Virginia - Site of the first English settlement in the New World at Jamestown in 1607.
- Home of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Monroe, Madison, Tyler, Harrison and Wilson.
- Capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War and site of more than half the battles of that war.
- From Atlantic beaches to Appalachian mountains, a wonderful state to visit - postmarked in 1994 with US 19 cent balloon stamp.
- Blacksburg is in the extreme SW corner - near the border with W Va and Kentucky.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Michelangelo's design: the Dome of St. Peter's basilica, the Vatican, Roma
Students sketched this dome because it typifies the architectural work of the Renaissance during the 1500s in Italy.
See the Mona Lisa in Paris famous museum The Louvre
Students sketched Leonardo's oil, Mona Lisa, because it is the world's most famous painting and image of beauty.
Michelangelo's 'Pieta': St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican, Roma
In recognition of one of the world's great marble sculptures students have been asked to sketch Michelangelo's scene ofthe crucified Jesus and Mary, his mother, called the Pieta (pity, or lament).
Michelangelo: Creation Of Adam
For greater appreciation of Michelangelo's 4 years of work on the cieling of the Sistine Chapel, my students are asked to make a sketch of this scene, The Creation of Adam.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam
'Anatomical Theories
Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy as their starting point. In 1990 a physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum. "
Maya Eidolon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_of_Adam
'Anatomical Theories
Several hypotheses have been put forward about the meaning of The Creation of Adam's highly original composition, many of them taking Michelangelo's well-documented expertise in human anatomy as their starting point. In 1990 a physician named Frank Lynn Meshberger noted in the medical publication the Journal of the American Medical Association that the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain, including the frontal lobe, optic chiasm, brain stem, pituitary gland, and the major sulci of the cerebrum. "
Maya Eidolon
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci
Vitruvian Man, above, is one of the world's most famous pen-and-ink sketches. In it Leonardo illustrated the principles of design as established by the Roman architect, Vitruvius, and gave us science-and-art synthesis. It is also called the Canon (collected knowledge) of Proportions.
Our approximate date for Leonardo and this sketch will be 1500.
To be sketched in class are versions of
- Vitruvian man
- the Mona Lisa (beauty and strangeness)
Also presented in video and via the Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (from the school library) are a study of the horse (equus, Latin), the embryo in womb, a helicopter and a skeletal human arm.
Fresco - painting in wet plaster.
The Medici family were the benefactors of artists, engineers and thinkers in Florence and Milan around 1500. The Medici were wealthy bankers. The principal business of of Florence was in woolen fabrics and other textiles.
Florence and Rome were the centers of the Renaissance: centers of scholarship and art.
Humanism developed during this era, as artists and writers put emphasis on the capabilities of man as opposed to focusing exclusively on God.
Greek and Roman learning, forgotten for some 1000 years, was the material the stimulated the Renaissance artists.
Classes also sketched el Duomo (the dome), or the cathedral of Florence, as a symbol of the Renaissance.
The dates of the Medieval (middle) Era: about 700 AD to 1500 AD.
Our approximate date for Leonardo and this sketch will be 1500.
To be sketched in class are versions of
- Vitruvian man
- the Mona Lisa (beauty and strangeness)
Also presented in video and via the Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (from the school library) are a study of the horse (equus, Latin), the embryo in womb, a helicopter and a skeletal human arm.
Fresco - painting in wet plaster.
The Medici family were the benefactors of artists, engineers and thinkers in Florence and Milan around 1500. The Medici were wealthy bankers. The principal business of of Florence was in woolen fabrics and other textiles.
Florence and Rome were the centers of the Renaissance: centers of scholarship and art.
Humanism developed during this era, as artists and writers put emphasis on the capabilities of man as opposed to focusing exclusively on God.
Greek and Roman learning, forgotten for some 1000 years, was the material the stimulated the Renaissance artists.
Classes also sketched el Duomo (the dome), or the cathedral of Florence, as a symbol of the Renaissance.
The dates of the Medieval (middle) Era: about 700 AD to 1500 AD.
iPod Slows Enemy Bullet, Saves Life; story contributed by Sasha Sosin
Kevin Garrad of the 3rd Infantry Division is an iPod user for life—which incidentally got extended thanks to Apple's little music player. He was on patrol in Iraq when he met an armed insurgent carrying an AK-47. Both opened fire, and the bullet heading toward Kevin hit his chest right where his iPod was, which was enough to slow down the bullet to not pierce entirely through the body armor.
The fact that he had a 20GB (older and thicker) iPod probably helped slow down the bullet more than if he had one of the newer (and thinner) 30GB ones. In that sense, an Archos would probably be enough to stop a tank shell. – Jason Chen
Click on the photo and you will see there are 3 more in the series. Thanks, Sasha!
RT
The fact that he had a 20GB (older and thicker) iPod probably helped slow down the bullet more than if he had one of the newer (and thinner) 30GB ones. In that sense, an Archos would probably be enough to stop a tank shell. – Jason Chen
Click on the photo and you will see there are 3 more in the series. Thanks, Sasha!
RT
Friday, April 13, 2007
Roman tour essay: 15 pt Description essay on a tour of Italy accompanied by terms from the Roman empire
Essay -
From the North of Italy to the South, write an essay that combines travel across 5 locations and mention of some 10 terms from the era of the Romans (app 500m BC to 400 AD).
Example:
- Italian Alps
- aqueducts
Attend to your -
* grammar & spelling
* documentation ("accroding to," place at end of first paragraph)
* original titling
* legibility
* length of about 400 words.
* underline locations and terms from Roman history.
From the North of Italy to the South, write an essay that combines travel across 5 locations and mention of some 10 terms from the era of the Romans (app 500m BC to 400 AD).
Example:
- Italian Alps
- aqueducts
Attend to your -
* grammar & spelling
* documentation ("accroding to," place at end of first paragraph)
* original titling
* legibility
* length of about 400 words.
* underline locations and terms from Roman history.
Independent work: comparing St Peter's basilica to the Baths of Caracalla
Independent work:
- St Peter's and the Baths of the Emperor Caracalla.
- Comparing Otzi, the ice man found in the Italian Alps, and the Shroud of Turin, the image believed to be that of Jesus after the crucifixion.
Remember to
* blend the topics in each paragraph.
* document at the end of the first paragraph.
* use comparison terms such as "on the other hand," "but," "almost the same as," etc.
Look at past independent comparison topics on Italy in recent posts.
- St Peter's and the Baths of the Emperor Caracalla.
- Comparing Otzi, the ice man found in the Italian Alps, and the Shroud of Turin, the image believed to be that of Jesus after the crucifixion.
Remember to
* blend the topics in each paragraph.
* document at the end of the first paragraph.
* use comparison terms such as "on the other hand," "but," "almost the same as," etc.
Look at past independent comparison topics on Italy in recent posts.
Sarah M Silver, guest speaker at hours 1 & 2 prior to her appearance in Cinderella
Sarah Silver, CMHS 01, returned to her geography class to talk about the life of a ballerina this week. She stars in Spt Metropolitan Ballet's production of Cinderella on Sun, Ap 15.
Silver, formerly Sarah Gross, has attended U of Utah ("the Harvard of dance") and been a dancer with City Ballet San Diego and California Ballet. She is currently dancing for Columbia City Ballet, South Carolina.
She has developed a fitness program called Ballet Burner and is also developing her skill as a dance photographer.
Silver, formerly Sarah Gross, has attended U of Utah ("the Harvard of dance") and been a dancer with City Ballet San Diego and California Ballet. She is currently dancing for Columbia City Ballet, South Carolina.
She has developed a fitness program called Ballet Burner and is also developing her skill as a dance photographer.
Members of the Class of 2010
Third hour geography recently made an architectural inspection of the overview of the new wing at CMHS.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Galleria, Milan.
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a covered double arcade (two arcades intersecting in an octagon) sited on the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan, connecting to the Piazza della Scala, says Wikipedia.
Named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy, it was orginally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.
The street is covered over by an arching glass and steel roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century shopping malls (e.g., the Passazh in St Petersburg, opened in 1848). The central point is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern shopping mall. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.
The Galleria connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks: The Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala.
More than 120 years after its inauguration, the four-story arcade includes elegant shops selling most things from haute couture to books, as well as restaurants, cafés and bars.
Named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy, it was orginally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.
The street is covered over by an arching glass and steel roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century shopping malls (e.g., the Passazh in St Petersburg, opened in 1848). The central point is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern shopping mall. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.
The Galleria connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks: The Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala.
More than 120 years after its inauguration, the four-story arcade includes elegant shops selling most things from haute couture to books, as well as restaurants, cafés and bars.
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus (Latin for greatest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient hippodrome and mass entertainment venue located in Rome.
The location was first utilized for public games and entertainment by the Etruscan kings of Rome, says Wikipedia.
Meeting the demands of the Roman citizenry for mass public entertainment on a lavish scale, Julius Caesar expanded the Circus around 50 BC, after which the track measured approximately 600 m (1,968 ft) in length, 80 m (387 ft) in breadth and could accommodate an estimated 250,000 spectators (many more, perhaps an equal number again, could view the games by standing, crowding and lining the adjoining hills).
In 81, the Senate built a triple arch honoring Titus by the closed East end.
The emperor Domitian connected his new palace on the Palatine to the Circus in order that he could more easily view the races. The emperor Trajan later added another 5000 seats and expanded the emperor's seating in order to increase his public visibility during the games.
The location was first utilized for public games and entertainment by the Etruscan kings of Rome, says Wikipedia.
Meeting the demands of the Roman citizenry for mass public entertainment on a lavish scale, Julius Caesar expanded the Circus around 50 BC, after which the track measured approximately 600 m (1,968 ft) in length, 80 m (387 ft) in breadth and could accommodate an estimated 250,000 spectators (many more, perhaps an equal number again, could view the games by standing, crowding and lining the adjoining hills).
In 81, the Senate built a triple arch honoring Titus by the closed East end.
The emperor Domitian connected his new palace on the Palatine to the Circus in order that he could more easily view the races. The emperor Trajan later added another 5000 seats and expanded the emperor's seating in order to increase his public visibility during the games.
Otzi the Iceman: 3,300 BC fellow found frozen in the Italian Alps
Ötzi the Iceman (also spelled Oetzi): a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC,[1] found in 1991 in the Schnalstal glacier in the Ötztal Alps, on the border between Austria and Italy. The nickname comes from Ötztal, the region in which he was discovered, says Wikipedia.
He is Europe's oldest natural human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans.
Since 1998 it has been on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.
At the time of his death, Ötzi was approximately 5 ft. 4 in.) tall, and about 30 years of age. Because the body was covered in ice shortly after his death it only partially deteriorated.
Analysis of pollen and dust grains and the isotopic composition of his tooth enamel indicate that he spent his childhood near the present village of Velturno, north of Bolzano, but later went to live in valleys about 50 km further north.
Analysis of Ötzi's intestinal contents showed two meals (the last one about eight hours before his death), one of chamois meat, the other of red deer meat. Both were eaten with some grain as well as some roots and fruits. The grain from both meals was a highly processed einkorn wheat bran, quite possibly eaten in the form of bread. There were also a few kernels of sloes (small plum-like fruits of the blackthorn tree).
Pollen in the first meal showed that it had been consumed in a mid-altitude conifer forest, and other pollens indicated the presence of wheat and legumes, which may have been domesticated crops. Also, pollen grains of hop-hornbeam were discovered. The pollen was very well preserved with even the cells inside still intact, indicating that it had been fresh (a few hours old) at the time of Ötzi's death. This find places the event in the spring. Interestingly, einkorn wheat is harvested in the late summer, and sloes in the autumn; these must have been stored since the year before.
High levels of both copper particles and arsenic were found in Ötzi's hair. This, along with Ötzi's copper axe which is 99.7% pure copper, has led scientists to speculate that Ötzi was involved in copper smelting.
He apparently had whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), an intestinal parasite.
He had approximately 52 tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines. The designs might have been used to mark the passage from youth to manhood,[citation needed] or it has been speculated that they may be related to acupuncture.
Ötzi's clothes, which included a woven grass cloak and leather vest and shoes, were quite sophisticated. The shoes were waterproof and wide, seemingly designed for walking across the snow; they were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like warm socks.
The shoes have since been reproduced by experts and found to constitute such excellent footwear that there are plans for commercial production.[6] However, a more recent theory by British archaeologist Jacqui Wood says that Ötzi's "shoes" were actually the upper part of snowshoes. According to this theory, the item currently interpreted as part of a backpack is actually the wood frame and netting of one snowshoe and animal hide to cover the torso.
Other items found with the Iceman were a copper axe with a yew handle, a flint knife with an ash handle, a quiver of 14 bone-tipped arrows with viburnum and dogwood shafts and flint heads (two arrows were finished, twelve were not), and an unfinished yew longbow that was 3 feet 2 inches (one metre) tall.[7] Also found were berries, a bucket and a knife.
Among Ötzi's possessions were two species of polypore mushrooms with leather strings through them. One of these (the birch fungus) is known to have antibacterial properties, and was likely used for medicinal purposes. The other was a type of tinder fungus, included with part of what appeared to be a complex firestarting kit. The kit featured pieces of over a dozen different plants, in addition to flint and pyrite for creating sparks.
A CAT scan revealed that Ötzi had what appeared to be an arrowhead lodged in one shoulder when he died, matching a small tear on his coat. The arrow shaft had been removed, apparently by a companion. He also had bruises and cuts on his hands, wrists, and chest. DNA analysis revealed traces of blood from four other people on his gear: one from his knife, two from the same arrowhead, and a fourth from his coat.
This may indicate that Otzi was actually part of an armed raiding party, and had gotten into a skirmish, probably with a neighboring tribe, and this skirmish had gone badly for the attackers.
The biological evidence suggests that he was out of his home territory. The DNA evidence suggests that he was assisted by companions who were also wounded. The repairs he had made to his clothing are very crude compared to the original stitching. The copper axe could not have been made by him alone. It would have required a concerted group tribal effort to mine, smelt and cast the copper axe head. This all shows foresight, planning and preparation on a large scale with a certain goal in mind.
He is Europe's oldest natural human mummy, and has offered an unprecedented view of Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans.
Since 1998 it has been on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.
At the time of his death, Ötzi was approximately 5 ft. 4 in.) tall, and about 30 years of age. Because the body was covered in ice shortly after his death it only partially deteriorated.
Analysis of pollen and dust grains and the isotopic composition of his tooth enamel indicate that he spent his childhood near the present village of Velturno, north of Bolzano, but later went to live in valleys about 50 km further north.
Analysis of Ötzi's intestinal contents showed two meals (the last one about eight hours before his death), one of chamois meat, the other of red deer meat. Both were eaten with some grain as well as some roots and fruits. The grain from both meals was a highly processed einkorn wheat bran, quite possibly eaten in the form of bread. There were also a few kernels of sloes (small plum-like fruits of the blackthorn tree).
Pollen in the first meal showed that it had been consumed in a mid-altitude conifer forest, and other pollens indicated the presence of wheat and legumes, which may have been domesticated crops. Also, pollen grains of hop-hornbeam were discovered. The pollen was very well preserved with even the cells inside still intact, indicating that it had been fresh (a few hours old) at the time of Ötzi's death. This find places the event in the spring. Interestingly, einkorn wheat is harvested in the late summer, and sloes in the autumn; these must have been stored since the year before.
High levels of both copper particles and arsenic were found in Ötzi's hair. This, along with Ötzi's copper axe which is 99.7% pure copper, has led scientists to speculate that Ötzi was involved in copper smelting.
He apparently had whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), an intestinal parasite.
He had approximately 52 tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines. The designs might have been used to mark the passage from youth to manhood,[citation needed] or it has been speculated that they may be related to acupuncture.
Ötzi's clothes, which included a woven grass cloak and leather vest and shoes, were quite sophisticated. The shoes were waterproof and wide, seemingly designed for walking across the snow; they were constructed using bearskin for the soles, deer hide for top panels, and a netting made of tree bark. Soft grass went around the foot and in the shoe and functioned like warm socks.
The shoes have since been reproduced by experts and found to constitute such excellent footwear that there are plans for commercial production.[6] However, a more recent theory by British archaeologist Jacqui Wood says that Ötzi's "shoes" were actually the upper part of snowshoes. According to this theory, the item currently interpreted as part of a backpack is actually the wood frame and netting of one snowshoe and animal hide to cover the torso.
Other items found with the Iceman were a copper axe with a yew handle, a flint knife with an ash handle, a quiver of 14 bone-tipped arrows with viburnum and dogwood shafts and flint heads (two arrows were finished, twelve were not), and an unfinished yew longbow that was 3 feet 2 inches (one metre) tall.[7] Also found were berries, a bucket and a knife.
Among Ötzi's possessions were two species of polypore mushrooms with leather strings through them. One of these (the birch fungus) is known to have antibacterial properties, and was likely used for medicinal purposes. The other was a type of tinder fungus, included with part of what appeared to be a complex firestarting kit. The kit featured pieces of over a dozen different plants, in addition to flint and pyrite for creating sparks.
A CAT scan revealed that Ötzi had what appeared to be an arrowhead lodged in one shoulder when he died, matching a small tear on his coat. The arrow shaft had been removed, apparently by a companion. He also had bruises and cuts on his hands, wrists, and chest. DNA analysis revealed traces of blood from four other people on his gear: one from his knife, two from the same arrowhead, and a fourth from his coat.
This may indicate that Otzi was actually part of an armed raiding party, and had gotten into a skirmish, probably with a neighboring tribe, and this skirmish had gone badly for the attackers.
The biological evidence suggests that he was out of his home territory. The DNA evidence suggests that he was assisted by companions who were also wounded. The repairs he had made to his clothing are very crude compared to the original stitching. The copper axe could not have been made by him alone. It would have required a concerted group tribal effort to mine, smelt and cast the copper axe head. This all shows foresight, planning and preparation on a large scale with a certain goal in mind.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The ancient priest class of the Celts: Druid's
In Celtic polytheism the word druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies, which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles until they were supplanted by Roman government and, later, Christianity. Druidic practices were part of the culture of all the tribal peoples called "Keltoi" and "Galatai" by Greeks and "Celtae" and "Galli" by Romans, which evolved into modern English "Celtic" and "Gaulish". They combined the duties of priest, arbitrator, healer, scholar, and magistrate, says Wikipedia.
The Druids were polytheists, but also deified elements of nature[1], such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, looking to them for "signs and seasons". They also venerated other natural elements, such as the oak, certain groves, tops of hills, streams, lakes and even plants, especially mistletoe and holly.
Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with the sun and cleansing. Their calendar year was governed by the lunar, solar, and vegetative cycles. Archaeological evidence suggests that ceremonies were conducted to celebrate the two solstices and two equinoxes every year.[
The Druids were polytheists, but also deified elements of nature[1], such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, looking to them for "signs and seasons". They also venerated other natural elements, such as the oak, certain groves, tops of hills, streams, lakes and even plants, especially mistletoe and holly.
Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with the sun and cleansing. Their calendar year was governed by the lunar, solar, and vegetative cycles. Archaeological evidence suggests that ceremonies were conducted to celebrate the two solstices and two equinoxes every year.[
View from the Basilica at St Peter's
Saint Peter's Basilica is the most prominent building inside the Vatican City, says Wikipedia. Its dome is also a dominant feature of the Roman skyline.
Possibly the largest church in Christianity[2], it covers an area of 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom in the Catholic tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome.
Construction on the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506.
Possibly the largest church in Christianity[2], it covers an area of 5.7 acres (2.3 ha) and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom in the Catholic tradition, it is traditionally the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome.
Construction on the current basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506.
Celtic jewelry: the torc
A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a rigid circular neck ring or necklace that is open-ended at the front, says Wikipedia. The word comes from Latin torques, from torqueo, to twist, because of the twisted shape of the collar.
The ends of ancient torcs typically bore sculpted ornaments, frequently globes, cubes, or animal heads, and less commonly human figures. The body of the necklace was usually but not always wrapped. Although they were most often neck-rings, there were also bracelets with this shape. Torcs were made from intertwined metal strands, usually gold or bronze, less often silver.
"Torc" is the ancient Irish for "boar", similar to the gaulish "torcos". A relation could be made with the sacred value of the animal in celtic mythology suggesting a sort of equivalence between the necklace and the animal symbol of death and revival.
The ends of ancient torcs typically bore sculpted ornaments, frequently globes, cubes, or animal heads, and less commonly human figures. The body of the necklace was usually but not always wrapped. Although they were most often neck-rings, there were also bracelets with this shape. Torcs were made from intertwined metal strands, usually gold or bronze, less often silver.
"Torc" is the ancient Irish for "boar", similar to the gaulish "torcos". A relation could be made with the sacred value of the animal in celtic mythology suggesting a sort of equivalence between the necklace and the animal symbol of death and revival.
The Roman "thumbs up" actually was "thumbs down;" "up" meant "You may fatally execute your opponent"
Though a favorite of Hollywood 'swords and sandals' epics, where the "thumbs down" symbol means that the loser in a gladiatorial combat should be put to death, recent research suggests the meanings of the symbols have changed over the years, says Wikipedia.
In 1997, Professor Anthony Philip Corbeill of the University of Kansas concluded that the thumbs up actually meant "Kill him," basing his assertion on a study of hundreds of ancient artworks.
Thus, the "thumbs up" was an approval of the gladiator's request to kill his vanquished foe rather than a vote to allow the defeated to remain alive. Corbeill wrote that a closed fist with a wraparound thumb was the indication for a gladiator's life to be spared.
In 1997, Professor Anthony Philip Corbeill of the University of Kansas concluded that the thumbs up actually meant "Kill him," basing his assertion on a study of hundreds of ancient artworks.
Thus, the "thumbs up" was an approval of the gladiator's request to kill his vanquished foe rather than a vote to allow the defeated to remain alive. Corbeill wrote that a closed fist with a wraparound thumb was the indication for a gladiator's life to be spared.
Roman roads & city planning: David Macaulay's movie, Roman City
Notes from Macaulay's Roman City:
- Vesuvius 79 AD. Pompeii, Herculaneum.
Ash, gas and volcanic mud.
- Roman empire: 3 continents.
- City's walls: dif between culture & chaos.
Forum, temples, theaters.
- Princes Romulus & Remus on the Tiber River.
300 AD, height of the Empire.
Pop: over 1 M. World’s largest city.
- Example of the Roman grid system: Nimes, southern France.
France / Gaul: conquered by Julius Caesar. New Roman cities built by Caesar Augustus.
- Celts: " Romans burned our houses, abducted women, humiliation. Cut off right hands of warriors."
- Military engineer / architect. Marcius Fabricius. Fabricate.
Slave: freed and become an administrator.
Slaves commonplace.
- Skilled craftsmen in conquered territories. Romans offer trading opportunities.
Celtic chief: "I once fought the Romans. Like it ot not, our future is bound to the Romans."
Druid protestor: “They have bridged the sacred river.”
- Vesuvius 79 AD. Pompeii, Herculaneum.
Ash, gas and volcanic mud.
- Roman empire: 3 continents.
- City's walls: dif between culture & chaos.
Forum, temples, theaters.
- Princes Romulus & Remus on the Tiber River.
300 AD, height of the Empire.
Pop: over 1 M. World’s largest city.
- Example of the Roman grid system: Nimes, southern France.
France / Gaul: conquered by Julius Caesar. New Roman cities built by Caesar Augustus.
- Celts: " Romans burned our houses, abducted women, humiliation. Cut off right hands of warriors."
- Military engineer / architect. Marcius Fabricius. Fabricate.
Slave: freed and become an administrator.
Slaves commonplace.
- Skilled craftsmen in conquered territories. Romans offer trading opportunities.
Celtic chief: "I once fought the Romans. Like it ot not, our future is bound to the Romans."
Druid protestor: “They have bridged the sacred river.”
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Kingston Flash memory drive bargains on Amazon.com
Tyler Snelling has found this excellent deal: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MS6SG0/ref=nosim/?tag=jc0c-20.
I've had a Kingston jump drive, by the by, for several years and it has been rock as a solid.
I've had a Kingston jump drive, by the by, for several years and it has been rock as a solid.
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