Et tu, Brute?

Possibly the most famous three words ever uttered, "Et tu, Brute?" has come to mean ultimate betrayal by one's closest friend.

Caesar almost certainly did not, in fact, utter these precise words upon his assassination. Ancient sources report that he either died wordlessly or said "Kai su, teknon?", Greek for "You too, my child?"

Beware the Ides of March!

The Romans had special names for three specific days in each month. Origianlly the system appears to have been based on phases of the Moon (Luna). In the early days of the Republic they became fixed days.

The named days were:

• Kalendae (Kalends) — first day of the month, from which the word "calendar" is derived; thought to have originally been the day of the new moon. Interest on debt was due on Kalends (Oi!).
• Nones — depending on the month, could be the 5th or the 7th day; originally thought to have been the day of the half moon.
• Ides — depending on the month, could be the 13th or the 15th day; thought to have originally been the day of the full moon. The Romans considered this an auspicious day in their calendar.

Months with Nones on the 5th and Ides on the 13th days: January, February, April, June, August, September, November, December.

Months with Nones on the 7th and Ides on the 15th days: March, May, July, October.

These rules are summarised in the following mnemonic:

In March, July, October, May

The Ides fall on the fifteenth day

The Nones the seventh; all besides

Have two days less for Nones and Ides.

Thus endith the lesson...

Entry for March 14, 2007

Finish Marines...must...finish...must...finish...

I need to get my Marines done...

Then I will work on my Curse you Red Baron game for Gamex '07...

I also want to take a shot at either the WHFB tourney or the Warmachine/Hordes tourney... I love the figures from Privateer Press, but I know the WHFB rules pretty well. So I guess the cool mini's loose out to knowledge ( and old age & treachery).

Of the WHFB armies I have (ha ha) Tomb Kings would be easiest to field...but the hardest to play. They require a lot of timing (like the WAB Byzantines did). I haven't had enough time to get a feel for them.

Vampire counts I could play well with, but I have almost no figures painted for them...same with Dark Elves, though DE have a steep learning curve as well...

So its either get some time in playing WHFB with my Tomb Kings or start painting wolves...lots and lots of wolves...

Entry for March 08, 2007

By the way, have I mentioned I hate painting infantry lately? If not I am well overdue for a rant on painting infantry...next time it an armored unit. No more spindly-legged figures clutching the ground for me...give me a few 60 ton hunks of steel (scale tons) to paint...

I need to finish these Marines so I can work on my StuG III's...I have 12 or so and maybe 4 or so StuG IV's...17th SS GvB in Normandy at Carentan...then on to my Fallschimjager..damn...more bloddy infantry...

I could do my Brit Para's instead?

Tim, they call him...

Entry for March 01, 2007

I am getting real close with my Marines...Started detailing the bases on the snipers....

I think I can get this done in a week...then its time to put them on the shelf...never to be used again...

On the the next project!

Tim, they call him...

Entry for February 26, 2007

TODAY IS ADD DAY!!

Mark and Larry both purchased Warhammer Historical's "The Old West" rules. Turns out they are a version of GW's "Lord of the Rings" game. Simple enough really. Dump the magic, and the different races, add some guns and historical flavor and Presto! old West rules!

Larry read through them and mentioned how you could adapt them to other periods...Mark mentioned adapting them to Ancients or Pirates. I have taken it upon myself to adapt them to WWI & WWII.

Simple realy...again change the wording around...add some historical flavor...BAR's, MG's and artillery...and Presto! I have some interesting ideas for this and will have to see where this will take me...

Marines...paint Marines....

Entry for February 25, 2007

Status Report:

My Scout, Weapons (LMG & Mortar), HMG and AT platoons, just need some detail work, base detailing and varnishing.

My three Rifle platoons just need the "green" web gear painted and I can move them up to the status of my Scout platoon.

I spent this weekend in between other things getting the khaki leggings & musette bags painted, plus the boots and drybryshing the bases. Its hard to believe, but I am almost there.

For detail work I need to check the figures, one by one for :

• errors and omissions
• painted rifle slings (leather) and buckles
• helmet chin straps (green)
  
• canteen caps (black)
  
• maybe chevrons (faded black)...

For bases:

• debris (rocks, boxes, spent cartridges, etc)
• flora (static grass, shrubs, palm fronds, etc)
• labels (platoon designation)
  

wow...another week and I should have it done!

Then I have to find me some son's of Nippon to send politely to the Deity of their choice (or nearest convenient parallel dimension.)