Happy New Year!

Here's to a wonderful 2006!! This is as close as I'm getting to the fireworks at the Space Needle tonight, since I'm headed for bed shortly. Click the image for a Castle Argghhh! Public Service Announcement ...

In Memoriam

It's a hard thing to lose a loved one at any time, but especially hard during a holiday which is typically marked by family gatherings. My heart goes out to Jack Grant, who is finding his way through this hard reality, having lost his beloved father, William Martin Grant. The picture below gives no hint whether the sun is rising or setting, and sometimes in life the end is also the beginning ... You can leave a kind word for Jack at his blog, Random Fate.

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas. If you are far from the ones you love, then take care of those around you.

Poor Grandma!

About this time of year, the airwaves and elevators are filled with insidious tunes that play over and over. Some of them are classic beauties, and others are just plain goofy, and as hard to get out of your head as "It's a Small World". My sister and I have a personal favorite, which I don't even know all the way through. That is due to the fact that simply singing the first line is guaranteed to send the Hubster off into Grinch mode. Hmm - not that this is difficult, you understand. But some triggers work faster than others ... and "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer" works better than most ... *grin* So imagine my joy at finding an item that could prolong the torture and add a whole new dimension to it! Click here to see the video -- Ry, better not if you're at work! I don't know why BillT thinks I'm having too much fun. Heh!

Christmas cheer

John of Argghhh! shares a Politically correct version of an old standard. I don't know, though, it just doesn't seem to have the right rhythm ... what do you think? Meanwhile, this has to be the best rant of the season, for those of us who are tired of hearing all the anti-Christmas blather. Warning - explicit language, use headphones if you're at work! Thanks to Rachel of Legless in Perpetuum for sharing this one, along with other grins. Tara of Everything Goes with Pink is sharing daily Christmas cartoons - just start here and scroll down. Speaking of cartoons, I saw this at Two Babes and a Brain, and just had to have it ...

Moonlight over Iraq

Take the Iraqi Army 1st Brigade, 1st Division - add in the Teufelhunden of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and supporting aircraft from the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing - and what do you have? Operation Moonlight is the name, and America's Son gives us his view from the ground. It's 1815, Tuesday evening. Bingo and I have just returned from assisting the Iraqi Army in Operation Moonlight; a "cordon and knock" mission along the Euphrates river. There were three Iraqi battalions from the 1st Iraqi Brigade involved in the operation which covered a large swath of desert on either side of the river just East of the city of Ubaydi. I was greatly impressed with the performance of the Iraqi soldiers who bring a much needed local face to the coalition's operations. Many of the soldiers whom I served with brought a wealth of combat experience to the fight from previous operations in Fallujah, Najaf, and most recently Operation Steel Curtain within the cities of Husaybah and Karibala. Most importantly, the Iraqi soldiers fight with passion fueled by a their desire to take the torch and defend their homeland unassisted. While they are willing to serve beside coalition forces, each soldier that I spoke to about their progress told me (in broken English) how much pride they take in the defense of their country. They are also quick to tell you how thankful they are for "Ameriki's" assistance. Also worthy of note, is that Operation Moonlight was a milestone for the Iraqi army as it was the first ever brigade size operation conducted by the newly created army. There's a lot more ... Go read the whole thing here. Make sure you include a pat on the head for his 4-footed partner as well. Also, if you aren't already following Bill Roggio's reporting from Iraq (and why aren't you??), check out these articles : Operation Moonlight, with a Twist The Teufelhunden of the 3/6

Christmas decorations

This is about as close as I'm going to get to decorating the outside of my house! Click on the picture and then the bottom menu. Thanks to Echo9er for the great link.

What a sicko

We have all wondered who would be sick enough to send the horrible card to soldier Joshua Sparling at Walter Reed Medical Center. Well, wonder no longer. According to Michelle Malkin, it is the same twisted cretin who once ran a site called "Forsake the Troops". I'll let you read the whole thing at her site, since I refuse to feed this asshat's ego by printing his name or providing a link to anything he has on the web. He's not human, he's an oxygen-stealing biped with a severe brain deficiency. I do want to thank the terrific folks at Two Babes and a Brain for the hat tip, though. They're the good guys - and went in to visit Joshua last week in person. Excellent!

Sad stories

It's that time of year, when stories appear that tug on your heart strings and make you grateful for what you have. Chuck Ziegenfuss seems to be recuperating well, if this story is any indication. If you were touched by that little vignette, then you will want to go and visit Appalachian Gun Trash for a real doozy.

Withdrawal symptoms

I am just getting connected to the internet again after a 4 1/2 hour break, due to our cable service disappearing. I'm still experiencing the withdrawal symptoms ... *shudder* This morning I woke to the sound of tree branches hitting the roof, and howling winds. The sky is clear as a bell, but the wind sometimes gusts so hard that our 60-70 foot tall fir trees wave back and forth 15-30 feet at the top. So far no big parts have fallen on us, though! Shortly I will be taking off to attend our last company Christmas party. This year, the Hubster's company has booked a dinner cruise on Lake Washington - as part of the Christmas Ship Parade ... Whoo Hoo! The only downside? It's clear and windy now, which could be interesting - but it is supposed to cloud up this evening, and rain and/or sleet tonight. I just hope it waits until after we get home!

Iraqi Good News

The elections yesterday are another great achievement in the progression toward peaceful democracy in Iraq. Congratulations to the Iraqi people, and to our men and women in uniform who have been doing the mission every day to keep this happening. America's Son offers his perspective on the day ... Since I have been here in Iraq, I have not heard celebration such as what I witnessed yesterday. It was a surreal atmosphere. At one time, I looked at one of the Iraqi soldiers and asked him "Are they happy?", as a flag waving throng made their way down one of the streets of the city. "Yes. They say 'Long live Iraq' and 'Today is a great day for all Iraq', he responded as he thrust his ink stained finger in the air. It was indeed a great day for all of us. Go read the rest. In other good news from Iraq, Jim Hake of the Spirit of America reports on the success of a different kind of mission - Operation Snapshot. "The pictures were the hit of the day. I showed the Iraqi Soldiers how to take pictures and just let them go with it." --Sgt. Charity Lewis, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Al-Anbar Province, Iraq "In the end 200-300 Polaroid cameras with plenty of film spread across the Division zone may go farther in establishing enduring relations than a thousand soccer balls!" -- LtCol Jeff Vold, United States Marines Some missions just need different tools, that's all.

Elections

Yes, the Iraqi elections are today, and there's a great post at Iraq The Model, which has been updated all day with reports from around Iraq. Fantastic pictures and tons of first hand reports! But there are elections here that are important as well. Don't forget to go vote for your favorite (Argghhh) milblog (Argghhh) today (Argghhh). The voting is open until midnight - Go for it!