I love you, Cheryl Holmes Ellis.
She was a very dear friend; someone I had worked with and had known for 25+ years. She passed this week after being ill for a very long time.
She had such a zest for life, and I don’t mean that lightly. She loved people, movies, and travelling, London, Paris, India, Dubai…., and music.
She was a such a kind person who was always positive in word and deed even though she struggled mightily with her health. She taught me how to be a better human. Last I spoke with her after being hospitalized, she told me she was so tired of being a pin cushion and all the medical appointments. She was done.
I can’t say you’ve left a hole in my heart Cheryl. I can say the opposite. You sure did fill it up while you were living. <3
RIP sweet friend.
Thank you for reading today's post. Have an InterStellar Day! ~PrP
Did You Know?
Although the “Pizza Planet” delivery truck is probably the most widely used Pixar Easter egg, there are other numerous Easter eggs that eagle-eyed fans have spotted that link different Pixar films together. Examples include the recurrence of identical trailers, a toy ball with a red star on it known as the “Luxo” ball, and, of course, numerous hidden references to other films (like the Toy Story toys appearing as props in the background of other Pixar films).
There are new vamps on earth with the ability to bite with peptides that switch on all of its victim’s nerves at once, causing the human to become instantly paralyzed. It appears these vamps are the result of Scorpion like aliens and human females. It is believed that the planet 470258 was infected by vamps a millennium ago. The result was a planet of vamps with a paralyzing venom injection during energy removal.
These vamps prefer other vamps to human. Are we to be placed in a position of protecting natural earth vamps?
JOKE:
On the first day of training for parachute jumping, a blonde listened intently to the instructor.
He told them to start preparing for landing when they are at 300 feet.
The blonde asked, “How am I supposed to know when I’m at 300 feet?”
“That’s a good question. When you get to 300 feet, you’ll be able to recognize the faces of people on the ground.”
After pondering his answer, she asked, “What happens if there’s no one there I know?”
JOKE:
General Baldwin had barely arrived in the forward area when a sniper’s bullet removed a button from his shirt.
He threw himself to the ground in terror.
The men stood around with the greatest unconcern.
The general yelled at a passing sergeant.
“Hey, isn’t somebody going to kill that damned sniper?”
The sergeant looked down at the general and replied:
“I guess not, general.
We’re scared that if we kill him the enemy will replace him with somebody who really knows how to shoot.”
Neerja Bhanot was a flight attendant on Pan Am Flight 73 in 1986, which was scheduled to fly from Mumbai to the United States. Before takeoff 4 hijackers boarded the plane at Karachi airport in Pakistan and held hostage 380 passengers and 13 crew members at gun point in a 17-hour stand off. When the hijackers demanded the passports of the Americans on board, Neerja hid the passports under seat cushions, flushed them down the toilet and threw them down the trash shoot. When the situation escalated as the hijackers began shooting and detonating explosives, Neerja deployed the emergency escape doors and began frantically guiding passengers out of the plane. She was the last to remain when a hijacker grabbed her by her ponytail and shot her point blank while she was shielding 3 American children from gun fire. She died at 22 the day before her birthday.
If you think the cowardice of the crowd isn’t real, look to the Jan 6th Insurrection. A bunch of fake patriots, mostly white, middle aged men with “Rambo” fantasies who would never make it through the military’s front door, wanted to overturn an election because they didn’t get the outcome they wanted.
Was the “Attack of the Dead Men” a true event?
Oh god, the Attack of the Dead Men.
This is by far one of the most freaky things that has ever happened in any war in world history. For those of you who don’t know, the Attack of the Dead Men was a battle between Russian and German Troops during WW1 in 1915. Over the series of a few weeks, German Troops had tried to take the Russian held Osowiec Fortress.
Built in the 1800’s in Northern Poland, it was not in a good state by 1915
The Germans tried to attack the fort multiple times but were continuously driven back by a determined combination of Russian soldiers and Russian artillery.
Eventually the Germans were tired of this constant pain in the back and decided to test a relatively experimental weapon, Poison Gas. The Germans had Mustard and Chlorine Gas available in the area, and had to choose between the two.
On the Western Front Germans tended to use Mustard Gas as it would hurt Allied troops even with a gas mask and it caused blisters on the skin, whereas Chlorine Gas would only hurt those who had no gas masks.
An example of a WW1 era Gas mask, it’s kinda scary no?
The trade-off though, was that Mustard Gas tended to be easier to survive and recover from, whereas Chlorine Gas would basically melt your lungs and any soft flesh.
Chlorine Gas needed to REACH your lungs though, and as most troops on the Western Front had masks, it wasn’t THAT much of a threat.
The problem is, this isn’t the Western Front— the Russian Army isn’t in a very good position or situation and is using a LOT of outdated materials.
The Russians don’t have gas masks, and the Germans know it. They decide to use the Chlorine Gas option and after the wind is cooperating, give their troops gas masks and get ready to advance.
They let the gas loose and begin to advance, and expect to see nothing at all.
They advance, and then they see something horrible advancing from the Russian trenches.
It’s a bit of an exaggeration, but this is how the scared Germans probably saw them
About 100 or so Russian soldiers farther back had noticed the gas incoming and their officer had ordered them to get rags, pee on ‘em, and put them on their mouths (it’s gross I know).
This they hoped would save them from dying and were kind of cheap gas masks that didn’t always work the best (if they worked at all).
They began a desperate charge against the German Lines, numbering around 7000 men and the Germans FLIPPED OUT. They didn’t want to fight what they thought were basically zombies, and turned around and ran.
They were so startled, that they were tripping over their own barbed-wire and machine gun nests, while the Russians were shooting them.
This is what is known as the Attack of the Dead Men.
Just so you know, that image ^ is pretty tame compared to the real thing— these were men who were coughing out their lungs and having internal organs melted.
They were literally Dying Men and were only alive because the rags slowed down their death. It was very very terrifying for the Germans.
On a side note, Sabaton (Swedish Power Metal Band) made an EPIC song about this event. It’s not where I heard about it, but it’s a cool song based off a historical event.
On a more related note, as I was reading through the comments for this song on Youtube, I came across this brilliant comment by “Messychmitt”— all credit for what I’m about to write goes to them.
“I’ll paint a picture with words for this. You’re a German soldier, have been since the Patriotic start of this war that’s been going on for far too long. You’re a transfer from the Western Front, so when this fortress that your fellows have been bombarding for months is ordered to be gassed, it’s not much to you. You’ve seen it before, fields of melted faces, of pools of chunky blood. This is expected, especially when you hear the rumor that the Russians inside have no gas masks.
The whistle blows like it has dozens of times before. Over the lip of your trench you go, with 7000 solidly trained soldiers of the Kaiser. The march is going fine, if the ground wasn’t so slippery with mud and blood, it’d be easy to go into parade formation. No one’s going to-
CRACK!
The world stops as one of your friends staggers back, gripping at his throat as the familiar liquid flows from the newly created hole. But……who shot him?
That’s when you look at the Russian trenches. And they aren’t as still as they should be. They start to move up and over. They’re a sight…..not of marvel, but of terror. They stare at you with unblinking bloodshot eyes, mouths drooling blood and meat as they cough.But their hands move mechanically. It’s all they know how to do now.
The dead, all the ones you’ve seen before? They’re HERE. NOW. And they’re here for revenge.”
That’s scary^
That in essence, is the horrifying event known as the Attack of the Dead Men.
What a beautiful tribute to your friend. I’m very sorry for your loss. I hope you have created many wonderful memories over the years.
Thanks for the kind words Michelle. <3