cornelius_sulla

I watched 'American Gangster'. Went to the movies (films), did the whole bit. The movie was good, I thought, but perhaps you have to gangster movies to begin with. A friend who accompanied me thought it was boring.

I'm thousands of miles away with the bare minimum knowledge of your game, but even I can hear the scrape of a thousand New York flick knives being sharpened for your skinning.

I actually got caned at school for correcting a teacher on this one. He reckoned that G.J.C was the first Emperor, but I insisted that he was Dictator Perpetuus, but that was different from being the first Emperor. What it boiled down to was that I'd read more about the man than my teacher had, he resented my refusal to defer to him, lost his rag and caned me. I still don't regard that teacher as ignorant - a b******d, yes, but not ignorant. He was a great teacher when it came to topics that he was interested in, (first and second World Wars, Vietnam) but could be found lacking in knowledge when it came to subjects that he didn't like. He was like many people who do not have an avid interest in Rome and her history who quite happily make the assumption that J.G.C was the first Emperor because he is not only the most famous Roman, but also the man who did all the ground work (whether intentionally or not) for setting up the Principate. I corrected that teacher, but have not felt compelled to correct many people since unless they ask. I remind myself that I am the Romanophile, and though the distinction of Who was Who is important to me, most people could care less.

Impressive as per usual, Lady Neph. Who's next? I'm collecting the set.

Brains not required. Nuts essential.

Not only with no helmets and no pads, but with massive cleats (we call them sprigs or spikes) that we use to maim and disfigure. ALL BLACKS RULE.

Not only with no helmets and no pads, but with massive cleats (we call them sprigs or spikes) that we use to maim and disfigure. ALL BLACKS UBER ALLES.

Did Sir Ronald publish any books on this topic? His stuff is really hard to find here in New Zealand. I'm hoping that I can find some on the net. The Roman Revolution contains a few prosopographical analyses, but his serious prosopographical work was published in scholarly journals. Thankyou, Marcus Porcius.

Yeah! I've read Memory, Sorry and Thorn, and thought it was entertaining if not as engrossing as the works of the masters of the genre. I just couldn't seem to get lost in his world the way I did in Middle Earth or Arrakis. Mr. Williams is, in my humble opinion, one of the better 'modern' sci fi writers.

All of the characters of the Watch, particularly Vimes and Carrot. The Patrician and The Death of Rats. Rincewind and The Librarian. There are so many. Hail, all you Pratchett fans! A twisted sense of humour is important! It is very sad to hear about his condition. I'm sure that we are right in assuming that the man himself would not want us to dwell on it.

G'day. This site rocks. I've been to the baths, the library, the games and the forum, and had some discussions that have been interesting. That Gaius Octavius, what a laff. Still trying to locate the beer, though.

Just finished 'Barbarians' by Terry Jones (Brian's Mum in 'The Life Of Brian') Interesting, to say the least. Chock full of anti-Rome sentiment and very witty with it. Much better than the television series, so my partner tells me.

I suppose you could tell by my name Such a shame about his condition though, nobody deserves to go out like that. Maladict; I chuckle at the thought of that character. Condition? What's the skinny?

Guys, all of that information, perhaps tragically, is all really interesting to me. Thanks for improving my view. See, down here in the news boondocks at the bottom of the world, we don't get that kind of insight into your politics. Even pay TV down here is the 'lite' version. We get Obama the Brown guy, Hilary the Woman and McCain the Rebel. Honest. That's what our news coverage boils down to. In fact, you'd think that Obama and Hilary are already running for the presidency if you were completely ignorant. Jen and Angelina, Britney and a host of other vacuous idiots get top billing. Not swear at the television? Impossible! I understood the influence and importance of the Kennedy family in a historical sense, but did not realise that they still had so much clout these days. It must be a real slap in the face for the Clinton camp, Bill Clinton especially. American politics makes for great spectator sport. It's like the ultimate Survivor Series, except that wrestling has more honor. We have an election coming up here in NZ, but it's all very ho-hom in comparison to The Big Show. That Giuliani line had me bent double.

Yes, and it lowers the overall IQ of their country dramatically. Look, I am trying to be good today. Stop tempting me! Go on, you know you want to. Aussies are such easy targets! OK, since I have your permission. I didn't know that Aussies had an IQ. We, both, have nothing better to do today! Well, I should have been back at work about an hour ago, but as for anything better to do...

Yes, and it lowers the overall IQ of their country dramatically. Look, I am trying to be good today. Stop tempting me! Go on, you know you want to. Aussies are such easy targets!

I'm from New Zealand, known as Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud) to my people, the Maori, who are that countries indigenous peoples. Am I the only resident Kiwi?

I inherited a love for Rome and history in general from my grandfather. Our last name is Julian; we were up dirt poor in the seventies when I grew up, without a whole lot to be proud of. But we had this name whose history went back to antiquity. When I was eight and old enough to read, my grandfather gave me his copy of Caesar's Gallic commentaries. He explained to me who this man Gaius Julius Caesar was, and the relation of our family name to his. It was something for a little boy with nothing to be proud of. I read the commentaries, didn't get it, but kept reading until I did. I found that to understand a lot of that book, I had to read other books. This introduced me to Cicero, Tacitus, Suetonius etc. I have to say that I was an arrogant little bugger; but an arrogant little bugger who could quote his sources! Of course, I later learnt that I'm in no way related to the great Caesar Dictator Perpetuus, but by then I was on my way. When my mates were out converting cars and burglarising houses, I was reading, reading, reading. Geeking out on Rome kept me out of trouble, and ultimately, jail, where all my friends were heading. Everything about Rome fascinated me. The clothes, the food, the families, the politics, the wars; everything. I have passed this passion on to my boy, who identifies strongly with Octavian. My girls could give a damn. They identify strongly with Hilary Duff and Alicia Keys. I am not scholarly. I have not and probably will not study classics at university. Discovering UNRV has been great because it helped me scale a wall that I had run up against in my research into this all consuming topic. This site is fantastic, as are the people that I have encountered on it so far.

Science fiction and fantasy are it for me. I read a lot of non fiction, and I find that all that reality can be really taxing. What better salve that to leave Planet Earth altogether? Tolkien, Frank and Brian Herbert, Raymond.E.Feist, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, TERRY PRATCHETT (he's the man, homey), Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin....the list is long and chock filled with wonderful writers who've created wicked worlds. And all of the books are better than their Hollywood big screen adaptations. I've yet to find a contemporary author that isn't just re-hashing the classics written by these luminaries, though. Any suggestions. Anybody?

Yes, and it lowers the overall IQ of their country dramatically.

I'm a Pratchett fan. He's a really fun read. How about you guys?

I'm an outsider looking in so please forgive me if these are stupid questions. How important is it that the Kennedy's (well, Ted anyway) have swung their support in behind Obama? Is Hilary doomed? And, does Obama have any original ideas of his own? The guy plays like a walking soundbite machine.

Did Sir Ronald publish any books on this topic? His stuff is really hard to find here in New Zealand. I'm hoping that I can find some on the net.

I must admit that it's all a bit daunting. Even this first contact with the eminent Lady Nephele has shown me how much more I have to learn, and how lax my research has been, how little I actually know. And Nephele is just the start. Then there are your contributions, those of Marcus Porcius Cato, Octavius... this site has seen me late back to work from lunch on many, many occasions. I'm starting here though, where I feel comfortable. Familial history has a warmth to it that dissecting battles and reasons Cicero's Phillipics doesn't, (well, for me anyway).

I retract the 'no brainer' statement. You're right, mate. There is a lot more to it than just digging holes. I'm much like you, Faustus; I don't like the easy jobs, or even the clean ones. Give me dirt and graft and I'm happy as. Can't seem to get the hang of a desk, and I've tried. I much prefer, like you, the challenge of being at the bottom of a ditch, up to my knees in mud and water, space limited and a pipe to fit by yesterday. The thing that irks me is the look of astonishment when strangers realise that I can read.