So ended my latest Las Vegas excursion. Once again I was able to find some cultural activities I could enjoy which often surprises people. I did notice that the struggling economy appears to have had an impact on Las Vegas. The reduction in visitors since 9/11 seems to have stimulated a return to more traditional Las Vegas entertainment. Even the Excalibur Hotel which is one of the most G-rated facilities on the strip was offering the "Thunder From Down Under" show - a sort of Chippendale male strip act. The Paris Hotel was promoting its "La Femme" nude show as a celebration of the beauty of the female form. Most of the other resorts had their versions of risque entertainment as well.

As it turns out I didn't make it all the way home on Thursday after all. Eugene was fogged in so my plane was rerouted back to Seattle and I had to spend the night there. I finally got home Friday about noon. I have spent the last couple of days recuperating although it looks like its going to take a while before my sinuses clear up.

I found an interesting web page about the archaeological findings so far at the assumed location of Troy. ( http://devlab.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/lessons/27.html ) It mentions that one of the most significant finds by Korfmann in the 1990s was a " lentoid bronze seal inscribed on both sides in the Hieroglyphic Hittite script with the name of a male scribe on one side and with the name of a female, presumably his wife, on the other. The first securely identifiable example of writing yet to have been unearthed in a prehistoric level at Troy." This finding is thought to tie the Hittites more closely to the population of Troy than previously thought. Also, it has been argued by Deger-Jalkotzy that pottery termed "Coarse Ware" found in layers considered to be from a period immediately following the Trojan War, was derived ultimately from ceramic traditions at home in the Middle Danube area of central Europe. Therefore, he speculates that the sackers of Troy could have been a population group who crossed the Hellespont at the end of their journey from the Middle Danube through Rumania to Turkish Thrace, not Mycenean Greeks after all. If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!