John-- Thank you, first of all, for your most civil response to my criticism of your work. In my turn, I must apologize to you for my remark about laziness; it was unfair of me to make, since I did not know the circumstances of your research for the story and so made an unfounded remark.

This is a tough time to be an Assyriologist, watching Iraq's cultural heritage destroyed and stripped away by organized crime while the American occupation does nothing (or in some cases actively participates, as they did at Babylon) and the American public looks the other way. The result is that we scholars sometimes lash out in frustration, but this is no excuse for bad behavior on my part.

I would be happy to look over your story and provide what feedback I can. I have a vision of a Sumerian printing press that resembles a breadmaker-- toss in dirt and water and voila! Tablets!

hansthebold@yahoo.com