Weekend Open Thread-Earth and Moon as Morning Stars
If you’re on the surface of Mars, seeing the earth and the moon, you’d see them as twin evening or twin morning stars. (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Texas A&M University)
I remember reading Ray Bradberry’s The Martian Chronicles when I was younger. There was one scene where one of the Martians recited the “it’s raining” nursery rhyme. Ray Bradberry turned a series of “what if” scenarios into many stories within the novel.
The movie/miniseries didn’t do the book any justice. The book is worth the read if you get a chance to read it… Even if you have seen the miniseries.
Enjoy your weekend.
Category: Open thread
1st
Congrats again my friend, I can’t get this new laptop to respond fast enough!!
Everyone have a great weekend and let’s all remember the reason for this holiday? Please pray for all of our brothers that didn’t make it back home!
Take care all,
Willy
Well shit a goddam. First again.
You have the TAH server in your closet don’t you.
Methinks 5th/77th FA has a script written to get in the WOT first, and fires if off before the expected deployment time to look for & post on it.
Congrats, anyway, Redleg.
Naw man, lot’s of bodi…skele…er stuff in my closets but no servers. Remember I’m not a demon crap by political affiliation. And no script either GB. The Blessing of the Lord and the luck of the innerwebz megabytes? Or maybe a well lubed F5 key? If I knew I’d tell ya….but then again, if I told you…..well….you know…
tah3pete (smirk)
first
Curses, foiled again. Congratulations, 5th/77th FA, you are once again da man.
Nice 5th/77th FA.
That’s like 2 or 3 in a row, right? I’ll defer to Claw.
Christ, I wasn’t paying attention, can’t believe it’s 1 pm already. Still have 5 or 6 hours to go.
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TIME ON TARGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ARTILLERY KING OF BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!WINNER OF WARS!!!!!!!!!!!
FIRST on the Coveted EARNED NEVER AWARDED TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread!!!!!!!!!!
The FIRST 3 Pete for 5th/77 FA
You think he has been an insufferable overlording dickweed before, you ain’t seen nothing yet!!!!!!!
ChipNASA, I’m gunning for you record 4 in a row!!!!!!
Hot wings, cat heads stuffed with bacon, and multitudes of refreshing beverages all around. My treat!!!!!!!!!!
Way to go!!! Three-peat!!!
You are, indeed, DA MAN!
TAH stands at attention, awaiting your commands, Oh Lord of the Dickweeds!
Congrats on your 3 Pete, 5th/77th FA!!
In acknowledgement of you deed, here’s a little sumthin’ to get your juices flowing. 😉
Have a safe & enjoyable weekend you fellow degenerates here at TAH, but please don’t forget to bow your head and say a few words for our brothers & sisters that gave their all in their service to this great country.
Canada? Really?!
You pick your successor, weaponize the IRS, DOJ and FBI against your opponent. You control most of the lame-stream media. You have a massive ad budget. Your cronies conduct a non-stop character assassination … and then you lose to a TV reality show star who you claim is beneath you.
Hey, Liberals … FUCK. YOU.
“and then you lose to a TV reality show star who you claim is beneath you”
Priceless.
Lost Words from our childhood Mergatroyd! Do you remember that word? Would you believe the spell-checker did not recognize the word Mergatroyd? “Heavens to Mergatroyd!” The other day a not so elderly (I say 75) lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy; and he looked at her quizzically and said, “What the heck is a Jalopy?” He had never heard of the word jalopy! She knew she was old … But not that old. Well, I hope you are Hunky Dory after you read this and chuckle. About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology. These phrases included: Don’t touch that dial, Carbon copy, You sound like a broken record, and Hung out to dry. Back in the olden days we had a lot of moxie . We’d put on our best bib and tucker , to straighten up and fly right. Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy Moley! We were in like Flynn and living the life of Riley ; and even a regular guy couldn’t accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China! Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when’s the last time anything was swell? Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A.; of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, and pedal pushers. Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, but he isn’t anymore. We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap, and before we can say, “Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Or, “This is a fine kettle of fish!” Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we’ve left behind. We blink, and they’re gone. Lickitysplit. Where have all those great phrases gone? Long gone: Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey! It’s your nickel. Knee high to a grasshopper. Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty. I’ll see you in the funny papers. Don’t take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses. It turns… Read more »
23Skiddoo
Outstanding! Permission to plagerize?
Now, you are cooking with gas!
Hunky Dory: album by David Bowie, released on 17 December 1971. It included the song “Changes” – and, appropriately for today’s WOT, another tune called . . . “Life on Mars?”
The term can refer to other things, of course. (smile)
If the Boomer Generation switched to manual transmissions and wrote only in cursive, we could cripple an entire generation.
Well, once again the newspaper biz interferes with my taking the coveted First in the WOT. No worries, though, because I also have in my corner my trivia column, which I think at least some of you enjoy. So here it is! DID YOU KNOW…? Was a baboon really a hero in World War I? By Commissioner Wretched Not too long ago, I was one of several people who performed a very funny play at the President Theatre in Manchester. We did a show called “Elvis Has Left The Building,” in which I had the role of Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of the great singer. After we opened, an audience member asked me, “How do you remember all those lines?” It’s a question I’ve been asked many times, mostly by people who can testify in court how forgetful I can be. My response was, as it always is, “I actually see the page in the script in my mind, and I read the highlighted parts.” It doesn’t make much sense, but that’s really the way I do it. Thankfully, I’ve yet to read someone else’s lines, or imagine seeing somebody else’s script. It all comes down to practice, practice, practice. Just as it does when I write this column … I practice. A lot. And I thank you all for reading all my practice up to this point. Settle in, and I’ll give you another column of practice to enjoy. Did you know … … the appendix is not the only part of the human body that has no apparent function? Wisdom teeth, auricular muscles (the ones that let you wiggle your ears), and semilunar folds (that little fold in the corner of your eyelid) are leftovers from a much earlier time in human evolution. We’re not even sure what they did when they had a purpose. (I always thought wisdom teeth meant you were wise.) … the Nike corporation was originally named Blue Ribbon Sports? When the founders of the company searched for a new, catchy-sounding name in 1971, they settled on the name of the Greek goddess… Read more »
I often hear queue used by stuffy liberal types who put on airs of knowing what they say and thinking it’s important. I find it interesting that it takes 5 letters to make the same sound as 1 letter and it takes those folks 5 times as long to say nothing.
CW wrote:
“…the appendix is not the only part of the human body that has no apparent function…”
CW, you left out the human Brain, as in Nancy’s, Chuckie’s, Auntie Maxine Brain.
Absolutely NO function at all. Useless.
The BIGGEST one that needs to sing ” If I Only Had a Brain” is AOC. Her brain justs SITS in her Skull.
Her latest (Sheesh):
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aoc-dc-tornado-warning-links-climate-change
Well, I didn’t want to qualify useless body appendages by political persuasion … but you’re right, liberal brains don’t seem to be of much use to them (or to anyone else).
By the way, Bingo was named for the kid’s song (B.I.N.G.O Was His Name.)
A Big CONGRATS to The King of Battle!!!!!!
A Three-Peet!!!!!
Stay the Course…Just as the Army/Navy Game…(HAD to get that in there…
kaboom
😎
Well folks, I’m afraid I have some bad news this week, seems like they are telling me I had a massive heart attack and didn’t even know it? They said I have only 40% heart function left. I have to go in the hospital next Thursday to get a heart cathertization done to see if they can open some of my cardiac arteries opened back up. If that doesn’t work, looks like open heart surgery is next on my list? I wonder when they will have the time to deal with my cancer next? Don’t want to seem like I am whinning about this, but just wanted to let you all know what is going on with me? I love all of you like family, which this is to me??
I love you all,
Willy
Wilted Willy,
My heart sunk when I read this.
Please hang on…You are Family…You are one STRONG Individual…Please don’t forget that!!!
Prayers for your health…your upcoming Hospital visit next Thursday…and always, prayers that your Cancer will away for good.
WW, you are NOT whining. Appreciate so much that you are informing us on your health!
Stay Strong, my Friend. We know you can do it!!
We Care For You Very Much!
Thank you my brother,
I love you all like my family because that is what we are, one big happy family!!
I’ll let you know how things turn out?
My prayers are with you WW so lets get well soon.
Willy: “…Don’t want to seem like I am whinning …”
None of us, certainly not me, think you are whining. Many, including myself, have come here to vent and to ask for prayer and positive thoughts. If you can’t do it here, where can you do it? Blessings and prayers sent your way and pray for a good outcome from your medical problems.
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, my friend. You will prevail. I have faith in you and your strength.
You know we’re all pulling for you, WW. Maybe Nate will come up with some good news for you soon. Hang in there, Bro.
As for the docs, they seem to work in mysterious ways, but I’d say they’re shooting the closest alligator to your canoe first, and will get to the one farther out in time.
Thank you kind sir, You know how much I appreciate all of the help and support you folks have given me these past few years! Finding this site was the best thing that ever happened to me and my family, I only wish that Jonn was still here with us today! He truly was my hero! I love every one of you!
Thanks again,
Willy
You certainly have my best wishes WW, please know my thoughts are with you and I will be pulling for the best outcome for you next week…as I’m certain every member of this site will be as well.
We are indeed family, a great big loud and boisterous dysfunctional family of opinionated dickweeds and brother I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Keep your spirits up Willy.
My neighbor went through open heart surgery a few years ago. He is busy lately cutting and splitting next years wood pile.
I hear the saw running every day.
Makes me smile.
Prayers will be lofted from D’s Cantina this evening, Willy!
Well, that sucks…
Prayers up for you this week, WW. And next week. And however long we need to continue doing that.
Will ask CINC-ALL to watch over and keep you, amigo.
Good luck to you. On the plus side, I have had heart problems for many years. Have had 2 surgeries and many other procedures. These days they can do amazing things. Prayers up and all the best to you.
WW,
So sorry to hear that. I, too, shall be praying for you, the doctors as they work on you, and all those who provide care to you.
You are family, brother. Don’t worry about sounding whiny – it lets us know how to pray for you. Trying to hold all that in is what does the mental damage to us.
We’ll keep you in our prayers as well, Willy. Hang in there, brother. Fight like hell and stay on this side of the grass for us!
Hang in, Willy. All good.
Willy, please know that although we know each other only thru silly little typed characters forming what we call the English language, behind them are heartfelt prayers, thoughts & wishes for your complete recovery.
Stay Strong, my brother.
Prayers out for ya WW, I know you can make it!!!
Hang in there, let go of what you don’t have control over, and focus your energy on your health and on going with the flow.
Thank You, the besig, for sharing one of Ray Bradbury’s works.
“The Martian Chronicles.” One of my favorite books that I never get tired of reading.
Four(4) of the stories from the book that I really enjoy are:
* The three (3) Astronauts who thought they were in a small US Town when they landed on Mars…who all thought they were with their deceased love ones again.
* The Martian who consistently changed shape and turned into different deceased people depending on who it was with….providing comfort to those folks.
* The lonely Guy who was left behind on Mars when the Colony returned to Earth..He finally finds another Human to interact, a Female…but in the end, leaves and hides from her.
* The Astronaut who stayed behind on Mars after the Colony left. 20 years later, he and his family are found when a group of Astronauts return. He aged. They did not.
Never saw the NBC Miniseries when it came out with Rock Hudson having the Lead role. Finally found it on You Tube and watched it.
And just as you wrote, the Book is better than the Miniseries.
Thank You again for sharing.
Another miniseries, Childhood’s End, was a very decent adaptation of Clarke’s novel.
One of Bradbury’s phobias enabled a very memorable evening for me: Bradbury was booked to speak but someone neglected to find out he never flew. So when they found out two days before the date, they had to scramble to find another guest… and we wound up spending an evening having conversation with a former Marine… named Rod Serling.
The book is worth reading to find out what was going on in those stories. There’s another story where a female Martian dreams of the pending arrival of humans. They way she describes them causes her listener to describe them as “gods”.
24MAY On this day in 1941, Germany’s largest battleship, the Bismarck, sinks the pride of the British fleet, HMS Hood. The Bismarck was the most modern of Germany’s battleships, a prize coveted by other nation’s navies, even while still in the blueprint stage (Hitler handed over a copy of its blueprints to Joseph Stalin as a concession during the days of the Hitler-Stalin neutrality pact). The HMS Hood, originally launched in 1918, was Britain’s largest battle cruiser (41,200 tons)-but also capable of achieving the relatively fast speed of 31 knots. The two met in the North Atlantic, northeast of Iceland, where two British cruisers had tracked down the Bismarck. Commanded by Admiral Gunther Lutjens, commander in chief of the German Fleet, the Bismarck sunk the Hood, resulting in the death of 1,500 of its crew; only three Brits survived. During the engagement, the Bismarck‘s fuel tank was damaged. Lutjens tried to make for the French coast, but was sighted again only three days later. Torpedoed to the point of incapacity, the Bismarck was finally sunk by a ring of British war ships. Admiral Lutjens was one of the 2,300 German casualties. Also on this date, 24MAY On this day in 1943, the extermination camp at Auschwitz, Poland, receives a new doctor, 32-year-old Josef Mengele, a man who will earn the nickname “the Angel of Death.” Born March 16, 1911, in Bavaria, Mengele studied philosophy under Alfred Rosenberg, whose racial theories highly influenced him. In 1934, already a member of the Nazi Party, he joined the research staff of the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene. Upon arriving at Auschwitz, and eager to advance his medical career by publishing “groundbreaking” work, he began experimenting on live Jewish prisoners. In the guise of medical “treatment,” he injected, or ordered others to inject, thousands of inmates with everything from petrol to chloroform. He also had a penchant for studying twins, whom he used to dissect. Mengele managed to escape imprisonment after the war, first by working as a farm stableman in Bavaria, then by making his way to South America. He became… Read more »
Thank You, HMC Ret, for another History Lesson!
Four other 24 May Tidbits:
* In 1844, Samuel Morris sent out the First Text Message: “What Hath God Wrought”…
* In 1962, Astronaut Scott Carpenter boarded the Aurora 7 Capsule to become the 4th American in Space and the Second American to obit the Earth.
Here is a nice picture of him boarding the capsule as well as the synopsis of that happened that day 57 years ago..:
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/may-24-1962-scott-carpenter-on-the-way-to-mercury-atlas-7-launch-site
The last 2 I had to put down for giggles and sarcasm:
* Today is George Berkeley Day in Berkeley, California. Yep…you read it right.
* In 1978, Marilyn Loden, an American Management Consultant, FIRST coined the phrase ” Glass Ceiling..” (Thank goodness that Ceiling was still intact in November 2016…)
Thank You, again, HMC Ret, for sharing.
Samuel “Morris”? Um, might want to check the spelling on that name. (smile)
You know, Sam Morris. The guy that created Morris Code.
Oh aye? Aren’t ye a wee bit auld t’be a’ believin’ in Leprechauns, laddie? (smile)
Leprechauns?
Only in Mobile, Alabama!!!
rolltideroll
Hondo and SFC D:
You both got me!!!!!
😂🤣😅😆
morsecode
merepeat4thgrade
😎
Got to see Carpenter’s Aurora 7 last year while in Chicago. Cannot recommend the Museum of Science and Industry there enough. Especially if you’re a space buff. They have the Aurora 7, Apollo 8, and an authentic lunar lander (I think it was a ground test item).
The Mercury capsules for those who haven’t seen them are freaking tiny. “Spam in a can” as Brig Gen Yeager said.
Y’all cut AP some slack now. Bradbury was spelled right and so was Berzerkely…twice. Just hope that the 3 pete of the name doesn’t summon the demon from there. Watch out for the post on the FIRST wireless text that was sent by that there eye talian boy with the pasta name.
rtr/gabn/hbtd
You that Guillermo Macaroni fella?
Marconi and cheese is considered a vegetable down heah, y’all!
Mengele………now THERE is a name that will live in infamy. (ptui!)
He would be a famous transgender surgeon in todays brave new world.
A man before his time.
Hope everyone can get a chance to relax a little this weekend.
Remember those who are no longer with us, raise a glass in their honor and don’t mope around all weekend.
None of those who are gone would want that…
Cry not for my passing, but remember how I lived young and strong and full of life. Live all of your days as I lived all of mine and you will truly honor my memory.
Good words, VOV…
“Remember those who are no longer with us, raise a glass in their honor and don’t mope around all weekend.” The FIRST two will be easy, the third…not so much. Way back yonder while on active duty, we’d discuss how we would remember and honor our fallen compatriots. We usually were on a heightened level of alert, the concern being that the balloon would go up on a holiday. A lively discussion on the multitudes of good food, drinks, nubile willing female companions was the order of the day. I generally avoid the “commercial” Memorial Day Observations and go find the out of the way, sometimes forgotten or neglected cemeteries and visit with the boys I’ve found there. Take a cooler with some frosty ones and some seegars, stop at each grave and share a drink with them. Some of the fellas and I will do a little cleanup so the names will again be seeable, place a small set of colors and render a Hand and a Rifle Salute. One big advantage in having black powder weapons. You can make a nice boom and paper cartridges are easy to make. Finally got into the habit of calling the local SO to let ’em know so the neighbors won’t freak totally out. Steady Men, we can do this! Took me awhile for Cloud 9 and I to drift back down to Earth. Not everyday you earn a 3 pete on the Coveted TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread. The struggle was indeed real and so is the euphoria. My many Thanks to all the loyal DWs and Weedeses for their congratulations and support. HT to thebesig for the Ray Bradbury blast from the past, loved his works. Had some original FIRST Edition hard copies that I didn’t get custody of. Odd sometimes what an ex wants to keep, not that they want it, they just don’t want you to have it. HT also to CW on the trivia, another fine job, to HMC Ret and to my rtr/go dawgs/goarmybeatnavy Buddy AnotherPat on the History lessons, always enjoy those. That FIRST text… Read more »
Thank you so much, I really appreciate all the support you folks give me! You are all truly a blessing and you are all my loving family!
I know I will be sending better news next week!
Thanks again,
Willy
WW – Hoping and praying for better news for you… stay strong
A little bit of Navy history.
REMEMBERING ONE OF OUR HEROES!
Who was Andrew Jackson Kirksey?
Everyone pretty much knows the story about Ltjg John F. Kennedy PT-109 story during WWII.
TM2 Andrew Jackson Kirksey was one of the two Sailors that was killed during that incident.
The other Sailor killed was MM2 Harold William Marney.
Andrew J. Kirksey from Reynolds, Georgia enlisted in the Navy on 1 July 1942.
He was twenty five when he joined the crew of the PT-109 on 1 May 1943.
He was killed when the Amagiri rammed the PT-109 on 2 August 1943, his body was never found.
He left behind a wife, Cloye Ann and a son, Jack, who was born in October 1942.
You are not forgotten!
Thank You, again, HMC Ret, for sharing this History with us that ties in with Memorial Day.
Rest In Peace, TM2 Andrew Jackson Kirksey and MM2 Harold William Marney.
Never Forget. Salute.
Late to the party, again. Busy day at the GB Compound.
Last day of school for 2 of the grandkids (aka Awards Day) and one of ’em came up sick, so Grandpa sat with her while her parents went to see her brother get his recognitions.
Then a call from a dear friend whose wife has kicked him out of the house again because of his drinking. (We’ve been through this battle before and won, just a different day to fight it.) Went and sat with him for a while. Don’t have answers to the questions, but we can pray together, and he doesn’t have to feel alone in the fight.
Back home to make a birthday cake for Mrs. GB. Today’s her birthday, and for 44 out of the last 45 years I’ve made her a from-scratch cake (44 different recipes) for her birthday. The year I missed we were living in different towns while trying to move to a better situation, and I couldn’t afford to get to them that week.
Remember to do a buddy-check every once in a while with your buddies. If nothing else, they’ll know you are there for them when things go South.
Graybeard,
Happy Birthday to Mrs. G!!
🎂🎁🎉
Maybe oneday you can share one of your birthday cake recipe with us on EX-PH2’s “Thursdays Are For Cooking”.
Thank You for your Words of Wisdom on doing a Buddy Check as well as taking care of your Friend.
heaintheavyhesmybrother
This one was pretty good. I’ll hve to dig out my old cookbooks and copy spme of my favorites out for y’all next Thursday.
If I remember.
Congrats to the King of Battle.
Have a GREAT weekend y’all!
Just got out of work, tomorrow off, Sunday is going to be a kick in the…er, soft parts. But tomorrow is the last day of Spring turkey here in the Prison State, aka Connecticut, wish me luck.
Speaking of luck. Please don’t rely on luck to see you through the hard times that may be coming, store some food, extras you could use to get by if things get harsh.
Please, for you and those you love, have a plan.
63th and Honorary First once again.
((((OVER))))
If snowflakes want to remove the symbols of racism in this country, leave the statues alone and remove the Democratic Party.
In January 1961, the U.S. Army suffered its only nuclear accident and the only fatal nuclear accident in the United States. The accident was caused by the manual removal of a control rod in a nuclear reactor in Idaho. The resulting explosion killed two Army specialists and a Navy Electrician’s Mate. One of the Army specialists, Richard McKinley, was so irradiated that his body had be interred in a lead-lined casket, covered in cement and placed in a metal vault before burial.
The special grave is now at Arlington National Cemetery, where it is under special watch, unable to be moved without permission from the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
Congrats cannon cocker on yer three peat.
Weekend Safety Brief
Don’t add to the population.
Don’t subtract from the population.
Stay out of the hospital, the newspaper and jail.
IF you do end up in jail, establish dominance quickly.
Landmark day today for the fraternal twin sons of Mr. and Mrs. Claw. They have completed a half centuries worth of laps around the sun.
One’s a four year Army DS/DS Veteran, the other is a 26 year Retired Navy CSCS(SS).
Feel free to send good wishes/kind thoughts their way.
Thank You.
Happy Blessed Birthday to the Claw Twins…Wow…50 years..
You and Mrs. Claw did well raising them. Army and Navy Veterans…Hoo-Aahhh..!
So which team do you root for in one of the greatest Football games of the year?
😉 gabn
Thank You for sharing!
🎁🎉🎂
Claw you and the Mrs done good. Birthday Bests to your Boys. And a BZ for their Service. Bet there was a time or twelve that y’all weren’t sure if they wouldn’t make past 14. All of us that have raised younglings can relate.
You younger commenters, enjoy your kids while you can. They DO grow up fast.
Let me be the FIRST to wager that the Claw Household will always yell out….GO ARMY…BEAT NAVY.
ps: Claw we all have our own burdens to tote. My precious darlin’, dumplin’, daughter married up with bubble headed, tea kettle operating boomer boy, from upstate NY, that became a lawer. Where did I go wrong?