All Purls. No Swine.
While this is a lovely little couplet, with nary a verb in sight, it’s not my favorite Ezra Pound poem. That one is his parody of the Medieval English round, “Sumer is Icumen In,” which starts out: Winter is Icumen In Lhudde sing Goddamm . . . And, indeed, I was singing away and giving… Continue reading These Poems No Verbs
Full disclosure: I'm 68 years old. This upcoming September (2023), I'll be 69. No point pretending otherwise. No point writing posts either celebrating--or bemoaning--my "hotness" in a previous life about half-a-century ago (so I'll spare you the bikini-beach-babe pic, unless you're really determined to view it, in which case knock yourself out). Fings--these days--is wot… Continue reading 2023 Update–Semper Fi! My Marine Corps Tulips. And Some Other Stuff As Well.
219 years ago, on the night of February 16, 1804, a young Lieutenant in the United States Navy led the first of his two expeditions that year into Tripoli Harbor, this one to set fire to, and destroy, the frigate USS Philadelphia, which--some months earlier--had run aground and been captured by the Tripolitan army of… Continue reading Quote of the Day: “The Shores of Tripoli”
The United States of America abolished the draft (most recently) in 1973. Subsequent to that date, all the forces have been all-voluntary. Previous to that date, conscription had been an on-and-off sort of thing, occurring between the Revolutionary War and the Vietnam War, as convenient and as required. In these most recent days, as we… Continue reading What About The Draft?
Full disclosure: I'm 67 years old. This upcoming September (2022), I'll be 68. No point pretending otherwise. No point writing posts either celebrating--or bemoaning--my "hotness" in a previous life about half-a-century ago (so I'll spare you the bikini-beach-babe pic, unless you're really determined to view it, in which case knock yourself out). Things are what… Continue reading Semper Fi! My Marine Corps Tulips. And Some Other Stuff As Well.
LtCol Stuart Scheller’s service in the United States Marine Corps came to an end on December 23, 2021 when he was separated from that service with a General Discharge Under Honorable Conditions. Having served only seventeen of the requisite twenty years in order to qualify for a pension, he will not receive one. In addition,… Continue reading An Update on (Former) USMC LtCol Stuart Scheller
I'm pleased that this post, which I wrote yesterday (9/1/2021) has been promoted to the main (public) feed on Ricochet (you can view it here, and if you find the conversation interesting or stimulating, you can sign up for a free-month trial (after which--if you find it not worth your while--you can easily cancel here).… Continue reading USMC Commandant Berger: Is This a Crack in the Dam, Or is it Just More Fluff?