the flavian amphitheater.

Hey guys!  

So I had a Roman Art exam today, but while studying for it, I learned a very interesting bit of information about the Roman Colosseum that I thought I'd share with you. 

Do you know why the Roman Colosseum is called the Colosseum?  To understand why... you need a bit of history...

In 54 AD, a Roman emperor by the name of Nero took power.

Different accounts tell different stories about how well liked he was by the Roman people of his time, but for the most part, the average consensus seems to be that he was relatively well liked.  He was emperor during the Great Fire of Rome, in 64 AD, which destroyed a better part of the city.  Nero went to great lengths to help rebuild the city, including funding some of the rebuilding himself.  New homes were built from strong, fire-proof materials like brick or concrete (which the Romans invented, by the way).  He also built a palace on a large plot of burnt land right in the center of the city.  This move on Nero's part was not well liked by the people of Rome, but nonetheless, a great palace was built for Nero called the Domus Aurea, or 'Golden House'.  This was a huge, private palace for Nero that included a lake!  He'd actually tapped into the aqueducts that led into Rome and was able to create his own lake within the Domus Aurea.  

(I went to Spain this past December, and got to see a Roman aqueduct in Segovia!!)

Also included in the layout of the palace was an enormous statue of Nero as the sun god, called the Colossus of Nero.  It stood some 30 meters tall and was made from bronze; it probably looked something like this:

(Notice the building on the left side of this image?)

It's important to note here, just on the side, that Roman emperors could not, and did not, ever call themselves 'gods', as it looked bad to their people.  Instead, a very common thing for them to do was have themselves depicted in the guise of a well known god (or goddess if you were an empress).  This means that they would be shown wearing the same clothing or having the same hairstyle, or something, as a god that they were associating themselves with, as if to say that they share the same 'god-like' qualities of the god without actually being a god themselves.

 The thing about building this palace that made everyone kinda upset was that the land that it was built on was originally public domain; Nero took it from the people to build his own palace, and at a time of instability during Rome's history, I'd have to say that pissing off the people within your ruling domain was probably not a good thing. 

Now...

Nero committed suicide in 68 AD.  

One year and about five, or so, unimportant emperors later, Vespasian comes to power.

Vespasian came to power in 69 AD, and was the first emperor of the Flavian Dynasty (or as my sister would say, the "Flauian, pronounced 'fla-wee-an', Dynasty", since the Romans didn't have v's in their vocabulary.).  Nero had been the last important emperor, for the most part, of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, which had started way back in 27 BC with Augustus as emperor.  So, the point is to say that Vespasian came at a pretty important shift in Rome's history.  He had a lot of things to clean up after several bad emperors had power before him.  One of the things he did was take down most of Nero's Domus Aurea, and he filled in the lake.  In it's place, Vespasian began building a great amphitheater for the people of Rome, as if to give the land back to them that Nero had taken.  

Begun in 72 AD, this amphitheater, called the Flavian Amphitheater at the time, was built right ontop of the original lake to the Domus Aurea, and consequently was located very near to the Colossus of Nero.  Now, during Vespasians' reign and the construction of this new amphitheater, the face of Nero was removed from the Colossus and was replaced with the face of the sun god that was represented, perhaps because the statue was just too grand, and too big, to tear down.  Because of the Flavian Amphitheater's close proximity to the Colossus of Nero, it earned the nickname 'the Colosseum'.  

(Again, this is just an artist's interpretation of what it may have looked like, but the proximity of the Colosseum to the Colossus of Nero in this reconstruction is accurate.)

The Colosseum's construction was finished after Vespasian died, during emperor Titus's reign in 80 AD.   I'm sure the fact that it could seat 50,000 people was another reason it's 'colossal' nickname stuck so well. 

:)

A few interesting facts about the Colosseum:

1.  It had retractable awnings.

2.  Because it was built on the old site of the lake of Nero's Domus Aurea, it was connected to the aqueducts that came into Rome.  Because of this, some say that the bottom of the amphitheater could be flooded to have mock naval battles for entertainment.

3. While there were other amphitheaters built all throughout the Roman Empire, the Colosseum was the largest ever constructed.

4.  The Colosseum was used for many things including mock naval battles, gladitorial events, wild animal hunts, dramas, and executions.

5.  The Colosseum hosted gladitorial events in its arena.  The term 'arena' is Latin, and means 'sand'.  Sand was used to soak up the blood of the dead in the different events hosted at these types of amphitheaters.  It's how the term 'arena' came to be used. :)

6.  Even though I kind of mentioned this before, the Colosseum was known as the Flavian Amphitheater to the ancient Romans during it's time.  Later peoples and historians gave the structure it's famous nickname.

***

So there ya go, your art history lesson for the day! 

You see... it pays off to study every once in a while.. 

;)  

Allison

two and a half years.

Hey guys. :)

Look at this cinnamon roll:

My boyfriend and I went out to eat tonight and enjoyed this cinnamon roll at the end of our meal.

It was delicious.

:)

Today is actually our anniversary.  Two and a half years ago, to the day, my boyfriend and I started dating. We met through marching band; he was the drum major and I was starting my first semester in the marching band up here where I go to school.  He was cute (and he knew he was, but that's ok because I saw it as self-confidence.. which is always a good thing.).  I was hooked immediately, and that's not an exaggeration.  We actually didn't expect to start dating long-term; I had just gotten out of a 2 year relationship about a month before, so I really wasn't looking to hop right back into another one, ha.  

But it worked out. :)

He's my best friend in the whole entire world.  He knows me better than anyone I've ever known, and he's helped me make myself a better person.  He's helped me learn who I am.  He's everything to me, and as crazy as it is to say, us breaking up for the last few weeks has helped me realize how much he means to me.  I hope to spend a very long time with him, because I think we've got what it takes to push through anything, based on how far we've already come.  

For Adam, should you ever read this, I love you.  Thank you for being everything that you are to me; for loving me for me, and for not judging me for anything.  Thank you for putting up with me all this time, and for making these past two and a half years the best two and a half years of my life. :)

<3

Allison

it's funny how time changes things.

Hey guys. :)

As much as it pains me to show a picture of my obnoxious 6-year-old (maybe 7?) self, here ya go:

 My brother, Jonathan, is on the far left.  He's maybe 2 in this picture?  My sister, here in the middle, is 4, and  I am on the far right.  This picture was taken when we were still living in California, where my siblings and I were all born.  We lived in the Bay Area for about 7 years, before we moved across the country to North Carolina.

This picture is from Ketchikan, Alaska, from the summer of 2009, so it's a few years old, but for the most part, my siblings and I look basically the same.  Sarah, on the left, is almost 20 now (she would have been almost 18 in this picture.).  Sarah's hair is also considerably longer now a days.  I'm in the middle, had just turned 20 (I'll be 22 this July), and we all know that my hair is different too.  And my brother was 15; he's 17 now.  He no longer has a fro.

***

My whole purpose for putting these pictures up wasn't so show how much my siblings and I have physically changed since we were kids; obviously that's inevitable.  I've been feeling kinda nostalgic lately, and I'm not really sure why.  It's not like I'm surprised, or even against change; my whole life has been about changing.  My parents got divorced when I was in seventh grade, and when that happened, the whole dynamic of my home changed; the first HUGE change was that I started to see my parents as two, completely real, completely individual people.  Being the oldest, I kinda became a crutch for both of my parents to lean on (yes, at 12, I was trying my hardest to support my parents).  I'm not trying to make it sound like I had it harder than anyone else; but it was tough for a 12 year old to look at both of her parents completely un-biased, especially when they both were mad at each other.  So, in order to do this, I had to learn who they were, outside of just "Mom" and "Dad".  It was very eye-opening.  I also had to grow up a good bit, beyond my years (and I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but it really was true).  I've always tried to fix things; I want to help make things better, and I think that started because of my parents getting divorced.  

I attribute everything that I am to all the changes that have happened in my life.  That may sound like a really dumb thing to say, like it's common-sense or something, but it really is true.  Some people want to deny that the hardships in their life have affected them in any way, almost like their in denial about it ever having happened in the first place.  Or maybe they're just bitter about it.  But accepting the changes in your life helps you better yourself as a person.  I was mad at my parents for a while; but I was also 12 years old.  I didn't know the whole story.  It was easy for me to be angry.  But now, at almost 22, I can look back on the situation with a much more open-mind, and knowing why it happened, I can accept it better for myself.  And so now, the changes that have happened as a result of the divorce all seem to have been for the better.  How funny is that?  In retrospect, now, the divorce was a good thing.

Now, I don't mean to babble about stuff that's come and gone, but I really do think I'm the person I am today because of how the divorce affected me.  This is what I think about when I get nostalgic and deep, haha. 

I also have changes that have been happening more recently.  My boyfriend and I just recently broke up.  We're together now, but it was interesting how much I learned about just myself and what I want in the time that we were apart.  Again, it sounds cliche, but it's TRUE.  We've broken up before, in the past, but only for a day or two.  I actually put myself into a pretty severe depression about a year ago because of issues I caused in the relationship, and we thought that we could work through them as a couple.  It didn't really work; while we survived and pushed through the problems, it left us both questioning whether or not this was the relationship we wanted to be in.  A word of advice to anyone in a relationship thinking about breaking up (or even if you are broken up, or have just recently gotten back together):  you learn SO much about yourself and what you want by using the time apart to THINK.  Breaking up, MOST of the time, isn't about falling out of love with someone.  It's about not knowing what you want.  Breaking up for a day, or two days, or even 4 or 5, isn't enough time to change anything.  If breaking up was an option in the first place, it'll be an option again when the times get hard.  It's scary, and I know that, but it makes it so much easier to push through the hardships in a relationship if you know that it's where you want to be.  And you need time apart to see that.  I don't mean to rant about relationships, haha, but this is something I've been thinking about a lot too, haha, obviously, as I've had to deal with my own issues with mine. I've learned a lot about mine, too, because of the  time I had to think about it.  I would have loved my boyfriend whether we got back together, or not, 'cause that's not what us breaking up was about.  Neither one of us were sure of the relationship we were in, and so we decided to take time apart and figure it out; we thought the grass may have been greener on the other side... turns out it wasn't.  But.. we never would have gotten there if we hadn't taken the TIME APART to see it.  A relationship is a big deal; don't you want to make sure it's where you want to be? 

Whew.

I'm covering a lot of ground today!  Yay for not studying and reminiscing instead!! :)

I've just recently gotten a job, as well, which is a blessing.  I've been looking for close to 4 months, almost constantly, and only now have finally gotten one.  Ah, the perks to living in a college town where ALL the jobs are taken.  Haha.  It's a huge relief, though, to know that I'll finally have money coming in consistently.  I have to pay for most of my own expenses.  The only things I don't pay for, right now anyway, are insurance on my car (thank you, Dad!) and my phone and interest on my school loans (thank you Mom and Peter!).  Everything else, I pay for.  And it's hard, ESPECIALLY when you don't have a job.  I think coming to college was one of the biggest changes in my life of all.  All of a sudden, I HAD to grow up and be responsible.  I thought I was responsible before, but I learned real quick that it took a lot more than cleaning dishes and doing laundry to get everything done.  Being in college gives you that first HUGE challenge in your life - it makes you question yourself, in a good way.  What do you want?  College is where you find the answer to that question.  You learn who you are.   You learn how hard life can be; bills are a pain in the ass.  The realities of college can knock you down pretty hard.   But if you know where you want to go, and you have the confidence in yourself to believe that you can get there, then there's nothing standing in your way.  College is awesome, but you gotta want to do it.  

Because of the changes in my life, I've learned that I'm a procrastinator, haha, and that I don't like making decisions that could negatively affect myself or someone else.  But, I've also learned that life is about taking the chance and making decisions that may go wrong.  I've learned that I'm capable of so much more than I ever thought I was - I've shown myself how strong I can be.  My self-confidence has gone up (it helps, too, that I have a boyfriend who makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world. <3 Adam :)  ).  I've learned that I'm a beautiful person, inside and out. :) My self-identity has become more clear to me - I know what I like.  I've realized that making me happy isn't about making sure other people are happy; sometimes, it's ok to be selfish and do something for myself.  I've realized how important time is, and how affective change can be.  I've also learned that change is ok - it's inevitable anyway.  But it's not something that I need to be afraid of, 'cause I've learned that I have the strength to push through it. :)

How have the changes in your life helped you find who you are?

Leave comments below. :)  I'd love to hear about you!

:)A

the men I sleep with. :)

Hey guys. :)

Ok, so I'm apparently REALLY bad at remembering to post blogs, and the bad thing is that I think about posting new blogs all the time!  Haha, I just don't HAVE the time.  School is keeping me busy (AND I just got a job!! So that'll be occupying a LOT of my free time now..). 

ANYways.. it's after 2 in the morning, and I'm wide awake.  This is VERY normal for me; I'm up this late every night.  I'm not sure what it is, but since I was a little kid, I just never was interested in going to sleep at night.  Part of me thinks it was 'cause nighttime was the only time I ever had just to myself, especially since I grew up with a younger sister and brother.  I didn't really stay up that late while my sister and I shared a room, though.  I started staying up late, consistently, once I finally got my own room.  It's always been kind of peaceful to stay up late, 'cause it's really a very private, quiet personal amount of time for me.  I don't really know why.  However, when it does get to be about 3 o'clock in the morning (which, btw, I'll say I try to NOT stay up past 'cause I have a hard time going to sleep knowing that it's the 'witching hour'), I start getting pretty sleepy.  Now, I've been afraid of the dark ever since I was little, which makes the fact that I like staying up late a little ironic.  But seriously, when I'm actually trying to settle down and relax and go to sleep, I have to have either a light on (a dim light, like a night light.. as lame as that sounds for an almost 22 year old woman to say..), OR I have to have the TV on.  It doesn't have to be audible to where I understand what's being said or going on; I just have to hear the noise.  My boyfriend can't sleep without a fan on, so I guess it's kind of the same concept.  

I go to sleep with the TV on every night (we have Netflix on our Wii at my apartment.  It's pretty epic.).  Now, I can't just put anything on the TV when I'm trying to go to sleep.  It has to relax me.  Since high school, the only two shows that can relax me to where I can go to sleep are:  Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs.

I LOVE Mythbusters.  I don't know why; I think it's the different personalities of Adam and Jamie constantly playing against each other.  I can't really stand Kari, I don't know why.  I think she tries a little TOO hard to be 'eclectic'.  I think Tory is cute, but can you believe he's 40???  I know, there's no way.  A few of my favorite episodes would have to be:  The Shark Week specials, Killer Brace Position, Salsa Escape (one of my favorite explosions EVER on the show is in this episode - they blow up a cement truck. YouTube it.), the Pirate Special (where they test whether or not eye patches were actual used to help pirates see in the dark - very cool), any of the Hollywood myths, the Alaska specials.. really, it's unfair for me to pick just ONE favorite episode, or even give a top 5.  I like 'em all.  :)

Ah.. Mike Rowe. :) :)  I LOOOVE Dirty Jobs.  Basically, I'm going to marry Mike Rowe.  My boyfriend knows this, and has accepted it, 'cause there's just nothing he can do to change my mind.  :)  (I love you, Adam!)  Mike is sexxy.. and I don't care what you or anyone else says or thinks.. he's a fine man.  Age is not an issue.  Haha.  Ok.. moving on... 

I cannot give a favorite episode, 'cause like Mythbusters, I like 'em all.  I think Mike is perfect for the show, and he's from the same area where I was born. :)  Haha.  Some of my favorite episodes to watch are again, the Shark Week episodes, the Monkey Researcher one (where he's at a monkey rehabilitation center in Africa called APES), really ANY episode where he's got to deal with animals are fun ones for me to watch.  I really can't give a list - it just wouldn't be fair. 

I tend to watch a lot of the same episodes for both of these shows over and over again, because different episodes have different moods and tones to me; it's hard to explain.  Some episodes stress me out more than others, and so those are the ones I don't watch when I'm trying to sleep.  That's not to say I don't watch them at all, of COURSE I still watch my favorite shows, haha.. I just watch certain ones at night.

But EVERY night, no lie, I've got one of these two shows on as I'm going to sleep.

Tonight is a Mythbusters night.

:) 

Shark Week Special 2, to be exact.

It's on Netflix - you should go watch it!!  

A. :)

a pleasantly pleasing day. :)

Hello!!  I got a new hair cut today.. and I LOVE IT!!

Today was a pretty successful day, I think, as far as predominately un-productive, Spring Break days go. :)  I was SUPER nervous about getting by bangs cut like this.  Up until this point, I'd only ever gotten side-swept bangs (mainly because I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to pull off these kind of fringe-style bangs).  And the hair cut I got before this one (which was at the beginning of last summer) was the WORSE HAIRCUT I'D EVER GOTTEN!  I went to an Aveda salon close to where I live and asked for a very specific medium length bob with side-swept bangs, and the person who cut my hair gave me an asymmetrical bob with the WORSE bangs ever (he actually told his supervisor that he didn't know how to cut bangs and that he just went with it, and if he hadn't styled my hair to look deceivingly well cut, I'd have said something right then.).  It was horrible.  This hair cut is SO awesome; this is the hair style I've always felt like I was supposed to have.  

AND THEN, the weather was pretty insane today.  It poured for a better part of the morning and afternoon, and then it threatened to storm for like, 20 minutes, hence the creepy pictures below:

But then after that menacing cloud passed, we had the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen here at home, and it was riding on the tail end of the clouds up above, almost like the storm was leading the sunset in. :) 

And to make it better, I'm on may way to have some late night coffee and chit-chat with my best friend.  :)  

Have a wonderful rest of your day (or night.. depending on when you read this). :)

A. :)

a Transformers moment.

Hey guys!

Ok, so I was driving home recently, and as I was driving, this truck slowly came up behind me:

!!!

My first reaction was, "Shit, it's gonna eat my car..", but after I calmed myself down, my next reaction was, "...I wonder if this is what Transformers REALLY look like..."

But seriously, how scary is this?  I will say this, though:  it made the last 20 minutes, or so, of a two and a half hour drive more exciting. :)

A :)

I hate school.

You know what's retarded about college?  

Financial Aid.

(and attendance policies, but more on that later..)

I am an unemployed, full-time college student, whose parents aren't exceptionally wealthy.  My parents are divorced, and my mother has re-married.  Did you know that, according to the state (and this varies slightly, I'm sure, depending on the state you live in), you are financially dependent on your parents until you're 25 years old. Because of this, and because I technically have 3 incomes now, including my mother's husband, coming from back home, I'm un-eligible for financial aid.  I get some.. but not a lot.  I pay for EVERYTHING by myself; my parents occasionally pay my gas or get me some groceries, but financially, they can't even help me that much even if they wanted to, 'cause my sister's in college too.

How is this fair?

I didn't choose for my mom to get re-married, and now that's probably the largest factor preventing me from getting financial aid.  

This is so stupid. I'm sorry to be so negative today, but I just had a meeting with a financial advisor on campus and it just bothers me how hard it is to go to college these days, especially when a college degree means so much more in the real world.  I mean, it's crazy expensive.  If you're not in college yet - prepare yourself, 'cause while the classes and the social structure is a LOT like high school, reality and responsibility slap you in the face pretty hard once you get started.

You know what I wish?

I wish that, for an undergraduate degree, all you had to do was go to college for major specific courses, or classes that relate DIRECTLY to your major.  I think general education in college is retarded.  I mean c'mon, we just spent 4 years learning general education in high school, and unless you're gonna be an english, math, or science/history school teacher, why do you need to take those classes in college?  I understand english and science to an extent, as basic classes - good grammar is always going to be good to know and science helps you understand the world you live in, on a BASIC level (I mean really, you learn a lot in your junior and senior years of high school that is reiterated to you in your freshman and sophomore years of college.. so what's the point in taking it twice, especially when it means you'll have to pay more tuition money? ugh..).  If you're not majoring in it, I don't think it's as big of a priority.. at the college level.  And especially with math, if you're not majoring in it, WHY DO YOU NEED TO TAKE IT??  And my college even requires at least 6 hours of a PE course... WHY??  This isn't high school.. geez..  History class: eh, again, unless you're majoring in it, a BASIC knowledge could be helpful, but you learn all that in high school. 

And then we have attendance policies.

For lecture classes, I understand the need to be present. For studio art classes, I do not, especially when a lot of people work better in their own environment anyway.  Any you know, professors are always trying to cut down on the amount of paper they use, when the ONE thing that would solve their concerns would be to post their lectures and handouts ONLINE. 

I think we're all adults once we get to college, and we need to learn being responsible.  I think that since we're paying to be here, we should have the right to choose whether we want to be in class on any given day.  Because in MY opinion, whether you're in class or not doesn't determine how much effort you're going to put into making good grades in the class.  I'm just saying..

Whew.  I'm sorry.  That was a nice rant, though.. haha.  

On a more positive note, I've uploaded a new video!

[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_e2G9YKaZA ]

Go check it out. :)

Leave me comments below about what YOU feel about how college should be.  I'd be interested to hear some other opinions.  But please.. let's not start a debate.

:) A.

Nude is nice. ;)

Good evening, everyone!  

I bring to you, this early morning, a new nail polish I've just recently bought, and have fallen in love with:

Isn't it preetty??  It's Peachy Keen from Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure brand nail polish.  According to fashion/style magazines and websites, nudes are going to be in fashion this coming Spring.  Nudes, baby blues, metallics (like golds), and bold patterns are all going to be "hot" this season.

Just a small update :)  Now off to get some sleep! 

[fun fact:  did you know that the hour between 3:00am and 4:00am is considered "the witching hour", because it's thought to be the time of night when the paranormal is most active? lovely to be thinking that right now, huh?]

A. :)