Today, I was talking to a visitor who was confused about how the Ptolemaic pharaohs of Egypt related to religion, and that whole divine ruler thing. This wasn't the first time I've had that conversation; there's an amazing number of people who have a lot of difficulty with concepts such as polytheism, but after I finished attempting to explain how ( Read more... )

Tonight, while hanging out at the bar after work, I was told this: "I know a guy in [MY NEIGHBORHOOD] who for 150 dollars will let you set him on fire ( Read more... )

I have come to the conclusion that people in general have NO sense of scale. I had to explain for the third time tonight to an adult that no, the sixteen foot tall colossi statues are NOT representative of the size of actual ancient Egyptians. Which really makes the question "Who was Alexandria" seem almost reasonable ( Read more... )

Today, I overheard an interaction between the following two visitors ( Read more... )

ME: I threw out those carrots, by the way. I was getting tired of looking at them and obviously no one was ever going to eat them ( Read more... )

My mother, who, despite that we live in the same city, talk regularly, and in general like each other, tends to assume that I won't tell her things. Every month or so she usually "subtly" asks if there's been any "change" in my relationship with my boyfriend. This could mean breaking up OR getting engaged. The last time I talked to her on the phone ( Read more... )

Roommate: If you live this life again, I think you should NOT take that job at Borders. It's left you with a crazed book shelving compulsion ( Read more... )

It looks like the question of why the Egyptians mummified their dead is going to be similar to one about how the dinosaurs went extinct* in that everyone has their own theory. Today it was suggested that specifically, the mummies were wrapped up so much so that just in case they came to life, they wouldn't be able to walk. Which, you know, is ( Read more... )

"It was a poem about daffodils ( Read more... )

I think people who really enjoy cooking must find a zen in the process that I can't. Either I'm freaking out because at any second the food might catch on fire/explode/become otherwise inedible and then OMG I just wasted an hour of my life for nothing and am still hungry, or I'm bored because it takes forever to grate/chop/stir things. It's not I'm ( Read more... )