Nephele

Sorry, Kosmo! They're music files, so I guess you might need to download a program to run them? I don't know. Perhaps someone here can help? -- Nephele

Anyone who has seen Voltaire perform live, knows that Voltaire is so goth, he shits bats. But he's also a Trek fan. Here's "the only thing worse" -- for you. Voltaire singing Klingon rap: Worf's Revenge -- Nephele

Hahahaha! For those unfamiliar with Voltaire (the goth musician -- not the dead philosopher), here's Voltaire singing his own Trek song (as Captain Kirk)... "The USS Make-Shit-Up" -- Nephele

The postmodern academic left has deconstructed the above phrase and found it politically incorrect. A "big stick" is clearly a phallic inspired phrase, and therefore reenforces the violent male hegemony of aggressive competition and power struggle. As such it is deemed oppressive to women, and to any minorities who cannot equally compete in the social power game presided over by advantaged white males. Turning away from this legacy of domination, therefore, they say we should appeal to a more nurturing paradigm as inspired by eco-feminism. The liberal slogan should be "speak inclusively, and hug a tree." Meanwhile, for their own part ,conservatives have long moved beyond the stage of speaking softly or carrying sticks. Their modus operandi is to speak obnxiously and carry a Bible (King James Version) backed up by a vast military-industrial complex. Cheers. That was beautiful, Ursus. From a darker perspective, I prefer Vlad the Impaler's use of a big stick for the whole tiresome lot of them. Mmmm... shish kabob. -- Nephele

From the NY Times article: A corollary is that the most potent way to win over opponents is to accept that they have legitimate concerns, for that triggers an instinct to reciprocate. This sounds naively solipsistic, to me. -- Nephele

Beholder, you are a member of the Ascii, a gens that gave birth to the artist Ascius Priscus, noted in the time of the Emperor Vespasian for having painted his temple dedicated to Virtue and Honor. Your praenomen is a rare one -- "Hostus," customarily abbreviated as "Host." Your cognomen is "Manio," which is derived from the praenomen "Manius," believed to refer to one who was born early in the morning. You bear an adoptive cognomen as well -- "Ahala," meaning "wing," and referring to one with a prominent shoulder. You bear this cognomen because you were adopted into the Servilii Ahalae. Customarily, one might have expected your adoptive name to be Servilius Ascianus -- but instead you chose to retain your birth name and add your adoptive father's cognomen to your name, as per the example of Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, born to the Junii Bruti and adopted by Aulus Postumius Albinus. Your full Roman name is: Host. Ascius Manio Ahala = SliasoahkaAomnstchia -k +u Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Gibson's Passion? Sorry, Sylla, but... Ugh. For an alternative, Beholder, check out The Latin Qvarter for clips from some short films spoken in Classical Latin, with optional English and Latin subtitles. -- Nephele

In addition to the references already given in this thread, Broughton confirms that it was Marcus Junius Brutus (Caesar's celebrated assassin) who, in 53 BCE, was Quaestor but "refused to serve under Caesar in Gaul, and accompanied his father-in-law Appius Claudius Pulcher to Cilicia (Auct. Vir. Ill. 82.3-4)." It was Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (a cousin of M. Junius Brutus) who served as a Proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul "by appointment of Caesar (Vell. 2.60.5 [and additional references given by Broughton])" in 44 BCE. -- Nephele

Henceforth, he shall be... Jym Oniongunk = gijkmnnnoouy So let it be written. So let it be done. -- Nephele

What a jerk. Hey, do you want me to do a revenge 'gramming of him? Just give me a scramble of the letters of his name (to protect his privacy, even though he's not worth the courtesy), and I'll do my voodoo anagram thing on him. Revenge 'grammings are infinitely satisfying. One of my best was: "Omar Crotchgenie." -- Nephele

Hey, Doc, cheers on the changes in the education scene that might soon lead to you getting that permanent position that you so richly deserve. Now, what's this stuff about some dude going off to "find" himself -- and expecting his lady to wait around until he eventually returns, all "found" and rejuvenated and whatever? Is this a guy you've been seeing? Who does he think he is -- Benjamin Button? Sheesh. -- Nephele

Hi, Hannah Joeline. Your scramble is a bit long to come up with a plausible feminine Roman name. Could you please shorten it a bit by removing your middle name from it? Thanks! -- Nephele Hannah Joeline, since you didn't respond to my question, I'll assume that "Joeline" is your middle name in the scramble you gave me, and I'll remove those letters. You are a freedwoman, as indicated by your cognomen of "Habens" ("having," suggestive of possessed qualities, or possession itself). Your former master was none other than the triumvir Marcus Antonius, and you were freed by his will, upon his tragic death in Egypt. As is customary, you took the feminine form of your former master's name for your own name. Your full Roman name is: Antonia Habens = HnshnbeatanZo -hz +ia Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

No doubt using the one computer to be found in the entire nation. I love the stats, Viggen. Do you have stats for the "top 10" discussion board topics most often clicked on? -- Nephele

Nicely done, Medusa! As a female who sometimes wonders what it might have been like to have been a gladiatrix, it's especially nice to see an article on female gladiators on UNRV's Roman Gladiator page. -- Nephele

Y'all had better watch out for me... -- Nephele

Seeing as how that phrase comes from a Roman Catholic prayer (a requiem mass), I would ask a Catholic priest for the precise wording and pronunciation. Bear in mind, though, that the priest will be giving you this in Ecclesiastical Latin, which is different from Classical Latin. -- Nephele

As a Roman daughter, you might not have been sent to school at all. Your education would have been chiefly focused on learning how to weave and run a Roman household, in preparation for marriage and becoming the domina (lady) of your own household. As a member of the upper classes, you might have been additionally instructed in poetry and the playing of a musical instrument. That's not to say that Roman girls never went to school with their brothers -- they just didn't graduate to schools of higher education teaching rhetoric, as the sons of the upper classes might have. If you did attend one of the many schools in Rome (there was no unified system of public education), you would start your day extremely early in the morning -- so early in the morning that your pedagogus (private slave assigned to bring you to school and also assist in your learning) would have to carry a lantern in the wintertime as the sun would not yet be fully up. Your school hours would be long, with a recess occurring only at noon, during which time you might purchase some food from a street vendor for your prandium (lunch). Then it's back to school for you until dusk. In addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic, you would also be expected to learn some Greek (you're already speaking Latin). Discipline would be harsh, so you had best attend your lessons. Your school year would start on March 24th, with school breaks during the hottest summer months, and during the Saturnalia and New Year's holiday. Other days that you might have off from school might be for the important religious festivals during the year, and on the Nones (the 5th or 7th day of the month). I recommend this book to you, to learn more of what it might have been like to grow up and live in Rome in the year 134 CE: A Day in Old Rome, by William Stearns Davis. As for your question about the Roman calendar, see here. Here is a site for converting dates into Roman style. -- Nephele

Ha! I only wish that "Torchwood" was one of my own anagrams. Cheers to whoever came up with that anagram -- it's a good one. -- Nephele

I also couldn't care less if any divinity exists at all, but I am nevertheless a-theos -- "without god; godless." The concept of god just didn't merit enough importance for discussion at the dinner table in my household when I was growing up. I don't even think it merits enough importance for discussion here, but after reading Formosus' posting (which I'm sure he meant in all light-heartedness), I felt obliged to make the (gentle) point that atheists do feel passion for causes as strongly as do theists, and many atheists are willing to die for their convictions. Now, Northern Neil has made a valiant attempt to get this topic back on track. I suggest we follow his lead and do likewise. -- Nephele

FYI, Formosus... My father was an atheist who was willing to die for a cause when he defended our nation in WW II -- because he knew that defeating Hitler and the Japanese Navy was the sensible thing to do. My dad was a very brave man. My mother, also atheist, served her nation, too, in the Women's Army Corps. I'm proud of both my parents, and I happen to be a second-generation atheist. -- Nephele

That was so cool. -- Nephele

A good point, Formosus. Additionally, the Romans also gave their slaves names such as Avitus ("Grandfatherly") and Paternus ("Fatherly"), perhaps in a condescending manner much like the "Uncles" and "Mammies" of America's antebellum South. (And there I go, drawing a despised parallel between ancient Rome and latter-day America. Live with it, y'all. ) An exposed child rescued and brought up as a slave might be named (perhaps in an affectionate way) Inventus (meaning "discovered"). Pejorative cognomina were not found among freedmen as much as among their former masters. The noblest Roman was proud of his name indicating his lisp, or baldness, or bow-leggedness -- whether he actually bore those attributes or not. Slaves, on the other hand -- particularly decorative house slaves -- were more often given attractive names. -- Nephele We better hold our horses for a moment. It's an unsourced statement from a reenactment group. Does anyone know a primary source for this? I can cite several scholarly sources for the information I provided here regarding slave names in ancient Rome, one of which being Iiro Kajanto, The Latin Cognomina. Examples of the "-por" ending on Roman slave names can be found in the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. The custom of calling slaves "Marpor" or "Marcipor" (from Marcus), "Gaipor" (from Gaius), "Naepor" (from Gnaeus), "Olipor" (from Aulus), "Publipor" (from Publius), and so on, pretty much died out by the end of the Republic. -- Nephele

Star Trek wasn't always silly. But when it was bad, it was very, very bad. I haven't seen the new Trek movie, so I can't say how much improved upon it may now be. For myself, I'm eagerly looking forward to ABC's planned renewal of the old '80s sf minseries V. ABC Confirms Plans for New 'V' Series The original "V" served as an allegory for the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. Peters said he won't duplicate that concept, except that the new "V" will still focus on what happens when the masses have blind faith in their leaders. -- Nephele

A good point, Formosus. Additionally, the Romans also gave their slaves names such as Avitus ("Grandfatherly") and Paternus ("Fatherly"), perhaps in a condescending manner much like the "Uncles" and "Mammies" of America's antebellum South. (And there I go, drawing a despised parallel between ancient Rome and latter-day America. Live with it, y'all. ) An exposed child rescued and brought up as a slave might be named (perhaps in an affectionate way) Inventus (meaning "discovered"). Pejorative cognomina were not found among freedmen as much as among their former masters. The noblest Roman was proud of his name indicating his lisp, or baldness, or bow-leggedness -- whether he actually bore those attributes or not. Slaves, on the other hand -- particularly decorative house slaves -- were more often given attractive names. -- Nephele

All trekkies are most certainly NOT gay. Just the ones that dig on Mr. Sulu are... The rest are hippies. -- Nephele