"NOW SHE MOVES WITH THE PREDATOR'S GUILE"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP2POE4Udhg

SEVERAL WORDS OF THANKS (AND MY ENCOURAGEMENT TO THEM)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47QiRtvbf1M Having recently whinged about organisational problems, I desperately want to thank those senior managers, lawyers, supervisors and colleagues who do want to see me (and others) grow. Their value is inestimable, and, for me, deeply felt. _____ This includes the senior executive - in fact, a rising star - who (during a function) gives you genuine encouragement and advice, even if one is too immature fully to appreciate that advice without growing into it. This includes the highly experienced lawyer who shares a genuine affection for literature and thought, shaping one's own thought in the process. This includes the leonine supervisor who honestly strives to build one's self-confidence and tolerates less than jovial behaviour out of real concern and interest for myself as a direct report. And, crucially, other team members who continue to astonish by their own talents and initiative. _____ There is so much built into the "pipeline", as it were, talent only requiring a virtuous flow to be unleashed. _____ And, over trials and tribulations - perhaps, I should say 'trails' - these stars gird the firmament with their unique intelligence, candour and humanity. In sum, they are fun to be around! So, to those people, again, THANKS!!! : )

(.. X ..) ~ AN ERA OF 'CREATIVE CONSTRUCTION': GET YOUR JOLLIES ~ (.. X ..)

'Aaah! Aaah! Aaah! Aaah! I believe them bones are me Some say we're born into the grave I feel so alone, gonna end up a Big ole pile of them bones Aaah! Aaah! Aaaaaaaaah! Dust rise right on over my time Empty fossil of the new scene I feel so alone, gonna end up a Big ole pile of them bones Toll due bad dream come true I lie dead gone under red sky I feel so alone, gonna end up a Big ole pile of them... I feel so alone, gonna end up a Big ole pile of them... I feel so alone, gonna end up a Big ole pile of them bones'; 'Sitting on an angry chair Angry walls that steal the air Stomach hurts and I don't care What do I see across the way, hey See myself molded in clay, oh Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid, hey Changing the shape of his face, ah yeah Candles red I have a pair Shadows dancing everywhere Burning on the angry chair Little boy made a mistake, hey Pink cloud has now turned to gray, oh All that I want is to play, hey Get on your knees, time to pray, oh I don't mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I I don't mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I Lost my mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I Can't find it anywhere I don't mind, I-I-I Corporate prison, we stay, hey I'm a dull boy, work all day, oh So I'm strung out anyway, hey Loneliness is not a phase Field of pain is where I graze Serenity is far away Saw my reflection and cried, hey So little hope that I died, oh Feed me your lies, open wide, hey Weight of my heart, not the size, oh I don't mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I I don't mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I Lost my mind, yeah I don't mind, I-I-I Can't find it anywhere I don't mind, I-I-I Pink cloud has now turned to gray All that I want is to play Get on your knees time to pray, boy'

SIR WILLIAM WALTON'S WOE-MAN: GEN X +/- GEN Y?

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/01/dont_make_assumptions_about_the_next_generation_invest_in_it.html The question is often put: how does Gen X tolerate Gen Y in the workplace? Entirely out of character (lol!), I would put the obverse and more bluntly. Gen X'er, if you can't tolerate Gen Y or learn to cooperate, maybe it's time you left. Don't beat yourself up. The last thing we need, I would argue, is Jack Welch's nightmare-scenario of 'Mary': "Mary, you've been here thirty years, but you weren't THAT GOOD. I'm sorry, we'll have to let you go - Mary: But why didn't you tell me"? _____ This epoch has big problems to deal with. Whether you are 25 or 55, organisations cannot afford - financially or spiritually - inactive passengers on the bus. You know the classic, folkloric admonition: either we hang together, or we hang separately.. Never was this truer than today. _____ 'Scary's on the wall Scary's on his way Watch where you spit I'd advise you wait until it's over Then you got hit And you shoulda known better And we die young Faster we run Down, down, down you're rollin' Watch the blood float in the muddy sewer Take another hit And bury your brother And we die young Faster we run Scary's on the wall Scary's on his way Another alley trip Bullet seek the place to bend you over Then you got hit And you shoulda known better Faster we run And we die young'

MOLOCH: A WICKED PROBLEM

9And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here': Luke 4:9; "Mount Zion is a grand name for a small hill. It dominates the south-west corner of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Christians venerate Mount Zion because they believe it was the place where Jesus and his disciples ate their last supper. Running east from Mount Zion outside the city walls is the Himnon Valley, a narrow, rocky canyon where Caananites once carried out human sacrifices to their god, Moloch. So many funeral pyres burned in the valley that the sky turned black with their smoke" - Jeremey Bowen, 'Six Days' 'How the mind does shout for rest When the body's shaken, yeah Oh the tightness in my chest Still your leaves I'm raking Lord is this a test Was it fun creating, yeah? My god's a little sick And he wants me crazy Who Are you Who can say It's ok to live through me? Live to be Part of me You're a wrinkled magazine Yeah Was it something that I said? Was it how they're breaking, yeah I'm so selfish, paying your rent While your blood I'm taking You Spend me Like a tree Dirty dollar bills for leaves Dark in a sea Of my seeds And the tears on which you feed You feed The body is a temple A dormant alter To where infantile men lie around Itching and nibbling For a small piece of sanity Of which you can not give Shit! Individuality Buying pennies with my soul And a little Heaven spent While the Hell I'm taking Thieves Parasites Hide from life You know they'll remember me They are abhored In self-worth All that matters much to me'

BALLO IN MASCHERA

'The face before me flies Laughs at me inside Masks are made to hide the glow Shining eyes Distance 'tween us grows Feeding lies It's hard to start things over You can feel the fire around us All the time Yeah Something I should say It takes you every day What you give is not alive Today Your soul served on a plate Throw it away It's hard to start things over You can feel the fire around us All the time Yeah It's hard to start things over Oh yeah You can feel the fire around us All the time Yeah It's hard to start things over Oh yeah You can feel the fire around us All the time Yeah All the time What the hell have I? Little pride'

_i^i_ BUILDING UP: A LEADERSHIP BRAND _i^i_

` .. ~~~ .. ` *W* ~- POST-LAPSARIAN RUSH: CROWNING CONTENT ~ *W* ` .. ~~~ .. `

http://www.slideshare.net/dougkessler/crap-the-content-marketing-deluge

'DRAWN INTO YOUR MAGNET TAR PIT TRAP': Le Chat et Les Fruits

'I am my own parasite I don't need a host to live We feed off of each other We can share our endorphins Doll steak! Test Meat! Look on the bright side, suicide Lost eyesight I'm on your side Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing Lack of iron and/or sleeping I own my own pet virus I get to pet and name her Her milk is my shit My shit is her milk Test meat! Doll steak! Look on the bright side, suicide Lost eyesight I'm on your side Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing Lack of iron and/or sleeping Doll steak! Test meat! Look on the bright side, suicide Lost eyesight I'm on your side Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing Lack of iron and/or sleeping Protector of the kennel Ecto-plasma, Ecto-skeletal Obituary birthday Your scent is still here in my place of recovery!'

"AUFERSTEHUNG, YOU BUGGERS!"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/artiste-and-conductor-drew-all-under-his-spell-20111225-1p9hu.html; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e99IJBxxg40http://www.elgar.org/3gerontr.htm; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1bBfN-4srs

'THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH?' - The Truth In Takeover trend in Australian mergers law, and Sectoral Implications

I have just read the Australian Takeover Panel's Ludowici decision regarding the 'truth in takeover' principle. Allens Lawyers provide a succint background to and summary of the decision. Principally, I am interested about Ludowici's relation to wider disclosure trends within the corporate and financial sectors of the Australian economy. An actual copy of the review Panel's decision is available at this link: http://www.takeovers.gov.au/content/DisplayDoc.aspx?doc=reasons_for_decisions/2012/004.htm. (Further, I provide this link to the Allens publication: Http://www.allens.com.au/pubs/ma/foma14mar12.htm). _____ As is evident in its reasons, the ATP may well consider bidding members' contributions to media publications regarding purported 'last and final' bidding statements in light of what circumstances contribute to form an efficient, competitive and informed market. While Part 5.1 of the Corporations Act explicitly applies to proposed Schemes of Arrangement not takeovers, the review Panel expressed no objection to application of the truth in takeover principle to SOA's as well. Hence, there is no theoretical barrier to applying a broad disclosure regime to mergers and acquisitions _____ Though contained by specific provisions of the Corporations Act, I nevertheless discern in the Panel's decision a connexion to wider trends respecting increased disclosure within financial services markets after the GFC. Broadly speaking, we have encountered increased vigilance from regulators such as ASIC following the Brisconnections, Storm Financial and MF Global fiascos for shareholders. In addition, the Gillard government has made noises for much stricter accreditation for financial planners in line with the government's proposed Future of Financial Advice ("FOFA") reforms. Presently, I understand, those reforms are "on hold". However, it seems clear the government will continue to advocate for financial services reform. (Cf with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act's introduction as that legislation related to increased oversight in respect to consumer credit transactions) _____ On its surface, Ludowici makes it clear that senior executives will have to be careful in referring to bid offers through public media and parse their words when speaking with journalists. Although the Chairman of FLS Ltd provided a tart "no" response in a Reuters column regarding future bid increases, the Chariman later qualified that negative as referring to no 'necessary' increase in the bid. As such, FLS had not closed the bidding process. The ambiguity, as Corrs and Allens indicate, is in determining when bidding members can be taken to have finalised the bidding process under the corporations law. _____ In this respect, there are some parallels to the 'truth in lending' and Know Your Customer protocols in relation to provision of consumer credit and financial advice. Also regulated by ASIC, these principles require strict conformity to disclosure standards in spite of the paucity of decision making and scenario planning for hard cases of failure to disclose. ____ In conclusion, I wonder whether specific administrative or judicial reasoning adduce evidence of a 'new normal' in relation to corporate actions and the supervision of Australia's financial markets.

~`S`~ A SILKEN THREAD ~`S`~

A SILENT ARMY 'The rain is here, and you, my dear, are still my friend It's true two of us are back as one again I was the one who left you Always coming back I cannot forget you, girl Now I am up in arms again The rain is here, and you, my dear, are still my friend It's true, the two of us are back as one again I was the one who left you Always coming back I cannot forget you, girl Now I am up in arms again Together now, I don't know how this love could end My lonely heart, it falls apart for you to mend I was the one who left you Always coming back I cannot forget you, girl Now I am up in arms again I was the one who left you Always coming back I cannot forget you, girl Now I am up in arms again I was the one who left you Always coming back I cannot forget you, girl Now I am up in arms again'..

CALM AFTER THE STORM - Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5: IV Adagietto 'DU ALLEIN WEISST WAS ES BEDEUTET' ....

'ERSTERBEND' No More;The storm ~ Klaus Tennstedt, Symphony No. 9: I Andante comodo : 'The Ninth Symphony split opinion as to whether it signified fightback or defeat'..

"YEAH, SHE GOT DA BOOP.. "

FEEDIN' IT FORWARD

                                                           ...   THIS TIME WE CAN BE EXCITED!!

'NEVER BE A VICTIM' - The Primacy of Corporate Culture Among (embattled) True Believers

'We're out there with a microscope' - Jack Welch, final meeting with management _____ Proclaiming the sweetest victory of all, Paul Keating lauded the Australian Labour Party's 1992 electoral success as one 'for the true believers'. Setting aside political preference, I ask along those lines: does your company really reward its true believers??? _____ A constant refrain among individual contributors is the lack of real opportunity for employees to grow independent of political support unrelated to specific performance or cultural alignment. At times, employees appear to be almost in the grips of an alien host which feeds off goodwill as a political parasite, destroying initiative, perspective and flexibility. "Sure, upstairs says we're free to make it', employees explain, 'but we all know the score, right??" THE ETERNAL RECURRENCE: THE CULTURE QUESTION RE-REVISITED True, the culture question always seems to be a delicate one: why, I cannot fathom.. But in company after company, I have come across (at the risk of repeating myself) the absence of winning behaviours at the middle-managerial and front line supervisory level. Of course, increased visibility enables the Board to supervise upper management with relative transparency and efficacy. And certainly those to whom much responsibility is granted, much is expected in return. (Of course, there have been notable failures at upper management level all too recently, which reinforces the forthcoming message) _____ However, I would ask you: does this "culture" translate, REALLY TRANSLATE ACROSS THE ORGANISATION? Whereas the company strategy may not be entirely sacrosanct, the mission, I would argue, should be pretty much beyond the pale of tampering or self-interest. Does the upper level of management honestly, HONESTLY know what is happening in the ranks? Or, does wilful blindness or simple oversight (yes upper managers are busy people) preclude genuine insight into corporate practice as it pertains to the company's preferred culture at its most basic and critical level, the operating level at which the organisation wins or loses with customers day by day?_____ And so I pose a question to senior managers in all large corporations, (though this could apply equally to middle sized/any size business) - How does the senior team DIFFENTIATE performance and ELIMINATE PROFITERRING/POLITICKING at the middle and junior levels? And how is it possible to do so? This field, I realise, is inundated with advice and riddled with organisational psychology. But at the risk of over-ploughing, I add my piece. ______ CANDOUR: POLICING THE LIMITS, BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES I think it is fairly uncontroversial that deeply driven perception of a lack of accountability, candour and fairness among employees imposes constraints on profitable growth. In economic terms, the principal-agent problem imposes externalities over time upon shareholders, and even society at-large. Thus, how do organisations through a process of self-selection eliminate information asymmetry, inefficiency and conceptual boundaries to facilitate employee growth and learning for sustainable performance? Specifically, are lower-level managers merely jockeying for position and status in the manner of Thorstein Veblen's Luxury Class? (I acknowledge this analogy is surely a little unjust, given the real demands placed upon supervisors and their internal resources and operational assets). Nevertheless, do certain ingrained behaviours constitute near-impervious obstacles to WINNING ACCORDING TO YOUR COMPANY'S MISSION?? Is it possible to identify and measure true belief among the true believers?? _____ A WINNING CULTURE COMES FIRST, ALL THE TIME. In a winning organisation, quite simply, culture and the company's professed values must come first - EVERY TIME.. While it is perhaps costly to perform a full cultural audit, desired behaviours based on recognisable and measurable value MUST translate down and across the corporate space: from line to staff, in a matrix or in relation-to-relation networks. THE CULTURE MUST COME FIRST. And, to conclude, that requires not just senior managers but all responsible employees, as FREE AGENTS, to track and insist upon cultural value in all their interactions, and to call out those who refuse to validate - or even conciliate - the TRUE BELIEVERS.. And if supervisors make their numbers, kiss up and kick down - indeed, most likely with a velvet boot - then they need to be doubly called on their behaviour. Frankly, employees at all levels have to summon the strength and exercise the responsibility, with their best judgment and intent, to state: "THERE'S JUST NO PLACE FOR POLITICKING HERE. MAYBE YOU HEARD DIFFERENT. YES, YOU MADE YOUR NUMBERS, MR/MS/MRS X BUT YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE IN OUR PEOPLE. YOU WOULDN'T LET US GROW. THIS PLACE IS DIFFERENT, YOU SEE. MR/MS/MRS X, IT SEEMS YOU'LL HAVE TO GO. AFTER ALL, THIS PLACE IS FOR THE TRUE BELIEVERS .... "

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY FUR

?{.. 010111010.. }? S. E. T. I. ?{.. 011101100.. }?

http://www.mast.queensu.ca/~math474/shannon1948.pdf 'It's not cold enough Please put this side up She is moving through Can we show our faces now? I'm not interesting She's not turning green Shameful as it seems Can we show our faces now? Endless Climb I am blind Why can't I hear? Color blind Speaking a phrase Instantly grown I am blind Waiting in line It's not cold enough Please put this side up She is moving through Can we show our faces now? I'm not interesting She's not turning green Shameful as it seems Can we show our faces now? Endless Climb I am blind Why can't I hear? Color blind Speaking phrase Instantly grown I am blind Why am I shown?'; 'Is there anybody out there? Is there anybody out there? Is there anybody out there? Is there anybody out there?'

Bruno Walter and Columbia Symphony Orchestra, WAGNER, 'PRELUDE TO PARSIFAL AND GOOD FRIDAY SPELL'

THE "IT" FACTOR!!!! ~ Bruno Walter and Columbia Symphony Orchestra, DVORAK, SYMPHONY No.8, Op. 88: II Adagio

http://hbr.org/2012/04/the-new-science-of-building-great-teams:

"Helas mon Deuil" (Guillaume Dufay - c. 1400-74); "Soit Loing ou Pres" (Alexander Agricola: c. 1446-1506)

Ay je rien fet

~!~ 10 FT. TALL + HAIR ~!~

CONFIDENCE BUILDING MEASURES

SELVES-EVIDENT

O : ) ~ ; ) ; ) ; ) ~ :) O

o -------------- CALLED BY A DISTANT SUN -------------- o

.. {SUN DROPS~SUN WAVES} ..

***** ~ ) O ( ~ ***** VERKLARTE NACHT ***** ~ ) O ( ~ *****

_ -O-O- _ // AN ECOFRIENDLY RELAUNCH _ -O-O- _ //

START YOUR ENGINGES!

RABBIT SHY

'My reflection wraps and pulls me under Healing waters to be bathed in Breña Guide me safely in worlds I've never been To heal me, heal me, my dear Breña Vulnerable It's all right Heal me, heal me, my dear Breña Show me lonely and show me openings To bring me closer to you, my dear Breña Vulnerable It's all right Opening to heal... Opening to heal... Heal'...

... @ ... RABBIT TRAIL ... @ ...

DEVIL TO THE METAL

~ ^ #Rabbit Ears# ^ ~

'Overcome by your moving temple overcome by this holiest of altars so pure so rare to witness such an earthly goddess I lost my self control beyond compelled to throw this dollar down before your holiest of altars I'll sell my soul my self esteem a dollar at a time for one chance one kiss one taste of you my magdalena and I'd sell my soul my self-esteem a dollar at a time for one chance one kiss one taste of you my black madonna I'll sell my soul my self-esteem a dollar at a time for one taste one taste one taste of you my magdalena'

ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL? - Abstract for Coming Essay on Securities Law drawn from Hamlyn Lectures delivered by Sir Roy Goode QC

Over the course of the day, I have been reading Sir Roy Goode's Hamlyn Lectures on the definition and scope of modern English commercial law. Sir Roy's lectures really cover the terrain of modern proprietary and equitable remedies and demonstrate the sheer diversity of contemporary commercial jurisprudence. _____ In a coming essay, I hope to summarise Sir Roy's claim regarding the underdevelopment of modern English securities legislation (remember the lectures were delivered in the 1990's) and the prospect of a uniform commercial rule and/or supporting standards therefor underpinning global securities and banking transactions. In the process, I will refer to Sir Roy's conceptual approach to judicial law-making in the securities area as well as to the proliferation in comparative jurisprudence. _____ Personally, I found the Third Lecture in this series most instructive regarding, as it does, the somewhat turgid corpus of English property and equity case-law in respect to secured transactions. Thus, Sir Roy takes serious umbrage with the equitable floating charge, judicial dicta regarding charge-backs in the bank-customer relationship and the nebulous contours of chattel mortgages, sub-mortgages and sub-trusts. A fortiori, Sir Roy points to what he believes is an unappreciated volume of potential litigation with respect to custodial services. In this regard, the author focusses on global notes and the legal difficulties involving transfer of bearer securities to a depositary institution. Having dealt briefly myself with custodians and private wealth bankers, I can now understand the stress they must be under in attempting to fulfill clients' wishes pro forma as well as in substance! _____ In turn, Sir Roy Goode's comments supply wonderful form and substance to the mind deriving, in this instance, from an eminent legal scholar and person of distinction. _____ As Sir Roy indicates, this lecture series ought to be of great interest to members of the financial services industry given the fall-out of the GFC. Though written prior to that threatened collapse in global capital markets and credit services, Sir Roy's lectures explicitly address the concept of systemic risk and the necessity for predictability in financial markets and secured transactions. There is nothing "academic" about the question any longer! Therefore, here is the link to Sir Roy Goode's Hamlyn Lectures: http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/schoolofhumanitiesandsocialsciences/law/pdfs/Commercial_law_in_the_next_Millennium.pdf

AMANTES SUNT AMENTES

N'EST-CE PAS? ;)

Uu~U~uU *** THE GREATEST GIFT *** Uu~U~uU

THE WAGES OF SIN (???) ~ 'Twisted figures, Drown your mind in pain'..

CLAWING AT THE EYES OF GOD: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/01/scandals_plague_sectors_not_ju.html

'GONE INSANE, BUT THE MEMORY REMAINS' .......................................... ; )

{{{{{///^\\\}}}}} ~ LIKE TWISTED VINES THEY GROW ~ {{{{{///^\\\}}}}}

READATHON

OPERATION CLOCKWORK

RESTFUL WRETCH

'Luck. Runs. Out. Crawl from the wreckage one more time Horrific memory twists the mind Dark, rutted, cold and hard to turn Path of destruction, feel it burn Still life Incarnation Still life Infamy Hallucination Heresy Still you run, what's to come? What's today? 'Cause we hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long Feel us breathe upon your face Feel us shift, every move we trace Hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah Luck. Runs. You crawl back in But your luck runs out 1.2. Luck. Runs. Out. The light that is not light is here To flush you out with your own fear You hide, you hide, but will be found Release your grip without a sound Still life Immolation Still life Infamy Hallucination Heresy Still you run, what's to come? What's today? 'Cause we hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long Feel us breathe upon your face Feel us shift, every move we trace Hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long Luck. Runs. You crawl back in But your luck runs out Then you crawl back in Into your obsession Never to return This is your confession Hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long Feel us breathe upon your face Feel us shift, every move we trace Hunt you down without mercy Hunt you down all nightmare long, yeah Luck. Runs. You crawl back in But your luck runs out Your luck runs out'

BLACK BELT ASSIGNMENT

'Sleep and dream of this Death angel's kiss Brings final bliss Completely Empty they say Death, won't you let me stay? Empty they say Death, hear me call your name Ooh, call your name Suicide, I've already died You're just the funeral I've been waiting for Cyanide, living dead inside Break this empty shell forevermore Wait, wait patiently Your death black wings Unfolding sleep Spreading o'er me Empty they say Death, won't you let me stay? Empty they say Death, hear me call your name Ooh, call your name Suicide, I've already died You're just the funeral I've been waiting for Cyanide, living dead inside Break this empty shell forevermore Say, is that rain or are they tears? That stained your concrete face for years The crying, weeping, shedding strife Year after year, life after life An air of freshly broken ground A concrete angel lit right down Upon the grave which swallows fast It's peace at last, oh peace at last Empty they say Death, won't you let me stay? Empty they say Death, hear me call your name Call your name Suicide, I've already died It's just the funeral I've been waiting for Cyanide, living dead inside Break this empty shell forevermore Forevermore, forevermore It's just the funeral I've been waiting for'

INCOMMODIOUS

".. 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 favourites. 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 a crescent, Commodus often intercepted the rapid career, and cut asunder the long bony neck of the ostrich. (33) 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 ran raging around the Arena. Neither the huge bulk of the elephant, nor the scaly hide of the rhinoceros, could defend them from his stroke. Ethiopia 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. (34) 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 god; But the meanest of the populace were affected with shame and indignation when they beheld their sovereign enter the lists as a gladiator, and glory in a profession which the laws and manners of the Romans had branded with the justest note of infamy.(36) He chose the habit and arms of the Secutor, whose combat with the Retiarius formed one of the most lively scenes in the bloody sports of the amphitheatre. The Secutor was armed with an helmet, sword, and buckler; his naked antagonist had only a large net and a trident; with the one he endeavoured to entangle, with the other to dispatch, his enemy. If he missed the first throw, he was obliged to fly from the pursuit of the Secutor, till he had prepared his net for a second cast.(37) The emperor fought in this character seven hundred and thirty-five times. These glorious achievements were carefully recorded in the public acts of the empire; and that he might omit no circumstance of infamy, he received from the common fund of gladiators, a stipend so exorbitant, that it became a new and most ignominious tax upon the Roman people.(38) It may be easily supposed that in these engagements the master of the world was always successful: in the amphitheatre his victories were not often sanguinary; but when he exercised his skill in the school of gladiators, or his own palace, his wretched antagonists were frequently honoured with a mortal wound from the hand of Commodus, and obliged to seal their flattery with their blood. (39) He now disdained the appellation of Hercules. The name of Paulus, a celebrated His infamy Secutor, was the only one which delighted his ear. It was and inscribed on his colossal statues, and repeated in the extravagance redoubled acclamations (40) of the mournful and applauding senate. (41) Claudius Pompeianus, the virtuous husband of Lucilla, was the only senator who asserted the honour of his rank. As a father, he permitted his sons to consult their safety by attending the amphitheatre. As a Roman, he declared, that his own life was in the emperor's hands, but that he would never behold the son of Marcus prostituting his person and dignity. Notwithstanding his manly resolution, Pompeianus escaped the resentment of the tyrant, and with his honour had the good fortune to preserve his life' (42) (35) ~ Edward Gibbon; http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/volume1/chap4.htm

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED??

HERE WE ARE NOW, ENTERTAIN US: 'Reaching out for something you've got to feel while clutching to what you had thought was real kicking at a dead horse pleases you no way of showing your gratitude so many things you don't want to do what is it? what have you got to lose what the hell what is it you think you're gonna find? hypocrite boredom sets into the boring mind struggle within it suits you fine struggle within your ruin struggle within you seal your own coffin struggle within the struggling within home is not a home it becomes a hell turning it into your prison cell advantages are taken, not handed out while you struggle inside your hell reaching out grabbing for something you've got to feel closing in the pressure upon you is so unreal struggle within it suits you fine struggle within your ruin struggle within you seal your own coffin struggle within the struggling within reaching out for something you've got to feel while clutching to what you had thought was real what the hell what is it you think you're gonna find hypocrite boredom sets into the boring mind struggle within it suits you fine struggle within your ruin struggle within you seal your own coffin struggle within the struggling within'; 'Welcome with a stench of misadventure, Libertines and sibling things a'grim Slither forth through the gateway’s hissing denture The moon, one up on the chateau battlements Gilds this torchlit drive to Shangri-la The solstice calls like the piper to rodentia Come join this hive of masquerades This eve is pure and pagan Its teeth are in the past Dark royalties of ancient caste Feast in splendour For your vulgar delectation Decreed, that hunger shall be sated by the dawn In marble ballrooms of delight The erotic and the wicked dance alike Virgin cunts aquiver at this foreplay for the spiteful The cellar smelt abrim with cracked wine and racked women Are spiced for even Marquis appetites Screams an aphrodisiac for the blackest ever nightfall Lords heed the call Vast boudoirs here are mastered by the minatory Walls plastered with the base relief of baser glories Ma cherie Debauchery deflower of my life, untie their bonds And push these fantasies to ever greater stories For your vulgar delectation Inhibit nothing, run free Loose sore cauteries before me Ripped, ṗrolific scars Are titbits on witch to feed The heathen hour strikes Wrong the rites Beasts ravage for your soul As lovely entrapment snaps Her fingers, hell comes crawling This eve is pure and pagan Its teeth are in the past Let the cream of sinners learn at last For your vulgar delectation Decreed, that hunger shall be sated by the dawn Dawn burning, aghast With the judgment that we spend upon the evil We feed eternal hungriness Exceeding vile deeds that were freed in this cathedral'