Viggen

I have no clue if it is the best, i just know it is one of the best i know.... Hey, lady, you got the love I need, Maybe more than enough. Oh, Darlin', Darlin', Darlin', walk a while with me, Oh, you got so much, so much, so much. Many have I loved, and many times been bitten, many times I've gazed along the open road. Many times I've lied and many times I've listened, many times I've wondered how much there is to know. Many dreams come true and some have silver linings I live for my dream and a pocketful of gold. Mellow is the mind who knows what he's been missin', many many men can't see the open road. Many is a word that only leaves you guessin', Guessin' 'bout a thing you really ought to know. You really ought to know. I really ought to know. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nrOL_-U1zI

Danny Danziger is an award-winning columnist for The Sunday Times, and is the author of eight books. Nicholas Purcell is a Fellow in Ancient History at St. John

Why i got up this morning and went to the voting poll... Living at the border to two other EU countries (Italy and Slovenia) makes you appreciate the EU a bit more then the average european. I mean i remember the times going on holiday to Italy very well, you already lost money by exchanging currencies and you had no real clue what things would really cost (Italians had the lira back then and the smallest denomination was the 1.000 Lira note). For Example; if you want to work for another EU country, well you know, just move there, no applications, no forms, no questions, you are citizen of the EU, just go there and start to work... For Example; Europe must be the bloodiest battle field in the History of mankind, so to all youngsters out there, it wasn`t always the way it is today, you know, chances are my grandfather was shooting at your forefathers and vice versa... There are a million reasons why the EU sucks, but believe me there are even more reasons if we didnt have one...

...yes you see sometimes subtitles when someone with a strong austrian dialect speaks on german TV, the same goes for the swiss german, which is even more distinct then the austrian dialect. Yes there were several attempts to simplify things but it was more about spelling then grammar. The thing is there is no official High German Standard, we use a different dictionary as our official one then the germans, as we have many words that come from eastern europe (Austrian Hungarian Monarchy), that germans dont use... here is a nice summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_German Austrian German is the only variety of a pluricentric language recognised under international law / EU primary law.

I recently stumbled over Mark Twains Appendix D from Twain's 1880 book A Tramp Abroad called The Awful German Language ...being a native german speaker, i found it fascinating how Mark Twain "manages" to learn the german language and how he wrote with his usual wit about it... Now observe the Adjective. Here was a case where simplicity would have been an advantage; therefore, for no other reason, the inventor of this language complicated it all he could. When we wish to speak of our "good friend or friends," in our enlightened tongue, we stick to the one form and have no trouble or hard feeling about it; but with the German tongue it is different. When a German gets his hands on an adjective, he declines it, and keeps on declining it until the common sense is all declined out of it. It is as bad as Latin. He says, for instance: SINGULAR Nominative -- Mein guter Freund, my good friend. Genitives -- Meines guten Freundes, of my good friend. Dative -- Meinem guten Freund, to my good friend. Accusative -- Meinen guten Freund, my good friend. [*]PLURAL N. -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends. G. -- Meiner guten Freunde, of my good friends. D. -- Meinen guten Freunden, to my good friends. A. -- Meine guten Freunde, my good friends. Now let the candidate for the asylum try to memorize those variations, and see how soon he will be elected. One might better go without friends in Germany than take all this trouble about them... My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years. It seems manifest, then, that the latter tongue ought to be trimmed down and repaired. If it is to remain as it is, it ought to be gently and reverently set aside among the dead languages, for only the dead have time to learn it.

Below are the newest releases in June The End of Empire: Attila the Hun and the Fall of Rome (Hardcover) Blood In The Forum: The Struggle for the Roman Republic (Hardcover) Lives of the Caesars (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback) Roman Passions: A History of Pleasure in Imperial Rome (Hardcover) The Care of the Dead in Late Antiquity (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology) (Hardcover) Ancient Rome: A New History (Paperback) Agricola and Germany (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback) The Later Roman Republic: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, a Chronology: Volume Two 145 BC-27 AD (Rise & Fall of the Roman Empir) (Hardcover) The Rise of Rome (Oxford World's Classics) (Bks. 1-5) (Paperback) Historical Dictionary of the Etruscans (Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras) (Hardcover) Roman Gardens: A Cultural History (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies) (Hardcover) The Roman Imperial Mausoleum in Late Antiquity (Hardcover) Gardens and Neighbors: Private Water Rights in Roman Italy (Law and Society in the Ancient World) (Hardcover) and the already reviewed Book Review of Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual I also updated the Bestselling in May page...

Here is the promised review.... Ancient Warfare (Vol.III Issue 2) dropped through my letterbox, and I immediately did what I do with all magazines at first

...how about the weekly radio news in Latin, to keep you busy http://www.yleradio1.fi/nuntii/audi/

El Caminito del Rey (English: The King's little pathway) is a walkway or via ferrata, now fallen into disrepair, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near

...hmm I read several articles in german on the Neanderthals that they most probably to usedand made their own glue, (University of Halle), and recently i found a video in english about it (second half), http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...ideoID=28868107 ...so i would say, why not....

@Nephele, i dont think i can filter that, but i will look into it... @sylla, yes we had so far this year visitors from 215 different countries or territories.. cheers viggen

Philip Matyszak seems to be applying for the lifetime achievement award in the category of "How To Write For a General Audience." His latest entry, Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual, is a successful attempt to translate the minutiae of Roman military studies for those who may not have any prior exposure to the subject. This informative yet exceedingly entertaining read will endear itself greatly to the student looking for a friendly introduction to the mystique of the legions... ...read the full review of Legionary: The Roman Soldier's (Unofficial) Manual by Philip Matyszak

...we are busy checking the ancient warfare magazine, the review should be online about end of next week... ...cheers viggen

....there ya go... Televangelist As the Lord as my witness, I swear upon the good book that you are indeed the TELEVANGELIST! Characterized by extreme arrogance, self-assurance, and extroversion, you would make a very charismatic leader (though not a very good one). On top of that, you are also more intuitive than rational, predisposing you to a more spiritual or emotional outlook on life. Thus, you are thoroughly irrational, and you tend to think that sound logical reasoning is overrated, and that it is much better to trust your gut instincts--which must be pretty big instincts, considering the size of your gut. You also tend to be rather gentle and considerate of others' feelings. Clearly, you would make the perfect televangelist. You could easily fleece people of their money and their dignity like so many sheep. Emotional, extroverted, arrogant, and gentle, you annoy the hell out of people who have to listen to the feel-good, intuitive shit spewing from your mouth. Not only that, but people may look down on you as a self-centered asshat. So while you are gentle and genuinely care about others, it is quite clear that you still care about yourself MORE. Why is your personality flawed? Because you are too damned extroverted, emotional, and arrogant. So preach your irrational message, brotha-man! I assure you, no one will be listening. Except for a few bums. But they just want you to feed them crackers and wine. To put it less negatively: 1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational. 2. You are more EXTROVERTED than introverted. 3. You are more GENTLE than brutal. 4. You are more ARROGANT than humble.

Many people are still wondering if female gladiators existed or if they are a mere Hollywood fantasy. Yes, they did exist and the Canadian scholar Stephen Brunet did in his article "Female and Dwarf Gladiators" a classification of evidence of female gladiators as follows... ...read the full article of Female Gladiators in Archaeology and Re-enactment p.s. thanks Medusa for this article!

In 2008 (1st of January till 21st of May) we had 649,837 Absolute Unique Visitors In 2009 (1st of January till 21st of May) we had 746,778 Absolute Unique Visitors ...up by 14.91%!!! p.s. while the USA makes up the majority of our visitors, i would like to share with you exotic places we had exactly 1 visitor 202. Samoa 1 203. Gabon 1 204. East Timor 1 205. Cook Islands 1 206. Montserrat 1 207. Niue 1 208. Greenland 1 209. French Guiana 1 210. Anguilla 1 211. Aland Islands 1 212. Tajikistan 1 213. British Indian Ocean Territory 1 214. Norfolk Island 1 215. Sierra Leone 1

The average reader manages about 160 to 250 words per minute (wpm). I was a till a week ago at around 260 wpm which is already a bit above the average but nevertheless not really satisfied. I bought a speed reading book and practising now for one week, having managed to finish about a third of the exercises i am currently at a reading speed of 620 wpm. Reading fast without understanding is of course not really useful, so i am glad my speed reading book has its focus on not only reading faster but also understanding what you reading. I would estimate that i will eventually get to 800 wpm without compromising comprehension. How fast are you reading?

Across the nation, Latin programs are changing because the College Board announced last spring that while it would continue the other Latin AP exam, which covers Virgil, May 2009 would be the last time it offered the Latin lit exam, which covers Cicero and four lyric poets. While specific figures are not yet available, it seems likely that this decision by the testing giant will lead to significant enrollment declines and reduced course offerings across the country. In effect, our entire discipline is reduced to the study of a single -- admittedly great -- author, Virgil. In the gap created by our national reluctance to centralize education policy, the College Board, an unelected body, has ended up as the de facto Education Ministry, and when it makes decisions we have no recourse... ...read the full article at the Washington Post

James B. Rives is an Associate Professor at York University, Toronto, and has written numerous books and articles on classical religion. What did the various pre-Christian religions of the Roman Empire have in common, and how did they differ from the monotheistic faiths that define modern religion in the West? These are the two questions that Rives answers with aplomb in his Religion of the Roman Empire... ...read the full review of Religion in the Roman Empire by James B. Rives

LOL The Late Bloomer (QTAM) Quirky Traditional Alpha Male You are a horrible persona to be until sometime in high school or college, and then things just can't go wrong for you. Sure you are a bit nerdy, but the cool type of nerdy; and you have developed confidence as if it were a well toned muscle. When selecting a date stick to nice, traditional women, preferably ones who share your interests. You are more QUIRKY than NORMAL. You are more TRADITIONAL than LIBERAL. You are more DOMINANT than PASSIVE.

Congrats Aurelia, great news! ...well, seems like an interesting job to me, ...and you are right, in this times, being picky, might be not the wisest move... so i hope you having a good time in your embassy! cheers viggen

thanks Nephele for another excellent piece on the surnames of the Republic, has now its own page... cheers viggen

Sandy ash produced by a volcano that erupted 456,000 years ago might have helped a huge ancient Roman complex survive intact for nearly 2,000 years despite three earthquakes, according to research presented last week in Rome. X-ray analysis of a wall sample from the Trajan's Market ruins in Rome showed that the mortars used by ancient Romans contained stratlingite, a mineral known to strengthen modern cements. "It is the first time that stratlingite is recognized in ancient mortars," Lucrezia Ungaro, the Trajan Forum archaeological chief, told Discovery News. "This is amazing, and shows the technical expertise of Roman builders..." ...read the full article at the Discovery Channel

Here more at the NY Times No one would mistake the Stone Age ivory carving for a Venus de Milo. The voluptuous woman depicted is, to say the least, earthier, with huge, projecting breasts and sexually explicit genitalia. Nicholas J. Conard, an archaeologist at the University of T

He was a giant of a man, a chieftain who ruled with a royal sceptre and a warrior's axe. When they laid him to rest they dressed him in his finest regalia and placed his weapons at his side. Then they turned his face towards the setting sun and sealed him in a burial mound that would keep him safe for the next 4,000 years. In his grave were some of the most exquisitely fashioned artefacts of the Bronze Age, intricately crafted to honour the status of a figure who bore them in life in death. For this may have been the last resting place of the King of Stonehenge - and the treasures that are effectively Britain's first Crown Jewels. Now the entire hoard, recovered from the richest and most important Bronze Age grave on Salisbury Plain, is set to go on permanent display.... ...read the full article at the Daily Mail