Moonlapse

My teens were full of the more harmless classics... and a stupendous crapload of fantasy books.

After finishing my last round of books, (one of which was 'Ilium' by Dan Simmons, the most enjoyable science fiction book I've read in a while) I picked up a few more to read. I like to read several books at once, not only because my obsessive attention to things swings wildly about, but also because even the most disparate books can sometimes profoundly enhance each other in strange ways. Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell Of Human Bondage by William Somerset Maugham

I used to play the guitar quite a bit, but lately its been gathering dust.

Use this thread to discuss or ask questions relating to the Historical Essay Contest.

Continuing in the tradition of past contests, the UNRV Senate is excited to announce a new writing contest for August/September. This will be a non-fiction historical essay writing contest. Subject Subject is open to personal preference as long as it relevant to any of Rome's provinces, from the Republic through the Dominate. Date of Entry All essays must be received by midnight eastern standard time (GMT -5) on September 16th, 2007. Judging will begin immediately thereafter and prize winners announced by October 1st, 2007. Length Essay length should be roughly 1,000 to 3,500 words but it is entirely up to the discretion of the writer. Length will only be a factor for determining a winner in how that length relates to the quality of the particular document submitted, it will not be an independent criteria for judgment. Judgment Judgement of the competition winners will be based upon general quality of the submission (spelling, grammar, style, etc.), the overall concept of the essay and it's accuracy (footnote documentation or particular source references should be provided where warranted and lack thereof may affect the ultimate "score" of the essay). Additional emphasis will be placed upon article originality and the writer's ability to express their own individual conclusions or observations based upon the research they've done. Judging will be provided by a panel of our site administrators, moderators and the Patricii member group (excluding any of these groups who wishes to submit an entry). Eligibility Participants must be registered members of this UNRV.com forum (you may register at any time) and entries should be limited to 1 per person. Where to submit All entries should be submitted in one of 2 possible ways: Email the entry to [email protected] either as an attached MS Word .doc file, an Adobe .pdf file or as a paste directly into the email body... Or send the document to Chris Heaton (Primus Pilus) via this forum's instant message system (included as an option within that link). Publication All submissions can and likely will be published permanently on UNRV.com for public consumption. The writer retains original copyright ownership but grants UNRV.com the right to publish by virtue of the submission. Prizes The following are for either Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk First place: $75 gift certificate Second Place: $50 gift certificate Third Place: $25 gift certificate Discuss or ask questions in the Historical Essay Contest Discussion.

What?!? None of the thieves were barged in the face with a scutum?

Good luck!

I think the fundamental issue here is whether you should offer a pre-emptive apology for, or rather take personal pride in, the possibility that your cyborg descendants will reconstitute these big elephant thingies and outfit them with these enhancements.

The mastodon did in fact have a hair.

I recommend their year-round 1554 Black Ale, yummy!

Yes, indeed. They bring back memories of the Apology thread.

Mastodons!?!

LOL

Well then, have a look-see at these... http://youtube.com/watch?v=WtrmbfS_Vuc http://youtube.com/watch?v=s7aGLY92B6s http://youtube.com/watch?v=UYGmX85sB4c

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yn3uiLZY9Jg

I think that he has himself convinced that what he's saying and doing is true and just.

I can't verify it, but I consider it obvious. Christianity was spread much like Roman rule and culture was. In addition to the mentioned correlation to Sun-day, many Saints are successors to pagan gods. St. Michael for instance replaced Bel and shrines are generally placed in the same places as the pagan shrines. Sorry I can't offer you any evidence at the moment.

Happy Birthday! I think I'll drink a beer in your honor!

I'll take your word for it. What I'd actually like to see in an article is a close look at the consequences of his proposed policies. I think that some of his own supporters don't fully understand what would happen. Greater freedom is inseparable from greater responsibility, and there would be considerable inconveniences and struggles as our dependent society gradually adjusts.

I can't argue with that. I just feel that the article is very cleverly written and although it provides good information and is the most extensive main stream article to date, using section headers like 'The Owl-God Moloch' and 'Every Wacko Fringe Group In the Country', both of which take up a little more than the last two pages, is an effort to manipulate perception. The average non-critical reader will focus on this last part. Why would anyone want to be associated in any way with wacko fringe groups? Besides, he'll never be President anyways, right? The next president will have to get these wackos 'knit back together' with the regular people. It makes the assumption, on the reader's behalf, that anyone who supports Ron Paul is different from 'us'. I know these seem like trivial details, but I think they are the most important aspects of journalism. It only takes a couple of words to conjure up irrational negativity.

Indeed. This article is obviously written for those who are unfamiliar with Ron Paul, and it does a good job of drawing attention away from the main ideas and leaving the reader with the impression that his actual campaign is not worth serious interest. The author raises the question: But what is "Ron's message"? Then he completely sidesteps an actual answer and states that Ron Paul will not be the next President. Actually, other media outlets could learn a lesson from the NYT. They tend to ridicule, misinform, or block coverage outright and it actually has drawn more interest to his campaign. I expect that we'll see more articles like this. Come to think of it, this is very similar to the ABC interview.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this article. They ignored quite a bit of vital information about the rationale behind his ideas and dedicated the final pages to a lot of subtle negativity.

There's a problem with the User Ratings feature the User Profiles. Certain profiles do not reflect the rating that is actually contained in the database while others do. I have yet to make any sense out of it, but hopefully I can find a solution soon.

I would love to do this as my primary job, and maybe someday it will be possible. It really trips me out sometimes when I think about it. I think this site would be lost without the dedicated members.