"Traditions are group efforts to keep the unexpected from happening." - Barbara Tober

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This afternoon, I was at Quest for Immortality - The World of Ancient Egypt at the National Museum with Cunning Linguist and Maria.

Uncharacteristically, I am posting pictures on the same day that I took them. I also took pictures on the last day of the Belgian Art exhibition, but since it was so long ago it can wait and anyway for local events there're probably already other people posting images in dribs and drabs.

Uncharacteristically, too, I have nothing to say.

Well, that's not quite true. My short words:

1) Pay by Mastercard so it's $8.50 and not $15.
2) After only 5 days some of the letters are already falling or have fallen off, perhaps due to vandalism.
3) What's with the dark lighting in both the National and Asian Civilisations Museums?! Is it to foil photography?
4) Non-flash photography is allowed! I don't know how they get the photo rights to so many of these things - I thought the international practice was to disallow photography at all temporary exhibitions.

I will nonetheless not type out the artifact names, both since I took pictures of the plaques and because leaving this information out is the only way this post is going out tonight. I have added the names of the items

I might also post pictures of some of my favourite Egyptian artefacts from other museums in the next day or two. Maybe.



Bust of a goddess. Ptolemaic Period


Statue of goddess Sekhmet. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty




Elephant statue. Ptolemaic-Roman Period
This is one of three known large Egyptian elephant statues


Colossal head of a king. Ptolemaic Period.


Statue of the god Horus and King Horemheb. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty


Lion devouring a bull. Late Period, 30th Dynasty


Ornate collar, Old Kingdom, late 5th-early 6th Dynasty and Necklace,
New Kingdom, 1500-1200 BC


Sculptor's model (of a falcon). Late-Ptolemaic Period


Mirror, Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty
Cosmetic palette in the shape of a fish, Late Predynastic Period, c. 3200 BC
Palette with grinder, Late Predynastic Period, c. 3100 BC
Ointment bowl in the shape of a tilapia fish, New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BC
Kohl jar, New Kingdom, 1550-1069 BC


Ostracon showing a king's head, New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty


Standing winged Isis, Late Period
Isis with Harpokrates or 'Horus the Child', Late Period


Osiris figurine whose plaque I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of


Stele belonging to Pa-mer-ihu, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty


Thoth as an ibis, Late Period, 600-550 BC


Falcon, Ptolemaic Period


Mummies of two crocodiles, Late-Ptolemaic Period


Seated statue of Khentit-ka and her son Rudju, Old Kingdom, early 5th Dynasty, c. 2450 BC


Tomb stele for Keti and Senet, Middle Kingdom, late 11th-12th Dynasty.
2055-1900 BC
Relief fragment with a cartouche of Seti I, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty
Stele belonging to Djed-her. Late Period, 26th Dynasty


Stele belonging to Amen-mose. New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty
Stele belonging to Teri, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty


Coffin lid and interior of outer coffin belonging to Padi-imen-em-ipet. 3rd Intermediate-Late Period. 25th-26th Dynasties


Inner coffin belonging to Nes-Khons. 3rd Intermediate Period. 25th Dynasty


Shabti box belonging to Neser-Amun. 3rd Intermediate-Late Period. 25th-26th Dynasties
Canopic chest in the shape of a chapel. Ptolemaic Period
Chest inscribed with the name Hor. Late-Ptolemaic Period


Four canopic jars. New Kingdom, 19th-20th Dynasty


Heart scarab belonging to a man called Sen-resi, New Kingdom, early 18th Dynasty, 1550-1500 BC
Heart scarab, Late Period
Pectoral with heart scarab belonging to a man named Piai, New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty


Book of the Dead belonging to Pay-nefer-nefer. 3rd Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty

"You know how to read ah?" - A boy's remark on hearing me explaining the Book Of The Dead

RT englishmajor Tomorrow's Straits Times front-page headline - Singapore Idol reignites racial riots

"I never think of the future - it comes soon enough." - Albert Einstein

***

From the Nandos Site:


"Getting Hot and Saucy in Singapore!
There's good news for Singaporean Peri-Peri addicts as Nando's has plans to open a restaurant in Singapore"

There's also a "Nando's Singapore" on Facebook, but the profile is restricted.

PR campaign FAIL!

The Poultrygeist on Barnyard Chorus:

"I'll thank you to stop engaging in reductionist arguments."

SPOING!

"After the last of 16 mounting screws has been removed from an access cover, it will be discovered that the wrong access cover has been removed." - De La Lastra's Law

***

There's a list of "25 best exam blunders" floating around. Apparently it's from "F in exams: the best test paper blunders".

Here're my favourites:


Q: Where was Hadrian's Wall built?
A: Around Hadrian's garden


Q: What is a vibration?
A: There are good vibrations and bad vibrations. Good vibrations were discovered in the 1960s


Q: Steve is driving his car. He is travelling at 60 feet/second and the speed limit is 40 mph. Is Steve speeding?
A: He could find out by checking his speedometer.


Q: Why would living close to a mobile phone mast cause ill health?
A: You might walk into it.


Q: What is the highest frequency noise that a human can register?
A: Mariah Carey. ♥♥♥


Q: State three drawbacks of hedgerow removal.
A: 1. All the cows will escape.
2. The cars drive into the fields.
3. There is nowhere to hide.


Q: How does Romeo's character develop throughout the play?
A: It doesn't, it's just self, self, self all the way through.


Q: Is Birmingham the right location for this type of business?
A: No. People from Birmingham aren't very fashionable.


Q: Name six animals which live specifically in the Artic.
A: Two polar bears. Three Four Seals


Q: Name one of the early Romans' greatest achievements.
A: Learning to speak Latin


Q: What did Mahatma Gandhi and Genghis Khan have in common?
A: Unusual names

"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it." - Michel de Montaigne

***

God Hates Lady Gaga - "As much as she'd like to pretend otherwise, there's nothing new or different about this particular hussy's pretentious prancing. Does the simple slut truly think that she can change God's standards by seducing a generation of rebels into joining her in fist-raised, stiff-necked, hard-hearted rebellion against Him? Get real!"

Led astray by the no-split-infinitives fetish - "There is nothing wrong in English with splitting an infinitive. There never was anything wrong with it, either. You probably all knew that already. Unfortunately, the loudest grammar snobs are the ones who’ve put the least research into their opinions, and so, for every ten people quietly aware that infinitives can and sometimes should be split, there’s one vocal grammaticaster shouting over them that split infinitives are an abomination in the eyes of Pope. That means that there’re still a substantial number of people out there either objecting to or grinding their teeth over Star Trek’s to boldly go."

Hitler and evolution - "Like a creationist, Hitler asserts fixity of kinds... affirms that humans existed "from the very beginning", and could not have evolved from apes... believes that man was made in God's image, and in the expulsion from Eden... claims Jesus as his inspiration... despises secular schooling... Like a creationist, Hitler wished to make prayer compulsory in public schools. Unlike American creationists, he succeeded"

Barnyard Chorus: Play it again, Sam - "Sam [Ho] engages nothing at all Samantha says, instead choosing to lecture her on Reel Praktikull Activistyism. The first step to doing this is talk over others... The second step is to have no bloody idea what you're talking about... Sam isn't just ignorant and wrong. We're all ignorant and wrong sometimes. But Sam is also breathtakingly arrogantly wrong, and patronising."
These mad cows need to get off the Kool Aid and stop shooting everyone who isn't as rabid as them. And WAH LAO I AM DAMN INSULTED SAM HO THOUGHT I WAS BEHIND THE DERANGED MADNESS AT BARNYARD CHORUS !@#$%^&*()

The Pig & The Butcher on Vimeo - "A good friend of mine Vadim Akimenko of the future Akimenko Meats is a butcher who has a very intense passion for what he does. At the end of this process, of a 211 pound pig only 1 pound of meat was thrown away. It went on to feed quite a lot of people."
This video is like my life - pointless.

False Rape Allegations: An Assault On Justice | The Forensic Examiner - "Although it may not be "politically correct" to question the veracity of a women's complaint of rape, failing to consider the accuser may be intentionally lying effectively eradicates the presumption of innocence. This Constitutional right is especially significant when dealing with allegations of rape as in most jurisdictions, sex offenses are the only crimes that do not require corroborating evidence for conviction. Because there are often no witnesses and no physical evidence (especially if the victim delays in filing a report), the case may come down to the credibility of the accused versus the credibility of the accuser."

Robot Romance: Inventor Le Trung takes his 'fembot' girlfriend to Christmas dinner - "'Aiko is like any woman, she enjoys getting new clothes,' he said... Le has built up huge debts working on his fembot and is still trying to find a technology company to sponsor his research... Le suffered a heart attack two years ago caused by stress after working long hours on Aiko... 'Like a real female she will react to being touched in certain ways,'said Le. 'If you grab or squeeze too hard she will try to slap you. She has all senses except for smell. But Aiko is always helpful and never complains. She is the perfect woman to have around at Christmas.'"