Author: Matthew Westphal

3,500-Year-Old Royal Tombs Uncovered In Greece

“Among the findings inside the tombs were evidence of gold-lined floors, a golden seal ring and a gold pendant with the image of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor. The amulet suggests that Pylos” — which is mentioned in The Odyssey — “traded with Egypt during Greece’s Mycenaean civilization, which lasted roughly between 1650 and 1100 B.C. Homer’s epics are set in the latter stages of this period.” – NPR

How The Hallmark Channel Conquered Christmas TV And Became A Cable Powerhouse

“Since 2011, from late October to January, Hallmark has broadcast Christmas movies nearly twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. … During this year’s holiday season, the programming, called Countdown to Christmas, has made Hallmark the No. 1 cable network among women between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four, and, in some prime-time slots, No. 1 in households and total viewers. Last year, seventy-two million people watched Countdown to Christmas.” Sarah Larson looks into the secrets of Hallmark’s success. – The New Yorker

Gastronomic Archaeology (Wait, What’s That?)

“Until quite recently, archaeologists mostly thought about the hardware involved in ancient food – the utensils people cooked with and the pots and beakers they ate and drank from – as well as the rituals surrounding a meal. Now there is a growing interest in what people actually consumed. Historical research into ancient diets can tell us about people’s historic tastes, lifestyle, wealth, health, class, gender and culture.” And sometimes actual dishes and meals can be recreated. – 1843 Magazine

Satirical Christmas Special Showing Jesus With A Boyfriend Sparks Backlash In Brazil

The satirical group Porta dos Fundos (“Back Door”) has made irreverent holiday satires about Jesus Christ before (2018’s was The Last Hangover), but this year’s Netflix special, The First Temptation of Christ, shows a pot-smoking Mary with a very visible (and lustful) God for a boyfriend and a haplessly jealous Joseph. But what’s angered the nearly 2 million people who’ve signed a petition is that Jesus comes home from 40 days in the desert with a new “close friend,” Orlando. – Variety

Watching A Conservator Restore (Very Carefully) A 200-Year-Old Statue

“Perched on a wheeled stool under a bright spotlight [at the National Gallery of Art], [Robert] Price leaned into a 200-year-old marble sculpture carved by Frenchman Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert, his gloved right hand using a cotton swab to remove decades of grime from its base. … [He] twisted a fluff of cotton onto a wooden stick, dipped it in a special water solution and painstakingly worked it over a small area of marble. He repeated the process, again and again and again, for hours.” – The Washington Post

From Healthy Boom To Self-Immolation: The 2010s In Young Adult Lit

Laura Miller: “As a book publishing phenomenon, young adult literature entered the decade like a lion. At the beginning of the 2010s, a generation that had grown up obsessed with Harry Potter and other middle-grade fantasy series decided it wasn’t that interested in adult literary fiction, with its often lackadaisical plotting and downbeat endings. YA stood ready to supply them with plenty of action, cliffhangers, supernatural beings, mustache-twirling bad guys, and true love. But now, at decade’s end, YA seems to be eating itself alive.” – Slate