Viggen

....I haven`t laughed that much in a long time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh9cG5dzs-U& ...funniest movie of the year, stunning performance of all actors (incl. Jennifer Aniston)...

Patricians get a private forum called the Senate where they can advise the powers that be. They are also eligible for free book giveaways. Long term activity and good character are the main traits, but we also like to see that our Patricians are scholarly and well-written, because we do like book reviews in exchange for the free books. So if you want to write an article or review on a Romanophile topic, e-mail it to Viggen. Just don't write anything on Harry Potter or I will commit ritual suicide. Oh the temptation ......!! Thanks for the advice - I'll get on to it straight away! Thanks for suggesting Aetius and Stilicho Decimus. I've got to admit that Aetius is very tempting, as my 'expertise' lies more towards the later period. Oh dear, the decision just gets harder and harder!! Decimus are you aware that you proposed two characters that actually went into books (well Stilicho already is and Aetius is on its way. Hows that sonic and decimus hehe

I attached now to the original post the flyer as a pdf... cheers viggen

...send the file to me via email admin@unrv.com and i make a pdf of it...

...to fill this forum with a bit of action i thought of presenting here once in a while remarkable or interesting coins i find on ebay, how about this one, what do you think ...is it worth it? Is it unusual to have heads on both sides of the coin? Nero & Divus Claudius

The Xanten area in ancient times Interactive; I never seen this before, I am very impressed.... http://xanten.afg.hs-anhalt.de/desk30.html

Druids: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe The Druids. Priests of a savage race who delighted in human sacrifice? Or wise men in white robes who communed with nature? These are the usual two views of Druidism served to the public; the first based on a Roman stereotype and the latter a Romantic reinvention. Somewhere between these extreme views lies a historical truth. Barry Cunliffe offers a concise overview of Druidism - both the historical and the invented.... ...read the full review of Druids: A Very Short Introduction by Barry Cunliffe

Why does the law in Austria recognize any religious establishment? ..probably because we try to become world champions in political corectness...? <shrug>

...best news of the year... when i saw that i couldnt believe it... Pasta strainers are now considered suitable religious headgear in Austria ... at least as far as the transport authorities are concerned. Three years after applying for a new driver's licence, an Austrian man has finally received the laminated card. And the picture shows him sporting an upturned pasta strainer on his head. Nothing to worry about: the authorities ruled the kitchen utensil was a suitable religious accessory for a Pastafarian. Niko Alm, an entrepreneur, told the Austria Press Agency he had the idea when he read that headgear was allowed in official pictures only for "confessional" reasons. The atheist says he belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a light-hearted "faith" whose members call themselves Pastafarians and whose "only dogma ... is the rejection of dogma," according to its website. Accordingly, Alm sent his application for a new driver's licence in 2008 along with a picture of himself with a colander on his head. The stunt got him an invitation to the doctor's to check he was mentally fit to drive, but after three years, Alm's efforts have paid off. He now wants to apply for Pastafarianism to become an officially recognised faith in Austria... and to see his official drivers license (valid world wide) (text in german) http://wien.orf.at/stories/526269/

Olympia, site of the famous Temple of Zeus and original venue of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, was presumably destroyed by repeated tsunamis that travelled considerable distances inland, and not by earthquake and river floods as has been assumed to date. Evidence in support of this new theory on the virtual disappearance of the ancient cult site on the Peloponnesian peninsula comes from Professor Dr Andreas V

...thanks Kosmo for that link... ...yeah caldrail i do i do http://www.unrv.com/forum/blog/10/entry-2617-1107-kilograms-244051724-pounds/

This is hard, much much harder than i thought. I fear with age the ability to loose weight fast disappears.... I tried really hard with exercise and not eating too much, despite all my efforts for a long time i was stuck at around the same weight level. It was as if my body pulled a switch and decided to not loose any weight anymore. Only a few days ago this "threshold" seems to have been broken through and i finally have a new weight to announce, slow very slow but nevertheless the pounds are melting... i keep you up to date...

Barry Strauss (author of books like The Trojan War) writes in his blog about greece and its financial trouble and what Alexander the Great would have done... The Greek government nowadays is desperately broke. One answer to its troubles is to borrow money, while the other is to declare bankruptcy and start all over. Either possibility is imposing a strain on the world

Berlin, really a hip town, have you considered Berlin Below? http://berliner-unterwelten.de/files/buev-flyer-engl-span_2011_web.pdf and of course a visit to the DDR Museum http://www.ddr-museum.de/en/ if you havent discovered their tourism website, here it is http://www.berlin.de/international/index.en.php

sonic is too modest, he is the author of the book Stilicho, just in case people that read here dont know... Here our review by Prof. Matyzak http://www.unrv.com/...ew/stilicho.php and an interview with him.. http://www.unrv.com/...-ian-hughes.php

...no one heard of the Avatar characters before either, so if Cameron makes a 2 billion 4D spectacle it might work of course you are right Ursus, however a good story, script and acting will go very far (+ a decent amount of marketing)... just saying...

The name of Venta Icenorum, on the river Tas on the outskirts of the modern village of Caistor St Edmund, preserves the memory of one of the few local tribes the Romans had good reason to fear: the Iceni who, led in rebellion by their famous queen, Boudicca, torched the invaders' towns at Colchester and London in AD61. Archaeologists believe the remains of the town are in serious danger from unauthorised metal detecting and intensive agriculture... ...read the full article at the Guardian

Bulgarian archaeologists have unearthed the main church of a 14th century Byzantine monastery built by the last dynasty of the Eastern Roman Empire located in the Black Sea town of Sozopol. The team of archaeologist Dr. Krastina Panayotova from the National Archaeology Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has completed the first stage of the excavations of the St. Apostles Monastery and of a medieval feudal castle at the Cape of Sozopol. During the excavations funded by the Bulgarian government, Panayotova's team has uncovered the monastery church, a small cemetery chapel, and a feudal castle dating back to the 13th-15th century, the last days before the Byzantine Empire before it was wiped out of the map by the Ottoman Turkish invaders... ...read the full article at Novinite

Egyptian officials say archaeologists have unearthed the first basilica erected in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Antiquities authorities say the basilica is dated to the Roman era and was built on the ruins of a temple from the Ptolemaic reign that ended with the death of Cleopatra... ...full article at AP

Austria 2011: Eight Nations, one goal In the upcoming summer Australia, Germany, France, Mexico, Canada, Japan, defending champion USA and Austria will compete for the title of World Champion in Graz, Innsbruck and Vienna. "Never before has there been a bigger World Championship. We play in the biggest stadiums, for the best fans. This is the first time that all the top nations in international American Football are coming together to play in the same tournament," says Michael Eschlb

...and as the author of Stilicho is a forum member he might be answer that himself... cheers viggen

...there is soon a new book about her coming out... Galla Placidia: The Last Roman Empress (Women in Antiquity) by Prof. Hagith Sivan We will try to do a review on it... cheers viggen

The History of Zonaras by M. Banchich and E. N. Lane Zonaras was a major functionary in the Byzantine court of the twelfth century. His Epitome Historiarum (Extracts of History), in eighteen books, covered the history of the world from the creation to the twelfth century. It is one of the few sources covering the history of the third and fourth centuries, and it is therefore of extreme importance to anybody wanting to study the events of the