docoflove1974

I pretty much agree with you, Neph and others. 'Caesar' started out as a family name, but due to the rule of JC and the other members of his clan, the name came to signify the head of the Roman Empire. One could argue that it semantically generalized or broadened into 'the head of an empire' which is how 'Kaisar' and 'Tsar' were entered into the lexicon of the Germanic and Russian peoples as a title meaning 'head of empire'. The thing with 'Ptolemy' and 'Cleopatra' that makes them different for me is the lack of diffusion among other ruling clans. Granted, the Egyptian empire pretty much died with Cleopatra VII, so one never really knows what would have happened. But I would argue that 'Ptolemy' and 'Cleopatra' were probably closer to the original use of 'Caesar' for the Julio-Claudians, as well as the 'House of X' in the British monarchy: a way of categorizing which ruling clan the people belonged to. So it's still not so much a title as it is a clan name or, as you put it Nephele, a dynastic name.

Sadly, I'm going to have to pull out. Work reasons, mostly...my teaching schedule runs through the end of July. Sorry, guys...I gave it a shot!

Graduate classes in the US typically involve very little lecture and a great deal of discussion. If students read material reliably, all classes could focus on the evaluation and discussion of materials. I'd add that there's usually quite a bit of what I call 'practicum'...not only discussion but paper-writing, all utilizing the information found in the readings and the personal interests of the students. But I must say that in Europe it can be different; in Spain, for example, there's quite a bit of lecture, even in graduate courses. I've heard similar stories elsewhere.

Some of this was discussed in this thread What I advise anyone who thinks they are interested in a PhD program (regardless of discipline) is that they sit down and answer a few questions: What is it that you want to study? (You don't have to have a specific topic in mind, but at least you should know a general area of study (Republican Rome, Ancient Sparta, etc.) that you are interested in learning more about.) Are you prepared to give up 4-8 years of your life to study? Yes, you probably will have opportunities to work on campus (teaching, research, etc.), but realize that your life while you're working on a PhD is truly dedicated to the program that you're in, the professors that you work with, and probably working on papers and other academic endeavors. Do you work well in a hierarchy? It's amazing sometimes how many Masters' students enter thinking that they're going to go onto a PhD, and then realizing how much of a hierarchy there is in academia, and often get frustrated. As for finding a PhD program for your needs, part of this is knowing your discipline...knowing the professors at given universities who work on your topic of interest. Take tours, email/talk with professors AND grad students in order to get a feel for the campus environment and what is expected of you. There are several of us who either have PhDs or have started PhD programs on here...I'm sure that several other opinions and pieces of advice will be added to this.

A lady never tells. Neither does a broad like me

Because I play straight beautifully!

Perhaps. But to me that would be along the lines of people now naming their sons 'Reginald', 'Raymund' (and the various derivatives), or naming their daughters 'Regina'...or their dog 'Rex'. More than likely, it was a name which was given to any Hellenic-blooded daughter of a so-called 'famous' father--be it locally-famous or regionally-famous.

Gracias!

I did my part...I had 3 with appetizers and dinner. God bless St. Guinness!

Again the point must be made: if there was little to no contact between the two cultures during this time frame (which is the case here), there cannot be any link made. It is not uncommon at all for two different and distinct cultures to have similar practices. Look at the numerous cultures which have some sort of pyramid--the obvious links being the Ancient Egyptians on the one hand and the Mayan and Aztec pyramids on the other. This is nothing to say of the numerous American Indian mounds, Germanic and Celtic mounds which have been said to be similar in purpose and concept to the pyramids. The list of phenomena can grow ad nauseum. The fact that pottery, both in material and design, is similar also does not prove anything; circular patterns are common, as they often represent life (the circuitousness of life, the beginning and end being the same point, etc.), the color being that of the clay and the dyes around at the time and at the location. Even the shape is not uncommon; jugs and such often have similar shapes, often stemming from the fact that they had similar functions.

Yahoo's spam catcher is usually quite good, but I think there's a new batch of baddies who are currently slipping under the radar. But, Yahoo usually catches up in a couple of weeks, so I still like them.

If those dates are correct, then I very much doubt that there is Greek influence in Ancient Chinese writing systems. Besides the fact that the Chinese writing is clearly pictograms (which evolve into the characters that are used today), it is generally acknowledged that 2000-1500 BCE is Proto-Greek (which has no written documentation), with Mycenean (using Linear B ) being spoken (and written) from 1500-1000BCE. The time frames do not line up. For more information about Hellenic, I would direct you to Indo-European Linguistic Research Center, and their many resources. Another point: in order for there to be a link, there has to be contact between the two cultures. This contact would have to be more than casual, as shared language and/or writing systems are a result of direct and constant influence--usually in the form of neighbors, constant trade partners, or conquerers. I don't believe there was any such contact between the Ancient Chinese peoples and the Hellenic peoples of this time period.

How do I describe this.... It's been so long since I've gone out with a gentleman, I'm absolutely savoring this. "Friendly" activities were respectfully. But nothing at the level which would require an anagram quite yet (BTW despite my best efforts, today was not a calm day. But, on the other hand, I bought myself a new camera, which was necessary. Now I can take pictures again!)

Cripes, American suburbia is spreading around the world. There must not be justice in the world...that, or everyone is supposed to be fat like us. On the other hand, the fact that the titty bar isn't doing that great is both funny and sad at the same time. What's a girl to do for work nowadays?

Have a great day, MPC! Enjoy this spectacular weekend!

Oh yes: Vancouver Cannucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Ottowa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Cannediens.

Nah, not yet...let me at least get "friendly" with the guy first before we go contorting his name

Anyone who knows me or has been around me quite a bit knows that I'm basically a ball of energy. I can run at a high level for a long, long time. I do my best work in the afternoon and evening, especially when I work-out in the morning; I never go to bed before 11:30pm, and I still wake up refreshed in the morning. But when I crash...look out. This week has been a difficult one, not because of anything in particular. I know I'm starting to crash, and it's the week before Spring Break. I've made it thus far: 3 exams, graded 2 of them (the other doesn't have to be out until after break), and created 2 exams. Just the two classes to teach tomorrow. Then I can relax. But, man, I'm running on fumes right now. When I crashed before, I would spend a fair amount of my evenings on the couch. It was easy: finish eating dinner, put dishes in the sink, then lay down on the couch and watch tv until I fell asleep. Wake up, take a shower, go to bed for the night. However, when one lives in a 400 sq.ft. studio apartment, this isn't exactly feasible. For one, my 8-foot couch is in my brother's garage. For another, if I want to pass out in front of the tv, I get to sit in my computer chair. Otherwise, I can lay on the bed, and watch tv on an angle...and wake up with a terrible neck pain. Nope, no good. So, I'm doing the next best thing: drinking wine, with my cat on my lap, and doing nothing. Tomorrow night I have a date, so I'll come home from campus, eat a bit, go work out, and take a nap before getting ready. Tonight I'll also give meself a mani-pedi (for you guys: manicure and pedicure...and yes, I do it myself)...I need it anyway, as it's almost sandal weather. But I'm enjoying these next few days...even though I have all next week off of school, I have exams to grade, scholarship applications to review, and other stuff to work on come Wednesday. But, oh, I get to recharge!!!!

Well, I dunno. I loved Beavis and Butthead and South Park (early on), so I'm all for dumb humor. I guess I never could find a connection with a bunch of punk nimwits.

Yep, same thing here. Most stadiums go so far as to not let you bring in water bottles...or at least they have to be brand-new (aka never opened). The worst part is that for crap beer they charge huge prices; the last time I went to a (baseball) game, it was $6 for a cup (12 oz usually) of Budweiser/Coors (which here is normally $6 for a case!), or $8 for a 'premium' beer (Samuel Adams, etc.). As a result, most get blitzed out in the parking lot, and either shell out the price for overpriced swill, or sober up before the next round! BTW: at both Giants and A's games (baseball again), the price is almost the same for the 'regular' and 'premium' beers...unbelievable.

If it's at the after match function and you're competing against opponents that just beat you out on the pitch, then hell yeah! Do not ever forget the hard-core (American) football tailgates...hours of pre-game drinking (and eating...and throwing a football around the parking lot), followed by more libations inside the stadium...followed by...well, you get the picture. The best do this 8 times over the 4-month season.

I'm the reverse...I kinda like Little Britain (but not a must-see for me), but never could get into the Young Ones.

Indeed, let the festivities begin! This is a week to celebrate the Triumvirs! And, of course, Maladict!

Um, yeah. This is why you never let a syntactician get bored. Suddenly, I'm craving buffalo wings...with blue cheese.

Before I moved to San Jos