The World Is Too Much With Us
I present you with a poem by William Wordsworth. The World Is Too Much With Us The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and...
Lisa Hutchins
Jan 13, 20241 min read
18
1
Geese Make the Best Watch Dogs
Word comes that a prison in Brazil has decided to use a gaggle of geese to help prevent prison breaks. The geese patrol a green space...
Lisa Hutchins
Jan 2, 20241 min read
14
0
My Favorite Films About Ancient Rome
Here are four of my favorites. I've saved the best for last. (Trigger warning: all feature extreme violence.) The 1959 version of Ben-Hur...
Lisa Hutchins
Dec 26, 20232 min read
15
0
Why the Romans Feared and Hated Germanic People
Tough as they were, Roman soldiers considered Germanic tribes to be otherworldly, uncivilized, and unspeakably savage. This excellent...
Lisa Hutchins
Dec 20, 20231 min read
24
0
In My Next Lifetime
Sure ain't gonna happen in this lifetime, but I swear the goal won't get by me in the next one. "All the Wild Horses," a superb film...
Lisa Hutchins
Dec 18, 20231 min read
11
0
What Was Awe Inspiring About Rome? Part 2: Freedom of Religion (*for the most part)
Because those of us in the Western world are used to hearing stories about Christians being fed to the lions, perhaps we can't imagine...
Lisa Hutchins
Dec 9, 20233 min read
16
0
What Was Awe Inspiring About Rome? Part 1: Persistence
Contrary to popular belief, the Romans got defeated plenty of times on the battlefield. But here's what made Rome different from other...
Lisa Hutchins
Dec 8, 20232 min read
15
0
Thank Heaven for the Rise of Punctuation
IFYOUWERELIVINGINROMANTIMESYOUDHAVETOWRITELIKETHISALLTHETIME Imagine having to read the text above. This is what you'd be facing if you...
Lisa Hutchins
Oct 24, 20232 min read
10
0
Noise and Vandalism
This guy. For the last two nights, this lovesick fellow has been just outside our house bugling all night long, seriously disturbing my...
Lisa Hutchins
Oct 6, 20232 min read
12
0
The Worst of Rome
Not many goody two-shoes back in the days of ancient Rome, especially before the coming of Christianity. Here are, in my opinion, the...
Lisa Hutchins
Sep 26, 20235 min read
26
0
Bird Brain: The Emperor Who Loved Chickens
Think you've got a good thing going with your backyard chickens? You probably don't have anything on Emperor Honorius. Most historians...
Lisa Hutchins
Sep 25, 20232 min read
31
0
Pony Up: When Roman Horses Were Small
Take a look at the Roman charioteer above with one of his horses, from a 3rd century mosaic tile. Notice how the man's head is level with...
Lisa Hutchins
Sep 18, 20233 min read
51
0
Going Berserk
Whether the berserker is beneath humanity as an animal, above it as a god, or both, he is cut off from all human community when he is in...
Lisa Hutchins
Sep 11, 20232 min read
11
0
Jerk Drivers Have Always Been Jerks
See this? Here's a guy speeding through Pompeii's city streets, about to splash these women with dirty water and mud. Maybe he's got...
Lisa Hutchins
Sep 4, 20231 min read
8
0
No Stirrups for You, Rome
Did the Romans use stirrups on horseback? Um, no--not in the West, anyway. Although you commonly see riders using stirrups in movies...
Lisa Hutchins
Aug 28, 20232 min read
0
0
Romans Were OK with Homosexuality...For the Most Part
With ancient Rome, the issue--when there was one--was in the details. Read on. Before Christianity, homosexuality was commonly practiced...
Lisa Hutchins
Aug 21, 20232 min read
7
0
Modern Gladiatorial Combat
Competitive team sports are strangely similar to ancient stadium fighting (see second image below). Minus the tiger, of course--unless...
Lisa Hutchins
Jul 31, 20231 min read
1
0
The Baleful Dog Star
"Blazing as the star that cometh forth at Harvest-time, shining forth amid the host of stars in the darkness of the night, the star whose...
Lisa Hutchins
Jul 29, 20232 min read
11
0
How the Collared Dove Conquered America
As I write this in late July, a pair of Eurasian collared doves are calling in my backyard. They've raised a family in the trees behind...
Lisa Hutchins
Jul 23, 20232 min read
15
0
Horse Takes a Sabbatical for Eight Years, Returns Home as if Nothing Happened
Photo by the Bureau of Land Management via Wikipedia You have to love this story. Eight years ago, Shane Adams of Utah was camping in the...
Lisa Hutchins
Jul 10, 20231 min read
9
0