VampireS Sumo

Hergé reached a watershed in his work around his 30th birthday and the release of Tintin and the Blue Lotus. The Blue Lotus was released in 1936 and was the fifth Tintin adventure. The end of the fourth album Cigar of the Pharaoh had led to a mention that Tintin would be off to China in his next adventure.

A University of Leuven professor one father Gosset got in touch with Hergé and asked for the illustrator to be perceptive about how he approached China in his next album. Gosset was the chaplain of the university’s Chinese students and introduced Hergé to a young Chinese sculptor called Chang Chon-jen who resided at the Brussels Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Hergé and Chang instantly made a connection. Chang introduced Hergé to Chinese history, culture and techniques of Chinese art that left a lasting impression on Hergé. In the Blue Lotus Hergé endeavored to become more correct in detailing the places that Tintin visited. The bond formed between these two artists is now cemented in history as Hergé called one of his characters “Chang Chong-Chen” in the young sculptor’s honor. Chang Chong-Chen is a young Chinese boy who befriends Tintin, with the character discarding some of the more outrageous fabrications about Chinese culture.

The bond formed with Chang resulted in Hergé heightened comprehension of the problem with colonialism and particularly Japan’s horrific assaults into China. A theme of anti-imperialism can clearly be read in the Blue Lotus which was contrary to common western beliefs that were compassionate to Japan and its colonial enterprise. Hergé took a lot of flack for the views from Japanese dignitaries in Belgium but history has shown that the Blue Lotus was vindicated.

In a sad tale after finishing his studies Chang went back to China and the two friends lost contact after the Japanese invasion and subsequent civil war at it was forty years before they met again.

Hergé was going to see a modification in Tintin’s style again. This was through necessity rather than choice. In September 1st 1939 the Nazi’s invaded Poland and Hergé as a reserve lieutenant had to stop his work on the Tintin adventure The Land of Black Gold. Belgium soon fell under German occupation along with most of Western Europe.

Le Petit Vingtième was closed down and Hergé found himself writing for Le Soir the mouthpiece of the Nazi occupational forces. Hergé began to write The Crab with the Golden Claw which was to be the first of six albums written during the war.

Hergé was unable t finish The Land of Black Gold due to its anti-fascist undertones. The war was to continue in earnest and led to Hergé changing his style. A paper shortage led to him having to publish Tintin daily in a three or four frame strip, rather than the two full pages every week as when he had worked for Le Petit Vingtième. The meant Hergé had to create drama at the end of each strip rather than the end of each page. Hergé by necessity introduced more frequent quips and a more rapid hustle of action.

Hergé had been quite political at times in his earlier albums but now under Nazi occupation this was no longer possible. The Tintin adventures turned to escapism with escapades to meteorites (The Shooting Star), a treasure hunt ((The Secret of the Unicorn) and a expedition to unravel an ancient Inca curse in (The seven Crystal Balls and Prisoner of the Sun).

Hergé now placed more emphasize on characters and plots and led to some of Tintin’s greatest characters being introduced to the globe. Captain Haddock and Cuthbert Calculus make their debuts during this era. This change of style was noticed by readers and these yarns have proved the most popular over the years.

In 1943 Hergé met Edgar Jacobs an American comic artist who he hired to help revise early Tintin albums. Jacobs was instrumental in redrawing many of the outfits and settings to make the albums for accurate and appropriate. Jacob’s was also to help on Tintin and the Seven Crystal Balls. By the end of the war Tintin had gone about a change of style and was more fashionable then ever and was on its way to be adopted by the French population.

The increasing demands the Tintin magazine placed on Hergé led to him having a breakdown in 1949 while he was working to complete Land of Black Gold. He then went on to suffer another breakdown in 1950 working on Destination Moon. It was at this point Hergé Studios were set up in April 6th 1960. This was another turning point in the Tintin world.

Click on letintinmovie.com/tintin-creator-herge-the-early-years Herge to read about his early years. John Helios has been a big letintinmovie.com/ Tintin fan for a number of years. He is very much looking forward to the new letintinmovie.com/ Tintin movie trilogy with the first film due for release in 2009.

Just thinking about taking your kids out of the traditional public or private school is terrifying, isn’t it?

Being intimidated by moving forward to something new isn’t really about doing the new. It is more a fear of leaving the comfortable behind.

An old pair of shoes

Do you have a really comfortable pair of shoes? They may be slippers or tennis shoes. It doesn’t matter what kind of shoes, just so comfortable that you can slip into them like an old habit. These are the kind of shoes that you can’t wait to get into after a hard day of work. Like Mr. Rogers slipping on his blue pair of Keds. Won’t you be my neighbor?

I have a pair of shoes like that. They are so comfortable that I could probably fall asleep in them. And that may be the problem.

A new pair of shoes.

Do you remember when you were a kid and got the new pair of tennis shoes? I bet you felt like you could run faster and jump higher when you put them on. We recently bought my son a new pair of Batman tennis shoes. He took off! I didn’t even have to wind him up.

Comfortable habits like comfortable shoes are nice to have, but I want to encourage you to try on a new pair of shoes every once in a while. Trying something new, like a new pair of shoes, may be uncomfortable at first, but it will make you feel like you can run faster, jump higher and be just plain invincible.

The decision to homeschool is not as trivial as putting on a new pair of shoes. It may be one of the most important decisions you have ever made. Please carefully consider your options. Is it right for your children? Is it right for your family? I just want to encourage you NOT to make the decision based on comfort.

If homeschooling stretches your comfort zone and challenges your children, do it. If you know that homeschooling is the best option for your children, but you are pushing back because it might be uncomfortable, do it.

No one ever grew by staying put and staying comfortable. No parent ever raised their children to become excellent adults by taking the easy way. Go get a new pair of shoes today.

Steve Brummet is a communication expert, writer and speaker who works with all types of organizations to increase understanding of communication styles.

Better communication can help you and your organization reduce stress and increase productivity. For more information on one of our workshops, please feel free to call or write.

communicationspeaker.com communicationspeaker.com

mailto:steve@stevebrummet.com steve@stevebrummet.com

972-548-6048

214-578-4172

Choosing the right tribal art tattoo varies from selecting a random design that you think looks good, to actually researching the meaning behind a particular tribal art tattoo. Here are two ways to choose a tribal art tattoo for you:

1. Choose randomly a tribal art tattoo. This tends to be the most common method individuals use, and it’s unfortunate for a number of reasons. There has been a heavy trend towards tribal art tattoo designs in the past ten years, and many have hopped on the bandwagon, gone out and randomly chose a picture of tribal tattoo they thought was “cool”. Had it not been trendy they wouldn′t have ever thought to choose a tribal art tattoo to place on their body. These type of tattoo decisions are where regret later sets in after the trend wears off. Many feel foolish after realizing how “un-unique” their tattoo is while seeing everyone else with the same tribal art tattoo on their body.

2. Choosing meaning in your tribal art tattoo. Finding meaning when looking for a tribal art tattoo, can be done out of a rationalization that this will somehow justify hopping on the trendy tribal bandwagon. If you truly are after significance in your ink then do your due diligence, but if your a trend hopper then just hop on and be done with it.

Fortunately for those seeking symbols or meaning, searching for a tribal art tattoo, can be very rewarding and exciting. You can begin by researching the various tribes and finding a picture of a tribal art tattoo, and learn the meaning behind it. Native Indian, North American Indian, Pacific Northwest American Indian, Indigenous, African, Egyptian, Mayan, Aztec, Hawaiian, Samoan, Maori, South Pacific, Micronesian, Polynesian, Melanesian, are but a few tribal tattoo art designs to look into.

For amazing and rare tribal art tattoo designs, see tattoo-book.info tattoo-book.info
Here you can find your ideal tribal art tattoo and view hundreds of other good, strong designs. tattoo-book.info tattoo-book.info

First you should get yourself a yarmulke already. This skull cap will indicate to your new in-laws that you respect their values and hat style preferences. Don’t wear it until you need it, just have it.

Next; get a haircut!

Increase your vocabulary; learn terms like gefilte fish, matzoh ball, knish, gevalt, shmendrick (you might be called one), schnorrer, shiksa, goyisha kop, Nate ‘n’ Al’s, The Borscht Belt, piroshki and more.

More words you want? You could find them at:

juf.org/jewish_identity/ji_gloss.asp

If you are going to get married under a hoopah, practice smashing a shot glass with your foot. Good to wear a heavy boot on your smashing foot.

It won’t be long before you are invited (required to go) to a bar or bat mitzvah. Bring money. The food will be worth it. You will hear a speech about responsibility and tradition. Agree with everything in the speech.

Learn to sing Hava Nageela and dance the hora. It’s easy.

Beware of Aunt Sadie, the bosom from hell. She will smother you.

Study the writings of Leo Rosten and Isaac Bashevis Singer, not to mention Sholem Aleichem. Come to appreciate the art of Marc Chagall and Ben Shawn. Get a Jackie Mason record.

“Fiddler on the Roof” you should see twice.

The rest you can get from your new brother-in-law.

L’ chaim and mazel tov.

————————————————————————————

Jack Wilson is a gentile who has been married to a Jewish woman. Or two.

geocities.com/galimatio/jackwilson.html geocities.com/galimatio/jackwilson.html

Every advance in technology creates new terms, acronyms and definitions. The digital camera revolution is no different. When shopping for your first digital camera, it is always good to know the lingo. Saves you from that stupid feeling one often gets when speaking with sales people. I hope this glossary helps.

Aperture

The size of the lens opening, which controls how much light, passes through the lens. Aperture is measured in f-stops. A higher number equals a smaller amount of light. Most digital
cameras allow manual aperture settings.

Auto Focus

This feature automatically focuses your picture at the touch of a button. By pressing slightly on the shutter release, the auto focus feature of the camera is activated.

CCD

The CCD (charged couple device) is the electronic imaging device that forms your picture in the camera. In other words, it is the electronic version of film for a digital camera. The higher pixel counts in the CCD, the more detailed image.

Digital Image Stabilization

A process by which blurring in pictures caused by camera movement is minimized and possibly eliminated.

Digital Zoom

A function which can enlarge a picture by increasing the size of the pixels. This often results in some fuzziness of the subject.

DPI

DPI stands for dots per inch. It also refers to the resolutions of the picture. The higher the DPI, the sharper the picture.

F-Stop

F-stop is the number assigned to a particular size opening on the aperture. The higher the number, the small the opening. Larger numbers admit less light smaller numbers admit more light.

File Format

This is the way digital pictures are stored. The most common formats are jpeg, GIF, tiff and RAW. The format being used appears at the end of the file name.

Gigabyte

A gigabyte (GB) is a measure of data storage capacity. It is approximately on billion bytes.

LCD Screen

The liquid crystal display (LCD) screen is used to set and view digital pictures immediately after taking them.

Macro

A feature that allows a camera to take extreme close-ups of the subject.

Megabyte

A megabyte (MB) is a measure of data storage capacity. It is approximately one million bytes.

Megapixel

A megapixel is a unit of measurement in a digital picture. A megapixel equals on million pixels. The higher the megapixel total the higher the picture resolution.

Memory Card / Media Card

A memory card is a small electronic device that stores images. Storage capacities range from 16 MB to 4 GB. It is capable of storing still images or video.

Noise

Graininess in an image, caused by too little light or a defect in the electrical signal generated during the image capture process.

Optical Zoom

A type of zoom on a digital camera that enlarges the subject by the use of glass lenses. It is the most important type of zoom on a digital camera.

Recycling Time

This is the amount of time it takes for a digital camera to ready itself for the next shot.

Red Eye Reduction/Red Eye Removal

This is a process by which red eye coloring is reduced or eliminated. Red eye is more common in low light situations when the pupils are wide open. Light reflecting off the back of the eye causes it.

Scene Modes

Scene modes are pre-set programs in a digital camera that adjusts the camera to specific picture taking situations.

USB Connectivity

A popular way of connecting all sorts of devices such as a digital camera to computers. USB connectivity is used to download your photos from the camera to the computer.

Mike Browns has been an amateur photography enthusiast for many years. He invites you to visit camerasatcousinmikes.com camerasatcousinmikes.com and browse other informative articles and shop for a new digital camera.

The object of “Simon Lee” seems to be to vindicate the instinctive character of the emotion of gratitude as against Godwin’s utilitarian rationalism. Godwin represented it (gratitude) as an unjust and degrading sentiment, having its origin in the unequal distribution of wealth, influence etc.
Wordsworth’s poem “Simon Lee, the Old Huntsman”, which occurs in Lyrical Ballads, recounts an actual encounter the poet had with the old huntsman.

Simon Lee lived in the shire of Cardigan, not far from pleasant Ivor-hall. This old huntsman was once strong and active. He ran as a merry huntsman for thirty-five years and no one could rival him in keeping the pace of the hunt. But now his health has declined and his feudal master has died. In his old age he is now bereft of his health, strength, friends and kindred. Impoverished and childless, his aged wife is his sole companion. He lives in a moss-grown hut of clay on a scrap of land.

On a summer day the poet found the feeble old man trying to sever a tree-root with a mattock, but in vain. The poet offers him help and with a single blow severs the tangled root. Moved by this kindly help the old man bursts into tears of gratitude and profusely thanks the poet.

Gratitude is a capacity that is at the heart of what is naturally human and humane. Cold rationalism would not find room for such a humble (however profound) emotion in the old man’s tearful thanks. The act of weeping manifests his integrity and also points to man’s general cold-heartedness. As the poet movingly comments

I’ve heard of hearts unkind, kind deeds

With coldness still returning

Alas! The gratitude of men

Has oftener left me mourning.

Here the poet-narrator ministers to the reader, conducting him through an experience of purgation. The pathos and the incongruity of old age is the underlying theme of the poem. The poem is drawn from humble and rustic life. The old huntsman is as close to the earth as the stubborn tree-root which he had vainly tried to uproot. And it has the simple language of simple people who have lived close to hills and streams.

Wordsworth here wants to direct our attention away from the incident to the feelings which, as he stated, give importance to the action. The feelings include not only those of Simon Lee, but also of the poet-narrator who also becomes emotionally affected.

The poem reveals that the humblest episodes of everyday life have a bearing on the human condition. It makes us think as well as feel, and this sensibility is truly educative.

Childhood memories, the building blocks of the windows from which we view the rest of the world, for the rest of our lives… They sometimes are the strenght from which our hope was born.
5/4/2004

I remember when I thought pink lemonade,

Was very special -

And I believed that a meteor,

Was had magic powers,

I remember when I had to learn,

The alphabet, one by one.

And I remember when my worries,

Were really very small.

Today, if I could make my troubles,

Quite that small,

This would be a wonderful world for me,

After all.

But there are wolves in sheeps clothing,

Who covet your very soul,

And think nothing of trashing

What little magic is left in your life.

And there are still knights in shining armour,

If only they can be found.

And there are windmills,

Still full of magic and danger,

And hopes and dreams,

Enough for us all.

But if could, I surely would,

Make all my troubles quite small,

Back before my very spirit would take the fall.

Was I ever really that innocent,

Or is that what my heart chooses to recall?

If only the secrets of life were really held,

In a simple crystal ball!

I could really live free and have it all!

Deborah Coss, has been writting since 8 years old, getting published off and on since 15, and finally realized her child hood dream, of carrying press credentials, working for womanmotorist.com. A diverse writer, publishnig several business type sites, she now publishes her own site, 1kindthing.com, creates some fine arts, and loves photography, commenting she is a social portraiture photographer and prefers the medium of black and white. In art, she has a very constructionist attitude, and enjoys making masks, and other 3 dimensional objects. On a personal side, she survived an extremly violent childhood, some serious trauma, including being crushed by a car at age 3 and half. Thus, her site 1kindthing.com, tells of overcoming hardships, in her many styles of writing. She is a baby boomer, raised in Southern California, bi-lingual in Spanish, descened from French, German, English and American Indian bloodlines. Coss finds words fun, and communication an art

I am one of those people who considers a car winterizing deadline more important than April 15th. I’m the first one in line for anti-freeze, and have my snow tires put on before Labor Day. While other people are outside viewing the foliage, I am inside the trunk looking for last year’s dull ice scraper, window de-icer, and the snow brush with the bent bristles.

So what do I get for my efficiency? Trouble-free winter travel, right? Wrong. When the first ice storm hits, my car doors stick shut (if I can get the key in the frozen lock to begin with). Windows won′t go up or down. A windshield wiper blade flies off the side of the windshield, never to be seen again. Headlights burn out; the heater won′t heat; and the battery goes dead.

And then there is the bane of my existence…rust. Other cars have sun roofs, mine has a rain floor. A glance at my splashed feet and I can see the pavement zipping by. Must do something about that. So what if I have the only car in town with a built-in cookie sheet?

When the car wouldn’t start I used to try my favorite feminine trick of kicking the tires. No more. The only thing I get for doing that now is a piece of rust-rotted fender on my tootsies. Speaking of things falling off, I must remember to get some wire. On my way to the city to get my annual “autumn oil change” and “pre-winter tuneup”, the dash fell off onto my lap.I was going to call for help on my cell phone but it and my radio wires must somehow have become entangled. When I pushed the button, the only response I got was Tony Bennett singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”. I can see why. Anybody know where I can get a surfboard cheap?

If you would like to read about family foibles, and finding the FUN in dysFUNctional
tinyurl.com/2o3nm6/ tinyurl.com/2o3nm6/

What kind of Spanish? What do you mean? How many kinds are there?

The Spanish language is much less homogenous than English. It can be first divided into European Spanish (Castillian or Peninsular Spanish) and American Spanish (Latin American Spanish.) Then within each of these categories it is divided between everyday conversational (street) Spanish and formal (Upper society parlor and intellectual/educated) Spanish.

Language teachers Pinsleur and Rosetta Stone are stronger in the Formal, university/educated Spanish. Rocket Spanish, Learn Spanish Like Crazy and Fsi Spanish are stronger in everyday conversational street Spanish. We have those differences in English too. British vs American English and lower class working English vs university/ educated English.

The differences between Peninsular Spanish and Latin American Spanish are considerably deeper and more pronounced than are the differences between British and American English. Similarly the differences between Street and Formal Spanish are much more pronounced.

For most people it is better to start with conversational street Spanish, which is the right one for daily use. You will find it to be generally more useful and usable. It is also simpler. For example there are entire tenses in formal Spanish that are almost never used in everyday Spanish. Also, all of the subjective tenses are rarely used in everyday Spanish. (Subjective tenses are fairly complex and subtle, difficult to understand by English speakers since there is no direct parallel in English)

For an example, in English, consider this:

A woman makes a phone call. Voice answers, “Hello”. Woman says, “Hi, Martha?” Voice responds, slowly, clearly, enunciating every word, “To whom did you wish to Speak?” Pause. Woman responds, a bit nervously, “I-I must have a wrong number! No one I know says, ‘whom’!” (Street English met Formal English!)

The difference would be, in English the Woman knew what ‘whom’ meant, just didn′t use it. There are many examples in Spanish where the Woman would not have understood the Voice because the formal Voice would have used a verb conjugation and sentence structure that would have been unfamiliar to the Woman who only spoke in “street” Spanish.

Furthermore, speaking in that manner would strongly imply that the Voice belonged to a person of high social class, office and power. Generally speaking, English-speaking countries are many generations removed from feudalism and strict social classes. Class distinctions are less pronounced. Spanish-speaking countries are younger democracies, much closer to the times when aristocracies ruled the common folk. Class distinctions are more pronounced.

If your reason for learning Spanish is to use it in Europe, you should learn peninsular Castillian Spanish, with its different pronunciations and conjugations.

If you want to speak Spanish in Latin America, you want to learn American Spanish. You then only have to choose between conversational street Spanish and formal, parlor, business and diplomatic Spanish.

If you just want to be able to talk with people, street or conversational Spanish is what you need to learn. If you are in the diplomatic corps or will be dealing with high society and university-educated people, and speak to people there in conversational street Spanish, you will come across as an uneducated country bumpkin. To avoid this and speak with them at their level, you will need both the conversational and the formal forms of Spanish.

For the best Spanish-learning course available at a great price, visit: netincome123.com/go/to.pl?l=rsM☀SOS&u=RS2 Learn Spanish
To read reviews of Rocket Spanish visit:

The main message

The Nativity Story is the new cinematic presentation by director Catherine Hardwicke of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. One scene serves to summarize the overall theme of the movie. Ruth, one of Mary’s Nazareth neighbors, tells the village children the story of Elijah’s encounter with God as recorded in 1 Kings 19:1-13. God was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but He spoke to Elijah in “a still small voice.”

In fulfillment of God’s promise to exalt the humble and bring down the exalted, Jesus was not born to the imperial family in the capital city of the empire. He was not even born into the provincial aristocracy of Jerusalem. He was born in tiny Bethlehem to peasant parents from Nazareth, a town so insignificant that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, Josephus, or rabbinic literature.

Today Nazareth is a thriving city of more than 70,000. But in the first century it hardly qualified to be a village. Archaeologists have estimated its population at that time to have been about 400, based on the area enclosed by the tombs surrounding it. The Nativity Story’s Nazareth is a “podunk”; Nazareth scenes were shot in a small village of Morocco.

Family troubles

The movie also moves us to think about the price Mary and her spouse-to-be Joseph had to pay to serve as mother and foster father of Jesus. The estrangement from their former friends and undercurrent of gossip portrayed in the film nevertheless probably understate the humiliation their circumstances imposed on them. Not only was Jesus born to a working-class family; many must have assumed he was an illegitimate “child of fornication.”

Huge contrast

Juxtaposed with this portrayal of the anawim, the pious poor, is King Herod, vassal-king of Judea, Perea, and Galilee, incredibly wealthy but spiritually bankrupt. King Herod makes a show of being devoted to Judaism. At the same time, however, he plots to thwart the messianic prophecies by killing the predicted Messiah as soon as he appears. Herod does this in consultation with his son Antipas, intimidating and threatening the young man. Having such a father explains his conduct 30 years later when Herod Antipas executes John the Baptizer and mocks Jesus during His trial.

Is that in the text?

My quibbles with the film mainly involve the Magi, portrayed along traditional lines that include their number (three), their names (Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), and their races (one is African). Not one of these things is attested by the gospel accounts. Another deviation from the biblical text is their decision not to report to King Herod, uninformed by a heaven-sent dream as in Matthew 2:12.

Also following tradition instead of Scripture, the Magi arrive to pay homage to the Christ child on the night of his birth. This ignores the verse in Matthew that says the holy family was in a house when the wise men arrived (Matthew 2:11). Neither does the escape to Egypt begin on the night of Christ’s birth as the movie suggests, for Joseph and Mary had not yet left for Egypt when they circumcised Jesus on his eighth day and then presented Him in the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth, in keeping with the Law’s requirements in Exodus 13 (see Luke 2:21-38). That means the clandestine trip to Egypt must have taken place no sooner than eight weeks after the Nativity.

Outstanding choices

The Nativity Story is remarkable in its use of music, which includes traditional tunes of the season such as Veni Emmanuel, Carol of the Bells, and Silent Night–some choral and some instrumental–introduced in a tasteful, understated way, and combined with an original score with by Mychael Danna that has a distinctly middle-eastern flavor. You may want to read Jonathan Broxton’s more detailed review of the film’s music.

Likewise the casting is praiseworthy: with regard to Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Joseph (Omar Isaac), King Herod (Claran Hinds), Antipas (Alessandro Giuggioli), and the rest, no one seemed miscast, with the possible exception of Zechariah (Stanley Townsend), who reminded me too much of Fiddler on the Roof’s Tevye.

Evaluation

All in all, The Nativity Story is well worth seeing. Unlike most cinematic offerings, it does not feature sex, violence, or surprising twists of the plot. In place of these things, it provides an opportunity for spiritual reflection on the meaning of personal sacrifice, consecration despite undeserved criticism, and the divine value system, topsy turvy to that of the world.

God chooses not to shout with the giga-boosted megaphone of a Superbowl announcer: “Ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for some RELIGION? HERE HE IS: YOOOOUUUURRRRR MEHHHH-SIIIII-AAAAHHH!” Instead, He points one star toward a stable, holds a private concert for a few shepherds, and speaks with “a still small voice”: a neonatal, human voice. “Peace on earth, good will to men,” He whispers.

* * * * * *

Want to go deeper?

Nazareth – You can explore the official website for the city of Nazareth, which includes a live webcam view of the Church of the Annunciation, a summary of the history and archaeology of the city, and a description of all the touristy things available in Nazareth.

Biblical accounts – The Nativity is reported in Matthew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1 and 2. You may be surprised to discover that the Magi and escape to Egypt are only in Matthew, while the shepherds are only in Luke. Our traditional presentation is a harmonization of the two.

King Herod – You can read about the ruthlessness of King Herod in The Jewish War by Josephus, book one, 201 to 670 (Whiston: 1.9 - 1.33). According to Matthew, King Herod died soon after Joseph, Mary, and Jesus escape to Egypt, which would put the birth of Jesus somewhere near the end of book one. Because Herod′s death is datable to 4 BCE by synchronization with other events, the birth of Jesus had to take place earlier, perhaps around 5 BCE.

Copyright ©2006 Steve Singleton

Steve Singleton has written and edited several books and numerous articles. He has been an editor, reporter, and public relations consultant. He has taught college-level Greek, Bible, and religious studies courses and has taught seminars in 11 states and the Caribbean.

Go to his