Okay, I admit it. This is an uber nerdy post. But uber nerdy can be uber good and even uber fun sometimes!

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in history. Unfortunately, my university program doesn’t really allow for me to take all the history courses my little heart desires, but I can get away with sneaking in a couple Anthropology courses disguised as science credits (mwa haha). For those of you who aren’t familiar, Anthropology is essentially a study of humans’ interactions with the environment, specifically ancient humans. Anthropology oftentimes spills over into the field of archaeology, and that is where my book pick (and my recent archaeological interest) fits in.

The subheading of Loot, by Sharon Waxman, is “The battle over the stolen treasures of the ancient world,” which gives you a pretty good idea of the content. For any of you who have visited big museums such as the Met in New York or The British Museum, you know that the majority of their historical artifacts don’t come from their homeland, but rather, fascinating and exotic places like Greece, Egypt and Italy. Before laws were exercised in the field of archaeology, the rule of finders’ keepers was enforced. They became a sign of wealth and priceless artifacts are now often part of wealthy individual’s estate, even though those pieces belong in a museum where they can be properly cared for.

Now that the countries that have been plundered for centuries are starting to see the cultural and monetary value in these pieces, they are requesting for them to be returned. Because the laws involving goods that have been removed from their homeland for centuries are blurry or even non-existent, a war is raging in the anthropological and archaeological world. And that war is precisely what Waxman focuses on in Loot. Read More »

In the words of Salt N Pepa, “the difference between a hooker and a ho ain’t nothin’ but a fee.”

Apparently, with today’s struggling economy, that ‘fee’ can come in many forms. Gas is well over $4 a gallon, and after a Kentucky woman sold her body for a full tank, a prosecutor commented that it’s sad when people are selling their bodies for gas. (Uh, duh?) Of course, there are plenty of other sexual behaviors out there that border the fine line between “hooker” and “ho.”

Look at aspiring “actress” Ranae Shrider, whose most prominent role to date is opposite Mini Me, Verne Troyer, in a scandalous sex tape. Reportedly, Shrider has been shopping the tape all over Hollywood, asking for $25,000 or more for the vid. What do you think, ladies? Hooker or Ho?

Of course, we also have the glamorized portrait of the “prostitute with a heart of gold.” You know, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. We hate Jason Alexander for trying to solicit poor Julia, and we cheer when Richard Gere shows up in his limo to whisk her into the sunset. Then we call our ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend a “whore” behind her back. Read More »