4/19    Related to the poll below re which era you would like to visit.
        If you could go back in time and witness one battle which one
        would you pick?  Personally I'd choose the Battle of Marathon.
                  \- i assume you have read your herodotus. you might
                     read s. pressfield: gates of fire if you have not
                     already. in a different time, if interested in battle
                     details and a story better than da vinci code, see
                     e.g. "the archers tale" by bernard cornwell. decent quick
                     pulp read ... long description of crecy. and of course
                     A Distant Mirror is a classic. have not read Solider
                     in the Fog. btw, thucydides >>>> herodotus. ok tnx.
              \- Why marathon and not thermopylae?
                     O xein angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tede
                     keimetha tois keinon rhemasi peithomenoi
                 Might pick Agincourt or Crecy, maybe Zama or Gaugmela,
                 Cannae or Teutoberger Wald/Clades Variana, Pharsala or
                 Actium or Salamis. --psb
                 \_ iirc, Marathon came first and basically ensured
                    that Greek civilization (specifically Athens)
                    would survive. Also Marathon was a real victory
                    in which the good guys mostly walked away unscathed
                    vs. Thermopylae in which the good guys (Leonidas
                    and the 300 Spartan Hoplites) got killed.
                    \- i thought you were going for the drama factor. um,
                       "good guys" here is clearly a "relative term". if you
                       are filled with hate for persians, set your time
                       machine to gaugmela. i think it would be pretty cool
                       to hang out with agricola or marcus aurelius or any of
                       the "good emperors" for a season. i suppose it might
                       be horribly fascinating for some to see what exactly
                       tiberius did after retiring to capri. tagging along
                       for the melian dialog would be pretty amazing.
                       cannae would be more interesting than marathon. --psb
        \_ The one where the Romans attacked Syracuse and got their asses
           kicked by devices designed by Archimedes. That would have to have
           been a good day to be a nerd.
                  \- i assume you have read your herodotus. you might
                     read s. pressfield: gates of fire if you have not
                     already. in a different time, if interested in battle
                     details and a story better than da vinci code, see
                     e.g. "the archers tale" by bernard cornwell. decent quick
                     pulp read ... long description of crecy. and of course
                     A Distant Mirror is a classic. have not read Solider
                     in the Fog. btw, thucydides >>>> herodotus. ok tnx.
              \- Why marathon and not thermopylae?
                     O xein angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tede
                     keimetha tois keinon rhemasi peithomenoi
                 Might pick Agincourt or Crecy, maybe Zama or Gaugmela,
                 Cannae or Teutoberger Wald/Clades Variana, Pharsala or
                 Actium or Salamis. --psb
                 \_ Why the FUCK is it so hard for you to indent like a normal
                    person?
                    \_ emacs is lame.
                    \- E_FOOLISHCONSISTENCY
                 \_ iirc, Marathon came first and basically ensured
                    that Greek civilization (specifically Athens)
                    would survive. Also Marathon was a real victory
                    in which the good guys mostly walked away unscathed
                    vs. Thermopylae in which the good guys (Leonidas
                    and the 300 Spartan Hoplites) got killed.
                    \- i thought you were going for the drama factor. um,
                       "good guys" here is clearly a "relative term". if you
                       are filled with hate for persians, set your time
                       machine to gaugmela. i think it would be pretty cool
                       to hang out with agricola or marcus aurelius or any of
                       the "good emperors" for a season. i suppose it might
                       be horribly fascinating for some to see what exactly
                       tiberius did after retiring to capri. tagging along
                       for the melian dialog would be pretty amazing.
                       cannae would be more interesting than marathon. --psb
        \_ Anything big in WWII (assuming I get my invisible bullet-proof
           flying bubble to watch it from.)  -John