Ursus

Does the President have nothing better to do with his time? I saw the original episode, which was interesting. Using modern mirrors they were able to set ships afire, but using the ones available in Archimede's day they couldn't get it to light in a timely fashion.

I think I'll skip it.

Homer has been reborn.

But did anyone immortalize it with epic poetry?

If the US is torn apart by constant civil wars and ultimately taken over by foreign peoples, then I will say that, yes, we ended up like Rome. The civil wars, at least in the Roman sense, seem to be at bay for now. As far as an influx of aliens who refuse to acclimate to the host culture, the US does have a certain dynamic with Hispanic immigration, while Europe has a certain dynamic with Islamic immigration. It's dangerously politically incorrect to draw such parallels, of course, but I think if any comparison is to be made that isn't pure hyperbole it is with that angle.

I had an Apocalypse party planned, darn it. Now what are we going to do for entertainment?

This looks interesting. And unlike most of the other books, it is at an affordable price.

Judging by the reactions on our Facebook page, people either love it or hate it, with no middle ground.

This makes so much sense. Platonism always seemed liked something dreamed up by a bunch of disaffected college intellectuals over an acid trip.

In ancient Egypt the sacred bull Apis was seen as connected in life with Ptah, a creator god - but in death it was connected with Osiris, the first mummy, known as Osar-Apis When Ptolemy came along, he took this old identification of Osar-Apis and gave it a new "flavor" ,so to speak, for his Hellenistic subjects. Serapis, as he was now called, was depicted iconographically as similar to Zeus, but he could also be connected in cultic power with Asklepius, Dionysus, and Pluto. Basically, if Isis was a goddess who comprehended most goddesses, Serapis was a god who comprehended most gods.

Not sure if it will help, but one thing that stands out clearly in my memory from Tom Holland's Rubicon is the following: Jails were only temporary holding cells for people until execution or whatever other punishment was incurred. During the trial of the Cataline conspirators, Caesar (I believe praetor at the time?) proposed an alternative to the customery sentence of execution: for the conspirators to be divied up among several towns, sentenced to life imprisonment with the town's population responsible for keeping them confined. He was scoffed at because the idea was too novel for his colleagues.

So .. all in all, it's not just another brick in the wall?

Apparently six episodes or so are a prequel dedicated to showcasing how Lentulus Batiatus took over his father's Ludum and became "the best lanista in the Republic." link After that ... who knows. http://ausiellofiles...itfield-cancer/

Well, I watched all 13 hours of it this weekend on DVD. I was impressed at how much better the writing became as the episodes progressed. I'm worried about Season 2, too. Two of the main characters (and most delightful characters) apparently dead. The lead actor not returning ....

Battlefield tactical discipline is not the issue with the argument I referenced above. The issue is allowing Roman generals who were also Germanic princes. Roman operatives with divided loyalties, commanding untrustworthy states-within-a-state, ultimately using their power base within the empire to carve out kingdoms for themselves.

I think the empire fell because of the propensity of the Romans to fight each other for the throne, coupled with the propensity of the Germans to run roughshod over the borders. As far as any of Diocletian's reforms that may have directly impacted the survival of the empire, the main credible theory seems to be the splitting of the civil and military command, along with splitting the military into smaller units. This is alleged to have the effect of making the army a much less efficient and responsive force (Goldsworthy tries to paint Adrianopole as the ultimate consequence of this reform). And opening the army command to people not directly tied to Roman culture and property (i.e, the Senatorial class of old) had the effect of giving outsiders with their own agendas (Germans and other assorted barbarians) too much power to play with in the borders of the empire.

Looks like they are going to have to recast the lead actor: Link In other news .... my DVD of the first season shipped today.

To Hekate in particular .. black dogs, at least. . http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Hekate.html

I believe that is this program: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KL3H1W/ref=cm_rdp_product It looks interesting. I may buy the DVD, because, as you say, no doubt Amazon will take it down for copyright infringement.

Map of the spread of various people/powers at various stages: http://www.worldology.com/Europe/europe_history_lg.htm

Anyone want to take bets on who is the first member to criticize that video for any perceived inaccuracies in armor, weapons, dress or martial tactics? Seriously, I really don't like 'growly voice' metal, but great video.

After a massive update on my home computer, I no longer see the warning My work computer still displays it, however. Among other things it uses an earlier version of IE. I guess I'll avoid this place at work.

Did I miss it? Happy B day!

When I come to this place from home or work, I get a security warning about adobe flash 11, or something. What gives?

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