i made some additions to the flip flop story - mostly links to videos of what i described - no... not the shower scene but interesting none the less

to paraphrase Britney - what was i f-in thinking?"

you can look back at the flip flop story and click on the links as they appear at their relevant spots in the story or you can just watch the vids by these links:

the first one gets embedded because guess what - THE FAMOUS FLIP FLOPS SHOW UP IN THE ACTUAL VIDEO - no running involved tho - (20 second in very briefly and again at 40)!



world's fastest haircut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCY8hoEmwew&feature=related



a somewhat romanticised version of the whole ordeal but pretty bad none the less. it is camp pendelton, i can tell by the architecture. there are only two places for marine corp basic training, parris island for everyone east of the Mississippi and camp pendelton for everyone west of it. which means i had my fair share of deep southern accents while i was on parris island needless to say.

a sort of why i left - but it doesn't really explain it - i left because it was all lies - a practice in accepting lies unquestioningly - plus i had an out. but this sort of shows a little bit the attitude of what goes wrong there sometimes. i actually don't have that much sympathy for the guy in question because if it includes the word MARINE it probably involves WATER - but whatever. i left more on account of the sort of mind fucks that one can get a tiny tiny taste of in the head video....

how to go to the head (bathroom) later in training:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQXxH4p2dpI&feature=related
an example of exercises in ridiculousness - note how he tells them to put in one spot and then yells at them for doing it and makes them put it in another spot. repeat this exercise over an over again. take your clothes on and off several hundred times a week. run but don't run. yell but don't yell. look me in the eye boy - but - why you eyeballin me boy? after weeks of these subtle types of maneuvers it is intended to make you unquestioning. unquestioning because the marines are the ones who storm the beaches - and when they say run onto the beach they do not have a second to waste on your questioning whether that makes sense or not.

ok - so i complained. however, for every marine that finished boot camp i have the utmost respect. and i actually respect the marines more than the other branches. they existed BEFORE the united states (they were formed November 10 1775 in Philadelphia at tun tavern.) more than one (more than 2!) marines have told me that if the USA ever went into a dictatorship that the marines would be the branch that would resist and restore the republic. one reason this seems reasonable (besides them pre-dating the republic) is that every year the marines send back to the federal government a portion of the budget allotted to them. think about it. it's a very subtle f u.

so having complained, i would like to show a little bit of what no one else but the marines are capable of producing. and so i present you with several silent drill team vids - enjoy the men in white gloves doing intricate baton twirling while giving off more attitude than any drag queen in NYC could ever muster - fast forward to 1:20 to get to the drill corp action. men in white gloves with ultimate dramatic attitudes ... and why are gays not allowed in the military again?:



plus these that are really fun - and no the guys aren't necessarily gay - come on! but i have the highest respect for the level of precision and discipline that they have achieved:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y90UPLLo6nY

and finally some good old marine corp marching cadences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y90UPLLo6nY
I'm sorry but note the men in flip flops and short shorts when the second cadence starts. come on, don't tell me these folks who have every subtle psychological trick in the universe aren't somehow using same sex bonding to their advantage?
i fully expect at least one terrible comment from some homo-phobe so if you think you will worry me by insulting me or threatening me, been there and done that...

ley-o ley-o ley-o riagh!

oh and while i'm at it - here is the history of the famous sword that marines get - it shows up in allot of usmc tv commercials:

from wikipedia:

Marine Corps lore states that a sword of this type was presented to Marine First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon by the Turkish viceroy, Prince Hamet, on December 8, 1804, during the First Barbary War, as a gesture of respect and praise for attempting to return the prince to his throne. Upon his return to the United States, the state of Virginia presented him with a silver-hilted sword featuring an eaglehead hilt and a curved blade modeled after the original Mameluke sword given him by Hamet. Its blade is inscribed with his name and a commemoration of the Battle of Tripoli Harbor.[1]

Perhaps due to the Marines' distinguished record during this campaign, including the capture of the Tripolitan city of Derna after a long and dangerous desert march, Marine Corps Commandant Archibald Henderson adopted the Mameluke sword in 1825 for wear by Marine officers.