Anyone still watching Ken Burns' The War?

[pokerfan]

Episode 5: FUBAR just starting here.

[CBHagman]

1. I've been catching as much of it as I can.

They'll be rerunning it in my area throughout October and part of November, so there's less pressure to make sure it's taped this weekend. Still, it's hard not to be riveted when it's on.

On edit: I learned the meaning of FUBAR about 25 years ago from a classmate of mine. Our PBS station ran the unedited, uncensored definition in its screening of the episode.

Last night I went to the ceremony in DC honoring World War II veterans, followed by screening of excerpts from the movie.

Ken Burns spoke briefly and mentioned again his motivation for making the movie -- among other things, the reality that our World War II veterans are dying off by a thousand each day, and young American students often don't know their stories. In addition, he noted that we as voters are responsible for electing the politicians who make the decision to go to war, and that while the Second World War qualifies as a necessary war, not all wars do.

I believe he won a round of applause with that comment.

[pokerfan]

2. We just got the definitions

of SNAFU and FUBAR in unedited form, including closed captioning.

Now onward to Operation Market Garden.

[kath]

5. Dad told me the definitions of SNAFU and FUBAR a long time ago, and I think there was one other one,

along the same lines. But I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Anybody know what it might be?

[pokerfan]

6. I learned them years ago

FUMTU: Fucked Up More Than Usual
JANFU: Joint Army-Navy Fuck Up
FNG: Fucking New Guy
REMF: Rear-Echelon Mother Fucker

There are countless others.

[kath]

8. Thanks. FUMTU might be it, not sure.

Please post (or PM me) any others that come to mind.

I love it that SNAFU (and, to a lesser extent, FUBAR) has become part of the language. So interesting how language evolves!

[sarge43]

20. FIGMO: Fuck it. Got my orders. n/t

[trof]

35. RAFSOB

I was in an air national guard squadron.
Each unit had a Regular Air Force (active duty) 'advisor' assigned.
He was our Regular Air Force Son Of a Bitch.

[OzarkDem]

24. BOHICA?

Bend over, her it comes again.

[NewJeffCT]

9. I've actually found over the years

that even though movies are often edited for television when it comes to the actual verbal content, the close captioning is often not edited...

So, when "fuck" is either edited out or replaced with "frig" or "frack" or "fudge" or whatnot, you'll still often see the word "fuck" in the captioning.

[sasquatch]

3. I've been in and out but always make an effort to catch it

I loved the part about the guy that told the Japanese CO if he killed him his spirit would hant him forever.

[Road Scholar]

4. Yes, and , I've TVo'd every one so far. For some reason,

I feel obligated to understand and try to appreciate what those folks had to endure.

[pokerfan]

7. Caught an epsiode of Band of Brothers earlier today

How wonderful to have a complete sense of purpose.

Joseph Liebgott: It's gonna be good times, Web. When we get home, I mean. First thing I'm gonna do is get my job back at the cab company in Frisco. Make a killing of all those fucking sailors coming home, you know? Then I'm gonna find me a nice Jewish girl, with great big soft titties and a smile to die for. Marry her. Then I'm gonna buy a house... A big house, with lots of bedrooms for all the little Liebgotts we're gonna be making.

[MnFats]

29. nine days ago i drove the normandy coast.

stunning, simply stunning.
I went to Omaha Beach.
i walked/swam out to a point where the water was chest high (cold, but not Lake Superior cold) and looked up at th empty patch of beach and the bluffs beyond....and tried to imagine being on an LST and trying to get off and across the beach, around the obstacles, and up to a spot where you might be able to engage without being cut to ribbons....

it's a very solumn place, as you might imagine. without the history you might think it would be a place where families would come to picnic,fly kites and such, if not go in the water. but because of what happened there, it's like treading on holy ground. merriment wouldn't do.


they were children, really. my boy is 17. they were only a year or two older and they rescued the world from facism.
Jesus! I can't imagine.

[edbermac]

10. Haven't seen any episodes yet, so don't tell me how it ends!

:patriot:

[Hugin]

11. The Trojans accept the horse, man.

:patriot:

[Bucky]

23. God, I hate those sneaky fucking Achaeans! What the hell was Hera thinking helping them?

[Hugin]

26. I've heard Homer is floating a sequel around the Acropolis.

Working title: The lliad II.

[Bucky]

27. Um, the war ended. What the hell could they make a sequel about... sailing home?

This Homer guy will never last with lame ideas like that. Why is he so blind to the obvious?

[Hugin]

28. I bet he's going to pump it full of Special Effects...

Unicorns... Medusas... Cyclopses... That kind of junk. Go for the matinee golden fleece. :eyes:

[groovedaddy]

12. Missed it last night

but have seen most of it.
It's very good.

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Yup

I'm looking for my dad.

[CBHagman]

14. You and me both.

I missed the Okinawa portion and will have to tape it. My father was an Army medic on Okinawa.

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. Mine was also a medic

in the ETO.

If you see a skinny medic with glasses, it may be him.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

19. Okinawa is covered in episode 7

My husband's dad fought in Okinawa. He just passed away 2 weeks ago at the age of 87. He would have enjoyed the entire series. And now my husband is watching it in honor of his dad and to better understand what his dad went through.

[Arugula Latte]

15. I saw the first few ... then the carnage really got to me.

It got harder for me to watch it. I can't even imagine what it was like to actually go through that.

[kwassa]

16. Personally, I think Ken Burns is wildly overrated.

The History Channel has a brazillion documentaries on the World War 2, and some of them are very good, and all this material has been covered many times before in both documentaries and dramatic movies.

One of the main characters in Burn's film was featured in another documentary called "A Fighter Pilot's Story" , a few years old, and which was more powerful to me.

I also like the old BBC series "World At War" which was excellent and thorough.

Part of the problem is that the war was so epic, and had so many stories, is that it is very difficult to capture, even in a film this long. Burns really skims over the non-American parts of the war.

[sarge43]

22. Burns was upfront about his goal.

He didn't do this series as a history of WWII; it is an exploration of what the war meant to ordinary Americans, military and civilians.

"World At War" barely touched on the Eastern Front or the Pacific battles or the horrors the Chinese endured. It was a good overview of the British experience.

An historian once said that a war cannot be objectively discussed until its veterans are gone.

[kwassa]

31. Actually, I think you are incorrect

"World At War" barely touched on the Eastern Front or the Pacific battles or the horrors the Chinese endured. It was a good overview of the British experience.

World at War covered everything. You might be remembering a different series. This series also used a great deal of footage from the other side of the fight, too.

[sarge43]

32. Well, there's no way it or any other series could have covered everything.

I do remember it gave little attention to Midway, one of the pivotal battles of the war. Mentioning an event and covering it are two different matters.

[kwassa]

36. It was the first series

I ever saw to show the Soviet contribution to destroying the German military machine, i.e. Stalingrad, the equally pivotal battle against Germany than Midway was against the Japanese, plus the other major military victories before we ever landed in France.

Growing up in this country makes it seem that it was just us and Great Britain that one the war.

The History Channel has at least 3 different documentaries running about Midway in the past couple of months.

[MnFats]

30. for his work on the Civil War.... Burns gets a pass from me on anything else...

....that was a stunning piece of work. but as with 'the war' he mainly lets the people tell the story.
which, with the Civil War is something, since all the principals are long dead.

[Javaman]

18. Yeah caught it last night. very indence footage.

hard to watch at times. stirring up lots of emotions.

[Orsino]

21. After a few years, my will to go on was worn down...

...and I accepted a peace treaty with Burns.

[SeattleGirl]

25. I am. I've been absolutely fascinated watching it.

The stories of the men and women in the military, and those at home, really make this a good documentary. And it really shows the disconnect so many people not in the military today have with those who ARE in the military. Other than the military families, we aren't making any sacrifices for this war. It's something that's happening "over there" to "other people."

[bluecrush]

33. Wrapped it up with episode six tonight

It left me feeling numb. It is an amazing series that filled me with gratitude over the sacrifices made by Allied soldiers.

[pokerfan]

34. Wasn't it seven episodes?