Sextus Roscius

heh heh heh, that would be me too in this bunch, I've been made fun of galor, no one understands romanaphilia.... They should know you can't insult the dorks, who knows who will be the next bill gates after all....

Through out my life, and as through out all people's, I have faced trials if you will, though a recent one seems to be clashing with myself more and more. This is the battle of Instinct versus Brain, Hormones versus Philoshopy, and to not become something I don't wish to become. This is my battle with uncontrolable desires and feelings of attraction, from which we all suffer at one point. I don't care for my body to force me to feel things I don't wish to feel, which seems to be happening. You see, I'm a teenager, and as we all know this is a "turbulent" time. I've found the reality far from it. I have little trouble choosing the right path and following what I beleive is important. I find the things that seemingly plauge other children my age to be childish and menial. Though while I can beat (by my standards) those around me in what I consider important, I fail to be able to control my own body. I've been struck with a horribly distracting affection for another in my grade, though I know nothing what so ever about her. She is not particularly pretty like others I know, nor is she excessively smart in any subjuct, nor does this girl talk at all, and when she does, in a voice quiter than making no noise at all. I have taken a vow against liking some one for purely physical reasons, in beleif of that being a barbaric and purely isntincial need of the mind, though I have allowed myself to like others for intelectual reasons. We once again all know which one our bodies perfer. So, it is for this reason that I am struck with this unreasonable and useless affection. I should not be attacted to this girl, and she is a torn in my side for ceasing my ability to view certain matters impartialy. What is to do about this, I haven't the slightist. However, despite all of this I've yet to lose my head, something that is completely under my control alone thank goodness. This is for me a sad show in my disability to control my emotions, fortuntly my youth gives me time to practice doing so. As for now, I await my fate, so aproaches M.L.J. Jr. day.

very well educated posts pertinax, and I beleive pantagathus was making a coment on wooden piping in Britian. Yes, wooded piping was used in Britian becuase it was easy to find, and epecialy acessable to the Roman legions stationed in forts along Hadrion's wall. They did this by taking a tree, cutting it down and removing all the branches. They then some how hollowed out the inside and viola! A pipe.

I assume they just used sundials, so time was realitive only to the person's position. It wouldn't matter at that time period becuase people simply couldn't travel fast enough to have effective lag time between trips, simple as that.

ah, I still think my answer makes some sense, though I combined of our two would catch up alot of stuff. However, wouldn't people die inevidably while laying the piping, wouldn't the poisening get them, I'm sure the water they were drinking would be lead filled in addition to the amount on their hands etc..

ah that makes sense, well, the words I can understand at least, you're very good at explaining. personaly I had always thought that eventually algy, or something of that sort had grown onto the lead eventually that didn't allow much, if any lead to be exposed to the water. This eventually kept it from being toxic. Of course the flaw in my theory is that some people say that the water would be moving too quickly for algy to grow. Is this in any way correct?

According to what I was reading some where, swallowing lead was supposably a cure for a stomach ache....

I've long had the wonder of how the Romans had not realized that lead was a toxic substance. It seemed to me that with the Romans, having people like Galen that did such advanced things, would've been able to figure that lead=poisen. As we all know, in fact, the Romans made their water pipes out of lead. Curiously enough, there is little, if not no reports of people dieing from this. Why did this happen? I've yet to find out, ideas, thoughts, feel free to do so.

my nomination for bad but enjoyable, has got to be, if you can count this as historical really... Master and Comander, horrible plot that drags on for a couple hours, but some humor and the final few sences make it enjoyable as for books, i've got to say.... well, not sure...

good to see you on here, we've got another to add to the list. Welcome.

yes yes, all well and good, but I perfer brains over beauty any day... and she has no brains wat so ever. I just write this as I don't have a crush on her. Such is being a teenager I suppose, curse puberty for befuddling my brain!

I'm here to say that I can not help you, sorry, but you must send back some pictures, and good luck with the lecture.

In a republic this rule ought to be observed: that the majority should not have the predominant power. Translate that please.

ah, laptops are evil, I remember one time I was playing soduku, or how ever you spell it, and right as i put in the last letter or what ever they are called, the thing shut down on me and I had to redo the whole thing, but it was a different one! Evil.....

Ave Cato! More true words not spoken in a long time, in even in terms of structural integrity, democracy is superior!

That, flavius, was the point.

Ah, alas, I haven't written on this lovely blog of mine for a while, but I'm coming back to it with the start of the new year. With the new year, new relevations have come about me. Among the strangest of these, is I've realized that I have a friend, who is an almost exact personification in what I see wrong with lots of things, other kids my age more specificaly. Let me set the picture for you, she is a relitively successful student. She does not fail, but she does not ace every class. Some how she has managed to make it to my grade with little set backs. She exhibits little force in her school work, and cares little for it. She is pretty, which may be the only thing that has kept her from being hated by anyone and everyone in the school. She has just moved from california, and hates north carolina, saying most things here are stupid compared to her great Bay Area. She lives in the same Neighborhood as me, which is a neighborhood for the upper ranges of the middle class. This means she gets everything she wants pretty much. This girl also is very populare with many of the boys, mainly becuase she is pretty and dumb, which seems to, for some reason that has no particular appeal to me, be a positive thing in her mind. She is ultimatly, the person who would much rather look at pictures of boys, and I mean the wierd, dumb, ignorant, yet some how attractive to girls type, who make it by with realitively the same circumstances and abilities as the girl I speak of, rather than have an inteligent conversation with some one else. Her attitude is almost a perfect reflection of pop culture in my opinion. Vulgar, stupid, physicaly, not mentaliy appealing ideas and thoughts expressed by music, movies, general attitude of the movie and music stars, and other things related. I apologize for the jumble of different info with little organization, I write this in the moment of thinking.

Personaly I'm hoping some one goes on with a Galen discussion.

Yes, I'm actually writing a peice about aqueducts now, I plan on writing a article on Roman Plumbing at some point or another.

not to mention any dictators will have to deal with my bad manners and a habit for not being killed. Oh yes, did I say wealth.

no no no, I'm all for Americans emmigrating back to europe, or maybe some of our illegal immigrants going back where they came from too, but what i don't want, Arvioustus, is for the motavation to be immoral issues, people should be moving some place becuase it is a better place, to help that place, not to indulge ones self in its physical plesantries.

Personaly, I think its a good thing and a bad thing. I think it is perfectly acceptable for a person to go into the army, make their rank upto a a generals assistant or something of the sort, a legionary comander persay, and then to go into politics still at a young age. This allows the person time to gain experiance in politics, but in making their political decisions they know the horrors war can bring better than any of the pure politicians, but they also know their effect on the world politics and the situation back home that many pure generals just don't have a decent grasp on. I think its the problem of the pure politicians decideing to become generals, or vice versa. A prime example of this problem is Hitler in WWII, he tried to comand his troops down to the battalion level, like a comander or general, rather than giving a general goal and guidelines, which is the only thing a pure politician should do.

I must agree with germanicus, homosexuals aren't going to produce children anyways. It wouldn't make a difference whether they were married or not, would it?

Personaly, the republic could've held a republic, but to do so the Romans would've had to cease expanding, and eventually draw back the borders. This would, of course, mean that the Roman Empire we know today would not exist, and neither would all the greats we know, the Romans would mearly fall in place with the other mediteranian powers. Eventualy Rome would be conquered, but remain a republic to the end.