I really like this visualisation of the rise and fall of empires. It's oddly effective - like watching someone inflating a balloon, when they're carrying on blowing past the point of safety and you know the whole thing is going to explode in their face. The explosion of the French empire is particularly dramatic.
Andrew Sullivan notes that it lacks the modern American empire. Given that it also lacks Japan, I can only assume that it's just dealing with European empires. More critically, then, it lacks GERMANY, and also Italy (O Hai, World Wars, are you really sure you happened?). I also think it could stand to have some dramatic music and I'd like to see the balloons bumping into each other in a historically representative fashion.
(via The Daily Dish)
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Today a guy I know a little (friend of a friend) was telling a story. He’s a paramedic. The other day, he and his partner had to revive a neo-nazi who had tried to commit suicide. They did their job successfully, and then pointed out that one of them is gay and the other one is black. The neo-nazi, by the way, had attempted suicide because his Polish girlfriend had dumped him.
I kid ye not.
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Every time I go through my photos I find something I’ve forgotten about. In this case, my toes poking out of the Indian Ocean off Zanzibar.
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One Man Armies
King Leonidas
PLAYED BY GERARD BUTLER
FILM 300
A cynic might note that Leonidas has a bunch of guys behind him and isn't a one-man army at all. But the Cynics came from Athens, so Leonidas would just dismiss them all as boy-lovers, kick them down a well and get back to the important business of gutting Persians and getting takeaway.
oh dear oh dear. @empiremagazine make an Ancient Greek philosophy joke and my first reaction is to think it's funny, before my head hits the desk. Somebody save me.
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Ingredients: Pork Escalope, Green Pepper, Paprika, Spaghetti, Sour Cream and Parmesan.
In progress...
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Referrers for: Your account ← Wednesday, Nov 4 2009 →
Referring domain: mtholyoke.edu
Linked from Views 1 /courses/mlandon/classics230/week08.htm
I do like flickr stats. They tell you all sorts of fun things - like the fact that someone searched yahoo images for 'oversize furniture' and that led them to my photostream and a photo of giant green furniture outside the National Theatre. they also tell me that a Dr. M. Landon at Mount Holyoke College is using one of my photos for a class he's teaching on the city of Rome. I'm not sure which, because I can't log on to Mount Holyoke's network and see, but I'm entertained nonetheless. Anyway, kids (or kid - come on the rest of you) at Mount Holyoke, I hope you like the photo, say nice things about the picture and intelligent things about the archaeology, K?
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I miss having non-stick pans. Especially since I have no microwave for re-heating food that I’ve prepared in advance. Stuff is much more likely to get stuck to the bottom of pans when it’s being reheated, in my experience. But here’s the thing. I don’t want to buy cheap non-stick pans because I’ll get attached to them and want to take them home. No seriously. I got an Ikea mug last weekend that I want to take home, despite having SIX identical mugs back in Scotland.  Also, it cost about €2, so it’s not a great trauma to me as I’m not in Flight of the Conchords.  Like I said, I might have an unhealthy affection for cooking equipment.
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http://www.public-standards.gov.uk/Library/MP_expenses_main_report.pdf
Off to lunch now. Saving the reading for the afternoon procrastination.
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