Patriot – is what I think when I read this…
There is a lot about the military that those who haven’t served don’t quite understand.
Source: Rick Perry: The truth about ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle | Fox News
sniper
All posts tagged sniper
(17 June 2003, United Kingdom) The National Express bus service between Aberdeen and London takes approximately twelve hours, with NO SMOKING on the coach. A 43-year-old woman was riding south from Glasgow, and as the miles rolled by, she became more and more desperate for a cigarette. It’s a long trip for addicts.
The coach stopped at Carlisle–at last, she could satisfy her craving! But no, she was not allowed off the coach. She sat in her seat, becoming more agitated by the mile. She was craving a cigarette. She was fuming.
Fellow passengers said she became increasingly anxious as the journey continued, and started shouting that she wanted off. However, the coach was on a motorway at the time. It was not permitted to stop, save for emergencies.
Somewhere between Shap and Penrith, passengers saw the woman push against the passenger door in the middle of the lower deck. She couldn’t be trying to get off to smoke, could she?
Oh, yes she could!
Police concluded that the coach was traveling approximately sixty miles per hour. Our involuntary non-smoker was crushed beneath its wheels. At that point, the coach did make that hoped-for emergency stop, but life is not fair. Unlike a condemned man, our heroine never did get that last cigarette.
Click on the cover toread about the awardn!
Click here to get it on Amazon!
Book Description:
Only the hottest sex can cool a wolf in heat…
After her sister is bitten by a werewolf, geneticist Sophia Reece begins researching shape-shifters and isolates a gene she calls Furry Beast—FB for short. But in her excitement over her discovery—dancing in the lab is never a good idea—she has a teeny little accident with the samples, one canine, one feline, and winds up landing on the syringes, pointy side up.
Werewolf Chase is head over heels in lust with Sophia. He can’t stop thinking about the human’s sexy body or how badly he wants to get her naked. But she acts as if he has fleas. So why, all of a sudden, does she stare at him like a wolf in heat? And what smells like cat?
When she experiences her first mating heat, Sophia isn’t prepared for the new feelings she’s experiencing, and her secret desire for Chase refuses to remain under wraps. For Chase, this is his wildest fantasy come true—to finally get his hands on the curvy, caramel-skinned Latina. But when some serious predators come sniffing around her research, Sophia will have to find out what she’s really made of, and Chase will have to decide if he’s man—or wolf—enough to make things permanent…
Click on the cover toread about the awardn!
Click here to get it on Amazon!
Book Description:
Only the hottest sex can cool a wolf in heat…
After her sister is bitten by a werewolf, geneticist Sophia Reece begins researching shape-shifters and isolates a gene she calls Furry Beast—FB for short. But in her excitement over her discovery—dancing in the lab is never a good idea—she has a teeny little accident with the samples, one canine, one feline, and winds up landing on the syringes, pointy side up.
Werewolf Chase is head over heels in lust with Sophia. He can’t stop thinking about the human’s sexy body or how badly he wants to get her naked. But she acts as if he has fleas. So why, all of a sudden, does she stare at him like a wolf in heat? And what smells like cat?
When she experiences her first mating heat, Sophia isn’t prepared for the new feelings she’s experiencing, and her secret desire for Chase refuses to remain under wraps. For Chase, this is his wildest fantasy come true—to finally get his hands on the curvy, caramel-skinned Latina. But when some serious predators come sniffing around her research, Sophia will have to find out what she’s really made of, and Chase will have to decide if he’s man—or wolf—enough to make things permanent…
This actually happened in the county next door to mine back home…
(14 February 2002, Pennsylvania) Daniel and his friend were practicing their marksmanship by shooting at targets in a farm field. But instead of the usual choices of mice, bottles, or birds, they selected a more worthy adversary: electrical insulators.
These pear-shaped glass or plastic devices are intended to hold electrical wires aloft. But after the men shot six insulators off two utility poles, the shattered targets were no longer up to the job. A high-voltage wire fell to the ground and Daniel, attempting to prevent a serious fire, seized the sizzling wire in his hand, and was electrocuted.
An Allegheny Power spokesman advised people not to shoot at electrical insulators.
For any of you unfamiliar with Gavriel’s poetry, you are truly missing out on an incredible talent. I’d invite you to correct that, as quickly as possible 🙂
Also, I just became aware that Mr. Navarro is a contributor in an upcoming collection of Glosa poetry, “Dead to Rights“, by Canadian poet Alain C. Dexter. Now, in case you only blink once at that, consider the fact that Gavriel’s work will be featured alongside the likes of Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, and John Milton. There. Bet that got your attention 🙂
Click on the cover to get it on Amazon!
Book Description:
Being held captive for winter never felt so good.
Lili is on her way to her cousin’s wedding when she thinks she hit a man in the road. Leaving the safety of her car to check on him turns out the be a big mistake, and pretty soon Lili is being abducted and held against her will by a super-sexy wolf who her body longs to touch. But just because he’s hot doesn’t mean she’s going to remain a captive.
Cade is not just an alpha, he’s a very wealthy man, used to getting what he wants. So when he attempts to abduct his ex-friend’s fiancé, he doesn’t expect to wind up with the wrong woman. Just how did he wind up with the maid of honor? And why does the woman melt every inch of him? But when she escapes, real danger awaits her beyond his protection. Cade must convince her to see beyond his deception if he has any chance to keep her alive.
(November 2002, Belgium) A retired engineer booby-trapped his home with the intention of killing his estranged family, but died himself after inadvertently triggering one of his own devices.
At first, police assumed that the 79-year-old had committed suicide, as he was found alone with a bullet wound in his neck. Then a detective missed a bullet by inches when he opened a booby-trapped wooden chest. Police beat a hasty retreat from the property and called in military experts.
They deciphered an enigmatic series of scribbled clues to locate 19 death traps in walls, ceilings, and household objects. A pile of booby-trapped dinner plates was revealed by the clue, “Cheaper by the Dozen,” a reference to a film in which a child throws a plate at someone’s head. Police speculate that the the notes were intended to assist his failing memory.
Other traps included numerous concealed shotguns triggered by threads, and an exploding crate of beer set to detonate once a certain number of bottles were rmoved. It took three weeks to crack 19 of the 20 clues, and experts were forced to admit defeat on the final note: “The 12 Apostles are ready to work on the pebbles.” Said one, “We have never come across anything like it before. It was all fiendishly clever.”
True to form, the “fiendishly clever” but careless Darwin Award winner was described by neighbors as a taciturn but harmless man who enjoyed puttering in his garage. But relatives say he never forgave his wife for divorcing him twenty years before. Police believe he bagan installing the traps for four years, after losing a lengthy battle to keep his home.
Click on the logo to to go the FFC website!
Quite by accident, my lovely wife and I discovered this superb organization. We had discovered a new kitty wandering around with our existing colony of feral cats, and he looked ill. We took him to the the SCPA to be spayed and the gentleman who returned him after surgery is the husband of the lady who runs FFC, Diane Straney. Their current facility is on a 20 acre property in 2006. As a member of HumaneNet, The Feline Freedom Coalition has taken an increasingly important role in the ASPCA Community Partnership Program. They are the only organization in Charleston County that focuses solely on working with feral cats.
Beginning as a private operating foundation in 2004, they rapidly expanded their public outreach since 2009 to become more active in TNR (trap and release) and helping the public learn more about managed cat colony care. Since that time they have funded the spay/neuter surgery for over 1000 animals, provided assistance for over 350 privately managed colonies, removed and adopted over 500 socialized cats/kittens from colonies and trapped over 700 cats as part of Charleston County Free Roaming Cat Program. They are now integrated with PetSmart pet stores and have their cats in the local PetSmart store for adoption.
Very briefly, it works like this:
The FFC has two or three people who go around the Charleston area looking for feral cats, or they recieve phone calls from people who’ve seen one. They put out live traps and capture the cat, and bring it back to the property. The cat recieves its shots and is either spayed or neutered at a veterinary that works with the FFC on a discount. Then, the new kitty is housed and cared for until it’s determined whether it is tame enough to be eventually integrated into the adoption cycle at one of the local PetSmart stores. If it’s too wild, it’s cared for the rest of its life on the property – and well cared for, I might add.
The FFC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and I’m proud to say my wife and I are now volunteers there. I’ll be working there on Saturday and will follow up with some photos. They currently house around 225 cats (you should see THAT in person:)), so as you can imagine, the care and feeding alone is a daunting task. Throw in medical care, repairs, and cleaning, and you can well imagine how much work is involved. I’ve installed a button in the right column where anyone wishing to do so can donate to this worthwhile cause. Failing that, take heart and go give your local organization some love. They are always in need for food, blankets, and other sundry items. Please, give for those who can’t get for themselves.
‘Nuf said.
William Shakespeare
In an earlier post, I listed some common phrases that were born on the high seas. Now, we venture into the realm of 17th century Shakespearean literature, and see how lasting an effect his writing has, not only from a cultural sense, but in every day speech:
1. A dish fit for the gods (an offering of high quality)
From Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, 1601:
BRUTUS:
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards;
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar:
Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it! And, gentle friends,
Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully;
Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods…
In the speech Brutus expresses the view that, although the conspirators are resolved to kill Caesar, they aren’t mere butchers and should leave his body in a suitable state for the gods to view.
2. A fool’s paradise (a state of happiness based on a false hope)
Origin:
Romeo and Juliet, 1592
Nurse:
Now, afore God, I am so vexed, that every part about
me quivers. Scurvy knave! Pray you, sir, a word:
and as I told you, my young lady bade me inquire you
out; what she bade me say, I will keep to myself:
but first let me tell ye, if ye should lead her into
a fool’s paradise, as they say, it were a very gross
kind of behavior, as they say: for the gentlewoman
is young; and, therefore, if you should deal double
with her, truly it were an ill thing to be offered
to any gentlewoman, and very weak dealing.
3. A forgone conclusion (an obvious result)
A decision made before the evidence for it is known. An inevitable conclusion.
Othello, 1604:
OTHELLO:
But this denoted a foregone conclusion:
‘Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream.
4. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet (What matters is what something is, not what it is called.”
Origin
Romeo and Juliet, 1600:
JULIET:
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.
A story, much favoured by tour guides, and as such highly suspect, is that in this line Shakespeare was also making a joke at the expense of the Rose Theatre. The Rose was a local rival to his Globe Theatre and is reputed to have had less than effective sanitary arrangements. The story goes that this was a coy joke about the smell. This certainly has the whiff of folk etymology about it, but it might just be true.
5. All of a sudden (suddenly)
Origin
‘All of a sudden’ is the poetic version of ‘suddenly’ that Shakespeare preferred. In fact, it was he who coined the phrase. In The Taming of the Shrew, circa 1596:
Is it possible That love should of a sodaine take such hold?
[Note: ‘sodaine’ was one of the numerous Tudor spellings of ‘sudden’.]
With that coinage, Shakespeare gave us the version of the expression that most grammarians now prefer.
There you are. A man (albeit a great man) whose writing is so prolific, it influences speech patterns 400 years after his death. There are, of course, many more of his sayings floating around. But, that’s to be another post 🙂
Thomas Rydder 