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'The Hunt for Red October' author Tom Clancy dies at age 66

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Tamara View Post
    I imagine that there is a lot from Hollywood and novels that gets people to sign up.......how soon do they find out it's not like that?
    Well, if "Stripes" got you recruited..., the next day, I guess.
    No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

    To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

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    • #17
      Hey, he did pretty good for an insurance salesman.

      I met the guy for a couple of minutes at a party and although he was nothing but nice to me, you could tell there was an air of arrogance about the guy.

      Still, He was leaps and bounds above the other techno-thriller writers at the time and although he went down hill fast after 'The sum of all fears', I'll always thank the man for giving me countless hours of fun relaxation.

      RIP.
      Last edited by YellowFever; 03 Oct 13,, 09:33.

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      • #18
        Ah, that's it I guess. Another author who I read gone. RIP.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by desertswo View Post
          LOL!! I could tell you some inside stories about the making of Top Gun but they involve the personal lives of people who probably wouldn't appreciate their dirty laundry being aired in public, but suffice it to say that there are people featured in certain scenes who were real naval officers at the time and were, shall we say "seduced," by the Hollywood lifestyle. Strange things were afoot at the Circle K. ;)
          Oh come now sir, surely you can protect the names of the innocent (*cough*) whilst still providing the anecdotes that we all crave like crack

          Originally posted by YellowFever View Post
          I met the guy for a couple of minutes at a party and although he was nothing but nice to me, you could tell there was an air of arrogance about the guy.
          The more I learned about the guy the less I liked him as a person. I think the low point came while listening to the first hour of the audio commentary for the Sum Of All Fears movie.

          Clancy and director Phil Alden Robinson were recording together and Clancy introduced himself as "the guy that wrote the book that [the filmmakers] ignored". Robinson chuckled a bit uncomfortably and you could practically hear him settle in for 2 hours of being lambasted by Clancy.

          During the commentary, something would happen or a character would deliver a line of technical dialogue and Clancy would derisively snort "That's bullshit". After the 2nd or 3rd time of his dismissive "That's bullshit", I shut off the commentary and haven't finished it.
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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          • #20
            Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
            Oh come now sir, surely you can protect the names of the innocent (*cough*) whilst still providing the anecdotes that we all crave like crack


            The more I learned about the guy the less I liked him as a person. I think the low point came while listening to the first hour of the audio commentary for the Sum Of All Fears movie.

            Clancy and director Phil Alden Robinson were recording together and Clancy introduced himself as "the guy that wrote the book that [the filmmakers] ignored". Robinson chuckled a bit uncomfortably and you could practically hear him settle in for 2 hours of being lambasted by Clancy.

            During the commentary, something would happen or a character would deliver a line of technical dialogue and Clancy would derisively snort "That's bullshit". After the 2nd or 3rd time of his dismissive "That's bullshit", I shut off the commentary and haven't finished it.
            I didn't need to read the commentary to know that he was a pretty much an arrogant SOB. That pretty much came through his writings. The book, Debt of Honor, was pretty much an eye opener and the next one was worse. His alter ego, Jack Ryan, would pretty much launch into a diatribe and moralistic lecturing that I found to be nauseating. After that, I never picked up one of his books again. I have not read the Hunt for Red October and Red Storm for decades probably like almost 20 years.

            I only like the movies that is because the movies pretty much took out the lovefest for Jack Ryan and the diatribes and moralistic lecturing. I actually liked the movie, the Sum of All Fears and I thought it was better than the book.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by Blademaster View Post
              I didn't need to read the commentary to know that he was a pretty much an arrogant SOB. That pretty much came through his writings. The book, Debt of Honor, was pretty much an eye opener and the next one was worse. His alter ego, Jack Ryan, would pretty much launch into a diatribe and moralistic lecturing that I found to be nauseating. After that, I never picked up one of his books again. I have not read the Hunt for Red October and Red Storm for decades probably like almost 20 years.

              I only like the movies that is because the movies pretty much took out the lovefest for Jack Ryan and the diatribes and moralistic lecturing. I actually liked the movie, the Sum of All Fears and I thought it was better than the book.
              Agreed, his moralizing took center-stage after Sum Of All Fears. That was the last book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
              “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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              • #22
                Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                Oh come now sir, surely you can protect the names of the innocent (*cough*) whilst still providing the anecdotes that we all crave like crack
                (sigh) I'm probably going to regret this, but OK, before I feel my arm being further twisted from it's socket, here goes. From 1982 to 1985, I was an engineering instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School Command Detachment at the Amphibious Base in Coronado (San Diego). My office mate was one of the first women Surface Warfare Officers, but more importantly was a member of the first class of women to graduate from the Naval Academy. I think she graduated like number two in the whole class with a degree in physics. She now has a Ph.D. in oceanography from Woods Hole. A brilliant and very nice person; period.

                She married a classmate who became an F-14 pilot . . . and was one until he developed a problem finding the deck. His problem was written into the script of the movie. He was grounded and assigned to the Public Affairs Office at NAS Miramar. Just to get him and them out of his hair, the PAO assigned him to be the technical adviser to the Top Gun production team. As I said a whole lot of real naval officers ended up on the silver screen. One of whom was my friend's husband who is the ginger git in khakis lurking over Anthony Edwards' right shoulder in this famous scene.



                Now for the rest of the story. It was never clear whether he had really lost confidence in his ability to make an arrested landing, or was faking it, but regardless, they sent him down to the Naval Aeronautics Medical Institute (NAMI) in Pensacola for a check up from the neck up, and they sent him back with a report that basically said, "Put this man in a cockpit only upon pain of death and excommunication," or words to that effect. Upon which he promptly announces that he was resigning his commission, divorcing his wife (who had just given birth to their first child), and going to Hollywood to become famous.

                Well, he didn't exactly become famous, but he did become filthy rich in real estate development. Among other projects, he's the partner of the guy who built the Staples Center in LA. His ex married another office mate and they lived happily ever after, but suffice it to say that there were more than a few people who consider that guy to be about eight kinds of asshole.

                BTW, the Officer's Club at Miramar, pre-Tail Hook scandal, was a happening place, but so were all of the Officer's Clubs in the greater San Diego area in those days. In fact there was a prescribed pattern of attendance. Wednesday Happy Hour at Miramar. Thursday Happy Hour at Naval Station San Diego, and then Friday Happy Hour at the Amphib Base, followed hotly by all night carousing at Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD). It was at MCRD that was the real scene of debauchery. Miramar was tame by comparison. The really funny thing was that you'd see the same "Duty Judy's" complete with air of desperation about them, at all those places. A young bachelor need never gone home alone if he didn't want to. He might regret it in the morning and have to chew off his arm or whatever to escape their clutches, but he didn't have to be alone. ;)
                Last edited by desertswo; 03 Oct 13,, 19:06.

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                • #23
                  So we can safely assume there are numerous gnaw marks all over your arms, captain?

                  Don't worry, sir, we are all honorable men here.

                  The missus will never know.

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                  • #24
                    Originally posted by YellowFever View Post
                    So we can safely assume there are numerous gnaw marks all over your arms, captain?

                    Don't worry, sir, we are all honorable men here.

                    The missus will never know.
                    We were married when I was in college and put off having kids until our thirties; she was pretty much making the rounds with me, if for no other reason than the food was free and plentiful. Saved a lot in groceries three evenings a week!

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                    • #25
                      Now we demand RL story for how "In the navy" by the Village people was made!

                      Captain knew he will be sorry, but never saw this coming.
                      No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

                      To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by Doktor View Post
                        Now we demand RL story for how "In the navy" by the Village people was made!

                        Captain knew he will be sorry, but never saw this coming.
                        We had our own words to the song. Unfortunately I can't remember them all, but it started with . . .

                        In the Navy
                        You get screwed in many ways
                        In the Navy
                        You can work on holidays . . .

                        And on ad nauseam.

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by desertswo View Post
                          We had our own words to the song. Unfortunately I can't remember them all, but it started with . . .

                          In the Navy
                          You get screwed in many ways
                          In the Navy
                          You can work on holidays . . .

                          And on ad nauseam.
                          Explains the chorus:

                          We want you,
                          We want you,
                          We want you,
                          For the new recruit!

                          (So we can go home)
                          No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

                          To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Great stories sir, as I said they're like crack on this board

                            "Duty Judy"? That's one I haven't heard yet
                            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              I watched "The Hunt for Red October" in the theater, then read the Chinese translation, then read the English version. Excellent book.

                              I also liked "Armored Cav" and "Fighter Wing." Very facinating.

                              RIP
                              "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                              • #30
                                Originally posted by desertswo View Post

                                Well, he didn't exactly become famous, but he did become filthy rich in real estate development. Among other projects, he's the partner of the guy who built the Staples Center in LA. His ex married another office mate and they lived happily ever after, but suffice it to say that there were more than a few people who consider that guy to be about eight kinds of asshole.
                                Well he was an F-14 fighter jock with dollar signs for a gun sight...

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