Generation Kill

“Dear Frederick, thank you for your nice letter, but I am actually a US Marine who was born to kill, whereas clearly you seam to have mistaken me for some sort of wine sipping, communist dick-suck. And although peace probably appeals to tree hugging bisexuals like you and your parents, I happen to be a death-dealing, blood-crazed warrior who wakes up every day just hoping for the chance to dismember my enemies and defile their civilizations. Peace sucks a hairy asshole, Freddy. War is the mother-fucking answer.”

If you any or all of the following:

  • Band of Brothers
  • Jarhead
  • Call of Duty 4
  • The Wire
  • Half-naked marines being all tough

Then I suggest you check out Generation Kill, which just finished its seven-episode run on HBO. It’s based on the book of the same name by Evan Wright, which itself started life as a series of articles called “The Killer Elite”, written for Rolling Stone magazine. You an read the articles online - part one, part two, part three.

I’ve been describing the show to my ADD/Call of Duty loving friends as “a modern Band of Brothers only more shit”, but I guess that’s a little unfair. Band of Brothers was a monumental piece of television, a series that I will still regularly clear off entire blocks of my busy, busy schedule so I can sit down and watch all the episodes. But then again, Band of Brothers was perfect for this kind of TV - it’s the dramatization of a high-stakes conflict where the politics were very clearly defined. On the other hand, Generation Kill doesn’t really have that luxury being, as it is, about the US invasion of Iraq, where the politics are a whole lot more… ugh. On top of this, the nature of warfare has changed so much since WWII to make it a whole lot less interesting for TV. I doubt we’ll ever get a factually-correct TV show about contemporary war that is even half as interesting as any number of WWII movies or TV shows.1

What I’m trying (and failing) to do here is give some context for the whole “modern Band of Brothers but more shit” comment. But I probably don’t need to bother because none of this even matters to the show. They understand that there’s very little actual combat in their combat missions. They understand that the political situation is messed up in the extreme. In fact, few of the characters actually understand, or indeed, care about the reasoning behind the invasion. They gleefully announce that they’re just there to fuck shit up. They joke about the lack of WMDs and ‘liberating’ the Iraqis.

Wright: If there’s no WMDs, then why are we here in the first place?
Cpl. Person: I knew you were a fucking gay ass liberal. You tried to pretend by invading Iraq with us, but I knew.

It doesn’t glorify war, nor does it condemn it. It’s a whole lot more complicated. A whole lot more… ugh. Still though, it’s a great show.

  1. Hell, even The Thin Red Line, the most introspective, shoe-gazing war movie of the last twenty years had Woody Harrelson getting his ass blown off by a grenade. [↩]

‘100 Things’ author dies at 47

Most heartbreaking news I’ve read all day:

Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47. … Freeman’s relatives said he visited about half the places on his list before he died

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-26

  • UPS says my Xbox has been delivered. Microsoft says it hasn’t. Someone is lying. #

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-25

  • Good news: my body is no longer the pale, luminous shade of white it has been for the past 29 years #
  • Bad news: now it’s a terrifying, sore-looking shade of red. Fuck you, day-star. #

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-22

  • Back in Rome now, catching up on email #
  • Going camping in Sabaudia tomorrow, so there’s a tent set up in my living room and our sleeping bags are airing on our terrace. #
  • Before it was reclaimed by the fascists, Sabaudia was all marshland. Better bring plenty of mosquito spray. #

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-19

  • Driving tester was all “EPIC FAIL!”, and I was all “NO WAI!” and he was all “PSYCHE!” #
  • Translation: I passed! #
  • Fifteen minutes into Wall-E and I’ve started blubbing. I think I’m getting worse. #

Pedestrians beware

That license in your wallet, that’s not an ordinary piece of paper, that is a driver’s license, and its not only a driver’s license, it’s an automobile license, and it’s not only an automobile license, it’s a license to live, a license to be free, a license to go wherever, whenever and with whomever you choose.
– Corey Feldman
One of the users on rllmukforum has posted a wonderful interpretation of the story of Braid.

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-17

  • Dentist appointment in the morning. Probably more nervous about that than my driving test. #

Growing Up.

Then suddenly again, Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world with his chin in his hands, called out “Pooh!”
“Yes?” said Pooh.
“When I’m — when — Pooh!”
“Yes, Christopher Robin?”
“I’m not going to do Nothing any more.”
“Never again?”
“Well, not so much. They don’t let you.”
Pooh waiting for him to go on, but he was silent again.
“Yes, Christopher Robin?” said Pooh helpfully.
“Pooh, when I’m — you know — when I’m not doing Nothing, will you come up here sometimes?”
“Just Me?”
“Yes, Pooh.”
“Will you be here too?”
“Yes, Pooh, I will be really. I promise I will be, Pooh.”
“That’s good,” said Pooh.
“Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever. Not even when I’m a hundred.”
Pooh thought for a little.
“How old shall I be then?”
“Ninety-nine.”
Pooh nodded.
“I promise,” he said.
Still with his eyes on the world, Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh’s paw.
“Pooh,” said Christopher Robin earnestly, “if I — If I’m not quite–” he stopped and tried again –”Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won’t you?”
“Understand what?”
“Oh, nothing.” He laughed and jumped to his feet. “Come on!”
“Where?” said Pooh.
“Anywhere,” said Christopher Robin.

It’s maybe twenty years since I first read this and it still makes me cry.

Twitter Updates for 2008-08-13

  • I love it when BBC news translators try to emote what the person is saying. #
  • Favourite example of this right now: English toff pretending to be a tragic-looking 90-year-old Georgian man. #
  • Sammy Davis Jr’s version of The Candy Man is amazing. Now I want a groovy lemon pie :( #
  • In Italy, a homeless person is called a “barbone”, which literally means “big beard” #
  • I wonder if the Italian contempt for the beard contributes to their virtually non-existent tech industry. #

Heading home

In eight hours, I’m flying back to Ireland for a few days. Over the next week, I will be:

  • down in Limerick for a wedding

  • meeting my parish priest to sort out some wedding stuff
  • getting my teeth checked out
  • practicing my driving
  • sitting my driving test
  • getting an eye test done so I can get contacts
  • eating KFC
  • not spending my days sitting in front of a computer in a pool of my own sweat

As you can see, it’s going to be a busy few days. If anyone wants to meet up over the weekend, holla atcha boy - I’ll be on my Irish mobile.

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