A Little Change Of Pace. The Art of Edmund B. Leighton.

My wife and I have this print on the wall in our bedroom. It has been a constant reminder of the small gestures between loved ones upon times of parting, especially for those either in the military or the law enforcement professions. 

I have long enjoyed the art of Edmund B. Leighton. His realistic and colorful style allow us a window to peek into the small private moments of the subjects of his art. Leighton was an English painter of historical scenes, primarily of the medieval and Regency periods of English history. Many of his paintings formed a lot of the current clothing and armor images that most call to mind when thinking of those periods of history. While many of his works are highly romanticized, the real beauty for me are the expressions of faces in his paintings.

I have included several more examples below of more of Leighton's works that I particularly enjoy.

Things Have Truly Not Changed For 2000 Years.

"We have been told, on leaving our native soil, that we were going to defend the sacred rights conferred on us by so many of our citizens settled overseas, so many years of our presence, so many benefits brought by us to populations in need of our assistance and our civilization.

We were able to verify that all this was true, and because it was true, we did not hesitant to shed our quota of blood, to sacrifice our youth and hopes. We regretted nothing, but whereas we over here are inspired by this frame of mind, I am told that in Rome factions and conspiracies are rife, that treachery flourishes, and that many people in their uncertainty and confusion lend a ready ear to the dire temptations of relinquishment and even to vilify our actions.

I cannot believe that all this is true, and yet recent wars have shown how pernicious such a state of mind could be and to where it could lead.

Make haste to reassure us, I beg you, and tell us that our fellow citizens understand us, support us, and protect us as we ourselves are protecting the glory of the Empire.

If it should be otherwise, if we should have to leave our bleached bones on these desert sands in vain, then beware the fury of the Legions."

-Centurion Marcus Flavinius, Second Cohort, Augusta Legion (probably the VIII Legion) to his cousin Tertullus in Rome. No Date Given


It really is amazing how people and organizations truly do not change. This could have been written in the last 13 years and meant pretty much the same. The plight and challenge of the Soldier has never changed from the days of the hoplite, the legions, the bowman facing the French at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the members of Napoleon's Old Guard, right up to the today.

Somebody Did It. Interesting Mating Of Gun And Parts.

http://www.tacxlife.com/post/101101923625

Last year I had a discussion with a fellow soldier about the H & R Partner Pump shotgun and whether it would accept the Magpul Shotgun Kit. This guy did it with great results and no mods required. I am sure that there are those out there that would scream "heresy and blasphemy." I am one that says, "If it works...it works." I like the look of what Tacxlife did.

Too many people get caught up in brand names. It must be nice to afford all the best stuff. I cannot. Yet, with a little research, you can find workable solutions. After all, the bad guy does not know if you shot him with a $3500 system or a $500 system.

Thoughts?

Yet Again, Back From The Field. Hopefully, For The Last Time This Year. Some Quick Thoughts.

Back from another five days in the field. Lots to discuss.

The Election: I am reserving judgement. Actions before words. Do what you were elected to do. I do not want to be cynical, but until the Republicans start their counter revolution in the senate and the house, I will not be jumping up and down.

A Failure of Civility: The copy I ordered from Defensive Training Group arrived my first day in the field. I have already read into the first couple of chapters of the book. This is great stuff people. Watch carefully for when more copies become available.

Virgin Galactic Crash: The dream of space, like any other dream of exploration, comes with risk. We have become such a risk adverse society (especially the military), that I hope that the timeline for VG does not get pushed back indefinitely.

Back From The Field...For The Weekend. Quick Discussion on Stoicism.

That's right, after spending 10 days in the field, sleeping under the stars in the New Mexican desert, I have the weekend off, then bright and early (should I say pitch black and chilly?) Monday morning it is right back out to another patch of New Mexican desert for more field time. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to practice training my trigger finger, more like my trigger thumb, flipping a switch on a radio headset in the Troop's Command Post.

The biggest hardship is not the port-jons, or the bad food (organic polymer material called "eggs"?), sleeping on cots in the open, or the lack of sleep. It is not having signal for the cellphone in order to keep in touch with family, or check email, or worse yet, no news.

A lot has happened in the world, and I will not recap it all.

I was pleased to see a growing spurt of discussion on the topic of Stoicism. The Defensive Training Group had an excellent article here.

I had heard of Stoicism long ago. but had never read deep into it. A couple of years ago I ran across a presentation (here) the Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale gave in 1995. I keep it in a binder with another article from 1979 entitled The Farmer at War, which is about the farmers in then Rhodesia trying to keep what they had built. I have always thought it was an interesting combination by accident.

As with any word in language, meanings and definitions will flex and vary, and being "Stoic" is no different. I may not agree with all of the philosophy of Stoicism, but what I do agree with I can add to my personal code of life.

Another Dry Spell.

Folks I am heading back out to the field yet again. While I may be out of communication for about 10 days, I will be writing down articles and posts in a book to be published as soon as possible.

Keep reading, commenting, and more importantly, read the articles posted by the bloggers on my blog roll. We create our communities by thought and deed. We need to support each other. We are all we have.

If you do not see your comment published right away, hang tight, as soon as I get signal, access to the internet, or get home, I will publish them as soon as I can.

A Prayer For The New Knights Of The Church Militant

I found this on a friend's facebook page and the title for this post hit me. It really ties into some thoughts that were expressed here and here and here. It is time to gird ourselves, train our arms, heads, and hearts for battle, and stand in the gap, spiritually and physically if need be.