/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ The 88th Firebirds "Official" Newsletter Website: http://ftp.sarawak.com.my/org/firebirds/ Volume Six, 1 December 1997 Part B /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ PART B: Interstellar Chat Radio >From the Quill Pen Musings of A Guylian-Eating Officer Pop Quiz, Hot Shots! (Answers) Addresses and Sites /~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/ <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Interstellar Chat Radio <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> LETTER FROM THE "BOSS"! Hey FBs, Here's contact from Raven...FINALLY!!! For the newbies, Raven's the Boss. The original CO who had to leave and so is now the Foreign Relations and Liaison Officer. For the oldies, isn't it great to finally hear from her again?! I was pleasantly surprised, as you can imagine! Ok, you can write to her at. Spar -------------------------------------- > Sparry! Sparry! OmiGAWD! I haven't heard from you guys in AGES!!! Perry > was the only one who wrote back to me and I LOST her original message when > I changed e-mail addresses, and I forgot her address so I haven't been > able to write back - yours is the only one I managed to recall now!!! > > How are you guys? What's been going on with our squadron? Did you hear the > NEWS?! My bro just e-mailed me and told me about the latest episode of > Cyberwave - MAN, did anyone TAPE this?! THEY MENTIONED OUR SITE!!! Yes, > OUR site!!!!! They said it was quite good, bla bla, informative or > something, yadda yadda, and that we had an "interview" with Wang, which > was impressive, etc. etc....OUR SITE!!! I can't BELIEVE this! And I wasn't > around to witness it!!!! Sh******t! But on the bright side tho - can you > IMAGINE the publicity this is going to generate for us?!! Have you heard > from KF lately - what did he have to say about that?! > > Ooh, gimme a moment to calm down now. Well. Alright. Sorry I haven't been > writing, but I've been DEAD busy - apparently us archaeology students are > the ONLY ones at the University of York who actually have to prepare > presentations for our seminars...and I also never knew university essays > had to be at least 2000 words long!!! But, I'm coping here... > > I've realised, rather ashamedly, that I never managed to keep my promise > regarding the logo. DAMN!!! I did so want to get it done. Did you guys do > anything about it? Incidentally, there's a pub quite near my place, on the > way to town, which is called the PHOENIX, and there's an absolutely MARVY > sign outside with a picture of this fiery bird with wings outspread above > a bed of flames. If you guys still haven't done anything about the logo > (my fault, I know!!) I was thinking of taking a picture of it, and then > using that to draw up something usable. What d'you think? > > Meanwhile, there's a small shop near my place called Cooper's Corner grin> and there's apparently some sort of supermarket chain called Spar!!! > Kewlness. > > So what've you guys been talking about lately? What did you get up to? Did > the gathering go as planned? Did you all finally get to meet up? So many > questions!!! > > Please send my regards to all the others (do we have any new members?) and > forward this message on to your BONA FIDE REAL MAILING LIST! And is there > anything you need me to do for you over here? I'm not THAT busy now; > things are starting to settle down...c'mon, I'm Foreign Liasions Officer > now!! I need some WORK!!! Also, could Garuda please send me any issues of > the newsletter that have been generated since I left? I'd like to be put > on the newsletter list from now on, please. Please please? Garry? > > Awright, I must go now, must have lunch (ran late for my seminar this > morning and missed breakfast), get ready for French class this evening, > start work on my last essay for the term (environmental archaeology - > ooh), etc. etc. Life's a mad dash! > > Okay, you guys - WRITE! And where's the snail mail letter Perry promised > me?! > > xxxooo > ~Rav > > P.S. Saw Due South video tapes in Virgin Megastore! __________________________________________________________ A NOTE FROM OUR HONOURARY MEMBER Hi FBs, I told Joel about the Cyberwave thing. And this is what he has to say. I'm sure he means to share it with you all, so i am. :) now, don't squeal should it turn out otherwise, ok? ;) Spar ------------------------------------- > Dear Sparhawk, > > I'm so glad all the work and effort you guys have put in has paid off in > some kind of recognition! How wonderful for you to get a mention on > tv! I hope, after you see it, that it meets your expectations. > Hopefully, this will be a sign of things to come for the Firebirds. > > The Chat next Friday will, indeed, use the room reached via my page. I > don't know the time difference either, but for what it's worth, it will > be at 6:30pm in Los Angeles, 8:30pm in Chicago, and 9:30pm in New York. > Hope that helps. > > Best wishes, > > > Joel <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> >From the Quill Pen <^><^><^><^><^><^><^> "Operation White Wing - Fight for Hill 375" (part 3) by Kingfisher The soft clunk of the mortar round being loaded was duly heard by the the troops of Earth Forces. Seconds later, a dull thud echoed from the distance. And the fighting started all over again. Everybody who had a weapon was furiously firing them. Triggers pulled back all the way. Others rushed up the hill, screaming on top of their lungs, some inane war cry which was heard all across the valley. Others giving covering fire for those who were rushing up the hill, and others lay dead, where they were killed. Lt. Lowe sprinted from her hole, firing a few bursts from her rifle. She took cover behind a mound of earth as Chig small arms fire intensified. To her left, Lieutenant Hurnain was slowly inching his way up the hill, fallen tree stumps from artillery fire giving him enough cover that he required. Behind him, Private Ahmad followed suit. The Marines poured a deadly barrage of mortars into Chig positions. Rounds after rounds was fed into their 81mm's, providing support for the Rangers and MArines. A loud thump near Bat made her spin. A Marine trooper rolled down the splope coming to rest at her feet. A portion of his head clearly missing. Far in front, Kingfisher and Jae were gaining ground as M590 rifle fire increased around her. Bat refitted a new magazine into her rifle and steadily crawled forward. ****************************************** Chig artillery rounds threw debris and soil on top of Private Anita as she lay on her back behind a dead New Zealand trooper. She could feel a few bullets hit the soft flesh of the dead soldier. She waited for a gap in the shooting and when it came, Vully jumped up and stared her way up the hill. The soil was wet with blood and her boot left deep imprints on the ground baptized by the blood of Earth Forces soldiers. She only gianed a few yards when a Chig round caught her between the shoulder blades. Vully dropped like she was pole-axed. She tried to stand but the pain was excruciating. Behind her, Garry who was covering for Vully, saw her fall. Garry slinged her rifle behind her back and rushed to her aid. Turning Vully gently on her back, she saw Vully was breathing heavily as if each breath was going to ber her last. A trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Garry could see that the bullet had passed cleanly through but Vully was in shock. Her cold clammy hands and disorientation gave evidence of that. Garry grabbed her in a fireman's carry and started back down, towards the gully where Gossy was. She only made it hafway when a another a Chig machine gun burst blew her kneecap off. Screaming with pain, Garry fell to the ground, Vully tumbled on top of her as both went down. Eagle who had just dropped another round into her mortar, saw what had happend and together with another Marine, who was in the mortar pit with her, rushed to help. Eagle took out her med kit and tied the bandage around Garry's knee, hoping her leg wouldn't drop off. The other Marine had applied pressure on Vully's wound. With all the turmoil around them, they half carried and half dragged the wounded Firebirds towards the safety of the infirmary. Gossy came running, two of her corpsmen in tow. Eagle deposited Garry onto a stretcher carried by the two corpsmen. The Marine did the same and after making sure Garry and Vully wouldbe in good hands, they both returned to their mortar emplacements. Vully was propped up against the guly wall, one of the corpsmen attending her. After deciding that Vully would live, Gossy was busily tying a tourniquet around Garry's leg when she accidentally stood up. At that instant ,a Chig sniper bullet came whizzing by, shattering her jaw. The force of the hit knocked her backwards. She lay writhing on the ground as blood began to fill her vision. <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Musings of A Guylian-Eating Officer <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> THOUGHT: "The measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ---Martin Luther King, Jr.--- Science is the religion of the fearful. The arrogance of man to insist on a litmus test for the existence of God. --Bishop Stanley Wells-- We might as well admit it: men and women need each other...and we being individuals, egotists...we all want to be absolute and sufficient unto oneself. It's a great blow to our self esteem that we simply need other human beings. --DH Lwrence-- VERSE: Dylan is about the Individual against the whole creation Beethoven is about one man's fist in the lightning clouds The Pope is about abortion & the spirits of the dead... Television is about people sitting in their living room looking at their things America is about being a big Country full of Cowboys Indians Jews Negroes & Americans Orientals Chicanos Factories skyscrapers Niagara Falls Steel Mills radios homeless Conservatives, don't forget Russia is about Czars Stalin Poetry Secret Police Communism barefoot in the snow But that's not really Russia it's a concept A concept is about how to look at the earth from the moon without ever getting there. The moon is about love & Werewolves, also Poe Poe is about looking at the moon from the sun or else the graveyard Everything is about something if you're a thin movie producer chain-smoking muggles The world is about overpopulation, Imperial invasions, Biocide Genocide, Fratricidal Wars, Starvation, Holocaust, mass injury & murder, high technology Super science, atom Nuclear Neutron Hydrogen detritus, Radiation Compassion Buddha, Alchemy Communication is about monopoly telivision radio movie newspaper spin on Earth, i.e. planetary censorship. Universe is about Universe. Allen Ginsberg is about confused mind writing down newspaper headlines from Mars-- The audience is about salvation, the listeners are about Sex, Spiritual gymnastics, nostalgia for the Steam Engine & Pony Express Hitler Stalin Roosevelt & Churchill are about arithmetic & Quadrilateral equations, above all chemistry physics & chaos theory-- Who cares what it's all about? I do! Edgar Allen Poe cares! Shelly cares! Beethoven & Dylan care. Do you care? What are you about or are you a human being with 10 fingers and two eyes? ---Ginsberg , "Is About"-- QUOTE: "We at the FBI don't have a sense of humor that we know of." ----Agent K MiB--- "I doubt sometimes whether a quiet and unagitated life would have suited me--yet I sometimes long for it." --Byron--- I've lived the life of ten men--and borne the sorrow of an hundred. --Bonaparte-- Having a sense of hunor is being able to see three sides to a coin. --Anon-- As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate I rejoice at it; As he was valiant, I honor him; but as he was ambitious, I slew him. --Shakespeare-- PHRASE: Latin: O! Si sic omnia! Eng: O! If all things were so! Latin: Dum spiro spero Eng: While I breathe, I hope Latin: Forte scutum salus ducum English: Strong shield, the safety of leaders. FUNNEE: "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." --- Mark Twain--- "I do think there is a real dilemma here, in that while it has been government policy to regard policy as the responsibility of ministers, and administration as the responsibility of officials, questions of administrative policy can cause confusion between the administration of policy and the policy of administration, especially when responsibility for the administration of the policy of the administration, conflicts with the responsibility for the policy or overlaps with the responsibility for the policy of the administration of policy." --Sir Humphrey , Yes Minister-- <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Pop Quiz, Hot Shots! -- Answers <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> 1. 16 April 2064. 2. 4300 men and women laid down their lives on Demios. 3. Sergeant First Class Louie Fox. 7th Cavalry from Custer's Last Stand, if there's a massacre, then they're in it. 4. Battle of Mandrake Ridge. 5. Eridanus constellation. 6. Batman and Robin, the old version. The one which starred Adam West. Plonk! Blam! Thunk! 7. Vansen gave Winslow and Phousse an engraved K-Bar, while West got a pair of socks and Coop got a Bollocks CD (which was trampled during the commotion when a pipe burst inside the ISSCV). 8. Croaker. 9. Loxley, Alabama. 10. "Pag's Payback". 11. No one. But Vansen came out the de facto honcho. 12. The other candidate for UN Secretary-General, running against Diane Hayden. 13. The traitor within the 58th who was supposed to kill Chaput. 14. A few weeks after she was born they discovered the gene that caused her congenital defect and the means to cure her in utero came too late. 15. "The Angry Angels", McQueen's former squadron. 16. Unknown. He returned it unopened. 17. Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro. Vansen is 'Deniro' and Phousse is 'Brando'. 18. Clint Eastwood. 19. Dr. Stranahan, "Take a Chance" Virus. 20. Tartarus. 21. Concussion, PTSD, and hypervigilance. 22. Philadelphia. 23. Anchorage, Alaska. 24. Kate. 25. She was parachuting down when the rest of tne 5-8 were under fire by the Chigs and were hard pressed against the side of a mountain. Shane took out her rifle (while still dangling on her parachute) and fired upon enemy positions, killing many. 26. Minced Ham. 27. Squadrons 27, 32, and 53. 28. Of all things they could've received, they received foot powder. 29. They started eating the dirt when it mixed with sugar after the explosion...all except Vansen. 30. Quoting from the Chinese General,"The Sun Yat Sen can insert the 3rd Chinese Infantry on Snider's Plateau. They will pour down from there in two major thrusts." 31. 5th Force Recon. 2nd Lt. Herrick. 32. Robert Joseph Grant. 33. Cal Tech and she has a degree in Nuclear Physics. 34. Sergeant Major Bougous. 35. Asteroids Bar. 36. 1900 hours. 37. 4.8 light years. 38. Ross: I'll be a son of a bitch if I go to your funeral Ty. McQ : Yes you will, sir. But we can talk about your mother when I get back. 39. 19th and some of the 35th. 40. A double shot of JD. Bonus question: 'Bloody' Omaha, Sword, Juno, Gold and Utah. <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> Addresses and Sites <^><^><^><^><^><^><^><^> New site: KT Ng ("Wildfire", 41st Squadron) has recently put up a S:AaB page at: http://www.internet-club.com/Singapore/wildfire/saab.html __________________________________________________________ The newsletter will be posted every fortnight (hopefully). 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 SIX