A Place of Brightness: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

My Latin I class starts Stage 5 of the Cambridge Series next week, in which they will learn plurals and details of the Roman Theater.

I use the occasion annually to also take a break from our march through Latin vocabulary and grammar to watch, in its entirety, the movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

The movie is silly and raucous, but it totally holds up to multiple viewings (which I have done year after year).

If you are a Latin teacher and you are not showing it to your Latin classes, give it a watch and reconsider. It's actually a fully faithful representation of the classic comedy plot: young man loves a woman completely impossible for him--slave seeking his freedom conspires to make it possible, at the last minute something emerges that makes it possible for them to be together.

It's an all-star cast, Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Phil Silvers, and even Buster Keaton in his last theatrical role.

In the interest of full disclosure, the theme song "Comedy Tonight," is the only truly good song in the musical, the others are a bit a drudgery, but no reason not to enjoy the show.

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In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

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