I'm thinking of creating an archive of information about beautiful, intelligent, learned women. I don't think this is sexist, because it seems I am forever talking about beautiful men, although admittedly, with a sense of bitterness and despair. For example, Geoffrey Nunberg, who is better looking, smarter, more knowledgeable, funnier. My only hope is that he can't play the guitar.

Ladies and gentlemen: Salima Ikram. She is professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo. So in addition to being BIL, she's really cool. I discovered her on a mediocre documentary Egyptian Secrets of the Afterlife.