According to an article in The Telegraph (UK), archaeologists exploring one of Rome's oldest catacombs are baffled by neat piles of more than 1,000 skeletons dressed in elegant togas.
The macabre find emerged as teams of historians slowly picked their way through the complex network of underground burial chambers, which stretch for miles under the city, according to the article.
They say the tomb, which has been dated to the first century AD, is the first known example of a "mass burial".
The archaeologists are unable to explain why so many apparently upper-class Romans - who would normally have been cremated - were buried in the same spot, apparently at the same time. Read the full article in The Telegraph.
e2€œSo, with a core of folk who embody or refer to the ideal, we have liltte need for enforcement.e2€? It echoes my own feeling that those of us who hang around here as regulars, who do so presumably because we are getting as well as giving, will be motivated to maintain a level of quality in the exchanges and so will have incentive to embody these qualities. This is not easy here or in real life I admit. I do not think that the motivation here would be less however, especially if one is benefiting from participation intellectually, finding commiseration, validation, and a form of friendship. Gradually this culture/ethic we cultivate and strive for will become stronger.Allisone2€™s guidelines again:speak your truth, only your truth_verify to yourself that your words need to be spoken_speak with compassion (not condescension, compassion)valuing diversity means valuing the person who is different from you (sounds obvious, but leads to:)_debate an idea, not a person (or, put another way:)_speak to a particular idea/action, don't characterize a person_imagine the best possible reason/outcome for someone's idea/action before you address the worst possible reason/outcome_ask yourself who benefits by your words_you may not like everyone, it is vital that you respect everyoneAllison says: e2€?it is more of an exercise that I benefit from intellectually than a series of relationships that I experiencee2€?.I agree but I would not say that these are not relationships of a sort. They are not nothing.Allison again: e2€œyour words could be a complete misrepresentation of who you are IRL.e2€?After awhile I done2€™t think one can really misrepresent who they are. Each of us has a voice that is a reflection of our being, that is more than the words.Allison: e2€œIn some ways, I don't need to know. I enjoy what I get out of this.e2€?Me too.Cheesechowmein says:e2€œPart of what I find so intriguing about the ROS forum is the trust of the community from Chris and ROS team. It shows in a thread like this, in the show comments, and in the show suggestions that there is some care and attention paid to allowing bottom-up contributions to complement the usual top-down approach. This is a flattening that lessens the hierarchical gap.Instead of the artist losing power and control by exposing the process, we all gain a deeper grasp of the mystery of thinking and this for me is a beautiful thing. It makes the work even more monumental. The process illuminates the creative act as much as the produced idea or artifact. This is a huge part of the ROS attraction for me.e2€?I find myself wishing I could comment as I listen to other radio programs. I think this will catch on. It feels good to contribute. Coincidentally, David Brooks column (NYTimes 3/19/06) today talks about Platoe2€™s division of the soul into three parts reason, eros (desire) and thymos (the hunger for recognition).This is it, to be known, to have your deepest thoughts out there e2€”but be anonymous at the same time. But I do not pause at Allisone2€™s comments about this falling short of e2€œreal lifee2€?. I am not thinking this is or should be a real life community. That does not lessen my commitment to work to keep this a place where we can have respectful informed discussion.I do not want to lose my anonymity because as CCM says there is value in not being encumbered by details about a person that are not necessary to the work at hand.Nother to Allison: e2€œI'm torn about having a meetup. Like I said, you could probably convince me of anything, so I definitely wouldn't rule out going to one. It's just that I feel so free on this site and I feel that my anonymity is part of the reason. Of course Chris and the gang are what inspire me most; it's just that I thrive on people's lack of judgment of me and my lack of judgment of them. I feel weighted down in life by how much we judge each other by looks, mannerisms, dress, age, ext. In our community, we judge ideas only and that's beautifule2€?Nother (great post) Nikos: e2€œAnd it's why I not uncommonly offer plaudits for noteworthy posts. I want everyone to know that thoughtfulness and time devoted to our collective illumination isn't going unnoticed and, especially unappreciated.e2€?We would be much less without the glue of Nikose2€™ posts and praises. Hee2€™s the natural diplomat,the bridgebuilder, in these parts.Nikos says e2€œThe village' paradigm must accept the possibility of heated feuds, including scorn and therefore provide a method of corrective censure._The college' paradigm, however, would likely include the potential for the very same scorn, albeit conveyed in a chilly, impersonal and even imperious manner that might attract elitists while alienating others others who, given the chance, might otherwise offer reams of enlightenment to the rest of us.So, yeah, I'm advocating a sort of ROS that allows bumptious familiarity alongside formal collegiality, and verbosity alongside conciseness. And it's worth mentioning here because the choices that Brendan and the gang might soon make in software could, even if by accident, favor one style of community over the other.e2€?I am for doing very liltte at the moment beyond emphasizing the guidelines and waiting to see how well we can embody them. When someone gets off track, then a liltte karma squad thing seems to happen naturally. We should be careful, however, about piling up lest we lose folks who we merely would like to reform a liltte. In some cases the loss cannot be prevented. People come with the flaws they carry in real life as well as their strengths. Patience and kindness is needed but when those flaws are disruptive you cannot ignore it.Nikos: e2€œIt's said that it takes a village to raise a child and, in my case, it takes a village to make the local idiot into a knowledgeable resident.e2€?Amen. We are here to learn from what is offered and to offer what we can.Nother: e2€œI feel we should error on the side of less change. Many of the blogs I've checked out have a forum feel of computer people. ROS is so inviting because it's so basic. Pick a handle, write your thought, click on submit beautiful in its simplicity.e2€?Amen.Plaintext: This poses some interesting questions about getting a more e2€œconservativee2€? POV represented. e2€œIs ROS ever likely to attract_more conservative contributors?e2€?I was hoping from the beginning that ROS would not be intimidated by a perceived liberal bias that public radio and television has been accused of having. Polls do not bear this viewpoint out. Why be defensive? There is no question that Chris is liberal but he strives to understand consider and present the opposing viewpoints. I want to see/hear open consideration and articulate presentation. Bill Moyers was an excellent example in this area.Plaintext: e2€?It's all good.e2€?Amen.CCM: e2€œThough I'm unable to describe the contours of my mind, I have found that inquiry has led me to rediscover fire at times and reinvent the wheel at others. These were extremely valuable experiences for me. On one hand the action is the important aspect, not the result. On another hand, the realization that I am often trudging along a very old and worn path (apologies to Eudora Welty) have led me to something akin to comfort and contentment. With rediscovery and reinvention, I come to a deeper awareness of both freedom and responsibility. I am unable and unwilling to deprive myself, nor others, of having this joy. In it's strange paradoxical way this is a moment that allows for the possiblity of full connection across time and space with the other while fully actualizing myself as an individual. Something this powerful is to be cherised, not dismissed. I fully encourage anyone to allow themselves this valuable space within for learning. But to each their own devices.This is not to dismiss listening. Listening is an extremely important learning device. This is why I enjoy ROS. There can be opportunities for helpfulness to shephard and mentor those coming up to speed. It is probably unavoidable, but there is a groundhog day aspect to some of this; I am unable to fully reduce this' to a more descriptive term. But I think this' is related to the grand that'. Perhaps, this is not the first discussion among human beings to seek an understanding about how to structure their discourse. Any guidance is welcome'd by me, but not to the detriment of enjoying inquiry. In the spirit of courtesy, respect, and effectiveness, I will limit and reduce my public meanderings. I have already taken up an unreasonable allotment. In this regard, I will improve.e2€?Peggysue: e2€œOn the other hand I do agree with nother that it is nice to be valued (or reviled) for your thoughts alone without the cumbersome baggage of the visual impression and all the stereotyping that can go along with that. I don't think of my fellow posters as disembodied word generators and would be curious to see you all but also respect your privacy enough to [not} feel that seeing you is not the most important thing. It is the exchange of ideas I value most.e2€?Peggysue e2€?The thoughtfulness that has gone into the posts on this thread is I think a good illustration of why not to have word limitsRaymond: e2€œI completely agree with JonGarfunkel who pointed out that lengthy and frequent posts affect the resulting discussion, that there are trade-offs. One trade-off I have often seen in group discussions involves those using many words with liltte meaning crowding out those using few but meaningful words. And I think this crowding out happens here.e2€?e2€œThe situation results, in my mind, because contributors place different values on blog space. Some view it as an unlimited, costless resource. Unlimited because, after all, actual space is largely unlimited. And costless because these contributors have considerable time to blog. Others view blog space as a limited, costly resource. Limited because it can be hard to find the dipole needle in the hay stack debris cloud. And costly because these contributors have liltte time to blog.e2€?e2€œSo I think some limit on contributions serves to put a common value on blog space by making blog space a scarce resource: something to be used with care.e2€?Amen, but I disagree with the ensuing proposal of a monthly word limit UNTIL that becomes obviously and unavoidably necessary.Allison: e2€œwhen you present yourself as something that you are not, there is a disingenuousness that bleeds into the integrity of everything. You are not speaking truth. You may have excuses I didn't think you'd value my ideas if you knew but it is still not the truth. The power of it is diminished by this. Even if I don't know the deception, the power is inherently diminished.e2€?True that is why one cannot get away with this kind of thing for long. I done2€™t think this is an issue here. Maybe I am wrong about that.Ie2€™d like to propose a regular forum meeting/thread- perhaps once every three or 6 months to see how things are going and what needs to be changed.
Posted by: Electricistas | April 27, 2012 at 11:08 PM