Roland Boer's Blog, page 81

Civilised Noah

And here he is, fully civilised and totally drunk. Thank God for civilisation!

Wine and the Origins of Society

Following on from my earlier post about beer and society (here)...
I have said little about wine so far, but it too lies at the origins of society. It seems to me that the early myths of the production of beer and wine are actually stories about the first formation of human society. Lévi-Strauss was on the right track when he argued that cooking food is the sign of society and civilisation. According to him, stories about cooking are stories about the process of civilisation. But he missed the re

Coolest Haircut Ever? Better Than a Combover?

Jim West (here) thinks that the photo in the previous post is the best haircut ever. I'm not so sure, but it sure beats the combover - see my earlier run of items here, here, here, here and here.

Humour in the Face of Death, Part 12 (Scary Relatives)

As you do at these times, you look through old photos. I came across this one of some scary relatives. They are twice removed and he's not genetically connected to me, I'm thankful to add.

Author's intention

Sometimes I feel that biblical studies really is an antediluvian discipline, or at least that there are too many dolts who have studied at prehistorical institutions. The reason: I keep coming across people who think that the key to interpreting the letters of Paul or maybe Jesus' parables is to figure out what Paul or Jesus (in other words, God) meant to say. What was their will and intention in writing this letter or that parable.

At these moments Theodor Adorno is fantastic:

'It is a prejudice

Just what Israel needs: Esther (aka Madonna)

Israel's international PR machine must be running on empty. Now Yediot Ahronot, Israel's largest daily, has a front page article 'written' by that great intellect and now foreign correspondent, Madonna, who goes by the name of Esther these days. Craps on about her spiritual awakening via Kabbalah and - surprise, surprise - coincides with her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour in Israel. More here.

Death of the Paterfamilias

It's all as it should be: the cantankerous, opinionated and stubborn old bastard known as the paterfamilias breathes his last while the clan gathers around. I'm off for a few days and may not post as often.

When will people learn?

I love these stories: it seems we just can't get enough superstition and hocus-pocus from lascivious and conniving priests:

The priest who helped to turn the Bosnian town of Medjugorje into one of the Roman Catholic Church's most visited shrines has left the priesthood after being investigated by the Vatican.

Father Tomislav Vlasic, the former ''spiritual director'' to six visionaries who claim that the Virgin Mary visited them nearly 40,000 times over 28 years, has been defrocked by Pope Benedict

Beer and the Origins of Society

Why did human beings those many thousands of years ago first settle down and grow crops? Seriously: why would you trade the light and efficient work of hunting and gathering for the back-breaking labour of growing crops? Anthropologists and historians have put up all sorts of theories –security, the social nature of human beings, the slow evolution of civilisation, power, greed, domination – but I have a much simpler explanation: beer.

Egyptian beer brewing

Archaeological evidence from one of th

Humour in the face of death, part 11

I need some advice: how do you get someone dying from cancer to take a crap? Thing is, morphine blocks up the system and my father has never been the best crapper. He likes to hang on so that he is full of shit. We usually cop it in the verbal form.

He was advised to take up to 6 laxatives a day and promptly decided that they were no good and stopped taking them. The result: a week of buildup. And a massively distended bowel that worried the doctor in the untrasound the other day.

With concerns ab