Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The Real Deal

An image of an older man dressed as a soldier.

 

 

You want to read good war comics.  Honestly, than you should look at Stan Lee's work on comics like the Howling Commandos.  Yes, Lee may not have seen battle, but he was an active duty soldier during World War II.  And his colleague Jack Kirby did draw maps in the field.  And so yeah it's kids stories, but these were legends who knew the cost of war and the experience of being in a tight military unit.  

 

Reminder, anyone can put anything on the web!  

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Romulus and Remus - The Foundation of Rome

 The city of Ancient Rome is totally the foundational city of all major cities today..  Without Rome, we wouldn't have the centralized with good roads (Rome loved their roads), cities that we have today.  But what we never talk about is the foundation of the city of rome.

Their are two myths which the city of Rome was founded in ancient Italy.  And I'mnot talking the Estructans, I mean those guys why are we even talking about them.  I'm talking about the stories of Romulus and Remus and the Aeneid

Cartoon of twin baby boys sitting with a wolf.
The story of the twin founders of Remus and Romulus was that they were adopted by a wolf who raised them as her own on the banks of the Tiber River.  They grew up, big and strong, and founded their own city...Rome.  Sadly in the story, which is no myth my friend, Romulus and Remus got into a brotherly fight which led to Remu s being killed as he jumped over ramparts, which are like a fence I guess.  And then Romulus sad about his brother brought Remus' territory into his city.  Cool story...but if you were to take anything from this well researched essay, the story is totally true and the real actual story of the founding of Rome.  You can quote me, the story is true in every way!


 

Mid Evil Depiction of the Twins...But Who's the Third Kid?

But under the empire and Darth Augustus, an other story built up that there was another founder, Aeneas.  Aeneas was mentioned by the Greek bard Homer in The Illiad.  Aeneas was on the wrong side and had to flea and run away from Troy.  


But Virgil, who was a close friend of the Empiroer said that Aeneas was in fact that founder of the city that would become Rome.

 

Aeneas...He Who Fled

 But I have to tell you this is all clearly pro-Trojan propaganda.  And the way I know this is because later authors attempted to make Romulus and Remus descecdants of Aeneas.

 So if you were going to quote me on anything, it would be that the foundation of Rome is grounded in two myths which while deeply connecting the city to the larger world and context of Italy also obscures the actual facts of the city's founding.

 

And if you haven't read it and like spy stories, you should read Brotherhood of the Rose written by the author of Rambo. He tells a story about how the twins were two spies who are manlipulated by their adoptive father.  It's a really cool story.  And I think there's even a scene in Rome. 

Monday, June 6, 2022

A Military Education

A Young British Soldier

The greatest Chief of the Imperial General Staff Sir Alan Brooke entered The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich with a need to prove himself.  He had entered the school at the end of the passes and was driven to leave the Shop, as the cadets called Woolwich, at a higher standing.  Though he had scored poorly on his Latin exam receiving the next to last score amongst the new cadets and the lowest score in English composition with 273 points, he was not without his triumphs.  He had earned the second highest score in French, earning 1,500 out of 2,000 points, and the highest score in freehand drawing earning 457 points.  His mathematics and geography scores were average.[1] 

Brooke had his character to help guide him through his education.  On his entrance application to Woolwich the St. Georges’ principal noted that Alan’s high character would make him a successful candidate and he held Alan in the same regard as another St. George’s student, Victor Brooke, who had shown himself to be a successful officer.  Brooke was a young man whom he held in the deepest regard and whose character and courage were irreproachable.  Pau’s British doctor reported on the same application that Brooke had the material to become a useful officer.[2]   To those who observed Brooke’s character, it appeared clear he would be successful in the Army.  As a young man Brooke admired gentlemanly virtues which he attempted to follow in his own doings.  This idea of honor came to become part of his personality and decision making. 

Those lacking public school education were a minority at Woolwich.  In fact, sixty-two percent of all officers during the Boer War had attended public schools.  It was at Woolwich and Sandhurst, the Army school for infantry and cavalry cadets, which the most intellectually adept young men attempted to enter the Army.  However, many of them, including those with public school education, needed time like Brooke at preparatory schools to prepare for the entrance examinations.   Woolwich provided Brooke the uniform Army education necessary to become a typical officer.  In 1913, ninety-nine percent of all Royal Artillery officers had passed through Woolwich.[3]  Clearly at Woolwich, Brooke believed that the world included insiders and outsiders, and Brooke did not wish to be seen as different or on the outside. 

Dedicated to his education and future advancement, he largely ignored organized games at Woolwich and dedicated himself to study.  However, he did take with him a pistol and shot regularly.[4]  He recalled his days at the Shop as:

a happy but strenuous time during which I learned much, not only of the normal                subjects, but more especially in the most important of all accomplishments in life,          that of sizing up the relative values of one’s fellow men.[5]

His time at the Shop was a highly formative period for Brooke.  For the first time he was constantly in contact with a large group of his English-speaking peers. 

Another important event during Brooke’s years at Woolwich was the Boer War.  He would have been unable to avoid thinking of British action in South Africa since two of his brothers served against the Boers.  Both brothers, Ronald and Victor, became the acquaintances of journalist and future Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.  Churchill described Captain Ronald Brooke of the 7th Hussars as a soldier who had seen as much fighting as any other British officer.  Captain Brooke was an experienced officer seeing his first action in 1895 with the British relief force in Chitral, having his name mentioned in dispatches to the London Gazette.  His successful career continued in 1898 in the Nile Expedition earning him additional mentions in dispatches followed by a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the Battles of Atbara and Khartoum in 1898.  Meanwhile Churchill predicted that Alan’s personal hero, Lieutenant Victor Brooke of the 9th Lancers was a man to be noticed in the future.  Lieutenant Brooke suffered a smashed left hand serving with the Kimberley Relief Force.[6]  As a cadet, the heroic actions of his brothers would not have escaped his notice.  He was an heir to a proud family military tradition.  Brooke’s admiration of his elder brothers and their military service would help frame his personal beliefs, leading to his willingness to see military force as a legitimate tool for the obtainment of political goals.   

Brooke proved a good cadet at Woolwich.  His “Report for Autumn Term, 1902” stated that he had the qualities to be an excellent officer.  He had earned “Very Good” on Mathematics & Mechanics, Artillery, Electricity and Magnetism, and “Good” in tactics.[7]  He was evaluated as a “good all round cadet who would make a smart field artillery officer.”[8]  He received a commission in the Royal Field Artillery (RFA).  Through hard work and study, Brooke had worked himself up to the 50th  position in his class.  Based on the fact that twenty commissions had been distributed into the Royal Engineers in prior years, he believed he had safely earned an appointment as an Engineer.  However, in the last few weeks he had slipped to the seventeenth slot and only fifteen Sapper commissions were issued.  He was disappointed with losing out on an Engineering commission but was still pleased to find himself in the Artillery.  Brooke was also denied the Tomb’s Memorial, awarded to the top Artillery cadet, by only 17 points.[9]

A classmate at Woolwich described Brooke as an average student.  However his hard work allowed him to pass in the top third of his class of eighty cadets.  He had never been an outstanding student but his tenacity reaped rewards.  His classmates noted that he was a high-strung young man who had a hard time relaxing.  Sport provided him the outlets he needed for relaxation; and he rode and shot as often as possible.[10]  At Woolwich, his peers recognized Brooke’s work ethic and love of sport.  And Brooke appeared to learn the value of hard work in reaching one’s goals.  The value in preparing for an action would resurface throughout Brooke’s lifetime.   


 


Wednesday, August 4, 2021

History Is

A cartoon of history books in a pile with colorful images on each cover.

 

Awesome...it's the best.  You should like it too!

I just got done with watching both seasons of Rome and it was epic!  I've also watched Spartacus twice!  History is the best, and Rome is just so cool.  

 

 

The Real Deal

    You want to read good war comics.  Honestly, than you should look at Stan Lee's work on comics like the Howling Commandos.  Yes, Lee...