An Update!? Well Take off My Clothes and Call Me Naked!

Greetings everyone! The Summer doldrums have led me back down the path of ye olde blogosphere. I figured that since it has been a solid 6 months since my last post it would be fitting to issue another installment of my year in review. However, this go 'round I'll be covering 2005 and the first 6 months of 2006...

Year in Review

Surveying 2005/Jan-June 2006

01. What did you do in 2005/06 that you had never done before? Two chicks at the same time...Actually, I finished my first year of graduate school.
02. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Yep! For a while, anyways./Absolutely
03. Did anyone close to you give birth? There are some baby bunny rabbits hopping around my backyard.
04. Did anyone close to you die? No.
05. What countries did you visit? Idaho is kind of like another country.
06. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005? More sculpted abs.
07. What date from 2005/06 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? May 7, 2006. The date of the final match ever at Highbury. C'mon you Gooners!
08. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Making it through my first year of grad school.
09. What was your biggest failure? Failing to find the meaning of life.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I trip over stuff and run into things when I walk sometimes.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Digital camera!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Anderson Cooper. He's so dreamy!
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Dubbya
14. Where did most of your money go? Tuition and prostitutes...well, mostly just prostitutes...(kidding)
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? First dates, new relationships, graduate school, new job, Stamey's barbecue, and OF COURSE Cadbury mini eggs.
16. What song will always remind you of 2005/06? Most songs on the Fifa soundtrack and "The Clincher" by Chevelle.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or Sadder? Sadder. Thinner or Fatter? About the same. Richer or Poorer? More money in the bank. I'm richer, bitch! 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Work out, tell my friends how much they mean to me.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Worry.
20. How will you be spending Christmas? Went home to see the family.
21. Did you fall in love in 2005/06? No
22. How many one-night stands? 1* But it was Edward 40-hands night so I get a pass...right?
23. What was your favorite TV program? The Colbert Report
24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No
25. What was the best book you read? Deception Point
26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Chevelle
27. What did you want and get? Digital Camera!!
28. What did you want and not get? Any number of things.
29. What was your favorite film of this year? Thank You for Smoking
30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 23...and I honestly don't remember...but I'm pretty sure it involved alcohol.
31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Winning the lottery or seeing Arsenal win the Champions' League. Also, I would have been much more satisfied if Wake didn't suck at life last basketball season.
32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005/06? As stylish as my budget can afford. Holla at a clearance rack!
33. What kept you sane? Observing people at Home Depot
34. Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most? Stephen Colbert
35. What political issue stirred you the most? Iraq
36. Who do you miss? Guilford friends that have moved away.
37. Who was the best new person you met? Elisabeth Villette
38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005/06: Flammable and Imflammable mean the same thing! Also, it's important to adapt to new surroundings and situations.
39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: "Come on people, now. Smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another."

A Christmas Query

I would like to consider myself to be a fledgling historian. With my fall semester over, and with no assignments to do for another month or so I have decided to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts. With the Christmas holiday upon us it would be pertinent to devote an entry to Christianity. My interest is further peaked by the book I am currently reading, titled Holy Blood, Holy Grail. It is an interesting work published in 1982 that describes the idea of the Holy Grail being the bloodline of Jesus rather than the cup that collected his blood during the crucifiction. This research became the major plot line of Dan Brown's international best seller The DaVinci Code. The quest for the holy grail dates back to the early middle ages, and it, as well as a number of other Christian relics, are highly sought after by any number of groups of people. This leaves the following question: What Christian relics are lost, and what can still be found in the reliquaries of churches around the world?

Before listing relics it is paramount to understand what exactly constitutes a relic in Christianity. We have the folks at Wikipedia to thank for that.

Major Christian Relics: Present and Accounted For:

Pieces of the True Cross - Fragments of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified are kept in Santo Toribio de Liebana in Spain, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome, and the Cathedrale de Notre Dame in Paris, amongst others. Many of these fragments have been carbon dated and tested, proving that they are from the time of Jesus and are from the same species of tree.

The Shroud of Turin - Located at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, the shroud is said to be the burial cloth Jesus was wrapped in after the crucifiction. Its authenticity has been questioned because of contradicting carbon and cloth dating samples, as well as a whirlwind of claims regarding when and how it surfaced. Nonetheless, it is held by a church and is periodically put on display.

Calvary of Crucifiction: Located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Calvary of Crucifiction is the place of Jesus' crucifiction. Known as Golgotha, the large rocky surface is now weathered over, and all that remains is a three meter pile of ancient stones.

The Holy Sponge - Found in Santa Croce in Rome, the holy sponge is an ancient, brown with blood sponge that was dipped in vinegar and used to wipe Jesus' body as he lay strewn on the cross. Bits of the holy sponge also appear in at least two other churches in Rome.

St. Thomas' Finger - Also held by Santa Croce, this is the finger of St. Thomas that touched the wounds of Jesus on the crucifix.

Remains of St. Peter - Located in the catacombs of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City are the full remains of the disciple Peter.



Major Christian Relics: Missing or Lost

Holy Prepuce - The foreskin of Jesus, said to be the only remaining physical trace of his body on Earth, was reported to be in the possession of a Catholic church in Calcata. However, any trace of it disappeared when it was stolen during a festival in 1983.

Holy Grail - One of the most sought after relics of all time. The Holy Grail, or Cup of Christ, is believed to be the chalice used during the last supper and/or the cup used to collect his blood at the site of the crucifiction. There are many stories circulating throughout history regarding the location of the Grail, but no concrete evidence exists. The Grail has inspired many stories over the years, including Arthur and the Knights of Camelot, and best selling literature such as The DaVinci Code.

Ark of the Covenant and Contents: The Ark of the Covenant, as well as the staff of Moses and the Ten Commandments located within is another major article of Christendom that has not been seen for many years. While the Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims possession of the relic they will permit neither photographs or public viewing of their hold. This leads many biblical historians to doubt the authenticity of Ethiopia's claims, and popular thought is that the Ark is hidden somewhere in Jerusalem to this day.



There are literally hundreds of Christian relics around the world. There is no way to verify the authenticity of any of them. Those types of things are matters of faith. Special thanks to Wikipedia and ReligionFacts.com.

Winter Break

One semester of grad school down, three to go. I'm going to sleep now...

A Tribute to Coach Sapp

Coach Bob Sapp has put Mount Tabor football on the map (in NC, anyways). In his 12 year tenure Coach Sapp transformed Tabor from the "whipping post of 4A football" in North Carolina to a consistent, winning program. His resume is second to none in my alma mater's history: a record of 122-28 with three appearances in the state regional finals and one appearance in the state championship game. He is a man of character who I have the utmost respect for. He epitomizes all of the good characteristics that a high school coach should strive to maintain, and his impact on Mount Tabor athletics will be felt far into the future. Here's wishing you a fond farewell, Coach!

Thanksgiving: A History

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! (my American readers, at least...the rest of you could probably care less about Turkey Day)...Nonetheless, I figured that it would be a good idea to offer some historial perspective on our delightfully gluttonous, carniverous holiday. Behold...History!!!

The first Thanksgiving occurred in Massachusetts in 1621. This is an account written by William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation:

"They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their house and dwelling against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty. For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion. All the summer there was no want; and now began to come in store of fowl, as winter approached, of which this place did abound when they came first (but afterward decreased by degrees). And besides waterfowl there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc. Besides, they had about a peck of meal a week to a person, or now since harvest, Indian corn to that proportion. Which made many afterwards write so largely of their plenty here to their friends in England, which were not feigned by true reports." -courtesty of Wikipedia

An 1869 Thanksgiving political cartoon from Harper's Weekly...care of Thomas Nast

That's all for now. Perhaps I'll feel more motivated to write tomorrow evening once the tryptophan wears off...oh joyous turkey...