homo edax

Okay, I'm back . . .

2007-02-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

but ONLY for recipes people! And only if they're really good.

So, chocolate grandmarnier cake.

Boil 1/2 c. water and 1/2 c. sugar and add 1 stick of butter cut into ten pieces until it dissolves. Take off the heat then add 12 oz. bittersweet chocolate cut up into 1/2 inch pieces. Let sit 5 minutes then whisk till the chocolate mix is smooth.

Meanwhile, beat up 6 large eggs, whisking them with the grated zest of one orange and 2 T. grand marnier liquor.

Whisk the chocolate into the egg mix until blended.

Butter an 8 inch cake pan. Put wax paper on the bottom and butter it.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake in a water bath at 350 for 40 minutes.

Cool on a rack, invert, and serve with coffee ice cream.

Stick a fork in me I'm finished . . .

2006-12-17T17:26:00.000-08:00

I'm done blogging. Got no more to say and it really doesn't matter.

The world will go on.

Final advice to young people:

Unplug, tune in, and get in touch. Live a life of menaing. Get off your cell phones, your internet, your ipods, your television, your email, your text messaging, and your video games - permanently.

Plant a tree, grow a garden, listen to the waves, the wind, and the birds; read a book, listen to a symphony, look at a painting, talk to a friend and not a stranger online, bake a chocolate cake.

Stop anesthetizing yourselves with a million clicks a day and the flash of ten thousand web sites and live a life that's meaningful.

The world won't change because of the web - it will only grow more moribund and distracted.

I'm done with all this tech crap - it's ugly and depressing. Don't look for anything further here: la comedia e finita!

Alright, hey thanks, you've been a great audience. I'm outta here - thank you and good night!

Presidential Politics.

2006-12-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

This is a rare picture of HE's flirtation with presidential politics. The picture shows me on the campaign trail in 1964 as chair of the Bald-Headed-Droolers party. The finger raised in the air shows the only direction the party had to go in that year. Had I won, it would have been that finger that was on the nuclear button. Wow. In terms of numbers, I also think the raised finger represents the number of votes I received, but I'm uncertain as I had not yet learned to count.

Running that year was a rich and rewarding experience. Out on the hustings I learned much about the American People, and shmoozed with the famous, the powerful, and the well-connected. I knew that networking would be key if I was to be viable as a candidate in '68 if I blew the '64 election. Below is a picture of me discussing orange futures and their impact on the California economy with Nelson Rockefeller.

By 1968 it was time for a new, more conservative and conventional approach. Here I am running on the Large-Foreheaded-Elephant-Eared-Bow-Tie-Future-Total-Geek-Of-America-Will-Never-Be-Dating-Material-Oh-God-A-Plaid-Suit-Ticket. This was even less successful than my previous bid, and effectively ended my career as potential presidential material.

Politics is a cold cold profession, and I only found out years later in Ms. Mize's 8th grade civics class that the reason I received such a small number of votes was that I was too young to run. It also would have been nice if someone told me I had to file as a candidate and the lack of press coverage surely didn't help. The above photo in 1968 is historic for me because that was the last year I didn't have a beard. (Sixty-nine was the Summer of Love and we let it all hang out!) Alas, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. was a country to which I was never destined to visit. Fata alia parabantur . . . .

HE

HE's Identity Revealed!

2006-12-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

An APB has been issued for outstanding warrants on HE. Since this most recent photo, taken in 1967, he is suspected of having gone through puberty, grown a beard, developed brown curly hair, and grown by approximately four feet. Some reports have him putting on as much as 200 lbs since this photo.

He is suspected of having several outstanding speeding tickets in Oregon from the early 1980s, poaching dungeness crab out of season, doing a massive TP job on Murray road in 1981, and he is also suspected of smuggling mind-altering substances inside stuffed kangaroos. He reportedly discourages searches of his stuffed kangaroo by chewing the ears and drooling on the pouch.

Upon attempting apprehension he will reportedly puff out his cheeks and hold his breath in a royal snit. He occasionally uses his enormous ears to elude would-be captors.

Do NOT, repeat, DO NOT try to apprehend. He is armed with Latin syntax and reportedly forces any who try to arrest him to sight read the proemium to Tacitus' Agricola.

HE

Ah Wilderness! (Or, This Old House!)

2006-12-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

This is the wild, rugged, and beautiful north Oregon coast; for those of you who don't know the west coast, vistas such as this stretch from Astoria all the way down to southern California. Somewhere nestled in these hills and mountains in the above picture, about 600 yards from the beach, is this . . .

In 1973 my father had a friend who fell ill and wanted to unload an old beach house he had started to fix up. The house was built in 1942 and at the time looked like this (the picture was taken in 1983, but hadn't changed much in 10 years).

At the time this was the view from the house . . .

though it has changed. The little house in front of them burned down a few years ago (it belonged to a doctor from Portland and was a vacation property - fortunately no one was hurt), and they rebuilt, but on the lot to the right. So there is slightly (though only slightly) less of the northern Pacific in view of the house.

This is my mother on the ocean side of the house in the late 1980s . . .

In late spring early summer of 1987 my parents, who had been both laid off due to company closures and other factors, moved down to the coast for good until this year, when age and illness forced them to move nearer to my sister. HE is now the owner of the house (which he took over to help his parents financially). In the mid 1980s they were in their early 60s. They took some savings and added on to the street side of the house (a bedroom and utlity room, as well as a detached garage). This was the result . . .

My mother and father did some fairly nice landscaping on the place over the years, and it's fair to say that my mother had an addicition to gardening and flowers, both of which I share . . .

Below is a rather poor picture of the mainstreet of downtown Cannon Beach. In the 1970s it was a rustic hippie hang-out. I remember it consisted of The Keg Room, Bill's Tavern, the Cannon Beach Bakery (renowned for its Haystack Bread), Bruce's Candy Kitchen, Lotus Land, a handfull of seafood restaurants, the Sandpiper Souvenir Shop, a gas station, a hardware store, and a few hotels and cabins. Its population was 850, but in the past 30 years it's boomed to a whopping 1250. Almost all the original shops are still there. It has maintained its rustic, pioneer style buildings, and strict zoning laws maintain both its sceneic beauty, and its rustic charm. There are no corporate chain stores allowed, with the exception of the local bank, so each business is locally owned and run. My parents' house is about three miles south of town, so on busy beach weekends (such as the big sandcastle contest in late June) when the town may swell to 30-50,000, the house is usually dead quiet - except for the roar of the Pacific.

A block and a half down from my parents' house you come to this . . .

. . . and a little further south are these . . .

The above photo was taken on a cold January night. HE grew up playing on these very rocks, and exploring (and sometimes jabbing) the various sea creatures that live on them - which may explain why I came very close to going into the sciences instead of Classics, and why I went through a very long "marine biology" stage (in addition to my youthful flirtation with dinosaurs!)

Sunsets can be quite spectacular over the Pacific . . .

. . . and the Amazon is not the only place with old growth rain forest. The North Oregon Coast consist largely of virgin forest, where you walk past trees that have existed since the discovery of the continent, with thick layers of green everywhere.

They do not call it the sunset west . . .

for nothing; the place is at its most dramatic during December storms and sunny summer evenings when the golden glow of the sun pervades the wind swept barren trees and your spirit . . .

On the whole, it is a good place for a classicist, since classicists are often people in desperate need of perspective. So, some perspective. This place is for everyone's enjoyment. It was here and it was beautiful the day that the first native American and the day that Lewis and Clark first laid eyes upon it . . .

. . . it was here when Caesar slaughtered the Eburones, when Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, when men killed one another on the Somme, when the Babylonians built the first Zigarat, when the first human realized that a seed put in the ground could yield a steady supply of bread, when Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, when Jesus broke bread with his disciples, when Pliny mused with what statues to decorate his villa. This place has always been here . . .

. . . and it will still be here when all those things are done and forgotten, when we are no more, both as individuals and as a species. So take some friendly advice, and come with me, pour a class of wine that the sunrise sides of these hills produce in great abundance, and soak in some perspective for a little while.

HE

Penne all'arrabiata

2006-11-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

In 1/4 c. olive oil sautee 4-5 cloves chopped garlic for about 1 mintue, stirring constantly. Throw in 1 medium can of chopped tomatoes and 1 big pint (20 oz.) homemade tomato sauce. Swoosh out the extra sauce with a splash of red wine. Simmer on low heat to facilitate 1/3 evaporation of the sauce. Add in 1/4 t. hot red pepper flakes (more if you want it hotter).

Meanwhile, bring to a boil 4 qts. water. Boil penne as per directions.

Pour sauce over penne and serve with parmeasan cheese.

HE

Conservatives Rejoice!

2006-11-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

Given the way HE eats, fortasse non est longus huic mondo, Eheu! But these will send him out with a smile under the smile of the one who bids him go (to paraphrase Marcus Aurelius):

Fennel and Sauteed Pear Salad:

Shred 1 bulb of fennel in a grater with large holes. Mix with 1 T. dried currants, 1 T. champagne vinegar1/4 t. sea salt and 1/8 t. pepper. Let stand at room temperature 30 min. Put salad plates in warm oven to heat gently. Quarter 1 pear lengthwise, core, and slice lengthwise into 1/8 inch slices. Sautee pear gently in 2 T butter, browning on both sides. Place small amount of fennel and pears next to each other on warm plates and serve. Serves 2-4.

Puree of Butternut Squash Soup with Fresh Orange and Spice Cream

In a large saucepan heat 2 T butter; add 4 c. cubed butternut squash and 1 medium onion roughly chopped. Cook til the onion is translucent but not brown. Ad 3 c. low sodium chicken broth and 2 T honey or sugar; add ½ - 1 c. fresh squeezed orange juice (according to taste). Simmer 30 min. til squash is tender; add some salt and pepper. Transfer soup to food processor and puree it. Taste and adjust seasoning – if too thick you may want to add a bit of water. Mix together 6 T crème fraiche and ½ t. nutmeg with just a hint of cayenne. Serve soup in bowls with dollop of cream.

Roasted Duck Breast with Maple-Rosemary-Juniper Glaze

Combine 2 3inch sprigs of rosemary, 6 cracked juniper berries, and ½ c. maple syrup; cook in small saucepan til the glaze is reduced by half. Now score the fatty side of the duck (use 6 duck breasts) and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy skillet on medium heat cook the duck breast fat side down 10 minutes. Spoon off and save the fat (for cooking veggies, etc.) Preheat oven to 350; flip duck so it’s fat side up in the skillet and roast 10-15 minutes depending on how well done you like it. Remove from skillet and brush with glaze. Cut in slices, arrange on platter, and drizzle with remaining glaze.

Chocolate Espresso Cake

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter an 8 inch cake pan and line bottom with kitchen parchment (butter the parchment and lightly flour the pan – I like to use coco instead of flour when baking with chocolate). In a small heavy saucepan over medium heat melt 5 oz. semisweet chocolate (chopped) and 3 oz. German sweet chocolate (chopped) and 1 stick of butter (4 oz). Set aside. With a mixer whip 4 eggs at room temperature, ½ c. sugar, ¼ c. brewed espresso or double strength coffee cooled to room temperature and 1 T very finely ground and sifted espresso beans and ¼ t. salt. Whip together for on medium high speed for 8 minutes or so then mix in the butter/chocolate mix; sift in ¼ c. flour over the batter and fold in. Pour batter into cake pan and cook 25-30 minutes til a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan. Serve with whip cream or coffee ice cream.

Fear Itself.

2006-10-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

Another Olbermann commentary for you, even though I've said it before!

HE
EC

Reason Enough to Get Arrested.

2006-10-19T02:15:00.000-07:00

Another out-of-the-park Olbermann commentary HERE.

So . . . let the future indicator of present decency and conscience in our country during this administration be our FBI files, our arrest records, our prison sentences.

HE

So Eat Dessert First . . .

2006-09-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

So, based on that cheery little post above this one, here are two desserts you can enjoy prior to the general demise of humanity, and one very nice light supper dish as well:

Colonial Chocolate Cake:

1. Mix together 1 1/4 c. flour, 2 c. sugar, 3/4 c. cocoa, 2 t. baking soda, 1 t. baking powder, 1 t. salt.

2. Add into dry ingredients 2 eggs, 1 c. strong black coffee or espresso, 1 c. buttermilk OR 1 c. milk + 1 T vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, 1 t. vanilla.

3. Beat mix 2 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer; divide between 2 greased & floured cake pans; bake at 350 40 min., remove from oven and cool.

4. Mix 1 21 oz. can cherry pie filling, 2 T. Kirsch, and 2 T. sugar; chill in freezer or refrigerator til very thick.

5. Whip 1 1/2 c. whipping cream and 1/4 c. powdered sugar til very thick - you may want to use extra cream.

6. Place one layer of cake on cake plate, frost sides with cream, making a small wall on the sides; add 1 c. filling and spread; place second layer on top; frost sides with more cream, again making a wall; put rest of filling on top.

7. Chill at least one hour before serving.

NB - you may want to use an extra cup of cream with an extra 3 T. sugar - I find that the amount of cream doesn't go far enough, especially if you want to use a pastry tube to decorate it.

Carrot Cake:

1. In a large bowl beat with electric mixer 4 eggs for 5 minutes til thick and lemon color; beat in 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil, then 2 c. sugar.

2. In another bowl mix 2 c. flour, 2 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. salt, 2 t. cinnamon; fold into mix, and then add 1 c. finely chopped pecans and 3 c. grated carrot.

3. Fold into 2 9" floured and greased cake pans and bake at 350 for 35 min. til cake pulls away from sides of pan.

4. Cool on racks and make frosting of: 8 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick butter; beat this together then add 2 c. powdered sugar, 2 t. vanilla. Frost the cake and serve.

It looks nice to decorate it with whole pecans on top.

Seafood Quiche:

Mix together 4 eggs, 3/4 c. milk, 3/4 c. half and half, a big dash of salt, 2 seven oz. cans of crab, drained, 1 1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese, and 1/2 c. finely chopped onions that you've gently sauted for 5 minutes in 2 T. butter.

Meanwhile, bake for 5 min. at 400 a 9" oven ready pie shell.

Remove and add mix to shell - place on a cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes.

Delicious!

Mmmmm, YUM!!!!!

2006-09-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

This is a photo a student sent me who was one of the members of the group I led to Florence last winter, and well golly-gosh-darn all that prosciutto looked so delicious I just had to post it. Despite the political screeds I am, after all, Homo EDAXXXXX!!!!!

HE

Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Lamb

2006-09-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

1. Split and roast 2 orange or yellow peppers for about 25-30 min. at 350.

2. Meantime, chop 1 large can of tomatoes (or use 2 lbs. fresh skinned ones), and put in the bottom of a large (8/9 x 13) roasting dish.

3. Saute in 3 T olive oil 2 yellow onions til golden. Mix in half the onion with the tomatoes.

4. Throw in 1-1.5 lb. lamb with the onion and fry up.

5. Meantime, boil up 3/4-1 c. orzo.

6. When the lamb is cooked add salt, pepper, and 1-2 t. dried dill.

7. Drain and add in the orzo.

8. Take the peppers out of the oven, place on top of the tomato/onion mixture, and then add in the lamb/orzo mix, stuffing it in the peppers gently with a spoon, adding extra on top.

9. Cover with foil and roast 25 min.

Mmmmmmmm!

I Love the Smell of

2006-09-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Corruption in the Morning . . . .

"I've watched your career with fascination Sejanus. It's been a revelation to me how a small mind allied to limitless ambition can destroy a nation full of clever men. I've seen how frail is the structure of civilization before the onslaught of a gust of really bad breath. But you're not the disease, no, we must look elsewhere for that; you're merely the stench, the putrefaction that comes after death . . . You're a lesson in history Sejanus, that above all else, mankind still needs . . . its sense . . . of smellllllll!!!!!!"

- Asinius Gallus to Aelius Sejanus, "I, Claudius", BBC, 1976

HE

Marinated Pork Loin

2006-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

1. Mix together 2 T. dijon mustard, 2 T. olive oil, 1 t. crushed rosemary, and 2 cloves crushed garlic.

2. Spread on a pork loin of about 2-2.5 lbs.

3. Add some salt and pepper and roast 50 minutes at 350-375 (depending on whether or not your oven runs hot or cold). Check the temperature with a meat thermometer and roast a bit longer if need be (the temperature should register 150 degrees and no more, since the meat will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven).

4. Let the meat stand 10 minutes.

5. You can now serve it hot, or marinate it and serve it cold (which I prefer).

6. The marinade: mix 3 T. each olive oil, lemon juice, and water with 1/4 c. dijon and 2 T. capers.

7. Pour onto pork which you should slice as thinly as possible and arrange attractively onto a platter and refrigerate about 2-3 hrs.

8. I like to serve it with hot rolls and butter (makes a great sandwich). You can make it a day in advance - just be aware that it is better at room temperature than chilled too much.

Your guests will ask for the recipe and your neighbors break down your doors - especially if you serve it with a fine wine - white or red will do, but I prefer white. For years this has been our staple "do-ahead" dish so that my girlfriend and I can enjoy an elegant dinner when we get home late from the opera or theater.

Ah, fine living!

Mangia bene!

HE

The Genius in the Design . . .

2006-09-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

by Jake Morrisey is an excellent and highly readable historical yarn that discusses the parallel careers of Bernini and Borromini, two of the greatest architects (and in the case of Bernini, a sculptor second only to Michelangelo) to ever put pen to draftman's table.

Anyone planning a trip to Rome needs to read this fascinating story.

HE

A [Bleepin'] Men

2006-09-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

Click this link for the transcript and press launch if you want to hear it.

HE

Una "Posta" Periculosa . . .

2006-09-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

E allora, troppo periculosa per me tradurre nel inglese, quindi usero un misto (un pasticccio) di lingue.

Sto pensando sul questo anniversario del nove undici di un pezzo di ironia. L'ironia di videre sul film del regista Moore (si chiama nove undici) i pezzi di rifuiti per l'aria durante la destruzione delle torri gemelle durante l'attaco di quello giorno.

Ricordo della festa quasi essatamente dieci anni prima a New York, dopo la cosidetta guerra con i iraquesi per la cosidetta liberazione di Kuwait. Anche poi, per la festa c'erano pezzi di nastri per l'aria per i nostri soldati. Quello giorno e stato per molte persone un giorno per festeggiare, senza pensiero sul "autostrade della morte" da Kuwait City al Iraq.

In fatti, nella mente colletiva degli Stati Uniti, l'autostrade della morte non esista. I gratocieli destrutti a Beirut non esistono. I palazzi destrutti nella Gaza non esistono.

Abbiamo visto un gioco del dio orribile, crudele. I nastri nel millenovecentonovantuno. I nastri nel duemiliauno.

Erodoto senza dubbio oggi sorride. Quanto tempo possiamo sotto quello sorrisso vivere?

Con cuore pessante questo nove undici,

HE

Ah yes, the racoon . . . glad you asked!

2006-09-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

HE found a recipe online which appears to have worked reasonably well if last night is any indication. It called for boiling a yellow onion, 1 jalepeno, and 1 T. cayene in 2 liters of water for 20 minutes, straining it, and then spraying it on your fruit. That appears to have done the trick, but I also added an extra hot habnero pepper which is supposed to pack a punch. It easily washes off the fruit too - except that you need to reapply it after rain.

Estote bene, bonum laborem facite, et dicite "Salve!" mihi!

HE

Dinner and Dessert! Two New Recipes for Your Eating Pleasure!

2006-09-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

Beef Stewed in Red Wine with Onions

1. Cut up into 1 inch chunks a 2.5-3 lbs chuck roast (trim the fat).

2. Put in a large sealable plastic kitchen bag (support in a bowl if necessary).

3. Mix into the bag 1 bottle dry red wine, 2 medium onions halved and sliced lengthwise, 1 t. fresh chopped thyme, 1 bay leaf, 4 sprigs of fresh parsley, 1 carrot thinly sliced, and a heavy pinch (1/2 t.) of salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Gently mix by hand.

4. Marinate 16-24 hours.

5. Drain the beef in a colander (discard the onions, carrot, etc), reserve the liquid in a bowl; sautee the beef in an oven proof casserole pan a little bit at a time in two or three batches (with 2-3 T. vegetable oil), removing each batch on a plate after it’s browned.

6. Throw in 2 cloves of chopped garlic and 2 large chopped shallots, and briefly cook, then add 2 T. flour and thoroughly cook.

7. Add the marinade juices (wine, etc.), and stir well with the flour mix.

8. Add in the beef, put a lid on it, and simmer it.

9. Meanwhile, chop 6 oz. thick sliced bacon and sautee in a separate skillet. Add the bacon to the beef, but reserve the bacon fat.

10. Braise the beef in the oven for an hour and a half.

11. Meanwhile, blanch a 1 lb. bag of frozen pearl onions in boiling water for a minute or two; drain, add to the bacon fat, and cook until golden. Then pour off any excess fat and add ¼ c. water, scraping up any brown bits.

12. After the meat has braised for 1.5 hours, add the onions and ½ t. each salt and pepper.

13. Cook another half hour in the oven.

14. Serve with buttered noodles and parsley on the side.

Pear Tart Tatin

1. Mix together 2 c. flour, 1 t. salt, and cut in 1 c. butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse meal.

2. Add in 1 egg yolk and 2 T. water. Mix with a fork into a ball and refrigerate about an hour.

3. Now peal 4-6 medium/large pears and core the fruit. Place in a bowl with some lemon juice and set aside.

4. In a 10 inch oven proof skillet, melt ¾ c. sugar over medium low heat. When sugar starts to melt stir until a pale gold and most sugar is melted. Take off heat momentarily.

5. Place pears in pan cut side up, round sides in sugar, with the narrow ends towards the center of the pan. Place remaining pears in center and top fruit with 4 T. chopped butter.

6. Cook 15-20 minutes over medium heat until the sugar is a deep carmel color.

7. While the fruit is simmering, remove dough from fridge to soften it, and then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a disk of about 11 inches – you may only want to use half the dough for this.

8. When the fruit is finished cooking, place the rolled dough over the pan and tuck down the edges.

9. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes (or until the crust is golden brown) and remove and let sit 10 minutes.

10. Cut around the edges with a knife and invert the pan onto a large plate. This need to be done with great care, skill, and dexterity.

Cut and serve with whipped cream.

The pure flavors of the fruit, carmalized sugar, and butter, make this a stupendous dessert, and the pears can be substituted with all manner of fruit, such as apples or peaches.

Tex-Mex Salad

2006-09-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

Mix together 1 can of black-eyed peas, drained, 2-3 chopped avacados, 2 chopped and skinned roasted red peppers (or substitute 1 small jar pemientoes), 3 ears of sweet corn with the kernels cut off (boil beforehand), 1 large chopped tomato, 1/2 c. olive oil, a splash of white or red wine vinegar, and 1 t. cumin.

Mmmm - Tex-Mex fur that great south 'o th' border flavur!

HE

Speak well of the dead . . .

2006-09-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

or the ghost of Mssr. Irwin will take revenge. Yes, gardening is a humbling activity, and HE has been laid low. It is not a lone gunman on a grassy knoll taking aim at my figs. Apparently it is a clan of raccoons, for I went outside this morning and there they were once again. Half eaten figs dangling from the trees, with empty prosciutto wrappings and wine bottles left behind by the devilish creatures.

Oh well - at least they know how to live.

HE

Coming Next: Why my personalized plate on my MINI reads LIVEBIG.

The Body of Il Duce . . .

2006-09-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Mussolini's Body and the Fortunes of Italy, written by Sergio Luzzatto is what I am currently reading. It is an excellent window into the history of WWII in Italy. I especially recommend it to students who have been on or are expecting to take CLAS308 at some point. It will give you an excellent window into the modern history of Italy and into some of the divisions in Italy we see between the north and the south.

Perhaps most interestingly, today Italy, contrary to the U.S., has something resembling a civilization. This makes the book all the more interesting to read, because that civilization is not always so civil (which civilization is, though?) The capacity for barbarism among a people as dynamic, as robust, as generally gentle, kind and congenial as the Italians are, and as fond of fine living as any people around (we - and they - do not refer to La Bella Vita for nothing), is actually quite staggering. Indeed, it is fair to say that it is as frightening as the capacity of a people who produce a Bach, a Mozart, a Beethoven, a Kant, to produce a Hitler, a Goering, a Himmler.

I do not say it is puzzling though. Given the darkness of which humanity is capable, the puzzle is that the production of such creatures is not a perennial event amongst all societies. Arguably we've done a good job churning them out for the past 60 years or so in varying degrees that range from apethetically complicit to actively vicious (though a society rarely sees or admits the evils that emanate from itself).

If you are interested in this issue - and I think you'd have to be dead from the neck up not to be interested in the concept and subject of Evil in the modern world, then two books I highly HIGHLY recommend are Hannah Arendt's famous work, Eichmann in Jerusalem, and Susan Neimann's book, Evil in Modern Philosophy (you may want to check on the spelling of her name).

Have fun, and enlarge your world!

HE

Latro Captus Est!

2006-09-04T04:51:00.000-07:00

The racoon has been captured. Even as I write I await the arrival of animal control for the removal and release of Ricky the Racoon.

I did get a stern warning from PG county animal control however. Apparently it is illegal to trap at night in Maryland for humane reasons.

Does animal control have any other idea, other than trapping at night, how to catch nocturnal creatures?

Oh nooooo - musn't keep dear ol' Rick in the cage overnight - might traumatize the poor thing. Hey, but keeping Muslim prisoners in iced cells, waterboarding, electro-shock and sexual humiliation - that's cool.

Can you spell Bizzaro World?

HE

The critter . . . .

2006-09-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

eating my figs from the tree MUST DIE!

DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!!!!

Opposum/Racoon SCUM!

Traps have been set. Pistols have been loaded. Bait has been laid. Guards have been set.

Tomorrow night we have critter for dinner. Critter fattened on my sweet sweet figs. Critter stewed and cooked in a boiling pot!

Bahahahahahahahahaha!

HE

Skinny people are BORING!!!!!!!

2006-09-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, can't WAIT to be accused of racism, or weightism, or whatever!!!!! But I find it extremely irritating as a fat man (NOTE: I prefer to think of myself as "a person of weight" OR "the portly challenged" OR one of the "people of chub") that just because edgy close up shots of lean super models who look like thy have a diet of caffeine and amphetimines are published all over Vanity Fair that they somehow have it over me.

Question: WHERE OH WHERE IS THEIR STORY?!??!?!?!

Let me tell you something about my cellulite, gut and love handles. They have history and are far more interesting than any damn super model.

The fat in my thighs? From pro secco on a balcony in Rome. Tubby tush? Deep fried seafood and ouzo on the beach at Mykonos. Mash potato arms? Apple fritters soaked in grappa I had on a farm in Tuscnay. Two inch spare tire? Tiramasu, affetati di caccia, Frascati, saltimbocca, coda in vino con pomodori, gnudi con pere in crema, fiori di zuccha, zuppa di pesce in Pompeii, plates of lamb in El Djem, dolmathes in Athens, stuffed rabbit in Civitella, and on and on and on.

You get the picture. Fat has history and a story to tell. Be fat. Be interesting.

"Antonius! Let me have about me men that are fat. Sleek headed men and such men as sleep o'er the nights. Yond Cassius hath a lean and hungry look." - The Bard.

'Nuf said.

HE

THE SALMON MOUSSE!!!!!

2006-09-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

(as the grim reaper gesticulates with his boney hand).

If you don't get the reference to the reaper, then I'm sorry for you because it means you've never seen one of the funniest movies of all time!

Anyway, onto the mousse:

1. Mix 1/4 c. water and 1 pack knox gelatin. Let stand a couple of minutes. Add 1/2 c. boiling water, dissolve gelatin.

2. Mix 1/2 c. mayo, 1/2 t. tabasco sauce, 1 T. lemon juice, 1 T. grated onion, 1/4 t. paprika, 1/2 t. salt in a food processor.

3. Mix in the gelatin and water with the mayo mix and blend.

4. Refrigerate until it's the consistency of egg whites.

5. Drain and flake a 14.5 oz can of salmon - bones, skin and all.

6. When the mayo mix is ready put the salmon and mayo mix in a food processor and blend til smooth.

7. Beat 1/2 c. whipping cream. Fold into the salmon mix in a separate bowl.

8. Place the mousse either into a mould or into a bowl, chill and serve.

Fantabulous!

HE

Let them be cast into the outer darkness . . .

2006-08-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Some changes. Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, and Atrios have been deleted as links. Too much blah blah blah on politics and not enough jaw jaw jaw on people. Too much silence on the poor. They stood as relative deaf mutes on the destruction (scarcely a war) of Lebanon. Too much orthodox politics as usual, too much talking, not enough seeing, not enough listening.

We want to know their names no longer.

HE

Why do I post to the Nuremburg Principles?

2006-08-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here's why (via the yahoo news wire) . . . .

"A chief prosecutor of Nazi war crimes at Nuremberg has said George W. Bush should be tried for war crimes along with Saddam Hussein. Benjamin Ferenccz, who secured convictions for 22 Nazi officers for their work in orchestrating the death squads that killed more than 1 million people, told OneWorld both Bush and Saddam should be tried for starting "aggressive" wars--Saddam for his 1990 attack on Kuwait and Bush for his 2003 invasion of Iraq."

Sorry VDH and all nutty ships at sea, Mssr. Ferenccz prosecuted at Nuremburg and knows whereof he speaks. Your opinions, set against the consensus of international law, carry little weight in comparison.

HE

Mick Jagger and the Bomb . . . .

2006-08-26T11:51:00.000-07:00

HE has heard a lot of talk out of the corner of his ears lately about how satisfying it would be just to flatten Iraq as a cure to our problems there, and, while we're at it, to nuke Iran as well (no, this is NOT a straw man, this is something that one can read in the WSJ, WaPo, the NYT, on the rightist bloggosphere, and even in the MSM).

Ah, how satisfying it would be to have another go with the visitation of high doses of radioactivity in the biosphere. It worked so well in 1945 goes the official narrative to which so many still subscribe (nevermind the Truman administration's rejection of overtures from the Japanese to negotiate in the spring of that year, and never mind the enormous death toll due to cancer in the following decades [including American military service personel who visited the areas immediately following the attacks], and never mind that Truman was cynically motivated to flex his muscle against the Reds [and just what was the human and social cost of this machismo move?]) Indeed, so virtuous was the American use of the atomic bomb that someone recently noted to me that they wondered that no one had ever set off a nuclear device when such weaponry had been around for the past 60 years. Say what?

Such thinking is so lazy, one wonders to what extent those who think in these "nuke 'em" terms have willfully NOT worked out the consequences.

First, biology: what will the environment look like if we detonate this kind of stuff in our own house (i.e. planet earth)? Consider the simple shelling of a petroleum depot in Lebanon by Israel and how it has now created THE WORST environmental catastrophe in the history of the Mediterranean (though don't look for that to be covered in the pages of the WaPo or NYT). What will agriculture look like - forget in Iran - but in its neighbors to the east, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India when the prevailing winds carry enormous amounts of radiation into those countires? What will cancer rates look like? They are high enough in the areas around Chernobyl; in southern Iraq they are inflated due to our use of depleted uranium weapons. If we visit this on predominately muslim lands one can only imagine the consequences and the possibility of further attacks in revenge. And we will still wonder why they hate us.

Second, China and Russia: Allies of Iran - are we sure, are we very very sure, that this will not esculate into an end game for humanity, are we sure that we will not, as a result of our actions, be looking at confrontation with Russia and China of the genus nuclear? Over the years our allies have put up with a great deal from us, in part because they are as greedy, craven, and corrupt as our own country - France, Germany, Italy, such countries are also driven by self interest over humanitarian considerations, hence there has been no real power to reign us in since the collapse of the USSR. However the consequences of first use of a nuclear weapon on another country would be something that would likely prove the last straw - we would become a pariah, and other countries would very likely decide that it was time to arm themselves against a renegade Uncle Sam. Economic retaliation would be a near certainty, as would political isolation of the sort that North Korea has experienced for years. Military retaliation by nuclear powers could not be ruled out, nor could subsequent escalation. Sound alarmist? It may be - and hope that the scenario is dead wrong, that cool heads would prevail. But I have posted until I am blue in the face that the central reason you do not go to war is that, as Thucydides says, it is a dark door, and once it is opened you become the plaything of events and of history - you don't know what the end will be. Israel just learned that lesson in Lebanon, and sensible heads have learned that from our own expereience in Iraq, but sensible heads do not control our political, military, or media elites at this point.

Third, democracy: The peoples of this world do not want to undertake the destruction of a country that has as yet done no harm to the U.S., especially compared to what the U.S. has done to it. (Can you spell Mosadeq and Shah?) Shouldn't we obey the will of the people? Or does democracy mean only that we get to vote in elections that are run by the corporate media elite in which facts and images are grossly distorted to manipulate a people befuddled by misinformation, half-truths, and willful omissions? And does democarcy only mean we obey the will of our people in our own country? What about the common opinions of mankind that must be, according to Jefferson, consulted in the governance of nations? Does that mean nothing? Apparently so, since millions marched against the Iraq war prior to the attack on that country; Bush turned it on the protestors by musing about the marvels of democracy, not realizing that democracy also means consideration of opnions and discussion, not ruling like King George the Third by fiat. Anyway, the whole question of democracy has become very moot for this administration: When the democratically elected governments of Lebanon and Gaza included Hamas and Hizbollah, we ceased to believe in it and looked the other way when a proxy tried to remove them by force. I guess some just think that you should wield the scepter like Agamemnon and lord it over everyone (to paraphrase a recent sputtering email that suggested such governance was virtuous) - but such creatures do NOT believe either in democracy or in the principles upon which this country was founded. In addition they forget that Agamemnon was not only cursed and hated, but perished for the sin of hybris.

Fourth (a REAL clintcher) MONEY: Iran controls a vast amount of oil resources, not to mention the straits of Hormuz. If innocent dead civilians don't get through to you then maybe oil at $130 a barrel can. Visualize this: Iran survives the attack, but holds back its oil from the market. Yes, the rational thing to say is, "But countries want to sell oil - Iran won't do that". The rational, however, does not always prevail, in fact, rarely does, in history. If it did cool heads would have remained lucid and in command (a key ingredient of true leadership) post 9/11 and we would not find outselves in this horrible Near East conundrum.

"Pinkos" such as myself (you can recognize pinkos - they believe in human rights) often get smeared as being idealistic utopianists. But one should note that we've got nothing over the so-called idealists who would spread democracy via nuclear weaponry. If it didn't work in Afghanistan, if it didn't work in Iraq, I have no idea why some think it will work in Iran - except that this time we'll use the ultimate stick.

Such policy will prove satisfying only in the realm of fantasy, and it is to that region to which such thinking ought to be consigned.

In the end, you won't get no satisfaction.

HE

Oregon Wine Country . . . .

2006-08-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Aaaaah!

HE and his significant other spent four glorious days in the heart of Oregon wine country where his sister and brother-in-law are semi-retired. Last time HE was out that way 20 years ago, there was nothing - just forest and cow pasture. Now it's vineyards by the dozen, wineries, and micro-breweries. Rolling hills, beautiful scenery, and a climate as close to Paradise as you can get - it's a not-so-little piece of Umbria that extends from the Columbia River and continues all the way down to California (and continues from there down to Napa). The flowers were in full bloom, even in August. We ate sweet plums and made apple pie right off the trees.

Advice to young people: read Classics in your spare time and open a B&B somewhere in the coastal foothills of Oregon.

HE

The Gods Do Exist . . .

2006-08-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

The ancient Greeks were a truly remarkable people for the simple reason that they looked life in the face, and never, never blinked.

Consider for a moment their universe. The gods descended from heaven and visited on earth little but mayhem and suffering. The only comfort they give to abject humanity is death and with it, oblivion and non-existence. Such grim release was humanity’s only final hope. For the Greeks, the first divine principle was Eris, strife. The second was Eros, desire. From both came thanatos. After these entities came the divine family: Gaia and Ouranos; Chronos and Rhea; Zeus and Hera, Apollo and Artemis, Mars and Aphrodite – and all the other gods, even those that went unnamed.

For the most part, they are socio-paths, behaving as serial rapists, sexual predators, vindictive criminals, and adulterers surrounded by children wrought of suffering - Bacchus, Asculapius, Perseus, Herakles, and others.

Semele, Danae, Koronis, and various other mortals - all suffer as a result of this need for gratification and the stroking of frail egos. Compassion for Apollo was tearing the child out of Koronis’ womb when she was on the pyre after he slew her. Bacchus is not recognized by Pentheus and his flesh rendered in a exquisite sparagmos by his mother. It’s a macrocosm of humanity’s microcosm - of Paris and Helen, Phaedra and Hippolytus, Medea and Jason whereby desire means death.

And this is the world – a world of pure lamentation - which the Greeks faced each morning when they emerged from their hard beds of wood, straw, and lice. A kosmos of toil between the anvil of barren rock and the hammer of fiery sun.

Proof that these gods exist is ubiquitous. Consider for a moment Ares. Does he not run rampant today in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Congo, and particularly in America, where he visits fever upon our land? Consider mighty Aphrodite, how she can bedazzle us with her spell. Consider Eros, how sharp his dart is. Consider Bacchus, how powerful the grip of his vine and their succulent tendrils.

These powers have no ethics, no morality – in a perverse type of Zen, they simply “are” and behave as they will. But they are mightier, more tangible, more ubiquitous, and lay by the heel other religious systems. And here I think in particular of the three great religions, with their vital, important, and sadly futile emphasis on ethics and justice. Noble intentions - but no match for the sword of Ares, the kiss of Arphrodite, the intoxication of Bacchus.

How real they are, Eris and Eros, origin of the gods.

Not to accept them is to blink.

HE

Sertorius and America’s Ultimate Defeat.

2006-08-09T16:27:00.000-07:00

HE is not given to predictions – maybe because most that HE makes are based on a gut instinct and common sense, so rarely has HE been wrong when making one. HE’s best was on German reunification back in 1989, months before it happened.

Ahem . . . My prediction today is this:

Sertorius is noted by military historians as one of the so-called “founders” of guerilla warfare. Pompey, to finally deal with him, had to resort to the dubious (and for the Romans dishonorable) C.I.A. method of suborning disaffected lowlifes to procure Sertiorius’ assassination.

(NB – if you are NOT following me it’s because you’ve not read Plutarch’s Life of Sertorius . . . FOR SHAME!!!!)

Now Sertorius’ guerilla movement – as most successful guerilla movements – was based on an indigenous discontent with Roman rule in Spain; for some reason which I cannot possibly understand, native populations do NOT appreciate being invaded by force and then told how to live. Sometimes they resort to violence. Since they are on their home turf and know the culture and terrain, often they are successful.

So a prediction; the U.S. will leave Iraq with nothing to show but the shifting alliance of a Shiite Super state and enormous rage against us that will result in terrorism on our shores. You can’t stop it. And a second prediction: Israel will be forced to leave Lebanon. They cannot deal with a native insurrection. Moreover if they continue to behave foolishly (and we continue to act as chief enabler), well . . . need we spell out the potential consequences? One must learn to tread very carefully in a burning building, and neither the Americans nor the Israelis have learned this apparent lesson.

Part of being tough is also being wise. One should choose one’s battles selectively; not every situation has a Perpenna to resolve it (look it up!).

HE

Eggplant Parmeasan . . .

2006-08-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

1. In late April or early May, go to your garden center and get 4-6 eggplants. I prefer the traditional large dark and the small neon varieties.

2. Plant them in good quality soil with plenty of organic matter and fish fertilizer. Do not use commercial fertilizers - this is not an anti-corporate screed, but just a matter of experience. Manure and dead fish simply work best!

3. Water and feed regularly (use an organic feed every two weeks, and maybe throw a handful of lime under the plant every now and then).

4. Harvest when ripe and wash.

5. Rinse about 3 lbs of eggplant, (enough to make two layers in a large pan), cut into 1/4 inch thick slices, place the slices on paper towels and lightly salt them. Let them stand 10 minutes.

6. Pat dry with paper towels and then fry the eggplant in copious amounts of oil - I prefer olive oil but cannola will work fine too.

7. Cook the eggplant until golden brown and set it aside on a plate.

8. Meanwhile, saute one or two onions in olive oil, add two large cans of tomatoes and one can of sauce, and simmer til slightly reduced.

9. Make one layer of the eggplant. Spoon half the sauce over it. Sprinkle with about 1 c. of bread crumbs, 1 c. grated parmeasan cheese (the real stuff, not out of a box), and then cover with 1/4 thick slices of mozarella (REAL mozarella, not Kraft mozarella). Repeat with another layer.

10. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes, covered for half the baking time.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMWUH!

*Remember this is not a precise recipe - you will want to get the feel for it and adjust ingredients according to your own tastes.

HE

If You Want To Be Happy . . .

2006-08-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

for a week, get married. If you want to be happy for a month, kill your pig. If you want to be happy for life, plant a garden.

HE

Amidst Snares, Fire, and Brimstone . . .

2006-08-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

life goes on. And August means that it's time for the heirloom Brandywines to come in. The big red cherry variety and the Rutgers have long since been dressing our table. And the Supersteaks and Big Boys are all heavy with juice. But nothing competes with the Brandywine.

How sad for those who have no experience with the red juices of these deceptively ugly fruit with an absolutely divine fragrance dribbling down their chins, perfuming their beard with a crust of fragrance thick as January ice.

If you've never had one off the vine eaten warm, or thick sliced with a slather of mayo on a piece of bread, you have not tasted of earth air or sun - you have not tasted of life in its most pure and distilled essence.

I have written a well received book, I have written articles that have made it into good journals. But the greatest thing I have created in life is the Brandywine. It requires a lot of sweat and dedication, but the reward is much greater, for the reward is eating from the earth - the reward is life.

A tomato is something you can touch and caress. Treat it with love and it will intoxicate you with its aromatic embraces, seducing you with its red, plump, passionate enticements. Feel it. Smell it. Squeeze it. Surrender yourself to it.

Scholarly reputation in comparison? Est fugans umbra.

No miracle grow, no chemicals, just manure, dead organic matter, and pure dead fish for fertilizer. Such perfume from such decay.

Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when he said, "I am the ressurection and the life".

Perhaps he was talking about Brandywines.

HE

And a Wag of the Finger . . .

2006-08-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

to - surprise, surprise - STEPHEN COLBERT!!!!

Yes, Stephen Colbert for his historically inept repartee last night with Paul Hacket. Paul Hacket said that you can't introduce democracy through the barrel of a gun, to which Colbert quipped, "except of course for the American Revolution."

I usually like Colbert, but this was just plain dumb. Democracy was not introduced through a violent movement in the American Revolution; no one sought to impose democracy on anyone.

Rather, the revolution sought to SEIZE democracy from a tyranny. Washington, Adams, Jefferson - they were not imposing democracy on ANYONE, they were TAKING it for themselves.

This is the myth of democracy, that it is or can be "imposed". Nothing could be further from the truth - from Germany to France to India, it is TAKEN from within, not imposed from without.

And don't bet that everyone wants democracy. Many people are TERRIFIED of empowerment, of deciding their own destinies. I grew up in a household where the women absolutely derided feminists. You know why? Because they were intimidated with the idea that a woman could be anything other than a wife and mother. The idea of taking control of thier own lives mortified them. Similarly, there are PLENTY of people who would be quite happy in this country to relinquish free government and have a Bush dynasty. You know how I know that? Because I've TALKED TO THEM!!!!

Do NOT assume everyone has a desire for democracy - would that they did !

O homines ad servitutem paratos!

HE

Do ya think Thucydides . . . .

2006-08-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

was maybe, just maybe, on to something when he said that the greatest show of force was restraint? And when he said that the primary hazard of war is that its outcome is unpredicatable?

HE

ALERT ALERT ALERT!!!!!!

2006-08-03T16:34:00.000-07:00

THIS IS AN ALL CAP EMERGENCY CALL TO ANY IN THE DC AREA WHO ARE AS YET UNAWARE OF THE MOSTRA FABULOSA - THE MAGNIFICENT EXHIBIT - AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART OF THE BELLINI, TITIAN, AND GIORGIONE.

BETAKE THYSELF THERE SUBITO (AT ONCE!!!) AND BE AMAZED!!!!!

EXHIBITION ENDS SEPTEMBER 17.

HE

Summer Reading . . . .

2006-08-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

La Naour's The Living Unknown Soldier - a fabulous exploration of grief and loss in post WWI France.

John Hall's Michaelangelo and the Reinvention of the Human Body (WOW!!!)

Ingrid Rowland's compiled essays on Renaissance art from the New York Review of Books (The Sacred and Profane in Renaissance Art) - fun - good for getting ideas for further reading!

Robert Graves' Good-Bye to All That.

Khalil Ghibran, The Vision. (A beautiful and transcendent reflection on life by a great Lebanese writer).

HE

Whiskey Bar . . .

2006-08-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

has been a great read during this crisis in Lebanon as has Juan Cole.

HE

Numbers.

2006-08-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

6-8%: Those in the U.S. with a sufficiently developed moral sense who know that universal health care, living wages, education, equal rights, day care for all and a solid social safety net for those left behind to help them on their feet are things that are basic human rights and need to be gauranteed by the community as a whole and the Constitution.

40-50%: The Frightened: They have some sense of collective social responsibility but are easily manipulated through their fear and self-interest.

35-40%: The Lost: supporters of torture; people who put party and the cult of personality above the national interest; the intellectually lazy; those who dismiss the law; those who get their news from talk radio; the ones who have an opinion about Islam without ever having a., cracked the Quran or, b. have never actually visited a Muslim country; those who think the highest pursuit in life is the love of a lousy buck, who think that they can govern the country and the world in the same way that Lee J. Cobb in On the Waterfront ran the docks, shaking some poor schlepp down for his union dues all the while smacking him screaming "GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!".

Coming next: The Realm of the Gods.

HE

Welcome to the Triple B Ranch (Bin Laden, Bush & Bombing).

2006-07-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

The following thanks to Whiskey Bar:

"Until civilians -- frankly, I'm not sure how many of them are actually just innocent little civilians running around versus active Hezbo types, particularly the men -- but until those civilians start paying a price for propping up these kinds of regimes, it's not going to end, folks. What do you mean, civilians start paying a price? I just ask you to consult history for the answer to that.”

Rush Limbaugh
On the Qana Massacre
July 31, 2006

"We declared jihad against the US government, because the US government is unjust, criminal and tyrannical. It has committed acts that are extremely unjust, hideous and criminal . . . As for what you asked regarding the American people, they are not exonerated from responsibility, because they chose this government and voted for it despite their knowledge of its crimes in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and in other places."

Osama bin Laden
On His Fatwa Against America
March 1997

Bin Laden's words have been on my mind for days. Folks, what happened on 9/11 is a war crime because it was tantamount to collective punishment against a civilian population. Bin Laden needs to be tried in the Hague. But so too does Bush and, now, Olmert. It was Bush who (in)famously declared "Let heads roll" in April 2004 just before the Fallujah campaign in which an entire city was decimated and attacked as collective punishment over the deaths of four PRIVATE security workers (i.e., not even U.S. soldiers but corporate mercenaries).

What clearer statement of intent to collectively punish a people for the crimes of a few does one need? And not content with that, Bush proceeded even more violently to finish off the city in a cynical move after the elections in the fall of 2004. In the course of that campaign white phosphorous was used; hospitals were shut down and the injured denied medical treatment; in a Melos type move, the city was cordoned off, and everyone told to leave; when men of military age tried to evacuate as ordered, only women and children were allowed to depart. The entire male population was placed in harm's way.

Now, adding crime upon crime, Bush and Olmert (and Rice) should stand trial for the Lebanon campaign - as should a number of members of Hizbullah. You don't shoot random rockets at civilians - and you don't tell people to evacuate because you are about to flatten their village and then cut off their means to do that. Hizbullah is making war on civilian targets; so too is Israel, with American support (and, one suspects these days, even pressure). It is time for some accountability on all sides.

Now Qana takes its place next to Fallujah, Haditha, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and a legion of other rampant demons we've unleashed.

If and when terror is again visited on our country, the vapid media will again gnash its teeth and pull its hair asking, "Why do they hate us?"

And some equally vapid politician will respond, "Why for our values of course".

He'll be right.

HE

Visualize this!

2006-07-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

Marinade for lamb . . . .

2006-07-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

1 small chopped onion, half a chopped green pepper, a handful of parsley, a T. of curry powder, 1 c. each oilve oil and red wine. Excellent marinade for lamb, and not bad for beef. Allow at least five hours for a butterflied leg of lamb.

Happy eating!
HE

Judgement of Paris . . .

2006-07-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

by Ross King is an outstanding read.

It documents the demise of classicism and the rise of the impressionists in the mid 19th century. A must read especially for any classicist!

HE

Stocking the basement . . . .

2006-07-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

1. Hizbullah is a political party (some call it a terrorist organization, by which, if you mean its use of violence to achieve its ends, is certainly correct - but then again, political parties in this country also use violence to achieve their ends, particularly the republican party, for whom war is very good since it is also very good for their corporate donors. So meet me half-way and let's just say for the sake of argument that the current republican party and Hizbullah are both terrorist AND political organizations).

2. Either Hizbullah violated Israeli security first, or vice versa - contrary to the narrative in the American media, there is conflicting evidence as concerns just who started all this (since Israel reportedly abducted two medics from S. Lebanon several days prior to the abduction of the two Israeli soldiers).

3. By Israeli and Bush administration logic, however, as a result of this political party's action, a weak and budding democracy (i.e. Lebanon) that cannot control its entire country is to be made to suffer through a horrific humanitarian catastrophe with long term political and economic consequences.*

*By the way folks, collective punishment, of which the Israelis are guilty, is a war crime; so too, is Hizbullah's firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian targets - there are few good guys here, though some are distinctly more odious than others, and the people of Lebanon and Israel, are caught in the middle, though the Lebanese far, FAR away have the worst of it.

4. So . . . does that mean that if a renegade political party that does not reflect the will of a majority gains control of a country, or even a part of a country, that that country should be collectively punished if that political party decides to violate the sovereignty of another country?

Hmmmmm - I just CANNOT for the life of me see where such logical fallicies might lead . . . .

Too bad president swagger's Pompeian attempt to stomp his foot and make legions appear with his epic, timeless "Stop this shit" failed to do the trick (maybe if we put it into Latin - finem huic merdae pone . . . . naaaah!).

Don't ask me where all this is leading kids . . . Iraq is Shiite, Iran is Shiite, and we are bombing their fellow Shiites (Israel with American made munitions folks) in Lebanon. Something is going to give - be very very worried. These days it rattles in my mind that Bin Laden said he got the idea of taking down U.S. skyscrapers when he saw our bombs, via Israeli proxies, taking down buildings in Beirut in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war and Israel's invasion. This is not invention, this is public knowledge.

Bush's policies have made this a far more dangerous world than before, and made the job for hard working professionals in our intelligence and diplomatic community extremely difficult. Extreme cynic that I've become I can't but think that it is intentional, since these policies, horrific as they are, could well serve to put an iron one party lock on the country that will be near impossible to break in the near term. When you get a single political party that feeds a massive military-industrial complex and that complex shovels money to it, it becomes a monopoly that is near impossible to break. It is a case of cupido dominandi cunctis affectatibus flagrantior est, and it was Eisenhower's nightmare (which has now been realized).

All of this is very very bad.

Now excuse me while I put some MREs, water and a few cases of whiskey in my basement.

HE

Support the troops?

2006-07-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

There is a narrative that has long since taken hold with the right in this country and is perpetuated even by circles in the left that we need to be sensitive to the opinion of the troops and our military and that their opinions about the war carry more weight than those who have not served.

Well folks, the last time I checked one of the cornerstones on which this country was built was the separation of civilian and military powers. The minute we decide to grant the military greater moral authority, greater political authority is sure to follow, and the last thing I want, and the last thing the founding fathers wanted, was a Roman style military dictatorship in which the military gained an excess of "potestas".

The Pentagon and its minions in the corporate, media, and political elite already have a disordinate amount of power. Does the military need more? Enough is enough. Whether you are Christopher Hitchens or Tom Hayden, you as a civilian who has never donned a uniform have as much authority and right to your opinion as does Bill O'Reilly or Cindy Sheehan.

As for supporting the troops, I've never really been sure what that means. You hear it a great deal from people who, as is the case with many of us, over consume the planet's resources without question; that in turn means we have "national interest" (read really consumer, corportate and military interest) just about everywhere which in turn drives military deployment and war industry. In the process, young, eager, nationalistic men are put in harm's way. Support the troops? You really only do that if you resist their misuse; you do not do it by deferring to the opinion of the soldiery and military.

HE

Lamb and Potatoes . . .

2006-06-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

At the request of my Shiatsu message therapist (oh we Classicists lead pampered lives!), here it is!

Take two and a half pounds of leg of lamb and cut it into big chunks. Toss it in flour and sautee in a big deep pan or dutch oven in 3-4 T. olive oil for 10 minutes until golden brown.

Throw in 2 sprigs of rosemary, 4 fresh chopped sage leaves, and 2 cloves crushed garlic. Sautee briefly, add salt and pepper.

Throw in 3/4 c. white wine or vermouth and 1/3 c. white wine viengar - cook til evaporated.

Add in 2 lbs thinly sliced potatoes and 2/3 cup water and transfer to roasting pan. Cook about 30-40 minutes at 375-400. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Serve.

Mmmmmmmmm!

HE

Your arteries creak, then your head explodes, then you die . . .

2006-06-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hello! I feel like a cartoonist getting angry letters about not understanding a joke over my arteries post. Doh! It's just after the rotisserie chicken post. Have you tried the rotisserie chicken? It's like eating a pound of crisped up chicken skin. It's Nirvanna - and it's deadly.

The question is, do you have the courage to eat? Do you have it in you? Will you eat the crispy skin, dripping fat, rich in cholesterol, dealing death?

HE

Take this . . .

2006-06-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

QUIZ

"He who knows not his own history is destined to go through life a child."

- Cicero, De Re Publica

HE

PS - I'm going to be kicking around Greece for a few weeks and will be hanging out in kafeneia people watching and relaxing - NOT blogging. You're on your own America - how will you cope!

Definitely be sure to see . . .

2006-06-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

An Inconvenient Truth. It is playing at Bethesda Row Landmark on Woodmont Ave., and also at the E Street Cinema and in Georgetown as well. Playing only in 77 theaters nationwide, it still placed 9th this week for box office receipts.

It is an alarming and compelling film, with some pretty hard-boiled scientific evidence that not only is global warming a fact, but that it is caused by human behavior, especially all of us westerners - in particular Americans - dumping CO2 into the air. Its consequences will be catastrophic. We are not talking simply no polar bears in Alaska; we are talking no Dutch in Holland; no Italians in Italy; no Germans in Germany.

As the film notes, this is not a political but a moral issue, and, even more than that, an issue of our own survival. And it concerns more than simply rising sea levels and dwindling snows on glacial pack folks - this is the big one. Visualize Europe under ice, a global demographic disaster and refugee crisis, and, well, and end of the world as we know it.

Alarmist? Maybe - but we've already seen once what happened when W. and the creatures that support him decided to take a stick and poke it into the hornets nest that is the Middle East. Do you want to see him try that with Mother Nature? Well, we're letting him. We can do much to alleviate this problem, and we are doing nothing, nihil, ziltch, ouden, nada.

Remember the "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature" ads in the 1970s? (Many of you will not - a woman dressed as Mother Nature was given margarine, thought it was butter ["why of course, it's my soft creamy butter!"], and boy at the end of the ad [when she discovered that it was margarine] was she PISSSSSED! - she stretched out her hands, invoked thunder and lightening, the little woodland creatures ran for the hills and a racoon put his little paws over his eyes.) Well W. and every one, including some of you who drive vehicles that are far from fuel efficient, are poking a stick in the hornets nest. Uncool to the max.

Someone alert Bush - Apocolypse Now is a movie, not a policy.

HE

I . . .

2006-06-03T02:49:00.000-07:00

am artery, hear me creak!

Rubbed rotisserie chicken . . .

2006-06-02T03:59:00.000-07:00

This is really really good!

Make a rub consisting of 1 package Schillings mesquite marinade mix (don't prepare the marinade, just use the dry seasonings), and approximately one and a half to two teaspoons each chili powder, oregano, creole seasonings, and cumin; add about a half teaspoon of salt. Mix it up with a small fork.

Take one whole chicken (organic), rinse and pat dry, stuffing it with the giblets. Take a small handfull of the mix and sprinkle it in the cavity; then rub the whole thing with the seasoning rub.

You will need a rotisserie for this - spit the chicken and rotate it for about an hour and a half to two hours, cool slightly then serve.

MMMMMMMMMMAH! Pollo Fiesta, eat your heart out! I don't need your Peruvian chicken any more!

HE

An Iraqi Specialty.

2006-05-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a political post. This recipe was given in the Washington Post some time ago by a woman whose husband served in Iraq and enjoyed this dish while he was there. It's my variation on it - enjoy!

In a big splash of olive oil saute some firm white fish such as swordfish or halibut.

When browned on each side, set in a baking dish.

In the same pan add 2-3 T. of butter and more oil. Saute 2 big vidalia onions thinly sliced and a few cloves of chopped garlic.

Stir in 1 T. hot red Thai curry paste.

Stir in 4 big peeled, chopped tomatoes until cooked and blended (you can use a big can of peeled tomatoes in a pinch).

Pour sauce over the fish and cook for 10 minutes or so at 350. Squeeze the juice of one lemon on top and add some fresh chopped parsley.

Serve with hunks of fresh bread.

Mumtaz!

HE

Colbertishness . . .

2006-05-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

HE is Colbertish on America, because he admires the quality of Colbertishness and those who Colbertishly confront those who Colbertize the un-Colberterized portion of the Colbert Nation, and we are going to undertake the Colberterisation of this country one verb, noun, adjective and adverb at a time.

HE

Cicero, Tacitus, and American Despotism.

2006-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

I’m always leery of drawing parallels between the past and the present or trying to argue a political point based on the Classical Antiquity that I teach and study professionally. It can get one into a good bit of trouble: I think for instance of the hawkish Professor Hansen and how he waxes poetic about Thucydides, the glories of democracy, and the violence inherent in the human condition (though I have the impression he’s rarely stopped to consider that it is inherent because we’ve decided to make it so – just as for so long the indisputable truth that some were fit only for servitude or that women were inherently inferior to men were truths not worthy of dissent); yet he seems to willfully disregard some of the most pertinent and instructive lessons in Thucydides. Hybris, overreach, restraint with the threat of force rather than the actual reversion to armed conflict, and the uncertainties of any conflict that should make us wary of resort to force are central themes for Thucydides, and perhaps deserve greater attention than Hansen tends to give them. However there has been something on my mind for many months and I simply need to get it off my chest. It concerns what Cicero and Tacitus tell us about the nature of tyranny and free government.

Cicero tells us in the De Re Publica (The Republic) that the fulcrum of the free state consists of the mutual bonds of affection between its citizens. When that disintegrates, and fear begins to govern a populace, it can no longer be said to be free; it will look to centralized authority, which itself has a tendency to govern through fear.

Indeed, the central characteristic of the tyrant, as understood by Cicero (who draws on Plato), is that fear is the means by which he rules. In turn, he himself is largely motivated by his own fears to govern through it. It is a dread dialectic. Tacitus in his Annales explores this still further – for Tacitus the emperors - Tiberius, Domitian, and their ilk – are subjected to fear and suspicion, which serve to isolate the emperor, who consequently has no choice but to govern through intimidation in order to ensure his own personal security.

I will confess that this is a much more complex matter both for the Romans and for us than the crude and hasty schema I have just presented. However at base what we have at the moment is a society and a government that is not driven by Cicero’s mutual affection (caritas), but by fear (metus). While it would be naïve to think the world is an entirely safe place, it is also not nearly as dangerous as some would have us believe. Will we run in panic mode today over a nuclear Iran that is ten years away and even further from using those nuclear capabilities against us? Is Bin Laden under our bed? Do we hide and tremble under the sheets from bird flu, same sex marriage, speakers of Spanish, or the color-coded threat system changing its colors from pastel to neon today? Or, worst of all, is some college prof polluting the malleable minds of our young with subversive authors such as Horace, Aristophanes, or Sophocles?

What Frankenstein will our administration construct today from the assorted moribund and decayed parts of its policy? And what will such a state, itself pieced together by corrupt members, look like?

Run – run very fast and vote for the person who will protect you from some freshly stitched monster – one who pens illegal riders to every speck of legislation he signs, one who will not flinch from the courageous policies of torture and illegal detention, who will not hesitate to protect you by razing Fallujah, by making sodomy against prisoners in Iraq policy even as he decries gay marriage on the domestic front, who has shredded the Constitution's fourth amendment, derided Geneva, and mocked Nuremburg, who has no regard for history’s judgment or the reputation of his nation, who believes in social Darwinism even as he decries Darwin, who is a decider and stands by his square peg convictions in this round round world, who believes only in three things, power, power, and more power. But as you run bear in mind the observation of the historian Barbara Tuchmann, that to see an enemy where none exists constitutes cowardice.

Perhaps because it has been said so many times, perhaps because it’s such a common part of our political discourse, that Roosevelt’s admonition, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”, has all but been forgotten. Yet it remains profoundly true. In the end free government is not about security – and it’s dubious whether free government and security can go hand in hand (and they most certainly cannot in this country so long as it pursues unjust policies abroad). No. In the end it is about courage and justice, and if you practice the later there will be no real need for the former.

Ultimately, as Cicero and Tacitus tell us, fear is the truest enemy of a free people - and the greatest friend of the despot.

HE

Does this look familiar? . . . .

2006-05-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

It should. It is starkly reminiscent of this photo (you can click on the link - decorum prohibits my posting it on this site).

No ifs ands or buts . . . nos imperium Romanum sumus.

There's nothing more to say about this - the Roman mosaic with a criminal exposed to the beasts and the Abu Ghraib photo side by side speaks for itself.

"Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain, and all the children are insane. All the children are insane. Waiting for the summer rain."

- Jim Morrison

HE

Will someone PAHLEEZ . . .

2006-05-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

see to it that Steven Colbert get the MEDAL OF FREEDOM for having the courage and fortitude to tell the politicos and media snots to their face that they are knaves and sycophants? You can see his stroll into the lions' den at crooksandliars.com (you can go to informed comment for the link).

Michasel Scherer at Salon.com ("Truthiness Hurts") has the best take on it I've read yet. Here are some excerpts:

Colbert is not just another comedian with barbed punch lines and a racy vocabulary. He is a guerrilla fighter, a master of the old-world art of irony. For Colbert, the punch line is just the addendum. The joke is in the setup. The meat of his act is not in his barbs but his character -- the dry idiot, "Stephen Colbert," God-fearing pitchman, patriotic American, red-blooded pundit and champion of "truthiness." "I'm a simple man with a simple mind," the deadpan Colbert announced at the dinner. "I hold a simple set of beliefs that I live by. Number one, I believe in America. I believe it exists. My gut tells me I live there."

Then he turned to the president of the United States, who sat tight-lipped just a few feet away. "I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound -- with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."

It was Colbert's crowning moment. His imitation of the quintessential GOP talking head -- Bill O'Reilly meets Scott McClellan -- uncovered the inner workings of the ever-cheapening discourse that passes for political debate. He reversed and flattened the meaning of the words he spoke. It's a tactic that cultural critic Greil Marcus once called the "critical negation that would make it self-evident to everyone that the world is not as it seems." Colbert's jokes attacked not just Bush's policies, but the whole drama and language of American politics, the phony demonstration of strength, unity and vision. "The greatest thing about this man is he's steady," Colbert continued, in a nod to George W. Bush. "You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday."

It's not just that Colbert's jokes were hitting their mark. We already know that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, that the generals hate Rumsfeld or that Fox News lists to the right. Those cracks are old and boring. What Colbert did was expose the whole official, patriotic, right-wing, press-bashing discourse as a sham, as more "truthiness" than truth.

********

Political Washington is accustomed to more direct attacks that follow the rules. We tend to like the bland buffoonery of Jay Leno or insider jokes that drop lots of names and enforce everyone's clubby self-satisfaction. (Did you hear the one about John Boehner at the tanning salon or Duke Cunningham playing poker at the Watergate?) Similarly, White House spinmeisters are used to frontal assaults on their policies, which can be rebutted with a similar set of talking points. But there is no easy answer for the ironist. "Irony, entertaining as it is, serves an almost exclusively negative function," wrote David Foster Wallace, in his seminal 1993 essay "E Unibus Pluram." "It's critical and destructive, a ground clearing."

So it's no wonder that those journalists at the dinner seemed so uneasy in their seats. They had put on their tuxes to rub shoulders with the president. They were looking forward to spotting Valerie Plame and "American Idol's" Ace Young at the Bloomberg party. They invited Colbert to speak for levity, not because they wanted to be criticized. As a tribe, we journalists are all, at heart, creatures of this silly conversation. We trade in talking points and consultant-speak. We too often depend on empty language for our daily bread, and -- worse -- we sometimes mistake it for reality. Colbert was attacking us as well.

HE

Can You Hear Me Now . . . ?

2006-05-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Should probably replace e pluribus unum as the national motto.

Just a thought.

HE

News Notes:

2006-04-26T03:23:00.000-07:00

Ah, the glories of privatization:

Reported via Juan Cole who links to the story in Mercury News (under a post dated April 24):

"Some of the civilian firms supplying "military support services" at US military bases in Iraq have been using slave labor. This report confines itself to speaking of "human trafficking" and "confiscated passports," but it is obviously talking about slavery pure and simple. I have long been against all the boondoggles of corporate socialism in the defense industries, whereby jobs that could be done efficiently and inexpensively by GIs are farmed out as pork barrel patronage to private firms, who do them inefficiently and very expensively. And, it turns out that the corruption in Iraq among American "contractors" has been mind-boggling. But even I could not have imagined slavery."

Ah, so glad we kicked those commies in the patoosky:

Democracy Now interviewed Antonia Juhasz about her new book, "The Bush Agenda: Invading the World, One Economy at a Time" yesterday. She notes the following in the interview (you can read the whole transcript on the Democracy Now link):

"Currently, 150 U.S. corporations have received $50 billion worth of contracts, as you said in the introduction, to utterly fail in reconstruction in Iraq, but the money has still been granted. And Mahdi is the person who advanced Paul Bremer's one hundred orders in Iraq that opened up the economy. But more importantly to the Bush administration, he is the person who has most aggressively pushed their agenda for a new oil law in Iraq, which would open up Iraq’s oil sector, the vast majority of Iraq's oil sector, to private foreign corporate investment."

She continues:

" . . . it’s a myth that there was not a post-war planning done by the Bush administration. The reason why it failed was because the interests it was serving were U.S. multinationals, not reconstruction in Iraq.

That plan was ready two months before the invasion. It was written by BearingPoint, Inc., a company based in Virginia that received a $250 million contract to rewrite the entire economy of Iraq. It drafted that new economy. That new economy was put into place systematically by L. Paul Bremer, the head of the occupation government of Iraq for 14 months, who implemented exactly one hundred orders, basically all of which are still in place today. And everyone who is watching who is familiar with the policies of the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the World Bank, the I.M.F., will understand the orders.

They implement some of the most radical corporate globalization ideas, such as free investment rules for multinational corporations. That means corporations can enter Iraq, and they essentially don't have to contribute at all to the economy of Iraq. The most harmful provision thus far has been the national treatment provision, which meant that the Iraqis could not give preference to Iraqi companies or workers in the reconstruction, and therefore, U.S. companies received preference in the reconstruction. They hired workers who weren't even from Iraq, in most cases, and utterly bungled the reconstruction."

Your tax dollars at work! And it gets worse, much much worse. As I said, you can read the whole transcript at Democracy Now.

Ah, that good old American sense of fair play at work:

Please check out Juan Cole's post today. He is the current object of a smear campaign by the WSJ (which stands for Wimps Saber Jiggling) and please, if you know his work, write a letter in support of him and against the lies and falsehoods of the commentator (Mr. Fund) who is misusing an enormous public platform to slander a well-respected public intellectual and scholar, and who stands in a relatively defenseless situation.

Catitude Dancing.

2006-04-24T10:18:00.000-07:00

This was our cat Miss Artemis. We picked her up at the Providence Animal Rescue League on December 26th, 1989. She passed away on July 23, 2004. She went not only by Artemis, but most frequently by Arty, Arty-Barty-Boos, Barts, the Bartster, Bartys of the Bunny Fur (she always had bunny fur!), What-a-puss-plata-puss, Buddah Puff, and Lard Butt.

We brought her home when she was just five weeks old and covered with fleas. It was at this time that she came to learn to enjoy baths (yes, baths!)

From the start she was a hellion and she idolized Bill the Cat. "Aaachthppppt! Kiss the devil, kiss the devil! I snort the nose Lucifer, banana banana!"

She also had her pensive and reflective side . . .

"Where do the little birdies go when they die Miss Artemis?" "Sandwiches - next question!"

Dignified and stately, she could also be a doofus who periodically got high on the scent of old shoes . . . She also adored catnip and charging into paper bags in which she played hide and seek . . .

In August of 1990 Miss Drusilla entered Arty's life and ours. She passed away on April 3, 2006 . . .

Drusilla loved to eat (don't let her lithe figure fool you), as this half eaten pick, with HE also in the photo, shows . . .

The Drusters was a fat happy cat, whose hobbies included sleeping, eating and more sleeping! (On the whole, cats sleep sooo much that death for a cat really isn't much different from life for a cat, just fewer visits to the litter box!) She also was the scourge of house plants and Christmas trees. One year I came home to find her perched in the middle of our holiday tree; that night I awoke to find that she had conveyed all the soft ornaments (miniature knit stockings, etc.) from the tree and set them on our bed. Decorum prohibits my telling what happened to the tinsel . . . .

Drusilla was an occasional reader of the Classics . . .

While they were enthusiastic Hellenists, somehow Latin always put them to sleep . . . though the sound of my printer was always good for a game of "paw the dissertation while dad prints chapter 3!" . . .

They were also members of the kitty-mafia, and shakedowns for catnip were frequent and violent ("the Meownos - feline family redefined"). The two of them were also best buddies, although I think Arty got the better end of things since Drusilla was the one to clean her ears when they slept together . . . not that there's anything wrong with that!

The two of them had a routine of morning wrestling matches, with Arty always wiggling her butt waiting for Drusilla to turn the corner in ambuscade, then POUNCE, and the battle was on until the two made up for the day. (Bartys had a real mean right hook and tormented Drusilla for years, though we suspect that Drusilla was in fact the alpha tabby - but you could hear the "Bartys Boof" in the next room as she thwacked Drusilla upside the whiskers).

Snarfle urph snurfle grumph urph . . . .

In July of 1998 Miss Ashley Boots entered our life, an adoption from HE's sister-in-law. At the time she was 14 and lived to the ripe old age of 21, passing away in August of 2005. The Druster and Miss Boots, as she came to be called, were particularly bitter territorial rivals (and we always imagined Miss Drusilla saying to herself "Ooooooh I HAAAATE duh Siamese!!!!").

Miss Boots was quite the puff - an eccentric old lady who, like Frank Sinatra, did it her way! (Which is why she lived in my wife's home office for lo these many years!)

There you have it - three great feline companions - feles elegantissimae, who now rest together forever under a fig tree in HE's backyard.

Vale! Et tu!

(Meow Ack Thpt!)

PS - Special thanks to Glaukopidos for her help in posting these photos!

AQVA NIGRA FELLAT.

2006-04-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

This morning's installment of Democracy Now, hosted by Amy Goodman (who deserves the Pulitzer, Nobel, AND Medal of Freedom) was one of the best ever. She interviewed the mother of one of the four "security contractors" (the Greeks called them "mercenaries") working for Blackwater and killed in Fallujah (you remember Fallujah, the city we love sooo much that we razed it twice, violating all at once Geneva, Nuremburg, and 9 out of those 10 glorious commandments that Dear Leader and his ecstatic Maenads want oh-soooo desperately to shove in our face). Go read the report - and if you still want to sing "Oh Captain My Captain" to Dear Leader and write a paean to the glorious triumphs of an utterly unfettered market, then I've got some real estate to sell you on the slopes of Vesuvius, though I admire the stamina of anyone able to keep their eyes squint shut and their fingers in their ears screaming LALALALALALALALALA for five years and counting (despite their otherwise shameful lack of courage and apparent inability to let go of that square shaped Weltanschauung into which they attempt to force our [unyet as recognized or understood by them] round globe). Tanti Auguri!!!!

HE

Aeschylus' The Persians.

2006-04-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Aeschylus' play - the first in western drama (produced in 472 B.C.) - is playing currently at the Shakespeare theater on 7th St. downtown. I saw it last night and it was one of the most powerful and gripping productions I've seen in some time, and certainly one of the best productions I've ever seen at that theater. The modern parallels are inescapable and the production highlights them to the max - at the play's opening an enormous map of the Persian empire is projected on the back of the stage, with the capitol Susa gradually coming into increasing prominence until all that is projected onto the stage backdrop is the word SUSA (with a large star in the middle of the U). Please note those last three letters - need we say more concerning whom this play was really about?

Two lines in particular struck me in this production - one elder counselor's horrified guilt over "sending young men to chase old mens' dreams", and later the ghost of Darius angrily rebuking a policy of arrogant grasping "that will first render one monstrous, then bereft." The back flooring of bloody sand, the music played throughout the drama, Atossa and the chorus of Persians - all of these work to a crescendo of majestic despair.

It struck me at the end, however, that one parallel was not apt between the current situation and the play: the play has a sense of horror, loss, remorse. That is to say, the Persians, even the boy-king Xerxes who stands in the long shadow of his better father Darius - they are educable, introspective, self-critical (which, someone alert the WSJ, does NOT mean self-loathing - HELLOh-OOOh?!?!?!?!) and human.

How powerful was the production? My heart sank in dread as a bunch of giggling high school students on a school trip sat directly in front of us in the theater, but once the play started they were completely silent through the whole hour and a half.

If any of my students see this, let me urge you to try and get a student discount to go and see this production. It will be time well spent. I'd urge the powers-that-be to see it too - but it would just be lost on the likes of a Feith, a Wolfowitz, a Shrub. Alas, there is far too much dunamis and far too little sunetos in the world.

H.E.

Thanatos.

2006-04-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

H.E.'s great good friend Miss Drusilla, also know as Drewies, the Drewster and Drewster-Doos (Drewster-Drewster-DREWSTER-DOOS!), has passed away. Of sweet disposition and a great companion who greeted him each morning, she was a frequent friend during his morning coffee/newspaper/Greek time, and of excellent temperament, provided you came through on the morning head rub. I will be blogging pictures of Drusilla and her great good friend Miss Artemis (Dec. 26, 1989-July 23rd 2004), and her arch nemesis, Miss Ashley Boots (1984[!]-Aug. 2005 ["Oooooh I HATE da Siamese!"]) soon.

The bestest, fatestest Tabby in the world, giver of love bites, snarfler of kibble, striped simba-doos of the mighty lard-butt, caller of pride meetings, she accepted us into her life when, given cream as a kitten, she incanted "mew-mew-mew", which we took as a token of pleasure at being welcomed into the home of Sybarites.

Vale! Et tu.

HE

Classical Guacamole.

2006-03-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

Hey, I'm a classicist so EVERY recipe is a "classic".

Seriously though, if you are looking for the Platonic form of guacamole look no further. Eurekas!

Guacamole, or, as it is known in Latin, Guacamole (let it stand as a 3rd declension neuter).

1. Mash 3-4 ripe avacados.

2. Mix in 2 T. lime juice.

3. Chop up finely about 1/4 c. red onions and 2-3 medium tomatoes. Mix in to the guacamole.

4. Add in a generous dash of salt, 1/2-1 t. cumin, 3-4 generous dashes of tabasco, and a grinding of pepper.

5. Stir in 1/4-1/2 c. sour cream.

Serve with chips or pits - ENJOY!

H.E.

Lamb meatballs with eggplant and cousous.

2006-03-25T15:36:00.000-08:00

This was a recipe that I first imagined then made it so - pure inspiration. The ninth muse (otherwise known as Julia Child) spoke to me!

The Meatballs:

1. Mix one pound of ground lamb, 1/3 c. each milk and bread crumbs, 2 eggs, salt, pepper, a bit of parsley, and LOTS of crushed garlic (about 5 really big cloves, or 10 medium).

2. Form the balls and place them on a baking sheet with foil that you've sprayed with Pam (I like the non-stick spray with canola oil).

3. Shape about 12 2" balls and bake them for 40 min. at 375.

The Sauce:

1. Chop a large yellow onion and saute in olive oil (about 3 T). When translucent and golden set aside.

2. In the same pan add 1/2 c. olive oil, and fry up 1 peeled chopped eggplant (I salt it and let it leach out water for about 10 minutes then pat it with a paper towel before cooking) til thoroughly cooked.

3. Add back in the onion, 2C. tomato sauce and 1 small (14 oz.) can of tomatoes chopped ( be sure to add the juices from the can). Throw in 2 t. tumeric.

4. Simmer on low.

NOW:

When the meatballs are done add into the tomato and eggplant saauce and simmer on very low heat about 20 minutes.

For the COUSCOUS:

1. Sautee in 3-4 T. of butter (these days though I use Smart Balance since it has flax seed oil and is REALLY good for you!) 1 finely chopped onion.

2. Simmer on back burner 3 c. natural low sodium chicken broth.

3. Add in 1 large can of chick peas.

4. Add in a couple of handfuls of pine nuts.

5. Throw in 2-3 T parsley, and 2 t. each cumin and tumeric, a generous grinding of pepper and 1 t. salt.

6. Add in the hot broth and then add in 1 & 1/2 c. couscous.

7. Bring to a boil, then cover and let sit for 5-10 min. then fluff.

Serve the couscous with the meatballs and sauce on top or the side.

MMMMMMMMMMMMM . . . . MEATBALLS!!!!!!

HE

NB - this recipe was inspired by a 12 hour stint of intensive review of modern Greek that started at 4 AM (!), followed by mulching, wall building, composting, window washing, edging, minor household repairs, and an Odyssey after the perfect garden Buddah!

Killer penne pasta with eggplant.

2006-03-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

1. Peel and chop an eggplant. Fry it in gobs of olive oil (at least 1/3 c., more if it dries out), with a chopped onion.

2. Add in 1 small can chopped tomatoes, 2c. homemade tomato sauce (preferably from your freezer - you know, the stuff you grew in your garden then cooked up to freeze and eat over the winter).

3. Simmer. Meanwhile cook one pack of penne (1 lb).

4. Chop up one ball of smoked mozarella.

5. Mix together the pasta, mozarella, and eggplant and tomato sauce.

6. Place in a large well oiled pan, top with plenty of parmeasan cheese, bake for 20 minutes at 350.

HE

Why We Fight . . .

2006-03-24T13:48:00.000-08:00

is an outstanding documentary by Andrew Jarecki. H.E. highly recommends it . . . watch it along with The Corporation, an excellent documentary about corporate responsibility, consumerism, and sustainable growth on our planet (written and directed by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, and Joel Bakan).

Pax!

HE

The Meleagrean Ground Hog . . .

2006-03-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

has once again, as of today, emerged from its dark and brooding lair underneath my front porch to ravage the land that is Homo Edax's garden for yet another year. Marigolds, tomatoes, eggplants, peaches, mums, nothing will be safe that might add to the amplitude of this furry monster's girth. And nothing will stop it - not have- a-heart traps, not filling in its hole, not hot pepper spray - nothing, save the heavy steel end of a shovel wielded by the mighty arm of an angry gardener.

This year there is to be no sitting on my flower bed munching day lillies as I weed a mere three feet away; there will be no "morning conversations" with the neighborhood cat; there will be no holding me in contempt, eating in front of me as I sit drinking a cold beer on a hot July afternoon; there will be no sentiment wasted for he is not my friend, not my quasi pet - he is fur, teeth, stomach, claw, and EVIL!

This year there is one thing in store for Sig. Groundhoggio -

Morte. Thanatos. Death.

A bitter Thucydidian reality, but not one that I created. As the Greek tragedians tell us, life is harsh: hapant'epachthei plein theoinesi koiranein, eleutheros gar outis esti plein Dios! Soon, very soon, darkness will cover his eyes - vitaque porcus terrae cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras!

HE

The Judgement of Paris.

2006-03-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Ross King has now come out with his book on Manet, The Judgement of Paris. The Washington Post reveiwed it this morning, and it promises to be a good read. I'll wait, however, until it comes out in paperback to get it, unless Glaukopidos can get me a Border's sconto.

HE

Gods and Monsters and Other Creatures . . .

2006-03-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

If you watch Gods and Monsters you will be able to say on Monday that you saw a realy great flick this weekend. Nor will it be a waste of your time to go see Why We Fight.

Recommended reading: Good-bye to All That by Robert Graves.

HE

Chicken Stew

2006-03-01T13:56:00.000-08:00

This is a great and non-traditional dish for a winter night:

Sautee in olive oil a pack of boneless skinless chicken thighs and legs. Brown and set aside.

Drain off excess fat and sautee two slices onions and four coarsely chopped yukon gold potatoes.

Add in a can of chopped tomatoes, a splash of red wine, half a small jar of capers, a handful of stufed olives, and about a dozen chopped sun dried tomatoes.

Add back in the chicken and simmer. Serve hot.

I suspect we could add artichoke hearts but it's good as is, although I suspect it would taste very good served with impeachment.

H.E.

Hopkinson Smith's

2006-02-10T05:46:00.000-08:00

recording of Pierre Attaingnant: Preludes, Chasons and Dances is music that will enrich and rejuvenate you.

Anthony Bailey

2006-02-10T05:44:00.000-08:00

There's a marvelous book by Anthony Bailey titled Vermeer. A View of Delft. It's an oustanding window into the life and times of this masterful Dutch artist.

Jonathan Harr . . .

2006-02-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

I know I've scaled back postings - I've been terribly busy between leading students to Italy and getting geared up for this semester. Last week, however, life stopped as I read a fabulous book by Jonathan Harr entitled "The Lost Painting", a true life mystery about the discovery and restoration of Michelangelo Merisi di Carravaggio's painting "The Taking of Christ". Don't look for too many postings any time soon - too busy these days!

H.E.

Perigrinationes Africanae . . .

2005-12-25T17:53:00.000-08:00

For years my curmudgeon friend – let’s call him Bob - a retired philosophy professor from a small college in Pennsylvania - let’s call it Juniata - had begged me to go with him to Tunisia. I hadn’t yet seen Carthage, felt I should, so I said Carthago visenda est! We had actually spent a month together in Italy before heading to Tunis, part of it with our wives eating our way through Umbria (see the entry on Umbria), so we flew a short but not cheap Alitalia flight to Tunis from Rome. At the airport we got high-jacked by an older gentleman who offered to take us for a ride as well as give us transport to Tunis, and against my better judgment and wishes, because he promised it would be cheap, Bob insisted (note to reader: Bob is insistent. He also snores.) So once he got the car started (after about twenty minutes) we headed off to Tunis, stopping for gas only once during which the driver filled his car with petrol while it was running, smoking a cigarette with us in a backseat impossible to evacuate because of our bags. Did I mention the cigarette? Once in Tunis we stayed in a pretty decent hotel on the Avenue Bourghibah which Bob had reserved in advance for three nights.

There’s an enormous amount of stuff to see from and in Tunis, but our emphasis throughout the trip was (supposed to be) Roman and Punic archaeology. The Bardo Museum in Tunis is a dream for any fan of Roman mosaics, while you can take a short metro ride from Tunis to visit Carthage as well. The nice thing about Carthage is that it is just a short distance from the lovely city of Sidi Bou Said, in a gorgeous Mediterranean setting overlooking the mountains of Cape Bon, with white washed houses with bright blue trim and marvelous cafes where you can sit all day in the sun, drink coffee and smoke a hookah (don’t ask me what they put in it) – which we did, putting off Carthage to the end of our trip in favor of people watching. From Tunis, for those who can tear themselves away from the hookahs and caffeine, there are a myriad of Roman sites to visit – we chose the two big ones, Bulla Regia and Dougga, and we could have done more, but we wanted to head to points south.

The next day we headed for the louage station and south to El Djem. Louages are fabulous: you go to a station full of cars and vans with guys literally hawking cities. You go to the car or van heading to your destination, then you sit and wait until it’s full: we never waited more than an hour, sometimes less than 15 minutes. Then the drivers head off somewhere between light and warp speed, usually Arab music blaring, windows down, seat belt unfastened (except when they go past police check points), coffee in one hand, cigarette in the other, somewhere in the mix is the steering wheel, with about a three ton load, half of it my own body sweat. Did I mention the goat? Now since Bob is older and we only had eight days in Tunisia (we could have used three or four times that), we changed plans once we arrived at El Djem. We decided to spend the day at El Djem and then to head to the Sahara – Bob wanted to see the desert and has over thirty years on me; figuring I’d get back to Tunisia a couple of times still and he wouldn’t, I complied.

First, we found a cheap (and, I suspect, the only) hotel in El Djem, the Hotel Julius Caesar. The city is in the central northern part of the country, and it takes several hours, via louage, to get there from Tunis (even though you’ve gone through hyper-space). The rooms were cheap and nothing to write home about, but there was a lovely cool courtyard full of bougainvillea in full bloom and so we settled down to a nice lunch (the hotel has a great little restaurant, and to my shock a bar, but more on that later) before seeing the sites (all of which you can easily do on foot). For a mere $10 for two we both had enormous and delicious seafood salads – mainly octopus and assorted shellfish drenched in lemon and parsley and a light drizzle of olive oil, followed by an enormous platter of grilled lamb and a couple of beers. All the blood now in my stomach, we then walked zombie-like in our post-prandial haze through the April heat to see the local museum, an excavated Roman villa, and, oh yes a small detail I omitted, probably the most spectacular amphitheater in the Roman world outside of the Colosseum which rises imposingly out of the flat, parched terrain. The little museum is outstanding by any standard, with an extensive collection of Roman mosaics but also frankly some of the most – shall we say, interesting – um, pieces, of ancient erotic art (including a small terra cotta of a woman doing things with a donkey that would make a Paris Hilton video look tame) I’ve ever seen. Please don’t tell my parents. But the highlight of El Djem and what makes it worth the trip is the amphitheater, which we took the better part of the afternoon to wander around and where I practiced my Russell Crowe impression in the arena (note to self: sucking in a beer gut shouting “Are you not entertained?!?!?! Are you not entertained?!?!?!” can cause bladder leakage). Afterwards we sat outside at a concession and smoked hookahs (“You want hubbly-bubbly yes, please!”) and watched – shall we say a culturally unaware (Americans are not the only ones!) group of Swedish women wander about in their bikinis. Note to reader: wandering around the street in an Arab country in a bikini is bad etiquette – Doh! Note to Bob: Don’t ogle Swedish or Arab women – you’re seventy-four for Chrissake!

Now if at the end of a hot day of sight-seeing you want to unwind with a drink, or if you need a six o’clock fix (or five o’clock, or four-thirty fix for that matter) Tunisia may not be the place for you. Having traveled in Turkey and Syria and found that a good glass of wine is easy to find in those countires, I was a bit surprised when we found it difficult to have wine or a beer with dinner. This may not be true if you go to Tunis and stay at large hotels and resorts, but we were going native (including wearing Bin-Laden type turbans, in which I must say I look dashing while Bob looks like, well, the nurse from Romeo and Juliet). It was to my shock, then, that I noticed a hotel bar in El Djem open in the late afternoon with locals (all men) pouring into it for boozing it up. It was a scene: men not just ordering a round of beers, but ordering two, three, four beers each at a time, and pounding them back (I guess that’s how the ship of the desert floats!) I’d never known that belching men had such an impressive range of octave, and was damn glad my wife, or for that the goat (see louage trip above), was not around.

From El Djem we headed down to the desert – which took us the better part of the day, but at last we ended up in Douz. The hotel was nothing to write home about nor were the places and things one could eat – couscous, lamb, and not much else. But at the hotel we booked a two day trek into the desert on camels which, because of our original plan to just stick to Roman ruins (I’m saving Sbeitla and Maktar for another trip), we weren’t very well prepared for, but which was just the right amount of time and which was tremendous. At two in the afternoon we boarded a couple of camels, which are easy enough to ride - you just grab onto the saddle and hang on for dear life. A warning to couples: walk unless you’ve already had your family. I literally found it nearly impossible to sit for two days after spending several hours on the back of these animals. At any rate, after several hours we came to a Bedouin encampment and here my troubles really began. In my household, my wife is the designated bee-killer while I’m the designated arachnicide. What do you do when your enemy leaves signs yet is invisible? Everywhere one looks in the Sahara, despite its being barren, one sees signs of lizards, wild dogs, birds, dung-beetles, of things whose identity you just don’t want to know. For those interested in species diversity I’m sure it’s fascinating, but for those of us set to bed down in the sand that night it leaves us with a slight cork-screw sensation down the spine. Bob said going through the Sahara on camels would give me a new perspective on the Koran and Bible – it did. I now understand the plague of vermin sent to Egypt. If I were to do this again – and I intend to – I’d at the least take an inflatable mattress to stay off the sand, where I barely slept, thinking every rustle was a creature about to clamp the jaws of death around my ankle and inject some deadly substance into whatever blood had not yet frozen from sheer terror and the biting cold of the desert night. I’d also bring a bottle.

For all my complaints, the desert trek was truly a transcendent experience and a highlight of the trip - bathrooms and showers were non-existent, we carried provisions in a pack supplied by the guide. It strips life, if only for about 48 hours, to its barest essentials – no cell phone, no internet (not that you can readily find connections in Tunisia), no trees, nothing, not even the sound of a car or plane. Surrounded by dunes and the sound only of wind and buzzing flies that sounded vaguely like the muezzin, the silence was literally deafening and profound. To see the sun rise and set in the Sahara, to see the blazing ball of red dip at night on the horizon and see the wind turn on like a switch and gently blow the sand over the dunes, then to hear the night wind rage against your tent, is a transformative and humbling experience. It is not nearly as humbling though, as having the local dogs watch you use the outside latrine in the morning and to realize they are watching you to make sure you don’t get lost, because they know more about the place than you do and are wiser here than two dissolute reprobates with Ivy League PhDs masquerading as Lawrence of Arabia.

Our time in Tunisia running out as fast as the sand the winds had blown into every part of my underclothing (another unforgettable experience), we now headed up to Kerouan, the fourth holiest site in Islam set in an ancient walled city with an outstanding souq and known as one of the central places in the country for the manufacture of rugs. We arrived in the city late on Saturday too exhausted to do anything but wander around and find dinner, and had to leave by noon on Sunday to get back to Tunis in time to catch a noon flight Monday back to Rome. But that left us plenty of time to see the mosque and to shop for rugs on Sunday morning, something I had not intended to do since I was not impressed with the quality and style of rugs I had seen in Tunisia. Kerouan changed all that: the next morning as we emerged from the mosque we had just visited we were approached by a salesman who instantly sized up my weakness and accosted me with the query, “Hello sir, how can I help you to part from your money?”. By 11:30 a.m. I had given him a semester’s worth of lessons in just how and was the proud owner of a beautiful rug that ran me half the price of what I had paid for similar ones in Turkey. By the time we arrived in Tunis early that afternoon we still had time to head to Carthage via metro and see the ruins and museum – and that included getting lost in some of the beautiful suburbs around the site.

As one who studies, teaches and publishes in the area of Roman culture and history I certainly intend to go back. I still need to see a good number of Roman and Carthaginian sites still. And joking aside for the moment, the people and culture were both wonderful and we felt very welcome; when lost (as we were on a number of occasions), people were more than willing to help out, all of us using pigeon French to communicate. Next time I go however, I’ll allow more time and bring some extra accoutrements for the desert (namely a gun, toilet paper and a flask) to make life in the Sahara more amenable. Final words of advice: Learn French, don’t pay over $250 for a decent rug, and leave your goat outside the bar at El Djem.

H.E.

Lobstah Bisque fah Santah

2005-12-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Boil two 1.5 pound lobsters in 2 gallons of water for 12 minutes; plunge into ice water and chill for an hour or two. Save 1 quart of the lobster water.

Shell the lobster; chop the meat finely, set it aside, and reserve the shells.

Saute the shells in 3 T. butter and add 1/3 c. cognac and ignite; when the flame subsides add in 3 T. tomato paste, the lobster water, 1/2 c. finely chopped shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 2.5 c. white wine, 1 t. tarragon, 1/2 t. thyme, a pinch of red pepper flakes and 2 bay leaves. Boil then lower the temp. and simmer 1/2 an hour.

Strain the mixture and reserve it. Saute in a large pot 3 T. shallots, 3 T. butter, then add 3 T. flour and cook over medium heat for 1 minute; add in the reserve mixture (that you just strained) gradually whisking it in; add 2.5 c. whole milk and 3/4 c. half and half; heat over medium-medium low heat to a simmer, whisking to prevent burning on the bottom.

Put two egg yolks in a small bowl. Whisk in 1/2 c. of the hot soup stirring vigorously, then whisking constantly add the egg/soup mixture to the simmering soup; stir in the reserved lobster meat and simmer til hot, stirring all the while.

Serve at once (serves about 6); H.E. likes it with hot popovers.

H.E.

A Saturnalia Message: In Hoc Anno meets A.U.C.

2005-12-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

The rich man’s Pravda (aka the WSJ) ran its annual string of lies, fabrications and half-truths this year, propagated originally in 1949 by the renowned ignoramus Vermont Royster, in which VR took on directly that grave threat to American democracy, Tiberius Caesar. No fooling. (Okay, I KNOW it was the start of the Cold War and the mindset was the USSR = the Roman Empire, while the USA = DOH! NEVERMIND!!!!!) It is a perennial exercise in the dissing of Mr. Tiberius, and so full of elision, innuendo, rumor, and half-truth that Tacitus, somewhere today, is surely smiling; how Sig. Victor David can, in good conscience as an ancient historian, continue to contribute to pages far more committed to vitriol than truth, defies analysis (as does VDH’s line of reasoning on contemporary politics in general - he seems obsessed with violence and the fact that the French have wine with lunch).

Ahem, on to our deconstruction. The first paragraph of the WSJ states the following:

“When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage.”

Bondage? Not as the Romans defined it. The editorial implies, erroneously, that the ENTIRE population of Rome was slave; this is simply untrue. The question of liberty in antiquity is a vexed one for scholars, one too difficult to get into here. Suffice to say that, according to Tacitus, many of those in Rome who had given up their liberty (a property only of the privileged and propertied elite anyway, even during the “free” time of the republic) were only too happy to have security in place of the chaos that so harried the late republic. Gosh, giving up liberty for security; didn’t I see a headline in the WSJ editorial earlier this week that read “Thank you for wiretapping”? As for the whole of the known world living in bondage, sorry, wrong: Germania, Thule, Britannia, Hibernia, and points further south and east of which the Romans were quite aware, were NOT under Roman sway in the first century.

“There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.”

Well, one state if you except the client states of Rome; as for one master, maybe, but in the wake of Sejanus’ fall which had taken place at roughly the same time, Tiberius wasn’t even in a position to relieve from command certain of his governors (as witness the letter from Lentulus Gaetulicus, governor of Germany).

“Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.”

But just how effective Roman law enforcement was in the provinces is problematic, especially in rural areas. As for stability, someone alert Tacfarinas and Julius Sacrovir, whose revolts in north Africa and Gaul had shown just how unstable Roman control could be – and this does not include the perennial problems in the eastern provinces or on the border with Germania. But even if we accept that “the arm of the Roman law was long”, and that “Everywhere there was stability”, what kind of societies does the WSJ THINK the Romans conquered? Peaceful idyllic ones? Or would the WSJ prefer that the tribes of Germania, Hispania, and Gallia remain in a perpetual state of warfare? Is the WSJ advocating chaos and autonomy from outside powers instead of stability and security ensured by foreign powers? Then how the hell can it advocate current American policy in the Middle East? C’mon guys – figure it out and make up your minds!

“But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression--for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people.”

Actually Tiberius’ tax policy was quite humane: “A shepherd must sheer his flock not flay it” he famously said. As for largess to the people, Tiberius was notoriously stingy about the bestowal of any largess, which contributed to his poor reputation following the (by comparison) more generous Augustus. By the 30s it is also dubious just how many amici Tiberius had – he had already outlived many as he approached his early 70s, and there were few that he could or would trust after the conspiracy of one of his most trusted advisors, L. Aelius Sejanus, against him.

“There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?”

Can Mr. Royster tell me of a single individual executed by Tiberius as a result of his direct proscription? Can he cite with certitude anyone who fell undeservedly or unjustly at his direct order? No, because the analysis of such cases are notoriously problematic. As for serving Caesar, Tiberius tried desperately to grant greater autonomy to the senate of Rome, but they wouldn’t have it and insisted on his guidance, leading him at one point to depart the senate in a pique, exclaiming “O homines ad servitutem paratos!” As for the impressor, we admit that this was a gross institution, yet we also note that even Christians were addicted to such sport – one wonders if Mr. Royster ever read Augustine.

“There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?”

That such a statement finds its way into the WSJ’s pietistic musings at Christmas is perhaps one of the most breathtaking instances of hypocrisy one can imagine. First of all, the initial sentence is an out and out falsehood; again I ask, is there any instance that we can cite with certainty that any of the three assertions in the sentence actually occurred? The answer is three fold: no, No, NO. (Has the WSJ never heard of source criticism?) As for disdain of men sans familiar visage, how many unnecessary wars against people without “familiar visage” has the WSJ supported over the years? That the WSJ can support torture and capital punishment and then publish a line taking to task Roman “contempt for human life” speaks to just how tone deaf the editors and many readers of the WSJ are.

The rest of the editorial gets into theological matters whereby Jesus and Paul, apparently, establish American democracy after overthrowing the evil Roman empire. Never mind the definitional problems of libertas (a term the WSJ raises frequently in the editorial) and its meaning for those living in 793 versus 2759 a.u.c. Never mind the textual and historical issues which lead scholars and theologians to dispute over both the teachings and even historicity of Jesus (though one could scarcely expect intellectual rigor on the pages of a paper that endorses the policy of the court du jour). And never mind the political background to the writing of the gospels (generally anti-Roman and written in the wake of the revolt in Judaea between 66-71 C.E.), which serves as the essential backdrop for the concerns and subject matter in general of the NT (except for Acts and a hand full of epistles), a sometimes negative perspective that not all subject of the Empire shared. All of this simply renders further deconstruction, as any sober scholar in the field will agree, superfluous. And in terms of its intellectual heritage and influence, the WSJ simply grants an unwarranted amount of credit to the New Testament for the development of modern liberal democracy, with willful disregard for the contributions of Athenian democracy, Roman republicanism, and Enlightenment philosophy.

To conclude:

Okay WSJ (to draw from a famous John Cleesian diatribe), aside from their roads, education, public order, sanitation, urbanization, spreading of Greek learning, great monuments of and innovations in architecture, essential contributions to political theory, enormous body of great literature, and laying the foundations of a major modern religion and humanism, what have the Romans EVER DONE FOR US!

Now, sit down, shut up, sip your lobster bisque and go pick on an empire your own size!

Merry Saturnalia,

H.E.

VII Kal. Ian. MMCCCMLVIII A.U.C.

Last minute festivus for the restovus shopping . . .

2005-12-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

Two outstanding books for your reading pleasure - Ross King has two very fine and easy reads, one on Brunelleschi's dome in Florence, the other on Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling. I'm also going to check out John Harr's book on Caravaggio, and maybe Francine Prose's book too.

Coming up next: Twas the Night Before Lobster Bisque.

H.E.

How Homer Prepared a Rack of Lamb for the Holidays

2005-12-23T04:54:00.000-08:00

Take a woolly-fleeced lamb with attendants and slaughter it to the propitiating deity of which you have most need.

Once you have wrapped the thigh bones in fat and burned the offering on the altar, and have spitted and roasted the innards, take the choicest rack meat, consisting of one rack with seven ribs (white with glistening fat on one side), season the rack with salt and pepper, pepper from where the furthest Indus spills into the wine-dark sea.

Now take a burnished dark pot, oven-proof, that can hold its shield against Vulcan's powerful heat, and heat in it 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, glistening gift of Athena, then sear the white glistening fat side of the lamb for two minutes or so over the voracious, all-consuming fire, Prometheus' gift for which Zeus wracks him with dark pain, then using fierce-grabbing tongs, sear it on the meat side for as much time, then on the bone side.

Remove from the fierce, all-consuming fire, and let the meat stand for several minutes in the airy breezes of Zephyrus, brother of Boreas, or apply a crust consisting of bread crumbs (1/2 c.), mustard (1 T.), an egg, and herbs, salutary, not the baneful medicines of the Thessalian witch nor of distant Medea, Medea, baleful sorceress beguiling Jason and the daughters of Pelias, but those of the land of high Athens - oregano, rosemary, and thyme from which Attic bees make pure ambrosial honey.

Roast the meat bone side down in the oven (475) for 15-20 minutes and let rest for 5 before carving. Check the temparature with a thermometer and be not blinded by the judicial blindness of Ate and overcook the meat.

Summon now the serving attendants to make the sauce; skim the rich glistening fat from the roasting pan, leaving any juices in the pan, running red, red such as the blood that raged round the wound of mighty Patroklos, friend of Achilles, the day that Hektor, tamer of horses, slew him on the field of battle, and Patroklos fulfilled his fate.

Set the pan over medium heat of Vulcan's all-consuming fire and add two or three cloves of garlic, gift of the gods that give men courage, cook 15 seconds and add 1/2-2/3 cup brimming full of dark, flashing red wine, scrapping the pan, burnished bronze, until the dark bits at the bottom, delicious, full of flavor, are removed from the bottom; boil to reduce by half. Add about 1/2 c. of beef stock made from the chine of sleek shammbling cattle and reduce over Vulcan's flame, to about half the amount before adding 1 t. fresh chopped thyme, thyme such as that from the Attic countryside where the bees buzz in the time of the blossoms, and a half teaspoon of dijon, Dijon, where fierce red-headed warriors raise the mighty war-cry, terrible to hear. Prior to pouring this suace over the meat, you may add butter (2 T.) if you wish, clogger of arteries, that sends many souls to Hades' gloomy house and the infernal shades below, leaving men feast for dogs and carion birds.

You may increase this recipe if you wish; one rack feeds a hoplite, fighter with a round shield seven ox-hides thick faced with fierce Medusa, terrible to see.

Pour a libation of flashing wine from a well-crafted cup, worked with many studs, and when prayers have been said and servants have come around to the guests with silver basins for washing hands and stools for their feet, and when baskets of bread have been passed, you may stretch out your hands to the good cheer, giving the fat chine, choicest portion, to H.E., H.E. scion of Daedalus who taught him to be a man of many wiles in the culinary arts, whose mighty powers spread dread surfeit throughout the world of men.

H.E.

Somewhere in Umbria . . .

2005-12-20T06:29:00.000-08:00

that is my secret haunt there is an old farm house where you can stay. It is nestled in the hills in the center of Italy's cuore verde, and is un piccolo pezzo di Paradiso.

The heart of this place is a stable that has been converted into a large dining room, complete with heavy wood beams and an enormous stone fireplace, one where H.E. has spent many an hour on cold spring evenings imbibing on the farm's wine and watching the sun sink over the green valley below while growing intoxicated on il profumo della cucina. More inches have been put on H.E.'s waist in this single spot, than perhaps any other. Why, you might ask?

Let us journey through the three spheres that encompass human existence to explore why: No, not Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, rather antipasto, primo, and secondo (only the very very blessed ever make it to dolce).

Of the four nights recently spent there, the following menus were "on the table":

Day 1:

Antipasto: a huge plate of local olives, zucchini fritatta, local sausages, ricotta with sunflower honey, sweet and sour vegetables, cheese bread, and fresh raw marinated artichokes.

Primo: orchetti (made without egg) in turnip greens with broccoli rabe and pecorino cheese.

Secondo: huge pork chops and asparagus sauteed with oil, lemon and salt.

Dolce: a gelato shape with cream and clementines.

Day 2:

Antipasto: leek fritatta, homemade pecorino cheese, farm cured meats, deepfried timball of zucchini with eggplant, and brussel sprouts sauteed in oil, garlic and bacon.

Primo: straccetelli in tomato sauce with freshly chopped carrots, celery and bacon, and fresh peppers sliced and roasted with onions.

Secondo: chopped chicken with vinegar, wine and sage and rosemary; chicory with bacon.

Dolce: pears stewed in white wine with a heavy chocolate sauce topped with chopped nuts and cream on the side.

Day 3:

Antipasto: a repeat of the ricotta with honey, blood sausage, fennel roasted with butter and parmeasan, lemon olives, swiss chard with eggs and cheese, and more cheese bread.

Primo: homemade pasta in oil and truffles.

Secondo: veal rolls stuffed with fritatta and sausages stewed in a sauce with carrots and celery, and mashed potatoes.

Dolce: apple fritters stuffed with apples and soaked in grappa.

Day 4:

Antipasto: veggies (cauliflower, carrots, green beans, peppers, onions) "agridolce", fried artichoke hearts, duck/goose pate with anchovies and lemon on toasts, crostini of mozarella and sausages, fritatta of tomatoes, onions and bacon, slices of peconrino from Norcia.

Primo: gnocchi in tomato sauce with pecorino.

Secondo: shoulder pork roasted with fennel accompanied by fresh cabbage cooked with hot pepper.

Dolce: chocolate cake made of almonds, bread crumbs, and orange liquor.

You will note an absence of adjectives here - that is because some things transcend words, even for a philologist. In short, the most spiritual experience to be had in Italy is not in Assissi, not even in the Vatican, but in an Umbrian kitchen.

Eat - and transcend . . .

H.E.

PS: H.E. = homo edax, sed etiam "Happy Eating" - COINCIDENCE?!?!?!?!

Dowland . . .

2005-12-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

H.E. is listening these days to Dreams, a CD of Hopkinson Smith's in which he plays variations on the lute by Dowland. If you want a profoundly peaceful experience (since it IS the season of Peace [someone please tell Bush if he's not too terribly busy spying on people]) then this CD will certainly satisfy.

H.E.

Amnesty International

2005-12-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

Homo edax receives many gifts of food over the holiday season, but his greatest hunger these days - to sound somewhat corny about it - is for Justice. To that end, give yourself a gift you can feel good about this year and get yourself a membership to Amnesty International. I've posted the address in the links section on the right of this page.

Pax kai eireine!

H.E.

Kelly's Heroes may just be . . . .

2005-12-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

the best war movie ever made. A great cast, hilarious and devastating at one and the same time. Two hours of provocative irreverance . . .

Woof woof woof!!!

H.E.

PS - was I the ONLY one to see the big bright meteor at College Park tonight around 8:15 PM?

Champagne for Caesar!

2005-12-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today's movie pick is Champagne for Caesar, with Ron Coleman, Vincent Price, Art Linkletter, and Mel Balnc as Caesar - a hilarious rift on American television and consumer culture a la 1950.

H.E.

pandas vero odio!

2005-12-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

Some petronianally disconnected thoughts . . .

2005-12-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

If you were reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death you'd learn more than reading this blog . . .

Quare cupiditas libertatis tanta in hac republica est cum iustitia esset principium primum in documento nomine The Bill of Rights? Quam aliena republica nostra esset si sententia principalis esset, Aut da mi iustitiam aut da mi mortem! Legi brevi tempore ante in Oriente iustitia est res suprema digna cupiditate, dum in Occidente libertate est, unde difficilitates nostrae oriuntur.

I'll be making a cherry cheese strudel for dessert for the Saturnalia - I'll let you all know how it comes out and post the recipe if it turns out well.

Curb Your Enthusiasm is like Seinfeld on crack - the funniest thing on t.v. ever (except possibly Gomer Pyle).

Saw Syriana - a worthwhile two hours . . .

Est mala fortuna nobis nunc Johannem Vilicum (Stewart) esse optimam originem novarum (id est, nuntiorum) in hoc tempore (cum Guilliemo Mahere et Stefano Colberto in loco secundo) . . .

Vale!

H.E.

Holiday Beast Feast (Prime Rib Standing Roast).

2005-12-08T17:48:00.000-08:00

1. Take a BULB of garlic, and finely mince it.

2. Take a rib roast, cut off a strip of its fat and set the fat aside. Put it rib side down in a large roasting pan.

3. Pour a bottle of red wine over it. Sprinkle it generously with salt and pepper.

4. Pack evenly with your hands the minced garlic over the top of the meat.

5. Arrange about 10-20 (depending on the size of your roast) bay leaves over the top and sides of the roast.

6. Lay the strip of fat over the top.

7. Preheat the oven to 475. For the first 20 minutes, roast the beef at this temperature, then turn the heat down to 325. Roast approximately 18 minutes per pound. If you like it rare, err on the side of checking the meat early. It should register 140 degrees with a thermometer for rare. Add water to the pan if it smokes.

8. Let stand at least 20 minutes before carving, longer for a larger roast.

I like to serve it with horseradish (I prepare a mix of prepared horseradish with mayonaise and cream).

Mmmmm unyunzzzz . . .

2005-12-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is the simplest and best recipe that you will ever find for onions. Just take about 40 white boiling onions and peel them (there is no easy way to do this unless you are married, in which case you can have your spouse do it!). In a large saucepan melt and bring to a boil about 2/3 c. chicken broth and 3-4T. butter; as soon as it boils, drop in the onions, add a dash of salt and a few grindings of fresh pepper and simmer on a low temperature for about 30-40 minutes until the onions are soft. Keep the pan covered and be careful to stir so your onions don't burn. If you have too much liquid at the end and it's not sufficiently thick and carmalized, then cook over medium-high heat the last few minutes of cooking til the liquid thickens. You should have a rich sweet dish of onions - great with a holiday dinner or any dinner for that matter.

H.E.

After a good political screed . . .

2005-12-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

in Italian homo edax likes to sit down to a nice salad. Three favorites:

Shrimp Salad.

Tear up 1 large head of red leaf lettuce for your salad. Steam 6 small red potatoes, set aside and chop into medium size cubes. Make a dressing of 2/3 c. olive oil and 1/3 c. sherry wine vinegar, with 3 cloves crushed garlic and 2 t. dijon - whisk together. Now chop 1/2 lb. shrimp raw and peeled. Sautee in 2-3 T. butter til just done and throw in a handful of fresh chopped tarragon. Assemble the lettuce, potatoes, dressing, and warm shrimp and gently toss together - fabuloso!

L'insalata di morte.

Toss up a mix of red and green leaf lettuce (for about 9 c. greens). Mix a dressing of 1 c. olive oil, 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar, 2 t. dijon, a splash of lemon juice, and a mix of salad herbs (fresh preferably - I use a mix of parsley, chives, and tarragon), and set aside. Fry 1 lb. of thick sliced bacon chopped til crisp - remove and drain onto a paper towel. In the grease slowly fry 5 slices of decrusted thick sliced white bread til golden brown (for croutons), set aside. Now mix 1 and 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese, the bacon, the croutons, and the greens, and pour on the dressing. Gently toss - superb!

Caesar Salad.

Gently tear 1 large head of romaine (removing the green leaf from the hard white inner core on all leaves), set aside. Sautee 5 slices white bread in 1/2 c. olive oil and 3 cloves crushed garlic OR toss cubed bread in a plastic bag with 1/2 c. olive oil and 3 cloves crushed garlic and cook on baking sheet at 350 for about 20-25 minutes til golden brown; cool. Hard boil 2 eggs, and grate 3/4 c. parmeasan cheese. Chop the eggs and toss them with the lettuce, cheese, and croutons. Pour on a dressing of 1/2 c. olive oil, 3 cloves crushed garlic, and 3 T. lemon juice; you may serve with anchovies if you like. AVE CAESAR!

Una ricetta per pasticcio . . .

2005-12-01T03:46:00.000-08:00

Allora, si prende un presidente che non ha riuscito mai a qualcosa di importanza nella sua vita (che non è molto bravo nella storia a universitá, con un padre potente che aiuta suo figlio - a lui dando il governo di Texas, una squadra di baseball, e un negozio guasto che produce benzina), poi aggiungere una vendetta della famiglia contro un paese debole, aggiungere un circolo di uomini crudeli che ha un programma per fare un factio particolare ricco - e naturalmente per fare ricco anche i grandi di negozio americano come Haliburton, KBR, ecc., che anche ha un programma per una guerra abusiva da quindici anni, poi aggiungere la grand' sciochezza della gente americana del Iraq, una gente che non sa niente della vita, della storia, della religione, in somma, di niente della quella parte del mondo, che si comporta come una fraschetta durante le elezioni e vuota contra le sue proprie interessi . . . adesso agita bene e PRESTO -

LA NOSTRA RICETTA PER UN GRANDE PASTICCIO!!!! UN GRANDE DISASTRO AL FORNO CON SUGO!!!!

MANGIA BENE!!!!!

Gaudeamus: si hic carnifex adulescens dux noster est, eheu, erit spes omni simio!

Menin aede thea . . .

2005-11-29T06:44:00.000-08:00

If you like the Iliad then you will be gripped by Ernst Junger's memoir of his experiences in the First World War, Storm of Steel. It takes the reader up in a whirlwind and hurls one on the terrible, breathtaking billows of fire that was trench warfare and merciless bombardment in the 20th century's first dreadful experiment with modern armed conflict.

H.E.

Creme Brulee with Grand Marnier

2005-11-25T18:00:00.000-08:00

1. Beat 8 egg yolks with 2 T. sugar until thick, pale and lemon color.

2. Heat 1 qt. heavy cream in sauce pan til edges form bubbles.

3. Gradually beat into egg yolks the cream, pouring in a steady slow stream.

4. Beat in 1 T. orange zest grated, 3 T. grand marnier, and 1 T. vanilla.

5. Pour through a sieve into a flame-proof dish, and put the dish in a water bath (reaching half way up the top of the dish with the cream).

6. Bake about 50 minutes to an hour at 350 til knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

7. Chill at least 4 hours, then sprinkle 4 T. sugar on top, and broil 4-6 minutes.

8. Chill 2 more hours and serve.

EAT FAT!!!!!

H.E.

No postings today . . .

2005-11-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

Out of respect for the passing of L. Vorenus' wife, Niobe, there will be no postings today.

There will be a cena novendialis for any interested parties, check back then.

H.E.

The War on Christmas: The nuc-u-lur option . . .

2005-11-20T05:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, your recommended reading for over Thanksgiving is Robin Lane Fox, The Unauthorized Version. Truth and Fiction in the Bible, a deconstructionist approach to the Old and New Testament and to the field of biblical archaeology in general.

Enjoy!

Chopin and the Boss

2005-11-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

There are few pieces of music more beautiful than Chopin's Nocturnes (of which Oscar Wilde said, "After listening [to the Nocturnes] I feel as though I've been weeping"), and few Springsteen albums (yes, I AM old enough to still use that term!) better than "Devils and Dust".

Buon Weekend!

PURE EVIL!!!

2005-11-17T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem. A Report on the Banality of Evil, is your recommended reading for the weekend. Arendt sat in on Eichmann's trial and was struck by how this ordinary, thoughtless individual could oversee the slaughter of 6,000,000 of his fellow human beings. No cloven hooves, no pointy ears, no sinister little goate, just horned rimmed glasses and a bored expression.

Read it!

H.E.

Mein Krieg

2005-11-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

An outstanding - OUTSTANDING - German documentary of, in essence, home movies of Germans who were on the eastern front in the Second World War.

It tells the tale of men who were made to commit the most atrocious deeds, and decades later have lived to tell the tale and get on with their lives. It's a grim grim view of how war crushes the human spirit, dehumanizes the individual, and, most hauntingly of all, how societies then send such individuals back into society.

The movie, while about the war between Germany and Russia, could apply just as well to numerous societies - modern Bosnia and Kosovo, Rawanda, Chile, Greece - America. The monster lives among us.

H.E.

Verbum de rebus civitatis

2005-11-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

Epistulam hodie accepi in qua auctor me mentiendi in hoc situ accusavit, de dicendis rebus civitatis non voluptatis, sed si legis verba quae hunc situm incipiunt, notabis me verba magni philosophi nomine Aristotilis scripsisse, qui de industria otii dixit, et certe pars industriae otii est res civitatis, sic nuntium de legato qui cras hic dicet.

Et si tibi non placet hic situs cum compositionibus lautis cenae, cum libris notatis qui legendi sunt omnibus, cum spetaculis sine quodam magno stulto Germanico qui solum dicit "Ego re-de-o!", cum rebus pertinentibus ad humanitatem et vitam bene actam tum . . .

LAECASIN!!!

Mille Basia . . .

H.E.

Abdul Rahman-Munif

2005-11-15T12:48:00.000-08:00

. . . and his Cities of Salt trilogy is what Homo Edax is reading for pleasure these days in his (little) spare time. It's a grand three part novel about the impact of American oil companies on the Middle East running from the 1930s-1970s. Pulling no punches about the pathologies of both American and Arab cultures and written by one who knows the oil industry and its impact up-close-and-personal, it makes for a timely read.

H.E.