The Phalanx Editorial Office

[Googlie]

Hmm - neither this post (nor the one below) worked

How do you set up a table with columns for a forum (11 rows, 4 columns)

[Googlie]

Here are the equivalent (US) rank titles

[Andemagne]

Originally posted by Googlie
We could stick with the SC theme:

SC Invincible could mean Spartan Craft, or could be Spartan Cruiser

Or if we wanted to differentiate more,

SCC Invincible = (Spartan Combat Craft) as opposed to a trannie or seaformer which would then be something like SNC Dependable or SNC Muckraker - ie Spartan Noncombatant Craft

I liked what Googlie said. the Idea is good.

[Dis]

Originally posted by Googlie
We could stick with the SC theme:

SC Invincible could mean Spartan Craft, or could be Spartan Cruiser

Or if we wanted to differentiate more,

SCC Invincible = (Spartan Combat Craft) as opposed to a trannie or seaformer which would then be something like SNC Dependable or SNC Muckraker - ie Spartan Noncombatant Craft

SCC sounds good to me. It signifies it is a Spartan craft much more clearly than USS. At a glance, you can tell SCC is a spartan ship.

[Zeiter]

SCC sounds good.

[Kassiopeia]

The hazing article, founding of Gythia Harbor, Being a Spartan 3 and the Recon rover report, not quite enough to throw an issue together. I won't stress over the "one issue every week" thing, while it's not too Spartan, I think that rushing will only produce shoddy work, unless you're using energy credits. It's done when it's done. (I'll be busy noding on E2 anyway )

[Maniac]

Perhaps we could do a few very short news items, like the Morganite "In Other News"?

Examples could be this:

Faits Divers:

• PlanetMarkG's Voice has been heard in the Spartan Private Barracks! His historic words were: "yo".
• Succesful brewing of the first batch of Fungal Gin! The production process has been kept top secret. Rumours go it involves a bunch of XenoBurritoes rotting in a barrel of sealurk piss.
• Maniac ticketed for speeding on Sparta Command Boulevard! Subject claims he was test-driving a new recon rover model.

Idea for the speeding ticket and fungal gin comes from Googlie.

[Kassiopeia]

Sure. A compilation of shorter stuff. That should make contributing easier for everyone too, when you don't need to get together an entire article.

[Maniac]

How about this article? The idea comes from Andemagne.
At the top there's supposed to be that Spartan emblem picture I fail to create. (See "Help! Graphics problem" thread)
***



I have often been asked by young officers, unaware of our faction origins: "What is the meaning behind our faction emblem?" This is an important question, as any empath can tell you our symbols are the key to understanding what our faction stands for. Therefore I will in this small contribution shed some more clarity about the nature of our emblem.

The first thing one notices when seeing the Spartan flag is the Arrow in the middle. This Arrow symbolizes our Strength and Persistence. It means we know which direction we want to go, and effectively going that direction. Even if we have to overcome high barriers.

Curvy or circular forms generally indicate softness and emotionality. These are characteristics not generally appreciated in Spartans, and therefore are not part of our flag. Instead, the Arrow is surrounded by a Hexagon. The corners and straight lines of this figure indicate Strictness, Discipline and Rationality. These are mandatory survival traits on this Planet, and so naturally Sparta holds them in high regard.

On a general note, the Spartan emblem is a rather simple symbol. Unlike for example the Gaian and Peacekeeper icons, it has no needless extra's diverting our mind from our goal. After all, this is what it means to be a Spartan. It's not the killing or the suffering that matters. It's the strength of will. The purity of focus for our goal, without fear of death or pain.

Besides the meaning mentioned before, the Spartan symbol also has a second more ancient meaning. On Old Earth the Vikings, a brave warrior people, often wore necklaces or pendants with at it a silver piece of jewelry. This jewel represented Mjöölnir, the Hammer of Thor, protector of the universe. Thor's Hammer was a symbol of his supernatural strength. Here you can see an example of such a jewel:



Indeed, the Spartan symbol also refers to the Hammer of Thor, as we feel akin to the Viking Warriors. Recently we have even started an initiative to continue their tradition. From now on during the Citizen Inauguration Ceremony each new citizen receives this Spartan-Viking hanger. After five years of Federal Service necessary for achieving full Citizenship, it is a recognition of the courage and honour we Spartans apprecriate in our people. Needless to say, every citizen wears their hanger with great pride.

[Zeiter]

Excellent article! I think we now have a publication-worthy third issue on our hands.

[Kassiopeia]

The article is solid, and I may have enough time to get #3 released before I have to go to bed. The site hosting the pic of Thor's hammer might be disallowing external linking. I can upload it to my own webspace and host it there.

[Primus Pilus]

re the DI in Full Metal Jacket, R Lee is GOD, and Mail Call (History Ch) is just his excuse to weed-out maggots.

re Service Ranks, i'm an ElecEngr and have spent 6-yrs w/Army and 13+ w/Navy. i know them all with varying degrees of disgust and admiration

re Spartan Navy Hull designations, believe in keeping w/conventional stds, S-Spartan/'C'-Class/'F '-Function. ex, SCA would be a Spartan Cruiser AAA while a SFP would be a Spartan Foil Probe. Obviously, there are many variations and a 4th letter can be added.

to Zeiter, where did you get the LAW on your Rover? (i won't tell)

[Googlie]

........originally posted by Maniac
.................. Spartan-Viking hanger .......

This threw me on first reading. Is pendant too effeminate? (instead of "hanger")

[Kassiopeia]

Nah, I think he meant "pendant", but used "hanger" for the lack of a better word, happens to me sometimes as well. It's a thing that hangs, so hanger - the Finnish word for "pendant" is derived from the Finnish verb for "to hang", the same could be the case in whatever the language Maniac grew up with is, French? (never mind the fact that pendant means something quite different in French, as you as a Canadian probably know)

In any case, I'll use "pendant" when posting the article unless Maniac objects. Thanks for spotting that, you always need more than one (or two ) people to proofread things.

[Maniac]

Yeah, I'm not native English, so I don't know the connotation of certain English words. Pendant is of course fine by me.

Just like there's a relation in Finnish, in Latin pendant comes from 'to hang', so literally translated pendant and hanger would mean the same.

Just for the record, I live in Flanders, which is the northern Flemish-Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Wallonia (the southern part) speaks French. We're supposed to learn French as our second language, but of course, as English is the international lingua franca, I speak French worse than English. Heck, I have hardly spoken or read French the last two years.