and third centuries and there are fewer than 20 across Wales. The water in holy wells was said to have healing qualities.
Field archaeologists Roger Burchill said: "It is comprised of packed stones that are all placed with the front forming a face to the well itself.
"Who would use it is the $64m question. All we can say about it at the moment is the structure is totally different to what we have on the bank.
"We have a wall, we have some paths, we have a possible building up on the bank and we have this well. Connecting them together is the trick."
The volunteers are taking a break on Thursday but will be returning to the excavation site on Friday and Saturday when members of the public are welcome to join them.
Sidebar information:

Holy wells in Wales
There are less than 20 holy wells in Wales with most in the north - including St Winefride's Well in Holywell which gives the town its name.
Legend has it a well sprung from the ground at the place where St Winefride, a noblewoman who lived during the 7th Century, was murdered by a local chieftain after she spurned his advances.
Her suitor, Caradog, is said to have cut off her head with a sword but she was restored to life by her uncle, St Beuno, and dedicated herself to holy works, becoming a nun and abbess.


Well...

The Indus Script Back in the News

At the guardian.co.uk - posted at Punctuated Equilibrium
A Rosetta Stone for the Indus script
Posted by GrrlScientist Thursday 30 June 2011 09.43 BST

How would you solve the world's oldest and most difficult crossword puzzle? Watch this video to learn how one man is approaching this challenge (over 17 minutes in length, but very well put together and paced)

Do you love a good mystery and ancient texts? Rajesh Rao sure does. He is a computational neuroscientist at my alma mater, the University of Washington in Seattle. He has devoted much of his professional life to cracking "the mother of all crossword puzzles": How to decipher the 4000 year old Indus script (example pictured; public domain). To do this, Dr Rao uses computational modeling to understand the human mind in two ways: first, he develops computer models to describe how human minds think, and then second, he applies these models to the task of deciphering the 4,000-year-old script of the Indus valley civilization. This interesting video provides a glimpse into his methods and logic:



Some of the questions that motivate Dr Rao's research include: How does the brain learn efficient representations of novel objects and events occurring in the natural environment? What are the algorithms that allow useful sensorimotor routines and behaviors to be learned? What computational mechanisms allow the brain to adapt to changing circumstances and remain fault-tolerant and robust?

You can learn more about Dr Rao's work by visiting his official departmental website.

"Out of Africa" Theory Discredited by Redating Homo Erectus Fossils

Interesting, very interesting.  I'm sure this isn't the last bomb that will be thrown in this particular war!  The "out of Africa" contingent has far too much to lose to have this be the last word.
Press release at eurekalert.org

Public release date: 29-Jun-2011
Contact: James Devitt
Finding showing human ancestor older than previously thought offers new insights into evolution

Modern humans never co-existed with Homo erectus—a finding counter to previous hypotheses of human evolution—new excavations in Indonesia and dating analyses show. The research, reported in the journal PLoS One, offers new insights into the nature of human evolution, suggesting a different role for Homo erectus than had been previously thought.

The work was conducted by the Solo River Terrace (SoRT) Project, an international group of scientists directed by anthropologists Etty Indriati of Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and Susan Antón of New York University.

Homo erectus is widely considered a direct human ancestor—it resembles modern humans in many respects, except for its smaller brain and differently shaped skull—and was the first of our ancestors to migrate out of Africa, approximately 1.8 million years ago. Homo erectus went extinct in Africa and much of Asia by about 500,000 years ago, but appeared to have survived in Indonesia until about 35,000 to 50,000 years ago at the site of Ngandong on the Solo River. These late members of Homo erectus would have shared the environment with early members of our own species, Homo sapiens, who arrived in Indonesia by about 40,000 years ago.

The existence of the two species simultaneously has important implications for models about the origins of modern humans. One of the models, the Out of Africa or replacement model, predicts such overlap. However, another, the multiregional model, which posits that modern humans originated as a result of genetic contributions from hominin populations all around the Old World (Africa, Asia, Europe), does not. The late survival of Homo erectus in Indonesia has been used as one line of support for the Out of Africa model.

However, findings by the SoRT Project show that Homo erectus' time in the region ended before modern humans arrived there. The analyses suggest that Homo erectus was gone by at least 143,000 years ago—and likely by more than 550,000 years ago. This means the demise of Homo erectus occurred long before the arrival of Homo sapiens.

"Thus, Homo erectus probably did not share habitats with modern humans," said Indriati.

The SoRT Project's investigations occurred in Ngandong and Jigar, two sites in the "20-meter terrace" of the Solo River, Indonesia. The sediments in the terrace were formed by the flooding of the ancient river, but currently sit above the Solo River because the river has cut downward through time. The terrace has been a rich source for the discovery of Homo erectus and other animal fossils since the 1930s.

As recently as 1996, a research team dated these sites of hominin, or early human, fossils to as young as 35,000-50,000 years old. The analyses used a technique that dates teeth, and thus provided ages for several animals discovered at the sites. However, other scholars suggested the sites included a mixture of older hominins and younger animals, raising questions about the true age of the hominin remains.

The goal of the SoRT team, which included both members of the 1996 group and its critics, was to understand how the sites in the terrace formed, whether there was evidence for mixing of older and younger remains, and just how old the sites were.

Since 2004, team members have conducted analyses of animal remains, geological surveys, trenching, and archaeological excavations. The results from all of these provide no evidence for the mixing of older and younger remains. All the evidence suggests the sites represent just a short time period.

"The postmortem damage to the animal remains is consistent and suggests very little movement of the remains by water," explained Briana Pobiner, the project's archaeologist and a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. "This means that it is unlikely that very old remains were mixed into younger ones."

In addition, clues from the sediments exposed during excavation suggest to the projects' geoarchaeologists, Rhonda Quinn, Chris Lepre, and Craig Feibel, of Seton Hall, Columbia, and Rutgers universities, that the deposits occurred over a short time period. The teeth found in different excavation layers at Jigar are also all nearly identical in age, supporting the conclusion that mixing across geological periods did not occur.

"Whatever the geological age of the sites is, the hominins, animals, and sediments at Ngandong and Jigar are all the same age," said project co-leader Susan Antón.

The team applied two different dating techniques to the sites. Like earlier work, they used the techniques—U-series and Electron Spin Resonance, or ESR—that are applied to fossilized teeth. They also used a technique called argon-argon dating that is applied to volcanic minerals in the sediments. All three methods use radioactive decay in different ways to assess age and all yielded robust and methodologically valid results, but the ages were inconsistent with one another.

The argon-argon results yielded highly precise ages of about 550,000 years old on pumices—very light, porous volcanic products found at Ngandong and Jigar.

"Pumices are hard to rework without breaking them, and these ages are quite good, so this suggests that the hominins and fauna are this old as well," said project geochronologist Carl Swisher of Rutgers University.

By contrast, the oldest of the U-series and ESR ages, which were conducted at Australian National University by Rainer Grün, are just 143,000 years.

The difference in the ages means that one of the systems is providing an age for something other than the formation of the sites and fossils in them. One possibility is that the pumices are, in fact, reworked, or mixed in, from older rocks. The other possibility is that the ESR and U-series ages are dating an event that occurred after the sites were formed, perhaps a change in the way groundwater moved through the sites.

Either way, the ages provide a maximum and a minimum for the sites – and both of these ages are older than the earliest Homo sapiens fossils in Indonesia. Thus, the authors concluded that the idea of a population of Homo erectus surviving until late in time in Indonesia and potentially interacting with Homo sapiens seems to have been disproven.

###

The study's other co-authors included: Rusyad Suriyanto and Agus Hascaryo of Indonesia's Gadjah Mada University and Wendy Lees and Maxime Aubert of the Australian National University.

The National Science Foundation sponsored field and laboratory work by the Solo River Terrace Project.

A Rare White Buffalo Born and Whope, The Lakota Goddess of Peace

Lightning Medicine: Rare white buffalo calf named
By LINDA STEWART BALL, Associated Press – 3 hours ago

GREENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Thousands of people came from miles around Wednesday to see and honor a legend in the flesh — the white buffalo born in a thunderstorm on a northeast Texas ranch.

The rare white buffalo calf, regarded as sacred by Lakota Sioux tradition, was honored with Native American prayers, religious songs and the solemn smoking of a pipe in a special naming and dedication ceremony at the Lakota Ranch in Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas.

Flag-flying patriotism, a steady Native American drum beat and scorching heat provided the backdrop for the spiritual event that drew about 2,000.

The calf was named Lightning Medicine Cloud — a reference to the thunderstorm that marked the arrival of his birth as well as a tribute to a white buffalo born in 1933 named Big Medicine.

According to Lakota Sioux tradition, Whope, the goddess of peace, once appeared in the form of a white buffalo calf. Some say the goddess will return once four such calves are born.

But whether the Greenville, Texas, calf was the third of its kind ever born or the first male in 150 years wasn't immediately clear.

But all agreed that the birth of such a calf was unusual and stressed that it was not an albino, given its dark nose, eyes and marking on the tip of its tail. Several who spoke at the ceremony said they considered it a blessing.

"He's the hope of all nations," said Arby Little Soldier, upon whose land the calf was born on May 12. "The red man, black man, white man and yellow man; we've all got to come together as one."

Unity and peace were major themes, as was respect for the environment and the notion that all living things are interdependent.

The white buffalo is an omen that signifies the arrival of hard times unless people learn to change their ways and live in a manner that benefits everyone, including Mother Earth, according to literature distributed at the entrance gate.

"It's the beginning of a new age, new times," said Samuel Joseph Lone Wolf, a Native American elder from Palestine, who played an important role in Wednesday's ceremony. "The birth of the white buffalo calf, it tells us we need to get right, not just with Mother Nature but with all nations and with the Creator, which is God."

Some tourists complained that it was difficult to see much of the ceremony unless one was on the front row. There were no bleachers or big screens upon which events were featured. One white woman, seemingly disappointed by the program's length beneath the hot sun: "I think they're going to keep going until all the pale faces faint."

But another said she was just grateful to be there.

Bonnie Greenwood said she and her husband live down the road and see the buffalo all the time as they drive by.

"We wanted to be sure to be here for this," said Greenwood, who sported a bright orange Buffalo bison T-shirt from her high school alma mater and brought their 9-year-old granddaughter from Oklahoma to also witness the ceremony.

After Little Soldier rode a horse around a corralled area and threw a lance into the ground, making the area as sacred, the crowds surged forward as the small herd of buffalo was let loose with the small white buffalo among them.

"He's beautiful," said Angela Hope, who drove up from San Antonio to pay homage. "He's a spiritual gift."

To commemorate the occasion, tourists could buy everything from Lightning Medicine Cloud T-shirts and caps, glossy photos of the white bison and even buffalo meat made from Lightning's darker relatives.

Arby Little Soldier and several other leaders are charged with caring for the calf. When Lightning Medicine Cloud turns 2, another ceremony will be held and other prophecies revealed, said Patricia Little Soldier, Arby's wife.

"When do you think you'll get another white buffalo?" 13-year-old Tristen Scott from Virginia asked Arby Little Soldier.

The calf's caretaker sighed as he patiently explained that the odds were against that happening any time soon. "What are your chances of winning the lottery?" Little Soldier said.

On the Net: Lightning Medicine Cloud

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

AAI International Grandmasters Chess Tournament 2011

Hou Yifan, the sole female in this tough event, has moved out of last place and has scored some points.  Good for her!  There are three more rounds to go.

Standings after R7:

Rank after round 7
Rank		Name	Rtg	FED	1	2	3	4	5	6	Pts	Res.	SB
1	GM	Caruana Fabiano	2714	ITA	* *	½	1 ½	½	1	1 1	5½	0	15.00
2	GM	So Wesley	2667	PHI	½	* *	1 ½	0 1	½	½	4	2½	14.50
3	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	2676	IND	0 ½	0 ½	* *	1	1	1	4	1½	12.25
4	GM	Laznicka Viktor	2681	CZE	½	1 0	0	* *	1 ½	1	4	1	11.25
5	GM	Hou Yifan	2612	CHN	0	½	0	0 ½	* *	0 1	2	0	5.50
6	GM	Negi Parimarjan	2622	IND	0 0	½	0	0	1 0	* *	1½	0	4.00

St. Paul Fresco from c. 600 CE

What I absolutely love about this fresco is that the so-called "dead person" is taking center stage in comparison to St. Paul.  That "dead person" also appears to me to be a female.  LOL!

From The Telegraph Online
1,400-year-old St Paul fresco discovered in ancient Roman catacomb
A 1,400-year-old fresco of St Paul has been discovered in an ancient Roman catacomb.

By Nick Pisa in Rome
1:39PM BST 29 Jun 2011

The fresco was found during restoration work at the Catacombs of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) in the southern port city of Naples by experts from the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Art.

The announcement was made on the feast day of St Peter and Paul which is traditionally a bank holiday in Rome and details of the discovery were disclosed in the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.

A photograph released by the Vatican shows the apostle, famous for his conversion to Christianity from Judaism, with a long neck, a slightly pink complexion, thinning hair, a beard and big eyes that give his face a "spiritual air."

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, who is Pope Benedict's Culture Minister, wrote in L'Osservatore Romano:"The image of St Paul has an intense expression, philosophical and its discovery enriches our imager of one of the principal apostles."

The figure is dressed in white and beige robes and with the letter 'I' on the hem, which may stand for 'Iesus' (Latin for Jesus) and it shows him approaching a dead person.
Details on the right hand side of the fresco have crumbled away but nevertheless it still remains a striking image which Cardinal Ravasi described as "sensational."

Father Antonio Loffredo, director of the catacombs in Naples, said: "We hope that many locals and tourists will come and look at this fresco which has been wonderfully restored."

Last year another fresco of St Paul was found in another Catacomb in Rome and that was dated to the 4th century AD and is believed to be the oldest image of him in existence.

St Paul was a Roman Jew, born in Tarsus in modern-day Turkey, who started out persecuting Christians but later became one of the greatest influences in the Church.

He did not know Jesus in life but converted to Christianity after seeing a shining light on the road to Damascus and spent much of his life travelling and preaching.

He was executed for his beliefs around AD65 and is thought to have been beheaded, rather than crucified, because he was a Roman citizen.

A Lost Leonardo DaVinci Found Again

Okay - is it just me, or does this look like the Mona Lisa with a mustache?  Why is this Christ figure wearing what appears to be a woman's dress???

From The Wall Street Journal Online
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 As of 6:23 AM
By DALYA ALBERGE
A lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered in a private American collection and will be unveiled publicly for the first time by the National Gallery in London later this year, according to people close to the institution.

"Salvator Mundi"—a depiction of Christ with his right hand raised in blessing —has been authenticated by experts as the Leonardo painting that disappeared after being owned by Charles I and Charles II of England, according to these people. The last time an important Leonardo was discovered was a century ago.

The National Gallery, which plans a major exhibition on the Renaissance master this fall, declined to comment.

Salvator Mundi—an oil on wood panel measuring 26 inches by 18.5 inches—is a devotional work comparable in size and subject to Leonardo's St. John the Baptist in the Louvre in Paris.

According to a person familiar with the painting's history, restorers began work on Salvator Mundi in the hope that it might be by someone closely associated with Leonardo because of stylistic evidence. Leonardo's hand was confirmed after the removal of layers of discolored varnish and overpaint applied by earlier restoration attempts.

This person said that the idea of finding a lost Leonardo was "not something a rational person would really believe." The composition was known from a 1650s engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar.

The owner's identity could not be learned.

ARTnews magazine, which reported the discovery earlier this week, suggested a figure of $200 million for the value of the painting.

ARTnews reported that the National Gallery's director, Nicholas Penny, invited four Leonardo scholars—including Carmen C. Bambach, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and Martin Kemp, professor emeritus of art history at Oxford University—to the institution's conservation studio. They came away convinced that they had seen an important Leonardo discovery, according to ARTNews.

According to ARTnews, after Charles II's ownership, the Salvator Mundi's whereabouts are unknown until it is recorded in the collection of Sir Francis Cook, a 19th-century British collector, though listed only as "Milanese School (c. 1500)". In 1958, Cook's trustees sold it as by Boltraffio, who worked in Leonardo's studio.

The National Gallery exhibition, which runs from Nov. 9 until Feb. 5, 2012, concentrates on paintings Leonardo produced for Duke Lodovico Sforza in Milan. Loans include "La Belle Ferronière" (Louvre, Paris) and the "Lady with an Ermine" (Czartoryski Museum, Krakow).

An Easier, Cheaper Way to do DNA Sequencing of Ancient DNA

Public release date: 27-Jun-2011

Contact: Brian M. Kemp
509-335-7403
Washington State University

Undergraduate research fires salvo in simmering scientific controversy
Student publishes case for faster, less expensive DNA analysis

PULLMAN, Wash.—A Washington State University student's undergraduate research is challenging a widely held assumption on the best way to analyze old DNA in anthropological and forensic investigations.

Sarah "Misa" Runnells' claim is weighty enough to be published this week in the peer-reviewed, online journal PLoS ONE.

At issue is the best way to sequence "ancient" DNA, bits of genetic code pulled from remains up to 800,000 years old. Such remains tend to be chemically degraded, making it difficult to draw accurate connections between, say a wooly mammoth and modern animals, or Neanderthals and humans.

The techniques are also an issue in forensic investigations where remains, while relatively new, can still be severely compromised.

In 2000, researchers writing in the journal Science recommended a set of standards that emphasized cloning bits of ancient DNA to detect errors and contamination from modern DNA. [Why?]

"Those rules became gospel," says Brian Kemp, a WSU anthropologist and molecular biologist. In fact, they became so widely adopted that his preferred technique—direct sequencing—is often dismissed by journal reviewers.

"I've had papers outright rejected because they said, 'You did not clone,'" says Kemp.

Kemp wanted to demonstrate that direct sequencing worked just as well by directly comparing it to cloning, but he had a problem: He didn't have experience with cloning.

Then he met Runnells, who had learned to clone while majoring in biotechnology as a WSU undergraduate. The two used both methods to analyze 3,500-year-old northern fur seal bones.

"After five samples with both cloning and direct sequencing, we got the same answer from both methods," says Runnells, who has published under her soon-to-be married name of Winters.

Their findings even held up with one particularly degraded sample. Cloning gave conflicting DNA sequences in the sample, while direct sequencing showed gaps in the code.

"In no case did the results of one method conflict with another," says Kemp.

The PLoS ONE paper is the first published on a $595,000 grant Kemp received from the U.S. Department of Justice. One goal of the grant is to find more cost-effective ways of analyzing degraded DNA.

Direct sequencing can cost a fraction of cloning and be done in less time, says Kemp.

"That's really applicable to the justice system, where you want to save money and time," says Runnells, who is now a second-year Master's student in zoology.

"Everybody wants to save money and time," adds Kemp. "There are more forensic cases than they can work on. There's a backlog of forensic cases."

Direct sequencing can also be increasingly helpful to academic researchers in a time of shrinking budgets, says Kemp.

"If you have an infinite amount of resources and funding, you can do anything," he says. "You can clone everything a thousand times. It doesn't matter. But for the assistant professor at WSU who has a limited budget, we need to make smart choices."

###

"To clone or not to clone: Method analysis for retrieving consensus sequences in ancient DNA samples" will be available online after 2 p.m. Pacific Time (5 p.m. Eastern) on Monday, June 27, at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021247.

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

Here's a dumb question - why didn't the experts go with direct sequencing right from the get-go???  Are there any papers available online that aren't written in technical terms that I won't be able to understand to help me understand why the cloning "rules" were accepted as Gospel in 2000?

500 Year Old Pawn Discovered

From icelandreview.com  (I was not able to find any photographs of the pawn, or the king found three years ago).

27.06.2011 | 18:16
A 500 Years Old Pawn Found in Iceland

An archeological group working in Gufuskálar in Snæfellsnes has found a piece from a chess set, thought to be more than 500 years old. The set was probably used by sailors when they were ashore. The piece found now was a pawn.

Three years ago a king from the same set was found when digging in another seamen’s dwelling in Gufuskálar.

The work is done by archeologists from the Icelandic Archeological Society and the City University of New York, CUNY. According to mbl.is the work is done for the summer. In an interview Lilja Björk Pálsdóttir, who was in charge of the project mentioned a few interesting objects that were found, including a broken copper pin with a carved head, a pearl made of amber and a bottle cap made of haddock bone.

The most interesting find was the chess piece, possibly made out of whale bone. The group assumes it comes from the same set as a king that was found three years ago in a nearby ruin.

What are the stones inscribed in "ancient Hebrew" in the New World?

From yourdatytonnews.com
Ancient stones a mystery for archeologists, scientists
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2011 9:44 am
Author unknown

Years ago, I got to know an archeologist that worked with archeological digs in East Texas in the area now covered by Lake Sam Rayburn.

He and I discussed various subjects regarding archeology, not only regarding Texas, but some of the surrounding states and Egypt and the Holy Land.

One of the subjects that caught my attention was one about several tablets being found in some of the Mayan temples of the Yucatan. He said that archeologists and other scientists studying these old tablets noted what appeared to be ancient Hebrew.

Now in some areas I am a skeptic, but in others I am curious and like to research. This area is one of those.

In the past I did not have the means or time to go to some university library for research on this subject. But with Internet, many research sources are now at my fingertips.

As I have researched this idea of Ancient Hebrew or Israelite explorers or other countries to the Western Hemisphere long before Columbus, I have read about various artifacts that have been discovered over the years of research of Mayan temples and ruins as well as in other areas of the Americas.

There is no definitive information at present to support this theory but I look at it this way: if they had the means to explore various parts of Europe and Asia by boat, then they certainly had the means to cross the seas to the Americas.

Image: Wikipedia commons.

One such item of interest is a large stone that was found in a dry creek bed in New Mexico. This stone discovered by early explorers contains the entire Ten Commandments written in Ancient Hebrew script. Today, this large stone still lies where it was originally found in the early 1800's on the side of Hidden Mountain near Los Lunas, New Mexico, about thirty-five miles south of Albuquerque.

Scholars who have studied the stone say it pre-dates the arrival of Columbus to America.

How did this large stone with the Ten Commandments written in Ancient Hebrew come to be in North America? No one has an answer.

Another item that shows strong evidence of the possibility of Hebrews in America is noted in a custom celebrated by the Yuchi Indians in Oklahoma.

The Yuchis originally migrated from the Bahamas to Florida and Georgia and then later to the Oklahoma territory.

Every year in the fall, on the fifteenth day of the sacred month of harvest, the Yuchis make a pilgrimage and for eight days live in what are described as booths with open roofs. They celebrate a festival during this time.

The ancient Israelites had a custom very similar and also celebrated in the harvest season on the 15th day of the sacred month of harvest.

The unanswered question is “How can two totally separated peoples observe the identical question?

Another question that haunts scientists and Bible historians is: “Did Jesus in His early years visit the American continents?

After all, there was a period from about age 12 to age 30, years unaccounted for in the scriptures. So there is a possibility that Jesus did visit other continents during those years.

Several of the ancient tribes of the Americas have stories that tell of a white-skinned bearded man that came from heaven to earth.

The Aztecs and Toltecs worshiped a god named Quetzalcoatl who not only was a white bearded man, but also wore white. The legend tells that his mother was a virgin. Legend says he taught the Native Americans about agriculture and medicine and gave them a calendar.

The Mayans worshiped a god named Kukulcan and legend says he too was white-skinned and bearded and came from heaven to earth. This particular god also had the power to heal the sick as well as bring the dead back to life.

Similar legends are to be found with the Incas.

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

Is the author a Mormon? Isn't that what they teach - that some of the "lost tribes of Israel" ended up in North America and that Christ visited their descendants at some point?

What I want to know is - why is this big old stone inscribed in "ancient Hebrew" with the 10 commandments on it still sitting out in the middle of nowhere?  If it has, indeed, been examined by "scholars" and deemed "authentic", why isn't this stone sitting in a museum?  Something is not right here. 

You can find a photo of the "Decalogue Stone" at the web site of Steven M. Collins with further information.
Wikipedia also has information on the stone.  It answered one of my questions - the inscription is inscribed on an 80 ton boulder!  That's why it hasn't been moved to a museum or lab for further study.  Conveniently, unknown persons have, over the years, also "cleaned" the inscription, thereby most likely destroying most or even all of the patina that might otherwise have been used to date the inscription. 

Is it a fraud?  I don't know.  Most people today don't write using perfect grammar and punctuation, and most likely people 2000 years ago didn't either.  People well versed in ancient Hebrew idioms of the day need to look at this stone, and despite repeated "cleanings" over the years, some attempt should be made to date the inscriptions using modern methods.  Alas, that takes money to fund the studies, and no doubt a project like this, if it is on any university's or institute's "wish list" at all, is way down at the bottom! 

An Unwelcome Discovery

So I'm outside doing yard work inbetween bouts of resting with my feet up, drinking wine, looking at stuff on the laptop rigged up outside on the deck in the cool, shady part of a perfect weather day.  I have the loppers out and I've been slowly tackling one area after another to clean out unwelcome volunteers and saplings.  I finished the area around the big double tree, which now looks bare compared to what it was before I cleaned out a small pile of burdock and saplings!  You wouldn't know it by looking at it, though.  Anyway, after resting up a bit I aimed for the area around the "arbor" and wandered down in that direction, loppers in hand.  As I bent over to cut down a volunteer sapling I see - a dead bunny.  Oh my.  It's a young one as far as I can tell and I think it may have been a victim of Lady Hawk who visited earlier this morning, but I scared her away when the bird were putting up such a ruckus!  Well, I didn't save poor bunny, who looks like he or she died of puncture wounds from Lady Hawk's claws. 

Now, unfortunately, I have the task of burying the bunny.  I can't leave it just laying out there in my garden and I refuse to put it in the garbage, besides which I don't have "garbage cans" like in the old days; these days nearly everyone in the area puts out large black plastic garbage bags and I'm not going to do that.  So, it's to the mini-cemetery I keep for animals who die in my backyard.  But I have to gird my loins to pull out the shovel and do it.

I would not have made a good pioneer woman, that's for sure.  I would never be able to kill a chicken to save my life, or kill and skin an animal, let alone butcher one!  I lost a favored boy friend in my mid-20's when he discovered one portage/hiking/fishing/camping-out weekend that I did not have the stomach to gut a fish, let alone bait a hook!  Nevermind I caught more fish than he did.  What a schmuck!  I hiked, I camped, I portaged our canoe with him through hill and dale and enjoyed it all.  Built a camp fire, ate beans, fried the fish, made flat bread from scratch and I made some'mores and banana boats for dessert.  Didn't make any difference, I lacked the necessary skills :)  Now I'm so glad I flunked that test!  That happened before I fell in love with chess.  He would never have "tolerated" chess. 

To make myself feel a little better, I took some photos of the squirrels who have been venturing by in the meantime.  The blue jays, cardinals and chipmunks are too fast for me to catch on the camera, even when I try to "set up" the shot by tossing out peanuts, whistling and then waiting, camera in hand! 

Happy squirrel, caught a nut I threw out for her.

This squirrel I managed to get a photo facing toward me.  They are very camera shy.  You can see how shady the
yard gets in the afteroon.  She (or he) was coming toward me for a tempting nut  I was holding up!  Oh my, the grass looks
so green, it's because of all the fertilizer I put down and all the rain we received over the last seven days!

Can you see the bunny?  He (or she) is just to the northwest of the small pile of stuff I cleaned out of another part of yard
with the loppers.  The body of the dead bunny is hidden behind the dwarf hydrangea bush left of center, next to the "horns of the Goddess" (the "Y" forked tree branch.  It was that area I was going to clean out when I found the bunny's body.  Although you can't tell from this photo, there are several "volunteers" growing in this bed that don't belong there.  I don't think I'll
be cleaning them out for a few days yet - but first, I've got to bury the dead bunny.  Sigh. 

Another squirrel, headed toward the other side of the retaining wall by the big double tree.  Yes, I have been working,
you can see the pile of cut discards there.  The grass sure looks tall though, even though I cut it yesterday!

Okay, it's now 5:32 p.m. Enough stalling, I've got to bury the dead bunny.  Here I go - girding my loins all the way...

Dogs and Chess

Me thinks this pooch is expressing his opinion on the calibre of the game being played in the background...

Article. 

Phil Speaks True About Susan Polgar and Chess

Phil, you and I don't get along at all. Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a Bitch - with a Capital B.  Get over it, man.  Oh, I forgot, you never were able to. We've been arguing about it since 2001, that is, when we were talking.  We haven't talked for a few years now.  In any event, with respect to the article you wrote about GM Susan Polgar, you are right, even if you had to throw yourself into the article a few too many times, ahem.  Remember, darling, it's not about you...

So, I'm publishing your article that I happened to find at the Lubbock Avalanche Journal Online because it was well written (at least, in most parts) and it makes a point about chess in the USA on which you have always been correct. 

All I can hope is that with Susan Polgar and SPICE, the St. Louis Chess Club and its backing, Cajun Chess, America's Foundation for Chess, Chess in Schools, the North American Chess Association, and other local and state groups too numerous to mention by individual name that are dedicated to promoting chess on a local level (from an acorn a mighty oak grows...), we will continue to turn out newly minted USA GMs, support our super-level GMs and encourage girls and boys of all races and income levels to take up the greatest game in the world and stick with it, climb the ranks, and become some of the best players in the world.  May it come to pass.

Polgar: Never give up, the relentless pursuit of excellence
Posted: June 25, 2011 - 11:36pm

Hawk Sighting

It's a gorgeous day here today, better even than yesterday because it is not as humid.  I've been up since 6:30 a.m. and have finished my coffee/toast and newspaper routine, also swept out the curb areas and my driveway to remove the grass clippings from yesterday's yard work.  I was working on the computer in the front room when the birds out back started up with an awful ruckass, more than the usual bird noise to be sure.  I went to the patio door and there was the hawk sitting up on a branch.  This was one of "big" hawks that is about as large as the length from my elbow to my fingertips (18 to 20 inches, maybe).  The robins especially were going nutszoid with their chirping and beeping.  When I opened up the patio door the hawk flew away, with several birds in close pursuit! 

The hawk flew across Plainfield Avenue to the north and settled on a tall utility pole in the gas company/electric company right-of-way where the "power towers" march across the landscape.  I grabbed my camera and took some shots, but even with my zoom on to maximum, it's only 3 times zoom and you can barely make out Lady Hawk.

Unfortunately I was late to grab the camera and none of the photos show the pursuing birds dive-bombing Lady Hawk's head!  She, of course, acts like she's got a force field around her and didn't even flinch for all their efforts, as far as I could tell.

Can you see her, up on the top of the utility pole that is peeking up above the roof line of my neighbor's house to the north?  Those wires in the foreground are anchor wires for another utility pole that sits smack on my lot line to the north, adjoined by the corner lines of my two neighbors to the northwest and northeast.  One still has the remains of dead wild grapevines on it, up too high to reach to remove.

The Nimrud Ivories

Here's a real beauty!

From BAR's website.  Description: 

British Institute of the Study of Iraq (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq), the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, and Stuart Laidlaw

A Syrian court beauty decorated the 5-inch tip of a flask carved from parts of an elephant tusk. Her parted hair falls down her back in plaits and in ringlets down her cheeks. She wears a tall crown, a collar of three rows of beads and a necklace of discs. The spaces in the crown and necklace were originally inlaid.

Diggers Unearth 3000 Year Old Tablet, Jerusalem's Oldest Written Document

Reported at Bloomberg.com
By Jonathan Ferziger - Jun 21, 2011 8:00 AM CT

A clay tablet covered with
cuneiform script, discovered
in a Jerusalem excavation.
Archaeologists say it is a
3,000-year-old copy of a
letter that Canaanite king
Abdi-Heba wrote to the
king of Egypt.
Photographer: Meidad
Suchowolski/
Israel Antiquities Authority

Israeli archaeologists have discovered part of a 3,000-year-old clay tablet covered with cuneiform script that they say is the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem.

The thumb-sized fragment, which is described as an archived copy of an Accadian-language letter that Canaanite King Abdi- Heba wrote to the king of Egypt, was placed on display today at the Davidson Center in Jerusalem’s Old City. It was found in excavations of a site from the First Temple period led by Hebrew University archaeologist Eilat Mazar.

The discovery closes a small blank “patch on the map of knowledge of Jerusalem,” Ronny Reich, a senior Israel Antiquities Authority archeologist, said in a speech after Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat opened a visitors center at the site.

Mazar’s work at the Ophel Wall site has been focused on finding evidence of palace activity from the Jewish Temple during the reign of King Solomon, centuries after the Canaanite ruler. The excavation lies in the shadow of the Temple Mount, which Muslims refer to as the Haram Sharif or Noble Sanctuary.

Years of digging have unearthed a four-room gatehouse that Mazar said appears to have been destroyed with the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 586 BC. In the building’s floor she found twelve large clay jars, one of which has a Hebrew inscription indicating they were used to store wine or oil.

The excavation was funded by Daniel Mintz, managing director of Olympus Capital Holdings Asia, a New York-based private equity fund, and his wife, Meredith Berkman.

Utah Fires Three Archaelogists for Purely Political Reasons Under Guise of Budget Cuts

Convince me this isn't political payback because someone got cut out of a lot of money when the development didn't go forth as planned due to the objections raised by the state archaeologists.

Utah fires its state archaeologists
By Brandon Loomis
and judy fahys

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Jun 21 2011 12:40PM
Updated Jun 23, 2011 10:57AM

The Utah Department of Community and Culture on Tuesday laid off the state archaeologist and two assistants, leaving the Antiquities section with just two employees: those responsible for maintaining a database necessary for development of roads, railways, buildings and other projects.

Department acting Director Mike Hansen said he was simply carrying out budget cuts ordered by the Legislature to eliminate programs that receive state funds and that do not carry out requirements of state or federal law. A plan from state Human Resources suggested consolidating the three positions into one new "forensic archeologist" job that will be posted Wednesday.

"The hard news today was we had to reduce three to one," he said. "We’re very excited and hopeful to get a good response."

But assistant state archaeologist Ronald Rood, who was among those dismissed, said in a professional association website post that Utah "showed its disdain for archaeology and Utah’s vast cultural heritage." In a separate interview with The Tribune, he said that no other programs in the state Division of History had been cut and suggested there may have been a political motive behind the change: to eliminate employees who sought to protect archaeological sites threatened by development.

Rood, along with state archaeologist Kevin Jones and physical anthropologist Derinna Kopp, who also lost their jobs Tuesday, stepped into the view of Gov. Gary Herbert, lawmakers and the Utah Transit Authority in recent years when they raised concerns about a proposed commuter rail station planned in Draper. UTA proposed the train stop and mixed-use development on the footprint of an ancient American Indian village, the earliest known location of corn farming in the Great Basin.

"We always have tried to stand up for archaeology," Rood said.

"We were pretty vocal over the issue of the [rail] station down in Draper that was going to be placed over a 3,000-year-old archaeological site."

Hansen flatly denied the suggestion the firings were politically motivated. When asked about any possible connection to the Draper FrontRunner station, he said, "absolutely not." [Right. Did the newspaper expect the politician/paid hack to ADMIT it was pay-back to the archaeologists for getting in the way?]

Allyson Isom, communications director for Herbert, also denied ulterior motives.

"Unfortunately," she said, "these cuts were mandated by the Legislature."

The Legislative Fiscal Analyst Office prepared a "menu" of $550 million of possible budget cuts, including $154,300 in potential savings by cutting two positions in the historic preservation program. While the Legislature did order reductions, the details of how to implement them were left to the executive branch.

"It isn’t a statement on the value of archaeology," Isom said, noting that the Department of Natural Resources, the state Department of Transportation and the Public Lands Coordinating Council all employ archaeologists. "The state remains committed to archaeology in other offices. It is our heritage, our identity, and we have to preserve it."

The archeology team is part of the state Historic Preservation office, which was responsible, among other tasks, for reviewing archaeological sites in development zones, cataloging human remains found on state and private lands for repatriation to American Indian tribes in accordance with state and federal law, namely the U.S. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. The team also conducted educational programs for Utah’s fourth- and seventh-graders and during an annual Archaeology Week with field trips and lecturers.

When they were asked to leave the building Tuesday morning, the three archaeologists walked away from partly written reports and forensic evaluations of about 100 sets of skeletal remains. About three were under active review in the laboratory.

The proposed Draper rail station had political tendrils reaching into the UTA board — where trustee and developer Terry Diehl had an interest in development plans around the station — and the Legislature, where attorney and then-House Speaker Greg Curtis had pushed the Department of Natural Resources to delay a conservation easement planned for the site because a client wanted to trade for the land to develop the station.

But Herbert, a former president of the Utah Association of Realtors, won the praise of preservationists and tribes by ultimately signing a deal preserving 252 acres of the ancient American Indian village through a conservation easement granted to the nonprofit Utah Open Lands. UTA agreed to build its station and accompanying development farther north.

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

Seems that Herbert, or a close friend of his or big contributor to his campaign coffers, along with Greg Curtis, and others, were cut out of money when publicity heated up about the proposed location of the rail station.  Herbert cut his losses and made himself look like a big hero to preservationists and Native American groups by allowing the conservation easement to go through, but the other guys have egg on their faces.  Herbert's is a good guy - NOT.  As Governor, he's in charge of the "Executive Branch" of state government that was given the authority by the State Legislature to make the necessary "budget cuts."  Three people under his control who caused trouble for he and his buddies were fired.  The Governor preserved one "new" position for the State Archaeological Office but didn't offer it to any of the three former employees.  So, how much money was actually saved?  But no, it's not about politics at all.

Wow! I like this singer

One of the things for me, personally, about The Voice is that it has brought me back into the world of current "pop" or whatever it's called these days music.  I haven't listened to a popular rock or alternative music station in probably 35 years, so I'm pretty much clueless as to who the stars are, what's hot, what's not.  It's either smooth jazz (these days I listen to it online) or oldies but goodies for me tuned into on local FM radio. 

So, I hear a singer do this song on The Voice and, just the other day -- for the very first time -- I say to myself  "what the hell is I-tunes that they keep talking about people downloading music from on The Voice?"  Okay, so I'm an unhip broad - give me a break!

There I see Adele and "Rolling in the Deep" way up high in the top 100, and I say to myself - that rings a bell. Was it Vicci Martinez who sang it on The Voice?  I don't remember - but I do remember that it made an impression.  So -- tonight, no, I did not buy anything from I-tunes, not when I can listen to music for free at You Tube -- I went to You Tube and did a search for Adele.  And up popped an official video.

Hey - she's not some skinny wannabe ho chick!  I love her already, even before she's opened her mouth! 



Great song. Great voice.

St. John's (Yes - THE St. John the Baptist) Remains To Be Buried In Sozopol

Oooookaaaaayyyyyyy.  How anyone knows these bones belong to St. John the Baptist is beyond me, but he's a big thing over in Bulgaria, evidently, and an equally big thing in Canada, where St. John Baptiste Day is soon to be celebrated - a national holiday in a secular country for a Roman Catholic saint.  Oooooookaaaaayyyyyyy.  Anyway, John Baptiste was a very popular French Canadian name - I have dozens of male ancestors and relatives named John Baptiste so-and-so (mostly Sequins, Villeneuves and Forciers).  Hmmmm, do you think it is possible that I could be descended - nah...

Remains of John the Baptist to be put in Sozopol's church
Wed, Jun 22 2011 10:19 CET
by The Sofia Echo staff

I just love how the first century CE Salome
is wearing 15th century clothes.  There is
definitely something wrong with this painting
by Lucas Cranach the Elder - Salome's head
and neck are too large in proportion to her body.

The remains of John the Baptist, which were found during the excavation on the island of St. Ivan near the seaside town of Sozopol in August 2010, will be moved to SS Cyril and Methodius church in Sozopol, Focus news agency reported on June 22 2011.

The historian and director of the National History Museum Bozhidar Dimitrov said that the complete renovation of SS Cyril and Methodius church in Sozopol had been completed on schedule and the remains of the saint will be put on display there on June 24 2011 because it is St. John the Baptist Day.

The Island St. Ivan is one the largest of five Bulgarian islands in the Black Sea.

In August 2010 archaeologists found an exquisite reliquary – a relic urn – built in the altar of an ancient church bearing the name of St. John the Baptist.

The urn, which was opened on August 1 2010, contained small bones from the arm and leg of the saint, archaeologists told Bulgarian media.

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

I would say this comment on the article left by someone (not me), just about sums it up:

I understand that John the baptist had over 7,000 bones in his body as against 206 for the usual person. He would also appear to have had 12 arms and about 38 fingers. Not surprised that he came to the attention of the Judean King. Now if the[y] had found one of his many heads....... Kudos to jonm267, who made this comment on Wed, Jun 22 2011 23:24 CET.  LOL! 

I've posted many items about this purported discovery of - at least some of - the remains of St. John the Baptist:

Thursday, August 5, 2010
John the Baptist Relics in Bulgaria, Blah Blah Blah

Monday, August 9, 2010
Bulgarian Diaspora Minister Contracts Foot in Mouth Disease

Monday, August 9, 2010
What Do the Norwegians Get Out of This???

Friday, August 13, 2010
Bulgaria and St. John the Baptist: The Latest --

Nice Feature on the Yenikapi Metro Dig in Instanbul, Turkey

From Today's Zaman:

Yenikapı metro dig reveals fifth-century shipwreck
24 June 2011, Friday / TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL

Archeological digs at Yenikapı, the site of excavations for an important transfer hub in İstanbul's metro system, the Marmaray project, have revealed yet another marvel: an intact shipwreck believed to be from the fifth century, complete with its load.

Researchers, who have been working on the site since 2004, are in the process of uncovering the well-preserved remains of the ship. One archeologist said this is probably the first time in the world that a shipwreck had been found with its full load and timber frame completely in tact.

“The width of the wreck is about five meters. This is one gunwale. There is probably another one which has not yet been uncovered. Some of the amphoras on top [of the cargo] are broken but those in the lower layers appear to be intact. This is the largest cargo ship yet to be uncovered. There is no other example in the world of a shipwreck where the timber of the ship as well as its load are in such good condition. If the wreck had been at sea, it would not have been this well preserved,” said archeologist Mehmet Ali Polat, quoted by the Radikal daily on Wednesday.

The wreck is among some 35 sunken ships at the old Byzantine harbor which had silted over, probably in the 10th century. The discovery of other Byzantine merchant ships has led this to be described as the greatest nautical archaeological site of all time. A collection of the discoveries has already been put together in an exhibition at the İstanbul Archaeological Museum, together with artifacts retrieved during other metro excavations around the city, including a hugely important find on the Asian side of the city at Üsküdar.

Archeologist Sırrı Çömlekçi was quoted in Radikal as saying that the remains from this Byzantine ship will provide a lot of information about the past.

“It will be possible to see the whole ship when we complete our work,” he said.

Zeynep Kızıltan, the head of the Marmaray-Metro Salvage Excavations, said that once the dig is complete, they look forward to sharing with the public all of the findings and their significance. She added in Radikal's report that the latest discovery seems to be quite unique. The dig is expected to continue through the end of summer.

Read more about the amazing discoveries at Yenikapi and the "old" harbor.

Higher League 61st Russian Women's Chess Championship

Of the 62 players participating in what I understand to be a "qualifying" round for the real deal later this year, under the name of the HL 64th Russian Chess Champinship, GM Tatiana Kosintseva is the sole female, ranked 40th on the list with an ELO of 2559.  Smart move on her part, she's bound to take a beating and yet her ELO should go up because of the tougher competition she's facing.  Two of my favorite male players are also in this event:  my romantic hero who plays chess like an 18th century swashbuckler, GM Alexander Morozevich, ranked 4th on the list with an ELO of 2694, and GM Alexander Khalifman, who won the 1999 FIDE World Chess Champion title, ranked 22nd on the list with an ELO of 2627. 

There is only one more round to go.  After 9, Morozevich is in first place with 7.0/9.  Kosintseva is in respectable 26th place with 5.0 - I'm impressed.  Alexander Khalifman is in 38th place with 4.0. 

The Russian women have their own championshp event this year, the 61st, consisting of 34 players and 9 rounds.  I see none of the top Russian female chess stars in the list, so either they aren't participating this year or they will be seeded into the final event to be held later this year.  Here are the standings after R8, one more round to go:

Rk.		Name	FED	Rtg	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3
1	IM	Zaiatz Elena	RUS	2430	7.0	35.5	32.5	6
2	WIM	Charochkina Daria	RUS	2320	6.0	37.0	27.5	5
3	IM	Gunina Valentina	RUS	2487	6.0	36.5	30.0	6
4	WGM	Shadrina Tatiana	RUS	2397	5.5	34.0	21.0	5
5	WGM	Kovanova Baira	RUS	2361	5.5	32.0	23.0	4
6	IM	Ovod Evgenija	RUS	2404	5.0	36.0	23.0	5
7	IM	Kovalevskaya Ekaterina	RUS	2427	5.0	34.0	24.0	3
8	WFM	Kostrikina Anna	RUS	2072	5.0	29.5	19.5	4
9	WGM	Girya Olga	RUS	2394	5.0	28.5	19.5	4
10	IM	Bodnaruk Anastasia	RUS	2419	4.5	32.5	24.0	4
11	IM	Romanko Marina	RUS	2387	4.5	32.0	24.0	3
12	WIM	Tomilova Elena	RUS	2317	4.5	32.0	23.5	3
13	FM	Pustovoitova Daria	RUS	2306	4.5	30.5	20.0	3
14	WIM	Severiukhina Zoja	RUS	2291	4.5	30.5	18.5	4
15	WIM	Ambartsumova Karina	RUS	2303	4.0	34.5	22.5	3
16	IM	Vasilevich Irina	RUS	2342	4.0	32.0	21.0	3
17	IM	Matveeva Svetlana	RUS	2380	4.0	31.0	20.5	3
18		Bukhteeva Viktoria	RUS	2178	4.0	30.5	19.5	2
19	WFM	Goryachkina Aleksandra	RUS	2103	4.0	29.5	16.0	2
20	WIM	Ivakhinova Inna	RUS	2326	4.0	25.5	13.0	3
21		Drozdova Dina	RUS	2239	3.5	30.5	16.5	2
22	WFM	Semenova Elena	RUS	2188	3.5	27.5	15.0	2
23		Zizlova Sofia	RUS	2149	3.5	26.5	15.0	2
24	WIM	Bezgodova Svetlana	RUS	2154	3.5	26.0	14.5	3
25	IM	Savina Anastasia	RUS	2389	3.5	25.5	12.5	3
26	WFM	Kindinova Ekaterina	RUS	2159	3.0	29.5	13.5	2
27		Severina Maria	RUS	2104	3.0	28.0	13.0	3
28	WIM	Ivkina Olga	RUS	2294	3.0	25.0	9.5	2
29	WIM	Fominykh Maria	RUS	2291	3.0	24.5	8.5	2
30	WFM	Belenkaya Dina	RUS	2198	2.5	29.0	14.5	2
31	WFM	Travkina Anastasia	RUS	2176	2.5	28.0	11.5	1
32		Balaian Alina	RUS	2163	2.5	22.5	10.5	2
33		Petrova Olga	RUS	2256	1.5	25.0	8.0	1
34		Antipina Natalia	RUS	0	1.0	23.0	7.0	1

Perhaps Hou Yifan Needs a Break

She has yet to draw or win a game in the AAI International Grandmaster Chess Tournament 2011 taking place right now in India (June 22 - July 2, 2011).  It is a category 17 event, the highest yet held in India.

After three rounds, Hou has no points.  This is a double round-robin so all of the players will face each other, once with white pieces, once with black pieces.  Hou has 7 more rounds to go, but I'm telling you it doesn't look very promising for her at the moment.  Perhaps she is tired out from her nearly constant high-intensity events she's played in since winning the women's champion title in December, 2010.  She is gearing up for her match with GM Koneru Humpy of India later this year for the women's champion title (if it is, in fact, held.  As far as I am aware, either nobody has bid for this event or what bids have come in have been unacceptable to FIDE (perhaps because not enough bribe money is being offered).

Standings after R3:

Are You Watching the Voice?

I have to tell you, this show has totally blown me away!  I am not a fan of American Idol, although it has showcased some great talent.  The Voice - wow!  I hope a lot of the final 16 (yes, all the way up there to the quarter-finals because there were some great voices who had to be let go) get recording contracts, I was that impressed with this pool of talent. Hell, I even liked the country singers and normally I'm not a fan of country music. 

So, the show is down to the final four, and next week Tuesday is the sing-off and America will pick one, and only one, winner.  Of the four remaining, I like equally and for different reasons, Dia Frampton and Beverly McClellan.

The very first time I heard these two very different femmes sing, I was just amazed and awestruck.  Each week they've gotten better and better. 

I think Vicci Martinez is a lovely little bundle of flaming energy, but she has a tendency to shout rather than sing.  She is definitely an original, though, and absolutely fearless on stage. Not many performers can sing Jolene and Dog Days Are Gone in back-to-back weeks and rock both! 

Javier, my my, what can I say?  He's got a great gift in that voice of his and he doesn't know how to use it!  All that over-singing, those meaningless, useless runs on every other note, the skipping of important lyrics (in Angel, for instance).  He's got a heart-tugging back-story with his wife and little kids, but Holy Cow, he's had his opportunities and he hasn't been able to cut it.  That's the bottom line for me.  He had albums released - they bombed.  He's been first act on tours - didn't get any buzz. Why not? For once, I would like to hear him sing a song without "making it his own" - because clearly, the man does not understand what "making it his own" really means!  America appears to love him, however, and he could very well win next week.  Too bad, I think Dia, Beverly and Vicci have more right-on instincts and comprehension of singing in their own unique styles than Javier has, and I don't think he gets it that he doesn't get it!

Sixteen year old Xenia, who was eliminated in the semi-finals, has the most unique voice.  She's got distinctive tonal and phrasing qualities that have set apart such disparate performers as Macy Gray, Stevie Nicks and Dionne Warwick.  Xenia is like a deer in the headlights on stage, though.  No experience whatsoever performing, sang to herself in the shower (really!)  She's cute in a sweet sixteen kind of way I didn't think existed anymore in American teenagers today, and I hope the industry doesn't get hold of her and "sex her up" (gag me) - she's an original and should be allowed to develop into her own unique self.  I would pay money for her music, like I have for Susan Boyle's music, another distinctive original. 

Last night Dia rocked Losing my Religion; the week before she rocked Heartless. 



I think last night, though, belonged to Beverly and her rendition of The Thrill is Gone.    Absolutely knocked me out of my chair. 

First North American Carved Image of Mastodon or Mammoth!

Scientists reveal a first in Ice Age art
Press Release June 21, 2011

Researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida have announced the discovery of a bone fragment, approximately 13,000 years old, in Florida with an incised image of a mammoth or mastodon. This engraving is the oldest and only known example of Ice Age art to depict a proboscidean (the order of animals with trunks) in the Americas. The team's research is published online in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

A bone c. 13,000 year old carving on bone of a "proboscidean."
Can't they tell if it's a mammoth or a mastodon?  Isn't that what the experts go to school for? 

The bone was discovered in Vero Beach, Fla. by James Kennedy, an avocational fossil hunter, who collected the bone and later while cleaning the bone, discovered the engraving. Recognizing its potential importance, Kennedy contacted scientists at the University of Florida and the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute and National Museum of Natural History.

"This is an incredibly exciting discovery," said Dennis Stanford, anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and co-author of this research. "There are hundreds of depictions of proboscideans on cave walls and carved into bones in Europe, but none from America—until now."

The engraving is 3 inches long from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, and 1.75 inches tall from the top of the head to the bottom of the right foreleg. The fossil bone is a fragment from a long bone of a large mammal—most likely either a mammoth or mastodon, or less likely a giant sloth. A precise identification was not possible because of the bone's fragmented condition and lack of diagnostic features.

"The results of this investigation are an excellent example of the value of interdisciplinary research and cooperation among scientists," said Barbara Purdy, professor emerita of anthropology at the University of Florida and lead author of the team's research. "There was considerable skepticism expressed about the authenticity of the incising on the bone until it was examined exhaustively by archaeologists, paleontologists, forensic anthropologists, materials science engineers and artists."

One of the main goals for the research team was to investigate the timing of the engraving—was it ancient or was it recently engraved to mimic an example of prehistoric art? It was originally found near a location, known as the Old Vero Site, where human bones were found side-by-side with the bones of extinct Ice Age animals in an excavation from 1913 to 1916. The team examined the elemental composition of the engraved bone and others from the Old Vero Site. They also used optical and electron microscopy, which showed no discontinuity in coloration between the carved grooves and the surrounding material. This indicated that both surfaces aged simultaneously and that the edges of the carving were worn and showed no signs of being carved recently or that the grooves were made with metal tools.

Believed to be genuine, this rare specimen provides evidence that people living in the Americas during the last Ice Age created artistic images of the animals they hunted. The engraving is at least 13,000 years old as this is the date for the last appearance of these animals in eastern North America, and more recent Pre-Columbian people would not have seen a mammoth or mastodon to draw. [Key point!]

The team's research also further validates the findings of geologist Elias Howard Sellards at the Old Vero Site in the early 20th Century. His claims that people were in North America and hunted animals at Vero Beach during the last Ice Age have been disputed over the past 95 years.

A cast of the carved fossil bone is now part of an exhibit of Florida Mammoth and Mastodons at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.


Note:  I feel as if I've posted about this story before, but it is an important discovery so, just in case I did not, here it is!

Egypt to Uncover Second Solar Boat at Giza

I hope all goes well!

Egypt to uncover 2nd solar boat at Giza
Jun 22nd, 2011 | By Bikya Masr Staff

CAIRO: The Egyptian ministry of antiquities announced on Tuesday that it would uncover the second solar boat at the Giza Pyramids on Thursday morning. The original date had been scheduled for Wednesday.

According to a statement from the ministry, the boat had been discovered in 1987 after an electromagnetic radar survey west of the first solar boat, which is currently on display next to the Great Pyramid.

“It has been the focus of research since 2008 by staff from the Egyptian ministry of state for antiquities, a delegation from Waseda University and the Japanese Institute for Restoration Research,” the statement read.

The ministry added that onditions are now ideal to remove the stone cover, consisting of 40 panels.

“The uncovering event on June 23 will take place inside the large tent warehouse, constructed to enclose and protect the second solar boat,” the statement added.

It is being organized by the Japanese Embassy in Egypt, the event will be attended by its Chargé d’Affaires Masami Kinefuchi, the Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, and the Chief Executive Representative of the Nitori Holding Company, Akio Nitori.

BM

Hawass Found Innocent of Charges

Story at Bikyamaysr.com.  It's not exactly clear if Hawass appealed his sentence regarding the bookstore incident and the charges were kicked out on appeal, or if the "charges" against him were something else. 

Egypt’s Zahi Hawass found innocent
Jun 16th, 2011 | By Bikya Masr Staff |

CAIRO: An Egyptian court ruled on Wednesday that Egypt’s firebrand Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass is innocent of charges against him. The minister is currently in the United States on a speaking tour.

“Today is a very special day for me. The MSA, and myself personally, will always hold the laws of Egypt in the highest regard,” Hawass wrote on his personal blog.

“The MSA, and myself personally, have always held the laws of Egypt and the ruling of our courts in the highest regard and we will continue to do so,” he continued.

In April, Hawass was sentenced to one-year in jail n a dispute over a bookstore at the Egyptian Museum.

He was also fined by the court 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,650) in damages at the time.

He had served as the Supreme Council of Antiquities chief until last month, when he was appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak as antiquities minister in the newly established ministry. [This happened before May, 2011! Dr. Hawass was reappointed to his position of Antiquities Minister, from which he had been discharged by the interim government after the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, on March 30, 2011, by the same interim government that had discharged him originally.]

Hawass has been under fire from a number of sides in recent years including from rights groups who accuse the man of dictatorial polices concerning debate and scientific findings. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) called out Hawass in 2009 for allegedly pushing aside a researcher for stating views that differed from the SCA Secretary-General’s, which led to dozens of investigations.

Ironically, on his recent tour he has touted the Egyptian revolution to crowds, saying he was “pleased” with the support Americans are giving Egypt.

Ahmed Saleh, the researcher in question, told ANHRI that he was “alarmed” with a series of investigations and announcements from Hawass in newspapers’ that the researcher felt were undermining and ridiculing his work. According to ANHRI, the researcher proposed a new approach on how to deal with “some Egyptian antiquities, especially the mummy of King Tut.”

Hawass is known for his cheerful spirit, and a closet full of cowboy hats he passes to foreign dignitaries as they come through Egypt. He even gave American President Barack Obama one of those hats.

Despite his jolly spirit, archaeologists, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of permits to dig in the country, which all go through Hawass, tell Bikya Masr a different, behind-the-scenes reality.

“He has a huge temper,” began one archaeologist. “If you don’t agree with him, he simply screams at you and threatens to remove your funding.”

Other reports show that he takes advantage of those needing internships with the SCA. He takes on American students, promises them adequate salaries, and then refuses to pay, a number of former interns told Bikya Masr.

“He is paid thousands of dollars for each appearance he makes for the Discovery Channel and every time he writes or appears anywhere. The man makes so much money that it is no wonder he tries to curtail other opinions,” an Egyptian researcher told Bikya Masr. The researcher, who works for the SCA, says that “everyone in the council knows what goes on, but he is the boss and his rules go, so there is little we can do.”

It is also well known, archaeologists say, that he takes bribes in order to give permits. “And he is big on cronyism and sexual favors,” another American researcher said, adding that “it is well-known in the community that he gives key positions to women for specific reasons.” This has been supported by a number of archaeologists, who added that on trips to New York, “he has often been seen with call girls and escorts.”

BM

That old devil! A womanizer. Who'd have guessed, tsk tsk.  As bad as the French dude who is up on rape charges in New York City - same fraternity.  Do they teach this stuff to Mediterranean men in the cradle?