#OF COURSE I LIKE MESSALA

[mantecol]

Quo Vadis is that old movie I watch once a week cause TCM only plays that movie and Ben-Hur

[bodybebangin]

100. Ben-Hur (1959)

it took me several days but i finally got through this one. it was quite the epic. i really had no clue what this movie was about. i thought maybe something about chariot racing and there was that. i didn't know it was religious but i probably should've guessed that. there were several moments that felt very homoerotic which was fun. i loved how dramatic people were when they cried. they'd just throw themselves against a person or a surface of some kind to sob. i think it could also be considered a stealth christmas movie since it did have the birth. anyway. i loved seeing messala getting his ass trampled. i'm not sure how it was fair for his chariot to have weapons. i guess the others should've thought to do that too. the accents and the casting felt a bit suspicious. the sheer scale of this movie was impressive. there were so many people and so many horses. i really loved the mom and the sister being lepers and that whole storyline. of course they were cured miraculously at the end. i personally could've done without that whole jesus part (although i did like them never showing his face) but is this supposed to be a story from the bible?? i honestly don't know and don't care. it was nice for them to have that sweet reunion at the end with judah but i sort of feel like this movie should've ended on a sad note instead maybe. i don't know. or at least a wedding with esther.

i'd never watch this again but i enjoyed it for the most part. if you've seen it, what'd you think?

next up is toy story!

[incaensio]

setting : the morning after the bombing of district thirteen, amidst the roses. with : haymitch abernathy @fatefought

the scent of the roses is suffocating. she feels back at her room, in twelve, days ago, but even there, it had been only the one. here, she's drowning in them — she can barely keep the façade of calm she ought to, if this propo is to go well; instead, her face is almost as pale as the petals scattered around, and she has half a mind to pace all over the place, throw herself on the sea of roses, see if snow's gift also comes with corpses, if he has thrown peeta in there as well. but no, death would be merciful, and that is something president snow is not. he likes to toy with her, giving her roses from his own home for her wedding bouquet, stashing one of them in her home so she knows he knows where she is, bombing thirteen with bombs and roses so she understands her compliance to the rebellion means only mistreatment to her husband. not death, but worse. many lifetimes worth (because she knows they can bring him back from the death if they need to, hadn't they done it after their games?) of unspeakable torture just to break her.

well, they've done it. she can barely focus on the camera as she is positioned on the spot; usually, she finds that focusing on the red twinkling light signaling recording is easier, easier than to look at eyes and faces, but today, she can't help but to scan through them in a daze. cressida, messala, the twins, a couple of guards, boggs, plutarch. it's plutarch who is speaking today, heightening the importance to let the whole of panem know that thirteen is alive and so is the mockingjay. at times, she can split herself from the role and do what she's told, but this is not the case today. someone else is in the back, though not even he can escape the onslaught of roses. with a graying complexion, gray eyes and greyer clothes, haymitch is a sight she usually ignores but she finds herself attuned to his face today. in this light, he could be like the ghost she had met in twelve, a while ago — only her father's wrinkles were tugged around the corners of his mouth, laughter lines, and there was light in his gray eyes. there's none of that in haymitch's. 

of course, he is not her father. no man alive can ever amount up to heath everdeen, not to his katniss, yet it is in his direction she begins to walk with wobbly steps. "i can't do this," her voice comes out as a whisper. someone presses on, but she can elaborate no further response, and, instead, she finds herself pressing her face to haymitch's uniform, her arms around his weakened frame — she can count on her fingers the numbers of times they've hugged, though she can't recall if she has ever wanted his embrace as she does now. katniss is skeptical that he feels differently, but today... today he must. he has always said he liked peeta better, hasn't he? "i don't wanna  do this," she cries, away from the glare of the camera and from everyone else's. "i don't wanna  be here anymore..." maybe someone will come and put her down soon, like the last she's lunged at haymitch. "he won't stop hurtin’ him..."

[365days365movies]

Historical July: Ben-Hur (1959) - Part II

So, why aren’t I watching Passion of the Christ?

Because FUCK THAT SHIT.

And no, this isn’t anti-religion or anything to that effect: this is because my Dad saw that movie the year it came out at church one night, came back from it, and was just...FUCKED up. He doesn’t talk about it, but that movie was not a pleasant experience for him. That, combined with the controversy surrounding it, means that this guy is NOT WATCHING THAT SHIT. I am here to have a GOOD TIME!

Plus, did you know that the guy whoplays Jesus, Jim Caviezel, got struck by lightning TWICE WHILE MAKING THAT MOVIE? If there was any sign from God telling them not to make that movie, THAT WAS FUCKING IT! Also, Mel Gibson is a notorius racist and anti-Semite, and that movie was MADE to fuel anti-Semitic passions. So, yeah, I AM FUCKING GOOD, THANK YOU.

Are there other movies from the time period I could watch? Well, yeah, of course; there are a metric FUCK ton. And eventually, I will leave this period of history. But today? Today, I’m in it. And the next movie I do will fast-forward a few decades...but we’ll get there.

The other reason I’m doing Ben-Hur is because its considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. And honestly, I can see it. Thus far, the acting is fantastic, the writing’s great, the directing is absolutely stellar, the sets and costumes are gorgeous, and the music is iconically epic. It’s a great movie, that also happens to be LONG AS BALLS. But hey, that’s what I get. Hopefully, the next film isn’t quite as long, but we’ll see.

Let’s get this done! Check out Part I if you’re curious!

Recap (2/2)

In the prison, we find out three things: one, the jailers have never even SEEN Miriam and Tirzah; two, they’re still alive; and three...THEY HAVE LEPROSY!!! FUUUUUUUCK. In case you didn’t know, leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is a bacterial infection that causes horrible lesions and sores on the skin, and also damages the lungs and eyes. It’s an abysmal disease, and is maybe best known for causing the necrosis of the hands and feet, leading to them falling off over time. It’s not a good disorder, and it’s also not extinct. Today, it has a cure, but in ancient times...yeah, it’s a pisser. 

Leper colonies were areas specifically built for sufferers of leprosy to live away from society, and from the unafflicted. Hence, lepers have historically been some of the most disenfranchised groups of people, and a symbol for poverty and suffering amongst many civilizations. But again, IT STILL EXISTS. And what’s worse? We don’t know how it spreads. Is it lungs, is it the skin, is it magic? The former is most likely, but also unknown for certain. Also, armadillos carry it!

The jailers set them free and to a leper colony, as they can’t be here anymore with that shit. But they go first to their old home, where they meet Esther. After seeing their condition, they beg her to tell nothing to Judah. She reluctantly agrees to this, and once they leave, she tells Judah that they are actually dead, having died in the prison. She believes that this will turn him away from vengeance, but NOPE!!! JUDAH’S GONNA HAVE HIM SOME MESSALA FOR DINNER TONIGHT BABY

And then...intermission. Fuck me, I am REALLY BAD at predicting when these intermissions come. Personally, I would’ve stuck it right before we’re reunited with Messala. That would’ve been a perfect place, if you ask me. But whatever, I’m not a filmmaker. Real quick, though, the score by Miklos Rozsa? Killer. Big booming operatic score, meant to evoke the epic nature of the time. Just, like...mmmmmmmWAHCHEF’S KISS

After the intermission, the Sheik reappears to make bets on his horses with the Romans, including with Messala. He reveals that his driver is indeed Judah, leading the ever-proud Messala to bet against him, four to one. He makes an offensive comment about the Romans vs. Jewish people and those from the Arabian subcontinent, and man...I fuckin’ hate this guy.

Of course, this whole thing is meant to set up Messala for a BIG fall, as Judah once more proves his skill with horses and horse racing. Also real talk, those are some GORGEOUS fuckin’ horses. My mom was an equestrian, and her favorite breed is the Akhal Teke, a golden colored relative of the Arabian horse. And yeah, not gonna lie...I get it, those are beautiful horses.

But fuck that shit, we’re here to watch a goddamn race! Coming up is one of the most memorable scenes in film history, and it would inform action scenes in films for generations to come. Before the race begins, Judah prays for forgiveness for seeking vengeance against Messala. He wears a Star of David given to him by the Sheik, and he goes out to face the horses proudly. Let’s fuckin GOOOOOO

They racers come into place, with Messala sporting equally gorgeous black horses. Messala and Judah greet each other with intent, and it’s revealed that Messala is driving a war chariot, meaning that the wheels have sabotaging spikes on them, meant to fuck-up any chariot that comes near him. God, Messala’s a dick. But whatever, it’s time to fucking RACE. And Imma sit back and just...watch this happen. Here, join me.

Fuck me, man, is that not fucking COOL AS SHIT?

Like the iconic shot where Judah and Messala are neck-and-neck, and each instance where Messala just fuckin’ wrecks a dude? Or when Messala, the absolute DOUCHENOZZLE, starts to whip Judah to stop him? And Judah takes the fuckin’ whip as the wheels lock together, and Messala just gets absolutely fucked? And I mean, just utterly FUUUUUUUCKED. God, this scene fuckin’ rules.

Well, once it ends, Judah wins the race, and Messala is just absolutely destroyed, having just been run over by SEVERAL horses. Yeah, he’s an absolute asshole, but dear Lord. In Judah’s defense, he wasn’t trying to kill him right there, but his mission of revenge was definitely accomplished. He’s celebrated by everyone, although Pontius Pilate isn’t exactly pleased with the outcome. Still, he congratulates him all the same, and tells him that he has a message for him from Rome. Ominous, but OK. So, how’s Messala doin’?

Oh, really, really bad? Figured that, yeah. His compatriots want to heal him to save his life, but he refuses to go until Judah arrives, which he knows he will. And so he does. Messala “congratulates” him, and Judah sees the fruits of his actions. Messala attempts to make some amends...kinda...and tells him that his mother and sister are in the Valley of the Lepers, rather than being dead. The race is not over. And then that ass fuckin’ dies. Jesus, an asshole to the very end, that Messala.

Now with a new purpose, Judah makes his way to the Valley of the Lepers, despite the warnings of others. He tries to find them, but it’s not easy. No one uses names in the valley, and leprosy lesions cover and distort facial features. But while he’s there, he sees none other than Esther, whom he is NOT FUCKING HAPPY TO SEE.

He confronts her, and she tells him the truth: they don’t want him to see them like this. At the last second, he obeys this command, and hides behind a rock as Miriam and Tirzah come to Esther to take the food she’s brought to them. He hears his mother’s concern for his well-being, and breaks down in tears behind the rock. Which, yeah, is pretty fucked, Jesus Christ. Fuckin’ where is that dude? He’s supposed to be able to...oh. OH. OH FUCK ME, MAN, DID I JUST FIGURE OUT THE ENDING OF THIS MOVIE? SHIT.

Well, the remaining 36 minutes of this film are gonna go by real fuckin’ fast. Judah leaves on protest, at the urging of Esther. They leave, and then stumble upon a large group of people, including Balthasar. They’re all headed to listen to the man that Balthasar sought, whom Balthasar believes is truly the son of God. THERE he is. Jesus, Jesus, I was wondering where you were.

Judah, however, isn’t interested in hearing the words of the Prince of Peace, and takes off to his business with Rome and Pontius Pilate. Esther, however, goes to listen to the man’s sermon on this mount in the countryside. We don’t hear his words, and we don’t see his face, but both are apparently quite powerful to the gathered peoples.

Judah, meanwhile, heads to Pilate, and learns that he has been made a citizen of Rome. But Judah don’t give a SHIT, because Rome condemned his mother and sister to death in the Valley. Pilate has no sympathy, and basically tells Judah to suck it up and embrace the Rome. However, right there and then, Judah denounces his citizenship. Pontius warns him that he should leave Judea, or risk persecution for his past actions.

He returns home, to Esther’s elation. However, Judah isn’t interested in her talks of peace and love. Instead, he’s consumed by vengeance against...well, everything. With that, the man that Esther knew is gone, and she accuses hm of being like Messala. And honestly, although this is a story beat I’ve heard before...hot damn does this movie do this story well. 

The next day, Esther goes to Miriam and Tirzah once again, and tries to get them to see the carpenter from Nazareth. However, Tirzah is now dying, and Miriam is absolutely bereft. And to make matters worse, Judah arrives, despite his mother’s wishes. Esther tries to take them to see Jesus, with the idea that they would embrace death easier if they were to speak with him.

And with that, Judah finds his sister and embraces her, despite her urgings as well. I get that he’s the hero of the story, but dude does NOT take no for an answer from ANYBODY, huh? With Esther and Miriam, the four return home, only to find nobody there. It turns out that everybody’s at a trial for Jesuuuuuooooh. Well, fuck me, man. Looks like they’re all fucked.

We get there just in time to see the end of the trial, with Pontius washing his hands, and the thief Barabbas freshly freed. Jesus is carrying his cross to his site of crucifixion on Golgotha, as Judah comes in with his mother and sister. And it’s then that Judah finally realizes that this is the same guy who gave him water in the desert. They see him fall and struggle, and see no one come to his aid. Well...almost no one.

Yup! Judah reciprocates the gesture from earlier, and gives the struggling Jesus water to drink. Gotta say, religious or not...that’s a powerful image. So is the succeeding image, when they put him on the cross! Fucking lovely. Balthasar notes that he did this to take on the sin of the world. And...yeah, OK, it’s from this point on that we get a little more proselytizing. You know, he died for our sins, and his face was so peaceful as he knew what he was doing, so on and so forth. We even get the more apocalyptic part of his death, as a terrible storm comes through once Jesus dies. That’s something people tend to forget in the story of the crucifixion.

Hiding in a cave, Tirzah and Miriam feel pain as the storm comes through, symbolizing God’s vengeance. And by the way, here’s what I mean about the proselytizing. Because this film treats the more fantastical miraculous stories of Jesus as truth. Because, lo and behold, the death of Jesus has cured Miriam and Tirzah’s leprosy! Which is...not what happened in the Bible, but there you go. Like I said, this is a Christian movie, so we gotta throw some proselytizing in there. And hell, it’s done pretty well, I gotta hand that to this movie.

Judah returns home, having watched Jesus die and speak his last words. And with his voice, Judah’s anger and need for vengeance disappears. He happily and tearfully embraces his cured mother and sister, now affirmed in his belief once again. And...that’s it!

Yeah, really. That’s actually the end. Soooo...

Cast and Acting - 9/10: It’s great! Buuuuut, there are a few cheesy moments, especially towards the end. Charlton Heston is basically perfect, and Jack Hawkins is mostly great, but Haya Harareet is mostly good...until the end. It gets a little shaky at the end there.

Plot and Writing - 8/10: See above. Once the proselytizing starts, the writing gets overly preachy for me. But, yeah, maybe that’s unfair of me to say. It’s not Karl Tunberg’s fault that this is a Christian fanfiction. Still...could’ve been a little subtler, I think.

Direction and Cinematography - 10/10: Yeah, William Wyler is a legend, and this film proves why. Holy SHIT, this movie looks great. Some amazing shots in here, lemme tell ya. And that’s not including the fucking chariot race! Use of the foreground and background, plus the ultra widescreen shots? Hell yeah.

Production and Art Design - 9/10: You surprised? You shouldn’t be, because this was fantastic. The only complaint? The leprosy makeup was...less than great.

Music and Editing - 10/10: For a nearly four hour movie, this pacing was actually EXTREMELY good! Credit to John Dunning and Ralph Winters! And I already talked about Rozsa’s musical score: incredible.

Another 92%! And yeah, that again seems about right.

So, uh...let’s end this era with a very...VERY big bang. And I’m not gonna lie to you...I’m not looking forward to this one...

Next: Pompeii (2014); dir. Paul W.S. Anderson

[sebastianshaw]

2, 4, 6, and 8

2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? “It was 1959. I was turning 21 that December. Ben-Hur had been in theaters since the previous month, but of course I couldn’t afford to go see it when it opened. I didn’t see most movies that came out when I was young. It didn’t even bother me then, because I didn’t even think about seeing them, because I knew I couldn’t. When something is just unavailable to you by default, you don’t miss the option. Well, no, I certainly missed, say, having heat, but I don’t mean necessities, I mean luxuries. And movies were certainly a luxury. But my father wanted to do something very special for my 21st, more than just taking me out for a beer ---it wouldn’t be my first, after all, just my LEGAL first---and he’d been saving up since the first post for this film was plastered in our little neighborhood of poor mill workers just like him. And now, months later, the nearest movie theatre---which was quite a walk aways---was now playing it at a reduced price. A buck fifty. That’s how much we paid, he paid, for the both of us. We could have gotten a pound of pork chops for that kind of money back then, or over a pound of steak, or three tubes of toothpaste, or a few packages of cold medicine, or a six pack of beer. But we got me Ben Hur, and better yet, seeing it with my father next to me. I didn’t have...friends...but that didn’t bother me, didn’t occur to me. My father was who I WANTED to see it with. It was the right movie to pick. I know so many people now who are the age I was when I saw it, they don’t even know the name, they ask, Ben Who? But it was incredible when it came out. Everyone was talking about it, even people who didn’t care for movies, and it was worth the hype. The widescreen shots of the grandiose sets for a grandiose story, the vast deserts and glittering ocean, the Roman friezes and slave ships, the tunics and belts and feathered helmets, the mighty white horses like porcelain bulls thundering over a rock quarry that took a thousand workmen a year to carve out---it was real, you know. The entire chariot race, the setting, it was all real. No CGI, no special effects except for the sea. A spectacle. But it wasn’t simply the dazzling visuals that kept me enrapt, though I was awed very much. It was the story. Judah, taken from his home, losing everything, reduced to a slave, and rising back from it as a prince once more like he started. His refusal to bow to the Romans, even when his determination and self-discipline brings him the favor of Arrius. His tireless rowing in the boat scene, so like how I spent my days sweating in the steel mill as other men faltered around me as they did him. His rejection of Pilate’s patrimony, his defeat of Messala, his never-ending determination and strength...it...meant a lot to me, as a young man. In retrospect, I don’t think it would mean the same to me now. There was much foolishness. His refusal of so many benefits out of what really amounted to nothing more than pride, the religious angle, the fact he was born to wealth in the first place...but, at the time... At the time, THE OVERTURE played in my head for months afterwards to come.” 4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? “I don’t understand the question. Do you mean things I do to take care of myself? I suppose there is pleasure is eating; no, not suppose, it’s a fact. We invented the entire culinary arts because some food is more enjoyable than others. If that were not the case, we’d have simply eaten root vegetables raw out of the ground and cooked meat only for safety, never invented seasoning or bread or dessert...does anyone NOT like eating? I’ve never heard of that. I suppose a more original answer would be that I also enjoy keeping myself fit. Some people COMPLAIN about the exercise they must do to stay healthy and powerful, but I relish it. There’s such a certain animal SATISFACTION in it. Perhaps I’m just a workhorse at heart, only happy when exhausted by the plow. And since I’m fairly certain hygiene counts as taking care of yourself, I like a good hot shower on my old bones too. But as with food, who DOESN’T?” 6. How did you get to be so beautiful? “I suspect you’re mocking me or blind. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume It’s the latter, and you used voice to text to even send this ask, so woebegone is your poor vision. Here, you may run your hands over my face—and if you promise not to gasp, I promise not to bite.” 8. Best trip you’ve ever been on? Anywhere with Lourdes

[a--god--in--ruins]

so there’s this theory (propogated by christians) that saturn is actually evil and is the god the jews secretly worship. but this is bullshit.

saturn is the good. he is the second sun. the true sun. the black sun. he was the ruler over the golden age of mankind. look at mithraism. look their grades of initiation. there are seven of them. the patron of the sixth grade is sol (the sun) himself. but there is still another grade above that. the seventh grade. and this grade’s patron is saturn. saturn is ranked above sol. and the name of this rank is the “Father”. he is frequently depicted alongside mithras, sometimes in a passive role as overseer/witness and sometimes in a more active role as he hands the dagger over to mithras with which he was slay the bull, thus subtly conducting him.

who is saturn really? saturn is cronus is chronos is aion. remember that. like i said, he was the ruler of the golden age in which humans were free and good and lived in paradise in which all was held in common and men lived in harmony with nature and in a state of perpetual celebration. but before that, he had castrated and overthrew his tyrant of a father, uranus, the king of the universe. he was the only one with the balls to do so. he was also a god of wealth and bounty and abundance and agriculture. also worth noting that when he was eventually overthrown by his son jupiter/zeus, he fled to italy and became the first king of latium/rome, and as such was the first realization of imperium on earth (i won’t get into the implications here. that’s for another time.). and again, under his rule humanity prospered. he brought law and order and civilization to mankind. he was also a god of death and destruction. one of his consorts was known as “lua mater” (mother destruction). saturn was honored with offerings of human sacrifice in the form of gladiatorial combat. saturn was a complex god. he was a god of contradictions. he was a god of creation and destruction. he was a god of life and death. he was a god of order and liberation and revolt. 

saturnalia was a holiday in which the status quo was subverted. it was a celebration of light and life and rebirth and an attempt to replicate the golden age under saturn’s rule, in which all men were treated as brothers and there was only feasting and drinking and freedom and revelry. also it’s proximity to the solstice and sol invictus’ birthday are hard to ignore. saturn was also closely associated with janus, to the point where they are often equated. and perhaps most importantly, he was also god of time. ever-hungry, all-consuming time (consuming even his own offspring), its creative and destructive faculties. of cycles, transitions, boundaries, seasons, order, flux, flow, etc. and in his aion form, unbounded, infinite time. also, marcus messala, an ancient roman, claimed that aion and janus were one and the same. saturn is also father of truth and father of aether. aether literally means “burning/shining” and the sun/fire is considered a material analogue to this spiritual fire. light/sun/fire is sacred to heraclitus (and aryans in general). he refers to the cosmos itself as “an ever-living fire” and he equates fire to zeus as the divine ordering principle of the universe by referring to it as “the thunderbolt that steers the course of all things.” i will touch more upon these things later.

anyway, what about mithras? mithras is undeniably a solar deity. he his referred to as sol invictus and he often equated with sol/helios. this is known. what’s less known is his connection to phanes (whose name means “shining”). not only are the two explicitly equated in text and inscription (in which mithras is also identified with zeus btw.) but they are often depicted with similar imagery (youthful appearance, emerging from a rock/egg, encircled by a zodiacal ring, etc. aion is also frequently depicted with a zodiacal ring). it’s also worth noting that phanes is equated with dionysus who is equated with pan. sometimes he (phanes) is depicted with hooves, relating him to pan explicitly. also worth mentioning is that jupiter/zeus and phanes (both equated to mithras) are both offspring of saturn/cronus/chronos/aion. and in the orphic hymns helios (mithras) is again equated with zeus.

so then there’s this third figure that is associated with mithraism. the monstrous lion-headed god. unequivocally a god of time. but more than that, this god is a synthesis of mithras and saturn. this monstrous deity is an all-encompassing god of light and time. he is always depicted with imagery relating to both saturn and mithras and even other gods. it becomes impossible to ignore all the recurring symbolism. the lions, snakes, bulls, crows, sickles, staffs, fire, globes, keys, zodiac, whips, wings, scepters, thunderbolts, etc. also the recurring themes of time, cycles, light, life, death, rebirth, cannibalism, sacrifice, chaos, order, liberation, fertility, power, change, flux, flow, unity, creation, destruction, etc. this god is a god of light and time. the father of all, the giver of life, the guarantor of the cosmic order, the ceaseless hunger, the all-consuming, the eternal flame, the creator and destroyer. eternal, divine, absolute. the all. basically the demiurge, but without the negative connotations of the christian gnostics. and don’t pretend like i’m talking nonsense equating and synthesizing all these gods. gods being distinct and yet the same is no foreign concept to aryans. just look at the trinity. the trinity is the same idea. one god but with multiple aspects. it’s an aryan imposition upon a jewish religion. but i won’t get into that right now. i can write a whole other post all about how christianity is a grotesque amalgamation of aryan and jewish ideas. my point is, you can’t act like the idea of gods being one and multiple simultaneously is ridiculous, especially if you’re a christian who believes in the trinity.

okay, and what about this talk about a “second” “truer” sun? well, throughout western mysticism there are esoteric but definite references to the idea of a second sun existing. a spiritual/noetic counterpart to the material sun. perhaps the most famous and obvious example is plato’s allegory of the cave where plato explicitly equates his form of the good with a sun existing in his world of forms, existing beyond our material universe, illuminating being itself much like the sun illuminates the material world around us. then we have the chaldean oracles, in which they designate another “solar world” beyond our own composed of “perpetual light”. they talk about a noetic sun existing in this world, which they refer to as “time of time”. they also equate god to dionysus and refer to him as the father (remember, saturn is the father of zeus/jupiter/phanes/etc and his grade in the mithraic mysteries is the father.). then philo, in his “de opificio mundi”, he makes reference to a sun “above the heavens” whose light is invisible to the naked eye and only perceptible by the mind and whose light he refers to as “divine reason” and “the image of God”. then in plotinus’ fourth ennead he makes reference to two suns; our mundane sun, and then another sun that exists in the divine realm which he equates to nous/intellect. then we have julian in his “hymn to helios” where he makes several references (directly and indirectly) to two types of sun, the invisible/intelligible and the visible/material. his hymn actually corroborates a lot of my thoughts above. in it he also suggests that the names used to refer to multiple gods actually refer to mithras-helios. anyway, i digress. point is there are several hints of the existence of two suns. one which is material and illuminates the mundane world, and one which is noetic and exists in a solar realm beyond our own and is the source of all. and the latter is always superior and conducts the former. this second, truer, noetic, purifying, divine sun is the black sun.

[moviegodsandgoddesses]

I came across something recently while browsing away on Newspapers.com. Stephen Boyd actually owned a car dealership in Burbank for a brief time in the early 1970’s! Now Stephen was of course always fond of cars. Cars were probably his greatest passion – next to golf, or course. But his dealership was specifically aimed at the sports cars from Europe like “the MG, Austin American and Lotus automobiles”.  Apparently Stephen purchased the dealership in 1970 right after the sale of the failing mega-studio MGM sale, when he also obtained his trusty old Messala chariot as well!

The things people are buying at the MGM auction! Still, I guess it figures that Steve Boyd’s biggest check was written to buy his “Ben-Hur” chariot.

He intends to park it as the showpiece at his newly acquired imported car dealership – Stephen Boyd’s Sports Car Center – in beautiful downtown Burbank. (The San Francisco Examiner, May 20, 1970)

Stephen Boyd introduces a new concept in foreign car automotive service called “Old English Service.” We invite you to stop in and try this new concept in personalized service….we know you’ll be glad you did. (Van Nuys News, California, June 26, 1970)

This concept meant customers could have their car serviced in a minimum amount of time while waiting the in the comfortable waiting lounge. The dealership was located at 811 South San Fernando Blvd in Burbank, which is still currently a “Tesla” car dealer. It’s located not too far from a Ralph’s grocery these days. It has been a car dealership location since the early 1950’s.

It looks like Stephen kept this dealership until about late 1971 when the ads seems to disappear. One of Stephen’s brothers had come to California with him in the early 1960’s as a mechanic, I believe. I’m not sure of his family was involved with dealership, however. That seems unlikely. But it certainly speaks to Stephen’s passion for cars!  An ex-restaurant owner Mort Katz was selected to head the dealership.

Van Nuys News, California, June 26, 1970

In 1970 Stephen Boyd also appeared in the Paul Newman racing documentary called Once Upon a Wheel. Newman hosts and narrates the history of auto racing. Stephen, even though a car enthusiast, doesn’t seem to be into racing himself. He is on the sidelines in the pit crew, and explains “I’m chicken” when asked why he is not partaking. Actor Kirk Douglas is seen as well.

  Actor and motor sports enthusiast PAUL NEWMAN and professional race car driver PARNELLI JONES seated in red Porsche 914 sports coupe parked in pit alley at Ontario Motor Speedway / Paul Newman wearing white racing suit, walking toward camera in pits, packed spectator stands / Paul Newman talking with honorary pit crew that includes singer LOU RAWLS and actor STEPHEN BOYD/ OMS Celebrity Pro-Am on August 09, 1970 in Ontario, California (Footage by Getty Images) 

  Stephen Boyd Sports Cars – The Dealership! I came across something recently while browsing away on Newspapers.com. Stephen Boyd actually owned a car dealership in Burbank for a brief time in the early 1970's!

[akanemachurida-blog]

18/09/08 SKE48 Ikinari Punchline Handshake @ Port Messe Nagoya

This handshake felt like it came a bit fast, only a week after my last one. Last Saturday Maya asked me to wear a yukata or jinbei to the next event, and my friends urged me to wear one so I ordered one on Rakuten. Thankfully the shipping here is fast and I got it the day before the event. I was a bit shy at first but I got a very positive reaction from everyone, getting a lot of kakkois etc. My usual handshakes at Port Messe are held in hall # 3, but the event this time was held in hall #1, which is the hottest hall I’ve been to. It’s very wide and spacious, and fans were set up everywhere. In addition there were stations handing out free water/tea bottles, shaved ice cream, and popsicles. I think this is the first time I get anything free at a handshake event, and it was quite nice to not have to leave the venue to get something. I usually only go see Maya, but after going to so many Team E performances I felt like going to see some of the members since I’ve grown to like them a lot. In addition I went to see a former oshi… My first handshake of the day was with Nacky (Kamata Natsuki). There is a very kind Japanese Nacky fan I know who connects with the international fans in English, so I hit him up before going. He was very nice and introduced me to some other fans and Nacky. I was a bit nervous since I kind of idolize her more than the other girls on a personal level. The nice guy introduced me, she recognized me from the theatre and I said I liked her performances. She was wearing her seitansai shirt and her flower wreath. Next I went to see Maya (Sugawara Maya). Of course she was wearing her yukata and some other fans wore some too, while some wore jinbei. I actually thought about buying a jinbei at first but a friend told me you can’t wear that in public since they’re like pajamas and what you wear to take out the trash. I don’t think they’re that shameful, since Maya was surprised to see me in a yukata and asked me why I wasn’t in a jinbei. I answered that this just seemed cooler, I don’t know. Anyway she liked the design a lot and said it went well with my skin tone. Next time I went she asked me how her yukata was, I said it was cute, then I asked how my cosplay of a Japanese person was. She said the colour and design were really nice and she felt the fabric up. Next up she asked me if I’m going to Request Hour. I said no since I spent too much on the sousenkyo. She apologized but asked me if I’ll help her next year. I said of course, and she said she’s aiming for #11. I went to see Ouchan (Suenaga Ouka) after. She was cosplaying as Roux Louka from Gundam Double Zeta. I bought tickets just to see her cosplay and talk about Gundam. As far as cosplay outfits go it felt a bit budget but it was cool to see her with that wig. I said hi, and told her I came because I like Gundam. She asked which series I like, and she guessed correctly: Gundam Zeta. She laughed and said “Kamille!” and I told her my favourite character from that show is Paptimus Sciroco. She said ah, and then told me about her cosplay. This was my first handshake where you hold hands cross-wise. I went to see Nacky again after. I wished her a belated happy birthday and told her I read her blogs and they’re my favourite out of all the member blogs. She was surprised that I could understand them, since some members like Kitano Ruka apparently can’t read them. She uses some difficult vocabulary, and I told her it’s why I like them since I can learn a lot from them. She was happy. Afterwards I went to see Ouchan for the last time. I noticed her Double Zeta Gundam gunplay model she had with her. I told her I want to start building one of my own and she asked me which ones I want to make. I told her the Messala or Zeta Gundam. She told me she was thinking of bringing the Zeta Gundam today too. I guess she will bring her models from the original series on the 30th when she cosplays an Earth Federation soldier. I went back to Maya, and she was berating my friend who went first. I couldn’t stop laughing so she brought me over “You like laughing huh? You were laughing back there, I saw you. Was it funny, am I funny?” I answered of course, and told/asked her something I forgot about. Next time I did the stupidest thing ever, telling her my next ticket is the last one. “Last for this block, today, or life?” No no no, just today, I don’t have any for the next block. “Oh ok…” For my last time she told me I was the spitting image of a handsome Japanese man today and asked me to bring my own yukata next year. I informed her that this one was indeed mine, and she was surprised since she assumed I borrowed it from someone. I told her I’d be lending it to my friend next. Before taking it off I went to see Churi (Takayanagi Akane). The fans went nuts at seeing me in her lane after so long, yelling “The Sugawara wota has come!”, “Why are you here?”, “That ticket suits you well”, etc. It was nostalgic lining up with them again. As always Churi said it had been a long time, she said the yukata looked super good on me, I said thanks, she asked me if I only had one ticket today, I said yes, and I was shoved aside. It was nice to see her again. I lent my yukata to my friend since he wanted to wear one to see Maya today and ask her on a yukata date… He predictably got turned down pretty hard. The verdict is that it doesn’t look as good on him as me. She even complimented the way the belt was wrapped around, and he was forced to say I did it for him. I think the lesson to learn here is to not be a massive gachikoi in front of the member. Unfortunately that meant I wasn’t able to show it to Kumachan (Kumazaki Haruka), who I went to next. The man in front of me must have told her it was his birthday because she sung him the happy birthday song. Her outfit was just way too cute and she has a strong grip. It was my first time meeting her so I wanted to say nice to meet you, but she interrupted me with a “I KNOW YOU! You’re always at the theatre!” I said yeah, you give such nice performances and I see you a lot during the bye byes. She thanked me, and extended her other hand cross-wise. She asked me to shake it and come to see her more. I shook and she said it was a promise. I told her I’m coming on the 30th. It was a good thing I only had one ticket for her, I would have died or oshihenned on the spot otherwise. It's just not fair. I went back to Nacky afterwards. The guy I was with made sure she was aware of my change of clothes and she couldn’t stop laughing. She was practically wheezing at the sight of me in shorts and t-shirt in contrast to the yukata. I told her I lent it to my friend now and she said I’m very nice. Next time we went she kept laughing at the guy before since he kept talking about me to her and she found it funny how he was doing this elaborate introduction of me every time. I told her I like history and jogging, hobbies that we share, and she was happy to hear that. I told her I’m not marathon-ready yet and she told me that if she can run a marathon anyone can and encouraged me to try. Finally she remarked how many times I came and said thanks, I told her I’m coming again on the 30th, and she said she’s looking forward to what outfit I’ll have. We laughed and she told me my normal clothes are fine. I’ve been getting really awesome handshakes recently, with a lot of pretty genuine reactions from everyone. I should probably think of more topics to tell Maya, but when you go with one ticket at a time there really isn’t much time.

[flappyfluellen]

caesar day 1

heck yeah my dudes today was the first day of my 2-week julius caesar production! some details...

one of my friends (who did pericles last year) is in it! yay!

i didn’t know the director, but i really like her

i’d forgotten how much of this class/camp is focused on acting in general... i know a lot of it already, but i think it’s good to review (if a little boring at times)

damn i’d also forgotten how physically demanding acting is

our director gave a speech about how brutus and portia have an Important and Loving relationship, and said something like “the sweeter we make it now, the sadder it will be when they die”

tomorrow we get our parts and i am very excited

today we did auditions—i performed antony’s “pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth” soliloquy, which was fun (and is now stuck in my head)

the script is really tastefully cut!! i’m so glad

they left most of the good juicy scenes/lines (including most of “friends, romans, countrymen,” which surprised me) (and a good amount of the tent scene yay)

of course, there are some heavily cut scenes, but that’s inevitable

the one thing i’m salty about is that they cut titinius’ suicide??

they also had titinius (and messala and pindarus) be conspirators (so titinius is no longer as Random and Extra, and has actual lines before act 5)

which makes it more sucky that they cut his death imo

overall i’m super excited! but also exhausted.

[wanderluststhings]

I wish you would write a fic where… messala have their first date night after one finally blurts out their feeling to the other. (i need me more messala, March is too far away) ;)

(I found a way to settle this in the same continuity as “The Smile in his Mind”. Although I think you can read this one without that fic, I’m still linking it to you guys in case anyone’s interested.

Special thanks to @messisbeard for clearing up a little confusion I had with Argentine Spanish. Also to @luchorgasm for clarifying a detail and, alongside @prince-dybala, the enthusiasm for this accidental sequel. Notice this is the first draft, by Tuesday- yup, setting myself a deadline- a corrected version with updated events if necessary will appear in AO3)

After all the celebration in the dressing room, the players were finally discharged. Of course, Pipa got most of the praise, but the Supercoppa wasn’t as far as they wished. That influenced the Juve squad to give young Paulo some love.

“Dude, you were amazing!” Miralem cheered, as he pulled Paulo in for yet another hug. “See? I told you you hadn’t lost it. And you know what that means…”

Paulo chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah, next lunch’s on me”.

“Haha, yeah piccolo!” Miralem ruffled his hair again (which did NOT resemble Bart Simpson’s) and then left. Everyone else gave him a pat in the shoulder as well.

“Tomorrow dinner at my place!” Gonzalo announced as he got into his car. Normally Paulo would drive him, but ever since the former had noticed the latter’s increasing communication with Leo, the capocannionere had begun to place a bit of a distance. Paulo felt bad, but what else could he do. His relationship with Leo had been growing steadily for the last two months, and March couldn’t come sooner, not only because then they would finally put to practice the R-rated content they instructed to each other via telephone or Skype, but also because then he might finally be able to say it. The big three words.

“I love you”.

He knew Leo cared about him, he knew he was interested in him, what he had to say and his feelings, as much as he knew he wanted him. But he couldn’t help but to feel it might be too soon yet. Of course, “too soon” hadn’t mattered when Paul left the way he had and never got the chance to say it, not in the present tense at least. But this was different. There was no transfer that would set them apart, regardless of Florentino Pérez’ delusional wishes, and now they were on their own, and he felt like a child. He knew if he faced Leo he’d blurt it out. That was why he hadn’t asked him to go to Dubai with him. He hadn’t lied when he said he couldn’t keep Leo from seeing his family and friends back home, but that fear was also there, lurking at the back of his mind and tearing him apart. So the more time passed, the better. Two more months, and if things were going as well as they currently were, he would be able to say it and it would be perfectly fine. Besides, they weren’t officially boyfriends yet, even if they pretty much acted that way. Leo had said he wanted to actually kiss him before making it so (the man measured his milestones in Hollywood film tropes, whether he admitted it or not), and he lowkey agreed. Given how far they were, he didn’t truly feel the need for a definition at that moment.

All this went through his head as he drove back home, having nodded towards Pipa upon his suggestion. He would go, it was fine. They might not be as close as they were early on, but he was still his friend. There was no way he’d leave him- besides, any chance of hanging out with everyone would be appreciated. No one knew for how much longer guys like Uncle Pat would remain in the group.

As he got to his flat, he threw himself on the couch, uploaded a nice pic from the match (the one with Miralem hugging him tight) and proceeded to phone Leo. While he could have found his de facto boyfriend’s result via social media, he liked hearing it from Leo first. And now that their matches had pretty much been simultaneous, it was a great opportunity.

“Hola…”

“Hola Leo, it’s me, Pau”.

“Oh, hi Pau…”

“What’s the matter?”

“Masche told me you scored a penalty tonight against Bologna. That’s… great, Paulo. I’m happy for you”.

“Damn it, I wanted to tell you that!” Paulo smiled as he blushed. He liked Masche, but sometimes he could keep some details and not ruin surprises. That being said, he knew he meant well. He’d been quite supportive of them, even giving him some advice regarding Leo and his emotional cues.

One being the dragged sound of his voice.

“I know that must have meant a lot to you, given how it went back in Doha…”

“Don’t remind me”

“Ha, but yeah, that’s a big boost. You didn’t seem afraid at all”.

“I wasn’t”.

“I’m proud of you, pibe”

Two months had passed since they had begun their relationship. Six months since his own first contact. Four months since Mendoza. And yet, those words always made Paulo’s heart feel fulfilled.

“Anyway, how’s Turin doing?”

But he couldn’t let that make him lose track of what he aimed to do.

“Leo, is everything okay?”

Silence by the other side of the line. Paulo paced around his living room. He hoped Leo wouldn’t hang up, eager to avoid the situation, if it was as troublesome as he feared. He didn’t want to have to call up Masche for help, or even worse, Kun.

“Yeah, I guess. We scraped one point…”

“God, no”.

“I’m sorry, Pau. But we might have lost La Liga today”.

“No, no, la concha de su madre, no” Paulo couldn’t help it, the fan within had taken control. He didn’t want Real to win, no matter how much he cared about Álvaro. He covered his mouth, both in shock and with the remainder that he had to be supportive of the man he loved.

“We tried, I swear. But even without those penalties denied to us, we just couldn’t do it. It wasn’t the day”.

“Fuck, Leo…”

“I let you down”.

“NO YOU DIDN’T” Paulo found himself shouting. Just like Leo feeling proud of him triggered that immense joy, him seeing himself as a disappointment unleashed a strange anger. Lionel Andrés Messi could not disappoint anyone. It was impossible. He was the best player there had ever been, whether FIFA acknowledged it the next day or not. He wished Leo actually understood it, instead of living with that self-doubt. Either way, he was going to let him now how wrong he was.

“YOU COULD NEVER LET ME OR ANYONE DOWN, GET IT? YOU’RE THE BEST FUCKING PLAYER THERE’S EVER BEEN. I BET YOU DID SOMETHING TODAY. YOU SAID YOU GUYS TIED. DID YOU SCORE?”

“Well, I did a freekick…”

“AND IT WAS PERFECT, RIGHT?”

“I don’t know, Paulo”.

“WHAT DID NEY SAY?”

“Well, he liked it, and all…”

Paulo kept asking Leo about players’ opinions on his goal as he turned on YouTube on the TV and searched “Lionel Messi goal against Villarreal 2017″. Indeed, it had already been uploaded, and it was as amazing as everyone else was claiming. Nothing left to say. Leo was filled with that self-doubt made from the ridiculously high expectations people had of him, even if he hadn’t just scored an amazing freekick- he’d saved Barça’s asses.

“Leo, I’m watching the freekick. Che, you’ve no idea how much I wish I could score those as well as you do. You’ve no idea how much I wish I could fend off defenders the way you do. Stop self-doubting, I know we’re pretty much screwed, but you’ve got nothing to do. You did what you had to do. You got us a point. That’s… amazing. You’re amazing” he took a deep breath, “and I love you so much-”

Paulo’s eyes widened.

He’d said it.

He’d fucking said it, two months into the still unofficial relationship.

They weren’t actually boyfriends yet, and he’d said it.

“Bye Leo” he quipped, and threw himself on the couch. He couldn’t believe himself. He’d blown it. He’d tried to be the strong one, and wound up being what he was, a fucking pibe. Un nene, 23 years old and still a fucking nene.

Paulo covered his face with a cushion, and screamed.

After dinner ended, Paulo went outside for a walk before actually heading home. The snow was particularly terrible, and he missed the sun back at his Laguna Larga. Sometimes he forgot how good it felt to go back home, and how much he needed it, regardless of time difference and what it did to his body. If he could avoid any unnecessary damage, he would.

Then again, when was the last time he’d actually spent a summer down there? He was shocked at the realization- he’d been a teenager, still playing for Instituto, showing all those European agents eager to see the fallen great there was much more to see in la B, in all of Argentina, than those gallinas. It had been centuries. A lot had happened since then, and Paulo tried to shake off the longing. He had to focus. He had a career to fulfill, a dream to carry out. He couldn’t let nostalgia blur him. No summers at home for the following fifteen years or so, and that was it. Final decision.

Sensing that eerie yet familiar heaviness he had felt within him for the last eight years or so, he kept walking, until he stopped in his tracks.

Leo was standing right in front of him.

He was still wearing the suit he’d taken to the ceremony, more conservative than other times (Griezmann was certainly the heir to the questionable fashion sense). With his hair back to his natural hair color, but keeping the beard, Leo looked mature and sure of himself, completely unaffected by the earlier gala’s results. Paulo tried to mentally search for a more stunning image, and failed miserably at it.

“Pau, hola”.

“Ho… hola, Leo, ¿que hacés acá?” he asked, still wondering if the stress had finally caught up with his sanity.

“I came to see you. Well, I wanted to congratulate Pipa, but I already texted him, and well, he told me you guys would celebrate his goals, so I figured you’d be here and…” He smiled timidly, and the heaviness was gone. Paulo felt like himself again, and smiled back, widely, joyfully.

“Did I tell you your smile is beautiful?” Leo asked, and turned away a little. He was blushing.

“Ha, a few times, but so does my mom” Paulo chuckled, as he pulled closer. The fog of his words were now covering Leo’s face, and he looked up, his gaze so loving. The immeasurable joy was now fueling every single cell of Paulo’s being, like small bubbles.

“So” Leo said, seductively, “do you know any places nearby? I didn’t congratulate you on that goal like I should have. I wanna make it up to you”.

Paulo relished in the small fog covering his own face.

“Follow me” he said as he held Leo’s left hand with his own.

Having barely eaten at the Pipa dinner, the cozy restaurant where Paulo liked to go when he wanted to disappear from the spotlight while also not necessarily wanting to cook felt heavenlier than ever. They ordered two salads- after all, they both had (simultaneous) matches on Wednesday- and talked about how things were going at their clubs and cities.

“And that’s why we won’t be able to count on Gerard for the following three matches” Leo finished his tale, and put some lettuce with smoked salmon into his mouth.

“WOW” Paulo exclaimed. “I mean, kudos to him for standing up to those hijos de puta, but his absence is going to hurt. And you guys need to win on Wednesday”. He proceeded to eat another piece.

“I know, that’s why Andrés was mad at him. But he claims we would’ve been fucked anyway, with the refs being sold”.

“I bet he sees himself as some sort of martyr”.

“Yeah, that will be a key factor in his presidential campaign”.

Both men laughed.

“So, how’s it going with you guys in la Shuve?”

“Haha, well, we’re going strong, we got ourselves a Venezuelan but he seems nice, I hope it all turns out fine”.

“He should, Masche complained a lot about him after the Mérida match”.

“Can’t blame him. It hurts me to say it, but we owe Lucas that point”.

“Your bostero is showing, che” he chuckled.

“Shut up” he smiled and took a sip of water. “Anyway, we’re all working towards the sixth Scudetto. That would be historical, you know?”

Leo nodded.

“It would be amazing, making it into the history of the club, with all those greats. That’s the goal, many of us playing, but actually being worthy of history? It’s insane, and so hard… if I could be part of it… whah! I…” The excitement got the better of him, and he looked up to the ceiling, to the sky, his gaze heavenly. You’d be so proud, Dad.

“So it means you’re staying here?” Leo said, warily. Paulo looked at him, reminded of reality. All those negotiations, his outburst when he remembered the Olympics, the delay in his diagnosis…

“I’m not going there, by the way” he warned. He then looked down, and continued with a disappointed note in his voice. “I love this club, you know? They really put me in the international spotlight, all by themselves. No River Plate to justify people looking at me. That Ballon d’Or nomination, I owe it to them. All the praise, I owe it to them. And let’s be honest- if I have started games in the NT, it’s because of them. But I need to keep growing, you know, I want to see other footballs in this continent before reaching my thirties and going back home. Italy is great, but I want to feel part of a truly attacking team, a team that actually plays well… I wouldn’t be shady, though, I owe them so much, I could never pull a Pogba… Leo, there’s so much I want to do, and time seems so little…”

“Trust me, you have a lot of time left” Leo said. “I’m turning thirty this year, and I have very little regrets. But you can’t do it all. Even if I went back to Ñuls after Russia, I’d be 31. Even today I’m not the guy I was when I was your age. Imagine two more years. I will never be able to give them my best. But I couldn’t leave Barça. I love this club with all my heart, and I don’t regret a thing. But to stay here forever… I want to go back to Rosario eventually, be with my family, la banda”.

“I know” Paulo said, thinking back to his own melancholy.

Leo ate some more.

“So, that haircut looks good on you”.

“FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT” Paulo lifted his arms to the sky as Leo laughed. “Wait… you mean it, right? Not just because you, you know…”

“Love you?”

“Yeah!… Wait, you do?”

“I do, Paulo. I just wanted to wait until we were actually boyfriends to tell you, but since you beat me, well…”

Paulo smiled, as he saw an opportunity.

“Speaking of, you said you wanted to wait until we met face to face to make it official with a romantic film-worthy kiss”.

“Che, I never said it had to be romantic-film worthy!” Leo complained jokingly.

“Ha ha, well, thing is, I’m here. You’re here. We’re here”.

He fixated his gaze on Leo. The rosarino smiled and leaned in.

Paulo thought of an old story he’d read when he was a kid. When the protagonist’s first kiss came, at first they felt each other’s lips with their own. Then they felt each other with their lips. Years later, he could say he understood.

He could feel Leo’s being through the kiss, through his lips. He’d never seen him as clearly, despite his eyes being closed. The beard was a bit itchy, but soon he lost track of it. His soul was exploding with that joy, that fulfillment. Except something was missing. He hoped it wouldn’t tire them a lot, Leo still had to go to Barcelona to resume training. Either way, it wasn’t that urgent. They could finish their salads.

They finally separated, smiling like a pair of pibes. Deep inside, they’d never stop being that.

And for that night, for one night at least, Paulo didn’t mind.

[honeybeelullaby]

Watching Ben-Hur with the family, like every Easter. Still not over how gay it is. Ben-Hur is in Rome now. Of course, I know that as soon as Messala is dead, I will lose all interest. What a great villain!

[sebastianshaw]

Phantom of the Opera:

“This is less what moves me most now, and more what did a long, long time ago. Longer than I care to think. It was 1959. I was turning 21 that December. Ben-Hur had been in theaters since the previous month, but of course I couldn’t afford to go see it when it opened. I didn’t see most movies that came out when I was young. It didn’t even bother me then, because I didn’t even think about seeing them, because I knew I couldn’t. When something is just unavailable to you by default, you don’t miss the option. Well, no, I certainly missed, say, having heat, but I don’t mean necessities, I mean luxuries. And movies were certainly a luxury. But my father wanted to do something very special for my 21st, more than just taking me out for a beer —it wouldn’t be my first, after all, just my LEGAL first—and he’d been saving up since the first post for this film was plastered in our little neighborhood of poor mill workers just like him. And now, months later, the nearest movie theatre—which was quite a walk aways—was now playing it at a reduced price. A buck fifty. That’s how much we paid, he paid, for the both of us. We could have gotten a pound of pork chops for that kind of money back then, or over a pound of steak, or three tubes of toothpaste, or a few packages of cold medicine, or a six pack of beer. But we got me Ben Hur, and better yet, seeing it with my father next to me. I didn’t have…friends…but that didn’t bother me, didn’t occur to me. My father was who I WANTED to see it with. It was the right movie to pick. I know so many people now who are the age I was when I saw it, they don’t even know the name, they ask, Ben Who? But it was incredible when it came out. Everyone was talking about it, even people who didn’t care for movies, and it was worth the hype. The widescreen shots of the grandiose sets for a grandiose story, the vast deserts and glittering ocean, the Roman friezes and slave ships, the tunics and belts and feathered helmets, the mighty white horses like porcelain bulls thundering over a rock quarry that took a thousand workmen a year to carve out—it was real, you know. The entire chariot race, the setting, it was all real. No CGI, no special effects except for the sea. A spectacle. But it wasn’t simply the dazzling visuals that kept me enrapt, though I was awed very much. It was the story. Judah, taken from his home, losing everything, reduced to a slave, and rising back from it as a prince once more like he started. His refusal to bow to the Romans, even when his determination and self-discipline brings him the favor of Arrius. His tireless rowing in the boat scene, so like how I spent my days sweating in the steel mill as other men faltered around me as they did him. His rejection of Pilate’s patrimony, his defeat of Messala, his never-ending determination and strength…it…meant a lot to me, as a young man. In retrospect, I don’t think it would mean the same to me now. There was much foolishness. His refusal of so many benefits out of what really amounted to nothing more than pride, the religious angle, the fact he was born to wealth in the first place…but, at the time… At the time, THE OVERTURE played in my head for months afterwards to come.”

[moviegodsandgoddesses]

After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, his son Commodus commissioned a memorial column depicting the events of the Marcomannic War to honor his father. It’s a fascinating monument to the Emperor, and equally brutal in it’s depiction of the battle on the Danube frontier. It was inspired by the monument erected by Trajan documenting the Dacian Wars  (101–102, 105–106) which stands today near Trajan’s Forum in Rome. There are some fascinating scenes of soldiers, barbarians, battles and the like. The most riveting image is the fascinating “Rain Miracle”.

Alex Guinness as Marcus Aurelius in The Fall of the Roman Empire

Marcus Aurelius from his Column in Piazza Colonna

Two famous miracles apparently occurred during the the year of 174 AD against the treacherous Quadi and Iazyges tribes on the Danube frontier. The first incident happened in June and the Iazyges and became known as the ‘Lightening Miracle”. It involved a thunderbolt which came from heaven and destroyed an enemy siege engine. The emperor himself was said to have summoned it. This incident was later commemorated with coin propaganda showing Marcus Aurelius with a thunderbolt in hand.

The other incident in July of the same year did not involve the Emperor directly but one of his generals, Pertinax (yes, the same mis-fortunate who would rule the Empire after Commodus’ death for about 3 months!) and a very intense battle his troops had with the Quadi. The Romans were apparently surrounded and desperately short of water (it was July, of course). A terrible disaster like Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (during Augustus’ reign) loomed. Preventing the Romans from reaching fresh water supplies, the Quadi were prepared to hold back and let the Romans die of thirst. Outnumbered, exhausted and thirsty, the Romans prepared for the worst. Then suddenly, out of a clear blue sky, a rain burst! The thirsty and thankful Romans captures the delicious rain from the sky in their helmets and shields. The gods were on their side! The Roman morale soared as the Quadi initiated their attack, the Roman soldiers apparently gulping water and blood in equal measures. Then riotous lightening strikes and hailstorms rattled the Quadi so much that they fled the field, leaving the Romans victorious. This was henceforth known as “The Rain Miracle.”

Several sources tried to proclaim the miracle as their own, including the Christians (who forged letters from the Emperor to try establish their link), Egyptian mystics, Chaldean priests and representatives of the Roman religion. The figure on the Aurelian column, however, looks like no specific god – it is a hoary looking Nature God with dripping outstretched arms who seems to encompass the carnage of battle around him. It was amazing to see this figure on the column in person!

  When in Rome, one must visit the incredible Capitoline Museum. Below are some of my favorite highlights, including the incredible equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius; Commodus as Hercules; the Capitoline Wolf (the symbol of Rome) and the Dying Gaul, and incredibly detailed statue of a barbarian warrior.

While in Rome I also had the please of celebrating Rome 2,772nd Birthday on April 21st! The Gruppo Storico Romano had a ton of amazing activities going on in the Circus Maximus, including a parade by the Colosseum, and a battle re-enactment of Masada/ During this battle re-enactment they played the “Roman March” from “Ben-Hur”, which just gave me chills. It was special – I captured a snippet below on my camera. Where’s Messala?!! 

For more about this re-enactment group, see their Twitter account at https://twitter.com/Gru_Sto_Romano

Close-up’s of Marcus Aurelius’ Column in Rome, Piazza Colonna & Roman Highlights After the death of Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD, his son Commodus commissioned a memorial column depicting the events of the Marcomannic War to honor his father.

[moviegodsandgoddesses]

Happy Solstice, or Sol Invictus Day! Sol Invictus, or Invincible Sun, was a popular Roman solar deity which gained preeminence in the later Roman Empire courtesy of the Emperor Aurelian (and before him the Emperor Egalabalus).  In fact, the first Christian Emperor, Constantine, initially was a worshiper of Sol Invictus as well. The ‘radiant crown’ of Sol Invictus remained popular with Constantine and emperors thereafter in iconography and coins. December 25th (which used to be the solstice) was the celebratory date of Sol Invictus, and this date is still popular today as it was adopted by Christianity in the late 3rd century.  So what other deities and religions were popular during the Roman Empire?

The Emperor Probus and Probus, with Sol Invictus on the reverse

The Imperial Cult

The best way to start describing this cult is by the word Apotheosis, which means to become divine, or to reach divine status. In the summer of 44 AD, after the death of Julius Caesar, a great comet was seen in the sky.  Using this imagery his adopted son Octavian (soon to be Augustus) developed a divine cult for Julius Ceasar, including temples and priests. Octavian himself was divi filius (“The son of a deified one”). This concept was common in Greek and Roman religion. Hercules himself had joined the Gods on Olympus after his death, and so did Julius Caesar. Octavian, when he became Emperor (or Princeps of the Republic), allowed cult temples made in the honor of his own divine genius. This genius, or divine spirit, is what was worshiped around the empire. Empresses too and the offspring of the Emperor would also be considered worthy of divine status. Of course this made sense to people in the empire, especially in the East. The Emperor ruled over most of the known world, and anyone wielding such power would of course be divine!

So when Messala tells Ben-Hur that the Roman Emperor Tiberius is God, the “only God” for the power he wields on earth, this is exactly what he means! Failure to worship the Gods of Rome (including the Emperor) is what led Christians into trouble in the 1st and 2nd centuries because this because lack of worship meant that this person (or persons) did not want to reap the benefits of divine favor to the Empire. It was considered political and social defiance. The Jews, because of their ancient religion, were exempt from worshiping the Imperial Cult and Roman Gods, but the Christians were not.

As Sheik Ilderim in Ben-Hur says, “The Divine Tiberius is merciful as always!”

rare Roman marble relief from the Julio-Claudian period, circa early 1st century A.D. It depicts the Emperor Tiberius standing before a seated Genius (a manifestation of his divine side) with the goddess Concordia between them as intermediary. 

Some megalomaniac Emperors took this imperial cult worship a step further and declared themselves actual gods (not just the worship of their genius) while they were still alive. Such notables would be Caligula (whose memory was condemned), and Commodus, the son of Marcus Aurelius, who posthumously regained his divinity during the reign of Septimus Severus.

The modest and humorous Emperor Vespasian summed this all up best, I think, with his death-bed exclamation: ‘Vae, puto deus fio’ – ‘oh dear, I think I’m becoming a god. ’ (Suentonius, The Twelve Caesars)

“You could have become a God,” Commodus tells Livius in “The Fall of the Roman Empire”

The Olympians 

The traditional Gods of Ancient Greece were still the most popularly worshiped Gods in the Roman Empire. Jupiter, Apollo, Venus, Hera, Artemis, Mars and the like all had temples throughout the Empire in various manifestations. Many Middle Platonist’s rationalized the worship or many Gods or the properties of God in their various guises or manifestations of the one God Logos, or Truth (see Plotinus, for example). The world is a  place teeming with variety, so it makes sense that several aspects of Nature and Human Emotions and Passions are represented by the many Gods of Olympus.

Messala and Ben-Hur remember childhood games when they evoke “Down Eros, Up Mars!” to each other. Mars, or Ares, the God of War, would surely have appealed to a militaristic solider like Messala, as he was the god of strife and war. However it seems Eros, the god of sensual love and desire, could perhaps be the God Messala really wants to summon here?

Messala also offers praise to Jupiter before the chariot race begins. “The Roman people worshiped Jupiter more extravagantly and more frequently than all other gods; therefore, the worship of Jupiter is almost monotheistic. Jupiter was the most powerful and the greatest of the gods so much so that the Romans sometimes called him Jupiter-Optimus-Maximus. The Romans considered Jupiter to be the protecting entity of their empire, and they even believed that Jupiter would provide them with the greatest empire the world had ever seen.” (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Roman_Culture/Roman_Myths/Jupiter)

Stoicism

Philosophy could sometimes take on the trappings or demeanor of religion as well. If we take Marcus Aurelius, played so brilliantly by Alec Guinness in “The Fall of the Roman Empire”, and his Meditations, you can get a glimpse of some of the amazing philosophies of the late Roman Empire. Stoicism, founded by Zeno in Athens in 313 BC, matched the Roman mentality very well. Stoics were seekers after the Unknown God. They believed in Fate and Providence (hence they paid particular heed to Oracles and Omens). The God of the Stoics was the Creator of all Things, and obeyed  the ‘natural law’. They valued above all things moderation, courage, justice, prudent self control and practical intelligence. Reason and living in agreement with Nature were the basic tenants of Stoicism.  There is a world weary tone in The Meditations, but also hope behind the belief of a coherent, ordered, purposeful Universe.

If then, whatever the time may be when thou shalt be near to thy departure, neglecting everything else thou shalt respect only thy ruling faculty and the divinity within thee, and if thou shalt be afraid not because thou must some time cease to live, but if thou shalt fear never to have begun to live according to nature—then thou wilt be a man worthy of the universe which has produced thee, and thou wilt cease to be a stranger in thy native land, and to wonder at things which happen daily as if they were something unexpected, and to be dependent on this or that. (Meditations, 12.1)

Mithras 

Last but not least we come to the mysterious Roman cult of Mithras, which displayed the Persian trappings of the ancient Zoroastrian God from Persia. The worship of Mithras seems to have come to Rome around the reign of Domitian and continued well into the 3rd century. Like the Eleusinian and Isis mystery cults, Mithraism also maintained secrets oaths and a hierarchy of ascension (seven ‘grades’ of initiation – Crow, Numphus, Solider, Lion, Persian, Heliodromus and Father).  The grades of this hierarchy mirrored the regiments and order of an army, so this religion because popular with the Roman troops, especially on the Danube and the Rhine. The cult excluded women. It revolved around Mithras and his ritual sacrifice of a bull (called a tauroctony), as the giver of ‘seed’ and procreation. This sacrifice and be seen in many statues around the Roman world, showing Mithras (wearing a Persian cap), holding a knife and wrestling the bull. Out of the blood from the bull ears of corn or trees can be seen growing from the ‘gift’ of this sacrfice. Because of the celestial aspects of Mithraism, equinoxes and solstices also were important dates of worship including, once again, December 25th, the day if the solstice during Roman times. The ceremonies for Mithras were mostly performed in caves or underground chambers, many of which can still be seen today.

Religion is obliquely referred to in “The Fall of the Roman Empire” –  for example, the Emperor is a Stoic; his Greek counselor Timonides is a quiet Christian (he can be seen wearing the “chi-rho” symbol around his neck). However, our hero Livius’ religion is never revealed. In my opinion it’s most likely that Livius would have been a follower of Mithras. As a solider on the Danube, Livius would have been exposed to this religious sect and most of his troops were likely followers as well.

  Livius, a likely follower of Mithras in “The Fall of The Roman Empire”

“…Mithras had a militant character, always ready for battle, prepared to assist others in their fight for good and to bring them victory. One of the grades in the mysteries was called Miles, the soldier. The Mithraic cult was a form of military service; life on earth a campaign led by the victorious god. It is therefore little wonder that soldiers of all ranks in the Roman legions, orientals included, felt the lure of Mithras. Observance of the cult guaranteed assistance to all who pledged their lives to the Roman eagle. The assurance of divine aid on the battlefield, the military discipline and the taking of an oath as part of that discipline, were very important factors in the spread of the Mithras cult and its official recognition.” (http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Mithraism/m_m/pt3.htm)

So Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone out there! And from me, a nod of recognition to the Ancient Gods – whether it be Sol Invictus, Mithras, Augustus or Zeus –  as Messala would say, “In the Name of All the Gods!”

The Gods and Religions of Rome Happy Solstice, or Sol Invictus Day! Sol Invictus, or Invincible Sun, was a popular Roman solar deity which gained preeminence in the later Roman Empire courtesy of the Emperor Aurelian (and before him the Emperor Egalabalus).