Dragonpol's "Strange and Bizarre" Mysterious World Thread

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  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    In FRWL, Ian Fleming mentions a specific day and date. He didn t often do that, if ever.

    "It was Thursday, 12th of August."

    He wrote this in 1956, but the closest 12th of August falling on a Thursday was in 1958. Writers seldom check that this kind of thing is correct of course.

    The next Thursday 12th August after that was in 1964. The day he died.

    Yes, that is spooky indeed. There was a discussion last year on another Bond forum (AJB) concerning this. It may have been that he used that date as it was his son's birthday - Caspar Fleming was born on 12th August 1952. His father Ian therefore died on his 12th birthday - 12th August 1964. It's a funny old world, isn't it?

    Never knew that, but the last 12th August to fall on a Thursday before he wrote that passage was indeed in 1952, so that is most certainly where he had it from. A slight little nod to his son, which is very nice.

    Now, this must mean FRWL takes place in 1958.

    But it crashes with the mention of it taking place a year after the events of DAF and the mention of a beauty pagan queen of 1955 before that.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited October 2019 Posts: 18,281
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    In FRWL, Ian Fleming mentions a specific day and date. He didn t often do that, if ever.

    "It was Thursday, 12th of August."

    He wrote this in 1956, but the closest 12th of August falling on a Thursday was in 1958. Writers seldom check that this kind of thing is correct of course.

    The next Thursday 12th August after that was in 1964. The day he died.

    Yes, that is spooky indeed. There was a discussion last year on another Bond forum (AJB) concerning this. It may have been that he used that date as it was his son's birthday - Caspar Fleming was born on 12th August 1952. His father Ian therefore died on his 12th birthday - 12th August 1964. It's a funny old world, isn't it?

    Never knew that, but the last 12th August to fall on a Thursday before he wrote that passage was indeed in 1952, so that is most certainly where he had it from. A slight little nod to his son, which is very nice.

    Now, this must mean FRWL takes place in 1958.

    But it crashes with the mention of it taking place a year after the events of DAF and the mention of a beauty pagan queen of 1955 before that.

    Yes, dates and times were not one of Fleming's strengths as an author it would seem but as you say a lot of other authors don't notice this sort of thing either.

    Here is a link to the AJB thread I referred to by the way (I'm Silhouette Man over there):

    http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/44343/dr-no-aug-12th/

    Here's my post from that thread too, if it makes any sense here:

    Well for the record 12 August 1954 was a Thursday, but as Dr. No was published by Jonathan Cape in 1958, I assume that Fleming wrote it the year before, 1957, and not 1956 as you surmise, dear always shaken. This still does not of course explain why Fleming plumbed for a date in 1954 as that was when Moonraker was set. I can only assume that Fleming got mixed up or more likely that he threw caution to the wind as Thunderpussy says above. In fact I'd started typing out this post even before reading Thunderpussy's post so that we both independently arrived at this conclusion should tell you something of its likelihood. As Thunderpussy says above Fleming was never what you might call a stickler for detail or fact checking and his novels are filled with errors when it comes to dates and times so it is probably best not to scrutinise them too much or the whole thing falls apart. Heck, even John Gardner made mistakes about dates in his Bond continuation novels, such as Death is Forever and my favourite of his, Never Send Flowers, being set in the same year and at the same time, namely 1992, even though they were published a year apart! So I think that Fleming was not alone in this regard and it is fiction not fact after all and I suppose that anything goes... :) -{

    Now on the 12 August point more generally, and disregarding for a minute what year in the 1950s Dr. No is set (I'd wager that it's 1957, the year before publication of Dr. No, by the way, as most of the Bonds by Fleming were meant to be set the year before publication, i.e. the year in which they were actually written) I think Fleming's choice of that year is probably deliberate and let me now explain why. As some of you have said 12 August is the start of the Grouse Shooting Season called the Glorious Twelfth and this is of course regulated by the set of Acts of Parliament known as the Game Laws which are still largely in effect to this present day. Now Ian Fleming was interestingly (as the scion of a Scottish hunting family) very much anti-hunting in nature - and by hunting I am referring to shooting grouse or pheasants as well as fox-hunting. There is evidence of his anti-hunting stance in 'The Hildebrand Rarity' short story and in his non-fiction Thrilling Cities (1963). Another reason (perhaps more likely, though Thunderpussy's comment that it was the start of Bond's manhunt for Dr. No is rather neat) is that 12 August 1952 was in fact his son Caspar Fleming's (1952-1975) birthday and he may have simply chosen that date for that reason, plus rather spookily (given he's not Nostradamus) that was the very day he died on in 1964, but he was not to know that of course. As Charlie Higson no less noted in a profile of Ian Fleming written in 2008 for The Guardian, it was most ironic that Fleming died on the Glorious Twelfth given his aversion to hunting and shooting defenceless animals with whom he rather made common cause.

    Hope something there helps...
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I did the math in my head. 1954 is of course right. My head is a thumb, so what to expect?
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    I did the math in my head. 1954 is of course right. My head is a thumb, so what to expect?

    Well, you're a lot braver than I to attempt that in your head. I just used Google most likely as Maths was never my strong suit. I was more of an English kind of guy, hence my blogging etc. at which I am moderately successful (I hope!).
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited November 2015 Posts: 18,281
    This is a really creepy broadcast signal interruption recorded on an American radio station!

    Recorded from the radio in the middle of the night, 1994 or 1995 - old tape

    http://picosong.com/nVEq/

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Eerie - Shortwave Radio Oddity Roundup

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384

    As it's Christmas. 7 Strange Christmas Traditions From Around the World :)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Thanks, @Birdleson! Glad you like it. More "strange and bizarre" items on the way!
  • Posts: 2,599
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    This is a really creepy broadcast signal interruption recorded on an American radio station!

    Recorded from the radio in the middle of the night, 1994 or 1995 - old tape

    http://picosong.com/nVEq/

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Eerie - Shortwave Radio Oddity Roundup


    Cool stuff.

    Bizarre! I wonder if the DJ who spoke right at the end was aware of this. It didn't sound like she was or maybe she chose to just not comment on it. Merry Christmas. Being in China, I have to work today! LOL.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Bounine wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    This is a really creepy broadcast signal interruption recorded on an American radio station!

    Recorded from the radio in the middle of the night, 1994 or 1995 - old tape

    http://picosong.com/nVEq/

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Eerie - Shortwave Radio Oddity Roundup


    Cool stuff.

    Bizarre! I wonder if the DJ who spoke right at the end was aware of this. It didn't sound like she was or maybe she chose to just not comment on it. Merry Christmas. Being in China, I have to work today! LOL.

    Damned Chinese Communists! I read in The Times yesterday that they're on a Christian crackdown.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Somalia and Tajikistan are the latest to ban Christmas celebrations.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Somalia and Tajikistan are the latest to ban Christmas celebrations.

    Yes, I'd heard about Somalia. It was the headline in The Times yesterday. Not good news for Christians at Christmas.
  • Posts: 2,599
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Bounine wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    This is a really creepy broadcast signal interruption recorded on an American radio station!

    Recorded from the radio in the middle of the night, 1994 or 1995 - old tape

    http://picosong.com/nVEq/

    Dragonpol wrote: »
    Eerie - Shortwave Radio Oddity Roundup


    Cool stuff.

    Bizarre! I wonder if the DJ who spoke right at the end was aware of this. It didn't sound like she was or maybe she chose to just not comment on it. Merry Christmas. Being in China, I have to work today! LOL.

    Damned Chinese Communists! I read in The Times yesterday that they're on a Christian crackdown.

    Hadn't heard about that. Shanghai goes out of it's way at Christmas time to put up decorations on the street and trees outside shopping malls yet the Chinese don't even celebrate Christmas. Strange.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    The Ten Creepiest Videos On YouTube (Part 3):

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    There are some real weirdos on the web, .......... And Bond forums ! :D
  • SerialHitmanSerialHitman Plotting my revenge
    edited January 2016 Posts: 45
    Has anyone seen this? This is VHS footage found in the Paris Catacombs in the early 90s. Apparently the person in the video was never identified. Clip is taken from documentary.

  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    Strange but True (Sereies 1-4) I remember seeing this TV programme as a child in the UK in the mid-1990s:



    Enjoy!
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    5 Scariest Unexplained Surveillance Videos:

  • Posts: 12,473
    The most strange and bizarre (and horrifying) things I've seen are from the dark side of the Deep Web. I'll never go there myself, but I've heard of and seen some messed up stuff.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Never been on the dark web , but even on the standard web. There is some
    Freaky stuff on it.
  • edited January 2016 Posts: 12,473
    I advise everyone to stay away from it. The horrible stuff there is not a myth; if you don't believe the sick videos are true, you needn't look further than the Peter Scully case. That only scratches the surface of what you can find, too. There is plenty of freaky stuff on the standard web, but I dare not venture to the much, much worse Deep Web.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I advise everyone to stay away from it. The horrible stuff there is not a myth; if you don't believe the sick videos are true, you needn't look further than the Peter Scully case. That only scratches the surface of what you can find, too. There is plenty of freaky stuff on the standard web, but I dare not venture to the much, much worse Deep Web.

    Yes, though isn't it illegal to go onto the Deep Web anyway?
  • edited January 2016 Posts: 12,473
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I advise everyone to stay away from it. The horrible stuff there is not a myth; if you don't believe the sick videos are true, you needn't look further than the Peter Scully case. That only scratches the surface of what you can find, too. There is plenty of freaky stuff on the standard web, but I dare not venture to the much, much worse Deep Web.

    Yes, though isn't it illegal to go onto the Deep Web anyway?

    Not sure if it's illegal just to visit, but I know a lot of things there are illegal. There are a few harmless sites on the Deep Web, but for all the bad stuff, it's not worth it.

    EDIT: Another thing to note: From what I've heard, 4chan seems to be the most messed up place you can access on the standard web. I have not been there either. I also advise staying away from there, as I've heard a lot of horror stories come from that site. For anyone wondering why I know about this stuff, it just comes from YouTube video browsing.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    FoxRox wrote: »
    I advise everyone to stay away from it. The horrible stuff there is not a myth; if you don't believe the sick videos are true, you needn't look further than the Peter Scully case. That only scratches the surface of what you can find, too. There is plenty of freaky stuff on the standard web, but I dare not venture to the much, much worse Deep Web.

    Yes, though isn't it illegal to go onto the Deep Web anyway?

    Not sure if it's illegal just to visit, but I know a lot of things there are illegal.
    There are a few harmless sites on the Deep Web, but for all the bad stuff, it's not worth it.

    EDIT: Another thing to note: From what I've heard, 4chan seems to be the most messed up place you can access on the standard web. I have not been there either. I also advise staying away from there, as I've heard a lot of horror stories come from that site. For anyone wondering why I know about this stuff, it just comes from YouTube video browsing.

    Yes, that's probably a better statement of fact on the Deep Web than mine. Like you, my knowledge of the Deep Web comes not from visiting it but merely from watching various You Tube videos for this thread of mine.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 18,281
    The Plague Mask coded videos taking the Internet by storm:



  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Yet more weird stuff. I guess lots of people have plenty of time on their
    Hands . :)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited February 2016 Posts: 18,281
    Yet more weird stuff. I guess lots of people have plenty of time on their
    Hands . :)

    Apparently some people think that it's a threat against President Obama (and that it originated in Poland).

    And yes, @Thunderpussy, the video is proof that the Devil certainly makes work for idle hands. :D
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    If this is a threat against President Obama, what sort of wacko
    Performance art attack would it be. :)
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