Senators Behaving Badly

Thanks to Princeps of the Senate JT Vale for uncovering this shocking footage:

ROMA @ I

The ROMA one year anniversary celebrations begin this weekend! It is hard to believe but ROMA has been in existence for a whole year now. The birthday festival will last all week long and involve many of the groups that call ROMA home. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Update: We've been mentioned on SL Insider!

Here is a full schedule of all of the events:

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WEEK LONG EVENTS

FLAG & BANNER DESIGN CONTEST
Citizens are invited to design their own ancient Roman themed flag or banner. You may submit either a finished flag or a texture to Torin Golding. Finished flags will be displayed in ROMA during the festival. Citizens will be able to vote for their favorite. The winner will get a cash prize of L$1000. Deadline for submissions is noon SL Time, 19 October.

FOOD & RECIPE CONTEST
Citizens are invited to design their own ancient Roman prim food creations. Ideally they should include scripts to pass out samples. So if you are a builder, submit your best ancient Roman prim food to Torin Golding before noon SL Time, 19 October. Citizens will vote for the best and the winner will get L$1000 and the option to sell their creation in the Bread and Circuses Bakery in ROMA.

Do you have an ancient Roman recipe that you can make in RL? We are collecting them into several themed cookbooks. The cookbooks will attach to your HUD where you can use them to create your own concoctions in your kitchen. A free version will be available during the festival. Future volumes will be sold in the Market to help with sim upkeep. If you have recipes, put them on a notecard and drop them on Mattaio Rossini as soon as possible.

FREEBIE GIVEAWAY AND THE CLOUD LOUNGE
In the elevated garden behind the Baths there is a magic chair. You can use it to reach a new temporary build that will only be up for the festival- the Cloud Lounge. It is a nice place to hang out away from the hubbub of the world. In the lounge’s courtyard is a collection of free items generously offered by the merchants of the Roman Market and the Macellum here in ROMA and ROMA Subura. So pop up and grab yourself a copy of all of the freebies.

ROMA FLEA MARKET (14-16 October)
Citizens may sign up with Torin Golding to offer no-copy items for sale in the fort in ROMA at a special three day flea market. Only *no copy* items may be offered. This is a perfect time to get rid of inventory you do not want any longer. To participate, send a message to Torin and he’ll help you set out your items.


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SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER

ROMA FLEA MARKET (Day One)
In the Fort Legio VII Augusta

ROMA RE-CONSECRATION CEREMONY
12:00 pm (SL Time) in the ROMA Harbor
The Collegia will perform an ancient Roman ritual to re-consecrate the Customs House. Members of ROMA’s groups and prestigious families will attend. Everyone is invited!

SENATE MEETING
12:30 pm (SL Time) in the Curia
Immediately following the re-consecration ceremony, the ROMA Senate will meet in the Curia in the Forum. The public are invited to attend and watch the meeting (but requested to sit behind the gate furthest from the throne).

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MONDAY 15 OCTOBER: EQUIRRIA (OCTOBER HORSE FESTIVAL)

ROMA FLEA MARKET (Day Two)
In the Fort Legio VII Augusta

CHARIOT RACES IN HONOR OF MARS
12:00 pm (SL Time) in the Circus Maximus
Everyone is invited to take part in racing a chariot around the Circus Maximus track. The person who takes first place will get a special trophy and L$1000 cash. Second place will get L$500 and third L$250.

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TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER

ROMA FLEA MARKET (Day Three)
In the Fort Legio VII Augusta

ROMA ENTERTAINMENT SHOWCASE
1:00 pm and 8:00 pm (SL Time) in the Pompeii Tavern
The ROMA Entertainers group will offer two shows worth of entertainment in the Pompeii Tavern. There will be dancing, musical performances, and storytelling.

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WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER

GLADIATOR CONTEST
1:00 pm (SL Time) in the ROMA Arena
The Ludus Dacicus Gladiatorii group will sponsor and hold a gladiator contest in the ROMA arena. Come and cheer on the fighters!

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THURSDAY 18 OCTOBER

ROLEPLAY SOCIAL
12:30 pm (SL Time) (Location to be announced)
The Theatrum Romanum roleplay group invite you to a roleplay social. Come learn about roleplay in ROMA. No previous experience needed!

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FRIDAY 19 OCTOBER: ARMILUSTRIUM (FESTIVAL OF MARS)

FESTIVAL OF MARS PURIFICATION RITE
(Time to be announced) In the Subura Fort
There will be a purification rite for the weapons of the Legion XIII, Legio, and Praetorians. All are invited to attend.

AVE WEEKEND PARTY
11:00 am and 8:00 pm (SL Time) in the Subura Comitium
This is a special version of the weekly Ave Weekend party. Prizes and free giveaways!

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SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER

FINAL FEAST
12:00 pm (SL Time) in the Fort Legio VII Augusta
A final celebration to end the festival. Dancing, feasting, contests, and the display of all entries in the prim food contest.

Praetorian Imperial Guard

The Emperor himself attended a special ceremony to mark the establishment of the Praetorian Imperial Guard group in ROMA. Chief Vestal Angelia Rees officiated at a ceremony to bless the Guard, and the soldiers offered the Emperor the gift of a golden suit of armor.

After the ceremony, everyone retired to the Legion XIII fort in the Subura and celebrated.

Stanford University Visits ROMA

On Monday, undergraduate students from the Introduction to the Humanities Class "Human and the Machine" explored SL for the first time. After undergoing a short scavenger hunt, they ended up in ROMA where Torin threw them a small party in the Fort. There was dancing and, of course, fun with the catapults.

ROMA Roleplay Plot

The Theatrum Romanum roleplay group is starting a new plot involving the Getae (until recently the Legion's deadly enemies, now friends by truce). From a notecard circulated amongst the group:

The year is 100 AD. The new emperor of Roma is well received by his people - undoing many injustices perpetrated under Domitian, and working hard to ensure the goodwill of his people. However the emperor is away from the city, and there remain political intrigues and corruption in high places.

Piracy still causes shipments to be lost at sea, and adds to the danger of sea voyages. On land, there are still bandits operating where they can, and the fact that they still exist hints at some degree of organisation, avoiding the efforts of the Roman military to irradicate them.

Meanwhile, a shortage of gold supply and a general ambition to extend the empire has caused tensions between the Getae of Dacia (with their gold mines) and the Roman elite. The queen of the Getae is herself present in Roma as part of an embassy.

Whilst the embassy may well fail, there are those who believe that an alliance between their people and the Getae might prove advantageous, and the king of the Goths has reputedly sent an envoy with a shipment of gifts to the Queen of the Getae at Roma. Unfortunately, this envoy is now overdue - having been overtaken by a letter from the king of the Goths to the Queen of the Getae asking if the shipment has been received.

You can join them in their roleplaying by joining the Theatrum Romanum group and by contacting Gwion Merlin and Jethel Raymaker in world.

To find out more about the group's roleplay conventions see this post on the ROMA messageboard.