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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! August 4, 2004 Captions GaloreBy GreyhawkThanks to all who joined the fun. Lots of great entries, here are some noteworthy examples, divided into categories that illustrate just how deeply Americans are divided this election year. In light of his post war activities, many can't accept Kerry's embracing of his Vietnam days (The Kerry was a Vietnam veteran? Who knew? Category): "Hey, did I mention that I served in Viet Nam?" "See this finger,soldier? This finger served" "...and then there was the time i got a medal for chasing an unarmed wounded VC through the woods and shot him in the back. Are you going to finish those fries? Stories about me make me hungry. Pass the Heinz." "Now are these ribbons, or medals?" When I was your age I threw my effing medals away! Say, you didn't pick those ribbons up off the White House lawn? See the scar on my finger?? That's what got me my first Purple Heart! Those are nice alright, but they're not as pretty as my three purple hearts. Hey, did I mention I have three purple hearts Wow, is that a camcorder, I'll bet you Marines can do some real "soldiering" with that. In my days of "soldiering" in the Navy all I had was an 8mm camera. "And I got my third Purple Heart and an early trip home from Vietnam when I cut this finger here changing the tape in my 8mm camera." Wait a minute while I get my camcorder so we can reenact our meeting. K: "And then the Viet Cong overan my position and all I had left to shoot was my finger." Go ahead, pull my finger-I dare you! Did you know I served in Viet Nam? Others are put off by John and Teresa Heinz-Kerry's affluence (The Kerry want's to be the President of the United States of Two Americas Category) Do you know who I am? Ensign Kerry reporting for duty, sir! You're the officer on duty? Send someone to fetch the rest of my things on board; I left them on the pier. Here it is, midnight; it's been a long day, and one just got tired of carrying them, you know how it is, and besides, that's what the enlisteds are for. Did I mention I know the Kennedys? So this surfboard won't be in the way here, will it? Didn't think so. Yeah, I'm glad to be aboard the _Gridley._ My friend Jacques thinks you would look much better wearing a blue helmet. Listen up, Boy! When I'm your CIC you'll pay for disrespecting me. John Edwards and I have better hair than you! Son, I was born into wealth, educated in Switzerland, and my wife is one of the richest women on the planet, otherwise I'm just a grunt like you." Kerry: What can I do for you si..... Kerry:
"I don't know what I want, I can't seem to make up my mind. What did YOU order?" Hey, you've got something on your shirt. Hi There. What you eating, a Wendy's Single? Me too. Well, I ordered one before I unordered one. But we're a like. "I actually fought against North Viet Nam before I fought for it." "Great idea sir. We will use your involvement in the VVAW as inspiration IF you become CIC." "I actually voted for the $87 million before I vote against it." You should vote for me before you vote against me. Ah-ah, I know what you're thinking, punk, did he flip flop six times or only five? While many "outside the box" types offered captions for the "salute" photo: "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty Mr. Kofi Annan, sir" "I wasn't saluting, the lights were in my eyes." "Hey, is that the charisma I ordered back there?" "They pull your moral compass out of an incision just about here." Still others offerred comment that wasn't in the form of a caption: The US Marines are the best.
Not really a caption, but am I the only one who's reminded of that photo-op stunt Saddam pulled with that British kid (detainee) on the eve of the Gulf War? (---Greyhawk says: Yeah, and the union guy incident too, when Kerry didn't know his mic was hot.).
Kerry channels Niedermeier from "Animal House": You really should consider Botox...by the way, did I tell you my story about Genghis Khan? I'm Rick James, B*tch! While others used Quickies: "I will take that one and that one and ...oh a Biggie Fries!" Pull my finger. I wouldn't even give you 87 cents. . . . Assistant manager, John Kerry, informs a customer that they do NOT serve "freedom fries" on his watch. Why the long face, sir? "I have three maids and my shirts still don't look that good." "Is this bugging you? I'm not touching you. Is this bugging you? I'm not touching you......." Go ahead, poke the bear. Marine in foreground: "This suit giving you trouble, Jimmy?" "Sempre Fries?"
Drum roll...
Posted by: chris at July 31, 2004 08:38 PM Posted by Greyhawk / August 4, 2004 10:41 PM | Permalink 1 TrackBackDuane's is still a classic, but all these captions for that Wendy's photos are good too.... Read More 4 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
John McCain is a hero and the Swiftboat vets are greater heros
As a Blue Water sailor of the US Navy of the Vietnam era I'd like to say that among my shipmates it was the Brown Water sailors of the Swiftboats that we admired the most for their courage and valour. If I remember properly - warning, I do suffer, sometimes, from CRS Syndrome - The swifties suffered a higher rate of death and injury than any other units in Vietnam speeding up and down those treacherous rivers on unarmoured boats without any of the body armour that protects todays American heros.
I AM PERSONALLY OUTRAGED THAT SENATOR MCCAIN WOULD INSULT THESE UNHERALDED AND UNAPPRECIATED AMERICAN HEROS.
McCain has his right to defend his Senate buddy and coconspirator but he has no right to diss and insult my heroic comrades.
Senator McCain, after earning my love and respect;
http://pep.typepad.com/public_enquiry_project/2004/08/john_mccain_is_.html
I may be 'outside the box' but Tommylaw didn't post the comment under the 'Kerry salute' picture. I did at 5:44. He posted a different one at 5:47. Did you mean to post mine or his? Love your blog, and being a new reader, what is 'outside the box.'Is it good, bad, or neutral?
Pat
Your's was the one I meant to post - and I've corrected my error, thanks.
Outside the box is good - means you're an original thinker. I didn't expect anyone to offer captions to the first picture, but quite a few folks did.
Thanks for stopping by, and welcome aboard!
"Put off by affluence"? Not hardly. Subtract out the license of running all that together in a single speech, and what's left is pretty much exactly what happened.