Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Artémis-Diana

Artémis (Ӑριεµιϛ), filha de Zeus e Leto, irmã gémea de Apolo, recebeu de seu pai um arco com flechas de prata. Esteve inicialmente ligada à vida selvagem e à caça. Depois associaram-na ao luar e à magia. Consideravam o seu templo em Éfeso como uma das sete maravilhas do mundo antigo. Em Roma deram-lhe o nome de Diana e confundiam-na com Selene e Hécate, deusas da noite.

Artemis (Ӑριεμις), daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo, received a bow with silver arrows from her father. Initially she was linked to wildlife and hunting. Then she was associated with the moonlight and magic. Her temple in Ephesus was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In Rome she was named Diana, and she was often mistaken for Selene and Hecate, goddesses of the night.

Brygos (potter), painter of Briseis-'Apollo and Artemis'-tondo-attic red-figure cup-ca 470 BC Paris-Musée du Louvre (G 151)

Attr. Leochares-'know Diana of Versailles' Paris-Musée du Louvre (Ma 589) [offered to Pope Paul IV by Henry II]

Tiziano Vecellio (ca 1490-1576)-'Diana and Callisto'-oil on canvas-(1556-1559) Edinburgh-National Gallery of Scotland

Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli or Giampietrino (active 1495-1549)-'Diana the huntress'-oil on wood-ca 1526 New York-Metropolitan Museum of Art

François Boucher (1703-1770)-'Diana resting after her bath'-oil on canvas-1742 Paris-Musée du Louvre

NASA and ATK Successfully Test Five-Segment Solid Rocket Motor


With a loud roar and mighty column of flame, NASA and ATK Aerospace Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor designed for flight. The motor is potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle designs.

The stationary firing of the first-stage development solid rocket motor, dubbed DM-2, was conducted by ATK, a division of Alliant Techsystems of Brigham City, Utah. DM-2 is the most heavily instrumented solid rocket motor in NASA history, with a total of 53 test objectives measured through more than 760 instruments.

Prior to the static test, the solid rocket motor was cooled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit to verify the performance of new materials and assess motor performance at low temperatures during the full-duration test. Initial test data showed the motor performance met all expectations.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/10-202.html

Monday, August 30, 2010

Lapidação bíblica (Biblical lapidation)

A lapidação existia no tempo de Moisés que se queixa a Jeová (Êxodo 17, 4) «dentro em pouco irão apedrejar-me». A lapidação de São Paulo ocorreu na comunidade judaica da Ásia Menor (Actos 14, 19) «alguns judeus de Antioquia e de Icónio (...) apedrejaram Paulo e, dando-o por morto, arrastaram-no para fora da cidade». Jesus Cristo pensou ser lapidado (São João 10, 31) «os judeus pegaram pela segunda vez em pedras para o apedrejar».

Lapidation existed in Moses’ time; he complains to the Lord (Exodus 17, 4) "soon, I'll be stoned to death". The lapidation of St. Paul took place in the Jewish community in Asia Minor (Acts 14, 19) 'some Jews from Antioch and Iconium stoned Paul and (...) as they thought he was dead, dragged him out of town". Jesus Christ thought he would be stoned to death (John 10, 31) 'the Jews took up stones again to stone him".

Unknown-'the lapidation of Saint Paul'-relief-6th century Marseille-Basilique de Saint Victor

Unknown-'Saints Paul and Thecla and the stoning of Saint Paul'-carved ivory tablet-11th century London-British Museum

Pierre Paul Puget (1620-1694)-'the stoning of Saint Peter'-terracotta-ca 1654 Marseille-Musée des Beaux -Arts

Jacques Callot (ca 1592-1635)-'Saint Onesimus stoning, bishop of Ephesus and martyr'-drawing-16th century

Unknown-'the stoning of Timothy'-miniature-16th century Valenciennes-Bibliothèque Municipale (ms 0007, folio 336)

The Moon Puts on Camo

This detailed geologic map of Schrödinger basin, which formed when a huge object struck the moon, reveals a patchwork of lunar material, including the peak ring (inner brown ring), recent volcanic activity (red), cratering (yellow) and plains material (dark green and kelly green). Credit: NASA/Scott Mest - Larger image
A new geologic map of the moon's Schrödinger basin paints an instant, camouflage-colored portrait of what a mash-up the moon's surface is after eons of violent events. The geologic record at Schrödinger is still relatively fresh because the basin is only about 3.8 billion years old; this makes it the moon's second-youngest large basin (it's roughly 320 kilometers, or 200 miles, in diameter).

Schrödinger is located near the moon's south pole, a region where pockets of permanent ice are thought to exist. The map will help researchers understand lunar geologic history and identify suitable landing sites for future exploration. Scott Mest, a research scientist with the Planetary Science Institute working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and his colleagues created this geologic map -- the most detailed one to date -- by combining topographic data from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter, a Goddard instrument aboard the 2009 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, with images and spectral data from the earlier Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions.

Schrödinger is an example of an intriguing type of basin called a peak-ring. Like the basin rim (brown outer ring), the smaller and more fragmented peak ring (brown inner ring) is a mountainous region of crust that rose up after a huge object, probably measuring 35-40 kilometers, or about 21-25 miles, smacked into the moon here. These areas of raised crust are the oldest rocks in the basin and just about the only material that wasn't melted by the heat from the object's impact. The melted material was spewed in all directions and formed the plains. Patches of plains material can have slightly different textures and albedo (indicated by dark green and kelly green), probably because they cooled at different times. Fractures (black lines) formed in the basin floor as the material cooled.

Schrödinger Basin is one of the few areas near the moon's south pole with evidence of recent volcanic activity. This includes lava flows from volcanic activity on the surface (beige areas) as well as explosive eruptions from a vent inside the red area; this vent has brought up dark material that mantles the plains (red area, which is newer than the beige regions). Older volcanic material is spread over a wider range (gray and lime green). More recent cratering by smaller objects has scattered material (yellow areas) near the top of the basin. Next to that (very light green beside yellow) is a region with a knobby texture that suggests loose material that could have come from cratering outside the basin or from a landslide on the basin's rim.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/camo-moon.html

Yoplait Splitz ~ Picnic Prize Pack ~ GIVEAWAY!!! ~ Ends 9/15









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We chose the Strawberry Banana Split. Yumm. And I've promised to buy more for our picnic! Because in this prize pack includes an awesome picnic setup - a deluxe insulated picnic tote, a portable picnic blanket, and of course a coupon for your choice of Yoplait Splitz :)



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Giveaway will end on September 15th at 11 :59 am EST. Winner will be selected using Random .org. I will email the winner & you will have 48 hours to reply back before I draw a new winner . Please remember to leave me your email address if it is not visible on your profile so that I can contact you if you win. Good luck to everyone :)



Disclaimer: Product, information, and giveaway were all provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. These views are my own.

Spartacus Blood and Sand: Kill Them All


OK, time to come clean. I wrote an essay on the slave wars (all three of them I think, I can’t really remember) a long time ago and I haven’t really done that much work on this area since. So, as I’ve been watching Spartacus, although I’m familiar with the period in a general sense, and with Roman customs, religions etc on a wider scale, and I remembered then major details of the revolt (Thracian slave leads revolt, is on the run for two years, killed in final battle, defeated by Crassus's forces, not crucified as certain movies imply) I haven’t remembered all that much about the specifics of this particular slave revolt and the people involved. Since this last episode takes us into the actual historical slave revolt, I decided to delve into the primary sources on Spartacus before recapping and reviewing it, to see how much had been taken from history and how much had been fictionalized. And I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were more genuine historical characters running around than I’d realised.

Now, I know this all sounds very bad and you’re probably all thinking I should have done a bit more research weeks ago (I was snowed under with conference organisation and pushed for time, sorry!). But I’m afraid I have to confess that I’m really, really glad I didn’t. Because it turns out I needn’t have been so worried for Crixus a few weeks ago, nor need I have wondered whether he and Spartacus would ever work things out between them – I now know exactly what happens to Crixus, it’s right there in Appian. I know why Haldir has wandered off to return in series 2 as well. And, while I’m impressed at the way the series has incorporated and developed characters who aren’t much more than names in the history books, I’m also a little disappointed, because now I’m spoiled! I think I had forgotten how much fun it was the first time I watched I, Claudius, when I knew absolutely nothing about the ancient world and genuinely had no idea who Livia was going to poison next or whether Postumus or Germanicus would survive. Watching Rome, much later and after finishing my first degree, was a very different experience, as my housemate and I sat, waiting for the things we knew had to happen, waiting to see Livia for the first time or see how Cicero met his end. The challenge for historical series, of course, is to cater to both audiences; to provide an exciting, suspenseful story for those who don’t know what’s going to happen, and to deliver an entertaining and gripping drama for all those who do, and I think all three series do that very well. But I must confess, naughty as it was of me not to look him up before, I don’t think I would have enjoyed watching the interaction between Spartacus and Crixus nearly so much this season if I’d known how it was going to work out. Whether this indicates that the writers of Spartacus are more interested in appealing to the section of the audience that doesn’t know the history or not, I’m not sure, but since these characters also all appear in the Kubrick film (which I also haven’t watched for a while) I doubt it. It’s really more an indication of how well they wrote the relationship between those two characters.

In case anyone’s wondering what else I’ve missed, the sum total of what we know about Spartacus pre-slave revolt is: he was Thracian (Plutarch and Appian); he had once been a Roman solider but was made prisoner and sold to a gladiator school for unknown reasons (Appian); he was a gladiator in a school in Capua, with other Thracians and with Gauls, run by an unjust owner called Batiatus (Plutarch, though he almost certainly plays up the ‘injustice’ of Batiatus to make Spartacus himself look better because that’s the sort of thing Plutarch does); he had a wife from his own tribe who was a prophetess and who escaped with him (Plutarch, getting carried away one suspects). Plutarch and Appian, both writing a good 200-300 years after the revolt, are the only surviving sources to cover the revolt in any detail, though there are various other fragments and summaries available. So far, then, nothing conflicts too much with the sources, and I’m happy to give them the bit about the wife, she only appears in Plutarch anyway! Crixus, a Celt (so presumably one of the Gauls) doesn’t come up until after the revolt has taken place, and nor does Glaber, so everything they have done before the revolt is fiction, though it fits with what comes later.

As for the revolt itself, neither account is very detailed. Plutarch says two hundred slaves planned to escape, about 78 made it using weapons stolen from a kitchen, and after their escape they elected three leaders, the first of whom was Spartacus. Appian says Spartacus himself persuaded about seventy of his fellow gladiators to make a break for it, and is no more specific than that. The series, of course, follows Appian, as his version is much more dramatically interesting and more in line with what the audience are expecting than a mass breakout followed by a calm election of leaders (probably more likely as well).

Both sources are freely available online, but don’t read them unless you want season 2 thoroughly spoiled! And now, on with our regular recap.

Haldir has disappeared again – boo-hoo. He’ll be back in season 2. He has apparently left his wife in charge of discussing his patronage of Batiatus’ ludus, which is either woefully inaccurate or a deliberate snub to Batiatus on his part. Crixus appears to have recovered reasonably well from last week’s whipping and is finally getting the chance to fight Spartacus, as he’s been wanting to for weeks. Various free characters keep calling Spartacus ‘a god’, which is going a bit far, he’s a good gladiator, not an emperor. Crixus has already told Spartacus ‘no’ to something unspecified – we can guess what that’s about.

And... flashback! To ‘two days ago’. Spartacus is in the process of recruiting all his fellow gladiators in a conspiracy to overthrow Batiatus and escape – at last!

Drill Sergant Guy is miffed at Batiatus for abandoning the ludus to Haldir’s mercenaries and running off to enter politics. Batiatus has decided to grant Drill Sergeant Guy freedom so that DSG can take over the ludus as lanista. Since DSG has only just discovered that Barca was killed by Batiatus, rather than set free, he is a little suspicious of this offer, but Batiatus insists that it was all Barca’s own fault.

Xena has decided that Spartacus and Crixus should fight to the death in a private show for the gladiators, which is totally bonkers and a massive waste of money, since both are valuable crowd-pleasers. Xena wants Spartacus to kill Crixus to soothe her hurt feelings from last week, and somehow Batiatus is sufficiently pleased with this that he agrees to this totally insane idea. When Batiatus tells Spartacus, Spartacus asks that Crixus be allowed to train again, to improve the fight – also pretty obviously a trick to try to plot with him. Spartacus even finally asks for poor long-suffering Torc Girl, just so that he can get her to help with his plans. She agrees, on the condition that he has sex with her properly, which he finally agrees to do.

Back at the fight, Torc Girl and the other slaves have been done up very nicely with pretty flowers and jewellery and everything, and Xena seems to have replaced her former favourite, Naevia, with Torc Girl, making it difficult for her to get away.

We go back to ‘one day ago’, and Crixus explains to DSG that he will kill Spartacus because he has promised Nevia he will stay alive until he gains his freedom. DSG encourages this, as he wants to rebuild the lanista once he is in charge, with Crixus’ help.

Paris Hilton is busy working on the guest list for Xena and Batiatus’ celebration and it turns out that it was Xena’s idea to have her read out a little speech, written by Xena of course. Paris Hilton is not impressed at all and it would not be surprising if she did for Xena herself at this point. Being a pain in the ass to a brutal murderess does not, it has to be said, seem like a terribly good idea.

Spartacus thinks the fact that Naevia has been dragged off somewhere will persuade Crixus to join him, but unfortunately Crixus is solely concerned with defeating Spartacus so that he can find her himself, though he acknowledges that, in another life, they might have got on (which is rather nice). He also gets Spartacus to swear to find Naevia if he wins, and if Crixus wins, he will make sure Batiatus dies.

Gnomy beardy guy has got hold of some poison to weaken Crixus and ensure that Spartacus wins, and with that, we’re back in the fight, where Crixus does not actually appear to have been poisoned, or if he has been, it hasn’t slowed him down at all yet. While the fight continues, Torc Girl stabs a guard and we go back in time again to earlier that morning. Xena and Batiatus have a little chat about how their son will rule an empire (particularly interesting given that Rome is still a Republic at this time) while gnomy beardy guy, having lost Naevia, switches his attentions to NR’s widow, Aurelia. She is hoping that Crixus will kill Spartacus and, trying to impress, gnomy guy lets on that he is pretty certain Spartacus will win – and is overheard by Torc Girl.

Spartacus doesn’t want DSG dead, having apparently forgotten that he realised several weeks ago that if he was going to go after Batiatus, he would have to kill DSG first. He also tries to persuade Aurelia to get herself out of the way, but she refuses to trust him – though she does tell him about the poison in Crixus’ food. Spartacus is, of course, far too honourable to want Crixus’ food tampered with. Xena comes to see Crixus one last time, offering him a get-out if he tells her Naevia meant nothing to her and pointing out that her unborn baby is probably his, but Crixus is also having an attack of either nobility or pure stubbornness and she leaves him to drink the poison.

Back at the fight, Torc Girl shows Spartacus her bloodied hand and Spartacus gets Crixus on the ground and tells him about the poison, which is starting to take effect, in a final attempt to get Crixus on his side. This does it – seeing he’ll die anyway, Crixus offers Spartacus his shield as a trampoline to attack Batiatus in his box – an attempt sadly halted by DSG’s whip. (And which looks really cool). It’s too late to stop now, though, and Crixus yells ‘Kill them all!’ to the assembled gladiators while Paris Hilton tells Xena that she’ll ‘see her properly attended’ – so, have her brutally killed then.

Crixus explains the score to DSG and points out, in between killings, that the house of Batiatus was not, and never has been, honourable. As a guard comes up behind Crixus, DSG decides he likes Crixus more than he likes freedom and throws his sword at the guard, killing him and joining the rebellion.

(At this point, right in the middle of the melee, Dad came in for his dinner and made some comments about the delightful tea-time viewing we’d laid on for him).

Then there’s some really exciting head-chopping. One of the brothers who co-conspired with Spartacus dies, but the other lives (brothers together, with weapons? That was just asking for trouble).

Batiatus and the others retreat into the villa, but this does them no good, as Crixus leads a charge of gladiators, wielding a Roman head (I think they should dem
and a refund on that poison). Paris Hilton heads out and orders her men to seal the doors and let the gladiators kill everyone, including the guests.

DSG confronts gnomy guy about Barca’s death. He’s too honourable to just kill him, but he throws him a sword to fight with. Meanwhile, the gladiators kill the snotty teenage boy’s mother, though Batiatus gets the better of that particular man. Gnomy guy tells DSG everything, boasting about his achievements and generally acting a bit like Ephialtes in 300. Gnomy guy seems to think he’s in Gladiator, messing around with the sand, and asks for a gladiator’s death, and DSG obviously hasn’t seen Gladiator himself, as he falls for this trick and appears to get himself stabbed for his trouble (though he still seems to walking around for the rest of the episode, so he must have won in the end).


Crixus wants to know where Naevia is and Xena says she will tell him if he gets herself and Batiatus out of the villa. Crixus doesn’t believe her, tells her he’d rather his son was dead than related to her, and stabs her in the stomach. He’ll have nightmares about that later.

Aurelia has ended up wandering around with the snotty teenage boy, who, thanks to Spartacus, she knows had her husband killed. So she kills him, obviously. Spartacus finds her, and DSG finds him and insists that enough have died – but Batiatus is still alive, as Xena collapses at his feet (she got pretty far with a fatal abdominal wound). Spartacus finally fights Batiatus and wins, of course, because the series isn’t called Batiatus: Blood and Sand. Oh, and there might be some history involved as well. There’s an almost touching moment as Batiatus and Xena try to reach each o
ther’s bloody hands as they die, though by this point the moral event horizon is pretty much a dot in the distance to both of them, so you don’t feel too sorry for them.

The Carmina Burana-like music is back in the end as all the surviving slaves walk out of the ludus. (In different directions, by the looks of things. I hope they know where they’re going).

Having spilled so much blood and guts over the course of the series, this season finale had a lot of expectations to live up to, and it succeeds – I was going to say beautifully, but that’s not really the right word in this case. Artistically, perhaps. The sheer scale of the carnage ensures that the episode feels suitably epic, and there are some great touches adding to the drama – the liberal use of red lighting along with all the blood that’s spilled, the determined exit, at a calm walking pace, of the slaves from the gates of Batiatus’ house, and the lighting around the ludus, which has been rather nicely done all season. I still think the idea of lining up all the gladiators (who still aren’t wearing anything, of course) around the ludus to watch two of their number fight to the death without making any money from it is ridiculous, but it did create a visually arresting scene, and Spartacus’ leap from Crixus’ shield into Batiatus’ box was rather brilliant. And there’s still plenty of unresolved issues for the next season, including whether Spartacus will end up with Torc Girl or Aurelia (probably Torc Girl), where DSG will fit in as they organise themselves (Plutarch’s third leader, perhaps?) and whether Haldir will now forgive Paris Hilton (though I don’t care quite so much about that one). Bring on season 2!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Charlatão (Charlatan)

Charlatão, intrujão, parlapatão são palavras usadas para quem se dedica a enganar. Está ligada ao exercício ilegal da medicina. Este tipo de curandeiro vende substâncias às quais falsamente atribui propriedades medicinais, como o 'elixir da vida'. Anuncia a cura por meio secreto ou infalível. Edward Phillip Oppenheim (1866-1946) escreveu “An Amiable Charlatan” (1916).

Charlatan, imposter, quack are expressions for those engaged in deception. It is linked to the illegal practice of medicine. This type of healer sells substances that he claims (falsely) to have medicinal properties, as the 'elixir of life'. He announces a 'healing through a secret or infallible means.' Edward Phillip Oppenheim (1866-1946) wrote “An Amiable Charlatan” (1916).

Jan Miel (ca 1699-1653)-'charlatan'-oil on canvas-ca1650 St Petersburg-Hermittage

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804)-'charlatan. The tooth puller'-oil on canvas-(1754-1755) Paris-Musée du Louvre

Pietro Falca or Longhi (ca 1702-1785)-'charlatan'-oil on canvas-1757 Toulouse-Fondation Bemberg Museum

Gerrit Dou (1613-1678)-'the quack'-oil on wood-1652 Rotterdam-Museum Boijimans van Beuningen

Karel Dujardin (1622-1678)-'charlatan in an Italian landscape'-oil on canvas Paris-Musée du Louvre

French Connection GIVEAWAY!!! @ Jaebumfangirl


But No Need To Enter... Really ; )





Fantasizing present participle of fan·ta·size (Verb)


1. Indulge in daydreaming about something desired.
2. Imagine (something that one wants to happen).


Merriam-Webster - Dictionary


Need I say more???



Jaebumfangirl is hosting this amazing {The Man + The Woman Campaign} French Connection GIVEAWAY!!! that I am fantasizing about. But like I said, you don't absolutely have to enter :)) wink wink

Arching Solar Prominence of August 25, 2010


NASA's STEREO (Ahead) spacecraft watched as an eruptive prominence rose up and arched out in a horseshoe shape far above the Sun's surface (Aug. 25, 2010). The image and movie show the action in an extreme UV wavelength as an eruptive prominence churns, then rises up, arches out, and finally breaks apart and dissipates above the solar surface. Prominences are clouds of relatively cool gases suspended in the Sun's hot corona by magnetic fields that sometimes break loose to create these dramatic eruptions. The video clip covers about 30 hours of activity. This is one of the brightest and most substantial CMEs and largest eruptive prominences we have seen in several years.



For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/sunearthsystem/main/News082710-prom.html

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Meses do ano (Months of the year)

O tema dos diferentes trabalhos e situações das gentes foi devidamente explorado pelo pintor italiano Leandro Bassano (1557-1622) nas suas pinturas sobre os meses do ano.

The theme of the various tasks performed by people, and their lifestyles was duly explored by the Italian painter Leandro Bassano (1557-1622) in his paintings about the months of the year.

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)-'January'-oil on canvas-(1595-1600) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)-'February'-oil on canvas-(1595-1600) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)-'Marz'-oil on canvas-(1595-1600) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)-'April'-oil on canvas-(1595-1600) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Leandro Bassano (1557-1622)-'May'-oil on canvas-(1595-1600) Wien-Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie

Friday, August 27, 2010

Pastores (Shepherds)

Os pastores foram das primeiras pessoas a adorar Jesus Cristo, mais tarde considerado 'pastor de homens' e 'bom pastor'. O seu trabalho decorria em locais isolados em ambiente de monotonia.

Shepherds were the first to worship Jesus Christ, who was later regarded as 'the shepherd of men' and 'good shepherd'. Their work took place in isolated locations in boring environments.

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (ca 1683-1744) - 'shepherd boy' - oil on canvas Salzburg-Residenzgalerie

Claude Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) - 'shepherd Alps' - oil on canvas Tours-Musée des Beaux-Arts

Charles Émile Jacque (1813-1894) - 'a shepherdess with her flock near a stream'-oil on canvas Private collection

Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) - 'shepherdess with her flock'-oil on canvas - 1864 Paris-Musée d'Orsay

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) - 'shepherdess restings' - watercolour on paper - 1879

Bumbo ~ Baby Seat ~ GIVEAWAY!!! ~ Ends 9/13





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Capri is too little but it won't be long.



I remember the first time I saw a Bumbo, it was in a restaurant several years ago. I thought it was such a neat product, I actually stopped at the table to ask them where they purchased it. Of course it was given to them as a gift and they had no idea. So, I kept my eyes open for them. By the time I found them, all the little ones in the family were past this stage.



But now I have a wee one and the Bumbo will be so useful in a few months. I chose the aqua color.





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How to Mellify a Corpse (by Vicki Leon)


This post represents one of my occasional forays into popular history, rather than popular fiction. Like the Horrible Histories series, How to Mellify a Corpse collects some of the most fascinating and unusual pieces of information we have about the ancient world and presents them in a witty and informal text, though this book is designed for adults, not children (there are fewer cartoons, but there are some humorously labelled pictures!). The book is written in American vernacular – I have the American edition so I don’t know whether this has been edited a little for other countries – which gives it the pleasantly informal feel of a lively seminar (although I would rarely commit such thoughts to writing outside of this blog, I have often described various characters in ancient history in similar colloquial and not always entirely flattering terms to those employed here).

The subtitle of How to Mellify a Corpse is ‘and other human stories of ancient science and superstition.’ The word ‘science’ could be expanded to include technology and philosophy, as the book covers all these aspects of ancient ‘scientific’ thinking, and it is in these sections – which I think form a small majority of the content of the book – that León really shines. The Introduction explains straight away that the word ‘science’ was not used in the ancient world, and the concept as we know it did not exist, but the book explores what we might term ancient scientific thinking, and does so in a thorough and thoroughly engaging manner. Since this is a popular history book, precise references are not given, but León nearly always explains broadly where the information comes from and in the case of ancient authors, it should be possible for the very interested to explore each section further for themselves (archaeology is a little more tricky, but the reader does always know whether they’re looking for archaeology or written sources, so they have a place to start).

Perhaps the best sections of all are those in which León introduces us to most of the major philosophers of the ancient world. There is a strong narrative element to these sections, as León describes each philosopher in unashamedly broad and often judgemental terms (‘geek’ is one of the milder ones!). These, while clearly personal and biased one way or the other, give the reader a clear and immediate picture of the personality of the philosopher concerned (and for once, León being the author of the ‘Uppity Women’ series, these are not all necessarily male). This technique allows the writer to create a narrative of the history of the philosopher that takes into account the various thinkers’ personal prejudices and foibles and that is comprehensible and, most importantly, interesting to a read. Each philosopher’s life history, relationships and major thoughts, theories or discoveries are described and León always makes sure to inform the reader whether we know the philosopher in question from his own works or those of others. These sections present a beautifully engaging introduction to ancient philosophy which could relatively easily be followed up on by anyone wanting to know more.

Equally impressive are the book’s descriptions of ancient technology in action. Although, thanks to the wide-ranging nature of the sources, these cannot always provide such precise information on the nature of the evidence, they present a vibrant picture of life in the ancient world, allowing the reader to learn about both the better known aspects of daily life, like make-up and gladiatorial arenas, and the less well known, such as the corpse-mellification (preserving it in honey) of the title. My personal favourite, because I once spent a summer cataloguing the cement library at RMC (Ready Mixed Concrete) Rugby, was the excellent section on Roman concrete.

The Pantheon in Rome, a masterpiece of ancient design and concrete

One other aspect of the book that I, as a Classicist, particularly appreciated was León’s careful and precise attention to language. Going well beyond the usual descriptions of how the English word ‘geography’ derives from the Greek words for ‘earth’ and ‘write’ and so on, León includes many references to the precise vocabulary of the ancient world and to the meaning of each word in context for the Greeks and Romans, as well as pointing out common English derivations. This also provides an excellent foundation for anyone who wants to study the subject further.

(Though, while I'm on the subject of language - the book translates the name 'Heracles' as meaning 'the glory of Hera' and describes this as a 'puzzling non sequitur'. For anyone who's interested, the name is more usually understood as meaning something like 'glory because of Hera', or words to that effect: Heracles gained his great fame and kleos, glory, because Hera made his life so miserable and, directly or indirectly, forced him to perform so many glorious deeds).

Just as the ‘science’ side of the book covers science, technology and philosophy, the ‘superstition’ side covers religion, superstition and myth (which I am defining broadly as stories with a religious element for the time being, for simplicity’s sake). Whereas many of the ancients would have been equally likely to lump all the ‘science’ subjects together, eliding the differences between religio, superstitio (very different concepts in antiquity, though the dividing line can be difficult for modern scholars to draw) and myth does present a slightly distorted picture of ancient ideas about the world, particularly if the reader comes away with the idea that literary myth inspired the same sort of ‘belief’ as, for example, adherence to ancient methods of divination. However, this is perhaps inevitable, since the whole concept of ancient ‘belief’, so very different to and more pluralistic than the dogmatic religions best known in the western world today, is quite spectacularly complicated and it is not the purpose of this book to get into an academic debate about the nature of ‘belief’ (Paul Veyne’s Did the Greeks Believe Their Myths? is the place to start on the complexities of ancient ‘beliefs’).

The book also follows the current popular trend of describing ancient ‘science’ as something held back by religion and superstition, and tends to describe most beliefs and ideas as subscribed to by nearly everybody. This is somewhat contrary to the position I take personally – I tend more towards the argument that the extent to which people do or do not ‘believe’ in various ideas, particularly those on the more superstitious end of the scale, has not changed as much as all that, despite the rise of the concept of atheism (which was a very minor belief in the ancient world – Lucian lumped atheists as a minority group in with Epicurians, who had pretty similar ideas, and Christians – to an ancient thinker, abandoning the traditional gods for a single deity was in the same broad bracket as atheism!). You can read my thoughts on the subject in more detail in the conclusion to my PhD thesis, which is freely available online here (do skip to the last couple of sections of the conclusion, unless you’re very interested in ancient dreams!). However, the argument León follows is an entirely valid academic argument and, indeed, one of the more popular around at the moment – the fact that I like to be awkward does not detract from the meticulous research that has gone into the book.

Mellify is indeed meticulously researched, and introduces a wealth of material from across the ancient world. The book is divided according to geographical area. Although this has the disadvantage of disrupting the chronology of the narrative (again, unfashionably, I have a fondness for chronological arrangements!) it has the great advantage of providing a real sense of place and of the subtle differences in the cultures that surrounded the ancient Mediterranean. Since it can be far too easy to divide the ancients into very basic categories (Greek, Latin-speaking, Egyptian and so on) this gives the book a welcome extra dimension and enriches the picture of the ancient world that emerges.

Pythagoras again. I like him. Even though he made my life a misery in maths class.

In this book, León has compiled an eclectic mix of the most outrageous, exciting and generally interesting stories of the ancient world. In most cases, those that seem really unlikely are flagged up (in the best tradition of Herodotus, who is covered with perfect balance under both his titles, ‘Father of History’ and ‘Father of Lies’) and in some cases, León offers tentative guesses about the truth of the matter that, while hard to impossible to back up with evidence, are nevertheless fascinating and entirely plausible – it had never occurred to me that Pythagoras might simply have been allergic to beans! The book gives plenty of background to the historical places and periods it covers, and each chapter explains who it is talking about and their background even if they have appeared before, so the themed sections can be read out of sequence it you want to. A very enjoyable read!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Bruxas bíblicas (Biblical witches)

No Livro I Samuel (XXVIII, 3-25) conta-se que Samuel faleceu e foi sepultado em Ramá, sua cidade natal. Saul depois de expulsar «necromantes, feiticeiros e adivinhos» resolveu consultar a bruxa de Endor para contactar a alma de Samuel.

In the first Book of Samuel (XXVIII, 3-25) it is said that Samuel died and was buried in Ramah, his hometown. After expelling “necromancers, sorcerers and soothsayers”, Saul decided to consult the witch of Endor to contact Samuel’s soul.

Jacob Corneliszoon van Oostsanen (ca 1470-1523)-'Saul and the witch of Endor'-oil on panel-1526 Amsterdam-Rijjsmuseum

Salvator Rosa (1615-1673)-'the spirit of Samuel appearing to Saul at the house of the witch o Endor'-oil on canvas-1668 Paris-Musée du Louvre

Johan Heinrich Füssli or John Henri Fuseli (1741-1825)-'Samuel appearing to Saul in the presence of the witch of Endor'-pen and wash on paper Zürich-Kunsthouse

William Blake (1757-1827)-'the witch of Endor raising the spirit of Samuel'-pen and watercolour on paper New York-Public Library

Benjamin West (1778-1820)-'Saul and the witch of Endor'-1777

NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Two Planets Transiting the Same Star


NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet crossing in front of, or transiting, the same star.

The transit signatures of two distinct planets were seen in the data for the sun-like star designated Kepler-9. The planets were named Kepler-9b and 9c. The discovery incorporates seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. The findings will be published in Thursday's issue of the journal Science.

Kepler's ultra-precise camera measures tiny decreases in the stars' brightness that occur when a planet transits them. The size of the planet can be derived from these temporary dips.

The distance of the planet from the star can be calculated by measuring the time between successive dips as the planet orbits the star. Small variations in the regularity of these dips can be used to determine the masses of planets and detect other non-transiting planets in the system.

In June, mission scientists submitted findings for peer review that identified more than 700 planet candidates in the first 43 days of Kepler data. The data included five additional candidate systems that appear to exhibit more than one transiting planet. The Kepler team recently identified a sixth target exhibiting multiple transits and accumulated enough follow-up data to confirm this multi-planet system.

"Kepler's high quality data and round-the-clock coverage of transiting objects enable a whole host of unique measurements to be made of the parent stars and their planetary systems," said Doug Hudgins, the Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Scientists refined the estimates of the masses of the planets using observations from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The observations show Kepler-9b is the larger of the two planets, and both have masses similar to but less than Saturn. Kepler-9b lies closest to the star with an orbit of about 19 days, while Kepler-9c has an orbit of about 38 days. By observing several transits by each planet over the seven months of data, the time between successive transits could be analyzed.

"This discovery is the first clear detection of significant changes in the intervals from one planetary transit to the next, what we call transit timing variations," said Matthew Holman, a Kepler mission scientist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "This is evidence of the gravitational interaction between the two planets as seen by the Kepler spacecraft."

In addition to the two confirmed giant planets, Kepler scientists also have identified what appears to be a third, much smaller transit signature in the observations of Kepler-9. That signature is consistent with the transits of a super-Earth-sized planet about 1.5 times the radius of Earth in a scorching, near-sun 1.6 day-orbit. Additional observations are required to determine whether this signal is indeed a planet or an astronomical phenomenon that mimics the appearance of a transit.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., manages Kepler's ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., managed Kepler mission development.

Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo., developed the Kepler flight system and supports mission operations with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore archives, hosts and distributes the Kepler science data.

For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/two_planet_orbit.html

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Disclaimer: Bag the Habit provided a product for me to review. I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. These views are my own.