Monday, April 16, 2007

Anthropometrics For A Table

Brewer and stove: the feminists at the stake

Feminists of all stripes have managed the unthinkable challenge of restoring dignity to women who were, for centuries, considered very inferior to men. Their struggle has brought fruit, and I say this with great happiness. Nobody doubts today that the woman is quite the equal of man.
But in our European and Western society, it is fighting a rearguard quite useless puff of energy for nothing and those who make ridiculous (especially those) who are fighting.
An example? The feminization of job titles, imposed not by use, but by politicians. Great thinkers stand against this nonsense. And Jacqueline de Romilly, in an interview published this week in Le Vif L'Express said to be hostile to this feminization. Imagine
all possible meanings of this simple sentence:
" He took the coffee pot on the stove "

Southland Leisure Center H

Politically correct, politically incorrect

If I tell a black, a Moroccan Jew, a homosexual he is dumb or stupid, for simply because he is black, Moroccan, Jewish, homosexual, it is obvious that I show myself a racist, xenophobic, antisemitic, homophobic. I reject that attitude and that I condemn in the strongest possible.
But if that same Black, Moroccan, Jewish, homosexual is really dumb or stupid, why can not I say it loud and clear? To believe that one can not say someone is stupid or silly if it is white, European, Christian and heterosexual.
Where is the line between the politically correct and politically incorrect?

Postscript: As said Groucho Marx, " if you do not like my opinion, I have to Autès .

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Waldorf Style Doll Pattern

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Everyone knows, next Sunday is held the first round of presidential elections in France. Two candidates stand out slightly in the polls: plague and cholera. I mean, Segolene Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy. In fact, I pity my French friends: choosing between those two, it looks like a tour de force. Between the candidate ex-interior minister discourse hyper secure and ultimately xénophoble, and Pepsodent smile candidate with no real conviction, the French will suffer in the next five years ...
Unless a third candidate will come to everybody agrees. But I'm not sure that this could be: ray outset Jean-Marie Le Pen (recall his accession to the second round in 2002). Bayrou remains, but it is deemed quite soft. In French citizens
weapons, choose well (well, it is especially for you that I say, because in Belgium, frankly, we just know that hot govern France for five years ...).

Biggest Indians Boobs

God, angels and Other

Dear friends, I
decided to change the name of my blog. The rantings of a philologist become God, angels and other . Reassure you, no trend is Leonardesque not the case (phew, saved!), But only a desire to be more visible on the web (thank you Google ...).
look forward to reading your comments, please give me your opinion on this new title and perhaps other suggestions??

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Best Upconverting Bluray Player 2010

"Mom, I want to be an emperor" Nero's character romances historical reality or fantasy writer?

The origin of this development is the publication in February 2001, the latest novel by Francoise Xenakis , "Mom, I want to be emperor , which prompted an outcry among many critics keen to historical authenticity.

The purpose of this paper is therefore to observe Nero through several novels and try to trace the origins of this ancient character, to answer the question: Neros presented in these novels, they a historical reality or are they a fantasy writers?

To paint a romantic portrait of Nero, I examined six novels, from Quo vadis , the oldest to the most recent "Mom, I want to be emperor , including of course the 2 novels by Pierre Grimal and also by Hubert and Jean Monteilhet Diwo (at least the first 5 chapters of his Dinners Calpurnia).

Firstly, the novel time Neronian most famous is undoubtedly that of Henryk Sienkiewicz , whose first edition appeared in 1896. And to understand that Nero is in this novel, I suggest you remove the image of Peter Ustinov in the film inspired by Sienkiewicz.

But in this book, already discussed by JN Michaud in 1999, the character of Nero is foremost an artist: poet, singer, stage actor, charioteer.

Nero is also the one who, or indirectly through his soul damned Tigellinus, was burned Rome in order to realize his dreams architecture. Early in the novel, however, Nero is less present at the end. Indeed, its role in the novel continues to grow in importance. In the final pages, we can say that the main character Quo vadis , it's him.

As said Michaud, a portrait of Nero, when he first appears in the novel is in Chapter 51 of Suetonius. All the rest of the character of Nero in Quo Vadis is also based almost entirely on Suetonius.

Another important element, always stressed by Michaud, is the monstrous character of Nero. But according to Michaud, Nero " wanted to be not only an actor, but a tragic figure, one of those serious criminals beyond humanity "(P.294). According to Michaud, " the tyrant is one who goes out of humanity, so he has made major transgressions of the imperatives that define humanity " (p.296). Nero does not act randomly, he methodically and deliberately violates the natural order (eg the assassination of his mother). This is to be compared with the taste of Nero for drama and staging. There is, moreover, " in several crimes of Nero a theatrical side, an aspect of staging " (p.296). Michaud said that " the fire of Rome is a wonderful spectacle and martyrdom of Christians is a matter of staging "(p.298).

Monteilhet Hubert's novel, although it is subtitled Roman times as Neronian Quo vadis , alas, is an entirely different order. Indeed, the author indulges in a low floor and vulgarity in the description of some shocking scenes vaguely erotic does not worth the trouble some attention.

Nero But what this does ?

First, Nero loves beauty. Early age, he has an inordinate taste for theater, Greek lyric poetry, the chariot races. He has an artistic temperament, a sense of undeniable drama.

Monteilhet also incorporates some features of the Nero Sienkiewicz (as he himself acknowledges, by the way). For example, it is Tigellinus who instigated the burning of Rome.

Monteilhet Nero also a homosexual, is pleasing to note his preference for Sporus example, and placed in the center of his motives.

Finally, we must still recognize the quality of historical reconstructions, especially in terms of daily life: marriage, life of gladiators, popinae , ancestors of our fast food, etc.. Paradoxically, some historical figures, apart from Nero, are presented in more than fantasy: for example, that St. Paul's thorn in his flesh is not for Monteilhet a repressed homosexuality!

Of course, the sequence of events is well known historical and Monteilhet Suetonius and Tacitus, for example when he tells the youth of Nero in Lepida.

In summary, we can say Neropolis it is a novel two faces: one side entirely historical (political, everyday life ...) on the other hand, it presents a Nero caricatured extremes, that even Suetonius would have disowned him.

The two novels of Pierre Grimal, the Memoirs of Agrippina The Minutes and Nero, one suspects, are the historical facts as they really are peeled from what can be deduced from the documentation available to us.

In a warning to the reader (Memory , p.9), Grimal cites its ancient sources: Tacitus, Suetonius, Dio Cassius and also Seneca.

As Suetonius, he points out, for example, the cruelty of the biological father of Nero, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (p.113-114) and it will come back often. Grimal also incorporates the episode of sunshine burst from the sea and went enlighten Nero just born ( Memoirs, p.146). Other elements are still clearly inspired by Suetonius: the snake that moved into the home of Nero ( Memoirs, p.161), education of Nero in Lepida ( Memoirs, p.178-179), the Nero's last words ( Minutes, p. 282), etc..

Other episodes are inspired by Tacitus, knows that Pierre Grimal. For example, the sequence of events at the time of death Claude: fried mushrooms, Agrippina delaying the announcement of the death of Claudius, Nero comes to the Praetorians ...

These are the same sources, of course, in The Trial Nero , unlike that this novel also tells what happens after the death of Agrippina.

What to highlight in these two novels, not so much the historical facts, but rather the character Grimal attributed to Nero. A series of strokes are the same as that found by example, in Quo Vadis . We can insist that Nero wants to be like the heroes of yesteryear ( Minutes, p.49, 83, 109, 124-125, ...). Here we find also that Michaud said about Nero Quo vadis : the theatrical side, the staging of cruelty, disobedience etc..

In summary, the two novels are an attempt to Pierre Grimal, clever, it must be stressed, rehabilitate Nero, as Grimal tells itself through the narrator in Hermogenes The Minutes Nero (P.13): " It is unanimously considered guilty and sentenced in his absence, before judges misinformed, and yet no defender was able to speak . But it is not a pardon at any price: Grimal respects the historical facts, puts them in context and attempts to separate the wheat from the chaff: Nero is not the monster that has always making him (for example, it is not responsible for the burning of Rome, or the death of Britannicus), but it is not entirely the victim of Agrippina, Poppea and Tigellinus.

I must say a few words now Dinners Calpurnia Jean Diwo. One could say that this novel is in the same vein as those of Grimal, even if Nero only appears in the first 5 chapters of the book, the burning of Rome to the death of Nero (114 pages).

Jean Diwo also emphasizes the aesthetic tastes of Nero (eg, p.19), he emphasizes the love that Nero was the Roman people - and it made him well (p.24).

The author demolishes some fantasies, such as guilt Nero in Britannicus's death (p.27) or the burning of Rome (p.6-7) or in the death of Poppaea (p.68).

course Diwo also mentions the attraction exerted by Nero and Otho Sporus (p.44, 69, ...), and its ambitions as a poet, an actor, a charioteer, and finally the last words uttered by Nero.

In short, that this John Diwo Nero is very "historical", but, like the Nero of Grimal, it is at the level of individual history, not just History.

The Nero Francoise Xenakis has absolutely nothing in common with that which we know through Tacitus, Suetonius and the modern historical works.

The title " Mommy I want to be emperor " foreshadows what kind of character he is: a child still in the grip of a possessive mother who can only live through his son and continues to influence him even after she died.

Criticism was also not kind to the novel (eg Eric Ollivier in Le Figaro 1 st February 2001). It must be said that Fr Xenakis, like Monteilhet, abounds in details scabrous " with one eye and an innkeeper language" (E. Ollivier). However, in my opinion, his freedom as a writer led her to take too many liberties with history, even if all these historical events are: death of Claudius, Britannicus ...

Just read the 4 th front page and we have a clearer view of what it is: " Mom, this is what I want to be later, in order: charioteer, dancer, singer, shepherd in Greece or be part of a theater. There. In any case, no emperor, please, Mom. Nero . Xenakis Nero offers a neurotic, persecuted by her mother in dire need of love and tenderness. According to Xenakis, Nero is a nice boy who learns to lie to as large and do not be arguing with her mother. It's the wicked Agrippina, mother invasive which has a score to the nature that has made woman and that prevents him from reigning.

All events are replayed by Xenakis in this unique perspective and blind.

What is worse is that Fr Xenakis based on supposedly scientific works, such as Nero Saint Jean-Charles Pichon (1962, reissued in 1971 under the title Nero and the mystery of Christian origins ), making Nero a Christian! ! ! Xenakis said: " work [...] Andre Wauthier [...] show, and there are others that we know of Nero's life is a tissue of lies and falsifications, but the strength of the Roman Church is a compact force, heavy as a leaden, and it's bad form to try to save from oblivion Nero and backbiting "(p.13).

In conclusion, answer the question with which I began my focus is not easy. Indeed, nobody can deny that every novelist has forged the Nero that best matched their expectations, aspirations, goals as a writer. However, we can distinguish two categories of authors:

· First, those who, if you pardon the expression, "fantasize" really (Monteilhet and Xenakis);

· then those trying to restore some historical truth (Grimal and Diwo).

And Quo vadis? This novel is and will remain unclassifiable, a kind of "airy momumentum perennius " ...

Romans studied:

Henryk Sienkiewicz , Quo Vadis ... Roman times Neronian , preface by Henry de Montherlant , Paris, Le Livre de Poche, No. 3161, 1970.

Hubert Monteilhet , Neropolis. Roman times Neronian , Paris, France Loisirs, 1984.

Pierre Grimal , Memoirs of Agrippina , Paris, Editions De Fallois, 1992.

Pierre Grimal , Trial Nero , Paris, Editions De Fallois, 1995.

Jean Diwo , Dinners Calpurnia, Éditions J'ai lu, No. 4539, 1996.

Francoise Xenakis , Mom, I want to be emperor , Paris, Albin Michel, 2001.

Bibliographical Notes:

C. Aziza, "A Century fiction novel about Nero (1895-1996) ", in JM Croisille , R. Martin, Y. Perrin (ed), Neronia V. Nero: History and Legend , Proceedings of the V th International Symposium the HIS , Brussels, Collection Latomus, 1999, p.361-366.

Eugen Cizek , Nero. The emperor cursed , Paris, Fayard, 1982.

Jean-Michel Croisille , Nero killed Agrippina , Paris, Editions Complexe, Coll. Memory for centuries, No. 59, 1994.

Florence Dupont , The Actor-King, or the theater in Rome antique, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1985, especially p.411-437 (" games and politics ).

Pierre Grimal , "Nero," in Vita Latina , 119 (1990), p.22-28.

Lucien Jerphagnon , History ancient Rome. The Arms and the words , Paris, Hachette, Coll. Pluriel, 1987.

JN Michaud, "The portrait of Nero in Quo Vadis Henryk Sienkiewicz : from history to myth and from myth to history", in JM Croisille , R . Martin, Y. Perrin (ed), Neronia V. Nero: History and Legend , Proceedings of the V th International Symposium the HIS , Brussels, Collection Latomus, 1999, p.281-303.

Eric Ollivier, "Nero and worse, "in Le Figaro Literary , 01/02/2001, p.4.

Jules Wankenne , "Should we rehabilitate the Emperor Nero? "The Classical Studies in , 49 (1981), p.135-152.

Jules Wankenne , "A case to watch: Nero and the persecution of Christians by Tacitus, Annals , XV, 44", in JW classical antiquity and secondary education , Louvain-la-Neuve, 1984, p.185-199.

Jules Wankenne , "Again and again Nero," in Classical Antiquity , 53 (1984), p.249-265.

Ancient Sources:

Dio Cassius, Roman History , Books 61-63.

Seneca, De Clementia , Letters to Lucilius ...

Suetonius, Life The Twelve Caesars. Nero .

Tacitus, Annals , Books XII-XVI.



NB: This is artiicle originally appeared in the journal Latinter in January 2002.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Friend's Mothers Feet

Nobody can resist the appeal of Leo ...

's once again a typical Easter controversy, enough to supply the conversations at the end of Easter Vigil on Saturday.

What's this? Monsignor Leonard, bishop of Namur, in an interview with TV Mosquito , said he is against euthanasia and abortion, that condoms are not 100% sure to prevent the transmission of AIDS, and that homosexuality is a sexuality that betrayed not mature.

is his opinion, and, until proven otherwise, in Belgium, everyone has the right to move freely express opinions, even if they go against the grain of the majority of Belgians and even if it is a bishop. That said, these opinions of Bishop Leonard are definitely not new. Far from it ...

But his remarks generated considerable debate, as usual I dare say. For example, the editorial include of La Libre Belgium this morning, by Michel Konen, and also the site Jean-Paul Duchateau the same Free . Ditto on the radio and television since yesterday. Endless interviews, among others, Gabriel Ringlet, whose speech is the opposite of that of the prelate Namur - which is not surprising ...

And what address these comments, the responses to André-Léonard Mutien? Gays and the hood! Is that all? Yes, that's all! Not a word of euthanasia and abortion!

I do not want to say here that the theme of the piece of latex, and the hosting of homosexuals by the Church are of no importance. But, damn! Euthanasia and abortion are issues much bigger, much more worrying! And they affect many more people.

I am surprised that these two themes (So are these sensitive subjects?) Were not addressed by the criticism of the speech of Bishop Leonard. And I ask: why?

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Quickest Colitis Cures

Ptahhotep's official

Dear readers,
The news is quite fresh: ASBL Egyptological Ptahhotep has officially launched today. Visit his website: http://www.ptah-hotep.be
aperitif is an introduction you will find on the website:
Ptahhotep The project was born of a desire to otherwise share our passion for Egypt and connect it through many activities as diverse an audience as possible. Ptahhotep is of course all those who share a passionate love for the Pharaonic civilization but also wants to spread the enthusiasm and develop interest in this extremely rich culture and history. Ptah-hotep is for all audiences interested in ancient Egypt, a little or passionately, from near or far, from the youngest or most knowledgeable. Ptah-Hotep, it is serious without the austerity ...
Otherwise, you must know that I am also part of this adventure. But you say, do not I already did part of another ASBL Egyptological? Well yes, I admit, but I left last December for serious differences of opinion concerning its internal management and choosing "marketing" ...
Come.