Author Archives: laurn larson

The Antiquities of the Jews

19 May 2024 By in Biography, History, Religion Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Josephus’s 20 volume history of the Jews titled: The Antiquities of the Jews was written to provide an account of the Jewish people for his Roman patrons and protectors.

Below is a synopsis of the 20 volumes:

  • Biblical creation to the death of Abraham’s son Isaac
  • History of Isaac’s sons to the Exodus of Jews from Biblical Egypt
  • Exodus from Egypt to the first 2 years of the 40 years in the wilderness
  • The remaining 38 years in the wilderness to the death of Moses upon reaching Canaan
  • Joshua’s replacement of Moses as leader to the death of the priest Eli
  • The capture of the Ark by the Philistines to the death of King Saul
  • David’s ascension to the throne of the Kingdom of Israel to the death of King David
  • Solomon’s ascension as King of Israel to the death of King Ahab
  • Reign of King Jehoshaphat to the fall of Samaria
  • Babylonian captivity of the Jews and the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
  • Start of the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great to the death of Alexander the Great
  • Death of Alexander the Great to the Maccabean Revolt
  • Origins of the Hasmonean dynasty to the death of Queen Alexandra
  • The death of Queen Alexandra to the death of Antigonus II Mattathias
  • Herod the Great’s taking of Jerusalem to the completion of King Herod’s temple
  • Completion of King Herod’s temple to the death of Herod’s sons
  • Death of Herod’s sons to the banishment of King Archelaus

Josephus history covers major portions of the Old Testament including Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel 1&2, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, and Prophets. Josephus’s accounts provide for additional material and commentary not found in other texts including the bible.

Source: Josephus: The Complete Works, 2003. Jewish Virtual Library. World History Encyclopedia. Graphic Joseph, Son of Gorian, by Thomas Emmet, 1880, public domain.

Kepler’s Second Law:

17 May 2024 By in Physics Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Kepler’s Second Law, first published between 1609 and 1619, describes how a planet’s orbital speed varies along its elliptical orbit around the Sun. As the planet approaches the Sun, the gravitational pull from the Sun is stronger causing the planet to move faster. As a planet moves away from the Sun it slows down.

Kepler’s Second Law in geometric jargon: A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.

Source: Smithsonian, How Things Fly. Graphic of the Planets and the Sun by CactiStaccingCrane 2022.

Jewish, Roman, Historian

12 May 2024 By in Biography, Books Nonfiction, History, Philosophy, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Flavius Josephus, a first century Jewish scholar and historian wrote four extant works:

  1. The Jewish War. (Jewish Revolt) 75 AD – The first revolt against the Romans from 66-73 AD
  2. The Antiquities of the Jews. 95 AD – From Adam to the death of Herod’s sons
  3. Against Apion. 97 AD – A defense of Judaism
  4. Vita or The Life of Flavius. 99 AD – Biography

These works provide significant source material and insight into first-century Judaism and Christianity.

Josephus was born into the Jewish priesthood on his father’s side and of Hasmonean royal descent maternally. He served in the Jewish military during the Jewish War but surrendered to the Romans and he was considered a traitor to Jews ever after. While waiting to be executed by the Romans he predicted that Vespasian would eventually be crowned emperor of Rome. Vespasian, because of the prophecy, spared his life and made him a consultant, but still a slave, to the Roman army. Josephus gained his freedom when Vespasian became emperor in 69 AD, at which time he changed his name to Flavius Josephus. Flavius was the family name of the emperor Vespasian.

Source: Josephus: The Complete Works, 2003. Jewish Virtual Library. World History Encyclopedia.

Journalism –Jeff Diamond, David Rummel, Robert Read, Michele Gillen

11 May 2024 By in History, Journalism Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

During a November 1992 broadcast, NBC Dateline, at the time an American news weekly show, producers Jeff Diamond, David Rummel, and Robert Read along with reporter Michele Gillen showed a Chevy truck exploding into flames after a vehicle crashed into the side of the truck.

There was just a small problem with their reporting. NBC Dateline rigged the truck to start on fire, collision or no collision resulting in their video proving nothing. Dateline did this to save money. Chevy trucks built from 1973 to 1987 had side wall gas tanks placed outside of the frame rails and they really did start on fire during a side impact with another vehicle or another object. Just not every time. There was no way to tell how many trucks NBC would have to smash before they got one to explode into flames, so they took a short cut and put an incendiary device into the gas cap area of the truck to ensure a fire.

At the time General Motors was defending itself against thousands of lawsuits over its gas tanks starting on fire during collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, found that 19% of all side impacts involving these trucks leaked fuel which led to excessive number of explosions and fires. The NHTSA ordered GM to recall six million trucks to fix the problem. GM refused but they did sue NBC for defamation.

Due to the journalistic malpractice Dateline’s ratings sank, executive producer Jeff Diamond, senior producer David Rummel, segment producer Robert Read, and reporter Michele Gillen were all fired and Michael Gartner, president of NBC News at the time resigned. Adding further insult to injury, NBC anchors Jane Pauley and Stone Phillips broadcast a three-minute apology as part of its settlement with GM.

Source: Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Fox News, The New York Times, MotorBiscuit. Graphic: Dateline Video.

GOAT Gas

11 May 2024 By in Physics, Science, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Water vapor is the most abundant and the most powerful greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and is responsible for about half of the Earth’s greenhouse effect. The amount of water vapor in the lower atmosphere is largely controlled by temperature, such that warmer air holds more moisture. Water vapor returns to the Earth’s surface usually within two weeks but only if the vapor is in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to the Earth.

Water vapor in the stratosphere, the layer above the troposphere, on the other hand, can stay there for a long time due to the lack of physical mechanisms to bring it back to the surface of the Earth. MIT has estimated that a water molecule, or any atmospheric molecule, can stay in the troposphere for about 1.5 years, possibly longer, before circulating back to the troposphere or Earth’s surface.

On 15 January 2022 the South Pacific volcano, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, erupted sending a huge jet of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere, estimated to have been around 40 billion gallons in volume.  This is estimated to have increased the water vapor in the stratosphere by 10% in a matter of hours or days.

For reference, the greenhouse effect for selected gases by its 20-year GWP (Greenhouse Warming Potential) value:

  1. Water Vapor = A very large value but difficult to find in print.
  2. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) = 460-9100 GWP
  3. Bromides = 7140 (varies)
  4. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) = 4400-6200 GWP
  5. Nitrous oxide = 280 GWP
  6. Methane = 56 GWP
  7. Carbon dioxide = 1 GWP

Source: NASA. MIT. Graphic by AGeremia, 2020, Creative Commons.

It Rhymes

9 May 2024 By in History Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The adage, History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, or less succinctly, historical, and current events may not unfold in the same manner, but they often follow similar patterns or themes. As an example, the rise of authoritarianism usually follows, and rhymes, with the erosion of democratic norms, intolerance of dissent, animosity towards religious or ethnic minorities, economic instability, isolation of true democratic countries, and war.

This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain but no collaborating evidence for him saying exactly this has ever been found. He did say something similar, in a novel he wrote with Charles Warner, the 1874 The Gilded Age: A Tale of To-Day that “History never repeats itself, but the Kaleidoscopic combinations of the pictured present often seem to be constructed out of the broken fragments of antique legends.” The quote in its entirety is sentence that Twain could never write, it had to have come from his co-author.

Austrian American psychoanalyst Theodor Reik, a student of Freud, published an essay in 1965, “The Unreachables” where he wrote: It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes. There are recurring cycles, ups and downs, but the course of events is essentially the same, with small variations. It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes.

Regardless of whomever said, History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes were astute observers of history and life.

Source: Quote Investigator, 2014. Graphic: Publicity photo of Reik, 1920s, public domain.

Fear the Night

8 May 2024 By in Movies, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Arcadians.

Theaters: 12 March 2024

Streaming: 1 May 2018

Runtime:  92 minutes

Genre:  Action – Horror

Els:  6.0/10

IMDB:  5.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics:  83/100

Rotten Tomatoes Audience:  55/100

Metacritic Metascore:  60/100

Metacritic User Score:  5.6/10

Awards: —

Directed by: Ben Brewer

Music by:  Kristin Kontrol and Josh Martin

Cast: Nicholas Cage

Film Locations:  Ireland

Budget:  – $–

Worldwide Box Office:  $0.9 Million

In an apocalyptic world Paul (Cage) and his two sons live a normal farm life during daylight hours and lock themselves into their fortress home during the night, when fuzzy anorexic creatures with extreme dental abnormalities roam in the darkness to kill and feed on humans.

The acting is very good with excellent visuals, but the story is weak on details and inspiration. An OK movie dreaming of a sequel which will never happen.

The name of this movie intrigued me since it was never actually referenced unless I missed it. Arcadia is a district in the central Peloponnesian plane of ancient Greece, which meant refuge or an idyllic place. A place of refuge seems applicable for this movie but not a safe refuge. Or it could just be the city of Arcadia NE of Los Angeles.

Source: IMDb. Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic. Wikipedia. Graphic: Movie poster for Arcadian.

Gol Stave Church

7 May 2024 By in Art, Religion Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

 

At the Scandinavian Heritage Association’s Heritage Park in Minot, North Dakota there is a full-size replica, built in 2000, of the Gol Stave Church. The original was constructed in Gol, Hallingdal, Norway (~100 miles NW of Oslo) around 1250 AD. It was moved to Bygdoy Park in Oslo, Norway about 100 years ago.

According to Valebrokk et al, inside the church, the corner posts are essential. They are often accentuated and are heavier and more richly decorated than the other structural elements. “They represent the four gospels whose teachings are the supporting foundation of all Christianity” is the description given in a sermon in the thirteenth century. This sermon was held during a church consecration, in which each section of the stave church’s structure was related to spiritual values. The beams upon which the columns rest “signify God’s apostles, the foundation of all Christianity.” The floorboards represent “the humble men who bow in honour; the more they are exposed to the trampling feet of the congregation, the more support they provide.”

The roof surface which protects the church from snow and inclement weather “represents the men…whose prayers protect Christianity from temptation.”

In addition to the replica in Minot, additional replicas exist in the Gordarike Family Park in Gol, which was built in 1995 and in the Norwegian Pavilion in EPCOT, Orlando which was built in 1984.

Source and graphic: scandinavianheritage.org. Excerpts above from Norway’s Stave Churches by Eva Valebrokk and Thomas Thiis-Evensen. Wikipedia.

461 Ocean Boulevard

6 May 2024 By in Music Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

50 years ago, in 1974 Eric Clapton released his second solo album, the hugely successful 461 Ocean Boulevard. It topped the Billboard 200 weekly chart in the USA and reached the top ten in several other countries. It placed number 88 in the Billboard 200 year-end chart and was certified Platinum selling more than two million copies.

The album’s ten tracks run the gambit from hard rock to pop to blues-rock containing 3 new Clapton songs including the theme continuation of Derek & the Dominos, Keep on Growing: Let it Grow. The album’s number one hit, Bob Marley’s: I Shot the Sheriff was released as a single slightly before the album came out in July of 74.  Johnny Otis’s Willie and the Hand Jive, another hit from the album, was released as a single in October of 74.

The album was produced by the legendary Atlantic Records recording engineer, Tom Dowd who also produced the 1970 release of Derek & the Dominos album: Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

The album’s title: 461 Ocean Boulevard was the address of the house in Golden Beach, Florida where Clapton and the band stayed in will recording the album at Criteria Studios in Miami.

Source: All Music. Classic Rock Review.

La Posta Paulucci Malbec 2020:

3 May 2024 By in Red Wine Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Malbec from Angle Paulucci Vineyard, Mendoza, Argentina.

Purchase price: $15.99.

Ratings: James Suckling 91. ElsBob 90.

ABV: 13.5%

A medium-bodied wine with dark berry flavors, well-integrated tannins, and a medium finish.

Pairs well with dark poultry meats, lean red meat, and blue cheese.

An excellent wine at a great price.