docoflove1974

It's not as much of a dismissal of Herodotus on my part as it is taking his information with a grain of salt. His work has been discussed here in several places.

Actually, the article has a paragraph that begs to differ with that sentiment, and one which I would agree with linguisticially:

Admittedly, I spend a good chunk of money on shoes, and for good reason. It can be shown that cheap shoes usually are badly made, and aren't worth the money paid for them. And while I may not be a Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo kind of girl, I definitely will drop some change on footwear. This is particularly true for my gym shoes. No, seriously, it really is a good idea. I mean, think about all the punishment that you're doling out on your feet when in the gym, or going for a good walk on a trail. With cheap things thrown together, you could seriously hurt yourself, and not just your feet. Add to that the facts that I have high arches (even before I started wearing high heels) and have had knee problems for 25 years, and you start to understand that a $10 pair of kicks aren't going to give me the support that I need to go on a 4-mile walk, or a 1 1/2 hour cardio and weights routine. And since I go well past the 500-mile rule-of-thumb, I get my money out of them. After a wonderful 2 1/2 years, my recent pair of running shoes has officially died. Yes, I should have gotten the hint when my cat decided that she 'needed' to rub all over them once I took them off...but, no, the decision was made once my left arch started barking. Plantar fasciitis. Joyous fun. And instead of being mildly annoying and going away in 24 hours, it's lingering, very painful, and makes the cardio and walking routines almost out of reach. (On the other hand, I'm swimming more than I have in quite some time...and my skin isn't snow white anymore. Silver lining, and all.) So, off to the shoe store for me. There's a really great one in the next town over, one that caters specifically to gym shoes and running shoes of all types. They even analyze your foot and your gait in order to get the right shoe. Sure, I knew how much I was going to spend on the shoes, and knew that the extra attention to detail was going to be added onto the price, but the end result is that I get a pair of shoes that fits perfectly, and my foot won't hurt as much anymore. When I got home, I noticed that Bella hadn't moved from 'her' gym shoes...getting more stinky essence, I guess. I picked up the old shoes, with the intent of giving them a proper burial in the garbage can, when she starts crying. Not just the cute-kitten cry, but the 'Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!' cry. I rolled my eyes, and finished my chore. That was over 2 hours ago...Bella is still sulking in the garage. Just goes to show: one person's trash is another cat's treasure.

I was searching YouTube for the a certain scene from Blackadder The Third...and then got lost in watching the episodes again. Great prezzie, that. Ink and Incapability, to be precise. Regardless, glad to hear that you enjoyed your day, despite the lack of affection from young damsels. Besides, they're not that great...hehe

Happy birthday, Lord Caldrail! Here's to you, Scribe of the Times. May you have many more!

Depending on the version, Minerva (and her Etruscan counterpart, Minrva) were not always war-like, and almost always known for her wisdom and dominion over knowledge, moreso I would say than Athena. She isn't quite as aggressive as the grey-eyed Athena; the exception, evidently, is the version revered in Rome proper. But she often controlled the realm of magic...I find that interesting. The funny part is, we know so many stories of Athena, much of it based off of Homer. One just doesn't get as much knowledge of Minerva...I wonder if she was as written about? Or if, because of her cult in Rome, and its temple being 'destroyed' (ok, ok, it was built over by the Christians and completely taken over), Minerva was just absorbed into the Christian Roman culture without remark? Now there's something to research....yay, another project. Like I don't have enough now

The horoscope roundtable yielded some interesting results. While the first 3 that I read this morning hardly elicited a chuckle from me, this one from Minerva (of all the names! really!) for the week to come by far was the best: Well, Minerva, and I doubt that's your real name...how is that different than any other week? I often have 'monetary issues'...it's called being broke. The last time I wasn't was....well, um, a long time ago. And for the record, I'm always feeling passionate, especially when I haven't, well, you know, in a while. Actually, I take that back...I'm just passionate, all the time, not to mention always ready for social interaction...why am I going to be any different this coming week? I can't wait to see how this one will end up. Hopefully the real Minerva will drop some wisdom on your arse...or whatever she sees fit. Taking the name of such a goddess, puh-lease.... For once I'd like a horoscope to really get it right: "Hey, DoL, not much is going to change this day/week from the previous. The sun will still shine, albeit with a bit of coastal fogginess in the morning. Your cat is going to give you attention, but will be a bit whiny in asking for more. You might get a message from a dude who's somewhat interested in you, but then again you might not. You have a ton of work to do, both domestic and academic, but you'll enjoy it; after all, they're projects that you created or signed on for. Oh, hey, it's Sunday in September, so you'll watch both football and baseball. By the way, don't pick the tomatoes yet; you just sprayed them with malathion on Friday, so they can't be picked until Wednesday. That'll teach the bleeping white flies...." Hmmmm...wouldn't that be refreshing?

GoC, you and I have the same plan. Although I don't know about the VW Camper...I guess for my age group, it's a Westfalia One note: my favorite music of the era will always be New Order, Depeche Mode ("Somebody" and "A Question of Lust" are the most awesome examples of love and lust in music), Erasure (outstanding live!) and Pet Shop Boys...not to mention that U2 will always be part of the list. Talk about taking me back!

It's happened to all of us...we're in a public place, and over the intercom system plays a song that, for whatever reason, strikes a chord immediately with us. Oftentimes it's a song that transports us back in time. Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Giants game, where they not only beat the Padres 3-1, but in doing so they swept the series. In one of the middle innings, in between frames, they played . I could picture David Byrne's sweaty head herking and jerking all over the place, and the weird movements that he did in order to mimic the random videos in the background. I began singing the song, as did some of the others of my age group. A teenager in front of me had this quizzical look on her face. "What is this song about, anyway? I don't get the lyrics at all. 'Same as it ever was'???" Admittedly, it's a difficult thing to do, explaining the meaning behind the songs of New Age and other 80s pop movements. But this one was a bit easier...at least, I think so. To me, this is about a guy in the midst of a mid-life crisis. He's freaking out over the fact that his life has slipped passed by in a blink of an eye. Then again, I've been having a few of those thoughts myself lately. Not the mid-life crisis thoughts, but the "where the hell did my life go?" thoughts. I realize that my being in my mid-30s I'm not old enough to really have those self-revelations, but it happens, especially as I see people's updates on Facebook. At times I wonder if I've done enough in my life thus far, and whether I eschewed some opportunities when perhaps it was not wise to do so. Nah...I don't think so. I mean, unless I had an opportunity to be rich and famous in front of me that I just didn't recognize, I think I've done okay so far. Naturally, in order to write this blog entry, I wanted to watch the video to relive a bit of my early memories of MTV. I forgot how, well, odd the Talking Heads' videos were. I mean, personally, the most creative and awesome video of that decade was , and for years people were trying to copy it or equal it. Unlike the "Once In A Lifetime" video, which definitely looks nearly 30 years old, "Sledgehammer" looks really good for 25. Wait..."Sledgehammer" is 25 years old? Where has the time flown? I remember hearing "Thriller" just yesterday...didn't I?

To my partner in crime, have a wonderful day!

Only when our men don't follow our explicit instructions!

Or Mrs of Clayton didn't allow you to take notice...we women have our ways of making sure our men behave in public

Yeah, but you know how flies are...a bit dodgy

Californians often will listen politely for a few seconds, then politely say "No thanks" before slamming the door in their faces. I noticed that Texans, on the other hand, often come to the door with a shotgun...one extreme to the other, I guess.

I'm the same, and I've gone on record in saying that, although I love my cat because she is so sweet...my next pet will be a dog. I do better with pack animals, as a rule. Besides, they're fun to bring on trips to the park or the beach...cats, well, not so much. They don't exactly respond to a leash well.

The last couple of weeks have turned out to be more action packed than usual. Usual for the beginning of the academic year, that is. Ironically I've been writing more in my hide-away journal, which is the one I write in when I need to work something out in my head (usually emotionally), as well as creative elements for work. Ah, yes, work. It turns out that many of my colleagues and co-workers know how much work that I do, have noticed the quality of said work, and my lack of full-time employment. They're increasing the number of times that they mention that it's a shame that I'm not a full-timer anywhere yet. Not that there's a position opening up at my campus any time soon. But there is one at another campus about 40 miles away that I have put my name in for. Don't know what'll come of it, but evidently many people are convinced that it's my turn, wherever it may be. I'm coming to find out that in the last 15 or so years, if an adjunct has been at that status for 5-7 years, they tend to easily find a full-time, tenure-track position at a local campus. Of course, in those 5-7 years you're trying to scrape as many adjunct and other contingent faculty positions together as possible in order to achieve something close to full-time pay. Forgetting, of course, the wear and tear, the gas, and the time that you spend in and on your car. For the record, I'm starting my 7th year as an adjunct in the community college system. I've also noticed that I'm getting grumpy. Oh, not all the time, and not with any consistency. I mean, I still have a roof over my head, I still have an incredible view from said place to live. Maybe it has to do with some of the dates that I've been on recently. Or that I haven't heard from a couple of people who seem to be avoiding my calls and/or texts. Or that the Giants have finally caught up to the injuries that they've had and won't likely even make the playoffs, never mind repeat as World Series Champions. Nah. I think I'm getting grumpy because of the damned white flies all over my plants. Little *bleeeeeeeeeeep* just keep on coming, no matter how regularly I spray. Yes, malathion works, but if you skip a session, the flies just come back. And lay a ton of eggs. Little *bleepity bleepity bleep bleep bleep bleep* have got to be stopped! Oooh...the tomatoes are ripening...and the basil is ready for harvest. And the sage plant is rivaling the rosemary for biggest bush on the patio....ok, I'm feeling less grumpy now. A bit peckish, as the Brits say (or was it just that in the Cheese Shop?), but less grumpy. Aaaaah...and a pretty sunset to close out this late summer evening. Yep, things are looking up again. (For the record, I am not a Sheryl Crow fan in the least--a bit too twangy for me--but this song somehow hits the heart routinely. Maybe because I really am just getting a little bit closer to my various goals every day...it's just that, at times, it never quite seems like it. Meh, enough grousing for the evening.)

I love reading my horoscopes...in fact, I usually start my day by reading 4 of them. Just the conflicts of predictions alone will get a good chortle out of me. This morning one predicted that I would finally get recognition from my supervisor at work, while another predicted that I would be receiving a raise in salary today. Never mind that it's Sunday, of course. One day recently the Google horoscope predicted that I would have massive, positive change in my love life, that my true love would make himself known to me that day. The Facebook one said that I would be having an interesting day in the romance department, but not necessarily a positive one. The Yahoo one said nothing about love...but I was to have a good day financially. What happened? My cat was in a very cuddly mood, and sales clerk at the grocery store flirted playfully with me. Yep, right on target!

This reminds me of the first time my mom stayed at my apartment to take care of my cat. Bella is an absolute sweetheart of a cat, but mostly towards me. She's incredibly skittish--also, she's part tortie, so she's a natural spazz. My parents got her as a kitten, but since I was the one at home most of the time, she attached herself to me, emotionally speaking. Cats are funny that way...many are comfortable around people that they see with regularity, but they have one 'master'...of sorts. When my parents sold the house and I moved out, Bella came with me. My mom (and my dad) would come and visit, but seeing as how I lived in a studio apartment, there wasn't room for them to spend the night...nor the need, really. I had to go away on a job interview, and so my mom came and stayed a few days at my place to take care of Bella. The story goes that Bella wouldn't go near my mom at first...until her food bowl was empty, and my mom went to go feed her. The pretty kitty took one look at what the new lady was doing, figured that my mom was fine, and decided to cuddle with her. Then I came home 3 days later...and the new lady was uninteresting. 'Mom' was home

Even if you say the word....Jehovah? *cringe* *duck*

This is what I get for taking time off the blogs...had I just pointed my last couple of dates to this sensible information, things might have gone better. Instead, alas, this available woman has been disappointed yet again. I'm in serious need of a mid-late 40s silver-haired fox with a Lambo with a house and who is ready for a commitment. Or, hey, there's the bar down the hill...lol

It's times like this that I feel like I need to move to the Old World...we just don't have this entertainment over here in the Golden State or the Land of the Free. Sure, we have RenFests and other such festivals, but considering that the Pale People didn't even come over to this part of the world until many centuries later, well, the air of authenticity is a bit stale. Yep, I need to take another stroll across the Atlantic. Time to find a better job...or a benefactor (BTW, wonderful reporting, GoC!)

It's times like this that I feel like I need to move to the Old World...we just don't have this entertainment over here in the Golden State or the Land of the Free. Sure, we have RenFests and other such festivals, but considering that the Pale People didn't even come over to this part of the world until many centuries later, well, the air of authenticity is a bit stale. Yep, I need to take another stroll across the Atlantic. Time to find a better job...or a benefactor (BTW, wonderful reporting, GoC!)

Well, yes, to a degree, Kosmo. The Visigothic kings made it a strong habit to hold numerous councils with the major bishops of Iberia--both Arian and Catholic--on both religious and secular issues, much more than the Frankish kings or the Ostrogothic kings/leaders; this is the picture that Wickham paints, and it's one that I've read before. The Catholic identity of Iberia (Castile seems to have the strongest Catholic identity, but Asturias and modern Galicia are strongly linked, too) isn't in question; it's the culture prior to the Visigoths coming in. It's been a long time since I studied anthropology, but in the back of my mind I remember that religious-type behavior isn't something that tends to be a trend--meaning, if a group of people tends to be more 'orthodox' or 'narrow-minded' in their approach to religion, that this is something that is part of their identity, and therefore it does not often get introduced by a conquering culture. But like I said, I could be way off base here, and that's why I had the question of Roman Iberia. Certainly in the Iberian culture from the Visigoths and after, the religious orthodoxy persists, regardless of the religion of the ruling class. In reading the chronicles of both the Ibero-Romance peoples under Moorish rule and after the Reconquest, the fervor of conviction on all religious matters is quite strong, and in some ways it hasn't changed much over the centuries. It makes me wonder why, is all.

I've been on a personal quest to never live a place that snows. We Californians don't quite know how to drive in the rain, and many can't quite handle thick fog. Besides, snow is cold and wet...no thanks. But the one time I did have to do it, I was just fine throughout--I got to campus and back in good shape and with no extra dings on the car--but I couldn't quite believe how tired I was. I had to concentrate so hard while driving just to make sure that I would get through alive, that in the afternoon when I returned home I looked longingly at the couch. A nap was definitely in order. As a side note: many here say that driving of any kind isn't a sport..."shoot, I can drive 100 mph...don't see what's so hard about that!" I admit, the training for that as compared to a hockey player is apples and oceans, but still, it does take concentration. If nothing else, as you point out, Lord Caldrail, the reflexes and timing and agility that are required are more than what a normal person has. That being said, I seriously want a go at driving that fast

I'm looking for answers where there may not be any, but what the heck...it's worth a shot I'm brushing up on my early Medieval European history, reading Chris Wickham's The Inheritance of Rome, and I'm thoroughly intrigued by the behavior of the Iberian Germano-Roman peoples, particularly when it comes to clerics and religious orders. I knew that more modern Iberian (particularly Spanish/Castilian) culture has been quite centered on religious orthodoxy since the days of Queen Isabel (King Ferdinand wasn't so much into religion, and left that realm to his bride), and I figured that there were deeper roots. In various chapters, Wickham describes how in Iberia from the 4th-9th centuries there is a fervor to religion that doesn't seem to exist to that extent either in Francia/Gaul or Italy, let alone in the British Islands. There are true parallels to what we would later know as Cardinal Torquemada's Inquisition, including attacks on Jews in the 7th century. (There are other examples, such as the frequency of councils with bishops by the kings, but I won't belabor the point any further.) It got me to thinking...was there already a precedence for strong religious orthodoxy in Iberia before the Visigoths came along? Was Roman society in Iberia more prone to, what I like to call, "