Courtesy of Bill Thom’s Coming Attractions website…
ALTER EGO #92 presents Sword-and-Sorcery in the Comics, Part 3! - Coming in March 2010! (Continue reading this post)
The Nom de Guerre Theatre Guild is proud to announce that the 2009 Wicked Literature Halloween Theatre Festival will debut at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Wicked Lit will be produced as a joint venture between Nom de Guerre and Theatre 40 in association with the City of Beverly Hills Recreation and Parks Division.
The plays featured for 2009 include:
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe ~ Adapted and Directed by Paul Millet
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving ~ Adapted by Jonathan Josephson & Directed by Paul Millet
Pigeons from Hell by Robert E. Howard ~ Adapted and Directed by Jeff G. Rack (Continue reading this post)
nock
noun
1. one of the notches cut in either of two tips of horn fastened on the end of a bow or in the bow itself for holding the string
2 a. the part of an arrow having a notch for the bowstring; b. the notch itself
[origin: 14th century; Middle English nocke notched tip on the end of a bow; akin to Middle Dutch nocke summit]
HOWARD’S USAGE:
A long bow and a strong bow,
and let the sky grow dark!
The cord to the nock, the shaft to the ear,
and the king of Koth for a mark!
Song of the Bossonian Archers
[from "The Scarlet Citadel"; to read the complete poem, see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 69 and Always Comes Evening, p. 64]
The Battle off Samar, thus unexpectedly joined at 0648 (on October 25,1944), was the most remarkable of the Pacific war, since the tactics had to be improvised.
–Samuel Eliot Morison, from The Two-Ocean War
It was difficult deciding what battle to commemorate today. I finally settled on the Battle off Samar for several reasons. One reason is that it was just one helluva scrap. Another being that Samar, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf which encompassed it, is largely neglected and/or forgotten, even by many who consider themselves “World War Two buffs,” this despite the fact that the events centered upon the Gulf of Leyte ended up breaking the Imperial Japanese Navy. The awe-inspiring bravery of the men at Samar warrants remembrance on this sixty-fifth anniversary of the battle. (Continue reading this post)
Not everyone who comes to appreciate history arrives via the same path. Some have their interest piqued in school by reading traditional textbooks. Others learn from wisdom passed down in tales told by grandparents and great-grandparents. Still others get hooked from watching the (occasionally) fine programming of the History and Discovery channels.
Then there are those who learned about great historic battles at the feet of those long-haired, spandex-encased professors of heavy metal, Iron Maiden. I count myself in this crowd. ‘Twas Maiden who got me more interested in learning about the horrific World War I battle of Paschendale. ‘Twas Maiden that helped provide the impetus for my lifelong love of World War II with their take on the Battle of Britain, “Aces High.” And of course, it was Maiden that helped spark my interest in that famous engagement of the Crimean War, the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava.
This insane, glorious charge of horsemen into the roaring mouths of Russian guns was of course made famous by British poet Alfred Tennyson in his poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” But for those denim-jacketed outcast teens growing up in the 80’s, the Charge was immortalized by Maiden in their smash-hit, “The Trooper.” I’ve always thought of Iron Maiden as the heavy metal band that catered to the semi-nerdy crowd. If you were smart, you liked history and of course you liked Iron Maiden.
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE:
THE AFTERMATH
Part III of III
At 11:10 a.m., on October 25, 1854, the almost seven hundred men of the Light Brigade began their advance through “the valley of death.” Their bravery in the face of the enemy and death itself fired up the British public. England’s poet laureate was inspired to write “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Children memorized it in school. But the Light Brigade’s twenty minute ride into almost certain death was the result of blunders made by their officers and “who killed the Light Brigade” was now the question that needed to be answered.
It took three weeks for the dispatches relating to the Light Brigade charge to get back to England. The newspaper account, written by William Russell, the Crimean war correspondent for The Times appeared on November 14, 1854. Shortly after reading it, Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote the poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” Its first publication was in The Examiner on December 9, 1854.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Continue reading this post)
Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul?
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O, it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.
–”Tommy” Rudyard Kipling
We Scots have something of a reputation for patriotism. Be it reminders of victories over invaders at Largs, Ancrum Moor, Stirling Bridge, and Bannockburn, or even glorious defeats such as Mons Graupius, Flodden, or Culloden Muir, the Scots tend to wax patriotic as a matter of course. Despite our country’s small size, we have much to be proud of: even outside military victories, the realms of poetry, philosophy, science, invention and song are well represented by Scottish individuals. Sometimes these intersect, where a military event inspires literature and art. Such was the case of the Crimean War, in which the Scots played a very special part. (Continue reading this post)
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE:
OCTOBER 25, 1854
Part II of III
Balaklava charge
There were four cavalry charges on the plain above Balaklava on October 25, 1854.
The first charge began about 6:00 a.m. with a Russian artillery and infantry attack on the redoubts that formed the allies’ first line of defense. When the Turks, who were outmanned and outgunned, abandoned the redoubts, the Russian cavalry attacked the British infantry which was the second line of defense. The Highlanders held this line, which eventually came to be called “the thin red line.”
Russian Cavalry
The second charge occurred when the Russian cavalry advanced on Balaklava and was turned back by the Heavy Brigade of the British Cavalry Division.
The Heavy Brigade’s charge
The third was by the Light Brigade when it charged the enemy artillery position at the far end of a mile long valley. It immediately came under fire from Russian artillery on the high ground to the left.
The French Cavalry
The French cavalry charged and silenced the enemy guns to the left, but nothing could be done about the Russian guns about to open fire on the Light Brigade from the high ground to the right or the guns directly in front.
Just after the Heavy Brigade turned back the Russian Cavalry advance on Balaklava, Lord Raglan was in a furious state because his cavalry did not carry out his order to “advance and take advantage of any opportunity to recover the Heights.” But his orders during these charges had been vague and poorly worded, causing confusion.
The fourth order that day from Raglan to the Cavalry Division stated, ‘Lord Raglan wishes the Cavalry to advance rapidly to the front – follow the enemy and try to prevent the enemy carrying away the guns. Troop Horse Artillery may accompany, French cavalry is on your left.” (Continue reading this post)
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE:
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Part I of III
INTRODUCTION
At 11:10 a.m., on October 25, 1854, one hundred fifty-five years ago today, the almost seven hundred men of the Light Brigade stood waiting. The Brigade moved forward when the officer’s trumpeter sounded the “Walk.” It was immediately taken up by the regimental trumpeters to the right and left, so that it could be heard by the whole body of cavalry. When the first line was clear of the second, the order came to “Trot.” The bugles sounded again and the regiment increased its pace to about eight miles an hour. The more experienced cavalry men were adept at judging distances and knew at this pace, it would take them at least seven minutes to reach the enemy.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of volumes have been written about the events during that seven minutes. An in-depth analysis of the battle is beyond the scope of this article. Using selections from the book, Hell Riders: The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade (2004), the story for this anniversary re-telling is told as much as possible in the voices of the men who rode down that valley. This is possible because the author, Terry Brighton, using his unique access to regimental archives, draws on twenty years of research to tell the story of the survivors, in their own words. Only a small portion of their stories can be told here. This fascinating book is available online and is highly recommended. (Continue reading this post)
Enter the OE, bookmarking his place in “The Black Stranger”:
Rather proclaim it, Doc Pod, online and off,
That he which hath no ideas for this Mailing,
Let him gafiate; his name from the roster stricken,
And dues refunded put into his man-purse;
We would not zine in that fan’s company
That spares not his weekend to zine with us.
This day is call’d the feast of [Tim] Marion,
He that outlives this day, and comes safe to #201,
Will stand a tip-toe when this Mailing is nam’d,
And rouse him at the thought of August of ‘06
He that shall zine this day, and live to look like Burl Ives,
Will quarterly one night neglect the remote,
And say ‘Twas not always but a single section.’
Then will he fetch his stacks and show his zines,
And say ‘These printing problems I had in Mailing #200.’
All shall be Mylared; or sold off on eBay,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What pages he filled that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as usual suspects —
Indy the OE, Rippke and Trout-in-the-Dark,
Richter and Gramlich, Romeo and Sea-Burke
Be in their flowing cups beerily remembered.
This story shall the good fan teach his son;
And deadlines shall ne’er force FedEx,
From this Mailing to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered —
We few, we serconn’d few, we apa of brothers;
For he today that sheds his ink with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so minacked,
This day shall excuse his reprint;
And gentlefans at innercircle now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap while any speaks
That zined with us for Mailing #200.
The above was penned by Steve Tompkins on July 25th, 2006, exhorting his REHupan brethren in Bard of Avonic fashion to make the heroic effort that culminated in REHupa Mailing #200.
It seems hard for me to believe that Tompk posted that tribute to King Harry’s pre-game speech as given on the morn of the Battle of Agincourt (as envisioned by Shakespeare) without being aware that he was doing so on the twenty-fifth of July. Steve Tompkins was nothing if not mindful of the passing of time and of the importance of observing anniversaries. He was certainly capable of seeing unlikely, but fitting, connections. (Continue reading this post)
