And now, yet another buried boat has been found, though this one is somewhat smaller than that of Khufu and appears not to be a royal vessel:   http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archeologists-find-rare-4500-year-old-egyptian-funerary-boat-180958020/?utm_source=facebook.com&no-ist   (Thanks to Jabra Ghneim for alerting me to this.)     Read more

    Isaiah can be confusing, daunting, intimidating.  But his eloquence astonishes, and he’s remarkably quotable.  Which is why he’s the most quoted prophet in the New Testament.  And in the Book of Mormon.  And in the Dead Sea Scrolls.  He is, as Elder Bruce McConkie once termed him, “a prophet’s prophet.”   There are many interesting aspects to today’s reading, 2 Nephi 15 (= Isaiah 5), but I’ll pick up briefly on just a few.   1.   The idea of comparing... Read more

    “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” Samuel Johnson         Read more

    An article from Taylor Halverson in today’s Deseret News:   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865646705/The-Book-of-Mormon-and-the-modern-day-Tyndale-moment.html     Read more

    I’ve long felt that food is an important part of a culture, so, in my Humanities 242 classes (“Introduction to the Humanities of Islam”), I’ve always offered extra credit for (among other possibilities) experiencing and writing something up about cuisine from the Islamic world.   There’s always been Bombay House in Provo, which my wife and I like very much (though it isn’t precisely on target for my classes), and there have been various restaurants in Salt Lake City... Read more

      Nicol Sorenson-Legakis reminds me that it’s that day of the year when I need to remind you of the greatest movie ever made.  I know my duty, so here’s something from a blog entry that I first wrote several years ago:   Groundhog Day is the greatest movie ever made. And I’m not the only one who thinks so: “A Movie for All Time,” by Jonah Goldberg Of course, that’s not denying that there are some other... Read more

    Some further reactions to Iowa’s caucus results:   *  The odds are now very good that the Republican nominee will be a Cuban-American.  That’s really interesting.   *  I would be happy with either Senator Cruz or Senator Rubio.  (I was aware of both, and supported both, when they were first running for the Senate.)   *  I tend to lean toward Senator Rubio, I think, because I believe he’s more electable at this point.  Senator Cruz has... Read more

    http://www.realclearscience.com/lists/frightening_tales_from_archaeology/     Read more

    A very insightful little piece:   http://www.sixteensmallstones.org/a-wrested-development-mourning-with-those-that-mourn-as-a-rhetorical-weapon/   I’ve noticed exactly the same thing, but J. Max Wilson does a really good job here of identifying what’s going on.     Read more

    Well, Mr. Donald J. Trump, of New York City, came and gave Iowa a try.   Townspeople:Oh, there’s nothing halfwayAbout the Iowa way to treat you,When we treat youWhich we may not do at all. There’s an Iowa kind of special Chip-on-the-shoulder attitude. We’ve never been without.That we recall.We can be coldAs our falling thermometers in December If you ask about our weather in July.And we’re so by God stubbornWe could stand touchin’ nosesFor a week at a timeAnd never see eye-to-eye.But... Read more