Life lessons I learned while watching two spelling bees, published in Brain, Child Magazine. My two children recently competed in city-wide spelling bees. Sitting in the audience, my vocabulary didn’t improve, but I learned a lot about life. Luckily, I took notes in the form of Twitter missives. For example: Life is not about spelling…
The journal Iraq, published by the British School of Archaeology in Iraq recently printed an academic article about Assyrian music that I wrote. The citation is: Cheng, Jack, “The Horizontal Forearm Harp: Assyria’s National Instrument,” Iraq 74, 2012, p. 75-87. Here’s the abstract: A horizontal harp, strung with 7 to 9 strings and usually decorated…
My latest post for The Public Humanist begins like this: I was a Creon until I realized that it put me against Antigone. Now I’m not so sure. Last week, listening to public radio, I heard about the protests against the burial of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. I nodded in agreement as various voices denounced the alleged…
Here’s my latest publication, for the Boston Globe Magazine’s Connections column. It’s about the birds and the bees and what that phrase helps explain about sexuality (spoiler: it explains nothing).
I’m an accidental coach. I thought I would sign up to assistant coach my son’s 4th grade soccer team but with limited parent volunteers, I got “promoted” to head coach of the Bears. As it turned out, some other parents stepped in to help out and I’m enjoying it. One of the other father’s even…
I’ve been accepted as a member of the Board of Directors of Green Decade, an environmental group in the city of Newton. Looking forward to learning more about how to behave responsibly, save some money and keep this planet and community safe and clean for my kids and future generations.
Updated Sept 4: Earlier this summer, I got an e-mail about a regional forum. From the e-mail: At the request of several members of the U.S. Congress, the American Academy for the Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in Cambridge has formed a Commission to collect testimony and prepare a set of recommendations for improving the study of the humanities and…
I’ve had the pleasure recently of playing around with a new PBS Nova initiative called Nova Labs. Using online tools anyone can do actual science that will advance human knowledge. The first lab uses a helioviewer to study the sun. Check it out!
Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context: Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter By Her Students, eds. Jack Cheng & Marian Feldman, (Leiden: Brill), 2007 is now accessible online for reading or download. You can find it on Scribd here: Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context: Studies in Honor of Irene J. Winter By Her…
Just for the record, I wanted to link to the pieces I produced for WBUR’s Here and Now last fall, a public radio newsmagazine that airs midday and is syndicated nationally by PRI. Links and airdates below: How to Survive Disasters 9/27/2011 Eradicating Guinea Worm 10/12/2011 How to choose a Secure Password 10/17/2011 Long Bike Trails 11/17/2011 Lipitor off…
Jack Cheng, PhD 