Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

The Diary has not gone the way I intended today, it’s been hopping around a bit, & most pleasingly too, but today marks the anniversary of a day that truly changed the world – the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Note the spelling of “Harbor” in those parts).

Today’s generation remember 9/11 as life changing, when nearly 3,000 souls perished, & 5 (?) aircraft were involved, but the attack on Pearl Harbor was, in some ways, even more dreadful.

Written numbers don’t carry much weight, but consider this – the attack on Pearl Harbor killed nearly 2,500, sunk 15 warships, and was carried out by 350+ Japanese aircraft, of which “only” 29 were lost.

A day or so later, America declared war on Japan – an almost unimaginable scenario now - & the rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, the memory is scarred by the dreadful movies made about it, dumbing down ftw as usual. But at least they raised awareness of it, I suppose.

For those interested - & I hope there will be a few – here’s the Wiki Page……

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

[tikay]

I thrice visited Hawaii in the late 80’s & early 90’s. I had never flown before – scared to death - & broke my duck by flying to Hawaii – 17 hours in the air, plus a 5 hour stopover! I was not so hot on geography, either, and it staggered me – still does – to find that Hawaii is FIVE HOURS by ‘plane from the coast of America. WTF?! And then you arrive at this place, literally in the middle of nowhere, & it’s full of high-rise office blocks, commerce, & all sorts. How that work?

It’s not one island, either, there are 5 “main” islands, the biggest being Hawaii itself, but the main tourist resort back then was Waikiki, which is on the Island of Oahu, the airport for which is the iconic & beautifully named Honolulu Airport. One side of the Island – where Waikiki Beach etc are – is pretty tacky to be honest, Blackpool with knobs on, but the other side, where the surfers go to ride the huge waves, is much less garish. On the Tourist side, the waves are mere ripples, a 30 minute drive away & you are looking at 30’ waves every day. The Island is effectively an extinct volcano, so you have to drive round the perimeter.

But the greatest memory is visiting Pearl Harbor, & especially the War Memorial, which is effectively a raft, moored right above where USS Arizona was sunk, & still lies to this day. The water is crystal clear, so you can see the entire hull, & at low tide, parts of it protrude above the waterline. I believe the USS Arizona is still, officially, listed as part of the US Navy Fleet, & has never been de-commissioned, something to do with the fact that the remains of over 1,100 (ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED) Sailors bodies remain trapped in the hull.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Harbor_Memorial

Inland, the Pacific War Memorial (not it’s correct name, but the one it is most known by) is one of THE most beautiful & poignant sights I have ever seen in my life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Memorial_Cemetery_of_the_Pacific

I think I might just return there next year, I would really love to see it all again

[tikay]

Well that killed the interaction stone dead......

Meanwhile, back in my little world, a Twitter Account by the name of "KissMeKendall" has appeared.

Their profile reads......

Part-time drag queen, seasonal panto dame, full-time Tikay afficionado.

Tweets so far are......

@Tony_Kendall I shall be watching you on Sky Poker tomorrow! The hunger in my heart is bested only by the hunger in my lonely eyes. Take me!

@Tony_Kendall Dance with me! Dance the lambada of love; the fiery tango of passion! Waltz me blushing, into your chamber of romance!

And, best (worst?) of all.....

@Tony_Kendall If u want 2 talk about cement I cud give u a run for your money. Rock hard, just the way I like it.

So, we just gotta suss who "KissMeKendall" is.

Greeky 5/4

Vinny 9/4.

4/1 bar.
 

[GreekStein]

[celtic]

Well that killed the interaction stone dead......

Meanwhile, back in my little world, a Twitter Account by the name of "KissMeKendall" has appeared.

Their profile reads......

Part-time drag queen, seasonal panto dame, full-time Tikay afficionado.

Tweets so far are......

@Tony_Kendall I shall be watching you on Sky Poker tomorrow! The hunger in my heart is bested only by the hunger in my lonely eyes. Take me!

@Tony_Kendall Dance with me! Dance the lambada of love; the fiery tango of passion! Waltz me blushing, into your chamber of romance!

And, best (worst?) of all.....

@Tony_Kendall If u want 2 talk about cement I cud give u a run for your money. Rock hard, just the way I like it.

So, we just gotta suss who "KissMeKendall" is.

Greeky 5/4

Vinny 9/4.

4/1 bar.
 

£40 on me @ 9/4 please

[GreekStein]

what's max bet on this greeky fella pls?

[tikay]

Marv.

Pearl Harbor does not get a squeak, but a bit of smut & off we go.

Did you see Tom's Quiz last night?

There was a question "name a body part below the waist". So I had a private wager that at least 3 people would say "penis", & I collected, & I accurately predicted 2 of them.

Seriously, I do find it very strange that whoopee cushioins, burps, farts, mention of "tits", etc, seem still to arouse guffaws in grown ups.

Do you think I'm nearing the time of life when I will soon start to be a moany-groany tetchy old bugger? (There you go, volley that one in).

[Laxie]

Do you think I'm nearing the time of life when I will soon start to be a moany-groany tetchy old bugger? (There you go, volley that one in).

Soon start?  Nah.  You're already well past that sell by date. 

[Woodsey]

Agree regarding Waikiki and Pearl Harbour  

The north shore is pretty fantastic, I remember being mesmerised by the size of the waves up there, pure nature at its finest.

Think I posted on Cos' diary a while back about the fact that I didn't know pineapples did not grow on trees until a few years back. Me and my Mrs at the time discovered that while driving up to the north shore. En-route we were driving through what looked like vast fields of some sort of plants and was wondering why can I smell pineapples? Of course got out of the car to have a look and saw pineapples growing out of the shrubs in the fields    Felt a bit silly  

[tikay]

Agree regarding Waikiki and Pearl Harbour  

The north shore is pretty fantastic, I remember being mesmerised by the size of the waves up there, pure nature at its finest.

Think I posted on Cos' diary a while back about the fact that I didn't know pineapples did not grow on trees until a few years back. Me and my Mrs at the time discovered that while driving up to the north shore. En-route we were driving through what looked like vast fields of some sort of plants and was wondering why can I smell pineapples? Of course got out of the car to have a look and saw pineapples growing out of the shrubs in the fields    Felt a bit silly  

Oddly enough, one of my strongest memories of Oahu was that - driving up to the North Shore, & seeing mile after mile of scraggy little bushes, which were pineapple plants. Until that day, I had thought they grew on trees!

Once I discovered that big wave beach - Banzai Beach, was it, home of the "banzai pipeline"? - I went there every single day. The sight, & more so, the sound, of those enormous waves crashing was something else.

I would assume you did the usual Pearl Harbor & Pacific cemetery Tours, too?

Waikiki, sadly, was just terrible.

[Woodsey]

Yeah Did PH Tony 

[TightEnd]

BBC2 now. Storyville. Your sort of thing.  Financial Funabiak markets, lehmans etc

[tikay]

BBC2 now. Storyville. Your sort of thing.  Financial Funabiak markets, lehmans etc

Watching it - amazingly good.

I must have read 8 or 10 bnooks about all this stuff, but I'd never "seen" the faces, the people, in "real life".

Great TV!

[tikay]

Oh Dear, Scotty77 is itt.

I put a horrible beat on him tonight, in Omaha.

Whoops.....

He was as good as gold, but 2 other players on the Table went apeshit about me.

I had K-K-J-7 ddcc, & decided to go for it in a 3 way coup pre-flop after getting a bit committed, & got there. Geezer says "donk, what a donk, you had ONE pair you idiot".

Thought it might be a waste of time telling him it is a 4 card game......

I run the hand through an Odds Calc after, & I was 42% pre if I got it Heads Up. Not good, but not that terrible, either.

[smashedagain]

Post the HH and let us decide.

 Well by us I mean lildave