Person-of-Mystery

You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

I'm finally on break from school, so hopefully there will be more frequent posts over the vacation.  Thanks for your patience!

The theme for today is:  The Great Debate

So, who could he be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post to be right on the money will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

The theme for today is:  Highly Paid Persons

So, who could he be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post to be right on the money will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

And thanks today to my awesome readers who submitted ideas for allowing me to keep posting pictures like these!

Person-of-Mystery

You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

The theme for today is:  Thanksgiving

So, who could he be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post to be right on the money will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

The theme for today is:  Deranged Texas Villain (with or without black hat).

So, who could he be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I don't know how he does it, but Brian is once again the champion of this week's Person-of-Mystery contest – correctly identifying Antoine de Saint-Exupéry!

Today, he is best known for being the author of the children's novel, The Little Prince, but in his day he was perhaps better known as a pioneering aviator.  Commencing in 1921, he received his aviation training in the French Army Service Aéronautique.  After leaving the military in 1923, he worked several jobs until he went back to flying in 1926 as a pilot for Aéropostale, a private airline that delivered mail between France, French Africa, and its colonies in South America.  Saint-Exupéry's route was Toulouse to Dakar, and by 1927, he was station chief of the Cape Juby airfield in Southern Morocco.

Saint-Exupéry monument at the old Aéropostale strip in Tarfaya, Morocco (near Cape Juby)

In 1929, he was transferred to Argentina, where he worked for Aéropostale in finding new air routes across that continent and occasionally making daring reconnaissance missions to look for downed pilots.

While serving as a pioneering aviator in exotic locales, he penned a number of books on aviation including The Aviator, Southern Mail (France to North Africa), and Night Flight (Chile-Paraguay-Argentina).  In 1931, he married Consuelo Suncin, a twice-widowed Salvadoran countess and artist.  The two would carry on a stormy on-again-off-again relationship over the years, as their union was marked with numerous affairs.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with his friend and fellow pilot, Henri Guillaumet

The early days of long-distance flying were fraught with perilous atmosphere, sketchy mechanics, and adventure.  In late 1935, Saint-Exupéry set out with his navigator, André Prévot, on an air race (called a raid) from Paris to Saigon, in an attempt to capture a prize of 150,000 francs.  After about 19 and a half hours, they crash landed their plane in the Sahara after hitting a plateau when they descended in an attempt to avoid a mass of clouds.  Having no radio, few provisions, and only one day's supply of liquid, they wandered in the desert and began to hallucinate.  While the world had given them up for dead, on the fourth day and near death, a Bedouin happened upon them and saved their lives.

Saint-Exupéry's Plane

He returned to France a hero and this experience formed the basis for much of his famous memoir Wind, Sand and Stars.  At the outbreak of World War II, Saint-Expuéry rejoined the French Air Force and served until he was demobilized at the French surrender.  He then escaped to the United States, where he encouraged American entry into the war.  While in North America he and his wife traveled between New York and Quebec City.  While in America, he also developed an intimate relationship with the wife of Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh.  During this time he authored three more books including his most famous, The Little Prince.

Antoine and Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince is a story (pulling from Saint-Exupéry's experiences) about an aviator who crashes in the Sahara and meets the Little Prince, who gives an account of his journeys across the universe and also talks about his home planet or asteroid where the Prince had spent his days pulling out baobab trees that are constantly trying to take root there.

I really haven't done a good job selling the story, but it's a very interesting and short read.  Although it's a children's book, it's really well written and rather poetic (as is much of Saint-Exupéry's other work).  It was this imagery of the Prince pulling out the alien trees from his desolate planet that reminded me of the images I posted of the Dragon's Blood trees on Socotra Island.

Saint-Exupéry aboard his P-38

He returned to the war in 1943, traveling to North Africa with American forces, but as he was eight years too old for a combat pilot, he had to receive a special exemption from General Eisenhower.  This achieved, he was assigned a P-38, but allowed only limited missions.  On July 31, 1944, while on his ninth reconnaissance mission from Corsica to the Rhone Valley, his plane disappeared.  An unidentifiable body in a French uniform was recovered in the water off Toulon several days after he had gone missing.

Although his body was never positively identified, in 1967, Saint-Exupéry was honored by having his name placed alongside the other heroes of France in the Panthéon.  Although, perhaps the greatest honor is the fact that his book, The Little Prince, has been one of the most widely read in the entire world, having surpassed over 200 million copies since it was first published.

Person-of-Mystery

Thanks for your patience today and welcome to the Person-of-Mystery Contest!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Today, we're following up on the Place-of-Mystery from last week's contest.  If you'll recall, I mentioned that scene from Socotra Island in last week's mystery image reminded me of one of my favorite books.  This man has a connection to that book.

So, who could he be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized image of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

I’m still on hiatus from regular posting, but I didn’t want to spoil the fun two weeks in a row, so here’s a new Person-of-Mystery for today:

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

060113152119 061518 13151805 20080114 03081503151201200519

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter her name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized image of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Today, Person-of-Mystery returns with a vengeance!  I'm now back to teaching after a lovely summer and while preparing for my classes, I have plenty of new semi-obscure personages to use over the upcoming weeks!

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

UMBLSA D HMA ULV M EDBT MOI MO TDNXEX

FMCKHLLIA HMA BZ XLBT

FSE D VSFFTI AXLSGITVA HDEX NVTMEA

KOLHO ULV BZ MCEDLOA DO GMOIA OTMV MUMV

ME EXT OMBT LU EXT VDPTV VLZMG

D FVLSNXE ILHO AXLLEDON AEMV

MGEXLSNX BZ VTOLHO YTLYGT IDI XMDG

EDVTGTAAGZ ATVPDON EXT OMEDLO AL HTGG

D ELDGTI SOXDOITVTI ULV ATPTO IMZA BMDG

CLOADITVTI FZ ALBT LOCT MOI MNMDO

FSE ATTDON DOAETMI BZ HDUT’A SODQST UTMESVT

GTMAE MBLON EXLAT HMA XTV YVLBDOTOE CXDO

ME UDVAE LOT UMDEXGTAA BMO MGBLAE GTUE BT FT

D HMA AMPTI DOAETMI FZ EXT VSGDON LU EHTGPT

MOI HXTO DE XMYYTOTI MNMDO OL LOT HMA FTEETV EXMO BT

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to the Person-of-Mystery Contest!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

I must say, this summer I've had a blast with the Person-of-Mystery contest and I've also had a good deal of fun with the Boy Scouts.  I'm out camping with them again today, just trying to repeat the fun one last time before school starts.

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

W aors am tcfhibs pm uwjwbu okom,

Pih wb am tfss hwas W rwr zwys hc dzom

okom cb am wgzobr, xigh as obr am hsoa,

dzchhwbu cif jwqhcfm - ob sjsf szigwjs rfsoa.

Soqv bsk msof am vcas wh rcsg tzcoh

pih bch cb hvs kohsf cf gcas ywbr ct pcoh.

Wbhsffsr wb am uofrsb W’a bch hvsfs bck

pih mci qob jwgwh pm gvwd, xigh kohqv cih tcf hvs qckg.

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to the Person-of-Mystery Contest!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

Dzh R gsv hrcgvvmgs li dzh R gsv hrcgs?
R tfvhh rg wvkvmwh lm nb mrugb szg girxp.
Lmob z xzkgzrm R dzh xzoovw tvmvizo yb xslrxv

Zmw gslfts R’n olmt tlmv blf xzm hgroo svzi nb elrxv.
Urhsrmt lu xlfihv dzh nb uzelirgv tznv,
yfg R’n z ovtvmw rm zmlgsvi hklig qfhg gsv hznv.

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to the Person-of-Mystery Contest!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

We'll take a break from the trip posts for today's fun, but I'll finish things up next week.

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.


...and a very happy Canada Day tomorrow to our neighbors to the North!

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

Z GLDVIRMT URTFIV LM YLGS HRWVH LU GSV DLIOW

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

HGIZMTVOB UZNLFH ULI SRH ZMGR-GLYZXXL HGZMXV

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Person-of-Mystery

Note to my regular readers:  I apologize for the neglect of my blog.  I just received word that I'll be teaching at a new high school next year, so I'm trying to move 15 years of accumulated classroom materials and prepare for my new assignment at the same time the school year is wrapping up, but I didn't want to leave you without a Person-of-Mystery today, so please enjoy.

+ + + + +

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of a somewhat famous person from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

NYGUBHTU N PNCGNVA V ARIRE URYQ ENAX

OHG FGBEZVAT NFUBER ZL UBCRF ARIRE FNAX

YVXR EVPU HAPYR CRAALONTF V ZNQR GURZ NYY CNL

OL CYNLVAT ZBABCBYL OHG GURA GNXRA NJNL

CEVAPR BE N CNHCRE, XVAT BE N SBBY

ZL ANZR FGVYY YVIRF BA VA GUR YNAQ GUNG V EHYRQ

So, who could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter his name into Google Images and this photo will be found on the first pages of the image results.