ArtieShaw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_for_the_historicity_of_Jesus

A google of “historicity of Jesus” will turn up some results. The wiki link is one of at least three very similar wiki articles on the topic.

tl/dr - it’s generally accepted that Jesus was a historical person but all that can be confirmed from written accounts is 1) he was baptized and 2) he was crucified.

Of course people can and do question the independent contemporary Jewish (Josephus) or Roman (Tacitus and Pliny) sources, but they seem to be in the minority. Even the less shady version of Josephus’s passage suggests that he was talking about a person who existed.

I don’t have anything to add since I’m not Christian - merely surrounded by Christians. I’ve done a fair bit of reading trying to figure out what’s going on with all that.

Unless I’m also having an off day, the article is just really confusing. It makes sense to me that Italy would want the base back because it would be like selling a framed painting to Hitler and getting only the canvas back when it was returned. (Hitler, amirite?)

It’s probably a pretty nice base. Probably custom made for the statue shortly after it was unearthed, and probably the sort of thing that art historians would care about keeping together with the sculpture for art historian reasons.

It was a not so subtle way of saying “we love you but you’re not saved so you’re going to suffer during the tribulation.” Or, “are you sure you don’t want to accept Jesus and avoid all that?”

The rapture is not an instakill scenario for them, but the details make my head hurt.

Baptized Lutheran shortly after birth, but never attended church. It’s a long and vaguely racist family story. Don’t consider myself Christian.

My in-laws are fundamentalist end times folk, and it took years to try to make sense all of that. I love my husband, but it’s a lot to take in. And my brain naturally tends to try to make sense or analyze things, or figure out what’s motivating people.

Their older generation are very interested in controlling the people around them and they’re very good at it. I think it’s control and authority at the heart of it, with a helping of genuine trauma that makes death and reward look appealing.

Actual quote that I’ve heard a few times: “Life is hard, short, and cruel - and then you die!” \ Let me just say that Christmas visits can get really weird.

On a lighter note, they mailed us a Tribulation Survival Care Package for the 1999 x-mas, ahead of the Y2K impending millennial crisis. That was actually sort of fun, and the shiny space blanket came in handy a few times.

There’s an interesting podcast called Stuff the British Stole.

They did an episode on the Elgin Marbles, but they cover a wide range of stolen goods.

And not to lay all the blame on Britain, Germany stole an entire temple from Pergamum. It’s currently in a museum in Berlin. (I tried to see it while in Berlin, but the exhibit was closed. I’m still a little salty about that. Can’t see it in the original location. Couldn’t see it in the museum.)

That must be it. Thanks

Team America: Space Police. As a Canadian, I really fuckin hate that.

As an American (in the US sense), so do I. It’s why I didn’t like SG1 but could sort of tolerate Atlantis.

Oddly, the biggest SG1 fan I knew was Canadian. He was a bit of an odd duck, though. He’s the sort of guy who knew off the top of his head that the awkward woman on Breakfast Television was the daughter of Canada’s military chief. I would have traded citizenships with him if that were an option. He could have his paranoia and guns and I could have some healthcare.

So - I swear I tried to google this yesterday and came up empty. I have a weird question.

Was there a third Sci-fi series that aired around the same time as Babylon 5 and DS9? It may have had a plot thread that involved genetically engineered space spies? Like telepathic central intelligence officers? Or am I thinking of B5?

I was in college at the time (mid 90s) and didn’t have the free time to watch much TV. I caught an episode here or there and would occasionally talk about shows with my friend Spencer. I’m definitely not thinking about DS9 because I’ve seen that in its entirety fairly recently.

My cats aren’t fooled at all by pill pockets. Not even the dumb ones.

My grandmother did the butter pill trick with her cats. She tried to teach me, but I never learned her witchy ways (in that respect, at least).

We do the two person approach with one handling the kitty and the other risking fingers

Pretty lady transforms into monster covered with greenish spaghetti hair, a bad outfit, and typewriter fingertips. If she puts those on your face you’ll be sorry unless you’re dead.

That episode really freaked me out when I was a kid.

I mean, really freaked me out. It’s in the top ten of scariest monsters from childhood.

If you displease me again,

“Bwang-ang-ang-ang!”

Tons of potential for TIT(Trekked)U.

I can’t go to San Francisco without thinking about the nuclear wessels. My husband is legitimately worried that I’ll start asking random strangers about them.

Actually - considering the amount of unsolicited (and invariably wrong) advice we got from SF locals who saw us looking at transit maps and butted in to offer some friendly assistance… I may just do that at the next visit.

“Are you looking for Fisherman’s Warf?”
“No.”
“It’s just down that way!” \ “I think we’re good! Thanks for the help!”
“Actually, we’re looking for nuclear wessels. Do you know where I can find nuclear wessels?”

\ He’s right to be worried.

Aw, I remember a confused new cat “owner” who wrote to a cat advice sub about that. He was extremely stressed out because he couldn’t help himself from looking at his new cat. It was sweet. Weird and overly literal, but sweet. He seemed genuinely worried that being seen would bother the cat.

Everyone reassured him that he could look at the kitty if he wasn’t weird about it.

Worf? Worf here is being weird about it. And holding him wrong. Worf’s gonna get mauled.

I hadn’t even thought about the comparison to Guinan or Quark. The comparison makes Neelix so much worse. Guinan didn’t need a redemption arc . Quark had a good one. Neither of them were annoying.

Neelix was awful, and probably made worse because I wanted to like him from the start.

Without getting into Kes - which compounded the Neelix problem for me - I started to hate him less in the last few seasons when he went all dark sad clown. I was still viscerally annoyed, but he turned into almost a Michael Scott type character. He was horrible, but you could see the the pain that made him that way.

I really want to see both characters and actors swap shows.

“Back on Meepos, Unlcle Kalvash would reconfigure the deflector relays to reinforce phasers at random intervals, thus disrupting the enemy’s shields. That certainly keep sheep on their toes!”

“Cousin Larry, before you approach that woman I must inform you that your chances of dating her are approximately 1.78X10^48 to one.”

I would watch the hell out of that. So many wacky mixups!

Swing and lounge had a bit of a resurgence in the '90s. It was probably a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ fad, but it was a whole thing for a certain demographic.

I say this as a genuinely uncool person who had listened to very old music from a very young age. (see username) It was unnerving to have other young people suddenly expressing positive interest in my record collection, but it was also nice that companies were reissuing some better content on CD.

That being said, Vic Fontaine was cartoonish and I hated those episodes. If it was meant to be a homage, it was a poor one.

To be fair, that’s sort of our bag. The idea of electing an actor (Regan) caused some nervous clenching back in the day, but after that we pretty uniformly just elect the weirdest or most entertaining candidate that makes it through the primaries.

• Bill Clinton vs. Bush “Don’t ask me about the CIA” the First? Bubba for the win against an incumbent.
• Gore who reminds you of vaguely of a too-handsome funeral director vs. Bush “I can’t talk good” the Second? Hold my beer.
• McCain “let me tell you about POWs” vs. No Drama Obama? I know who I’m inviting to my BBQ. We can all drink Mojitos and laugh and point at the racists while they lose their minds.
• Hilary “Jesus, she’s not even president and you can’t shut the fuck up about her for the last 25 years AND she comes with a mess of Bill’s baggage” Clinton vs. … well, you get the idea.

Biden is a bit of an outlier, but so was everything about 2016-20. It’s like the nation rolled its collective eyes, sighed, and said “enough with all the entertainment. It’s not fucking funny anymore.” And it was a nail biter. So there’s that.