There has been a lot of discussion of George Lucas’ alterations to the classic Star Wars films for their Blu-Ray release. This parody is the one that I think is the funniest: If nothing else, watching the parody will make you feel better about what George Lucas actually did. Read more
An e-mail from AAR mentioned that there will be an iPhone/iPad app for this year’s conferences! The e-mail also mentioned the following: Ballroom Space for Self-organizing Groups The Marriott Marquis-Golden Gate Ballroom C2 & C3 will be set aside Sunday afternoon from 2:00 pm-5:00 pm for self-organizing groups. This is an opportunity for colleagues to work on new and continuing research projects, to discuss a single paper at length, or simply to hold an informal seminar. This space is designed... Read more
A spectacular photo of the Milky Way taken in the Himalayas (HT Phil Plait). Click through to see it larger! Read more
My freshman “Faith, Doubt and Reason” class yesterday took an unexpected turn, as a discussion of Paul Tillich’s treatment of symbols in his Dynamics of Faith raised the issue of whether faith is necessary in the natural sciences, which led some students (the vast majority, at least of those who spoke) to express a “lack of belief in evolution.” So we discussed how scientists draw conclusions, what a “theory” is in the natural sciences, and the legitimacy of inference and... Read more
via Reddit Read more
Some of these are classic (HT Deirdre Good): Read more
You may be surprised to learn what a latecomer I am to Torchwood. I just started watching the show a few days ago – and I don’t mean just started getting caught up on the latest season, but I just watched the first two episodes from season 1 a few days ago. As a Doctor Who fan, I knew I would have to get around to it sooner or later, but I didn’t find (or make) the time until now.... Read more
There are a couple of posts from around the blogosphere on the subject of monotheism, Christology and early Christian worship: Larry Hurtado posted on his conversation with James Dunn at the British New Testament Conference, and Kevin Brown posted on the worship of Adam and the light it might shed on the worship of Jesus. Also of interest, there will be a conference in May 2012 on how the Bible became a book. Read more
Via AWOL and Abnormal Interests, many of us had drawn to our attention the fact that the British Museum has made digital images of some of its collections available online. I did what anyone would do (well, anyone with my particular interests): I typed in “Mandaean.” It came up with a few incantation bowls – and one object that made me catch my breath. The object pictured on the right is a flask dated to the first century, and when... Read more
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