stickmaker: (Steamboat Abdominal Snowman)

Back in the Seventies I became aware of Tommy, both the album and the movie. I also heard a piece which was identified as "The Assembled Multitude." It was obviously from "Tommy," probably from when when he is at his camp near the end, but I couldn't find the piece on the album, and it wasn't in the movie. Now, there was a lot from the album which wasn't in the movie or had been edited to fit. I figured the piece was a single version of the Overture, since the album Overture was about twice as long.

Decades later, I discovered that "The Assembled Multitude" was a cover band which specialized in popular versions of rock standards. They had released a shortened version of Overture for radio play. 

Mayhem?

Mar. 10th, 2025 03:21 pm
stickmaker: (Default)
 

Ever notice how much Elon Musk looks like the Mayhem Allstate Insurance guy?
stickmaker: (Bust image of Runner)


Too many politicians fail to understand that "Too important to leave to the politicians" is not a joke.
stickmaker: (Default)


This was written for one of my stories, and is for WWI and its immediate aftermath, but it seems appropriate for this era: 


 

"A Praise of Bravery; A Prayer for Peace"



I dream of flying.

I dream of soaring over the battlefields.

Ypres.

Flanders.

Gallipoli.

I dream of bravery and fear,

Of struggle and pain,

Of victory and death.

Of lives and bodies spent

To gain yards.

Or nothing.

I dream of the rulers.

Of how they waste their soldiers,

Their citizens, entire nations,

Without care.

As if playing some child's game writ large,

And in blood.

Their only goal to move pins on maps.

I dream I cry out to God:

We are so weak and small,

While the world is so horrible

How do we make it better?

God replies:

You are greater than you know.

Raise your voices, raise your fists.

Show those you fear your true strength,

And they will fear you and listen,

And the world will be better.

I dream of a world of peace and plenty.

Where those few who wish violence

Are caught and taught

A better way.

I dream of flying.

stickmaker: (Default)


AlephTwo has brought out my Twenty-Fifth Masks story as a Kindle e-book through Amazon, as of January 22, 2025!

You can get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTJM6429

"A charitable institution which gets its money from cage matches between supers turns out to have a sinister counterpart."

stickmaker: (Default)

One of the things I explore in my "Angel of..." stories is how a superhuman might enjoy and even perform music.

The main character loves music, and has actually composed some. As well, he plays multiple instruments. 

Excerpt from "Angel of Europe"
 in which members of a superhuman WWII commando team crash a US military dance: 

 

The piano was not an expensive one, but it was in tune and mechanically sound. Which meant he felt free to indulge himself, and even show off a bit. The first piece he played was "12th Street Rag," performed both well and fast. Aaron actually heard someone ask ironically how many fingers he had. Then came "Turkish March." When Aaron finished, someone joked that the keys were smoking.


stickmaker: (Default)


Hotel room reserved for Seattle WorldCon.

There's a "tourism fee." Argh.
stickmaker: (Steamboat Abdominal Snowman)


My crabapple tree out front is confused. We had a brief period of cold weather, with at least one frost. Now it's unseasonably warm. The tree has several flowers.
stickmaker: (Default)
 
Just because someone tries to kill you does not make you right. 
stickmaker: (Default)
 
Can folks check my history, here? This is part of the background for my Masks stories:

Read more... )
stickmaker: (Steamboat Abdominal Snowman)

I get really grouchy when I'm short on sleep. I've already had several screaming fights with my computer this morning. Problem is, I think it won most of 'em. 
stickmaker: (Default)

Still under the weather. Have a mild fever, nasty cough, intestinal upset and a feeling of fatigue. All of which could be due either to a bug going around, or allergies. Or possibly a combination.

It rained early this morning (I heard it when I got up to hurry to the bathroom) so I need to mow. I definitely do not feel like doing that. I'm not even going to the Frankfort Horror Fest, which is at the Holiday Inn on Wilkinson, just across the river. This after printing and cutting out some mini-flyers for a couple of my books yesterday.
stickmaker: (Steamboat Abdominal Snowman)
Got a card in today's mail from a company which buys houses. They want mine. They said they got the image from Google. The image is of the side of the rear of a garbage truck. From what little else I can see in the photo, it's indeed in front of my house. Making a pickup on garbage day.

Yeah, I'm getting that, too: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/730-Cline-St-Frankfort-KY-40601/115314114_zpid/
 
The Zestimate for this Single Family is $144,200, which has decreased by $1,020 in the last 30 days.The Rent Zestimate for this Single Family is $922/mo, which has increased by $922/mo in the last 30 days.

The garbage truck might be worth that much, but I doubt  my house is. 
stickmaker: (Steamboat Abdominal Snowman)
 
Does your ISP lose data
From your Webpage overnight?
If you tell them they must back it up
Do they format it in spite?
Can you cache it on your hard drive?
Can you defrag left and right?
Ert-Ert!
Does your ISP lose data
From your Webpage overnight?




(With apologies to Lonnie Donegan.)


stickmaker: (Runner is hot)


Bog bodies are pretty horrific. Why hasn't anyone used one in a movie?

"7000 years of pent-up vengeance comes to a small town in Denmark."
stickmaker: (Default)


Masks 24: Triple Dare now available on Amazon!:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8X89N1R

No Godot?

Jun. 30th, 2024 10:25 am
stickmaker: (Default)

Waiting for Godzilla:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c8/a2/59/c8a25987915925697100bda5463272e2.jpg 

 
stickmaker: (Default)

Plans to post the 10 Commandments in schools were aborted when someone pointed out how many of them the people who voted for the law were actively breaking.
stickmaker: (Bust image of Runner)

Okay, once the decision was made to produce a movie based (very loosely) on the old game Battleship, why the *BLEEP!* did they go with that weird, modern SF plot? Why not portray an actual fight between battleship task forces? (It would have to be a period piece, since there currently aren't any battleships in active service.) They could easily have produced a fictionalized version of one of the encounters between Allied and Nazi forces in the North Sea during WWII, perhaps with the Allied task force guarding an essential supply convoy to Russia.  

It could also have been set during Korea, or Vietnam. Battleships were used for shore bombardment in both conflicts, and they occasionally had encounters with shore batteries and smaller craft. World War One gives the potential for Jutland or, more reasonably for a movie, some other
 fight between warships (real or fictional) of the opposing sides. 

Yeah, there are a lot of movies about things like that, but most are older and monochrome. A modern movie, in color, with modern special effects could be spectacular. And even historical. 
stickmaker: (Default)

There's a lot of talk these days - and nearly as much associated work - about the Pistol Caliber Carbine (PCC)  and the Personal Defense Weapon (PDW). These are often desired for government security or private body guards. The first is usually a short, semi-auto or full-auto rifle, something which can be used against targets beyond pistol range but which is handier than an assault rifle. The later is smaller - a submachine gun or even a large automatic pistol. However, both concepts involve a cartridge with lower power than even assault rifle ammo possesses, though something still effective at close range, in a compact firearm which feeds from a detachable box magazine and can fire rapidly. 

Isn't that pretty much a description of the M1 Carbine?

The .30 carbine cartridge is far from as potent as the .30-'06 or the 7.62 NATO or even the 5.56 or .30 Kalashnikov. However, it has a bit more muzzle energy than a .357 cartridge with a bullet of the same weight fired from a barrel of the same length. I don't think anyone would volunteer to be hit with either of those. 

The M1 Carbine is small for a rifle, but it is a rifle. It is capable of reliably hitting a man-sized target at over 100 meters, yet handy enough to be used at very short ranges. Cartridge and rifle were originally designed for a FMJ bullet, which greatly limited the effectiveness, but the combo was still considered more than adequate for close combat. With modern JHP bullets it is far more effective. Moreover, the M2 Carbine was selective fire and came with a larger (30 rounds vs. 15) magazine.

So, the original M1 or M2 (or, more likely, an improved version, with a more reliable action and polymer furniture) could easily be adapted as a PCC. Put a removable butt stock on it and perhaps shorten the barrel a bit (there are pistols which shoot the .30 Carbine cartridge, but they are infamous for their muzzle blast) and you have a PDW which could be concealed under a suit jacket. 

No need to reinvent the wheel. Just slightly
 modify a known, reliable design. Which happens to be more than 80 years old. :-)

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