matt mulder's blog

There's a lot of really cool member profile photos. And then there's the members who opt out of presenting an image to represent there online existence.

Since I haven't received one the ubiquitous Sears Portrait Studio flyers recently, I scanned through my iPhoto library and found last year's family pumpkin carving event. I like the photo for what you cannot see--my son laughing and jumping up and down at the sight of Mr. Pumpkin losing his cookies.

I so miss all the togas.

Especially with the weather we've been enduring.

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"Today is believed to be the date in 474 A.D. when the Western Roman Empire, which had lasted for almost 500 years, came to an end as Emperor Romulus Augustulus was deposed by a barbarian.

"Historians have been theorizing about the causes of the fall of Rome ever since. Edward Gibbon's book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776) put forward the idea that the Christian Church was to blame. After Christianity became the official religion of the empire, the best and the brightest leaders became leaders of the church rather than leaders of the government or the military. Another theory is that the aqueducts, which carried the water supply, were lined with lead, and so the Romans slowly went crazy. Some geologists believe that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius released so much ash into the air that it ruined Roman agriculture and weakened the empire. One of the more recent theories is that the Roman army had been infiltrated by the barbarians themselves.

"But whatever the cause, the fall of Rome actually wasn't the catastrophic event most people think it was. So-called barbarian rulers kept most of the basic laws in place, Latin remained the official language of government, and everyone remained Christian." (via The Writer's Almanac)