May 2010 Archives
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May 30, 2010
Another Mission From God Aimed At Additional Harm To California
One thing you can be pretty sure of is that when anyone says they are on a mission from God, they are actually on a mission of their own desires, very often, but not always, a mission of their own...Read all of "Another Mission From God Aimed At Additional Harm To California"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:35 PM
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Later Occupations Of Ras Shamra
When we think of Ras Shamra, we generally think of the Late Bronze age city of Ugarit and all the wonderful tablets preserved there. But the tell was occupied on and off from as early as the Neolithic Period to...Read all of "Later Occupations Of Ras Shamra"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:13 AM
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May 29, 2010
The Amazing Mind Of Glen Beck
Robert Cargill on Glen Beck, mr. beck is not as cunning as bill o’reilly, not as witty as keith olbermann, not as smart as rush limbaugh, and not as hot (intellectually) as rachel maddow. glenn beck lacks the political acumen...Read all of "The Amazing Mind Of Glen Beck"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:29 AM
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May 28, 2010
Nonfiction You Say
Take this link to Amazon's Books › Nonfiction page. At least for now, you’ll see something abnormal. It turns out that an audio book of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and fairly recent print edition of Adventures of Sherlock...Read all of "Nonfiction You Say"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:41 PM
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May 27, 2010
Middle Assyrian “Cuneiforms” From Tell Qaber Abu al-Atiq
The Global Arab Network story seems somewhat garbled with confusion between the headline and the body of the article. Anyway, a Syrian-French team seems to be working at Dura Europos and a Syrian-Spanish team seems to be working at Tell...Read all of "Middle Assyrian “Cuneiforms” From Tell Qaber Abu al-Atiq"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:44 AM
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May 26, 2010
Water Systems In Text and Archaeology
The latest Journal of Near Eastern Studies is now available. The paper that most aroused my abnormal interests was Jonathan Kaplan’s “The Mesha Inscription and Iron Age II Water Systems.” A little background: in 1969, Yadin suggested a correlation between...Read all of "Water Systems In Text and Archaeology"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:52 PM
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May 24, 2010
UC Berkeley To Publish Mark Twain’s Autobiography
The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley houses the manuscript(s) for this work. They will release the first of three planned volumes in November. As The Independent says, The creator of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn and some of the most frequently...Read all of "UC Berkeley To Publish Mark Twain’s Autobiography "
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:55 AM
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May 22, 2010
Just A Suggestion
A friend getting a ticket for what he called a “rolling stop” recently remained me of a trip from Milan to Ivrea. My friend didn’t seem all that comforted by my story. Perhaps you'll like it better. During my business...Read all of "Just A Suggestion"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:33 PM
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May 21, 2010
How Convenient
Medicare is a single payer system that provides medical care for most of America's senior citizens. That's far more socialized a system than what was just passed as health care reform, yet Rand Paul not only benefits from it but...
Posted by Duane Smith at 11:29 AM
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May 20, 2010
Draw Mohammed Day
I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. Luckily, other people have drawn Mohammed, many of them Muslims. Here’s a drawing of Mohammed from an illustrated manuscript of Al Beruni’s (Abū Rayhān Muhammad ibn Ahmad Bīrūnī) The Remaining Signs...Read all of "Draw Mohammed Day"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:06 AM
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May 19, 2010
Archaeomusicology
Via ABZU I just discovered a link to ARANE, The Archaeomusicological Review of the Ancient Near East, and the website for ICONEA (the International Conference of Near Eastern Archaeomusicology). The ARANE issue is from 2009. It has the following abnormally...Read all of "Archaeomusicology"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:13 PM
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May 18, 2010
Good News (for me)
I just got confirmation that The Catholic Biblical Quarterly (CBQ) will publish my paper, “Pisser Against the Wall: an echo of divination in biblical Hebrew?” sometime within the next couple of quarters. Since I submitted the manuscript well over a...Read all of "Good News (for me)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:33 PM
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May 16, 2010
Moshe Greenberg Dies
Sad news indeed: Moshe Greenberg died yesterday. Greenberg was a very versatile scholar whose work influenced a wide range of subjects on and around our understanding of the Hebrew Bible. A couple of his books and more of his papers...Read all of "Moshe Greenberg Dies"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:37 AM
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May 15, 2010
Bon Appétit
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:40 AM
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May 14, 2010
It’s All Turkish Archaeology To Me
Chuck Jones reports that back issues of several open access Turkish archaeological journals are now available. Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi (1933-1997) Türk Etnografya Dergisi (1956-1997) Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnografya Dergisi Müze Çalışmaları ve Kurtarma Kazıları Sempozyumu Yayınları Kazı Sonuçları Toplantıları Arkeometri...Read all of "It’s All Turkish Archaeology To Me"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:15 AM
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May 13, 2010
The 92nd Edition Of Four Stone Hearth Is Up
The 92nd edition of Four Stone Hearth is up at Sorting Out Science. Timing makes this anthropology carnival heavy on Neandertals and their and our genome. Sam Wise has done a great job pointing us to posts featuring this abnormally...Read all of "The 92nd Edition Of Four Stone Hearth Is Up"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:01 PM
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May 12, 2010
What Did Ancient Akkadian Sound Like?
Well, that’s a matter of some debate. A new (to me) website , created by Martin Worthington of Cambridge, seeks to address the question. Aside from wanting to be a discussion forum, the site features Assyriologists reading Babylonian and Assyrian...Read all of "What Did Ancient Akkadian Sound Like?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:11 PM
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May 11, 2010
The Gift Of Uncertainty
Every weekday morning Shirley and I go for a walk. We try to cover about three miles. Along the way we meet a cross section of our extended neighborhood: fellow walkers and runners; bicyclists; kids on their way to school;...Read all of "The Gift Of Uncertainty"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:13 PM
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May 10, 2010
The Discover of Cleopatra's Tomb: Is There News Or Is There No News?
Read the following two quotations and the articles from which I took them and see for yourself. A flamboyant archeologist known worldwide for his trademark Indiana Jones hat believes he has identified the site where Cleopatra is buried. Now, with...Read all of "The Discover of Cleopatra's Tomb: Is There News Or Is There No News? "
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:59 PM
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May 9, 2010
On Motive, Moral and Plot
Mark Twain posted the following warning among the front matter of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, PERSONS attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting...Read all of "On Motive, Moral and Plot"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:58 PM
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May 8, 2010
“Philosophers Hold Their Seats”
Mostly because our two kids are both professional philosophers, I have an abnormal interest in what happens to their lot. While there is much worry, speculation, and discussion regarding the recent election in Britain, one thing is clear. The philosophers...Read all of "“Philosophers Hold Their Seats”"
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:08 AM
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Our New Old Relatives
A whole bunch of previously unsuspected relatives have appeared at our doorstep and we haven’t even won the lottery. As John Hawks said, “I, for one, welcome my Neandertal ancestry.” Truthfully, the discovery of genetic associations between Eurasians and Neandetals...Read all of "Our New Old Relatives"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:21 AM
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May 7, 2010
Pictures, Drawing, Plans Please
The Independent reports on fortifications at the Minoan town of Gournia. They describe what seems to be a rather complex fortification system but I sure wish there were more details. A drawing would be nice. I’m sure all that will...Read all of "Pictures, Drawing, Plans Please"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:13 PM
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May 5, 2010
Seizing A Hem - Thrusting Away A Hand
The common Akkadian phrase sissiktaka ṣabātu, “to seize your hem,” and its several variations is echoed in Zechariah 8:23, “In those days, ten men from nations of every tongue will take hold - they will take hold of every Jew...Read all of "Seizing A Hem - Thrusting Away A Hand"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM
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May 3, 2010
America’s Criminal Class
Mark Twain famously wrote, “It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.” Well, if James A. Traficant Jr. gets (re)elected to Congress the support for Twain’s contention will...Read all of "America’s Criminal Class"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:51 PM
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May 2, 2010
Roman Pornography Halts Construction
I don’t normally mention Roman period UK archaeology but this lead sentence in This Is Kent article got my attention, “Work on the £11.6 million revamp of Canterbury's prestigious Beaney Institute has ground to a halt – because of Roman...Read all of "Roman Pornography Halts Construction"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:24 AM
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