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?!

Friday Fek n Fook

Good morning, people of Stroock's Books. The Cold snap....continues. As we write this the temperature is zero degrees. Looks like the approaching bomb cyclone isn't really going to effect this part of New Jersey. The Carolina coast is going to get throttled though. Blizzards down south are hilarious. The way those people act during a storm, you'd think it was Sherman's March. Damn SEC.*

So 32 years ago we were at a football party (Super Bowl XXVIII the second Cowboys/Bills game) doing a shot for every Buffalo turnover. The Bills turned the ball over nine times in the previous Super Bowl, so this seemed like a fun drinking game. Anyway, this girl was there, making faces at us as we drank. What did she think about our little drinking game? We'll ask her after work tonight.  [You do this post every year-Ed]. You're damn right I do. 

Hot Air reports that a third aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East. Many other assets have been moved into place. We are sure American forces will achieve great things (may include commando raids?!). But we remain skeptical that a strike, no matter how large or how well executed, can change the situation on the ground. 

Interestingly a US destroyer is off the coast of Eilat (on the Red Sea) while another is on station off of Tel Aviv. And an air defense battery is in Jordan. The US Navy and Air Force stand ready to assist in the defense of Israel. Exit question, would an attack on Iran be a joint US-Israel venture? 

DOGE Report: one of the problems we've encountered with Thatcher's War is that 3/4 of it was originally in Ireland. So it wasn't really structured as its own novel. We've been trying to shoehorn in some Irish characters that were foreshadowed in Ireland. But the narrative we have is fine the way it is. Leave it alone. The characters were introed in Ireland, they don't have to show up again till the middle of Thatcher's War. Don't over think, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, and trust in Kek. All will be revealed. 

*Reminder: never trust nobody in the low-down, no good SEC. Those dirty bastards would betray their own mothers for a shot at the national title. 

Late Thursday Through

Good day, fellow Stroock's Books survivors. As we write this the temp outside is -1 degrees. That would be about 30 in fru-fru Euro-Canadian numbers. But here in America -1 means it's damn cold outside. Fortunately, the air is still. 

NFL...we've never been more meh about a Super Bowl. We think Seattle should be heavily favored. 

Dear idiot HoF voters. Eli Manning is the two-time Super Bowl MVP (see the helmet catch and the Manningham catch) who started 210 consecutive games. Don't think starting 210 consecutive games is a big deal? Ask Cincy QB Joe Burrow about staying healthy.  In 2007 Manning went to Green Bay and beat Bret Favre in sub-zero temps. In 2011 He went to Green Bay again and defeated Aaron Rogers in sub-zero temps - a game in which the Giants were playing the refs too. Manning won two NFC Championship games on the road. As coach Herman Edwards once said, 'You play to win the games!'

NFL HoF voters don't understand the game and should switch to voting on the WNBA or something...

NFL HoF voters are...[Gay and retarded?-Ed] gay and retarded. 

DOGE report.

Once again another frustrating day. Little movement on World War 1990: Thatcher's War. 

We didn't come up with a new story for the 5th nuke novel either. We have two stories we know we want to do. We just don't want to do them right now. 

We did have a good readthrough of the Morning Roary sequel. While the priest is foreshadowed, he still just kind of shows up out of nowhere. What's he doing in those famine era village ruins that Roary and Aoife go to?

One of them Ruski writers said that if a gun is mentioned hanging on a wall at the beginning of a book, then it should be used somewhere in the book. We reverse that. If a gun shows up somewhere in a book, then it should be mentioned at the beginning of the book. 

We have resumed posting on Substack, mostly out of ennui [Again with that word-Ed] and the feeling of doing something productive. We know we've moved merch on Substack. Also we enjoy telling gay and retarded people that they're gay and retarded.