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Archive for December, 2011
Christmas update.
Friday, December 16th, 2011…and the glaven…
Friday, December 16th, 2011Sorry, folks. I’ve been out of sorts for a couple of days now and the tank is low.
I don’t have much to add to the Hitchens parade except that I really liked Why Orwell Matters
The NYT has an article up about the new Texas cockfighting laws:
“people who breed fighting birds”? Uh, they’re roosters. Is there a visible difference between regular roosters and cockfighting birds? Other than maybe the plumage? (Obligatory: “Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn’it, ay? Beautiful plumage!”)
“own cockfighting paraphernalia with the intent to use it” So how is law enforcement supposed to determine “intent”? And what constitutes “paraphernalia”?
I’m not a big fan of cockfighting (though I am a big fan of Cockfighter
I’ve also been withholding comment on the Dakota Meyer situation. Frankly, I don’t know what to make of it, and I’m not comfortable passing judgement either on the man or on the award. I do feel compelled to make note of the controversy, though.
I also want to point to this piece by Dustin Curtis: “Fly The Airplane”. Don’t have much to add to that, either, because Curtis is saying something I’ve been known to say. A lot.
(And The Checklist Manifesto
Told you so.
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011The Pack is back, baby.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011Apropos to the comment in this week’s TMQ Watch, “Huts Spencer”, one of our awesome readers, sent us a link to local news coverage of this year’s Packers shareholders meeting.
Thank you, sir!
TMQ watch: December 13, 2011.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011Before we start in on this week’s TMQ, we wanted to throw up a link to this fine article on the University of Alaska Fairbanks rifle team. Shall Not Be Questioned linked this yesterday, but we didn’t get around to reading the article until we started prepping this week’s TMQ Watch. Now that we have, we commend it to your attention.
And now the jump…
Grind that axe, NYT.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011Stipulated: the death of a police officer doing the right thing is tragic.
But there’s some odd stuff going on in the NYT coverage. For example,
“the sort of firearm that continues to vex the city”? Are there a lot of folks getting shot with semi-automatic Ruger pistols? Would it somehow have been better if the officer had been shot with a Smith and Wesson revolver? And doesn’t NYC have strict gun control laws?
I realize I’m probably expecting a little much from the NYT, but I’d like more details on how this unloaded revolver was “jammed”.
And:
Isn’t that interesting? I expect we’ll be hearing more about it in the next few days.
How politics works.
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011We have previously noted the attempt to revoke the city charter of Vernon, a notoriously corrupt city in California.
The most recent attempt, sadly, failed.
Why did it fail? One reason might be that the city agreed to some governmental reforms in lieu of disincorporation.
Another reason might be that a state senator asked Vernon to give $60 million dollars to fund “community projects” in the cities around Vernon. Vernon agreed, the senator and one of the cities that would get the money reversed their position on disincorporation, and low and behold, the legislation got defeated.
The punchline? Now Vernon has to come up with $60 million, and doesn’t know where they’re going to get it.
Heh. Heh. Heh.
We are amused…
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011…by this NYT article about Indian tribes in California that are disenrolling “inauthentic” members of the tribe. After all, the more people you throw out, the less of a split you have for that lovely casino money. ($15,000 a month?!)
I found this quote particularly striking:
Blogroll addition.
Monday, December 12th, 2011By way of Insta, Great But Forgotten.
I was more than a little skeptical when I saw his entry. But when I clicked over and saw that they had covered
- The film version of A Simple Plan.
- The works of John Brunner, including The Shockwave Rider.
- Bedazzled (the original)
And all on the first page of the site, I pretty much said to myself, “Yeah, these guys are worth keeping an eye on.”
Then I kept clicking. Screaming Yellow Zonkers! Ellery Queen! And Tom freakin’ Reamy! (I haven’t read Blind Voices, but I have read San Diego Lightfoot Sue and Other Stories.) Yeah, if these guys are willing to go that deep, I’ll trust them on a lot of stuff. (Okay, I do have a quibble or two. I don’t think Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was all that and a bag of chips, though I agree it wasn’t horrible.)
I could waste hours here. Indeed, I think I already have. But, you know, when someone singles out Night of the Comet, attention must be paid.
The bloodbath continues.
Monday, December 12th, 2011Rough day for coaches.
Terry Murray out as coach of the Los Angeles Kings. This is a hockey team, by the way.
Also, for the benefit of the Texas Tech fans in my audience (both of them), Lawrence sent along this link to turnover in the coaching ranks.
Trolling, trolling, trolling…
Monday, December 12th, 20117-10 split.
Monday, December 12th, 2011Miami Dolphins drop Tony Sparano, at least according to speculation. We should be about 30 minutes into that 4:15 press conference.
Academic update: Fall 2011, part 2.
Monday, December 12th, 2011This is a little early, since the final grade hasn’t been put into the main university system yet. (Edited to add 12/13: it is there now.) But I’ve been in touch with my “20th Century: Triumph and Tragedy” professor by email, and she’s confirmed the grades posted in the university’s BlackBoard system.
And…?
No longer the Chief.
Monday, December 12th, 2011Your loser update: week 14, 2011.
Monday, December 12th, 2011NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:
Indianapolis
A few notes: someone pointed out to us yesterday that Indy is just engaged in “sucking for Luck”; that is, they’re deliberately tanking the season in hopes of getting a first round the number one draft choice. We agree that this is probably the case: but all the Loser Update is intended to be, is a tally of who has a shot at going 0-16. Motivations aren’t a factor in the LU.
Secondly, we owe Lawrence $100. However, the link he posted says nothing about the Texans clinching the playoff berth. Here’s a better one.
Thirdly, this is only tangentially related to the loser update, but we’ve been threatening to link it all weekend: Elektrosjokkfotball. Basically, imagine two teams of Swedes playing soccer, where all the players (and the ref) are wearing shock collars, and the two observers/commentators have the controls. (I can’t tell for sure, but there may also have been alcohol involved.) I’d watch a lot more soccer if it was like this. (Push the “CC” button for English subtitles. Hattip: TJIC on the Twitter.)