BLOGGING: Fashion in Canada

Anders Bell, amicus noster who runs "phluzein" mentioned the article about Greek influence and fashion which we also saw, to wit:

Fashion has also turned toga: Gucci mounted a “Goddess” exhibition at New York’s Met on the timelessness of classical dress; Dior, Givency, Versace and Jean Paul Gaultier have all designed clothes harking back to ancient Greece, as do the creations of Paris-based Athenian Sophia Kokosalaki, with warrior-influenced tunics trendy for fall.

AB then adds:

Call me conservative if you wish, but somehow I don't think "warrior-influenced tunics" will be appearing on the streets of Canada this fall.

Alas, AB clearly doesn't have a wife who subscribes to Flare (or if he does, she doesn't leave it lying around in the bathroom where the Maclean's should be). Check out this item from the Fall Fashion Trends issue:

cf. this Herakles, courtesy of the Perseus Project:

The sad thing is I found the Flare image much quicker than the Herakles ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 8:58:37 PM::
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NUNTII: Latin Teacher Gets National Educator Award!

Congrats to Clyde Lehmann:

The drum roll reverberated in the cafeteria, the envelope was opened, and Clyde Lehmann's body jolted when he heard his name called.

In what has been dubbed the Oscars of Teaching, Lehmann, a Latin teacher at Health Careers High School, nabbed the gold statuette, or in this case, an unrestricted check for $25,000 from the Milken Family Foundation.

There were tears, a standing ovation and a speech with lots of thank yous this afternoon, but unlike the Academy Awards, Lehmann, 38, had no idea he'd been nominated.

“It's absolutely overwhelming,” he said, clearly in shock. “I need time to let it all sink in.”

Lehmann is among 100 unsuspecting teachers and principals around the country being bestowed this month with the National Educator Award. No one applies for the honor. Instead, state education departments appoint a committee to recommend outstanding candidates.

“You don't find us, we find you,” said Lowell Milken, who founded the foundation with his brother Michael in California.

More ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 8:30:22 PM::
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CHATTER: Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving a few days away in Canada and similar celebrations soon to be happening elsewhere, folks might want to try to find some Classical connection they can impose on students. One such connection is with stuffing (so to speak), as seen in the JTA news, which has a feature on Sukkot recipes:

“In the Hellenistic world of Greek and Roman dominance, stuffed foods were prominent features at banquets,” says Corrie Norman, Chair of the Department of Religion and Director of the Rome Program at Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. Filling an already full-looking food, such as a fig, was a double way of indicating celebration and abundance. A common sweet throughout the Sephardic Middle East is a nut-filled date.

“Jews picked up on and advanced the significance and artistry of celebratory stuffed foods,” says Norman. “For example in modern Rome, stuffed fried vegetables are associated with Jewish origins.” This group of recipes is called “alla Giudia,” or in the Jewish style. While this vegetable stuffing technique has fused with Roman cuisine, its name credits its Jewish origin.

The whole thing ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 8:11:17 PM::
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CHATTER: What to Do With A Classics Degree

This time, it's Patrick Meehan:

During his two-year tenure as the region's top law- enforcement official, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan's office has indicted dozens of public employees, including at least six political figures.

[...]

He was first a jock. He grew up in Cheltenham, played ice hockey, quarterbacked the football team and played third base at Chestnut Hill Academy.

He continued playing sports at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he majored in classics and government, and was a registered Democrat. The political bug bit him for good when he volunteered for the campaign of a local mayoral candidate.

The whole piece ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 8:06:33 PM::
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CHATTER: British Museum Tricentennial

A few weeks ago in "explorator" we mentioned that the Royal Mail (UK) was coming out with a set of stamps to help celebrate the tricentennial of the British Museum. Now rogueclassicism reader LK has sent me a monster url (thanks! honest!) with the Royal Mail's site for the things. Just to whet the appetite, here's the rather handsome set:

For more info on the various ways once might purchase these (the postcard pack looks like it has potential), click here ... (warning, the site seems realllllllllllly slow)

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 7:45:37 PM::
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RESPONSE: From BMCR

One of the reasons I like the Bryn Mawr Classical Review so much is that it gives authors an opportunity to respond to a review of their work therein. The most recent example of this is in regards to Matthew Wright's review of:

Marianne McDonald, The Living Art of Greek Tragedy

... which we mentioned last week. Here's Marianne McDonald's response ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 7:19:29 PM::
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THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem vii idus octobres

• rites in honour of Genius Publicus
• rites in honour of Fausta Felicitas
• rites in honour of Venus Victrix
• ludi Augustales scaenici (day 5 -- from 11-19 A.D. and post
  23 A.D.)
• ludi Augustales scaenici (day 7 -- from 19-23 A.D.)
• 28 B.C. -- dedication of the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine
  and associated rites thereafter) -- Augustus credited Apollo
  with his victory at Actium and honoured him accordingly

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 5:59:09 AM::
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THINKING OUT LOUD: 'Table Talk'

As folks probably have experienced first hand, scanning newspapers and websites via various search engine usually turns up more noise than signal. This bit of 'noise' however, is interesting for other reasons. A Christian magazine called Sojourners has a section called Table Talk, wherein they suggest a handful of topics which a group might use to have an intellectual discussion around dessert vel simm. based on articles in the magazine. There's a list of further resources as well ... see this month's issue for what I'm referring to (apologies for ending the sentence with a preposition).

This strikes me as a very useful outreach model which Classicists could exploit ... more thought is needed on implementation, though. Suggestions welcome ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 5:35:54 AM::
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EDITORIAL: David Klinghoffer

David Klinghoffer has written a piece for Forward magazine suggesting Jews and conservative Christians should be allies in the fight against radical Islam. The center of his argument runs:

However, amid my delight at the turn of events I'm compelled to note that when going into a sharp turn, a safe driver will tap a little on the brakes. The present scenario, with conservative Christians welcoming Jews as fellow defenders of civilization against radical Islam and looking forward to the rebuilding of the Temple, rings a historical bell.

You may remember the name of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate (331-363 C.E.). He was a nephew of the emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor of Rome. Raised a Christian, Julian reverted passionately and publicly back to the old pagan religion. In his day many conservative pagans, not yet Christianized, had come to see Judaism as an ally against the radical new religion that threatened to undermine and effeminize Roman civilization. Emperor Julian took this view.

As Christian sources report, in 362 he called together Jewish representatives from Syria and Asia Minor to tell them he intended to strike against the Christian faith by rebuilding the Temple. Jews blew shofars in celebration and flocked to the ruined holy city. But then an earthquake destroyed the construction work that had already been undertaken on the Temple Mount, causing gases trapped under the platform to explode in flame. Meanwhile, Julian himself was killed in battle against Persia. That was the end of Jewish hopes that the Temple would stand again thanks to Roman patronage, and a terrible mourning ensued.

Here's the rest ... I wonder how many readers answered positively to the 'You may remember Julian the Apostate' suggestion ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 5:21:19 AM::
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REVIEW: Norma

There are several reviews of this opera this a.m., but the one with the best description of what it's all about (for uninitiated and initiated alike) is in the Washington Post:

"Norma" is a gloomy piece of work, but good gloomy, like a midwinter wallow in therapeutic self-pity. It is a tale of illicit Roman-guy-on-druid-gal action, set in a chilly forest of primeval Europe. Norma, the high priestess of a druid cult with an appallingly low retention rate, has broken her vows and sired two children with the Roman proconsul Pollione, a greasy scamp who is about to leave her for another priestess, Adalgisa. Norma is imperious, beautiful, vulnerable, given to high pique and murderous thoughts just shy of Medea's.

The rest ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 5:14:38 AM::
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CHATTER: That U.S.-as-Rome Thing reredux

Evidence that if you say something often enough, people will automatically think of it (Classicists have to find a way to positively exploit this). Reaction is now coming in, of course, to the election of the Gubernator, and the Times-Picayune has inter alia, this:

"I'm just not happy at all," said Marina Angel, a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia who specializes in sexual assault and harassment issues.

"I keep thinking about the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and I see the selection of an ex-gladiator as governor," Angel said.

Er ... wouldn't that apply better to Jesse Ventura?? The Guardian seems to have a somewhat more positive spin (I think ...):

California's recall election provided a great spectacle, a Roman circus that gave the thumbs-down to the old order and raised a new champion.

I suspect we'll be seeing more analogies over the next few hours ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 5:10:40 AM::
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DMS: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown, 29, was a Latin Teacher at St. Bernard's High School in Fitchburg (Ma). The Sentinel and Enterprise has a report ...

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 4:54:59 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Tonight

4.00 p.m. |DISCC| Vesuvius: Deadly Fury
"Remains of 300 skeletons found huddled in 12 vaults on the
beach at Herculaneum offer a unique chance to reconstruct life
in the 1st century AD; computer graphics re-create the eruption
of Vesuvius in 79 AD."

7.00 p.m. |HINT| The Rise of Christianity: The First 1000
Years, Pt. 2
"Covers the years between 312 AD, when the Emperor Constantine
converted to Christianity, and 461 AD, when Rome "fell" to the
barbarian Goths. They were heady days that saw the birth of the
monastic movement, the codification of the faith, and creation
of the New Testament canon as we recognize it today."

DISCC = Discovery Channel (Canadian version)

HINT = History International

::Thursday, October 09, 2003 4:46:30 AM::
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