Category Archives: Announcement

More Online Resources for Vaccination Against PaleoBabble

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There’s been a spate of resources that have popped up online in recent days for excellent resources to study the ancient world. Some of these resources have been around a while, but have gotten some recent attention and traffic on various blogs and news sites. Here are some valuable links:

The New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) Online

  • this is the most recent scholarly translation of the Septuagint

The Gospel of Thomas Resource Center

  • Do your research on Thomas here, not with Dan Brown and Michael Baigent. That way something you say about Thomas has a prayer of being right.

The Ancient World Mapping Center

  • The Center promotes cartography, historical geography, and geographic information science as essential disciplines within the field of ancient studies through innovative and collaborative research, teaching, and community outreach activities.

Giza 3-D

  • For the first time, the latest and most exhaustive information available on the Giza Necropolis will be made available to everyone through a realistic experience that can satisfy mere cu- riosity or encourage more demanding research inquiries

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For Those Who Want to Study Akkadian

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Readers who have poked around my book recommendations would know that I think Huehnergard’s A Grammar of Akkadian (3rd ed.; with its companion answer key, Key to a Grammar of Akkadian) is the best around. The Ancient World Online blog notes that the vocabulary for this grammar is available in online flashcards. Pretty cool.

Believers in Zecharia Sitchin’s “work” in Mesopotamian texts can ignore this.

Ancient Aliens Debunked: 3-Hour Documentary Now Online for Free

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Readers may recall a few months ago when I announced I’d be interviewed for this documentary. That happened in August. Well, I’m happy to announce that the documentary is finished and online. It’s just over three hours, and free to the public. I haven’t had time to watch it yet, but having read all the scripts, I can tell you it will be well worth viewing. There’s a lot of good research that went into this. Jason Colavito’s work, to which I often direct readers, figures prominently in several places. The producer tells my I’m in the last section. Lastly, make sure you visit the actual website, since other video that didn’t make it into the final product will be kept there for viewing, along with source documentation.

I’ve also created a Page on this blog with a link to the documentary so you can easily find it later and direct friends to it.

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Latest Online Issue of Egyptological Available

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I’m a bit behind the curve here. The latest issue is already three weeks old, but obviously still very valuable. For PaleoBabble readers, I’d recommend (again) the latest installment of the series on Egyptian religion, the review of a book on Egyptian quarries and quarrying, and the article on solar eclipses in Egyptian material.

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Update on Ancient Aliens Documentary Response

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Just a quick note. I was in Nashville this past week and weekend to be filmed for a documentary response to the ancient aliens show/series. Things went well; it was fun. Word has it that the documentary will be several hours in length. It sounded to me like it would be available (free) to the public toward the end of September or early October. I’ll keep you all posted here.

My Favorite Science Fiction Movies

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In the wake of my review of the dismal Prometheus (the word still prompts that “I feel a yawn coming on” feeling), a reader asked for my own Top Ten list of favorite science fiction films. Below is a list of more than ten, in no particular order. A few notes are in order: (1) I have excluded super hero films (e.g., The Dark Knight, Avengers, etc.) and fantasy (e.g., Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride), since those aren’t science fiction. (2) inclusion on the list means I have watched them all multiple times — the sort of movie that, if I see it while someone is channel surfing (I rarely watch TV), I’ll feel the urge to make them stop so I can watch at least some of it. (3) I like these movies for different reasons — a clever premise, several great scenes, imagination, that sort of thing. (4) Ancient Aliens isn’t a movie, or that would be on the list. Here they are:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Matrix
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek (2009)
Alien
Aliens
Star Wars
Empire Strikes Back
Contact
Knowing
Stargate
Super 8
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Jurassic Park
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Independence Day
Gattaca
X-Files: Fight the Future
Predator
The Boys from Brazil

Promethean PaleoBabble

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Hat tip to Jason Colavito for this link to a Salon.com piece on Ridley Scott’s new movie. When you click through, take note of the titling of the URL itself: “dazzling dumb-ass theology.” What a perfect, poetic description of the film and the ideas it conveys. Can’t wait to see it!

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