Kim Jong Il, for the record.
All of the obvious jokes have been made (“Kim Jong Il downgraded to Kim Jong Dead.”) and I’m leaving the geopolitics to other, more knowledgeable people.
Archive for December, 2011
Obit watch: December 19, 2011.
Monday, December 19th, 2011Appalling.
Monday, December 19th, 2011I sent an earlier version of this story to my great and good friend Weer’d Beard for his “Gun” Death files, but something in today’s NYT coverage moves me to post.
But there was no way Ms. Gillespie, 73, could have been prepared for what happened.
No, actually, there was a way that Ms. Gillespie could have been prepared for what happened, but the city of New York denied her the tools she would have needed for effective self-defense against Jerome Isaac.
(Fair question: would the muzzle flash from, say, a KelTec .380 have ignited the fumes? Not sure, and I suspect it depends a lot on what type of fuel he was using. The NYT describes him as “reeking of gasoline”, but I’m not sure if that’s an accurate description or a colloquialism. In any case, I like Ms. Gillespie’s chances with a gun much better than the no chance she had without one.)
Plug plug pluggity plug.
Sunday, December 18th, 2011I have previously mentioned that my sister was named one of this year’s Park City Mountain Resort “Snowmamas”.
Her first post is now up at the site, and contains a whole list of recommendations for things to do with teenage boys in Park City. It would make a poor blogger very happy if you’d go over there and throw some clicks her way.
(Yes, that is my sister et al in the photo, just in case you were wondering.)
Your loser update: week 15.
Sunday, December 18th, 2011What a sorry ass-day in the NFL.
The Colts won, so no chance of an 0-16 team this year.
The Packers lost, which means that we’ll have to suffer through Gregg Easterbrook knowingly and willfully running his false Microsoft Word Autotext item about the G–d—n 1972 Miami Dolphins again.
It is enough to drive a guy to drink. Fortunately, I have a Shiner Holiday Cheer in the fridge to drown my sorrows with.
Western Civilization.
Sunday, December 18th, 2011Gandhi is supposed to have said it would be a good idea, but I am unable to find a trustworthy source for that quote.
Western civilization is doomed:
Western civilization is not doomed:
That’s a Hot Wheels car with a built-in video camera. And a built-in LCD screen so you can play back your video without downloading it (though you can do that as well with the USB cable). Target had it for $50.
I have no idea how much video it records or what quality, but man! I would never have predicted that 41 years ago.
(You know something else? Hot Wheels at Target are going for about $1.07; I think I paid $3.49 for a five-pack. You know what I was paying for Hot Wheels when I bought them out of my own pocket at the age of 4 or 5? About a buck. You know what $1 in 1970 money translates into? $5.83. I’m sure someone’s going to tell me today’s Hot Wheels aren’t as well made as the 1970 0nes – I don’t have any of my 1970 ones in front of me, but the new ones feel fine – or that they’re made in China and coated with lead paint – I don’t chew on mine – but frankly, I don’t care. Name me something else that’s stayed at a near constant price for 40 years.)
Obit watch: December 18, 2011.
Sunday, December 18th, 2011Noted just about everywhere, but I still feel compelled to mention the death of Vaclav Havel.
Stealing a FARK trope, this obit is useless without pictures.
Edited to add: In addition to blogging extensively on the subject, Lawrence was kind enough to send us a link to a purported photo of Mrs. Havel the Second in her role. Today being Sunday, we have not checked this out except to the extent that it appears to be a NSFW photo.
Christmas update.
Friday, December 16th, 2011Please do not purchase this book
Your cooperation is appreciated. Thank you.
…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.