Author: Tetman Callis

“Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail, and say, there is no sin but to be rich; and being rich, my virtue then shall be, to say, there is no vice but beggary.” – William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John 2.1

“Who dares not stir by day must walk by night; and have is have, however men do catch.” – William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John 1.1

“Military necessity gave the greatest strategic importance to that section of the country [Australia] which had been least developed; the main centers of population, wealth, and transportation were in the southeast, whereas the north and northeast now held the position of key military importance. The difficulty of transporting goods overland from Brisbane to Darwin was as great as from Darwin to the Philippines, if not so dangerous. No railroad connected the two cities, which were 2,500 miles apart by the most expeditious land route. For over a quarter of this distance only a rough motor road cut through the central desert, and this road ended approximately 300 miles from Darwin to connect with a railway capable of carrying no more than 300 tons of freight per day. Repair facilities were inadequate for maintenance of either road or railway, and some of the rolling stock literally buckled under the weight of heavy American equipment.” – Richard L. Watson, “Pearl Harbor and Clark Field” (from James Lea Cate and Wesley Frank Craven, The Army Air Forces in World War II, Vol. One, Plans and Early Operations)

“Once on a time near Gnossus, the royal seat of Phaestia, there was a man called Ligdus, a modest freedman, simple and unknown, nor was his wealth enough to make him famous; his one distinction—he kept out of jail.” – Ovid: The Metamorphoses, trans. Horace Gregory

“A jest’s prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it, never in the tongue of him that makes it.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“Honest plain words best pierce the ear of grief.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“The extreme parts of time extremely form all causes to the purpose of his speed; and often, at his very loose, decides that which long process could not arbitrate.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“A heavy heart bears not a nimble tongue.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“Folly in fools bears not so strong a note as foolery in the wise, when wit doth dote.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“The blood of youth burns not with such excess as gravity’s revolt to wantonness.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost 5.2

“None are so surely caught, when they are catch’d, as wit turn’d fool: folly, in wisdom hatch’d, hath wisdom’s warrant, and the help of school, and wit’s own grace to grace a learned fool.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, 5.2

“A light heart lives long.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, 5.2

“Fat paunches have lean pates; and dainty bits make rich the ribs, but bankrupt quite the wits.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, 1.1

“Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives, live register’d upon our brazen tombs, and then grace us in the disgrace of death; when, spite of cormorant devouring time, the endeavour of this present breath may buy that honour which shall bate his scythe’s keen edge, and make us heirs of all eternity.” – William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost, 1.1

“[O]ne spectacular new air weapon, a drone bomb, was tested against Japanese targets . . . . The drones, specially built planes capable of carrying a 2,000-pound bomb, were radio controlled by torpedo bombers of a special naval test unit. Synchronized television screens in drone and control planes enabled the controllers to view what was ahead of the drones and to crash them against point targets. After test attacks . . . . [t]he results were inconclusive. . . . [T]here was a future for this weapon, but . . . it needed more development work and better aircraft.” – Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part VI, Conclusion”

“The days passed in a blur. Every day we sent the Zeros up on frantic interception flights. The young and inexperienced student pilots had become battle-hardened veterans, their faces showing the sudden realization of death all about them. Not for a moment did the Americans ease their relentless pressure. Day and night the bombers came to pound Rabaul, to smash at the airfield and shipping in the harbor, while the fighters screamed low in daring strafing passes, shooting up anything they considered a worthwhile target.” – Commander Masatake Okumiya (quoted in Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”)

“One of the major points which has too often been overlooked in an evaluation of fighting power, but which determined to a large extent the efficiency of air units, was that of hygienic installations. Japanese engineers paid scant attention to this problem, dismissing the pressing matter of mosquito protection by simply rigging mosquito nets in personnel quarters. Sanitary facilities were basically crude and ineffective; certainly they contributed nothing to the morale of ground and air crews. The Americans, by contrast, swept clean vast areas surrounding their ground installations with advanced mechanical aids. Through exhaustive disinfecting operations, they banished flies and mosquitos from their airbases and paid similar attention to every phase of sanitation and disease. Some may consider this a prosaic matter, but it was vital to the men forced to live on desert islands and in the midst of jungles swarming with disease and insect life. The inevitable outcome of such neglect was a tremendous difference in the health of the American and Japanese personnel who were assigned to these forward air facilities.” – Commander Terufumi Kofukuda (quoted in Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”)

“Fighter pilot or bomber crewman, the Japanese naval flyer who fought at Rabaul was aware that he was waging a losing battle. The plane he flew was a torch, waiting only an incendiary bullet to set it alight. The gaping holes in his unit left by the death of veterans were filled by young, inexperienced replacements, more a liability than an asset in combat air operations. Despite the handicaps under which he fought—out-numbered, out-gunned, and out-flown—the enemy flyers fought, tenaciously right up to the day when Rabaul was abandoned to its ground defenders.” – Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”

“The [Japanese] pilots who began the war averaged 800 hours of flying time, and many of them had combat experience in China. Relatively few of these men survived until the end of 1943; a great many died at Coral Sea and Midway and in air battles over Guadalcanal.” – Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”

“There was no [Japanese] plane that flew from Rabaul that was not a potential flaming death trap to its crew. To meet the specifications outlined by the Japanese Navy, aircraft designers sacrificed safety to achieve maneuverability in fighters and long range in bombers.” – Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”

“Much of the plane [Mitsubishi ‘Betty’] was built of lightweight magnesium, a very inflammable metal, and in the wing roots and body between were poorly protected fuel and oil tanks. The result was a highly vulnerable aircraft so prone to burst into flames when hit that Japanese aircrews nicknamed it ‘Type 1 Lighter.’” – Henry I. Shaw, Jr., and Major Douglas T. Kane, USMC, Isolation of Rabaul, History of U.S. Marine Corps Operations in World War II, Vol. II, “Part V, Marine Air Against Rabaul”

“Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor; for ‘tis the mind that makes the body rich; and as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, so honour peereth in the meanest habit.” – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, 4.3

“Nothing comes amiss, so money comes withal.” – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, 1.2

“No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en.” – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, 1.1

“Frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.” – William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction.2

“It cannot be stressed enough that without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be an empire, but with Ukraine suborned and then subordinated, Russia automatically becomes an empire.” – Zbigniew Brzezenski (quoted by Tim Judah in “Ukraine on the Brink”)

“In my experience it is quite normal to refuse to believe that you are about to be engulfed by a cataclysm that will change your life forever—or kill you.” – Tim Judah, “Ukraine on the Brink”

“Lambs go to slaughter. A man, he learns when to walk away.” – David Simon and Ed Burns, “Port in a Storm, The Wire

“No one need know what I do in my dreams, and nothing’s wrong with little secret pleasures.” – Ovid: The Metamorphoses, trans. Horace Gregory

“We used to make shit in this country. Built shit. Now we just put our hand in the next guy’s pocket.” – David Simon and George Pelecanos, “Bad Dreams,” The Wire