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G-8 and his battle aces.

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Speaking of fighter aces, someone needs to do a full-blown biography of Brigadier General Robin Olds (USAF, ret.).

The first chapter of John Darrell Sherwood’s Fast Movers is a good start on one, but I think much more needs to be written about General Olds.

Two quotes from Sherwood’s book stand out for me:

Olds’ tremendous success as a combat leader stemmed from three elements in his personality; his loyalty to his men, his desire to share danger with his men, and his willingness to socialize and interact casually with his troops. Olds never asked someone else to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. He also did his utmost to shield his men from policies and orders that he considered nonsensical or downright dangerous.

and

Unlike many other leaders during the war, Robin Olds’ loyalty extended down to the lowest-ranking man in his outfit. Even if one were only a slick-wing captain, if one had a hot idea Olds would listen, and if one could sell him on that idea, Robin Olds would put his career on the line to see it implemented. Moreover, Olds did not come into the outfit thinking he knew everything. He was willing to learn from others. More significantly, he was willing to share danger with others. That he occasionally made mistakes is evident in this narrative. That his men forgave him when he did had everything to do with his willingness to share risk. Not once in his entire career did Robin Olds ever ask a pilot to do something that he would not do himself.

Posted in Books, Leadership, Planes | 2 Comments »

Five down and glory.

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Obit watch: Lt. Colonel Lee A. Archer (USAF, ret.).

Lt. Colonel Archer was one of the Tuskegee Airmen, and is believed to be the only black ace.

Archer was acknowledged to have shot down four planes, and he and another pilot both claimed victory for shooting down a fifth plane. An investigation revealed Archer had inflicted the damage that destroyed the plane, said Brown, and the Air Force eventually proclaimed him an ace pilot.

(Title hattip: here.)

Edited to add 2/4/2010: See here for notes on an important correction.

For those expecting more thoughts on Salinger: here’s the LAT obit. Beyond that, I have nothing to say; I’ve never read The Catcher in the Rye, for reasons other than censorship. My parents were very proud of the fact that they never censored my reading, and it was Huck Finn, not Salinger, that became the subject of censorship battles when I was in school. I basically just missed reading Catcher when I was the right age to be caught by it; any desire I might have had to read it now has been killed by listening to Lawrence talk about it. (I’m trying to talk him into posting his thoughts on Catcher, but he hasn’t. Yet. When he does, I’ll throw up a link.)

Edited to add: Lawrence’s thoughts on Salinger are now up.

Posted in Books, Clippings, Obits, Planes | 1 Comment »

Random notes: November 9, 2009.

Monday, November 9th, 2009

The NYTPicker has an interesting post up related to the whole Brighton Beach Memoirs fiasco; what they’re reporting is that the failure of this revival may have had a great deal to do with an unusually restrictive advertising deal the NYT made with the producers of the show.

With the understanding that both of these people are good friends of mine (can you say “blogrolling”? I knew you could.) I’m linking to Lawrence’s interview with the actor we’ve hired to play Karl Rehn of KR Training.

Consider this an official endorsement of Child’s Play. I have donated money to them in the past and will do so again this year if I have any to spare. (I just checked: Yes! The Desert Bus guys are doing it again this year! November 20th; mark your calendar.)

Edited to add: by way of Jimbo, who killed Chicago crime reporter Jake Lingle?

Edited to add 2: I forgot that I wanted to note this LAT story, mostly because I don’t know what to make of it. The headline and sub-head imply that the main concern of the article is “Private citizens can fly high-performance jet aircraft? Oh, noes!” However, buried towards the bottom of the article is a more interesting story; allegations that the FAA investigation into this case was sandbagged. (I was wondering where a convicted felon gets the money to purchase one of those planes; however, Google tells me that a 1973 L-39C Albatros goes for around $269,500. Or somewhat less than a house in LA.)

Posted in Clippings, Endorsements, Geek, Media, Planes, Theatre | Comments Closed

Obit watch

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Vicki Cruse, aerobatic pilot, president of the International Aerobatic Club, and United States champion in 2007.

Posted in Obits, Planes | Comments Closed

Justice?

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

The government of Scotland has released Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the convicted bomber of Pan Am Flight 103, from prison on “compassionate grounds”.

Nichole Elizabeth Avonye, Jerry Don Avritt, Noelle Lydie Berti, Siv Ulla Engstrom, Stacie Denise Franklin, Paul Isaac Garrett, Elke Etha Kuehne, Maria Nieves Larracoechea, James Bruce MacQuarrie, Lilibeth Tobila McAlolooy, Mary Geraldine Murphy, Jocelyn Reina, Myra Josephine Royal, Irja Syhnove Skabo, Milutin Velimirovich, Raymond Ronald Wagner, John Michael Gerard Ahern, Sarah Margaret Aicher, John David Akerstrom, Ronald Ely Alexander, Thomas Joseph Ammerman, Martin Lewis Apfelbaum, Rachel Marie Asrelsky, William Garretson Atkinson III, Judith Ellen Atkinson, Clare Louise Bacciochi, Harry Michael Bainbridge, Stuart Murray Barclay, Jean Mary Bell, Julian MacBain Benello, Lawrence Ray Bennett,  Philip Vernon Bergstrom, Alistair David Berkley, Michael Stuart Bernstein, Steven Russell Berrell, Surinder Mohan Bhatia, Kenneth John Bissett, Diane Anne Boatman-Fuller, Stephen John Boland, Glen John Bouckley, Paula Marie Bouckley, Nicole Elise Boulanger, Francis Boyer, Nicholas Bright, Daniel Solomon Browner (Bier), Colleen Renee Brunner, Timothy Guy Burman, Michael Warren Buser, Warren Max Buser, Steven Lee Butler, William Martin Cadman, Fabiana Caffarone, Hernan Caffarone, Valerie Canady, Gregory Capasso, Timothy Michael Cardwell, Bernt Wilmar Carlsson, Richard Anthony Cawley, Frank Ciulla, Theodora Eugenia Cohen, Eric Michael Coker, Jason Michael Coker, Gary Leonard Colasanti, Bridget Concannon, Sean Concannon, Thomas Concannon, Tracey Jane Corner, Scott Cory, Willis Larry Coursey, Patricia Mary Coyle, John Binning Cummock, Joseph Patrick Curry, William Allen Daniels, Gretchen Joyce Dater, Shannon Davis, Gabriel Della-Ripa, Joyce Christine DiMauro, Gianfranca DiNardo, Peter Thomas Stanley Dix, Om Dixit, Shanti Dixit, David Scott Dornstein, Michael Joseph Doyle, Edgar Howard Eggleston III, Turhan Ergin, Charles Thomas Fisher IV, Clayton Lee Flick, John Patrick Flynn, Arthur Fondiler, Robert Gerard Fortune, Paul Matthew Stephen Freeman, James Ralph Fuller, Ibolya Robertine Gabor, Amy Beth Gallagher, Matthew Kevin Gannon, Kenneth Raymond Garczynski, Kenneth James Gibson, William David Giebler, Olive Leonora Gordon, Linda Susan Gordon-Gorgacz, Anne Madelene Gorgacz, Loretta Anne Gorgacz, David Gould, Andre Nikolai Guevorgian, Nicola Jane Hall, Lorraine Frances Halsch, Lynne Carol Hartunian, Anthony Lacey Hawkins, Pamela Elaine Herbert, Rodney Peter Hilbert, Alfred Hill, Katherine Augusta Hollister, Josephine Lisa Hudson, Melina Kristina Hudson, Sophie Ailette Miriam Hudson, Karen Lee Hunt, Roger Elwood Hurst, Elizabeth Sophie Ivell, Khalid Nazir Jaafar, Robert van Houten Jeck, Paul Avron Jeffreys, Rachel Jeffreys, Kathleen Mary Jermyn, Beth Ann Johnson, Mary Alice Lincoln Johnson, Timothy Baron Johnson, Christopher Andrew Jones, Julianne Frances Kelly, Jay Joseph Kingham, Patricia Ann Klein, Gregory Kosmowski, Minas Christopher Kulukundis, Ronald Albert LaRiviere, Robert Milton Leckburg, William Chase Leyrer, Wendy Anne Lincoln, Alexander Silas Lowenstein, Lloyd David Ludlow, Maria Theresia Lurbke, William Edward Mack, Douglas Eugene Malicote, Wendy Gay Malicote, Elizabeth Lillian Marek, Louis Anthony Marengo, Noel George Martin, Diane Marie Maslowski, William John McAllister, Daniel Emmet McCarthy, Robert Eugene McCollum, Charles Dennis McKee, Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, Jane Susan Melber, John Merrill, Suzanne Marie Miazga, Joseph Kenneth Miller, Jewel Courtney Mitchell, Richard Paul Monetti, Jane Ann Morgan, Eva Ingeborg Morson, Helga Rachael Mosey, Ingrid Elizabeth Mulroy, John Mulroy, Sean Kevin Mulroy, Karen Elizabeth Noonan, Daniel Emmett O’Connor, Mary Denice O’Neil, Anne Lindsey Otenasek, Bryony Elise Owen, Gwyneth Yvonne Margaret Owen, Laura Abigail Owens, Martha Owens, Robert Plack Owens, Sarah Rebecca Owens, Robert Italo Pagnucco, Christos Michael Papadopoulos, Peter Raymond Peirce, Michael Pescatore, Sarah Susannah Buchanan Philipps, Frederick Sandford Phillips, James Andrew Campbell Pitt, David Platt, Walter Leonard Porter, Pamela Lynn Posen, William Pugh, Crisostomo Estrella Quiguyan, Rajesh Tarsis Priskel Ramses, Anmol Rattan, Garima Rattan, Suruchi Rattan, Anita Lynn Reeves, Mark Alan Rein, Diane Marie Rencevicz, Louise Ann Rogers, Edina Roller, Janos Gabor Roller, Zsuzsana Roller, Hanne Maria Root, Saul Mark Rosen, Andrea Victoria Rosenthal, Daniel Peter Rosenthal, Arnaud David Rubin, Elyse Jeanne Saraceni, Scott Christopher Saunders, Theresa Elizabeth Jane Saunders, Johannes Otto Schauble, Robert Thomas Schlageter, Thomas Britton Schultz, Sally Elizabeth Scott, Amy Elizabeth Shapiro, Mridula Shastri, Joan Sheanshang, Irving Stanley Sigal, Martin Bernard Christopher Simpson, Cynthia Joan Smith, Ingrid Anita Smith, James Alvin Smith, Mary Edna Smith, Geraldine Anne Stevenson, Hannah Louise Stevenson, John Charles Stevenson, Rachael Stevenson, Charlotte Ann Stinnett, Michael Gary Stinnett, Stacey Leanne Stinnett, James Ralph Stow, Elia G. Stratis, Anthony Selwyn Swan, Flora MacDonald Margaret Swire, Marc Alex Tager, Hidekazu Tanaka, Andrew Alexander Teran, Arva Anthony Thomas, Jonathan Ryan Thomas, Lawanda Thomas, Mark Lawrence Tobin, David William Trimmer-Smith, Alexia Kathryn Tsairis, Barry Joseph Valentino, Thomas Floro Van-Tienhoven, Asaad Eidi Vejdany, Nicholas Andreas Vrenios, Peter Vulcu, Janina Jozefa Waido, Thomas Edwin Walker, Kesha Weedon, Jerome Lee Weston, Jonathan White, Bonnie Leigh Williams, Brittany Leigh Williams, Eric Jon Williams, George Waterson Williams, Stephanie Leigh Williams, Miriam Luby Wolfe, Chelsea Marie Woods, Dedera Lynn Woods, Joe Nathan Woods, Joe Nathan Woods, Jr., Andrew Christopher Gillies Wright, Mark James Zwynenburg, Kathleen Mary Flannigan, Thomas Brown Flannigan, Joanne Flannigan, Dora Henrietta Henry, Maurice Peter Henry, Mary Lancaster, Jean Aitkin Murray, John Somerville, Rosaleen Later Somerville, Paul Somerville, and Lyndsey Ann Somerville were all unavailable for comment.

(List by way of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103. Errors in transcription are solely my own.)

Posted in Law, Planes | Comments Closed

Clippings: August 5, 2009

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

The Las Vegas Sun has a nifty story. Guy’s wanted a Stearman biplane since he was 10. He grew up and got married to a woman who shared his dream. But a flying Stearman is expensive (Google leads me to believe that about $120,000 is typical), so they did the next best thing; bought a crashed one off eBay, and began restoring it. (Really. I didn’t know eBay sold planes, much less crashed ones.) The punchline; it turns out that this particular Stearman was used as a trainer by the Tuskegee Airmen, and may be the only one of their trainers that survived.

Meanwhile, the LAT covers the massive Nicaraguan banana worker pesticide lawsuit fraud, and does so in a manner that strikes me as tilting in the direction of the plaintiff’s lawyers; you know, the ones who are accused of perpetrating the fraud. Overlawyered has been doing a pretty good job of covering this suit as well.
(Brief summary: U.S. lawyers got up a whole bunch of lawsuits in U.S. courts alleging that workers on banana plantations were exposed to DBCP, a pesticide that supposedly caused sterility. Only it turns out that many of the plaintiffs never worked on banana plantations, or if they did, were never exposed to DBCP at a level that caused sterility.)

I meant to blog this over the weekend, but forgot to until today. Before I left, there was some discussion in our circle of the NYT “appreciation” of Walter Cronkite, which was embarrassingly error-ridden. The date of the moon landing was wrong (and this was with all the publicity leading up to the 40th anniversary), the date of Martin Luther King’s shooting was wrong (apparently, no one at the NYT listens to U2); if I had written an article with this many errors when I was a high-school journalist, Mrs. Kutsko would have kicked my ass.

Anyway, the NYT “public editor”, Clark Hoyt, addressed the fiasco in his Sunday column. You should go read it; the column is pretty blunt. I’ll pull what I think are a few choice quotes:

The short answer is that a television critic with a history of errors wrote hastily and failed to double-check her work, and editors who should have been vigilant were not.

For all her skills as a critic, Stanley was the cause of so many corrections in 2005 that she was assigned a single copy editor responsible for checking her facts. Her error rate dropped precipitously and stayed down after the editor was promoted and the arrangement was discontinued.

James Rainey at the LAT weighed in today on Hoyt’s column. He even went back and spoke to two previous “public editors”, Byron Calame and Daniel Okrent. More pull quotes from Rainey;

…Byron Calame, who told me that “a lot of New York Times editors don’t feel, in their gut, they have the right to challenge veteran and star reporters and columnists the way they need to.”

In fact, several people who work at the Times told me they are troubled that Stanley is a star whose continued accuracy problems seem to provoke no apparent discipline,

Both of the Times’ former public editors — Daniel Okrent and Calame — told me their critiques produced sharp rebukes from Stanley.

Okrent — who once criticized the critic for tone, not accuracy — remembers her as “extremely defensive and hostile,” while Calame said she attacked him as a nitpicker.

I want to say, “This is the New York Times, the paper of record. You’re supposed to pick nits.” But on second thought, that’s wrong. Journalism is about getting it right; it doesn’t matter if you’re the television critic for the New York Times or covering the Bozeman, Montana city council meetings. Being right – picking nits – is your job.

Posted in Clippings, Law, Media, Planes | Comments Closed

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