They didn't invent it—gladiatorial combat was another cultural/religious thing the Romans cribbed from the Etruscans—but the region became known for its gladiator training schools. The school of Lentulus Batiatus, that Spartacus escaped from, was down there in Campania, near Capua. Of course, the Romans themselves…

severus = "severe"/"strict", not "sever" (it's an adjective, really)
And you were right—corvus does indeed mean "crow", though it can also mean "raven"

It would have been regional, but the real distinction would have been based on class, My Fair Lady-style.

Really, it should be both, but the Younger stays behind in Misenum 'cause he's got some Livy to read.

Hey—that's how/why I saw Cliffhanger, too! It was at cheap theater in Aspen Hill in Maryland. Regular price was $1.50, but when you went they gave you a half-off coupon for the following week. So if you went to a movie every week, you could get in for just 75 cents—and even Cliffhanger was worth 75 cents.

We don't know for sure that the Hound is alive, though—it's just hinted at. But I agree that his "off-screen" death + GRRM's modus operandi does trend in that direction. Ditto for Stannis, especially since Melisandre doesn't seem to think Stannis is dead

Quibble: Ned was a POV character in the first book, though, & he still ended up dead.

I actually got to walk the rim of Vesuvius' crater once, & the path is littered with bits of that reddish-brown pumice. I grabbed a handful & Ziploc-ed it. I still use it as a classroom visual/tactile aid when I teach Pliny the Younger.

W.S. Anderson is also a well-established classical scholar. Not THIS W.S. Anderson, THIS one http://www.amazon.com/Ovids…

Maybe Rush uses it both ways? I've never heard it in a "mooching" context, but have heard it specifically in a weight context, where he definitely says it MOO-chelle. At least once he called her something like the Linebacker in Chief. Bear in mind that this is an enormous, disgusting fat-ass saying these things…

True, but it's a sketchy connection, & the "Lucifer" mentioned in Isaiah refers to a Babylonian king, not to the "Satan" that appears elsewhere in the Bible (a word that occurs 20-odd times in the Old Testament, though not in Isaiah). The fallen-angel stuff comes mostly from Enoch, apparently, which is non-canonical…

Oh good god, no—I just hear clips of him mocked on lefty shows! For the record, I got that you were joking, & have added my upvote, sir.

Galifiniakis is too laid back, though.

Oh, god, yes—utterly fearless.

I generally like Lovitz, but I agree that it wasn't a great fit. To be fair, though, given the terrible circumstances, I'm not sure ANYone could have pulled it off. Probably should have just closed up shop, like Zeppelin did when Bonham died.

The fact that Rush Limbaugh makes fun of how "fat" Michelle Obama is just blows my mind. He actually calls her "Moo-chelle".

Like when Sauron was called Sauron the Fair!

Will.i.am?

We ALWAYS know what you mean, @avclub-7638ca8ac63c145195788f998393b1fa:disqus .

Pon-der-OH-sa pine!