Full Width 
Shortcuts 
Sign Up 
Log In 
Articles 
Reading List More from A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry
Last time, we started our retrospective on the Gracchi looking at the elder brother Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his term as tribune of the plebs in 133 BCE; this week, we’ll wrap up this look by discussing Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and his terms as tribune of the plebs in 123 and 122 … Continue reading Collections: On the Gracchi, Part II: Gaius Gracchus →
Hey, folks. As much as I hate doing it, I have to pull a ‘gap week’ this week, as the second part of the Gracchi series (on the younger brother, Gaius Gracchus) isn’t done yet and I have some academic travel that I need to prepare for which is going to demand most of my … Continue reading Gap Week (January 24, 2025) →
This week, we’re going to talk a bit about the brothers Tiberius (trib. 133) and Gaius (trib. 123-2) Gracchus, the famous Roman reformers of the late second century. There’s actually a fair bit to say about both of them, so we’re going to split this treatment over two weeks, talking about Tiberius this week and … Continue reading Collections: On the Gracchi, Part I: Tiberius Gracchus →
Hey folks, Fireside this week! I’m currently working on a post “On the Gracchi” taking a somewhat darker look at everyone’s favorite Roman reformers (though hardly the same black takedowns Alexander and Cleopatra got) , which will hopefully be ready for next week. Before we dive into this week’s musing, I do want to take … Continue reading Fireside Friday, January 10, 2025 →
This week on the blog I want to take a brief detour into discussing historical coinage, particularly in the context of modern fantasy and roleplaying settings. In particular, the notions I want to tackle are first how did ancient currency systems work in terms of value (what could you buy with how much) and then … Continue reading Collections: Coinage and the Tyranny of Fantasy ‘Gold’ →
More in history
Last time, we started our retrospective on the Gracchi looking at the elder brother Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus and his term as tribune of the plebs in 133 BCE; this week, we’ll wrap up this look by discussing Tiberius’ younger brother Gaius Sempronius Gracchus and his terms as tribune of the plebs in 123 and 122 … Continue reading Collections: On the Gracchi, Part II: Gaius Gracchus →
As I got through boxes I found a couple of My Weekly Readers that I had not shared before. My Weekly Reader posts seem to be popular for their nostalgia effect and because as ephemera no one saved them from their youth. These particular ones are about the Gemini missions. At the time in elementary school many children saw these as their "space news" since the adult papers were not written at a basic level. So even if these are short articles they bring back a time when America was headed for the moon. Don't you wish you had lived in this neighborhood? Pretty fun to see someone's answers to the quiz. How did you do?
“…the eternal black night, death under the colourless earth” – James Ensor on his dread of death Belgian painter and printmaker James Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) etched his Seven Deadly Sins in 1904. To hammer home the message of human foolishness, malice and the farce we construct around ourselves, … Continue reading "The Seven Deadly Sins Under Death’s Dominion by James Ensor, 1904" The post The Seven Deadly Sins Under Death’s Dominion by James Ensor, 1904 appeared first on Flashbak.
