spittle

Women want him, men want to be him.......Its all been done before but this time it's during the Napoleonic wars. I have not read any but have been known to pass an hour watching it on TV. Personally I prefer Hornblower which is Sharpe at sea but the tri-cornered hats make for much better viewing.

The young boy/main character is the Emperor who had been ruling for a short time when Odeacer and his barbarians took over Rome. Its a fantasy based very loosely on a historical framework of the fall of the Roman empire. It also rips off the Excaliber myth but the sword in this was supposedly owned by Julius Caesar (Its a huge broadsword!). J.G.Caesar:"Is that gladius in your toga or are you just pleased to see me" Cassius: "It's a gladius and I despise you"

I'm reading 'In Search of the Dark Ages' by Michael Wood and he writes much concerning a huge influx of Anglo-Saxons into Britain in the first centuries following the Fall of Roman power on this island. Last year I listened to a BBC radio programme where a historian claimed that the DNA evidence did not support this theory. He speculated that the use of Anglo-Saxon names and values had been a cultural import that was more similar to the Normans (a minority imposing theirselves on a much larger indigenous group). If anyone could enlighten me as to the views prevalent at the moment I would be very interested.

Patrick Stewart better than Hinds!? Man, do we disagree! I'm not holding my breath waiting for this. Virtually every defunct HBO project has been rumoured to be in the pre-production phase of a full length movie. DEADWOOD, The SOPRANO'S and now ROME. Not one of these films has materialised.

The TV play of The Other Boleyn Girl was excellent. Jared Harris (son of Richard) played a very calm, cultured and distant Henry VIII so it was an unusual portrayal. I do hope Hollywood have not ruined yet another historical film.

I'll enjoy watching this film as I know nothing about him and little about the founding fathers. Anthony Hopkins was great as John Quincy Adams (son of above) in Amistad.

Hans Zimmer as been recycling the same music for around 15 yrs. Ancient Rome or Piratical high sea's its just the same old homogenised stuff. A group also contributed to Gladiator, thankfully.

I'm going out on a limb here and guessing this post was sarcasm. Please! Say its sarcasm.

I started this thread for RAMSES THE GREAT. His parents are Egyptian Christians, living in USA. i THINK ITS TIME WE STOPPED LOOKING FOR HISTORICAL REASONS AND JUST AGREED THAT PERSECUTING MINORITY GROUPS IS WRONG.

It became a link automatically! I suppose that means I have learned!

http://channel4.com/video/unreported-world...ghetto-p-l.html I really must learn how to add links. Sorry.

Did anyone else see this hardhitting report? Tens of thousands of people living in a rubbish dump with pigs and giant rats and sanitation related disease! Some wealthy enough to live in much nicer area's but choosing to risk rat bites and disease rather than the prejudice of Muslim Egyptians.

Bale was even thinner in THE MACHINIST. In AMERICAN PSYCHO he had the muscular physique of something like a sprinter....so he's not naturally skinny to begin with. I wonder if he could gain weight like DeNiro did for the latter parts of RAGING BULL? CASEY AFFLECK is an upcoming young actor that I intend to follow. His portrayal of the awkward and naive 'ROBERT FORD', hero worshipping BRAD PITT'S 'JESSE JAMES' is fantastic!

THE ASSASSINATION OF THE OUTLAW JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. Fantastic!

Brutus sided with Pompey despite the fact that Pompey had had Brutus Snr killed. Is this the exception that prooved the rule?

When Sejanus was executed his children were also killed. His daughter was, infamously, raped first as it was forbidden to execute a virgin. My question is: Was a similar instance of a convicted persons offspring (maybe an adult) also being executed recorded during the Republic? If not, at what point did it become acceptable to kill innocents because of their parents actions? No Executing Virgins. this seems to me a compassionate caveat that was corrupted under a weak Senate afraid (and misreading) Emperor Tiberius. Discuss.

Edward Bunker 'No Beast So Fierce'. Semi-autobiographical novel. Bunker had a chaotic childhood and ended up with the usual cycle of substance misuse and institutionalisation. It may sound like a million other books but he did it best. P.G.WOODHOUSE. Hats off to Bertie Wooster and his genius valet 'Jeeves'. Its pure escape into a lighthearted and hillarious world of aristocratic idiots with little to do except waste the family fortune. How P.G. managed to write these books without dipping a toe into social commentary is genius.

I have the same questions as above but a specific desire to hear suggestions for books that explain events.

Were the healthy less likely to catch it or more likely to survive it? What percentage did manage to survive?

My favourite poem; 'BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.' Private Baldrick, (cpt E. Blackadder c.o.) The Somme, WW1.

Interesting stuff. I think the 'Roman Britain' book could be an addition to my shelves in the very near future.

Didn't Sir Ronald Syme dedicate his life to researching the connections between the Republics Patrician families? There is even a name for this kind of study. Prosopography (?).

It always amuses me to think of some hunter/gatherer who probably never travelled more than 30 miles away from his birth place. Spent a short, hard life just managing to survive. Then died and, within three generations (at the most) was as thouroughly forgotten as though he'd never existed. Then remained undisturbed for thousands of years in the Alpine ice or Irish peat bog..... Then his body is discovered. He is taken on tour around the world. televison shows are made about him. Experts from many scientific and historical disciplines devote their valuable time towards 'getting to know him' His picture is on the cover of magazines. If one of his mates had predicted such an exciting future for him he would have been quite sceptical.

I'm reading Alison Weir's PRINCES IN THE TOWER. The reviews on Amazon call it biased but fail to say why. Can anyone offer opinions or direct me to a forum where medievel issues are discussed?

I believe that the elite of the cultures colonised by Rome actively sought out ROMANISATION. They weren't penalised for speaking their ancestral languages or waring traditional clothes. Rome didn't care if peace and trade remained uninterupted. American culture as been adopted worldwide in our times but I can't remember U.S Marines guarding the construction of the local KFC or forcing my fellow Yorkshire men to throw away their flat caps and replace them with Baseball caps. Starkey sometimes goes out of his way to be contraversial. He's just selling himself, I guess.