What's in a name?
The truth[?} behind the names of FBA ships
The Jack O'Lantern
There once was a farmer named Jack who was both very lazy and very quick-witted.
Now one day, the Devil came to Jack to tempt him, but Jack tricked the Devil
into climbing a tree. The Devil could not climb down, and asked Jack for help.
“On one condition,” Jack replied. “That you not allow me into
hell.” The Devil could not very well refuse, so he grudgingly agreed and
Jack helped him down. As everything does, eventually Jack died. He went straight
to hell, but the Devil kept his word, and would not let him in. Jack traveled
to heaven, but he had been so bad during his life, they would not let him in
heaven either. So Jack hollowed out one of his gourds (it was originally a turnip)
and made a lantern out of it. Even now he wanders the face of the world, trying
to find somewhere he can stay...
The Cutter’s Choice
John Sinclair Ltd has been manufacturing fine smoking tobaccos since the founding
of the company in 1856. The superb quality gold and bronze Virginias which make
up this blend have beeen selected for their smoothness and flavourful smoking.
Packed and sealed for perfect freshness and full flavour, tobacco seriously
damages health.
The Discordia
The personified Roman goddess of strife and discord. She belonged to the retinue
of Mars and Bellona. She is the Greek Eris, Ares' constant companion. Eris is
sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble. She has a golden
apple that is so bright and shiny everybody wants to have it. When she throws
it among friends, their friendship come to a rapid end. When she throws it among
enemies, war breaks out, for the golden apple of Eris is the Apple of Discord.
She did this once during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and this act brought
about the Trojan War.
The Fenris Ulf
Fenris (or Fenrir) is a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a wolf.
He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods learned of
a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would one day be responsible
for the destruction of the world. They caught the wolf and locked him in a cage.
Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed and take care of the wolf.
When he was still a pup they had nothing to fear, but when the gods saw one
day how he had grown, they decided to render him harmless. However, none of
the gods had enough courage to face the gigantic wolf. Instead, they tried to
trick him. They said the wolf was weak and could never break free when he was
chained. Fenris accepted the challenge and let the gods chain him. Unfortunately,
he was so immensely strong that he managed to break the strongest fetters as
if they were cobwebs.
After that, the gods saw only one alternative left: a magic chain. They ordered
the dwarves to make something so strong that it could hold the wolf. The result
was a soft, thin ribbon: Gleipnir. It was incredibly strong, despite what its
size and appearance might suggest. The ribbon was fashioned of six strange elements:
the footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath
of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle.
The gods tried to trick the wolf again, only this time Fenris was less eager
to show his strength. He saw how thin the chain was, and said that was no pride
in breaking such a weak chain. Eventually, though, he agreed, thinking that
otherwise his strength and courage would be doubted. Suspecting treachery however,
he in turn asked the gods for a token of good will: one of them had to put a
hand between his jaws. The gods were not overly eager to do this, knowing what
they could expect. Finally, only Tyr agreed, and the gods chained the wolf with
Gleipnir. No matter how hard Fenris struggled, he could not break free from
this thin ribbon. In revenge, he bit off Tyr's hand.
Being very pleased with themselves, the gods carried Fenris off and chained
him to a rock a mile down into the earth. They put a sword between his jaws
to prevent him from biting. On the day of Ragnarok, Fenris will break his chains
and join the giants in their battle against the gods. He will seek out Odin
and devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his father by killing the wolf.
The Protagonist
The protagonist in a work of fiction is the character with whom the reader
is meant to be chiefly concerned; she or he is the main character, who, whether
sympathetic or not, is the focus of the plot. A work of narrative or drama may
have more than one protagonist.
The Sal Ma Gundi
A salad dish of chopped meats, cubed poultry or fish, eggs, onions, anchovies,
and other ingredients.
The Nightingale
Migratory bird of the thrush family, celebrated for the song the male sings
during the breeding season. The common nightingale of England and West Europe
(Luscinia megarhynchos), reddish-brown above and grayish-white below, winters
in Africa.
The Raven
The largest member of the crow family, found in arctic and temperate regions
of the Northern Hemisphere. The raven (Corvus corax) is a glossy, black scavenging
bird about 26 in. (66 cm) long with a call resembling a guttural croak; it can
be taught to mimic human speech.
The Universe
Inspired by cheap Quartermaster’s pun relating to the the Hawkwind song
“Master of the Universe”, writen by Dave Brock and Nik Turner, first
appearing on the album “In Search of Space”, 1971.
The Scarlet Witch
A Marvel Comic Super Heroine, with the mutant ability to alter probabilities
along with various mystical powers .
Real
name: Wanda Maximoff (or Wanda Frank, depending on when you started reading).
First appearance: The Uncanny X-men #4. Team affiliation: Long time member of
the Avengers, including a stint with the now defunct West Coast Avengers. Founding
member of Force Works, also defunct, and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Her
most important partnerships, however, are with her family. Wanda's twin brother
is the fleet (and foul-tempered) Quicksilver, while her father is the dangerous
and powerful Master of Magnetism, Magneto. She was married for many years to
the syntheziod Vision, until both he and their children were destroyed in the
single most lame storyline Marvel ever committed to ink and paper...but that's
another story...
The Jezabel
Wife of Achab, King of Israel. She was the daughter of Ethbaal I, King of the
Sidonians, who was also grand pontiff of the goddess Astarte (the Ishtar of
the Assyrians) worshipped by that people.
The Black Pig
Captain Pugwash was a pirate of the high seas who commanded the Black Pig.
He was the hero of many tales of bravery and daring, recorded by John Ryan.
As
he would tell you himself, his ruthless cunning made him a daunting enemy, and
the name of the Black Pig was enough to strike fear into the heart of any sea-faring
captain. His sworn enemy was Cut-throat Jake , pirate captain of the Flying
Dustman and his band of ruffians.
The Ruination
An anagram of “Urination”. Probably.