Capitaine Vengeur

!? Prince Harry ?!?!!!

I would never try to compete with a dirty crumpled $20.00 note in the hearts of those who pretend to love me. I guess I could feel much too disheartened by the results...

Such a movie I'd like to see made since long would be rather about the impressive story of the Nisei of 442nd RCT and 100th Hawaiian Battalion. The legendary, most decorated US unit ever, made of American-born soldiers of Japanese ascendency, who fought well and bled hard even while their parents were interned in humiliating conditions, and themselves permanently suspected of being Tojo's spies. In the same time one of the most disgusting and most glorious page of American History. During one of their toughest fights in the Vosges mountains, the Nisei rescued a surrounded Texan battalion who couldn't believe they had had been saved by Japs. I don't think that such a movie has ever been directed. May I mistake?

Asymetrical naval warfare. That's the point. There is no need for an efficient or willing heavy navy to challenge and humiliate an overconfident naval power. In the Dardanelles, 1915, the Allies faced no Turkish navy and lost six battleships to mines, coastal artillery, and one single petty German sub. During both wars, the Italian heavy navy proved less than inefficient, a laughing matter like Iran today. But their frogmen riding manned torpedoes and using limpet mines managed to sink or disable at least three battleships (Austrian Viribus Unitis in 1918, HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in 1941); and their torpedo boats proved quite efficient too (battleship Szent Istvan in 1918, cruiser HMS Manchester in 1942). In the 1960s, the CIA even worked on dolphins for a possible use in underwater warfare. More modern means could be found, through simple imagination rather than expensive technology. Superpowers often believe their technologic lead makes them invulnerable, the way the Redskins believed about their magic skirts. It's true - but only provided the enemy fights following the superpowers' rules. Vietnam and Afghanistan have proved that wasting billions in ultra-modern sensors is of little use against willing illiterate local peasants who always find another way. A true danger today could be 'Trojan horses' acting as saboteurs on the USN ships. Let's hope the NCIS keeps a cautious eye on Muslim... on some seamen.

Er... Amen is indeed a fine movie, but clearly not an aviation movie. Try again.

Anyway, I would give it a try...

Damn! I shall celebrate a Hot Shots Day instead... I'm a rebel!

!! I just can't imagine a photograph of the Kaiser or Kronprinz ceremonially awarding the Blue Max to an ace pilot in front of a plane tagged with: "Küss meinen Arsch" or "Lutsch mein' *******", or "Ich ****** deine Mutter"... - Anyway, no, I really can't !!!

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. Not watched it since very long, but I had really enjoyed it...

The Beast of War (1988). Armor and run in despair versus guerilla and hunt for revenge. Sun, rocks, and RPG. Fantastic characters too, with George Dzundza as a Communist Ahab...

So, how shall the scheduled fight begin, with a rallied opinion? A new version of the USS Maine sinking, or the USS Liberty Incident, or the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?... So many controversial occurences in one single century, so many new possibilities...

Das Boot, in original version. The war seen from the bottom of a wet cellar. Claustrophobics, keep out.

Happy New Year all over the World !! Wish the Mayans were morons, and that everyone here will see 2013 ...

Overlords, joking !! Coward, cruel, lazy, gluttonous, narcissistic, creatures of habit... : except for Western male adult humans, few animals are more predictable than cats !

Fine brotherhood, Happy Birthday x 5 :drinks: :drinks:

Warning: abuse of Santas can harm the children's innocence. J-P Jeunet's Santas Invasion

Ho - Ho - Hohrrglllblllhh ... Finnish aquavit is WMD !

Blazing view !

Aah, the reassuring anonymity of the Internet... On combatace, one's reputation might be: "Elite Member - Reputation: 45 - Excellent - 36 friends", while in real-life corner, it could rather sound: "Still this ugly bastard staring at my daughter! And yet, he's not drunk this morning!"

Well, I wonder how the next one will be. We had Heartless Kim, then Brainless Kim, will the next be Ball-less Kim?

Imagine many people of this round World are asked the following question: “Could you tell me your opinion about problems concerning religion, hunger or safety in the rest of the World, please?” A Chinese would ask: “What does 'opinion' mean?” A Saudi would ask: “What does 'problems' mean?” A North Korean would ask: “What does 'religion' mean?” A German would ask: “What does 'hunger' mean?” An Iraqi would ask: “What does 'safety' mean?” An American would ask: “What does 'the rest of the World' mean?” And a French would ask: “What does 'please' f**kin' mean?”

"No better place to fall" "Aim to kill !" (ATK, sounds like Attack) "Clear the sky !" (Pétain to Cdt de Rose at Verdun)

The worst airline advert came with the late Belgian company SABENA's slogan: "With SABENA, you would already be there!", when an unwise advertiser stuck posters all along a 1km-long wall in Brussels... The outer wall of Laeken Cemetary! Typical Belgian joke...

The choice of planes was largely decided by the availabilities of the movie's partner, the J-B Salis Flying Club at La Ferté Alais. They have at least one Fokker Dr.I, and two, perhaps three Morane AI, which are since long among their main stars. Their annual meeting has been for decades an important event to many lovers of old planes in Western Europe.

Actually, my grand-father was Henri's first cousin. And as they had been born the same year 1902 in the same village, he was also his classmate and one of closest friends during all of their childhood. The village is Bouy, which is a usable airfield in OFF, ESE of Reims. It's on this field that Henri Guillaumet fell in love with aviation, at 6, seeing many Farman flying birdcages take off from there to break several world records. I have gathered many biographies and articles about Guillaumet and the Aéropostale, but I don't remember of TV documentaries. A fine video document about Henri's journey is Jean-Jacques Annaud's "Wings of Courage", first 3D-Imax fiction movie ever in 1995, with Craig Sheffer as my grand-uncle and Val Kilmer as pretty boy Jean Mermoz. I experience problems to send the link, but the plane displayed on the American teaser really looks like the Potez 25 with which Guillaumet fell in the Andes.