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'Earliest Chinese Characters' Unearthed Archaeologists have discovered pottery bearing inscriptions dating back 4,500 years, which could prove to be China's earliest example of written language. These pottery fragments, found in the ruins of an ancient city in Huaiyang County of Henan Province, are believed to be parts of a spinning wheel, according to a report released by the county government. A photo, posted on the local government's website, showed a piece of black pottery bearing white strokes. The fragment formed half of a round spinning wheel, with a diameter of 4.7 centimeters and a thickness of 1.1 centimeters. The inscriptions...

4 hours ago LONDON - Author J.K. Rowling said two characters will die in the last installment of her boy wizard series, and she hinted Harry Potter might not survive either. "I have never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I've always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books," Rowling said on Monday's "Richard and Judy" television show. "I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks, `Well, I'm gonna kill them off because that means there can be no non-author written sequels. So it will end with me,...

<p>In this season that launches a new class of graduates on their careers, here's a tip: It's not just about the work — it's about the people.</p> <p>That's a basic tenet of the workplace, and it means you'd be smart to pick out the different personality types that inhabit the office, make wise alliances with some and guard yourself against others.</p>

Pottery offers clues to origin of Chinese characters www.chinaview.cn 2006-03-22 21:10:18 HEFEI, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists claim that pottery utensils dating back 7,000 years ago which bear inscriptions of various symbols are probably one of the origins of Chinese characters. They made the conclusion on the basis of several years' study into the symbols carved on over 600 pottery ware items unearthed from the New Stone Age site in Shuangdun village, Xiaobengbu town of Bengbu, a city in East China's Anhui Province. The symbols include rivers, animals and plants, and activities such as hunting, fishing and arable farming,...

This comprehensive five-part series will focus its critical eye on famous television characters that have become a part of the fabric of American pop culture. Blending classic moments, rare photos and interview with both stars and show creators, the series will spotlight how our favorite TV characters broke out of the pack to emerge as pop icons.

If the notion that men and women act as though they’re from different planets bothers you, you might want to jump over to Fan Art or some place, because I’d hate to be offensive. At the same time, I’ve decided to follow Quickbeam’s lead by jumping into a sticky topic this time around: Tolkien’s handling and alleged neglect/abuse of female characters in The Lord of the Rings. ‘Why are there so few girls in LOTR?? Why do only MEN get to go on the Quest and be in the Fellowship?? Why do only MEN get to do all the heroic...