history – Jules Told Me

When in Rome – desperately seeking Caesar

I go by the name of Jules and, before that – named for the day of the week on which I was born in Ghana – Yaw. But most fundamentally of all I am Julian, the name chosen for me by my mother who took a trip to Rome when pregnant and, in turn, was mightily taken with the name Julius.

Fighting season in Virginia

Summer is fighting season in Virginia. And if you didn’t know better, you’d swear that the whole Civil War had been fought over the vexed question of facial hair.

The art of Pompeii

The buildings, the streets, the walls – the very physical essence of Pompeii – you expect. But the art? This – for me – was an intoxicating surprise.