Happy Birthday, Marine Corps

On this day in 1775, the United States Marine Corps was founded by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress. At the time, only two battalions of Marines were formed. Today, the United States Marine Corps is one of the toughest forces of the United States Military. They are the tip of the spear.

Happy Birthday, USMC!

Sunday Reading: WWII Posters and the Brooklyn Bridge

If you've seen my Twitter icon, it references this WWII propaganda poster that the British used. I decided to go with it while reading Churchill's epic memoirs of WWII. Seriously, it's a lot of reading, but it's good (if you like that sort of thing).

I've put my own little spin on it, but here's an interesting read on some of the other related posters and how the same ethos is applicable today.

On a related note, I've started an old book (new to me). It's David McCullough's "The Great Bridge". It's the story of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which I thought was somewhat topical, given recent events. I'm still not through with Churchill's memoirs, but I'll double-fist it for awhile.

Yes, this is the actual 2011 Florida Gators Football Poster

For the uninitiated, one thing we take seriously in the South is our football. Even when there aren't any games to watch, one-upping and ridiculing your rivals (or anyone worthy of ridicule) is pretty much a full-time deal. Usually, there isn't much material to work with when talking trash about the Florida Gators. They have been a dominant program for a long time and gaffes are few and far between. However, with this...

...the University of Florida is just asking for it. Seriously, whoever approved this poster is probably already fired.

This poster is really weird laughable on several levels. First, and most obviously, the Gator looks like he's either from "The Muppet Show" and is about to sing a song or he's been hit with about a hundred tranquilizer darts. I lean towards Muppet. In any event, it looks silly. Just the gator logo from the helmets would be better. Heck, just a blank space would be better. Maybe Gator fans are just glad it's not a crocodile of previous media guides past.

Second, Muschamp looks....scared, confused, about to cry? That's up to you. To me, he looks like the photographer told him that the picture would be on "3" and he took it on "2", so Muschamp didn't have time to fully form his war face. Or maybe he's on the same drugs as the gator perched above him.

Finally, let's leave the photo-shopping of the "speed swooshes" (or whatever the heck that is) to the professionals. Actually, just don't do that ever. Thoughts?