Nephele

I've just started watching the 2nd season on DVD. Yes, this season does seem to have resolved a lot of the historical inaccuracies of the previous season, as Henry's composite sister Margaret seems to be gone (thank goodness). At least, as of episode four (which is what I'm up to now). But what this season may have gained in historical accuracy is lost in annoying schmaltz and BS on the character of Thomas More. At least Season One depicted Thomas More as something less than the lovable "saint" that most people take him for -- as Chancellor his principles didn't include any compunctions against burning live, human beings at the stake. Which he did with gusto. But now Season Two attempts to emotionally manipulate us into feeling sorry for poor, gentle, kindly, humane, principled family man, Thomas More. The man that the Catholic Church later canonized (like Mother Teresa). I had thought that The Tudors was leaning in Season One towards debunking somewhat this warm, fuzzy image of More, but the series seems to have taken a step backwards in Season Two. -- Nephele

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered what they believe is the bust of a Roman boxer from the second or third century. "It seems that what we have here is a unique find," the two directors of the excavation said in a statement released Monday by the Israel Antiquities Authority... 1,800-year-old marble head unearthed in Israel -- Nephele

I went to D.C. last summer, when the Smithsonian Museum was closed for renovations. It should be open again by now. Take the kids to the Spy Museum. It's not only kid-friendly, but espionage is very American. The Spy Museum has lots of genuine spy paraphernalia on display (although I didn't see any spy shoe phones, damn...). Another fun feature is the bit of spy role-playing that you get to do (if you choose to sign up for that). Everyone takes a code name, and you're put through a sort of spy scenario that involves thinking on your feet and moving your feet quickly through a series of rooms and a mock escape. The decisions that you and your team make affect the outcome of the game. My man and I did the whole Spy Museum thing, and enjoyed it. One thing, though: You must make reservations in advance, if you want to do the Spy Museum's roleplaying thing. It is extremely popular, and always booked to capacity. -- Nephele

lost legion23, you are a member of the Aemilia gens, a patrician gens of great antiquity and renown. Your cognomen of "Benenatus" (meaning "well born") was given to your by your peers in recognition of your heritage and breeding. Your praenomen is "Gnaeus," customarily abbreviated as "Cn." Your full Roman name is: Cn. Aemilius Benenatus = nselanbthchiteemwan - hhtw +iuus Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Bruno, you are a member of the Munatia gens, a plebeian gens which was obscure prior to the second century BCE. Nevetheless, the Republican era Munatii produced a number of magistrates, including a consul in 42 BCE. Your cognomen of "Bellus" indicates that you are a handsome specimen of a Roman male. Your agnomen of "Maior" indicates that you are the elder of two cousins bearing the same name. Your praenomen is "Tiberius," customarily abbreviated as "Ti." Your full Roman name is: Ti. Munatius Bellus Maior = iohytmtrneubuailamilw -hwy +ius Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Ashlon, you are a member of the Allia gens, a gens that produced a Quaestor who served as an officer under Sextus Pompey in Sicily during his possession of the island from the end of 43 BCE to the autumn of 36 BCE. Your cognomen is "Mento," indicating that a physical peculiarity of your ancestors was a long chin. Your praenomen is "Titus," customarily abbreviated as "T." Your full Roman name is: T. Allius Mento = iloynehtmlta -hy +us Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

Hopeful Democrats (for Clinton), hopeful Republicans (for Bush), and legal eagles notwithstanding, it seems to me that if a person is ineligible to serve in the office of U.S. President, then he must also be ineligible to be elected to that same office, or another office which would lead to the Presidency by default. But I'm not a constitutional lawyer. Nevertheless, for the time being it seems that the only existing "ban" consists of the unwillingness of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to challenge the wording of the 22nd Amendment. Until they (or some future, twice-elected President) decides to do so, I don't think we can have a definitive answer to that question. -- Nephele

Looks like a fun game! I have a question, though... Your opening page says: "Welcome - The date is 880 BC." But then in Chapter One you introduce the storyline with a narration by L. Junius Brutus: "Greetings, young Senator, my name is Lucius Junius, and I welcome you to Rome. She's a young and progressive city moving with impressive momentum to an unknown future, and she is in need of leaders." Shouldn't the date for your game begin with at least 509 BCE? -- Nephele

I believe the 12th Amendment has that covered: "The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States." -- 12th Amendment, U.S. Constitution "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once." -- 22nd Amendment, U.S. Constitution -- Nephele

JESUS CHRIST! Hmm... I see that's a talking Jesus action figure, which makes it even more special. So, what does talking Jesus action figure say? "I just flew in from Jerusalem, and boy are my arms tired!" ? -- Nephele

Hah. My classical troll doll trumps your kitschy knick-knack. http://tinyurl.com/984fc8 -- Nephele

Bwahahahaha! But I think I'd be more likely to buy this costume... And then I'd dye it black. -- Nephele

It seems hard to believe that there was ever a time in our nation -- especially in multicultural New York -- when lasagna was an unfamiliar dish to the majority of the American people. But awhile back I got to watching the old Danny Thomas Show (also known as Make Room for Daddy and set in New York City), and I remember one episode in particular where showbiz entertainer Danny and his homemaker wife Kathy are talking about visiting friends for dinner, and they're going on about the exotic dish that will be prepared -- called "lasagna." This was filmed back in the '50s. I also remember my first experience of tasting the British equivalent of "lasagna" in a restaurant over in England in the '80s, and thinking to myself: "They call this lasagna over here?" It was basically a stew in brown gravy, kind of like Hamburger Helper. I don't know whether the British Isles have caught up with the making of actual lasagna now, as I've never dared to try it over there again since that first experience. -- Nephele

I have no idea. I don't think the HDI factors in gun crime. I realized that. The reason why I brought up size is because many U.S. states are the size of countries -- and these individual states, while not entirely autonomous, nevertheless have their own governments as well as Departments of Education, Health, etc. just as countries have. It isn't so surprising that there would be such differences between individual states when one considers that these individual states hold more direct responsibility for the welfare of their respective inhabitants than the federal government does. Having said that, the U.S. disparity isn't that pronounced (on an international level) when you compare HDI ratings of individual states of another nation (such as Mexico) with the international HDI ratings. Because I have insomnia tonight and have nothing better to do (what with my man snoring blissfully in the bedroom), and amusing myself with statistics will have fewer consequences than amusing myself by painting "tattoos" on my unsuspecting man's butt with my liquid eyeliner... I've compiled the following list comparing the HDI ratings of the individual Mexican states (ranked from highest to lowest) with their corresponding nations. It's the same sort of comparative listing as the one I'd done previously for the United States, using the = < > symbols to express "equal to," "less than," and "greater than." As you can see from the list (and reference links) below, even the poorest state in the U.S. (Mississippi, with an HDI rating of .799) is still doing better than half of all the states of Mexico (from Sinaloa through to Chiapas). Federal District < Barbados Nuevo Le

Thanks! Ha! -- Nephele

A lower life expectancy and low literacy rate often go hand-in-hand with poverty, as I'm sure you already know. As is the case with poor Mississippi, which has close to the lowest life expectancy among the U.S. states, along with the dismally lowest literacy rate among the U.S. states. Well, a lot of U.S. states are as big or even bigger than some EU members. For instance, even though your own country of Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe, eleven U.S. states are larger: Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Wyoming, and Michigan. -- Nephele

SURNAMES OF THE JUNII The Junii followed on the heels of the Licinii as one of the most celebrated of the Roman plebeian gentes. However, the plebeian Junii were unusual in that Rome's first consul (in the earliest days of the Republic when only patricians were consuls) was a member of the Junii. One explanation offered for this apparent discrepancy is that L. Junius Brutus (relative of King Tarquin and thereby a member of the nobility), ended the patrician line of the Junii when he executed his own sons for treason. Whether the Founder of the Roman Republic was patrician or plebeian, it is at least certain that all subsequent members of the Junii who survived the Founder and his sons were plebeian. ...read the full article of the Surnames of the Junii

That's a pretty miserable result, is it really that bad? Yep, Mississippi is notoriously the poorest state in the U.S. -- Nephele

The comparison of the U.S. states with foreign nations' GDP was so much fun, I thought I'd do a comparison of my own. I chose to compare the individual U.S. states with various nations' (including the U.S. itself) Human Development Index. The HDI, under the auspices of the United Nations, purports to provide a comparative measurement of individual nations' "human development" by factoring in statistics for life expectancy, literacy, education, and standard of living (based on GDP per capita). Whether or not the HDI provides a realistic comparative measure for nations is debatable. The American Human Development Report has modified the HDI in order to apply it to the individual states of the U.S. Below is a listing of the states of the U.S., from highest ranking to lowest ranking, according to the Human Development Index. Next to each state is its corresponding nation(s). An = sign means that the state and the nation(s) share the same HDI ranking. A > sign means the state is slightly higher in ranking than its corresponding nation(s), and a < means that the state is slightly lower. I have followed this with the HDI difference in parentheses. Here's a fun coincidence: Two of our UNRV Administrators live in a state (Michigan) and nation (Austria) that share the same HDI ranking! Caldrail and Northern Neil, you'll find your U.K. on this list -- your nation is ranked slightly higher than Kansas. Presumably, that's the state in the U.S. in which you should feel most at home. Mind the tornadoes! Connecticut > Ireland (.002) Massachusetts > Ireland (.001) New Jersey > Ireland (.001) District of Columbia = Ireland Maryland = Ireland Hawaii = < Ireland > Netherlands and Sweden (.001) New York = < Ireland > Netherlands and Sweden (.001) New Hampshire = Netherlands and Sweden Minnesota = Netherlands and Sweden Rhode Island = Netherlands and Sweden California = Netherlands and Sweden Colorado = Netherlands and Sweden Virginia < Netherlands and Sweden > Japan and Luxembourg (.001) Illinois = < Netherlands and Sweden > Japan and Luxembourg (.001) Vermont = Switzerland and France Washington = Switzerland and France Alaska = Switzerland and France Delaware < Finland > Denmark (.001) Wisconsin = Denmark Michigan = Austria Iowa = United States Pennsylvania = United States Nebraska = < Greece > Italy (.001) Kansas = < United Kingdom and Hong Kong > Germany (.001) Arizona < Germany (.001) North Dakota < Germany (.004) Oregon = < Germany > Israel (.005) Maine > Israel (.002) Utah > Israel (.002) Ohio > Israel (.002) Georgia = South Korea Indiana = South Korea North Carolina > Slovenia (.002) Texas > Kuwait and Cyprus (.002) Missouri = Kuwait and Cyprus Nevada < Kuwait and Cyprus (.001) South Dakota = Bahrain Florida < Qatar > Czech Republic (.001) Wyoming = Czech Republic New Mexico > Malta (.001) Idaho > Barbados (.001) Montana < Barbados (.004) South Carolina = Estonia Kentucky = Lithuania Tennessee < Lithuania > Latvia (.003) Oklahoma < Uruguay (.001) Alabama = Cuba Arkansas > Mexico (.002) Louisiana = Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Kitts & Nevis West Virginia > Belarus (.001) Mississippi > Turkey (.001) Reference Links List of States by Human Development Index List of Countries by Human Development Index -- Nephele

How exciting! That's what makes us Yanks so envious of you Brits/Europeans! -- Nephele

Yep, that looks like Delaware. Heh, New York got Brazil, a biggie. -- Nephele

Pretty cat. I like her tiger-print fur coat and white gloves. If she was a chick dressed like that, she'd be striking. Must...anagram...gothic alias for her! Lanah L'Ombre L'Ombre: Italian, "The Shadows." -- Nephele

I found the artist's depiction of Romania on another site: What's not to like? That's my kind of EU country. -- Nephele

Birthday hails to you, NN! All the best for 2009! -- Nephele

I have little interest in military battles, so I would neither be in any battle nor care to observe any historic battle. But I do adore midgets. Especially fighting midgets! Picking up on Ursus' very appealing, very un-P.C. idea, I would place my midgets astride squealing, wild boars as a sort of cavalry, before setting them loose in the amphitheater. Wheee! And, given the choice, I would choose to observe the inauguration of the Flavian Amphitheater, and enjoy the fantastical battles staged there. (From the safety of a box seat, of course.) -- Nephele