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Post a cool historical fact

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  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    I still really need to see I, Claudius. I really like the idea that Claudius spent most of his life only pretending to be an idiot so that people would leave him alone, a la young Nobunaga
    There is a tendency to show Rome as either this fascist, awful state feeding people to lions, or this utopian Republic where everything was swell.

    It's sort of tricky, because they were often both at the same time. Well, it was rarely a utopia, and they were certainly a bunch of xenophobic, misogynistic, militants. But they certainly had their own funny kind of charm to 'em.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • AmaliaAmalia AuthorFace Registered User regular
    a5ehren wrote: »
    there was a dream once that was Rome

    you could only whisper it

    anything more than a whisper and it would vanish

    Marcus Aurelius was kind of a dick, but a good Emperor. Joaquin Phoenix His son was a really, really bad Emperor, which was a shame.

    I think Marcus Aurelius was a good emperor because he didn't WANT to be emperor.

    Sometimes I blog. Other times I tweet. But I'm always writing. (and so is that other Amalia)

    Give the Gift of Thor! Or maybe you'd be interested in that Orc Book I wrote.
  • a5ehrena5ehren AtlantaRegistered User regular
    Amalia wrote: »
    a5ehren wrote: »
    there was a dream once that was Rome

    you could only whisper it

    anything more than a whisper and it would vanish

    Marcus Aurelius was kind of a dick, but a good Emperor. Joaquin Phoenix His son was a really, really bad Emperor, which was a shame.

    I think Marcus Aurelius was a good emperor because he didn't WANT to be emperor.

    Eh. I'm pretty sure he wanted to be emperor plenty - he was being groomed for the position for a long, long time. Men of that era didn't accidentally become emperor. It was maybe true that he would rather have been a philosopher-king than a general, but I'm not sure you can argue that he didn't want to be emperor.

  • AmaliaAmalia AuthorFace Registered User regular
    a5ehren wrote: »
    Amalia wrote: »
    a5ehren wrote: »
    there was a dream once that was Rome

    you could only whisper it

    anything more than a whisper and it would vanish

    Marcus Aurelius was kind of a dick, but a good Emperor. Joaquin Phoenix His son was a really, really bad Emperor, which was a shame.

    I think Marcus Aurelius was a good emperor because he didn't WANT to be emperor.

    Eh. I'm pretty sure he wanted to be emperor plenty - he was being groomed for the position for a long, long time. Men of that era didn't accidentally become emperor. It was maybe true that he would rather have been a philosopher-king than a general, but I'm not sure you can argue that he didn't want to be emperor.

    You're right, he definitely did not want to be a general. But I think being an emperor wasn't exactly something that went along with his preferred method of time-spending either. But you know what t(he)y say(s): "Adapt yourself to the environment in which your life has been cast, and show true love to the fellow-mortals with whom destiny has surrounded you."

    Sometimes I blog. Other times I tweet. But I'm always writing. (and so is that other Amalia)

    Give the Gift of Thor! Or maybe you'd be interested in that Orc Book I wrote.
  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    Eh, there were a fair share of guys you could argue didn't really want to be Emperor. It's just they didn't want anyone ELSE to be Emperor instead. But that's less ambition necessarily and more self-preservation.

    Claudius spent most of his life just keeping a low profile until the praetorian guard declared him Emperor, prolly cuz they thought he'd be easy to control
    And even though Tiberius turned into a tyrant he really hadn't been trying to be emperor very hard. He mostly seemed like he just wanted all the women in his life to leave him alone.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • FalxFalx Registered User regular
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Dubh wrote: »
    Stalin did try to portray himself as being Russian

    more Russian than Russians

    This is why Georgians are the worst.

    I had a hairdresser from Georgia once.

    She told me the most incomprehensible jokes.

    I laughed at all of them.

    She was hot.

  • ScudoScudo Registered User regular
    historical fact I learned at a dinosaur exhibit I went to yesterday:

    they were animatronic dinosaurs, and in front of each one was a little plaque with it's name, the meaning of it's name, size, habitat, and one key fact. for Allosaurus, the key fact was that they lived 30 years on average, but were sexually mature by 10. just in case you wanted to know how soon you could fuck one.

    also this whatever the fuck this guy was supposed to be:

    dRR8N.jpg?1

  • PiptheFairPiptheFair Frequently not in boats. Registered User regular
    that just means how soon it could fuck you

    I'm sure you could fuck one sooner than that if you were some disgusting dinorast

    ScudoBusterK
  • ScudoScudo Registered User regular
    look Pip I just don't have any interest in fucking a dinosaur before it can fuck me back

  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited November 2012
    Falx wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Pharezon wrote: »
    Dubh wrote: »
    Stalin did try to portray himself as being Russian

    more Russian than Russians

    This is why Georgians are the worst.

    I had a hairdresser from Georgia once.

    She told me the most incomprehensible jokes.

    I laughed at all of them.

    She was hot.

    This is the correct answer for jokes girls tell.
    Grey Ghost wrote: »
    I love Derek Jacobi as an actor

    I hate that he subscribes to the Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship though

    Refresh my memory, but that's the one where Shakespeare didn't really write Shakespeare right?

    manwiththemachinegun on
  • Grey GhostGrey Ghost Registered User regular
    Grey Ghost wrote: »
    I love Derek Jacobi as an actor

    I hate that he subscribes to the Oxfordian theory of Shakespearean authorship though

    Refresh my memory, but that's the one where Shakespeare didn't really write Shakespeare right?

    Correct

    There are a few theories but the Oxfordian theory specifically states that Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, was the real author

    All the theories have this undercurrent of "rich people with formal education will always be better at a given thing than poor people with natural talent" and it's fairly presumptuous

    AntimatterBusterKfacetiousGatsbyeddizhereTrippyJing
  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • PiptheFairPiptheFair Frequently not in boats. Registered User regular
    Kana wrote: »
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    he was, not very well off

    also he was an actor in victorian england, putting him on the same level as prostitutes socially

    Shorty
  • ShortyShorty touching the meat Intergalactic Cool CourtRegistered User regular
    PiptheFair wrote: »
    Kana wrote: »
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    he was, not very well off

    also he was an actor in victorian england, putting him on the same level as prostitutes socially

    "victorian england" is 19th century

    but yes when shakespeare was alive, "actor" was not a well-respected profession

  • Grey GhostGrey Ghost Registered User regular
    Yeah the point is that he sure wasn't an Earl
    And a big part of the argument is that there aren't really any records of him attending school anywhere and there are doubts as to how he could have acquired a) such an extensive vocabulary and b) cultural knowledge of the various foreign countries his works take place in

    But a lack of evidence in this case means nothing, and it's the burden of the "anti-Stratfordians" to produce any evidence to support their claims, and they can't

  • Grey GhostGrey Ghost Registered User regular
    If you want a laugh, get a little drunk sometime and watch Anonymous
    it is hilariously contrived

    and partially narrated by Derek Jacobi!

  • chromdomchromdom Who? Where?Registered User regular
    Isn't there a ting about different signatures appearing on different W. Shakespeare signed docs? I some to recall something to that effect

  • PiptheFairPiptheFair Frequently not in boats. Registered User regular
    Grey Ghost wrote: »
    Yeah the point is that he sure wasn't an Earl
    And a big part of the argument is that there aren't really any records of him attending school anywhere and there are doubts as to how he could have acquired a) such an extensive vocabulary and b) cultural knowledge of the various foreign countries his works take place in

    But a lack of evidence in this case means nothing, and it's the burden of the "anti-Stratfordians" to produce any evidence to support their claims, and they can't

    there is a kinda missing period in his life where he falls off the radar, and the common theory is that he joined the navy or became a sailor

  • PiptheFairPiptheFair Frequently not in boats. Registered User regular
    Shorty wrote: »
    PiptheFair wrote: »
    Kana wrote: »
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    he was, not very well off

    also he was an actor in victorian england, putting him on the same level as prostitutes socially

    "victorian england" is 19th century

    but yes when shakespeare was alive, "actor" was not a well-respected profession

    edwardian

  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    All I know is when *I* make up words to explain ideas folks take it as proof I'm uneducated!

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • Grey GhostGrey Ghost Registered User regular
    PiptheFair wrote: »
    Shorty wrote: »
    PiptheFair wrote: »
    Kana wrote: »
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    he was, not very well off

    also he was an actor in victorian england, putting him on the same level as prostitutes socially

    "victorian england" is 19th century

    but yes when shakespeare was alive, "actor" was not a well-respected profession

    edwardian

    Shakespeare lived in the Elizabethan era
    Victorian is mid to late 1800s, Edwardian is early 1900s

  • ShortyShorty touching the meat Intergalactic Cool CourtRegistered User regular
    this is why it's better just to say whatever the fuck century you're talking about

  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    Edwardian fashion > *

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • FencingsaxFencingsax It is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understanding GNU Terry PratchettRegistered User regular
    Shorty wrote: »
    this is why it's better just to say whatever the fuck century you're talking about
    Or just know your damn history.

    Also, Anonymous is totally hilarious.

  • facetiousfacetious a wit so dry it shits sandRegistered User regular
    Kana wrote: »
    Edwardian fashion > *

    Indeed.

    "I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
    Real strong, facetious.

    Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
    Fyndir
  • BusterKBusterK Negativity is Boring Cynicism is Cowardice Registered User regular
    Although Shakespeare was born in the Elizabethan age, most of his plays were written during the reign of her successor, James I. Also being an actor was extremely variable level of respectability. Traveling bands were held in the same esteem as prostitutes probably because often they were prostitutes and occasionally thieves. Having a noble patron gave you considerably more respectability. Since they were the best and most popular, Shakespeare's company was able to secure the patronage of Queen Elizabeth and then King James. Before he died, Skakespeare had enough money and respectability to buy and be granted a coat of arms.

    Visit http://www.cruzflores.com for all your Cruz Flores needs. Also listen to the podcast I do with Penguin Incarnate http://wgsgshow.podomatic.com
    Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/BusterK/wishlist/3JPEKJGX9G54I/ref=cm_wl_search_bin_1
    Goatmon
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    Which reminds me, I once went on a tour of a Shakesperean era reconstructed home in British Columbia. It was supposed to be an average house of its day.

    The thing that really got me was the guide explained the, "high chair" for babies and toddlers. It had holes drilled through all over so when the kid had to take a leak it would just drain right through down to the straw floor. And in winter, it was common practice to bring the animals inside... and you're not likely to change the straw on your floor during winter.

    I think I can console myself with never being rich after recognizing stuff like that is what vast majority of people in history had to put up with. And still do.

    BusterKFavlaud
  • ShortyShorty touching the meat Intergalactic Cool CourtRegistered User regular
    I love that the word for "study of Shakespeare and his works" is "Bardology"

    facetiousAntimatterGatsby
  • manwiththemachinegunmanwiththemachinegun METAL GEAR?! Registered User regular
    edited November 2012
    PiptheFair wrote: »
    Kana wrote: »
    Especially when Shakespeare wasn't even poor. Wasn't his dad a mayor?

    He just wasn't a hoighty toity lord.

    he was, not very well off

    also he was an actor in victorian england, putting him on the same level as prostitutes socially

    Aren't actors still prostitutes?

    Heeeyo.

    manwiththemachinegun on
    Straightzi
  • facetiousfacetious a wit so dry it shits sandRegistered User regular
    While we're on the subject.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

    "I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
    Real strong, facetious.

    Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
    AnialoslonelyahavaShortyGatsbyLord_Snot
  • AntimatterAntimatter Devo Was Right Gates of SteelRegistered User regular
  • GoatmonGoatmon Companion of Kess Registered User regular
    Holy fuck, Ben Crystal has the best voice.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6680-6709-4204


    facetiousAnialos
  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    Angelfire is still a thing?

    aTBDrQE.jpg
    TefAl_wat
  • ButlerButler 89 episodes or bust Registered User regular
    edited November 2012
    thou shalt not suffer an angelfire to live

    Butler on
  • Penguin IncarnatePenguin Incarnate King of Kafiristan Registered User regular
    BusterK wrote: »
    Although Shakespeare was born in the Elizabethan age, most of his plays were written during the reign of her successor, James I. Also being an actor was extremely variable level of respectability. Traveling bands were held in the same esteem as prostitutes probably because often they were prostitutes and occasionally thieves. Having a noble patron gave you considerably more respectability. Since they were the best and most popular, Shakespeare's company was able to secure the patronage of Queen Elizabeth and then King James. Before he died, Skakespeare had enough money and respectability to buy and be granted a coat of arms.
    Oh sure! If you're one of the fools who believes he wrote his own plays!

    Pishaw!

  • BusterKBusterK Negativity is Boring Cynicism is Cowardice Registered User regular
    People argued about Russian history for ten pages PI
    You missed it

    Visit http://www.cruzflores.com for all your Cruz Flores needs. Also listen to the podcast I do with Penguin Incarnate http://wgsgshow.podomatic.com
    Amazon Wishlist: http://www.amazon.com/BusterK/wishlist/3JPEKJGX9G54I/ref=cm_wl_search_bin_1
  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    Anonymous is kinda like JFK.
    Look at this speech in Act IV of the Merchant of Venice
    Reverse thy course and unto the left proceede.
    Reverse thy course and unto the left proceede.

    Goatmon
  • GoatmonGoatmon Companion of Kess Registered User regular
    Hahah.

    That took me a second.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6680-6709-4204


  • B_RB_R Registered User regular
    edited November 2012
    Grey Ghost wrote: »
    Yeah the point is that he sure wasn't an Earl
    And a big part of the argument is that there aren't really any records of him attending school anywhere and there are doubts as to how he could have acquired a) such an extensive vocabulary and b) cultural knowledge of the various foreign countries his works take place in

    That's not true, he attended a grammar school with a good reputation in Stratford-upon-Avon.

    B_R on
  • Curly_BraceCurly_Brace Robot Girl Mimiga VillageRegistered User regular
    My grandfather invented Tater-Tots.

    He worked for the Ore-Ida corporation back in the day, and was tasked with reducing waste when making their other potato products. Thus using the extra bits from wavy-cut fries and hash-browns, the best fried potato product was born.

    Of course, since her worked for the company they got the patent. Still pretty cool, though.

    TefButlerInfamyDeferredAl_watTrippyJingchromdomAntimatterSkeithTankHammerAaronKI
This discussion has been closed.