I still think about the throw he made off the over-the-shoulder catch in shallow left to double off Jimmy Rollins in Philadelphia in 2009.

Every day feels like trying to explain the difference between news and editorial to relatives who don't know, ask and then definitely don't read my answer.

Anyway, the answer is "every two days or so, but I like to think I come by it honestly."

I also watch a lot of Time Team. It's hard to watch a TV show about British archaeology without the Romans popping up, even when you're not expecting them. The people on that show can't brush their teeth without tripping over Roman pottery.

I'm a history nerd. I took four years of Latin in HS, I listen to lots of history podcasts, including @mikeduncan.bsky.social and Patrick Wyman's work on Rome, and I stop to read every historical marker I see. My ideal afternoon is spent walking around a 500-year-old cemetery. But that's just me.

I also suspect this is why you tend to see Roman symbols and imagery popping up amongst white supremacist groups.

It looms large. For better or worse -- likely worse, since it's not like we're going to actually learn anything from it -- it's baked into our social and cultural consciousness. I don't know if that's why dudes think about it so much, but I suspect that might have something to do with it? Maybe?

Western civilization has a real hardon for Western civilization. I suspect this is a function of whiteness. The Roman Empire was the first time white people conquered a truly enormous swath of the world. It was the original "simpler time."

I thought about this a lot last night. There are two threads of popular history that kinda permeate what I'd characterize as American dude thought, and those are the Roman Empire and WWII. But why?