between the rock and the cold, cold sea

I appear to be very nearly deplagued. And I have my essay done, and ready for handing in tomorrow.

(One essay and a week and a half left of term. This one's crazy-short. Of course, then there's a month to the exams...)

While I've been confined by plague, summer appears to have arrived outside. Gorgeous blues skies and mild warm weather all yesterday and today. This, of course, means it's probably going to rain tomorrow.

But, in joyous news, arrangements regarding Crete grow closer to a state of finalisation. I'll be there for about eight weeks in total (six weeks dig, two weeks holiday), and all that remains, now, is to book my flight out and confirm the best way to reach the right area from the airport at 0700 in the morning. (Flight back and accomodation is already taken care of).

And I should probably dig out my Open Water Diver instruction manual, and that learn basic Greek book, and start getting myself prepped for foreign climes. Only three months to go, you know. :)

"One can see response to empire developing on socio-political, literary, and theological levels. These should not be seen as distinct, but interdependent and conditioned by each other."

And that's all I have. I got nothin', people.

I should be talking about Tiglath-Pileser III and the Assyrian empire. Josiah and Jehoiachim and Zedekiah. Babylonia. Deuteronomistic history. Jeremiah. Ezra and Nehemiah. Redactionism.

But instead I'm sitting here, and all I'm thinking is, two hours till I can watch Criminal Minds. No, four. No, six. No, two. Wait, three - oh, just hurry up already!

My concentration? Is shot all to hell.

Maybe I should try paracetamol and more water and keep on scratching at the damn white page.

*scritch*

*scratch*

So, you know, we're at the work portion of this year's entertainment.

'The Book of Jeremiah and the rights and wrongs of alliance with Egypt: discuss.'

I need to be able to talk for five minutes on that topic this Wednesday, and you know? I don't know nearly enough. Hopefully I will be able to find The Recommended Book in the library tomorrow, and learn a little more.

But. Talking about a biblical text is so incredibly complex. Particularly the pre-exilic prophetic texts. Because you have, maybe, what the prophet said, and then you have what other people said that the prophet said, and then you have the exilic (Deuteronomistic) and later editors coming in to the text and adding what they think the prophet should have said.

And then we get into original intent, and redactionism, and other things.

( Read more... )

Whew. I started with bitching, and ended with a draft. It's weird how there things work out, no?

Assignment 1, 500 words and one-quarter done. Send extra functioning brains, please. There has been a shortage.

Watch this space for gibbering and howling at the moon. But not until tomorrow.

So, here's the thing. I caught a dizzy viral-bug-thing that was going around, was floored for about three days or so. Now I have less than 120 hours to write 3000 words of assignment. Complete with research and relevent references.

So. Cover me, I'm going in. See you on the other side.