'Once more unto the lists'. For there to be known to be 4001 authors published on OLO there had to be a list, which we now know there always was. In the best traditions of thread hijacking I'll suggest a name for it: '4001: A literary space oddysey'. (Open the pod bay door, HAL!)

Here's another list.

`

Reversion to Type: An anthology of the OLO verse of Forrest Gumpp

Reflecting on the occasions that I have given in to temptation and taken recourse to verse in the five years that I have been a registered user on OLO, I was surprised to find so much of it, which is not to say that it is necessarily any good. Some of them are very short. The following, most of which were not titled at the time of posting, I list as all that I remember, all that I recall. Seekers scrolling old threads may find more, but if there are any they are not immediately coming to my mind.

En Suisse du Jour (In Switzerland Today) http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3093#73927

Salute to Kevin Gilbert http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3130&page=0#73906

Re-Turnered, Re-Inca-nated, Re-Versed http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4109#103321

Ode to McCrae http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3050#73526

Michel http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4109#103476

Sincerest Flattery http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7725#120691

Another Pearl Harbour http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7725#120702

The OLO Aviatrix http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4109#103701

Channelled Patersonia http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7725#120783

Voice-recognition http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2103#57820

A Morn in Flanders http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4829#128501

Yesterday Today http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4792#128261

An Ode to Times Past http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4082#101818

A Mouse clicked on a Windmill http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2103#46932

`

With the impending visit of President Obama, perhaps 'Sincerest Flattery', 'Another Pearl Harbour', and 'Channelled Patersonia' are the most relevant first reads. If anyone is interested, that is.

Funny how things can jog one's memory.

Earlier this morning I tweeted Yvonne Heslinga (twitter userID 'YvonHeslinga'), a journalist/social media facilitator who lives in Holland. She moderates a forum about the First World War, a forum seemingly bi-lingual in English and what I take to be Flemish. I was bringing to her attention a series of ten photographs posted by The Guardian newspaper in the UK in connection with Remembrance Day highlighting the role of animals in that conflict, the ones to which I posted the link thereto in my earlier post of Saturday, 12 November 2011 at 9:02:16 AM.

The seventh image in that series shows an elephant moving logs, somewhere in Belgium or France. Beside the elephant is a German General Officer. You can just see the broad double (red) stripe on his trousers, immediately below his left hand. I think from his height and posture that he is General der Infanterie Oskar Hutier. Hutier of the Kaiserschlacht, the March 1918 offensive. Its possible that posters on that forum may be knowledgeable enough to confirm or refute that identification.

With Yvonne Heslinga being on my mind in this connection, I remembered another little poetic miniature which can be found in the post immediately following 'En Suisse du Jour', written just over two years ago, here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=3093#74056 Yvonne had earlier asked if she could post 'Ode to McCrae' on her forum.

`

We're such a flaming* monolingual lot!
Who from choice would choose an island spot
to live? Hey, what?
Yes, that's for you Yvon,
in case you think its not.

`

*The adjective 'flaming' is homophonic with Vlaming (Fleming), not to mention 'phlaigming', that toned-down euphemism for that internet pastime practiced by some, also spelt 'flaming'. Ambiguities and double-entendres that would undoubtedly not have been lost on Yvonne.

Roman Polanski these days moves freely between the countries of Switzerland, France and Poland, of the last two of which he is a citizen. Brian Howes languishes uncharged, untried, in prison who knows where? Renditioned?

Dear GrahmaY,

May I join the chorus of the congratulators. Any milestone of this remarkable little corner of the internet should be acknowledged. Taking Forrest's example I looked back on my user history to discover in a weeks time it will be seven years since my first post. If I add three more since then it the count will be a neat 1000.

For any part of the web to hold an individual's attention for such an extended period must reflect well on its capacity to surprise, to challenge, to allow for dispirate opinion, yet to feel like a refuge from the more shallow offerings from the traditional media and politics.

Well done.

While we are waiting to see if HAL will open the pod bay door on the LSS Palindromic Enterprise (Literary Space Ship OLO) and maybe let us boldly go where none have gone before, here is another poetic leaving that I overlooked when compiling the list of versic sins I posted on Monday, 14 November 2011 at 4:16:48 PM. It is in the Japanese Haiku format (a style particularly suited to the 140 character limit of Twitter), which requires five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, five in the last, and some reference as to season of the year, as I understand it. It is untitled, and I don't think I ever actually tweeted it - no context.

With the impending extradition within days of Australian citizen Julian Assange to Sweden (and thence to the US?) unless given a last minute reprieve on appeal by the High Court in the UK, it has perhaps become topical again.

`

Stockholm blast. Glass shards.
Fall scene in Aftonbladet.
Carl's tweet builds the frame?

`

It was originally posted here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11430#194939

It refers to the first-ever terrorist attack upon Swedish soil on Saturday 11 December 2010 in or near the Stockholm CBD. The word 'Fall' could be taken as a seasonal reference (although it was technically just into winter at that date), or in that context as in 'fall guy' or 'patsy'. Take your pick. 'Aftonbladet' is a Swedish newspaper, with the name translating as 'afternoon leaves (pages)', I think. 'Carl's tweet' refers to a famous tweet by Carl Bildt, the Swedish Foreign Minister at that time, about the incident. Does the word 'frame' need to have an hyphen and the word 'up' with it to make sense in the context? Homonyms, homophones, double entendres; all scattered around like - bomb fragments.

More speculation as to that event may be found here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4159#104883 and here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11370#193561

An 'general theory of relativity' hypothesis as to the landscape behind such events, with particular reference to Australia, for the perceptive, may be found here: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11370#193444

Some time last night marked the 70th anniversary of the loss in 1941 with all hands of HMAS Sydney after an engagement with HSK Kormoran in the Indian Ocean off the coast of WA between Geraldton and Caernarvon. Yet it was only just last year that the wrecks of both vessels were found, and underwater photographs taken showing the present condition of the wrecks.

In the thread to which the link given to 'Another Pearl Harbour' in my post of Monday, 14 November 2011 at 4:16:48 PM takes the viewer, I have indulged in a little speculative revisionist history in response to the Australian government's revisionist history of the 'Invasion Myth' and its associated 'battle for Australia'. That revisionist history as it relates to HMAS Sydney may be found in this post: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7725#120646 , and the one immediately following.

It would be very interesting to know whether the photographs of the wreck of the Kormoran revealed any evidence of the raider's 'schnellboot' being still aboard or present in the debris field associated with the wreck. It would be likewise interesting to know whether the photographs were able to reveal from which side the torpedo(es) struck the Sydney.

In speaking of authors, be they of articles, or the mini-authors (bloggers) of opinionation posts, which this topic does, the author James Clavell (Shogun, Noble House, Tai-Pan etc) comes to mind. Someone reputedly asked him at a book-launch how he was able to come up with such historical novels, when few others could. His reply was to the effect that he read the same historical sources they did, or that they had access to the same sources he did.

I have always admired and enjoyed James Clavell's work. I guess there is a reflection of that in the Japanese theme of the post that is the source of the haiku 'Stockholm Blast ...'.

hi forrest..
just come to sit down with a mate

i was thinking that we should have an olo page each
like a blog...that we can add too [after the topic expires]

i know in my place..that i find stuff..go to the relivant topic
then find it closed for comment

you will know it allways wernt like that
[heck on my first post here..
i think insisting i post..[to a 3 mth old thread ;from memory]

i was asked are you sure you wanna post
i was and did post to it

and next thing
we all got lumped with 30 days only for comment

i personally find this frustrating
often things change in time,,thus we would like to be able to update things
[not just start a new topic and try to join the dots
of the story that BEGAN..way back when]

anyhow i like to get messages ..that a new post has been posted
and who knows..someone who is getting messages on new posts..might come back..simply by reactivating the topic

it should be an option

i recall grayman had another thread on the forum[sugestions?]..and often wish i could go back and add my latest idea

anyhow
cheers ol fella