Patina, Forgery, Tombs, and Brothers

Today boys and girls our new word is Patina

Patina (pronounced /'pætnə/ or /pə'tinə/) is a film on the surface of bronze or similar metals (produced by oxidation over a long period); a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure. On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides or carbonates formed on the surface during exposure to the elements (weathering). Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and colour that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture over time.

Apparently this can also be created by micro-biological buildup on stone as well.

I came across this little antiquity word jewel from reading Biblical Paths, ... That man is always presenting wonderful stuff.

YouTube - Eisenman vs. Shanks on the James Ossuary


I especially like the word right now because it is the focus of a crime dealing iwth the possible forgery of the Ossuary of James, the son of Joseph, ... brother of Jesus. The discovery of this Ossuary occurred

National Geographic - Burial Box may be that of Jesus's Brother, Expert Says

Wikipedia - James Ossuary

The Canadian Encyclopedia Historica - James Ossuary Declared a Fake


Matthew Kalam has put together a blog area, diligently recording the events of the trial, which I will admit to spending much more time devouring today than is sensible. Mr. Kalam co-authored the first published story on the James Ossuary for TIME magazine in 2002 and has since reported on the case for the Globe & Mail, BBC, CTV, the Discovery Channel, Boston Globe and San Francisco Chronicle. So, that is his interest in the story, but I would guess that none of that was really necessary for him to be just as interested with out.

Forgeries of Religious artifacts are of course, nothing new. Paul talks about it in II Thessalonians 2:2 That you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. What is even more interesting is that II Thessalonians was probably a forgery itself, and not written by Paul, just like Colossians and Ephesians are very likely "pseudo-Pauline" forgeries.

Whether these books are forgeries or not, it is obvious that religious forgery is a long practiced form of self expression, since (as we have already pointed out), Paul in II Thessalonians mentions such forgeries existing at his time, and in enough of a number that he was aware of them. So, he is either a fairly good witness to these problems with forgeries or, that statement was written by the forger (which was notably common in forged documents... in fact it is the verse 2:2 which draws the eye to possible forgery as much as anything else about the document).

Lost Christianities By Bart D. Ehrman, the book I am linking at the top, is a very good resource book and a great place to start when looking into the forgeries adn alterations f the biblical material we have left, and why it is so important to really ask ourselves what is impoprtant in faith, and our spiritual relationships, and what is not.

Sharpening the saw at Yale

There is more to life than what I know, and certainly my powers of observation, while above average, do not bring n all that they could in any situation. Have to sharpen the mind from other sources. The OpenCourseWare that many of the larger colleges in the country are participating in , definitely helps when I want to add something larger to my experience than a blog post or a book.

I've been gonig through the Old Testement course I took from Yale that I did a few months ago, which is what this brought this subject up today. There are several other places on the web. Some of them are only text courses, and some offer more than others. I've listen some of the better ones below.


I am continuing my search for tools for research and visual understanding software, I came across Visual Understanding Environment which came up as being connected in some way to the OpenCourseWare organization.


The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) is an Open Source project based at Tufts University. The VUE project is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information. ( List of Features)



Short List of OpenCourseWare Publishers

Open Yale Courses


OpenCourseWare Notre Dame


MIT OpenCourse Ware


Open Course Web Casts UC Berkeley


Stanford Open Courses


Harvard At Home


Sofia Course Gallery


JHSPH OpenCourseWare


OpenLearn -- Seems to be mostly text


OpenCourseWare Consortium

What is really fun... and perhaps telling

I took a quick break here to eat some lunch, and jumped on to YouTube (obviously). Instead of my normal delving into the world of Anime madness, I looked up some lectures, book readings and authors who talk about writing Fantasy and Science Fiction. I find it comforting that most “made” writers freely talk about the insanity and force of will involved in novel writing.

What I found first, however, were several short “instructional” videos by people how “teach” fantasy and fiction writing – and then I found William Gibson. The contrast between those who teach and those who do, is seriously stunning.

This isn't really the slight it may appear to be on the surface against those who teach. Not at all, really. Gibson, King, Butler, Ryn, Miller, and most of the major writers who have altered the world, or simply amused a major portion of us, have one thing in common, and that is … someone taught them. While the nights of staring at the computer screen, under siege by the voices who say “you are stupid” and “your ideas suck”, and “are you ever going to take grammar seriously?” have to be gotten through, and no teacher ill ever help you through those moments (in fact their voices will probably be the loudest), we still need them.

… if for nothing else, but to have someone else's voice in our head, reminding us through their presence alone that we aren't quite crazy yet, we still have the slip of a shadow of time to get it done... before they come for us.

William Gibson - Spook Country

This guy is very much a hero of mine. When I read his book Neuromancer (years ago), it opened an amazing world of words, and action and story telling which no other writer before (or since ... to be honest) has been close to, and while my style of writing is nothing like his, it is his vision-art which illumed my darkness, birthing shadows... in screams and blood, and night... just like most births.






... very much a hero of mine.