LAST POST

Slow night ... so let's go to Sotheby's and take a gander at a First Century B.C./B.C.E. piece which is probably best titled What the heck was the artist thinking?

The catalog page really doesn't help much ...

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 9:08:43 PM::
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GOSSIP: Assorted Movie Stuff

A couple of  snippets from various sources:

Several issues may prevent Kilmer from playing Smith. One is the actor's schedule; Kilmer is slated to play Philip of Macedonia in "Alexander," Oliver Stone's epic biography of Alexander the Great. Another is the daunting task of playing a noted religious figure.

 

You know you've reached the top when you're asked to be the face of the world's most well-known and classic perfume. Nicole Kidman has the honor, being signed by Chanel to represent the image of Chanel No 5. The Oscar-winning actress will star in a TV commercial and print campaign for the iconic fragrance brand.Jacques Helleu, artistic director for Chanel who is responsible for the worldwide responsibility for the No 5 advertising campaigns, has asked film maker Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom), to conceive, direct and produce the campaign for Chanel. Luhrmann is currently in pre-production on Alexander the Great.

And as an added treat, here's the 'teaser poster' for the upcoming Troy flick, courtesy of Comingsoon.net (Click on the latter for links to production photos, a trailer, and more ... I'll probably post some of this in the coming days). Keep pressing reload if it doesn't come up ... it's kind of wonky tonight (must be the solar flares).

[I've removed the image as it does not seem to want to come up; try the above link ... I'll see if I can find a more reliable source]

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 8:57:06 PM::
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THIS DAY IN ANCIENT HISTORY

ante diem iv kalendas novembres

• ludi Victoriae Sullanae (day 4)
• 310 A.D. -- martyrdom of (the rather obscure) Zenobius at Antioch (or Tyre) during the Galerian persecution

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:52:02 AM::
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CHATTER: Obscure Ancient Divinity Watch

I'd never heard of Mormo before (guess I should have read Aristophanes a bit more closely)... from the Visalia Time-Delta's list of assorted scary monsters from different cultures:

"Mormo" is werewolf-like and began tormenting ancient Rome after her own children were abducted.

While I can't find any references to Mormo's children being abducted or werewolf-like (other than repeated claims that she bites naughty children), she does seem to fall into that category of scary  creature along with the Empousai and Lamiae.

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:40:46 AM::
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PERFORMANCE: The Odyssey

This is potentially different ... a group from the University of South Carolina will be performing Book One of the Odyssey ...

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:09:28 AM::
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CHATTER: Roma Redux

Louisa Pearson in the Scotsman wonders about the resurging popularity of things Roman on the small screen:

WE MIGHT think of it as the eternal lure of the eternal city. Wherever there are swords and sandals, there is a TV producer imagining a guaranteed ratings winner. Forget sex, it’s beginning to feel that Rome sells more of it than anything else.

[...]

The politics of ancient Rome continue to intrigue, but it’s the arena that is returned to again and again. The Romans’ first gladiatorial games are thought to have been held in 246BC by Marcus and Decimus Brutus. Slaves, prisoners and criminals spent almost the next seven centuries providing entertainment for the crowds in ever-more elaborate settings. The ultimate goal was to win their freedom. Earlier this year, boxers Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn were taken to the Otia Antica Gladiator Camp in Rome by TV channel Five, where they underwent training before fighting in true gladiatorial style. They didn’t have to fend off attacks from lions or tigers, but the match betrayed our continuing fascination with gory spectacle. You need only watch an episode of Wife Swap or Big Brother to see that a modern audience derives a great deal of pleasure from watching competitors trapped in an enclosed space, fighting to survive - even if nowadays it’s more likely to be psychological warfare. But would we ever sanction a return to the gladiatorial arena? A solution for overcrowding in prisons, perhaps?

As Frankie Howerd said in Up Pompeii, titter ye not. But for the moment at least, the values of Rome remain consigned to the small screen.

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:05:11 AM::
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CHATTER: Hallowe'en Advice

By now, I'm sure everyone has seen costume advice in their local newspaper, perhaps even something like this from Tufts Daily:

All you need is a sheet and a safety pin to bring the fervor of Greek symposiums to your Halloween feast. Simply fold the sheet in half diagonally, then start with one corner on your shoulder and proceed to wrap it around your body and back up to your shoulder again, where you can secure it with the aforementioned safety pin (or duct tape, if you want to maintain that "I'm-a-college-student-and-I-did-this-at-the-last-minute" sort of look).
    If you're feeling especially creative, you can utilize the fruits of autumn and collect some leaves up on the academic quad to use as a crown -- just twine a couple of pipe cleaners together, arrange the leafs to your liking by striking the stems between the pipe cleaners, and tuck the ends around your ears. Enjoy dead Romans? Make some red Jell-O, melt it in the microwave, and then once it's cool enough to touch, slather away. With all those assassinated emperors, there are plenty of modes of death to choose from.

You gotta like the gang at Tufts, though ... they go that one extra step:

Or, of course, if you want to show off how much you love our Classics Department, add an attribute or two (a stuffed animal for Artemis, a peacock feather for Juno, a tin foil thunderbolt for Zeus, a cheap plastic cup full of beer for Dionysus...oh, wait) and make everyone try and guess which god you are.

If you're looking for a list of attributes -- and who isn't? --  Laurel Bowman's Classical Myth pages have a nice list ...

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:56:42 AM::
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AWOTV: On TV Today

8.00 p.m. |DISCU| Peter: Jesus' Fisherman
"In Galilee, experts examine the archeological evidence
surrounding the lives of early fishermen, like Peter. A leading
psychologist explains how such a man made the transition from
entrepreneur to martyred leader of the Christian Church leader."

8.00 p.m. |DCIVC| Lost Treasures of the Ancient World: Jerusalem
dna

9.00 p.m. |DISCU| Who Was Paul?
"After Jesus' death, Paul turned a minor Jewish sect into a
world religion. Follow the dramatic life and death story of the
man who defied all the odds to plant the seeds of Christianity
across the Mediterranean."

9.00 p.m. |HINT| Time Team: Cirencester
"Around 1,700 years ago, Corinium--modern day Cirencester--was
the second-most important city in Roman Britain after Londinium.
By about 300 AD, it had developed into a bustling, wealthy city.
Time Team was drawn to Cirencester by the opportunity to
excavate in the gardens of a number of properties near the
center of old Corinium. Though it has been said that you can't
put a shovel into the ground in Cirencester without unearthing
Roman relics, Time Team adds their 2-spades worth!"

10.00 p.m. |DISCU| Mary: Mother of Jesus
"Investigate the life of Mary, the mother of the man believed
by many to be the Son of God. Take a closer look into living
conditions at the beginning of the first century; what life
would have been like for a Jewish girl growing up under Roman
rule."

DISCU = Discovery Channel (US)

HINT = History International

DCIVC = Discovery Civilization (Canada)

::Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:49:07 AM::
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