This weekend was my first chance in quite awhile to get some painting done and post new pictures. Continuing with my recent surge of interest in the Pacific Theater, I have painted up some GHQ 1/2400 Naval miniatures. The detail on these are excellent (of course, it's GHQ) although they were a little fiddly to put together... I wanted to jump out the window while putting the Akagi together. At any rate, here are a few photos:
Above: Kirishima
Above: USS Arizona
I even managed to finish painting a platoon of T-34's! Due to back problems, I'm not able to sit and paint as long as I used to... as a result these T-34's are painted using my new "fast" style painting method. Essentially I leave out some of the details and weathering so the process is faster :)
I'm not really a qualified movie critic, so this isn't so much a review as it is my personal opinions. I recall the original release of "Letters from Iwo Jima"... not because it was nominated for some Academy Awards, but because there was a lot of controversy around it's content. I'm not much for controversy, so I watched it with an open mind and I won't address any of those points of dispute (it's not my place).
I thought Letters from Iwo Jima was an excellent movie and I really enjoyed it. I think it's strongest point was the humanity that it brought to the Japanese armed forces in World War II. Don't get me wrong, there was still a lot of things that occurred that were in-humane... but you really grasp the fact that the Japanese soldiers had hopes, dreams, families, fears, etc. In numerous ways, they were just like their enemies. Many of them had no say in the decision to fight.
The movie really made me reflect on that human aspect and wonder why wars begin in the first place. Studying World War II, it's easy to get caught up in all the weapons and killing and that aspect takes on a distant and unrealistic quality. When you watch a movie like this, you really remember that it was awful and the real cost in the end.
If any of you have forgotten this movie was around (like me) and have never watched it, I highly recommend it. I haven't seen "Flags of Our Fathers" yet because it's not available on Netflix (where I watched "Letters") and it's not available on Amazon streaming. Anyone have feedback on "Flags"? Is it just as good?
The Soundtrack is highly recommended as well... somber yet powerful. It helps set the tone for the movie for sure. Check it out below.
This past weekend I had an experience that wasn't really World War II or Miniatures related... but because I'm so obsessed with World War II History, that's all that was going through my mind. I had a Kidney Stone.
Maybe I'm just being a baby, or perhaps I have low tolerance for pain... but this kidney stone was the absolute worst pain I have ever had. It was so incredibly painful I was delusional and on the edge of consciousness. As I was laying in an emergency room hospital bed, I was begging the nurse to give me something for the pain. Her response was "Try to relax, we'll get you some Morphine."
Now... I've never had Morphine before, but immediately scenes of Saving Private Ryan started flashing through my head. In a delusional state of mind, I started thinking about wounded servicemen during WWII and pondering if the Morphine injections they received really worked as fast as the movies portrayed.
I did not receive a syrette injection like those in World War II (pictured above); they gave me mine through an i.v. drip. But, it IMMEDIATELY relaxed me the moment it went in. It took about 5-10 minutes to take full effect; and after the addition of another painkiller (can't recall it's name) I was comfortable and almost pain free.
I have the deepest and most sincere gratitude for those men and women who have been wounded or died in the defense of our freedoms and liberties. I also applaud those war-time medics who had to deal with the unenviable task of attending to those in pain. While my kidney stone can never compare to what they experienced... I now have a much greater appreciation for their sacrifices.
