G-Manicus

In her "Author's Notes" for "Caesar's Women" Colleen McCullough lays out a pretty detailed argument for why she thinks the trial of Gaius Rabirius occurred after Catiline. She argues a number of points, including what possible rationale would there be for trying Rabirius out of the blue 37 years after the fact? Rabirius was a nobody, so what purpose would it serve to take him down so long afterwards? She indicates that one of the biggest reasons why folks think his trial took place before Cataline is because that when Cicero sent his speeches to Atticus, that they were laid out in (supposedly) chronological order. She believes that Cicero may have purposely inserted his Rabirius speech at an earlier point in time for self centered "revisionist" reasons (as hard as that may be to believe).

A review in today's NY Post: IF WE WEREN'T HERE - HISTORY CH. GIVES EIFFEL OF WORLD WITH NO PEOPLE

Like I said .... I'm pretty sure it took place before.

I'm pretty sure it took place after.

Tuesday 1/22/08 Smart Travels: Europe With Rudy Maxa HDNET - 8:00 am Next showing: Sicily Sicily; Palermo; Monreale Cathedral; Greek temples; Roman mosaics; Syracuse; Mount Etna. Friday 1/25/08 Lost Worlds History Channel - 12:00 pm Next showing: City of Armageddon Overlooking the Holy Land's Dead Sea is the ancient fortress of Masada, where Jewish rebels besieged by Roman soldiers staged a last stand until committing mass suicide. Destination HD HDT - 8:00 pm Next showing: Umbria Ancient monasteries and fortresses can be found in the olive groves and vineyards of Umbria. Eye Over Germany Equator Channel - 10:00 pm Next showing: Wasserburg to Nuremburg Feudal hill towns and castles fortresses, St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau and the home of the Roman emperors at Nuremburg Castle. Tuesday 1/29/08 The Real Attila the Hun History International - 9:00 am In the fifth century, Attila sweeps through Europe, effectively extinguishing the Classical Roman Empire. Ancient Almanac History International - 11:00 am Next showing: Incredible Monuments of Rome The Colosseum; the Pantheon; the Forum. History's Mysteries History International - 12:00 pm Next showing: The Roman Emperors The heads of Ancient Rome lead lives of increasing depravity.

I'm hoping this will be the scene come February 3rd ... (Caption: Hey Tiki! Kiss my ***!)

Saturday 1/19/08 Rome: Engineering an Empire History International - 1:00 pm A history of the Roman Empire tells of spectacular and sordid events, from the rise of Julius Caesar to the country's eventual fall. Monday 1/21/08 What the Romans Did for Us History International - 9:30 am Next showing: Arteries of the Empire Tuesday 1/22/08 Spartacus (1960) Cinemax - 7:30 am A gladiator slave leads a revolt in decadent Rome and attempts to lead his followers to freedom. Smart Travels Equator Channel - 11:00 pm Next showing: Ancient Greece & Rome Athens, Delphi, Delos, Pompeii, Rome and Provence and a little history of wine and olives. Monday 1/28/08 Discover Magazine Science Channel - 7:00 am Next showing: Ghost Ships of Pisa Roman ships found. What the Romans Did for Us History International - 9:30 am Next showing: Edge of the Empire Good communication skills were the key to the Roman military's success.

Friday 1/25/08 Ben-Hur (1959) Turner Classic - 10:45 am An enslaved Judean prince meets his Roman betrayer, a former friend, in a chariot race. Ancient Almanac History International - 11:00 am Next showing: Ancient Mysteries: The Sunken City The Roman city of Ostia dies a slow, painful death. Saturday 1/26/08 Ancient Discoveries History - 2:00 pm Next showing: Machines II Archimedes' use of solar power to defeat the Romans.

Bump.

Sunday 1/13/08 Rick Steves' Europe HDNET - 8:30 am Next showing: Naples and Pompeii Back-street fish markets; pizza; climbing Mount Vesuvius; the ruins of Pompeii. Wednesday 1/23/08 Smart Travels: Europe With Rudy Maxa HDNET - 7:00 am Next showing: Classical Europe: Ancient Greece and Rome Ancient Greece and Rome; Athens; Delphi; Syracuse; Pompeii.

PS - You forgot to add "disco" for Gaius

I voted for "rock" although I think I'd probably classify "Motown" as my favorite genre.

Tuesday 1/22/08 Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome Science Channel - 2:00 pm Architectural wonders distinguish Rome as an unsurpassed world power.

Risk factors, Gaius! Risk factors! What makes these folks more prone to kicking the bucket this year than people on my list?

Apparently this show was supposed to air a few times before but keeps getting bumped ...

Reminds me of the plot to the Tom Clancy novel "Rainbow Six" about a group of environmentalist whackos who try to bring about that very scenario

DDickey: At Ursus' urging I've added "Rubicon" by Tom Holland to my list of things to read. How'd you like it? Also, how did you like the Foundation series? I've always meant to give that a crack. G

Matter of fact, I like that one so much that the Rev. Billy Graham got the boot!

I can think of a few women who would get along just fine, in that regard. East German swimmers, circa 1970's / 1980's come to mind.

"That's what she said!" Michael Scott Manager - Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. Scranton, PA Got her!

Gaius: What do you see at the risk factors associated with the folks you listed? Michael Jackson Aside from being weird, I don't see a lot of risk factors. Suicide perhaps? Jimmy Carter No known illnesses. Andre Previn ? George H.W. Bush Had him last year. Pretty good health, but that skydiving thing makes him attractive. George Steinbrenner. Ooooo ... very good! Dick Chenny He has 24/7 medical monitoring. He ain't going nowhere. Count Hans Kolvenbach (The Black Pope) ? Bridget Bardot Not bad Ed Koch Meh. Mike Wallace Appears to be in good shape Charles Manson We can only hope!

According to "I Am Legend" ... the deer population in New York City will do fairly well. Sounds like an interesting show, Viggen. I'll have to check it out.

I'm in a celebrity dead pool and I need your help! For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, a celebrity dead pool is a pool whereby you pay a $20 entry fee and select a roster of celebrities (20 in our case). If one of them "goes" during the year, you subtract their age from 100 and that's how many points you get. Person with the most points at the end of the year wins the pot. Go ahead. Get it out of the way. Feign your moral outrage. Your righteous indignation. Everyone does. I don't mind. But before long, they also start throwing out names too. They always do. You can't help yourself. So I'll give you a couple of minutes to go through all the emotions and then we'll continue. (pauses) All set? Good! I ended up in 3rd place for the 2007 season, as my one and only score last year proved to be a big one in the form of 39 year old Anna Nicole Smith (good for 61 points!). I had jumped out to an early, sizable lead, only to see it get chipped away at throughout the year as other entrants scored with the likes of Pavarotti, Evil Knievel, Boris Yeltsin, Lady Bird Johnson, Jerry Falwell, and Tammy Fay Messner. My 3rd place finish was good enough to win my $40 though, so I'll take it. That leads us to the purpose of my post. The 2008 "season" will begin as of 2/1/08 and I'd like some help finalizing my roster. Here are the 20 celebrities I've got so far: Amy Winehouse Ariel Sharon Artie Lange Ayman Al Zawahiri Betty Ford Billy Graham Britney Spears Dick Clark Diego Maradona Dom Deluise Elizabeth Taylor Fidel Castro Pervez Musharraf Kirk Douglas Nancy Reagan Osama Bin Laden Pete Doherty Ruth Bader Ginsberg Steve-O Suzanne Pleshette I usually try to balance it with a number of aging actors, child stars gone bad, drug addicts, and those whom others are actively seeking their demise. If you have any suggestions for fine tuning my roster, I'd love to hear them! Thanks in advance. G

I was trying to find the name of a history professor who appeared in the series "Rome: Power and Glory" often seen on The History Channel and the like. So, I go over to IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Data Base) to look it up, as they always list fairly comprehensive credits over there. Quite the "who's who"! LOL!

Wow! That's a lot of damn books! You don't own a TV, do you? :-)