"Build Rome in a Day"

Yesterday's viewing of Elodie Pong's "The end of empire" was especially resonant because I'd volunteered for Liz Glynn's "Build Rome in a Day" project the day before at the New Museum. I had worked during the republican period between 10:30 pm and 2 am on Tuesday morning. It was a bit chaotic but fairly low scale and low tech. My Temple of Vesta was pretty unimpressive. When I went back to check on Tuesday mid-day, the scale of buildings had increased, the noise level was higher and building materials more substantial, the workers looked more professional ... it just seemed more, well, imperial. I didn't go back again late in the afternoon to see the fall of the empire but the difference between the republican and empire seemed "realistic" or, at least, plausible. I even passed one of the other republican era volunteers on the street as I walked to the Kitchen last night. She was on her way to see the end of the empire.