orichalcum

As I read through, favorite quotes from the dissertation:


( Cut for those bored with prostitutes by now... )

Is the use of the term "Bishop of Rome" inherently offensive to Catholics? I'm talking about someone who held that position in the 190s CE, and is referred to as Bishop by his contemporaries and in Roman historical sources. I believe that from the perspective of the R.C. Church, however, he's considered an early Pope, and I'd rather not horribly offend someone by accident. Any thoughts?


(And no, he didn't sleep with a prostitute.)

Also, from the diss, a rare glimpse of Imperial family dynamics:
"From Flavia’s death forward, Caenis served as Vespasian’s acknowledged concubine. She also functioned as part of his family, although there may have been some tensions with his son Domitian: “When Caenis, his father’s mistress (concubina) returned from Istria and, as usual (ut assuerat), offered a kiss, he held out his hand instead.” "

Ah, the complexity of dealing with parents' s.o.s....

There's a great article in the Times about the business practices of the warehouse chain Costco.


Basically, you should support Costco, especially over Walmart and Sam's Club, not just because it has great prices and deals, but because it's one of the best companies in America in terms of rewarding and caring about its workforce. 85% of employees have health care, including dental, which they get after six months, even working part-time (2 years at Walmart, and less than half have it. ) The average price never goes more than 14-15% above markup. The average pay is $17 an hour, and the CEO only makes $350,000, less than 10% of comparable CE0s.

Whatever your politics, shopping at a store that uniformly cares about both its workers and its customers seems like a winning plan. I'm biased, because I grew up receiving scholarships and seeing other works of charity by Sol Price, who founded the Price Club, which was the inspiration for CostCo. I like to think that the comparison is pretty clear, though.

Here's your nearest Costco.