This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Who knows

  • A Tree, a Hill – and a Tribute

    Most people have probably heard the phrase “One Tree Hill”.  And on hearing it, I’d guess the vast majority of people think of a TV show.

    In a way that’s a shame.  Because the phrase has far more meaning, and is far more significant, than as just the name of a TV show.

    The phrase has other meanings.  It’s a geographical reference – to a place of spiritual significance to an ancient culture.  And that geographical reference is related to a relatively recent song as well.

    The song referenced by phrase is IMO exceptional. It too predates the TV show.  Indeed, the TV show reputedly takes its name from the song and/or geographical reference, or perhaps both – though it’s at best only tangentially related.

    The “backstory” of the song is also IMO moving, and worth knowing. It details how the place, the song, and individuals associated with its creation are interrelated.  And yeah, you’re right:  I’m about to wander “off the reservation” a bit once again.

    Consider yourself forewarned.  (smile)

    (more…)

  • Three Axmen, A Fair Maid, A Madman – And One for the Ages

    Regular readers know that Jonn tolerates my occasional random wanderings here at TAH.  And be forewarned:  I’m about to ramble again.  Read on or not, as you so desire.

    If you choose to continue, you’ve been forewarned.  (smile)

    . . .

    Years ago, in a faraway kingdom, lived two Axmen.  Both were renowned and talented – indeed, the First Axman was for a time considered the best in the kingdom (if not the world) at his craft, while the Second Axman was considered one of the best as well.

    Rather than being rivals, the two Axmen chose to work together at their craft.  And they also became friends.

    The Second Axman had a Fair Maid as his spouse.  That title was truly apropos, as she was renowned throughout the kingdom for her beauty.  And neither was she what we would call today an “airhead” – besides being beautiful, she was also talented.

    Unfortunately, the Second Axman became enamored of the teachings of a foreign sage.  He began to drift away from and neglect his Fair Maid.

    As it happened, the First Axman was at the time without attachment.  And he saw the neglect of the Fair Maid by the Second Axman – and saw how much it pained her.

    (more…)

  • Betty gets her class ring back

    Betty McAleenan, 94, gave her class ring to her new husband, Robert when he went off to war to remind him of her while he was deployed in 1942. Sadly, Robert was shot down over Papua New Guinea in 1944. She was reunited with his spirit when her class ring was returned to her 70 years later. Now the ring will serve to remind Betty of Robert.


  • Just Because

    Some songs are just apropos at certain times. And they have a way of showing up when they are.

    This one’s apropos today.



    If someone you’re close to is still around, it might be a good idea to tell them what they mean to you the next time you see them. And if you haven’t seen someone you care about in a while – or if there are issues between you that need to be talked out – it might be a good idea to do that.

    Tomorrow doesn’t come with a guarantee.

  • A message from Kevin Biege, the creator of “Enlisted”

    Enlisted challenge coin

    Kevin Biege, the creator of the new Fox show “Enlisted” writes to you this morning about his TV show. I guess he wants to clear up some misconceptions of his show. I DVR’d the pilot last week and I thought it was pretty funny and fit my perceptions of the “Rear D”. yeah, there were some things that jumped out at me, like the sacrilege of calling a Bradley Fighting Vehicle a “tank”, but to me it’s more about three brothers than it is about the Army, but your opinion may differ.

    Hello,

    My name is Kevin Biegel. I created a new Fox family comedy called Enlisted. It’s about brothers serving together on a small Army Post in Florida. It’s a workplace comedy, except the workplace is the Army. It’s an extremely personal show, more so than anything I’ve ever worked on. The Army part comes from all my family and friends who served and the monumental effect that experience had on their lives. The brother part comes from my relationship with my two younger brothers, the closest, longest, most beat-the-crap-out-of-each-other-then-say-we-love-each-other-est relationship I’ve ever had.

    While a comedy, ENLISTED will be dramatic at times. It has to be. We can never be M*A*S*H – no show can, M*A*S*H is an all-time great – but I wanted to follow its lead in combining comedy with heavier issues. I don’t believe you can do a show about the military in 2014 and not deal with things like PTSD or losing a loved one. We have to write about those things, they have to be part of this world. Both because it’s the right thing to do, and because it’s my duty to be respectful of the men and women who do this job. I’m embarrassed we got some technical stuff wrong in the pilot, but I think you’ll see we course-corrected and got squared away very quickly. We even had a contest about it ( http://youtu.be/_7X56C_cnMQ ) and sent our cast to a mini ‘boot camp’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_37Mld3eNls&feature=share&list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhKSVy41tTPXyMMWy20c3hA ).

    We wanted to make a show that you could watch and enjoy whether you’re six or sixty. I used to love sitting down and watching TV with my Dad, and I think Enlisted is the kind of program that will afford an experience like that for modern audiences, as well as show how funny, noble, heroic, sweet and human the men and women who serve in the military can be. We want this show to be joyous and inviting, and that’s we’re reaching out to you to show you a few episodes.

    The pilot episode of the show is available at Fox.com or on Hulu ( http://www.fox.com/enlisted/full-episodes/112801859719 or http://www.hulu.com/watch/581663 ), but we wanted to send along a few more to show you how the show quickly evolved. We delve into some deeper areas as you’ll see, and hopefully families will appreciate the seriousness with which we treat some of the storylines.

    Thanks for watching, we hope you enjoy them, and if you do we appreciate you helping us get the word out about this show we’re so very proud of.

    Thank you,
    Kevin Biegel
    Creator, Writer and Executive Producer, ENLISTED
    @kbiegel

    They sent me some of the upcoming shows, but I haven’t been able to watch them yet. But in the opening of the pilot episode, the star calls for supporting fires in combat in Afghanistan that are denied and so he goes back and punches the pogue officer who wouldn’t give him any. Some people are upset at that, but I’m sure some of you can identify with the feelings that accompany that particular situation.

    Here’s the videos of their mini-boot camp at Fort Bliss.

  • Slips and Lapses

    Jonn tolerates my random mental wanderings here.  And I’m about to wander “off the reservation” again, so consider yourself forewarned.  (smile)

    Music was a huge part of my youth.  I won’t try to give a rundown – I’d be writing all night if I did.

    But I was always fond of music that was both literate and well-crafted.  And because of that, one of my favorite artists while a youngster was an English group called Pink Floyd.  Perhaps you’ve heard of them? (smile)

    Seriously:  once Floyd moved past their early psychedelic fascination and began making serious music – in the early 1970s – they were IMO a creative force rivaled by few in the music industry.  Beginning with Meddle in 1971 and continuing for well over a decade, their work was truly exceptional.  It’s still eminently listenable today, and IMO ranks among the best ever produced in the modern popular music genre.

    Yet life has a way of changing your focus.  By the late 1980s, because of what was going on in my life at the time I wasn’t following music as closely as I had in years before.   As a result, I missed something truly special at the time it happened.

    I’ve since discovered it.  I thought it was worth mentioning.

    (more…)

  • Rachel Washburn, cheerleader turned Army officer

    Rachel Washburn cheer

    Several of you have been sending this link to us over the last couple of days – the story of Rachel Washburn who went from being an ROTC student and Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader to a two-tour El-Tee in Afghanistan.

    “Initially, it was kind of a novelty to people I met if they ever found out,” Washburn said Thursday in a phone interview from Savannah, Ga., where she was on the first day of her post-deployment leave.

    “It’s kind of a bit of a shock. You don’t expect those two things to go hand in hand with one person.”

    She didn’t join the Army on a whim. During her three seasons with the Eagles, Washburn was an Army ROTC student and history major at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Her father was an Army helicopter pilot and an Air Force fighter pilot. She figures she moved 17 or 18 times growing up, but she calls Philadelphia home even though she just attended college there.

    Rachel Washburn

    Actually, I thought the story was a little sexist. We have a Ravens’ cheerleader in our midst who went in the other direction. After serving in Afghanistan (a hardship tour, since he was TSO’s battle buddy), our own VTWoody became an NFL cheerleader and USAToday never did a story about him. What’s up with that, media?

  • The Duffel Blog; Don Shipley “outed”

    From our friends at The Duffel Blog, the truth about Don Shipley;

    The commander, James Schmidt, has served in a number of fake SEAL Teams throughout his career, and left the service of stolen valor as a Lance Colonel. He graduated from BUD/S class 6991 in Pensacola, Fla.

    “I put in a FOIA request and tracked down all of Shipley’s supposed ‘claims’ about being in the SEAL teams,” Schmidt told reporters while holding a military DD-214 document. “You know, all these extravagant stories about being involved in ops all over the world. The records show that’s literally zero percent bullshit.”

    Don emails to TAH;

    It’s tough being me… The constant hot chicks, the constant medical professionals wanting me to submit to studies about my hair, and the constant Army whining I get about you guys being represented by movies like Forest Gump and Goldie Hawn in Private Benjamin.

    Thanks to Greg for TDB link.