Shopping and Cleaning My Closet

This is one of those "Everything" entries, darlings. Whew - it's been a busy weekend. Too busy, actually; right now I'm scrambling to get laundry done and I'm cleaning out old clothes in my closet that I'll never fit into again in this life because the Purple Heart Veterans folks are coming by to collect it all bright and early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow it's back to the office for the daily grind for another 40 hours. Goddess, I can't wait until I can retire! Saturday saw me in a shopping mood - a rarity these days. I used to love shopping; back in my 20's (ahhh, those were the days), on Saturday mornings my roommates and I would trek "downtown," which actually had clothing shops of all sorts in those days, and we'd shop and shop - searching for just the perfect outfit to wear to the disco that night or the following weekend. Then we'd have lunch at the counter at Woolworths. I had a collection of spectacular dresses that went out of fashion as quickly as they came into fashion :) When I hit my 30's, I lost interest in (1) disco and (2) shopping, but never in (3) men :) I also used to wear hot pants. LOL! I used to wear my hair in a "shag." Does anyone out there still remember the "Sasoon" cut? Double LOL! So, my knees are aching like the dickens since 2:00 p.m. because the weather is changing - it's supposed to get back to summer here for the next week, a welcome relief from "end-of-October" temperatures! The "oh-my-knees-are-aching" is a good excuse to NOT shove around the lawn mower for several hours cutting the front and back yards - but the grass is growing so, alas, I must do it sooner or later, unless I can hire someone tomorrow to do it for me - I've had it with grass cutting for the season. It was pleasant enough this afternoon to sit on the deck for an hour and read the sales papers from the gigantic Sunday newspaper. It's not Sunday if I can't read those sales papers, you know, although I rarely make a note to go out and buy anything I see in them these days. Okay - back to shopping - I hit the mall at 9:26 a.m. yesterday and several stores weren't yet open, but I had a goal in mind (four pairs of dress slacks for the office in assorted colors) and Kohl's was open. By 10 the rest of the mall was open for business and I crossed back and forth in search of the perfect-fitting pair of dress slacks four times on the top level, and four times on the bottom level. I stopped for lunch at 1:00 p.m. or thereabouts, and exhausted and disappointed with my miniscule shopping haul, I decided to get my hair cut after stuffing myself with a Big Mac Meal. Okay-no comments about the obvious here, please! Alas, the Regis salon that used to be at the Mall isn't there anymore, and so I left bereft, sans four pairs of dress slacks and sans haircut, but happy with a Big Mac in my stomach making me sleepy... Forever sunny of nature (ahem), I am one of those people who sees the glass half full rather than half empty. Although I tried on dozens of slacks and was getting more and more depressed as the sizes kept getting larger and larger, I did find two pair that fit to perfection. I had better luck with tops - two sweaters and two blouses were added to my haul. When I got home I went online and was able to hunt down and purchased three different colored pairs of slacks of the same brand, cut and size (I sure hope they are the same size as those that fit me at the Mall) that I could NOT find at the Mall. I ask you, what the hell are Malls coming to, when a woman who wants to shop cannot find something to buy??? I swear there's a conspiracy going on among clothing designers - they all hate women! - and is it my imagination or are most of the clothing designers gay men these days? I have nothing against gay men (or gay women, either), except it seems to me that the gay men design clothing for stick figures, not for real women with curves and bulges! Well, not just the gay men - all those damned designers! A pox on them all! And the sizing, oi yay! We've sent men to the Moon and still have land-rovers running around on Mars continuing to obtain and transmit scientific information back to us years after their useful lives were supposed to have gone kaput! And yet we don't have a uniform system of sizing clothing for women! Ridiculous! In some things I'm a size 10; in other things I can't get a leg into a size 10, or an arm either, for that matter - and the sizes climb into the 1X, 2X, 3X, etc. Come now, I'm not a 3X - whatever that means (it's just really big, like a tent). Generally I'm a size 16; 0kay, no cracks about the size, not until you've tried on as many clothes over the years as I have. Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, you know. I've got a generous figure - my beanpole days ended when I hit 48. I don't mind it, generally, I like how I look. But it's a real pain in the butt shopping for clothes that fit me and are suitable for my age and profession when the fashion industry insists on producing clothing for Twiggy-sized teenagers who all want to look like Brittany Spears. Like - Gag Me! Even worse, this same fashion industry now produces those Twiggy-size Brittany slutty fashions in sizes that might fit me, if only I would try them on. Except the clothing is designed for an 8 year old who wants to look like a hooker, not a ___ year old who uses wrinkle eraser cream at night :) I would look absolutely ridiculous in such outfits - believe me - I've seen women of my age and relative size trying to wear them in public - shame shame shame... I'm too frugal - and realistic - to waste my money on such nonsense! Okay, so I hauled my newly-purchased clothing home and tackled the closet - continued today (in between bouts of laundry). Every outfit tells a story, story (wasn't that a Rod Stewart song years ago???) So, it's taking much longer to do this cleaning-out stuff than I thought would. For instance, there's the size 6 "dusty pink" number I wore to the wedding reception of an attorney (who married his thrice-divorced secretary) in - I think it must have been 1987 - who was later disbarred for embezzling client funds...There's the size 12 100% polyester black crinkled pants-set with white and yellow daisies (what was I thinking?)...there's the size minus 2 maroon chiffon number I wore in Las Vegas back in - well, never mind, let's just say I had a lot of success with that maroon chiffon number :). And then there are the "career" additions to the closet from years past - pink, green and lavender suits that haven't been in fashion in - well, never mind (again) - all sizes 6 and 8. There are also the more "serious" size 10, 12 and 14 suits, in navy, grey and black - and one red tartan plaid (what was I thinking?) Oh - and jumpers - jumpers? - that look like they'd fit my 8 year old niece... It's painful to part with those jumpers - they're so damned cute! Well, you get the idea. And don't even get me started on the shoes... I was much smarter with my purse purchases, thank goddess for small favors!

What A Difference A Day Makes....

Twenty-four little hours....

Ah, that's a great song (one of several) by one of the steamiest chantreuses of the 1950's - Miss Etta James - who is still out there doing appearances, still in fine voice at __. No, darlings, that's not Etta James in the photo - that's Alexander Morozevich.

After three rounds, Moro has 1.5 points, after defeating Peter Svidler. Amazingly, this game got no coverage at The Week in Chess when I checked just a few minutes ago (about 10:00 p.m. Milwaukee time), the only decisive game of the day (the rest were draws)! Susan Polgar's blog had it covered:

Morozevich, Alexander - Svidler, Peter 1-0 37 C45 Scotch Game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bc4 0–0 8.0–0 Ne5 9.Bb3 d6 10.f3 Be6 11.Kh1 Bc4 12.Rf2 d5 13.Bc2 dxe4 14.Nd2 Bd3 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.fxe4 Qg6 17.Rf4 Nc4 18.Bg1 Qh6 19.Rf3 Qd2 20.Qb1 Bb6 21.Bb3 Bxd4 22.cxd4 Na5 23.Bc2 Rad8 24.Rc3 Nac6 25.d5 Nb4 26.Bb3 Na6 27.Be3 Qe2 28.Bc4 Qg4 29.h3 Qh4 30.Bxa6 bxa6 31.Rxc7 f5 32.Bc5 Rfe8 33.d6 Ng6 34.exf5 Nf4 35.Qc2 Re2 36.Qb3+ Kh8 37.Rg1 White wins 1–0

Where Moro is at in the standings at the moment - I can't figure out this stuff, darlings! I couldn't find a definitive table online tonight so I'll wait 24 hours - that seems to be the lead time to reporting on this event (except for SP getting us the moves of the game so quickly. How DOES she do that???) There's a lot of chess left to be played, however, and much mojo to be worked in Moro's behalf. Wel'll see what we can do at Goddesschess (ahem)...

Tania Talks

‘Championship luck clinched it for me’ From The Hindu online, September 15, 2007 NEW DELHI: Tania Sachdev is almost tired of silencing her critics. Even after 13 years of competitive chess and winning National, British, Commonwealth, Asian and World championship medals, she remains one of the players whose efforts continued to be discounted by the cynics in the country’s chess circles. But Tania’s triumph in the Asian women’s championship earlier this week in Teheran to go with the National title she claimed in Chennai last December, should add some new names to her list of admirers. Apart from her exploits in chess, Tania also gets noticed for being articulate unlike most of her peers. She is never shy of speaking her mind on subjects that most Indian champions dread to discuss before the media. On Friday, Tania met and charmed the capital’s mediapersons with her replies. She was quizzed about everything from her chess, to her wardrobe, to her “best friend” P. Hari Krishna and her personal life among other things. Tania’s character came out stronger as she handled the volley of questions with ease and élan. Good show “Honestly, I was only aiming to qualify for the World Cup by finishing in the top three of the Asian championship,” said the 21-year-old about her campaign in Teheran and continued, “call it the ‘Championship luck’ that came by way in the eighth and penultimate round against China’s Huang Qian. It was a dead drawn position when Qian overlooked a check, lost her bishop and eventually the game. The victory left me with needing a draw in the final round for the title.” The Iranian Capital is very dear to Tania since she has always returned with a medal on every appearance in the Asian age-groups championships. “The organisers jokingly offered me citizenship and wanted me to settle down in Teheran since I have done so well there,” said Tania referring to her gold medals in the Asian under-14 (in 2000), the Asian under-16 (2001) and the bronze medal in the Asian junior (in 2002). “This sure is the biggest triumph of my career. The field was very tough with the Chinese and the Vietnamese girls threatening to fill the top three places. Since I had not done so well in the Asian Zonals (in Dhaka last month), I was keen to make amends,” was her candid remark. Thanks her coaches She thanked her coaches Israel’s Lev Psakhis, Poland’s Michal Krasenkow and local International Master Vishal Sareen for guiding her in the past year. “These men helped me gain a lot on the psychological front. But I need to work a lot harder on my opening repertoire before I go for the Asian Indoor Games in Macau and the World Cup,” said Tania whose rating is set to cross the 2400-mark on October 1. When quizzed about the contribution of Grandmaster Hari Krishna to her chess, Tania laughed loudly and said, “Hari and I have been friends since we were nine years old. He is my best pal and we discuss all the chess gossip, but not chess, when we meet. But during tournaments I stay in touch with him and discus my game. I know he is there to help.”

In Memory of All Our Beloved Pets

Saying goodbye to the smartest bird in the world: He knew his colors and shapes, he learned more than 100 English words, and with his own brand of one-liners he established himself in television shows, scientific reports and news articles as perhaps the world’s most famous talking bird. But last week Alex, an African gray parrot, died, apparently of natural causes, said Dr. Irene Pepperberg, a comparative psychologist at Brandeis University and Harvard who studied and worked with the parrot for most of his life and published reports of his progress in scientific journals. The parrot was 31. Read the rest of the story at the New York Times here. *************************************************************************************** Losing a beloved "pet" companion - for those who have gone through this, you don't need my words. I've been through it - with Spencer (1999), Jocques (2001) and Tasha (2004). Reading this story about Alex reminded me of something that happened a long time ago - back in the early '70s. I got a phone call from Barb, a friend of mine, and she was crying, upset. It seems her pet parakeet had died; she found him dead at the bottom of his cage that morning - a Saturday morning - and we were both hung-over. In those days, we were the ultimate party animals (you'd never know it by looking at me now, butter wouldn't melt in my mouth, darlings) and we'd been out until the wee hours of the morning the night before. But she needed me. She couldn't bring herself to open up the cage and take him out and bury him. And so I got dressed and jumped on the bus and about an hour later, I arrived at her doorstep. She'd been hoping that perhaps he was just "asleep" at the bottom of the cage, but alas, that wasn't the case. He was gone. And so I gently removed him with a couple of tissues around my hand, placed him into a shoe box lined with more tissues, and we buried him - well, actually, I buried him, because Barb was too distraught to do more than sob - in the backyard of the flat where she was living at the time. We had a wake later that night and soon the house was filled with people dancing to the sounds of Sly and the Family Stone - it lasted until Monday morning and I woke up at 5:30 a.m. underneath a table, with a throbbing head, in need of a massive infusion of protein and an hour to get home, changed and then get into the office. Ahhhhh, those were the days... Barb returned the favor some years later when it was time for me to bury my dog Spencer's ashes. Since I don't drive (never have, never will), she picked me up, took me to a local garden center, and shopped with me for just the right concrete bird bath that I wanted to mark Spencer's last resting place in my backyard. We spotted a beautifully ornate one on clearance at the same time as an older grey-haired couple - there was a race to the spot where it stood and we grabbed it first - literally! The thing seemed to weigh a ton but it was probably just 150 pounds or so. At the garden center the helpful young men trucked it out to the car and loaded it into the trunk. After that, we were on our own. What a fiasco it was unloading the base and the basin from the trunk of Barb's car - just the two of us lightweights (at the time) to do it. We were laughing - and crying - at the same time. When we'd finally maneuvered the bird bath into place (sort of) in my backyard amidst a small grove of young trees, I was covered in grass stains and sweat. I got the shovel out of the garage and dug a hole in the spot I'd picked for Spencer's last resting place. Of course it was filled with tree roots - but I managed to dig a hole large and deep enough in which to place the container of Spencer's ashes. After it was covered, Barb and I rolled the birdbath base over to the spot and then, together, we heaved it up from the ground into place and leveled it as best we could. And then we both heaved the basin up on to the base. Barb solemnly watched as I filled the basin with water. It's 18 years since Spencer died, and that concrete bird bath is still there - centered over Spencer's grave. Still standing, the base is still crooked. I never have been able to get the thing leveled out. Despite my best efforts of "mudjacking," it seems to lean a bit more every year - rather like the leaning Tower of Pisa. The birds love that birdbath; it has seen many generations come and go through the past 19 years of seasons. The small trees that were in the grove at the time the monument was placed have now grown up - some long since removed because of storm damage or removed because there just wasn't room in the grove for them anymore, and the dirt is even more root-locked than ever. I'd never be able to dig out the container of Spencer's ashes now, but it's probably long-since disintegrated and Spencer is back into the earth from which we, all living creatures, originate. Every time I look at that birdbath, I remember Spencer. And think about true friends.

Friday Night - Thank Goddess - Miscellany

Ohmygoddess, what a fricking stressful week! I am soooo glad it's finally over. The weather has turned here - it's going into the 40's tonight and may freeze elsewhere, eek! Less than a week ago I had the central air on, it was in the 90's, hot as hell and so humid the mosquitoes could walk across the air to land on you instead of flying. Enough of that. Here's some chess stuff for you. I read over at Susan Polgar's blog that she has started her own message board. While I'm an admirer of the GM, one thing we don't need is yet another message/discussion board! I expect that after awhile her blog will settle down mostly to folks interested in scholastic chess matters. If you want to write about chess politics, try Groups, chess/rec/politics at Google - but be warned - Sam Sloan hangs out there. If you want depth and range of discussion over a wide range of chess-related subject, IMHO, the Chessville discussion board, which is almost as old as Methuselah, darlings, is simply the best. (The older posts are a source of treasure in and of themselves). The group of "regulars" is friendly and - best of all - generally well-behaved. Check it out. I've been avoiding the subject for the most part, but there is a world championship going on - sort of. I still don't think I have this figured out - but since I don't care much who the heck the man's chess champion is anyway, this is all more or less a gigantic yawn for me, except for Alexander Morozevich. I just think he's so cool - cute too, in a sort of aestete sort of way (he's let himself get way too thin, darlings). I like how he plays chess - a throwback - so some would have it - to the "romantic" tradition of the 19th century, when masters played chess without aid of computers and books of prior games to pour over and study and memorize. Right now Moro is in 8th (last) place (sigh), with 0.5 points after 2 rounds. Since he's the only player I really care about, he's the only one about whom I'll report :) I have found over the years that TWIC is invariably the best source for all chess news. I recommend that if you want to follow the Championship, you do so there. And, for interesting blog discussion on the Championship, follow the action at Mig's "Daily Dirt" at Chess Ninja. I'll post more later - right now I'm taking a break for a late supper!

Islamist Regime in Iran Continues Cultural Genocide

From CAIS: UPDATE: Train Vibrations Threaten Tomb of King Xerxes LONDON, (CAIS) -- Vibrations caused by passing trains are likely to broaden existing cracks in the tomb of Xerxes I and result in its collapse if a nearby railway route becomes operational, archaeologist Mohammad-Taqi Ataii said during a seminar at the University Of Tehran (UT) on September 11. Entitled “Naqsh-e Rustam in Danger”, the one-day colloquium was held to survey the threats from the railway route to the tomb of Xerxes I at the Naqsh-e Rustam site in southern Iran’s Fars Province. “The [Achaemenid] builders of the tomb were aware of the natural cracks in the mountainside and built a canal to divert rainwater to a large pool thus preventing it from flowing into the gaps,” Ataii explained. “The cracks in the rock are already widening as the pool has become full. “This is happening as the result of a natural process and so far people have not made any effort to preserve the massive cliff. The situation will worsen if the railway route becomes operational.” Attaii’s remarks met with protest from an unidentified individual defending the railway project. The man, who must an Islamic regime’s agent who declined to introduce himself, said that according to seismographic studies, vibrations from trains using the railway route would not cause damage to the monuments in the Naqsh-e Rustam region. It has been rumoured that a number of the regime’s officials attending the ceremony denied that the man had any relationship with the railway project. The Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Roads and Transportation has not published the results of the seismographic studies. Experts have previously said that if the railroad, the embankment of which has been constructed at a distance of about 350 meters from Naqsh-e Rustam, were to become operational, train vibrations would eventually damage the monument and cause the destruction of Kaba of Zoroaster less than ten years. In December 2006, the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) and cultural heritage enthusiasts finally convinced the Ministry of Road and Transportation to alter the railway route. However the extent of the modification has not satisfied the CHTHO or the cultural heritage enthusiasts. The modification would place the route at a distance of 500 meters from the Naqsh-e Rustam site. Naqsh-e Rustam is an extremely important historical site since holds four Achaemenid burials including Darius the Great and Xerxes I, which have been carved into the solid rock. The site also contains remnants dating back to the Elamite period as well as the Parthian (248 BCE-224 CE) and Sasanian (224-651 CE) dynastic eras. In recent years the Islamic republic has stepped up its' cultural-cleansing of Iran’s pre-Islamic heritage under the guise of development projects. The regime has undermined and destroyed a number of major cultural landmarks associated with the ancient Iranian history in particularly the Achaemenid and Sasanian dynasties. Since the coming of theocratic regime to power in Iran in 1979, the regime leaders have dedicated significant resources to restructuring Iranian culture and values. Iranians are now vigorously-encouraged to choose Arabic/Islamic names for their children, and a large number of Iranian names have been outlawed. Many pre-Islamic historical and archaeological sites have been devastated under the cover of development projects: destroyed as part of highway and railway track construction; contaminated irreparably by chemical factories; undermined by nearby hotels; obliterated as part of mining; or submerged beneath dam reservoirs. There have even been threats to bulldoze Persepolis. In general, pre-Islamic Iranian heritage has been downplayed and undermined in favour of the promotion of Islamic culture, the Islamic way of life, and above all the Arabic language.

May Matsu Be With You

All healthy cultures have a "goddess" aspect to their existence, even if they don't acknowledge Her as such. Sick cultures (some in the Middle East, for instance) that deny and suppress the divine feminine suffer accordingly, and the longer they try to suppress the other half of the creative force of the universe (the feminine half), the more disfunctional, vicious, warped and perverted they become. What a refreshing change to read about a culture that openly embraces the Goddess concept: Taiwan sends sea goddess to New York to promote UN bid Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:58:04 GMT Taipei - After sending politicians, scholars, singers and dancers to the United States to support its bid to join the United Nations, Taiwan on Wednesday sent Matsu, the sea goddess, to evoke divine power to help the island have its prayers answered. Matsu, who is revered by Taoists and the Chinese as the protector of seafarers, is worshipped in a sacred and noisy parade with 13 messengers dressed in 2-metre tall colourful costumes. The messengers lead the parade amid exploding firecrackers and the beating of gongs and drums, while Matsu's statue sits in a covered armchair carried by four disciples. This is the spectacle that Taiwan will take to the doors of the UN in New York. Although the Mastsu troupe has officially been invited by a US- based Taiwanese group for performances and cultural exchange, its main purpose is to call attention to Taiwan's fight to join the UN. Taiwan's campaign to join the UN began in 1993, but it has failed each year due to opposition from China which sees self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province. Taipei has no right to join the UN whose membership is open only to sovereign countries, Beijing says. While waiting for its application to be discussed at the UN General Assembly opening on September 18, Taiwan's Foreign Ministry decided to make a noisy push for its UN bid this year with the Matsu ceremony. "Taiwan is a sovereign nation and has the right to join the UN. Our main purpose is to convey this message to the whole world," Lu Ming-sen, board chairman of Fengtien Temple, whose Matsu statue is joining the tour, said before departing from Taoyuan International Airport. Taiwan has hundreds of Matsu temples, and each temple has a Matsu statue. The Mastu tour will last for six days. Its highlight is on September 15 when the troupe will perform the Matsu ceremony in front of the UN headquarters. US-based Taiwanese will line Second Avenue holding burning joss sticks as the Matsu statue, escorted by the 13 sword-waving messengers and musicians, proceeds from 52nd to 42nd Street. [New York City] "This will be a historical moment because the Matsu of the East will meet the Statue of Liberty of the West. Taiwan is determined to become an independent nation and to join the UN. Matsu will lend us (her) power to realize our goal," Lu said. ************************************************************************************** For more information on Matsu (pronounced something like "Ma cho," "macho, macho man, I want to be a macho man... - gives new meaning to the word, don't it...) see Wikipedia.

This is a collection of Chess Checkmate Puzzles that are designed to try and improve your game. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.bozon/ChessPuzzles.htm

Chess Players like to solve puzzles and mysteries...Here is one that will intrigue a few. Shrinking kilogram bewilders physicists By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press WriterWed Sep 12, 9:06 PM ET A kilogram just isn't what it used to be. The 118-year-old cylinder that is the international prototype for the metric mass, kept tightly under lock and key outside Paris, is mysteriously losing weight — if ever so slightly. Physicist Richard Davis of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sevres, southwest of Paris, says the reference kilo appears to have lost 50 micrograms compared with the average of dozens of copies. "The mystery is that they were all made of the same material, and many were made at the same time and kept under the same conditions, and yet the masses among them are slowly drifting apart," he said. "We don't really have a good hypothesis for it." The kilogram's uncertainty could affect even countries that don't use the metric system — it is the ultimate weight standard for the U.S. customary system, where it equals 2.2 pounds. For scientists, the inconstant metric constant is a nuisance, threatening calculation of things like electricity generation. "They depend on a mass measurement and it's inconvenient for them to have a definition of the kilogram which is based on some artifact," said Davis, who is American. But don't expect the slimmed-down kilo to have any effect, other than possibly envy, on wary waistline-watchers: 50 micrograms is roughly equivalent to the weight of a fingerprint. "For the lay person, it won't mean anything," said Davis. "The kilogram will stay the kilogram, and the weights you have in a weight set will all still be correct." Of all the world's kilograms, only the one in Sevres really counts. It is kept in a triple-locked safe at a chateau and rarely sees the light of day — mostly for comparison with other cylinders shipped in periodically from around the world. "It's not clear whether the original has become lighter, or the national prototypes have become heavier," said Michael Borys, a senior researcher with Germany's national measures institute in Braunschweig. "But by definition, only the original represents exactly a kilogram." The kilogram's fluctuation shows how technological progress is leaving science's most basic measurements in its dust. The cylinder was high-tech for its day in 1889 when cast from a platinum and iridium alloy, measuring 1.54 inches in diameter and height. At a November meeting of http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070913/ap_on_sc/shrinking_kilogram_6

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost AARP

Too funny! From the Washingtonpost.com Wednesday, September 12, 2007; Page C01 We couldn't help feeling deflated after hearing the title of the forever-planned Indiana Jones film: "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." Huh? The what of the what? It's so graceless, so baffling, so . . . Harry Potter. There are other reasons to beware this fourth exploit of the swashbuckling archaeologist. For example: The Jones saga began more than a quarter-century ago, and its star, Harrison Ford, will soon be eligible for full Social Security payments. Still, there's got to be a more suitable title for a 2008 Indy installment. A few suggestions: • "Indiana Jones and the Pending Hip Replacement" • "Indiana Jones and the Pyramid of Nutrition" • "Indiana Jones and . . . the . . . Hey, You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!" • "Indiana Jones and What Is Cate Blanchett Doing in This Movie?" • "Indiana Jones Poisons the Prune Juice of the Oldest Living Officer of the Third Reich" • "Indiana Jones and Absolutely the Very Last Crusade (Part I)" ************************************************************************************** Yeah, what is Cate Blanchett doing in the movie? This is Karen Allen's movie! Go Marion! By the way, I think she looks absolutely fab in this photo - and Indiana needs some "Just for Men" - but a lighter color than Osama used.

Attack on Giant Pakistan Buddha

Barbaric schmucks - that's what these idiot Taleban are. From BBC News 12 September 2007 Suspected pro-Taleban militants have tried to blow up an ancient carving of Buddha in north-west Pakistan. The statue, thought to date from the second century BC, sustained only minimal damage in the attack near Manglore in remote Swat district. The area has seen a rise in attacks on "un-Islamic" targets in recent months. This is the first such attack in Pakistan and is reminiscent of the Taleban's 2001 destruction of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan in Afghanistan. Dynamite Officials and witnesses in Swat said armed men arrived in the area on Monday night. "Militants drilled holes in the rock and filled them with dynamite and blew it up," provincial archaeology department official Aqleem Khan told Reuters news agency. "The explosion damaged the upper part of the rock but there was no damage to the image itself." An eyewitness, Shahid Khan, told the BBC that because of its location on a steep ridge the statue had been only slightly damaged. It is carved into a 40m (130-foot) high rock. Local archaeology expert Professor Pervaiz Shaheen told the BBC that the Buddha statue in Swat valley was considered the largest in Asia, after the two Bamiyan Buddhas. He said it was 2,200 years old. Swat valley is a centre of the ancient Gandhara civilization. "They constructed similar smaller statues and figurines, dozens of which are still present in the area," Prof Shaheen said. Swat has seen increased pro-Taleban activity in recent months, with the re-emergence of militant group Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) under new leader, Maulana Fazlullah. Last week, militants blew up about 60 music, video and cosmetics stalls at a market in the valley after stall owners ignored warnings to close businesses deemed un-Islamic. The world watched in shock in March 2001 as Afghanistan's then rulers destroyed the 6th-Century Bamiyan Buddhas. The Taleban said they were offensive to Islam.

The Queens - of Egypt

The incredibly regal, beautiful carved chess pieces that stood next to the King from the earliest times weren't originally inspired by a male "vizier" you know, darlings (although a few of them were women, too). It was the King's consort - the Queen - who inspired the highest form of the divine art. Historian Marilyn Yalom hinted at this in her fine book "The Birth of the Chess Queen." But she was - okay, I won't call Yalom chicken, because I respect her too much - I'll call her "circumspect" instead :) She didn't say what needed to be said - that the Queen was ALWAYS present in the earliest forms of chess, and even though not necessarily physically present on the gameboard in the form of a piece, her presence was nonetheless always implicit. It's not your run-of-the-mill chess historian who will say such a thing, though - poor darlings - so many, so suppressed! Yes, I'm in your face about it - but really, even if it doesn't seem so, I am much kinder and gentler about ramming my beliefs down your throat than I used to be when I first started on this quest more than seven years ago... And so, the kinder and gentler Jan (ahem) starts out with an interesting lesson from ancient history. Learn about the real women who were queens in the game of life, not just a carved figure on a chessboard. Joyce Tyldesley's Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt (Thames & Hudson) covers from Early Dynastic times to the death of Cleopatra, a span of some 3000 years of royal ladies. Some of the queens, Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Nefertari, and Cleopatra are household names. But here, in splendid detail, and extremely well illustrated, are the other royal ladies. The presentation follows the style of the reviewer's own earlier book on the pharaohs and is a very welcome pair to it - too often the royal ladies of ancient Egypt are sidelined to the greater glory of their husbands, the pharaohs, but here Dr. Tyldesley into the light, where their standing and often remarkable achievements are emphasised. When you learn about the roles of these women - not just the ancient Egyptian queens - and their connection to every aspect of ancient civilization, both religious and secular - and how integrated into the life of every person they were, it is then you will begin to suspect that they had a presence in every board game, despite having been boycotted by history for several thousand years.

2007 Asian Women's Championship

Just concluded, held in Tehran, Iran. I copied out this part of the FIDE rules from the Championship website:

Prizes
8.1. Cups and Medals will be awarded to the top 3 players in each category.

8.2. According to FIDE regulation $10000 in prize money will be awarded to the top ten players as follows:

1st Place = $1600
6th Place = $ 900
2nd Place = $1400
7th Place = $ 800
3rd Place = $1300
8th Place = $ 700
4th Place = $1200
9th Place = $ 600
5th Place = $1000
10th Place = $ 500

8.3. According to FIDE World Championship Regulation the top three players of the competition will qualify for the next stage.

8.4. The total prize fund will be deducted by 20% to FIDE.

So, FIDE, the cheap bastards, take their 20% cut from the miniscule prize money. Even USCF isn't ballsy enough to do that!

The good news is that the championship has concluded and the ladies get to leave Tehran. Now I've nothing against Tehran, I'm sure it has it's excellent points as far as middle eastern cities go. But just being in that atmosphere as a non-Muslim female - oh my - how depressing!

Here's a news report on the top three finishers - and kudos to Sachdev and to India!

Tania Sachdev wins Asian chess
Tuesday, 11 September , 2007, 21:01

Tehran: Grandmaster norm holder Tania Sachdev won the Asian Women chess championship after drawing with Chinese Ju Wenjun in the ninth and final round of the championship here.

Tania, who turned 21 just a few weeks ago, tallied 6.5 points in all and won the gold medal since she had a better tie-break score than top seed Lufei Ruan of China, who also earned the same number of points but had to be content with the silver.

It turned out to first title victory for Tania apart from those she had secured in age-group tournaments.

The Delhi-based girl did not have to do much in the final-round game with black as Wenjun also played it safe and once the game between Nguyen Thi Thanh An of Vietnam and her compatriot Le Thanh Tu ended in a draw Tania had no doubt about winning the championship. For the record, Nguyen won the Bronze medal with the best tiebreak score.

"I think this is my best result till date, I would even say this overshadows my GM norm a bit as this was a qualification event for the World championship with only three seats amongst so many strong players", Tania said after her title victory was confirmed.

(The rest of the story is from another source):

The national champion, in fact, had a forgettable outing in the just concluded Asian zonals in Bangladesh where she finished third in a field of five players.

“I guess I took my lessons well from the zonal disaster… I guess I was just trying too hard for no apparent reasons there, here was a different story. I just took one game at a time without bothering much about the result, and luckily for me, the right approach clicked”, Tania said.

Women Grandmaster Nisha Mohota finished fourth after a fine last round victory over Tan Zhongyi of China. Nisha finished with six points. In the penultimate round, Tania had defeated second seed Huang Qian of China.

Putting continuous pressure, Tania made her opponent crumble as Huang blundered a piece.

“I don’t think I was too much better but her blunder came as a welcome relief for me,” Tania had said after the game.

In round eight, Nisha had failed to break the ice against Nguyen and signed peace to earn five points. This effectively ended her fight for a berth in the next world championship.

Women GM Eesha Karavade and Aarthie Ramaswamy tasted defeat at the hands of Atousa Pourkashiyan of Iran and Tan Zhongyi of China, respectively, while Swati Ghate recovered a bit following a draw with Navabi Shirin of Iran. Amrutha Mokal also signed peace with Wang Xiaohui of China.

Viking Queen Exhumed

Viking queen exhumed to solve mystery By Alister Doyle Mon Sep 10, 10:00 AM ET SLAGEN, Norway (Reuters) - Archaeologists exhumed the body of a Viking queen on Monday, hoping to solve a riddle about whether a woman buried with her 1,200 years ago was a servant killed to be a companion into the afterlife. As a less gruesome alternative, the two women in the grass-covered Oseberg mound in south Norway might be a royal mother and daughter who died of the same disease and were buried together in 834. "We will do DNA tests to try to find out. I don't know of any Viking skeletons that have been analyzed as we plan to do," Egil Mikkelsen, director of Oslo's Museum of Cultural History, told Reuters at the graveside. As rain pelted down, four men lifted an aluminum coffin containing the bones of two women after digging a 1.5 meter (5 ft) deep hole in the mound where the women were originally buried in a spectacular Viking longboat. The women and the 22-metre (70 ft) longboat, with its curling oak prow still intact, were unearthed in 1904 in the 5-metre high mound, surrounded by cornfields, in one of the archaeological sensations of the 20th century. The longboat, known as the Oseberg ship, is in a museum in Oslo but the bones were reburied in 1948 and have since lain undisturbed. About 200 people, including schoolchildren, watched the exhumation. "We don't know who the women were," Mikkelsen said, adding that DNA tests could tell if they were related. "DNA analysis could prove if they were mother and daughter," he said. "But I have always thought of them as the queen and her maid," he added. If the two women had widely differing DNA it could be a sign that the second woman was a servant. DECAPITATED A servant might have been the victim of a ritual killing, perhaps her throat slit to accompany her queen to an afterlife in Valhalla. In one Danish Viking grave, for instance, an old man lying by a younger man had been decapitated. And new chemical analysis of bones can also tell what people ate. In Viking times meat, such as elk, was prized while poorer people ate fish. "If they were mother and daughter they would probably have had the same food. If one woman was a maid they would have had different diets," Mikkelsen said. The aluminum coffin will be driven to Oslo and opened for analyses, likely to last a year. The archaeologists placed a Norwegian 20 crown coin -- dated 2007 and with a picture of the prow of the Oseberg ship on one side -- in the sarcophagus to show any future generations when the grave had been disturbed. Among those at the graveside was a man dressed as a Viking with a sword hanging from his belt. "This is an experience you get once in a lifetime," said Leszek Gardela, 23, a Polish student of archaeology. Mikkelsen said he saw no ethical objections to opening the grave, partly because the two were buried so long ago and no one even knew their names.

Scary Global Warming Story

Scientists fear ice caps melting faster than predicted Paul Brown in Ilulissat Friday September 7, 2007 Guardian Unlimited The Greenland ice cap is melting so quickly that it is triggering earthquakes as pieces of ice several cubic kilometres in size break off. Scientists monitoring events this summer say the acceleration could be catastrophic in terms of sea-level rise and make predictions this February by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change far too low. The glacier at Ilulissat, which supposedly spawned the iceberg that sank the Titantic, is now flowing three times faster into the sea than it was 10 years ago. Robert Correll, chairman of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, said in Ilulissat today: "We have seen a massive acceleration of the speed with which these glaciers are moving into the sea. The ice is moving at two metres an hour on a front 5km [3 miles] long and 1,500 metres deep. That means that this one glacier puts enough fresh water into the sea in one year to provide drinking water for a city the size of London for a year." Prof Correll is visiting Greenland as part of a symposium of religious, scientific, and political leaders to look at the problems of the island, which has an ice cap 3km thick containing enough water to raise worldwide sea levels by seven metres. Today leaders of Christian, Shia, Sunni, Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist and Jewish religions took a boat to the tongue of the glacier for a silent prayer for the planet. They were invited by Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide. Prof Correll, director of the global change programme at the Heinz Centre in Washington, said the estimates of sea level rise in the IPCC report were conservative and based on data two years old. The predicted rise this century was 20cm to 60cm, but it would be at the upper end of this range at least, he said, and some believed it could be two metres. This would be catastrophic for European coastlines. He had flown over the Ilulissat glacier and "seen gigantic holes in it through which swirling masses of melt water were falling. I first looked at this glacier in the 1960s and there were no holes. These so-called moulins, 10 to 15 metres across, have opened up all over the place. There are hundreds of them." He said ice-penetrating radar showed that this melt water was pouring through to the bottom of the glacier creating a lake 500 metres deep which was causing the glacier "to float on land. These melt-water rivers are lubricating the glacier, like applying oil to a surface and causing it to slide into the sea. It is causing a massive acceleration which could be catastrophic." The glacier is now moving at 15km a year into the sea although in surges it moves even faster. He measured one surge at 5km in 90 minutes - an extraordinary event. Veli Kallio, a Finnish scientist, said the quakes were triggered because ice had broken away after being fused to the rock for hundreds of years. The quakes were not vast - on a magnitude of 1 to 3 - but had never happened before in north-west Greenland and showed the potential for the entire ice sheet to collapse. Prof Correll said: "These earthquakes are not dangerous in themselves but the fact that they are happening shows that events are happening far faster than we ever anticipated."

Code Breakers of the Past History to Be Erased

Here Sat a Ghost of Code-Breakers Past By BOB DRIEHAUS Published: September 10, 2007 CINCINNATI, Sept. 9 — Efforts by preservationists and history enthusiasts to save an Art Deco building in Dayton where a secret program broke Nazi codes have failed to stop plans to relocate some architectural flourishes and raze the rest. Contractors are scheduled to begin removing the building’s crown molding, limestone window sills, stone lintels and bricks on Monday. What is left will be demolished next year to make way for a 50-acre redevelopment on land bought in 2005 by the University of Dayton. University officials ruled that a steel skin that was wrapped around the original 1938 brick and sandstone structure has stripped it of its historic value and made it too expensive to renovate. A study conducted by the Ohio Historic Preservation Office did not find the building to be eligible for the National Registry of Historic Places. All sides agree that what occurred inside the building was groundbreaking. In 1942, the National Cash Register Company, working with naval engineers, began work on an advanced version of Polish and British code-breaking machines that unscrambled the German Enigma codes but that became obsolete after German technological advances. A team led by Joseph Desch, an NCR engineer, developed the new code-breakers by early 1943, enabling American forces to decode messages nearly as fast as the Germans who received them and to reroute ships imperiled by German submarines. After D-Day, the machines helped track German troop movements. The university said there would be a permanent exhibit about the code-breakers in Carillon Historic Park, where other Dayton feats are commemorated, including the Wright brothers’ development of the first successful airplane. Salvaged pieces of the NCR building will be incorporated in the exhibit, which will be created by Dayton History, a collaboration of area historic societies and preservationists. Loss of the building was a disappointment to some. “I’d rather walk through Independence Hall than read a plaque that tells us what our Founding Fathers did there,” said Jeff Wray, a Dayton architectural firm owner. Mr. Wray, who specializes in renovating historical buildings, said that peeling away the steel facade could show that the building was worthy of designation on the National Registry of Historic Places. The designation would qualify the project for tax credits that could reduce renovation costs to 40 percent of new construction. Deborah Anderson, a daughter of Mr. Desch, said, “I will be happy to support that exhibit, but I don’t really believe in my heart of hearts that U.D. ever seriously considered keeping the building.” Once the building’s fate was cast, Mrs. Anderson joined a committee to create the exhibit. Brady Kress, president of Dayton History, said his organization had pressed the university as recently as last week to save the building but will now support the exhibit. “At least we want to work with them to save the story,” Mr. Kress said.

Machine Reads Thoughts to Navigate Wheelchair

A fascinating article, amply demonstrating the frontiers of technology. My thought - if we can "send" out thoughts to a machine interphase which can "understand" and carry out the thought/command, why is it so hard to believe that we can also send out thoughts to others' brains directly? Thinking of words can guide your wheelchair 13:02 06 September 2007 NewScientist.com news service Tom Simonite A motorised wheelchair that moves when the operator thinks of particular words has been demonstrated by a US company (see video, right). The wheelchair works by intercepting signals sent from their brain to their voice box, even when no sound is actually produced. The company behind the chair, Ambient, is developing the technology with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, in the US. The wheelchair could help people with spinal injuries, or neurological problems like cerebral palsy or motor neurone disease, operate computers and other equipment despite serious problems with muscle control. The system will work providing a person can still control their larynx, or "voice box", which may be the case even if the lack the muscle coordination necessary to produce coherent speech. The larynx control system, called Audeo, was developed by researchers Michael Callahan and Thomas Coleman at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain, US, who together also founded Ambient. Restored speech The system works via a sensor-laden neckband which eavesdrops on electrical impulses sent to larynx muscles. It then relays the signals, via an encrypted wireless link, to a nearby computer. The computer decodes these signals and matches them to a series of pre-recorded "words" determined during training exercises. These "words" can then be used to direct the motorised wheelchair. Callahan and Coleman say they can also be sent to a speech synthesiser, allowing a paralysed person to "speak" out loud. Recent refinements to the algorithms used may make it possible to interpret whole sentences thought out by the user. This could potentially restore near-normal speech to people who have not spoken for years, the researchers say. "Everyone working on brain-computer interfaces wants to be able to identify words," says Niels Birbaumer from Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany, who is developing similar systems for use by stroke victims. "If this works reliably I would be very impressed, it is very hard to record signals from nerves through the skin." Space suit applications Birbaumer adds that measuring brain waves using an electrode cap or implants placed directly in the brain has been used to control computers and wheelchairs before, but so far there is little evidence that either method can reproduce either single words or continuous speech. "Recording from outside the brain like this may the only way to do it," he says. On the other hand, reading information directly from the brain is the only way to help people with very severe spinal injuries. "I have some patients not even able to send nerve signals to the muscles in their face," he told New Scientist. "In those cases you have to try and interface with the brain." Ramaswamy Palaniappan, who works on EEG-based brain computer interfaces at Essex University, agrees this is a limitation. "The main advantages of their device are that that it is very portable, not cumbersome to set-up, and the ease of use," he told New Scientist. NASA produced a similar system to Audeo system in 2004. This can recognise a handful of short words and numbers, and the individual letters of the alphabet. The agency hopes to eventually integrate the technology into spacesuits.

Blast Victim's Kin Seeks Goddess' Help

Radhika Iyer Sunday, September 9, 2007 (Hyderabad) It's been more than two weeks since the twin blasts in Hyderabad changed the lives of the victims forever. Forensic experts say the bomb at Gokul Chaat was placed on top of an ice-cream machine that was five feet high. Which is why, many have suffered injuries on the face, chest and head, and 35-year-old Lakshmi is one of them. Her husband Ramachander has been visiting a temple inside a hospital in Hyderabad ever since she was brought in there two weeks ago. He hopes Goddess Lakshmi will send his wife Lakshmi home soon. She slipped into a coma since the night of the bomb blasts.' 'I pray that my wife returns home. We never fought madam. We were always cordial,'' said P Ramachander, Lakshmi's husband. Lakshmi was shopping at Koti that rainy Saturday with her two sisters whom she had met after many months. They decided to have ice cream at Gokul Chaat without realizing that a bomb was placed right on top of the ice-cream machine. ''Just kill them. Why interrogate? Even the Mecca Masjid bomb should not have happened. Whatever may be the religion of those who die, they are after all humans,'' said P Ramachander, Lakshmi's husband. Lakshmi's three children aged between 12 and 16 have not gone to school the last two weeks. Moving on is not easy when your world has come crashing down.

More Than a Mere Game

Chess with Errol Tiwari More than a mere game Sunday, September 9th 2007 In an age dominated by religious zeal and ideological fanaticism, the development and promotion of chess is crucial. Chess is a sobering philosophical pastime that transports you away from the exhausting world of violence, confusion and uncertainty. When you face an opponent over the board, you distance yourself in mind from the ugly travails of international conflicts and the extreme difficulties which confront you every day on the home front. The game has a soothing effect on its devotees. It is little wonder, therefore, that it is so meaningful to the powerful, such as CEOs, chairmen, managing directors, ministers of government, prime ministers and presidents, who will keep a chess board and pieces routinely at hand always, to be used when required to assuage the tension caused by belligerents scattered across the globe. For the modern state and its rulers, chess is more than a mere game. It is a weapon that is used by nations to make a statement. If ideology necessarily determines foreign policy, then the Fischer-Spassky World Championship chess match of 1972 was no sunny afternoon tea-party encounter. It was a metaphor for the Cold War. It was the clash of two completely different cultures: one American, and the other Soviet. It was a battle of ideas, political systems and ideologies in the form of an actual chess match waged with great skill, tension and tenacity across a wooden board of 64 squares. We see clearly the interconnection between chess and the conduct of international relations. One news item described Fischer's refusal to play for the championship as "the greatest American disaster since Pearl Harbour." The championship was never about two grandmasters moving pieces and pawns around a chess board. It was about an intellectual engagement, perhaps a confrontation, between the two most powerful nation states in the universe. It was a tactical and strategic mind game between two countries at the height of tensions during the Cold War in which the winner put a stamp on his country's claim to intellectual superiority. Two weeks ago, China stunned the world by defeating Russia in a chess match in Russia. Each country fielded a team of 10 players, male and female, and China prevailed by the handsome margin of 52 ½-47 ½points. Of course, Russia did not field its strongest grandmasters who are preparing to play in the World Championship tournament in Mexico City, but China also did not commit at least one of its biggest names in the game. At the moment, China is engaging England in a similar match with a team of ten also, but this time the Chinese have introduced Hou Yifan, a 13-year-old prodigy who is ranked No 4 in the world among women. Hou, however, will play as a male member of her team and will oppose only male members of the English team. She is being fed a steady diet of tough competition, training perhaps, for full participation among males in a fashion similar to Judit Polgar. In Mexico City, a third world country, India, has the highest ranking among chess-playing nations. Viswanathan Anand has a FIDE rating of 2792, way ahead of the world champion Vladimir Kramnik. Russia, India, Armenia, Hungary and Israel are represented at the tournament which begins on Wednesday. On the local chess scene, the Steering Committee for the Development of Chess has begun preparations for hosting of the country's National Chess Championship. A seven-round swiss system qualification tournament will begin next Sunday to determine 10 players for participation in a double round-robin championship tournament later in the year. This tournament will be played on two successive Sundays at the time control of one hour and fifteen minutes per player per game, and is open to all chess players in Guyana. The committee is currently engaged in a drive to obtain members for the new Guyana Chess Federation. Persons wishing to become members can contact Mr Irshad Mohamed on Tel. 664-1650 and Mr Shiv Nandalall on Tel. 623-7723. Karjakin v Yusupov Sergey Karjakin is a teenage grandmaster who has already defeated world champion Vladimir Kramnik . He is respected for his prowess in sharp positions. In the following game he outplays the renowned Artur Yusupov, a former world title contender, celebrated chess trainer and author. Karjakin plays the endgame flawlessly and forces his opponent into a Zugzwang situation in the end. [Diagram at top] A Yusupov (2583) - S Karjakin (2678) NH Tournament Amsterdam, 2007 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5! The move is routine but has a tactical point.7.Nh4 Bg4 8.Be2 Allowing the exchange of Black's problem piece, but if 8.Qb3 Qd6 9.Qxb7 Qe6+) 8...Bxe2 9.Qxe2 e6 Black is very comfortable with his bad bishop exchanged and a slight lead in development.10.Nb3 Qc7 11.g3 0-0-0 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.0-0-0 Qc7 15.Nf3 Ne4 16.Kb1 Rhe8 17.Nfd2 Nd6 18.Rhe1 f6! 19.Qh5 g6 20.Qf3 Qf7 21.Nf1 g5 22.Ne3 h5 23.Nc5 b6 24.Nd3 Kb7 25.Ka1 a5 26.Rc1 e5! 27.dxe5 (27.Qxd5 e4 traps the knight) 27...fxe5 28.Qxf7+ Nxf7 29.Rcd1 g4! (Securing an outpost on f3 for knight) 30.Nc1 d4 31.cxd4 exd4 32.Nc2 Nfe5 33.Re4 Nf3 34.Rxe8 Rxe8 35.Kb1 Re4 36.Nd3 Nce5 37.Nxe5 Rxe5 38.Kc1 Re4! 39.Rd3 Kc6 40.Kd1 b5 41.b3 b4 42.Kc1 Kc5 43.Kd1 Re5 White Resigns! 0-1. Final position after 43...Re5. The knight and rook are trapped and 44.Kc1 Re2 wins.

Divination by Reading a Liver

It was the ancient Sumerians and later, the Babylonians, who first tried to determine the answers to specific questions by reading the liver of a sacrificed animal. The graphic is a model of a liver marked with "points" that was used to train student specialists in liver-reading. The practice spread to other areas of the Middle East. The clay model is rather suggestive of a board game, isn't it.

This article about excavation of Hatzor in northern Israel mentions the discovery of some tablets about liver-reading:

A city of stature in days of old
By Ran Shapira

About two weeks before the end of the last excavation season at Tel Hatzor, in July, a clay tablet with hieroglyphic was found. The tablet teaches how to forecast the future with an animal liver, a practice common in the ancient East.

The priests would examine the liver of an animal that had been sacrificed to the gods and use it to predict the future. The tablet found at Hatzor has not yet been deciphered, but its hieroglyphics are reminiscent of the style of early documents from the ancient kingdom of Mari on the Euphrates, in what is today Syria. Mari was an important political center during the Middle Bronze Age, in the years 2000-1500 B.C.E., and Hatzor was the only city in the Land of Israel that had connections with it at that time.

The ties between the two cities were described in 20 documents found in an archive in Mari. The documents from Mari address the importance of Hatzor, the commercial caravans that passed through it, the emissaries sent there and the musicians and singers who lived there. In the 18th century B.C.E., Hatzor underwent a process of expansion and growth. The city was apparently founded at the end of the Early Bronze Age, in the third millenium B.C.E., on the upper part of what is now the tel.

Read rest of article here (a history of Hatzor).

Diana of Ephesus

Yes, I was one of those who cried - sobbed - as I watched on television from my bed at 3 in the morning the long funeral procession, memorial service for Princess Diana and then the removal of her coffin from London. About 5 a.m., my telephone rang - it was my girlfriend Barb, sobbing too. We comforted each other as best we could over the telephone for more than an hour, and then said goodbye, to continue our observation of televised grief. It didn't occur to me to do a post about the anniversary of Princess Diana's death (on August 31) until I came across this article tonight. I found it particularly poignant. Diana of Ephesus A Spiritual Journey (1) BY MIKE AWOYINFA [ mikeawoyinfa@sunnewsonline.com ] Saturday, September 8, 2007 She was the goddess of the media age, a goddess of the modern world. A goddess of beauty. A goddess of love forsaken. A goddess whose image captivated the world, giving birth to the word paparazzi—the name for the press photographers who hunted her until they finally killed her in the name of love. A strange love. A cruel love that defies any rational explanation. How can it be that the thing you love is the thing you kill? Ten years after we killed her, she is still as fresh as ever in our minds. Popular as no queen ever has even in her grave. Revered as no saint ever has in recent and past memories. Ten years after, and the tears are still falling. Everybody remembers when Diana died. Everybody cried. Diana is still hot news. Diana’s story is still being pursued in the world after. Everybody has a personal Diana story. I am one of those lucky few who met Diana. As a journalist on the Harry Brittain Commonwealth Fellowship programme, entering Britain for the first time in 1985, I met Diana face to face and shook her hand one evening when the ten Commonwealth journalists were being introduced to her. As at that time she hadn’t lost her love. Her Prince was still by her side. The Prince who famously said “whatever love means” when asked whether he was truly in love with Diana. On that historic night at a dinner in London, I wanted to be photographed shaking Diana, but that kind of photography would not be allowed. The security agents around her politely told us that photographing her in that setting was forbidden. That is how I lost the once-in-lifetime opportunity of being photographed with this goddess of our time. But enshrined in my mind, my heart and my soul is the spiritual photograph of me shaking Diana. No one can take that away from me. No virus can wipe that away from the hard disk of my soul. Many days and weeks after shaking Diana’s hand, I refused to wash my hands. I wanted my people back home in Nigeria to shake the hand that shook the great Diana’s hand. If it had been in this era of GSM camera phones, there is no way anybody would have stopped me from capturing Diana on my handset. I would have done it secretly. I would even have commissioned somebody to secretly video me with my phone. The handset has revolutionized journalism today, such that everybody with a camera phone is a paparazzo—an aggressive photojournalist armed to shoot and kill Diana. On this strange and serene Turkish morning, I was a journalist armed with a notebook and a real camera, combing ancient cemeteries in search of another Diana. A Diana that was once worshipped. A Diana for whom a temple was built and people flocked in from all of Asia to worship her. Her temple was in the ancient city of Ephesus. Hence the name Diana of Ephesus. Or Diana of the Ephesians. Diana’s temple was listed among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. I was in Ephesus searching for the temple of Diana. In Greek mythology Diana was called Artemies. She was the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. According to legend, she helped her mother to deliver her twin sister underwater, hence she became the goddess of fertility. Barren woman came into her temple in search of the fruit of the womb. She was depicted as the goddess of the hunt, armed with a bow and arrows. Like Diana of Wales, she was hunted down and killed by a new religion. The religion of Christianity spearheaded by Apostle Paul. Tongue of angels In the Acts of the Apostles, (Acts 19:28), the story of Diana is told, about how Ephesian silversmiths led by a man called Demetrius used to make huge profit from selling souvenirs of Diana to worshippers and pilgrims who kept them as talisman. Then came Paul, the “Jew of Tarsus”. Paul, the “chief of all sinners” who transformed from Saul to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul, the persecutor of Christians who became a soldier of Christ. Paul who wrote that beautiful love poem in Ephesus which reads: “Though I speak with the tongues of angels, and have not love, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” Paul’s new religion instantly killed off the business of Diana-mania which was a major industry in Ephesus. And such was the anger and jealousy of the smiths that they organized Area Boys and went on rampage. There was a big riot and a great confusion in the city of Ephesus because they had been thrown out of business by the new faith which preached that “the gods made with hands are not gods.” In their fits of jealousy and selfish anger, the rioters shouted with one voice the now, famous phrase: “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” Eventually, the rioters were appeased. We are told in Acts 19:35 that “when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?” Due process From this episode, we can learn that even in the Bible, there is the respect for due process, rule of law and the supremacy of the court. And this is based on what the town clerk said while addressing the rioting hooligans. He said: “If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, there being no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” On this spiritual journey to Ephesus, we visited the site of the Diana temple which is now in ruins. Diana is dead and in ruins, but Diana-mania continues from one generation to another. Like the Ephesians silversmiths, the world is still shouting and wailing: “Great is Diana.” They are wailing for the Diana of Wales who dropped from heaven and extinguished like a candle in the wind in a Paris car crash ten years ago. (The story of my journey to Ephesus continues next week)

Goddess Fair Celebrates Female Spirit

Other than the hint that this is in Berkshire County, I'm not sure where in the USA this event is taking place, but it sure sounds like fun - and for a good cause, too. May the hand of the Goddess be upon you: http://www.iberkshires.com/story/24352/Goddess-Fair-Celebrates-Female-Spirit.html By Tammy Daniels - September 07, 2007 NORTH ADAMS - Area residents can get in touch with their feminine side Sunday for a can of coffee - or a pillow or laundry supplies. The donations will admit them to the third annual Goddess Fair from noon to 4 at Western Gateway Heritage State Park, a benefit for the Louison House that's also a celebration of the female spirit. Men are welcome, too. Glass bead and jewelry maker Isabella Raven held the first fair at her Florida Mountain home in 2005, basing it on herbal fairs she'd attended over the years. It was so popular she moved it to Heritage Park last year. This year, some 20 vendors or more are expected to set up booths, along with musicians, dancers and other exhibitions. The big difference this year, said Raven on Friday, is the number of volunteers who've offered to help run the four-hour festival. "I can't believe the community support I've received this year," she said. "I've received a donation from Big Y and the Williamstown [Milne] library donated signs that we've repainted for the fair ... they're recycled signs." Lickety Split will be the natural food vendor. A raffle and bake sale will also benefit Louison House. Special Forces, a local video volunteer group, will film the fair for Northern Berkshire Community Television. Entertainment will include the African stylings of the Marafanyi Percussion ensemble, three women from Topia who will be playing unusual instruments, including the sitar and didgeridoo, a martial arts exhibition by Berkshire Tae Kwon Do, dancers from Karen's School of Dance, the belly-dancing Goddess Dancers and the "Wee Goddess in Training Parade." "I'm expecting a really good turnout," said Raven. The bulk of the booths and demonstrations will be located at the north end of the park, near the stage. Sign-ups for the parade start at noon sharp; it will kick off as soon as there are enough little goddesses (and gods). Burger King donated paper crowns, which have been painted and decorated, and "wands" and other parade favors have been created by volunteers. Residents from Louison House, the local homeless shelter, helped to paint the posters; other volunteers, including students from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, have come forward to lift some of the burden from Raven, who's organized the last two fairs mostly on her own. "I actually have volunteers this year, so it's running a lot smoother," she said. "We really appreciate people taking the time to make this happen," said Michael Boland, executive director of Louison House. "The idea is that this is an opportunity to make people aware of homelessness and to bring to light that there is a solution. That the shelter is responsive and proactive." Support for the fest has come from beyond the Berkshire range. Raven mentioned the fair on an online glass-blowing forum. It was seen by a woman in Illinois, who called Raven to say she was sending two handmade glass goddess statues for the raffle. "She just did this out of the goodness of her heart," said Raven. "Another woman from Lake Pleasant makes soap and she made a whole package for the raffle table. I'm just blown away from the support I'm getting." Donation suggestions for the shelter include spices, coffee, tea, creamer, new bed pillows, towels of all types, pots and pans, cleaning supplies, toiletries for adults and children, laundry baskets and laundry supplies, hair supplies/accessories, bus passes, store gift cards in small denominations, toilet paper, trash bags, feminine products, baby products and storage containers. "I think that [list] is key. I think people have good intentions [when they drop items off] but this meets specific needs," said Boland. The donations will help in the operation of the shelter as well as in aiding people to move into their own homes. Donations for the bake sale will also be accepted. "The program is jam packed with entertainment," said Raven. "I hope everybody comes down and has a good time." In case of rain, the fair will be held Sunday, Sept. 16.

Awwwwww - Mommy Dog Nurses Baby Squirrels

Okay, darlings, one last squirrel story for the night and then I'm outta here!

Chihuahua Adopts 4 Motherless Squirrels
Tails Give Away That These Aren't Puppies
POSTED: 9:45 pm EDT September 6, 2007

LAKE CITY, Fla. -- At first glance, the scene appears normal: a Chihuahua mother appearing to cuddle with her pups as they nurse.

A closer look at the days-old babies reveals they are no canines, but four tiny squirrels.

A Columbia County family said its dog's maternal instinct kicked in when 10-year-old Mimi laid her eyes on the baby squirrels.

Mimi took the motherless squirrels in as if they were her own, making for one mix-and-match family.

Their eyes are still closed, but their tails are a dead giveaway that Mimi's babies are baby squirrels -- three females and one male.

Derek Varnes said he found the squirrels last week. He works for a tree cutting company and found their nest on a downed limb.

"I didn't know what to think. They looked like rats at first," Varnes said. "I wasn't going to leave them. They say after they're out of the nest or the tree, the momma won't mess with them anymore. I wasn't going to let them die."
He gave the squirrels to his fiancee's mother, Jeanette Young.

"My 10-year-old Chihuahua would come and watch me and start whining and carrying on," Young said. "I thought she was going to eat them. She said when she eventually put the squirrels down, Mimi started licking them to clean them and then began nursing them.

Young said although Mimi's last litter was born four years ago, the dog is still able to make enough milk to keep the baby squirrels full. Mimi doesn't venture far from her new little ones.

"She don't like for me to touch them either," Young said.

She credited maternal instinct for Mimi's behavior and said the dog is a better mom this time around than with her own puppies four years ago.

"She seems much calmer; she seems like it was just meant for her to have them and take care of them," Young said.

She said a veterinarian told her as long Mimi is able to feed the squirrels, the babies would continue to grow and be healthy.

Copyright 2007 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Squirrels Get High - and Survive

Squirrels and toxic mushrooms By Ned Rozell September 06, 2007 Fairbanks reader Darleen Masiak recently saw a red squirrel carrying an Amanita mushroom across her deck, presumably to stash it in its midden for the winter. She wanted to know how such a small mammal could survive after eating a mushroom that is toxic in large doses. Fungus expert Gary Laursen of the University of Alaska Fairbanks confirmed that forest squirrels, both red and flying, cache Amanita mushrooms as well as other 'psychoactive' mushrooms that affect the central nervous system. He has dug into squirrel middens in the boreal forest and has found many samples of the mushrooms. He said a biologist recently contacted him and told he'd seen grouse digging up and eating mushrooms that would be toxic in large doses to humans. "Many animals are known to go after the psychoactive mushrooms," Laursen said. Brian Barnes, a physiologist and the director of the Institute of Arctic Biology, said a squirrel's liver might be able to detoxify the active agents in the mushrooms, but he knows of no evidence for this. Barnes studies arctic ground squirrels on Alaska's North Slope. He thinks young male ground squirrels might be eating lots of fungi, including potent ones, as they stir in their dens from hibernation. The squirrels often emerge from hibernation fatter than when they went in. "I wonder if, while in their cold and completely dark hibernaculum, arctic ground squirrels are eating psychoactive mushrooms and whether they respond by experiencing hallucinations, feelings of well being, and laughing fits, as do humans (or so I'm told)," Barnes wrote in an email.

Mummy of Inca Maiden Wows Crowds

Mummified Inca maiden wows crowds

Friday, September 7, 2007

A mummy of an Inca girl, described as "perfect" by the archaeologists who found her in 1999, has gone on display for the first time in Argentina.

Hundreds of people crowded into a museum in the north-western city of Salta to see "la Doncella", the Maiden.

The remains of the girl, who was 15 when she died, were found in an icy pit on top of a volcano in the Andes, along with a younger boy and girl.

Researchers believe they were sacrificed by the Incas 500 years ago.

The three were discovered at a height of 6,700m (22,000ft) on Mount Llullaillaco, a volcano in north-west Argentina on the border with Chile.
At the time, the archaeologist leading the team, Dr Johan Reinhard, said they appeared "the best preserved of any mummy I've seen".

It is believed the Children of Llullaillaco, as they have come to be known, were sacrificed during a ceremony thanking the Inca gods for the annual corn harvest.

'Great mistake'
The mummy of la Doncella is on display in a chamber that is filled with cold air that recreates the sub-freezing conditions in which she was found.
Visitors told Argentine media they were impressed at the mummy's state of conservation.

"I'm amazed," one woman said. "You just expect her at any moment to get up and start talking."

But the exhibition has angered several indigenous groups who campaigned to stop the mummy from going on display.

Miguel Suarez from the Calchaquies valley tribes in and around Salta told the Associated Press news agency that the exhibit was "a great mistake", adding that he hoped visitors would show respect for the dead.

The Inca empire once stretched across much of western South America, including present-day Peru and Bolivia, and down to central Chile and parts of Argentina.

It collapsed in 1532 with the Spanish conquest.

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Why are some people objecting to the showing of this mummy? Does it really have anything to do with respect for the dead? If that was the case, wouldn't we have picketers protesting the numerous ancient Egyptian mummies shown - literally bare bones - in museums throughout the world - including in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo??? Perhaps it has more to do with the fact that we are uncomfortable staring death in the face when it's presented to us in the form of a well-preserved corpse of a 15 year old girl rather than the mummies one generally thinks of - brown, skeletal-looking remains with moldy bandages, sometimes with hanks of hair still attached to the skull. Why is it we can look at the mummy of the Great Pharaoh Rameses without a qualm, oohing and aahing about it's great antiquity, but we can't look at a 15 year old sacrificed to a rain god on a South American mountain 500 years ago? I don't get it. Is there no less desecration to Pharaoh?

An Emperor's Devotion to His Grandmother

Royal grandmother's tomb unearthed Sep 7, 2007, 12:00 GMT Chinese archaeologists have concluded a large unearthed tomb belonged to the grandmother of the country's first emperor. Zhang Tian'en, an expert with the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Institute, claims the tomb in the Shaanxi Province was probably built on Emperor Qinshihuang's orders. He said: "We are hoping that the excavation of his grandmother's tomb will help unravel the mystery about the first emperor's mausoleum, which still cannot be excavated. It will also contribute to research into Qin Dynasty burial culture." Qinshihuang united seven warring states and founded the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. Zhang Tian'en said Qinshihuang's grandmother lived until the emperor was 20, and died in the seventh year of his reign. The tomb, which took over a year of excavation to uncover, is the second largest ancient Chinese tomb unearthed after King Jinggong's - who was head of the State of Quin, which ruled for more than 120 years before the Qin Dynasty. The emperor's grandmother's tomb is 550 meters long and 310 meters wide, covering an area of 17.3 hectares. Archaeologists unearthed two carriages designed to be driven by six horses, which could only be used by the Qin Dynasty's kings and queens. Experts also found the seals of court officials responsible for running errands on behalf of queens, queen mothers and princes. The emperor's mausoleum - a huge underground palace inside the monarch's burial place - is currently being left untouched for fear that it could not be properly preserved should it be excavated. It is thought to be considerably bigger than any yet uncovered. (C) BANG Media International

The Eight – The Attorney’s Tale, as told by Robespierre

(Page 387) "But you don’t know that the Montglane Service lies at the very center of the storm that’s sweeping away the monarchy throughout Europe – that will cast off the yoke of oppression forever." He reached to the sideboard and poured himself a glass of port, then continued: "Perhaps if I tell you how I came to the Game, you’ll understand. For there is a game going on, my dear David – a dangerous and deadly game that destroys the very power of kings. The Montglane Service must be united under the control of those – like us – who’ll use this powerful tool in support of those innocent virtues espoused by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. For it was Rousseau himself who chose me for the Game." "Rousseau!" David whispered in awe. "He sought the Montglane Service?" "Philidor knew him, and so did I," said Robespierre, extracting a piece of letter paper from his pocketbook and looking about for something to write with. David, fumbling through the litter on the sideboard, handed him a drawing crayon, and Robespierre continued as he began to draw a diagram. "I met him fifteen years ago, when I was a young lawyer attending the States General in Paris. I learned that the revered philosopher Rousseau had fallen gravely ill just outside Paris. Hastily arranging an interview, I journeyed on horseback to visit the man who, in his sixty-six years, had produced a legacy that would soon alter the future of the world. What he told me that day certainly altered my future – perhaps yours will be changed as well." … (Page 388) … "I’ve been expecting you," he [Rousseau] said quietly in greeting. "They tell me, Monsieur Robespierre, that you’re a man who embraces those natural virtues I myself extol. At the threshold of death, it’s comforting to know one’s beliefs are shared by at least one fellow human being!" … "Voltaire died last week," he began. "Our two lives were yoked together like those horses Plato spoke of – one pulling toward the earth, the other up into the heavens. Voltaire pulled for Reason, while I’ve championed Nature. Between us, our philosophies will serve to rip asunder the chariot of Church and State." (Page 389) "I thought you disliked the man," I said, confused. "I hated him and I loved him. I regret never having met him. One thing is certain – I’ll not long outlive him. The tragedy is, Voltaire had the key to a mystery I’ve spent my life trying to unravel. Due to his pigheaded adherence to the Rational, he never knew the value of what he’d discovered. Now it’s too late. He’s dead. And with him died the secret of the Montglane Service." I felt the excitement growing in me as he spoke. The chess service of Charlemagne! Every French schoolboy knew the story – but was it possible it was more than a legend? I held my breath, praying he’d go one. Rousseau had taken a seat on a fallen log and was rummaging through his satchel of yellow Moroccan leather. To my surprise, he extracted a delicate cloth of needlepoint and hand-picked lace and began working over it with a tiny silver needle as he spoke. "When I was young," he began, "I supported myself in Paris by selling my lace and crewelwork, since no one was interested in the operas I wrote. Though I’d hoped to be a great composer, I spent each evening playing chess with Denis Diderot and Andre Philidor, who, like myself, could see the bottom of their pocketbooks. In the nick of time Diderot found me a paying position as secretary to the Comte de Montaigu, French ambassador to Venice. It was the spring of 1743 – I shall never forget. For in Venice that year I was to witness something I can still see as vividly as if it were yesterday. A secret at the very core of the Montglane Service." … "You say you witnessed something?" I pressed. "Something to do with the chess service of Charlemagne?" The old philosopher slowly shook himself back to reality. "Yes… Venice was even then a very old city, filled with mystery," he reminisced dreamily. "Though completely surrounded by water and filled with glittering light, there was something dark and sinister about the place. I could feel this darkness pervading everything, as I wandered through the winding labyrinth of streets, passed over ancient stone bridges, moved in gliding gondolas through the secret canals where only the sound of lapping water broke the silence of my meditation… ." (Page 390) …[Robespierre explains how he meets Casanova in deleted section] "He [Casanova] was interested especially in [the occult] and questioned me closely about the Societies of Freemasons so popular in Paris just then. Though I knew but little of such things, he offered to improve my education the next morning – Easter Sunday. "We met as arranged at dawn, where a large throng had already gathered outside the Porta della Carta – that door separating the famous Cathedral San Marco from the adjoining Ducal Palace. The crowd, sheared of their colorful costumes of the prior week’s carnevale, were all dressed in black – awaiting with hushed voice the beginning of some event.

The Eight – The Attorney’s Tale, as told by Robespierre

(Page 391) " ‘We’re about to witness the oldest ritual in Venice,’ Casanova told me. ‘Each Easter at sunrise, the Doge of Venice leads a procession across the Piazzetta and back into St. Mark’s. It’s called "the Long March" - a ceremony as ancient as Venice herself.’ " ‘But surely Venice is older than Easter – older than Christianity,’ " I pointed out as we stood amid the expectant crowd, all huddled behind velvet ropes. " ‘I never said it was a Christian ritual,’ said Casanova with a mysterious smile. ‘Venice was founded by the Phoenicians – whence we derive our name. Phoenicia was a civilization built upon islands. They worshiped the moon goddess – Car. As the moon controls the tides, so the Phoenicians ruled the seas, from which spring the greatest mystery of all – life.’ "A Phoenician ritual. This lit some dim memory in my mind. But just then the crowd around us fell hushed. A horn ensemble appeared on the palace steps and riffled through a fanfare. The Doge of Venice, crowned with jewels and hung with purple satins, emerged from the Porta della Carta surrounded by musicians with lutes, flutes, and lyres playing music that seemed divinely inspired. They were followed by emissaries of the Holy See in stiff white chausubles, their bejeweled miters picked with threads of gold. "Casanova nudged me to observe the ritual closely, as the participants descended to the Piazzetta, pausing in the Place of Justice – a wall decorated with biblical scenes of judgment, where they’d string up heretics during the Inquisition. Here were the monolithic Pillars of Acre, brought back during the Crusades from the shores of ancient Phoenicia. Did it mean something that the Doge and his companions paused to meditate at this precise spot? "At last they moved on to the strains of the heavenly music. The cordons restraining the crowd were lowered so we could follow the procession. As Casanova and I linked arms to move with the crowd, I began to feel the faint glimmer of something -–I cannot explain it. A feeling that I was witnessing something as old as time itself. Something dark and mysterious, rich in history and symbolism. Something dangerous. "As the procession twisted its serpentine course across the Piazzetta and back through the Colonnade, I felt as if we were moving deeper and deeper into the bowels of a dark labyrinth from which there was no escape. I was perfectly safe, outside in daylight, surrounded by hundreds of people – yet I was afraid. It was some time before it dawned on me that it was the music – the movement – the ceremony itself that frightened me. Each time we paused in the Doge’s wake – at an artifact or piece of sculpture – I felt the pounding in my veins grow louder. It was like a message trying to tap itself through to my mind in a secret code, but one I could not understand. Casanova was watching me closely. The Doge had paused again. " ‘This is the statue of Mercury – messenger of the gods,’ " said Casanova as we came up to the dancing bronze figure. ‘In Egypt, they called him Thoth – the Judge. In Greece they called him Hermes – Guide of Souls – for he conducted souls to Hell and sometimes tricked the very gods by stealing them back again. Prince of Tricksters, Joker, Jester – the Fool of the tarot deck – he was the god of theft and cunning. Hermes invented the seven-stringed lyre – the octave scale – whose music made the gods weep for joy.’ "I looked at the statue for quite some time before moving on. Here was the quick one, who could free people from the kingdom of the dead. With his winged sandals and bright caduceus – that staff of twined serpents forming the figure eight – he presided over the land of dreams, worlds of magic, the realms of luck and chance and games of every sort. Was it coincidence that his statue faced this staid procession with its wicked, grinning smile? Or was it, somewhere in the dark mists of time, his ritual? "The Doge and company made many stops in this transcendental tour – sixteen in all. As we moved, the pattern began to unfold for me. It was not until the tenth stop – the Castello Wall – that I started to put it all together. "The wall was twelve feet thick, covered in multicolored stones. The inscriptions, the oldest in Venetic, was translated for me by Casanova: If a man could say and do what he thinks, He’d see how he might be transformed. "And there at the center of the wall was embedded a simple white stone, which the Doge and his entourage were regarding as if it contained some miracle. Suddenly I felt a cold chill run through me. It was as if a veil were being torn from my eyes so I could see the many parts as one. This was no mere ritual – but a process unfolding before us, each pause in the procession symbolizing a step in the path of transformation from one state to another. It was like a formula, but a formula for what? And then I knew."

The Eight – The Attorney’s Tale, as told by Robespierre

(Page 393) (The scan is from a paperback edition of The Eight)
Now Rousseau paused in his discourse and pulled a drawing, frayed with wear, from his yellow leather satchel. Unfolding it carefully, he handed it to me.

"This is the record I made of the Long March, showing the path of sixteen stops, the number of pieces of black or white on a chessboard. You’ll note the course itself describes a figure eight – like the twined serpents on Hermes’ staff – like the Eightfold Path the Buddha prescribed to reach Nirvana – like the eight tiers of the Tower of Babel one climbed to reach the gods. Like the formula they say was brought by the eight Moors to Charlemagne hidden within the Montglane Service. …"

"A formula?" I said in astonishment.

"Of infinite power," replied Rousseau, "whose meaning may be forgotten, but whose magnetism is so strong we act it our without understanding what it means – as did Casanova and I that day thirty-five years ago in Venice."

"It seems quite beautiful and mysterious, this ritual," I agreed. "But why do you associate it with the Montglane Service – a treasure which, after all, everyone believes to be no more than a legend?"

"Don’t you see?" said Rousseau in irritation. "These Italian and Greek isles all took their traditions, their labyrinthine, stone-worshipping cults from the same source – the source from which they sprang."

"You mean Phoenicia," I said.

"I mean the Dark Isle," he said mysteriously, "the isle the Arabs first named Al-Djezair. The isle between two rivers, rivers that twist together like Hermes’ staff to form a figure eight – rivers that watered the cradle of mankind. The Tigris and Euphrates …"

(Page 394)
"You mean this ritual – this formula came from Mesopotamia?" I cried.

"I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get my hands on it!" said Rousseau, rising from his seat and grasping my arm. "I sent Casanova, then Boswell, finally Diderot, to try to get the secret. Now I send you. I choose you to track down the secret of this formula, for I’ve spent thirty-five years trying to understand the meaning behind the meaning. It is nearly too late…"

"But monsieur!" I said on confusion. "Even if you discovered so powerful a formula, what would you do with it? You, who’ve written of the simple virtues of country life – the innocent and natural equality of all men. What use would such a tool be to you?"

"I am the enemy of kings!" cried Rousseau in despair. "The formula contained in the Montglane Service will bring about the end of kings – all kings – for all time! Ah, if only I might live long enough to have to have it within my grasp."

I had many questions to ask Rousseau, but already he was pale with fatigue, his brow beaded with sweat. He was putting away his lacework as if the interview were at an end. He gave me one final look as if slipping away into a dimension where I could no longer follow.

"Once there was a great king," he said softly. "The most powerful king in the world. They said he’d never die, that he was immortal. They called him al-Iksandr, the two-horned god, and pictured him on gold coins wearing the spiral ram’s horn of divinity at his brow. History remembers him as Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world. He died at the age of thirty-three at Babylon in Mesopotamia – seeking the formula. So would they all die, if only the secret were ours… ."

"I place myself at your command," I said, helping him to the footbridge as he leaned heavily upon my shoulder. "Between us, we’ll locate the Montglane Service if it still exists, and learn the formula’s meaning."

(Page 395)
"It’s too late for me," said Rousseau shaking his head sadly. "I entrust you with this chart, which I believe is the only clue we have. Legend has it that the service is buried in Charlemagne’s palace at Aix-la-Chapelle – or at the Abbey of Montglane. It is your mission to find it."

This is the end of The Attorney’s Tale of Robespierre.

Friday Night Miscellany

Unbelievably, the weekend is here - I love working only 4 days a week! All too soon, though, it will be over, and I'll be back at the desk and the daily grind. How long until retirement??? The weather promises to break tonight. It's been hot and humid, tropical, yucky. The mosquitoes are as big as B-52's and bent on suicide missions - they bite me despite buckets of insect repellent - Deep Woods Off does not work! The wind showed up today - and even through 20 mph this morning on the way to the bus stop at 7:30 a.m. one of the little buggers managed to land on my arm and tried for blood. No go, little bugger, SWAT! Tonight it's supposed to drop down to 54 degrees F - I'll believe it when I feel it - and then, and only then, will turn off the central air. I got the new issue of Chess Life in the mail yesterday. I haven't opened it yet. The cover is Bobby Fischer. Yesterday's news. Is this what the editorial committee at USCF has been reduced to? With so many up and coming players and events worldwide to write about and give us some analysis of interesting games, they write about Fischer. Boorrriiinnnggg! Some good news - Hou Yifan has been playing on the Chinese "team" that beat the Russians and is whipping the English and she hasn't been relegated to playing only women. So far at the Liverpool Chess International 2007 (Match Tournament), she as drawn with GM David Howell, lost to GM Gawain Jones, defeated GM Nicholas Pert, and drew with GM Nigel Short, with 2 rounds to go. I saw this report earlier today: Zeynab Mammadyarova boycotted Baku chess tournament [ 07 Sep 2007 17:40 ] " I refused to attend the second internationals women tournament in Baku", Azerbaijan national chess team member Zeynab Mammadyarova told APA-Sport. She did not attend the women's tournament because of her sister Turkan Mammadyarova. "I did not know that my name was among the tournament participants. Ilaha Kadimova and Nargiz Umudova were among the participants. I protested against Nargiz as my sister Turkan is stronger than Nargiz in rating and has more experience. But the organizers did not accept my protests and I decided not to attend. Strong chess players should be invited to the tournament in Baku. This is the reason for low results of Azerbaijani representatives". /APA-Sport/ That's it - I'm pooped and calling it a night!