Moza Al Mansouri Wins Gold for UAE

Rich haul for UAE junior chess team By K.R. Nayar, Senior ReporterPublished: July 15, 2009, 22:41 Dubai: The UAE junior chess team has returned with two gold medals, one bronze and a silver from the Arab Junior Chess Championship held in Damascus, Syria. The promising juniors hailing from the different emirates performed brilliantly in the Under-eight, Under-10, Under-12 and Under-14 age categories. Nine-year-old Moza Al Mansouri of Al Ain Club emerged as the Arab Junior Chess Champion in the Under-10 category winning all of her nine games. She became the only player to achieve a 100 per cent score. . . . Speaking to Gulf News, Moza said: "I dedicate this victory to my country. I won mainly due to the excellent preparations, ideal playing conditions and support from my team members". Rest of article.

Archaeological Site Destroyed in Iran

The Islamic Nazis in Iran are up to their old tricks - business as usual - while the prisons are full of fresh meat (due to recent upheavals that the regime is trying very hard to keep out of the eyes of the world) to torture, rape and kill at the leisure of the Revolutionary Guard. Isn't it ironic that the very things the Iranian people fought to overthrow 30 years ago are now embodied in an "Islamic republic." Here's the article from CAIS: A Large Parthian Site in Khuzestan Province Seriously Damaged & Partly Destroyed Tuesday, 14 July 2009 08:11 During the widening of a road by the Islamic Republic’s controlled Iran’s National Oil Company near the city of Ahwaz, a large historical site dating back to the Parthian dynasty (248 BCE - 224 CE) was seriously damaged and some sections were completely destroyed, as reported by the Persian service of the Friends of Khuzestan’s Friends of Cultural Heritage Society (TARIANA). Apparently the destruction of the site began over a decade ago by the Islamic Republic’s Construction Jihad Foundation. The name and the exact location of the site have been kept secret for security reasons. “Destruction of this important site which its’ name cannot be disclosed for security reasons, began in 1990s by the Jihad Foundation,” said Mojtaba Gahestuni, the director of Tariana. “The ancient site is over 150 hectares and there is evidence of mudbrick walls, large cut stones, stone-constructions, a fire-alter as well as decorated potsherds scattered over the site,” said Gahestuni. He continued “in this site there is a large cemetery which is covered with broken pieces of large red coloured-torpedo shaped earthenware urns, typical of Parthian dynastic art and black-wares dating back to the 1st millennium BCE.” Currently the ancient Iranian site is left unprotected at the mercy of the Oil Company’s bulldozers and smugglers alike. The responsibility of the security of the site lies with the provincial Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organisation (KCHHTO) but no action has been taken yet to protect it. Not so surprisingly, but ironically KCHHTO has been responsible for the destruction of many pre-Islamic Iranian sites in the Khuzestan Province. “KCHHTO is fully aware of the site’s cultural and historical importance, not only have no measures been taken to secure the site, but also no steps were made to register the site on the national heritage list or commission a preliminary archaeological survey to demarcate the boundaries of the site,” said Gahestuni. Registering a site in today’s Iran does not mean anything as many archaeological and historical sites which were registered on the list some since 1930s have been damaged and even totally obliterated and nothing was done to protect them, such as last years destruction of a Partho-Sasanian site in Susa. The Parthian site contains a free-standing stone structure which is believed to be a Parthian Mausoleum. “In the site there is a large cubic-structure made of stone and saruj mortar, which is 2 meters in height, 6 meters wide and has a 2 meter foundation. Primarily we thought the structure was an ābanbār (water storage), but it is more likely to be a mausoleum.” He concluded “if any archaeological researches are to be conducted on the site we will surly find the coinage and written-evidence to obtain more information about the ancient site.”

The Great Goddess: A Random Round-Up :)

Pardon my borrowing from Goddesschess, dondelion, webmaster of Goddesschess for many years and editor (along with chief cook and bottle washer) of G'chess' popular weekly column "Random Round-up." Here are a couple of goddess references I came across tonight that I thought you would appreciate:

• I saw this tonight, posted at - the Daily Kos! Durga Piercing the Heart by NLinStPaul Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 03:02:38 PM PDT What?, I said to myself? So I read it. I'll say this much - the beginning of enlightenment is recognizing that something is wrong to begin with...
• St. Bridget of Kildare – Pray for Burr Oak Cemetery Families and Give Them Comfort! PATHICKEY July 13, 2009 The desecration of tombs at a local cemetery in Illinois gives rise to musing about the ancient triple goddess Brigit a/k/a "St. Bridget."

Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls

GM Susan Polgar has sponsored a national all-girls invitational chess tournament for the past six years. It seems like yesterday when I first read about this prestigious event, and the rigorous qualification requirements! Here we are in 2009. The following information is from a press release issued by the USCF website about the 6th Annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls: New Chess Champion to be Crowned at Texas Tech University FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 14, 2009 Contact: Dr. Rice Rich LUBBOCK, TEXAS The sixth, annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls (SPNI), which is the most prestigious all-girls national championship in the United States, will take place July 26-31, 2009 at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion on the Texas Tech University (TTU) campus in Lubbock, Texas. To be eligible to play, each state can nominate one talented young female chess player 18-years-old or younger. Winning the Susan Polgar National Open for Girls or the Susan Polgar World Open for Girls also qualifies one to compete at SPNI. The defending champion and current members of the Susan Polgar All-Star Chess Team also receive invitations. Thousands of girls compete annually in a variety of events to gain eligibility. This is the second year that Texas Tech University will host this prestigious event, and it has an agreement with the USCF to do so until 2017. Thanks to the generous sponsorship from the TTU’s Provost’s office, each qualified player receives free accommodation on TTU’s campus at Gordon Hall, as well as three free meals a day on campus at the “Fresh Plate” for the duration of the six-day event. In addition, TTU will award a four-year academic scholarship each year to the highest-finishing player who has not graduated from high school by August of the year of the tournament. A record fifty-two players from across the country participated in the main event in 2008. The winner of the 2008 SPNI was Courtney Jamison of Texas. This year, the record will be broken as sixty young and talented young female players have already confirmed their participation. Further information is contained in the rest of the press release.

Another Female Sacrifice Found in Peru

Remains of sacrificed woman found in indigenous citadel in Peru Posted July 14, 2009 From Earthtimes.org Lima - Archeologists in northern Peru have found the remains of a woman who was apparently killed in a 15th-century sacrifice to calm the wrath of nature. The find was made in Chan Chan, the oldest mud citadel in the Americas, archaeologist Raul Sosaya said Tuesday. The expert said the skeleton corresponded to a woman who was 1.55 metres tall and aged about 17. She died around the year 1460 and belonged to the Chimu culture. Archaeologists found the body as they were working on the restoration of the outer walls of Chan Chan, around 600 kilometres north of Lima. Sosaya said that one of the woman's feet had been amputated before she was hanged and her body thrown out near a wall. The gestures on her face suggest that she screamed before she died, and archaeologists think that she was sacrificed. From what researchers know of the Chimu culture, the amputation of a foot was meant to prevent the sacrificed person from leaving the site in later lives. "The ancient Chimus conjured themselves to ask that the rain stop. Today we have the evidence of a sacrifice that sought that climate phenomena did not destroy the monument," said Cristobal Campana, the head of the team of archaeologists. About 40 per cent of the infrastructure of the Chan Chan site turned to mud in 1982-1983, due to rains from the climate phenomenon known as El Nino. Copyright, respective author or news agency

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How closely connected are the Chimu to the Inca? Are they not connected at all? Was there cross-cultural contact between Chimu and Inca and if so, when did it start and for how long did it continue? Can any comparisons be made between this Chimu sacrifice and the sacrifice of the 33 people, who were mostly female and mostly children and teenagers, who were sacrificed by the Inca that I have posted about previously?

Earthtimes.org article: One 16-17 year old female

July 13, 2009: Follow-up on Those 33 Mummies Found in Peru

June 7, 2009: Gruesome Evidence of Inca Human Sacrifice

What Conspiracy Theory Do YOU Believe In...

This is a popular conspiracy! Personally, I don't care if "Man" landed on the Moon or not. For the record, what I remember is spending the evening while I was babysitting for my Aunt Dolly with my high-school sweetheart. We watched the first step of man on the moon on television together and I believe Walter Kronkite was there, leading us every step of the way, and also acting as a strict chaperone. I don't believe it was faked - there was no need to fake it then, and no need to fake anything now (not that they could get away with it now, anyway). Article is from The New York Times Vocal Minority Insists It Was All Smoke and Mirrors By JOHN SCHWARTZ Published: July 13, 2009 They walk among us, seemingly little different from you or me. Most of the time, you would never know of their true nature — except that occasionally, they feel compelled to speak up. Take an example from Lens, this newspaper’s photography blog. A recent feature, “Dateline: Space,” displayed stunning NASA photographs, including the iconic photo of Buzz Aldrin standing on the lunar surface. The second comment on the feature stated flatly, “Man never got to the moon.” The author of the post, Nicolas Marino, went on to say, “I think media should stop publicizing something that was a complete sham once and for all and start documenting how they lied blatantly to the whole world.” Forty years after men first touched the lifeless dirt of the Moon — and they did. Really. Honest. — polling consistently suggests that some 6 percent of Americans believe the landings were faked and could not have happened. The series of landings, one of the greatest gambles of the human race, was an elaborate hoax developed to raise national pride, many among them insist. They examine photos from the missions for signs of studio fakery, and claim to be able to tell that the American flag was waving in what was supposed to be the vacuum of space. They overstate the health risks of traveling through the radiation belts that girdle our planet; they understate the technological prowess of the American space program; and they cry murder behind every death in the program, linking them to an overall conspiracy. And while there is no credible evidence to support such views, and the sheer unlikelihood of being able to pull off such an immense plot and keep it secret for four decades staggers the imagination, the deniers continue to amass accusations to this day. They are bolstered by films like a documentary shown on Fox television in 2001 and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon” by Bart Sibrel, a filmmaker in Nashville. “There are smart, normal people who buy into these conspiracy theories,” said Philip Plait, an astronomer and author who counters the conspiracy theorists point by point and at excruciating length at his “Bad Astronomy” Web site. He is one of many people who have joined the fight to affirm that It Happened. A group effort, at www.clavius.org, debunks with gusto; its main author, Jay Windley, named the site for the Moon base in Arthur C. Clarke’s classic science fiction novel, “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Even though the so-called evidence from the conspiracists can clearly be proved wrong, Mr. Plait said, understanding the proof can require a working knowledge of history and photography and of science and its methodology. “You’ve got to do the work; you’ve got to put the elbow grease to it,” he said, “and most people don’t do the work. So these things get traction.” Mr. Marino, the author of the post on the Lens blog, is a 31-year-old architect born in Argentina. In an e-mail interview, he said that the political corruption during the years of dictatorship in his country shaped his thinking: “I started to realize how political corruption operates and how it is the interests of a few in power that really governs our world.” As he traveled the world — he now lives and works in China — he picked up books contending that the landings were faked and saw documentaries including Mr. Sibrel’s, he said, which paints a dark portrait of political manipulation during the Nixon administration and somehow ties in the Vietnam War, the Titanic and the Tower of Babel before even getting to the supposed photographic evidence of lunar deception. Mr. Sibrel, who sells his films online, has hounded Apollo astronauts with a Bible, insisting that they swear on camera they had walked on the Moon. He so annoyed Buzz Aldrin in 2002 — ambushing him with his Bible and calling him “a coward, and a liar, and a thief” — that Mr. Aldrin punched Mr. Sibrel in the face. Law enforcement officials refused to file charges against Mr. Aldrin, the second man on the Moon. In an interview, Mr. Sibrel said that his efforts to prove that men never walked on the Moon has cost him dearly. “I have suffered only persecution and financial loss,” he said. “I’ve lost visitation with my son. I’ve been expelled from churches. All because I believe the Moon landings are fraudulent.” Ted Goertzel, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University who has studied conspiracy theorists, said “there’s a similar kind of logic behind all of these groups, I think.” For the most part, he explained, “They don’t undertake to prove that their view is true” so much as to “find flaws in what the other side is saying.” And so, he said, argument is a matter of accumulation instead of persuasion. “They feel if they’ve got more facts than the other side, that proves they’re right.” Mark Fenster, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law who has written extensively on conspiracy theories, said he sees similarities between people who argue that the Moon landings never happened and those who insist that the 9/11 attacks were planned by the government and that President Obama’s birth certificate is fake: at the core, he said, is a polarization so profound that people end up with an unshakable belief that those in power “simply can’t be trusted.” The emergence of the Internet as a communications medium, he noted, makes it possible for once-scattered believers to find one another. “It allows the theory to continue to exist, to continue to be available — it’s not just some old dusty books on the half-price shelf.” Adam Savage, the co-star of the television show “MythBusters,” spent an episode last year taking apart Moon hoax theories bit by bit, entertainingly and convincingly. The theorists, he noted, never give up. “They’ll say you have to keep an open mind,” he said, “but they reject every single piece of evidence that doesn’t adhere to their thesis.” For those who actually went — and have I mentioned that we did land astronauts on the Moon? Six times? — the conspiracy theories are simply galling. Harrison Schmitt, the pilot of the lunar lander during the last Apollo mission and later a United States senator, said in an interview that the poor state of the nation’s schools has had predictable results. “If people decide they’re going to deny the facts of history and the facts of science and technology, there’s not much you can do with them,” he said. “For most of them, I just feel sorry that we failed in their education.” An earlier version of this article misstated who was in a Moon photograph on the Lens blog.

Follow-Up on Those 33 Mummies Found in Peru

We already knew this, but this article gives more specifics about the 33 mummies, the majority of which were young females, who were sacrificed. Peru mummies 'were human sacrifices' 13 July 2009 02:10:00 PM Source: AP/SBS Utah University professor Haagen Klaus is an expert in bio-archaeology and has been analysing and examining the human remains found in 2007 at the Chotuna Huaca, a site located north east of Chiclayo. "(The) majority of them were sacrificed using a very sharp bladed instrument, probably a copper or bronze tummy knife. And for the majority there are a several combinations, complex set of variations on cutting of the throat, " Mr Klaus said. Sacrifices were made "to make sure that there would still be rain and agricultural fertility", Klaus explained. What made the discovery so unusual in the eyes of the experts was that most of the mummies were females. "The blood sacrifice of a large group of women is something that is very, very unusual, it is the first time we have ever seen this", Mr Klaus said. In fact, 30 of the 33 bodies were female and according to Klaus they were all very young when they were sacrificed. The majority hadn't reached 15-years-old and some of the mummies were children no older than nine. Professor Klaus explained that in Andean society children weren't considered human beings. "Children are not human beings because human life comes from mountains. And when a child is born, a child is likened to a wild uncontrollable mountain spirit," Klaus said. [If this is true, when did a "child" become an "adult" in this culture? One of the sacrificed victims was pregnant, according to an earlier report. Isn't that evidence of being an "adult?"] In an excellent state of conservation, many still with their hair and teeth intact, the mummies have provided endless study material for Klaus. He was able to extract DNA, learn about the illnesses they had, their diets, their ages, causes of death and even possible kinships among the mummies.

Time Team America to Investigate the Topper Site

A PBS special will debut on July 15, 2009, featuring the Time Team America investigating the Topper Site in South Carolina, including the controversial assertions by its excavators that their findings show man may have been here as early as 50,000 years ago. Here is information from About Archaeology. Here is the PBS website on the special - preview video included and local listings.

8,000 Year Old Dwelling Discovered on Isle of Man

Great Britain continues to yield pristine ruins: Prehistoric dwelling unearthed at Isle of Man Airport Published Date: 13 July 2009 By ADRIAN DARBYSHIRE A PREHISTORIC dwelling – 3,000 years older than Stonehenge – has been unearthed during construction of the runway extension at Isle of Man Airport. Dating back an astonishing 8,000 years to the time when the first human settlers returned to the Isle of Man after the end of the Ice Age, it is probably the oldest dwelling ever found in the Island. Featuring the foundations of a strongly-built shelter, filled and surrounded by thousands of pieces of worked flint, the charred remains of wood, and hundreds of hazelnut shells, the major archaeological find is certain to make headlines around the world. It has been unearthed as fieldwork at Ronaldsway nears completion, with diggers due to finish excavating in the middle of ths month and the project on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. The site has already attracted interest from a BBC team filming the next series of Coast, and has recently been visited by Professor of Archaeology Peter Woodman, who excavated a similar, but less well-preserved, site eroding out of the cliffs just over 100 metres away in the 1980s. Manx National Heritage field archaeologist Andrew Johnson said: 'Archaeologists hesitate to call a structure of this kind a "house", because the received wisdom is that 8,000 years ago people constantly moved through the landscape as nomads, gathering their food from the land, rather than staying put and farming and harvesting it. 'But this building was constructed from substantial pieces of timber, and had a hearth for cooking and warmth. 'Its occupants lived here often, or long enough to leave behind over 12,000 pieces of worked flint together with the tools needed to flake them, and food debris in the form of hundreds of hazelnut shells.' The 8,000-year-old dwelling was found at the east end of the airport where a new taxiway extension is being built. Radiocarbon dates have not yet been obtained but archaeologists confirm that it is 'probably' the oldest dwelling yet found on the Isle of Man. So far, they have made their preliminary interpretations based on their observations in the field. Much painstaking study and analysis will follow. Since comparatively few materials can survive in the ground for such a long period – unburnt wood, horn, bone, leather etc will have long since rotted away – it will be important to get maximum information from those remains which have been found. The excavation has been undertaken by Oxford Archaeology North and monitored on behalf of the airport by Manx National Heritage. Current archaeological works originally began in May last year following the discovery of a 3,000-year-old Bronze Age village, three burials and numerous artefacts, including thousands of pieces of pottery and worked flint.

Southwest Chess Club: Club Championship

There's still time to play in this year's SWCC Club Championship - here's the latest from Allen Becker: Chessplayers, Our club championship started last week. We already have 40 players battling it out. It's not too late to join the tournament, since we are allowing up to two 1/2-Point Byes during the 6-round event. You can start play in Round 2 this week with a 1/2-Point Bye for Round 1. However, if you wish to join the tournament for Round 2, I must hear from you today, or Tuesday at the latest. Meanwhile, updated pairings can be found on our blog. Anyone can make comments on the blog, and we will update the blog regularly with news, standings, pairings, etc. Pairings are always tentative, so check the blog for any pairings updates. We resume our Summer Lecture Series this Thursday at 6:00 pm. We do these lectures for the chess community, especially the younger chess players, and a lot of work goes into our lectures, so please try to attend if at all possible. Allen Becker will give a lecture this Thursday. Next week, Sheldon Gelbart will lecture. Other lecturers lined up after that include Ray Hayes and John Veech. Please let me know if you'd like to give a lecture, or suggest a topic. Thanks! Here are the standings in the Club Championship so far: Southwest Chess Club Championship -- Cross Table No. Name St Rate 1 Score 1. Hayes, Raymond C (1).......... WI 2100 W27 1.0 2. Becker, John R (2)............ WI 2050 W28 1.0 3. Veech, John (3)............... WI 2038 W29 1.0 4. Becker, Allen J (4)........... WI 2010 W26 1.0 5. Cirillo, Corrado (7).......... WI 1826 W30 1.0 6. Grochowski, Andrew (8)........ WI 1788 W31 1.0 7. Schneider, Thomas (9)......... WI 1782 W32 1.0 8. Pokorski, Jeffrey (10)........ WI 1733 W33 1.0 9. Grochowski, Robin (11)........ WI 1680 W34 1.0 10. Sagunsky, David L (12)........ WI 1654 W35 1.0 11. Fogec, Thomas G (14).......... WI 1623 W36 1.0 12. Zhou, Jerry Zhexua (15)....... WI 1566 W37 1.0 13. Hildeman, Jonathan (17)....... WI 1485 W38 1.0 14. Demler, John A (18)........... WI 1483 W40 1.0 15. Seghers, Evan Char (19)....... WI 1404 W39 1.0 16. Neumann, Curt E (25).......... WI 1188 W25 1.0 17. Coons, James J (6)............ WI 1843 D22 0.5 18. Mhaskar, Rohan (13)........... WI 1653 -H- 0.5 19. Joachim, Peter Jam (21)....... WI 1398 D20 0.5 20. Huang, Joanna (20)............ WI 1398 D19 0.5 21. Luebbe, Justin Jos (26)....... WI 1140 -H- 0.5 22. Seghers, Reid Nath (27)....... WI 1099 D17 0.5 23. Seghers, Mark Staf (28)....... WI 1000 -H- 0.5 24. Glumm, Jacob Willi (32)....... WI 724 -H- 0.5 25. Cardenas, David R (5)......... WI 1914 L16 0.0 26. Penkwitz, Robert (16)......... WI 1486 L4 0.0 27. Gaddameedi, Vilas (22)....... WI 1377 L1 0.0 28. Mohammed, Sarfaraz (23)....... WI 1319 L2 0.0 29. Huang, Alena (24)............. WI 1271 L3 0.0 30. Sachdev, Rishi (29)........... WI 918 L5 0.0 31. Adavi, Pranav (30)............ WI 765 L6 0.0 32. Khunger, Shagun (31).......... WI 740 L7 0.0 33. Bepar, Naisha (33)............ WI 718 L8 0.0 34. Schneider, Claudia (34)...... WI 699 L9 0.0 35. Khunger, Simran (35).......... WI 696 L10 0.0 36. Huang, Sabrina (36)........... WI 670 L11 0.0 37. Lippert, Charles D (37)....... WI 569 L12 0.0 38. Sachdev, Ravina (38).......... WI 101 L13 0.0 39. Sachdev, Raman (40)........... WI nnnn L15 0.0 40. Jester, James W (39).......... WI nnnn L14 0.0

Squirrel with a Problem

From 9news.com (an NBC affiliate in Colorado) (GREENVILLE, S.C. - We share our neighborhoods and parks with a lot of critters and sometimes those two worlds collide - literally for this little guy. A squirrel somehow got a yogurt container stuck on its head at a local rose garden. A news photographer captured the strange scene while he working on a story on the campus of Furman University in South Carolina. The squirrel leapt and flailed blindly from bush to bush. After shooting the video, the photgrapher helped the squirrel by removing the container off its head. (Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)

Iran Discovers Large Paleolithic Site

Since again the location was clearly indicated in this press report, thank the Goddess this is "merely" a Paleolithic site, with no gold, no pottery, no ancient gameboards - will the looters flock there? Let's hope not. One could suspect, since this is an official outlet of the Islamist government of Iran, that the government publishes such details in the hopes that looters WILL invade valuable archaeological sites and destroy them - thereby wiping out the history of the area prior to the rise of Islam. Very very sad. Please note, where that curved indentation along the northern border of the country lies the Caspian Sea. Iran's largest Paleolithic site found in Semnan Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:07:53 GMT Archeologists have found Iran's largest Paleolithic area in the Mirk hill, located in the southern part of the city of Semnan. Dating back to the middle-Paleolithic era, the 4-hectare area has yielded numerous ancient objects belonging to Neanderthals. “Studies show that Paleolithic people had been living in this region between 40,000 to 200,000 years ago,” said head of the archeology team Hamed Vahdatinasab. “The area is very important in the sense that it is the largest of its kind in Iran and the Middle East and houses thousands of ancient stone tools,” he added. Vahdatinasab also said that the source of stone for the inhabitants was found 16-kilometers from the site in the hillsides looking onto Semnan. The recent finds were discovered during archeological studies in the natural hills of Delazeyan and Mirk, which were first excavated around 1984. TE/HGH

Ancient Beauty Cream Formula Revealed

This story shows me that some things haven't changed very much in 2200 years! This sounds something like the classic Pond's cold cream. Story from MSNBC online: 2,000-year-old cream shows aristocrat’s taste Tuscan discovery was found almost intact in a cosmetics case By Rossella Lorenzi updated 6:15 p.m. CT, Fri., July 10, 2009 Italian archaeologists have discovered lotion that is over 2,000 years old, left almost intact in the cosmetic case of an aristocratic Etruscan woman. The discovery, which occurred four years ago in a necropolis near the Tuscan town of Chiusi, has just been made public, following chemical analysis which identified the original compounds of the ancient ointment. The team reports their findings in the July issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. Dating to the second half of the second century B.C., the intact tomb was found sealed by a large terracotta tile. The site featured a red-purple painted inscription with the name of the deceased: Thana Presnti Plecunia Umranalisa. "From the formula of the name, we learn that Thana Plecunia was the daughter of a lady named Umranei, a member of one of the most important aristocratic families of Chiusi," the researchers wrote. Indeed, the wide rectangular niche tomb certainly represents the noble origins of the deceased. The ashes of Thana rested in a small travertine urn, decorated with luxuriant foliate elements and the head of a female goddess, most likely the Etruscan Earth goddess Cel Ati. Nearby, the archaeologists found a cosmetic case, richly decorated with bone, ivory, tin and bronze elements. The feet of the box featured bone carved in the shape of Sirens. The case was filled with precious personal objects: a couple of bronze finger rings, a pair of tweezers, two combs and an alabaster unguentarium vessel — a vase-shaped jar — of Egyptian origins. "The entire content of the cosmetic case was found under a clay layer which deposited throughout time. This made it possible for the ointment to survive almost intact despite (the fact that) the vessel had no cap," Erika Ribechini, a researcher at the department of chemistry and industrial chemistry of Pisa University, told Discovery News. Solid, homogeneous and pale yellow, the ointment revealed fatty acids in high abundance. "This is almost unique in archaeology. Even though more than 2,000 years have passed, the oxidation of the organic material has not yet been completed. This is most likely due to the sealing of the alabaster unguentarium by the clayish earth, which prevented contact with oxygen," Ribechini said. After analyzing the material, the researchers established that the contents of the vessel consisted of a mixture of substances of lipids and resins. "The natural resins were the pine resin, exudated from Pinaceae, and the mastic resin, from Anacardiaceae trees. The lipid was a vegetable oil, most likely moringa oil, which was used by the Egyptians and Greeks to produce ointments and perfumes," Ribechini said. Also called myrobalan oil, moringa oil was mentioned by Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23 A.D. - 79 A.D.) in his celebrated Natural History as one of the ingredients in the recipe of a "regal perfume" for the king of Parthes. Since moringa trees were not found in Italy — they are native to Sudan and Egypt — and given the Egyptian origins of the alabaster unguentarium, the researchers concluded that the ointment was imported to Etruria.

Treasure Trove in Turkey!

From Hurriyet.com: Jewelry of the Parion Princess unearthed July 12, 2009 ÇANAKKALE - Archaeologists in the Turkish Aegean town of Çanakkale are celebrating the new discovery of a 2,200-year-old sarcophagus in the ancient city of Parion, one of the most important centers of the Helenistic era. Golden earrings, rings and crown pieces have been found in the sarcophagus, which is believed to have belonged to a princess. An archeological team headed by Prof. Cevat Başaran unearthed the sarcophagus three days ago during excavations conducted in the village of Kemer near Biga, northeast of Çanakkale. "We have discovered an important finding at the necropolis, which is the cemetery of the ancient city," Başaran said. "This grave is most likely 2,200 years old. The golden jewelry shows this is the grave of a rich woman. We may call her the ’Princess of Parion.’" Başaran pointed out that the sarcophagus contained a golden crown adorned with many gems, two golden earrings bearing the symbol of Eros and two golden rings. One of the rings was still on the finger bone of the skeleton, the professor added, noting that most of the bones were ruined due to moisture caused by the grave’s proximity to the sea. Approximately 200 graves have been excavated at the ancient city of Parion. Other unearthed findings include "gifts for the dead," such as teardrop bottles, oil lamps and toys.Based on the findings, Başaran said he believes Parion was a glorious city ruled by the rich elite of the Hellenistic age. Excavations have been going on there for the past four years and have also unearthed jewelry believed to belong to the king and queen.

Rout and Mohanty in Tournament

I'm not sure what tournament this is talking about - I couldn't find anything on the FIDE calendar. Padmini, Kiran in International Open Chess Tournament Sunday, July 12, 2009 Bhubaneshwar: The state women international master (WIM) Padmini Rout and Kiran Manisha Mohanty are among the Indian Junior team comprising of six boys and six girls playing in 3rd International Open Chess Tournament that began at Holland as part of the All India Chess Federation effort to give International exposure to Indians in various international events. Both the Orissa girls shared the top position with other six players, who scored one point each by the end of first round.

Goddess: Amaterasu Omikami

Land of the Sun Goddess Michael Hoffman traces some fascinating risings and settings in the story of Japan By MICHAEL HOFFMAN Special to The Japan Times The sun was mortally offended — with good reason. Civilized progress deadens the impulse to see gods in the workings of nature. It's a price we pay, willingly or unconsciously. To the ancient Japanese, the sun was the goddess Amaterasu Omikami. She was gentle by nature but her brother Susano'o, the Storm God, could be provoking beyond endurance. Subject to tantrums, he "broke down the ridges between the rice paddies . . . and covered up the ditches. Also," reports the eighth-century "Kojiki" ("Record of Ancient Matters"), "he defecated and strewed the feces about in the hall where the first fruits were tasted." Further depredations followed; finally the outraged Amaterasu took refuge in the "Rock-Cave of Heaven." Japan was plunged in darkness; "constant night reigned." Rest of article. I wonder - is "Ama" a Japanese word for mother?

Irish Spot Virgin Mary in Tree Stump, Oy Vey!

Is the alleged sighting of the Virgin Mary in the trunk of a cut-down tree a signal that the End Times Are Near??? I put this right up there with the conspiracy to kill off most of the population by innoculating them against the H1N1 virus (Swine flu, latest version). I don't know about you, but I sure didn't see any Virgin Mary in this photograph, not even while squinting without my glasses on. This Virgin Mary appears to not have a head. Hmmm... From the Telegraph.co.uk Virgin Mary spotted in Irish tree Religious fever has taken root in the Irish village of Rathkeale, Co Limerick, after workmen claimed the image of the Virgin Mary appeared in the remains of a felled churchyard tree. Published: 10:13PM BST 09 Jul 2009 The supposed vision surprised locals who have come in their hundreds to pray and light candles in the grounds of Holy Mary Parish church. While some believe the willow should be preserved and covered in glass, others think the believers are just barking up the wrong tree. Noel White, Rathkeale Community Council Graveyard Committee chairman, said workmen sprucing up the church land saw the image when they cut the tree. "One of the lads said look, our Blessed Lady in the tree," Mr White said. "One of the other lads looked over and actually knelt down and blessed himself, he got such a shock. It was the perfect shape of the figure of Our Lady holding the baby." Candles and rosary beads have been draped over the stump by prayerful locals with up to 700 holding a candlelight vigil last night and into the early hours of the morning. Mr White said people have been travelling from neighbouring Co Kerry as word of the phenomenon spread, while it is believed a local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club from a nearby parish also brought two busloads of people. "It is just a tree, but it is what it depicts when you look at it," Mr White said. "It is just phenomenal what's going on. And it's not just Rathkeale, they're coming in from all over the place." But not all villagers have seen the supposedly divine image with some treating the discovery with scepticism. Local priest Fr Willie Russell refused to get caught up in the hype but said he was not surprised by the outpouring of interest. "This is just going to go on and on," he said. "My impression of it at the moment is that I have no impression of it. It doesn't interest me that much at the moment. I have seen the tree ... it's only a tree." Fr Russell also insisted not everyone in the area believes the image of Our Lady appeared on the tree. "The local views are kind of mixed," the priest added. Scepticism over the reported appearance is shared by the Catholic Church's hierarchy in Ireland, according to Fr Paul Finnerty, official spokesman for the Limerick diocese. "The Church's response to phenomena of this type is one of great scepticism," he said. "While we do not wish in any way to detract from devotion to Our Lady, we would also wish to avoid anything which might lead to superstition." Cynics have already pointed to the coincidental timing of Ireland's latest "appearance" amidst a recession after the Celtic Tiger boom years. The last time the country was plagued by massive joblessness in the 1980s there were numerous reported sightings of moving statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the first - and most prominent of the alleged phenomena - was in Ballinspittle, in Co Cork, where locals insisted they witnessed the statue of Our Lady floating in the air. The claims drew worldwide attention as busloads flocked from long distances to see the roadside grotto in the small rural village in the hope of seeing the same. The "sighting" sparked a wave of similar claims around the country as people held vigils at other roadside grottoes which mostly sprang up during the Marian Year of 1953. Former postmaster and councillor John Griffin said that while he had no difficulty with people coming together to pray, it was just a tree stump. "I respect everybody's belief but when I heard about this and had a look, what I saw were the remains of a felled tree," Mr Griffin said. "I see a shape, the shape of a felled tree. It is in the shape of a cloaked lady or cloaked person, but that's because of the way it was cut. I'm not attributing anything supernatural." But for believers the big question is what to do now? "If it is left there I would imagine we would have to get expert advice on how to preserve it, maybe cover it with glass or something," Mr White said. "Because people are taking bits off the tree or stroking the tree and taking the skin off, and if they keep doing that there'll be nothing there soon." [LOL! And - shame on you, those taking bits and pieces of the Virgin Mary.] Fr Russell added: "Whatever the people want, there's no problem there. It doesn't create a problem for me." _____________________________________________________________________ Tsk tsk. Compare this "Virgin Mary in Tree" image I found in my archives from 2008. I've probably got a blog about "Her" somewhere here. This one looks like the real deal, not something hacked about by a 17 year old with a chainsaw :) Try searching under "Virgin Mary" or perhaps "apparitions of Virgin Mary." I've had it for the night, darlings. Good night.

1,200-Year-Old Boat Uncovered in Central Java

From the Jakarta Post: Ancient boat reveals shipbuilding skills of Java’s seafarers Suherdjoko , The Jakarta Post , Rembang, Central Java Fri, 07/10/2009 11:49 AM Java Brew Historians have long wondered just how Indonesians in the 6th and 7th centuries built their boats. A recent archaeological discovery sheds some light on the mystery. In July last year, an ancient boat, measuring 15.6 meters long and 4 meters wide was discovered in Punjulharjo village, Rembang district, in Rembang regency. A team from the Yogyakarta Archaeology Center made a detailed study of the site, about 200 meters inland from the Java Sea coastline, from June 17 to 26 this year. The boat, approximately 1,200 years old, was found buried near the Central Java northern coastline, with its bow lying to the west and its stern in the east. Head of Punjulharjo village Nursalim said eight local residents had stumbled across the ancient relic while making a pond. “The land was originally planted with coconuts, followed by secondary crops,” he told The Jakarta Post. “But as the soil was not fertile enough, they decided to make a pond. That’s when they noticed the buried boat, its main part still in its whole form, as they dug deeper.” According to the chairman of the Yogyakarta archaeology team, Novida Abbas, the ancient boat is the most complete ever found in Indonesia. “So far we have only got wooden planks and other separate pieces. The discovery in Rembang is 50 percent intact,” Novida said. “We can see the actual shape of the boat and its construction technology.” Novida estimates the boat could hold 30 people. Its skeleton remains complete, including its sides, bottom, curved ribs (to support the sides), stringers (to fasten the ribs) and wooden pegs, as well as palm-fiber ropes to fasten the ribs to knobs on the inside of the sides. There are also rattan and bamboo items. Priyatno Hadi, a team member and archaeology graduate from Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University, said the main body of the boat was unbroken. The hull was built using a very simple method that did not require any metal components. “Planks were first arranged to form an arc and then the curved wooden ribs were placed in parallel rows from the stern to the bow. Thereafter, they were fastened and strengthened with wooden pegs,” he added, showing the thumb-sized pegs. Twelve of the boat’s 17 ribs are still joined to its flanks, with their palm-fiber ropes still partly tied in their knots. Unusually there are also L-shaped planks in the stern – with those in the bow probably having been lost – for reinforcement due to the palm-fiber rope holes. Missing are the upper parts of the boat and some parts of the bow, Novida said. “The entire boat may have been larger than what has been found today. Its age of 12 centuries and its almost complete state provide good material for more comprehensive research. So we will finally have an idea of what Indonesia’s ancient boats looked like without having to speculate much. This finding gives us a good idea.” The team sent samples of the palm fiber to ancient vessel specialist Prof. Pierre Yves Manguin in France to determine the boat’s age. Manguin is also director of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient research institute and is now studying antique ships and boats in Southeast Asia and East Asia. He passed on the samples for examination at the Beta Analytic Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory in Miami in the United States. Laboratory test results showed the boat was used sometime during 670–780 A.D. It was a merchant boat used toward the end of the Hindu Mataram kingdom in Java and Sriwijaya kingdom in Sumatra. This model was commonly used by traders in Java, Madura and Sumatra in those days. Novida explained that the archaeology center made an initial inspection soon after the discovery was reported, only undertaking a more thorough study in June 2009. The old boat is now being stored in a building provided by the Hasyim Djojohadikusumo Foundation, which helps preserve the country’s cultural heritage. The timber used for the planks to form the sides of the hull, each 7 centimeters thick, comes from different species, some teak and others mangrove. All the stringers are made from teak. “We haven’t yet delved deeper into the boat’s materials,” Novida said. “We will conduct further research.” Priyatno Hadi added that boat builders of that era used resin and gelam shrub fiber to fill the gaps between planks to keep the boat watertight. The team also found 100 pieces of earthenware, two lead rings believed to have served to bind fishing nets, coconut shells for food or drinks, glass-like bamboo tubes and a wooden stick 50-cm long. The objects may lead to conclusions on how these people lived, their level of technology and their daily lives. Punjulharjo village head Nursalim displayed some of the other items the locals had found in the boat, including a carved stone head, bones, clay pitcher spouts and a stick. The archaeological team doubts if all the artifacts originated in the boat because the wooden stick turned out to be modern. However, they will study them further because the female head image resembles ones discovered on former sites of the Majapahit kingdom. Following the study, the ancient boat was again submerged into water as a way of safeguarding it. The structure sheltering the boat is now encircled by bamboo fences so people visiting the site can only look at it from outside the barriers. “We are planning to reconstruct the boat and later make its replica,” Novida said. “In this way, anyone wishing to look at the boat can have a more detailed model of the relic.” Nursalim said he hoped the boat would remain in the shore area. “Our village people have agreed to make this area a tourist destination,” he said. “We will protect the boat so let it just stay here. We don’t want to have it moved to another place, as we would get no benefit from it, leaving this area with only the memory of being a boat village.”

Poop Wars!

Whoa! Just what I needed to cheer up an otherwise extremely stressfully and - dare I say it, yes I will - crappy week. Enjoy! Weighing in against the petrified poop being from a human being, we have these dudes: Paul Goldberg,1,2, Francesco Berna,1,3 Richard I. Macphail1,4 1 Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. 2 Zentrum für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie, Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstraße 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany. 3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra "Ardito Desio," Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20133 Milano, Italy. 4 Institute of Archaeology, University College London, Gordon Square, London WC1 0PY, UK. in this article: Science 10 July 2009: Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148 DOI: 10.1126/science.1167531 Technical Comments Comment on "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America" And now things get really sexy, darlings, because there is a response, whooo-whooo! Weighing in for the petrified poop being from pre-Clovis people: M. Thomas P. Gilbert,1 Dennis L. Jenkins,2 Thomas F. G. Higham,3 Morten Rasmussen,1 Helena Malmström,1 Emma M. Svensson,4 Juan J. Sanchez,5 Linda Scott Cummings,6 Robert M. Yohe, II,7 Michael Hofreiter,8 Anders Götherström,4 Eske Willerslev1 1 Centre for Ancient Genetics, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. 2 Museum of Natural and Cultural History, 1224 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403–1224, USA. 3 Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK. 4 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvagten 18D, 74236 Uppsala, Sweden. 5 National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science, Canary Islands Delegation, 38320 Tenerife, Spain. 6 Paleo Research Institute, 2675 Youngfield Street, Golden, CO 80401, USA. 7 Department of Sociology and Anthropology, California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311, USA. 8 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. in this article: Science 10 July 2009: Vol. 325. no. 5937, p. 148 DOI: 10.1126/science.1168457 Technical Comments Response to Comment by Poinar et al. on "DNA from Pre-Clovis Human Coprolites in Oregon, North America" What will be the outcome??? Stay tuned.

New Study on Gender and Chess

Most interesting! Thanks to Allen Becker of Southwest Chess Club for giving me a heads-up on this article this afternoon. European Journal of Social Psychology Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 38, 231–245 (2008) Published online 14 May 2007 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.440 Checkmate? The role of gender stereotypes in the ultimate intellectual sport ANNE MAASS*, CLAUDIO D’ETTOLE AND MARA CADINU University of Padova, Italy Abstract Women are surprisingly underrepresented in the chess world, representing less that 5% of registered tournament players worldwide and only 1% of the world’s grand masters. In this paper it is argued that gender stereotypes are mainly responsible for the underperformance of women in chess. Forty-two male–female pairs, matched for ability, played two chess games via Internet. When players were unaware of the sex of opponent (control condition), females played approximately as well as males. When the gender stereotype was activated (experimental condition), women showed a drastic performance drop, but only when they were aware that they were playing against a male opponent. When they (falsely) believed to be playing against a woman, they performed as well as their male opponents. In addition, our findings suggest that women show lower chess-specific self-esteem and a weaker promotion focus, which are predictive of poorer chess performance. Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Are You Ready for More Dan Brown?

No.

The Writing on the Wall

Prior post. It ain't over 'til it's over... The Lede at The New York Times and Nico Pitney at The Huffington Post (continual) have been blogging about the election and its aftermath in Iran. MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN... Tonight the NYT carried this story - and lead photograph (copyright Associated Press). Here is a quote from the story: ... A young woman, her clothing covered in blood, ran up Kargar Street, paused for a moment and said, “I am not scared, because we are in this together.” The tradition of the pre-islamic warrior woman is alive and well in Iran.

That Pesky 4-3-2 Number of the Goddess Again!

Well, this is just too strange to pass by without mentioning! When I was doing the prior post on the Ark of the Covenant, I pulled out the one Graham Hancock book I have in my library, Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization, and after using it to get the exact title of Hancock's book about the Ark of the Covenant, I just happened to flip to page 327, which is the start of Chapter 38 entitled "Interactive Three-Domensional Game." If that isn't spooky enough for you, darlings, on the opposite page (326), are two photographs, one of the Great Pyramid built by Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) in c. 2550 BCE. This is the caption to the photograph: The geometric perfection of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, almost 500 feet high and supposedly built by the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu around 2550 BC. Amongst other functions the Great Pyramid was designed to serve as a mathematical model of the northern hemisphere of the earth on a scale of 1:43,200. I cannot speak to the validity of Hancock's claim about the Great Pyramid, but that number he mentioned - 43,200 (and multiples thereof) - repeatedly shows up in the most interesting places. In fact, "432" is called the Number of the Goddess by no less authority than the great Joseph Campbell. For further information, check out 4-3-2 Lift-off! by those fabulous Las Vegas Showgirls, Bambi and Candi! Photograph above found at Thinkquest.org.

Ark of the Covenant to be Revealed?

LOL! How did I miss this story? MUCH ABOUT HISTORY 'Ark of the Covenant' about to be unveiled? Ethiopian patriarch tells pope he will show artifact to world Posted: June 24, 20099:35 pm Eastern © 2009 WorldNetDaily The patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world's most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos. Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries." The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D'Acosta. Rest of article. Well, I sure didn't read about any announcement, did you? If you would like an entertaining read on the legends surrounding the disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant, I suggest Graham Hancock's The Sign and the Seal: A Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

Cache of Artifacts Found at Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Information from The Egyptian Gazette - undated, I presume today or tomorrow? - isn't Egypt several time zones ahead of us timewise? Another Cache Unearthed in National Museum Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed another cache near the Western gate of the National Museum in Cairo, Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said yesterday. Zahi Hawass, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that the cache contained a table made of limestone, a fragment of a slab with hieroglyphic inscriptions, some stones, and the base of a pharaonic pillar, which date back to the pharaonic period around 1,300 years BC." This type of slab was quite widespread during the era of the Pharaohs, who used it to mark a special occasion,” Hawass said.“The slab shows the head of a cobra," Hawass said, adding that foreign archaeologists were in the habit of burying antiquities they had considered 'useless' in the Museum's garden. The antiquities will be analysed, said Hawass, who has been supervising a project for giving a facelift to the Museum. The project, which is near completion, includes upgrading the museum and adding new, showrooms, meeting rooms, a library, a bookshop and a cafeteria.

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I find this piece (identified in the article as: Unearthed: The slab that was unearthed near the Western gate of the National Museum in Cairo yesterday) utterly fascinating! I'm no expert, but I've looked at probably a thousand photographs and images of Egyptian artifacts during the past ten years as well as exhibits in museums, and I don't recall seeing this kind of "slab" with a cobra's head etched into it. This "slab" is set up in the form of an offering table that I've seen many times. There's that little "tail" (that's what I call it), with a trench in it that was meant to siphon off wine or beer that was poured as a libation by the deceased's descendants over the surface of the "table." Most of the offering tables were not very large, and it's impossible to tell what the dimensions of this one is from the photograph. I do not recall seeing such a slab or an offering table with a serpent on its face, though! The serpent reminds me of Egypt's two most ancient board games: Senet, with it's "serpentine" path that the pieces follow around the board that leads to each piece's promotion into the ancient equivalent of "Heaven;" and the even older Mehen, predynastic, with carved stone boards shaped in the form of a spiraled serpent. Perhaps this is a hybrid between an offering table and a gameboard? Unfortunately, the photograph is poor, and it's difficult to tell if there might be places on the board where pieces (offerings) might have been placed - but, am I imagining it? Are those squares I see along the left side?

Southwest Chess Club: Club Championship!

The Club Championship starts tomorrow - how'd it get here so fast, eek! Last summer's championship was won by Expert Anthony Parker. Who will win it this year? Here is the information: It is a 6-round Swiss, in one Open Section. Two 1/2-Pt Byes are available in Rounds 1-5 (not Rd 6). July 9, 16, 23, 30 & August 6 & 13 (No lecture this Thursday, as we will have lots of players signing up for the tournament). Come on out and support our largest and strongest tournament of the year! 6-Round Swiss in One Section. Game/100. USCF Rated. EF: $7 (must be a member to participate). SWCC Membership $10 (can join prior to first round). (Two ½ point byes available in rounds 1 through 5 if requested at least 2-days in advance) TD is Allen Becker (cell: 1-414-807-0269 if you are running late); ATD is Robin Grochowski.

Shira Chess Challenge!

Ohmygoddess! I now somehow find myself playing chess games with Rob, Soheil, Mott the Hoople, and Frog Breath. And I believe more or knocking on my email door, but I have not as yet answered them. Who would call himself or herself Frog Breath? I suspect that other than Rob, and - possibly, Soheil, the others are grandmasters in hiding, waiting to get their jollies off on playing a hopeless patzer such as yours truly. I do hope I am wrong. I suspect I am not. Oh my. Oh, you ask, how am I doing? Not good. But for the moment, I am temporarily unparalyzed from making moves, however crappy they may be and in my world of the glass always being half full, this is a good thing! Ta, darlings!

Hales Corners Challenge X!

We have a flyer for the Hales Corners Chess Challenge X, yippee! It doesn't show up in all of its glory here - but I'll do my best to make it pretty :)

Hales Corners Challenge X Sponsored by The Southwest Chess Club Saturday, October 17, 2009 Two Sections – Open & Reserve (Under 1600)

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day USCF Rated TIME LIMIT: Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player) ENTRY FEE: $35 – Open; $25 – Reserve (both sections $5 more after October 14, 2009) Comp Entry Fee for USCF 2200+: Entry fee subtracted from any prizes won SITE REGISTRATION: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ROUNDS: 10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm Pairings by WinTD---No Computer Entries---No Smoking PRIZES OPEN RESERVE 1st—$325* 1st—$100 2nd—$175* 2nd—$75 A—$100 D—$50 B & Below—$75 E & Below—$40 * guaranteed Goddesschess prizes for top performing females: Open Section: 1st - $60, 2nd - $40 Reserve Section: 1st - $40, 2nd $30, 3rd $20 Tournament Director: Tom Fogec Assistant Tournament Directors: Robin Grochowski & Allen Becker SITE: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue—Milwaukee—414-481-8000 (formerly known as Four Points Sheraton, across street from airport) ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker—6105 Thorncrest Drive—Greendale, WI 53129 allenbecker@wi.rr.com QUESTIONS TO: Tom Fogec—414-425-6742 (home) or 414-405-4207 (cell) USCF I.D. Required -- Bring your own clocks – Sets and Boards Provided Half point bye available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4. _____________________________________________________________________________ Checks payable to Southwest Chess Club (Please indicate section desired) __Open Section __Reserve Section Name: __________________________________________________ USCF ID#: ________________ Rating: _________ Expire Date: ___________ Address: ______________________________________ City: _____________________ State: _______ Zip: _________ Phone: __________________ e-mail Address: _______________________

Ancient Royal Chinese Tomb Discovered

Hola darlings! I do hope I have not previously reported on this discovery. I found this story at English.Chosun.com which is, I believe, a South Korean website (but don't quote me on that :)) Ancient Royal Tomb Found in China Arirang News / Jul. 07, 2009 12:10 KST Workers in northern China building water infrastructure recently uncovered a 1,400-year-old royal tomb containing ancient wall paintings. The tomb belonged to Gao Xiaoxu, the male heir of an emperor during the Qi Dynasty. The detailed frescoes of honor guard officials found inside are thought to date from 550-577 AD. [This is around the time that the game of Xiang Qi - Chinese chess - may have evolved in China from an earlier practice that was part divination/part board game called Xiang Xi, according to Dr. Joseph Needham]. However, the more than 1,000 years that have passed have taken its toll on the condition of the paintings. Sun Jinghua of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology says that the discovery needs the full attention of restoration specialists. Fragments will be secured and the wall will be removed to a location off-site for further study. The site is located in an area that contains 134 tombs mostly from the royal family of the Northern Dynasties which ruled from 368-581 AD.

Wherever this place is, it sure is gorgeous! Donostia Chess Festival Action July 7 - 16, 2009. In addition to three other tournaments that are composed with only chess dudes (snore), there is a women only event with a well-mixed line-up of chess femmes: Diputacion Foral de Gipuzkoa Donostia (ESP), 7-16 vii 2009 cat. III (2318) Name Ti NAT Elo DoB Tania, Sachdev m IND 2410 1986 Milliet, Sophie m FRA 2388 1983 Pokorna, Regina wg SVK 2381 1982 Michna, Marta wg GER 2379 1978 Hamdouchi, Adina-Maria wg ROU 2324 1979 Zakurdjaeva, Irina wg RUS 2305 1982 Melnikova, Yana wg RUS 2285 1984 Ionica, Iulia-Ionela wg ROU 2263 1980 Rozic, Vesna wm SLO 2239 1987 Karlovich, Anastazia wg UKR 2211 1982

Significant Islamic Find in Japan

This discovery could possibly re-write the history, such as it is, of trade between Japan and centers that traded Islamic-made goods in the 8th century CE. 8th century Islamic vase found THE ASAHI SHIMBUN 2009/7/6 NARA--Shards of an Islamic ceramic vase--the oldest uncovered in Japan--were excavated at the former site of Heijokyo palace, municipal researchers said. The 19 pieces of what is believed to be a vase more than 50 centimeters tall date back to the late eighth century, about 100 years earlier than Islamic ceramics found in Fukuoka Prefecture. The researchers believe the vase was used during maritime trade to carry spices from the Islamic world. Tatsuo Sasaki, a professor of archaeology at Kanazawa University, said the finding confirms that Nara was a terminus on the ancient Silk Road of the Sea. Heijokyo was the nation's capital during the Nara Period (710-784).(IHT/Asahi: July 6,2009)

Shira Chess Challenge: I Am NOT Ready for Beginner Chess

Oy, this is driving me crazy. Today I made a very bad mistake. I actually opened one of the data bases that Kelly a/k/a Chess Daddy sent to me, using Chess Base Lite. I forced myself to work through 1 and nearly a half games, and then I couldn't stand it anymore. Every single thing I do when I play chess is fricking WRONG. So WRONG, I found myself paralyzed and now I cannot make a move in my pending games (now 3 games). I am terrified of making a mistake. Which I know I will, because I suck. This is HORRIBLE. I don't know what to do. To add insult to injury, lately I seem to have come across a plethora of articles about "beginner" chess, like this one: Your Chess Coach Chess starts with the basics By Laura Sherman, Bill Kilpatrick INQUIRER.net First Posted 03:08:00 07/07/2009 Chess is taught by starting with the basics and building from there. It has to be done step by step. It is a big mistake to skip ahead too quickly with new strategies or techniques, when the more basic concepts are not well understood by a young chess player. Teaching “checkmate” is a perfect example. Coaches quickly learn it’s a big challenge to teach children the concept of checkmate. We have found that many beginners have trouble checkmating their opponents despite having an overwhelming advantage of pieces on the chess board. So how do you teach this seemingly basic concept? Break it down! Simplify it! Pull checkmate apart into little pieces that can be learned, one at a time. The first step is to drill easier concepts with your students. How do you attack a piece? When is a piece in danger? How do you trap a piece? There are dozens of such exercises that are needed in order to fully prepare the student to understand and apply the concept of checkmate. Once they have these components down, they must be able to recognize when the king is in check and understand that concept fully. Quiz them on the number of escape squares the king has. This usually requires a bit of drilling, but there will come a point where the student knows it, really knows it. Being able to recognize when a student has a concept and is able to move on is also important. The last thing you want to do is rehash something over and over that they already understand. There’s a certain look that a student gets when they fully understand something. Watch for that look, that confident gleam in their eye. Now they will have an easier time grasping checkmate. Show them many examples. Stick with exercises that are checkmate in one move, starting with extremely easy and basic positions. The more you drill these with your student the faster they will pick up the themes and be able to recognize reoccurring patterns.

Checkmate needs to be drilled regularly and often. The result will be that your students will take advantage of more opportunities on the board and you will have a strong foundation from which to move forward. _____________________________________________________

Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach with her husband, Dan Sherman. The couple's full-time profession is teaching children to play chess. Bill Kilpatrick, founder of several professional specialty schools, brings an entrepreneurial spirit to chess coaching. Together they provide consulting around the globe helping improve the ability of coaches, parents and educators to teach chess to children. Okay, so what about teaching someone like ME to play chess after years of doing it wrong? And please, do not say "forget everything you ever thought you knew about chess." My response: SCREW YOU. No way am I going to unlearn 40 years worth of playing chess the way I play. There has to be a different way to do this. I'm officially ditching the data bases. I cannot even remember the first four moves (2 for white and 2 for black). Sorry Chess Daddy, this ain't gonna work.

Honor Killings Rage Unchecked in Pakistan

Here is jus a sampling from the Daily Times, which reports news from Pakistan. In almost all incidents, the victims are female: Monday, July 06, 2009 ‘Honour’ killings remain unchecked By Rana Tanveer LAHORE: ‘Honour’ killing seems to go unchecked in the city as it claimed three lives in two incidents during the last week. On July 2, a newly married couple was killed in the name of ‘honour’ in Barki police precincts. Ramazan shot dead Khalid and his wife Shamim, who had eloped and married without the consent of their families. Ramazan was Shamim’s cousin and both had been engaged. The other incident took place on July 5, when a boy, Irfan, killed his uncle Shahadat Ali for marrying his mother after the death of his father in Kahna police precincts. Reportedly, Irfan considered the marriage a matter of ‘honour’. In 10 weeks, nine people were killed in the name of ‘honour’ in the city. Among these incidents, on June 18, in Sabzazar police precincts, Iqbal killed his sister Adeeba (22) for having an alleged affair with a boy. The accused tried to hide the incident by shifting the body to some other city, but the police recovered the body after chasing the accused. On June 2, Nawaz of Ferozewala killed his sister Shehnaz Bibi, who was a mother of two, for having an affair with a man. On May 26, Ahsan Elahi gunned down his wife Shazia in Liaquatabad police precincts. On April 20, Zulfiqar Khokhar of Green Town killed his sister Shahnaz (35) and niece Farah (18) for honour. In Kahna, on April 16, a woman was killed by her in-laws in the name of ‘honour’.

Belated Happy July 4th!

(Photo of the "Living Flag" taken at Ellis Island, New York, May, 2009. This is the neatest thing! Depending upon your angle, you either get a straight shot of the flag of the USA, or something like this photograph, that shows that the flip sides of each part of the flag is made up of individual images of people who have come through Ellis Island. This is a motion shot that I think Mr. Don took showing a couple of people crossing the image, because during the busy part of the day when we were there it is nearly impossible to get a clear shot of this great flag art work.) Hola Darlings! Yesterday dawned warm, humid, and overcast. I had plans to spend some time with family later in the day. The first part of the day was spent sweating and puffing as I cut the front lawn, then laid down a layer of bug-killer pellets because those damn sod web-worms are back yet again this year, despite my best efforts! Argggghhhh! Then I trekked to the supermarket! Later I spent time attempting the ever-hopeless task of updating Chess Femme News at Goddesschess. I will do more on that later today. And, of course, I had my chess games going on. I left no time to post here. I am not doing very well in either of them, alas. However, Mr. Don has promised that as soon as he is out from under the revamping of the Goddesschess website he will give me a couple of practice games. He is as rusty as I am, so we will be an "even" match - I hope! I need something to boost up my confidence a bit. For some mysterious reason, I have usually been able to defeat him with the black pieces... Later, I visited my sister Debbie and her husband Randy's home where we had a small gathering of some of the family and a neighbor joined, too, because her husband was working and her kids are all grown up and moved away. Here is a photo of my 82-year old mother and my graduate-student nephew, Adam Varble, decked out in 4th of July regalia. Don't let Grandma Newton's water glass fool you - it was filled with some of my White Zinfandel wine! I took along the netbook and showed some of the photos from our May New York vacation -- they were a great success, and some of the truly horrid photos that Mr. Don took of me elicited much laughter, boo! I drank too much, and ate way too much of all the stuff that is so bad for one - grilled bratwurst, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw (a/k/a cold slaw), and cream-cheese topped blueberry bars for dessert, EEK! But Goddess, it all tasted so GOOD! Then we all played some crazy word game called "Banana" while the cheap wine I'd supplied freely flowed, and we had a marvelous time. When delivered home about 9:16 p.m. I collapsed into bed where I lay in the dark, windows opened wide to catch any hint of breeze in the warm, moist air, the bedsheet draped loosely about me. I drifted off to sleep as I listened to the booms of fireworks going off in all of the parks, close and distant, around me. It was a wonderful 4th of July!

7,000 Year Old Preserved Children

Cf. Garbage Children? I am not at all certain that what seems to be the prevailing theory in archaeology and anthropology of "disposable children" is a correct reading of the existing meagre evidence. For instance, there are these lovingly-preserved mummies of children (and some adults, too) that are 7,000 years old - from the New World, no less. Article at downtoearth.org Parents’ keepsake Savvy Soumya Misra The world’s first mummies: arsenic poisoning victims in Chile in 5000 BC

(Image: Reuters. A mummified Chinchorro baby in San Miguel Museum in Arica city) Seven thousand years ago, about 100 km from the contemporary port city of Arica in Chile, a child died. The grieving parents did not want to part with the last remains. They removed the head and internal organs of the child, stuffed it with animal hide, painted a clay model of his head and decorated it with tufts of his hair. The delicately preserved body was excavated in 1983. Archaeologists believe it is the earliest mummy. More than 100 child mummies were discovered in Camarones near Arica that year. Later, preserved bodies of adults were found as well. Archaeologists say the embalmed bodies were of people from Chile’s Chinchorro community. Unlike mummies in later civilizations—most notably Egypt that flourished for 2,500 years beginning 3,000 BC—that spun around prestige, wealth and power, Chinchorro mummification was based on a democratic and humanistic view of the dead, and everyone was mummified. Archaeologist Bernardo Arriaza, who studies the Chinchorro at the University of Tarapaca in Arica, wrote that unlike the Egyptians who hid the dead, the Chilean community embraced them. The child mummies even took their place besides their parents at the dinner table. A few years ago Arriaza launched a daring new theory: the Chinchorro were victims of arsenic poisoning. “I was reading a Chilean newspaper that talked about pollution and it had a map of arsenic and lead pollution, and it said arsenic caused abortions. I jumped in my seat and said, That’s it,” Arriaza said. Following the lead, Arriaza collected 46 hair samples from Chinchorro excavated from 10 sites in northern Chile. Ten samples from the Camarones river valley had an average of 37.8 microgrammes per gramme—much higher than one to 10 microgramme of arsenic per gramme that indicates chronic toxicity according to World Health Organization (who) standards. The sample from an infant’s mummy had a residue of 219 microgramme per gramme. One theory is that they could have washed their hair with arsenic contaminated water but pathologists explain that washing is unlikely to leave such high levels of arsenic traces. Arriaza has another explanation. Chinchorros were a fishing society. They collected plants along river mouths and hunted both sea mammals and wild birds. They made fishhooks out of shellfish, bone or cactus needles, spear throwers were used to hunt sea lions and wild camelids, while both lithic points and knives were manufactured using flint stones. The Chinchorro lacked ceramic vessels, metal objects and woven textiles, but this was not a social handicap: their simple yet efficient fishing technology allowed them to thrive along the Pacific coasts. But life was not without dangers. In the 1960s tests on water drawn by the city of Antofagasta in the Camarones river valley showed that it was laced with 860 microgrammes of arsenic per litre—86 times higher than the limits acceptable by who. Arriaza believes this was so even 7,000 years ago. Tests on the Chinchorro mummies strengthen the arsenic poisoning theory. He also believes Chinchorros suffered from chronic ear irritation and impairment probably due to continuous fishing in the Pacific Ocean’s cold waters. They also suffered from parasitic infections from eating poorly cooked fish and sea lion meat. “In highly stratified societies like ours, lower-class children receive simple or meager mortuary disposal. But in a small group, the death of children certainly threatened the survival of the entire group. Affection and grief may thus have triggered the preservation of children,” the archaeologist said. [Or maybe, just maybe, the parents loved their children and truly mourned their passing, despite what cultural mores today's archaeologists and anthropologists impose upon the ancient peoples they study.] Chinchorro morticians made incisions to deflesh the body and removed internal organs. Clay, grasses and feathers were used to fill the cavities. The bodies were painted bright red from head to toe, the face was painted black or brown. A long wig up to 60 cm was used to ornament the head. Facial features were modelled to convey life. [As I understand this article in plain English, the children often died at a very young age because of excess arsenic introduced into their systems via mother's breast milk and contaminated other food and water.]

No Etruscan Link to Modern Tuscans

An intriguing article, and what I appreciate is that the author noted the experts indicated that their findings in no way indicate that there is NO LINK between the ancient Etruscans and modern-day residents of the same area, but only perhaps the DNA evidence has been so diluted we can no longer trace it with our current technologies. Unfortunately, the title and sub-title to this article are VERY misleading! 2009-07-03 17:06 No Etruscan link to modern Tuscans Study shows genetic discontinuity with Bronze Age people (ANSA) - Florence, July 3 - The current population of Tuscany is not descended from the Etruscans, the people that lived in the region during the Bronze Age, a new Italian study has shown. [If you read on, you will see that this is actually a mis-statement of what is currently known.] Researchers at the universities of Florence, Ferrara, Pisa, Venice and Parma discovered the genealogical discontinuity by testing samples of mitochondrial DNA from remains of Etruscans and people who lived in the Middle Ages (between the 10th and 15th centuries) as well as from people living in the region today. While there was a clear genetic link between Medieval Tuscans and the current population, the relationship between modern Tuscans and their Bronze Age ancestors could not be proven, the study showed. [But what about a link between the Bronze Age Tuscans and the Medieval Tuscans? That was not addressed in this article.] ''Some people have hypothesised that the most ancient DNA sequences, those from the Etruscan era, could contain errors or have been contaminated but tests conducted with new methods exclude this,'' said David Caramelli of Florence University and Guido Barbujani of Ferrara University. ''The most simple explanation is that the structure of the Tuscan population underwent important demographic changes in the first millennium before Christ,'' they said. ''Immigration and forced migration have diluted the Etruscan genetic inheritance so much as to make it difficult to recognise''. The scientific data does not necessarily mean that the Etruscans died out, the researchers said. Teams from Florence and Ferrara universities are working to identify whether traces of the Etruscans' genetic inheritance may still exist in people living in isolated locations in the region. The new study is published online by the scientific journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. The Etruscans lived mainly between the rivers Tiber and Arno in modern-day Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany, in the first millennium BC. By the sixth century BC they had become the dominant force in central Italy, but repeated attacks from Gauls and Syracusans later forced them into an alliance with the embryonic Roman state, which gradually absorbed Etruscan civilization. Most of what is known about the Etruscans derives from archaeology as the few accounts passed down by Roman historians tend to be hostile, portraying them as gluttonous and lecherous. This problem is compounded by the fact that Etruscan cities were built almost entirely of wood and so vanished quickly, leaving little for archaeologists to investigate.

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As far as I know, we have not yet been able to decipher the Etruscan language, although we do understand some individual words. The problem, as I understand it, is that there is a lack of long enough texts to be able to apply modern-day algorithyms, etc., that are now used to decipher a language. Another issue seems to be whether Etruscan is related to the Indo-European family of languages, or not.

Chesterfield, Missouri Site May Be Major Find

This is a great story. There is no way of knowing, unfortunately, just how many cities, sites and settlements of earlier resident Americans have been destroyed in the past, either knowingingly or unknowingly, as the people who eventually came to be known as the USA rushed to develop itself. Today we (hopefully) know better - Story at bnd.com, serving southwestern Illinois and the St. Louis region July 3, 2009 Archaeologists intrigued by Chesterfield site The Associated Press CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- Archaeologists digging at a site in west St. Louis County believe it was once a major market center for Mississippian Indians. Last year, Chesterfield workers excavating soil to build a retention reservoir cut into the ruins, exposing thousands of artifacts that included decorative pottery, ear spools, arrowhead and tool fragments, and beads used to make necklaces. Those involved in the dig hope to develop a more complete picture of what has been called Mississippian culture, a people who thrived from 1050 to 1400 then mysteriously disappeared. Archaeologists are especially intrigued because the site isn't far from the Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, Ill. Cahokia was a pre-Columbian political and religious capital and was the largest Native American city north of Mexico. "Nobody's ever looked at a major market center like this in eastern Missouri," said Joe Harl, vice president of the Archaeological Center of St. Louis. "The number of bowls, the highly ornate vessels that we are getting, tells us this was a major site." The excitement about the site has developed quickly. Not long after the artifacts were exposed last year, Stan Dampier was walking through the area with a friend looking for arrowheads. Instead, they found pottery shards that Dampier said looked "a little special." He contacted Harl, who was skeptical but still drove to the site about an hour after he spoke with Dampier. Harl quickly discovered a treasure trove of relics - copper ear spools, the remnants of homes, cooking and storage pits, even leftover deer bones. "That tells us there was a lot of ceremonial feasting," Harl said. All told, they discovered roughly 5,000 artifacts just in the initial search, although some were just tiny shards. The Army Corps of Engineers owns the site, so Harl and other employees of the Archaeological Research Center worked with the corps to get $150,000 in government money to conduct a dig, which began in earnest on June 24. Theories abound about what brought about the end to the Mississippian culture. Perhaps a minor ice age. Major crop failure. Political infighting. Economic competition. Flooding. Last Wednesday, excavation uncovered the remnants of a stockade wall - one more sign that the site was inhabited by a large community, Harl said. They also had found copper ear spools that probably came from the Great Lakes region. Among the Mississippians, wearing copper was a display of wealth. Harl's team had uncovered what they believed were the remains of a house. It was just a black patch of earth. The Mississippians built their homes with logs, vines, prairie grass and mud. The decaying remains left a dark square in the dirt, too well-defined to be a natural phenomenon. Harl said months of hard work and analysis lie ahead. The team planned on taking buckets of dirt and running them through a device similar to a washing machine, hoping to learn a little more about the Mississippian diet. Just one small part of a large mystery.

Palatine Hill Checkerboards

So what is this place? It is a room in the "House of Gryphons" located on the Palatine Hill in Rome. I don't have time to search it out today, I'm behind my time, darlings, and have got so much to do this last day off before returning to the office tomorrow. Sigh. That black and white checkerboard in the middle of the floor is, as best I could determine in a brief search, dated back to the "Republican" era of the Roman Empire, so perhaps sometime between 300 BCE - 100 CE??? Not sure about the dates, but it's not "archaic." It's gorgeous, isn't it! In addition to the black and white checkered 11 by 6 board in the middle of the floor of the room, which itself has a pattern on which a large board game could be played, the walls have maroon/white checkerboard patterns. There is a related article at The New York Times (published July 3, 2009) about some spectacular preserved relics of the past being opened to the public this year, for the first time ever in some cases, thanks to increased funding to make guards and guides available. There are more lovely photographs. What was the purpose of placing this 11 by 6 black-and-white checkered board (with a border to mark it out, in case you didn't notice it first thing when walking into the room), in the middle of the room? If it was just a design element, why not make it the same colors at the checkerboard patterns that were incorporated into the design on the lower walls? And I cannot make any sense out of the middle "checkerboard" on the back wall (looking at the photographs's back wall, center) that measures 8 by 10. My eyes are not good enough to count the number of squares on the rest of the checkerboards on the walls. Are they all the same, or are each one of them unqiue? Can anyone with particularly sharp eyes help me out here? Is a 6 by 11 board significant? How about an 8 by 10 board? I know the ancient Romans did not play their games on square boards (such as 8x8, 9x9 or 10x10, etc.) Is there any significance to the colors chosen? Inquiring minds want to know!