Formosus Viriustus

"He [ Sisto sr ] wanted to document it and spent years and years translating over 1,100 ancient manuscripts," he [ Sisto jr ] says. "And the translations are included along with the material that the FBI has seized and is returning to Italy." What gives the FBI the right to seize those translations ? They weren't stolen, even if the sources for them were.

Yes, it's not like we read any books that have been written longer than 20 years ago. Actually, I hardly ever read anything that has been written more recently than 100 years ago. Those books have proven they are good enough to stay around. (And if they don't contain 'the latest insights', well, that's too bad for me then.) Where ancient history is concerned I think that one should read the classical authors themselves first and foremost. All other books about the subject are of necessity based on their works. So, I've never heard about C.G. Starr either. (Nor of most of the present day historians that are mentioned here on the site regularly.) His credentials seem fine enough http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=2921 and he has written quite a few books on ancient history. A few too many to my taste. And 224 pages to cover 500 years of history ? That can't be anything but very superficial. Might be a good introduction to the subject for someone who has never read anything about it before. But that is not the case with you, Artimi. I'm amazed at the prices of those books : nearly 50 $ for a 200 page paperback ? Second hand it might be a reasonable buy. I hardly ever buy new books. I go to the public library and I can find pretty much anything I want there. And it's free (well, 5 Euro a year membership fee). I do occasionally pick up a second hand book for 1 or 2 Euro when I run into something interesting. If it turns out not to be good, I don't have to feel like I've wasted my money. Unless it is a reference work, you're not likely to want to read the same book twice anyway and if you do, well you can always lend it again. And with all the good info and books on-line nowadays I feel it is less and less of a handicap that I hardly have a book about ancient history at home. Formosus

and since there seem to be quite a few cat lovers around here ... # you can't take a goldfish for a walk # indeed alright then, since you can't sleep, just one more the chordettes - mr sandman F rmosus

Urban Myths About Rock Drummers 1 - Rock Drummers Get All The Chicks Are you kidding? Of course they do. Are you kidding ? Everybody knows Pete Townsend never even once 'got lucky'. As to Roger Daltrey : well, as long as Keith was not around maybe ... I'm sorry, but a gentleman doesn't tell. It's just too embarrasing. Which is it ? Are you pretending to be a gentleman or are you just too embarrased ? Come on, let us have all the juicy details. F rmosus

About the application of laws, the counterproductive effect of introducing new legislation when the existing laws are clearly not being applied and are disregarded by the population, see once more Tacitus : Tiberius' letter to the Senate on the proposal of new laws against excessive displays of luxury. ''Of the many laws devised by our ancestors, of the many passed by the Divine Augustus, the first have been forgotten, while his (all the more to our disgrace) have become obsolete through contempt, and this has made luxury bolder than ever. The truth is, that when one craves something not yet forbidden, there is a fear that it may be forbidden; but when people once transgress prohibitions with impunity, there is no longer any fear or any shame.'' Tacitus - Annals III, 53 http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/tac/a03050.htm Formosus

Against any other enemy Hannibal would surely have been victorious. The battle of Cannae should have been decisive. ''Certainly there is no other nation that would not have succumbed beneath such a weight of calamity.'' Livy The mind boggling thing is that the Romans still had the courage to fight on after Cannae. They had already lost about 40 000 men in the battles of Trebia and Lake Trasimene. And then about another 50 000 at Cannae. The losses are appalling in bare numbers. Set off against the total population of the Roman Republic at the time it's even more amazing. Formosus

Looking over that article again : English claims to have twice as many words as any other language. Looking at the candidates for title of 1 000 000 th word, I see how that works : there are quite a few bona fide candidates there such as 'chiconomics', 'recessionista' or 'noob'. But how are 'overseas contingency operation' or 'seatmate of size' new words ? They are words alright, but not 'one' word. They are expressions consisting of three words each, none of them new. On closer examination, maybe I should suggest 'on closer examination' as a candidate. Or is that a 'word' already ? F rmosus

1.000.000 words in English ? http://www.languagemonitor.com/ My vote goes to 'chickonomics' (not the same as 'chiconomics') Nation's Girlfriends Unveil New Economic Plan : 'Let's Move In Together' F rmosus

It vaguely reminds me of something I saw on tv once. Can it have anything to do with watermills ? An industrial construction ? Formosus

# I remember the night and the tennesee waltz ... # patti page - tennessee waltz F rmosus

And here's your winner, hands down. # Mothers and fathers, where will tomorrow's children be ? # Makes you really feel ashamed to be a man, doesn't it ? At least now you know where Ricky Gervais got the inspiration for that famous 'dance' of his from. F rmosus

Right so, old people never did that when I was a kid. The old people in those days always stayed young-in-spirit and up-to-date and they were always the first to try out new things such as 100 % nylon shirts - mmm

Believe it or not, but 'impeach William Henry Harrison' gives 24 100 results ! Yeah, he was pretty worthless as a president, wasn't he ? Too bad you can't impeach him anymore. I got some different results though for Eisenhower and Clinton : 64 600 & 154 000 respectively. F rmosus

Great ! They'll keelhaul those fat cat Brussels Bureaucrats ! F rmosus

Since they are mentioned nowhere else, could they have been a local, typically Gallic variant ? Formosus

All too true, Arti. And another great find. Thanks. If this doesn't bring a smile to your face, you're completely hopeless. ( move over Michael Jackson ) ( very politically incorrect times they were ) ( real barber shop ) F rmosus

This discussion seems to be split up a bit between this thread and the 'master

Interesting. Especially the conclusion : Appendino [ an organic chemist from the Universit

Reading Tacitus I came across a type of gladiator I had never heard of before : the 'Crupellarii'. They were Gallic gladiators who wore full body armour

Actually, ''His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia'', a great-grandson of the last Austrian Emperor, is seventh in line for the Belgian throne ... So there's some hope there ... F rmosus

The big problem with the EU is that it is the Europe of politicians, lobbies, special interest groups and big business. When the economic basis for the EU had been laid in the 70s it was time to develop a Europe of the people, the citizens. But little if anything has been done in that area. That is why people in Europe are increasingly turning against the EU. The European politicians are really playing with fire : despite the fact that it has been rejected in 'legal & binding' referenda in those few countries that at least gave their citizens the chance to vote on it, they are determined to force a 1000 plus page unreadable 'Constitution' down our throat. Europe isn't democratic at all : most of us didn't get a chance to vote on that, and those who got the chance get slapped even worse in the face : their vote is just being ignored : the almost exact same document is now called a 'Treaty' and voted in by the backdoor clearly against the wishes of the majority of Europeans. Anyone who is vaguely familiar with the American Constitution can no other way conclude than that this European Constitution is just a way to deprive citizens of their rights : the American Constitution is about 20 pages long, amendements included. Anyone can read it and most people can understand it without too much difficulty. Yet it is quite comprehensive and clearly establishes the principles on which the USA, stil the craddle of modern democracy, is founded. Why should I bother to vote ? If I don't vote the way they like, they just ignore my vote. That fact has clearly been proven beyond any doubt. F rmosus

It has been strangely quiet on this front for the last year, or have I missed something ? I think that if the USA and the UK want to export 'freedom & justice' - nothing wrong with that - they should in the first place bring Bush and Blair before the court. To give them justice, it should be a serious court : not the kind of kangaroo court that condemned Saddam or the one that just failed to condemn Milosevic (because he got himself beyond the reach of justice in time), which had their minds made up about the verdict long before the proceedings opened. That would go a long way in convincing the rest of the world that they are serious about what they claim and not just cynical bullies who invade other countries 'because they can' and because they see some real or imaginary advantages in doing so which have nothing to do with bringing freedom and justice. To be fair to the American & British people : most of them do now condemn the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Few of them however seem of the opinion that the laws on war crimes and torture should not just apply to the losers in the war but to the victors just as well. Out of curiosity I googled 'impeach bush' : 452 000 results. Then I googled 'impeach obama' : 978 000 results. impeach obama Formosus

Not a nominee for best song ever. Just a bit of nostalgia. taste - sugar mama Believe it or not, I was there at the Jazz Bilzen Festival when this clip was filmed. I have VERY fond memories of that. Ahh, those were the days. 'Taste' was one of my favourite bands at the time. Why was it called a Jazz Festival ? That's a long story. PS : thanks to Bernadette, who's blog brought it back to my attention. F rmosus

Although voting in Belgium is not a right but a duty, I didn't go to vote. ( If you don't fulfill your 'voting duty' here you are threatened with fines. That's the law. That's purely theory though, nobody has ever been fined for not showing up.) I'm very much in favour of the European idea, but not at all of the way the EU has developed over the last fifteen or twenty years. The European Parliament is just a sham. It doesn't do anything and it can't do anything. It's mainly meant as a form of job scheme for superfluous politicians. For Example; if you want to work for another EU country, well you know, just move there, no applications, no forms, no questions, you are citizen of the EU, just go there and start to work... That is a very naive and simplistic representation, I think : have you any idea what your rights and duties are in that other country ? As a citizen, as an employee, where health, education, social services and a thousand other important issues are concerned ? Virtually nothing has been done over the past fifty years to even attempt to harmonise laws and regulations somewhat within Europe on these subjects. I'd say that in reality, where such all important issues are concerned, moving from Austria to Belgium would be not much less problematic than moving to the US or Canada. But to be clear about it, despite all the negative things that can be said about the EU, overall the balance is positive, I think. Nationalism has in the past been one of the major causes of wars. Nowadays most inhabitants of the EU do consider themselves as much Europeans as they consider themselves Germans, French, Italians, etc. People have become very open to other cultures, accepted them as an enrichment, not a threat. That certainly wasn't the case two generations ago. How far this is the merit of the EU and how far that is the merit of other developments : improved communication technology, transport facilities, sports competitions and such, is open for debate. And I'm a democrat : I accept the result of the election. That's more than can be said of most politicians. F rmosus