orichalcum

Happy birthday to hellpossum, lisa_bee, and a_dodecahedron! Happy Megalesia to all of you - the festival of Cybele, the Magna Mater! May there be music and yummy food awaiting you, but hopefully not the ritual sacrifice of male genitalia on an altar.

And for those who celebrate it, have a wonderful first Seder of Pesach today, full of yummy food and stories.

Me: "So tonight, we get to have a special meal and hear a special story, which it's important that we remember."
Mac: "Can Thomas be in the story?"
Me: "I don't really think Thomas the Tank Engine was ever a slave in Egypt."
Mac: "Thomas or a spaceship is in the story."

That of course, made me think of _The Life of Brian._ :)

Charoset and Sex: A Recipe - About Passover and the Song of Songs

Barack Obama is hosting the first White House Seder attended by a President tomorrow evening.

A poem about opening the door for Elijah

Today is also Birkah Ha-Hammah, the Jewish Blessing of the Sun, which happens only every 28 years and marks the time that the sun appears in the same position in the sky that it traditionally did on the morning of its creation. This is the 2nd such occasion in my life time; I might hope to see two more. One of the texts sometimes recited is

( Psalm 19: )

Because meepodeekin asked, and because, unlike _every other Roman history professor_ I've met or worked with, I would like to figure out a way to explain this coherently and concisely, here's my working explanation of how Roman elections worked. Suggestions for improvement in clarity are welcome; I have yet to find a good diagram.

( Roman elections and silly math: )