Christmas or Holidays?

[kmc]

Because either we're all right (and I'd like to remind you that any subject in which Chrisfan, Doc, Shin and I all agree on may be a sign of the Apocalypse) or we're all out to get you.

Look, look, Apocalypse, that's Biblical, right? Are we fucked or what?

[Nepenthe]

DED, I explained a lot of this on the Religion thread. When you can go to just about any source available and find information about Galatia and who the inhabitants were (the Gauls) and just about everyone on the board tries to dispute it.....hhhmm would this be cause to either think that 1. you know nothing about the entire field of history or archeology or 2. You just want to argue no matter what the Facts are or 2. Think that it is a circle jerk clique on this board?

Or if the Hitties, Egptians, Homer and the Irish annals records a group of people calling them Danaans and it is a valid theory taught in many college courses that this group might have indeed been connected with the Danites or the tribe of Dan in the Bible. Then I put the information up from Penn State and just about every single person on here tries to tell me how full of shit I am and these are not scholarly theories..would that be a clue that something isn't quite right on this board?

There are actually many message boards that I have seen where there are people that are actually very familar with what I study. There are actually question and answer sessions with College Professors online, such as Victor Mair. I have full access to his email, his website, as well as many other Professors that are in the Field of study. So as to why I waste my time here? I don't know, maybe I was thinking that some on here might hold some of the same interests and would like to seriously discuss it. I can see that is almost an impossibility lately.

So maybe you are correct, maybe I should just 'go away'.

[phil]

So maybe you are correct, maybe I should just 'go away'.

Naahhh ! You need us to feed your persecution complex ... ! ;D !

[Kensterberg]

TDD -- Are you talking about the Victor Mair who teaches in the Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Penn? If so, his ideas about contacts between East and West in prehistory are extremely controversial. I've read a bit about this theory (not a hell of a lot, but a bit), and I don't think he's got necessary proof at this point. Now, this may wind up being like Pre-Clovis humans in America, where in ten or fifteen years there will be clear and sufficient evidence to prove his theory, but right now this is an extreme position within the scholarly community.

Also, on Homer and Danaans ... The vast majority of scholars think that the various populations you refer to were different ethnic groups. We now know that Greek speakers came to Greece much earlier than had been supposed (this comes from the fact of translation of Mycenaean records which showed them to be written in archaic Greek c. 1400 B.C.E., and from extensive research carried out by the University of Minnesota, among others, over the last three decades). I think the last I heard was that Greek speakers had now been placed in the country as far back as 2,400 B.C.E., but I'm not positive on that. The Greeks had a lot of stories about various populations "conquering" the region, but all of these groups seem to fit into the umbrella category of "Greeks."

There's an extremely radical view that has some of these "Danaans" migrating to the U.K., but this is such an extreme minority position that it scarcely bears repeating. In part, this "theory" comes from a desire by some British ethnicities to dissociate themselves from their British brethren, and to claim an origin myth that relates them to the "great" cultures of antiquity. As far as I know (and I may be wrong), there is no credible archaeological support for this position.

Now if you would just lay out your views in this sort of fashion (i.e. "The majority position is X, but I think that Y is right for these reasons ...") you'll find that your ideas will recieve a much fairer hearing. But if you come in and say "Y is true!" with no good explanation, or acknowledgment that you're speaking from a position which is not widely accepted, well, you just look ridiculous.

If you want to take on popularly held conceptions (whether right or wrong) you must first acknowledge those conceptions, show what they don't explain, then offer a better explanation. Reasoned argument will win you many more supporters here than will name calling or resorts to irrelevant authorities.

[Nepenthe]

Reasoned argument will win you many more supporters here than will name calling or resorts to irrelevant authorities.

Ken, the same goes for you. Please... I have not put up one irrelevant authority. I have actually put many more sources up than you ever have. And Ken btw, where are the sources for the information you just wrote, I WANT TO SEE THEM!!!! You are full of shit!!!


See how that works Ken.

Yes I suppose finding over 100 perfectly preserved nordic and celtic looking folk along with many Asian looking folk, not too mention 1000's of skeletal remains of both kinds all buried together in cemetaries along the Silk Road, would make the theory of Mair, Barber, and all of the Chinese Archeologist's, that there was early contact between east and west sound very absurd. You see ken, it isn't just a theory of Mair, it is the theory of just about everyone involved with the dig.

Not to change the subject but this is absolutely fantasitic!


National Humanities restoration grant
to ASU is largest in country

July 5, 2005 -- The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced that 10 cultural institutions have been approved to received NEH Challenge Grants.

The largest grant, for up to $1 million, was awarded to ASU to support restoration work of two historic sites . . . the 1858 Lakeport Plantation, near Lake Village, and the Mitchell-East Building in Tyronza.

NEH GRANTS TO LEVERAGE $22 MILLION FOR 10 CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
Four receive special recognition as part of We the People initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2005)--The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced that 10 U.S. cultural institutions in seven states and the District of Columbia will receive NEH Challenge Grants. NEH recognized four of the institutions as part of the Endowment's We the People initiative, which supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.

These new grants, which require the awarded institutions to match the offered federal funds on a 3-to-1 or 4-to-1 basis, are offered when NEH funds will make a significant improvement in humanities programs, help institutions carry out long-term plans for strengthening their basic resources and activities in the humanities, and enhance financial stability through increased nonfederal support. If successful in raising the required $17.3 million in matching nonfederal funds, institutions will receive more than $5.2 million in federal funds from NEH. Together the federal and nonfederal funds will provide $22.5 million in new support for the humanities.

"NEH Challenge Grants contribute to the long-term viability and strength of America's leading cultural institutions and their humanities programs," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "These grants encourage support from individual, foundation, and corporate donors to benefit the cultural life of our communities and our nation."

Institutions receiving their first NEH Challenge Grant must raise from nonfederal donors three times the amount offered. Recipients of subsequent challenge grant awards are required to raise four times the amount offered. In most cases, recipients have 56 months to raise funds from nonfederal sources.

Four institutions received special recognition under the Endowment's We the People initiative:


The Old Independence Regional Museum, Batesville, Ark., will receive up to $62,500 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. Funds raised will provide an endowment for a half-time humanities educator position to expand programming.

The Trustees of Reservations, Beverly, Mass., will receive up to $450,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment to hire a full-time archivist and a part-time historic resources manager, and they will provide direct support for equipment purchases and reproduction costs.

The Arkansas State University, Main Campus, will receive up to $1,000,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will support the restoration of two historic sites that are integrated with the university's Heritage Studies Ph.D. Program-the 1858 Lakeport Plantation near Lake Village and the 1930s Mitchell-East Building in Tyronza.

The Liberty Memorial Association, Kansas City, Mo., will receive up to $500,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will support an endowment for a historian/educator director, for educational programming, and for related acquisitions.
The following institutions also are receiving new NEH Challenge Grants:


Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., will receive up to $500,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 4-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment for junior/post-doctoral fellowships, staff, and general programming at Emory's Center for Humanistic Inquiry.

The Washington (D.C.) Drama Society, Inc./Arena Stage will receive up to $500,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment to enhance humanities-related audience enrichment and educational programming.

The University of California Press, Berkeley, will receive up to $400,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 4-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment to support publications in history, literature, and film studies.

Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, will receive up to $800,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 4-to-1. The funds raised will support construction and renovation of an expanded production and broadcast facility.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo., will receive up to $500,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment for the position of Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art, as well as related expenses for research travel and conservation.

The Durham (N.C.) Library Foundation will receive up to $500,000 in NEH funds that must be matched 3-to-1. The funds raised will provide an endowment to support a part-time humanities coordinator, humanities programming, and related acquisitions.
NEH grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Throughout the year, humanities experts outside of the Endowment and members of the National Council on the Humanities consider all applications and advise NEH on the quality and significance of each proposed project.

[shin]

Yeah, like any of us read any of that.

[Nepenthe]

Middle East Archeology is one of the programs offered at U of A btw. They have digs every year. I plan on attending one of them in the future. Here is the one for 2006.

ATTENTION: Application deadline is 20 January 2006.

The King Fahd Middle East Studies Program
University of Arkansas
And
Yarmouk University
Present
Bioarchaeological Field School

Excavation of Byzantine Tombs
Recording & Analysis of Excavated Skeletal Remains

The field school includes:

- six undergraduate credits -

-four trips to archaeological sites in Jordan including two days at Petra-

- Round trip airfare to Amman, Jordan (leaving from Memphis)-

-Housing in Yarmouk University apartments-

-Transportation from Yarmouk University to the site each day by university bus-

(estimated cost is US $4,100 program fee and $872.28 for 6 hours undergraduate credit and $1,539.12 for 6 hours graduate credit)

[Galactus]

I actually specfically said I wasn't trying to get you to go away. I said I'm interested in your thought processes for coming back here everyday. I come here becuase I like to make jokes and argue. See. It's not a hard question and it doesn't require a long answer. I can accept if your's is the same answer. Surely you know the opinions you bring to table aren't popular ones and while some of us are more informed then others none of us are as dumb as you seem to think. I don't think anyone here ever even pretended to like you very much...I don't say this to be hurtful. I say it to be honest becuase I don't understand what appeal this board holds for you. What you do is more subtley troll like. You still come here to disrupt the boards and bring attention to yourself only you don't do so in an offensive manner. So then, philosophically, why do you continue to come here? Again stay as long as you like as we've shown we certainly don't mind arguing. In fact I'm going stop complaining about you at all, I'm going to argue and make jokes.

thanks,
Enquiring in NC

[Nepenthe]

Ok well at least you have now admitted that you come here to argue. I answered your question about why I bother coming here. I thought that maybe there would be a few that are interested in having actual discussions about what I bring up. hahaha silly me.

[kmc]

DED, more jokes, less arguing. Happy new year, man. Check your mail sometime after the new year.

[Nepenthe]

Ok you want a joke, I got one in my email today.

One day, a six year old girl was sitting in a classroom.

The teacher was explaining evolution to the children.

The teacher asked a little boy:



TEACHER:

Tommy, do you see the tree outside?



TOMMY:

Yes.



TEACHER:

Tommy, do you see the grass outside?



TOMMY:

Yes.



TEACHER:

Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.



TOMMY:

Okay.

(He returned a few minutes later)

Yes, I saw the sky.



TEACHER:

Did you see GOD?



TOMMY:

No.



TEACHER:

That's my point. We can't see GOD because He isn't there. HE

just doesn't exist.



A little girl spoke up wanting to ask the boy some questions. The

teacher agreed.



LITTLE GIRL:

Tommy, do you see the tree outside?



TOMMY:

Yes.



LITTLE GIRL:

Tommy, do you see the grass outside?



TOMMY:

Yessss!



LITTLE GIRL:

Did you see the sky?



TOMMY:

Yessssss!



LITTLE GIRL:

Tommy, do you see the Teacher?



TOMMY:

Yes?



LITTLE GIRL:

Do you see her brain?



TOMMY:

No.



LITTLE GIRL:

Then according to what we were taught today, she doesn't have one.

[shin]

Still waiting on the joke there.

[Nepenthe]

Here is another one from my email.


THE BLOND AND THE LORD

A blond wanted to go ice fishing.
She'd seen many books on the subject, and finally getting all the necessary
tools together, she made for the ice.

After positioning her comfy footstool, she started to
make a circular cut in the ice. Suddenly, from the sky, a voice boomed,

"THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

Startled, the blond moved further down the ice, poured a thermos of
cappuccino, and began to cut yet another hole. Again from the heavens the voice
bellowed,

"THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

The blond, now worried, moved away, clear down to
the opposite end of the ice. She set up her stool once more and tried again
to cut her hole.

The voice came once more,
"THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE."

She stopped, looked skyward, and said,
"IS THAT YOU LORD?"

The voice replied,

"NO, THIS IS THE MANAGER OF THE HOCKEY RINK

[phil]

MUCH MUCH better ... !!

Keep'em coming ...

[Nepenthe]

Just one last thing for Ken and Rocky and whomever else. The Essenes that I mentioned earlier that used a solar calendar that consisted of 52 weeks and 364 days that celebrated the passover on the same day every year (fell on the wednesday of the same week every year that is to say). I found a great article about them from "Biblical Archaeology Review" magazine, called "Jerusalem's Essene Gateway: Where The Community Lived In Jesus' Time". They are the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the descendants of the Zadok Priesthood, and apparently were probably the main followers of Jesus. The last supper is mentioned in the article. I think that was mentioned earlier on this thread, but there was also 4,000 of them compared to 6,000 of the Pharisees. According to everything they know, most of which is through Josephus, there were 3 groups back then. The Essenes, the Pharisees who were mostly Lay people, and the Sadducees who were the 'elite' priests that ran the synogogues and made up most of the council and Sanhedrin. Apparently the early Christians and the Essenes used this solar calendar. The Essenes felt that the Priesthood that was being run by the Sadducees had been Hijacked therefore they sort of 'seperated' themselves from the Sadducees.

Here is a very interesting article about them from the magazine, they actually used the writings of Josephus to find the Gateway of the Essene

The nucleus of the Essene movement was made up of Zadokite kohanim, or priests. From the time of Solomon, the Temple's high priests had come from the house of Zadok, a son of Aaron, from whom the founders of the Essenes descended. After the successful second-century B.C.E. revolt of the Maccabees and the reestablishment of an independent Jewish state, the Hasmonean kings (from the Maccabee family) assumed not only the kingship but also the high priesthood. The king and high priest were one. The Zadokites among the Essenes considered the non-Zadokite priests usurpers and declared their Temple sacrifices illegal. The Essenes refused to take part in Hasmonean sacrificial offerings and adhered to purity rules far stricter than those the Temple authorities were enforcing.




www.centuryone.org/essene.html