Dead Sea Scrolls: At Last Something Worth Reading Online.

Well, the scrolls are out!  http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/ has all the scrolls, but I was severely disappointed that, unlike the Great Isaiah scroll, the war scroll isn't readable as an instant translation.  Come on, we'd be talking endless online comparisons to end-time current day war activity as everyone and their brother tries to fit different players into the narrative. 

But we do have some pretty exciting reading.  Here we have a PG 13 section:  Chapter 3 : Verse 17
"Therefore the L-rd will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and HaShem will lay bare their secret parts."  A bit further on: Chapter 4 : Verse 1  "And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying: 'We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name; take thou away our reproach.'"

We also have some poetry:  Chapter 5 : Verse 18
Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope,

So I'm looking forward to lots of sermons and interpretations from our biblical preachers worldwide.  Not just the scholar types, but the ones who preach everyday from the current texts.  How will the scrolls factor in?

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

I just finished listening to the book and I was pleasantly surprised by the author's ability to pay homage to Austen without losing a reasonable, though implausible, storyline. 

How Do We Undo The Obesity Epidemic? The Australian Solution.

Fat, Sick & Nearly DeadIt's hard to make weight loss into a movie, and it's harder to make it inspiring without a hard sell approach.  I was impressed by Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  Unlike almost any weight loss program I've seen, it really is about people getting well without any money in it for the producer. 

The movie is available at Netflix streaming, but you could also get a copy (so you can hand it to your relatives where it will sit on the shelf gathering dust until they have heart attacks like Bear in the movie did). 

If anyone is looking for someone to monitor the fast and do blood work, this is one I can get behind.  It's not permanent, but it is sustainable over time, and it's based on fruits and vegetables.
You can just look at the diet, but I'd watch the movie.  It's not often you see a trucker become an actor and make the transition gracefully.