/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ "Semarak Api" The 88th Firebirds Official Newsletter Website: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ Online Version: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/newsletter.htm Volume Fourteen, 15 June 1998 Part B /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ PART B: Interstellar Chat Radio >From the Quill Pen Addresses and Sites /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Interstellar Chat Radio <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> MESSAGE FROM RAVEN Hi guys, This is a message from Raven. Long overdue, but it's really great hearing from her after so long. If you want to get in touch with her, she's at saa104@york.ac.uk Sparhawk ______________________________ SORRY...sorry...sorry...I know I've been out of touch for sooooo long but I am REALLY really SWAMPED here!!! My life is an absolute mess! Will try to explain as soon as possible...actually it might be easier if I wrote snail-mail as that's more reliable for me these days. Will you send me your address so I can get in touch properly? That goes for anyone else who wants to hear from me as well. Gossy's address I have; I'll probably write to her sometime in the near future. Will be moving soon, by the way. What's up? I keep forgetting the new website address and spend ages floundering about in cyberspace trying to find it. Meanwhile, miscellaneous updates: you might want to know that my website seems to no longer exist. So you can take that off. Also, my e-mail address should be changed to saa104@york.ac.uk as I NEVER check my hotmail ones anymore so any correspondence directed in those vicinities must be rotting away... Thank EVERYONE who had a hand in sending me the Raya card; I know I'm HOPELESSLY behind times as it is right now. Tell Garuda thanks also for the continuous supply of newsletters, she's doing a brilliant job. Extend my welcome to all new members who probably have no idea that I even exist. HOO-RAH 88th!!! May the Force be with you...remember your ex-CO and still-around- though-extremely-absent-marine-in-arms is still with you as well. I will write! ~Raven P.S. Have they started showing that unbelievably brilliant sci-fi movie `Dark City' over there yet?! GO SEE IT!!! ______________________________ JAMES MORRISON CHAT The Sci-Fi Channel's Dominion website hosted an online chat with James Morrison on May 26 at 8:00pm EDT. Below is an edited transcript: Hello everybody! Thanks for coming. okay...now we're going moderated... *** Moderator sets mode: +m now you will all have tosend your questions through me... James, can you speak? *** JamesMorrison sets mode: +v JamesMorrison yes, I think so. do you want to go ahead and introduce yourself and what you've done lately? Well, you know that I'm on SAAB, of course...at least I hope you do! (why would you be here if not?) I'm in Texas currently, shooting "Abaline," an independent film. While I love Texans, it's certainly nice to here, mixing it up with you folks. The film stars Ernest Borgnine, Kim Hunter and myself. And is written and directed by Joe Camp III. I know they want to have a cut done by September or October to submit to Sundance... but we're having a good time. It's a great group. to any plans for more Space Above and Beyond episodes? Well, I wouldn't be the person to ask about that, though I would be certainly on board if the conditions were right... meaning if Morgan and Wong were in charge of it. I doubt we'll do more episodes but it certainly would be nice to get together and do something. to A question for James - other than The Angriest Angel, which was his fave episode of SAaB? Oh boy...(sighs) I liked Stay With The Dead. And I'm not really sure why... It just touched something in me, I think. Plus, I thought Morgan was wonderful in it. But I really don't have a favorite. I can't even for sure count Angriest Angel among my favorites. I think it's an overall feeling that the whole experience left for me, that means more than any one moment. I learned a lot from that experience. to Thanks So much for coming! I'd like to know what you liked most/least about the character of McQueen? What I liked most about the character was that he was so flawed. He was a pretty angry guy (laughs) and I think some anger management courses were in his future. He had a chip on his shoulder and it would've been nice to be able to work that out. I think it's always interesting to watch someone who's flawed who tries to works things out as we follow him, than to watch someone who's got it all together. And makes everyone look bad by comparison! I think that a guy like McQueen made other people around him look good because of his concern with doing what was right for the bigger picture than for himself. to I thrive on bloopers. Any memorable ones to share? You know, I was thinking about that one today... we all took ourselves so damn seriously, and it was a MOTHER of a show to shoot and get done in the time allotted, it was a lot of combat stuff, especially for the other five characters, most of the memorable bloopers came from how tense everyone was working under the circumstances. I think Joe had the best sense of humor among us. As we went along and got more comfortable in the skins of the characters, we loosened up. But I can't remember any specific moments. There were no practical jokers on the set, thank god. Everyone was respectful of everyone's space. I think if we'd gone another season, we would've loosened up more. That would've been fun to see. The other thing, too, since we were in the cellar (ratings-wise) we took that pressure on ourselves, and it made us a little bit too serious. With success and acceptance comes a little relaxation, which you don't get when you're lapping up the rear. (laughs) We were in the middle of a war...it wasn't M*A*S*H, after all, and we needed to lighten up a little bit. (smiles) two questions... to What genre is the film (Abaleine)? to Can you tell us more about your role in "Abilene"? Oh, as far as the bloopers: if any were to have been found, I think the best ones would've been of me trying to spit out all that exposition and technobable...I took a lot of ribbing for that from the wise-cracking 58th. Abilene, it's a town in Texas...the genre is sort of sweet romantic comedy. it's a very touching story about a couple of octagenarians who discover in the twilight of their lives that there's hope for love between them. The character I play is turned around by circumstances and learns that there's hope for him, too, in that respect. Most of my scenes are with Ernest Borgnine, and we become friends in the story. I play "Bernie," the sheriff. Probably the only sheriff for 100 miles or so. Very Checkovian, very character driven. Small group of people stuck in a place they want to get out of, and we happen to be witness to a very special 4 days in their lives. No sex, no violence, no drugs, no profanity. It's a real sweet story. And now that I've disuaded everyone from coming to see it... (laughs) to You always play such serious characters. Any plans to loosen up and do comedy? No plans to loosen up, ever! (laughs) I'd love to do comedy. Might find it hard to believe, but I actually have made one or two people laugh in my life. People don't naturally think of me when they're thinking light comedy, but it's in there somewhere. While this character has certainly got his share of problems and gets a little bit testy at times, it's lighter. This is a lighter thing. to James which of your many hats, actor, playwrite, poet etc gives you the most satisfaction as an artist? I think its most satisfying, no matter what you're doing, when you touch somebody with it. It doesn't matter what I'm doing - if it reaches someone and speaks to them, then that's the most rewarding thing. That goes for anybody, I'm sure. If what we do gets through, that's the reward. I don't really have a favorite thing. It's all a level of poetics anyway, and I think...hey, if you're a basketball player and you reach a level of poetry, that's the award. reward. It doesn't matter if you win the game - if you've exceeded yourself, that's what it's about. to What real-life inspirations did you draw on to play McQueen? I was given a tremendous amount just from the stories Morgan and Wong were able to create. That was the basis of my inspiration, it's the basis of how I work. I love to do research and I love to read about things I don't know about.... I loved reading about some of the WWII battles and military history and protocal and things like that... but bascially it came down to the stories they put forth, because that's what we were being paid to put to life. I appreciate that they were generous enough to collaborate with me in that. The whole thing, too, was about loyalty and finding a place in a family of brothers and sisters that we didn't have before... each of us has that in us, somewhere deep; we want to belong and help someone get along with us. That's where I drew it from, I think. I remember, I read a quote years ago from Robert Duvall: you can do all the research in the world about a part, but what it boils down to you and the other person, when you get right down to the moment. I sort of agree with that. to Glen mentioned season 2 plans for McQ, including his rehab on Earth... was that storyline more fleshed out than we've heard? Was there more to the story? Well, we had talked some about what might happen, when they approached me about the injury McQ would sustain in the final episode. It sounded really exciting to me to be doing a "warrior without a war" storyline, the rehab thing. And the conflict that would arise if McQ was given a prosethetic leg - sort of an AI leg - and that would've been interesting also. We talked superficially about that stuff. Just enough to make me more disappointed when we didn't get to do it. We didn't go into any great detail, though, because none of us knew what the future of the show was. to Would you have liked to direct a Space episode? oh, yeah. And I wouldn't have had to break anybody's arm, but I certainly would've done some twisting to make that happen. Come to think of it, I would've broken some arms if I had to. (laughs) that was one of my goals, to do that. I'm going to direct something anyway, someday. I just know it's going to happen. to Do you keep in touch with the old cast and crew from SAAB? The "old" as opposed to the new? Yeah, Joel and I keep in touch more than anyone else. I talked to Morgan right before I came out to Texas, and spoke to Kristan briefly on the set of Skip Chasers. For all those who've just joined us, we're chatting with James Morrison of Space: Above and Beyond. Send your questions for James directly to the Moderator as a private message (ie /msg moderator ...) Rob I haven't talked to in a while because he's busy with his series. When you see these people again, it's like no time has passed. We were a family there for a whole year. We were very close and you don't lose that. And there were no great rifts that developed between people, that was nice too. (typist apologizes if anyone's name was spelled wrong...) to Were you surprised by the popularity of SAAB? And it's continued popularity? Given our god-awful time slot, I was more surprised that we weren't more readily accepted by the viewing audience. Face it, there's a lot of dreck on TV. We were pretty good television. The production values were amazing. People just don't put that much care into their work than we did on that show. The technical staff, especially. to Do you think that the future presented in SAAB is a plausible one? (laughs) I don't think that any future projected by anybody anywhere is plausible. to Will you be attending any cons in the future? I haven't booked any. I had a great time Newcastle and I met some really beautiful people there. I miss them a lot. I don't know if I can top that, to tell you the truth. That was really the first one that I've attended as a "guest," whatever... "a guest whatever" :) There are no plans to do one next, though. If anyone online here was there: hello. to Mr. Morrison, were you surprised by all the attention the McQueen character got - especially from the female fans? :) I guess I was surprised. I never thought about that. But I must say, I thought the character was so intriguing - *I* was intrigued, when I read the pilot - so I guess I wasn't surprised that the character generated the interest that he did, but only because the way he was introduced, he was a very mysterious man. That's always a benefit. That very thing generates interest. I can't take any credit for that, certainly. But in answer to the question...(laughs)...yes, I was surprised. It sounds like I said no, but I really meant yes. I always felt like, whever I see a movie and I go "this guy's a romantic lead" or whatever... to be the love interest, you have to kiss the girl at least once. McQueen probably will never kiss the girl... and maybe only has, once... I don't play characters that get to kiss the girl. (smiles) to You mentioned rewards earlier, how would you rate your experience in S:AAB among your other acting experiences? I learned more as an actor, and certainly a student of how films are made, from that experience. So I'd have to rank it at the top. That's what it's all about. Whatever lessons you go away with, the more valuable they are, that's how you should rate the experience. Good or bad. to When will "Shadow of a doubt" be released? I have no idea. In fact, I learned through the Internet that the title had been changed to Shadow of a Doubt, so I'm out of the loop completely. Last I heard, they didn't have a distributor. to What's the status of the feature film you were planning to make, "False Bravado"? We're still talking to some people, and trying to raise the money. In fact, something happened today that sounded positive, but can't really talk about it beyond that. to Is the smoke in Texas affecting your filming? No. In fact, we're in the panhandle, we're in northern Texas. While it's a little hazy, it hasn't become a health hazard. We're able to shoot some beautiful vistas. We're shooting anamorphic, a wide-screen format, so the sky and landscape is actually becoming another character in the film. I don't know if it's allergies or what, but my eyes and sinuses are acting up. But you can definitely tell that there's smoke in the air. I guess it's much worse around Houston and southern Texas. to Would you do Millennium again? Yeah. Actually, I'd like to come back as some kind of really horrible murderer or something. I've played too many good guys in a row. Now I need to do something ugly. Glen said something about maybe James Horn coming back and being sexually molested by Satan, but it never came about. (smiles) to Prey was ugly... but good! Did you enjoy that role? Yeah, I did. Very much. I wish that the writers had done their homework because it could've been a good show. It's always fun to torment people...under the guise of being creative. to Given (as you said yourself) the amount of crap TV there is out there, is there anything you'd go out of your way to watch every week? I try to catch NYPD Blue whenever I can. That's really the only one. Speaking of flawed characters, I really like the Dennis Franz character. And plus, David Milch is one of the most amazing, creative minds in TV today. to what do u like to do when your not on set being filmed? I like to go into the bank and be filmed! (because...you know...they have a camera running in there a lot...) No, seriously... In Texas I've been living in a hotel, practicing my guitar, my scales. It's sort of like being in prison. I always thought being in prison I'd have a lot of time to practice my guitar...among other things... but certainly the time off the set has been good for my guitar playing. I've been reading a lot here. I can't write when I'm acting, for some reason. I don't know whether its justified laziness or that I've given myself over to someone else's writing and can't split myself in half like that. I've been hanin' loose in the Panhandle. to We've learned that the play "Parking" will be done in Philly... any news on that? How involved personally will you be? I guess it's the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. I won't be involved in that at all, unless they ask me to be. I've spoken to the man who's producing it - I guess he's acting in it. But that's about it. to I understand you write poetry. Do you write music too, and if so, have you changed any of the poems to songs? No. I used to, when I played the guitar almost 20 years ago I used to write songs, just playing around. Nonthing serious. None of my poetry, I think, is adaptable to songs. to Speaking of guitars, can we expect a duet with Tucker? Sure - I don't know how you'd possibly hear it, but you can expect it! I would love to play in a jam with Tucker sometime. For all those who've just joined us, we're chatting with James Morrison of Space: Above and Beyond. Send your questions for James directly to the Moderator as a private message (ie /msg moderator ...) to james, is this the first time you've ever chatted? No, I'm pretty much a chatty kind of a guy. I love to chat. I did a couple of Internet chats when we were on the air, with the Fox people. I talk to some AOL friends occasionally, once every couple of months. The show has had an amazing following on the Internet, so it doesn't make sense not to come aboard and say thank you for the support, and say hello. to James, I think the "Moment" intro is very inspiring from the Chiggie Von.. edisode. I have listened to it many times before trying events. What is your most inspiring scene from SAAB? I think the one I remember most of all, and I remembered this at the time, too, was when we're going off on the Chiggs aircraft we commandeered, and the realization that you're going to your death is very freeing. It's a very freeing experience to be able to say "I'm dead, and therefore it doesn't matter what happens to me, so I can win this battle." I learned a lot from that experience, from that moment. You become fearless because you have nothing to lose. to (passing on the question from McJames) Do you have any Scottish ancestry? Yes I do. In fact, my father's father, James Morrison, his parents were born in Scotland. We haven't gone back much further than that, but I come from a long line of James Morrisons. And yes, we're Scottish. to James: S:AAB marines vs. ALIENS Colonial Marines? Well, what kind of a battle would that be? In the shower? Because that might get pretty ugly. But I think that I could probably whoop Michael Ironside, I know that for sure... Extreme Fighting. Ironside vs. Morrison! And I'd tell him that to his face. I may have...and if I haven't, I'll be sure to say it next time I see him, just so you know I'm not blowing smoke here. to question Can you tell us a bit about "Being Frank"? What motivated you to write it? I understand there is to be a reading to raise funds for a charity? What charity? Being Frank is a play about sexual disfunction and incest and child abuse. I wrote it because it's based on something that happened to some people I know very well. It moved me to write about their story, their journey - as harrowing as it is. We were going to do a reading at the end of this month for RAINN, which is the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. I wanted to do a public reading and raise awareness of the issue, and use this play as a means to do that. ...it wasn't entirely altruistic - there were some selfish moments, I wanted people to hear the play... We had a wonderful cast lined up, and we may yet do it this summer. But this movie job pulled me away, and it's too personal a project for me to hand over to somebody else. My friend Jake Johannson is going to play Frank. Elizabeth Berridge is to be in it. It's on hold, but it hasn't been cancelled. to Did you enjoy Science Fiction before you were involved in SAAB?? If so - favorite show/movie/book???? I read Stranger In A Strange Land years ago and really enjoyed that. I'm not a big sci-fi fan, though, only because I haven't read that much. I read a book called This Perfect Day, by Ira Levine, which I remember vividly. I was a war-movie fan was I was growing up. I loved the WWII movies. I used to ride home on my Schwinn and practice being the greatest fighter pilot. It was fun getting to do that again, to pretend to be the greatest pilot in the universe. to James, how much of an influence on your portrayal of McQueen was your uncle, the Korean War Air Force pilot? My uncle Vince, Vincent Casey, was a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force. In reference to Mr. Morrison's earlier comment about the RAINN charity, their url is http://www.rainn.org/ for anyone who wants to look at it or maybe even support them in any way... I may be mistaken, but I think he flew in Korea. I remember him being this strikingly handsome man in a uniform. And I remember when he came home, staying with my aunt and uncle, he was a very heroic figure. But I never consciously thought of him while I was doing the role, oddly enough. I can't honestly say I modelled the character on anybody. I just tried to inhabit as best as I could. It was so sketchily drawn at first that I felt I *was* McQueen, and I'd be cheating if I used anyone else. It was selfish - I wanted to be McQueen, and nobody else could! (laughsi) to There's been a rumor around that Tom Hanks is trying to do a film version of Stranger in a Strange Land. Would you be interested in a role in that if it ever came about? If so, which one? Oh boy...it's been so long since I read it I couldn't be specific. But I would love to work with Tom Hanks in any capacity. to if you were under chig fire which saab character would you want watching your 6? (last question) (laughs) I think it would probably Vansen...if it were going to be anyone watching my BUTT... but really...if I were under Chig fire, I guess I'd be running away... but I'd like to see all of them there, really. All together. The Sci-Fi Channel is good to be running SAAB, but anybody could do that. If they wanted to do something that was really smart, they would finance a 2-hour movie and get us all back together. Get Glen and Jim to write a follow-up to the final episode, and prove that Paul Wang is not dead, dammit! Thank you for joining us, Mr. Morrison. Any final comments for the crowd? Thanks for your continued support. Talk to you later... *** Moderator sets mode: -m <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> >From the Quill Pen <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Tell Our Moms... We Went to the Kopitiam-lah! A Space: Above and Beyond/Kopitiam crossover by the caffeine-guzzling duo, Sparhawk and Garuda WARNING: There's nothing in here that explains how the 58th appear in the Kopitiam. They are just there, and the Kopitiam gang thinks they are actors. This is very Malaysian humour, and has bits that are integral to every Kopitiam episode. So, if you think we overdo it, wait till you watch the real thing! Incidentally, it's on Monday at 9pm on NTV7. So, watch it and see if we captured the characters as well as we thought we did! ;) [Stephen looks at Cooper's hair in despair] Stephen: [cringe] Aiyoh! You call that a haircut-ah? What did you use? A rat-ah? Cooper: Does this guy speak English? Wang: Maybe he has a speech problem? Kong: [points at Wang] Eh look! Got Chinese actor one. You think he can act-ah? Maybe like Jackie Chan, ah? Chan: Eh Kong. He's too skinny-lah. Kong: Yah-lah. And that actress also... [sighs] Actresses nowadays... no body at all! So thin only, like lidi. Now, Rose Chan, *there's* a woman with a SEXY body... [In the background] Cooper: Who's Jackie Chan? West: Beats me. [All turn to McQueen] McQueen: Er... He's not in the World War Two military books... Vansen: [sarcastic] We're so glad we brought you along to help, sir. McQueen: Were you trying to be funny, Lieutenant? Vansen: [straight-faced] No, sir. Merely stating our appreciation, sir. Chan: Queen, or whoever you are, why your hair so white when you look so young? Too much stress ah? Kong: Yah-lah. Chan is so old already only have white hair. Chan: Oi! Who are you calling old, you pensioner, you! Susan: [frantically shushing Chan and Kong] Oh, I don't know, he looks... dignified. [Susan makes goo-goo eyes at McQueen] Kong: [aside to Chan] Eh, Chan. Why is his name Queen, ah? You don't think... [both men turn and look at McQueen who is trying to avoid Susan] Both men: ... Nah! Cannot be-lah. Marie: [desperate smile] Here're your orders, sirs, madames. [to Coop, smiling sweetly] Would you like anything else? [In the background, a customer signals at Marie, but is ignored] Customer #1: Excuse me... Susan: Shh! Customer#1: Er... I'd like to place my order now... Marie: [distractedly] In a minute! Customer #1: I'd like a... uh... [trails off] [At the Wild Cards� table] Wang: [nudges Coop] Don't you thinks she's cute? Ow! [rubs at ribs, glaring at Phousse, who looks innocently back] Joe: Are you really actors? You know, I acted in this advertisement once... West: Actors? Phousse: [gently] We're not actors. Joe: Of course! You're an *actress* one mah. [Phousse looks pleadingly at Vansen] Vansen: Don't look at me, ask Paul to talk to him. Wang: Hey! West: We are Marines, uh... whatever your name is, civilian. Joe: Wah! Really ah? Marines! [aside to Stephen] Eh, what's Marines ah? Swimmers, ah? Stephen: Heh! How can be swimmers? Swimmers wear swimming trunks right? [Coop jumps up and recites Marine pledge] Coop: [bewildered] Where did *that* come from??!! Wang: Maybe it's the coffee. [Meanwhile, the Kopitiam gang applauds] Kong: Wah! So chim one! McQueen: [wipes a tear from eye] I knew he would do me proud one day. [The rest of the 58th look weirdly at their coffee] Wang: I *knew* it. West: Maybe IVs are allergic to this coffee? Vansen: God knows, but we'd better do something. West, Wang, remove the coffee from Coop and McQueen. Phousse, distract them. Phousse: How?! Vansen: I don't know, whatever! Do a striptease if you have to! [Marie and Susan jostle West and Wang] Susan: Let me. [sweet smile] Marie: No, let ME! Susan: Marie, you look tired. Why don't I do it? Marie: [sweet smile] Susan, this is MY Kopitiam, I�LL clear the tables! [In the background] Chan: Eh, Kong. got Rose Chan show-lah! Stephen: [aside to bewildered McQueen] If only they were so enthusiastic on normal days. Kong: Ya-lor, maybe they'll start MAKING money for a change. [The fight begins to degenerate] Susan: I'M paying for HALF of it! Marie: You Singaporeans are so calculative! Susan: Well, if it wasn't for us Singaporeans, no one would even know WHERE Malaysia is! Marie: Well, maybe then we'll stop being associated with kiasu Singaporeans! West: Umm... Shane? Maybe we should grab Coop and the Colonel and go. Phousse: [wide-eyed] Yeah... I can see major explosions ahead. And I mean MAJOR. Vansen: [nervous] I think so too. Now, if you'd like to take the Colonel's other arm... How come they fell *asleep* after drinking that coffee? Wang: Do you really want to know? Vansen: [pause] No. [The 58th drag their squadron mate and commanding officer away, taking advantage of the distraction] Susan: Well, at least we are well-known. He's with them, I'm sure he's Singaporean. Marie: Him? Judging from his good looks, I'll bet he�s Malaysian! [They turn to Wang, who freezes, holding on to Coop�s arm] Both girls: So, you're Malaysian/Singaporean, right? [The girls glare at each other] Wang: [deer-in-the-car-headlights look] Umm... err... actually, I'm Filipino- American. [Both girls look disgusted] Susan: See? I told you he's not Malaysian! Marie: Well, he isn't Singaporean either! Vansen: [whispers] Quick! We can make it out the door if we hurry! Stephen: [bars door] Eh? Going so soon? But you haven't heard me sing! [strums guitar] West: Oh, shit. Stephen: [sings off-key] Only you... Vansen: Damn. Wang: The pain... make the pain stop... Stephen: Can make all my dreams come true... Only you.... Phousse: Guys? Coop and McQueen are waking uuuuuuup..... Cooper: Wha...? What's that? Are Chigs attacking us? McQueen: [eyes fly open] Battlestations!! We�re under attack! Vansen: Sir? Watch that fist! It's not--[THWACK! KERRASH!] Kopitiam gang: STEPHEN! Stephen: [hides behind Marie] Wah! So fierce one, ah! Chan: Wah! Kong, did you see that? Kong: Like kungfu sifu only one! Chan: Eh! Maybe HE's like Jackie Chan. Kong: No, no. More like Bruce Lee! [Meanwhile, Vansen desperately tries to calm down the disoriented Coop and McQueen] Vansen: [picking shards of a former guitar off her flightsuit] Sir? Coop? Dammit, listen to me! [hisses to Phousse] YOU try! Phousse: And do what?! A striptease??!! Wang: I'D like to see THAT. [Phousse and Vansen glare at him] Wang: On second thoughts... West: Guys? We have a problem here. Two, actually. [gestures at Coop and McQueen] [McQueen's wary eyes search the kopitiam. Suddenly, he catches sight of his cup of coffee. He dodges Vansen, brushes past West and lunges for the coffee] 58th: NO-OOOOooo!!! Marie: [sweetly] Would you like a fresh girl-- err, cup, sir? Susan: [extra sweetly] Marie will make you one while I keep you company. [Fortunately, Marie and Susan get in McQueen's way and Vansen dives for the table] McQueen: [does flickering eyeball thing] What do you think, we're back on the block smokin' and jokin'? Hear this loud and clear, Marine -- I am not your 'guy'. I'm not your Joe, I'm not your damn drinking buddy... [to Susan and Marie] and I sure as hell am not a mark in a singles bar. You hear this CFB -- I am not here to make friends! When this war ends, and [to Damphousse] you go back to raise money for charity, and [to Wang] you're eating dogs at Wrigley, and [to West] you go back to Mayberry, I'm still going to be out here waiting for the next one. That's why I'm here. That's what I'm good for. [The 58th cringe, having heard all this before. Vansen catches the coffee and quickly dumps it into the potted plant. The unlucky plant withers and shrivels up] Joe: [blur look] Eh, of course his name is not Joe, lah. I'M Joe, what. All: SHUT UP! THE END <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Addresses and Sites <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> "Have you ever thought about the fact that there are a lot of hearts and diamonds in a pack of cards? A lot of spades and clubs. But there's only one joker." - Jostein Gardner, Sophie's World Lt. Paul Wang is the smart-alec of the squadron, the guy who laughs at anything... and the guy they never expected will be a good Marine. Like a sword forged in fire, Wang became stronger through the many trials -- the torture at the hands of Elroy-L comes to mind. In the end, he gave his life to save the colonists. This month, we honour the actor: Joel de la Fuente. Snail mail address: Joel de la Fuente c/o Lasher, McManus and Robinson 2372 Veteran Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90064 Webpages: The Official Joel de la Fuente Homepage Space: Loved One's Biographies - Joel de la Fuente A short biography of Joel de la Fuente Filmography for Joel de la Fuente The newsletter is posted every fortnight. For suggestions and contributions to both the newsletter and mailing list e-mail Garuda . I will forward any message intended for the whole squadron to the mailing list. If you want your message to be seen by the whole squadron, state it clearly and I will put it up on the Bulletin Board column as well. I am also responsible for Communications, so e-mail me if you have any other problems, except those concerning your membership in the 88th, as that falls under Peregrine's wing. /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ END VOLUME FOURTEEN