POTD: Exactly Recreating Ruins

From 2019 11 20 Abu Simbel

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel on the Nile River south of Aswan, Egypt. Before the Aswan High Dam flooded the Nile River valley, archaeologists carefully cut the temple into blocks, moved it 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, and just as carefully reconstructed it. Because the temples were already 3,300 years old, they weren't in pristine condition. Rather than recreate the temples as they were when first built, archaeologists recreated them as they were in the 1960s, when the rescue operation occurred. Thus, the big block that calved off one of the four giant statues of Ramesses on the front of the temple was replaced at the foot of the statue, exactly where it had fallen millennia ago.

POTD: Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel

At the Foot of the Pharaoh

From 2019 11 20 Abu Simbel

Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel on the Nile River south of Aswan, Egypt. If you tour Egypt, you will become very familiar with Ramesses the Great, perhaps the greatest of Egypt's many, many, many pharaohs. More about that later.

TIL: "Aggressive tyrannies"

It was an epidemic. A serious respiratory disease was killing thousands. A doctor proposes steps to gain control of the spreading contagion. He calls for wearing face masks, reporting victims to the health department, isolating them from others, and tracking their contacts. Others resisted, calling the proposals "aggressive tyrannies" and "offensively dictatorial." Sound familiar? But this wasn't America in 2020 and it wasn't COVID-19. The year was 1897. The place was New York City. The disease was tuberculosis. What happened is instructive for us today.

Big Little Lies - Seasons 1-2 (TV 2017-2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Big Little Lies - Seasons 1-2 (TV 2017-2019): Five women with kids in a wealthy Monterrey private school deal with bullying, spousal abuse, infidelity, bankruptcy, rape. At heart it's a dark soap opera, but it's fun watching these great actresses work with each other. A-

#VeryTardyReview

Random Thoughts: Hawley/Gohmert 2024

Tweets from January, 2021:

• 2021-01-01: Hawley/Gohmert 2024.
• 2021-01-02: About time. Only 155 years late to do the right thing.
• 2021-01-03: There's always a tweet. These two from Ted Cruz and Donald Trump from the 2016 GOP primary. They haven't aged well.
• 2021-01-04: Bridgerton (TV 2020): 1800s costume drama. Pouts and swoons. No racism in this England, but lots of sexism. Too many singles looking for proper matches. All prigs. A vow of revenge made by the Duke to his dying father proves a barrier to happiness. Who cares? Only the prig. C-

After the jump, more random thoughts.

Review: The New Wilderness

From The New Wilderness, by Diane Cook:

Glen was the one who knew about the study, putting people in the Wilderness State. When things worsened in the City and Agnes’s health cratered, like so many children’s had, Glen was the one who offered his help to the researchers in exchange for three spots—for him, Bea, and Agnes."
	Amazon

When the City becomes unlivable, people seek permission to live nomadic lives in the wilderness. It's a hard life, but return to the City is unthinkable. A coming-of-age adventure for a girl who struggles with her mother, budding love, and survival.

Lupin (TV 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

Lupin (TV 2021): French. Burglar inspired by 100-yr-old novel seeks revenge for injustice done to his father 25 years before. He steals a priceless necklace from the Louvre. Heists. Action. Lovable rogue. At heart is Lupin's relationship with his own son. Story is incomplete. B+

POTD: Abu Simbel

From 2019 11 20 Abu Simbel

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Abu Simbel on the shores of Lake Nasser in southern Egypt. The construction of the Aswan High Dam that created Lake Nasser in the 1960s also flooded more than a dozen ancient Egyptian temples. Before the floodwaters could reach the Abu Simbel temples, "the entire site was carefully cut into large blocks (up to 30 tons, averaging 20 tons), dismantled, lifted and reassembled in a new location 65 metres higher and 200 metres back from the river, in one of the greatest challenges of archaeological engineering in history."

The White Tiger (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes

The White Tiger (2021): A lower-caste Indian grows up wanting to rise above his servant caste. He talks his way into being a driver for a rich man. But a betrayal convinces him that being a loyal servant won't protect him. Hero or anti-hero? A good insight into modern India. B+

Owens Farm Redevelopment

It's been seven years since Owens Farm closed. That was plenty of time for the city and neighbors to solve the problem of what would replace it. Why we always wait until a property sells before paying attention to it is frustrating. I blogged about it in 2013. I don't think that post ages all that well (meaning I didn't set my hair on fire sounding the alarm). I guessed that developers would try to build an office building or an apartment building. I didn't guess it would be warehouses. Don't we have a whole warehouse district just to the southwest that we're trying to figure out how to redevelop? Why doesn't the left hand know what the right hand is doing?