Cheers, Beers

Way Back When
- while the Sinister Union was still a mostly going concern (just don't mention that country which begins with "A" and ends in "-fghanistan"), one of the few perks of having to do your national service was being in the forces serving in another country, because they all had better living standards than did the Sinister Union itself.  Case in point: Czechoslovakia, including Bohemia.  The good thing about the land of the Hussites was their lager, because, again, it was far better than anything which came out of Mother Russia.  Art?

     Hay Pesto!  Here you have "Pilsner Urquell" and as it says on the label, made in Pilzner, Czechia.  
     "What about 'Budweiser'?" I hear you quibble.  "That sounds positively Teutonic, especially since the brewer is Anhauser Busch."
     Budweiser is in fact the Germanised name for Ceske Budejovice, a city in South Bohemia.  They've been brewing lager there for over eight hundred years, and have consistently refused to sell up to the South Canadian manufacturers of Bud, because they are proud Czech patriots, and probably also because it amuses them to twist some South Canadian corporate tails.

The beating heart of Budejovice

     I shall, of course, be remembering all of this as I down the Pilsner in about three minutes time, as it is now officially Beer O'Clock.  Excuse me -

O Noes! Squeaked Conrad's Wallet
It's too late now, wallet, both those volumes by Richard Evans and Deborah Lipstadt are en route even as I type.  I notice nobody's bought that edition of "Military Operations Togoland and the Cameroons" that those chiselling Kiwis wanted to charge £36 postage on, either.  O and here's someone trying to pay off their mortgage with a 1931 original, at a grossly over-priced £475 - and they want you to pay postage!
     Anyway!  There I was, listening to "We Have Ways -" as they are spicing up Lockdown Life by having third parties on with them.  This time it was Phillips O'Brien, who was expanding and expounding on the central thesis of his work - Art?

Book title to starboard

     His central tenet is that the Second Unpleasantness was far more about the war at sea and in the skies than it was on land; in fact, the land campaigns in his analysis were relatively unimportant, which will have the Ruffians offended and Tsar Putin hopping up and down with rage.
     It's an interesting thesis, one which Your Humble Scribe intends to examine in depth, which means <sad face> having to buy the book.  It came out last year so there's bound to be a cheap copy going on Abebooks <happy face>.
     Then there's Jonathan Fennell's work, "Fighting the People's War", which has just won a prestigious award - O and look, here it is on Abebooks at only £15 with free postage! (take that New Zealand).  Art?

Viz*

     Perhaps this means the Canuckistanians will get a bit of recognition?
     David Egerton addressed a similar issue when he was on WHW, about how "Plucky little England the underdog" was an utter myth - 
     - which would take a whole day's blogging to explain and address.  Maybe tomorrow.

What's Wrong With This Picture?
Conrad is so aged that he was around when "Blake's Seven" was first shown on television (audience gasps in appreciation, awe or - hand on, are you yawning?), which, unusually, has everything to do with our next picture.  Art?

The "Liberator"

     Okay, those are definitely not lasers.  You only see laser beams in real life because of collimation, the scattering of light where the laser interacts with an atmosphere.  Out in deep space - no atmosphere.  Thus no collimation.  Thus invisible.
     Whatever they are, we shall just christen them "Blasters".  Note how all three blasters fire independently, meaning that two of them are going to miss their target.
     "Ah," you quibble, playing devil's advocate, "They're configured to converge at 10,000 kilometres MILES distant, hah!"
     So your target can only be efficiently hit at 10,000 miles distance?   What about their super-blasters, that can hit a target at 10,500 miles distance?  Hmmmm?  You're going to look pretty silly eating corn on the cob with no - Ooops, came over all "Blues Brothers" there - pretty silly when they blow you up 500 miles out of your range.

"Ten thousand, five hundred and ten - nine - eight -"

     "Er - they're adjustable, they're adjustable," you hastily recover.  "They can pivert."
     WRONG!  Not only can you not spell 'pivot' correctly, but those outrigger structures most certainly can NOT pivot, or what.  The Akond of Swat**.
     It would make more sense to have all three blasters mounted in the central nose spindle, or, in the best-case scenario, three separate turrets so they can move through 3600.
     Of course, I may be over-thinking this ...

ABBA fans or Blake's 7?  Only you can tell!

Back To Bohemia
Firstly, though, remember when I was banging on about "My Love From The Star" earlier today?  It would transition seamlessly and with very little adaptation into a South Canadian rom-com glam-dram, so one can only be pleasantly surprised that it hasn't***.
     Anyway, back to tweaking the collective tails of Queen, because i) I can and ii) It's such delicious fun.
     Let the Little Musical Critique begin!

"I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me

You are fishing for compliments, young man, fishing for compliments -

He's just a poor boy from a poor family

- and now you shamelessly involve your family.

Spare him his life from this monstrosity

A sentence of "100 hours Community service" is hardly monstrous!

Easy come, easy go, will you let him go?

DO NOT TRY TO PERVERT THE JUDICIAL PROCESS!

Bismillah!  No, we will not let you go

Bismillah!  We will not let you go

Bismillah!  We will not let you go

Will not let you go

Never let you go

I think the concept of 'not letting go' has been explained clearly -

Oh oh oh oh

No, no, no, no, no, no, no

 - as has the word "No"

Oh Mama Mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go

Okay, perhaps not

Beelzebub has a devil set aside for me, for me, for me"

That was very kind of him to bother and I think Bee needs a thank you

Bismillah

Finally -
We will get around to Keanu Reeves and Polish UFOs, honest!

*  Brodie-pattern helmet and curved top-mounted magazine means a British soldier carrying a Bren gun
**  No, nothing to do with anything, it just rhymes.
***  Yet.