If you have a Celtic background you may have wondered why you have an urge to mummify the neighbors cat, love Celtic music, collect photos of boots and are drawn to fireplaces. The answers may be here in an article, Soldier in the Chimney, by Ronald May, California Archeologist. If you don't have a Celtic background and still have these urges, you may want to have a DNA test or at least read the article. read the article
Morning Edition, July 1, 2009 · Dozens of armed federal agents swept into Blanding, Utah, on June 10, arresting 17 people there and ending a two-year federal sting aimed at a black market in ancient American Indian artifacts. Three weeks later, anger and grief persist.
"There's going to be a scar for a long time," says Lynette Adams, a retired schoolteacher in the predominately Mormon town of 3,600. "There are some pretty strong feelings not about what people are being accused of, but how they were arrested."
The agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Land Management wore body armor, waved weapons, screamed instructions and shackled neighbors at the wrists, ankles and waists, according to witnesses. And they did that with suspects who ranged from 27 to 73 years old.
June 27, 2009 · For the record, my friend Brad Wright is not a drug dealer. But his new nickname does suggest otherwise.
"My nickname is 'Pusher' because my friend said I looked like a drug dealer because I was carrying around a giant bag of ibuprofen and calcium supplements the first day," he says. "And I was offering them to everyone."
All thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail eventually earn a nickname, whether on their first mile in Georgia or their last in Maine. And Pusher has logged more than 1,000 miles since March.
I joined him for a few days near Harpers Ferry, W.Va., to see if the recession has had any effect on who's making the journey this year. continued here
Writer exposes plant world's 'criminal element'
In her new book, "Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities," Amy Stewart offers up more than 200 examples of botany's bad boys and girls, along with anecdotes and fun, if sometimes horrific, facts.
Amy Stewart is fascinated by plants behaving badly what she calls "social misfits" of the horticultural world that can "kill, maim, intoxicate and otherwise offend."
In her new book, "Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities," the Eureka, Calif.-based writer offers up more than 200 examples of botany's bad boys and girls, along with anecdotes and fun, if sometimes horrific, facts that place the plants in the context of history, legend and science.
Stewart recently answered a few questions about the plant kingdom's "criminal element."
Q: Please explain your insatiable fascination with the dark side of the horticultural world.
A: I'm interested in these plants as characters, and the most interesting characters are somehow flawed. I like outcasts and miscreants. Plenty has been written about all the pretty plants we love. I thought it would be fun to explore the plants we hate. Plants that have started wars, been used as weapons, plants that behave badly they're interesting because they stir up trouble.
Q: How did you decide which of the many botanical atrocities to include?
A: I was always looking for a plant with a good victim. I needed to know where the bodies were buried. There had to be a human story a serial killer, an unfortunate couple on their honeymoon, an unlucky gardener for me, this book was all about the people. If there wasn't a specific interesting human (or animal) story that illustrated the plant's evil powers, I didn't include it. It's a highly selective book in that way.
In and around Zion National Park, archeological evidence is found from Native American and European American cultures. Archeologists have identified sites and artifacts from the Archaic culture, dating from about 7,000 BC to 300 BC, from Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) and Fremont cultures, dating from 300 BC to AD 1225, and from Southern Paiute culture, dating from AD 1250 to present day. Mormon pioneers settled in southern Utah and began farming in the 1850s. Both the Paiute and Mormon groups are still much in evidence, as both still reside in the area. The living descendents of these groups that lived in Zion have special ties to the park and provide meaning and context for artifacts and historical documents that remain. All of the groups who lived here left traces of their cultures behind, clues that might be studied to gain insights into their remarkable civilizations. Working with the remnants of past human occupations, archeologists, historians, and other researchers have collected artifacts and historic documents to study the ways each of these cultural groups worked, traveled, traded, and survived in Zion. These artifacts and archives are preserved in the museum collection of Zion National Park for current and future research. read more
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Groundwater Availability Detailed Central Valley of California A new, three-dimensional water-modeling tool provides a detailed picture of how water flows below ground and how it relates to surface-water in rivers and canals in California’s Central Valley.
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Rocha will set the record straight about 19th and 20th century Carson Valley [...] DOE Awards $454 Million for Clean Energy in 18 States including AZ, CA and UT DOE announced in late June its award of more than $454 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in 18 states. Under DOE’s State Energy Program, states have proposed plans to prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce [...] USGS Releases Remote Sensing Data on Annual Biological Cycles WASHINGTON, D.C.–The USGS has made its long-term historical remote sensing data and graphics about biological life-cycle events available to the public at no charge on the web, Secretary of the Interior Salazar announced today.
βThese historical datasets, along with continuous monitoring, hold the promise of helping scientists detect how climate change, wildfire, land use change, and [...] Big Rock River Access Site Area Closure in Six Rivers National Forest due to Backbone Fire Incident: Backbone Wildland Fire
Released: 3 hrs. ago
FOREST ORDER NO. 10-09-01
LOWER TRINITY RANGER DISTRICT
SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST
Big Rock River Access Site Area Closure
Pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50(a), and to provide for public safety, the following acts are prohibited within the Lower Trinity Ranger District of the Six Rivers National Forest. This Order is effective from July [...]
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In Borat's Footsteps, A Mincing Teutonic Menace Sacha Baron Cohen dons hot pants and an Austrian-accented lisp for his new film, Bruno. Bob Mondello says that while the actor's appearance has changed, he's still pushing the same boundaries. When Andrew Met Ben: A 'Humpday' To Remember These days, the term for close, nonsexual friendships between straight men is "bromance." Critic Bob Mondello says the new comedy Humpday takes the idea about as far as it can go. Rumble In The Jungle, 'Soul Power' In The Streets Viewers with no knowledge of the famed "Rumble in the Jungle" boxing match in 1970s Zaire may have trouble following this story about a related three-day concert. But once the music starts, it won't matter much. 'Beth Cooper': The Dork Loves The Princess (Yawn) Adolescence and its discontents are once again the theme of a Chris Columbus film. Critic Ella Taylor says the man behind Adventures in Babysitting hasn't had much in the way of new ideas. Movie Villains You Can't Help But Love Film buff Murray Horwitz kicks off our Summer Movie Festival with a rundown of our favorite movie villains, from Hannibal Lecter to the Joker, to Maleficent, "The Mistress of All Evil." Tell us who's your favorite villain, and what makes him or her so irresistible.
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Rocky Mountain Reader Index
California NEW Article by Ronald May Soldier in the Chimney
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