Between the Tigris and Euphrates

Fridays at the Met. Click on a photo to enlarge it.

Alas, we reach the end of the tour of the ancient Near East and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I hope you enjoyed this little virtual trip. Hope something spiked your wonder and curiosity ... maybe kindled some sparks of inspiration.

Here are some miscellaneous objects from Mesopotamia.

The Sumerians had the first chariots pulled by asses - the equine
type not the human type.

Some ancient trinkets. Accessorizing has been around a very long time.

There is a theory these are representations and proof of
ancient alien visitation. See, the Sumerians shared my
love of sci-fi ... no wonder I think they're cool

Some other various trinkets

close up

More aliens?

Back then you would have had your own personal seal.
These cylinders when rolled out on clay made
these individual seals.

More seals.

First Written Language

Fridays at the Met.

Sumer had the first written language. Pictographs predated cunieform, and there was an intermediate writing. Sumerians kept meticulous records on clay tablets. Because of this, modern archeologists have been able to translate other ancient writings. Lexicons of the cultures they interacted with were kept.

Both of the above tablets are examples of the earlier pictograph writings.

This is an example of cunieform. The unique marks were made by
pressing a cut reed into wet clay.

I am such a Sumerian geek, I took to teaching myself to read and write the long dead language.

Still slaving away to meet a deadline. I'll talk more about it next week after it's done. I should be done soon and then will catch up with you all and return to cyberspace as a more active participant.

The first PMO meeting is tomorrow [Saturday]. I dreamed of it and telescopes and stars last week. I miss the observatory so much. I just hope I'm still here in May to indulge in my passion. I miss the mountain. I miss the view from the summit. I miss my buds. I miss the drive. I miss the crowds. I miss the telescopes. I miss freezing my ass off and not getting warm until the next day. I miss everything about it. Four more months, if we don't move. Longer, if we do. Siiiigh.

Are you a geek about anything? Please do share. :D

Early Elves and Slugman: Mesopotamia Statuary

Fridays at the Met. Click on any photo for a larger view.

Today we continue our foray into ancient Near East art.

Almost everything that exists today in high civilization began at Sumer - jobs, cities, laws, schools, 360 degrees in a circle and a dozen come from Sumer - their math was based on the number 6 - and urban is derived from Sumer's best known city, Ur. And according to a news program this week, accounting, too. Now there's a journalist after my own heart - speaking of Sumer in relation to modern times. In relation to anything, you'll get my instant undivided attention.



The first elf? I have to admit I find
this statue curious.



The two figures in the foreground seem to
merge together and form a slugman.
Hmmm, must write that down in my idea journal.

What never ceases to inpsire you?

Near East Relief

Fridays at the Met. Click on any photo to enlarge.

As thrilled as I was to be in the presence of such great works of art, a room devoted to the Ancient Near East called to me like ... beacons.

In my first lit class in college, we read the "Epic of Gilgamesh", which blew me away. The first story ever written, it is at least 5,000 years old. Talk about time travel! Sumer has fascinated me ever since. So, it is no surprise to me that I used this ancient culture as reference to pen my first novel.

Most of the reliefs are from a later time period - Akkaddian - after Hammurabi conquered Sumer. Babylon is the most famous point of reference from the Akkaddian era, noted as the birth of civilization. Sumer predates it, however, and its culture was adopted in whole by the citizens of Babylon.

Obviously, this is a pet topic / interest of mine. What about you? What is a pet interest of yours?

Japan and The Nile

Fridays at the Met. Click on a photo to enlarge.

Egypt and Japan are such a natural pairing ... No? Well, I'm going to show the pics together. I could make something up about Buddha visiting Egypt in the guise of a pharoah ... in a spaceship. Mummification was a way to send alien spirits back to the homeland, galaxies away ... Want to buy one? An alien spirit? I'll send you one for $10 ... telepathically.

JAPAN

Replica of a Buddhist Temple

How would you merge Japan and Egypt together? Hope you enjoyed the field trip.

The Egyptian Tomb

Fridays at the Met.

The holidays gave us quite a holiday from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We spent a lot of time trying to find our way to the Egyptian tomb. The museum winds about like a maze. It is a delightful maze to get lost in.

The riddle of the Sphinx -
refused to let me get a
clear shot. This one is the most
in focus.

The moat and buildings simulating the ruins as found in Egypt.

My niece and I were all excited about going inside the temple.

But you could only take a few steps
inside, which was disappointing.
There was this statue of half of a
woman.

Some castings of writings found inside the tomb

I was surprised at how similar some of the Egyptian engravings are to Sumerian / Babylon. I researched Sumer for my first novel. Ancient civilization often inspires me. Do you draw from history at all in your creativity? How do you use it, or avoid it?

PS, the PC is dead. RIP Wrongway. Seems the motherboard went caput. The good news, when I get a new PC I can recover the hard drive, and I back up my writing every day on a flash drive. I had not done so yet when Wrongway went black the other day, but had the latest novel edit sitting on my desk in printed form. So, no real disaster. Only I can't access anything on the PC until I replace it and plug in the old hard drive.

Decorative Arts

Fridays at the Met.

After leaving the Miro exhibit [no photos allowed there], we meandered through a room of decorative arts. What a beautiful home all these objects must have made.

What a wall!

This would look good in my house

Interesting vahz. Eh? I would name it Momo.
What would you name it?

I could see myself writing many novels and stories at this desk.

Decoration is the art in our stories as well - those little details and touches. What kind of setting, story or character would you create using these objects? Do you have a case of desk envy, too?

Medieval Arts

Friday at the Met.

We meandered through medieval arts, and arms & armor in our attempt to find the Egyptian Temple. Getting lost inside the Met is exhausting, but not a bad thing. It's a way to bump into beautiful things.

I find the locks and bolts on the armor rather
disturbing. Not an outfit for the claustrophobic.



What's interesting about the armor is that it was
decorative as well as functional.



Armor for a Queen's champion. Fancy schmancy.

Although, I was aware armor was heavy and stifling, I did not know of how they were practically locked into it, or of the elaborate decoration on much of it. They were objects of art as well as war.

What have you learned recently, or become more aware of?

Fridays at the Met

I sure got my exercise at the Metropolitan Museum of Art when I was back east. It'd be easy to spend months in there in an attempt to see it all. We did not see it all in the many hours we were there. Maybe half of a percent.

First up is the Met itself and some statues.

It was a very busy Saturday in NYC. The one thing I've
missed most since moving away 20-some odd
years ago, is the museums. I <3 art.

Close up on the decorative facade of the Met.

One of the sculpture halls.

What fascinates me about art is the way the artist speaks to us so clearly. Time is no obstacle. Language is no obstacle. Art transcends both. There is a young artist sketching the statue. What will he leave behind to inspire future generations?

Moments in time that transcend the ages

Art often inspires my characters and stories. The emotion and passion that tumbles out of a piece awes me.

A sculpture of a Siren. I love the interplay of foreboding
with alluring beauty. Makes me think about capturing
the same feel in type.



My niece asked me to photograph this on our
way to find the Egyptian Temple.



This statue was in the same room. It
spoke to me. What did it say?
I'm not sure about that part yet.

I read Scientific American on the plane, which got my juices going on story ideas, too. I should get a subscripton. It often inspires me.

What has inspired you lately?