Archaeologica.org

***Does anyone know of a story of a man being eaten by a fish other that the Biblical Jonah?***

Well, there's Pinocchio, Kbs. And tradition suggests he even had holes in his hands and feet. Neil

Thanks, Min. That thread covers some interesting ground. Neil

Pretty fast, Min -- but before breakfast the old eyes tend to glaze over and whole slabs of text go unregistered. Just scanned the thread from back to front as you suggested and must have missed the discussion. Now for a few more strong black coffees (perchance spiked with a dash or two of cognac to...

Great minds thinking alike, Min, writer Israel Knohl fingers the same candidtate here: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/850657.html

(Now to run through this thread from start to finish to try to find the previous discussion -- having already drawn a blank working on it backwards).

Cheers. Neil

Many thanks, Min. I'll try to find that now. Very best. Neil

LATER: Gosh, Min. That's some busy thread. I've bookmarked it and will work my way through tomorrow. Thanks again. N

Here's a piece from today's New York Times that talks of the discovery of an inked stone tablet telling of a local messianic resurrection prediction (among other things) probably around fifty years before the alleged crucifiction and return of the Christ of Christianity. The find was made some time ...

***I stopped stamp collecting some years ago!***

Glad you realised that philately will get you nowhere, Digit. Neil

I remember thinking it was tommyrot when my Old Man told me when I was knee-high to a dodo that the Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh displayed only ten percent of its potential exhibits. Some years later (after wandering the halls a million or so times), I was given an unofficial tour of some o...

For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of life, please press three ...

My own theory, Min, is that Stonehenge is just the scaffolding. The Druids cancelled the job before the lads had chance to really get started. Neil

A good friend of mine had a serious stroke on Friday April 13 1991. We thought we'd got away with just another day but -- walloppp! -- just before midnight, sure enough, a massive stroke. In all the other forty years I've known her, she didn't have a stroke on Friday 13, though. And I am fairly conf...

I'd heard of bullroarers, but had quite the wrong idea of what they were and how they sound. If you're interested in the scary -- but no doubt far-reaching -- howling, here's a demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvNR9Xo8z3M What's interesting is that pitch is easily adjusted, so I reckon ...

You are quite correct, War Arrow, in suggesting that the Haggis perfectly illustrates the Darwinian model, although a form of accelerated evolution appears to have been prompted 2,000 years ago when Hadrian built his wall and created a sealed ecosystem in Scotland. The Lowland Haggis with legs of eq...

Many thanks, chaps. I'm keeping a list, as I'm sure others will. There's certainly the material out there from what you say. Really looking forward to getting into it and other books that might be recommended in the future. You folks are tremendously generous with help for a newcomer. Much appreciat...

***we don't have a single scottish cooking program on television. I wonder why that is?*** Probably for the same reason that notably few bob-sleigh programmes originate in Mali, Monk. Apart from haggis and deep-fried Mars Bars, our countrymen aren't famous for their prowess in the kitchen departmen...