- Been wishing you had a way to read the famed Dead Sea Scrolls without having to travel all the way to Israel? Today is your day, friend. Thanks to the marvel of modern technology, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Google have announced a plan Tuesday to digitize the and make the entire collection available to the public online. The authority's general director, Shuka Dorfman, cited the project a as milestone that will bolster the field of biblical studies as well as the public’s understanding of Judaism and early Christianity. "We have succeeded in recruiting the best minds and technological means to preserve this unrivaled cultural heritage treasure, which belongs to all of us, so that the public with a click of the mouse will be able to access history in its fullest glamour," Dorfman said. Putting the scrolls online is a daunting task because they consist of 30,000 fragments from 900 manuscripts. Still, one of the most important archaeological finds ever made coming to the masses has to be a good thing. Plainly put, there is no way the IAA could make the original manuscripts, made of leather, papyrus and copper, to everyone. Since the first fragments of the scrolls were found in 1947 by a nomadic shepherd in a cave near the Dead Sea, they have been a source of fascination and controversy. That’ll happen with ancient documents dating back over 2,000 years and containing details about the development of Judaism during the Hellenistic period and illuminating the relationship between early Christian and Jewish religious traditions. To put the scrolls online, the IAA and Google will utilize the latest in spectral and infrared imaging technology to scan the thousands of scroll fragments into one large database. "This is the ultimate image of the scroll you can get," explained project manager Pnina Shor. "It presents an authentic copy of the scroll that, once online, there is no need to expose the scrolls anymore." Digitizing the scrolls will also provide some peace of mind for the IAA, which has begun limiting photography of them due to concerns of conserving the fragile papyrus. In fact, deterioration caused by flawed preservation and display practices in decades inspired the IAA to create a new active image record that would spare the manuscripts from further degradation. At this point, only four conservationists are allowed to handle the scroll fragments and scholars are limited in how much time they can spend studying them in person. From Google’s end, the project is more of a public relations ploy than anything else, as the effort is not for profit and not exclusive. "I can envision scholars or other companies contributing their own technologies so as to get some additional value over the data " said Yossi Matias, Google's head of research and development center in Israel. To make the project possible, the Israel Antiquities Authority has raised $3.5 million to fund the project. The final product could be online within a few months and then the über-fun pastime of studying ancient sea scrolls can begin………
- Very big of you, National Football League, to admit that you made a "mistake" by having photos of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison's hit on Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi available for sale through your website at the same time you were fining Harrison fined $75,000 for said hit. That incident of incredible hypocrisy came to light after the league’s fining bonanza Tuesday in which it touched up three players - Harrison, Atlanta Falcons defensive back Dunta Robinson and New England Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather - a total of $175,000 for what it deemed excessively violent hits that violated the league’s rules. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello announced the change after Pittsburgh television station KDKA first reported that the photos were for sale. "We regret the mistake," Aiello said. "The photos will be taken down and we will ensure that no photos of illegal plays will be available again. An outside vendor uses an automated process to post photos for sale to fans. We will fix the process immediately." Mmm hmm, sure. Blame it on the “outside vendor using an automated process to post photos for sale to fans” excuse, that always works. For future reference, just go with the simple policy that if you are making money off something, you cannot in good conscience turn around and fine players for said behavior or action. In other words, it’s cool to crack down on illegal hits to the head and vow to suspend players for infractions as soon as this weekend’s games; you just can't glorify those same hits by selling 8x10 glossies online to pad your bank account. The league has made a point of saying that it is not changing its rules on “devastating” hits, but rather upping penalties for infractions that were already covered under the rules. Sunday’s slew of scary hits clearly pressured the league into expediting the process of increasing penalties and intensifying the focus on violent collisions. Of the three players receiving fines on Tuesday for violent hits, Harrison appears to be taking the fine harder than anyone else. He’s reportedly considering retirement because of the matter, which would make him more of a drama queen and crybaby than anyone would ever imagine of an NFL player. If a $75,000 fine and a mandate from the league not to go head-hunting on the field is enough to rob you of your desire to play the game, then the league is better off without you……….
- Not that most of them are that far away from delivering pizzas for a living, but it was still amusing to see Meat Loaf, Lil Jon, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and John Rich of country duo Big & Rich selling pies at Famiglia's Pizza in downtown New York on Tuesday as part of a television shoot rumored to be for the upcoming season of Donald Trump's reality show, "Celebrity Apprentice." Given that I couldn’t tell you who John Rich was if he walked up to me wearing a sign that said, “Hi, I’m John Rich,” as well as the fact that I’m pretty sure McGrath gave up the hilariously bad attempts at music he mustered while fronting Sugar Ray, I’d peg them as the two most likely members of the group to be in the pizza business full-time sooner rather than later. But of course, a group of has-been, never-were and who-cares musicians selling pizzas drew a crowd and the men stood outside the pizzeria and held up signs promoting the sale of the "celebrity" pizza, which a) seems like a big lie because Lil Jon is the only one of the group anywhere else to an actual celebrity and b) had all of its proceeds going to charity. At one point, McGrath and Lil Jon performed an acoustic rendition of Sugar Ray's best-known song, "Fly," to draw in support. Lil Jon shouted to one fan, "Don't just take a picture - pull out that credit card. Brother, you can make it rain!" Also on hand was troubled actor Gary Busey, who chatted with onlookers and referred to himself as the "pepperoni prophet." No word on whether he was serious and simply delusional or actually trying to crack a joke. Inside the eatery, Meat Loaf prepped for his not-so-far-off next job by running the register while McGrath flipped pizza pies for waiting customers. Delivering the orders were none other than noted tax cheat and former "Survivor" winner Dick Hatch, confirmed ‘roider and former MLB star Jose Canseco and David Cassidy. Should be an….um…..interesting next season of “Celebrity Apprentice”………….
- The rent is too damn high! Learn it, love it, repeat it, slap it on t-shirts and make it your personal mantra because when the revolution comes and New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillian is running this great nation from the Oval Office, that will be our national motto. McMillian, a man rocking facial hair that would make the competitors at the World Beard and Moustache Championships envious, stole the spotlight at a gubernatorial debate featuring frontrunners Andrew Cuomo and confirmed bestiality video fan Carl Paladino. My man J-Mac, representing the “Rent is Too Damn High Party,” went on several inspiring rants during the debate, all featuring his potent message for the world. "The people I'm here to represent can't afford their rent.... Someone's stomach just growled. Did you hear it?" he snarled. In another rant, McMillian began by announcing that because he is a karate expert, he would not be making any derogatory remarks about his fellow candidates. That disjointed proclamation made absolutely no sense, which only made it that much more awesome. He did vow to ask for no campaign contributions and said his responsibility was to “put food on your table, a roof over your head and money in your pocket.” As for his stance on the issue of gay marriage: "If you want to marry a shoe, I'll marry you." Again, unresponsive and insane, but inspiring. There was actually another freak show, er, um, viable candidate on stage during the debate, but "Manhattan Madam" Kristin Davis didn’t do much to inspire. Her claim that she was the only one on stage who probably could handle the New York congress, because "Politicians are the biggest whores in this state" rang hollow and paled in comparison to McMillian’s pearls of wisdom. Even though he seems to have little chance of winning the election, one can’t help but dream that come 2012, J-Mac will team with rising Republican Party star Phil Davison of Ohio (check out his rant on YouTube if you don’t know who he is) to form their own political party and make a run for the White House. Lord knows they’d have my vote………
- What do you do when a tense or stressful situation comes your way. Aside from sweating and possibly having your mind begin racing, one involuntary response many people have in such situations is clenching their muscles. For example, clenching your teeth before the climax in a horror movie or tightening your legs before impact in an accident. But those actions are in response to a stressor, so no one has given much thought to using the tensing of muscles to one’s advantage…..until now. According to researchers Iris Hung of the National University of Singapore and Aparna Labroo from the University of Chicago, intentionally tensing muscles may actually work as a proactive measure to ease the short-term experience of unpleasant situations for long-term gain. The study, published in the latest Journal of Consumer Research, detailed how researchers designed four studies to put participants through a range of self-control dilemmas that involved accepting immediate pain for a longer-term benefit. In one setting, participants dunked their hands in ice buckets, while another had them drinking a vinegar-laden mixture that improved health but tasted awful and a third study exposed participants to disturbing photos of Haitian earthquake victims in need of help. The fourth study differed substantially, placing participants in a cafeteria where they shopped for food choices under observation. In all four studies, those who clenched their muscles were able to exercise self- control for their greater benefit. "Participants who were instructed to tighten their muscles, regardless of which muscles they tightened -- hand, finger, calf or biceps -- while trying to exert self-control demonstrated greater ability to withstand the pain, consume the unpleasant medicine, attend to the immediately disturbing but essential information or overcome tempting foods," the authors wrote. The two mitigating factors in the study were: 1) muscle tightening will only work if the choice aligns with the participants' goals and 2) the tightening has to occur at the moment of decision. Advance clenching only tires a person. So what conclusion explains these curious results? Researchers believe the mind-body connection accounts for the muscle-willpower impact. "Simply engaging in these bodily actions can serve as a non-conscious source to recruit willpower, facilitate self-control and improve consumer wellbeing," Hung and Labroo wrote. So if you want to apply this to your daily life, just make sure that you clench your muscles tight next time you face a temptation and see if it helps………
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