The Three Degrees

No!  I Do Not Refer To That Pop Group
Good lord aloft, what do you think I am?  Conrad treasures his musical reputation, having once being described by Darling Daughter (in a moment of weakness!) as a Hipster Dad thanks to being more up-to-date than her in terms of music.  Why, look no further than my handle, "ComsatAngel2002", which refers to those darlings of Sheffield post-punk, The Comsat Angels.  Art?

An epic CD you HAVE to possess.

     So, no, I am NOT referring to whom were (IIRC) Prince Charle's favourite musical group.  Nor am I referring to an increase in temperature, or trigonometrical analysis.  No, I refer to - 
     - the "Queen Mary"!  Not Queen Mary, the person, the ship.  Art?

Infested - er, no - congested, yeah, congested, with South Canadians

     The QM was used as a troop-carrier in the Second Unpleasantness, and was used on her own, without an escort, because she could cruise at Warp Factor 6, far beyond the speed of any feeble Unterseeboot.  This got her into trouble on one crossing, where she sailed into a storm, and a very bad storm at that.  
     Did you know that a ship can only roll so far over before it's roll becomes uncontrollable, and it capsizes?

This may ring bells

     Well, the QM was within 3 degrees of total capsize-iness, which is where today's title comes from.  An enterprising author called Paul Gallico heard about this event and took it upon himself to interview some South Canadian boots who were aboard, and not entirely happy about being hurled all over the place*.  He then wrote a novel called - you're way ahead of me here, aren't you? - "The Poseidon Adventure". Which has since been made into 2 films.  There was a vile sequel to the original 1972 film which you don't need to see.  In fact, forget I ever mentioned it.
     So, NO, we are not talking about a MOR pop group.  We here at BOOJUM! are edgy and dangerous and - motley? - where's my pipe and slippers?

Look at him, ooozing with badness and wicked vibes

I'm Not Sure How We Ended Up Here -
As usual, Your Humble Scribe was waltzing gaily about in the nethers of teh Interwebz, although it might have been a merengue (Conrad not big on dance styles), and he came across South Canadian actor Wes Studi.  Art?

Wes in the <ahem> West

     Wes is 100% Cherokee, and is fluent in the language, since he spoke nothing else until his mid-teens.  He has tended to crop up as Native Americans in film and television roles, and in fact won an Oscar for doing so, way to go Wes!
     What's never gone into his his year in Vietnam - Art?

There's a story there

     Anyway, of course Conrad cares nought for these worthy contributions to the oeuvre, rather what I wanted to mention was Wes's role in "Deep Rising", where his is the sinister leader of a mercenary group about to rob an ocean-going liner.  Art?

     There is an hilarious scene where he is taunting Treat William's character about their ultimate aim.  The whole film is a hoot, and that's one bit that sticks in my mind.

"From Alamein To Zem Zem" By Keith Douglas
I have finally finished re-readding and annotating this work about the desert war in North Africa.  When last I mentioned it here, Keith and another officer had been wounded by setting off mines.  Though he doesn't date his entries, I know - crafty old me - that this was on 14/01/1943, because I was also reading the diaries of his squadron leader, Captain Stanley Christopherson.  Art?

Stan

     Keith spent days being shunted around behind the front, eventually ending up for treatment in Palestine, where he stayed for three months.  He then made it back to the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry in Tunisia, a completely different landscape to the deserts he'd described to that date.  It was interesting, and telling, to see the two-line description of what happened to Keith in Stan's diaries, and the much longer one provided by Keith.  His depiction of a Casualty Clearing Station full of wounded from his regiment is quite enough to make one determined never to climb inside a tank again.

Keith, being all deep and poetic

     The campaign ends for him with a group of French officers, who have heard of the fall of Tunis and Bizerte, the end for the Axis in Africa, and there is drinking.  There is much drinking.  O there is so much drinking.

More Czech Drollery
For we are back to asking Marketa about those unusual Czech words that we can drop into casual conversation in order to sound all cosmopolitan and shizzle.  Never mind that Conrad has no idea how to pronounce them, because anyone listening won't have a clue either.  So, fair Marketa, what do you have for us today?
     "Smolar": 'A person who is not lucky'.
     I see, I see.  Unlucky, hmmm?

Sincisors, Scanines and <waitfortiwaitforit> smolars.  Indeed.

Finally -
I used to contribute to "The Journal", the SOTCW's in-house publication, where I would have a page at the back attributed to Conrad, "The Idle and Dilettante-ish Wargamer", because that's what I am.  My besetting sin is getting a game ready to play and then leaving it for weeks, if not months, then sighing deeply and putting everything away again.  I have fallen into this habit with my English Civil Unpleasantness game, for it's been sat on the table for a week without any stirring whatsoever.  If it had been like this in real life, both armies would have starved by now.  Art?

Ten days ago and not changed a whit

     Tonight!  Tonight, I promise I'll get things moving tonight.

     And with that, we are done.  Indeed.
*  Military slang.  "Boot" = "GI" = "Genetic Infantryman" = popular '2000AD' futurewar character.