For those of you in the UK.
The asking price is £1,100,000 (which works out to about $1.5 million). But: five beds, three bathrooms, 2,954 square feet, a “utility room” and a cellar (that’d be great for your wine collection), plus “reception room”, “garden room”, and “dining room”.
And you can’t put a money value on the prestige of being able to say, “Yes, I live in the old Alan Turing place.”
Flashback:
So I was at my local gun shop over the weekend…and they actually had a C96 in the display case for sale. I kid you not: it was the first one I’ve ever seen in the wild.
It even came with the “holster”. Really. That’s what they said. They were very careful about not calling it a “shoulder stock”. It was a “holster”. (They were also very clear that: once you got it home, what you did with the “holster” was your own damn business.)
The previous owner had even thrown in a box of ammo and some empty brass. The whole kit looked to be in pretty good shape (though I believe the clerk said the hammer had been replaced with a later period hammer, so it wasn’t quite all matching).
They were (are?) asking a mere $1,800 for it. Which is more than I’m willing to shell out right now. But if a Broomhandle Mauser is your cup of tea for a carry gun, feel free to drop me a line privately and I’ll hook you up with the shop.
Edited to add 6/24: Fun fact, which I just had the chance to research today. While a pistol with a shoulder stock is technically considered a short barrelled rifle (SBR) and falls under the National Firearms Act of 1934 regulations, there are certain specific items – “such as original semiautomatic Mauser “Broomhandles” and Lugers” – that are considered “collectors’ items” and are not subject to the NFA.
You can find the complete lists here, if you are that curious.
Monday was the 90th anniversary of the strange death of Hubert Chevis, also known as “…the mysterious affair of Lieutenant Chevis and the Manchurian partridge“.
So that this isn’t a total waste of your time: here’s an old episode of a BBC Radio 4 podcast, “Punt PI”, covering the Chevis case, which I am listening to as I write this. (It is about 30 minutes long.)
This is a rather short article, but it includes photos of Mr. and Mrs. Chevis, and of the “J. Hartigan” telegram.
I am an old man.
In other news, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” opened (and by “opened”, I mean official opening, as opposed to the endless stream of previews) 10 years ago Monday.
This is the first time that I’ve ever found a story with a headline that I wanted to link, but I don’t even want to mention the headline here for reasons.
So I’m just going to put a link right here. I’m not going to tell you what the headline is, though I will tell you it is from the NYPost. Click at your own risk. You have been warned.
One hint: it involves a famous and controversial musician. Think “Chappelle’s Show”. Not Prince.
…
I came up with a horrible, awful, bad idea the other night and feel like I have to share it here.
Lawrence and I were watching “The In-Laws“, and it occurred to me that it was about time for a remake (because Hollywood is out of ideas). And then it came to me…
…why not do a gender-swapped remake?
After all, who says women can’t be dentists? Or CIA agents?
I figure Melissa McCarthy has to be one of the leads, but I’m not sure if she’s best for the Peter Falk or the Alan Arkin role. And I’m not sure who would work for the husbands, or for General Garcia.
The Art of Manliness posted a list of “The 10 Best War Movies of All-Time”.
Aesop over at the Raconteur Report posted a response.
Borepatch posted a response to Aesop’s response.
My turn. Readers should be aware up front that I have never served with any branch of any military anywhere in the world: my opinions about war movies basically come down to “Did I enjoy it? Did I think it was a good story, well told?” Not necessarily “Were they using a period correct AR platform? Were the missile launch scenes accurate?”
If you think I’m ignorant and want to skip to the next entry, go right ahead. Something else will be coming along soon.
With my lack of qualifications out of the way, my takes on the list. The Art of Manliness first:
Aesop’s list:
Borepatch:
Things that I’m surprised are missing from all three lists:
I missed this story the other day, but wanted to make note of it here, if only for this quote:
Also:
“We have reports that he does have monkeys,” Commander Borza said.
Also:
The emergency dispatcher wasn’t exactly sure how to handle the situation, he said.
“Who do you want us to send? The police, the Fire Department, you know, the priest?” Mr. Ramos said the dispatcher told him.
How about “all of the above”? Is “all of the above” an option?
Today’s stupid, broken IOT device: the Cosori Smart Air Fryer.
I spent far too much time last night reading about celebrity perfumes.
But that wasn’t what I did not know. What I did not know was:
An 18-year-old professonal bowler converted a 7-10 split on TV today for the first time in 30 years. pic.twitter.com/4Qfhy546fr
— Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham) April 11, 2021
I kind of enjoy watching pro bowling, when I can catch it on TV. I feel like I can sit down in front of it, and just completely turn off all my higher brain function. Sometimes you just need that.