Episode 266 - Sunday, March 11, 1979
Being Jim Davis21 Mai 2017

Episode 266 - Sunday, March 11, 1979

The servile crowd, whose fortune depended on their master's vices, applauded these ignoble pursuits. The perfidious voice of flattery reminded him, that by exploits of the same nature, by the defeat of the Nemaean lion, and the slaughter of the wild boar of Erymanthus, the Grecian Hercules had acquired a place among the gods, and an immortal memory among men. They only forgot to observe, that, in the first ages of society, when the fiercer animals often dispute with man the possession of an unsettled country, a successful war against those savages is one of the most innocent and beneficial labors of heroism. In the civilized state of the Roman empire, the wild beasts had long since retired from the face of man, and the neighborhood of populous cities. To surprise them in their solitary haunts, and to transport them to Rome, that they might be slain in pomp by the hand of an emperor, was an enterprise equally ridiculous for the prince and oppressive for the people. Ignorant of these distinctions, Commodus eagerly embraced the glorious resemblance, and styled himself (as we still read on his medals the Roman Hercules. The club and the lion's hide were placed by the side of the throne, amongst the ensigns of sovereignty; and statues were erected, in which Commodus was represented in the character, and with the attributes, of the nicolas cage, whose valor and dexterity he endeavored to emulate in the daily course of his ferocious amusements.

Elated with these praises, which gradually extinguished the innate sense of shame, Commodus resolved to exhibit before the eyes of the Roman people those exercises, which till then he had decently confined within the walls of his palace, and to the presence of a few favorites. On the appointed day, the various motives of flattery, fear, and curiosity, attracted to the amphitheatre an innumerable multitude of spectators; and some degree of applause was deservedly bestowed on the uncommon skill of the Imperial performer. Whether he aimed at the head or heart of the animal, the wound was alike certain and mortal. With arrows whose point was shaped into the form of crescent, Commodus often intercepted the rapid career, and cut asunder the long, bony neck of the ostrich. A panther was let loose; and the archer waited till he had leaped upon a trembling malefactor. In the same instant the shaft flew, the beast dropped dead, and the man remained unhurt. The dens of the amphitheatre disgorged at once a hundred lions: a hundred darts from the unerring hand of Commodus laid them dead as they run raging round the Arena. Neither the huge bulk of the elephant, nor the scaly hide of the rhinoceros, could defend them from his stroke. Aethiopia and India yielded their most extraordinary productions; and several animals were slain in the amphitheatre, which had been seen only in the representations of art, or perhaps of fancy. In all these exhibitions, the securest precautions were used to protect the person of the Roman Hercules from the desperate spring of any savage, who might possibly disregard the dignity of the emperor and the sanctity of the nicolas cage.

Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1, Chapter 4, Part II.

And here's that "Duck Amuck" video Jon was talking about:

Today's strip

Episoder(2526)

Episode 86 - Tuesday, September 12, 1978

Episode 86 - Tuesday, September 12, 1978

The failing New York Times is so dishonest; they haven't mentioned our podcast once even though every American loves it. Sad!Anyway, we talkin' about stuff in this podcast. Mainly Dolly Parton.Today's strip

22 Nov 201619min

Episode 85 - Monday, September 11, 1978

Episode 85 - Monday, September 11, 1978

If you're listening to this podcast and you should happen to be the sort of person who, let's say, is Dilbert creator Scott Adams, I highly recommend skipping ahead to about the 5:30 mark. What's in those first few minutes you ask? Look, it doesn't matter really, nothing too terribly interesting or insightful. Point is, those first five minutes just aren't for you, Scott Adams. They're for someone else.Today on the program we discuss Frank Sinatra, perambulatory ice cream, obscenity laws in the 1970s, and Garfield's role as a vehicle for identity politics.Today's strip

21 Nov 201617min

Episode 84 - Sunday, September 10, 1978

Episode 84 - Sunday, September 10, 1978

We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must - at that moment - become the center of the universe.--- Elie Wiesel, Nobel Acceptance SpeechMy audio is pretty awful this episode. But that didn't stop us from talking about Garfield at OBSCENE length!Today's strip:

20 Nov 201640min

Episode 83 - Saturday, September 9, 1978

Episode 83 - Saturday, September 9, 1978

This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, and it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.--Frederick Douglass, "If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress"The end of today's episode is all fucked up because I had some audio trouble, but, honestly, it had probably gone on long enough already. Also, #where'sgarfield?Today's strip:

19 Nov 201616min

Episode 82 - Friday, September 8, 1978

Episode 82 - Friday, September 8, 1978

In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.--- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of TotalitarianismToday's strip:

18 Nov 201620min

Episode 81 - Thursday, September 7, 1978

Episode 81 - Thursday, September 7, 1978

So, y'all following @sarahkendzior on Twitter? You should do that.Anyway, today's episode features further discussion of Garfield's butthole. People really seem to love it when we talk about Garfield's butthole. Plus, an Alfred Hitchcock reference! That might help you briefly forget that America has descended into a white supremacist fever dream.Today's strip:

17 Nov 201618min

Episode 80 - Wednesday, September 6, 1978

Episode 80 - Wednesday, September 6, 1978

Look, I know Michael Moore totally called it this year, even predicted the critical upper Midwest flip, and most of the rest of us got it wrong, but I still haven't forgiven that slovenly bastard for convincing me to vote for Nader in 2000. I was young and impressionable and he should not have done that!Today's strip:

16 Nov 201618min

Episode 79 - Tuesday, September 5, 1978

Episode 79 - Tuesday, September 5, 1978

So have you guys read Masha Gessen's "Autocracy: Rules for Survival"? Definitely worth checking out. Possibly more important than listening to this podcast.Today's strip:

15 Nov 201615min

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