The Byzantine Way

Great, great little piece from Edward Luttwak about how the Byzantines got things done and how we maybe should apply some of those lessons to our own foreign policy: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/19/take_me_back_to_constantinople. I think that Byzantium is quite possibly the most intentionally overlooked subject in history. Just as the name has become a term that implies confusion and intricacy, people tend to gloss over the Byzantines and hit the Roman Empire, the Crusades, or even the Hundred Years Wars (man, talk about Byzantine!) before wading through the glory that was Constantinople (my hand's raised, too). Hopefully, I'll remedy that some day--I think I'd even like to visit Turkey--have heard it's great, of course, as long as you don't wind up in a Turkish prison ("Midnight Express" sort of put a wrench into things for the Turkish Ministry of Tourism for about, say, a hundred years or so, give or take). Matter of fact, my wife has a friend whose husband looks exactly like the burly prison guard from the movie and each time they visit us, I attempt to get him to hold a paddle or board or something similar, adopt a menacing look, and beat my dog with it. So far, he's not picked up on that, but the dog seems to sense what I'm up to and hangs out in the bedroom until they leave. Dogs are smart that way and ours has some interesting habits. When anyone is sick and lying in bed, she'll take on a similar expression and will lay around with them looking sick and absolutely hang dog. Our prior ugly dog, George, had pronounced powers of extrapolation demonstrated by inferring that his reward of a treat after he was given a bath meant that he would also get a treat anytime anyone in the house had a shower. Always funny to watch when a guest would come out of the shower and George would assault them for a reward for their cleanliness. Old George, what a curious little animal he was. The day I put him down was hard: much, much harder than I had expected. I knew it was time and had been thinking about it for a while and his quality of life hadn't really been good for some time, so I thought I had it all pretty much under control. Not. Anyone who has had to do it knows exactly what I'm talking about and it isn't easy. The vets are great about it and are very understanding and say all of the right things but it still doesn't make it pleasant. But, the great thing about dogs is that there's always one out there happy to see you and have you as his or her master. Excellent companions unless it's one of those nights when they have gas or they've eaten your wife's Jenny Craig nutrition bar and have vomited all over the bedroom, including into your pair of Alden dress shoes. Then, they're just like kids.