Tag Archives: Latin

‘Pie Zeses’: Toasting To A New Year

Another year of blogging is almost in the proverbial books and I must say that while 2016 was a wretched year socio-politically, it was professionally quite satisfying. My first book, Trade and Taboo was published and I even began writing for Forbes regularly. There is no doubt that I have much to be thankful for asContinue reading “‘Pie Zeses’: Toasting To A New Year”

Hail, Caesar: A Classicist’s Movie Review

It is about 43 minutes since we got out of seeing ‘Hail, Caesar!’, the Coen brothers’ new movie about a Tinseltown film studio during the 1950s. I enjoyed the film immensely, and, well, I have some frayed, butter stained theater napkin notes about the multiple classical allusions in the film. Before we get to the allusions, let’s talkContinue reading “Hail, Caesar: A Classicist’s Movie Review”

Using Graphic Language: A Short History of Figure Poems

I miss Milwaukee sometimes. On warmer nights, I used to run along Lake Michigan and wait for the sunset, before jogging home to work on the book. One of the best things about those runs was looking at sculpture against the backdrop of the Wisconsin sunset. What always caught my eye was a piece by Catalan artist JaumeContinue reading “Using Graphic Language: A Short History of Figure Poems”

Either Urine or You’re Out: Epigraphy and Graveyard Etiquette

‘Hic’ inquis ‘veto quisquam faxit oletum.’ Pinge duos anguis ‘pueri, sacer est locus, extra meiite.’ Discedo. — Persius, Sat. 1.112-114. You say, “I forbid anyone to take a shit here!” Paint two snakes. “Boys, this is a sacred place, piss outside.” I depart. In Persius’ Satires, the hallowed land upon which a tomb was built is used as a metaphor for theContinue reading “Either Urine or You’re Out: Epigraphy and Graveyard Etiquette”

CFP: Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity XI

The Transformation of Poverty, Philanthropy, and Healthcare in Late Antiquity The Society for Late Antiquity announces that the eleventh biennial Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity conference will take place at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA, March 26-29, 2015. The period of Late Antiquity (A.D. 200-700) witnessed great changes in respect to attitudes towardsContinue reading “CFP: Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity XI”