I love archeology but I didn’t dig this exhibit (pun intended). It was well done, professional, and there really were a few “Lucy” artifacts present. But the focus was on Ethiopia and that country’s cultural heritage rather than on archeology or Lucy.
According to the exhibit website, the “More than 100 artifacts in the exhibit illuminate this rich heritage, including fossils, historical manuscripts, paintings, coins, musical instruments, implements of daily use, religious artifacts and more.”
I saw the Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit there last year and this had the same sort of feel to it. I think both events were created to generate revenue rather than to exhibit artifacts: Everything was very simple and painted with a big brush.
Bottom line, it might be fun for kids and would be more stimulating than taking them to the movies, but if you’re an adult and love archeology I think you’ll be disappointed too.
Are you old enough to remember the 1992 Presidential election where candidate Bill Clinton went on MTV and answered questions about whether he wore boxers or briefs?
At the time, mainstream sorts of folk were outraged about how un-Presidential that election had become. Well jump ahead 16 years and see how Clinton and MTV seem like the “good old days” compared to this election.
We now have Sarah Palin sexy school girl dolls. Can you imagine if she gets elected? How many American men will be having erotic fantasies about the Vice-President as a school librarian.
And we also have Obama Waffles (which supposedly don’t taste good) and definitely seem to have an Aunt Jemima thing going on.
Yesterday I posted a McCain ad because I though it was well done. I wanted to highlight the ad, not the candidate.
Well that generated a dozen “hate mails,” the subject of which focused on my “obvious bias” against Obama, how wonderful of a human being he is, and why there must be something wrong with me for not having a “I vote for Obama” banner on my website.
I’m sure one of the emails was legitimate and organic, but the others were from people I’ve never heard from before with 10 page rambling messages that had similar content. They must have come from the Obama campaign since the same thing happened when I posted “Is Barack Obama A Christian?” last month.
So to placate those who feel I slighted Obama, I’m posting this “anti-Palin” video to make you happy. It is an interview with former Playboy model, Baywatch star, and animal-activist Pam Anderson.
The reporter asks Ms. Anderson if she saw a recent Newsweek article which showed a gigantic bear hide in the office of Sarah Palin’s house. (The bear for the rug I believe was shot by Mrs. Palin herself) .
Anderson’s response to that question was “I can’t stand her, she can suck it!”
So with that wit, wisdom, and analysis from an Obama supporter, I have fulfilled my obligations to objectivity!
Last week my old friend Jeff Andrus sent me the manuscript for his newest book, POSERS. Like his previous Tracer series of books, POSERS is a mystery. I do love a good whodunnit! And Jeff is a top-notch writer and shows it in this project. With his permission, I am excerpting the first 3 pages here. Notice how he writes so visually, drawing the reader in with detail and nuance. I love it and I hope you do as well!
If I had a penny for every time I was asked, “Is Barack Obama a Christian?” I’d be a millionaire by now.
Truthfully, if I had ten dollars for every time I’ve been asked this, I’d have just enough to buy a new MacBook Air (with the speed bump and better battery life that is rumored to be coming out next month).
History
Early in the 2008 Presidential campaign the far-right made sure everybody knew Obama’s full name was Barack Hussein Obama and that he attended an Islamic school while living in Indonesia.The implication was, if America’s top enemies of recent years were Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, then surely this man who’s name is similar must be a Muslim and evil as well!
Obama’s campaign reacted and said, No, Barack is a believing Christian and used be known as Barry up until he graduated law school.
For the last week and a half I have been sharing with you some of my summer reading. I have to wonder, though, if any of this matters. Do people read anymore?
The New York Times
The “Old Gray Lady,” the historical nickname for THE NEW YORK TIMES, recently did a piece entitled “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?” In true journalistic form. the writer see-sawed back and forth on the question, not wanting to alienate anyone by being too opinionated.
The “take-away” of this piece is that their answer is “no,” although their “no” is as qualified as President Clinton’s “is.”
Whatever the answer to their question is, it is less important than how the question itself is defined.
Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I heard him speak a few years ago after some controversy erupted about his conservative views in the local Seattle newspaper. He replied that he was a minority: “A married and straight white-male who eats meat, is faithful to his wife, and believes in Jesus.” That statement is typical of Driscoll: humorous, edgy, theologically conservative, evangelical, all the while being culturally relevant.
While on vacation recently, I had a chance to read a few books. As one of my younger readers pointed out: “How Twentieth,” meaning Twentieth Century or “old school.” The implication is that nobody reads anymore.
Perhaps fewer people read now than before, but I, for one, still do. (I think anyway, but more on that subject next week). Although I own a Kindle (the new wireless, electronic reading device from Amazon.com), I prefer the look of ink on dead trees and the feel of the turning a page.
THE POST-AMERICAN WORLD
The first book I read was THE POST-AMERICAN WORLD by Fareed Zakaria (New York: W. W. Norton, 2008). Mr. Zakaria’s book is about what he calls “the rise of the rest,” non-Western countries becoming significant economic and military players.
Zakaria grew up in India and is now the editor of NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL. His book provides an overview of the world today and the role he sees the United States playing in the future. The facts he examines are, for the most part, objective and nonpartisan. His
Hello, my name is Mitch Canter, and I am an entrepreneur. I own and operate a small design studio, studionashvegas, in Nashville, TN. I’ve been doing this for nine months now on my own, and I know that it was the greatest decision of my life.
For whatever reasons, I love bunkers. As a kid I was fascinated when I toured the underground SAC headquarters in Omaha. As an adult, my offices at Santa Monica Studios were built on top of a huge Cold War bunker. Even today I never miss an episode of the History Channel’s Cities of the Underworld. I wonder what a love of bunkers says about my personality?
