(no subject)

It's been a couple of weeks, but with some traveling in there I had a bit more time to read.

First book I finished was Lord of the Flies. I know, most of you read this probably in junior high school, but it was never required of me and I just recently got around to it. In it, for those of you who don't already know, a bunch of English schoolboys in an aircraft crash on a deserted island without adult supervision and they rapidly lose all veneer of civilization. I can see why it's a book for discussion.

Next was Osprey Elite #55: Marine Recon 1940 – 90; how do you make an elite from an elite? The history and honors of this subset of the US Marine Corps.

Then I finished reading Osprey Fortress #70: Strongholds of the Border Reivers: Fortifications of the Anglo-Scottish Border 1296 – 1603 in which they not only talk about the various forms of defended buildings, but also how some of them were taken.

Following that I read Osprey Men-At-Arms #71: The British Army 1965 – 80 which was essentially a mere description of the various unit uniforms. Meh.

Next book was Osprey New Vanguard #37: Sturmgeschutz III and IV 1942 – 45, a rather good description of this weapon system. Worthy of a look if you're into WWII armored vehicles.

Then, Osprey Vanguard #41: The M1 Abrams Battle Tank, a discussion of the onset of the present American main battle tank.

Still reading, I finished Normal by Warren Ellis, a somewhat frightening novel about our future lack of privacy.

And then it was Osprey Warrior #79: US Doughboy 1916 – 19, a portion of our nation's history that's not exactly forgotten, but not held up as an example the way the American Civil War or WWII is. Worth a read for a student of US military history.

On to the next book!

(no subject)

We've been busy; once again the last two weeks or so are a blur.

I remember going to what I think is the last food truck Thursday for this year at the Fairplex with my wife and a friend's daughter. The food quality is variable dependent on the trucks that show up, though usually pretty good, and that night it certainly was. I remember eating a lobster roll from one truck (Cousins?), and then a brie sandwich/quesadilla something from another truck which was also tasty.

We took the Bolt bus from a stop in Ontario to Las Vegas to attend the wedding of our friend Cliff. It was held at one of those little wedding chapels that LV is famous for, and an Elvis impersonator did the proceedings but it wasn't hokey, and the guy did a great job. They're obviously in love, and they had so many folks attend that we were causing the chapel to bulge! Lovely time. There was a reception afterwards at the Aria hotel and a party that followed at a club; we ate at the former and had great conversations with some of Cliff's friends going back to his high school days, but we were tuckered and didn't party into the night...we crashed at our hotel room at the Orleans. Next morning we had a brunch at the Paris hotel and people watched until it was time to catch the bus home.

Right now, the only other thing that sticks in my mind about the last couple of weeks was watching on Netflix DVD the movie A Dog's Purpose; it pulls the heartstrings, yes it does.

Wow.

Where does the time go?