AA307, can start already really

The Open University can be very fast acting sometimes, two days after i registered on-line to do AA307 next year the course materials arrived! I also have 2 of the 3 set books too thanks to Amazon (the third is on the way from the US). So i am all set really. I think i will start the course in the 1st or 2nd week of January. Officially the course does not start until February but i like to give myself a bit of slack in case i feel like a week or a few days off here and there.

Usually this need comes in handy during the Summer, it is difficult to maintain interest in your text books when the sun is shining outside. The OU are switching to October starts for all their new history undergraduate courses it seems but that's too late for me. Probably.

Update : there was nothing on TV so i decided to start the course tonight!

Nazareth dwelling discovery may shed light on boyhood of Jesus

"Israeli archaeologists today unveiled what could be the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that can be dated back to the time of Jesus – a find that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the period of Jesus's boyhood, according to the New Testament.

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about four acres. It was evidently populated by Jews of modest means, said archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority..."

Stonehenge bones may be evidence of winter solstice feasts

"Some 4,500 years ago, as the solstice sun rose on Stonehenge, it is very likely that a midwinter feast would already have been roasting on the cooking fires.

Experts believe that huge midwinter feasts were held in that period at the site and a startling picture is now emerging of just how far cattle were moved for the banquet. Recent analysis of the cattle and pig bones from the era found in the area suggests the cattle used were walked hundreds of miles to be slaughtered for the solstice celebrations – from the west country or west Wales..."

Guardian reviews of the 2000s

There are those that say* the decade did not begin until 2001 (and thus does not end until 2010) though most people are happy to treat the period 2000-2009 as the 2000s decade (i hate the term Noughties! The first decade of the last century is referred to as the 1900s after all.) So as the decade enters it's last few days there are many reviews of the decade in various newspapers and news sites.

One set of reviews i do like has been published by the Guardian, especially their technological review of the decade. Instant nostalgia. It is really too early to be able to know but it would be interesting to see how this decade will be viewed by future generations. Of course much of that depends on how the decisions and events of the decade affect the years to come.

* Personally i agree with the logic but i think going with the flow is most suitable in things like this.

AA307 registered

It begins anew, registered AA307 on Tuesday and my course materials should arrive today (that is very fast work by the Open University i must say!) Three set texts have also been ordered from Amazon though 1 will have to come from the USA so they will maybe come in the new year. The course does not start until early February in any case though i always like to start my study a few weeks early so i have some leeway later in the year in case i need a week or so off (or if the Sun is shining too much!)

The Open University are switching to October starts for it's undergraduate history courses though it will not effect me as by the time all the courses have switched i will likely be on my MA by then...

AA312 passed

Course result out today, and i have passed AA312. That means i have now passed both of the compulsory modules for the Open University BA History degree. The pass wasn't that great, maybe my worst mark so far! But a pass is a pass, maybe the car accident affected me more than i thought. Or my revision wasn't very good! Whatever it was its done now.

And i have registered for AA307 and will start that in February. Apparently the current BBC4 documentary series on the history of Christianity is quite useful for parts of the course...

BBC and British Library to take joint approach to building digital archive

"The BBC and the British Library are collaborating on a digital technology project to open up the institutions' archives, with the aim of giving the public greater online access to a vast cultural treasure trove.

Under a memorandum of understanding to be signed by the two organisations today, they will collaborate on the task of provising greater digital access to the British Library's archive of more than 150m items collected over the past 250 years, as well as nearly 1m hours of TV and radio output from the BBC, which has been broadcasting since 1922..."

All i can say is... fantastic!

Zanclean flood

Somewhat pre-historical though ancient megafloods have always interested me.

"Research has revealed details of the catastrophic Zanclean flood that refilled the Mediterranean Sea more than five million years ago.

The flood occurred when Atlantic waters found their way into the cut-off and desiccated Mediterranean basin."