Greek Gods and the Romans Who Copied Them

I have absolutely no idea in which category this post belongs. It’s just something I wanted to put together so I’d have my own personal reference, so there you go.

My interest in this topic began back when I played Dungeons and Dragons. All these crazy creatures were captured in a book called, Deities and Demigods. I still have my copy of it somewhere.

Along with your standard fare of goblins, orcs and trolls, you found different kinds of demons, devils and gods from Greek, Roman and Norse mythos.

It was all very interesting, at least to the 13-year-old boy that I was. But also quite confusing as the Romans basically copied all the Greek gods and gave them new names. Thus the need for this reference tool. (I know, I know… that was years ago, why do this now? Answer: I’m simply a freak.)

I’ve only captured the “important” ones below, but If I messed anything up, please let me know. Cheers!

For all the lesser gods and other notables, visit: List of Greek mythological figures, List of Roman gods.

(A Few) UK NCAA Tournament Games on DVD

Do you ever get your hopes up? I sure do. All the time. Seems like it’s genetically coded into my DNA. Yesterday I heard that Amazon was selling every NCAA Tournament game on individual DVDs! I was astounded!

Then, I thought, “Yeah, I need those.” Then, I thought… “I need to tell everyone!”

So today I start a post entitled, “Buy All the UK NCAA Tournament Games on DVD” only to find out they only have the 2007 games. 8^(

Well, here’s hoping they add more over time.

2007 NCAA Tournament

1998 NCAA Tournament

[I have no idea why this one is missing. Argh!]

1997 NCAA Tournament

1996 NCAA Tournament

Hillary Condems Imus, Hillary Accepts Money from Voice with Same Message

It’s what we’ve come to expect from so many of our politicians. I really can’t decide who I think would be worse for our country, Hillary or Obama.

Dojo Info 4/28/07

1. 19-Year-Old to Graduate College After Year
   Ladies and Gentlemen, say hello to the anti-Paris.
2. Potentially habitable planet found
   “Before you book your extrastellar flight to 581 c, a few caveats about how alien that world probably is: Anyone sitting on the planet would get heavier quickly, and birthdays would add up fast since it orbits its star every 13 days.” Raise your hand if you think Ladies aren’t going to be down with this place?
3. The Landlord
   I expect to see more and more of these short funnies flood the Interweb.
4. Your Next President @ MySpace
   Sounds very democratic. My fear is a vote where personality, looks and sex-appeal win out over character, integrity and strong ideals.
5. Alec Baldwin Clears The Air On The Huffington Post
   “First off, I’m Alec Baldwin. Say it again slowly, dolt. That’s right. Alec. Freakin’. Baldwin.” Be careful parents, or your little darling will grow up someday to be famous… like this buffoon.

Dark Side Failing

Far be it from me to take joy in other’s troubles… uh, ok maybe sometimes, like right now! The Triumvirate of Evil has fallen on hard times and I couldn’t be happier. Let’s review their troubling situations.

• The pond scum that is the Lakers don’t appear to be in that much difficulty only down 2-1 to Phoenix. But I predict the Suns take the next two games, hoist their egos to the curb and suddenly the Lakers appear to be on the verge of a complete breakdown. Kobe will demand changes. Kupchak will attempt to work some magic but by next season the Clippers will be the best team in Los Angeles. A guy can dream, can’t he?
• The Yankee juggernaut has lost 7 straight games even after spending dollars equivalent to the gross national product of Cameroon, Chad and Botswana combined. (Didn’t look that up, I’m just guessing.) They have the 2nd worst record in the American League and more people cheering against them than Rosie O’Donnell.
• The Dukies are the third piece of this tapestry of evil. The once (overly) proud program has been on decline as of late. Since 2002, Duke in the NCAA Tournament has lost to a lower seed 5 out of 6 years, including last year’s devastating loss to Virginia Commonwealth (who?) in the opening round. It was glorious!

Isn’t it good to see the bad guys getting their just desserts?

Bulls Playing With Fire

I wasn’t intending to blog on the Bulls v. Heat series, until I saw this photo on ESPN. Insane! So many times the Pros play without the passion of the college game. Not these guys.

WordPress Upgraded!

I’ve been running a blog or two since 1996. Early on it was all manual. Then, I came across MoveableType and considered myself blessed. Then I started seeing more and more sites move to WordPress. Should I take the leap?

I mean, I’m semi-savvy but by no means a programmer so where do I turn if things go horribly wrong? And they have, believe me! So every time I consider an upgrade, inevitably I’ll put it off for a month or two because I don’t want to be stuck in database permissions hell.

Thus, today finds me home sick with nothing better to do than upgrade WordPress to version 2.1.3. It went off without a hitch. Big thumbs up to the good folks at WordPress, without whom I’d have long since pulled out what’s left of my hair.

Dojo Info 4/25/07

1. Big Company-itis
   That’s the question really: “How long before the average consumer sees Google as the ginormous capitalistic entity that it really is?”
2. Dwayne Wade’s House, Estate of the Day
   It’s just sick and not in the “good” way. But the funniest part is they spelled his name wrong. It’s Dwyane Wade.
3. Teen Pockets $25,000 in Texting Contest
   When asked what she’ll do with the winnings, she replied ”I’m going to go shopping and buy lots of clothes.” Like, duh.
4. Column: ‘Blades’ captures figure skating
   “Let me make one thing clear: After 10 years of covering skating, I’ll put it up against anything — football, soccer, swimming — when it comes to debating its worth as a sport. You strap on a pair of skates and take a lap around a sheet of ice as fast as you can. You’ll be gasping for breath and your legs will be aching.” The same could be said of some couch potatoes on their third trip to the fridge.
5. Interactive design blooms in NYU hallways
   Pushing the envelope. Cool stuff.

Dubai Considering a Rotating Skyscraper

Now, here’s something you don’t see every day… or in this case, ever.

Leave it to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates state known for wild architectural endeavors, to be the planned home for such a tower. The $350 million Dynamic Architecture building, a project of an eponymous Florence, Italy-based firm led by architect David Fisher, will literally spin–with each individual floor self-propelled, voice-controlled and even capable of generating environmentally friendly power. [link]

It might be worth the trip to Dubai to see this dynamic architecture in motion.

Mr. White Is Dunk Nasty

Not that this is so timely or important to you, but rather than bookmark it for myself, I’ll toss it here. James White throws down some of the nastiest slams in the history of the game.

Survivor: Fuji – Week 10

Whoa Nellie! Big time backstabbing going on in Fuji! Didn’t think Dreamz had it in him but he double-crossed his 4 Horseman pals like a true crochet master. Learned it on the streets he did.

I could have sworn Earl’s team would have taken a serious hit with Michele leaving. So what does he do? He pulls in one of the enemies, in Stacy, and seemingly without any difficulty. He’s got mad brain-washing skillz.

Stacy totally screws Alex and they didn’t see it coming. Not part of Earl’s inner alliance but has a better shot at advancing if she can build something with Boo or Cassandra.

Needs to leapfrog Yau Man as Earl’s 2nd in command. Either that or tag team with Yau and upset the applecart.

Would Yau betray Earl? Maybe at some point but not this early.

Never saw it coming. He may be smart, but in this game he didn’t work any backup contingencies so he’ll be leaving shortly.

Mookie will be fighting for his Survivor life against Alex in next week’s Immunity Challenge. One of the two will be the next to go.

Wow. All I can say is “Wow.” I really didn’t think he’d do that. Stuff like this is why Reality TV is great. Talk about unscripted. Dreamz has no shot at the cash now because Edgardo, Mookie and Alex will never give him their vote. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.

Voted Out

Completely blind-sided. One of the most vicious ejections in Survivor history.

Best Sports Quotes of All Time

I’ve been amassing these insane quotes over the years and keep meaning to post them here. Well today’s the day! I don’t know what it is about sports that bring out the inner idiot in people, but some of these are just incredible.

If you have one that you think deserves to be here, send it along and I’ll add it to the list. And without further ado!

Muhammad Ali
“I don’t always know what I’m talking about but I know I’m right.”

Carmelo Anthony
“It will work out, somehow. That’s a hell of a duo right there, Marbury, Crawford and Houston.” [Assessing the future of the 2004-05 Knicks.]

Yogi Berra
“Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.”
“Baseball in 90% mental the other half physical.”

Doug Collins
“Any time Detroit scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points, they almost always win.”

Patrick Ewing
“We might make a lot of money but, we also spend a lot of money.”

Kevin Garnett
“They’re really aggressive. They’re like roaches on bread – you drop some on the floor and, boom, they’re on it.” [On Miami's defense.]

Martina Hingis
“I’m glad you’re doing this story on us and not on the WNBA. We’re so much prettier than all the other women in sports.”

Robert Horry
“Get up, that’s not even your blood.” [Talking to his teammate, Tony Parker, who had just collided with Steve Nash.]

Stephen Jackson
“I make love to pressure.”

Magic Johnson
“It’s almost like we have ESPN.” [On how well he and James Worthy work together.]

John Kerr
“I would get close to him and breathe on his goggles.” [When asked how he would guard somebody like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.]

Jason Kidd
“We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.”

Stan Kroenke
“Last season, we thought we could beat you. This season, we’re going to strap it on.” [Nuggets owner]

Karl Malone
“I’m hunting for little Mexican girls.” [Reponse at a Lakers-Bucks game three weeks, after Kobe Bryant's wife noticed his cowboy boots and asked him, "Hey, Cowboy, what are you hunting for?"]

Alan Minter
“Sure there have been injuries and deaths in boxing, but none of them serious.”

Alonzo Mourning
“I thank my teammates for letting their men blow by them.” [On winning the Defensive Player of the Year award.]

Chuck Nevitt
“My sister’s expecting a baby, and I don’t know if I’m going to be an uncle or an aunt.” [North Carolina State basketball player, explaining to Coach Jim Valvano why he appeared nervous at practice.]

Shaquille O’Neal
“I’m like toilet paper, toothpaste and certain amenities — I’m proven to be good. I’ve still got 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 years left.”
“I’m tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.”
“I have won at every level I played at except college and pro.” [Before he won titles with the Lakers.]

Torrin Polk
“He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings.” [University of Houston WR, on his coach, John Jenkins]

Paul Pierce
“Ten. It can’t get to 11. If it gets to 11, then I’ll be sitting with Ron Artest.” [After being asked how frustrated he was with the Celtics season on a scale of 1 to 10.]

George Rogers
“I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first.”

Jalen Rose
“I’ve got to stop this. My entourages are getting entourages.” [On the trouble finding tickets for everyone when he returns to Detroit.]

Charles Shackleford
“Left hand, right hand, it doesn’t matter. I’m amphibious.”

Latrell Sprewell
I’ve got a family to feed.” [Commenting on his seeking an extension on a contract that will pay him $14.8 million this year.]

David Stern
“Yes it was unanimous, 1-0, and I won.” [After being asked whether the vote to suspend Ron Artest for the season was unanimous.]

Ike Taylor
“You only get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity so many times.” [Steelers CB on starting a pre-season game against the Lions.]

Joe Theismann
“Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein.”

Mike Tyson
“The knee feels fine, I’ve been training Confuciously.” [Telling ESPN's Pedro Gomez about his latest comeback.]
“All praise is to Allah, I’ll fight any man, any animal, if Jesus were here I’d fight him too.”
“[He] called me a ‘rapist’ and a ‘recluse.’ I’m not a recluse.”
“I guess I’m gonna fade into Bolivian.”
“I want to rip out his heart and feed it to him [Lennox Lewis]. I want to kill people. I want to rip their stomachs out and eat their children.”
“I may have smoked too much weed, but I wasn’t taking drugs or anything.”

Michael Vick
“Everybody who knows me knows how I get down.” [Denying rumors that he's gay.]

Ricky Williams
“I didn’t quit football because I failed a drug test. I failed a drug test because I was ready to quit football.”

The Keye Affect Explained

Words are fine. Pictures far better. But video beats them all. Great stuff. [via kottke]

Is It the Truth That You’re Defending?

I don’t find myself on the same side of the issue with Penn and Teller very often. But in this case? Nail… meet hammer.

This so makes me think of:

Go ahead, grab your picket sign
And you can find out what you’re protesting later on
It sure feels great to be a part of something, doesn’t it?
Just as long as you belong
Hey, look at this
Little revolutionist
Trying to start a revolution with nothing to revolt against
Is it the truth that you’re defending
Or the chance for you to grab some attention?
Well hey, there’s the pedestal stand up straight
Don’t it feel great?
Everyone can see your face
What’s the cause again?
Why’re you arguing?
It’ll soon be forgotten, so why you bothering?
You’ll be off to the next thing that’ll keep your short fickle attention span stimulated
We’re the products of a spoiled society
So naturally spoiled products are generated

Have No Opinion? by John Reuben

[via Think Sink]

Dojo Info 4/19/07

1. The Versailles Road Castle
   Looks like Kentucky’s most famous castle is getting a make-over. Sweet!
2. Ridiculous Item of the Day: Woman Seeks Child Support From Abortion Docs
   “So, we have a case where a woman who doesn’t want a child, keeps it and then demands someone else pay for her to raise it rather than find a loving home.” I want to cry.
3. Web 2.0 Expo’s top 5
   Not all Web 2.0 ideas are gems [no kidding Paladin] but these five sure are. Now pardon me as I check out Coghead.
4. Evel Overcome With Good
   Evel Knievel’s conversion to Jesus prompted 500-800 people to commit (or rededicate) their lives to God.
5. First look: Would you believe a ‘Smart’ spy spoof?
   Love that headline. Could be a good one!