The View From Kalamazoo

Mother Soprano is still with us, literally and figuratively. New fun: sudden onset dementia (following two closely-scheduled surgeries in Oct. Probably anethesia related, but the cause is neither here nor there at this point). I’m counting on your vote for eventual sainthood. Vote early, vote often.

The longer I’m in our house the more things I see need repair of a minor or major variety. I am asking for power tools for mother’s day this year. Or a ladder – some came with the house, and they are truly frightening. (I’m way too excited about this one. Articulating! w00t!) Next stop, tho: an electrician. Say it with me: Uuugggh!

Well, they let me in: I figure I’ll pick up a second masters while I’m sort of wondering what to do next. Entirely online. Totally free (since I’m staff). And the U. is doing more with online courses, so I’m thinking it may mean I can pick up a section here and there as a part-time instructor. Can’t hoit, better than a stick in the eye, etc.

I want to kick myself for agreeing to a Congress paper. I know better, this is the third time I’ve done this to myself – this is the worst, worst, worst time of year for me. I might claim that I’ll write it in the fall, but I’m terrible about procrastinating. So as we celebrate another New Year I begin to panic because now I really, truly, am drowning. And I have to write a paper. I’m sooo stupid. Needless to say we are no where near a draft, ok? GAH!

I’m still enjoying cheap therapy working with clay. One of these days I really should post shots from the last 2 terms, I know, I know. Spent the evening glazing. We loves the spray booth, we loves the precious.

Oh, and we’re expecting another recruit into the Carnell army around about Hallowe’en. As Gomer Pyle would say, ‘Suu-prise, su-prise, su-prise..’ My response? ‘GAH!’ Yes, you can quote me.

Good lord, I have been busy. Crazy, even. Program is mostly out in the mail system (or already recieved, for the USPS Priority Mail folks), should be totally gone by Wed. or Thurs. The pace here is frenetic, meetings up the wazoo (and I tell you, it’s uncomfortable to have a meeting in your wazoo!)

Have been keeping a list of links-o-interest, although I imagine most of this is old news to most of you, here they are:

Angel hidden for 1,200 years

Carving of ‘northern god’ found

Trove of Teutonic weapons uncovered in Krusne Hory region

TownÂ’s medieval bridge unearthed

14th Century wreck found in Stockholm waters

Lucky coin found in medieval ship

$600M Grafenwöhr housing project is on site of medieval village

Inscriptions point to horizontal social formations during medieval era

Archaeologists discover Saint Chad’s Burial Place and Shrine

Catalonia region reviving Jewish past

Mathematician asks: is our history wrong?: Dates ascribed to ancient events may be off by 1,000 years

Bronze Age Sky Disc Deciphered

Aaaand for those of us geeky about archaeology, even non-medieval:

Archaeologists Find Massive Tomb in Greece

Typhoid May Have Caused Fall of Athens, Study Finds

Ancient Greek shipwreck surveyed

Archaeologists unearth Alexander the Great era wall

3,000-year-old tombs found in China

2200-year old graveyard of children discovered in Inner Mongolia

Ancient village found in China

Team to excavate 600-year-old ship

3,000-year-old cliff painting found in Yunnan

8,000-year-old drill to make fire found in Zhejiang

Archaeologists Find New Ancient Egyptian Tomb

Tutankhamen dead of knee infection

And Yes, a real update is in order. Such news. Oy. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow… Right now I need to Get Back To Work, there’s barely time to take my ‘smoking break’ to cut-and-paste..gah.

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Been looking for an online Latin glossary NOT from classical sources?? I know you have…:
Glossary of Latin Words Found in Records and Other English Manuscripts, But Not Occurring in Classical Authors.
and the TOC: White Trash Scriptorium: Latin E-Books

Ancient Ships Found in Egypt Carried Cargo from Punt (Punt)

Roman-Era BenefactorsÂ’ Tomb Unearthed.

Treasures of ‘Harry Potter’ sewer (Lacock Abbey, FYI)

Greek archaeologists unearth ancient city fortifications on Crete

Yo! Program is up. Off to printer next week. I need a nap.

Today is brought to you by the letter D for dementia and the number 640, which is the total numbered sessions this year. Between Program layout and the elderly insanity and related administrativa, paperwork, health aides and mounting bills I’ve been out of energy, out of “free” time, and out of my mind.

I have been quitely collecting links even though I’ve not had time for bloggy things, otherwise. I’ll include a couple of interesting US archaeological bits, too: Archaeologists Find ‘Unusual’ Indian Burial Site In Downtown Miami

Evidence suggests slavery at African burial ground

Tomb of ancient coin collector unearthed

Archeologists Unearth 1,300 Skeletons

Hair-gelled Celt may have been sacrificed (couldn’t have smelled worse than some of the stuff in the 80s!)

Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants Talk about being top of your game!

Archaeological dig unearths ‘exciting’ medieval treasure

Music professor unravels mysteries of early music

Archaeologists find tomb under Roman Forum

Experts prepare excavation on Greek island: British and Greek archaeologists are preparing a major excavation on a tiny Greek island to try to explain why it produced history’s largest collection of Cycladic flat-faced marble figurines.

Medieval And Modern Thought Text Digitization Project; Stanford University

This just came through a listserv I read, so I’m keepting the information moving:

A Venue for Historical Scholarship

Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History is published annually by AMS Press (New York) under the auspices of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS). Beginning with Volume 4, 3rd series (2006), the editors are Roger Dahood and Peter E. Medine.

We seek submissions on all aspects of medieval and early modern history and invite interpretive essays, historiographical essays, translations, commentaries on texts, and research notes. Submissions are reviewed year-round. Submissions should follow The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. (2003) but omit names of book publishers from citations.

Pictures should be clear photocopies. When an article is accepted authors will be expected to provide 5 x 7 or 8.5 x 11 black-and-white glossy photographs and all necessary permissions. Digital images in .tif or .eps format are acceptable in place of glossy photographs.

Authors should submit two copies of their essays: one in an .rtf file to [email protected], the other on paper to

Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Arizona State University P.O. Box 874402 Tempe, AZ 857287-4402

http://www.asu.edu/clas/acmrs

Beowulf and Grendel movie trailer

The irregular regular update:

• Still making no headway on paper.
• Want to set fire to my cubicle.
• Ceramics classes back in session – this term I’m doing what amounts to an independent study – with a female instructor this time. I’m learning how to center the clay with a different technique (up to now I’ve been using what tall male instructors with large hands and upper-body strength taught) and while it’s an odd adjustment (I am, effectively, shifting my weight and handedness, if that description makes sense), and will take a lot of getting used to, I think it’ll be helpful. Centering more than 2 lbs of clay has been really hard for me the way I had been centering before. I’m focusing on size (height, particularly), not how many different types of projects I can get through in one term. Should be good, although I have a sore wrist this morning – new muscles to strengthen.
• Yes, I know I owe photos of bowls and mugs and crap. I’m being nagged, never fear.
• I haven’t read much of many Doods, kept up with much of anything news-wise to speak of. Break was a black hole of getting less painting done than I wanted and dealing with unspeakably vile (seriously. a story so disgusting that you really, really don’t want to know.) Mother Soprano antics.
• Congress has eaten my brain. But you knew that.
• Fun with OEDILF. C’mon – all the cool kids are doin’ it!
• I have been reminded that I have been a very inattentive blogger lately. I will try harder to have more to say than just sharing links..I’ve just had little time (and believe me, self-censoring is nothing to chide me for, it’s for your benefit, after all!)

But, til then, there are always gems and tidbits:

In connection with a BBC TV series on words, Balderdash and Piffle (six-part series looking at words and the stories behind them), Oxford University Press is giving online access to the OED throughout the series, free of charge: Until 13 February, you can look up any words beginning with this week’s letter, or with previous letters of the week; and, for 48 hours after each programme, you can look up any word, beginning with any letter, in the whole of the OED. (From, roughly, 10 pm GMT on Mondays – 10 pm GMT on Wednesdays, or for those uninterested in doing math in their heads, 5:00PM Monday – 5:00PM Wednesday for those on Eastern Standard)

Ancient ship salvage: CHINESE scientists are about to embark on a complex operation to salvage a merchant ship which sank more than 800 years ago while plying the so-called Marine Silk Road.

Mole family uncovers Roman villa : A group of busy moles has been credited with helping archaeologists find a Roman villa in Gloucestershire.