History Repeats itself... sort of

The museums in England are amazing. The British Museum is one of the greatest places I have ever been. I saw the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, incredible works of art and artifacts from all over the world - and all free to the public. Despite my appreciation for the museums, I was still very entertained by this story...

Have you ever heard of the Portland Vase? According to the British Museum, where the vase - such as it is - resides today:

"The Portland Vase is arguably the most famous and certainly the most influential piece of ancient glass in the world."
- The British Museum

Very nice. Lovely, famous, influential, old glass. However, the following information was much more entertaining to me: In 1845, while in the British Museum (where it is now), the vase was smashed by a drunken museum goer, necessitating skillful and painstaking restoration. How embarrassing for them.

Fortunately, in our modern world of plexiglass covers and laser alarms this sort of thing would never happen again in a major museum. Or would it? This story would suggest that there is still a long way to go when it comes to protecting ancient vases in British Museums. Well, I guess despite all the museums in the world, it's still true that "all come from dust, and to dust all {eventually} return".

Tags:

• art
• humor

Currently Listening to ...

Nothing like the snow in the mountains and long drives to pull out the headphones and have some "peaceful" time inside my head... here's what is currently streaming through my mind

Sermons on my iPaq (no iPod for me)

Curt Chanda - Why Missions (audio no longer available)
Pastors George and Gary - Value Driven Life (it's great when churches make their sermons available online)

Music on my iPaq

Eclectic mix of artists, heavy on
Louis Armstrong
The Violet Burning
Pedro the Lion

On CD

Our most recent additions (although we haven't cracked the cellephane yet) are a trifecta from David Crowder Band
A Collision
Sunsets and Sushi and
Illuminate

Tags:

• music
• sermons

Currently Reading...

It is so easy to find "great quotes" all over the web, but rarely do we see great writing.

It was a blazing hot day in August. Baker Street was like an oven, and the glare of the sunlight upon the yellow brickwork of the house across the road was painful to the eye."
The Adventure of the Cardboard Box by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Inspired by Lori's post, I've been reading some classics lately. It's lines like this that make me want to erase everything I've ever written. Great writers take you into their world in such a way that you squint at such descriptions. Well, if I have not been called to be a great writer, at least I can read the works of those who are.

Right now on the nightstand? A Study in Scarlett by Doyle and, for laughs, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (admittedly not a 'classic' - yet).

For those of you who would love to read some classics but just can't find the time, Project Gutenberg has released many wonderful books (by Doyle, Shakespeare, Twain, Wells et al) in audio format. Download and enjoy!

Tags:

• books

Ouch

Well, those NFL conference championship games were nothing to write home about - but perhaps an even greater loss is coming for the Denver Broncos. Credit to the Steelers (or "Stillers" as the locals call them) who were very impressive. Seattle looked like a pretty good team against Carolina, but after seeing Pittsburgh pick apart both the offense and the defense of the Denver Broncos I think I'm going to have to throw my hat into the ring for them to finish it all at Super Bowl XL (it hurts even more that Broncos won't get to play in the coolest Super Bowl number ever - XL). How can you pick against them now that they have overcome incredible odds to become the first "6-seed" to go to the Super Bowl? Anyway, such is the up-and-down life of a sports fan - now it's on to the Avalanche, March Madness and Spring Training gloating now that Johnny Damon is a clean-shaven, above-the-collar New York Yankee.

Tags:

• broncos

Denver Broncos... Super Bowl favorites?

"Nothing against the Colts, but I just want to play at home" - Rod Smith
Read the full Denver Post article here

I can't believe it, it's incredible. I just don't know what happened.
For my (early) Christmas present to myself this year I bought the NFL field pass, which allowed me to live in an Akha village and still come down to listen to the Broncos games when time allowed. After that first game in Miami, however, I thought I wouldn't have to listen to many games this year. But I did continue to listen and though there was always a lingering doubt from that first game, I found myself asking "Are they really this good?" - fearful to get my hopes up too much (two consecutive years of a combined score of 90-34 against the Indianapolis Colts had certainly quieted we Broncos fans).
Not anymore. Now it's for real. A 100-yard interception return from Champ Bailey and the magic gone from Adam Vinatieri's right foot (I can still hear the Pittsburgh announcer "IT'S NO GOOD! HE MISSED IT! MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS FOR DENVER!") and all of a sudden the Broncos are sitting pretty.
Nothing against Pittsburgh, but Denver hasn't lost a game at home all year. And personally, I am just happy that the Denver Broncos have stretched out their season long enough for me to actually watch a game LIVE. It's the little things, you know?

Tags:

• broncos

Texas? I HAVE been gone a while

I was able to watch (LIVE!) the first three quarters of the Rose Bowl game when I was in Chiang Mai. Dan and I headed off to the airport at 8:30 in the morning to go to the only sports bar we know of in Northern Thailand (I'm certain there are others, we just don't know where they might be) where we enjoyed French Toast and honey while watching Texas take on USC. Unfortunately, we had to move on before the fourth quarter but it was great to see a little bit of American football - I just haven't caught on to the whole soccer thing yet.

There are probably thousands of people writing the same thing all over (America) right now, but I will join the masses and throw in my two cents - Vince Young is an amazing football player. With all this build up about Reggie Bush being the best running back ever, his landslide heisman victory and his heisman twin handing him the ball no one looked twice at the player that made an average team amazing. I couldn't follow college football much this year, but I saw the Big 12 championship game score as (an admittedly hurting) Colorado saw Texas put 70 points on the board. Even after that Young did not turn many heads.

Well, congratulations Mr. Young. A National Championship against a great team, no one can question your ability now (except maybe the NFL)

Tags:

• football

A golfing resolution

After 10 months of (almost) 100% of the time with Lori, I didn't realize how much I missed hanging out with "the guys". Not saying this last year hasn't been wonderful, but you can only tell each other the same stories over and over so many times. Other than Lori, most of my friends here speak Akha, and although time with them is wonderful, the stress of language takes away from the low-impact time that can describe most of my friendships.
The other day I got to go out with three (english-speaking) friends for a round of golf ($5 for 18 holes). It was great. Nevermind that I shot a thousand and twelve, it was just great to have a day of foolish jokes and kindly insults lightly sprinkled with good conversation.
It's something I'll have to do more than once a year in the future, in fact, maybe that's my New Year's Resolution: "Golf More"
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Happy New Year everyone

Tags:

• golf