The comb-over/comb-forward of one Julius Caesar

It’s appropriate in light of my last blog and, coincidentally, in light of this being the week of Caesar’s birth that I finished my reading of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. As cynical as I seem to be at times, I think it’s pretty damn cool that all these years later, there are certain people who are still amazingly relevant and whose legacies live on. That kicks ass if you ask me. It’s so cool to read history and pick up things you missed in school or were never told in school in the first place. I mean, I don’t remember hearing that Julius Caesar plucked out all of his body hair and wore a mad comb-forward/comb-over . . . that Octavian had a unibrow and suffered from painful kidney stones . . . that Nero said his mother’s ghost haunted him every day of his life after he murdered her . . . that anyone who went to spend time with Tiberius in Capri came back thoroughly debauched and bat-shit crazy . . . that Claudius was exclusively hetero and seems like he’d have been kinda cool to hang out with . . . that Vespasian had a hilarious wit. And don’t even get me started on Antony. The more I read about him, the more I like. And the more I think that whoever did the casting for Rome and chose James Purefoy got it damn near perfect. *Swooning sigh* I love the biographical elements of history. In terms of inspiration and amazement, you cannot outdistance the truth of history with fiction. If you haven’t read the biographies of the 12 Caesars, I can highly recommend them. You can also find a copy online for free, which is even better.

http://books.google.com/books?id=pjcbAAAAYAAJ&dq=lives%20of%20the%20twelve%20Caesars&pg=PP19

In other news, I am so glad it’s finally Friday. Fucking hell, it’s been a week. It’s not necessarily been a bad week but it most definitely has been a busy and tiring one. I am so glad that the weather is cooler here now. Not cold by any means but cooler. In the 80s now instead of 105 with a heat index of 115. One of my friends was telling me how he’d gone outside last weekend during the massive heatwave and mowed the lawn. He thought because he was on a riding mower he would have no problems. So he powers through the process and he said once he got back into the house, he realized he was ill. His analysis was something like, “I now realize how heat like this can kill a person.” It truly has been that bad, which makes it all the more wonderful now that it’s tolerable outside. My electric bill came the other day and it was not as horrid as I was expecting. I have been conserving like a fiend. It’s totally worth it though when you realize that it has actually helped out.



Is it 5 o’clock somewhere yet? I wouldn’t mind an ice cold Vesper martini right about now . . . and yes, I know it's way too early . . .