Viggen

Ice-skating - the oldest human-powered means of transportation - was invented in Finland not for fun but for survival, according to a new study. Skates made from animal bones have been found throughout Scandinavia and Russia, including some that date back to around 3000 B.C. The wide dispersal of the ancient artifacts has made it difficult for archaeologists to pin down exactly when and where ice-skating first developed. full article at National Geographic

It is always a fascinating event for a middle european to see that, " for me", "exoctic" election process that americans have. Now that i am proud owner of some more channels then before, and be able to follow some 24h news channels like BBC World News, i am intrigued by the current state of affairs. So, whats your guess, which two candidates will face each other for the final show down to become the next US President? cheers viggen

Mr. Dalby graciously consented to be interviewed for this work. (Bacchus: A Biography) You may find the interview here

Below are the newest releases for January... Caesar: Life of a Colossus (Paperback) Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West, 376 - 568 The Cambridge Economic History of the Greco-Roman World The Epic City: Urbanism, Utopia, and the Garden in Ancient Greece and Rome The Roman Empire of Ammianus Latin Forms of Address: From Plautus to Apuleius Pilgrimage in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Antiquity ...i also updated the best selling book section for December... cheers viggen

What made them so special that we till today use them in our language (englisch as well german [maybe other languages as well?]), why dont we say "this is an act of hunnism, or vikingnism, but no we say vandalism, i mean they didnt last all that long and surely other "barbarians" did as many gruel things then the vandals, any particular reason, why this tribe has made itself immortal in our language? cheers viggen

Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr! I will get a very special christmas present form my little sister this year; an ancient roman dish for christmas She actually made an ancient roman cook course a couple of weeks ago in vienna, just for this occasion... I let you know what it was and how it tastet! cheers viggen

A special guest contribution from community member "Wotwotius"... "In my sixth and seventh consulships [28-27 BC], after I had extinguished civil wars, and at a time when with universal consent I was in complete control of affairs, I transferred the republic from my power to the dominion of the senate and people of Rome

coin operated boy sitting on the shelf he is just a toy but i turn him on and he comes to life automatic joy that is why i want a coin operated boy ...those are the first few lines of a song that i cant get out of my head. I promise, i tried, but it keeps coming back... It all started with a commercial on austrian TV. The biggest austrian jam manufactorer "Darbo" had a weired (but very interesting) ad, promoting one of their products with this song. (you can see the original version ) It is performed by the former street artists "The Dresden Dolls", who describe their style as "Brechtian punk cabaret"... American`s who name their band Dresden Dolls and their style "Brechtian punk cabaret", what can i say, love it! p.s. and what about the lyrics hehe, pretty obvious, what the lady is singing here about, isn`t it! ;-)

As i am keep enjoying my newly aquirred History Channel, i watched a documentary which had a small part about Maurice (it was a doc about the Holy Lance, and one part intrigued me very much, as i really want to know more about this: It is basically about Maurice, who was a legion leader and a christian, which eventually became a saint. I did some googling and came with this interesting article; http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/maurorig.html , it is from 1999 and well, as it touches not only religion but also military, i wonder what you guys have to say to this? cheers viggen

Below are the newest releases for December... All the Emperor's Men: Roman Soldiers and Barbarians on Trajan's Column Roman Art from the Louvre The Religion of the Romans Living in Ancient Rome Ovid before Exile: Art and Punishment in the Metamorphoses History of the Roman Republic Roman Pantomime A to Z of Greek and Roman Women Rome and the Nomads: The Pontic-Danubian Realm in Antiquity ...i also updated the best selling book section for November, and one of our reviews seem to have sparked a run on this book... http://www.unrv.com/book-review/bestselling-november-04.php cheers viggen

I have to admit, till a few days ago i never heard of this man. Wasn`t it for the History Channel that brought a documentary about him, i still wouldnt know what this man meant to the people of Nanking. Why was he such a special person, you may ask? Well, John Rabe played the key role in saving the lives of more than 250,000 Chinese during the incident called the Rape of Nanking, i was so fascinated by this story that i had to look up more info on him and share this with you guys... You can read his biografie here

There is an image link to the right top that goes straight to the book and there is a link at the end of the review going straight to the book too, unless you talk of the british version that would be found here...

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag !!! cheers viggen

Below are the newest releases for November... The Complete Pompeii Rome and Environs: An Archaeological Guide Death in Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook A Companion to Roman Religion War in Late Antiquity Religion of the Romans The Way of the Gladiator Divine Qualities: Cult and Community in Republican Rome Grammar and Christianity in the Late Roman World A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The bestselling books page on Unrv.com is also updated...

Congrats ...and to say it with Plautus words... Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words. cheers viggen

The History Channel is offering you the chance to experience New York City in style! As part of their NYC Week television event, the History Channel is currently accepting entries into their “Can’t Buy NYC History Experience!” sweepstakes! The grand prize winner with will receive a 4 day/3 night history-themed tour of NYC featuring: Top of the Rock exclusive tour Macy’s Shopping spree with personal shopper The Metropolitan Museum of Art VIP tour Les Miserables Tickets and Backstage tour Accommodations at the Roosevelt Hotel Dinner at Ruby Foos Zagat Survey’s ‘America Top Restaurants’ and much more! Enter the sweepstakes by November 22nd at the official site here: www.history.com/nyc Just got that in my mail box, thought some of you might be interested...

A review by "Ursus" "The legacy of Alexander the Great should be apparent to any Romanophile. While there had been cultural diffusion occurring between East and West for some time, Alexander

i also voted for Fu Long, the other choices were Mei Yue (something like beautiful music) Zhu Wa (something like bamboo boy) Hua Shan (one of the five holy mountains) but in german the sound of the other three names are just terrible, Lu Fong was (my guess) voted for, because it rolls smoothly with the german tongue cheers viggen

The Vienna Zoo (in german "Tiergarten Sch

We proudly present our new designed home page (thanks Moon for an outstanding job)! It`s look is designed around the forum-look and it should give it a more pleaseing feel and faster page load! cheers viggen So what do you think of the new designed home page, your feedback is appreciated...

We proudly present our new designed home page (thanks Moon for an outstanding job)! It`s look is designed around the forum-look and it should give it a more pleaseing feel and faster page load! cheers viggen

Alles Gute zum Geburtstag ol`Moon!

We have a thread on what you are currently reading, so i wonder what are you currently watching? I am not big into TV (other then documentaries and sport), however i do love good movies... I have to confess the big mighty emperor Viggen is very very soft when it comes to his movie taste, my favourites are romantic comedies, i cant help it, but watching those kind of movies just gives me all i want, laughing, happy end and a good fuzzy warm feeling afterwards The last couple DVD`s i watched this week, were also one of the best in a long time in that genre (although those are not new they are new to me, i am not heavy into going to the big screen either...) 1. The Holiday Nancy Meyers at her best, what a chic flick de luxe, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black, if you like chic flicks you better watch this, it wont get much better then this... 2. Bend It Like Beckham This is one of those british gems that just stand out of the crowd, not sure if it was popular in the US because of the soccer theme, but i tell you, you better watch it, a fantastic feel good story... 3. Only You Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. at his most charming, the setting is venice and other parts of Italy. You like romance? Then you need to see this lovely flick... So there you have it, my Schmaltz Collection of the last few weeks cheers viggen

Eventually, another update to the Contributer List... cheers viggen

Hi, Gaius, i appreciate your comments, especially so shortly after the loss... Well, maybe if you would have been a neutral, or a south african observer, you would have thought different of that try, i have seen this incident many times, and only one camera angle actually made it very clear that Cueto touched the line before the ball was over the line and grounded... Of course, if that try would have been awarded things might have been different, but i do believe, because of how the tournament went ( with two games that all of a sudden went close Tonga and Fiji), that when things got closer the South Africans were always able to step up... My (obviously biased) view of the game was that England had to play with 110% and for South Africa it was enough to play with 90%, if things would have gone wrong, there was room for gearing up.... In any case, i congratulate especially the english players how they handled the loss after the game, no whining... ... i admire rugby player for the general attitude towards loosing and winning!