Thank you for all your support and interest this year!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Friday, December 30, 2016
November & December Reads: Dangerous Girls
Synopsis: Winning what you want may cost you everything you love
They were never meant to be together. As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then Kestrel makes an impulsive decision that binds Arin to her. Though they try to fight it, they can't help but fall in love. In order to be together, they must betray their people . . . but to be loyal to their country, they must betray each other.
Set in a new world, this is a story of rebellion, duels, ballroom dances, wicked rumors, dirty secrets, and games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
My take: I read the first two of these books as they came out, starting in 2014. The third I bought in April of this year, but decided not to read it until I was ready to read all three straight through like one big, juicy novel.
The world building was well done and believable. It was a pretty complex world with multiple settings among multiple classes of people. Never once did I feel Rutkoski just changed a few names and places to make it seem like a different setting. Each setting was unique and woven into the story with deftness. Her use of a game to bring out characterization and class was well done.
The writing and voice were well above average. The story arc was not a traditional happily-ever-after, which made the ending realistically satisfying.
Kestrel is an unusual heroine and a deeply flawed one. It's easy not to like her throughout most of the first book, and yet you want to know more about her. (Of course, I always like unlikable heroines, so I'm not the most reliable source on this point.) She begins to come into her own in the second book, and by the third you're rooting for her all the way. Her journey is ultimately one we'd like to imagine for our better selves. Arin, the love interest, is a perfect foil and much more relatable. One might be tempted to call their romance a perfect role reversal.
If graphic violence bothers you, this book describes some and implies a lot more. There is some PG-rated sexual contact.
Synopsis: Red Queen meets The Hunger Games in this epic novel about what happens when the galaxy’s most deadly weapon masquerades as a senator’s daughter and a hostage of the galactic court.
A Diabolic is ruthless. A Diabolic is powerful. A Diabolic has a single task: Kill in order to protect the person you’ve been created for.
Nemesis is a Diabolic, a humanoid teenager created to protect a galactic senator’s daughter, Sidonia. The two have grown up side by side, but are in no way sisters. Nemesis is expected to give her life for Sidonia, and she would do so gladly. She would also take as many lives as necessary to keep Sidonia safe.
My take: So many books are compared to The Hunger Games. Even I do it in some reviews. Sigh. This book did not particularly remind me of The Hunger Games. If pressed, I'd go with Game of Thrones, but mercifully shorter. And SPOILER ALERT1: I guessed (before the author acknowledged it in the afterword) that this novel was based on I, Claudius. GO ME!
Again, like Kestrel, Nemesis is an unusual heroine. There are twists and betrayals, lies and back stabbings, and more betrayals. Some reviewers thought the romance got in the way; SPOILER ALERT 2: I thought Nemesis and Tyrus, the deranged nephew of the current Emperor, made the perfect power couple.
Whatever! I liked the novel. A lot. It's a compelling blend of real science fiction (space ships and robots) and dystopia. The world building was incredible and might spark a trilogy or series. Thank god, the ending didn't hang on a continuation, because it made it possible for me to have a completely satisfying read.
Synopsis: Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood will devour her latest novel, a dark and inventive fantasy about three sisters who must fight to the death to become queen.
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.
But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose...it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.
The last queen standing gets the crown.
My take: This book came up a lot on my suggested reads. I resisted for awhile for reasons unknown to me, but this month I bought it after taking a quick read of the sample Look Inside. The world building was done well enough, and I really liked the magic system. However, if you're looking for female empowerment, this ain't your book. Moreover, the Queens didn't seem all that different from each other except for their magical powers.
Still, the story pulled me through to the end. Where I discovered it was another trilogy. Arghh! The story isn't compelling enough to entice me into buying another book,
The Selection meets The Handmaid's Tale in this darkly riveting debut filled with twists and turns, where all that glitters may not be gold.
The Jewel means wealth, the Jewel means beauty—but for Violet, the Jewel means servitude. Born and raised in the Marsh, Violet finds herself living in the Jewel as a servant at the estate of the Duchess of the Lake. Addressed only by her number—#197—Violet is quickly thrown into the royal way of life. But behind its opulent and glittering facade, the Jewel hides its cruel and brutal truth, filled with violence, manipulation, and death.
My take: Yes, it really is the Selection meets The Handmaid's Tale, but it's quite good readable for all that. Like The Winner's Trilogy, I had read one book, and then I read all three back-to-back. Violet's character arc is compelling and believable, although the narrative makes too many characters into victims. At least it's not just the good characters who are victimized. The evil Duchess of the Lake is as much a victim and trapped by her world as any of the girls who are forced into providing heirs for the members of the Jewel.
As I said, I liked the book. It's not as compelling as The Winner's Trilogy, but it was a satisfying read for a cold December weekend.
Synopsis: One of those rare, unforgettable novels that are as chilling as they are insightful, as thought-provoking as they are terrifying, award-winning author Connie Willis's Passage is an astonishing blend of relentless suspense and cutting-edge science unlike anything you've ever read before.
It is the electrifying story of a psychologist who has devoted her life to tracking death. But when she volunteers for a research project that simulates the near-death experience, she will either solve life's greatest mystery -- or fall victim to its greatest terror.
At Mercy General Hospital, Dr. Joanna Lander will soon be paged -- not to save a life, but to interview a patient just back from the dead. A psychologist specializing in near-death experiences, Joanna has spent two years recording the experiences of those who have been declared clinically dead and lived to tell about it.
It's research on the fringes of ordinary science, but Joanna is about to get a boost from an unexpected quarter. A new doctor has arrived at Mercy General, one with the power to give Joanna the chance to get as close to death as anyone can.
A brilliant young neurologist, Dr. Richard Wright has come up with a way to manufacture the near-death experience using a psychoactive drug. Dr. Wright is convinced that the NDE is a survival mechanism and that if only doctors understood how it worked, they could someday delay the dying process, or maybe even reverse it. He can use the expertise of a psychologist of Joanna Lander's standing to lend credibility to his study.
But he soon needs Joanna for more than just her reputation. When his key volunteer suddenly drops out of the study, Joanna finds herself offering to become Richard's next subject. After all, who better than she, a trained psychologist, to document the experience?
Her first NDE is as fascinating as she imagined it would be -- so astounding that she knows she must go back, if only to find out why this place is so hauntingly familiar. But each time Joanna goes under, her sense of dread begins to grow, because part of her already knows why the experience is so familiar, and why she has every reason to be afraid....
And just when you think you know where she is going, Willis throws in the biggest surprise of all -- a shattering scenario that will keep you feverishly reading until the final climactic page is turned.
My take: Let me be clear: Passage is one of the most compelling books I've ever read. There are several chapters (in that shattering scenario) that might be some of the most brilliant writing from a contemporary author.
I first read this book when it came out in 2009 on the recommendation of a friend. I often bring it up when talking about the "art of writing" with my fellow writers, because of those chapters I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Therefore, I felt compelled to reread the novel to see if it had withstood the test of time. (Because some books don't. I was a big D.H. Lawrence fan in high school and college, but rereading Women in Love in my late 30's was a huge disappointment.)
Passage held up. I didn't find myself skipping huge sections, and the ending was still brilliant. If you're looking for a read that sticks with you, Passage might be it.
If you like it, I also suggest you read Willis's The Doomsday Book.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Ancient Egypt this week: Goodbye 2016
Archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be a pharaonic tomb.
A six foot wall was unearthed during a project in Qubbet el-Hawa, Egypt.
The stone wall is dated 2278-2184 BCE by the pottery shreds embedded within.
The 4,200-year-old tomb gives architectural support to another tomb.
A new tomb that could hold the bodies of at least one unknown pharaoh has likely been discovered in Egypt, archaeologists have said.
EGYPT is a destination that most people I talk to would one day love to visit. I know that in recent times Egypt has gone through some changes politically and socially. We witnessed all that through the media and to the Egyptians' credit it was a relatively smooth process unlike what is happening in Syria at the moment. Egypt is open for tourism again and if you weren't put off by what happened earlier in the year then now is a good time to reconsider the possibility of spending your next holiday there. I think by now we are all aware that there are idiots out there willing to hurt innocent people, just look at what has happened in France in recent times. However we are a lot more resilient these day to acts of violence and are more willing to still travel and not be persuaded by the few to change our minds like they want us to.
An exhibition at the museum of Egypt displaying recovered artifacts, which were stolen from the museum by looters during the country's 2011 uprising. Photo Credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
The Egyptian embassy in London has received an antiquity stolen from an ancient Egyptian temple in Luxor.
The antiquity, a limestone carving engraved with hieroglyphic symbols, was stolen from Queen Hatshepsut‘s temple, according to Fox News, and smuggled out of the country.
Pyramids in Ft. Lauderdale? It’s true, at least when Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science arrives at the Museum of Discovery and Science (MODS) starting February 4, 2017!
The exhibit is an interactive quest for knowledge that reveals how archaeologists use modern science and technology to uncover and understand the ancient civilization of Egypt.
the conservation center for the Grand Egyptian Museum, a man hunches over an ancient piece of papyrus, patiently cleaning each fiber in an attempt to restore it to some semblance of its former glory. Nearby, another painstakingly pieces together a set of sandals—nearly ruined, but believed to have been worn by King Tutankhamun—that now resemble something of a jigsaw puzzle, pieces of black material scattered within the golden filigree that binds each shoe together.
Horus-Harpocrates the Child within the sun disc resting upon the Akhet lions, surrounded by an Ouroboros. From the Papyrus of Dama-Heroub, 21st Dynasty 11th-10th century BCE.
Egyptian culture also contains what may be the world's oldest reference to an ouroboros. Inside the pyramid of Unas, it is written: "A serpent is entwined by a serpent...the male serpent is bitten by the female serpent, the female serpent is bitten by the male serpent, Heaven is enchanted, earth is enchanted, the male behind mankind is enchanted." There is, however, no illustration to go along with this text.
From the Grand Egyptian Museum Facebook page.
Mena House circa 1910 and Today
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Merry Christmas 2016 with dancing Egyptian gods
And now for a special treat, dancing Egyptian gods. . .
Friday, December 23, 2016
Ancient Egypt this week Redux: Call the Doctor
The three-ton lid of the coffin of an ancient Egyptian doctor has been carefully removed from storage and maneuvered into a new resting place at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology’s newly renovated gallery in Kroeber Hall at UC Berkeley.
When the museum reopens to the public in April 2017, visitors will find the “Doctor” near the entrance, where he will command a spotlight for years to come.
Laboratoriorosso is a company whose activity focuses on a wide range of subject matters ranging from publishing, exhibit logistics and organization, documentary making, audiovisual products. Sandro Vannini is Laboratoriorosso’s Director. Over the past nine years the company has produced five documentaries, photographic printed and electronic books, and many 3D animations, using high-resolution photographic shooting techniques. Future projects include more documentaries in Egypt and the production of new photographic books.
UPON ENTERING THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM AS TOURISTS SCAN THE CASES OF “WONDERFUL THINGS,” ONE CASE CONTAINING A STUNNING SARCOPHAGUS STANDS OUT. IT’S EYE CATCHING NOT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BEAUTY OF THE ARTIFACT, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE LABEL DESCRIBING ITS LOCATION SAYS “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” NO, THIS IS NOT A REPRODUCTION—IT’S A STOLEN ANTIQUITY THAT WAS TRAFFICKED OUT OF EGYPT, AND ONE OF THE FEW LOOTED PIECES THAT HAS MADE ITS WAY HOME.
Known as “Shesep-Amun-Tay-Es-Heret,” or simply “the Lady of the House,” this artifact was the highlight of a repatriation ceremony that took place in April 2015 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS ICE) seized the sarcophagus in 2009, not from a shipping container or from the auction block, but from an antiquities dealer’s garage in Brooklyn during the investigation for a case dubbed “Operation Mummy’s Curse.”
Photograph: Ryan Hernandez, MAAS
Nine-year-old reviewer Thom Blake gives us his first impression of the Powerhouse Museum’s latest exhibition.
This exhibition is all about six different Egyptian mummies and how they were buried. It also explores what is under the wrappings of these ancient mysteries.
WELLCOME IMAGES/PUBLIC DOMAIN
Stanley Jacobs has been fascinated with ancient Egypt for as long as he can recall, but his obsession with one particular passage in one particular document started a little over 15 years ago. At an annual meeting of Egyptology enthusiasts, he hunted down, on the recommendation of a patient, an ancient Egyptian text about surgery known as the Edwin Smith Papyrus.
Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities received from London on Tuesday a limestone relief that was stolen from Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in El-Deir El-Bahari in Luxor and illegally smuggled out of the country.
An Egyptian archaeologist has found a 3,000-year-old stone that dates back to the era of the pharaohs while roaming around a street in the northern city of El-Mahalla.
During excavation work carried out below the visitors’ pathway in the northern part of the west Aswan cemetery, at Qubbet Al-Hawa site, archaeologists from the University of Birmingham and the Egypt Exploration Society (EES) Qubbet Al-Hawa Research Project (QHRP), stumbled upon what is believed to be an ancient Egyptian encroachment wall.
Groovy Historian's Medicine in Ancient Egypt
Photo of the week
Mummified remains of Pharaoh Seti I, 19th Dynasty, one of the best-preserved Egyptian mummies, as photographed by Emil Brugsch (1842-1930). Seti I was the father of Ramses the Great (Rameses II)
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Ancient Egypt this week: Highlights of 2016
‘This Egyptian wooden figure of a lady sold for $845,000 in April, nearly doubling what it sold for in 1992,’ explains Max Bernheimer, Christie’s International Head of Antiquities. The remarkable piece, which is dated to between 1900 and 1800 B.C., demonstrated the strength of the market, while offering a fascinating insight into Ancient Egyptian tradition.
Made from exotic hardwood, the figure is an example of what is known as a ka statue, intended to provide a physical resting place for the ka, or spirit, of a person. The ka was believed to endure after death, and statues such as this were typically placed inside an offering chapel, a tomb or a coffin — the latter appearing for the first time in Egypt’s late Old Kingdom in the third millennium B.C.
A group of international researchers has discovered that the remains of a pair of mummified and fragmented legs that resided for over a century in Turin’s Egyptian Museum belonged to Nefertari, one of the most famous queens of Ancient Egypt: she was pharaoh Ramses II’s favorite wife. The study, authored by Michael E. Habicht of the University of Zurich, Raffaella Bianucci of the University of Turin, and other researchers, was published on PLOS ONE.
© REUTERS/ MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY
Here are the most significant Egyptian archaeological discoveries that made waves around the world in 2016:
- Oldest Ever Egyptian Papyri
- ‘Surprise' Discovery at Antiquities Dealers' Home
- Pharaoh Ramesses III Murder Intricacies and Postmortem Cosmetic Surgery
- Mummified Remains of the beautiful Queen Nefertari
- Secret Doorways Hidden in Tutankhamun's Tomb
It has been a busy year for historians and archaeologists who study the ancient Egyptian civilisation. Many exciting research projects have been taking place and a number of interesting discoveries have been made.
From secret chambers to hidden tattoos revealed on the skin of ancient mummies, IBTimes UK takes a look at the most important archaeological finds of the year.
Still Christmas shopping?
An ancient Egyptian goddess has transported you back to ancient Egypt! What happens next is up to YOU! Filled with excitement and hilarity, this compositional challenge lets you tell your very own story starring...YOU! Combining National Geographic Kids' photography and illustrations in colorful laugh-out-loud pages, this engaging, entertaining, and educational book introduces you to this amazing ancient civilization, and invites you to enter a new world imaginatively by combining your story with theirs.
Royal jubilees, towering pyramids, face painting, and jewelry making? The sky's the limit when you spend the day in ancient Egypt! Picture this: You get out of bed and, as you go to brush your teeth, you suddenly realize that you've traveled back in time over 4,500 years to ancient Egypt. The sun is shining, the Nile River is almost flooding, and everywhere you look, humongous pyramids are being erected. You have a strong hunch that it's going to be a truly amazing day. You'll spend the day with a family in the land of Giza during the Fourth Dynasty and learn all about Egyptian culture with loads of exotic and fun-filled activities.
Or, for those who really want to drive themselves crazy, consider the the fact that Amazon can cater to all your .. ahem.. refined Egyptian Christmas needs from papyrus bookmarks to Abayas to mummy excavation kits. Click here for a link to a list of Amazon Egyptian products.
Scientists at Zurich-based DNA genealogy center, iGENEA, have reconstructed the DNA profile of King Tut, his father Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III.
Researchers discovered that King Tut belonged to a genetic profile group known as haplogroup R1b1a2. More than 50 per cent of all men in Western Europe belong to this genetic group as do up to 70 per cent of British men. But among modern-day Egyptians, less than 1 per cent of residents belong to this haplogroup, according to scientists.
Photo of the Week: Mouse God Egypt
This photo is from Kara Cooney's Facebook page.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Video Friday: Top 10 Egyptian gods
Naturally, there is a lot of overlap among the various videos, but there also are a couple of surprises. Who would have guessed Sepa made the top 10? The imagery in the videos is interesting, although clearly some borrowed a lot from Gods of Egypt. And, to no one's surprise, the god most likely to be chosen numero uno is: Amun-Ra (or Amun or Ra).
The Top 10
Another top 10
Top 10 most powerful
Top 10 Most Famous Ancient Egyptian Gods And Goddesses
Top 10 Egyptian Gods And Goddesses
Monday, December 12, 2016
Ancient Egypt this week: The legs and lives of mummies
In the year 2016, the discoveries were largely that of laboratory exercises though field excavation brought some interesting finds. Perhaps the most beautiful work of art found in 2016 came in November with the discovery of the Third Intermediate Period coffin of a servant of the palace Amenrenef, and hey what would a year be without finding more statues of the goddess Sekhmet. The year also brought the opening of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings to tourist as well as the tomb of Nefertari in the Valley of the Queens
In the 1800s, America was desperate to look like it had been around for a while, so it was adopting old styles. Really old. In a technical sense, the Washington Monument isn’t an obelisk, because it isn’t made from a single piece of stone. That fact makes it no less impressive.
Visualization of mummy in translucent mode revealing Nestawedjat’s heart (highlighted in pink), amulets on her throat, artificial eyes, and packing materials in her mouth and chest. A dislodged tooth can be seen between the amulets and her chin bone. All images © Trustees of the British Museum.
Meet Nestawedjat, a married woman who lived in the ancient Egyptian city of Thebes. She was about five feet tall and died in her late 30s or 40s, around 2,700 years ago. After her death, the bones of her nose were broken so as to access the inside of her skull with a hooked instrument, and remove her brain.
A child is silhouetted as he looks at the mummified remains of a 2-3 year old Egyptian boy from the British Museum collection, paired in a world-premiere exhibit of CT scans displayed on screens (foreground) revealing the body that lays inside at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, December 8, 2016. The new exhibit features 3D visualization technology, showcasing six mummies between 1,800 and 3,000 years old which were scanned at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London and are being shown alongside the mummies themselves.
Containing 100 lovingly positioned creatures, the site suggests that the ancients could have valued their companion animals as much as we do. The ancient Egyptians had complicated relationships with animals. They kept a wide range of pets, from cats and dogs to hippos and falcons, and many household pets were mummified and buried with their owner
In 1904, the pioneering Italian archaeologist Ernesto Schiaparelli cracked open a tomb in Egypt's Valley of the Queens. The crypt, which had been lost for millennia, showed signs of long-ago disaster. Two things were clear to the archaeologist: This tomb was once the final resting place of Queen Nefertari. And, plunderers looted the burial site in antiquity, possibly within a few hundred years of its royal inhabitant's death.
Have Egyptologists solved the mystery of Queen Nefertari's knees? Some archaeologists have criticized their findings, saying that despite all their tests, the researchers have only confirmed a long-standing theory, not added anything new to the historical understanding of the time period.
The bold eye makeup in the ‘60s, best exemplified by Sophia Loren’s winged ‘cat eye’ liner and Twiggy’s spidery eyelashes, had nothing on the ancient Egyptians and their gods. Their eyelids were heavily smeared with black kohl eyeliner, thick lines rimming the eyes, and the fashion was sported by everyone from peasants to pharaohs to effigies of the worshiped gods Horus and Ra. Though it may seem nothing more than a cosmetic fancy nowadays, kohl was considered to have potent magical powers and it has since turned out to possess unique pharmaceutical and antimicrobial properties. In fact, this deceptively simple beauty product may actually be one of the most ancient ophthalmological preparations known to man.
Melanie Pitkin has fulfilled a childhood ambition by becoming an archaeologist and Egyptologist.
During her first visit to Egypt at the age of 20 she was involved in a dig at the Teti Pyramid Cemetery at Saqqara, south of Cairo. Over the past few years Melanie's been digging up desert graves among the ruins of the city of Amarna, briefly the capital of Ancient Egypt.
Penn archaeologist Josef Wegner and colleagues recently discovered a boat in the Egyptian desert that was part of the funeral procession for Pharaoh Senwosret III, who reigned around 1850 B.C.E.
When Penn archaeologist Josef Wegner and colleagues first came across structures buried deep beneath the sand in the Egyptian city of Abydos, they anticipated finding more evidence of a pharaoh cemetery they discovered in 2014. Instead, in the middle of the desert, they found a vaulted building.
Players of an ancient Egyptian martial art are striving to revive it and turn it into a sport that aims to foster morals, respect and chivalry. Tahtib was once known as a martial art but has since changed into a stick game or dancing art. Its players now say that they want it to be an internationally recognized martial sport.
What if they gave a course on ancient Egypt ... and everybody came?
OK, not everybody. But how about 23,487 people?
That's how many are enrolled, as of this writing, in the University of Pennsylvania's online course Introduction to Ancient Egypt and Its Civilization. For those enrolled -- and everyone else -- there will be an Ancient Egypt Open House at the Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Lectures, tours, mummification -- an ideal way to get your Egyptian on. Like those 23,487 people.
Egyptian Paintings Collection by Antoine Heyvaert. Belgian painter
These were found in a Facebook post by the Grand Egyptian Museum.
A goddess of ancient Egypt and her worship in the Greco-Roman world. In Egypt, Isis was the daughter of Geb and Nut (Earth and Sky), wife of Osiris, and mother of Horus. Osiris was a god of fertility who was also identiļ¬ed with the deceased pharaoh. After his funerary rites, the divine ruler came back to life in the Underworld as Osiris, reigning there as king of the dead.
A trip on the Nile aboard the Neferu Ra
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