Author: Vic Socotra

Life & Island Times: Dancing in a Ukrainian Bar

Author’s Note: While I’m thinking about the change March’s coming will soon bring to the Empire, this is for Vlad and his hommies. Drink and hip hop it up, boys. -Marlow ——​ Well, Vald was dancing at Moscow club one Friday night And that nightclub bar was a little too uptight Yeah, Vlad was dancing […]

Throw Weight

It was cold this morning and Splash was up early, hurling some logs toward the shy mass in the Fire Ring. He was clearly a couple cups of Chock Full o’ Nuts ahead of the rest of us. Our dawn’s early light brought the first conscious thoughts of the first morning of a bright and […]

The Ukrainians Are Coming…

We have adopted a new tradition in the Piedmont that is slowly coming alive after the howls of winter. We hold a Sunday Soiree at the Farm. It is a delightful amalgamation of traditions in this place that has been undifferentiated indigeonous territory, a British Colony, a founding member of a successful Republic, an occupied […]

Arrias:Info Wars and the Rebirth of Western Civilization

The war is on in Ukraine, the Russians are advancing, sometimes well, mostly not so well. They are taking some ground but also taking losses. It’s fair to say that they are winning the conventional aspects of this war, but not nearly as well as they thought they would. Mainly, what they have over the […]

Life & Island Times: The winds are here

Eastward and westward storms were breaking upon Europe’s wintry steppes as 2022 opened — great, ugly whirlwinds of hatred and blood and cruelty. We in the comfortable West foolishly did not believe them inevitable. Those who lived there stood firm and looked up and out saying “Death wins nothing here, its gnawing wings that amputate […]

Life & Island Times: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

A wartime text conversation between a Russian mother and her son just before he dies in a distant battle: ​Lash, why are you not answering for so long, are you sure you are on exercises? 12:23 Mama, I’m no longer in the Crimea, not at the EXERCISE 14:16 And where??? Dad asks if you can […]

Streaming Wartime

(This image from Ukraine is what got Melissa going this morning. And the rest of us). Melissa led it off this morning. We naturally expected Splash to start the discussion on the fourth day of war. Mr. Putin has placed his nuclear forces on the highest alert, and that had him up early. This is, […]

Height 776

The whole situation is surreal in changing weather. It is strange enough to make the stones by the Fire Ring look comfortable. The War is underway, third day, and there is stiff resistance by Ukrainian units and people. They have a foe with a history. Our panel of former experts remembers individual Soviet units of […]

It’s Personal

The Russians are still going at it in Ukraine today. It is interesting of course, but it is being played out in levels ranging from abrupt and brutal violence through several levels of expertise and interpretation. That naturally depends on the volume of the crowd closest to your hearing. We are jarred at the news […]

Arrias & His Muse: Ordinary Heroes

Author’s Note: “My Muse is angry, I think…” – Arrias Ordinary Heroes Heroes can often be found in the damnedest places, In a cockpit, in a trench, in all sorts of cases. Fact is you never know who will be dealt the cards, Could in fact be anyone, even thirteen border guards. Border guards not […]