Fook it Friday

Happy Friday Stroock's Books kibbutzim, and shabbat shalom. 

The Olympics start tonight. The ceremonies are going to be gay and retarded, aren't they? 

We're still enjoying the bitching and moaning by all the Washington Post journalists fired by Jeff Bezos (PBUH). Like they have a right to lifetime employment at a business that's losing a hundred million dollars a year. You know what, we've been laid off, not invited backed, eased out, and just plain shit-canned. Toughen up, buttercup. And learn to code. Screw them.

Jews, a couple of new polls in Israel. One shows a hung parliament (with Likud winning 27 out of 120 seats), one shows a majority for Netanyahu's coalition. In a preference for PM poll, Bibi gets 52%. The Israelis must have elections by October. The rumor is Bibi will call for elections this summer. Either way his political position improves each week. It seems the era of Netanyahu ends when Netanyahu says it ends. 

So here's a twitter post showing video of a Sioux Nation meeting. The poster calls the meeting a pow-wow, but we don't know what the proper Sioux term is and we like to be respectful. Speaking of, alert reader(s) will see a man dragging a 7th Cavalry flag on the floor, the 7th Cavalry being Custer's unit. Why shouldn't Sioux commemorate their great victory? But why desecrate the 7th Cavalry flag?

Do note in this and other videos the Sioux are walking proudly with the Stars and Stripes.  Would the Sioux position in the United States not be analogous to that of the Confederates after the War of Northern Aggression. The Johnnie Rebs are notoriously proud of their victories over the Yankees. But we've never, ever, scene a Johnny Reb desecrate the Stars and Stripes. Robert E. Lee was a Christian gentleman of course, though he was soundly whipped on the field of battle, by Yankees.

Thru Day Thursday

Arrh...ye  stout reader(s) of Stroock's Books and avast! 

We awake with a touch of the gout. Reminder, it's not the gout that sucks. Uric acid is easily broken up. It's the aftermath. Those thousands of tiny crystals leave one's muscles sore. 

We hit the gym yesterday afternoon out of sheer ennui [Dear lord, stop pronouncing it N-U-I-Ed]. That's three days in a row. Actually, we had a vision. We've been wanting to change up our exercise regimen. How 'bout elliptical, rower, elliptical, rower; 15 minutes per? Upon this idea we shall dwell. 

Iran talks are back on, they say.  Our guess is that the Gulf Arabs wanted Trump to take one more stab at talks before Operation Don't Piss Me Off. But that is only a guess. Meanwhile Iran has seized two tankers in the Gulf. Again, Iran can be a nuisance, but Trump has the leverage.  He can afford to be patient. Exit question, why does Iran seemingly want a fight?* 

When we say we come from a journalism background...

...we mean we come from a journalism background. This includes a grandfather that wrote for Barons and the New York Times and a father who was a producer at NBC news. We ourselves wrote for our HS and college newspaper. It's not much, but it's how we learned who, what, where, when, and why. Few modern 'journalists' are capable of what we were capable of at 19. Just the facts. Here we are doing actual reporting. Here we are doing some more actual reporting. It ain't rocket science. 

At Hot Air, Mark Judge writes about the ongoing massacre at The Washington Post. Breitbart has more details. Do click on over and enjoy. It moved, a little. Screw these people. If we saw one of them drowning, we wouldn't lift a finger to help. Okay, that's a little too far. We'd toss them the rescue buoy, but we wouldn't get wet.  

President Nixon is enjoying The Post's implosion, from up there. 

DOGE report.

We started three scenes in World War 1990: The Managua Campaign. Two of them are about the Contras moving into position. We like these scenes very much. 

What do we think? 

*Because at this moment the Mullahs are really trying to piss off Trump. What are the unknown unknowns?

Midweek Meh

Good afternoon, Combined-Joint Stroock's Books Command. 

We are sore after back-to-back days at the gym. 

This blog remains meh about the Super Bowl.  We are vaguely aware that the Winter Olympics begin on Friday. Also meh, but it's something to watch. Why not? That being said, at least half these sports are not-a-sport that belong on ESPN-8: the Ocho. 

We sigh forlornly. Time was we had ambitions. We had plans. Now we're happy when we get the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned before bedtime. There's something quite satisfying about a clean kitchen when we get our morning coffee, actually. We sigh like a man who knows he's well past the halfway mark, like Alec Guiness walking across the bridge at sunset. 

Hot Air says, 'BREAKING: Getting Hairy in Hormuz: US Shoots Down Iranian Drone, Iran Confronts US Tanker'. See also Israel Radar.  The Israelis and US have already demonstrated they can strike Iran at will, wherever, whenever, and however they want. Why would Iran provoke Trump like this? Do not mock or taunt Happy Funball or President Trump.  

The game is afoot, as they say. We don't get the Iranian's game. Maybe the mullahs are just plane nuts. Trump is usually nice until it's time to not be nice.* Trump's are the actions of a man who has massive leverage and knows it. Exit question: when will Trump decide it is no longer time to be nice?

Ah, and it looks like talks between the US and Iran are off. Just do it, Mr. President. 

DOGE Report.

We spend all day writing, researching, and mapping World War 1990: The Managua Campaign. As Frank Costanza once said, I'm back, baby!

We spent a few hours working out command issues. Who's running the Honduran/Contra invasion of Nicaragua? Also, we are sorely tempted to put together a pan-Latin American force that would also include contributions from El Salvador and Guatemala. The Stroock family had business in Guatemala. Much business.**

Also, we see we finally got the World War 1990: Ireland cover from our design people. We're afraid to download and open it, though [Wuss-Ed]. We know, right....okay, more or less on point but needs tweaking. 

Arc of Ares: on the Sea, remains in the top 20 of Amazon's alternate history category. James L. Young has some talented, charismatic, and good looking authors [He also has you, knobhead-Ed]. Oh, ha-ha. 

*Reference. 

** A Wyoming cousin.  In 2001 we asked if he could help us get a job in the New Bush Administration, him being a confidant of Dick Cheney and all. He didn't lift a finger, which was probably for the best.

Tuesday on a Tear or is it a TACO?

Good afternoon Stroock's Books reader(s), such as you are. 

Milestone! You know, yesterday was this blog's 6275th post [And?-Ed]. That's it.

Politics: Apparently, the government is shut down? We don't care.

Europe! A friend from a European country that has a football team named after its ancestors sends along the history quiz (under Special Challenges tab) he's been designing (he's a teacher). This one's on US presidents. Enjoy!

Sports! We're still very meh about the Super Bowl. Usually Mrs. Stroock makes all the things and we have the neighbors over. No such plans this year. 

Related, FB tells us we posted this 11 years ago today, 'Dear Pete Carroll (idiot). 1958, Colts v Giants, 'greatest game ever' and all that. Colts are on the Giants 1 with seconds left, they run the ball right up the middle for a TD. 1967, Cowboys v Packers (Ice Bowl). Packers are on the Cowboy's 1 with seconds left, they run up the middle for a TD. You noticing anything here, Pete?' 

This would be in reference to Seattle's baffling decision to throw an interior pass on the one yard line in Super Bowl XLIX. Still the worst play call in the history of the Super Bowl, nay, of all mankind. Just watch. You can actually see Richard Sherman's soul leaving his body. As far as other bad Super Bowl calls go, a strong but distant second is Indianapolis' Mike Caldwell deciding to take a knee with two minutes, three time outs, and Payton Manning at the end of the half against New Orleans. 

Iran...Say it with us...nobody knows nuthin'. Here's the latest report from Israel Radar. Why would the Iranians agree to negotiate when there's all this talk about a massive American/Israeli strike? We in the West often assume we don't understand the enemy and their wily ways. But it's also true that the enemy often doesn't understand us. TACO they say, then Trump bombs Fordow. 

DOGE Report: working on World War 1990: The Managua Campaign...alright. We are unstucked. We're working on the set up and lead up chapter to the actual invasion. We just wrote a scene describing the results of the 1990 midterm elections and laying the groundwork for some future political machinations. Beware of Mr. Buchanan. 

Muck on a Monday

Good afternoon, patrons of Stroock's Books and happy Monday.

The temp here has reached a downright balmy 32 degrees. Beach Boys music feels entirely appropriate. 

Israel-Iran-Trump: Trump has gathered a mighty armada. Trump is sending Witkoff to negotiate. Nobody knows nuthin'. If someone cares to explain to us how striking Iran will topple the regime...Also, we don't necessarily believe all these casualty figures from the Iranian protests. How can they even count the dead? We remain, cautious, skeptical, wary even. 

Pointless nostalgia: thirty years ago we began the spring semester at a non-Jesuit university in Washington D.C. We lived across the river in Arlington with a roommate whom we would soon discover was wracking up hundreds of dollars a month in phone sex charges, constantly bouncing checks, and stealing from us. He is now a Washington DC lobbyist. 

We took five classes and earned three Bs, a B- and B+.  Those classes were: Rome, 20th Century Europe, Political and Organizational Leadership, Lab in Leadership, New World Order.

We recall a vague sense of satisfaction at the end of the semester. Spring 1996 was our last successful college semester.  

There followed a disastrous summer session in which we tried twice to fulfil the universities' math requirement. 

Okay, autumn '96 wasn't a total disaster, but having failed math twice we understood our university days were numbered, even if no one else understood.

DOGE Report: we began a new planning scene in World War 1990: The Managua Campaign. 

We finally figured out a way to begin the Soviet Salyut story in the 5th nuke novel. 

So far, so good. 

Will's Good Idea for the Week of 2/1/26

Happy February you few, you proud, you Stroock's Books Reader(s). Temps are expected to climb into the 20s today, which damn near feels like a heart wave. We didn't like our Chipotle very much last night. Baaaah! We swipe at the air and drink our grog. 

We're in the deepest part of the Yankee winter now. One month checked off. One month that wore us down with cold snaps and a lot of snow. As wintery as the weather's been, the weather's about to get wintrier *. That is the strength and fury of the Yankee winter. We don't take it lightly. 

We ourselves are in a kind of creative funk...[An ennui?-Ed] An ennui. Amateurs might call this ennui writer's block. Nonsense. We may not quite know what to write. But we are not blocked. 

Roughly 23 years ago Strategy & Tactics Magazine accepted our first article, Sparta's Defeat of Athens. We'd submit a second piece soon after, Frederick the not so Great. And soon after that, we'd begin A Line Through the Desert. Our point is we've written a lot for a long time. And we don't get, nor do we even believe in, writer's block. If you, aspiring writer, have writer's block, don't quite your day job. 

Reminder, writing is our day job. We've hundreds of publishing credits and a couple of dozen novels. We're in the top fifteen, maybe even the top ten percent of authors in the English speaking world. So when we say something about writing, it's because we know what the fuck we're talking about. We are among the best there is at what we do.** 

Nevertheless, we're mired in a kind of malaise [Does that even make sense?-Ed]. Don't know. We've been thinking about the Irish and their damnable Troubles for too long. And smart reader(s) will recall that for every solution, the Irish will find a problem. Which is how our tight and pithy novel about a British invasion of Ireland became two long and winding novels. Those Irish...We shake our head. 

We think we've got the first 20,000 words of Thatcher's War set. The next 20,000 need a month's worth of work. There are sone good, smart, even funny ideas. Just try to imagine how the Irish would passively resist a British invasion. After that we've written your bog standard Stroock tactical battle. Bog? Or bogged down? It's a habit now. Just a scene or three to describe a battle or ambush, and 10,000 words later we're finally finished. We wrote another such battle in the Managua Campaign. Speaking of, we're eager (over eager even) to get back to The Managua Campaign, as we think we can wrap up The Managua Campaign right quick. [You think that about everything-Ed].

Anywho...Before we can move on from the Irish and their damnable Troubles we need to write another 20,000 words wrapping things up - including out totally cool four-pronged assault on Dublin. 

Soooo....Will's Good Idea for the Week of 2/1/26. We've got too many of 'em, that's the problem. Alert reader(s) will note we updated the Future Projects Page. 

*Huh, spellcheck likes wintrier but the internet doesn't. Anyway, you people know what we mean. More winter. Even more winter.   

** [With talent on loan from God?-Ed] With talent on loan from God. Thanks Rush.

Saturday Updates

Good morning, fellow citizens of the Stroockonian Empire. All hail Stroock!

As we write this it's negative three degrees out there, -3. 

Between snow removal duties on Sunday and Monday, and back-to-back-to-back days at the gym, we had a fantastic week of exercise. 

Saturday Updates.

A long and frustrating week with World War 1990: Thatcher's War but we think we have things worked out. 

We have received the formatted version of World War 1990: Ireland and are awaiting the cover, which has been promised for Monday. 

No progress on a 4th nuke novel short story idea. 

We resumed doing stuff on Substack. Why not?!