May 2008 Archives
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May 31, 2008
Evolutionary Novelties
Todd Oakley is Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of California-Santa Barbara. He works in ecology, evolution and marine biology and serves as the Assistant Curator at the Museum of Systematics and Ecology at UCSB. He also has a...Read all of "Evolutionary Novelties"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:53 PM
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May 30, 2008
The Dirt on Geologists, Anthropologists and Archaeologists
By way of Afarensis, I just read a hilarious tale from the Johannesburg paper, The Star. Chris Rowan posted it at Highly Allochthonous. While a story is of a supposed attempt to produce a "Survivor" like TV show about geologists,...Read all of "The Dirt on Geologists, Anthropologists and Archaeologists"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:34 PM
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Sheep Omens, Akkadian in Greek Letters and Other Mysteries
The latest online edition of the Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie is available (Volume 97, Issue 2, December 2007). Are they running five to six months late or am I? Oh well, I'm just now reading through the journal...Read all of "Sheep Omens, Akkadian in Greek Letters and Other Mysteries"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:51 PM
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May 29, 2008
Theodicy Happens
I've been tagged by Iyov. I like Iyov. I read her or his blog nearly every day. I think kindly of Iyov. But still I get tagged! And tagged to answer questions about theodicy of all things. The good news...Read all of "Theodicy Happens"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:28 AM
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May 28, 2008
Campaigning and Propagandizing
Juan Cole at Informed Comment begins his post on Scott McClellen's forthcoming book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, with these words, Former White House press spokesman Scott McClellan has come to the realization...Read all of "Campaigning and Propagandizing"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:31 AM
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May 27, 2008
A Wrong Minded or Unsupportable Idea
Please don't read this unless you have a fairly high tolerance for frustration. This post is about a dead-end search for something that may not exist. It does not have a happy ending. It likely won't make you cry either....Read all of "A Wrong Minded or Unsupportable Idea"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:40 PM
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May 26, 2008
Something Else to Worry About
Tetanus, athlete’s foot, pseudomonas bacteria, plantar warts, hookworm, and sporotrichosis: any and all might befall the person who dares to go barefoot in the park. While I believe that most of our improved longevity comes from rather simple public health...Read all of "Something Else to Worry About"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:30 PM
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May 24, 2008
Ugarit-Forschungen 38 Has Arrived
In the RSS feed announcing the latest volume of Ugarit-Forschungen, James Spinti of Eisenbrauns, wrote, I don't know about you, but when I was in graduate school, one of my favorite times was whenever the newest Ugarit Forschungen was released....Read all of "Ugarit-Forschungen 38 Has Arrived"
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:05 AM
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May 22, 2008
Congratulations (Full) Professor Jim Davila
Jim Davila's blog, PaleoJudaica.com, is one I check everyday. It is an important source of news and comment on several of my own abnormal interests. St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews, Scotland just promoted Jim to Full Professor of...Read all of "Congratulations (Full) Professor Jim Davila "
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:44 PM
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May 21, 2008
Enkidu, Jeremiah and the Mother of Seven
Claude Mariottini has written an interesting post on "the mother of seven" in the Hebrew Bible. When I read it I was reminded of this passage from The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet VII iv:10 (161*); [áš-šu-mi-ki li]-in-né-zib AMA 7 ḫi-ir-tum...Read all of "Enkidu, Jeremiah and the Mother of Seven"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:53 PM
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May 20, 2008
Scribal Schools in Canaan
Charles at Awilum, quotes from a review of Wayne Horowitz and Takayoshi Oshima, Cuneiform in Canaan: Cuneiform Sources from the Land of Israel in Ancient Times by Yuram Cohen in the February 2008, BASOR. Charles has complete references. Please go...Read all of "Scribal Schools in Canaan"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:56 PM
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May 19, 2008
The Violinist
I wrote the paragraph below as part of a much longer draft that I decided not to post but I do think it fun, so I'm posting it here. I started studying the violin when I was in the third...
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:09 PM
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May 18, 2008
Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip
I'm a little late to the current mêlée about God, spirituality and other loosely defined, undefined or undefinable things. And I don't plan to take up all the issues here but one thing that James wrote yesterday at Exploring Our...Read all of "Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip"
Posted by Duane Smith at 6:28 PM
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May 16, 2008
Hazon Gabriel, Rephaim and an Ugaritic Text
I was going to write something about how an Ugaritic text (KTU 1.20 ii 5-7a) might inform the current discussion of the Hazon Gabriel inscription but N. T. Wrong did it for me. If you don't know what this is...Read all of "Hazon Gabriel, Rephaim and an Ugaritic Text"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:10 PM
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May 14, 2008
Faith, Hope, Change and Pandering
John Hobbins may like being pandered to but I sure don't (like him being pandered to). I understand why Barack Obama is running ads that say things like, "My faith teaches me that I can sit in church and pray...Read all of "Faith, Hope, Change and Pandering"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:29 PM
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May 13, 2008
Einstein's 1954 Letter to Gutkind
There is kind of a cottage industry built around speculation on Albert Einstein's religious beliefs or lack of same. A new letter has surfaced that will no doubt fuel that industry. Writing in German to philosopher Eric Gutkind on January...Read all of "Einstein's 1954 Letter to Gutkind"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:14 PM
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May 12, 2008
A Well-rounded Individual
with a perfect balance Tragedy, Romance, and Comedy in my life? Hmmm! But then my life is one of those "Problem Plays" Hmmm! Problem Plays (You scored 38% = Tragic, 56% = Comic, 38% = Romantic, 39% = Historic) You...Read all of "A Well-rounded Individual"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:22 AM
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May 11, 2008
Schloss on Expelled
Jeffrey Schloss of Westmont College wrote one of the most balanced reviews of the movie Expelled that I've read. It is also the longest review I have read: twenty six pages of text along with ninety five endnotes. Schloss, a...Read all of "Schloss on Expelled"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:25 PM
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May 10, 2008
Our Mother's Voice
Kinzler, Dupoux, and Spelke "asked whether infants and young children show visual and social preferences for speakers of their native language." Using the biblical story of Shibboleth in Judges 12:5–6 as an epigraph, they report on four experiments that seek...Read all of "Our Mother's Voice"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:22 PM
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May 8, 2008
Four Stone Hearth at 40
Four Stone Hearth, the anthropology blog carnival, is up at Remote Central. Tim Jones has done a great job. There's something for everyone. Give it a look. I normally check out Hot Cup of Joe every day but somehow I...Read all of "Four Stone Hearth at 40"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:06 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
May 7, 2008
Problems Are on the Horizon
But what problems? The last of the four missing Claremont Ras Shamra tablets that I have been discussing is RS 1957.2. I've waited so long to post on this tablet because I couldn't make up my mind on an important...Read all of "Problems Are on the Horizon"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:07 PM
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May 6, 2008
The Schøyen Collection for Sale
Over the last few weeks, I've written about three of the four missing tablets from Ugarit that were once housed at the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity in Claremont, California and known as the Claremont Ras Shamra Tablets. I'll be...Read all of "The Schøyen Collection for Sale"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:08 AM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
May 5, 2008
The Toxicologist and Her Coronet
This time of year concerts at colleges come in bunches and bands, and choirs and orchestras too. During the semester, these concerts come at a rate of two or three a month but at the end of the semester and...Read all of "The Toxicologist and Her Coronet"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:13 PM
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May 4, 2008
On Being Educated
Jay Crisostomo at MU-PÀD-DA is both bemoaning and cerebrating the number of languages he thinks he "need(s) to control for (his) own eventual research." He comes up with 16 with another 10 that are on his wish list. This is...Read all of "On Being Educated"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:28 PM
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May 2, 2008
Isaiah 38:9-20: An Abnormal View
Warning: Please don't take this post too seriously. It is little more than a thought experiment. Like many things I do here, I am playing around with an idea. As such, you will see even more than my usual amount...Read all of "Isaiah 38:9-20: An Abnormal View"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:46 PM
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May 1, 2008
Biblical Studies Carnivals 29 is Up
At 12:01 AM on May 1, and no later, Jim West posted the May, 2008, Biblical Studies Carnival. It is one of the best so far. Academic study of the Bible is a growing enterprise in the blogosphere and the...Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnivals 29 is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:30 AM
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