Mailboxes today

VIA «Modern mailboxes for your correspondence»

I was initially intrigued by the total lack of fear people feel when dealing with total strangers on the Internet. In their blogs they reveal their most intimate secrets and speak of their darkest fears. In their interaction with other internet users they go to dating websites, ending up becoming best cyber-buddies with people they had never met not even heard of. Some even send intimate snaps of themselves and arrange to meet for drinks with people who might so easily be the worst kind of cyber stalkers. In short, the vast majority of cyber-strollers feel comfortable revealing everything about themselves, including their most secret phobias, to the worldwid(spider’s?) web.

Scary. Very scary.

Over the past few years there have been countless instances of young girls being tracked on the Net, then assaulted, sometimes even murdered. Lonely young men and women trying to find partners have been targeted too. But still there exists and feeling of security because ‘the foreplay’ exists via a computer screen and a keyboard. Few care to think where this may lead. Most use any caution whatsoever. There’s no awareness of the pedophile, the rapist, the madman, the murderer in the next street, connected via an eerie cyber world.

That’s what drew me to writing ‘Worst Nightmares’. What if there was the most cruelly efficient psychopath somewhere ‘out there’ trawling the Internet for victims? What if what gave this sociopath a buzz was, while masquerading as an amateur psychologist, ready to help cure those suffering from chronic terrifying nightmares, his real aim was to have nightmares revealed to him by those in the grip of horrific phobias so that he could track each of them down and visit their worst nightmares on them in some dark and private place; magnifying the key elements of the nightmares a hundred fold?

Of course, this theme is only one of many that make up the fabric of my novel, ‘Worst Nightmares.’ It is also a tale of a decent man that makes one error of judgment that proves to have a terrible domino effect. I pose the question; which of us has the courage to tell the absolute truth when everything is on the line; a relationship, a career, a marriage, the safety of those dearest to us. Because it’s only when we are tested that we find what our true moral metal is. Would you kill without hesitation if your child was threatened? If your family had no food, would you steal rather than watch your children go hungry? One lie is all it takes to cause us to slip off the high moral ground.

Shane Briant 2009
www.worstnightmares.net

Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman makes me feel, like Whoa!

Abby is 14 and about to start high school. Middle school wasn't that great (her and her best friend, Faith were picked on by the super popular crowd) and Abby doesn't really see anything to look forward to. She doesn't really like change, and is incredibly nervous about starting high school. It doesn't help that on the first day of school she realizes that she and Faith, who have been inseparable since 2nd grade only have gym together and her parents seem to think that's a 'positive' change. They want her to meet new people, make new friends but all she wants is to stay friends with Faith and keep everything the same as it's always been. It gets even worse when Faith starts making new friends and the only person Abby seems to meet is a super hot guy who can't even remember her name while he copies her math homework.

Abby doesn't really feel like she has a place. She's under a lot of pressure from her parents to be perfect, get straight As and live up to their expectations. She doesn't feel like they understand her, and she feels like they treat her differently than her younger sister, who she fights with constantly. Her best friend is pulling away from her, putting her time into new attachments and Abby desperately needs to feel loved, appreciated and wanted.

And then she meets Luke in a new cyber hang out geared for teens. Luke is wonderful. He understands Abby, sympathizes with her, tells her that he understands things are hard and he tells her she is beautiful. It's what she needs to hear, so she begins to let Luke consume her life. She spends all her time online or wishing she were online. And then, after a huge fight with her parents, Abby accepts Luke's offer to finally meet in real life. And then she disappears

This book hurts you in every way there is to hurt. Abby is really struggling to find her place right now and she's feeling inadequate in almost every area of her life. This makes her highly vulnerable to an internet predator. My heart hurt for Abby so many times in this story. She's really hurting and doesn't feel like anyone is willing to stop and listen to her, until she meets Luke. She has so much that she keeps locked inside and it's painful to read. And then there are things that will turn your stomach. Reading about this guy preying on such a young girl made me ill. And, it made me desire to do violence. I believe the people who prey upon and abuse children are the lowest of the low. And I cried while reading this book. There is so much pain felt by so many different characters and it just really hit me. I can't even imagine how devastating something like this would be in real life and I just ached.

The only thing I'm not sure I believed about this book was how quickly Luke was able to get Abby to do things horribly outside the levels of what is appropriate. He tells her in their first chat that he is already out of high school, and by the third he asks her bra size and follows that up by telling her he is 27 to her 14. I know that they had already chatted previously, but given how much she apparently knew about internet safety and how smart she was, I don't feel like there was enough build up there at this point for Abby to continue talking once she realized he was twice her age. And then, when he starts getting her to do more and more, (topless picture, webcam etc) I don't feel like there was enough resistance on Abby's part. Some of the things he asked her to do should have been met with at least a token resistance, but other than moving slowly and blushing, Abby never even says no. I think she would have been easily talked in to those situations, but I feel like it should have taken a little... more from Luke first.

Littman does attempt to justify this a little. Abby justifies a lot of her decisions, especially in the beginning, with the knowledge that nothing is going to happen — she's never going to actually meet the guy, so it's not really that bad. Which, as Abby can later attest, is very dangerous thinking.

But even so, I think that this is a very important book for kids to be reading, especially for kids around Abby's age. It is a time of great change and adjustment for teens and most teens feel very vulnerable. Internet predators are talented manipulators who study ways to reel teens in and exploit them. This book is important because so many teens have this idea or attitude of, Well that only happens to other people, that would never happen to me. And it's not true. If you refuse to acknowledge that there might be a risk, you put yourself at greater risk. Teens need to read this book. It's hard and it would definitely be a book that would be good to have a parent read with the teens so that they can talk about what happens in the story and how to protect yourself. It's a powerful book, I tell you what.

There is so much else that I could mention about this book. So many places I could have gone with this review. Because the book is just that good. It is amazing, powerful, intense, heartbreaking and so very important.

*Disclaimer — I received and ARC of this from the publisher in exchange for a fair and un

Happy Holidays to all of you! I think this is the longest I have ever gone without blogging, and it will probably be like this for the next couple of weeks. This week was obviously busy with all of the holiday parties and things, plus I don't have a reliable source of Internet at my parents' house. On Tuesday I get on a plane and fly to Amsterdam. I will be gone for 17 days so I'm going to miss a lot in the blogosphere! I have a few posts scheduled and I will probably be able to go to an Internet cafe every once in awhile to update you all on my travels a bit, but I'll be so busy with other stuff blogging in obviously not going to be my main concern.

Did everyone get books for Christmas? I told everyone not to get me any-- but I'm pleased with the books I got. I got The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century

and Farmer Jane: Women Changing The Way We Eat

from my fiance's family. My mom gave me Clockwork Angel, which really surprised me! She must have really paid attention to me in the bookstore. My fiance gave me An Object of Beauty because I love Steve Martin. I also got an Iowa Bird book from my fiance and a set of binoculars-- I'm excited to do some birdwatching in 2011.

I gave a few books this year too. I gave my fiance's mother How to Repair Food, even though she is a wonderful cook. When I heard about it on Books on the Nightstand I immediately thought it would be something she would enjoy as a former food science major. I gave his sister Firefly Lane

per the recommendation of Jamie at Perpetual Page Turner because she really enjoys Nicholas Sparks. I gave my fiance The Urban Homestead: Your Guide to Self-Sufficient Living in the Heart of the City and Bicycling Science.

Out of all the gifts I got this year though, I would have to say the Wii my parents surprised me with is the total winner. I wasn't expecting to get much for Christmas this year because I only asked for money for my trip, which I got. I was totally cool with that and we had pretty much finished opening all out presents when my dad handed me this big heavy box. I thought it was for my mom and tried to give it to her. Let's just say I was in total shock when I opened it. I've already spent way too much time playing Super Mario on it! Hopefully the novelty will wear off before classes start again? Yeah, I kind of doubt it too.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! Did you get or give any books this year?

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A rectangular scrap measuring about 4.five inches by 1.five inches and featuring 15 partial lines of Homer's epic poem The Iliad in the elegant hand of a 4th Century Egyptian scribe was just [DEC] picked up by an unidentified European purchaser for £16,000 right after a feverish Net auction battle.

That value was way above the posted estimated but is standard of the sums that collectors will now devote to lay their hands on these fingerprints from the previous. Indeed, it is not just modern day art that has been setting jaw-dropping records at auction lately - so have ancient scrolls.

When a fragmentary parchment sheet from the 3rd century AD featuring portions of Paul's epistle to the Romans was bought at Sotheby's for £301,000 auctioneers and antiquity authorities alike have been stunned.

But even though there is no suggestion of any impropriety in these unique sales, scholars are alarmed by the burgeoning online trade as some unscrupulous sellers also cash in. They portray a no cost-ranging trade, particularly on the on line auction giant eBay, exactly where precious documents are carved up for sale, potentially stolen goods are trafficked and forgers can flourish.

Brice Jones, a papyrologist and lecturer in New Testament and Early Christianity at Concordia University in Montreal, has turn into an on the web scrolls sleuth, scouring auction web-sites for manuscripts that are usually incorrectly labeled or their provenance unclear.

A couple of pieces are straightforward forgeries. Most famously, the papyrus fragment called the Gospel of Jesus's Wife created headlines for apparently overturning almost two millennia of theological teaching that Jesus was unmarried, but is now widely viewed as a forgery.

Considerably a lot more distressingly, some sellers are dismembering papyrus books to sell things page-by-page, a financially lucrative endeavor that amounts to small extra than vandalism of ancient works.

A single eBay papyrus seller turned out to be two sisters who ran an online beauty supplies store. They had inherited a Book of Revelation from which they cut person pages to sell on an ad hoc basis to fund the wedding costs for one.

But Mr Jones has also identified a proliferation of scrolls becoming sold of which the origin and ownership is unknown or unclear. A fragment of papyrus with neatly penned Greek script of Homers Iliad, 565-580, 4th Century AD. Ex Hamdy Sakr collection, London, formed in the 1960's. There had been only two serious bidders on the piece and it probably went a lot greater than either of them had anticipated.

Papyrus itself is a tall, fibrous reed plant that grew along the shallow banks of the Nile River in Egypt. 'Papyrus' is the Latin type of the Greek word papuros, from which the English word 'paper' is derived.

The papyri - mostly written in ancient Greek and Coptic - variety from items such as rare biblical texts or the lines of the Iliad to hum-drum but fascinating each day records of book-maintaining accounts or letters amongst loved ones members. All exert an incredible lure for collectors, historians, archaeologists and theologians.

But under American and Egyptian law, only antiquities that can be verified currently to have been in private hands ahead of the early 1970s can be traded. Those guidelines are intended to avoid looting and end the export of papyrus that is generally still identified by Bedouin tribesmen, preserved by the arid desert situations. But critics say that lots of sellers skirt or ignore the guidelines on Internet internet sites that are difficult to monitor and regulate.

The disapproving tone from academia also reflects a deep philosophical objection by many scholars to how manuscripts flow by means of private hands, fearing that priceless scripts will disappear forever amid the frenzy of trading.

"The study of ancient papyri is a fascinating field of historical inquiry, simply because these artefacts are the fingerprints of true men and women from a bygone era," Mr Jones told The Telegraph.

"Each time I study a new papyrus, it is as if I am peeking over the shoulders of the scribe who wrote it, eavesdropping on a conversation that in several cases was meant to be private: an argument in between a husband and wife, a divorce contract, an invitation to dinner, a letter in between a father and son.

"But when private collectors acquire papyri for private enjoyment and restrict scholarly access to them, the instant consequence is that we drop worthwhile historical info that would otherwise advance our understanding about ancient people."

Nonetheless, the owner of a little specialist World-wide-web auction corporation, who asked not to be named due to the fact of the sensitivity of the situation, pushed back against these criticisms.

"We are scrupulous about producing certain of ownership despite the fact that not everybody is so fussy and it's accurate that there are some people today who know practically nothing who are out attempting to make a buck in the wild West of the Web," he mentioned.

"But some of these archaeologists and purists simply hate the reality that that any private person would personal, invest in or sell antiquities.

"They ignore the reality that things like this have always been collected. Indeed, some of these scripts have been commissioned by the private collectors of that time.

"Collectors play a crucial function in preserving these items with their interest. A lot of these items would stay hidden, forgotten, fading away, unknown to the scholars, if there was not a industry for them."

Amongst specialists in the research of early Christianity, there is specific concern about the emergence of eBay as a absolutely free-wheeling marketplace for antiquities, with low opening bids and normally exaggerated language to lure in possible purchasers.

An eBay spokesman, however, stated that its150 million buyers and sellers "must make certain listings comply with our clear policy on artefacts. We operate with regulators, law enforcement and other parties which includes the Egyptian Embassy to apply this policy, and if a listing of concern is identified we will need proof that it was legally exported and take away any listing exactly where this proof is not supplied."

As a specialist who spends his life studying such scrolls, Mr Jones also has concerns for the preservation and conservation of sensitive centuries-old documents when they are handled by traders.

He cited then instance of the well-known papyrus codex of the Gospel of Judas, which published in 2006. It was stored by one particular of its owners in a protected-deposit box on Long Island for sixteen years, and then placed in a freezer by a possible purchaser who thought that was the ideal way to preserve it.

"The benefits of these choices have been horrifying: the codex crumbled into quite a few hundreds of tiny pieces and what was after a practically total codex was now badly deteriorated and tricky to restore," he stated.

The booming trade has clearly revealed to scholars how numerous papyri have survived down the centuries.

"This prompts the question: just how quite a few ancient manuscripts are sitting in the basements, match boxes, drawers, safes, or shelves of private collectors about the globe?" Mr Jones asked lately.

"It is nearly certain that numerous ancient manuscripts or fragments thereof are just sitting in the dark closets of their collectors, decaying and crumbling to pieces. The public demands to be conscious of the importance of the preservation of antiquities, for the reason that when they are gone, they are gone forever."

Author: Philip Sherwell | Source: The Telegraph [December 28, 2014]

When I reached 100 followers in time for my six month anniversary I made a new goal to reach 200 by the end of my first year. My one year anniversary is in October, about a month and a half away. But if you take a look, I've already reached 200 followers. This is a ginormous accomplishment and I have all of you to thank for it because my readers are the best advertisers of this blog. You guys put me on your blog roll, retweet my posts, and tell your friends about my blog. This is awesome! When I started this blog I had to know sense of what I was doing or where it would go, but in less than a year I've find an amazing community of people who love books as much as I do and are willing to spread the word about what I do here. I'm so grateful for that.

The question I get asked most frequently about my blog is how I make time for all of this reading. The answer is simple: I make time for it. I make time for reading just like I make time to go hiking on Sundays, go for walks, ride my bike, cook healthy meals. I spend a lot of time trying to live a healthy lifestyle and to me reading is a part of that. Reading feeds my mind. Sometimes when I'm done with all of my homework I look at my TBR pile and think, "Ugh, I don't have time for this. I just want to dink around on the Internet." But when I come to the Internet I see hundreds of tweets and blog posts all about reading. That is one of the greatest encouragements. When you see that there are other people out there reading books that look good and talking about them, it gives you a reason to leave the laptop and pick up a book for awhile.

Another encouragement is making someone decide to read a book based on your review of it. This is my favorite part about blogging. I love, love, love when someone leaves a comment on a review that says "I think I'm going to have to read this!" Even better than that, I love when someone comes back to my blog a few weeks later and says, " I read that book because of your review and I loved it." To be a part of helping people decide what to read is a beautiful thing. And all of you have given me some great recommendations too! You always come to the rescue when I say, "Gee, I don't know if I should read this book or this book." You give me reasons why, all of you.

So basically what I'm trying to say is thanks. For being cheerleaders, mentors, recommendationists, and friends.

I'm currently sitting at the library in Amsterdam, which is beautiful and amazing. It's white with hardwood floors and very streamlined and techno. I could defnitely get lost here for awhile. We stopped here because we found out today that they have free Internet for anyone. Jason and I both agree that this is Amsterdam's best kept secret. If you're ever here and need to use Internet it's one of the easiest places to get some-- and you don't have to buy anything. Fantastic.

Today we went on a bike tour with this place called Mike's Bike Tours. It was a great way to see the city and get some ideas for places we want to go. Since so many people ride bikes here it was obviously nice to see the city in the way a local would, except with a tour guide pointing things out along the way. Jason and I enjoyed it since we ride bikes at home quite frequently, although the style of bike we rode here is very different from what we are used to. The bike tour took up most of the day and when we got home we had leftover Indian food from last night, which was delicious.

Tomorrow we are going to try and take a day trip to Zandvoort because that is where my family is from. I'm not entirely sure what we are going to do there, probablys just see what happens. There is a sort of nature resevoir there we might try to visit. We'll still have two days left in Amsterdam after that and we only have one day of definite plans. We will try to visit Anne Frank house, go to this bar with a windmill, and a market in the area our tour guide recommended. Some of these things a little far away from where we are staying so we're considering renting bikes for at least one day yet. It's a great time to try and cycle right now because there are fewer tourists and fewer locals cycling than there are during the summer, so it's relatively safe if you're used to cycling in congested areas, which we are.

As far as reading, I fnished a whole book on the plane ride over here. It was actually a short story collection I got at the Twin Cities book festival called If You Lived Here You'd Already Be Home, which was really fantastic and quick read.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

The New York Times is looking for essays on modern love by college students for a contest they are currently holding. I read last year's winner, Want to be My Boyfriend? Please Define by Marguerite Fields. It's a charming, real essay about the questions our generation has about love. Questions about monogamy and exclusivity. Fields describes her experience in the middle of everyone going against monogamy and rooting for multiple experiences, while she finds that this is not what she wants for herself.

She has a great sense of self, which is something I feel a lot of young nonfiction writers lack, and she is humorous without going overboard,"For the sake of brevity and clarity, I’ll say I’ve dated a lot of guys. It’s not that I’ve gone out anywhere with a lot of these guys, or been physical with most of them, or even seen them more than once. But there have been many, many encounters.
I’ve met guys in the park, at the deli, at galleries, at parties and on the Internet. The Internet idea came from thinking that if I could sift through people’s profiles, like applications, I could eliminate the obvious lunatics."

I think this section does a good job outlining the way love functions for young people today. We are constantly surrounded by reminders of it. If it's not a couple holding hands on the street it's the couple getting engaged on Facebook. We all know how Facebook has taken the importance of your relationship status to a catastrophic level. This isn't something Fields addresses, just one other factor to consider in the role of relationships in today's world.

Fields goes through the whole essay cooly, clear-headed, unaffected, until you reach the end and realize that she is not as unaffected as we thought. I was surprised by how well she pulled off that trick, for the majority of the essay I was frustrated with her, I didn't see the point in the essay if none of these encounters meant anything to her or changed anything about her. Then I reached the end and realized what she was trying to say all along.

You can read the whole essay at The New York Times, and if you're a college student with an essay on love you can enter this year's contest.

What would your story of modern love be about?

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

With Bloggiesta and Book Blogger's Appreciation Week (BBAW) registrations kicking off, Chris thought this week would be the perfect time for Weekly Geekers to reassess their blogs, clean up the cobwebs, fix the broken links and have a general tidy-up. How successful were we? Well...

Amanda at The Blog Jar has been stymied by a lack of internet access and so was looking for suggestions in helping her find the quiet time she needs to blog without internet access bills blowing a hole in her savings

Rikki at the Bookkeeper updated us on her blog improvement projects - I think she was a bit hard on herself but I did laugh that she included one task twice just so she could have something else to tick off her long list. Now that's innovative motivation for you.

And these blogs all used the opportunity to pick out their five brightest, shiniest posts (for inclusion in their BBAW registration or not). What a great chance to read the best work from some terrific book blogs:

• Here's To Us
• Literary Transgressions
• Mysteries in Paradise
• Notes from the North

I, of course, didn't manage to post anything for Weekly Geeks this week but it was deliberate this time. I have only recently finished a blog makeover and clean-up that took several months so had no desire to do that again just yet and I still haven't made up my mind about BBAW registration.

Thanks to all those who participated in Weekly Geeks this week and come back tomorrow to find out the next topic for discussion.

Bernadette from Reactions to Reading

I'm writing this post today to say hello, and to give a little bit of an update. I've always been so confused by the way that some bloggers or internet types just seem to DISAPPEAR. It's like, one day they are here, and active and all over the twitter and the blogs and the internets and then... Nothing. It's always been really weird to me, like, seriously, how hard is it to just pop onto the blog and say, Peace out.

Well, now I understand it much better. Because... Looks like I just did that. It's hard to get on and write any kind of goodbye post, at least for me, because I haven't actually decided if I DO want to stop blogging... I just renewed my domain name, because I'm just not ready to make that choice yet. There is a part of me that REALLY wants to get back into blogging, and another part of me that's just done. I haven't decided which of those two parts of me get to win yet, but I do know that it will quite probably be a little while longer before I officially decide.

There's lots of reasons for that, not the least of which being that I've actually read less than 20 books this whole year, and 80% of those were in January and February. I started a new job earlier this year that's really time and energy consuming and I'm so emotionally exhausted by the time I get home that I'm just not in the mood to read. Add to the new job stress some family drama and other... stuffs and I'm far too overwhelmed to also add any sort of blogging into the mix.

But now, I'm remembering how relaxing and FUN it was to blog, and be part of that community. And I've been really missing books lately and missing the blog and the blogging people. And I make absolutely no promises, but I've been thinking lately that reading (and maybe blogging too) might be exactly that release and relaxation that I NEED in order to reduce that overwhelmed feeling.

So we shall see. I have no idea what the future of my internet-ness is going to be... But at least I'm not one of those mysteriously missing any longer.

Oh, and also — Merry Christmas!!

It's Banned Books Week!

I don't know about you guys, but it seems like an awful lot of my favorite books or authors have been banned or challenged at some point. I always have two reactions when I hear about the removal of a book from a school or public library — On one hand, I'm always saddened and annoyed by the desire to keep information from kids, but on the other — I'm kinda glad, because it means that a whole bunch of people are now going to pass the name of that book or author around, and it's going to go on lists like these, and be bought and read and given away by people like us and... Yay for publicity... But mostly, I'm sad and angry and wish that instead of saying — NO ONE CAN TOUCH THIS BOOK, people would instead say — I don't want MY family reading this book, but you people can do whatever...
But alas.
ANYWAY — To celebrate the fact that the US doesn't actually ban books, even if some local and school libraries do remove them, and to celebrate the fact that we can read, we can read whatever we want and that the internet allows anyone to find pretty much any book at anytime, I'd like to give away a book today.:)

I will give away either an ARC of Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (who herself has been banned... True story really happened) OR a book of your choice that has been banned or challenged, or even — called too 'dark' and 'lurid' and 'dangerous'. Gotta give a chance to all those newer books out there, who just plain haven't had much chance to get their feet wet...
The ARC will only be shipping to the US, but anyone can enter. If The Book Depository ships to you, enter away!:)
To enter — Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite banned or challenged book (or books) are. AND I'm gonna be a meany and tell you that you cannot use Harry Potter. (If you absolutely have to include the awesomeness that is Harry Potter, you must also include another title.)

Also, please leave me a way to contact you, or make SURE that your email is also linked to the profile you commented with. You can't win if I can't find you...

If you have a favorite book that you know could be pretty controversial, but aren't sure it's been officially challenged or not, that works too.:)

The giveaway will run from now, until Oct 1, as per the linky/hop rules. Comment away and enjoyed reading those banned books!:)

ALSO — Be sure to check out I Read Banned Books and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, the lovely ladies who coordinated this hop. You can check out their blogs for the full list of blogs participating! Also, stop by the rest of the week! I'm really hoping to have lots of reviews and posts talking about banned books, why I love them and some very definite recommended reading lists.:)

At first, di Lernia and many of his colleagues were optimistic about the future of archaeology in Libya after years of neglect under dictator Moammar Gadhafi. But today, di Lernia has trouble imagining what fieldwork will look like in the war-torn country.

Years after the conflict began, Libya is still unstable. The United Nations was holding talks in Geneva this week to attempt to unify the two rival governments in control of Libya since Gadhafi's dramatic downfall. Meanwhile, ISIS extremists have taken power in parts of the country, such as Derna, a city in the east, where the group Human Rights Watch has documented violent forms of abuse, including executions and floggings.

Alongside reports of human atrocities, there has been a steady stream of reports detailing the threats to Libya's cultural resources, from ideological destruction to unchecked development. In 2013, for example, there was construction equipment sitting at the Hellenic city of Cyrene, one of five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Libya, ready to clear the way for houses. Another World Heritage Site, Ghadamès — a city sometimes called "the pearl of the desert" that was once home to the Romans and the Berbers — suffered rocket attacks in 2012. The same year, ultraconservative Islamists reportedly destroyed Sufi shrines and graves in Tripoli that don't conform to their beliefs. In 2011, robbers pulled off one of the biggest archaeological heists, stealing a hoard of nearly 8,000 ancient coins from a bank vault in Benghazi.

"I'm afraid if nothing happens, this will be a disaster for generations of Libyan archaeologists — and for universal heritage," di Lernia told Live Science. Today (Jan. 28), he published a commentary in the journal Nature to try to raise awareness about the situation within the scientific community. "It's very difficult to keep the light on Libya in this moment," di Lernia said.

Over the last four years, di Lernia, who is a professor at the Sapienza University of Rome, and his colleagues have been able to publish new research based on the wealth of material they collected in past field seasons. They've shown that dairy farms existed in a once-green Sahara. They have also analyzed Stone Age burials in the desert region.

Though access to the southeastern part of Libya has been restricted since 2011, di Lernia used to be able to travel to Tripoli. But as the fighting between Libya's two governments worsened over the past year, di Lernia wasn't able to get to Libya at all. From afar, it's difficult for international observers to assess the damages in the country.

"From time to time, I succeed in talking to my friends there, and they say that all sites are in danger, all sites are at risk," di Lernia said. "We don't know what's going on in many places. We don't know what's going on in the museums."

In other conflict zones, such as Syria, archaeologists have turned to satellite imagery to assess damage to cultural heritage sites. Those images show that places like Apamea, a Roman city and once-thriving tourist attraction for Syria, has been turned into a moonscape because of the holes gouged out by looters. But the same approach might not work in Libya, di Lernia said, as satellites can't detect more subtle damages, such as graffiti that's been reportedly painted over rock art in the Tadrart Acacus mountains, near the Messak plateau.

Di Lernia used to spend months at a time at the Messak plateau, but he can’t imagine long archaeological field seasons resuming in Libya anytime soon. In Nature, he put forth a host of recommendations to rekindle research, calling for more support for museum, university and lab-based research. Di Lernia said he'd like to see more museum collections go online, and a Web-based library for rock art sites. He also wants to see international universities provide support and funding for Libyan students and scientists to train and work overseas.

"The only way to keep Libyan archaeology alive is to do lab research, desk research, working on the Internet and working on the digitization of cultural heritage in Libya," di Lernia said. "The situation in Libya is a part of a wider picture, I'm afraid. Probably we have to rethink our capacity to do research within this political framework."

Author: Megan Gannon | Source: LiveScience ]January 28, 2015]

This week, Bernadette at Reactions to Reading asked us to share our thoughts on the subject of separating the authors' lives from their writing. Are you able to separate them? Does your view of an author and his or her work change when your own beliefs and opinions differ from that of the author? Does an author's behavior, past or present, impact your opinion of him or her? Just how much or how little background information on an author do you want to know?

Erotic Horizon says that an author's secret past doesn't bother her, but rather may increase her interest in reading his or her books. However, when it comes to certain issues, it can depend, such as an author's continued sanitation of rape scenes. An author who behaves badly is another she could do without.

Another blogger whose interest is piqued by a criminal past is Amat Libris Between the Covers. She also discusses the relevancy of politics between authors who are alive or deceased, and tackles the subject of just how difficult a balancing act it can be for an author espousing their own beliefs.

Margaret from BooksPlease admits that an author's personality and past crimes affect her reading, but an absorbing plot may be enough to get her past it. When it comes to nonfiction, credentials or lack there of do matter.

Bill Pullman is an author KT from Literary Transgressions doesn't especially like but adores his book Northern Lights. KT goes on to offer an example of how one's personal beliefs can interfere and ruin a book.

Trisha of Eclectic/Eccentric does not take much of an interest in authors' personal lives, but the internet has shed a disappointing light on a few. While she may disagree with an author's beliefs, she does promote reading books that we may not agree with:

Reading is not agreeing, and I believe that reading belief systems other than your own is actually a positive intellectual pursuit. It opens your mind to other ways of thinking and helps you determine your own personal beliefs. It sparks discussion, contemplation, and growth. And all of that is, in my opinion, a good thing.
Thanks to everyone who participated in Weekly Geeks this week, and remember to check back tomorrow for our new topic!

So I have been studying for my American History midterm for two hours now, and after searching on the Internet I have realized that there really aren't very many ways to study for things. My test isn't multiple choice, it's a combination of essay questions and defining key terms. The best way to study for this exam seems to be to do exactly what the test will ask me to do, but this hurts my wrist. I typed up the "right" answers and have read over those, but I tend to not soak in information very well through reading. I have a strong desire to go back to high school with the study tables and pre-made study guides. Oh yeah, and multiple choice tests.

I did find one website which was kind of neat though. I love crossword puzzles and Crossword Puzzle Games allows you to make your own crossword puzzles with whatever words and hints you want. It only lets you use twenty words and I had to make a couple different ones because not all of the words fit on one puzzle, but it's kind of a neat tool. If nothing else you will type in the clues which helps you dip back into the definitions of the key terms.

Otherwise I've made a study guide for myself in word by writing paragraphs about the key terms and then taking out words and putting in blanks. I've used this before and I don't know how much it really helps me, but it's better than just rereading everything because I know that doesn't help me at all. I'm a fairly passive textbook reader.

So how about you? How are you or do you study for midterms? Any tips to share with the rest of us?

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VIA Moon Microbe Mystery Finally Solved: NASA's dirty little secret?

So after much debating I decided to just write about what I know this summer, and what I know about right now is being an intern. I have an unpaid internship with the State Historical Society of Iowa this summer working in the archives and this was my first week. I applied for a few different paid internships but none of them were quite the right fit for me, and with the economy it's harder than ever for us liberal arts kids to find paying internships. Since I'm not getting paid I'm working ten hours a week right now, on two different days. Even though I'm not getting paid I still think I'm getting valuable experience, in addition to building contacts and references.

My first day on the job I was given four boxes and after hearing a little background information on the collection they told me to set out. Set out?!?! I had no idea what I was doing! I still don't! So right now I'm basically sifting through a collection of personal papers and making a list of what the collection contains. I got pretty bored with that after four hours on Tuesday, but today I came across something really interesting. About ten years ago in Iowa there was a real push to get an inmate out of the women's prison in my hometown of Mitchellville, Iowa. I became extremely engrossed in old newspaper articles about her as well as letters vying for or against her release. I tried to find something about it on the Internet when I got home today, but so far I haven't found any luck. It was a nice way to spend a half hour today though; it felt like getting lost in a really good book.

A little later I got set up on the computer network and got to start indexing death certificates from 1924. This sounds morbid and it is, but it's also extremely interesting. In the fifty or so certificates I indexed today I found that most of the people who dyed were one-year-old or younger, or over the age of seventy. It seems like if you could just get past that one year you would live a very long life. There were unfortunately quite a few suicides in the batch I went through, mostly retired farmers and the things they would kill themselves with were just... ugh. Carbolic acid was a favorite. The most challenging part of indexing the death certificates is trying to read the doctor's handwriting! Every once in awhile you'll come across one that is typed and that is the best part of the day.

Have any of you worked in or with an archive? What was your first internship?

Hey all you Fairy Tale Fortnight-ers! I have to offer you a very sincere apology. I have been really busy with work, and haven't had a lot of time to spend online. So, earlier this week, I scheduled posts for Tuesday through Friday, thinking I was so smart & I wouldn't have to stress about finding time to get posts up, because I had already done it all Monday night. I caught the Tuesday post that night (thanks Danya!) but didn't get on to check and make sure the other posts had gone live. And as you can obviously see... They haven't.

So, I'm annoyed and frustrated and very, very sorry. I guess I'm going to have to keep checking up on them anyway. Because the internet hates me.

Must be the wicked witch, trying to thwart our attempts at beautiful fairy tale awesomeness.

Art handbags from Louis Vuitton

VIA «The French house of fashion Louis Vuitton»

Aths and I have reached the end of our journey with Eaarth. She posted an amazingly well written post about our obsession with progress and growth today. You should all head over to Reading on a Rainy Day to check it out. I feel so lucky to work with someone who can express passionate ideas about the environment as eloquently as Aths!

I have been absent from the Internet for most of the day, mostly because I was at work all day. While I was at work I listened to several podcasts about environmental issues, but one really stuck with me. If this episode of Organically Speaking doesn't get you thinking about food and the dangers of how we currently manage food I don't know what will. It's about the spinach scare that happened not too long ago. It's funny but full of helpful information. This was my first time listening to this podcast but I'm definitely going to be a subscriber from now on.

Speaking of podcast, the new episode of Green Reads will be up by tomorrow-- be on the lookout!

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