April 2007 Archives
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April 29, 2007
Integrity in the Face of Uncertainty
I learned of this draft statement today at a lecture at Cal Tech. For reasons we all now know, Eisenhower never needed to "post" it. Our landings in the Cherbourg-Harve area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and the...Read all of "Integrity in the Face of Uncertainty"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:28 PM
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April 28, 2007
The Challenge of the Alphabet
While working on my next, now very belated, post on scribal schools I took a break to see what was going on in the blogosphere. And guess what, via John Wilkins', Evolving Thoughts, I found an amazing account of a...Read all of "The Challenge of the Alphabet"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:11 PM
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April 27, 2007
The Weapon of God
I found, via ABZU, a 1997 dissertation by Niek Veldhuis called Elementary Education at Nippur; The Lists of Trees and Wooden Objects. It's over 400 pages long so I haven't read it through as yet but it contains a good...Read all of "The Weapon of God"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:00 PM
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April 26, 2007
Flashes of Freedom
Flashes of Freedom by Loren Fisher Not much has changed in five millenniums. Technology has, a bit with humans. Once we came ashore and climbed to the hills, Our ascent became flat, not many thrills. There were hints of social...Read all of "Flashes of Freedom "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:58 AM
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April 25, 2007
Fair Use or Copyright Infringement?
Shelley Batts at Retrospectiacle reported on a paper by Chanjirakul et al in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. She used a table and one panel of charts from the article. Her post was a more or...Read all of "Fair Use or Copyright Infringement?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:35 PM
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April 24, 2007
Chris Heard on Virginia Tech, Religion and the Problem of Evil
Not surprisingly, Chris Heard has one of the more thoughtful discussions of some of the reactions from parts of the faith community to the Virginia Tech shootings. Here's a sample from the end of his post, The “problem of evil”...Read all of "Chris Heard on Virginia Tech, Religion and the Problem of Evil"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:34 PM
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Taanach 6: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur
This is the forth post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. As in the case of Taanch 5, don't worry about the number. It is the number of the tablet. The more or less complete...Read all of "Taanach 6: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 23, 2007
Taanach 5: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur
This is the third post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. Don't worry about the number. It is the number of the tablet. The more or less complete letters are Taanach 1, 2, 5 and...Read all of "Taanach 5: A letter from Amanhatpa to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:38 PM
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April 22, 2007
Taanach 2: A letter from Ahiami to Talwashur
This is the second post in my series of translations and comments on the Taanach letters. The first post in the series has a few preliminary comments. I'm also building a link list to this series there. This post is...Read all of "Taanach 2: A letter from Ahiami to Talwashur"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:48 PM
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April 21, 2007
Taanach 1: A letter from Ehli-Tešub to Talwashur
Several months ago, I worked my way through the Taanach letters. The four, more or less, complete letters and several fragments of letters were written in the fifteenth century BCE. I've decided to post my translations and comments as a...Read all of "Taanach 1: A letter from Ehli-Tešub to Talwashur "
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:01 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Echo's of Job in Carmina Burana
Last night Shirley and I went to the big Spring gala performance of the combined Pomona College Choir and Orchestra. And what a performance it was! They did Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. The program tells us, The Carmina Burana, sometimes...Read all of "Echo's of Job in Carmina Burana"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:26 PM
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April 20, 2007
That's What Obstruction is All About
White House spokesperson, Perino, said of Gonzales' testimony before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General's testimony today. After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the senators' questions and provided...Read all of "That's What Obstruction is All About"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:09 PM
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April 18, 2007
The Convocation on Job: My Reflections
There is a link list to this series in my report on the first session. Let me begin my reflections on the Convocation on Job with a couple of observations about the Book of Job itself. Job is among the...Read all of "The Convocation on Job: My Reflections"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:06 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 17, 2007
Convocation on Job Session V
The fifth session of the Convocation on Job was given over in its entirety to Loren Fisher. This gave him an opportunity to further comment on some of the ideas expressed in the previous sessions and to add some new...Read all of "Convocation on Job Session V"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:05 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 16, 2007
The Virginia Tech Shootings
When something like the killings at Virginia Tech happen there are often all too predicable reactions. Of course, there is the natural and appropriate reaction of shock, grief and horror. Then there is the "why does this seem to happen...Read all of "The Virginia Tech Shootings"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:34 PM
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April 15, 2007
This From A Religious Leader in Malaysia
We don't want to promote a belief in the supernatural and in superstition, which we do not know about. These are part of a statement by Abdul Shukor Husain, chairman of Malaysia's National Fatwa Council. While he was referring to...Read all of "This From A Religious Leader in Malaysia"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:23 PM
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April 14, 2007
There's No Place Like Home
As you can see, I am up and running on my new server with the look and feel, warts and all, of my old blog and all my previous posts restored. I hope you will find that a few things...Read all of "There's No Place Like Home"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:36 PM
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April 11, 2007
Jim Qetz Thinks About Ugarit Too
Jim Qetz, according to his short online bio, is, . . . a doctoral candidate finishing a dissertation on the Bible and ancient Near East in the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies department at Brandeis University. His work focuses on...Read all of "Jim Qetz Thinks About Ugarit Too"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:37 PM
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April 10, 2007
Convocation of Job Session IV
This is the fourth in my series on the Convocation on Job. You can find a link list to the various posts in the series with my report on the first session. This session featured a paper by George Pixley....Read all of "Convocation of Job Session IV"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:33 PM
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April 9, 2007
The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Coming To a Computer Near You
Charles Halton at Awilum has news of the Chicago Oriental Institute's continued efforts to provide open access publications. I know I've talked about some of this before but due to continuing server issues I can't provide links just now. However,...Read all of "The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary Coming To a Computer Near You"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:31 PM
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April 8, 2007
Convocation of Job Session III
This is the third in my series on the Convocation on Job. You can find a link list to the various posts in the series with my report on the first session. I've been having a difficult conversation with my...Read all of "Convocation of Job Session III"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:27 PM
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April 6, 2007
A Blog Against Theocracy (and Aristocracy)
I am told that this is the time to blog against theocracy. So here goes. Perhaps it's a problem of definition. I'm not altogether sure there has ever been a theocracy that based is governance solely on the tenants of...Read all of "A Blog Against Theocracy (and Aristocracy)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:00 PM
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April 5, 2007
A Free Book and A Book I've Been Waiting For
Yesterday and today were good days when it comes to books. Yesterday I received my very own copy of Une bibliothèque au sud de la ville Ras Shamra Ougarit VII This will keep me from having to go to UCLA...Read all of "A Free Book and A Book I've Been Waiting For"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:15 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 4, 2007
The Huntington
Shirley and I decided to take the afternoon away from server problems, an immoral war, recess appointments of questionable illegality but unquestionable arrogance, political clowns and other things that have tended to drag us down and go to one of...
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:57 AM
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April 3, 2007
The Convocation on Job - Session II
A few days ago, I reported on the first session of the Convocation on Job. The second session, chaired by Marjorie Suchocki, Professor Emerita, Claremont School of Theology, began with a talk by James A. Sanders. Sanders is Professor Emeritus,...Read all of "The Convocation on Job - Session II"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:34 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
April 1, 2007
A New Inscription from Ugarit
I learned that archaeologists have just found a new inscription near Ugarit that reads as follows: bhlm abrhm yšn The above text was engraved in the standard Ugaritic cuneiform alphabet on a stone near the remains of a posthole that...Read all of "A New Inscription from Ugarit"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:52 AM
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