Excuses

Finals, apartment shopping, hugging friends goodbye.

9/11 - Summed Up

I read a lot of news, but maybe I'm blind. This is the first time I've seen a summary of 9/11 written in "news-speak," plugged in the bottom of a story in case anyone still reading didn't know what the article was about.

"Nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 Arab hijackers organized by al-Qaida flew airliners into New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon and caused a crash in the Pennsylvania countryside."

Gotta love it. Using "Arab" lets the writer avoid national, religious or ideological factors. Using "hijackers" means they don't have to make the call on whether it was terrorism. And they can simplify the Pennsylvania situation by having the Arab hijackers cause the crash -- apparently by taking over the plane.

Sigh. It's well done but lacks soul.
The primary reasons journalism bores me sometimes.
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Sidenote: An opinion piece on a conservative website ripped the AP story clean off. In large chunks.

Three Months, and I Finally Go to Giza's Wonders

I've been to the east-side, for a rave. I've been just west -- twice -- for Mena House happiness. But I've never gotten up close and personal with the Sphinx and his three pyramidal amigos.

My Egyptology class went today. It was good to go with people who (obviously) knew the place inside out. Nothing like hanging out with real, live Egyptologists.



Cairo's smog pushed right up and over the Giza plateau, shrouding the city from view and making it easy to imagine the urban sprawl wasn't taking over the Old Kingdom. It also made it hard to take photos of the three pyramids, since the "photo op" place is far enough away -- which means the Great Pyramid, in the background, fades into the toxic air.



I'm constantly underwhelmed by things here in Egypt. It's the same feeling I had when I saw the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia -- "Oh, um, yeah. That's really . . . small. And, yeah, historic. Cool." I'm sure it'll sink in. But they Pyramids are so iconic it's almost like seeing a big movie star close up and realizing he's a lot shorter in real life.

And tourists, as always, take away from the wonder. Listen to me gripe. Ancient Wonder, Jeremy, lighten up.