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About this blog

A non-stop thrill ride that slightly goes off the point at the end -- Bruce Willis' performance was excellent.

Entries in this blog

 

magna cum laude, baby.

I received my Bachelor results yesterday, and I was presently surprised to discover that I am now the proud owner of a First Class Honours degree! Apparently, my dissertation is to receive some form of commendation!   I would just like to thank everybody in UNRV who took the time to answer any questions I had in regards to my subject area.   As for my future plans, however... I shall probably have to get back to you on that.
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Sodding Bank!

Having left one my lessons early by means a rather flimsy excuse about a doctor's appointment, I was well on my way to getting into the City Centre before the shops closed. I was, however, absolutely dismayed to find that my hard-earned wages were yet to come through. I guess I shall have to wait another day to purchase my dream guitar... *sigh*
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The past year (or so).

Hello again,   Over the past few months I have neglected this here humble blog. This is mainly because of two things: both my innate sense of laziness and the fact that, as well as being the busiest, this has been one of the most exciting few months of my life.   So, I may well begin with where I last left you - as you may well recall, I was wrestling with the Home Office, demanding a passport from them. Well, I got the passport not a moment before darting off to America for a University-run dig in South Dakota. I shan't bore you the details of the site - in fact, after writing a 6000-word report on the excavation, any real discussion on the site's prehistorical context would probably bring me to tears. (but if anybody is curious to know the finer details about the site, I point you in the direction of its web page: www.mitchellindianvillage.org/index.php). All I shall say is that the trip allowed me to experience an interesting piece of Mid-West Americana. Nice though it was, the culture of the local area was highly confusing to me; this being most apparent when the much-avoided subjects of politics and religion came up... I shall not go into the finer details, but let's put it this way: when I mentioned Harry Potter to one of the tourists visiting the site, she asked me 'How can you read such blasphemy? (!?)'; when a friend gave mention of his 'second dad', his comment was greeted with the word 'queer!'. I did find, however, that when certain subjects were avoided, the local people were the most hospitable people whom I have come meet. So an interesting mix, I would say... Also, American the rodeo=fantastic! People ridding pissed off aniamals, and as much free candy as I could eat; I think this was the closest that I'll ever get to experiencing panem et circenses. Anyway, I think I should move on...   The experience of the year thickened when I returned to Exeter. While I very much enjoyed the expensive hangover that was my first year, I think it was I enjoyed this one more because I became more involved in Exeter's Classics Society. For some reason, this year's society membership increased threefold, giving us over 200 members. How we achieved such a number is beyond me; I did even know that there were over 200 people in the world interested in the Classical World, let alone in Exeter. So, not only did this increase in membership enable us to have more debauched symposia/socials, it also enable us to fund other projects, such as a trip to Bath (Aqua Sulis), a huge ball, and even a nude calender, in which I assumed the role of Caesar in an assassination scene. (*pause for readers to shudder at the very thought*) My help this year also enabled me to get elected as president of the society for next year. I was thinking that we do more of the same, but go an more excursions, maybe even put on a play.   Academically, I think I have had a good year. Not only did I get published (*pause for smug, egotistic facial expression*), but I also seem to be doing well. I started doing Latin again for the first time in years. For some reason, I find it to be somewhat therapeutic and strangely enjoyable... I also had to start thinking about my dissertation this year. After much thought and consideration, I have decided to touch upon the subject of the extent to which 19th-century ideologies have coloured our perception of 'traditional' history. In doing this I shall critically assess a variety of late 18th
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Published

The other day I was more than pleased to discover that one of my essays, submitted nearly a year ago, had actually been published in Exeter's Department of Classics annual journal. As stated, I submitted it a while ago, with no real expectations of it being published; not only did they publish it, but my article follows one written by Peter Wiseman! Anyway, I just thought that I'd express my glee here.   Also, it seems that I have neglected this here humble blog. Methinks I should give some sort of account of the last year or so - it has been a great one, you see.
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Passport from Hell: Part Deux.

I finally got hold of my new passport two days ago! That was definitely a day worth celebrating. The journey towards the passport, however, was an odyssey fraught with peril.   From where I left you last, it seems that I was frantically trying to get hold of the Home Office. This did indeed carry on for some time, but eventually I was able to get hold of them. And guess what? The photographs enclosed in my application had been damaged in the post (ahh the British Postal Service: once again, the bane of my life). Realising that a postal strike was in fact imminent
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Bloody Passport!

About two months ago, I lost my passport in the midst of deepest, darkest Exeter. These days it is one of the few forms of recognisable I.D., and therefore those of us blessed (or cursed) with a youthful exterior must risk keeping on our person
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Radicals.

Yesterday, I was absent-mindedly strolling on campus, when a fairly non-threatening History student handed me a leaflet with this website scrawled on it. Why the hell would any learned individual, any rational person, support such a foul party? Universities are supposed to be havens for liberal thought! Instead at Exeter we bear witness to radical political groups such as the BNP above and the public-school-boy-lead Conservative Future Society
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It has been a funny sort of week.

Inter-semester break.   Monday: Visited Maiden Castle (one of the major reasons why I chose to study archaeology) and various other Iron Age hillforts in Dorset: a very nice place, but the weather conditions could have been better. Scaling the ramparts was an incredibly entertaining ordeal; although the 50mph wind did not really help. One of my peers deemed it hilarious to roll down the various mounds; he was in fact correct in judgement because he received a black eye as a result of his stupidity ( ). Besides engaging in tomfoolery, I did find the trip to be very informative - so much so, I have taken out a few of Mortimer Wheeler's journals on the site. However, the trip was spoiled a little bit by the fact that during the journey back, my lecturer realised that a couple of students were missing (in fact a group of six were still at the hillfort), and the coach had to go back and get them...apparently some students are still there now.   Tuesday: went to a black-tie ball. A very interesting event indeed. It started with a six-course meal complete with courses that I did not know even existed - apparently there is a course between the starter and the main meal known as an entr
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Christmas presents.

For Christmas I received the following:   1. A colossal umbrella (it could cover the whole of Luxemburg). 2. The new Zelda game. 3. Medieval II: total war. 4. Michael Crawford's The Roman Republic. 5. A Harpo Marx style honker horn (a secret Santa present). 6. A Guinness Poster. 7. A custom mug and t-shirt (I am not going to divulge what was on them...my friends are too disgusting!). 8. A Chewbacca figure (!?).
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A sign of my age?

Methinks that I am on my way to becoming middle-aged!   This morning my mother asked me what I would like for Christmas, and all I could think of was an umbrella (it rains a hell of a lot in Exeter). What has become of me? I suppose my family and I are not really in the mood for Christmas this year, but even so, I normally want tons of pointless crap; now all I want is one commodity.   I don't know...
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Petition to revoke the independence of the USA.

I just received a rather amusing e-mail this morning from my half-American friend, and I was wondering if any of you Americans would appreciate it:   Petition to revoke the independence of the United States of America   Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories.   Except Utah, which she does not fancy.   Your new Prime Minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair MP, for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a Minister for America without the need for further elections.   The House of Representatives and the Senate will be disbanded.   A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:   1. You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up "aluminium." Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.   The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour'; skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters.   You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix "ize" will be replaced by the suffix "ise."   You will learn that the suffix 'burgh' is pronounced 'burra' e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to re-spell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation.   Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up
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Bad day!

I think today can be put up there will all the other bad days. As well as suffering from the flu, my safe in my room (containing
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Interesting comment.

Earlier this evening, I saw a rather interesting message spray painted in large letters on a wall. It read the following:   'Archduke Franz Ferdinand found alive. 20th Century a mistake?  
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Ancient History as I know it is dead!

I was in the pub the other day, enjoying the company of friends and generally having a fairly enjoyable time (drinks were bought by all, spirits were high, drinks were getting pennied etc.). So far it was good; however, after I returned to the group after relieving myself, I noticed that we had acquired another gentleman. At first, I did not really think anything of it
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Back For The Weekend.

This weekend I have returned to Ratae (Leicester) for the weekend. Other than the fact that Leicester is flatter and contains my friends and family, I have not really missed this place; it is dirtier, and contains more pigeons that Isca. Leicester additionally has an odd smell (which reminds me of a fake, cheap-Russian Calvin Cline aftershave), which I never really noticed before.   But having said this, I am looking forward to seeing Leicester Diwali lights; they are apparently the most spectacular lights out of India.
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First Two Weeks Of University.

As some of you may already know, I have been experiencing the embryonic stages of university life in Exeter, and I think now would be a good time to write an entry.   I will firstly give you an idea of what the city itself is like. Obviously Exeter is a historical city
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Rude Awakenings

I was in bed last night, and once again, I was woken abruptly by a noise. This time I wasn't my brother (he was in Spain at the time), but the sound of a window smashing in the building apposite my house. Already content with staying in bed, and safe in the knowledge that the building was in fact a derelict hall of residents
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...illness

Over the past four days or so I have been suffering from man flu
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Decisions Decisions.

This morning I received a module option form from Exeter University's Classics and Ancient History department. Upon inspecting it I was immediately confronted with dozens of options for my further study of Greece and Rome; of these I had to pick two. After mulling over my choices, I managed to narrow it down to four modules.   Which two of the following should I choose? 1) Ancient Sources (written evidence): Roman Historical Writing--Sallust, Livy and Tacitus.   2) Ancient Sources (written evidence): Archaic Tyranny--Pheidon of Argos, Cypselus of Corinth, Pisistratus of Athens, Cleisthenes of Sicyon, Theagenes of Megara, Pittacus of Mytilene, Polycrates of Samos and Cleomenes I of Sparta.   3) Ancient Sources (material evidence): Greek Temples.   4) Ancient Sources (material evidence): Brave New Rome of Augustus--architecture of the Principate.
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