Fürer-Haimendorf Collection

From the School of Oriental & African Studies : "The SOAS archive of Professor Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf (1909-1995) includes photographs, cine film and written materials. It reflects his fifty years of scholarship and is widely recognised as the world's most comprehensive study of tribal cultures in South Asia and the Himalayas. It is especially valuable because it documents these cultures before many changed rapidly with the advent of external civil administration after the mid-twentieth century. In 1995, Nicholas Haimendorf donated his father's archive to SOAS, where it was deposited in the Special Collections department of the Library."

How will the 'Noughties' be remembered?

The biggest stories of the 21st century have been terrorism, technology and a stock-market crash. But, says Dominic Sandbrook, history may view the 'Noughties’ in a different light...

I really hate that word "Noughties" though.

Makeover may lose Bolivian pyramid it world heritage site listing

As with all makeovers, it seemed a good idea at the time. The village of Tiwanaku in the Bolivian Andes reckoned it could attract more tourists by giving an ancient pyramid a facelift.

Workers plastered the Akapana pyramid – one of the biggest constructions in South America which predates the Incas – with adobe to make it look more impressive.

The problem, according to some experts, is that the new look is an archaeological travesty which could cost the pyramid its UN world heritage site designation...

(So basically the lesson is guys, leave it to the experts!)

Future plans

Now AA312 is out of the way i need to look into next year's course, which will complete my degree (assuming i pass this year). AA307 Religion in history : conflict, conversion and coexistance is now looking the odds-on favourite for next year's course. I won't register until December though (deadline is December the 16th which should be a couple of days after i get my result for this year).

After that, and assuming i get my BA ok, i want to move to masters level (finally), i have been looking at masters degrees both at the OU and other universities. One i was looking at last night was the OU's MA in Classical Studies which seems interesting (i have done a Dip CS as part of my OU career) though one year would be on Greek Theatre which might to be too far from my comfort zone for ...er... comfort.

Although we are talking about something i will not be doing until 2011 (or 2012 if i decide to take a year off) its best to start considering these as soon as possible...

AA312... done!

The exam was on Tuesday. The exam itself was not too bad though the day was trying considering rogue drivers seemed out to kill me. Anyway that is AA312 done and dusted. I also got my final TMA back from the tutor with a morale boosting 82% for my essay on resistance in world war 2. Now i am enjoying a few months off before my next course, probably Religion and history which will complete my degree. After that i think i will do the Oxford Advanced Diploma but one thing at a time.

Now to wait for the course result in December. I hope I (and everyone else who did the course) did OK.

Lost Greek city that may have inspired Atlantis myth gives up secrets

The secrets of a lost city that may have inspired one of the world's most enduring myths – the fable of Atlantis – have been brought to light from beneath the waters off southern Greece.

Explored by an Anglo-Greek team of archaeologists and marine geologists and known as Pavlopetri, the sunken settlement dates back some 5,000 years to the time of Homer's heroes and in terms of size and wealth of detail is unprecedented, experts say...

The oldest filmed person?

Last night, as part of my revision, i was watching some old newsreels on DVD. One was of the 1935 general election and showed a 103 year old man going to cast his vote. This of course means he was born in about 1832! So that got me wondering, who is the oldest person to have ever been filmed? By that of course the person born before anyone else who was filmed by a motion picture camera. As motion pictures or films date back to the late 1880s it is possible that someone born in the 18th century was filmed. Does anyone know?

B Jones

B Jones, originally uploaded by megara_rp.

Another old Erdington shop, this photo dates from the late 1990s (i know as i took it myself) though the shop itself was abandoned by then and looks like it had been in a time warp. Notice the ERD phone code.