This is Kristi Himmelfartsdag, a “bank holiday.” So, it is celebrating the ascension of Jesus Christ, but they call it a bank holiday, meaning the banks are closed. Unfortunately, the pronunciation in English sounds like the female name, Kristi, followed by himmel farts dog, not very edifying.
I did some emails, some PhD writing on curses, and some yard work in the lovely sunshine and perfect temperature in short sleeves. The lawn is mowed. A few more weeds are pulled.
Here’s the humor of the day. Anya even laughed. It is a parody full of biblical scholarship stuff.
- “I Am the Very Model of a Biblical Philologist,” A biblical- and ancient-Near-Eastern-studies–themed parody of “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” from The Pirates of Penzance. Lyrics, musical arrangement, and vocals by Joshua Tyra, ⓒ 2011. Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, original lyrics by William S. Gilbert. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x2SvqhfevE
The link today is that I was looking at interpretation of an Akkadian cuneiform text in Tzvi Abusch, “The Socio-Religious Framework of the Babylonian Witchcraft Ceremony Maqlû: Some Observations on the Introductory Section of the Text, Part I,” in Riches Hidden in Secret Places: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Memory of Thorkild Jacobsen, Tzvi Abusch (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisebrauns, 2002). Here’s a quote:
“More specifically, I would suggest that here in Maqlû we are dealing with a social compact or contract directed against hostile and destructive behavior. It probably required obedience and loyalty to the divine, governmental, and social authorities and structures. But most of all, it prohibited behavior of anti-social seditious nature…”
Yes, this gets tied into my work.
Tomorrow is off as well, so we’ll go hiking at Pulpit Rock! There should be some good pictures tomorrow!
With blessings,
Beth
OK! That video! I basically only understood the pronouns and some of the verbs. Sigh. I’m certainly glad there are people like you who can follow this and appreciate it for more than it’s tongue twister speed. Will you be producing your own video about the ancient curses?
Oh! And the reference to Canadians!