Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Best World History Podcast
Best World History Podcast
Jeff Feinstein just posted his favorite podcast for US History. Its called the Backstory with the American History guys.
On Top of the World is my favorite podcast for World History. Its hosted by Dave Eaton, associate professor at Grand Valley State University, and Matt Drwenski, a former AP history teacher in Houston, Texas and now a graduate student at the University of Pittsburg.
Eaton and Drwenski started the podcast this fall. Most recordings last about 40 minutes. You can subscribe to them on iTunes or even Stitcher.
Here are some of the topics.
- Big History and its critics
- A review of Guns Germs and Steel
- African topics in world history
- Content skills in world history
- Easter Island
On Top of the Worlds website also includes ideas for lesson plans for some topics. For example, Dave Eaton posted a great lesson teaching the Swahili Coast and another on teaching the Tang Dynasty.
These so-called subject guides examine what textbooks say about the subject and then "examine more specialized writing and offer some exercises aimed at “unpacking the textbook” or making the topic more engaging."
You can follow On Top of the World on Facebook.
These so-called subject guides examine what textbooks say about the subject and then "examine more specialized writing and offer some exercises aimed at “unpacking the textbook” or making the topic more engaging."
You can follow On Top of the World on Facebook.
Available link for download
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Bast and Other Cat History
Bast and Other Cat History
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” ~ Hippolyte Taine
Lamont assumed his lecturing position atop the step thing and spoke to his sisters Patchtricia and Pawline sitting with rapt attention below, except for frequent grooming of theirselves and each other. Or, in other words they put up with their pontificating brother.
“I have been studying cat history some more at night while the whiskered furless servant, Oooo, is away. We cats seemed to have been first recognized for our importance in ancient Egypt as I have mentioned before.
“The Egyptians believed that their main god, Ra, died at sunset and went to the underworld to be reborn each morning in the East. Lions, our bigger cousins, would look into the setting sun and keep the sun’s ray it their eyes, as we modern cats have eyes that reflect in the dark. That light would enable them to go out at night and kill the evil serpents. Thus we see the importance of the Sphinx who immortalized we cats in ancient Egypt.
“These Egyptians also worshipped Sekhmet a goddess with the head of a lion, she was the goddess of war. They also worshipped Mau as a personification of Ra. Mau, by the way is the Egyptian word for cat.” His sisters eyed him with some interest at this point and then resumed their grooming.
Sekhmet
“Now I could go out with other cat related dieties such as Tefnut and Mafdet but let me move directly to the great Bast, a domestic cat such as ourselves, the daughter of Ra and protector of cats and those who took care of us. There was an annual festival in her name in Bubastis, a very popular festival I might add, where hundreds of mummified cats were buried.
Bast
Lamont scholarly continued to his somewhat rapt students and siblings, “In Egypt children were often consecrated to Bastet when a cut was made on their arm and a few drops of cat blood were poured into it. There is one of these in Tutankhamen’s tomb.
“All of this has led me to wonder if we should require our furless servants to worship us? They certainly seem to pay us fair homage, so perhaps that will do.
“Oh yes, have you noticed my sisters, that watching furless ones of TV, they seem to emulate we cats with their makeup. Again, in ancient Egypt the women believed the ideal beauty was the beauty of a cat and used makeup to make themselves have a more mysterious cat-like look.”
Paw and Patch looked up at their brother quizzically. “Really, our unwhiskered furless one does not seem to do that. But as you say there are a lot of commercials where the females do seem very cat-like in their makeup. Feathering or smokey eyes seems a bit catlike. Eva Mendes definitely looks cat-like.”
Eva Mendes
“Ah, my dear sisters, you are beginning to see. There is even a website I have found that teaches these furless females how to make cat-like make up; and several sites such as these: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/hairstyles-beauty/skin-care-makeup/how-to-get-cat-eyes#slide-1, http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Your-Makeup-Like-Cat-Valentine, http://www.maybelline.com/makeup-looks/Night-Out/Cat-Eyes-Lesson.aspx, http://www.maybelline.com/makeup-looks/Night-Out/Cat-Eyes-Lesson.aspx, well the list goes on and on.”
“My oh my,” chimed in Patch, “these female furless do seem to like the cat look. They almost look whiskered.”
“Well, dear sisters, that concludes my lecture for today. You may look forward to our importance in Norwegian culture, witches affinity to cats, Islamic attention to cats, the Burmese cat legends, as well as Siamese, Malaysiand, Japanese, Ngariman and Australian cat lore. There is also be a bit on our relation to clouds and I think you may be particularly intrigued the our part in Noah’s ark.”
Paw’s and Patch’s eyes widened for a moment, then they rolled over and took a nap. With a condescending look from atop his perch, Lamont laid down for a nap himself. Lecturing is hard business.
Available link for download
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