June 2007 Archives
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June 30, 2007
Working on the Roof
Sorry to bother you with a personal problem, but I thought writing about it might do me some good. Shirley and I have been homeowners for 32 years. While we share in the decision process, I have lead responsibility for...Read all of "Working on the Roof"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:10 PM
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June 29, 2007
One of My Worshippers Sent Me an Ecard!
WARNING: The email I describe below is a delivery vehicle for a malicious worm. If you get an email like it, do not take any of the links and delete the email from you computer. I just got an email...Read all of "One of My Worshippers Sent Me an Ecard!"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:14 PM
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June 27, 2007
A (new to me) Online Linear A Resource
Linear A has been a language script subject that has occupied some small corner of my mind for as long as I can remember. I just discovered, via ABZU, John G. Younger's website. He has a lot of material on...Read all of "A (new to me) Online Linear A Resource"
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June 26, 2007
On the Absence of the Paragogic nun in Epigraphic Hebrew
Warning: this post contains obscure points of ancient Hebrew grammar. I finally got my hands on Kaufman's article about the Hebrew paragogic nun and scribal training (see postscript below). You may remember that Charles Halton at Awilum told us about...Read all of "On the Absence of the Paragogic nun in Epigraphic Hebrew"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:45 PM
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June 24, 2007
The Manahat Sherd Again
While I haven't looked at the literature lately, I'm fairly sure that it is not a sign of good mental health to continue to beat ones head against the same rock or in my case sherd over a long period...Read all of "The Manahat Sherd Again"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:55 PM
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June 23, 2007
What Department is President Bush In?
Well, the Vice President claimed that he was exempt from certain provisions of the amended executive order on Security Oversight because he is not technically a member of the executive branch of government! Cheney's office drew criticism Thursday for claiming...Read all of "What Department is President Bush In?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:13 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 22, 2007
A PG Rating for "Torture?"
Abnormal Interests is rated PG, Parental Guidance Suggested, by Mingle2. Mingle2 Why did Abnormal Interests get a PG rating? This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words: torture (1x) Apparently calling some assholes "assholes" is okay....Read all of "A PG Rating for "Torture?""
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:14 PM
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Go Visit Iyov
I'm a little late in pointing out this relatively new blog. It has been on my RSS reader for a couple of weeks. Iyov blogs on a variety of subjects around and about the Hebrew Bible with abnormally interesting side...Posted by Duane Smith at 1:39 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 21, 2007
On the Need to Learn From Egyptian Scribes
The other day Egyptology News featured a story on "The School of Scribes at the Ramesseum" Andie quoted from an article in Le Journal de CNRS describing various things of interest uncovered at the Ramesseum. Like Andie, I found the...Read all of "On the Need to Learn From Egyptian Scribes"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:44 PM
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June 20, 2007
Notes on the Taanach Letters
Some time ago, I posted a series of translations of the Taanach letters. At that time, I promised that I would post a few comments and my translation notes at some later time. Well, I forgot my promise. But yesterday...Read all of "Notes on the Taanach Letters"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:59 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 19, 2007
More Special Pleading Against "Insults to Religion"
Two cases to consider: The film version of the Da Vinci Code film is to be investigated for allegedly breaking Italian obscenity laws more than a year after its release. The state prosecutor's office in Civitavecchia, 40 miles north of...Read all of "More Special Pleading Against "Insults to Religion""
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:10 PM
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June 18, 2007
Lydian Origins of the Etruscans?
Sometime around 430 BCE Herodotus wrote, As far as we know, the Lydians were the first to introduce the use of gold and silver coin, and the first who sold retail. They also claim the invention of all the games...Read all of "Lydian Origins of the Etruscans?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:16 AM
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June 17, 2007
Two Related Unrelated Items
Or is it two unrelated related items? PZ Myers at Pharyngula has an abnormally interesting post partly on the Straussian hypocrisy in the UK and partly on the Sea of Faith. These two things are related. On The Sea of...Read all of "Two Related Unrelated Items"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:34 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Back to the Cathouse
A couple of weeks ago Shirley and I visited The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound just outside Rosamond, California, near Edwards Air Force Base. Well, we when back last night for their semiannual Twilight Tour. For these events, both the public...Read all of "Back to the Cathouse"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:07 PM
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June 16, 2007
Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts Online
And now there is eTACT, "electronic Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts." Currently there are only sixteen texts available but because of eTACT's semi-open nature, that number will quickly grow. I plan to check back often. Among the most interesting translations...Read all of "Translations of Akkadian Cuneiform Texts Online"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:28 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 15, 2007
The Ever Popular Paragogic Nun and Scribal Training in Ancient Israel
Charles Halton at Awilum has a very interesting post about Kaufman's understanding of the paragogic nun in Biblical Hebrew and how such a thing might contribute to an argument for a standardized scribal curriculum in Ancient Israel. Like most of...Read all of "The Ever Popular Paragogic Nun and Scribal Training in Ancient Israel"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:53 PM
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June 13, 2007
Searching High and Low
A couple of days ago I bought Sharon, et al, "Report on the First Stage of the Iron Age Dating Project in Israel: Supporting a Low Chronology" in the latest issue of Radiocarbon ($13.60, cheap by some standards). I've been...Read all of "Searching High and Low"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:29 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Outrage to Action
Following posts at Afarensis and Northstate Science, I wrote a few words on the plight of the Hadza of northern Tanzania. Many others have also jumped in. I think Northstate Science has the best set of links. Well, the blogosphere...Read all of "Outrage to Action"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:00 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 12, 2007
On Canon: A Thought Experiment
John Hobbins at Ancient Hebrew Poetry continues both his series on canon and his summaries of various reactions. He says this about Tim Bulkeley's and my contributions to the discussion. Duane and Tim highlight what might be called the exclusionary...Read all of "On Canon: A Thought Experiment"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:24 AM
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June 11, 2007
A Place of Their Own
The obscenely wealthy desire even more at the expense of those who only desire what they have - a place to hunt and gather and life the only life they know or want. Christopher O'Brien at Northstate Science has a...Read all of "A Place of Their Own"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:12 AM
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June 10, 2007
The Scribe that Perhaps Could Add After All
But what was he adding? The other day Pavel Čech of Charles University in Prague somehow stumbled upon my post "A Little A and the Scribe that Couldn't Add." I wrote the post in response to one by Simon Holloway...Read all of "The Scribe that Perhaps Could Add After All"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:17 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 9, 2007
Richard Rorty Died Friday
I never met Richard Rorty but, in a strange way, he almost seemed a part of our family for several years. Two volumes of his essays and two of his books, Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature and Consequences of...Read all of "Richard Rorty Died Friday"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:31 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
Scribes and the Economy of Cities
I've been working through the archaeological evidence that some scholars suggest limits or even negates the likelihood of a scribal school in early 10th century BCE Jerusalem. In its simplest form, the argument says that Jerusalem was too small and...Read all of "Scribes and the Economy of Cities"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:59 PM
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June 8, 2007
Why The Need for a Canon
John Hobbins at Ancient Hebrew Poetry has launched what promises to be a great and comprehensive discussion of "canon." His first post has set an exceptionally high standard. It has also generated a lot of comment. John links to much...Read all of "Why The Need for a Canon"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:26 PM
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June 7, 2007
Cats, Cats, Wild Cats
One of the things Shirley and I did over the last two days was visit The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound just outside of Rosamond near Edwards Air Force Base. While the public exhibit is small, it is wonderful. Most of...Read all of "Cats, Cats, Wild Cats"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:55 AM
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June 4, 2007
A Note to My Abnormal Readers
Blogging will be even lighter than usual over the next couple of days. Shirley and I are celebrating our forty third wedding anniversary. While we don't have any great plans, we will be taking an extended day trip tomorrow and...Read all of "A Note to My Abnormal Readers"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:35 PM
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June 3, 2007
Tipler vs. Krauss
This afternoon Shirley and I went to CalTech for a debate between Frank Tipler and Lawrence Krauss. The subject was Tipler's new book, The Physics of Christianity. Without getting into all the physics and math, I will try to summarize...Read all of "Tipler vs. Krauss"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:10 PM
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June 2, 2007
Biblical Studies Carnival XVIII
Danny Zacharias at Deinde provides links to over 90 posts on the scholarly study of the Bible from May. His "On the Technology Front" section contains at least one item, mind mapping, that should be of special interest to the...Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnival XVIII"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:04 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
June 1, 2007
It's Still Gibberish
A couple of days ago I learned via ABZU that back issues of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists are online and can be accessed without charge. Most of what they cover is not normally within my abnormal...Read all of "It's Still Gibberish"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:24 PM
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