I was inspired by a very cheezy car service station near my place. It was probably built to serve a different function altogether, anyhow, it has classical style columns and a triangular roof (think Acropolis). This has all been cladded in concrete to look like cracked sandstone etc. It's awful.

Driving past it reminded me of the scene in Life of Brian where Brian was painting graffiti on the walls of a roman temple and it was meant to say "Romans go home". John Cleese dressed as a roman centurion catches him in the act and is appalled by what he sees: incorrect grammar! He proceeds to give him a lesson in Latin and forces Brian to write it out 100 times. The next day the entire Temple was filled with graffiti "Romani ite dumum"

The Idea:

We organize a flash mob to meet at the car service place sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Cars screech to a stop in front of the building, people pouring out with paint buckets and ladders. We fill the whole building with the slogan "Romani ite domum" in no time were gone. Imagine the owner's surprise the next day. Probably not familiar with the works of python he's dumbfounded, gets it translated to see what someone apparently has against him and his fine establishment. Romans go home? WTF? Meanwhile because it's a busy street especially in the mornings the 1 in 10 or so people driving by has their usual boring commute livened up by the spectacle, knowing grins appear on their faces. Totally worth it in my opinion.
-- Uncle Goatlips, May 18 2010

"Romani Ite domum!" I was inspired by a...te-domum-716062.jpg
See link. [Uncle Goatlips, May 18 2010]

"Romani Ite domum!" http://sites.google...te-domum-716062.jpg
[Uncle Goatlips, May 18 2010]

Society of the Spectacle http://www.marxists.../debord/society.htm
Guy Debord [rcarty, May 18 2010]

http://xkcd.com/16/ [MechE, May 18 2010]

The Latin grammar scene from "The Life of Brian" http://www.youtube....watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8
[Jinbish, May 19 2010]

[marked-for-category-change] public:grafitti or something.... [ ] I'm not that much of a Monty Python fan.
-- FlyingToaster, May 18 2010


How about a "yes, we are all indivduals" LoB flash-mob?
-- coprocephalous, May 18 2010


Nice, I'm a Monty Python fan as much as the next person (also, point of order here on your use of "knowing grins". Since Monty Python forms such a formative and fundamental part of our modern culture - this is a bit like saying people should sport "knowing grins" during Christmas and Easter whenever anyone mentions "Jesus")

Anyway, liking the Monty Python thing, and it's good that you've found a suitable location in your local area where a scene from The Life of Brian could be reconstructed, and it's good that you could organise a bunch of local people in your area to all turn up thanks to the invention of the internet. It's good, creative thinking - nice leaps.

But (and believe me, I could be way off on this one) is it really a halfbakery idea? I mean, there is a big square near here just like that one where a bunch of people dressed up as Guy Fawkses in that film - so maybe I could organise a bunch of people to reenact that film using the internet. Pretty cool to do maybe, but is it a halfbakery idea. Similarly, if I marched a bunch of people wearing fur-suits up into the Giant Redwoods/Seqoias of Northern California to reenact the battle of Endor, that would be kind of cool - and a good way to organise it might be to use the internet - but is it a halfbakery idea?

I'm probably just being grumpy - I'm going to flash-mob myself into a pit now where I can be quiet and contemplate my juniper bushes.
-- zen_tom, May 18 2010


/We fill the whole building with the slogan "Romani ite domum" in no time were gone./

The book 'Eats, shoots and leaves' has an example of this from a Building Society:

"Prudential - were here to help you."

However, they are still about.
-- Ling, May 19 2010


A single "Romanes Eunt Domus" is worth 100 "Romane ite Domum"
The incorrect Latin version, written in a small corner somewhere is a far better nod to the scene, in my opinion.

Splitter!
-- Jinbish, May 19 2010


"Romans they go?"

"It means, Romans go home!"

"...No it doesn't."
-- Germanicus, May 20 2010


[IT], yes usually around May things can be found written about him. He's much too advanced for me, however I contend that laser eye surgery may soon make dated his theses.
-- rcarty, May 21 2010


So disappointed with this idea. It's based on entirely the wrong Life of Brian scene. Your flashmob, Uncle Goatlips, should be turning up outside some randomly chosen address and as soon as someone emerges from the house the crowd should fall to their knees and start shouting "The Messiah! The Messiah!".
-- DrBob, May 21 2010


Actually, [DrBob], you are spot on.

{Could at least turning up at the door, dressed as Roman centurions and all file into the premises.}
-- Jinbish, May 21 2010


[DrBob] //randomly chosen ... someone// Terrific idea. But some fanatical faction of flashmobistas would insist on crucifying him.
-- mouseposture, May 22 2010



random, halfbakery