Brainsturm

As you can see here, I had an interesting comment from a reader who has the audacity to fact-check me. This individual discussed the merits of the well-hung HS-129B3 versus its crude but rugged Russian counterpart, the Il-2 Shturmovik. The points were well taken by I Tell You What, and the slight misspelling of "Sturmovik" got me into one of my favorite words, and the accusation of Germanophilia has caused me to create a new one. Hence, this entry falls under "What's the Good Word?". But first, some background (CAUTION: MAY CONTAIN MORE "GERMANOPHILIA". Proceed at your own risk)

If you have seen "Saving Private Ryan", you may recall some really nasty looking tanks that ultimately fell before the valiant defense of our Airborne soldiers. Except, they weren't tanks, they were assault guns, with turrets of very limited travel but a low profile and very powerful cannon. They were used to destroy "real" tanks and reduce (great euphemism) defensive positions. Here is a picture of one:

If you were valiantly defending an anonymous bridge or other strongpoint in Western Europe in and around 1944, and you saw one of those puppies roll ominously towards you, then methodically and agonizingly slowly train Mr. Thundermaker on your position, you'd need a word to explain this sight before you bought the farm. Let's give a round of applause for that word: STURMGESCHUTZ. It means "assault gun", but in that Germanic way it sounds like "storms and shoots", which is so appealing in English. I cannot and will not be convinced that if Volkswagen rolled out a Sturmgeschutz Turbo Diesel sedan that it would not be the demise of the American market for all other automakers. Anyway, on top of the general menace provided by this vehicle, our beloved Deustche engineers had to go whole hog on a few models, just because. I present to you the Sturmpanzer IV (with a ridiculous 150mm cannon on the front)

And the grandaddy of them all, the Sturmoser. That 380mm (that's 38 cm, or 15 inches!) mortar you see below fails to qualify for ridiculous. It looks like Bowser's tanks from Super Mario Bros. 3.
Therefore, in honor of my obsession, and the commentator to my blog, I am forging a new word to describe myself and any others as messed up as me: STURMOPHILLIAC.
If you're tallying at home, between references to past blogs, World War II, armored vehicles, general vocabulary, and video games, this blog entry has pegged out the Dork Meter.