(no subject)

[timepiececlock]

Every time I hear someone shout "Man the torpedoes!" in an old war film, all that my ears hear is "Damn the torpedoes!"

And then my brain goes funny (but hollywood-style patriotic) places like "Hell yeah! Damn them! We don't need torpedoes! We've got LASERS, asshole!"

But then they fire the torpedoes and my brain gets stuck in a rut wondering why they fired the torpedoes expecting them to work when they just damned them moments ago. Or were they damning them just for extra punch--- like they could send out blessed torpedoes if they wanted, but who the hell would waste blessed torpedoes on Nazi U-boats or Russian subs anyway? Better to give them the damned torpedoes, just to spite the bastards to the very end!

Around .3 seconds in my brain has usually passed by now, and I finally realize "Oh, they said man the torpedoes. Ok."

This process repeats itself invariably any time I hear that phrase. Sometimes you can't trust your own ears.

Comments

[nwhepcat.livejournal.com]

There is a famous quote that goes "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead." That's as much as I knew till I just googled it. David Farragut said it, he had a naval command during the Civil War. It's 2 a.m. and I skimmed, so I'm fuzzy on the details, but huh. He's one of America's most celebrated heroes. It says so right here:

http://www.nps.gov/vick/visctr/sitebltn/farragut.htm

The quote was his rallying cry when his fleet was faced with gunboats that had just sunk one of the lead ships.

Huh. He was the first Admiral in the US Navy, and he was even asked to run for president.

There's a state park named after him a few miles from me, in what used to be a naval base (yeah, here in my landlocked state. The lake here is deep enough for submarine training).

So you're not going crazy, there's a reason why that is stuck in your head, even though in most movies they probably are saying, "Man the torpedoes."

::keels over to sleep::

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Very itneresting link; thank you! I read the whole thing.