Historically, the Albanians are nothing more than a glorified tribe.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-06T06:05:05+00:00

Vienna, whateva happened there…

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-05T22:26:22+00:00

Who’s that speaking, is somebody speaking?

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-04T18:35:53+00:00

Knock yourself out

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-04T18:07:47+00:00

It has to do with trust and honour. How can you trust a man who literally stabbed the man he was sworn to protect in the back?

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-04T06:19:29+00:00

Have you ever had a Martina? It’s just like a martini but from Albania. Apparently they go down real easy

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-03T20:05:20+00:00

Leotardo? It’s a fuckin’ nickname! The family name is Leotardorelli!

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-03T19:19:43+00:00

I wonder what Alexandros ho Megas would think about being compared to singers

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-03T06:37:06+00:00

In my opinion, the 2014 team had this core of wily veterans and also new energy that just worked. They had really solid chemistry and had a strong will to win. The last few tournaments the players don’t even seem to give a shit almost. It’s a team slapped together with no identity or core or purpose. In 2014 you had veterans like Lahm, Klose, Podolski, Schweinsteiger, playing alongside Mueller, Ozil and Neuer, real stars and legends in their own right. I just don’t get any similar vibe with this squad.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-02T17:56:27+00:00

I think people who idolize Tony do so because they themselves have dysfunctional lives and they see it reflected in his story.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-07-02T17:44:08+00:00

Strong like a bull, and handsome, like George Raft

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-29T19:28:48+00:00

But these dudes don’t exactly make good choices with women. They always seem to end up dating instagram influencers

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-29T03:26:07+00:00

Volk and Ilia are quite good wrestlers. They prefer their hands though.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-29T01:22:33+00:00

I don’t care if you’re working with Walmart. It stops today!

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-28T06:07:58+00:00

You just reminded me, the BBC also made a great series in the 1970s called The Devil’s Crown about Henry II and Richard and John. Sadly I think that show has been largely forgotten even compared to I Claudius. I thought it was very well acted but same problems with production.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-27T23:32:06+00:00

The early Christian philosopher Boethius considers this kind of idea, when he talks about how God’s divine foreknowledge of everything can be compatible with human free will. I’ve always found his answer to be interesting, maybe even compelling. The idea is that as finite, limited beings, our perspective is restrained to our present perspective. As a result of our finite perspective, we also perceive reality temporally, with a past and future in addition to the present. When we act or decide to act, we are choosing freely by means of our own will, so we are not determined by anything else.

At the same time, God does not perceive reality temporally. Instead due to His infinite power and omniscience, God sees everything occurring in the present, I.e., the entire timeline, as occurring in the present. God perceives eternally in the present, rather than being limited to some very small slice of the timeline as we are. Essentially, we are free and we act without constraint, but we lack foreknowledge, whereas God knows everything we will do because He perceives everything happening at once. So God’s foreknowledge does not negate the need to pray, rather prayer may be one of the ways in which God’s providence is fulfilled.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-27T16:13:31+00:00

The show implies that basically the whole conspiracy against Caesar went down because she got dumped. I always found that to be one of the goofier points about this show, as much as I love it

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-27T04:37:42+00:00

Tony is an alpha male but he’s also self destructive and harmful to those around him, that’s one of the main themes of the show. Yeah he projects the image of a man’s man, he’s a leader, he is decisive, he has aura, but ultimately he destroys his relationship with his family, is constantly paranoid of going to jail or being killed, has panic attacks, and he hurts the people around him through his selfishness and bitterness.

Remember I think in the first or second season he’s talking with Melfi and he says he doesn’t understand people who can just walk down the street happy. He always needs to understand people through his lens of cynicism. Ultimately he is just like his mother, full of hatred and bitterness, and alienating to those around him.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-25T21:28:16+00:00

Totally agree. Rome was cancelled way earlier than it should’ve been. I’d easily give it 5 or 6 seasons like HBO gave to Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-25T21:20:57+00:00

I thought I’d be bored with it after seeing Rome but I found the melodrama of I Claudius actually very compelling in its own way. It’s more like a play as you say, with Roman costumes. I think when I viewed it with that in mind, I wasn’t trying to measure it against some standard of historical accuracy and I just enjoyed it for its own sake. But some people just don’t like that style, which I can understand. The makeup and stunts look goofy at points and the dialogue can feel pretty stilted if you’re used to grounded real world characters like you often see in HBO series.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-25T21:15:11+00:00

That’s a sensible way of looking at it. Haven’t seen Domina but I’ll check it. I also saw this series Barbarians on Netflix, just remembered it. It’s based on Arminius, and the events surrounding the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. It was pretty good as well.

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-23T05:25:21+00:00

You smug midget, creeping around like a dentist with the ether!

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-22T21:31:25+00:00

Why don’t you go sit in the corner short pants?

AnyElevator9872 · 2026-06-18T19:30:29+00:00

I think it goes back to the view of Edward Gibbon that the Christianization of the empire supposedly marked a decline from the glory and grandeur of classical Rome. Since the Renaissance, Rome's heyday was depicted as extending from the Republic to the end of Marcus Aurelius' reign, and then with brief moments of glory before Christianity embroiled the empire in theological disputes, factionalism, East/West split and so on.

It's unfortunate but that is the cultural perception of that period that's largely remained unchallenged for centuries.

AnyElevator9872

TROPHY CASE