CyricVT

Deepest condolences to you and your friends, CyricVT. I echo this, too...Did you know anyone who was injured or killed? How are you doing with this? I think that I once spoke with the German teacher. If memory serves me correctly, he shared an office with my former German professor. I think he was one of three German instructors at the university. Everyone else that I know appears to be physically OK and alive. I'm having a pretty hard time with the whole thing. Every time I start to feel better something new (like the videos released tonight) brings out the raw emotions again.

Thank you, Nephele.

I'm not all surprised that this damn debate has started again. For what it's worth, I come down on the side of allowing people to protect themselves, but I'm not going to debate this now. I graduated from Virginia Tech in May 2004. I lived in West Ambler-Johnston for my first two years. Anywhere from one-third to half my classes took place in Norris Hall my last few years at Tech. If this had happened three years ago, I could be dead right now. I have friends who are still at Tech and who still live in Blacksburg. I have professors who I care very deeply about who teach in that building. The coworker of a good friend of mine lost her daughter in the shooting. This is a horrible tragedy and the Virginia Tech community is still coming to terms with what has happened. I wish the media and the politicians would shut up about gun control, school security, and all the other assorted bullsh*t and just mourn the dead and care for the wounded, the families, and the community.

I think he means where does he download the "190 Mb Roman Mega-source." It's a description for the UNRV website, Onasander.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to both of you!

I also think CE and BCE are rather dumb and prefer AD and BC. Having said that however, we really should have a calendar based either on the mythical founding of Rome (753 and using AUB if anything at all) or using either the rise of Western civilization with Greece or civilization in general as a starting point. Until then I'm content to use AD and BC since they have been the standard for centuries and not use new abbreviations that mean the same thing but try to do it without offending non-Christians.

For an example of why I am increasingly against the death penalty due to abuses....this case is a good example. Corey Maye is sitting on death row in Mississippi. http://www.theagitator.com/ You may have to scroll down a little to see the posts on it. The author updates his site regularly and has a ton of posts on this case.

I used to wholeheartedly support the death penalty and thought it should be extended to any case where someone destroyed someone else's life (or killed them) using violence. However, in recent years there have been countless cases of people being exonerated by DNA tests either while they are on death row or years after they have been executed. At least one state (Illinois, I believe) and I believe a few others have also declared moratoriums. One or two people being executed based on wrong convictions is a tragedy, but could be dismissed as a fluke. Several cases suggests a more systemic problem and suggests that due process is not occuring, which is a violation of the 5th Amendment to the US Constitution.

Someone commented on Octavian's look at Servillia at the end of the season finale as an "emotionless" look. Personally, I saw it not as emotionless, but as a death stare. It suggested what was coming to those who murdered Caesar. As great as Caesar's death scene was, I think this scene was my favorite of the episode.

Did anyone notice the cockatiels in the show? Most or all the birds in the cages in the latest episode were cockatiels. The only problem with that (I know this because I have one) is that they are Australian birds. It is extremely unlikely that anyone outside of Australia and New Zealand would have had one (much less many) in the ancient world.