FaganTalk: Recent Comments

Comment on Doing nothing, Franklin, and Global Warming

ArchAsa — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:46:36 GMT

Good to have you back writing blog posts again. Your trip to Lofoten sounds great. Despite living in neighbouring Sweden, I have yet to visit that part of the world, but it's on my top 5 list of places I wish to go to.

On the blog Time">http://timetoeatthedogs.com/about/">Time to Eat the Dogs by arctic historian Michael Robinson, there is a long">http://timetoeatthedogs.com/2008/08/14/uncharted-waters-a-skeptics-view-of-the-latest-search-for-the-lost-ships-of-sir-john-franklin/">long and interesting post by his colleague Russell Potter about the newest attempt to find the Franklin ship.

Comment on Consequences

Boris Winterhalter — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:27:06 GMT

Dear Brian,

First of all I want to thank you for your excellent books on past civilisations and the influence of climate. Because of my role as one of the more active anthropogenic global warming AGW hype sceptics in Finland, I ordered via Amazon, The Long Summer, The Little Ice Age, and Floods, Famines and Emperors. I enjoyed these books very much and have recommended them to many friends and colleagues.

In your blog you do mention being attacked by IPCC believers and I sympathise with you having myself been harassed by the likes.

Anyhow, to return to my main question regarding climate change. I wonder if you have constructed any form of a concise list or table of �dates� and climatic events that could be used by us sceptics when being confronted by politically oriented climatologists in insisting on manmade global warming. As you know the proponents of AGW insist that the current slight increase in global temperature (itself a very strange parameter) is unprecedented in rapidity and thus leading to catastrophic extreme weather events.

Gratefully awaiting some form of answer from You, I remain,

Sincerely Yours

Boris Winterhalter, PhD
retired

Comment on The Daily Show

Anita Delmer — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:03:13 GMT

I saw you on the Jon Stewart show and was caught up in what seemed to be such a lucid and straight forward explanation of global warming. I've now read your book and I'm still reeling from the reality of global warming, desertification, the demise of agriculture, the impact of huge population centers starving, and how the puny little stockpile of emergency rations I've put by will probably get me killed by my neighbors for my tuna fish. Thank you for making the possibility of catastrophe vividly real -- it's not somebody else's global crisis; it's mine.

Comment on Indiana Jones - - - again

Marc — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:35:42 GMT

Great bit, I agree entirely. As far as the actual movie Blanchett came out as my all time fave Indy series character. I'd spend time in a Gulag for her.

Comment on Indiana Jones - - - again

Jon — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:36:02 GMT

Generally students watch movies to follow day today fashion. After seeing Indiana Jones film Jackets has become fashion to youngsters and such jackets can be found in Eastern Toys.

Comment on Indiana Jones - - - again

ArchAsa — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:31:58 GMT

So true! I love Indy because it is such an obvious over-the-top character, the movies are part comedy and the whole concept demands forceful demolition of invaluable prehistoric temples...
At my department the PhD-students first had a showing of the first three movies, and then went en masse to the premiere. Happy faces all around, though we would have preferred more prehistory and less extra-terrestrials 8such a BORING concept).

As you say, the second movie is the weakest one (part incomprehensible story, part bimbo heroine). I'd put the last on the same level as no 3, maybe even a bit better, thanks to the long awaited return of Marion Ravenwood.

The reference to Childe had us all cheering loudly (I wonder if it was also included as a subtle commentary on the anti-communism rampant in the film, as Childe was one of the few that was influenced by Marx history-materialism?)

Fingers crossed that we will see a fith installment.

Comment on Indiana Jones - - - again

Richard Church — Sun, 25 May 2008 17:42:30 GMT

Great entry. This was an excellent companion piece to the film. I was quite wondering what you thought about the character. And, while Dr. Jones may be more fun to watch, Dr. Fagan is more fun to read!

Comment on Indiana Jones - - - again

patrick — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:23:36 GMT

it seems like the recipe of a good Indiana Jones film would be 1 part Nazis and 1 part Biblical artifact... the Soviet army does a pretty good job of replacing the Nazis, but the other ingredient...

Comment on We navigate tricky waters

Mike Gamble — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:09:20 GMT

Brian, I too have a personal agenda. It is to stay alive long enough to observe where folks who have homes on beaches overlooking the ocean are going to move when the water rises and how where folks who live in the western part of our country are going to get water when the draught comes in earnest. There's a man standing at a dam with his finger in a crack but the dam isn't going to leak this time. There is no water. There's a man standing in a dusty field surrounded by dust devils as far as the eye can see exclaiming, "a drought is coming. Let's get prepared." No one is listening. No one wants to hear it.

Today IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY! In the not-too-distant future, it will be all about survival but only those who have money will survive. This is not a gloom and dome prediction, it's an unfortunate unavoidable fact.

Water for sale. Only $9.50 a gallon at your friendly Exxon Mobil station.

Maybe the scenario put forth in that old 1960's movie, Soilet Green, wasn't such a bad idea. Did Charlton Heston end up eating Edward G. Robinson? I can't remember. Question: If a billion or more human beings were to die, should they be buried or eaten? (My apologies for that thought. I'm only thinking out loud.)

Comment on At last something concrete

ArchAsa — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:45:25 GMT

"Unfortunately the scatter of coprolites were not associated with any artifacts or food remains"

I'd be more concerned if they were... ;-)

Seriously, a great find and hopefully you will soon find settlement materials as well. I have no doubt that human settlement of the Americas took place before Clovis.