Nit Picked Nit Wit

As noted yesterday a nitpicker took to this blog to nitpick The Blue and the Red: Palmerston's Ironclads.

Our nitpicker was especially keen to nitpick our portrayal of HMS Warrior ramming it's way up the docks of Manhattan. 

Just picture it, the great ironclad masted steamer, cutting through the great docks of Manhattan at 14.5 knots....bam....smash....bam....smash, one by one the docks buckle and give way as Warrior delivers broadside after broadside into the waterfront.

You don't have to hate NYC as much as we do to think that's pretty cool.

Likely? Well, it's not impossible.

Now we get to the nut of things, or the nut of an idea. It's called dramatic tension.

Why have each squadron attack in turn during the Death Star trench raid? Becuase it builds tension. The stakes are enormous as Luke is flying down that trench. The viewer is on the edge of his seat even though he knows the good guys win.

Why have that pregnant pause as Apollo 13 goes incommunicado when entering the atmosphere? Becuase you feel the tension of Lovell's wife, mother, son, Mission Control.

Why does Will Munny walk into the bar to talk before shooting? Becuase the tension builds as you wait for the inevitable. Come on, everyone say it with me, 'Misfire...Kill the son-of-a-bitch!'

So writing, 'And then Warrior stood off Castle Island and bombarded Manhattan,' just doesn't have the same punch as what we described.

Oh, we also mis-labeled Rodman Guns, calling them 14 pounders instead of 14 inchers. Or vis versa. 

Whatever. We don't care.