Random Thoughts

[Lola Bunny]

Nopes, no stylus either. I use my finger. :-)

[DanaC]

From the published recollections of a Peninsula war veteran:

‘ A grenadier of the 88th regiment (I think it was) had come over from his own division, to endeavour to prevail upon his wife, who had deserted him and taken up with a sergeant of our first battalion, to return with him, she having, as I understand, left him with one or more children, the first of their marriage, which he was anxious she should come and take care of.

They had often, I fancy, quarrelled, and he had probably used her ill, but he was now desirous of a reconciliation, and entreated her to return with him to his regiment. He prevailed upon her to accompany him to some distance from the bivouack, that they might the more freely discuss the subject, for she had hitherto refused to agree to his request, being probably better provided for by the sergeant than she had been with him.

While walking in a field close to the wood in which the bivouack was situated, and arguing the point with some heat, and she still persisting in remaining where she was, he became so exasperated at her continued refusal, that he, in a rage of jealousy and anger, drew his bayonet and plunged it in her bosom.

Her cries soon brought people to the spot, who at once secured him, and he was instantly committed to the provost prison tent, and her body of course brought in and buried. Poor creature! she was one of the gayest of the females which graced our rural balls near Ituera only a short while previous, and had often danced with old General Vandaleur on those occasions.

I believe he was not brought to trial for it, as her ill conduct probably had been considered as in some measure palliating what he did, and that he might be supposed to have been irritated to a degree of madness when he perpetrated the fatal act.’

You'd think my first reaction, on reading that, would be some sense of human compassion or outrage. But my actual first reaction was to punch the air and say 'yes! that's brilliant'.

Historical research can warp the mind.

[footfootfoot]

What part was brilliant? his writing, the final analysis and conclusion, or the stabbing?
Or something else entirely?

Oh, and what about that paper on hot soldier on soldier violence?

[DanaC]

It ties into a couple of points I'm making in the violence chapter.

Mainly, it makes for a very nice and accessible little demonstration of the dangers of justice records to indicate actual levels of violence (that this incident apparently did not lead to a prosecution). Now, that's not a revolutionary point, it's been made before, but it's nice to find something within my specific evidence base that points up that idea in relation to my particular subject group. In that sense it's a bit of a rare find: always harder to identify crimes that may be absent from a record set.

But it's also useful in showing one of the ways in which service might shape the experience of violence within the military communities: he used the weapon he was issued and trained to use as a soldier.

It's a fairly minor piece of evidence. But I was very pleased to find it.

[Prince Of The 404]

Some random thoughts I have been having about book ideas that I want to write sometime in the near future.

Books for Children:

• Fun Facts About Crack
  
• Why You Should Kick Daddy Repeatedly Between The Legs
  
• Outlets: And What To Put In Them
  
• The Sharper The Better
  
• The Monster Under Your Bed Is Only The Manifestation Of Mommy And Daddy's Wrong Doings Coming Back To Punish You For Their Mistakes
  
  
• The Monster In The Closet Is A Idea Placed In Your Head By Daddy So He'll Have The Opportunity To Be The Hero By Making The Monster Go Away With The Magic Words "Boogie Boogie Motherfucker!"
  
• Daddy Steals Your Food When He Is Alone With Mommy While You're Sleeping
  
• If You Don't Succeed In Life There Is Always Suicide
  
• Why You Still Get Cookies From The Babysitter Even Though They Hate You
  
• Candy From Strangers: Go For It

General Book Ideas

• Thumbs Down To The Brown: A Practical Guide To Anus Bleaching
  
• The Extensive History Of The Poptart: A American Delicacy
  
• Why Masturbation Makes You Go Blind (Available Only In Braille)
  
• "No, Not Like That Stupid!": A Beginners Manual To Serial Killing For The Mentally Defective
  
• Dragon Ball-Z Shirts: Why You Deserve To Be Murdered In A Grocery Store If You Wear One Past The Age Of Twelve
  
• A Book With One Page: But It Has A Really Great Synopsis!
  
• Vagina and The Gas Mask: A Romance Novel
  
• Purple, Hard and Stiff: A Biography Of Rigamortis (pervert)
  
• Open Up And Say "AH": Why You Should Never Let A Dentist Named "Richard" Administer Nitrous Oxide
  
• The Birds Went North and All The Bees Are Killers: The Reason Teenage Boys Watch Porn and Grow Up To Be The Men Who Love It

That's all I have for right now.

.P404.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by Prince Of The 404

General Book Ideas

• Thumbs Down To The Brown: A Practical Guide To Anus Bleaching
  
• The Extensive History Of The Poptart: A American Delicacy
  
• Why Masturbation Makes You Go Blind (Available Only In Braille)
  
• "No, Not Like That Stupid!": A Beginners Manual To Serial Killing For The Mentally Defective
  
• Dragon Ball-Z Shirts: Why You Deserve To Be Murdered In A Grocery Store If You Wear One Past The Age Of Twelve
  
• A Book With One Page: But It Has A Really Great Synopsis!
  
• Vagina and The Gas Mask: A Romance Novel
  
• Purple, Hard and Stiff: A Biography Of Rigamortis (pervert)
  
• Open Up And Say "AH": Why You Should Never Let A Dentist Named "Richard" Administer Nitrous Oxide
  
• The Birds Went North and All The Bees Are Killers: The Reason Teenage Boys Watch Porn and Grow Up To Be The Men Who Love It

That's all I have for right now.

.P404.

Random question. These days, why do books (not just yours) always seem to have subtitles?

[footfootfoot]

You'll fit right in here at the cellar, Prince O' 404

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Prince Of The 404

.P404.

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

Prince O' 404

I was wondering what the abbreviation would end up being. There was no way I'd be typing that name out in full more than once.

[Clodfobble]

I seriously doubt the fresh Prince will be hanging around long enough for anyone to have to type out his name that many times.

Go on, Prince. Prove me wrong. We're not your test audience; we're real people who are each pretty damn interesting, probably much like yourself, if you choose to be real.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

Random question. These days, why do books (not just yours) always seem to have subtitles?

Because some of us are hard of understanding?

[Molasar]

Re: Prince of the 404, aka p404

Originally Posted by glatt

I was wondering what the abbreviation would end up being. There was no way I'd be typing that name out in full more than once.

p404 sounds like a handgun - "...James Bond reached into his immaculate dinner jacket and from the grain leather shoulder holster drew his Walther P404..."

alternatively it could pass as some pretty useful large bore ammo eg. "...belt-fed p404 centrefire full metal jacket shells..."

[xoxoxoBruce]

P 404.

[infinite monkey]

Pee for Ophir?

[Molasar]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

Pee for Ophir?

is that someone being paged, or an instruction, or are you placing an order?

[infinite monkey]

I knew a guy in college named Ophir. That wasn't what he went by though.

I thought maybe that's what p404 said, phonetically like or something.