Category: Note

I just heard from reader “Jimbo” that Gary Paulsen, the author of Hatchet and other young adult adventures, has died at age 82. He will be missed! Jimbo noted: “Hearing this news reminded me of an interview I heard with him. He said there was a news story about a pre-teen boy lost in the woods.  When asked if he was worried, his dad said casually, ‘I’m not worried.  We have read Gary Paulson’s book Hatchet several times together and I’m confident he will do fine.’” SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog …

Today is the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born in Nebraska, but was a long-time resident of Butte, Montana. His book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting is fascinating reading. And it is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. October 20th is also the birthday of actor Viggo Mortensen (born 1958.) He lives somewhere in the American Redoubt. On his ranch is his horse-for-life “TJ”–one of the five paint horses used in the filming of …

October 19th marks the anniversary of Operation Gatling; the “Green Leader” cross-border raid in which Rhodesia attacked ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) in retaliation for ZIPRA shooting down a scheduled passenger flight, Air Rhodesia flight 825, during the Rhodesian Bush War. Rhodesia suffered only minor casualties in the raid. But they claimed to have killed 1,500 ZIPRA personnel as well as some Cuban instructors. Other sources claim that those killed were refugees camped near the border. Sadly, history does not seem to remember the two airliners shot down by Zimbabwe along with the innocent civilians killed on them, but emphasizes …

October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. — Today, another product review by our stalwart Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. His 45-year career has spanned the globe. He has worked as a nuclear power plant security officer, police officer, police detective, small-town police chief, counter-terrorism consultant to the BSAP during Rhodesian Bush War, international security consultant, …

On this day in 1835, Texans approve a resolution to create the Texas Rangers– a corps of armed and mounted lawmen designed to “range and guard the frontier between the Brazos and Trinity Rivers”. After winning their revolutionary war with Mexico the following year, Texans decided to keep the Rangers, both to defend against Indian and Mexican raiders and to serve as the principal law enforcement authority along the sparsely populated Texan frontier. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The …

On October 16th, 1859 was the second day of abolitionist John Brown’s raid against the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. Brown’s raid helped make any further accommodation between North and South nearly impossible and thus became an important impetus of the Civil War. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …

On October 15, 1529, Ottoman armies under Suleiman ended their siege of Vienna and turned back to Belgrade. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical …

I just received word that my mother, Barbara Marie Rawles, has passed away peacefully at her home, at age 89. She was just two weeks from her 90th birthday. She died of congestive heart failure. (And, for the record,, she had no respiratory illnesses in the past three years. She never had the Wu Flu.) For the past 3-1/2 years, I had been taking turns caring for my mom at her home, alternating monthly with my brother and sister. We kept her quite isolated from flus and colds. I was just there with her for the month of September. Because …

October 13, 2021 is the 80th birthday of singer-songwriter Paul Simon. (Born, 1941.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice …

Today, in 1492, after sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted a Bahamian island, mistakenly believing he had reached East Asia. His expedition went ashore the same day and claimed the land for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain, who sponsored his attempt to find a western ocean route to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a …

Today is the birthday of novelist William R. Forstchen (born, 1950.) He is best known for his survivalist novel One Second After. — Today we are posting a gun review written by our redoubtable Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.

On October 10th, 1913, the Panama Canal officially linked the Atlantic to the Pacific when the Gamboa dike was breached with dynamite charges. Pictured are the canal’s Gatun Locks. Today is also the birthday of composer Giuseppe Verdi. (Born 1813, died 1901. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day …

On October 9, 1000, Leif Ericson discovered “Vinland” (possibly at what was later named L’Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a …

On October 8, 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis recorded “Great Balls Of Fire” in Memphis, Tennessee. October 8th is the birthday of economist and libertarian commentator J. Orlin Grabbe. (Born, 1947, died March 15, 2008.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 97 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any …

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement taking place on 7 October 1571 in which a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic maritime states arranged by Pope Pius V and led by Spanish admiral Don Juan of Austria, decisively defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece. October 7th is the day that we remember the 96 American POWs from Wake Island that were executed in 1943 on the orders of the commander of the Japanese garrison on the island, Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara. …