Was wondering the same thing. Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia, King Tut. There ya go. 
LOL Too true!
Damn it I didn’t see this thread yesterday.
I wanted you to remind Tut to return my lawnmower.
Zebra- no worries buddy, I haven’t left yet. I’ll tell that lousy mummified lawn mower thief to return it to you ASAP.
Oooh I’m so jealous! I cannot wait to go see this! I think I will wait until Chicago, though… airline tickets are cheaper, and there’s some other stuff there I want to see.
Tell us everything about it!
T minus 2.5 hours and I am out of this crap hole for ever!!! …ok, until 10ish, but that’s good enough, right?
Anyway, I’m leaving at noon and I will surely update with info and photos for interested parties.
Miss Sausage Creature, where is that update? Hmmm?
And I’m back. I would have pictures, except they made us give up our cameras…and cell phones.
First, I would like to thank The Sausage Creature for warning me of waiting. We were hearded into a tent where we waited almost 40 minutes (our tickets were for 4 PM, we didn’t get in until 445). After the long wait, we were hearded to another line where we were told we couldn’t have cameras or camera phones or anything that could be considered a camera (?). So we hopped out of line and handed off $1000 worth of cameras and phones to a lady who didn’t seem all that interested in her job. I was worried for my stuff, but it was ok in the end!
The good first: the exhibit was done very well. The artifacts were absolutely gorgeous, the layout was very organized and the lighting effects were very neat- it made for a good atmosphere.
The bad: I bought my tickets three weeks in advance. Now, to me, if I had to buy my tickets that far in advance, I expect the exhibit to not be over sold. There were so many people that we couldn’t walk between the artifacts. Honestly, that must have been some sort of fire hazard. It was terrible and, quite honestly, just about ruined the exhibit for me. I understand that it is King Tut and it is a big deal, but I have never been to a museum exhibit that was that busy before.
Secondly, how dumb are people? I know, I know. I shouldn’t have cared what others were saying, but when they are screaming it across a room to little precious angel the two year old who couldn’t care less about being there, I have no choice but to listen. Random things that were heard:
((Said with TOTAL seriousness and anger…to a child)).
As many of you know, the big, fancy, golden mask was not there. They had a little one that looked slightly like it, but was doll sized:
It went on like that. I plan on going back in September/October when it HOPEFULLY wont be as bad. It really was a lovely exhibit, there were just way too many people.
Oh, wed did have fun playing around in the little kid part. It says, “Angel Rules.” 'Cuz I do.
I know how to write and spell- promise! Forgive me! 
…you’re making that up. You have to be.
Please say you are.
I can say I was if you really want me to, but that wouldn’t really be the truth.
…stupidity amazes me. What is worse- they are passing it on to their devil-spawn.
I don’t know how you resisted in telling her King Tut was at the other museum and sending her on a wild goose chase.
Ya know, I was already so frusted/amazed by the stupidity of everyone… I was beyond snarky comments (amazingly enough).
Nah, completely understandable. Stupidity leaves me speechless at times, too.
I envy you getting to see the Tut collection – there was a mummy exhibit here a few months ago that I got to see and it was awesome. They had MRIs of the mummy on the wall next to it so we could see the condition of the skeleton. Pales in comparison to Tut, natch, but there was a display of the artifacts and such from the tomb along with it. Very cool.
Where is my lawn mower?
He’s had it for a few thousand years! Don’t tell me, they covered it with gold and put it in his tomb so he can have the nicest yard in the afterlife.
I’m sorry Zebra! Turns out the Egyptian government refused to send the mower over this time around. Seems that the American Museums couldn’t fork over enough dough. Thems the breaks! I hear mowers are on specials at Walmart for a good price.
**chatelaine **- the collection was beautiful, but it wasn’t that much “Tut Stuff” so to speak. Most of the things were family members and such. They had a really neat statue/bust of Akhenaten and a bust of Nefertiti- def. some of the neater pieces. Honestly, I think the lack of “Tut Stuff” was what was pissing off people (not me, but others). “GOD! Why the hell would I give a rats ass about Aka-la–whatever his name is??” <— real quote.
I used to be rather read in the Egyptology department, but it’s been a while. Now, Akhenaten up and changed the very basis of Egyptian society. Did King Tut really do anything but die mysteriously, get buried in a different tomb, and not get grave-robbed?
I don’t know; I mean the Tut stuff was cool to see because it was beautiful, but- historically speaking- I found the other stuff more interesting. Just my lil’ opinion.
swoon Anything Nefertiti-related pulls my chain.
But, you see, Tut is the one they mention in all the movies and stuff!!!1 Obviously he was the most important! No one cares about all of that dusty old history junk. I mean, honestly, what did Akhenaten do besides establish monotheism in Egypt? Tut’s in the movies and even has that cool curse!
People continue to amaze.
Anyway, I’m not nearly as well-educated in Egyptian history [or anything else, really] as I’d like to be, which is one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to go to the mummy exhibit we had locally. I learned a lot just by reading all of the exhibit information and going on the audio tour.
Now, if you don’t mind, I have a very stupid question for you that I can’t seem to find the answer to – is the actual mummy and/or sarcophagus of Tut ever displayed outside of Cairo?
That exhibit looks interesting and I’m sure you had plenty of time to wander from thing to thing, admiring each piece as you went. Couldn’t do that at the Tut Exhibit. (Me? Bitter? Nah!). When I was in New York we went to a museum (maybe in Brooklyn??) and they had a tremendous amount of Egyptian stuff. The museum was just about deserted too- just wonderful!
You know, I’m not entirely sure about the touring of the actual mummy. I would imagine that would be pretty dangerous to move. I’m sure they’d send the sarcophagus of someone coughed up enough money, but who knows? (Maybe someone else on the board… ).
Oooh, one more complaint. They dumbed down a lot of stuff throughout the exhibit. For instance, they had the sarcophagus of Tuyu (maybe? I can’t remember exactly). The plaque discussed how this was Tuyu’s coffin. In fact, the only time we saw the word “sarcophagus” was in the gift shop. You see, they had a sarcophagus shaped cd holder.
Oh, lord yes. There’s only about five people [literally – I’ve counted] in the museum at any given time, and my wife and I were the only ones who paid the $5.00 to take the mummy tour. We had the guide all to ourself, poor man.
That was my thought, too, about the actual mummy – but then I wasn’t sure as I got to see the one I linked to. You’re right about the cash, though. I think the exhibit you saw ran AEG [sponsors] around $20 million upfront.
…didn’t we learn the word “sarcophagus” in the sixth grade?
Hey, hey, hey buddy! Don’t go usin’ yer fancy, ed-ju-makated words on me. What? Did Tut think he was better then me or somethin’? That aint nothin’ butta glorified coffin, if ya ask me. Ain’t no reason to go callin’ it something fancy and French like “sarcophagus”. The French hate America. Do you hate America?