|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2022 13:32:36 GMT -5
I am currently reading, in my spare time, when I can find that spare time, the 13th century 'Secret History of the Mongols' translated into English by Urgunge Onon. Urgunge is a Daur Mongolian from North-Eastern China - the Daur claim to be the descendants of the Khitan, rulers of Northern China from the 10th till 12th century (also where we get the word Cathay or Khitai, like for Cathay Pacific Airlines). I've found a transliteration online of the 13th century Mongolian from a translation by the French Orientalist Paul Pelliot. (Unfortunately, I cannot access the transliteration online anymore, it looks like I'll have to pick up the actual book for around £60). I'm slowly working through the text which is at least, through the eyes of the Mongols themselves, rather than their sedentary adversaries like China, Iran and Russia. Here's a pic of the English translation:  ..and a pic of the French translation:  |
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Oct 15, 2022 18:46:02 GMT -5
I've been interested in finding an English version of the Secret History of the Mongols myself, since first hearing about it in a biography of Genghis Khan I read back in the 1990s.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2022 22:35:49 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2022 14:09:06 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2022 6:32:12 GMT -5
It still feels odd to be living in a country where there is now a King on the throne. I guess when you grow up and there’s a Queen on the throne, change takes getting used to (not criticising or being political, merely thinking about terminology). For instance, seeing King Charles III on coins will take getting used to, and barristers who became Queen’s Counsel will now be King’s Counsel. Feels different. Saw this elsewhere: Source: www.tokenpublishing.com/issue/588We get so used to things in life. To me, Queen’s Gallantry Medal sounds right while King’s Gallantry Medal takes some getting used to. A Charles Cross or Charles Medal would not roll off the tongue as naturally as Elizabeth Cross, George Cross, or Victoria Cross. But I think it’s only because the Queen’s reign was so ingrained in the heads of many, myself included. Oh well, it will be at least interesting to witness some changes, even though newly minted coins and possible terminology changes won’t affect or change my life. |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 16, 2022 1:13:39 GMT -5
Got an early birthday present, yesterday, when I got to watch the first three episodes of the new BBC miniseries, SAS: Rogue Heroes. The series is from the creators of Peaky Blinders and based, largely, on the book, Rogue Heroes, by Ben MacIntyre, about the formation and missions of the Special Air Service, in World War 2. I was interested in seeing it, based on a long history of reading material on the various special operations units of WW2, such as the Commandos, the US Army Rangers, The Marine Raiders, the Paras, the OSS Jedburgh teams, the Chindits, the Alamo Scouts and the SAS. I have owned and read a few books on the SAS, including Virginia Cowles' The Phantom major (aka Stirling's Desert Raiders) and a couple of others and enjoyed reading about their exploits in the desert, attacking Axis airfields and supply depots, from the desert and then disappearing back into it. Their exploits, as well as the Long Range Desert Group and other special operations formations inspired one of my favorite tv series, The Rat Patrol, which featured weekly tales of jeep-based attacks on the Axis, in the style of the SAS (though with mostly American characters and Browning M2 .50 cal machineguns, instead of twin-Vickers).
The first three episodes set the scene of the main officers (David Sterling, Blair "Paddy" Mayne and Jock Lewes) and their formation of the unit, initial airborne training and disastrous first mission and more successful next attack, in conjunction with the LRDG. It also features Dudley Clarke, the intelligence maestro behind the deception campaign in North Africa. Clarke created phantom units, on paper, and got the Germans and Italians to believe in their existence and used them to distract them from real operations. Clarke had created a phony air regiment and it became the cover for Stirling's new unit, with their name specifically worded to imply a larger force. Clarke is an interesting character, who created all kinds of deceptions, with fake vehicles and buildings to give a facade to his fake formations, which then influenced the deception campaign for the invasion of Europe.
The series captures the spirit of the men and gets a lot of the basic details right, though it adds some gloss and legend and a few winks. Then, like Peaky Blinders, it adds a modern soundtrack, with music from The Clash, The Damned, AC/DC and more. That has gotten a lot of attention, though it also uses contemporary music, when music is part of the scene, such as Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing," in a nightclub performance and things liek George Formby and Noel Coward.
It captures the pirate spirit of the SAS, which I always likened to the Sea Dogs of Elizabethan times, who raided and harassed the Spanish and their colonies. It also has a ton of F-Bombs, to match the Lewes Bombs, which they use to blow up planes and storage tanks. It plays a little loose with the history of some things, but is far more factually accurate than a lot of biographical material in the last decade of the Entertainment Industry.
(Warning, bad language, violence and legends)
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 16, 2022 20:07:58 GMT -5
Of further historical interest is the upcoming film, Devotion, about Naval Aviator ENS Jesse L Brown, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross, during the Korean War....
I had the honor of serving aboard the USS Jesse L Brown (FF-1089), named after him. He was a hell of a pilot and a courageous officer, who died while supporting the Marines, at the Chosin Reservoir.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Nov 18, 2022 22:50:58 GMT -5
Of further historical interest is the upcoming film, Devotion, about Naval Aviator ENS Jesse L Brown, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross, during the Korean War.... I had the honor of serving aboard the USS Jesse L Brown (FF-1089), named after him. He was a hell of a pilot and a courageous officer, who died while supporting the Marines, at the Chosin Reservoir. Brown's heroism is described in detail by Hampton Sides in On Desperate Ground, an excellent account of the battle of the Chosin and the “retreat” that followed. Like Sides' other books, it is a vivid portrait of unbelievable gallantry, sacrifice and bravery, but it is never sappy or worshipful. MacArthur, for instance, comes off as a monster of vanity, and the Chinese soldiers who opposed the marines and soldiers emerge as human beings, not as statistics. Excellent account of a generally forgotten episode in the most forgotten American war. If anyone would know this, it would be you, codystarbuck. I saw somewhere that the USS Jesse Brown was decommissioned. Any truth to that? |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2022 23:07:52 GMT -5
Of further historical interest is the upcoming film, Devotion, about Naval Aviator ENS Jesse L Brown, who received the Distinguished Flying Cross, during the Korean War.... I had the honor of serving aboard the USS Jesse L Brown (FF-1089), named after him. He was a hell of a pilot and a courageous officer, who died while supporting the Marines, at the Chosin Reservoir. Brown's heroism is described in detail by Hampton Sides in On Desperate Ground, an excellent account of the battle of the Chosin and the “retreat” that followed. Like Sides' other books, it is a vivid portrait of unbelievable gallantry, sacrifice and bravery, but it is never sappy or worshipful. MacArthur, for instance, comes off as a monster of vanity, and the Chinese soldiers who opposed the marines and soldiers emerge as human beings, not as statistics. Excellent account of a generally forgotten episode in the most forgotten American war. If anyone would know this, it would be you, codystarbuck . I saw somewhere that the USS Jesse Brown was decommissioned. Any truth to that? Yep. While I was stationed in Charleston, but serving at the parent Destroyer Squadron command, the ship was transferred to the Reserves (1992) and modified to house women. It was used as a training ship, until 1994, when it was decommissioned and sold to the Egytian Navy, and renamed the Damiyat. The mess decks had a large portrait painting of ENS Brown and a citation and our tour bulletins had the history of his career and death. I actually toured the ship, before I was assigned to it. I was attending Supply Corps School, in Athens, GA, after graduating and receiving my commission and was visiting my folks, in Charleston, SC. The ship was running tours, down near the historical part of Charleston and my folks wanted to tour a naval ship. When I received my orders, upon graduation from Supply Corps School, I was surprised to see I was being sent to the same ship. We later had a dependent's cruise, to Savannah, GA and then opened the ship to the public, for tours, while we were there, for the weekend. I got tasked with leading a few of the tour groups. Thankfully the tour didn't include the civilians meeting our a-hole Executive Officer. The XO is supposed to be a jerk, by nature of the job; but, he excelled beyond the demands of the position. |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Nov 18, 2022 23:17:33 GMT -5
codystarbuck, I guess having a ship named for you is essentially a temporary honor. Once the ship runs its course, the name is not reassigned and just disappears? Doesn't seem right, especially when they name them for people like Jesse Brown. BTW, I'm sure you were an excellent tour leader.
|
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2022 23:23:53 GMT -5
Here's the ship....  That is a 5 in gun, on the foc'sule, followed by an ASROC launcher (rocket-launched torpedoes). There are port and starboard torpedo tubes and a helicopter hanger aft, just before the fantail. We would embark an SH-2 Sea Sprite anti-submarine warfare helicopter, which carried a dipping sonar and sono-buoys, and could launch a torpedo. Originally, that type of ship was designated as a Destroyer Escort (DE), but they were upgraded to being classified as Frigates (FF), later on. Our job was ASW patrolling, in support of a battlegroup, in conjunction with the destroyer screen. The Brown was part of Destroyer Squadron 4, which commanded the steam destroyers and DESRON 6, also in Charleston, had the gas turbine ships, though DESRON 4 inherited a couple of the DDGs, during the Gulf War. In fact, my boss, the Material Officer, had just reported to the Squadron staff, when one of the ships had to relieve its Chief Engineer, after they failed their Engineering Inspection and had a fire in the engine spaces. He had to go out and take over, until a relief was transferred onboard. My job, at the Squadron, was hunting down repair parts for CASREPS (Casualty Reports), equipment failures which significantly affected the ship's ability to carry out their mission (radars inoperable, power plant failure, fire control systems down, etc...) I kept track of the reports and gathered updates on repairs, daily and compiled a report for the staff, each morning. Then I hunted for parts sources or tracked requisitions from outside supply centers to the ship and acted as an expediter, to hurry them along. I also assisted with the Supply portions of inspection preparation visits and helped facilitate getting repair activity and shipyard assistance for our ships. Plus whatever else needed doing, up to and including making posters from Squadron Happy Hours (monthly) and farewell parties. That's what I got for doodling on my desk calendar, while on hold to a supply center, to check status on a requisition. The Supply Corps were the real glamor types of the Navy!  |
|
|
|
Post by codystarbuck on Nov 18, 2022 23:28:09 GMT -5
This is the painting of Brown, a print of which was displayed on our mess decks....  |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Nov 18, 2022 23:30:14 GMT -5
The Supply Corps were the real glamor types of the Navy! Hey, nobody could do anything without you guys! It's why I always stayed on the best of terms with the secretaries and the custodians during my teaching days. |
|
Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
|
Post by Confessor on Nov 19, 2022 2:40:31 GMT -5
It still feels odd to be living in a country where there is now a King on the throne. I guess when you grow up and there’s a Queen on the throne, change takes getting used to (not criticising or being political, merely thinking about terminology). For instance, seeing King Charles III on coins will take getting used to, and barristers who became Queen’s Counsel will now be King’s Counsel. Feels different. Saw this elsewhere: Source: www.tokenpublishing.com/issue/588We get so used to things in life. To me, Queen’s Gallantry Medal sounds right while King’s Gallantry Medal takes some getting used to. A Charles Cross or Charles Medal would not roll off the tongue as naturally as Elizabeth Cross, George Cross, or Victoria Cross. But I think it’s only because the Queen’s reign was so ingrained in the heads of many, myself included. Oh well, it will be at least interesting to witness some changes, even though newly minted coins and possible terminology changes won’t affect or change my life. It's about time we got rid of the whole sorry institution, now that the Queen is dead. It's an offensive and wholly unnecessary anachronism at this point. The total absence of any British royal family is something that I'd love to get used to. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2022 3:32:22 GMT -5
I don’t think a hereditary monarchy is fair in the modern era. We should be a meritocracy.
|
|
