Jeff's Lunchbreak

A little while back, I wrote a post called @%^$#!$ Steelers, where I complained about the team's less than stellar performance to start off the season, and resigned myself to expecting them to lose every game from then on out. Well, they couldn't just stay horrible. They had to become just good enough to get my hopes up and then dash them.

Two weeks ago, the Steelers playoff chances looked pretty long indeed. It had to be right phase of the moon with all the planets aligned - they had to win out, and multiple teams had to lose each of the last two weeks. Well, it looked like the planets were all coming together, with it all coming down to one game between the Chargers and the Chiefs. If the Chiefs won, the Steelers were going to the playoffs. But alas, it wasn't to be. I suspect it was Pluto that spoiled it all, upset about its recent demotion to 'dwarf' planet. With only a few seconds left in the game, the Chief's kicker missed a 41 yard field goal that would have put them ahead and almost surely won the game. After that, the game went to overtime, and the Chargers came out ahead. To see just how close the field goal attempt was, plus Succop's reaction, take a look at the article, The Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs by *this* much.

Now, if I was bitter, I might complain about the Chargers playing their last game against a bunch of second stringers, instead of the starters like every other team in the NFL, or about the missed penalty on the last play of the game that would have given the Chiefs a second chance at winning the game, or the bizarre non-call on the fumble in overtime that would have given the Chiefs the winning touchdown, or even the spot on that play (okay, maybe I'm a little bitter). But the truth is, if your playoff chances are in the hands of fate in the final week, then you didn't do a good enough job throughout the season. The Steelers had a dismal 0-4 start to the season, and a lot of close games that they should have won if they were a championship caliber team.

On the plus side, going from 0-4 to 8-8 is a decent turnaround. At least they didn't have a losing record. And they finished out the season pretty well - a lot better than their meltdown last year. Maybe next season will be a good one, and they can climb the 'Stairway to Seven'.

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 30 | Permalink | Comments (42) | TrackBacks (0)

This entry is part of a series. For a listing of all entries in the series, go to the Index. Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All headings are links to those Bible chapters.

I apologize for being late yet again. I've been rather busy at work and cutting my lunches short, and then had a lot going on this past weekend with getting ready for the holidays and doing chores around the house. And then a few blogging opportunities popped up that drew my attention more than this series. I suspect that with Christmas being next week, I won't get up another Bible post until January 3rd or maybe even the 10th. So, I apologize in advance. Anyway...

Chapters 21 through 30 of Job continue on in much the same way as the preceding 20 chapters. Like I wrote last week, the poetry is pretty good, but it's getting pretty repetitive at this point. Job complains, his friends offer replies about why God would punish people, and Job responds that he hasn't done anything wrong.

These chapters cover most of the third cycle of speeches. The structure of this cycle is just a bit different than the first two, in that Zophar is left out of this cycle entirely, and Bildar's speech is quite a bit shorter than his previous two.

Job, Chapter 21

Chapter 21 started the third cycle with a speech from Job, again complaining about the arbitrariness of suffering, how the wicked often escape punishment, and how little recourse there is for mortals. A couple verses caught my eye. Job echoed the common sentiment that God would punish children for the sins of their parents (a theme throughout the earlier books of the Bible), but wondered why God wouldn't just punish the people committing the sins.

You say, "God stores up their iniquity for their children."
   Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it.
Let their own eyes see their destruction,
   and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

Job, Chapter 22

Eliphaz was a bit more explicit here than in the first two cycles. Previously he allowed for Job's innocence, but spoke in general of God's punishments against the wicked. Here, he's actually accusing Job of sinning, by failing to act when he should have. Other than that, it's more of the same, with a promise at the end that God will set everything straight if you just "return to the Almighty, you will be restored".

Job, Chapter 23

Job responded in his typical manner, still maintaining his innocence.

Job, Chapter 24

More of Job's response.

Job, Chapter 25

This was Bildad's third speech. It was very short - just 6 verses long. It ended on a pretty negative view of humanity:

If even the moon is not bright
   and the stars are not pure in his sight,
how much less a mortal, who is a maggot,
   and a human being, who is a worm!'

However, this might not have originally been the full extent of the speech.

Job, Chapter 26

According to the text, this was Job's response to Bildad. However, according to the NOAB, this is most likely the remainder of Bildad's speech. This would seem to flow better. The first part of the chapter is the speaker asking his audience if he'd helped those in need, which would fit Bildad interrogating Job to see if Job was as innocent as he claimed. The remainder of the chapter was mostly pointing out how powerful God is.

I've seen people use these verses to support differing views of Israelite cosmology - from anticipating geocentricism ("He stretches out Zaphon over the void, / and hangs the earth upon nothing"), to a flat earth ("The pillars of heaven tremble"). Personally, I think that no matter what the view was in that culture (probably a flat earth), what's written here could be chalked up to poetic license, and shouldn't be taken as a literal statement of the writer's cosmological beliefs.

Job, Chapter 27

Job began another speach by bemoaning his fate, but moved on to what seems like a different message from his previous speeches and responses. Instead of the utter hopelessness of some of his previous statements, pointing out that God allows the wicked to escape punishment, in this chapter he seems to be saying that God will punish the wicked. Consider the following verses (which like several passages I pointed out last week equate godlessness with wickedness).

'May my enemy be like the wicked,
   and may my opponent be like the unrighteous.
For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off,
   when God takes away their lives?

After reading the footnotes of the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB), it seems that this change in message may be due to portions of the book of Job getting a bit mixed up. Given the structure of the previous cycles and the message given here, it seems more likely that most of this chapter should be ascribed to a speaker besides Job, perhaps Zophar who is otherwise left out of the third cycle.

Job, Chapter 28

Taking the text of the Bible at face value, this is supposedly a continuation of Job's speech from Chapter 27. But again, it's out of character for what Job has said throughout the rest of the book. It's largely praising God, and pointing out the limitations of human knowledge. The NOAB notes two likely alternatives - that it's the conclusion of Elihu's speech (who I'll get to next week), or an independent poem that wasn't originally associated with any of the characters from the story.

In fact, the beginning of the chapter is very different from anything so far in Job.

Job, Chapter 29

Chapter 29 begins another speech of Job, and this one appears to be correctly ascribed to him. This chapter was devoted to looking back on Job's life before tragedy struck - how good he had it, and how revered he was in the community.

Job, Chapter 30

Chapter 30 moves on to looking at Job's condition now, how he is mocked by society, and how he has seemingly been abandoned by God.

---

Like I've written several times now, Job has some pretty good poetry, but it's very repetitious. Chapters 21 through 30 of Job were very similar in theme and message to the previous chapters. However, there were a few breaks in continuity pointing to some sort of scribal error some time in the history of the book.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 20 | Permalink | Comments (42) | TrackBacks (0)

I've written about the Salvation Army before, in the appropriately named entry, The Salvation Army - To Give, or Not to Give?. Now, I have reservations about that organization, and I've personally decided to donate to other, more deserving groups, but as I wrote in that entry, "I do think the Salvation Army does much more good than harm. So, if the only way you would donate would be to drop your change into one of their kettles, then don't hold back! Most of your money will go to helping people, and it's better than doing nothing at all." I certainly wouldn't advocate hostility towards the group, but here's an example of a Christian who was none too happy with one of the bell ringers, Salvation Army bell ringer says 'Happy Holidays' led to assault. Yes, you read the headline correctly. The bell ringer was wishing people 'happy holidays', and was assaulted because of it. Here's how she put it.

"The lady looked at me," said Vindiola. "I thought she was going to put money in the kettle. She came up to me and said, 'Do you believe in God?' And she says, 'You're supposed to say Merry Christmas,' and that's when she hit me."

How petty and small minded can you get? Here's a person volunteering their own time to collect money for a Christian organization helping the poor, and another person is angered to the point of violence over their choice of wording in well wishing? It's absurd. And it's not even like saying 'happy holidays' is always (or even usually) a deliberate downplay of Christmas. I remember when it used to be the standard greeting on Christmas cards in lieu of wishing 'Merry Christmas and a happy New Year' simply because it was shorter. Or do these people hate New Year's so much that only Christmas should be mentioned in holiday greetings?

Granted, some people do say 'happy holidays' deliberately to avoid only Christmas wishes, because there are other holidays that people celebrate around this time of year. But that's meant to be more inclusive to those other people, not as some sort of hostility towards Christians. What type of person does it take to get upset at somebody extending good will towards a larger group of people?

It's kind of ugly, but here's a good chart I came across showing the proper response to different holiday greetings depending on the particular affiliation of the people involved.

If you can't read it, the appropriate response in every case is:

"Thank you! You too!"

...because honestly, if you can't see past the words of the wish to its good intent, then it's not the holiday well-wisher who's broken, it's you.

So, happy holidays to everyone out there who's celebrating some sort of holiday right around now. And if you're not celebrating anything, then just have a nice day.

Image Source: Imgur

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 18 | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBacks (0)

110 years ago today, the Wright brothers became the first humans to fulfill the dream of flight. I've written about this before, and rather than repeat myself, I'll just link to those previous entries.

• Wright Brother's Day, 2007
• Flying

So happy Wright Brothers Day. And find a little wonder in the fact that you can go out and do something that our ancestors could only dream about for thousands and thousands of years.

Yes, this is copied nearly verbatim from my most recent Wright Brothers Day entry. For a short summary linking to other articles, I didn't see the need to rewrite it.

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 17 | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBacks (0)

I've written along these lines before, but here's a slightly different version that's been rattling around in my head.

Imagine a supervillain bent on taking over the world, building a secret society of supporters to help him achieve his ends. He's very charismatic and likeable in person, and very generous in rewarding his supporters. But he's absolutely brutal with his enemies. Once he gets his hands on them, he'll torture them mercilessly, putting them through unimaginable pain, using methods that keep them alive and prolong the pain as long as possible. He's trying to build up his base of supporters as large as he can, so one of the tasks of existing supporters is to find new people to join their secret society. And of course, they focus on the rewards part, but once the potential converts learn of the society, there's also the threat of torture. In a sense, it's kind of like the mob - as long as you're not involved at all, you can steer clear of the whole thing. But once you get caught up in it personally, you have to either go along with them, or face some type of punishment. But unlike the mob, this is a megalomaniacal supervillain, so if he gets his way, eventually there will be no possibility of avoiding his influence. Once he gets enough supporters, he'll be ruler of the whole world, and then he'll be able to put all his resources to bear on finding and torturing his enemies.

Now in real life, this would be a difficult situation to deal with. On the one hand, you'd like to imagine yourself being a hero, and standing up against the villain. But on the other hand, as long as he's not punishing you, you may just keep your head down and do the minimum he asks of you. Just look at the drug cartels in Mexico right now. If a cartel demanded use of your house for a drug smuggling operation, would you stand up to them and face being tortured and killed, or would you just go along, knowing you were cooperating with an evil force, but saving your own hide, and probably your family's as well. And when you throw in the bribes and rewards, it gets even more tempting.

Now, instead of a supervillain bent on taking over the world, imagine a god already in control of the universe, who merely keeps his presence a bit of a secret on this world in an effort to find his most faithful supporters. Otherwise, the situation's mostly the same. Suck up to him and do as he wishes and you'll be rewarded. Oppose him and you'll be punished. Only unlike the mortal supervillain, this god has the ability to make the punishment last for eternity.

Now, I know that most Christians believe God is good, and the source of love and morality and all that. But look at the methods. They're not the methods of heroes, but rather of supervillains. Eternal torture as the punishment for any finite action, and particularly for not giving blind obedience, is evil. I'm just glad that God isn't real, or I'd be faced with the decision of going along with it all to save my own hide, or opposing it but damning myself to eternal torment. Imagining the God of the Bible to be real is a pretty bleak scenario.

I know, I know. Not all Christians believe God is like this. Even if the vast majority of Christians believe accepting Christ is one of the requirements of avoiding Hell, more liberal Christians believe that God will reward good people and only punish bad people, and the more liberal yet don't believe in eternal punishment, or don't even believe in a literal Hell. If God were like those more liberal Christians imagined, then it wouldn't be such a bleak scenario. But that's not the God of the Bible, nor the God believed in by the majority of Americans. I'm still in the Old Testament in my task of re-reading the entire Bible, but the God presented there is not particularly lenient. He demands obedience, and punishes people harshly if they fail to give it to him.

Edited 2015-04-22 to fix some typos in the post script.

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 17 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBacks (0)

Christmas is only two weeks away, so it's time to ramp up my efforts in the War on Christmas. To tell the truth, the whole idea of the war is a bit silly, considering all the ways Christmas has been dealt with in this country's past, from the Puritans outlawing it, to some cities treating it "like a nightmarish cross between Halloween and a particularly violent, rowdy Mardi Gras" (see first link below). I've written a few blog entries on Christmas over the years, so I'll just provide links to those below. The first three are especially good for actually being informative.

My previous War on Christmas posts:

• War on Christmas
• Yes, Virginia, There Are Liars
• The Salvation Army - To Give, or Not to Give?
• Another Attack in the War on Christmas
• War on Christmas, 2010
• War on Christmas, 2011
• War on Christmas, 2012

But I really do like Christmas. We've already put up the tree, decorated the front yard, and gotten most of the decorations up in the house, and we'll visit with family, excange presents, and celebrate on Christmas Day. We do pretty much all the normal traditions other than go to church. So, ignoring the 'war', here are a couple more Christmas posts.

My positive Christmas posts:

• A Plane Christmas Greeting
• Buy White Wine in the Sun, Support Autism Society
• Buy White Wine in the Sun, Support Autism Society, Again

And as has become my annual tradition for this site, here is Tim Minchin singing his secular Christmas carol, White Wine In the Sun. And just in case you missed the link above, if you buy the song from iTunes this month, the proceeds will go to the National Autistic Society.

Related Links to Other Sites (the first is serious, the rest are humorous):

• zinnia jones - The company they keep (more info on the Salvation Army)
• Calamities of Nature - What Christmas Is All About (spoof of Peanuts Christmas)
• Digital Cuttlefish - (The War On) The War On The War On The War On Christmas
• Digital Cuttlefish - The Night Before (The War On) Christmas
• XKCD - Tradition
• SMBC - Miracle of Christmas
• The Daily Show - The War on Christmas: Friendly Fire Edition

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 9 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBacks (0)

I have a tradition of posting Tim Minchin's song, White Wine in the Sun, every year around Christmas (I'll be posting it shortly this year). As described on Minchin's site, "This is a captivating song and a beautiful and intelligent exploration of why Christmas can still be meaningful even without religious beliefs. There's just the right amount of sentiment and some very gentle humour illustrating Tim's feelings about Christmas and the importance of family and home. It is a heart-warming song and may make you a little bright eyed."

Tim Minchin has his own tradition - donating all the proceeds from the sale of the song in the months of December and January to the National Autistic Society, a tradition that he's keeping this year. So if you don't already own it, go buy the song and help support a good cause.

More Info:

• Jammin' in Camden, White Wine, a F**ing record and a TV Pilot!
• White Wine In The Sun [2012] - Now Available on iTunes

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 9 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBacks (0)

This entry is part of a series. For a listing of all entries in the series, go to the Index. Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). All headings are links to those Bible chapters.

Chapters 11 through 20 of Job continue on in much the same vein as chapters 3 through 10. Job continues to lament his position, while his friends continue to offer different perspectives.

Job, Chapter 11

This is the first chance for Zophar to respond to Job. He's the least sympathetic of Job's friends, implying that Job really must be guilty of something that none of them know about, "Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves." Other than that, Zophar's message is similar to previous ones - be faithful to God, and he will set things right.

Job, Chapter 12

Chapter 12 begins what is commonly known as the second cycle of speeches. There are three cycles in the book. The cycles all begin with a speech from Job, and then alternate between speeches from his friends and Job's responses to them.

Job gets a little more explicit in his criticism of God in this speech. It's almost a lament that we are all at the mercy of God, no matter what he decides to do, good or bad. Consider verse 14:

If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
   if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.

or verses 24 and 25:

He strips understanding from the leaders of the earth,
   and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
They grope in the dark without light;
   he makes them stagger like a drunkard.

Job also points out that the wicked aren't always punished for their crimes, a theme he'll return to in later chapters.

The tents of robbers are at peace,
   and those who provoke God are secure,
   who bring their god in their hands.

Job, Chapter 13

Job continues his speech in much the same way. One interesting thing mentioned in the translation notes of the NRSV and the footnotes of the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB) is that the traditional translation of verse 15 is not the best one. For example, the King James Version (KJV) translates it as "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him...", the New International Version (NIV) has "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him...", and the New Living Translation (NLT) has "God might kill me, but I have no other hope." The NRSV has a much bleaker translation, "See, he will kill me; I have no hope." This is one of those times when I wish I knew enough to not be at the mercy of the translation of others.

Job, Chapter 14

Chapter 14 is yet more of the same from Job - not bad reading, but not much else for me to write in reviewing it.

Job, Chapter 15

This is Eliphaz's second speech. He chastizes Job for all that he has said against God, pointing out that Job wasn't the first person to ever suffer. He also repeated the theme that God is just. There was one passage that caught my eye, being an atheist. It wasn't the first time 'the godless' were mentioned in this book, but it was a pretty explicit insult against them.

For the company of the godless is barren,
   and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
They conceive mischief and bring forth evil
   and their heart prepares deceit.

Job, Chapter 16

Job responded to Eliphaz, in much the way he's responded throughout this book. I did particularly like verse 3:

Have windy words no limit?
   Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?

There was also a verse where Job was calling on the earth itself to give some justice to Yahweh.

O earth, do not cover my blood;
   let my outcry find no resting-place.

Job, Chapter 17

More of the same from Job, so not much more for me to say, other than pointing out another set of verses that I liked.

If I look for Sheol as my house,
   if I spread my couch in darkness,
if I say to the Pit, "You are my father",
   and to the worm, "My mother", or "My sister",
where then is my hope?
   Who will see my hope?

I'll also note that there was a bit more denigration of 'the godless' in this chapter, though not as explicit as in other places:

The upright are appalled at this,
   and the innocent stir themselves up against the godless.

Job, Chapter 18

Chapter 18 was Bildad's second speech. There was one part of this that caught my attention, thanks to the footnotes in the NOAB. Verses 13 and 14 state:

By disease their skin is consumed,
   the firstborn of Death consumes their limbs.
They are torn from the tent in which they trusted,
   and are brought to the king of terrors.

The 'king of terrors', or Death, was apparently the king of the underworld. And like any king, his kingdom would pass on to his 'firstborn'. And, to quote the NOAB, "the terrors are his agents who drag people from life down into his kingdom." This really does seem to be, if not outright polytheism, at least very, very different from the Christian conception of Hell being ruled by an immortal devil Satan (and not 'the Accuser' Satan from the opening chapter of this book).

Job, Chapter 19

This is yet more of the same from Job, but there are a few verses worth pointing out. Verse 20 is the source of a very common saying:

My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh,
   and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

The NOAB has a rather graphic description of what this verse is supposed to mean, "Escaped by the skin of my teeth, or rather, with the skin of my teeth, means that Job feels he has been flayed alive, his skin being stripped from every part of his body except his teeth, which of course have no skin."

The NOAB also notes that in Verse 25, " For I know that my Redeemer lives, / and that at the last he will stand upon the earth...", that 'Redeemer' should not be capitalized, since God is not going to be Job's champion, as God is the very one causing all of Job's problems.

Job, Chapter 20

This is Zophar's second speech to Job. It's largely of the same theme as all the other speeches from Job's friends, but this time it wasn't just the wicked, but also the godless who were badmouthed. It began with a verse that equated 'godless' with 'wicked':

Do you not know this from of old,
   ever since mortals were placed on earth,
that the exulting of the wicked is short,
   and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?

And then there was an extended section criticizing the godless, and detailing the fates they can expect, with such lovely sentiments as "they will perish for ever like their own dung", "Their children will seek the favour of the poor" (because as elsewhere in the Bible, children deserve to suffer for the actions of their parents), "They swallow down riches and vomit them up again", etc. This goes on for over 20 verses.

---

Like I wrote last week, the book of Job is actually one of the better books of the Bible I've read so far. To quote that entry, "The poetry is actually pretty good, and there are some moving passages." However, as I feared, it is becoming repetitious. To give an idea of how bad this can be, here's a quick anecdote. I usually do most of my initial reading on my phone, and then follow up later in the NOAB with the footnotes and translation notes. Usually, whenever I start the browser on the phone, it goes right to where I left off, acting as a good bookmark. But sometimes the phone browser will reset and go back a few chapters. This happened last week, and it took me two or three chapters before I was positive that I was re-reading passages I'd already read. That's how similar Job is from chapter to chapter.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 6 | Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBacks (0)

It's taken me a little longer than I'd hoped to get this done, but here is the second part of my review of the books I read in the last year, just in time to click a link to pick up a Christmas present for the booklover in your life. (More precisely - these are books I read from October 2012 through October 2013). Part I was an analysis of my reading habits, while this entry will give a brief review for each book.

I've made it a tradition to use this space to list my favorite books from the year. And like many years, it's tough to pick my favorites again this year. As far as fiction, I really liked both The Kronos Chronicles and The Uglies Series. If you're interested in the Bible, I can't recommend the New Oxford Annotated Bible highly enough. The Around Pottstown (Postcard History Series) and Wichita Falls (Images of America) books were both very interesting. I actually have a couple more books from that series on my nightstand that I'm looking forward to reading. I also really liked Feynman and Primates, but I guess I'd rank them just a little behind the rest of my favorites. As far as regular non-fiction, I really liked Night, The Darwin Experience, and Pterosaurs.

But I can't just list every book I read as a favorite, so if I have to narrow down that list, I think I can limit it to The Uglies Series, Around Pottstown, Wichita Falls, and Pterosaurs.

Here's a list of all the books reviewed below. Click on any title to jump to that review.

Children's & Young Adult Fiction

• Wild Jack
• The Hobbit
• The Kronos Chronicles (The Cabinet of Wonders, The Celestial Globe, The Jewel of the Kalderash)
• The Uglies Series (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras)

Adult Fiction

• Tribulation Force

Religion

• New Oxford Annotated Bible

Light Non-Fiction

• Around Pottstown (Postcard History Series)
• Wichita Falls (Images of America)
• Feynman
• Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas

Non-Fiction

• Night
• Self-Made Man: One Woman's Year Disguised as a Man
• Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature
• The Darwin Experience: The Story of the Man and His Theory of Evolution
• Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy

Wild Jack
by John Christopher

Stardust
by Neil Gaiman

The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Kronos Chronicles
by Marie Rutkoski

The Uglies Series
by Scott Westerfeld

Tribulation Force
by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

New Oxford Annotated Bible
by Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom and Pheme Perkins

Around Pottstown (Postcard History Series)
by Patricia Wanger Smith

Wichita Falls (Images of America)
by Kenneth E. Hendrickson Jr.

Feynman
by Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas
by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Night
by Elie Wiesel

Self-Made Man: One Woman's Year Disguised as a Man
by Norah Vincent

Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature
by Brian Switek

The Darwin Experience: The Story of the Man and His Theory of Evolution
by John Van Wyhe

Pterosaurs: Natural History, Evolution, Anatomy
by Mark P. Witton

Posted by Jeff on A, Dec 6 | Permalink | Comments (41) | TrackBacks (0)