Brief notice from the Times:

Colin Michael. The distinguished Roman Historian and much beloved husband and father died of a stroke on Thursday 11th March 2010, aged 76. He leaves his wife Kate, sons Christopher and Dominic, grandsons Theo and Sam, and step-mother Phyllis. He will also be dearly missed by his friends and colleagues, and by booksellers worldwide. Condolences (no flowers) or a donation to Colin’s favourite charitable cause can be made via Malcolm Griffiths, Funeral Director, Heol Dulyn, Tremadog, Gwynedd, LL49 9RH. The family funeral is on Thursday afternoon; a larger memorial service will be planned this summer in Colin’s beloved Oxford.

• Colin Michael WELLS | Times

Appropriate classical allusions in this one (tip o’ the pileus to Charlotte Higgins via Twitter):

• Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy writes for injured David Beckham | mirror.co.uk.

Nice article in the Smithsonian Magazine … tip o’ the pileus to Francesca Tronchin (fb):

• Hypatia, Ancient Alexandria’s Great Female Scholar | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine.

Includes an embedded version of the Heritage Key video about Boudicca …

• Is Boudicca a poster girl for intolerance and British nationalism? | The Independent.

In my Youtube collection yesterday I forgot Bobby Bittman as Caesar:

… horrible, horrible punnery … it is the episode where it gets interrupted by a Russian broadcast; Caesar resumes briefly at 4:30 or so …

Kommers, 14, battled it out with Pranav Sivakumar, a fifth-grader from Hough Street Elementary School. Kommers took the win in round 24 when she correctly spelled “palpable.” Sivakumar misspelled “classicist” in round 23.

… kind of reminds of the time when one of Nancy Pelosi’s staffers referred to Victor Davis Hansen as a ‘Classist’ …
via Lake Bluff speller returning to nationals in June | News Sun.

Following up on Boris’ blast in the Guardian yesterday:

• Latin Lovers: Bettany Hughes Helps Boris Johnson Launch ‘Classics for Schools’ | Heritage Key.