****Please Note that I am drawing heavily on Carol Off’s excellent history “The Ghosts of Medak Pocket” for this next section of the deconstruction. While a great deal has been written about the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, Carol’s book is one of the only ones to focus exclusively on this little known battle and … Continue reading 9-Pocket Revision
Supplemental Reading: The Defence of Duffer’s Drift
****An important note about the novel I’ll be discussing here. Published in 1905, it takes place during the Boer War of 1899-1902 and was written by a veteran of that war who was by then a career British officer and who came of age during the height of the British Empire. As such, his perspectives … Continue reading Supplemental Reading: The Defence of Duffer’s Drift
8-Bill the Pirate…._sigh_
True to his style thus far, Douglas Bland begins this next chapter with a run-on sentence which manages to be both clumsy and offensive: Will Boucanier looked out the small window as the Air Creebec Dash 8 made its long, slow approach into Chisasibi, an unattractive Cree Village of some 3,000 souls on the La … Continue reading 8-Bill the Pirate…._sigh_
Comment Policy!
So a couple of new people have started following this blog (Hello! Welcome!) which means I'm no longer just writing for a handful of friends that I see on a regular basis, but other people who are (for now at least) complete strangers. So I figure now's a good time to get out a first … Continue reading Comment Policy!
7-al-Queda Style!
Okay enough talk about offices and ID cards. It’s time for the big meeting! "The room was arranged as usual for morning prayers. Name cards ranked in a never-changing order sat with parade-ground precision down each side of the long, dark, rectangular table. This odd habit always amused Ian-these people know each other, he thought. … Continue reading 7-al-Queda Style!
6-We’re having the adventure _where_?
In the novel’s first chapter, Alex Gabriel’s raid on Petawawa is broken up by several other scenes. One of these is the raid on CFB Halifax where Fred McTavish is tragically killed, but several other cuts take us to NDHQ where a CF staff officer gradually becomes aware of the growing crisis. In the interest … Continue reading 6-We’re having the adventure _where_?
Sir Galahad’s still there…
I spent this past Easter Monday wandering around downtown Ottawa, getting a few pictures for next Monday’s deconstruction post. Like I mentioned before, I’m a huge history geek. I love poking around historical buildings and monuments and Ottawa’s been blessed with quite a few good ones within a fairly small area (I’ll introduce a few … Continue reading Sir Galahad’s still there…
5-Respect Mah Authoratah!
According to Douglas Bland, Alex Gabriel is a leader. Not just a leader, a manly, heroic leader. A natural. Only he can lead the native uprising, and he knows this because The Elders told him so, while he listened in rapt silence without raising a single question or concern. Bland is quick to assure us … Continue reading 5-Respect Mah Authoratah!
Putting Down Uprising 