Random Ramblings for 7/17/2005: King Tut, Peking Duck and Dodgers

Busy weekend.

Saw the King Tut exhibit at LACMA. It was last in LA when I was a little kid and so I can't remember if I went or not. Anyway, I went on Saturday and I suppose in 30+ years, the memory of seeing the exhibit will be foggy!

The LACMA people wisely have a huge tent area for the waiting lines to protect people from the broiling sun. We had 6pm entry tickets which in the end let us in at about 7pm. We worked our way through the exhibit in about 90 minutes.

The exhibit begins with a short film. You then are let into the pathway to the artifacts. I heard the sound of "crickets" which I thought was part of the exhibit but then realized it was all the people turning on their audioguides!

The famed funerary mask of King Tut in the promotional materials seems larger than life. But in reality, I wonder if that image is taken from the coffinette? That item is very detailed and amazing but is only about a foot long and held internal organs!

One thing we talked about while looking at the exhibit was what was the time relationship between King Tut and Moses?

The exhibit says King Tut lived around 1300 BC. We knew that Jerusalem fell in 586 BC. Samaria fell earlier at 722 BC. Our memories were foggy as to when Moses is believed to have led the Jews out of Egypt. We figured it would be 500 to 1000 years earlier.

Could Moses and the Exodus have been around the time of King Tut?

Oddly, the Pharoah prior to King Tut, Akhenaten (~ 1350 BC), decided to push for a from of monotheism by advocating the supremacy of the sun god.

Now, why would a Pharoah go against generations of polytheism?

One chronology I found via a Google search put Moses and Exodus around 1450 BC.

One wonders if perhaps, the Exodus of the monotheistic Jewish peoples from their midst had left in their minds the concept or reality of monotheism? Perhaps, the Exodus was before Akhenaten thus influencing Akhenaten's push for monotheism?

In any case, after Akhenaten's death, polytheism was restored by King Tut.

Another interesting aspect of King Tut was the speculation about his death at age 19. CT scans of the mummified remains suggest he may have fractured his leg which may have led to a fatal infection. They wondered: was it an accident? Where did he fall? Was he injured in a battle? How was he wounded? Or did foul play led to his death?

Afterward, went to have dinner at Lu-Din-Gee Cafe where they claim to have "the best Peking Duck in town." We, of course, had some. It is a rare item to have as it is expensive. It was quite good!

On Sunday, I saw the Dodgers for the seventh time this season. Alas, it is not looking good as they lost 4-1 to the dreaded Giants.

The question on post-game Dodgertalk was: do you try to make a trade to make a run at the division title because the NL West is so weak? Or do you re-rack 'em up for the 2006 campaign?

Valentin and Bradley may come off the DL in 1 to 2 weeks which gives you back two of the pieces in the original puzzle DePodesta pulled together.

Starting pitching was good again today as Weaver went seven innings only giving up one run. Sanchez was a little shaky in the eighth giving up 2 hits. The defense turned a DP to get him out of the jam. Brazoban was going good getting two outs but then he gave up a double, then hit the next batter and then gave up the game winning three-run homer.

With Gagne out, the bullpen is in the hands of younger guys like Sanchez and Brazobahn and aging ones like Carrara. Wunch, the situational lefty, is out for the season with ankle surgery. So again, pieces of the original puzzle are missing.

While at the Dodger game, I happen to sit next to the owner of Jeff's Gourmet who provided the Kosher hot dogs for Sunday's Dodger game. It was Jewish Community Day at the Stadium!

I'll be sure to swing by his store to check out his Kosher sausages!

Jeff's Gourmet Kosher Sausage Factory
8930 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
310-858-8590