Mar 15 2007

TT#8

Published by Fence under Weekly memes

Thirteen Things. And seeing as today is the Ides of March I thought I may as well use that as my inspiration for this week’s T13

  1. The Ides of March falls on the 15th. In the Ancient Roman calendar the ides of the month fell on the 15th of March, May, July, or October, or on the 13th of any other month.
  2. Today, the Ides are remembered because of the assassination of Julius Caesar. And because of Shakespeare’s play the Ides of March has mainly come to mean “impending doom”
  3. I however have chosen to pretend that it augurs well, and have placed a whole €1 of a bet on a horse named Julius Caesar running at Cheltenham today.
  4. I have issues with the spelling of Caesar. I’m never sure of whether to put the a or the w first. Luckily, google is my friend.
  5. In Latin Caesar should actually be pronounced with a hard C, more like the German Kaiser, but everyone uses siezer.
  6. Image Hosted by ImageShack.usJulius Caesar has to one of the most famous cultural icons. There was that play by Shakespeare for one. More than a few films. A fair few TV shows. Plus comics and cartoons. He has had more than his ten minutes of fame.
  7. In 75 BC Caesar was captured by pirates. Supposedly he was on quite friendly terms with his captors, until he was ransomed and released, he then tracked them down and had them crucified.
  8. One of the most famous lines of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is the one addressed to Brutus “Et tu, Brute?
  9. Personally, I prefer the Brutus is an honourable man speech.
  10. The soothsayer who warned Caesar was Titus Vestricius Spurinna
  11. Many people would say that Caesar destroyed the Republic, course others would argue that it was crumbling anyway. But like most things, it was a lot more complicated than any one straight forward reason.
  12. Today, you can Request an audience with Gaius Julius Caesar, or at least an artificial intelligence version of him.
  13. Today the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination, like many other Ancient Roman ruins, is home to quite a few cats.
    1. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

    2. Damozel
    3. Robin
    4. Raggedy
    5. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Tags: Ides of March, Julius Caesar, T13

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Mar 06 2007

No referral fun

Published by Fence under Irishify, Ramblings

Tá fhíos agat that looking at your stats and referral logs is fun fun fun. All those wacky phrases and meaningless search strings. Bhuel, féach, tá siad lacking in the fun department today..

  • A search for Carlo Gebler the bull raid - fits, because I reviewed the book. Unimpressed with it, so I was.
  • A search for Gene Hunt quotes - fits again. Because is é Gene Hunt an fear, and we has a great grá for him.
  • a search for attia of the julii - When is Rome coming back?
  • a search for surrounded armed bastards - this’d be Mr. Hunt again. An fear is fearr[1] ;)

The only one that makes me even vaguely go “hmmmm” is the search for sally sue with white lace, and that arrives here on account of a quote from Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon.


Aréir, chuaigh mé to see Julius Caesar in the Abbey. Twas grand, dragged a bit at times, but overall a grand night’s entertainment. The set design was great, the costume design, not so much.

Linknotes:
  1. this only really works in irish
Tags: as gaeilge, Gene Hunt, Julius Caesar, Rome, searches, statcounter, stats

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Sep 19 2006

Rome - Season 1

Published by Fence under TV

Dir: Michael Apted, Julian Farino, Allen Coulter, Alan Poul, Timothy Van Patten, Steve Shill, Jeremy Podeswa, Alan Taylor, Mikael Salomon.
Writ: Bruno Heller, John Milius, David Frankel, William J. MacDonald, Alexandra Cunningham, Adrian Hodges.

  • Kevin McKidd - Lucius Vorenus
  • Ray Stevenson - Titus Pullo
  • Polly Walker - Attia of the Julii
  • Ciarán Hinds - Julius Caesar
  • James Purefoy - Mark Anthony

it has been four hundred years since the founding of the Republic, and in that time Rome has grown into a mighty power. But military might, and subjugated lands don’t mean everything is happy at home. While Gaius Julius Caesar has been off subduing Gaul, the senators back home have been growing more discontented. And while at first his co-ruler of Rome, Pompey, isn’t willing to oppose him, slowly he comes around until conflict is inevitable.

But Rome is much more than a history lesson, though all attempts have been made to ensure that this show is as historically accurate as possible, because the writers and creators have made the central story revolve around two ordinary men, soldiers Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus.

The show itself is fantastic. It looks fantastic, set design, costumes, weapons. All look authentic. And the actors are even better, each and everyone seems so suited to their characters, I’ve reviewed most of the episodes already, so I won’t repeat myself.

The DVD has a number of special features. One flashes up historical facts as you watch the episode, giving you wonderful information, such as the name of some sexual positions. There are also a number of commentaries. These were interesting, but not spectacular, and in certain cases it would have probably been a lot better had they had two people do the commentary, rather than having just the one person.

There is also a bonus disc of documentaries, and again, they are all entertaining and informative. But nothing I’d really be bothered to watch twice. Still, the actual episodes themselves are great, and even without any extras at all, it would still be worth buying.

Tags: 10 Stars, Adrian Hodges, Alan Poul, Alan Taylor, Alexandra Cunningham, Allen Coulter, blood, Bruno Heller, Chicken and Lamb, Ciarán Hinds, David Frankel, historical fiction, James Purefoy, Jeremy Podeswa, John Milius, Julian Farino, Julius Caesar, Kevin McKidd, Lucius Vorenus, Michael Apted, Mikael Salomon, Polly Walker, Ray Stevenson, Roman Empire, Rome, Rome season 1, Steve Shill, Timothy Van Patten, Titus Pullo, violence, William J. MacDonald

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Dec 14 2005

Rome 1.07 - Pharsalus

Published by Fence under Moving Pictures, TV

Well if Chicken has learned anything it may be not to curse the gods, but somehow I doubt it. After the storms of the last episode he and Lamb are left castaway on a desert island. But there are no polar bears here, only sand. Actually it is more of a sand bunker than an island. Although they do have the company of a whole heap of dead men.

Turns out that quite a few of Anthony’s ships ended up at the bottom of the sea, but Mark himself managed to make it to Caesar’s side. Caesar is out numbered and at a disadvantage, and Pompey thinks he can starve his army to death and defeat. But his supporters disagree. He is the great Pompey Magnus. Surely it is more honourable to engage and destroy the enemy.

Continue Reading »

Tags: 8 Stars, battle, Chicken and Lamb, don't curse the gods, Julius Caesar, Pharsalus, Pompey, Rome, Rome 1.07, Rome season 1

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Dec 01 2005

Rome 1.06 - Egeria

Published by Fence under Moving Pictures, TV

Episode 1.06, forgot to do last weeks cause I headed home last Thursday.

Caesar is off busy chasing down Pompey, but Pompey has been busy himself. He is gathering his legions to him, and now his forces outnumber Caesar’s. So Julius writes home and asks for supposrt from Mark Anthony and the 13th Legion. Which leads to dear old Mark having a very good think about things.

Continue Reading »

Tags: Chicken and Lamb, Egeria, Julius Caesar, Kevin McKidd, Pompey, Ray Stevenson, Rome, Rome 1.06, Rome season 1, Titus Pullo

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Nov 17 2005

Rome - 1.04: Stealing from Saturn

Published by Fence under Moving Pictures, TV


Episode: 1.04 -because I’m sticking with the HBO episode numbers from now on, although this is the third shown on the Beeb.

In this episode Julius finally makes it back to Rome, and although he does put the city under martial law he is careful to announce that if everyone supports him he won’t be too concerned with killing people. We also meet up with Vorenus, who is trying to become a businessman (roots in the community see), or as Mark Anthony calls him a grocer. And speaking of Mr. Anthony… well indeed. Lots of nakedness there wasn’t there?

There are various political manoeuvres as Julius begins to consolidate his power. Mainly through bribery, and speaking of money where is our little Chicken[1] eh?

Continue Reading »

Linknotes:
  1. I don’t like the name Pullo, and chicken is so much better don’t you think
Tags: Chicken and Lamb, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, political intrigue, Rome, Rome 1.04, Rome season 1, Stealing from Saturn

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