What a fun week for cultural misappropriations and misunderstandings.  If the media whirlwind on uncontacted Amazonians was not enough…

Seeing the Sites:  The New York Times reported on the recent decision of Mexico’s National Institute for Anthropology and History to refuse to allow a well known soap opera star to appear in a tourism ad with archaeological artifacts.  The most interesting part is that the actress was not photographed with the actual objects but rather digitally superimposed on an image of them. 

Take me to the River… the states of Kentucky and Ohio are in dispute about an 8-ton boulder.  The rock sat at the bottom of the Ohio River, which separates the states, and was only exposed once a decade (when the water-level periodically lowered).  Local residents would inscribe names and dates on the rock, which submerged permanently after a damn changed water levels in the early 20th century.  One of the Ohio disputants said this:

“This rock tells stories about the people who settled this land – those who lived here, worked here and left their legacies for future generations to uphold,” Book said. “We want to preserve history; the people fighting this in Kentucky just want to return the rock to its watery grave at the bottom of the Ohio River. This is too important a part of Portsmouth’s history to allow that to happen.”

Suffer for Fashion:  Television cooking sensation Rachel Ray wore a scarf that looks vaguely like a Palestinian kaffiyeh and conservative bloggers are up in arms.  Really, what are they so worried about?  Is there any image that could more quickly suck the political potency from an article of clothing than a photograph of a Food Network celebrity wearing said article while drinking an iced coffee?  That’s practically one step away from putting it on Stuff White People Like. 

And speaking of white guys…

Darwin’s Travels: The Washington Post reviewed The Voyage of the Beagle, a travel narrative by Charles Darwin.  In contrast to “plain and pedestrian prose” of his scientific works, “this text sings.”

Benjamin’s Belongings:  Material World circulated a call for participation in a session at CAA (College Art Association) on the objects in Walter Benjamin’s writing. 

Colbert and Diamond, together at last:  Steve Colbert’s interview of Jared Diamond on Comedy Central (thanks to neuroanthropology for finding this).