alkan

There is pushback here on the idea that Cook 'discovered' Australia. He hadn't of course, with the partial exception of being the first European to chart the east coast. Terra Australis had long existed in the imagination of Europeans. Torres had charted the straits between Australia and New Guinea, the Dutch (Hartog) and the English (Dampier) had landed on the west coast, Abel Tasman had charted Van Diemen's land (now Tasmania) and New Zealand, all before Cook's first voyage. Makassans had been frequent visitors to the north of the continent.

In geographic terms, 'European discovery' is still a valid term, as were the discoveries of Antarctica and some oceanic islands, although in the Pacific Polynesians had discovered most, even incredibly remote ones like Rapa Nui. Beyond geography, 'discovery' in its unqualified sense can be applied to scientific and biological discoveries. The word is often used carelessly or in a general sense to describe the arrival of a dominant group in an area, but it can and is used deliberately to deny or minimise previous inhabitants in settler countries. There is no harm in celebrating the voyages of Columbus or Cook, but that should not be used to underplay 65,000 or 14,000 years of previous continuous human history.

Aka 'theft'. And yes, it was brief and largely forgotten (and extensively denied by southern European settler communities in the Americas). There are speculative early accounts of other Europeans reaching North America before them, but given the documented extent of Viking settlements across the North Atlantic (they discovered Iceland and settled Greenland), the accounts of Vinland are hardly implausible.

Finally, don't forget that in the US imagination, native Americans are the plains 'Indians', but they are not the only previous inhabitants of North America. Mexico is also part of North America, and there was a flourishing civilisation there when the Spanish arrived (as there were, and previously had been further south in both continents).

Sorry @Avalon, there are distinctions to be made here. North America was inhabited already (not heavily populated of course, although the inhabitants were widespread enough) and Columbus thought he had reached somewhere else entirely so I would object to the use of the word "discovery" in this instance. And after all the Vikings had a short-lived settlement in Canada several hundred years before where they seem to have traded with the locals so you can't even say Columbus was the first European to reach it. None of that should diminish the pioneering spirit of the man, though.
 
I was taught without equivocation in school "Columbus discovered America". That is not only factually incorrect in regard to the meaning of the word, but it also encapsulates a euro-centric view of the world that is deeply unfortunate. That of course was a long rime ago and I think UK schools treat it differently now.

Sorry @Avalon, there are distinctions to be made here. North America was inhabited already (not heavily populated of course, although the inhabitants were widespread enough) and Columbus thought he had reached somewhere else entirely so I would object to the use of the word "discovery" in this instance. And after all the Vikings had a short-lived settlement in Canada several hundred years before where they seem to have traded with the locals so you can't even say Columbus was the first European to reach it. None of that should diminish the pioneering spirit of the man, though.
 
I was taught without equivocation in school "Columbus discovered America". That is not only factually incorrect in regard to the meaning of the word, but it also encapsulates a euro-centric view of the world that is deeply unfortunate. That of course was a long rime ago and I think UK schools treat it differently now.

I suppose no one believes that Homer is the offspring of the river god Meles and the nymph Kretheis?
 
http://www.theoi.com/Potamos/PotamosMeles.html
 
http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NympheKretheis.html
 
http://words.fromoldbooks.org/Brewer-DictionaryOfPhraseAndFable/m/melesigenes.html
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortes_Homericae
 
"But, while the Odyssey reads more like a collection of tales, ..."
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemachy

Yes, oral works in other cultures have been preserved in just that fashion so it is not inherently unlikely. But, while the Odyssey reads more like a collection of tales, the Iliad has a certain literary integrity (and it did found a strong literary tradition of epic poetry) to much of it, with exceptions like the catalogue of ships, that militates against the many authors scenario.
 
One of the intriguing clues to dating the Iliad is a reference to what may be writing. (When I was at school we translated it as "secret signs" but it is often now taken to be writing.) The point being of course could Homer's generation be aware of writing while itself not seeing the need for being able to write? And that is to assume that the art or science of writing did in fact disappear with the fall of Palace Culture. Of course, if Homer was referring to hieroglyphs, he as an outsider might easily perceive them as conveying meaning without being aware that they were a representation of a spoken language.

Somewhat naively, I prefer to think that Homer made up the story, only relying on a very broad tradition of the most basic facts. If he is telling a true story, then how much of his account is someone else's work? Of course, there is some doubt that he is responsible for both the Iliad and the Odyssey because of stylistic inconsistencies, so perhaps one is original and the other is a reworking of an earlier account. In any case, a thought-provoking article for which much thanks, @Avalon.

Barcelona - Vigo, Carrer d'Aribau 27, Eixample. Nearest metro Universitat. Good, small, local. Perhaps not worth crossing the city for but handy neighbourhood place and always seems to be crowded. Good selection of substantial tapas. Friendly staff. For reservations (necessary for after 9pm, closes midnight), ring 934 2424 08.
 
My information for Rome probably out of date.

I totally misunderstood where this thread was going and thought you had discovered a police force which used sniffer badgers!

I totally misunderstood where this thread was going and thought you had discovered a police force which used sniffer badgers!

Today I didn't have to use the oven to make dinner. Simply put a pork chop on the balcony and had dinner in an hour. Tomorrow, I am making a roast.

Heat wave exposes ancient structures across the UK
By James Rogers, Fox News
 

Crop marks of a large prehistoric enclosure in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the faint footings of a probable Roman villa within.
 
The current heat wave in the British Isles has revealed a host of long-hidden historical sites that have suddenly become visible through the parched earth.
 
In Wales, for example, a number of archaeological sites have suddenly appeared in fields of ripening crops and rain-starved grassland. Viewed from the air, prehistoric enclosures, Roman buildings and ancient cemeteries have become visible across the country.
 
“This is an exceptional drought, the like of which Wales hasn’t seen for 40 years,” Dr. Toby Driver, senior aerial investigator for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, told Fox News via email. “In a normal summer hunting for cropmarks from a light aircraft, different regions of Wales show more marks than others. In 2018, the entire country from north to south is showing incredible new archaeological sites.”
 
Experts, however, have to work quickly. “The urgent work is now: taking the air photos before the rain washes away the drought,” Driver explained. “The most important discoveries are then circulated quickly to experts in Wales for their opinion, while the new photographs are carefully organized and permanently archived.”
 
The eerie outlines of long-vanished structures and monuments are showing up across the British Isles. In Lancashire in northern England, for example, a “ghost garden” has appeared in the grounds of Gawthorpe Hall, which dates back to the 17th century.
 

Lancashire County Council
✔@LancashireCC
Amazing ghost garden revealed at #Gawthorpe Hall . Visit before it rains! http://fal.cn/ylkU
 
 
As a result of the drought, and various types of soil drying at different rates, the layout of an Italianate-style garden has emerged at the front of the hall, which has been dubbed the “Downton of the North.”
 
The garden, redesigned in the 1850s, was removed in 1946, according to the Lancashire County Council. “The recent hot weather has certainly unveiled an historic gem,” Lancashire County Councillor Peter Buckley said in a statement.
 
Other sites visible in England include a “phantom mansion” in Nottinghamshire and the outline of a World War II airfield in Hampshire, the BBC reports.
 
In Ireland, aerial footage taken by a drone showed the remains of a previously unknown “henge” or enclosure, at Brú Na Bóinne, a World Heritage site in County Meath.
 
The find was described as “simply unparalleled” by Irish Government Minister Josepha Madigan, the Irish Times reports. In another project at Brú Na Bóinne, archaeologists recently discovered an incredible 5,500-year-old tomb.

Several years ago they thought it had been found at the Oasis of Siwa
 
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history/despairing-cry-tomb-alexander-great-desert-siwa-oasis-002464

Yes and in the nineteenth century that concealment of gender was quite usual, George Eliot (who could "write" both male and female characters with the highest level of skill and insight) being the foremost example perhaps. I wonder why Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell chose to use her name with the "Mrs" so firmly attached. And a lot of romantic novelists in the 1950's and 1960's were popularly supposed to be male authors using female names.

Yes and in the nineteenth century that concealment of gender was quite usual, George Eliot (who could "write" both male and female characters with the highest level of skill and insight) being the foremost example perhaps. I wonder why Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell chose to use her name with the "Mrs" so firmly attached. And a lot of romantic novelists in the 1950's and 1960's were popularly supposed to be male authors using female names.

As long as you like dogs, you're fine by me.

Perhaps I am wrong but that's not how I read it. I thought he was saying (and please correct me if I am mistaken) that what you described couldn't be thought of as racist because the features you said you have a preference for are not race-specific. But even if they were, as I said, that would not constitute racism. In fact, I could quite believe in a racist wanting only to have sex with the race that he or she regarded as inferior, and even that would only of itself be racism if the sexual desire was predicated on the perceived inferiority, rather than e.g. a physical feature possessed by that race.

No, that's just good taste.

Agreed. And let's state it once more. Racism is the belief that one race is superior or inferior to others, not a sexual preference for one aspect. The "difficulty" arises with the way that is expressed, e.g.if it is used as a way of putting a race down, or is perceived that way.

Understood. But you don't post the hot messes the OP was referring to. And we thank you for that.
 

Agreed. And I don't think the OP was referring to them, either.

There are the obvious ones, some legit, some not, but if personal stories are to be believed, then the obsessive nature and repetitive posting is understandable. Some have admitted a lack of an ability to work or get out into the world. If that is the case, then I can see how the Internet becomes your lifeline in connecting with others. The ones I am referring to, while their posting might seem excessive to some, they do get a lot of responses and they are also courteous and respectful. Everyone's got a story to tell...

I'm going to cautiously enter this thread because I've been race-hated on this board.
 
Racism is undoubtedly present in the gay community. From the blatant "no Asians" to bars or spas clearing out when I enter, I've experienced it my entire adult life. Attraction may by governed physiologically (just how gay men aren't sexually attracted to women) or influenced by society and media (Asian men are regularly emasculated on screen). It may be a bit of both. But from my experience, Asians are treated worse in the gay community than any other race (except perhaps South Asians).
 
The issue comes with how guys express their attraction (or lack of). I'm not sexually attracted to older men, but frequently get attention from them (another topic for another day). If they reach out to me, I reply, "thank you, but it's not a 100% match. Good luck." I don't say "you're too old." I don't block them. Some guys get hostile but most of the time they say "thanks" or "no problem." Respect earns respect.
 
The problem is many white guys (who are considered by most as the most desirable) lack that respect. I stopped complimenting white guys on Grindr because I'd get auto blocked. For saying things like "you have a great smile." Yes, I know there are my Asian brothers that shamelessly hurl themselves at any white guy, but when the level of lack of respect for another race results in an automatic block or a hand to the face (yes, one guy once put his hand in my face after I said he was good-looking), that comes from thinking you're better than they are. And that is definitely racism.
 
The saddest part is so many Asians have internalized it. I'm in SF for the month and can't tell you how many Asian guys exclude their race from their profiles. Why? Because they know a lot of guys check the boxes for other races than Asian. They want to be the exception. Sometimes they are (the tall, muscular Asians with square jaws -- ironically, the desirable Asians look more "white"). Sometimes they're not. This is true of Asian guys with ripped bodies and use shirtless pics. A white guy will find the body hot but when they learn it belongs to an Asian they change their minds. What changed? Maybe the face. Or maybe the race.
 
This recent video puts it best. An asian model (who is straight, but it affects all Asians) says, "I didn't want to be white. I just want to be treated like I was white." What he's really saying is that he wants to be treated with respect.
 

 
So whether it's "preference" or you're racist (because let's face it, some of you are), try treating everyone with respect. Because we're all part of the human race.

Check out the 1953 Ray Bradbury classic novel: Fahrenheit 451
 
TruHart1

perhaps, to put it simply, we need to consider if there is a difference between "bigotry" and "racism".

Time is a human interpretation of observed phenomena. If previously unobserved phenomena occur, our definition of Time and what it can do, will be amended. Of course, if you and I are around to observe it, that in itself will be a phenomenon worth recording.