I didn't watch the Grammy's - gag me - but tonight I came across this totally worthwhile clip from the broadcast show of a tribute to Aretha Franklin - good job, ladies, good job!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Three Million Women at Close of Festival for Goddess Kannagi
Reported at gulf-times.com online
3mn women take part in temple event
By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
February 19, 2011
More than 3mn women swarmed the Kerala capital yesterday to offer ‘pongala’ to a Hindu goddess in what’s billed as the largest congregation of female devotees in the world.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, 2.5mn had participated in the women-only event in 2009. Authorities put this year’s figure at around 3mn.
Devotees from the southern districts of Kerala as well as the bordering districts of Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu visit the city on the culmination of the 10-day annual festival at the Attukal Bhagavathi temple and cook the ‘pongala’ offering for goddess Kannagi.
The offering is prepared using rice, jaggery and coconut on makeshift hearths along the city roads. Then priests sprinkle sacred water on the cooked rice, and the women begin their return journey.
Yesterday’s festivities began around 11am when the chief priest of the temple lit an earthenware pot from the fire of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
It was then passed on to the women devotees, who were lined up across the main roads of the capital city, occupying a staggering 13sq km of area.
Cricketer Sreeshant’s mother Savitri Devi, who came from the port city of Kochi, was among those who made the offering along with several film and television stars.
“I prayed not for my son but the whole Indian team who are playing against Bangladesh in Dhaka today and other matches in the World Cup. They had all come to our home and they are like my son,” Devi said. “I used to come and offer pongala every year and I believe it’s because the goddess’s grace that Sreeshant is in the team.”
The temple is dedicated to Attukal Bhagavathi who is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic Silappadhikaram.
“I’m here for the first time. I am really excited to see such huge crowds of women,” said 43-year-old Retnamma Kumar, who came from Kottayam.
3mn women take part in temple event
By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
February 19, 2011
More than 3mn women swarmed the Kerala capital yesterday to offer ‘pongala’ to a Hindu goddess in what’s billed as the largest congregation of female devotees in the world.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, 2.5mn had participated in the women-only event in 2009. Authorities put this year’s figure at around 3mn.
Devotees from the southern districts of Kerala as well as the bordering districts of Thirunelveli and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu visit the city on the culmination of the 10-day annual festival at the Attukal Bhagavathi temple and cook the ‘pongala’ offering for goddess Kannagi.
The offering is prepared using rice, jaggery and coconut on makeshift hearths along the city roads. Then priests sprinkle sacred water on the cooked rice, and the women begin their return journey.
Yesterday’s festivities began around 11am when the chief priest of the temple lit an earthenware pot from the fire of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
It was then passed on to the women devotees, who were lined up across the main roads of the capital city, occupying a staggering 13sq km of area.
Cricketer Sreeshant’s mother Savitri Devi, who came from the port city of Kochi, was among those who made the offering along with several film and television stars.
“I prayed not for my son but the whole Indian team who are playing against Bangladesh in Dhaka today and other matches in the World Cup. They had all come to our home and they are like my son,” Devi said. “I used to come and offer pongala every year and I believe it’s because the goddess’s grace that Sreeshant is in the team.”
The temple is dedicated to Attukal Bhagavathi who is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic Silappadhikaram.
“I’m here for the first time. I am really excited to see such huge crowds of women,” said 43-year-old Retnamma Kumar, who came from Kottayam.
*************************************************
It's hard for me to wrap my brain around 3,000,000 women converging on one spot. That's like five times the population of my home city! Well, more power to them, and I hope their prayers and offerings bring positive results. We sure as hell need it these days. Perhaps if we had more worship of the Goddess and less worship of Mammon, particularly in the USA, we'd all be better off. 2011 Aeroflot - Final Standings
A Group (86 players):
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We Col.Bal. Rat-HiLo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 6.5 VIE M 2664 2809 +1.73 -1 2649.4 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½
59 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 4.0 CHN F 2514 2557 +0.54 -1 2606.0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1
68 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 3.5 RUS F 2498 2493 -0.08 -1 2583.3 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 ½
80 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 3.0 RUS F 2472 2381 -0.90 1 2563.3 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 +
84 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 2.5 GEO F 2455 2402 -0.66 1 2575.0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½
B Group (106 players):
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We Col.Bal. Rat-HiLo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 GM Kotanjian, Tigran 7.0 ARM M 2519 2705 +2.10 -1 2490.4 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½
26 GM Zhao, Xue w 5.5 CHN F 2494 2518 +0.31 1 2439.1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½
49 Guo, Qi w 4.5 CHN F 2310 2424 +1.39 -1 2423.4 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½
64 WGM Kochetkova, Julia w 4.0 SVK F 2311 2406 +1.16 -1 2451.6 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½
65 WFM Mammadova, Gulnar Marfat q w 4.0 AZE F 2284 2363 +0.97 -1 2405.9 0 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1
67 IM Romanko, Marina w 4.0 RUS F 2404 2445 +0.52 1 2499.3 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
85 WIM Ivakhinova, Inna w 3.5 RUS F 2324 2326 -0.03 1 2420.4 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1
87 Wang, Jue w 3.5 CHN F 2252 2322 +0.77 1 2400.6 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1
91 WIM Tarasova, Viktoriya w 3.0 RUS F 2289 2291 +0.04 -1 2417.1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0
93 WIM Charochkina, Daria w 3.0 RUS F 2314 2271 -0.53 -1 2401.9 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 1
96 WGM Kovanova, Baira w 3.0 RUS F 2391 2202 -2.26 1 2315.4 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1
100 WFM Bajt, Indira w 2.5 SLO F 2215 2217 -0.02 -1 2381.6 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ 0
102 WFM Adamowicz, Katarzyna w 2.5 POL F 2103 2164 +0.47 -1 2324.7 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
104 WFM Saduakassova, Dinara w 2.0 KAZ F 2225 2125 -1.14 -1 2358.1 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 0
105 WIM Dolzhykova, Kateryna w 2.0 UKR F 2303 2079 -2.53 -1 2304.1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
C Group (106 players):
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We BH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 Shahinyan, David j 8.0 ARM M 2271 2558 +2.73 52.0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1
10 WGM Burtasova, Anna w 6.0 RUS F 2294 2299 +0.08 47.5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
13 WFM Repina, Varvara w 6.0 RUS F 2280 2273 -0.02 47.0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
19 Xu, Huahua w 6.0 CHN F 2104 2288 +1.96 43.0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½
24 Rjanova, Valery w 5.5 RUS F 2156 2249 +1.26 46.5 1 0 1 1 0 1 ½ 0 1
25 WFM Kineva, Ekaterina w 5.5 RUS F 2120 2162 +0.45 46.5 1 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 + 1
30 WCM Enkhtuul, Altanulzii w 5.5 MGL F 2119 2259 +1.83 43.0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 ½
33 WFM Nikolaeva, Alexandra w 5.5 RUS F 2199 2146 -0.45 35.5 ½ 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
52 Dogodkina, Julia w 4.5 RUS F 2070 2196 +1.48 43.5 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 0
54 WIM Kharashuta, Ekaterina w 4.5 RUS F 2296 2147 -1.74 42.0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½
68 WFM Shustaeva, Natalia w 4.0 RUS F 2105 1864 -1.80 39.0 1 0 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1
83 Saikhanzaya, Ganbaatar w 3.5 MGL F 1704 1927 +2.12 34.5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 ½ 0
92 Anu, Bayar w 3.0 MGL F 1957 1867 -0.96 36.5 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0
94 Polozova, Marina w 3.0 RUS F 0 1892 1892 32.0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
96 Khalilova, Khadija Gyunduz w 3.0 AZE F 1702 1864 +1.44 29.0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 0 1
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We Col.Bal. Rat-HiLo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 6.5 VIE M 2664 2809 +1.73 -1 2649.4 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½
59 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 4.0 CHN F 2514 2557 +0.54 -1 2606.0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1
68 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 3.5 RUS F 2498 2493 -0.08 -1 2583.3 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 ½
80 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 3.0 RUS F 2472 2381 -0.90 1 2563.3 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 +
84 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 2.5 GEO F 2455 2402 -0.66 1 2575.0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 0 ½
B Group (106 players):
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We Col.Bal. Rat-HiLo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 GM Kotanjian, Tigran 7.0 ARM M 2519 2705 +2.10 -1 2490.4 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½
26 GM Zhao, Xue w 5.5 CHN F 2494 2518 +0.31 1 2439.1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0 0 1 ½
49 Guo, Qi w 4.5 CHN F 2310 2424 +1.39 -1 2423.4 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 ½
64 WGM Kochetkova, Julia w 4.0 SVK F 2311 2406 +1.16 -1 2451.6 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½
65 WFM Mammadova, Gulnar Marfat q w 4.0 AZE F 2284 2363 +0.97 -1 2405.9 0 1 ½ 0 1 0 0 ½ 1
67 IM Romanko, Marina w 4.0 RUS F 2404 2445 +0.52 1 2499.3 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
85 WIM Ivakhinova, Inna w 3.5 RUS F 2324 2326 -0.03 1 2420.4 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1
87 Wang, Jue w 3.5 CHN F 2252 2322 +0.77 1 2400.6 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1
91 WIM Tarasova, Viktoriya w 3.0 RUS F 2289 2291 +0.04 -1 2417.1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 0
93 WIM Charochkina, Daria w 3.0 RUS F 2314 2271 -0.53 -1 2401.9 0 ½ 0 1 0 0 0 ½ 1
96 WGM Kovanova, Baira w 3.0 RUS F 2391 2202 -2.26 1 2315.4 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1
100 WFM Bajt, Indira w 2.5 SLO F 2215 2217 -0.02 -1 2381.6 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ 0
102 WFM Adamowicz, Katarzyna w 2.5 POL F 2103 2164 +0.47 -1 2324.7 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 0
104 WFM Saduakassova, Dinara w 2.0 KAZ F 2225 2125 -1.14 -1 2358.1 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ½ 0
105 WIM Dolzhykova, Kateryna w 2.0 UKR F 2303 2079 -2.53 -1 2304.1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
C Group (106 players):
Rank Name Flags Score Fed. M/F Rating TPR W-We BH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 Shahinyan, David j 8.0 ARM M 2271 2558 +2.73 52.0 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 1
10 WGM Burtasova, Anna w 6.0 RUS F 2294 2299 +0.08 47.5 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
13 WFM Repina, Varvara w 6.0 RUS F 2280 2273 -0.02 47.0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
19 Xu, Huahua w 6.0 CHN F 2104 2288 +1.96 43.0 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½
24 Rjanova, Valery w 5.5 RUS F 2156 2249 +1.26 46.5 1 0 1 1 0 1 ½ 0 1
25 WFM Kineva, Ekaterina w 5.5 RUS F 2120 2162 +0.45 46.5 1 0 1 ½ 1 0 0 + 1
30 WCM Enkhtuul, Altanulzii w 5.5 MGL F 2119 2259 +1.83 43.0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 ½
33 WFM Nikolaeva, Alexandra w 5.5 RUS F 2199 2146 -0.45 35.5 ½ 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
52 Dogodkina, Julia w 4.5 RUS F 2070 2196 +1.48 43.5 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 1 1 0
54 WIM Kharashuta, Ekaterina w 4.5 RUS F 2296 2147 -1.74 42.0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½
68 WFM Shustaeva, Natalia w 4.0 RUS F 2105 1864 -1.80 39.0 1 0 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1
83 Saikhanzaya, Ganbaatar w 3.5 MGL F 1704 1927 +2.12 34.5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 ½ 0
92 Anu, Bayar w 3.0 MGL F 1957 1867 -0.96 36.5 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 1 0
94 Polozova, Marina w 3.0 RUS F 0 1892 1892 32.0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
96 Khalilova, Khadija Gyunduz w 3.0 AZE F 1702 1864 +1.44 29.0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1 0 0 1
Games in Ancient Indus' Mohenjo-daro
Article from Past Horizons
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | Featured, News
Play was a central element of people’s lives as far back as 4,000 years ago. This has been revealed by an archaeology thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, which investigates the social significance of the phenomenon of play and games in the Bronze Age Indus Valley in present-day Pakistan.
It is not uncommon for archaeologists excavating old settlements to come across play and game-related finds, but within established archaeology these types of finds have often been disregarded. [That sure is right!]
“They have been regarded, for example, as signs of harmless pastimes and thus considered less important for research, or have been reinterpreted based on ritual aspects or as symbols of social status,” explains author of the thesis Elke Rogersdotter.
She has studied play-related artefacts found at excavations in the ruins of the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro in present-day Pakistan. The remains constitute the largest urban settlement from the Bronze Age in the Indus Valley, a cultural complex of the same era as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The settlement is difficult to interpret; for example, archaeologists have not found any remains of temples or palaces. It has therefore been tough to offer an opinion on how the settlement was managed or how any elite class marked itself out.
Elke Rogersdotter’s study shows some surprising results. Almost every tenth find from the ruined city is play-related. They include, for instance, different forms of dice and gaming pieces. In addition, the examined finds have not been scattered all over. Repetitive patterns have been discerned in the spatial distribution, which may indicate specific locations where games were played.
“The marked quantity of play-related finds and the structured distribution shows that playing was already an important part of people’s everyday lives more than 4,000 years ago,” says Elke.
Rest of article.
Are these chess pieces? As far as I know, there is no concrete evidence that chess was played 4,000 years ago by the people living in the Indus valley city-states/settlements. But, it has to be admitted that the pieces are suggestive of the Staunton-designed pawns from the 19th century which, perhaps, own their inspiration to just such ancient game pieces.* But to call them chess pieces? Blasphemy! Then again, "if it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck..."
* It is known, for instance, that Staunton modeled his knight pieces on the horses in the Elgin Marbles ensconced in the British Museum.
Unfortunately, we don't know exactly where the pieces in the photograph were excavated, or how old they are. The use of the photo in the article suggests that they are all from Mohenjo-daro, but it doesn't really say so, does it? These could be a collection of gaming pieces from any museum in the world, which often seem to lump together without distinguishing ivory Islamic chess pieces together with 4,000 year old Egyptian faience senet pieces, 900 year old hnefatafl pieces and 400 year old bone chess pieces from Russia!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 | Featured, News
Play was a central element of people’s lives as far back as 4,000 years ago. This has been revealed by an archaeology thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, which investigates the social significance of the phenomenon of play and games in the Bronze Age Indus Valley in present-day Pakistan.
It is not uncommon for archaeologists excavating old settlements to come across play and game-related finds, but within established archaeology these types of finds have often been disregarded. [That sure is right!]
“They have been regarded, for example, as signs of harmless pastimes and thus considered less important for research, or have been reinterpreted based on ritual aspects or as symbols of social status,” explains author of the thesis Elke Rogersdotter.
She has studied play-related artefacts found at excavations in the ruins of the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro in present-day Pakistan. The remains constitute the largest urban settlement from the Bronze Age in the Indus Valley, a cultural complex of the same era as ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The settlement is difficult to interpret; for example, archaeologists have not found any remains of temples or palaces. It has therefore been tough to offer an opinion on how the settlement was managed or how any elite class marked itself out.
Elke Rogersdotter’s study shows some surprising results. Almost every tenth find from the ruined city is play-related. They include, for instance, different forms of dice and gaming pieces. In addition, the examined finds have not been scattered all over. Repetitive patterns have been discerned in the spatial distribution, which may indicate specific locations where games were played.
“The marked quantity of play-related finds and the structured distribution shows that playing was already an important part of people’s everyday lives more than 4,000 years ago,” says Elke.
Rest of article.
 |
| This is the caption from the article: Chess pieces from Mohenjo-daro. Photo: bennylin0724, Flickr |
* It is known, for instance, that Staunton modeled his knight pieces on the horses in the Elgin Marbles ensconced in the British Museum.
Unfortunately, we don't know exactly where the pieces in the photograph were excavated, or how old they are. The use of the photo in the article suggests that they are all from Mohenjo-daro, but it doesn't really say so, does it? These could be a collection of gaming pieces from any museum in the world, which often seem to lump together without distinguishing ivory Islamic chess pieces together with 4,000 year old Egyptian faience senet pieces, 900 year old hnefatafl pieces and 400 year old bone chess pieces from Russia!
3,000 Year Old Tomb Complex Being Excavated in Xinjiang
This article is mostly propaganda - it hints at special finds but doesn't describe anything in detail -- and yet still manages to give away the location of the tomb complex sufficiently clear enough that I'm sure looters have already found it. The article was published by the national mouthpiece of the People's Republic of China on February 16. By now they have already bribed the guards to join in the looting of what ever the local government officials haven't already appropriated for themselves from the items recovered by the archaeologists. I don't give a hoot where the complex is located, okay? Just tell me what's in it and quit the bullshit! You'll see what I mean.
Published at globaltimes.cn as reported in the Peoples Daily Online, which is geared specifically toward English-speaking people like me, whom the Chinese government (and most Chinese citizens, evidently) assume are stupid and ignorant, and easily duped. Hmmm, sounds familiar...
3000-year-old tomb group found in Xinjiang Source: People's Daily Online [09:54 February 16 2011]
The Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology reported on Feb. 14 that it discovered an ancient tomb group covering an area of more than 10,000 square meters 100 kilometers south of Hami City in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This is the first time that a tomb group dating back 3,000 years has been found in Hami region.
Chinanews reported that the tombs group has a large scale and a dense distribution. It was also the first time that a tomb with a sacrificial altar was found in the Xinjiang region. Most burial objects were made of pottery and wood, but some objects made from stones, bones, horns, bronze and iron were also found here.
The director of Hami's Cultural Relics Bureau said archaeologists had already excavated more than 150 ancient tombs in the last two months.
At the excavation site, archaeologists found something special, including some materials never before discovered, special construction styles and some unique burial customs. In addition, they also found various precious cultural relics under unique cultural background.
Judging from the current situation of the group, archaeologist said it might be remains of an early Iron Age settlement dating back about 3,000 years ago.
The tomb group was located at the southern margin of ancient Silk Road. From those unearthed cultural relics, archaeologists were able to ascertain that the ecological environment, including the amount of water and plants, was much more favorable at the time than they are currently.
Published at globaltimes.cn as reported in the Peoples Daily Online, which is geared specifically toward English-speaking people like me, whom the Chinese government (and most Chinese citizens, evidently) assume are stupid and ignorant, and easily duped. Hmmm, sounds familiar...
3000-year-old tomb group found in Xinjiang Source: People's Daily Online [09:54 February 16 2011]
The Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology reported on Feb. 14 that it discovered an ancient tomb group covering an area of more than 10,000 square meters 100 kilometers south of Hami City in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This is the first time that a tomb group dating back 3,000 years has been found in Hami region.
Chinanews reported that the tombs group has a large scale and a dense distribution. It was also the first time that a tomb with a sacrificial altar was found in the Xinjiang region. Most burial objects were made of pottery and wood, but some objects made from stones, bones, horns, bronze and iron were also found here.
The director of Hami's Cultural Relics Bureau said archaeologists had already excavated more than 150 ancient tombs in the last two months.
At the excavation site, archaeologists found something special, including some materials never before discovered, special construction styles and some unique burial customs. In addition, they also found various precious cultural relics under unique cultural background.
Judging from the current situation of the group, archaeologist said it might be remains of an early Iron Age settlement dating back about 3,000 years ago.
The tomb group was located at the southern margin of ancient Silk Road. From those unearthed cultural relics, archaeologists were able to ascertain that the ecological environment, including the amount of water and plants, was much more favorable at the time than they are currently.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Timely Reminder: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
The following report takes a look at climate change in the Middle East some 4200 years ago, focusing on one city in particular, and how it managed to survive when so many of its neighbors did not.
What's the old saying - I've not got it absolutely correct, I'm sure, but it is something like "those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." An apt lesson that applies not only to what is occurrring today in the politics of the Middle East -- with recent overthrows of established authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and unrest in Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Jordan, Syria, etc. One has to wonder what that old "revolutionary" is thinking about these days, holed up within his massive tent-enclave in Libya...ahem.
As I was saying, not just a lesson that applies to politics but, perhaps more importantly in the long run, climate change. And what, exactly, what any one civilization do about climate change? Not a whole lot, when it comes down ot it. Mother Earth has her own cycles, and Her own way of dealing with shit.
But while Mother Nature is doing her thing now, as She did then, there are billions of people living on this world today. Billions. So, what do you do when you've got - millions - of people "knocking on your door" - so to speak, wanting to come in and use up your scarce resources, that are withering away at an alarming rate. Those millions are there because the lands that they lived in are now desserts - but you're in not such good shape, either. What do you do? Do you let those millions pounding on your doors die off, like their cattle died off in the desserts? What do you do? What do you do...
Unreported Heritage News
How did they survive? New research shows Jordanian city survived climate change disaster 4,200 years ago
February 14, 2011
About 4,200 years ago a series of disasters struck cities and civilizations throughout the Middle East.
In Egypt the central government collapsed. The same state that had built the great pyramids, and kept pharaoh as the supreme authority, could no longer keep the country united. This ushered in an era of powerful provincial leaders (known as nomarchs) and rival claimants to the Egyptian throne.
A similar scenario happened in Mesopotamia where the Akkadian Empire, an entity whose power stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, also went under. This led to local rulers stepping in and taking up power.
There is also evidence of social upheaval in the Levant. The city of Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun in northern Jordan, whose inhabitants burrowed out hundreds of meters of water tunnels into the ground, was abandoned.
Climate change is believed to be a major reason for this upheaval. Research in the Middle East suggests that the environment became increasingly arid – making it difficult to support the intensive farming that is required to feed large cities.
“Paleoclimactic data from numerous sites, document changes in the Mediterranean westerlies and monsoon rainfall during this event with precipitation reductions of up to 30%, that diminished agricultural production from the Aegean to the Indus,” wrote scientists Harvey Weiss and Raymond Bradley in a paper they published.
...
What's the old saying - I've not got it absolutely correct, I'm sure, but it is something like "those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it." An apt lesson that applies not only to what is occurrring today in the politics of the Middle East -- with recent overthrows of established authoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and unrest in Yemen, Bahrain, Algeria, Jordan, Syria, etc. One has to wonder what that old "revolutionary" is thinking about these days, holed up within his massive tent-enclave in Libya...ahem.
As I was saying, not just a lesson that applies to politics but, perhaps more importantly in the long run, climate change. And what, exactly, what any one civilization do about climate change? Not a whole lot, when it comes down ot it. Mother Earth has her own cycles, and Her own way of dealing with shit.
But while Mother Nature is doing her thing now, as She did then, there are billions of people living on this world today. Billions. So, what do you do when you've got - millions - of people "knocking on your door" - so to speak, wanting to come in and use up your scarce resources, that are withering away at an alarming rate. Those millions are there because the lands that they lived in are now desserts - but you're in not such good shape, either. What do you do? Do you let those millions pounding on your doors die off, like their cattle died off in the desserts? What do you do? What do you do...
Unreported Heritage News
How did they survive? New research shows Jordanian city survived climate change disaster 4,200 years ago
February 14, 2011
About 4,200 years ago a series of disasters struck cities and civilizations throughout the Middle East.
In Egypt the central government collapsed. The same state that had built the great pyramids, and kept pharaoh as the supreme authority, could no longer keep the country united. This ushered in an era of powerful provincial leaders (known as nomarchs) and rival claimants to the Egyptian throne.
A similar scenario happened in Mesopotamia where the Akkadian Empire, an entity whose power stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, also went under. This led to local rulers stepping in and taking up power.
There is also evidence of social upheaval in the Levant. The city of Khirbet ez-Zeiraqoun in northern Jordan, whose inhabitants burrowed out hundreds of meters of water tunnels into the ground, was abandoned.
Climate change is believed to be a major reason for this upheaval. Research in the Middle East suggests that the environment became increasingly arid – making it difficult to support the intensive farming that is required to feed large cities.
“Paleoclimactic data from numerous sites, document changes in the Mediterranean westerlies and monsoon rainfall during this event with precipitation reductions of up to 30%, that diminished agricultural production from the Aegean to the Indus,” wrote scientists Harvey Weiss and Raymond Bradley in a paper they published.
...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hales Corners Challenge XIII!
It will be here before you know it!
2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600).
Location: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee—414-481-8000 (mention Southwest Chess Club for $59 room rate).
EF: $35-Open, $25-Reserve, both $5 more after 4/13. Comp EF for USCF 2200+, contact TD for details. $$ Open=1st-$325 (guaranteed), 2nd-$175 (guaranteed), A-$100, B & Below-$75; $$ Reserve =1st-$100, 2nd-$75, D-$50, E & Below-$40.
Goddesschess prizes for female chess players.
Reg: 8:30-9:30, Rds: 10-1-3:30-6. Ent: Payable to SWCC, c/o Allen Becker, 6105 Thorncrest Drive, Greendale, WI 53129.
QUESTIONS TO: TD Robin Grochowski, 414-861-2745 (cell)
For every female player in the Open, $40 for each win by a femme and $20 for each draw. There are no prizes for the Reserve Section. In addition, Goddesschess will continue its tradition of paying the entry fee for the top-finishing female player in the Open and the Reserve for the next Challenge, should they choose to play.
We hope to see a great chess femme turn-out for Challenge XIII. Take a chance, play in the Open - have some fun and maybe win some nice money, too. Good luck!
2 Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600).
Location: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee—414-481-8000 (mention Southwest Chess Club for $59 room rate).
EF: $35-Open, $25-Reserve, both $5 more after 4/13. Comp EF for USCF 2200+, contact TD for details. $$ Open=1st-$325 (guaranteed), 2nd-$175 (guaranteed), A-$100, B & Below-$75; $$ Reserve =1st-$100, 2nd-$75, D-$50, E & Below-$40.
Goddesschess prizes for female chess players.
Reg: 8:30-9:30, Rds: 10-1-3:30-6. Ent: Payable to SWCC, c/o Allen Becker, 6105 Thorncrest Drive, Greendale, WI 53129.
QUESTIONS TO: TD Robin Grochowski, 414-861-2745 (cell)
*****************************************************************************
Goddesschess has funded prizes for female players since Challenge VIII. For Challenge XIII, we have a new prize structure.For every female player in the Open, $40 for each win by a femme and $20 for each draw. There are no prizes for the Reserve Section. In addition, Goddesschess will continue its tradition of paying the entry fee for the top-finishing female player in the Open and the Reserve for the next Challenge, should they choose to play.
We hope to see a great chess femme turn-out for Challenge XIII. Take a chance, play in the Open - have some fun and maybe win some nice money, too. Good luck!
Southwest Chess Club Action!
Note the new location!
Starting this Thursday February 17:
3-Round “Round-Robin” (a “Quad”). Four chess players
with similar ratings to a Quad. Game/90 minutes. USCF Rated. EF: $5.00.
Must be SWCC member or join club to participate.
NO BYES--YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PLAY IN ALL THREE ROUNDS.
YOU WILL PLAY ONE GAME WITH EACH OF THE OTHER 3 PLAYERS IN YOUR QUAD
TD is Fogec; ATD is Grochowski.
NEW LOCATION- Hales Corners Village Hall/Police Station
Lower Level Community Room
5635 S. New Berlin Road
Hales Corners, WI 53130
Registration from 6:20 to 6:50 pm. It is important to arrive during the registration period as individuals will be assigned to quads based on their ratings. Players in the quad will have similar ratings. If you arrive after the registration period we cannot guarantee that you will be placed in a quad. If you know that you will be arriving late this Thursday, but want to be paired for the first round, PLEASE contact me in advance to let me know so that we can include you in the proper quad. If you know you will be late and do not inform me, it increases your odds of having no game this week. [Tom Fogec: PHONE: 414-405-4207. EMAIL.]
EXTRA: "David's Endgame Prize" There will be a $5.00 "Endgame" prize for this tournament, which will be awarded by David Dathe. This prize will be awarded for the most interesting endgame played in the tournament. Mr. Dathe will be the judge of any games submitted, and he may annotate the endgame for the Southwest Chess Club Blog. Mr. Dathe plans to continue this for all our longer time control tournaments this year (not rapid or blitz games). All tournament players are encouraged to submit a game. Please submit the game to the TD. The game needs to be legible (readable) so the endgame can be properly analyzed. An interesting endgame is the key, not a perfectly played opening or middle game.
Blog about this event.
Starting this Thursday February 17:
Heart of the Knight Quad
February 17, 24 & March 3
February 17, 24 & March 3
3-Round “Round-Robin” (a “Quad”). Four chess players
with similar ratings to a Quad. Game/90 minutes. USCF Rated. EF: $5.00.
Must be SWCC member or join club to participate.
NO BYES--YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PLAY IN ALL THREE ROUNDS.
YOU WILL PLAY ONE GAME WITH EACH OF THE OTHER 3 PLAYERS IN YOUR QUAD
TD is Fogec; ATD is Grochowski.
NEW LOCATION- Hales Corners Village Hall/Police Station
Lower Level Community Room
5635 S. New Berlin Road
Hales Corners, WI 53130
Registration from 6:20 to 6:50 pm. It is important to arrive during the registration period as individuals will be assigned to quads based on their ratings. Players in the quad will have similar ratings. If you arrive after the registration period we cannot guarantee that you will be placed in a quad. If you know that you will be arriving late this Thursday, but want to be paired for the first round, PLEASE contact me in advance to let me know so that we can include you in the proper quad. If you know you will be late and do not inform me, it increases your odds of having no game this week. [Tom Fogec: PHONE: 414-405-4207. EMAIL.]
EXTRA: "David's Endgame Prize" There will be a $5.00 "Endgame" prize for this tournament, which will be awarded by David Dathe. This prize will be awarded for the most interesting endgame played in the tournament. Mr. Dathe will be the judge of any games submitted, and he may annotate the endgame for the Southwest Chess Club Blog. Mr. Dathe plans to continue this for all our longer time control tournaments this year (not rapid or blitz games). All tournament players are encouraged to submit a game. Please submit the game to the TD. The game needs to be legible (readable) so the endgame can be properly analyzed. An interesting endgame is the key, not a perfectly played opening or middle game.
Blog about this event.
Happy Valentine's Day
The Pick 'n Save was doing landmark business in last-minute bouquets and cards tonight, LOL! It was absolutely hilarious, although standing in a line three times as long as normal wasn't much fun since I only had a few items and wanted to get out of there, but boy oh boy, that store is raking in the cash today! EVERY MAN IN LINE - young, old, tall, short, black, brown, white, dressed up and grunge - ALL HAD FLOWERS AND/OR CARD IN HAND. Some guys were going for the gusto and having BIG arrangements made up by a clerk who was stationed at the florist's desk (there is rarely anybody there, normally).
I happened to catch this article today that was originally published in the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal. Enjoy!
Iran Bans Valentine's Day
The regime's posture turns the smallest gestures into thrilling acts of subversion.
By MELIK KAYLAN
February 11, 2011
In another sign of its ever more improvisational approach to governance, the Iranian regime has outlawed Valentine's Day. "Symbols of hearts, half-hearts, red roses, and any activities promoting this day are banned," announced state media last month. "Authorities will take legal action against those who ignore the ban."
Some 70% of Iran's population is said to be under the age of 30, so it seems natural that Valentine's Day has caught on in a country where the young keep trying to find non-state-mandated rituals to call their own. The state, for its part, continues to respond with a Whack-a-Mole approach to any social ripple not dreamt of in its philosophy.
Theocratic regimes invariably suffer from the same besetting sin: As the world evolves, they must either revise their antiquated doctrines or try to hold the world rigidly in stasis. Iran's ruling mullahs keep choosing the latter option. And with mosque and state firmly conjoined, there's no stray detail of daily life so arcane that the scriptures can't be mobilized to rein it in.
The Iranian state has pronounced against unauthorized mingling of the sexes, rap music, rock music, Western music, women playing in bands, too-bright nail polish, laughter in hospital corridors, ancient Persian rites-of-spring celebrations (Nowrooz), and even the mention of foreign food recipes in state media. This last may sound comically implausible, but it was officially announced by a state-run website on Feb. 6. So now the true nature of pasta as an instrument of Western subversion has been revealed.
The regime's posture turns the smallest garden-variety gestures into thrilling acts of subversion. Slipping a Valentine card to a girlfriend takes on the significance of samizdat. Every firecracker set off during Nowrooz diminishes the police state's claims to omniscience. The mullahs have appointed themselves the enemy of fun; as a result, wherever fun herniates into view, it is a politicized irruption of defiance.
In "Rock 'n' Roll," the playwright Tom Stoppard proposes that rock music more than anything else—the arms race, dissident intellectuals, economic decay—brought down the communist system because it came from an unanticipated source for which the politburo theorists had no answer. Their enforcers could counter explicit resistance, but their ideologues never prepared defenses against the onslaught of pure fun. No one in charge knew how to neutralize this entirely new category of opting out through the delirium of music. In the play, the rigid communist edifice crumbles in the face of a mysteriously apolitical impulse to freedom embodied by young folk who simply "don't care about anything but the music."
Iran's theocrats scramble daily to apply systemic tourniquets to spontaneous outbursts of nondenominational fun. They must find—or conjure up—an authoritative category of evil for each unforeseen flare-up. Indecency, immodesty, un-Islamic behavior, alien Western customs, insulting God, insulting the Supreme Leader—the ideological fabric is made to stretch way beyond its natural limits.
The mullahs can offer no specific dogma against the widespread underground rock scene in the suburbs of Tehran and elsewhere. They often arrest those at basement shows or garage performances with improvised expedients—for the blasphemous nature of their gyrations, or for illicit socializing between the sexes. In being able to justify their prohibitions on religious grounds they have an advantage over their communist counterparts of old.
But under what rationale could the consumption of foreign dishes constitute an offense? Nationalism, we are told. Yet the regime expends considerable energy suppressing the Persian, as opposed to Islamic, identity by discouraging Nowrooz and other elements of the culture that date from the pre-Muslim era of jahiliyya, the so-called time of ignorance. [Frigging arrogant bastards - some day they will be hoisted on their own petards - preferable driven through their groins.]
In the end, Iran's rulers face an impossible task. Their genesis myth of a society based on a codified schema of sacred laws looks neither codified nor sacred. It convinces no one. Instead, the regime seems dedicated above all to stamping out joy wherever it may accidentally arise—a sour, paranoid struggle against irrepressible forces of nature, change, the seasons, music, romance and laughter. The Iranian people can take comfort: No earthly authority has won that particular contest for long.
Mr. Kaylan is a writer in New York.
I happened to catch this article today that was originally published in the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal. Enjoy!
Iran Bans Valentine's Day
The regime's posture turns the smallest gestures into thrilling acts of subversion.
By MELIK KAYLAN
February 11, 2011
In another sign of its ever more improvisational approach to governance, the Iranian regime has outlawed Valentine's Day. "Symbols of hearts, half-hearts, red roses, and any activities promoting this day are banned," announced state media last month. "Authorities will take legal action against those who ignore the ban."
Some 70% of Iran's population is said to be under the age of 30, so it seems natural that Valentine's Day has caught on in a country where the young keep trying to find non-state-mandated rituals to call their own. The state, for its part, continues to respond with a Whack-a-Mole approach to any social ripple not dreamt of in its philosophy.
Theocratic regimes invariably suffer from the same besetting sin: As the world evolves, they must either revise their antiquated doctrines or try to hold the world rigidly in stasis. Iran's ruling mullahs keep choosing the latter option. And with mosque and state firmly conjoined, there's no stray detail of daily life so arcane that the scriptures can't be mobilized to rein it in.
The Iranian state has pronounced against unauthorized mingling of the sexes, rap music, rock music, Western music, women playing in bands, too-bright nail polish, laughter in hospital corridors, ancient Persian rites-of-spring celebrations (Nowrooz), and even the mention of foreign food recipes in state media. This last may sound comically implausible, but it was officially announced by a state-run website on Feb. 6. So now the true nature of pasta as an instrument of Western subversion has been revealed.
The regime's posture turns the smallest garden-variety gestures into thrilling acts of subversion. Slipping a Valentine card to a girlfriend takes on the significance of samizdat. Every firecracker set off during Nowrooz diminishes the police state's claims to omniscience. The mullahs have appointed themselves the enemy of fun; as a result, wherever fun herniates into view, it is a politicized irruption of defiance.
In "Rock 'n' Roll," the playwright Tom Stoppard proposes that rock music more than anything else—the arms race, dissident intellectuals, economic decay—brought down the communist system because it came from an unanticipated source for which the politburo theorists had no answer. Their enforcers could counter explicit resistance, but their ideologues never prepared defenses against the onslaught of pure fun. No one in charge knew how to neutralize this entirely new category of opting out through the delirium of music. In the play, the rigid communist edifice crumbles in the face of a mysteriously apolitical impulse to freedom embodied by young folk who simply "don't care about anything but the music."
Iran's theocrats scramble daily to apply systemic tourniquets to spontaneous outbursts of nondenominational fun. They must find—or conjure up—an authoritative category of evil for each unforeseen flare-up. Indecency, immodesty, un-Islamic behavior, alien Western customs, insulting God, insulting the Supreme Leader—the ideological fabric is made to stretch way beyond its natural limits.
The mullahs can offer no specific dogma against the widespread underground rock scene in the suburbs of Tehran and elsewhere. They often arrest those at basement shows or garage performances with improvised expedients—for the blasphemous nature of their gyrations, or for illicit socializing between the sexes. In being able to justify their prohibitions on religious grounds they have an advantage over their communist counterparts of old.
But under what rationale could the consumption of foreign dishes constitute an offense? Nationalism, we are told. Yet the regime expends considerable energy suppressing the Persian, as opposed to Islamic, identity by discouraging Nowrooz and other elements of the culture that date from the pre-Muslim era of jahiliyya, the so-called time of ignorance. [Frigging arrogant bastards - some day they will be hoisted on their own petards - preferable driven through their groins.]
In the end, Iran's rulers face an impossible task. Their genesis myth of a society based on a codified schema of sacred laws looks neither codified nor sacred. It convinces no one. Instead, the regime seems dedicated above all to stamping out joy wherever it may accidentally arise—a sour, paranoid struggle against irrepressible forces of nature, change, the seasons, music, romance and laughter. The Iranian people can take comfort: No earthly authority has won that particular contest for long.
Mr. Kaylan is a writer in New York.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
2011 Aeroflot
Standings after Round 6:
Tournament A:
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 5.0 VIE M 2664 2905 +1.74 -1 2644.2 1 1 1 1 ½ ½
77 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 2.0 RUS F 2498 2478 -0.15 1 2597.8 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0
78 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 2.0 GEO F 2455 2459 +0.02 1 2594.6 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1
81 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 1.5 CHN F 2514 2430 -0.62 -1 2617.8 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0
82 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 1.5 RUS F 2472 2374 -0.73 -1 2573.4 0 0 0 1 ½ 0
Tournament B:
1 GM Kotanjian, Tigran 5.0 ARM M 2519 2751 +1.68 -1 2490.8 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1
17 GM Zhao, Xue w 4.0 CHN F 2494 2556 +0.48 1 2440.4 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0
51 WGM Kochetkova, Julia w 3.0 SVK F 2311 2461 +1.21 -1 2468.0 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0
58 IM Romanko, Marina w 3.0 RUS F 2404 2504 +0.82 1 2508.8 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0
67 Guo, Qi w 2.5 CHN F 2310 2374 +0.48 -1 2436.0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1
69 WFM Mammadova, Gulnar Marfat q w 2.5 AZE F 2284 2360 +0.57 -1 2421.0 0 1 ½ 0 1 0
70 WIM Tarasova, Viktoriya w 2.5 RUS F 2289 2368 +0.60 -1 2418.0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0
77 Wang, Jue w 2.5 CHN F 2252 2379 +0.93 1 2424.0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½
87 WFM Bajt, Indira w 2.0 SLO F 2215 2286 +0.52 -1 2401.4 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0
88 WIM Dolzhykova, Kateryna w 2.0 UKR F 2303 2204 -0.78 -1 2353.4 0 0 0 1 0 1
90 WIM Ivakhinova, Inna w 2.0 RUS F 2324 2338 +0.10 1 2456.6 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
97 WFM Adamowicz, Katarzyna w 1.5 POL F 2103 2118 +0.04 -1 2334.2 0 0 0 0 ½ 1
98 WIM Charochkina, Daria w 1.5 RUS F 2314 2268 -0.34 1 2447.0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0
100 WGM Kovanova, Baira w 1.5 RUS F 2391 2175 -1.69 1 2353.6 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
106 WFM Saduakassova, Dinara w 0.5 KAZ F 2225 1966 -1.44 -1 2360.4 ½ 0 0 0 0 0
Tournament C:
1 Gharagyozian, Artur 5.5 ARM M 2212 2578 +2.26 22.5 1 1 ½ 1 1 1
5 WFM Repina, Varvara w 5.0 RUS F 2280 2371 +0.61 18.0 0 1 1 1 1 1
14 WGM Burtasova, Anna w 4.0 RUS F 2294 2315 +0.18 23.0 1 1 1 1 0 0
22 Rjanova, Valery w 4.0 RUS F 2156 2242 +0.77 19.0 1 0 1 1 0 1
32 WFM Kineva, Ekaterina w 3.5 RUS F 2120 2136 +0.16 21.5 1 0 1 ½ 1 0
35 Xu, Huahua w 3.5 CHN F 2104 2165 +0.42 20.5 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½
48 WIM Kharashuta, Ekaterina w 3.0 RUS F 2296 2165 -1.04 21.0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0
49 WCM Enkhtuul, Altanulzii w 3.0 MGL F 2119 2188 +0.63 20.0 1 1 1 0 0 0
67 Dogodkina, Julia w 2.5 RUS F 2070 2202 +0.97 20.0 1 0 ½ 1 0 0
70 WFM Nikolaeva, Alexandra w 2.5 RUS F 2199 1969 -1.41 16.5 ½ 0 1 1 0 0
79 WFM Shustaeva, Natalia w 2.0 RUS F 2105 1432 -1.26 20.5 1 0 1 0 0 0
82 Anu, Bayar w 2.0 MGL F 1957 1912 -0.34 18.5 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0
90 Saikhanzaya, Ganbaatar w 2.0 MGL F 1704 1860 +0.98 15.5 0 0 0 1 0 1
91 Khalilova, Khadija Gyunduz w 2.0 AZE F 1702 1872 +1.02 15.5 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1
93 Polozova, Marina w 2.0 RUS F 0 1857 1857 15.0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Tournament A:
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 5.0 VIE M 2664 2905 +1.74 -1 2644.2 1 1 1 1 ½ ½
77 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 2.0 RUS F 2498 2478 -0.15 1 2597.8 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0
78 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 2.0 GEO F 2455 2459 +0.02 1 2594.6 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1
81 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 1.5 CHN F 2514 2430 -0.62 -1 2617.8 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0
82 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 1.5 RUS F 2472 2374 -0.73 -1 2573.4 0 0 0 1 ½ 0
Tournament B:
1 GM Kotanjian, Tigran 5.0 ARM M 2519 2751 +1.68 -1 2490.8 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1
17 GM Zhao, Xue w 4.0 CHN F 2494 2556 +0.48 1 2440.4 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 0
51 WGM Kochetkova, Julia w 3.0 SVK F 2311 2461 +1.21 -1 2468.0 0 1 1 ½ ½ 0
58 IM Romanko, Marina w 3.0 RUS F 2404 2504 +0.82 1 2508.8 ½ ½ 1 0 1 0
67 Guo, Qi w 2.5 CHN F 2310 2374 +0.48 -1 2436.0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 1
69 WFM Mammadova, Gulnar Marfat q w 2.5 AZE F 2284 2360 +0.57 -1 2421.0 0 1 ½ 0 1 0
70 WIM Tarasova, Viktoriya w 2.5 RUS F 2289 2368 +0.60 -1 2418.0 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0
77 Wang, Jue w 2.5 CHN F 2252 2379 +0.93 1 2424.0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½
87 WFM Bajt, Indira w 2.0 SLO F 2215 2286 +0.52 -1 2401.4 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0
88 WIM Dolzhykova, Kateryna w 2.0 UKR F 2303 2204 -0.78 -1 2353.4 0 0 0 1 0 1
90 WIM Ivakhinova, Inna w 2.0 RUS F 2324 2338 +0.10 1 2456.6 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½
97 WFM Adamowicz, Katarzyna w 1.5 POL F 2103 2118 +0.04 -1 2334.2 0 0 0 0 ½ 1
98 WIM Charochkina, Daria w 1.5 RUS F 2314 2268 -0.34 1 2447.0 0 ½ 0 1 0 0
100 WGM Kovanova, Baira w 1.5 RUS F 2391 2175 -1.69 1 2353.6 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0
106 WFM Saduakassova, Dinara w 0.5 KAZ F 2225 1966 -1.44 -1 2360.4 ½ 0 0 0 0 0
Tournament C:
1 Gharagyozian, Artur 5.5 ARM M 2212 2578 +2.26 22.5 1 1 ½ 1 1 1
5 WFM Repina, Varvara w 5.0 RUS F 2280 2371 +0.61 18.0 0 1 1 1 1 1
14 WGM Burtasova, Anna w 4.0 RUS F 2294 2315 +0.18 23.0 1 1 1 1 0 0
22 Rjanova, Valery w 4.0 RUS F 2156 2242 +0.77 19.0 1 0 1 1 0 1
32 WFM Kineva, Ekaterina w 3.5 RUS F 2120 2136 +0.16 21.5 1 0 1 ½ 1 0
35 Xu, Huahua w 3.5 CHN F 2104 2165 +0.42 20.5 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½
48 WIM Kharashuta, Ekaterina w 3.0 RUS F 2296 2165 -1.04 21.0 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 0
49 WCM Enkhtuul, Altanulzii w 3.0 MGL F 2119 2188 +0.63 20.0 1 1 1 0 0 0
67 Dogodkina, Julia w 2.5 RUS F 2070 2202 +0.97 20.0 1 0 ½ 1 0 0
70 WFM Nikolaeva, Alexandra w 2.5 RUS F 2199 1969 -1.41 16.5 ½ 0 1 1 0 0
79 WFM Shustaeva, Natalia w 2.0 RUS F 2105 1432 -1.26 20.5 1 0 1 0 0 0
82 Anu, Bayar w 2.0 MGL F 1957 1912 -0.34 18.5 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0
90 Saikhanzaya, Ganbaatar w 2.0 MGL F 1704 1860 +0.98 15.5 0 0 0 1 0 1
91 Khalilova, Khadija Gyunduz w 2.0 AZE F 1702 1872 +1.02 15.5 0 ½ ½ 0 0 1
93 Polozova, Marina w 2.0 RUS F 0 1857 1857 15.0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Egypt: Update on Looting and Thefts of Antiquities
From Yahoo News/AP
18 items missing from Egyptian Museum after unrest
By JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Jason Keyser, Associated Press – 17 mins ago
February 13, 2011
CAIRO – A full inventory of the Egyptian Museum has found that looters escaped with 18 items during the anti-government unrest, including two gilded wooden statues of famed boy king, Tutankhamun, the antiquities chief said Sunday.
The 18-day uprising that forced out President Hosni Mubarak engulfed the areas around the famed museum, on the edge of Cairo's Tahrir Square. On Jan. 28, as protesters clashed with police early on in the turmoil and burned down the adjacent headquarters of Mubarak's ruling party, a handful of looters climbed a fire escape to the museum roof and lowered themselves on ropes from a glass-paneled ceiling onto the museum's top floor.
Around 70 objects — many of them small statues — were damaged, but until Sunday's announcement, it was not known whether anything was missing.
Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said the museum's database department determined 18 objects were gone. Investigators searching for those behind the thefts were questioning dozens of people arrested over several days after last month's break-in.
The most important of the missing objects is a limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, the so-called heretic king that tried to introduce monotheism to Egypt, standing and holding an offering table.
"It's the most important one from an artistic point of view," said museum director Tarek el-Awady. "The position of the king is unique and it's a beautiful piece of art." During Akhenaten's so-called Amarna period, named after his capital, artists experimented with new styles.
Also gone is a gilded wooden statue of the 18th Dynasty King Tutankhamun, Akhenaten's son, being carried by a goddess. Pieces are also missing from another statue of the boy king wielding a fishing harpoon from a boat.
"We have the boat and the legs of the king, but we are missing other parts of the body," el-Awady said. "We are looking everywhere for them — around the museum, outside, on the roof, from where the thieves got into the museum."
He said none of the missing objects was from the gated room containing the gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamun and other stunning items from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings — the museum's chief attractions. The looters did not break into the room, he said.
The other missing items are a statue of Nefertiti, Akhenaten's wife, making offerings, a sandstone head of a princess and a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, and a heart scarab and 11 wooden funerary statuettes of the nobleman Yuya.
Antiquities authorities also announced Sunday that thieves broke into a storage site at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, south of Cairo, on Feb. 11. They had no information yet on whether items were missing.
The Egyptian Museum remains closed and guarded by an army unit, but workers are cleaning the vast building and the garden around it. Efforts are being made to improve security.
18 items missing from Egyptian Museum after unrest
By JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Jason Keyser, Associated Press – 17 mins ago
February 13, 2011
CAIRO – A full inventory of the Egyptian Museum has found that looters escaped with 18 items during the anti-government unrest, including two gilded wooden statues of famed boy king, Tutankhamun, the antiquities chief said Sunday.
The 18-day uprising that forced out President Hosni Mubarak engulfed the areas around the famed museum, on the edge of Cairo's Tahrir Square. On Jan. 28, as protesters clashed with police early on in the turmoil and burned down the adjacent headquarters of Mubarak's ruling party, a handful of looters climbed a fire escape to the museum roof and lowered themselves on ropes from a glass-paneled ceiling onto the museum's top floor.
Around 70 objects — many of them small statues — were damaged, but until Sunday's announcement, it was not known whether anything was missing.
Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass said the museum's database department determined 18 objects were gone. Investigators searching for those behind the thefts were questioning dozens of people arrested over several days after last month's break-in.
The most important of the missing objects is a limestone statue of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, the so-called heretic king that tried to introduce monotheism to Egypt, standing and holding an offering table.
"It's the most important one from an artistic point of view," said museum director Tarek el-Awady. "The position of the king is unique and it's a beautiful piece of art." During Akhenaten's so-called Amarna period, named after his capital, artists experimented with new styles.
Also gone is a gilded wooden statue of the 18th Dynasty King Tutankhamun, Akhenaten's son, being carried by a goddess. Pieces are also missing from another statue of the boy king wielding a fishing harpoon from a boat.
"We have the boat and the legs of the king, but we are missing other parts of the body," el-Awady said. "We are looking everywhere for them — around the museum, outside, on the roof, from where the thieves got into the museum."
He said none of the missing objects was from the gated room containing the gold funerary mask of King Tutankhamun and other stunning items from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings — the museum's chief attractions. The looters did not break into the room, he said.
The other missing items are a statue of Nefertiti, Akhenaten's wife, making offerings, a sandstone head of a princess and a stone statuette of a scribe from Amarna, and a heart scarab and 11 wooden funerary statuettes of the nobleman Yuya.
Antiquities authorities also announced Sunday that thieves broke into a storage site at the royal necropolis of Dahshur, south of Cairo, on Feb. 11. They had no information yet on whether items were missing.
The Egyptian Museum remains closed and guarded by an army unit, but workers are cleaning the vast building and the garden around it. Efforts are being made to improve security.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
What's Going On In Egypt?
I pegged this guy a few days ago as a gutsy guy in a private email to Mr. Don as we were following live news broadcasts via BBC online and I was freaking out about the possibility of massive violence come Friday (2 - or is it 3? - days ago) after President Mubarak gave his speech and it was clear that he had no intention (then) of standing down. I was walking around the office wondering - why aren't these people freaking out like I am? Don't they know what's going on? Don't they care? If they know - do they really think events in Egypt won't affect them, one way or another? Oh Goddess...
Tonight I saw his name come up again in this article:
Hossam Badrawi, a stalwart of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, met with Mubarak on Thursday and later told reporters that he expected the Egyptian leader to "meet people's demands" — read that stepping down — later the same day. After Mubarak did not, Badrawi, who had been named the party's secretary general a few days earlier, resigned in protest, according to two party insiders.
Is he real, or is he Memorex? Only the Egyptian people know for sure -- stay tuned.
Tonight I saw his name come up again in this article:
Hossam Badrawi, a stalwart of Mubarak's National Democratic Party, met with Mubarak on Thursday and later told reporters that he expected the Egyptian leader to "meet people's demands" — read that stepping down — later the same day. After Mubarak did not, Badrawi, who had been named the party's secretary general a few days earlier, resigned in protest, according to two party insiders.
Is he real, or is he Memorex? Only the Egyptian people know for sure -- stay tuned.
The 5th Annual Grand Pacific Open
5th Annual Grand Pacific Open Chess Tournament
April 22 – 25, 2011 Victoria, BC Canada
$4000 Guaranteed Prize Fund
Come play chess on an island in the Pacific! Come to Victoria for the Easter Weekend.
The Grand Pacific Open is a 6 Round Swiss with a Guaranteed Prize Fund of $4000!
Side Events include Active, Scholastic, Blitz and Bughouse Tournaments.
This fine Canadian event has a history of promoting play by female players. This year, Goddesschess is involved - more details later.
Come on, chess femmes! Please come out and support this event. You ladies know what it is like to look around a playing venue and hardly see anyone else who is your gender. We NEED more chess femmes playing in events like this!
More information.
2011 Aeroflot
While I've got a steak cooking and veggie in the microwae and rice going - whew - here's the latest on Aeroflot - hint - if you haven't figured it out, "w" means "woman" -- a female player. So, the player in the #1 position is not necessarily a chess femme :)
There are four brave chess femmes competing in Group A - here are the standings I'm interested in after Round 5 which was held today (9 rounds total):
Group A (86 Players):
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 4.5 VIE M 2664 2988 +1.72 0 2638.8 1 1 1 1 ½
63 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 2.0 RUS F 2498 2527 +0.18 0 2604.8 0 ½ ½ 0 1
74 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 1.5 CHN F 2514 2476 -0.25 0 2624.8 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
79 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 1.5 RUS F 2472 2411 -0.40 0 2580.8 0 0 0 1 ½
84 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 1.0 GEO F 2455 2347 -0.64 0 2605.3 ½ 0 0 0 ½
There are four brave chess femmes competing in Group A - here are the standings I'm interested in after Round 5 which was held today (9 rounds total):
Group A (86 Players):
1 GM Le, Quang Liem 4.5 VIE M 2664 2988 +1.72 0 2638.8 1 1 1 1 ½
63 GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra w 2.0 RUS F 2498 2527 +0.18 0 2604.8 0 ½ ½ 0 1
74 WGM Ju, Wenjun w 1.5 CHN F 2514 2476 -0.25 0 2624.8 ½ ½ 0 0 ½
79 WGM Pogonina, Natalija w 1.5 RUS F 2472 2411 -0.40 0 2580.8 0 0 0 1 ½
84 WGM Paikidze, Nazi w 1.0 GEO F 2455 2347 -0.64 0 2605.3 ½ 0 0 0 ½
YOU GO, GIRLS! These femmes are not shrinking from the toughest competition, and they'll be better for it, in the short-run and in the long-run. I'm sure this old saying (proverb) is not quite right, but it's what my mom used to tell us when we were kids: You don't cut your eye-teeth on milk glass. Make of that what you will...
Group B (106 players):
1 GM Gomez, John Paul 4.5 PHI M 2527 2822 +1.52 0 2472.3 1 1 ½ 1 1
8 GM Zhao, Xue w 4.0 CHN F 2494 2653 +0.95 0 2429.5 1 1 ½ 1 ½
26 WGM Kochetkova, Julia w 3.0 SVK F 2311 2529 +1.48 0 2467.8 0 1 1 ½ ½
44 IM Romanko, Marina w 3.0 RUS F 2404 2580 +1.21 2 2500.3 ½ ½ 1 0 1
54 WIM Tarasova, Viktoriya w 2.5 RUS F 2289 2422 +0.90 0 2424.8 0 ½ ½ 1 ½
55 WFM Mammadova, Gulnar Marfat q w 2.5 AZE F 2284 2417 +0.89 0 2423.3 0 1 ½ 0 1
76 Wang, Jue w 2.0 CHN F 2252 2370 +0.72 0 2440.8 ½ 0 1 ½ 0
80 WFM Bajt, Indira w 2.0 SLO F 2215 2343 +0.79 0 2408.8 0 ½ ½ 1 0
86 WIM Ivakhinova, Inna w 1.5 RUS F 2324 2308 -0.12 0 2473.0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½
88 WIM Charochkina, Daria w 1.5 RUS F 2314 2310 -0.05 0 2462.8 0 ½ 0 1 0
90 Guo, Qi w 1.5 CHN F 2310 2290 -0.13 0 2432.5 ½ ½ ½ 0 0
92 WGM Kovanova, Baira w 1.5 RUS F 2391 2231 -1.08 0 2362.5 0 ½ ½ 0 ½
100 WIM Dolzhykova, Kateryna w 1.0 UKR F 2303 2116 -1.13 0 2352.5 0 0 0 1 0
103 WFM Saduakassova, Dinara w 0.5 KAZ F 2225 2054 -0.77 -2 2402.0 ½ 0 0 0 0
106 WFM Adamowicz, Katarzyna w 0.5 POL F 2103 1962 -0.63 0 2310.5 0 0 0 0 ½
Group C (106 players):
1 Jensen, Bjarke 5.0 DEN M 2258 2918 +2.01 13.5 1 1 1 1 1
6 WGM Burtasova, Anna w 4.0 RUS F 2294 2414 +0.71 16.5 1 1 1 1 0
10 WFM Repina, Varvara w 4.0 RUS F 2280 2316 +0.21 11.0 0 1 1 1 1
18 WFM Kineva, Ekaterina w 3.5 RUS F 2120 2218 +0.47 13.0 1 0 1 ½ 1
25 WIM Kharashuta, Ekaterina w 3.0 RUS F 2296 2238 -0.35 15.5 1 ½ 1 0 ½
28 Xu, Huahua w 3.0 CHN F 2104 2159 +0.30 14.5 1 0 1 ½ ½
30 Rjanova, Valery w 3.0 RUS F 2156 2153 +0.08 14.0 1 0 1 1 0
35 WCM Enkhtuul, Altanulzii w 3.0 MGL F 2119 2247 +0.95 12.5 1 1 1 0 0
48 Dogodkina, Julia w 2.5 RUS F 2070 2261 +1.24 15.0 1 0 ½ 1 0
58 WFM Nikolaeva, Alexandra w 2.5 RUS F 2199 1969 -1.41 11.5 ½ 0 1 1 0
66 WFM Shustaeva, Natalia w 2.0 RUS F 2105 1534 -0.57 15.5 1 0 1 0 0
78 Anu, Bayar w 2.0 MGL F 1957 1973 +0.01 11.5 0 ½ ½ 0 1
81 Polozova, Marina w 2.0 RUS F 0 1905 1905 10.0 0 0 1 0 1
98 Khalilova, Khadija Gyunduz w 1.0 AZE F 1702 1793 +0.37 12.5 0 ½ ½ 0 0
99 Saikhanzaya, Ganbaatar w 1.0 MGL F 1704 1776 +0.30 11.0 0 0 0 1 0
Chess in Zimbabwe: National Championships
Story from mmegionline.bw
National chess championships start with free-for-all
MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer
22 February 2011
The fifth Metropolitan National Chess Championships get underway this weekend with a free-for-all preliminary round.
The stage offers minnows a rare chance to pit their wits against established players and possibly cause upsets.
Defending champions have been exempted from the round that will be staged on Saturday and Sunday at Legae Academy in Gaborone West Phase II.
The champions Barileng Gaealafswe (men) and Ontiretse Sabure (women) will enter the national championships at the semi-final stage. Resident Zimbabwean chess players like Dion Moyo and highly-rated Spencer Masango are tipped to give Batswana a run for their money. Moyo is the reigning Zimbabwean champion.
Kenneth Boikhutswane, of the Botswana Chess Federation (BCF), said the announcement of the sponsorship for this year's national championships will be made just before the semi-finals.
Over the last five years, the sponsorship has grown from P10, 000 to P60, 000 in 2010. The semi-finals will be held on the weekend of March 5-6.
The Botswana players to watch are Candidate Master (CM) Providence Oatlhotse, Fide Master (FM) Phemelo Kheto, Jona Chaka, Moakofi Notha, Spencer Masango, Dion Moyo, Candidate Master(CM) Oaitse Kokome, Ivon Makabe, Candidate Master (CM) and Thabo Gumpo. In the women's section, the top names are FM Kgalalelo Botlhole, WGM Tuduetso Sabure, Onkemetse Francis, WCM Tshepiso Lopang, Thapelo Francis, Fredah Kebakile, Boitshepo Rebatenne, Faith Mbakhwa, WFM Boikhutso Modongo and Gorata Sebetso.
These are the players who did well in the season opening Air Efficiency tournament recently at Yarona Country Lodge in Mogoditshane. Phemelo has won the national championships four times in succession.
While 23 chessmen will qualify for the next round, the women category will see 17 top performers sailing through.
The incentives for sterling performances in this year's tournament are tickets to represent the country at international competitions. Good performers will qualify for the Africa Individuals tournament in Zambia in May, the Commonwealth Chess Championships in South Africa in June and the Africa Junior Chess Championships to be held at the end of the year.
National chess championships start with free-for-all
MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer
22 February 2011
The fifth Metropolitan National Chess Championships get underway this weekend with a free-for-all preliminary round.
The stage offers minnows a rare chance to pit their wits against established players and possibly cause upsets.
Defending champions have been exempted from the round that will be staged on Saturday and Sunday at Legae Academy in Gaborone West Phase II.
The champions Barileng Gaealafswe (men) and Ontiretse Sabure (women) will enter the national championships at the semi-final stage. Resident Zimbabwean chess players like Dion Moyo and highly-rated Spencer Masango are tipped to give Batswana a run for their money. Moyo is the reigning Zimbabwean champion.
Kenneth Boikhutswane, of the Botswana Chess Federation (BCF), said the announcement of the sponsorship for this year's national championships will be made just before the semi-finals.
Over the last five years, the sponsorship has grown from P10, 000 to P60, 000 in 2010. The semi-finals will be held on the weekend of March 5-6.
The Botswana players to watch are Candidate Master (CM) Providence Oatlhotse, Fide Master (FM) Phemelo Kheto, Jona Chaka, Moakofi Notha, Spencer Masango, Dion Moyo, Candidate Master(CM) Oaitse Kokome, Ivon Makabe, Candidate Master (CM) and Thabo Gumpo. In the women's section, the top names are FM Kgalalelo Botlhole, WGM Tuduetso Sabure, Onkemetse Francis, WCM Tshepiso Lopang, Thapelo Francis, Fredah Kebakile, Boitshepo Rebatenne, Faith Mbakhwa, WFM Boikhutso Modongo and Gorata Sebetso.
These are the players who did well in the season opening Air Efficiency tournament recently at Yarona Country Lodge in Mogoditshane. Phemelo has won the national championships four times in succession.
While 23 chessmen will qualify for the next round, the women category will see 17 top performers sailing through.
The incentives for sterling performances in this year's tournament are tickets to represent the country at international competitions. Good performers will qualify for the Africa Individuals tournament in Zambia in May, the Commonwealth Chess Championships in South Africa in June and the Africa Junior Chess Championships to be held at the end of the year.
Ancient Writing: Undeciphered Voynich Manuscript Dated to Early 15th Century
That's the early 1400's. So very interesting - hasn't the Turin Shroud also been carbon-dated to about that same time period? Two enigmatic survivors from a time we think we know about - and yet, what do we really know about then, or now, for that matter?
University of Arizona experts determine age of book 'nobody can read'
10 Feb 2011
University of Arizona
While enthusiasts across the world pored over the Voynich manuscript, penned by an unknown author in a language no one understands, a research team at the University of Arizona solved one of its biggest mysteries: When was the book made?
[Excerpted] University of Arizona researchers have cracked one of the puzzles surrounding what has been called "the world's most mysterious manuscript" – the Voynich manuscript, a book filled with drawings and writings nobody has been able to make sense of to this day.
Using radiocarbon dating, a team led by Greg Hodgins in the UA's department of physics has found the manuscript's parchment pages date back to the early 15th century, making the book a century older than scholars had previously thought. ...
Currently owned by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, the manuscript was discovered in the Villa Mondragone near Rome in 1912 by antique book dealer Wilfrid Voynich while sifting through a chest of books offered for sale by the Society of Jesus. Voynich dedicated the remainder of his life to unveiling the mystery of the book's origin and deciphering its meanings. He died 18 years later, without having wrestled any its secrets from the book.
"Is it a code, a cipher of some kind? People are doing statistical analysis of letter use and word use – the tools that have been used for code breaking. But they still haven't figured it out."
Okay. Where have we seen this kind of pattern before? In board games, darlings! Think about it. Is this not a Nine Man's Morris gameboard? I'm not saying about what's in the rest of the book - but this drawing - heh.
Looks like the stuff one sees under one's very first microscope! I got one when I was in seventh grade (I was 13) for Christmas, and I spent many happy hours in the attic over the next four years exploring the microscopic world of whatever it was I could find to put on a glass slide and put under the magnification lenses. I'm sure it did not cost a lot of money. My parents were poor and there were six children to provide for -- but that little microscope opened up a new universe to me. I could see, up close, for the very first time, that there were, literally, worlds within worlds within worlds. I didn't spent much time in that un-insultated attic during the winter, it was friggging cold up there, let me tell you! But I had my own little world-fort up there, and NO ONE was allowed to cross the magic line, which was sometimes hung with a blanket-curtain, that constantly fell down. When we moved to a house across the street that my parents bought the year I entered high school (1966 - an eon ago), that microscope moved too, and I set up a "lab" in the attic of the new house, which had three dormer windows and roomy bays! It was a real change from the old house, but the floor still creaked and it was still dusty and mouldy and hot as hell in the summer and cold as hell in the winter. I chose the west-facing bay to set up my new lab, and spent many hours crunched up with a blanket wrapped around in the cool days in Grandpa Newton's green leather club chair that we'd inherited after he passed.
Well, I haven't thought about these things for a long long time, and it's making me very sad right now.
University of Arizona experts determine age of book 'nobody can read'
10 Feb 2011
University of Arizona
While enthusiasts across the world pored over the Voynich manuscript, penned by an unknown author in a language no one understands, a research team at the University of Arizona solved one of its biggest mysteries: When was the book made?
[Excerpted] University of Arizona researchers have cracked one of the puzzles surrounding what has been called "the world's most mysterious manuscript" – the Voynich manuscript, a book filled with drawings and writings nobody has been able to make sense of to this day.
Using radiocarbon dating, a team led by Greg Hodgins in the UA's department of physics has found the manuscript's parchment pages date back to the early 15th century, making the book a century older than scholars had previously thought. ...
Currently owned by the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University, the manuscript was discovered in the Villa Mondragone near Rome in 1912 by antique book dealer Wilfrid Voynich while sifting through a chest of books offered for sale by the Society of Jesus. Voynich dedicated the remainder of his life to unveiling the mystery of the book's origin and deciphering its meanings. He died 18 years later, without having wrestled any its secrets from the book.
"Is it a code, a cipher of some kind? People are doing statistical analysis of letter use and word use – the tools that have been used for code breaking. But they still haven't figured it out."
 |
| The Voynich manuscript's unintelligible writings and strange illustrations have defied every attempt at understanding their meaning. Credit: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. td> | <><>
Okay. Where have we seen this kind of pattern before? In board games, darlings! Think about it. Is this not a Nine Man's Morris gameboard? I'm not saying about what's in the rest of the book - but this drawing - heh.
Looks like the stuff one sees under one's very first microscope! I got one when I was in seventh grade (I was 13) for Christmas, and I spent many happy hours in the attic over the next four years exploring the microscopic world of whatever it was I could find to put on a glass slide and put under the magnification lenses. I'm sure it did not cost a lot of money. My parents were poor and there were six children to provide for -- but that little microscope opened up a new universe to me. I could see, up close, for the very first time, that there were, literally, worlds within worlds within worlds. I didn't spent much time in that un-insultated attic during the winter, it was friggging cold up there, let me tell you! But I had my own little world-fort up there, and NO ONE was allowed to cross the magic line, which was sometimes hung with a blanket-curtain, that constantly fell down. When we moved to a house across the street that my parents bought the year I entered high school (1966 - an eon ago), that microscope moved too, and I set up a "lab" in the attic of the new house, which had three dormer windows and roomy bays! It was a real change from the old house, but the floor still creaked and it was still dusty and mouldy and hot as hell in the summer and cold as hell in the winter. I chose the west-facing bay to set up my new lab, and spent many hours crunched up with a blanket wrapped around in the cool days in Grandpa Newton's green leather club chair that we'd inherited after he passed.
Well, I haven't thought about these things for a long long time, and it's making me very sad right now.
Could these teeth turn "out of Africa" theory upside down?
We live in exciting times, archaeologically, that's for damn sure. Thank Goddess for the internet - where news like this can now be instantaly published and read by anyone who has an interest. Here is a new twist on what we thought we thought we knew :)
Ancient teeth raise new questions about the origins of modern man
2 Feb 2011
Binghamton University
BINGHAMTON, NY – Eight small teeth found in a cave near Rosh Haain, central Israel, are raising big questions about the earliest existence of humans and where we may have originated, says Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam. Part of a team of international researchers led by Dr. Israel Hershovitz of Tel Aviv University, Qaum and his colleagues have been examining the dental discovery and recently published their joint findings in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Excavated at Qesem cave, a pre-historic site that was uncovered in 2000, the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man, Homo sapiens, which have been found at other sites is Israel, such as Oafzeh and Skhul - but they're a lot older than any previously discovered remains.
"The Qesem teeth come from a time period between 200,000 - 400,000 years ago when human remains from the Middle East are very scarce," Quam said. "We have numerous remains of Neandertals and Homo sapiens from more recent times, that is around 60,00 - 150,000 years ago, but fossils from earlier time periods are rare. So these teeth are providing us with some new information about who the earlier occupants of this region were as well as their potential evolutionary relationships with the later fossils from this same region."
Rest of article.
It struck me just now, looking at this photograph of some of the teeth the article speaks to, that they rather resemble man's early attempts to make dice...
Ancient teeth raise new questions about the origins of modern man
2 Feb 2011
Binghamton University
BINGHAMTON, NY – Eight small teeth found in a cave near Rosh Haain, central Israel, are raising big questions about the earliest existence of humans and where we may have originated, says Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam. Part of a team of international researchers led by Dr. Israel Hershovitz of Tel Aviv University, Qaum and his colleagues have been examining the dental discovery and recently published their joint findings in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Excavated at Qesem cave, a pre-historic site that was uncovered in 2000, the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man, Homo sapiens, which have been found at other sites is Israel, such as Oafzeh and Skhul - but they're a lot older than any previously discovered remains.
"The Qesem teeth come from a time period between 200,000 - 400,000 years ago when human remains from the Middle East are very scarce," Quam said. "We have numerous remains of Neandertals and Homo sapiens from more recent times, that is around 60,00 - 150,000 years ago, but fossils from earlier time periods are rare. So these teeth are providing us with some new information about who the earlier occupants of this region were as well as their potential evolutionary relationships with the later fossils from this same region."
Rest of article.
 |
| Ancient Teeth Found in Israel. Credit: Rolf Quam. |
The National Geographic Says - No Looting of Maya Tombs
Here's what the NG blog says:
Report From Saqqara: Contrary to Rumor, the Two 'Maya' Tombs Are Safe
Posted Feb 9,2011
After looters swarmed the ancient burial ground at Saqqara on January 29, panic swept the world of Egyptology. One online group reported that looters had entered and “destroyed” the interiors of “many tombs.” On the Facebook group “Egyptologists for Egypt,” a contributor wrote that the tomb of Maya, in particular, “is destroyed and even the reliefs in the burial chamber have been hacked out.” As that rumor spread, there was confusion about which Maya tomb—there are two at Saqqara. Some reported that it was the tomb belonging to King Tutankhamun's wet nurse (whose name is often spelled Maia); others said it was that of Tut’s treasurer.
It turns out the reports were grossly exaggerated. The tomb of the wet nurse is still sealed with bricks. And on Tuesday, inspectors at Saqqara led me into Maya the treasurer’s burial chamber. “Nobody touched the tomb here, “ said Mohammad Mohammad Youssef, chief inspector for South Saqqara, as he and a colleague broke a wire and seal on the metal door leading underground. “We put seals on the lock about a month ago when we checked it for humidity and temperature, and the same seals were still here and the locks were not broken.” Youssef and I walked down a tight, sandy staircase of a dozen steps to an iron gate with another three locks on it, and another seal that was untouched after the looting. Then we entered three chambers, over 3,000 years old, shimmering with golden-yellow reliefs.
The reliefs are from the Amarna period, about 3,350 years ago, when wall paintings were more naturalistic than in other pharaonic eras. They show the treasurer and his wife with various gods, including Osiris, god of the afterlife; Isis, goddess of motherhood and fertility; Ptah, god of creation; and Anubis, the jackal-headed god who oversees mummification. Maya "is praying to these different gods, meaning that he has good relations with all of the gods, who will be with him in the afterlife,” said government Egyptologist Ashraf Mohiee.
Aboveground, looters broke into several small storerooms, which hold bones, shards of pottery, and other collected items. The treasure hunters rifled through a portion of this material, tossing items on the floor. “We’ll lose some archaeological information if it’s a mess inside,” Maarten Raven, who leads the Dutch expedition at the site, told me by phone from the Netherlands. “But it’s nothing major.” He expressed great relief that the tomb itself was fully intact.
—Jeffrey Bartholet
Truth? Lie? Somewhere in between? Cleary, something happened at Saqqara. I very much doubt that archaeologists and their workers were just making things up as they were emailing reports and blogging about tombs being broken into and looting taking place. They did not imagine those events!
So what, really, happened? We will probably never know the full truth because the Egyptian government - however it is constituted now and in the future - will make sure we do not! Tourism in Egypt has already suffered a great heart-blow during the recent unrest that led to the ultimate resignation of President Mubarak. The authorities, whoever they may be, are not going to 'fess up to the wholesale rape of ancient antiquities! Billions of dollars are at stake - and I don't mean the billions that the illicitly stolen antiquities will ultimately fetch on the underground market.
Report From Saqqara: Contrary to Rumor, the Two 'Maya' Tombs Are Safe
Posted Feb 9,2011
After looters swarmed the ancient burial ground at Saqqara on January 29, panic swept the world of Egyptology. One online group reported that looters had entered and “destroyed” the interiors of “many tombs.” On the Facebook group “Egyptologists for Egypt,” a contributor wrote that the tomb of Maya, in particular, “is destroyed and even the reliefs in the burial chamber have been hacked out.” As that rumor spread, there was confusion about which Maya tomb—there are two at Saqqara. Some reported that it was the tomb belonging to King Tutankhamun's wet nurse (whose name is often spelled Maia); others said it was that of Tut’s treasurer.
It turns out the reports were grossly exaggerated. The tomb of the wet nurse is still sealed with bricks. And on Tuesday, inspectors at Saqqara led me into Maya the treasurer’s burial chamber. “Nobody touched the tomb here, “ said Mohammad Mohammad Youssef, chief inspector for South Saqqara, as he and a colleague broke a wire and seal on the metal door leading underground. “We put seals on the lock about a month ago when we checked it for humidity and temperature, and the same seals were still here and the locks were not broken.” Youssef and I walked down a tight, sandy staircase of a dozen steps to an iron gate with another three locks on it, and another seal that was untouched after the looting. Then we entered three chambers, over 3,000 years old, shimmering with golden-yellow reliefs.
The reliefs are from the Amarna period, about 3,350 years ago, when wall paintings were more naturalistic than in other pharaonic eras. They show the treasurer and his wife with various gods, including Osiris, god of the afterlife; Isis, goddess of motherhood and fertility; Ptah, god of creation; and Anubis, the jackal-headed god who oversees mummification. Maya "is praying to these different gods, meaning that he has good relations with all of the gods, who will be with him in the afterlife,” said government Egyptologist Ashraf Mohiee.
Aboveground, looters broke into several small storerooms, which hold bones, shards of pottery, and other collected items. The treasure hunters rifled through a portion of this material, tossing items on the floor. “We’ll lose some archaeological information if it’s a mess inside,” Maarten Raven, who leads the Dutch expedition at the site, told me by phone from the Netherlands. “But it’s nothing major.” He expressed great relief that the tomb itself was fully intact.
—Jeffrey Bartholet
Truth? Lie? Somewhere in between? Cleary, something happened at Saqqara. I very much doubt that archaeologists and their workers were just making things up as they were emailing reports and blogging about tombs being broken into and looting taking place. They did not imagine those events!
So what, really, happened? We will probably never know the full truth because the Egyptian government - however it is constituted now and in the future - will make sure we do not! Tourism in Egypt has already suffered a great heart-blow during the recent unrest that led to the ultimate resignation of President Mubarak. The authorities, whoever they may be, are not going to 'fess up to the wholesale rape of ancient antiquities! Billions of dollars are at stake - and I don't mean the billions that the illicitly stolen antiquities will ultimately fetch on the underground market.
Catching Up -- What's Going on in Egypt!
Hola darlings!
I haven't abandoned the blog - I've just been so enthralled by what's been going on in Egypt -- and I've taken on a new family tree research project for a friend of a friend -- and today it's WARM outside. Absolutely amazing - FINALLY above 32 degrees F! After an early hike and back to the supermarket to stock up on essentials (wine, bread, meat, and nuts for the squirrels) I've been busy -- and the Christmas tree is still up, I haven't even attempted to start the project that is taking it down!
So - in between bouts of working on this new family tree, and heaving tremendously huge blocks of snow (fortunately rendered maleable due to the temperature) over my shoulder in an attempt to at last clear my driveway of the accumulation from the Great Blizzard of 2011 -- working in shifts -- I'm taking a break now.
Ancient Egypt was a land of goddesses. I often wonder what happened in that twilight time between the "official" closing of the last temples in the 400's CE by orders of the Holy Roman Emperor who was, by that time, a nominal "Christian," and the 600's CE invasion by and takeover of Egypt by the Muslims and their new, fierce god, Allah, who was just a retred of the tired, old storm god of the Israelites, Yahweh.
Christianity did have a bulwark in Egypt, in the form of the Copts who, with their language, kept alive a link to the old hieratic form of writing, which was a "shorthand" for the even older hieroglyphics. A continuous chain to the ancient past. The Holy Mother Isis, and the creator-goddess Hathor (and perhaps the "archaic" creator-goddess, Neith), found much common ground with the Christian concept of the Holy Mother Mary. And so, perhaps, the Egyptians of the time gave a new gloss to their old beliefs. The Egyptians were very good at adopting and adapting foreign deities into their own religious pantheon and inconography.
Then, Islam came and presumably swept all away before it. But - not quite... At the root of Islam (not talked about - perhaps not even generally known by the average Muslim) is another ancient Mother Goddess - al-Alat. And those Coptic Christians, they never went away, either. They are still there -- a minority, to be sure, persecuted, to be sure. For shame - Shame, Shame on the Egyptians of today for forgetting the lessons of their ancient and glorious past! Tolerance - tolerance, acceptance, incorporation. In ancient Egypt, there was room for all gods and goddesses.
I don't know about you, but since the first outbreaks of protest marches in Egypt on January 25, 2011, I have been feverishly following the news and praying incessantly for those brave souls, just as I prayed incessantly for the brave souls in Iran in 2009, who were marching also - then - for freedom. Interesting, isn't it, that Freedom is not a god, She's a Goddess. She is a Mother - nurturing, protective, fierce when She needs to be. Determined. She Never Gives Up.
I followed the news online and on BBC news and other news shows on PBS on television over the last two plus weeks. As the days went by, I got more and more wrought. What would happen? Reports were streaming in of people being killed by security forces and "unknown snipers" who were, presumably, also security forces of the Egyptian government. Upwards of 500 people were killed during the - euphemistically called "unrest." Yes - unrest.
It brings me to tears just thinking about it. People - today - dying for Freedom. Let them not be forgotten. I do not know any of their names. I pray that their names will become known to all. I pray that out of the new Egypt that emerges from the ashes of the old, a monument will rise to those people who were killed, and we the world over will be able to see their names, someday, engraved in stone that will last for 10,000 years, and more.
What will happen next? I don't know - no one knows. Egypt, that most ancient land, has embarked upon a journey to a brave new world. Let us all pray for her. In the meantime, Egypt's people are stepping forward to help clean-up after days of confrontation, stress, hope and anger, and hope again and, predictably, no regular garbage pick-ups. Let us hope the new Egypt can fix their bureaucracy :) For some reason, this photo (from The New York Times) gives me hope.
Maybe, after all, I will get to take that trip to see the Egyptian Museum before I'm too old and decrepit. But not this year, darlings. Not this year.
I haven't abandoned the blog - I've just been so enthralled by what's been going on in Egypt -- and I've taken on a new family tree research project for a friend of a friend -- and today it's WARM outside. Absolutely amazing - FINALLY above 32 degrees F! After an early hike and back to the supermarket to stock up on essentials (wine, bread, meat, and nuts for the squirrels) I've been busy -- and the Christmas tree is still up, I haven't even attempted to start the project that is taking it down!
So - in between bouts of working on this new family tree, and heaving tremendously huge blocks of snow (fortunately rendered maleable due to the temperature) over my shoulder in an attempt to at last clear my driveway of the accumulation from the Great Blizzard of 2011 -- working in shifts -- I'm taking a break now.
Ancient Egypt was a land of goddesses. I often wonder what happened in that twilight time between the "official" closing of the last temples in the 400's CE by orders of the Holy Roman Emperor who was, by that time, a nominal "Christian," and the 600's CE invasion by and takeover of Egypt by the Muslims and their new, fierce god, Allah, who was just a retred of the tired, old storm god of the Israelites, Yahweh.
Christianity did have a bulwark in Egypt, in the form of the Copts who, with their language, kept alive a link to the old hieratic form of writing, which was a "shorthand" for the even older hieroglyphics. A continuous chain to the ancient past. The Holy Mother Isis, and the creator-goddess Hathor (and perhaps the "archaic" creator-goddess, Neith), found much common ground with the Christian concept of the Holy Mother Mary. And so, perhaps, the Egyptians of the time gave a new gloss to their old beliefs. The Egyptians were very good at adopting and adapting foreign deities into their own religious pantheon and inconography.
Then, Islam came and presumably swept all away before it. But - not quite... At the root of Islam (not talked about - perhaps not even generally known by the average Muslim) is another ancient Mother Goddess - al-Alat. And those Coptic Christians, they never went away, either. They are still there -- a minority, to be sure, persecuted, to be sure. For shame - Shame, Shame on the Egyptians of today for forgetting the lessons of their ancient and glorious past! Tolerance - tolerance, acceptance, incorporation. In ancient Egypt, there was room for all gods and goddesses.
I don't know about you, but since the first outbreaks of protest marches in Egypt on January 25, 2011, I have been feverishly following the news and praying incessantly for those brave souls, just as I prayed incessantly for the brave souls in Iran in 2009, who were marching also - then - for freedom. Interesting, isn't it, that Freedom is not a god, She's a Goddess. She is a Mother - nurturing, protective, fierce when She needs to be. Determined. She Never Gives Up.
I followed the news online and on BBC news and other news shows on PBS on television over the last two plus weeks. As the days went by, I got more and more wrought. What would happen? Reports were streaming in of people being killed by security forces and "unknown snipers" who were, presumably, also security forces of the Egyptian government. Upwards of 500 people were killed during the - euphemistically called "unrest." Yes - unrest.
It brings me to tears just thinking about it. People - today - dying for Freedom. Let them not be forgotten. I do not know any of their names. I pray that their names will become known to all. I pray that out of the new Egypt that emerges from the ashes of the old, a monument will rise to those people who were killed, and we the world over will be able to see their names, someday, engraved in stone that will last for 10,000 years, and more.
Maybe, after all, I will get to take that trip to see the Egyptian Museum before I'm too old and decrepit. But not this year, darlings. Not this year.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Another Wisconsin Woman Who Made a Difference
I came across this obituary tonight while researching something else entirely. She was so young - and changed the lives of so many women of all colors, in Milwaukee, during the Great Depression. I salute you, Mary Kellogg Rice. What wonderful things you did. You empowered people through the greatest way possible - you helped them discover the wonderful things they could do themselves and for themselves.
I didn't know anything about you or what you did but now, thanks to the power of the internet, many people who read here will learn about you and the program you ran.
Amid Depression, Rice helped women find work through art
WPA project gave work, respect to thousands of Milwaukee's poor
e-mail print By Amy Rabideau Silvers of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 17, 2011
In those dark, desperate days of the Great Depression, thousands of women found employment and hope through a Works Progress Administration project.
Mary Kellogg Rice, then a senior studying art at the Milwaukee State Teachers College, was asked to serve as art director for a handicraft project. Hundreds of women showed up that first day in 1935, reporting to a vacant building at Jackson and Wells streets downtown.
They were the poorest of the poor. Many were middle-age. Many had never worked or were considered to have no skills. Some could not read or speak much English. All were on relief and ordered into the program because there was no "able-bodied man" in the household for other WPA work.
"They were undernourished and miserable, that's all I can say," Rice later told the Journal Sentinel. "They looked as if they'd been through an awful lot. They'd been assigned work, but they didn't know what it was. Some of them had walked all the way across Milwaukee to get there."
The project flourished, becoming a model for programs elsewhere. More than 1,300 women were sometimes involved at one time, with a total of 5,000-plus women by the time it closed in 1943.
More than half a century later, as more modern-day politicians debated welfare reform, Rice decided to write a book about the Depression-era project. Her handwritten manuscript - "Useful Work for Unskilled Women / A Unique Milwaukee WPA Project" - was later published in 2003.
"It was a gift to Milwaukee to say, look what these women did," said Lois Quinn, researcher with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Employment and Training Institute.
"It's totally a Milwaukee story," Quinn said.
Rice died of natural causes Jan. 6 in Tiburon, Calif. She turned 100 last month.
For her part, Rice always credited Elsa Ulbricht, one of her teachers at the teachers college, for the program's direction and success. A well-known art educator, Ulbricht was asked about what a program might do.
Ulbricht insisted that women should produce both useful and well-designed goods. And she tapped Rice to run it.
The young art student worked with art school grads - both women and men - to design production items and supervise the work. As art director, she approved every design.
The goal was to make high-quality items that could be used by public institutions.
"They went to the county orphanage to see what was needed, and they were shocked by the conditions there," Quinn said. "So they made educational toys, curtains, rugs and quilted coverlets for the beds."
They created dolls and fabrics, wall hangings and furniture. They re-bound books for schools and libraries, and designed costumes for high school productions. Other clients included hospitals, nursery schools and the University of Wisconsin.
"Very shortly, after they had their first paycheck, you could see it," Rice said. "What was interesting to me was that they couldn't buy much, but they could get a white collar and wear it. And then they could have a permanent wave. The change was really just dramatic. They knew they were doing useful work, and they knew they could do it."
The women began to find work with other WPA projects.
"They sent women from the handicraft project to the World's Fair, where they demonstrated how to make the items," Quinn said. "Other states began to copy the program.
"Eleanor Roosevelt visited and wrote about it in her 'My Day' column," she said. "One of their wall hangings was in her house when she died."
The project was groundbreaking in yet another way.
Although only 2% of Milwaukee's population was then black, the number in the handicraft project was 25%.
"The county sent the African-American women they hadn't allowed to work on other projects," Quinn said. "And they already had a separate facility where they wanted them to work."
That, declared young Rice, wasn't going to happen.
"We were furious and vowed not to have a segregated workplace," she wrote in her book. "The idea that race should determine where and when one worked offended our sense of fairness."
Such integration was just the beginning.
"There were supervisors who were African-American," Quinn said. "They had skills that many of the white women didn't have, and they made them supervisors."
Mary Kellogg married Edward E. Rice late in 1942. He was from Milwaukee and a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service. They spent their first married years apart, while he served in China during the war.
They spent much of their married life overseas. Odd things sometimes happened when she tried to pursue her own art. In the Philippines, someone saw her weaving and she was soon working under the auspices of the United Nations and the Philippine government, organizing work projects for local women.
The couple later retired to the San Francisco area. Rice finally began to find time for art, first weaving until back problems developed, then experimenting with a fabric-dyeing technique called shibori.
"That led to collaboration on a book, 'Shibori: The Art of Japanese Resist Dyeing,' published in Japan in 1983," said Margaret Serrano, a lawyer who became a close friend. "It is considered a classic on the subject and is still in print."
But Rice's roots went back to Milwaukee and unfinished business with the old WPA project. She thought that someone should write about what it meant to the women and families, the young teachers and a Depression-weary community.
"She remained intensely interested in public policy, particularly policy affecting women and children," Quinn said. "Her vision was what could be done and what had happened in the past. She was a remarkable woman, remarkable throughout her life."
A private service is planned.
I didn't know anything about you or what you did but now, thanks to the power of the internet, many people who read here will learn about you and the program you ran.
Amid Depression, Rice helped women find work through art
WPA project gave work, respect to thousands of Milwaukee's poor
e-mail print By Amy Rabideau Silvers of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 17, 2011
In those dark, desperate days of the Great Depression, thousands of women found employment and hope through a Works Progress Administration project.
Mary Kellogg Rice, then a senior studying art at the Milwaukee State Teachers College, was asked to serve as art director for a handicraft project. Hundreds of women showed up that first day in 1935, reporting to a vacant building at Jackson and Wells streets downtown.
They were the poorest of the poor. Many were middle-age. Many had never worked or were considered to have no skills. Some could not read or speak much English. All were on relief and ordered into the program because there was no "able-bodied man" in the household for other WPA work.
"They were undernourished and miserable, that's all I can say," Rice later told the Journal Sentinel. "They looked as if they'd been through an awful lot. They'd been assigned work, but they didn't know what it was. Some of them had walked all the way across Milwaukee to get there."
The project flourished, becoming a model for programs elsewhere. More than 1,300 women were sometimes involved at one time, with a total of 5,000-plus women by the time it closed in 1943.
More than half a century later, as more modern-day politicians debated welfare reform, Rice decided to write a book about the Depression-era project. Her handwritten manuscript - "Useful Work for Unskilled Women / A Unique Milwaukee WPA Project" - was later published in 2003.
"It was a gift to Milwaukee to say, look what these women did," said Lois Quinn, researcher with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Employment and Training Institute.
"It's totally a Milwaukee story," Quinn said.
Rice died of natural causes Jan. 6 in Tiburon, Calif. She turned 100 last month.
For her part, Rice always credited Elsa Ulbricht, one of her teachers at the teachers college, for the program's direction and success. A well-known art educator, Ulbricht was asked about what a program might do.
Ulbricht insisted that women should produce both useful and well-designed goods. And she tapped Rice to run it.
The young art student worked with art school grads - both women and men - to design production items and supervise the work. As art director, she approved every design.
The goal was to make high-quality items that could be used by public institutions.
"They went to the county orphanage to see what was needed, and they were shocked by the conditions there," Quinn said. "So they made educational toys, curtains, rugs and quilted coverlets for the beds."
They created dolls and fabrics, wall hangings and furniture. They re-bound books for schools and libraries, and designed costumes for high school productions. Other clients included hospitals, nursery schools and the University of Wisconsin.
"Very shortly, after they had their first paycheck, you could see it," Rice said. "What was interesting to me was that they couldn't buy much, but they could get a white collar and wear it. And then they could have a permanent wave. The change was really just dramatic. They knew they were doing useful work, and they knew they could do it."
The women began to find work with other WPA projects.
"They sent women from the handicraft project to the World's Fair, where they demonstrated how to make the items," Quinn said. "Other states began to copy the program.
"Eleanor Roosevelt visited and wrote about it in her 'My Day' column," she said. "One of their wall hangings was in her house when she died."
The project was groundbreaking in yet another way.
Although only 2% of Milwaukee's population was then black, the number in the handicraft project was 25%.
"The county sent the African-American women they hadn't allowed to work on other projects," Quinn said. "And they already had a separate facility where they wanted them to work."
That, declared young Rice, wasn't going to happen.
"We were furious and vowed not to have a segregated workplace," she wrote in her book. "The idea that race should determine where and when one worked offended our sense of fairness."
Such integration was just the beginning.
"There were supervisors who were African-American," Quinn said. "They had skills that many of the white women didn't have, and they made them supervisors."
Mary Kellogg married Edward E. Rice late in 1942. He was from Milwaukee and a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service. They spent their first married years apart, while he served in China during the war.
They spent much of their married life overseas. Odd things sometimes happened when she tried to pursue her own art. In the Philippines, someone saw her weaving and she was soon working under the auspices of the United Nations and the Philippine government, organizing work projects for local women.
The couple later retired to the San Francisco area. Rice finally began to find time for art, first weaving until back problems developed, then experimenting with a fabric-dyeing technique called shibori.
"That led to collaboration on a book, 'Shibori: The Art of Japanese Resist Dyeing,' published in Japan in 1983," said Margaret Serrano, a lawyer who became a close friend. "It is considered a classic on the subject and is still in print."
But Rice's roots went back to Milwaukee and unfinished business with the old WPA project. She thought that someone should write about what it meant to the women and families, the young teachers and a Depression-weary community.
"She remained intensely interested in public policy, particularly policy affecting women and children," Quinn said. "Her vision was what could be done and what had happened in the past. She was a remarkable woman, remarkable throughout her life."
A private service is planned.
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