Daily archives: January 8, 2003


Scary Clowns

European groups performing in the UK this year, have cast of the mistreated animals and buckets of confetti to produce disturbing and sexually charged circus shows.

Their new show, Epine d’Amour, produced by the Archaos creator Pierrot Bidon, has been running in Marseilles, in a disused abattoir. It is a project that Bidon has worked on for six years. Elements include the performers swimming through seven tons of broken glass; human fireworks, in which fireworks are thrown into a dustbin containing a performer, exploding in his face.


Four colour world

Mark Millar, writer of some of the best (and best selling) superhero books of the moment is certain that we’re not just living in the future, we’re living in a comic book.

…a doctor friend of mine was telling me that six Muslim extremists had been arrested in Edinburgh last week before they could scatter anthrax over our country’s major New Year’s Eve celebrations from hang-gliders. All that’s missing from these scenarios is the eleven-page brawl and the witty one-liners…


Heavensent- Chapter 8, Part 4

Lensman helped Kess up the gully to a large rock they could use as a vantage point. The young marksman dragged himself to the edge and looked down on the road. A track with anti airs on it was making its way to a firing position. It was time to find out how effective the sabots were.

Below, the troops were falling back one at a time, drawing the attacking force toward a bottleneck. Lensman saw one of his squad fall, and knew he wasn�t getting back up. The next troop through checked the body, made a sign over it, and collected spare clips. To cover the last dash through the gap, two teams loosed one shot rockets at the advancing pack and moved under cover of the debris raised.

Kess estimated where the operator would sit behind the armour on the anti air. He took a deep breath and pulled the trigger as he exhaled. The shot was low, but still a hole punched through the armour and a body tumbled from the track. Kess examined the four barrels of the anti air. There was a gap in the armour where they protruded. Whilst troops huddled behind the track and discussed who should be the next gun operator, Kess put a shot through the gap, hoping to wreck some of the anti air�s mechanism.

Troops advanced up the gully, gaining the squad�s original position. The squad held fire until they started moving again. The volley of fire cut down the first few troops and got heavy fire in return.

A shell on the anti air exploded, clipped by Kess�s shots, setting off a series of detonations that destroyed the weapon. There was a lull in the gunfire as each side was surprised by this turn. A bullet came up the gully, high and wide, followed by others. With his head down, Lensman could still see the bunch of soldiers on the road that broke off from the main group and headed into the trees. �Ec, Mid. They are trying to get round behind us. Head into the trees and cut them off. Garit.�

�Sir?�

�Take the last of the rockets and get up there with Kess and see if you can get any as far as the road.�

�Sir.� The three moved off. Lensman surveyed the rest of his squad. He had lost four men so far, to twenty or thirty from the troop convoy. It was a good ratio, but attrition was going to get the better of them if they could not tip the balance even further into their favour.


Round Up

I don’t know, I look at the things that governments are doing and I have to think that it can’t be so simple, they can’t all be oil hungry, corrupt bastards, there has to be more to it. Every day I read something about how America is turning into the world’s richest third world dictatorship. I’m waiting for the punchline, but I’m getting worried that by the time it comes around I might have been barred by the Department of Approved Internet Use.


Insurgency

American and British special forces have been in Iraq for at least four months, according to this Australian article. But the Aussies have kept out.

Australia is believed to have a policy of not sending special forces on covert operations into hostile countries, but the spokeswoman described this as hypothetical.

Doesn’t that sort of spoil the effect of having such units in the first place?