Penny for your thoughts

“Coins and Monumentality in the Roman Empire, A.D. 70-250″. THRILLING UPDATE in TEN OR TWELVE ASSORTED PAGES.

Well. You know. THRILLING is relative to CORN DRYERS whose honour I will, in fact, protect. What I have done is spend handfuls of minutes staring intently at the back of a penny, seeking out Lincoln in all of his tiny glory. Yes. One tinfoil hat away from finding secret code in the shrubbery and playing connect-the-latin on the front of a dollar bill. (It’s educational, in that they “honored” or “plagiarized” Roman prototypes to make said coinage, which is cool, although there’s definitely a coin out there with a Serapis-headed serpent riding the back of a stallion and really, that’s worthily bad-ass. Maybe a quick series with Obama and the lightsaber? Just this once?)

Education! Ain’t it grand.

(Last essay. Last. Essay. Well, two thousand words in five hours to go, but still. Last essay!!!)

Enter title here: In the interest of eloquence, from the land of Great Britain, looking fondly back at one of her former colonies &c.

I have perused with no small Pleasure the Letter addressed to Two Great Men, and the Remarks on that Letter. It is not merely from the Beauty, the Force and Perspicuity of Expression, or the general Elegance of Manner conspicuous in both Pamphlets, that my Pleasure chiefly arises; it is rather from this, that I have lived to see Subjects of the greatest Importance to this Nation publickly discussed without Party-Views, or Party-Heat, with Decency and Politeness, and with no other Warmth than what a Zeal for the Honour and Happiness of our King and Country may inspire;–and this by Writers whose Understanding (however they may differ from each other) appears not unequal to their Candour and Uprightness of their Intention.

Full citation:

The Interest of Great Britain Considered with Regard to Her Colonies and the Acquisitions of Canada and Guadaloupe. To which are added, Observations concerning the increase of Mankind, peopling of Countries, &c. As the very ingenious, useful, and worthy Author of this Pamphlet [B------n F------n, LL. D.] is well-known and much esteemed in England and America; and seeing that his other Works have been received with universal Applause; the present Production needs no further Recommendation to a generous, free, an intelligent, and publick-spirited People. The Second Boston-Edition. London, Printed MDCCLX. Boston, N. E. Reprinted and Sold by B. Mecom, at the New Printing-Office, near the Town-House. 1760.

You know? There’s a part of me that welcomes the Twitter contingent from the House of Representatives. Access and space to speak have been, and are, crucial parts for the unique flavour of American democracy. But Reps: 140 characters barely buys you this title and that’s even if you don’t splurge on vowels. Verbose? Sure. Perhaps, though, it would be wise to remember ye olde pamphlets, and to consider the wisdom of writing well.

(Or, like a certain Classical fan):

The Mayor’s long-lasting affection for Latin comes from his belief in its benefits beyond the realm of dusty academia. “I won’t say it’s the route to colossal riches,” he told the class, “but I read almost nothing but Latin and Greek for 25 years, and I’m now in charge of every bus in London.”

LASERS. Archaeologists with LASERS.

Well, okay, additional lasers.

From the NYTimes:

For the Caracol survey, the aircraft flew less than a half-mile above the terrain at the end of the dry season, when foliage is less dense. The Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper, as the specific advanced system is named, issued steady light pulses along 62 north-south flight lines and 60 east-west lines….Not all the laser pulses transmitted from the aircraft made it to the surface. Some were reflected by the tops of trees. But enough reached the ground and were reflected back to the airborne instruments. These signals, measured and triangulated by GPS receivers and processed by computers, produced images of the surface contours. This revealed distinct patterns of building ruins, causeways and other human modifications of the landscape.

Amazing! Magnetometry has been rocking my socks off this whole year:

But, you know, rainforest + plane + AIRBOURNE LASER (terrain mapper).

New year, same as the old year

If by next May Day I am still looking at corn driers and pondering whether germinated spelt seeds are a crucial economic signifier for surplus production in the rural Romano-British world, I want you to exercise your Second Amendment rights judiciously.

Just saying.

A nautical theme, and some stateside apologies

As it turns out life on a bus is nowhere near as cool as life on a boat and some various extreme details came up, and so anyway, please excuse my lack of response to your calls/actual mail for a bit longer! Especially if I said LET US LUNCH or LET US HAVE SILLY DRINKS and then totally never produced either lunch or drinks with umbrellas. Soon!

In other news I might be this guy:

In other news, I should be this guy:

…so I will return to that, belatedly…

Back to the future

Or perhaps better, back to the motherland. Yes, that’s right. Briefly, the stars will align, and I will alight back on the turf of the nation’s capital, where panda bears (used to) roam freely, and you can get a martini lunch at, basically, any hour of the day. Oh freedom. You taste so sweetly.

And then, in a shocking maneuver, I will be back again at the end of July, because the Naval Museum has graciously extended an offer of an internship at their fair establishment. This is all BRAND NEW and SOMEWHAT SHOCKING but rather reassuring, because I have to tell you, the job market for people who can wax eloquent on the Roman Economy is pretty much centered in DPhils in Old Blighty, and I don’t think my canopic organs (heart as an honorary member, liver) can take this kind of beating for another couple of years. So, you know. Less jetlag, although my internal clock might realign to Tahiti, just for kicks.

Also, peanut butter and banana is a reason to believe that the favorable gods smile upon America, for they have given to us wonderful, wonderful things.

Cup of science

Sometimes, I wonder about things. Often, in fact, I ponder things. Things I have never actually considered, beyond a consideration of the availability of decent ketchup and crunch factor: whether the simple french fry can invoke a sensation of happiness. But, ah, I am here, in the land of the potato and “chips”, where one can get funding to produce such exciting projects as this one:

The research, commissioned by the Potato Council and carried out by Aston University in Birmingham, asked 60 men and women to watch a five-minute film which graphically depicted the fall-out of the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War.

…..

Right.

Half were then given a magazine to take their mind off the film, while the other half were given a plate of chips.

Case of the blues after observing one of the most painful events in recent human history? Head over to Mickey D’s and we’ll gorge those blues away! I’m trying to imagine how the advert for this research study went: Do bombs make you sad? Can you eat french fries and/or read? If you’re a human between the ages of 18-54, do we have a study for you!

In what may confirm the dork moniker

http://www.davidrumsey.com/view

Seriously go there. It is a place of wondrous, amazing maps: good for those addicted to typography, artistic treats, history- both ancient and this “modern” business I keep hearing about. Just read this:

England and Wales Roman and modern. E.P. compost. et delint. Mutlow, Sc., Russell Court. Published 15 June 1804, by the Revd. E. Patteson, Richmond, Surrey.

It is intriguing! It is slightly silly!

Upon microscopic examination, it reveals such wisdom as this:

(It is also completely and fully documented, with excellent citation information, for those moments when sheer glee meets the reality of Academics.)

Google a sage

Research.

One of these things is not like the other one.

And so this is Oxford

I know, I know. It’s been, at this rate, nearly a month since I left the boulevards of D.C. A month since drinking a cup of coffee larger than my hands, since eating peanut butter that wasn’t rationed out a jar, since the last time I could say the word “pants” without fear.

You might think I’d have some kind of awesome, awe-inspiring list of images that capture the spires of Oxford, that the streets and the gowns in this town would be carefully archived and labeled and stowed.

Oh, that would be totally wrong. To be fair, there is this:

Peter Pan can't touch this.

Clad in the classic garb of sub fusc, well, at least the updated-for-the-ladies version, this is what happens when you make gowns a necessary part of a Saturday morning.

Also taking up prime Saturday real estate?

Danger, danger Will Robinson

3,000 to 4,000 word essays, due every Tuesday at four.

It is marvelous, this place. No one is here, I think, to study because they have to, or because they must- not as graduates, anyway. There are so many books! So many words, so many professors last seen as footnotes.

And so many cups of tea.

Anyway. I’m alive. There will be an update on the hilarious concept of sub fusc, and that when walking through the streets one can happen upon men in kilts, and women in full dress gowns. John Locke ate brunch in the same halls. William Penn. Oh, they’ll nickel and dime you; there’s no doubt that the number of Americanisms around here relates to international student fees as much as our fervor for acts of the mind, and all that. That, and Ivory Towers are expensive to dust. But there are few places that are Oxford, for better or worse.

(For the record: anassa kata kalo kale, mawrters, that will never be forgotten.)