Rocket Man

No!  Nothing To Do -
 - with the only fat man in North Korea.  No, instead I refer to Elon Musk, that chap who seems to have stepped straight out of the pages of a Robert Heinlein story.  Not sure if it would be a short story or a novella; I'll let you choose.  
     Elon appears to be something of a polymath, and has some odd business interests.  Electric cars?  Tunnelling?  And, of course - SpaceX.  Art?

Ol' El

     He has quite the vision, stating that he'd like to die on Mars, and given his SpaceX commitment, that's now looking distinctly possible.  This comes up now because the Falcon Heavy rocket has had a successful static test.  Art?

As nicked from the Beeb

     As you can see, this is essentially 3 of the current Falcons welded together, enabling it to lift 64 tons of payload into orbit, or about the mass of a Challenger main battle tank (unloaded).  Actual launching will take place soon, and - I told you about the 'odd' bit already, didn't I? - the payload will be one of Ol' El's cars, which will get sent into the same orbit as Mars.*
     What's that?  You thought this was going to be about some dismal dirge sung by a character called Reg Dwight?  Pah!  You're making this up!
     Okay, time to put tractor tyres over the motley and roll it downhill!

When Mara met Art: now the story can be told

More Of Murderous Mayhem
Yes, we are back to 'In Range', the Youtube channel where Ian and Karl demonstrate trench warfare weapons and techniques.  It was a really interesting half hour that taught your humble scribe several things about the subject, since I usually concentrate on operational level tactics.  Art?

The rascals at play.
(Or maybe work)

     They both got across the point that troops in the trenches didn't duel, ninja-like, with their clubs and knives: you shafted your opponent quick-smart, then moved on.**  Art?

French 'Nail knife'

     This bit of metallic unpleasantness was fashioned from a barbed-wire picket stake, being bent into a handle, then having the stem flattened and sharpened.  Ugly yet functional, and with this you could dodge under or inside the reach of a man struggling with a five-foot pike - which is what a rifle mounting a bayonet became.
     Grim but interesting stuff!

Our Friend The Shark
As you ought to know by now, Conrad has been banging the drum for the much-misunderstood shark of late, and had a bit of confirmation from Pub Quiz partner Rosie, who had recently visited a Sealife centre and a presentation there.  Sharks, it seems, do not especially like the taste of humans; not only that, I believe we are rather too bony for them - the opposite of one of you humans eating an unfilleted kipper, if you like.

One feels sympathy for the shark

     Surfers make up an inordinate number of shark victims because their profile, from below, much resembles that of a seal.  Art?

Can't see sharks going for sea turtles, either - all that shell?

     And Rosie informed me that she had read of a couple getting married underwater, at the Sealife Centre in Manchester.  In the shark tank.

They survived.  This chap?  Who knows ...

     There you go, Our Friend The Shark.  More sinned against than sinner.  Although your view might vary if you are a seal.

Of Course This Continued -
Because your humble scribe had to update Rosie and Phil on the sheer number of cheapo horror films out that that, frankly, demonise the shark.  "Jaws" is a given, and both had heard of the 'Sharknado' franchise, which Phil found hard to grasp when I explained what it involved.  

Yes, really.  If you keep WATCHING them, they'll keep MAKING them!

That, of course, was before I informed him about Snow Sharks, Sand Sharks, Mega-Sharks, Atomic Sharks, Two-headed Sharks and - obviously! - the whole slew of Sharktopus films.***

I think this is a spoof.  But it's hard to tell.

     I dunno.  Sometimes those old Fifties films with giant bugs have a nostalgic feel to them - we'll have to finish quickly now before Art sneaks in a picture of Mara Corday -



*  This is good.  It will puzzle the Mysterons no end.
**  Unlike the sword-play at the beginning of "The Defenders", I should point out.
***  I'm not making ANY of these up.