Don't Be Insolent, I Am NOT Indolent!

Perhaps I Should Explain -
For those of you who did not read today's earlier post,*or perhaps do not speak English as your native tongue - a moment's silence for these unfortunates - "Indolent" is nothing to do with unemployment benefit, but instead means that one is lazy.  
     Now, I know what a hard-headed and sceptical lot you are, so I shall provide evidence to support my assertion.  Art?

Alibi me, Edna

     This is myself and Edna, on the return leg of her afternoon walk, which traverses about a mile.  If she stops to sniff every other tussock of grass - and she usually does - then it takes about twenty minutes to manage.
     So there.  
     "Ah, but it could be an old photograph taken months ago," I hear you quibble.

     I think if you check the weather conditions for Royton, Oldham, at 15:15 for Saturday 11th August 2018 you'll find they correspond exactly with the above photograph.  And you're now crossing from "Insolent" to "Insulting", salted with a bit of conspiracy theory.  Take off that tinfoil beanie, get out of your parent's house and acquire a tan, for heaven's sake!  And don't be dilatory about it.
     Now, if we put lead diver's boots on the motley, can it outrun a steamroller over an acre of freshly-laid tarmac?

Perhaps a motley?

A Hundred Years Ago Today -
The Battle of Amiens was still in full swing.  I missed a trick earlier this week, because it started on the 8th of August 1918, not finishing until the 13th inst.
     This part of the First Unpleasantness is always avoided by those whose sole intention is to bash the leadership of the BEF, because it constituted the beginning of the "Hundred Days" campaign that saw an unbroken string of Allied (especially Perfidious Albion) victories that smashed the Teuton armies apart.  Art?

Teuton day-trippers on an excursion to Amiens

     I shan't go into a lot of detail here, there are books you can read.  Suffice it to say that the Allied attack (for there were M8's and South Canadians involved, too) came as a horrid surprise to the Teuton troops on the ground and at at HQ; the planning had been impeccable and secrecy maintained.  The Teuton higher command also, very rashly, thought that it could easily defeat any Allied offensive, as they had managed this further north on a couple of occasions.
     Except not!
     When the Teuton front lines were hit, they were hit by tanks, artillery fire, aircraft, infantry and cavalry, all under a dense fog cover.  Photo-reconnaissance, flash-spotting and sound-ranging (an arcane scientific endeavour) all resulted in the Teuton artillery being annihilated within hours on the first day.  Incessant air attacks broke up rallying Teuton troops and reinforcements.

Truck,tree, telegraph, tank, troops

     When the dust settled, 75 thousand Teuton soldiers were off the ration strength, two-thirds of them prisoners who surrendered at the first chance, and 500 artillery pieces had been lost.  High Teuton muckamuck Ludendorff called it "The black day of the German Army".
     Nice weather for it, though.

Damn You, Bendis, Damn You!
In case you're unaware - you probably are, for I dwell on obscure topics - Brian Michael Bendis is a big wheel in comics, coming up with 'Powers' in conjunction with Michael Oeming.  He's now over at DC, and Conrad follows him on Twitter.
     Which brings me to my issue with him.  See, BMB consistently posts artwork from current or classic comics, which is how I came across "Starlight".  Well worth getting, by the way. However - look, Art can post the art.  Art?

     This is cover art by Travis Charest, and your humble scribe was immediately intrigued. Yet the only thing he could discover is that this is from a comic entitled "C-23", which is not possible to track down via Google.  Dog Buns, I want to know more!  A Tweet to Mr. Bendis is in the offing.  If you know more than I do, there's the Comments section.

Finally -
I mentioned strange tanks earlier today, and posted pictures of the jet-propelled Bren Gun Carrier, which was more dangerous to the users than the enemy.
     Normally, this stuff is oooold pictures or photos, but not today.  Today we have an - er - unusual vehicle that have been cobbled together by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces fighting Daesh.** Art?

Camo by M C Escher?

     This appears to be that old military standby, an agricultural tractor, converted.  Quite what it's intended to do is unclear, as it doesn't seem armed, and has a very high profile.  However, I think this is the rear view.  I'll see if I can dig up any more detail by tomorrow and let you know if I do.



*  And you'd better have an awesome excuse
**  Apparently, they hate it when you call them this.  DAESH DAESH DAESH!