Weekend Entertainment

To mark the new month, my weekend entertainment will consist of military themed entertainment because there is nothing like armies on the march to kick-off the month of March*.  This weekend, I plan to check out an interesting visual history of war on the http://www.retronaut.com/ site.  Below are some images I have found from the 1910s that I find interesting:

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The latest in 1910s military scouting technology, the tactical observation tree:

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Stanley Spencer, an artist who is new to me, created the following two paintings of men building the machines of war:

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Spencer's other work is also excellent from what little I have seen thus far.  I plan to check out more about him this weekend.

Free Game to Play - No Download Required

http://gamejolt.com/games/shooter/the-king-of-the-wood/12593/

I played through the first room and believe the game is similar to Blade Runner or Runaway.

Entertainment From Last Weekend

I went to a free screening of Jack the Giant Slayer on Sunday, February 24.  The movie was shown in 3-D, which I did not realize until I arrived at the theater and was told to line up if I did not already own the special glasses.  I really don't like movies in 3-D.  I think the technology distracts from the experience rather than adding to the experience.  In several shots in JtGS there are objects in the foreground that block the action taking place on the screen, i.e. a curtain in one of the tents at the base camp of the bean stalk covers roughly 90% of the screen.  One of the guys sitting behind me correctly pointed out that the movie refused to take itself seriously.

I played the first chapter of the point-and-click adventure I mentioned last Friday.  Having a really good mouse that is capable of clicking multiple times all around the screen quickly is essential in playing this type of game.  I tried to use the trackpad on my netbook and was disappointed with the experience enough that I resorted to referring to the walk through on more than one occasion.  It's a decent game but I was not overly impressed by the artwork and the story was devoid of humor, two things I look for in a good adventure game / time waster.



*Get it?

Navy Notes

Today marks the 71st anniversary of the sneak attack by naval and air forces of the Japanese military on the United States military base located at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

While it is True, the Line 

"They Do Make High Quality Automobiles" Was Cut From the Speech

This seems like as good a time as any to discuss the Navy.

Two Dollar Bill Y'all (Yes, it's a Play on the Title of Limp Bizkit's First Album)


My Dad was in the Navy for twenty years.  One of the better military lore stories he shared with me is as follows:

In 19xx the mayor of xx became upset with the United States Navy, which was in the habit of docking the Enterprise aircraft carrier at their port.  According to xxx, the sailors caused enough problems in the city that the mayor requested that the commanding officer of the carrier do something to stop the sailors from causing problems or he would have to see about preventing the carrier from making port in his city.  Xxx thought about the situation and radioed the Pentagon to make a special request. The next payday all of the sailors on board the xxx were issued their pay in $2 bills.  When these sailors were allowed off the ship, they papered the city with Thomas Jefferson’s image.

Seeing the obviously massive economic impact of the Navy on the city, the Mayor backs down  and agrees that the Navy can continue to make port in his city.

Unfortunately, based on my internet searches, this is nothing more than a tall tale.  


The Military Portrayed in Television

One of the best lines in televised drama produced this century came to us from the first season of Lost.  Two strangers are finding more about each other when one mentioned that he fought in Iraq.  The other character says that his buddy was part of the 101st Airborne or something similar and asks what unit the first guy served in.  The bearded man responds by saying that he served in the Republican Guard.

The hairs on my arms stood on end when I heard this.