Category Archives: Middle East

Semiramis Kind of Life

Posted on February 20, 2012 by

Looking back at this Chick Tract dissection, I thought that Jack Chick’s obsession with Semiramis might be worth a post. So who’s Semiramis? And is she related to Harold Ramis, who played Egon in Ghostbusters? I don’t know about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Babylonian, Catholicism, Christianity, Fundamentalism, History, Jack Chick, Mesopotamia, Middle East, Mythology, Religion, Semitic | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anoint Me Slowly

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

I’ve recently seen it suggested that the practice of anointing an official in oil dates back to Egypt, where such a ceremony is represented in images of coronations. It has been proposed that, symbolically speaking, the anointment transfers the power … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, History, Judaism, Middle East, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Antics of Antiochus

Posted on December 26, 2011 by

It’s interesting that the token attempt made by Western society toward multiculturalism is to acknowledge Chanukah alongside Christmas, when Chanukah is essentially a commemoration of a rejection of multiculturalism. Well, there’s more to it than that, but that is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Chanukah, History, Holidays, Judaism, Middle East, Religion | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do You Hear What Herod Hears?

Posted on December 25, 2011 by

When you think of Christmas villains, who comes to mind? The Grinch? The Krampus? Burgermeister Meisterburger? The Awgwas? Well, how about Herod the Great, the King of Judea who tried to have Jesus killed? Well, at least that’s what the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Christmas, History, Holidays, Judaism, Middle East, Religion, Roman Empire | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Idol Wild

Posted on October 16, 2011 by

I’ve been reading a book on legends from ancient Israel, which includes a few stories on Abraham, who is sometimes considered to be the first monotheist in history. Obviously this would be difficult to prove, especially since it’s not even … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Islam, Judaism, Middle East, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Babylon Bound

Posted on September 29, 2011 by

A book I recently read, Diana Wynne Jones’s Deep Secret, makes heavy use of a nursery rhyme that’s apparently quite common in the United Kingdom, and dates back to at least the nineteenth century. The rhyme is as follows: How … Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Dulabone, Christianity, Diana Wynne Jones, History, Judaism, Middle East, Nursery Rhymes, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rasta Row the Boat Ashore

Posted on May 29, 2011 by

In my series of religion posts, I’ve been examining different religions, explaining what I know about them and trying to find out more. I’m running out of major religions to cover, but here’s another one from the twentieth century: Rastafarianism. … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, History, Middle East, Rastafarianism, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Too Many Endors

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

Watching Family Guy’s parody of Return of the Jedi (which I said a little bit about in this LiveJournal post) made me think about the name Endor, home of the Ewoks. Well, actually, Endor is a gas giant, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Dragon Quest, Fundamentalism, History, Judaism, Middle East, Religion, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

King, King, Double King!

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

Since I discussed chess last week, I figure it would be sensible to make the jump (pun intended) to Checkers, or Draughts as the British call it. While I’m sure I must have played checkers in my youth, and it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Alquerque, Board Games, Checkers, Games, History, Middle East, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Something to Get Off My Chess

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

It was almost certainly Through the Looking-Glass, which used a game of chess as its background, that got me interested in the game. I soon found, however, that actually playing the game could get a bit tedious. So I know … Continue reading →

Posted in Board Games, Chess, Games, History, India, Lewis Carroll, Middle East | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments