Last fall, El Kurru, the archaeological site where I work in Sudan was featured in a National Geographic/PBS film called “Rise of the Black Pharaohs.” National Geographic recently posted some video of the drone footage with narration by the camera operator in their online National Geographic Raw series. It’s fun to see and you can…
Did your best friend ask you to give a toast at their wedding? Are you getting married and want to give your maid of honor some advice on making a toast? This guide is for you, a step-by-step guide to writing and giving a wedding toast whether you are the Best Man, Maid of Honor,…
The New York Times Motherlode blog published my latest essay on April 15, 2015: Former Gov. Jeb Bush made news recently because he checked “Hispanic” on a voter registration form. This is obviously ridiculous from a scion of the Bush family (and Mr. Bush has said he made a mistake). Yet, I understand, because the family…
There’s been a record amount of snowfall in Boston this February and we might break the seasonal snowfall record by this weekend. That means a lot of time shoveling snow, and that means a lot of time getting lost in thought. My latest essay was published in the Good Men Project. An archeologist shovels through the Boston snow…
As I prepare for another dig later this month (i.e. ignore clothes and such but trying to find the perfect book for the airplane), I was reminded of an essay I wrote for Booksense.com. That website is no longer available so I guess the rights reverted back to me. Dig libraries can be described in…
For a while now, I’ve been fascinated by the work of Claire McManus, an acupuncturist whose patients have included dogs, bongos and warthogs. I spent an afternoon with her at the New England Aquarium’s Rescue and Rehabilitation center to watch her treat sea turtles. In the Sept/Oct 2014 issue, Orion Magazine published my story about…
I recently identified a new genre of movie, the Parent-Child Romantic Comedy, and an analysis of these films helped me understand something about being a parent. My essay was published on the New York Times Motherlode blog here: http://nyti.ms/1wwP0qi Second favorite reaction to my essay: “That was yours? I saw that in a friend’s Facebook status.”…
The Boston Globe Connections column yesterday printed my essay on my experience away from the Internet, forced to actually connect with the other people in my presence to learn anything — and enjoying it. I coined a phrase to describe the collected brainpower in a room: the Roomnet. Earlier this year, an archaeological dig took…
While in Sudan earlier this year, a film crew from National Geographic came to El Kurru to document our work and interview the dig director, Geoff Emberling. The fruits of their labor aired on PBS on October 1 as “Rise of the Black Pharaohs.” Here’s the PBS description: About the ProgramThe Egypt of the Great…
In January, the Boston Globe Magazine published an essay I wrote about my friendship with Mahmoud, a Sudanese archaeologist, and a greeting I had never seen before, the Sudanese Hug. The basic gesture is a right handed pat on another person’s left shoulder while they do the same to you. The Sudanese Hug is more…
Jack Cheng, PhD 