Comments

• Anne is a Man · May 31, 2010 · 12:59 am

  Again a great show. Yours is an outstanding and remarkable addition to the realm of history podcasts.
  I have written a review on my blog: http://anneisaman.blogspot.com/2010/05/time-travel-is-easy-history-is-hard.html
• Michele · October 20, 2010 · 7:03 pm

  Thank you for your podcasts, again. First, thanks for the mention in the Spartacus episode where you mentioned the various slave uprisings in the US- my parents actually made sure I learned black history, so I’m familiar with some of these incidents. However it was great that you brought them up and drew the parallel about how just as the Romans covered up uncomfortable truths, so do we.
  I’d also like to comment on you episode on triumphs. It brought tears to my eyes when you mentioned the Vietnam War parade and the way the Pentagon opens for wounded soldiers each month. Even though I’m against this war and I question the Pentagon’s willingness to properly protect our troops, I found your words very touching.
  I’m listening to all of your extant broadcasts in one night. My BF listened to part of the Spartacus episode over the speakerphone, and he loved it. Thank you!
  The episode where you played a segment of the emergency report on the World Trade Center was disturbing for me, because I have PTSD. I think it was good of you to play it- history is rarely pretty- but it brought back horrible memories of that day. I was actually downtown when it happened, and up until now I didn’t really know what it sounded like for those who were getting reports. I can tell you that unlike in Pompeii, some of us who were downtown couldn’t run- the crowds were too thick. We really had no understanding of what was going on. We could hear car radios with reports, but many of us didn’t know that both towers were hit until later in the day when we could finally see down the west side of the island. For many of us, a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky gives us the chills- I wonder if survivors of Vesuvius got the horrors on a regular basis, too? They probably did.
  Which leads us back to the idea of a triumph. Soldiers and sailors get triumphs. Sports teams do, after a fashion. Famous explorers and scientists used to- they don’t seem to anymore, more’s the pity. But every year in New york we have two parades that might be thought of as victory marches for the common people- the Caribbean Day Parade in Brooklyn (the largest parade in New York), celebrating the contributions of the peoples of the Caribbean; and the LGBT March in Manhattan, which features a moment of silence for those who have fallen to AIDS and hate crimes, and always has grand marshals who have done something for the gay and lesbian community. This past year Lt. Dan Choi was honored at numerous Pride marches and parades around the country- seeing him in NYC was amazing, especially the way people cheered, called his name, and even teared up. Both of these parades are unusual in that anyone can join in and march; the parties and events surrounding them take place over days and even weeks. At Pride, the ‘bad’ guys are booed and the ‘good’ guys are cheered, favorite songs are played and sung, and the whole thing reflects the ordered way many of us would like to see every day in the real world- just like a Roman triumph.
• 

  Rob · October 25, 2010 · 6:36 am

  Thanks for the insights, and for taking my original observations into new and interesting directions. Please…and I’m serious…feel free now and in the future to submit your thoughts. I am working on the next podcast: “I’m the Emperor and You’re Not.” It has taking me longer than I hoped and unfortunately I had a death in the family.

  Just a general thought about doing Ancient Rome Refocused…I have been taking my time on each new podcast, because I realise the mere act of putting my opinion out there opens me up to comment. I do not hold any delusions that people will agree with me all the time, but I am hoping that if people think i’m ‘off-base’ they will care enough to write the blog and give their view of the world. Like I said…”We learn from each other” and I hoping ‘discussions’ will build on knowledge.

  Your entries have been very insightful for me and I hope for others, and I have appreciated your comments (this is what I hoped for the blog to be where people feel confortable enough to share what is important to them).
  Hope you are well and thanks for sharing.
• Michele · November 3, 2010 · 1:01 pm

  You’re welcome!
  Sorry about the death- that’s always a hard thing.
  I happen to love the way you tell stories- it’s like being at a campfire and having someone weave the tale. And I don’t think you are off-base at all.
  I’m sitting here at my computer with the BF on speakerphone. He has an ‘official’ warrior background (ROTC Army Airbourne Ranger; was a merc against his will in Chad under weird circumstances), and I’ve been a fencer. Both of us more or less follow the Japanese warrior code, so a lot of what you say resonates for us. The Romans make sense to me in a lot of ways. Even the whole gladiatorial game thing- our society is not that far off from that. In a sense we’ve made it virtual through games like Grand Theft Auto, Left 4 Dead, et alia. Is this healthier? Who knows.
  Again, on triumphs. Gay Pride in New York, SF and other majotr cities is very much like a triumph. The Grand Marshals aren’t just pretty faces- they represent something that has happened in the past year or so, and are the embodiment of the communal victory over the enemy (i.e., people who hate gays and wish them harm in some way). You have to picture people who are ordinarily feared by gay and lesbian society- military figures, the police, politicians, religious leaders- being both skewered (when they are malicious) and valorized) when they are helpful) in the same parade.
  Here is what our local Triumph is like.

  The first thing you hear is a loud rumble, that builds and builds. The crowd, already restless, starts to cheer and yell. Just as it seems as if you’ll go deaf, you see the first group; they are the Dykes on Bikes, accompanied by gay male motorcycle groups. The cycles purr and roar as women in riding leathers go by, followed by men. The DOB are always given primacy of place. The crowd goes wild as balloon arches go by. People in buildings peer out their windows and some of them throw confetti and kisses. People in costume walk past and wave at the crowd. Then one hears the bagpipes of the NYC Police marching band, signaling that the gay organizations within the police, fire, and corrections departments are coming past. Usually these are people viewed as the enemy, but today, they are our heroes. They strut beautifully in formation, looking amazing in their dress uniforms. There’s usually a float or two, and then the grand marshals come. This year we had Dan Choi (in his dress greens! He was so handsome!), Judy Shepard (Matthew Shepard’s mother), and Constance McMillen (the girl who fought to bring a female date to her prom). People always cry and shout when they see the various grand marshals. Parents of gays are especially popular, since many LGBT people have been rejected by their families.
  Eventually the real heroes of the day pass. In a trolley bus comes the Heroes of Stonewall. These are the few remaining men and women who rioted at the Stonewall Inn, kicking off the modern Gay Rights movement. They are preceded by SAGE, the gay seniors group, which reminds people of all those who sacrificed their dignity and sometimes even lives for this day to happen.
  There are various units like religious groups (Dignity, the gay Catholic group always gets cheers), local politicains (woe to any pol who wants to win NYC and doesn’t march), corporate groups (Delta and Google have tons of gay employees who give away nifty items, and Macy’s allows their employees to bring a star balloon or two), and bars (lots of floats with go-go boys and girls). The various groups from the local Gay and Lesbian Community Services Centers always have floats (Center Kids is always surrounded by happy gay parents with kids in strollers, and the Hetrick -Martin Institute for gay youth always has sweet-faced teens who get lots of parental love from the crowd). One of the most loved groups is PFLaG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. People have been known to go over the barriers to hug these people.
  ‘Bad’ people and concepts are often represented by people in costume, or by posters carried by marchers. They are roundly booed. In years past, St. Patrick’s Cathedral had a barrier around the front on Pride Day, and the doors would be locked, as marchers went by yelling ‘shame, shame’ and wagging their fingers in disapproval.
  As the parade snakes downtown, it passes an Episcopal and a Lutheran church where members and the pastor (in full regalia) hand out cups of water to thirsty marchers and bless the parade. The march moves onto Christopher Street, into the heart of the West Village, where there’s barely a barrier between Marcher and crowd. Revellers hang out of windows, and the dancers in the march get more wild in their movements. Every aspect of the gay community is represented, from Buddhists to leathermen, and they all move towards the Christopher Street pier, which is still a cruising ground on some nights. But this night there’s a festival and dance that lasts into the wee hours. The local bars fill with people celebrating, the restaurants are jammed, and hawkers sell all kinds of beads, flags and t-shirts to commemorate the day. What has been building for the entire month of June in the form of lectures, parties, dances, rallies, art exhibits, and other celebrations explodes in this one day, and then goes underground for another year. All the favorite songs are played (I Will Survive and We are Family being the two big favorites) and everyone has a good time except for the protestors, whose numbers get smaller every year.
• 

  Rob · November 5, 2010 · 5:23 am

  I just had a thought. Is there any chance could YOU could review the movie AGORA? The movie is about a famous woman in ancient times. If you like it great, if not …that’s fine too.