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:: Tuesday 25 February 2003 ::
Popham = insufferable snob
How a bout this for snippy.
"The streets of Rome are filled with rubble," sang Bob Dylan. An American – perhaps even Dylan – might feel the urge to take a bulldozer to the city and start afresh, but for us "old" Europeans, it is those vistas of antique ruination that give Rome its unique majesty and the sense, like nowhere else, of living cheek by jowl with the past. Here Cicero spouted ancient inspiration for all the modern rebarbative bores on Italian television's wall-to-wall political chat shows. Here the gladiators fought – not in terror and misery, says new research, but, like today's footballers or pop stars, with personal trainers, incredibly rich diets, and referees to ensure a clean fight.
Wha'?
Americans do not like Rome? Want to bulldoze it? James Lileks? Chris Isaaks? Dick Cheney? Freakin' try and they will have a bunch of Romans arguing about it. And nobody wants Roman argument. No one alive, that is.
Zif, jackass.
:: WB 4:51 am [link+] ::
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