acommonreader.st
Honduran archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, Executive Director of the Copán Association, presents this inaugural lecture in the Great Battles Series. Until recently scholars depicted the ancient Maya as a peaceful civilization devoid of warfare. This somewhat romantic notion has been overturned by evidence of a starker reality: during the Classic period (ca. 250—900 CE) an […]
Dr. Patrick Hunt, Stanford University, speaks. Hannibal, a Carthaginian commander who lived ca. 200 BCE, is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His use of the environment in his warfare against Rome in the Second Punic War—often called the Hannibalic War—set precedents in military history, utilizing nature and weather conditions as weapons […]
(From the YouTube description) Dr. Jeremy McInerny [sic], Professor of Classical Studies, examines the tactics and strategy of the Battle of Thermopylae (in present-day Greece) in 480 BCE. Why was the battle fought at this location and was it, as it is often portrayed, a turning point in the confrontation of East and West? This […]
Thank a discussion on Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit for this post, in particular the closing number of the Saturday evening concert of 1996 where Patti Smith joins many of the evening’s performers during the closing number “Helpless.” It turns out there is a YouTube video of this performance, which illustrates what I tried to […]
…can make you laugh and cry at the same time. Presented without further commentary.
I’m overloaded on so many fronts, the temperature reminds me of Hell’s antechamber (yes, I would know), and yet I’m under the spell of Pío Baroja’s “magical melancholy”. It’s a beautiful day, indeed.
I had a long post on this, but I’ll shorten my comments on this viral video…brilliant on so many levels. One of my favorite songs, ever. And a book and movie that I couldn’t stand. Which is why laughing at it probably makes me enjoy it that much more. (Warning–simulated violence and sex.) I posted […]
I’ve been enjoying a week off from work and staying offline as much as possible. Here’s wishing everyone a happy Fourth of July.
I’m not really sure. But here’s an article I enjoyed: Steeped in Shakespeare “Shakespeare’s plays were ubiquitous in antebellum America. They inhabited the schoolbooks, including Scott’s Lessons in Elocution, which Lincoln read as a boy. Dozens of editions circulated through the states and territories. The plays visited rural and urban stages in scenes and declamatory […]