Formosus Viriustus

Hello there ! Greetings from Japan ! You looky very much like me, Nephele-san ! Except for pony tails ! Love & kisses ! Anthea JG Posey !

Hey Klingan ! You still living the life of the gods down there ? I was in Rome twice for two weeks each time. Once in '03 and once in '04. Far too little but still, some of the most wonderful days in my life. I had been putting it off for far too long. I had been reading ancient history for many years but never got round to visit Rome. Well, you know how it is, you see a touristic brochure and then you go there and it turns out to be a 'bit' less impressive than in the pictures. But Rome is just the opposite. Even the best brochure cannot in the least convey the impression it makes, at least on those who are sensitive to it. ( There are those who see Rome as an ideal 'shopping' destination, of course.) It was really a turning point for me. It was there that I truly felt myself a 'Roman'. I walked the lenght and breadth of the city every single day I was there. Only took a metro a handful of times, when I was dead tired. I don't believe in anything supernatural at all, but apart from the magnificent sights I really felt that this place had something magical, that it had been destined for greatness long before the first Romans settled there. I had promised myself that I would return, rather sooner then later. But I have been putting it off again for the last few years. Bad habit. But of course, meeting so many fellow enthousiasts has stoked up the fire again. I have made no definite plans yet, but I'd say chances are at least 90 % I'll go back this autumn. Here's an anecdote involving the Porta Maggiore aka Porta Prenestina, I posted earlier on the SVR site. WHEN IN ROME

How about those Carthagenian mercenaries who revolted after the defeat at Zama over pay arrears ? As I recall it they lured some prominent Carthagenians to their camp to negotiate over conditions, then grabbed them, cut of their ears, noses and lips, broke their arms and legs and threw them in a ditch to die in full view of their fellow citizens. Needless to say what the Carthagenians had in store for them when they finally got the better of them. (Don't remember the author). The Romans were no softies either. I guess it was pretty much the way things were at the time. Public executions, crucifixions and so on were very common events even in peaceful times. And in war it was immeasurably worse. WW II maybe made more victims than all the wars fought by the Romans put together. But very few of those were killed in hand to hand fighting. In the old days it had to be done almost exclusively by hand. I guess to survive at all in those days you had to be pretty immume to blood and gore and suffering. Formosus

Salvete ! Thucydides for me. No doubt. He not only recorded history, he really wrote for the ages. Spooky how he predicted 25 centuries ago how we today would view Athens and Sparta. Suetonius is very funny, and so is Herodotus. Xenophon is a really excellent storyteller. Although he hasn't much eye for the bigger picture, his descriptions of events really bring them to life. But pretty much all those whose work has survived and that I know are more than worthwhile. I know there is a lot more 'hard' information to be found in recent publications. The authors have done most of the hard work of sifting and sorting and comparing the information for us. But for me history is as much an art as a science. And very few modern authors come anywhere near the classics from that point of view. Formosus

Ahh ! The wonders of modern information technology ! Now if only those things would work like a reasonable being would expect them to work. But the information is all 'out there'. Only six trillion pages to search. (*sigh*). Good luck ! Formosus

Hey Klingan ! I have been getting up to date with your blog (the other one). Great pictures again. Did you do the very first part of the Via Appia Antiqua on foot ? Well, I survived it and you are a young man, so. But you have to be pretty quick on your feet there, no ? And did you see the little 'Quo Vadis?'-church along the way ? It has a real footprint of Christ. Well, not the real one. It is a copy of the real one which they keep at the curch of San Sebastiano or so a bit further on. And the picture of the Porta Maggiore. I think yours is taken from outside the Walls. I was staying in the square just inside them last time I was in Rome (five years already), so I had a pretty similar view. Vale optime ! Formosus

Just a nightmare ? Grand-Inquisitor Lorega : 'We have been experiencing a lot of bad weather lately, friends : rain, storm, hail, draughts. I will tell you who's fault that is : it is the work of evil and depraved Witches ! And you see one of them here, the accused Simplissima ! Now there are those who say that rain, storm, hail, they are all natural phenomena, and that, of course, one year is a little better than the other. I say to them : Beware ! Beware, because ignoring or condoning the evil doings of Witches is just as bad as Witchcraft itself ! We will find you out and punish you for your crimes. As to the accused standing before us here today : there can be no doubt whatsoever that she is a Witch. The proof ? We have plenty of witnesses here who can attest to the fact that on several occasions she has left the light on all night at her house ! Now, what can be the reason for that ? Except to invoke her demons and incubi ? I say she deserves nothing less than death !' Hoi Polloi : ' Burn her ! At the stake ! Burn her !' Grand-Inquisitor Lorega : 'Wait, friends ! Yes, we will burn her. But not at the stake. We will first bury her alive on the compost heap. Then, when she has decomposed sufficiently, we will turn her into bio-fuel, and then we will burn her. That is the environmentally friendly way to do it. But this is just the beginning, friends, there are millions of Witches more out there, who out of sheer evilness want to destroy our planet by causing bad weather. For our children 's sake, we cannot let that happen. We must hunt them down and smoke them out and put end to their wickedness. Our future and more important, that of our children is at stake !' Hoi Polloi : 'To the compost heap with her !'

Salvete ! According to John Morris ( again ) the Irish folkore relates that they originally came from Spain. That tale had been long discarded as pure fantasy. However, Morris claims that 'recent' (his book was published in 1973, I believe) genetic research had proven that to be the case. More extra ordinary. The Irish would have originated somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Danube Delta. Migrated upstream that river and then downstream the Rhine to end up in the present day Netherlands. This over a very long period of time. From the Netherlands they migrated by boat to Spain. ( I have even heard it mentioned from someone who is not Irish, but very familiar with them that they claim to come from North Africa !) I have no idea if there is anything true about that at all. I have read Morris' book several months ago. (Can't seem to get much reading going these days. I wonder why.) I don't have it at hand and I am in no position to say anything sensible about it. It seemed rather well reseached to me but wiki says he is not a trusthworthy historian. (John Morris' The Age of Arthur

'' Gelukkige Verjaardag / Bon Anniversaire '' as we say around here. Another year on the clock, h

''no, that's a 'fasces'; they don't have scrolls that big, you silly girl !''

Cute ! Guilty as hell, girl. Your cousin knows she'll get off scot free because she has a cast (poor thing !) Formosus [Edit] PS what does that motto of yours exactly mean ? Are you drinking in secret or what ? Or have I got that completely wrong ? My Latin is very poor you see.

Salve mi Sylla, By the time of the Principate there had been intense contact for well over a millenium between these regions and Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, where literacy levels were undoubtedly much higher than in the West originally, since our script originated there. By the time of the Principate Spain had been famous for its rich mineral resources for centuries. Same thing with Southern Britain with its metal works and arms manufacturing. There might at the time have been large pockets of still quite uncivilised people - I think that Caldrail stated that and I agree. But how long did it take the completely illiterate Mongols to adopt a script when they turned from carefree herding nomads into world conquerers in the 13

Cicero - pronounce : 'chick-pea-nose'. Another excellent piece of work, Nephe. Formosus

Salvete Omnes ! Couldn't agree more. That is pretty much the picture as it is painted in John Morris' ' The Age of Arthur

Of course, Everybody. Except for a wristwatch.

Salvete Omnes ! MDCLXVI ? Quid ? Are we suggesting here that most Romans couldn't count either ? Because to do that they had to know one third of the alphabet already. Where would they learn that ? Would it be beyond most people to learn what those other 14 signs meant ? Did they need schooling for that ? To learn to read, write and count a Roman only had to learn 21 signs, if I'm correct. They only used majuscules and they used letters for counting. We use at least 3 alphabets, pretty much at random : majuscules, minuscules and handwriting. Some letters are very similar but others are quite different. There is no reason why you would automatically see that 'D' is the same as 'd' or 'R' the same as 'r'. Yet we use them intermittently, as required, without even thinking about it. On top we have 10 numerical symbols plus at least as many mathematical symbols, punctuation and so on. I was not trying to belittle the importance of education in today's world, or any other. To acquire the level of literacy and overall education expected today, most children need some formal schooling, alas. And therefore, if you are not willing to leave a large proportion of people 'behind', schools are a necessary evil. ('Education' and the 'educational system' are two entirely different things : our educational system today is more designed to breed model citizens with no critical sense left in them at all, than to educate. And I'm not sure if it was ever otherwise or even meant to be otherwise. Children are by nature usually very inquisitive and critical, they are natural learners. But by the time they are twelve, most of them have little of that left. That has been 'disciplined' out of them at school.) I remain convinced that not a small number of people, then as now, would learn to read and write perfectly or reasonably well without any schooling. I am not trying to be boastful or ridicule anybody here, but I would certainly count myself into that number and so would I do with all the members of UNRV I have met so far here - and by who's depth of knowledge of history I feel very much humbled, by the way. If any of you however thinks that he or she would be illiterate now, if not for the benefits of the modern 'educational / child torturing

...i dream of weird things, right? The weird thing is that your dreams are so tightly scheduled. Not a dull moment, h

Fair points, Decimus. If they ask other musicians whom their main influences were, they often as not name the Beatles. I am not quite sure why that is though. Maybe it is because the Beatlemania at the time has probably seldom if ever been equalled. They were groundbreaking

Yes, you may think that is funny, but that is how they crashed a 300 million dollar Mars mission in 1998. By mixing up feet and meters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter Formosus

Monumental Rock that. And a Monument in Movie History. So they deserve an encore, I think. spinal tap 'lick my love pump'

Great work, Aurelia ! And I know what the next question is going to be : ' Cleo or Falbala ?' Mmm. difficult one, that.

No, no. Wrong Queen that. Here's the Real Queen. Satisfaction guaranteed. Is this gay or what ? Couldn't find the live version from the 2001 Sydney show. That is really good too. If you love Kylie, and you do, admit it, you must see that show. She is much better live than in most of her clips. Not the best singer, but tons of charm. Formosus This site is turning into a lame excuse to show all my favourite girls. I should be getting back to history really.

Salvete ! Well, it was pretty predictable that the Germans would carry this category easily. No offence boys, but it always baffles me how you can get from Bach, Buxteh

Respectiert, Herr Viggen. If anyone can top that, I'm willing to listen to Cherman Rhapmusiek for 24 hours non-stop. I must have very serious issues, though. I listened to it two times. First time for the music, second time for the words. Might have to listen to it once more ... (sirens wail in the background) I'm sorry, I have to leave, friends. Formosus

Salvete ! I really find it hard to believe that you had so much trouble learning to read and write, Kosmo. Did they have to torture you or what ? By the way, you don't need any paper to learn to read and write. I didn't need any. I learned it on a little blackboard with a piece of chalk. Or with just about anything on anything else really, as you do when you are five years old. And books ? How many books you think I had read at the time ? Or how many I needed to scribble away on my little blackboard ? Yes, I'll let you in on a little secret : I could already read and write a bit before I entered first grade. Alright, I was a little ahead of average but I was far from an exception : there were at least a couple of other kids in my kindergarten class who could. And all the rest learned it within a few months in the first grade. Why do you suppose that to learn anything at all you of necessity need years and years of formal training or schooling ? The evidence to the contrary is just everywhere. If that was the case I wouldn't be talking to you here. Where did I learn English ? I sure didn't learn it at school. Or to use a computer, at least well enough to get most things I want done ? In school ? I am sure there are loads and loads of things you have learned by yourself that are far more difficult than memorizing 22 symbols and the sounds they represent. The Romans would really have been complete morons if they hadn't seen the enormous advantages of a relatively literate population and, not least, soldiers. Why try to run an enterprise like the Empire almost entirely just by word-of-mouth (if it was even possible) while you have something as simple and advantageous as the written word around ? Formosus