Nephele

Hmmm.....A Riddle: If right now... today, Michelle Obama was

And another whackadoo nutso thing about Sarah Palin... She named her daughter "Bristol." WTF?? -- Nephele

This has happened before; from the Telegraph.co.uk (Sep 10, 2008): "Large Hadron Collider: 10 other dates when the world failed to end The Large Hadron Collider at CERN has been switched on and, counter to some doomsday predictions, the world is still turning. Here are 10 other dates in history when apocalyptic predictions failed to come to fruition: I think we're all familiar with the religious predictions of doom throughout the centuries, resulting in the bitter disappointment of religious fanatics each time their predictions of global mass destruction fail to come to fruition. This topic was about scientific experiments that people believe might go awry. (Hence my props to science, as opposed to religion.) DC, I'm looking forward to hearing those results, too! I echo your congratulations to the folks at CERN. What I find especially amusing is that some people were actually taking bets on the Large Hadron Collider ending the world yesterday. If they had won their bets, how did they intend to collect? -- Nephele

All that the polls indicate is that she's popular with white women. It doesn't mean that she's a good choice to run the country in the event that McCain gets elected and can't finish his term of office. I'm a woman and I'll be damned if I jump on any candidate's bandwagon simply because he's chosen a woman for his running mate. -- Nephele

If you had baby turtles, you could feed your worm to them. Then you could bond with them as you "do lunch" together! Get thee to your city's Chinatown and get yourself some turtles! Wheee! -- Nephele

One of them has happened today, and we're still here. Largest particle collider conducts successful test Rock on, science, rock on! -- Nephele

Speaking of Nero, he wasn't the only one who fancied himself a singer/entertainer. That picture above of Scipio Africanus is perhaps the only evidence we have of Scipio's self-indulgent penchant for entertaining his bored legionaries by producing and appearing in ancient Roman minstrel shows. -- Nephele

The credulity of those who would believe that Cleopatra was black could be amusingly put to the test, by showing them a picture of Scipio Africanus: Nah, perhaps the name of "Africanus" wouldn't fool them, after all. -- Nephele

I think that any Vice Presidential running mate who justifies the war in Iraq as being "a task from God" (as Sarah Palin has done) is a pretty damn scary whackadoo piece of work. Additionally, Palin's urging of students to pray for the building of a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in Alaska, because it is "God's will," is disturbing, too. This is not somebody I'd feel comfortable with running our nation, should the elderly McCain get elected and die before the end of his term. To quote a 19th century U.S. civil rights leader: "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do...because it always coincides with their own desires." -- Susan B. Anthony -- Nephele

Yes, the term via was used by the Romans for streets and roads. (e.g. Via Appia). The term vicus had several meanings, but within towns it denoted a block of buildings bounded by streets and alleys. (reference: Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities) -- Nephele

VeniVici, You are a descendant of P. Tedetius, a senator mentioned by Josephus in chapter 10, volume 14 of his Antiquities of the Jews ("Concessions That the Romans Granted to the Jews"). Your cognomen of "Roboratus" means "strong; powerful." Your victory agnomen of "Cantaber" was bestowed upon you for meritorious military service in the region of Cantabria, in north-western Hispania (Spain). Your praenomen is "Numerius," customarily abbreviated as "N." Your full Roman name is: N. Tedetius Roboratus Cantaber = caaouernsnberbtrdwaottyeyt -wyy +ius Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

You'll find a great list of ancient Roman street names here: "Vici" from A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

I remember you, VTC! Maybe you should give your book a rest, until your characters "speak" to you again? In any case, it's nice to see you around again! -- Nephele

Thanks, GPM! Yes, I know what you mean about the surnames Ahala and Axilla -- they look rather "barbaric" to me, too! But they are definitely Roman -- and rare. Smith gives an apparently complete list of all the Servilii Ahalae: C. Servilius Structus Ahala (consul 478 BCE) C. Servilius Strructus Ahala (magister equituum 439 BCE) C. Servilius Structus Ahala (consul 427 BCE) C. Servilius Structus Ahala (consular tribune 408 BCE) C. Servilius Ahala (magister equituum 389 BCE) Q. Servilius Ahala (consul 365, 362 and 342 BCE) Q. Servilius Ahala (magister equituum 351 BCE) Smith also states that we have only one person of the surname "Axilla": C. Servilius (Structus) Axilla (consular tribune 419 and 418 BCE, and later in 418 also magister equituum) However, Broughton names the consul of 427 as a sometime Axilla: C. Servilius Axilla (Ahala) Kajanto identifies these surnames as belonging exclusively to the Servillii, and only during the time of the Republic from 478 to 365. I'd love to see all my Roman surnames lists gathered together for UNRV. It may have to be done before I finish this project, though, as there are many gentes with surnames to define, and I have no plans on finishing soon! -- Nephele

I don't believe the Floralia was exactly a holiday for prostitutes, although prostitutes viewed the holiday as their own due to the licentious nature of some of the celebrations of the holiday following its introduction into the city from the countryside. As for other holidays "that sponsor a particular profession," the Equirria (February 27th) would have been a big day for people in the horse racing business, the Vinalia Priora (April 23rd) would have been a big day for vintners, and the Portunalia (August 17th) may have been a big day for locksmiths. You can find a comprehensive listing of Roman holidays and festivals, compiled by Ursus, here: Republican era State festivals At the end of his article, Ursus also provides a couple of sourcebooks (by Adkins & Adkins) for further reading. -- Nephele

Thanks for your kind words and continuing encouragement, PP! Publishing these in a combined format somewhere would be neat! Then I wouldn't have to keep putting links in each new list, leading to the previous ones. -- Nephele

Melisende, you get a straight anagram of your name. You are the daughter of the equestrian Gnaeus Nerius Tremulus, the son of Gnaeus Nerius who served in the magisterial office of Quaestor Urbanus in the year 49 BCE. Your father received the cognomen of "Tremulus" because of a physical impairment that caused a trembling of his limbs from time to time. As your father's daughter, your name became "Neriela Tremula." You were given a diminutive form of your father's nomen gentilicium to distinguish you from your father's sister, Neria Tremula, who lives with you and your father (your father is a widower and his sister came to help with the household affairs). To further distinguish you from his sister, your father decided to bestow upon you an additional, affectionate cognomen, and so he named you "Dessiderata" (a variant of "Desiderata," signifying a child who has been hoped for). Your full Roman name is: edelsneim ed reatr iatrlsaau = Neriela Tremula Dessiderata Welcome to UNRV! -- Nephele

I see you've chosen a fine screen name for yourself, o Queen of Jerusalem! Welcome! Very nice website you have, too! -- Nephele

The Servilia gens, while counted among the gentes minores and consisting of both patrician and plebeian families, nevertheless was one of the most prominent gentes of the Roman Republic in its production of magistrates. The three princely clans of the Aemilii, Cornelii, and Fabii considered the clan of the Servilii to be of equal birth with them, and the Fabii had adopted a Servilius (Q. Fabius Maximus Servilianus, consul of 142 BCE) into their clan. The adoptive Fabian father of this Servilius, Q. Fabius Maximus Aemilianus, in turn had originally been an Aemilian who had been adopted into the Fabii... ...read the full article of the Surnames of the Servilii

You're welcome, GH. Yes, I frequently visit Livius.org for the same reason. Last year I had a lovely e-mail conversation with Livius.org website owner and historian Jona Lendering, and invited him to join us here at UNRV. He declined at the time, but I haven't given up hope yet! -- Nephele

The Ten-cent Plague is not merely a book for comic book fans or fans of cultural history. This book is for everyone who values the basic freedom to read. (Thanks again, DDickey for the excellent recommendation.) I bought this book on Saturday as a gift for my man (an author himself who has had novels published in the young adult horror genre, as well as stories for the comic book industry), and he has been reading quotes from the book to me. You can bet that when he's done reading this book, I'll be reading it next. Here is just one of many bits from the book that I had to make a note of. It is quoted from an editorial that appeared in The Charleston Daily Mail on November 1, 1948, in response to a teacher- and PTA-organized, student-implemented book burning at Spencer Elementary School in Spencer, West Virginia: The burning of books is too recent in our memories. The Nazis burned them. They went on from there and, in one way or another, burned the authors too. It was the purge by fire of those elements which the Nazi party could not tolerate. This purge has no place in a democratic educational system. It is not that books as books are sacred. It is just that the idea of burning them is profane. It is a resort to witchcraft when the need is for education, the use of fire when enlightenment is called for. Perhaps the point can be clarified by asking how many of the boys and girls who burned 2,000 "bad" books have read 2,000 good ones? Of the two possible tasks, the second deserves priority. (page 118)

I wouldn't wish anybody dead for exercising their right to free speech on their own website. But I will say that I find Moulitsas' regard for the military as an "ideal society" disturbing: "The military is perhaps the ideal society -- we worked hard but the Army took care of us in return. All our basic needs were met -- housing, food, and medical care." -- Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, "The Soldier in Me," The American Prospect, April 16, 2006, http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=11410 With a military-style, socialistic, "ideal society," one must pay for such amenities with absolute and blind obedience to the government. -- Nephele

Okay, today I sent the following letter off in e-mail to Fran Hackett, Public Relations Manager for the New York Aquarium: Dear Ms. Hackett, As a frequent visitor to the New York Aquarium (I'm a Wildlife Conservation Society member) I'd like to say that I enjoy the many wonderful exhibits. Cheers for your new director, Jon Dohlin, as well! However, I have to bring something to Mr. Dohlin's attention regarding the Aquarium, that is disturbing in that it appears to be misinformation being passed off to the public as something educational. Outside one of your exhibits you have a huge faux ancient fresco on the wall with a plaque titled "A Shocking Story," claiming that the ancient Greeks and Romans used to lay electric rays on the chests of heart patients "like modern-day defibrillators." I am a member of a Roman history discussion board on the 'net (UNRV.com), and I brought this to the attention of our members. You can read our discussion here: http://www.unrv.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=8701&hl= The consensus of opinion is that, while electric fish may have been used for some medical purposes, it seems unlikely that electric fish were ever used successfully by the ancients on heart patients. Do you have any evidence to support this claim that's on the wall of one of your Aquarium exhibits? And, if Mr. Dohlin would be inclined to comment personally on our message board regarding this (see link above), he would be most welcome! Thank you, -- Nephele

You can see some nice model reconstructions of what the bridges may have looked like at Livius.org: http://www.livius.org/caa-can/caesar/caesar_t27.html Northern Neil, if you're reading this, have you ever done any Roman bridge models of your own? -- Nephele

Very interesting! I shan't comment further, in case others decide to play the game and I give away anything. -- Nephele