Three Things Challenge: PL19 uranium moss dancer It was getting late. Slowly the officer laid the photo on the table. "Do you recognise what those are?" she asked me with a smile. On the stage the one dancer started circling the pole. I looked down, and knew. "Hardened tank shells, probably depleted uranium. Fallujah?" … Continue reading Depleted #3TC
Military
Beginnings #writephoto
Beginnings He knew where they had met, but he was less certain of when that was. He remembered the small town, and the woods, above all the woods, where they walked, kissed, watched the sun rise, the freezing dawns, enlaced, forever at one, with each other, and with the trees. She was the one, … Continue reading Beginnings #writephoto
T-Rain, and a girl named Zula: a reading of Neal Stephenson’s Reamde #amreading
“Every other thing that he had done for the company - networking with money launderers, stringing Ethernet cable, recruiting fantasy authors, managing Pluto - could be done better and more cheaply by someone who could be recruited by a state-of-the-art head-hunting firm. His role, in the end, had been reduced to this one thing: sitting … Continue reading T-Rain, and a girl named Zula: a reading of Neal Stephenson’s Reamde #amreading
Teufelsberg, or, of the Vanity of Wars…
The woods are silent, high above the hills a hawk observes the few walkers: we are aware of what we are treading on: a still intact Nazi building that resisted attempts at destroying it, on top layers after layers of rubbles from ruined homes and monuments destroyed by the war. We admire the views, the lakes … Continue reading Teufelsberg, or, of the Vanity of Wars…
#AtoZChallenge2015: Képi
Ah, le sable chaud... This incomparable military hat evokes La Légion, Jean Gabin, and so much of French lore, cinema... and military disasters! "The kepi (English pronunciation: /ˈkɛpiː/ or /ˈkeɪpiː/) is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor (American English) or peak (British English). Etymologically, the term is a loanword of the French képi, itself a re-spelled version of the Alemannic Käppi: a diminutive form of Kappe, meaning "cap". … Continue reading #AtoZChallenge2015: Képi
In a deep well, reflections on reading Haruki Murakami’s Wind-up Bird Chronicle
It is a rare writer who can combine the spectra of recent history in its full horror, the dreams of love, and the mysteries of the soul. So is Monsieur Murakami. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle was published in Japan in 1995, and once again, I regretted my inability to read the novel in the writer's language. … Continue reading In a deep well, reflections on reading Haruki Murakami’s Wind-up Bird Chronicle
#DailyPost: Dream Teacher
Any person from history... As he entered the room he saw her: a diminutive woman of about his age, wearing her kimono tight, and a white belt, both immaculate. Before his first step on the tatami he paused and bowed. After all, he had not forgotten his manners on the battlefield. From the corner of … Continue reading #DailyPost: Dream Teacher
#AtoZAprilChallenge: (On) War
He wrote from a position of knowledge: that of people who have been there, who stared defeat in the face, felt the icy lips of Death, and, later, much later, realised the sweetness of victory. He’s an officer’s officer, the strategist of the European legend. When Carl von Clausewitz started writing his book, “On War”, shortly … Continue reading #AtoZAprilChallenge: (On) War
VisDare 55: Protective
At your feet I lay my weapons, my Lady For in your presence there can only be peace And the silence of your worshippers, Us, the long dead soldiers, Your monks, your slaves, As invincible in death as we were in life...
Daily Prompt: Always Something There to Remind Me
A song comes on the radio and instantly, you’re transported to a different time and place. Which song(s) bring back memories for you and why? Be sure to mention the song, and describe the memory it evokes. You, my love, are in this song, all of you, your voice, your soul, and all my heart. … Continue reading Daily Prompt: Always Something There to Remind Me
Of Glass & Paper 