Birthday Ball

Who gets a ball for their birthday but the Marines? Reminded every year that their corps spirit was invoked in 1775 raises many an oohrah and grunts of jovial amen. All kinds of devils are stirred with the flowing of new wine and sparkling spirits through the course of the evening. They're called Devil Dogs by more than the Germans; their wives know what they are before they ever hit the war zone.

Like tonight, it's a good time to chat with friends, listen to ceremonial speeches and get a dance in to digest our buffet dinner served by the long suffering waitresses. Semper Fi. Goodnight.

movie marathon

We watched another movie based on the books of Elizabeth Gaskell. "North and South" is rather dark and dreary in 19th century England, during the cotton mill expansion, but the story such a production of fine work. The characters are a contrast of soft and strong willed people. The contentious relationship between a clergyman's daughter, Margaret, and the stern tradesman, Mr Thornton provide the firey backbone of the novel, while the social conditions of the factory workers is examined in light of the caring friendships Margaret finds with one family in particular--the leader of the worker's union. Like her other book-become-movie, "Wives and Daughters," I find a happy similarity between Ms Gaskell and Jane Austen, whose characters come readily to life on the screen.

tidings

Watching the movie "True Lies" last night, I'm reminded how much work goes into making one little piece of one film by experiencing how much work it takes to train one pilot to man the machine. In the final stages of the movie, two Harriers fly in to save the day by blowing up a bridge, which takes about 5 minutes of show time. But they didn't hire professional actors for the fly by; these guys were normal Harrier pilots from Cherry Point who probably took out a whole day of tedious preparation to perform one, tiny impressive feat of flying, and are then left behind to gaze in sceptical disbelief as Schwartzenegger hauls off in one of their birds. At any rate, the movie has numerous other good points, highly worth viewing.

Meanwhile, Kermit's down in the no-man's land of the desert dropping 500-pounders before the quiet audience of cacti and tarantulas. He cooks pasta in his room on a counter-top burner and shares space with a fellow who shares his name and they are both wise to the ways of looking after their wives from afar who need daily proof of their love.