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Mid-Summer
Yawn if January is the
dullest month of the year, the four weeks following
the Fourth of July can often be the second least
inspiring, barring some time off for vacation.
That's
probably why it's a great time to release movies like
the new BATMAN. Nothing like a
couple of hours in air conditioned darkness, sucking
down a 4 dollar coke and a 4 dollar bag of popcorn,
and watching the latest rendition of the comic book
super hero.
Which
reminds me: What happened to the second SUPERMAN
movie with the new version of Clark Kent?
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IT
HAPPENED ON THIS DAY
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 On
this day in 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian
campaign, a French soldier discovers a black basalt slab
inscribed with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta,
about 35 miles north of Alexandria. The irregularly shaped
stone contained fragments of passages written in three
different scripts: Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics and
Egyptian demotic. The ancient Greek on the Rosetta Stone
told archaeologists that it was inscribed by priests
honoring the king of Egypt, Ptolemy V, in the second
century B.C. More startlingly, the Greek passage announced
that the three scripts were all of identical meaning. The
artifact thus held the key to solving the riddle of
hieroglyphics, a written language that had been
"dead" for nearly 2,000 years.
When
Napoleon, an emperor known for his enlightened view of
education, art and culture, invaded Egypt in 1798, he took
along a group of scholars and told them to seize all
important cultural artifacts for France. Pierre Bouchard,
one of Napoleon's soldiers, was aware of this order when
he found the basalt stone, which was almost four feet long
and two-and-a-half feet wide, at a fort near Rosetta. When
the British defeated Napoleon in 1801, they took
possession of the Rosetta Stone.
Several
scholars, including Englishman Thomas Young made progress
with the initial hieroglyphics analysis of the Rosetta
Stone. French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion
(1790-1832), who had taught himself ancient languages,
ultimately cracked the code and deciphered the
hieroglyphics using his knowledge of Greek as a guide.
Hieroglyphics used pictures to represent objects, sounds
and groups of sounds. Once the Rosetta Stone inscriptions
were translated, the language and culture of ancient Egypt
was suddenly open to scientists as never before.
The
Rosetta Stone has been housed at the British Museum in
London since 1802, except for a brief period during World
War I. At that time, museum officials moved it to a
separate underground location, along with other
irreplaceable items from the museum's collection, to
protect in from the threat of bombs.
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W
H O A M I ? |
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Know who this is? Send your answer to MyGuess4WhoAmI@aol.com
- Put answer- your name and location in SUBJECT LINE.
When the first correct ID is made, the answer will appear on
the ANSWERS
page
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 FIRST
ID Jeff Naylor
HINT
Turn him HINT
Over, under, sideways, down HINT
Graffiti artist
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T
H E B R I E F
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A
civilian pilot left the controls of his small
plane while he untangled a British Army
parachutist who got tangled up in the landing
gear, London's Sun newspaper reported on Saturday.
The
British soldier was one of six participating in a
parachuting competition at the Joint Service
Parachute Centre at Bad Lippspringe in Germany.
The first five jumped from the plane successfully,
but when the sixth — the instructor — tried to
leap out and open his chute at an altitude of
3,000 feet, it only partially deployed, The Sun
reported.
The
flier left his seat for about 30 seconds to reach
out and cut the parachute lines that got caught on
the twin propeller engine Islander's
undercarriage, according to The Sun.
The
pilot, a former soldier, has asked not to be
named, saying he was "only doing his
job."
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Iraqi
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a German
magazine that he supports Barack Obama’s plan to
withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq within 16 months of
taking office.
“U.S.
presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16
months. That, we think, would be the right
timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility
of slight changes,” al-Maliki told Der Spiegel.
He said he wants U.S. troops to leave “as soon
as possible.”
The
apparent endorsement of a cornerstone of Obama’s
foreign policy is a big boost for the presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee ahead of his
scheduled meeting with al-Maliki. Obama, who is
touring both Afghanistan and Iraq for the first
time since becoming a presidential candidate,
arrived Saturday in Afghanistan, where he is
meeting with U.S. troops.
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Iran
and the European Union's chief negotiators agreed
on Saturday to resume talks on suspending uranium
enrichment in two weeks, after Tehran ruled out
freezing its program in talks that included the
United States for the first time.
EU
envoy Javier Solana told reporters after the
Geneva talks with Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili
that the two would speak either by telephone or
personally.
"The
meeting was constructive, but we didn't get still
the answer we were looking for," Solana said.
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Marzavi
Angel Martinez is a 23-year-old Massachusetts
librarian who came to this country from Mexico
when she was 3 years old and now is married to
her high school sweetheart.
There's
just one problem: She's also an illegal
immigrant, according to federal authorities,
who arrested her this week at her job and are
pushing to deport her.
Martinez
was using a dead person's social security
number and was paying taxes on her vehicles,
MyFOX Boston reported.
An
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
agent received information from the county
sheriff's office regarding the librarian's
status during an investigation of the Alamance
County Health Department.
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The
Boston Fire Department ordered a firefighter to
return to work Monday after he was caught
competing in a bodybuilding contest while he was
on disability leave for a back injury.
Fire
officials believe 46-year-old Albert Arroyo can do
his job inspecting buildings as a member of the
Fire Prevention Division, according to a
department spokesman.
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Double-amputee
sprinter Oscar Pistorius will not compete for
South Africa against able-bodied athletes at the
Beijing Olympics after failing to make the roster
for the 1,600-meter relay team.
Pistorius,
who recently won the right to compete against
able-bodied athletes in an appeal at the Court of
Arbitration for Sport, failed to meet the
qualifying standard in the 400 meters. He had
hoped to be chosen as an alternate for the 1,600
relay, but his name was not on the roster
announced Friday.
Athletics
South Africa president Leonard Chuene said four
other runners had faster times, and two others
were chosen as alternates.
Pistorius
battled the International Association of Athletics
Federations for the right to run. In May, the
Court of Arbitration ruled against the IAAF,
saying his carbon fiber prosthetic blades did not
provide an unfair advantage against able-bodied
athletes.
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Oil
prices tumbled below $130 a barrel for the first
time in more than a month Thursday, as crude's
dramatic slide entered a third day accompanied by
a sharp sell-off in natural gas.
The
declines accelerated amid growing concerns that
the weakening economy and creeping inflation are
eroding demand for fossil fuels in the U.S. and
other large energy-consuming nations.
Oil
is now more than 10 percent cheaper per barrel
than it was on Monday; natural gas prices are down
more than 20 percent just since the Fourth of
July. Still, experts are not convinced that prices
have turned a corner.
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Dozens
of protest groups are planning a full schedule of
classes, concerts, marches and other actions
during the Democratic National Convention, hoping
to capture the world's attention and recruit a new
crop of activists.
They
are both energized and organized, and most insist
they are not looking for trouble.
"We
are completely peaceful," said Rob Weiland, a
37-year-old courier from Denver and member of the
group We Are Change Colorado. "We follow the
ideals of Ghandi."
The
organization will be videotaping other groups and
police during the DNC, scheduled for Aug. 25 to
28.
They'll
post the videos on YouTube or the group's Web
site, so the public may see what's happening
without the filter of mainstream media, Weiland
said.
If
any protest groups are provoking police, he added,
"our cameras will be on them."
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European
terrorists are trying to enter the United States
with European Union passports, and there is no
guarantee officials will catch them every time,
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said
Thursday.
Chertoff's
comments on Capitol Hill comes as the country is
entering a potentially vulnerable period with the
presidential nominating conventions coming up next
month; the presidential election in November; and
the transition to a new administration in January
— all of which may be attractive targets for
terrorists.
In
his last scheduled appearance before the House
Homeland Security Committee, Chertoff said that
the more time and territory al-Qaida and its
allies have to recruit, train, experiment and
plan, the more problems the U.S. and Europe will
face down the road.
"The
terrorists are deliberately focusing on people who
have legitimate Western European passports, who
don't appear to have records as terrorists,"
Chertoff told lawmakers. "I have a good
degree of confidence we can catch people coming
in. But I have to tell you ... there's no
guarantee. And they are working very hard to slip
by us."
Chertoff
and other intelligence officials have delivered
similar warnings before, and he offered no new
information about specific threats or an imminent
attack.
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Animal
rights group PETA is rolling out its controversial
"Sex Talk" ad — in which two parents
urge their daughter to have a lot of sex and
"pop out all the kids you want" — in
the top 10 teen pregnancy states to promote
spaying and neutering of pets.
The
30-second commercial was launched in January in
Britney and Jamie Lynn Spears' hometown of
Kentwood, La., after news emerged of then
16-year-old Jamie Lynn's pregnancy. The "Zoey
101" star, who turned 17 in April, has since
given birth to a baby girl.
"People
often point their fingers at parents of pregnant
teens, and we want to let the people who let their
animals breed feel the heat too," People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals spokeswoman
Melissa Karpel told FOXNews.com. "It's a fun,
edgy way to get the message out about a very
serious issue."
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Same-sex
marriage is legal in two states, but not a single one will show up
in the 2010 census.
The
Census Bureau says the federal Defense of Marriage
Act bars the agency from recognizing gay marriages
in the nation's 10-year count, even though the
marriages are legal in Massachusetts and
California.
The
agency's director, Steven Murdock, said in an
interview Thursday that the 1996 federal law
"has that effect, in terms of being a federal
agency. We are restricted by it."
The
Census Bureau does not ask people about their
sexual orientation, but it does ask about their
relationships to the head of the household. Many
gay couples are listed in census figures as
unmarried, same-sex partners, though it is an
imperfect tally of all gay couples.
Murdock
said the bureau will strive to count same-sex
couples in the 2010 census, just as it has in the
past. But those people who say they are married
will be reclassified as unmarried, same-sex
partners.
Same-sex
couples with no children will not be classified as
families, according the bureau's policy. Those
with children who are related to the head of the
household will be classified as families.
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PAGE
CONSTANTLY UPDATED
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What's
On DRUDGE?
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E -
B R I E F
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New
mother Angelina Jolie leaves hospital
PARIS (AP) -- Angelina Jolie and
her newborn twins early Saturday left the French hospital where
she gave birth, the Fondation Lenval said....
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Midnight
stampede to 'The Dark Knight' sets record
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Nothing dark
about Batman's first night at the box office....
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Sing
us one last song at Shea, Piano Man
NEW YORK (AP) -- Billy Joel bade a
stirring farewell to Shea Stadium on Friday during an
electrifying, sold-out final show at the same ballpark where the
Beatles famously ushered in a new era in rock 'n' roll four
decades ago....
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Troyer
reaches settlement in sex tape lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Actor Verne
Troyer has settled a lawsuit he filed against a porn broker
after the defendant agreed not distribute a sex tape depicting
Troyer and a former girlfriend, court documents filed Friday
show....
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Spears'
role as mom expands after epic meltdown
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Less than
eight months after an epic meltdown that led to a court taking
away her children, Britney Spears is reclaiming her role as a
mother - to the point where she may be with her boys nearly half
the time....
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Ed
McMahon sues hospital, others over neck injury
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ed McMahon
sued a hospital, two doctors and an investment tycoon Friday
over a neck injury he has said has left him unable to work, a
circumstance he has blamed for his recent money woes....
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Khloe
Kardashian does hard time: 3 hours
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Khloe
Kardashian's stay in jail Friday may have been brief, but it did
include a bit of drama: a jailhouse lockdown. The reality TV
starlet spent roughly three hours in a Los Angeles area jail for
violating probation stemming from a drunk driving arrest last
year....
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Milo
Ventimiglia discusses 'Heroes,' Mideast trip
NEW YORK (AP) -- "Iron
Man" isn't the only superhero to visit the Middle East this
summer. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays power-absorbing Peter
Petrelli on NBC's "Heroes," traveled to the region
last week as part of a USO tour of U.S. bases in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Kuwait....
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McCain,
Conan agree: Age jokes getting old
NEW YORK (AP) -- How old is John
McCain? So old, the jokes about it are getting old. So at a
taping Friday night of NBC's "Late Night with Conan
O'Brien," the host asked the Republican presidential
candidate for some new material....
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Singer
and radio star Jo Stafford dies at 90
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jo Stafford,
the honey-voiced band singer who starred in radio and television
and sold more than 25 million records with her ballads and folks
songs, has died. She was 90....
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P A R T I N
G S H O T
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Clouds
Mammatus
clouds roil in the Nebraska sky, identifiable by
their sagging, pouch-like shape. The name comes from
the Latin word for "breast."
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Email:
MarkShannon @aol.com Copyright
2008 Tickertape Productions
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