Hauksbee

A few postings ago, I used the term "patriotic bulls**t". As I posted the text, I noticed that both the 'h' and 'i' had changed to asterisks. 'How curious', I thought and I hit the Edit button and restored them. After re-posting, the asterisks were still there. I notice in the "What's German for Kiss My A**', dollar signs were used, though this may have been done by choice. However; It does appears there's an automatic function that softens our language. Not so?

However; if you have the talent to swear properly, like "You @#$!%^$^&@#!(%$^!@)%$#@^!%#$^&$!!!", you can stop a charging lion, even knock a cougar out of a tree. (tho' there may be some collateral kitten damage)

I wonder where that pic. was taken. I know California made those exaggerated "Ape Hanger" bars illegal years ago.

For those of us who were kids reading comics in the 1950's...good news! Some of the finest stories published by Bill Gaines's E.C.Comics are being reprinted. This is the guy who brought us SHOCK SUSPENSE STORIES, plus several other crime titles, and the scariest horror tales going, in such as THE VAULT OF HORROR, TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE HAUNT OF FEAR. Their sci-fi titles, WEIRD SCIENCE and WEIRD FANTASY eschewed the standard space-opera themes and tapped writers like Ray Bradbury. But for me, the best were the two titles edited by Harvey Kurtzman: FRONTLINE COMBAT, and TWO-FISTED TALES. The latter started as an adventure title, but as the Korean War got hotter, it became an all war-story mag. Remember, this was the fifties. We had just won WWII. John Wayne strode biggly across the psyche of America. The standard fare at the time was "Sgt Rock and His Raging Commandos" wherein our guys always won, any one of ours was worth ten of the enemy, and moral issues were strictly black and white. Not so with Harvey Kurtzman. Among his 'good guy' stories were plenty where guys died for no good reason, just bad luck, or ignorance on the part of officers. One of the other things that made these titles so exciting was the research put into the stories. If it was about Panzer tanks, they drew them right. Scenes inside planes and ships were correct. You got to see things even Life Magazine couldn't show you. I just received the first volumn of the E.C. Archive, Issues #1-#6 Here a WWI flying story from that.

Another nugget of information slips out!

Right! Forgot about this one. No obligatory romance, no emotional suffering on the home front, just a nice tight focus on the mission. Can't wait for Peter Jackson's version. The only drawback to the first was the cheesey effects on the dam explosions. (tho' for the time, not all that bad. At least, back then, they could lay their hands on real Lancasters) What will you bet they change the dog's name?

No doubt about it: The Great Waldo Pepper!

Lipo is not the 'magic bullet' it is often touted to be. Complications are easy to come by, and if you don't change eating and exercise habits, the weight comes back. Careful research is called for.

OK, here we go for Round #2. This is, without a doubt, the best comics story I've ever read. Irony was the mainstay of the E.C. writers, as shown here in the name of the plane, the book being read, and the eventual outcome of the story.

The Book is "The E.C.Archive_FRONTLINE COMBAT_Vol. #1_Issues 1-6" ISBN 978-1-60360-091-4 ($49.95...not exactly cheap) It is not heavy on WWI flying stories, but contains tales of war from all ages, intelligently written, and beautifully illustrated. Here's the last page (tho' I think you already know where this tale is going.) Check the mid- page, full width panel. Tomorrow starts "Bomb Run", a WWII B-26 story from which I have not yet recovered. (No joke!)

Yes, it's looking bad for our new hero...

Page #4

I found this whilst poking around on YouTube for good air combat videos. I've been thinking lately about how Dr.1's and Camels would fare against each other; they were both very maneuverable with short fuselages that allowed for quick snap turns. In this clip, the Camel wins out. Maybe because a human flew it against an AI Dr.1, but what I found most interesting is that the Camel only gets off extremely short bursts. Eventually, enough rounds land on target. But it wasn't easy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuSUoCJJY44&feature=fvsr

Except for the few frames showing the barrel and sight ring of an MP40 Machine Pistol. What are American troops doing carrying a Schmeisser?

There's a lot of war movies that are good as movies, but I think the one that gives the best sense of being in a war (without using live ammo in the theater) would be "Hamburger Hill", an account of a bloody excursion into the Ai Shau Valley in Vietnam. No heroics, no patriotic bulls**t, no stirring music (until the last few minutes) Tied for first place would be "84 Charlie MoPic", an independently made film about a camera team that accompanies a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol into the Vietnamese bush. Here's what Wikipedia has on it: The film is created as a mock-up documentary of a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) mission during the Vietnam War. The point of view is from a camera following an LRRP team on a five-day patrol deep inside the "Indian Country" (territory controlled by the North Vietnamese). The cameraman is nicknamed "MoPic" by the team, because of his alphanumeric military occupational specialty, 84C20, Motion Picture Specialist. The supposedly routine mission, however, goes wrong and eventually turns into a struggle for survival. You can't miss on either of these two.

Page #3 'Love the full-width panel at the bottom of the page. (and we'll see it again.)

No doubt about it, you had the 'Cadillac of Comics'. It's the eternal story: 'If Mom hadn't thrown out the...", or, "If I hadn't..." Ah well. I vowed to learn from such lessons. However; I have two strikes against me. First, I am a "Thrower-Outer", not a"Pack Rat" and holding on to items for their potential resale value requires a Pack Rat mentality. Secondly, until recently, I've been an apartment dweller. Usually studio apts. ("Bed-sitters" in the UK.) Not much room there for a hoarder or dedicated collector so I've had to be quite selective. The problem is, the items I've chosen have remained worthless. Strike #3.

Happy New Year, indeed! Best yet, they're saying that this year the war should be over by Christmas. Whaddy'a think, lads?

...and even more so when you consider how it all happened. Bill Gaines father had this little comics business called "Educational Comics", or, E.C. He published bible stories in comics form. Bill, the son. had no interest in the biz. But Bill's Dad died very suddenly and he had to take it over. Somewhere along the line, he met Al Feldstein, and between the two of them, they launched a second E.C. Comics; this called "Entertaining Comics". The mainstay of this E.C. was the Crime and Horror titles, with the Sci-Fi and War titles following on. It's ironic that Gaines inherited a comics company that published what priests, pastors and educators thought kids should be reading, and used it to evolve yet another, but which had the same crew howling with outrage. ( I must admit, those Horror titles were pretty scarey) And where other publishers kept their artists anonymous (so they wouldn't get swelled heads and want more money) Gaines turned his guys into featured 'stars' who were allowed to sign their art. Here's Page #2.Check out the detailing: the MG receivers, the fabric stitching, and, best of all, the hammer clipped to his gauntlet for clearing jams.

'Sounds like my thirty years in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Welcome, Abbay! What other flight sims do you favor in Saudi Arabia? Is this your first WWI? You're going to love this.

Computer on? Check. Goggles secure? Check. Scarf tied? Check Seatbelt on? Check Contact!

I saw these in Game Informer and had to have them, though, arguably, the last thing I need is another set of headphones (they seem to sneak into my closets when I'm asleep.) But these are, without a doubt the coolest design I've seen in a long time. Fit great and are comfortable ($99.00US) Designed for Sony Playstation 3 but are also Windows compatible.

An unexpected benefit of wireless is 50% fewer wires hanging down my back, getting hooked around the arm of the chair, etc. And,,,when I need to lean to the side to reach something at the other end of the desk, discovering that I only have 80% of the cable length necessary, and the 'phones get jerked off my head. Then I have to re-set the TrackIR. Now, if NaturalPoint would just make a wireless TrackIR.

Good on you, whiteknight06604...you certainly came by your name honestly.