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Trailhobbit's Rambling Blog
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Why I Don't Hate MTV
You know what was a damn good show? Daria. That was a good show.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 10:26 PM EST
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Conversations That Didn't Happen, But Could Have, Part 1
(Scene: in my bedroom as I'm putting on my coat, shoes, etc.)

Hajera: Hey Erica.

Me: Hi Haj.

Haj: Off to class?

Me: Yeah, (spoons something out of a jar) Great Discoveries .

Haj: ...what is that?

Me: Great Discoveries in Archaeology.

Haj: No , no -- what are you doing?

Me: Oh. (looks down) It's coffee.

Haj. You're EATING coffee?

Me: Last I checked, it was edible.

Haj: You know, honey, most people drink it.

Me: It's instant. (Holds up the jar). See, it dissolves in your mouth...

Haj: You're insane. Have fun in class.

***

As the title suggests, this exchange didn't actually take place. But if Haj had walked in the room around 2:26 this afternoon, it probably would have.



Posted by Trailhobbit at 7:49 PM EST
Brill Yant.
Now Playing: "Marakesh Express," CS&N
Green Bucks and Scam

Posted by Trailhobbit at 1:57 PM EST
Monday, January 16, 2006
Time For an Angrygram!
Today at the Peabody Museum I handed out T-shirts at the poetry slam for the annual MLK Day celebration. It was amazing. Som of these people are so brilliant - I wish hip-hop music today would speak out about the real issues of African Americans as wittily, cuttingly and movingly as the performers did. What a great thing.

Unfortunately, the experience was marred by the ignorance of whoever put a replica of a large Olmec head on near the stage facing the audience. For those who don't know, the Olmec was Mexico's first civilization, famous for their "colossal head" sculptures. Because of the "African" features of many of these heads, early 20th-century scholars supposed that the Olmec were Africans who had sailed to Mexico and brought civilization to the Native Americans. Today, no serious student of archaeology belives this. For one, there is no real archaeological evidence to support it. Secondly, the facial features of some indigenous Gulf Coast Mexicans are similar to the Olmec sculptures, reminding us that there is more variation (genetic and phenotypical) within broad "racial" groups than between them. Finally, the artistic conventions of a culture do not necessarily reflect the people's appearance. The Olmec also made figurines that look about as Asian as the colossal heads do African.



However, the belief in the Olmecs' African origins has lingered on, especially in many radical African-American circles. A simple Google search reveals a plethora of articles deploring "the denial of black history" by mainstream academia. Yet these same pseudo-scholars are guilty of the very act they deride, robbing Native Americans of their legitimate heritage.

I am amazed how prevalent this view is. At the Yale Repertory Theater in 2004 I saw a production of King Lear set in ancient Mexico, featuring an all-back cast and a giant Olmec head as a prop. Not what I would have chosen (why not just set the play in Africa?), but I'll grant them creative liscence, since it's theater. But the Peabody Museum of Natural History?? Frankly outrageous. I can't decide whom I should email about this without sounding racist. But in all honesty this should never have happened.

Other ancient civilizations have been hijacked by Afro-centrists as well, including Ancient Greece. The real tragedy is that to this day the black community has been so sidelined in our modern civilization that they feel the need to legitimize themselves by (subconsciouly perhaps) seeing history through a distorted lens. And this is an area where the white establishment can make an effort. When classes on the ancient Nubian civilization are widely taught, when people remember that (news flash!) Egypt is in Africa, and when the African origins of the entire human species are fully accepted and appreciated, maybe Afro-centrists will no longer stoop so low as to rob Native Americans of their own culture history. I have a dream that next year the Peabody auditorium decor, rather than endorsing fabrications, will glorify the very real and fascinating African past that all of us ultimately share.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 10:00 PM EST
Updated: Monday, January 16, 2006 10:07 PM EST
Sunday, January 15, 2006
The North and the South
Now Playing: "Weight of My Words," The Kings of Convenience
Congratulations to Chile, which just elected its first woman president. Congratulations to the U.S., whch is now officially more backward than Chile. And wasn't it South Africa that just legalized gay marriage? Oy.




Posted by Trailhobbit at 8:54 PM EST
Friday, January 13, 2006
Of Sloshed Strangers and Peruvian Politics
Now Playing: "Anytime at All," the Beatles: the Form of the rock band
So about last night. Ha ha ha ha ha! Definitely got invaded by non-archaeo grad students. Like eight guys I'd never seen. Not sure how that happened. But the beer is gone. Like frickin' magic.

Mm. And I forgot I had a 9 am class today because of Martin Luther King. Now perhaps I'm being a bit unfair to the good Doctor, but simply put he is the reason why I rolled bleary-eyed into Inca Culture and Society after having inhaled some instant espresso in hopes of recovering my normal depressants-to-stimulants ratio. For the record, I recovered. And I'm really glad I remembered class, because Prof. Burger told us the inside story behind the Yale-Peru artifact controversy!!! He even told us his opinion, which he has been forbidden to share in newspaper interviews. And he told it in a beautifully informative, entertaining, and roundabout way.

Do you want to know what he said? Well I'm sworn to secrecy. HA!

Anyway, now we have a three-day weekend (hence the Monday classes on Friday morning). I'm sipping the dregs of the leftover chardonnay and trying to plan an art project for "Arts and Evironment Day." I'm thinking of doing something involving newspapers. Haj inspired me; she's taking a painting class and I'm jealous. Anyway, it should be relaxing and full of joy.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 9:29 PM EST
Updated: Friday, January 13, 2006 9:38 PM EST
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Here, There, and Mostwhere
I've been having quite a nice week back at school. Good solid classes, lots of hours of Spanish. Got to hear Richard Burger do the story of Hiram Bingham and Machu Picchu for the fourth time, which I swear gets better and more elaborate every time I hear it. Apparently Bingham made himself a Senator after 24 hours as governor of CT. Who knew?

I made up a great new word while I was taking notes: "mostwhere." It's like "somewhere," "everywhere," and "elsewhere," except it means "most places." Very useful.

Why won't it snow? I have these cute new snowboots and it won't snow! I'm sure it's snowing mostwhere. But will it rain? Claro que si!

But I'm happy. I have been really exhausted since classes began, though. I don't know why. I've been so lucky compared to some of my friends who've had classes change times and locations on them multiple times, not to mention stolen bike seats.

Agenda for tomorrow: No 9 am class, YES archaeology party! Woohoo!

Posted by Trailhobbit at 9:07 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 11:03 PM EST
The Anything Goes Club
According to some poll, 42% of Americans (including one with the creepy name of Cynthia Ice-Bones) think that it was okay for Bush to spy on us without a warrant. That's a lot. What is wrong with you people? What if he spied on you? What if he secretly arrested you in the name of the War on Terror? What if he drafted you?

What if Clinton did it?

Ah.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 8:35 AM EST
Updated: Wednesday, January 11, 2006 8:36 AM EST
Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Tired now. will write about classes tomorrow. I love Spanish. Maybe I should make a whole new blog all in Spanish.

Speaking of additional blogs, Dancing the Edge is back! Yay yoga.

I love archaeology. Tom Tartaron looked gorgeous in Great Discoveries today. It was strange seeing him standing in front of a lecture hall since I've always had him in seminar and lab. I think that's why he seemed so striking - he wasn't one of those little hunched old lecturers - he had legs!

Arch-studs happy hour in my room on Thursday! woohoo!

Tired. Must drink chamomile tea.

G'night.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 10:52 PM EST
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Regrouping for the Spring Semester
Now Playing: "The Past and Pending," The Shins
So I worked the laundry today. I beat that laundry down. I washed ALL my clothes, towels and sheets! I haven't had an empty hamper since I moved in here! And I did massive organizing too.

It's been good seeing everyone again, especially since it was in the 40s today and actually pleasant. I'm so excited for classes tomorrow!! And for buying wine for our room! And buying textbooks! And I had this great idea - I'm going to buy a really tasty, healthy salad dressing and take it in a tiny bottle to the dining halls so I don't have to suffer through the stale, stale salad bar offerings. So tomorrow is kind of a shopping day, though I won't be shopping classes :) I've got those covered.

Last night there was a fire in the Welch trash cans in the next entryway over, and we had to stand outside in the cold at 3 in the morning. Nothing like a little conflagration to kick off the new year.

Posted by Trailhobbit at 8:29 PM EST

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