Ursus
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Posts posted by Ursus
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In the title of that book it lists Minerva as a triple goddess? She was never a triple goddess. Sounds like New Age garbage. Don't waste your money.
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I'm a cynic, so take my views with a grain of salt, but I think education in general is slanted to the prejudices and biases of whomever happens to control the local institutions.
Here in the states, public schooling at the primary and secondary levels are largely under the control of locally elected school boards. These school boards have wide latitude to decide what is taught and how it should be taught. And thus, among other things, you have constant battles between secularists and fundamentalists over things like evolution, sex education, etc.
At a higher level, state legislatures can mandate certain minimum requirements. Various interest groups can lobby the state legislatures to teach whatever it is they feel is necessary. Many states require their local districts to teach "African-American history" for instance, though there are usually no such requirements for Asian-American, Latino-American, Italian-American or (especially) German-American histories.
Finally, tertiary education not controlled by a specific religion (such as Catholic or Mormon)is infamous for being slanted to a leftist interpretation of the social sciences and humanities, and those who feel otherwise find it in their best academic interests not to challenge the prevailing academic orthodoxy.
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I've spent the last 2 weeks watching a DVD collection of Farscape.
Farscape was a cult Sci-Fi hit 10 years ago. I caught episodes here and there and thought it was ok. But watching all the episodes back to back on DVD has really made me appreciate it.
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Hey, that's cool. It's like Halloween and Christmas rolled into one.
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What's the history behind this day of celebration and why is such a big thing in the states?
Whatever history it had with our Puritan settlers and native Americans is lost on most people. Most people simply get a paid day off from work where they can feast with their family , and watch TV (particularly football). A paid day off work is enough for most Americans to be thankful for, trust me.
For some reason, turkey has become the "traditional" dinner even though the original Puritans and Natives ate venison.
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I agree governments can't preserve every little historical site, especially in these cash strapped times. However, Pompeii always seemed to be special given its nature. Isn't it usually in the top 10 lists of preserved archaeological sites?
Oh, well. Not any more, I guess ....
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Researchers at the University of Rennes in France have put together all the experimental and theoretical evidence they could muster, and they're pretty sure they know exactly what this sunstone was. It was, in fact, a transparent calcite crystal known as Iceland spar. It's found all over its namesake country, and Vikings could have used it to depolarize light, which means the crystal is able to split light along different axes.
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Looks like it could be auseful adjunct to any group learning Latin although I must admit to being a bit thrown seeing 'Jupiter' written as 'Juppiter' on several of the cards since its not a common form.
I believe it was "luppiter" originally. No "J." I only know this because of my studies on Roman religion. I have no facility with Latin.
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I am a former resident of Nova Roma and I still use the name I had there but I left a while ago.
I was briefly a member years and years ago. Got tired very quickly of all the "micronation" stuff and left.
I think you'll like us a lot better. We're just a friendly circle of acquaintances discussing all aspects of Roman history.
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So I am reading "The Viking World" by Routledge (which isn't bad, by the way). It's a scholarly anthology of various topics written by scholars over the world.
Routledge has done this with other cultures, including Greece and Rome. I began wondering why I never heard of these books? Well, it seems they are over a decade old. Also, they are enormously expensive.
The one on Greece looks like it is too beholden to specialized topics, such as women in Greece or archaic poetry. The one on Rome looks a little more generalized. Still, I wouldn't buy it for $93.03!
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This is the same grotto as the one presented 2007 (see this post, also posted here).
Thank you. I thought I was having deja vu.
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So I got the one on early Germanic goddesses. Here is my micro-review for Amazon:
Bede wrote of two goddesses of the Old English: Eostre and Hreda. There have been doubts these goddesses ever existed, some claiming they were Bede's fabrications.Phillip Shaw claims that they did exist, but that we have to understand them in their proper light. He contends that rather than being widespread goddesses who ruled over a certain major aspect of reality (such as Greco-Roman goddesses, e.g., Aphrodite as goddess of love), these deities were confined to certain regions, or specific social roles within a defined group. (This makes them a lot more like Celtic goddesses than Greco-Roman ones).
As evidence, Shaw looks at linguistic analysis of Germanic languages, and onomastic studies. Inscriptions dedicated to the Romano-Germanic Matronae are studied to good effect. Everything is heavily referenced, and the book basically reads as a refutation to Bede's detractors.
Know what you are getting into before you buy it. While some authors like Kathleen Herbert can provide a scholarly overview of the subject still friendly to the general reader, Shaw's work is definitely targeted at a narrower audience. If you are extremely interested in either Hreda or Eostre for their own sake, or else extremely interested in linguistics, this book's erudition may fascinate you. If however you are simply a general enthusiast for Germanic religion and mythology (as I count myself), you may find Shaw's work overly academic and dry.
Yeah, I wish had my $20 back.
I did end up ordering the Viking tome. I have higher hopes for it.
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Old school rapper MC hammer announces launch of a new search engine which he claims is more powerful than Google: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/10/mc-hammer-wiredoo-deep-search-engine.html
Ok, then ....
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(chiming in from his work computer)
Do any of the Marines speak Latin? If not, communication between the invaders and the conquered would be problematic.
Also, the empire was subject to attack from people who were not completely rational. Unless the marines found a way to replenish their ammunition supply, I wonder if they would eventually fall subject to the same fate that befell the Romans during the Migration Era.
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Robert Turcan
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I don't know. It just seemed long and monotonous. Cu Chulain meets opponent. They exchange boasts and insults. They fight.. Cu Chulain wins. Repeat formula about 30 more times before the end.
Mind you, I thought The Iliad was getting monotonous with the battle scenes, and I am someone who is otherwise fond of Greco-Roman mythology.
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I just read "The Tain," the national epic of Ireland. Wow, it's bad. If an intellectually precocious yet still emotionally immature adolescent had written a medieval tale of sword and sorcery, it would look a lot like this, I think.
Are you English?
Blimey! Poppycock and Codswallop!
No. I'm a Yank who counts a few Irish as his ancestors. But I'm completely bored by the tale of an invincible man who can hold off an army all by his lonesome self.
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http://www.npr.org/2011/09/09/140301823/amazon-agrees-to-collect-state-tax-in-california
Cash strapped states going after Amazon for sales tax. Other states like Connecticut are pursuing this, even if Amazon doesn't have any physical presence in their state.
I know one of the major draws to me for Amazon was the fact I didn't have to pay any sales tax on books. Once other states catch on and force Amazon to pay taxes, Amazon will be less attractive to consumers.
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A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus-is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ram
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In Ransom, Malouf re-dreams the climax of Homer's Iliad. He inserts such visceral immediacy into the retelling of the final days of the Trojan War, you are stunned by how relevant, how strangely and intimately resonant this ancient tale feels to your own life.
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/10/135778962/dawn-tripp-on-david-malouf-s-novel-ransom
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Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I was always taught what great men Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon were. There is no doubt that they became very generous after achieving great wealth. I, however, would always ask, "At what human cost did they achieve their fortunes?"
You could say that about most great men. Including some of the ones we discuss on this forum, such as Augustus.
(BtW, you grew up in Pittsburgh? Cool. Ever been to Somerset County?)
As far as Steve Jobs, I never owned an Apple product. Outside of the college computer lab back in the 90's, I never used one either.
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I just read the recently released paperback version of the book, and I have to say it was great. The chapter on the later imperial army was pretty thin, but I guess given the dearth of information on the subject, it's not the author's fault. But everything else was top notch.
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I thought Lucretia is dead, but it seems she is just mad. More mad then before I mean. "Crazy sex isn't always good sex" - Lucy Lawless made me laugh. Very glad the they kept her.
I guess she was too popular to kill off.
I mean, it's not like a sword through her pregnant belly would actually kill her, right? T'was but a scratch.
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I just read "The Tain," the national epic of Ireland. Wow, it's bad. If an intellectually precocious yet still emotionally immature adolescent had written a medieval tale of sword and sorcery, it would look a lot like this, I think.
Roma Victrix beaker to give away...
in Renuntiatio et Consilium Comitiorum
Posted
i think there should be a contest. They must videotape themselves standing on their heads while reciting The Aeneid in Latin, and post it to youtube. Those who survive the longest win.