Pop culture

‘Sons of Anarchy’ actor proposes new Marine sniper logo

By Dan Lamothe on March 23, 2012 Afghanistan, Pop culture

Last month, a national controversy erupted after images of Marine scout snipers posing with an “SS” flag in Afghanistan went viral online. The flag showed the notorious Nazi SS organization’s logo, something that had been used quietly in the scout sniper community for years. The “lightening bolt” SS logo was a nod toward the scout sniper title, with the bolts also depicting the swift way the Marines strike at distance. Its use deeply troubled some people, however, considering the darker World War II-era things it represented. Actor Michael Ornstein was one of those struck by the story. A cast member…

Katy Perry joins the Marine Corps?

By James Sanborn on March 21, 2012 Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Marines, Pop culture, Recruit, Recruiting, women

Check out Katy Perry’s new “Part of Me” music video filmed at Camp Pendleton, Calif. She joins the Marine Corps in what amounts to one big, long, awesome recruiting ad. Its not quite a Marine in dress blues slaying wizards on a chess board, but its a close second. [HTML1] If you missed that vintage reference, check out this recruiting commercial from before some of you were born. [HTML2]

Behind the Cover: The new face (and body) of Marine PT

By Tony Lombardo on March 12, 2012 Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover, Pop culture

Meet Pauline Nordin. She’s 5 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 117 pounds and has a body-fat percentage between 7 and 10 percent. She also sports biceps that measure “12 and a half inches, cold.” She’s not a Marine, nor does she have military experience. So why is she featured on the cover of this week’s Marine Corps Times? Her fitness and nutrition lessons have caught the eye of officials at Headquarters Marine Corps, who want to enlist her help in training Marines. Nordin first hit their radar when a mock recruiting poster went viral bearing her image. The poster read…

A tie between Charlie Manson and Stolen Valor fakers? Yes

By Dan Lamothe on February 22, 2012 Awards, Pop culture

With the Stolen Valor Act under scrutiny by the Supreme Court today, it seemed like a good time to bring a story out of the mothballs. In 2009, I covered a story for Marine Corps Times that falls squarely in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction category. The short of it: A man who claimed to be a retired four-star Marine Corps general had previously been married to convicted murderer Susan Atkins, ex-wife of the notorious serial killer Charlie Manson. I know this because I went to great lengths to prove it. Donald Laisure claimed in the Marine Corps Association’s membership registry that year…

Aliens: Colonial Marines – Trailer

By Blair Tomlinson on February 3, 2012 Battle Rattle, Pop culture, Science & Technology

I’m not a “gamer” but I cannot deny how insanely awesome the graphics are in the Aliens: Colonial Marines trailer. The video game is being developed by Gearbox Software and will be released in Fall 2012. The game recreates the extraterrestrial creatures from James Cameron’s classic movie, Aliens. The official site states one of the features is enlisting in the Marine Corps and getting tooled up with classic Marine weapons including pulse rifles, motion trackers and flamethrowers. Aliens: Colonial Marines will be available on Xbox360, Playstation 3 and your PC. [HTML1]

Wounded warrior Marines star in ‘Still in the Fight’ music video

By Dan Lamothe on February 1, 2012 Afghanistan, Pop culture, Wounded warriors

[HTML1] Marine Corps Times posted my long-form story about Lance Cpls. Kyle Carpenter and Nick Eufrazio on Sunday. By now, you’ve hopefully heard their story: they were hit by a grenade blast in Afghanistan in November 2010, and Marines serving alongside them that day in combat insist Carpenter deserves the Medal of Honor. The Marine Corps acknowledges it is investigating what happened. One of the things I mentioned in the story was Carpenter appearing in the music video for “Still in the Fight,” a song by Lt. Col. Mike Corrado. It’s worth a look, if you haven’t seen it. Carpenter,…

Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey blasts ship captain… in Italian?

By Gina Cavallaro on January 20, 2012 Marines, Pop culture

A Facebook page dedicated to the tar and feathering of ship’s captain Francesco Schettino, who appears to have fled the $45 million cruise ship Costa Concordia and its passengers and crew after grounding it off the coast of Italy’s Tuscany region, has turned to a famous Marine Corps icon to express its disdain for the man some Italians have named “chicken of the sea.” Among dozens of satirical illustrations created using well known images from movies, music albums and other pop culture, is the famous shot of retired Gunnery Sgt. R. Lee Ermey shouting — in Italian — at a…

Sgt. Scott Moore talks about Marine ball date with Mila Kunis

By Dan Lamothe on November 21, 2011 Pop culture

Marine Sgt. Scott Moore is making the rounds on TV this morning following his date to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball on Saturday night with actress Mila Kunis. Check out his appearance on Good Morning America today: [HTML1] Well done, sergeant.

The Daily Show uses Iwo Jima image to spoof Occupy Wall Street

By Dan Lamothe on November 17, 2011 History and heritage, Iwo Jima Memorial, Pop culture

So I was watching The Daily Show last night, and on came a clip spoofing the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City. That’s no surprise. The twist came when host Jon Stewart noted that the movement had vowed to take over the park, “if only to erect a monument to what was perhaps the occupiers’ biggest challenge.” That fictional monument looked like this: The bit got a good laugh, playing on the perceived messiness of the “facilities” at the park, where protesters have demonstrated against the state of the economy, corporate greed, unemployment and other social ills. “They…

Marine Corps Times credited as wingman in Mila Kunis date

By Dan Lamothe on November 16, 2011 Pop culture

Marine Corps Times can be many things to many people. News source? I hope so. Advocate? Sure, sometimes. Antagonist? At times, guilty as charged. I don’t think we’ve ever been credited with being a matchmaker before — until now. Sgt. Scott Moore, the Marine who will be taking actress Mila Kunis to his unit’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball, just launched a Twitter account. Not long after I found it today, he posted this message: [blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/theScottMoore/status/136892377116839936″] I won’t lie, that seriously made my day. Perhaps I should explain the back story. Moore posted his now infamous video asking Kunis for…

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