Big Tsimmis

I hear my skeptical old uncle asking: “What’s the big tsimmis?” By that he would mean: “What’s all the fuss?” Tsimmis is a popular Jewish dish whose name has become synonymous with commotion or over-elaborate doings. Tsimmis first appeared in Austria in the 1500’s as a simple dish of carrots, honey, water and fat. When potatoes came to Europe in the 1800’s, they went into the pot, too, along with meat if the household could afford it. At some point, prunes and dried apricots joined the ingredient list and the whole thing became quite a production. Hence the metaphor.

Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense

One of the travesties of the Battle of Britain is that the two men who were most instrumental in the overall British strategy were sacked after the battle. Hugh Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command, and Keith Park, 11 Group Commander, successfully employed a very directed and limited response to each German attack, under constant contact with and command from the ground. Trevor Leigh-Mallory, Commander of 12 Group, favored big-wing tactics that saw huge numbers of fighters sent up against each threat, with less central control over the pilots and squadron leaders.

After sacking Dowding and Park, Fighter Command turned its attentions to a wargame that was intended to vindicate their big-wing theories. Historical data was used to recreate one of the bigger air battles, and umpires were appointed to adjudicate. Leigh-Mallory, now 11 Group Commander, reacted to the German threats with large formations. The war game was a fiasco; the umpires decreed that vital airfields were bombed before the big wings were even airborne. But Leigh-Mallory eventually got Dowding’s job anyway.

Caveat eBay

This ad is reproduced verbatim (but then you knew that, didn’t you):

The First War Game! - Drive on Stalingrad #470427287. You are bidding on three of the Pioneer’s of War Games (i.e., Moscow Campaign, Drive on Stalingrad and Panzergruppe Guderian -ed).

These game boxes are made out of plastic & look very antique and unusual. Come to find out they are made in 1970’s and are some of the FIRST war games. They are all complete, although some pieces are in other games in this lot. The person played with them and took care of them but he mixed the pieces between the sets because they are interplayable. Your bidding on a piece of History that’s worth well over $1000.00

But First We Got Tanked

Of course, by the end at SPI, they were running short on good testers. I often felt like a German recruiting sergeant in 1945 when they were down to the 13 year olds and mental defectives. So a space alien or two would have been a godsend. I did get extremely lucky with my To The Green Fields Beyond testers in 1977 with Tom Hamilton, Ajax Buccini and Joe Perez. I remember one three-hour first turn in which the board was systematically cleared of German units. An indication that some fine tuning was required.

A game of war is not the same as a war game

Jersey Devil was Steve’s (Patrick) idea -- see The Jersey Devils hockey team -- but the Jersey Devil is a South Jersey myth. I did not think the name had significance for military games and forced a change to Centurion.

And the original four H’s were Harry Herbert Hoover Heever

The original “three R’s” were “reading, reckoning, and rhetoric,” a triad known to alarmingly few pedagogues.

The Russians sleep peacefully

Although the Crimean War ended in 1856, an oversight in the Paris Peace Treaty excluded Berwick-on-Tweed (traditionally referred to separately in State documents). In 1966, a Soviet envoy made a goodwill visit and finally peace was restored.

Far much! Too out!

What does the term 420 (pronounced four-twenty) mean? If you don’t know that it is an international code word for smoking marijuana -- especially at 4:20 and on [April 20th] -- you are not as with-it as you think you are. The term floats just below the radar of many baby boomer parents, who are totally clueless about the vast underground that celebrates the term.

Show us six million, then we have evidence

JK: Bushman (rating 0; registered since 1999) has bid on 29 auctions in the past 30 days. Every one of those auctions was run by atozgames. This pattern is interesting. Do you have any credible explanation other than that he is a shill?

eBay: Hello. I have reviewed the information that you have sent in regarding shill bidding and at this point find that we do not have enough evidence to show that the member has violated any eBay rules.