Venture

The Venture Bros. Season 2 premieres tonight at 10:30 PM Eastern on The Cartoon Network's [adult swim].

Clueless? Read this review.

Then go watch it.

Become addicted.

Despicable

There's a reason I don't subscribe to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I think Kevin the Queer Conservative, also a blogger here in Georgia, sums up my feelings quite nicely:

Well Mikey, at least you're honest about your feelings about America. You don't hesitate to to say that in your eyes America is just as evil as al-Qaida. But ask yourself this Mr. Lukovich, would the islamofascists you seem to hold in higher esteem than your own countrymen allow you to publish any cartoon, much less one critical of them? No, they wouldn’t.

See what he's talking about here. Not only is the AJC never getting a dime of my money, but they and Lukovich can go to hell.

Geeking Out: Bite My Shiny Metal Ass

Futurama returns; now it's Zoidberg's turn!

Three years after Fox canceled the show, Matt Groening's 'Futurama' will resume production for a 13-episode run on Comedy Central.

Sweet. Hopefully the show won't suck, which is always a possibility, especially considering the high expectations of the fanbase. Thankfully, they got ALL the voice talent and staff back as well, which in my opinion is a bit of a coup considering the state of constant flux in which the entertainment industry exists. So I have hope that the new episodes will bring the funny.

Also, apparently Katie Seagal (one of the stars, for those of you not "down") confirmed the rumors of the show's return on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Tuesday night, which is why no one heard the news until today.

Fluff

Paramount sues over stolen WTC film.

Paramount says that Chis Moukarbel used a "bootleg script" of Oliver Stone's major-budget flick to use in his own film about the WTC disaster. OK, I can understand that, no big deal. What caught my attention was the fact that Paramount says that Moukarbel's 12 minute film "mirrors 'a significant portion' of Stone's work."

Ummm. . . wait a second. . . Mourkarbel's movie is 12 minutes. Stone's movie is going to be 2+ hours. Paramount says that 12 minutes is a significant portion of that 2+ hours. Does that therefore mean that the remaining 108+ minutes of Stone's movie is complete fluff? Well, at least a studio is admitting that Oliver Stone films are crap.

Microsoft Sucks

And Windows is the fruit of the devil.

I know, I know, I should get a Mac, but I LIKE my big, fast, quiet, home-built desktop that I can upgrade easily and cheaply. Everything (hardware-wise, anyway) on it works fine, but when I upgraded the HDD (speed and size matter, damnit), I had to reinstall XP. 40,000 updates later, Service Pack 2 Install crashes, taking the rest of the OS with it. I swear to God, if my monitor didn't cost so much, I would have head-butted it. Hard. It was RIGHT THERE, begging me to force my forehead forward at such velocity that the glass would break and I'd fall bleeding on the floor, skull fractured, with my dog licking blood and brain matter from the wreckage (Lassie, he ain't) but I wouldn't be bothered by the pain or my impending death at all. I'd just be happy that I didn't have to install a Microsoft product EVER AGAIN. GAH!

Darwin Laughs in Victory, or How God Helps Save Money On Court Costs

Police: man accidentally dies breaking into home

Milwaukee police say a man apparently killed himself by accident as he tried to break into the home of his estranged wife early Saturday morning. Police say the 46-year-old man punched through the woman's bedroom window and severed an artery in his upper arm. They say he collapsed in the street and bled to death about a half-block away. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Captain Edward Liebrecht says the man appeared to have been violating a restraining order the woman had filed against him.

The death remains under investigation. Police declined to release the man's identity pending notification of family.

Sat. Gunblogging: 5 Pistol Calibers

"Saturday Gunblogging" posts are posts with which I indulge myself by talking about (usually) the equipment of the shooting sports. These are often topics extensively covered elsewhere in the gun world, but whatever; I like talking about 'em.

Yesterday Kim had an interesting mental excercise posted regarding guns. OK, so it's more of a gun daydreaming kinda thing than it is any sort of intellectual heavy lifting, but it's good for some Saturday blogging. The question posed to Kim was this:

"If you could own just one handgun in each caliber, which one(s) would you pick?"

Hmmm. . . that IS an interesting question. Not the typical "if you could only own one pistol/rifle/shotgun, what would you choose" type question so many of us pose to ourselves so often. So it got the wheels turnin' in my head. First, like Kim, I had to decide what my favorite calibers are, since I could name my favorite handguns for EVERY caliber, but that would be one hell of a long list! So I'm going to limit myself to 5 calibers. Here they are:

.22 Long Rifle
.380 ACP
.38 Special/.357 Magnum*
9mm Parabellum
.45 ACP

So now that I have my 5 favorite pistol calibers on the record, it's time to get to the pistols themselves. By the way, I'm not taking price or availability into account at all in this list; this is pure desire, based on aesthetics, shootability, history, accuracy, reliability, and "intangibles," meaning that which can't be defined, a romantic ideal of a particular pistol, or in these 5 cases, a class of pistol. So here are my 5 favorite pistols of all time, chambered in my 5 favorite calibers of all time.

1) .22 Long Rifle: Ruger Mark III Hunter Stainless
I've talked about the Ruger .22 before, although then, it was more of the "budget" Ruger .22's I was speaking of. What I said then still holds true for me though: "I love Ruger Mark III's, mostly because of the fact that my father taught me to shoot with one, and thus I have a certain nostalgic attraction to the model." In other words, I like and respect other .22's (especially revolvers) but the Ruger will always hold a special place in my heart, especially the Hunter Stainless: beautiful metal, beautiful grips, those flutes down the barrel. . . Sweet.

2) .380 ACP: Walther PPK
This has nothing to do with 007, I just like this pistol. It feels good in the hand, it's accurate, it's reliable, it's classic. What more can one really want? To me, this is the classic "gentleman's pocket pistol." No über-plastic, just finely crafted steel. They're equally suited for backup carry or "governor's ball" use. I love 'em.



3) .38 Special/.357 Magnum: Colt Python
The Ruger GP100 might be a little tougher, the Smith and Wesson Model 19 may be (well, IS) more available, but the Colt Python is the epitome of wheelgun art, design, and function. Chambered in .38 Special/.357 Magnum, the Python is easily the most versatile pistol on this list, able to shoot match-winning runs at the range or put serious power on target for defense, or even hunting in a pinch. It's accurate, easy to shoot, utilizes a true combat-proven knockdown caliber, and has absolutely gorgeous looks. This is the only pistol I can think of that can give #5 below a run for it's money in the "if I can only own one pistol" department.

5) 9mm: Browning Hi-Power
Another classic of a handgun. Do you see a trend yet? This was Saint John Browning's final design and arguably his best.** 9mm, high-capacity, a super-comfortable grip, and one of the prettist auto-pistols ever made. I may prefer other calibers (see immediately above and below) but I do recognize the place in history and in contemporary gun culture the 9mm has. It's been around the block, so to speak, and has acquitted itself quite well. Would I carry a Hi-Power if given the choice? Probably not, but I wouldn't criticize those who would or do carry one. Do I WANT a Hi-Power, preferably of Belgian manufacture? Oh, God yes.

5) .45 ACP: The 1911
The classic manstopper cartridge and the classic pistol for which it is chambered. You didn't think I'd choose a GLOCK or something when I listed the .45 ACP as a favorite, did you?*** Hell no! The .45 and the 1911 have been proven (and are being proven) as the defensive handgun by which all other pistols are judged. They are reliable, they are beautiful, they command respect and authority, they have the mystique of being "the .45," they're accurate, and, man, do they feel great in the hand. I could have chosen a prettier model for the picture above, but I decided to go with MY Colt 1991A1 Commander, which I've had for over 10 years now. It's reliable (3 malfunctions in thousands upon thousands of rounds; 2 magazine related, and 1 ammo related [bad primer on reloads]), accurate (enough for combat/defense) and at this point, is like an extension of my body. I may buy or own other pistols for defense or range duty, or even someday buy a prettier 1911, but if I need a pistol right now, my Commander is always going to be the first one I reach for. . . and it's usually on my hip, by my bed, or in my glove box.

So there they are, my 5 favorite pistols of all time. My benchmarks for what all other pistols should aspire to. Sure, there are more modern designs; after all, the youngest basic design on my list was first produced in 1955. But some things cannot be improved upon without sacrificing something, be it aesthetics, reliability, shootability, etc. Now I have to figure out my next gunblogging topic. Maybe my 5 favorite rifle cartridges/rifles. . .

For now though, I'm going to the range with my dad. Few things in life are better than that.

*Unlike Kim, I'm including the .38/.357 as a single pistol.
**Yes, I know, after JMB died, his successor at FN, Dieudonne Saive, finalized the pistol.
***I don't hate GLOCK's, but they ain't 1911's; they're ugly and the grip angle is a little weird. If they weren't so daggum reliable and accurate, I'd hate them. But I respect GLOCK's too much for that.

Filed in:

• Gun-Stuff
• Saturday-Gunblogging

FYI

If you watch a television show or movie in which the characters primarily use British accents, such as the episode of Doctor Who that I'm watching right now, it is possible to begin reading news stories on the 'net with a British accent in your mind. Maybe it's not a big deal if you're British, but it's really, really annoying if you're not. Just a heads up.

Do what I say. . .

Something tells me that if I were to hit a Capitol policeman in the chest I'd more than likely catch a wicked beatdown, followed by some jailtime. Not for our elected leaders in Congress though. Apparently a lackluster apology was enough to keep a grand jury from indicting Cynthia "Crazy Eyes" McKinney for her assault on a police officer on March 29th. God I hope she's defeated in the next election. . . again.

Also, the picture in the above-linked article is BEGGING for captions:
"I'm THIS crazy!"
"My race card is THIS big!"

Previous:
Lewis "counsels" McKinney (UPDATED)

Thoughts On Disasters

Here's some highly recommended reading regarding how one should prepare for, what one should do, and the situations one should be ready for during and after disasters such as Katrina. The bottom line?

I'm more and more convinced that in the event of a disaster, I must rely on myself, and a few friends, and never count on Government or relief organizations for the help I'll need. Also, I'm determined to bug out for a fairly long distance from a disaster in my home area, so as to be clear of the post-disaster complications that may arise. Once again (as it has countless times throughout history), we see that to rely on others (let alone Government) for your own safety and security is to invite complications at best, disaster at worst.

That's the way I've thought regarding disasters for quite a while now, and I know that the news that came out post-Katrina opened the eyes of more than a few of my friends.

I've had a "disaster kit" or "bug-out bag" or whatever you want to call it for some time now. . . since before Katrina, actually. I won't get into the details now (and some details I'll keep to myself) but basically I have three levels of gear ready to go in -10 minutes, -30 minutes, and -120 minutes. These levels are based on how much gear I'm able to ready for transport and the time increments are actually padded somewhat. For example, the -10 minute level is man-portable, and would actually take about 2 minutes to be "good to go," while the -30 minute gear level includes the -10 bag plus gear more suitable for vehicle travel and can be made "good to go" in much less than 30 minutes. I'll go into more detail at a later time, hopefully when my piece of crap camera is replaced so I can illustrate the topic. By the way, all gear levels include firearms; the ability to protect oneself and one's possessions is exponentially more important in a survival/disaster/bug-out situation, not to mention the ability to hunt for food can extend one's stay in the field for quite a long time.

None of my gear is dependent on outside assistance; my goal for my household (you know, me and the dog) is to be as completely self-reliant as possible. I suggest you do the same. Like the man said, depending on others for help in a disaster is a long-shot at best, and disastrous at worst. Again, I suggest reading the posts at the above link and, if you haven't already, think about what your preparations are. Remember folks, preparation does not equal paranoia, and basic preparations aren't really that expensive.

Gift Ideas

If anyone wants to buy this for me, I'd be grateful.

Return to Sender

Seems that I.C.E. policed up over 2,000 illegal immigrants and immigrants with criminal records in the last couple of weeks:

About half of the 2,179 people arrested in the operation had criminal records, and 367 were members or associates of violent street gangs, including the Mara Slavatrucha, or MS-13.
...
Others arrested included 146 who had convictions for sexual offenses involving minors, and 640 were fugitive aliens who had been issued final orders of removal by an immigration judge and had not complied.

Now, I have absolutely no problem with this; in fact, I'm glad they're rounding up and deporting the violent criminals, sexual predators, and gang members first. I hope, however, that this is merely a first step in a more comprehensive sweep to deport more illegal immigrants.

I do wonder though. . . How long has I.C.E. known the identities and locations of the criminals they've rounded up lately? How long did they wait before arresting and deporting those criminals? Is this merely a political move, the hope of politicians that a dog and pony show will assuage our outrage over the illegal immigration issue long enough for our short American attention spans and media-driven frenzy to fade into the background once more? Time will tell.

"Return to Sender" is a pretty neat name for the operation, btw. Made me chuckle, anyway.

Previous:
Well, it's a start...
Reactions to the GA "Illegals" law

This just in:

The Braves suck. I hope they get their act together SOON. I know they always have a slow start before warming up, but jeez guys, how 'bout you start warming up, like, now-ish? The bullpen sucks so far, which is nothing new, but in the past we've had some offense to help out. So far this year: not so much. I mean, losing 4-1 against the Fish? We're 11 games back and the Mets look pretty strong this year.* At this point we'll need the Mets to fall apart some AND go on a decent winning streak to close the gap, rather than relying on just the latter.

Get it together guys. By the way, I'm going to be at a home game soon, so STOP SUCKING!

*(I just threw up in my mouth a little after typing that)

Alright, Julie!

Apparently one of the things I missed this weekend was one of my favorite FoxNews anchorettes, Julie Banderas, berate Shirley Phelps-Roper (yes, THAT Shirley Phelps-Roper) for the hate-speech of Westboro Baptist:

Banderas: "Why don't you take your church to another country, then, ma'am? Thank you so much. You should not be proud to be an American, and thank you. Good-bye."

Malkin has the video and a partial transcript. Having had a "TV-crush" on Julie for a while now (I mean, c'mon, she's HOT), this was pretty damn cool to see.

Truly a Moran

But at least he's being honest about his politics:

Moran, D-8th, told those attending the Arlington County Democratic Committee's annual Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner on June 9 that while he in theory might oppose the fiscal irresponsibility of “earmarks” - funneling money to projects in a member of Congress's district - he understands the value they have to constituents.

“When I become chairman [of a House appropriations subcommittee], I'm going to earmark the s**t out of it,” Moran buoyantly told a crowd of 450 attending the event.

That repeated "thudding" sound you hear is probably my cranium impacting something harder than bone. Honestly, when I read stuff like that, I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. I mean, on the one hand, he acknowledges that he shouldn't funnel taxpayer money that might be best used elsewhere back to his home district. . . but that he will anyway, 'cause that'll get him reelected.

Sigh.

Gotta love the culture of corruption that our elected leaders, regardless of political orientation, embrace. Oh, and then there's this:

Moran and his two Republican Northern Virginia counterparts - U.S. Reps. Frank Wolf, R-10th, and Tom Davis, R-11th - essentially mapped out their own redistricting plan after the 1990 federal census, and handed it to the General Assembly for action.

After all, gerrymandering does make the world go 'round. It's not like it doesn't happen down here in Georgia every time the General Assembly switches polarity, but it still annoys me.

Both parties make me sick, but that's nothing new.

Clemson Killer/Rapist "overwhelmed"

In case you didn't already know, Jerry Buck Inman confessed to killing Tiffany Souers, a Clemson undergrad, by apparently strangling her with her bikini top. He also confessed to other crimes that took place a few days before:

In Rainsville, Ala., Inman was charged with attempted rape, burglary, robbery and theft of property in a May 23 incident in which authorities said he broke into a home and tried to attack a 24-year-old woman after she came home for lunch. Davenport said he expects Inman also will be charged with a May 24 rape in Sevierville, Tenn.

That hits home for me: I have extended family in Rainsville and a very close female friend in Sevierville. They're not the victims, nor do they know the victims of Inman's alleged crimes, but nevertheless, it is personal to me.

This waste of flesh Inman served 16 years of jail time in Florida for. . . wait for it. . . that's right, sex offenses. He's on the sex offender registry. The linked report says that he was released from prison in 2005, but not when during that year; more than likely though, he didn't even wait a full year to begin committing sex crimes again. According to Inman's mother, he's bipolar. Sounds like just the guy for the prison system to release, doesn't it? The linked report says that he was released from prison in 2005, but not when during that year. Whenever it was, he didn't exactly wait to begin committing sex crimes again, did he? Here's the deal: I understand that he may not be "right in the head," as my grandmother would say, but that is no excuse to allow a convicted violent sex offender to "drive around looking for women he found attractive," and then rape them.

So my blood pressure was already climbing when I got to this part near the end:

"I know he is overwhelmed by the attention this case has received so far," said Inman's attorney, Symmes Culbertson. "I think he's a little shell-shocked by everything that has gone on so far."

You know who's a hell of a lot more "overwhelmed" and "shell-shocked" than your client, Mr. Culbertson? The dead girl, the raped girls, and their families. You cannot impart humanity to those who act in such an inhumane way as Inman allegedly has, so please don't try to make us feel sorry for him. I'll reserve my sorrow for the victims, their families, and yes, Inman's family as well, for they too are victims of his crimes, in that they must face the heartbreak of knowing that their child is a killer and rapist who has no place in civilized society.

On my scale of criminal actions, only child molesters/killers rate lower than crimes against women, and that's by a very slim margin. Those who attack the weak are the lowest form of scum to exist within our species, in my opinion. By displaying their lust for power and control with their violent actions, such criminals display themselves to be not "sick animals," as Inman describes himself, but the sickest of sick human beings, with an ability for cognitive thought that no lower animal possess. There are only two cures for such a sickness: death or a locked box.

I'm doubtful, however, that Inman will get the death penalty; he's confessed, that confession will more than likely hold up in court, and he will likely get life in one facility (state pen) or another (secure mental hospital). A pity, since I'd prefer he experience at least the same amount of terror just before his death that he inflicted on Souers just before hers.

Oh, C'mon

Y'know, it figures that the second day of my Triumphant Return, Blogger's been screwed up all day. I'm not going to complain too much though; after all, it's not like I'm paying anything to do this. Anyway, now I'm too tired to write. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Rescue Me

Ok, I don't talk about TV shows often (if at all, I can't remember) but the end of tonight's Rescue Me kicked ass. Literally. It's like a soap opera for guys, but with that dark, cynical humor I really enjoy. Last season was great, and this season looks to be more of the same. . . although I miss Diane Farr. If you haven't yet, you should really check it out.

Slayer Day

Yep, it's National Day of Slayer. I'm currently listening to Reign in Blood, one of the best thrash metal albums of all time. And yes, I'm actually wearing the t-shirt pictured on the left. I had to dig deep in the closet (the Closet of DOOM!!) to find it, and it's all kinds of old and faded, but I'm wearing it. See this post for NDS ideas.

Let's recap the day: No disasters of Biblical proportions (yet anyway, there's still time), in fact, today hasn't been that different from yesterday. Seems like 6/6/06 has nothing significant going on other than an endless parade (Parade of DOOM!!) of Biblical Prophecy/End of the World/History of Satan shows on the History channel. . . good of them to break away from the endless hours of UFO, Hitler, and Modern Marvels programming.

Of course, for all I know, the Anti-Christ is being born as I write this. Either way, I'm off to the garage (the Garage of DOOM!!) to work out and listen to the Braves game.

Random Gun Stuff

To mark my triumphant return to blogging (posts about Slayer don't count), I think I'll hit three items that I noticed last week and just didn't have time to write about. I should have some editorial stuff on the way either tonight to tomorrow, depending on when I finish it up. For now though, this'll have to tide you over.

1. Check out what Bitter Bitch had to say regarding an anti-gun editorial she found. Here's a taste. From the editorial:

You know the saying well: Guns don't kill people. People kill people. But the cause of death of two people at a picnic at South Shore Park on Memorial Day is gunshot wounds. Three others shot at the same picnic are not recovering from people wounds.

To which Bitter replied:

No, they are recovering from people inflicted wounds. Take the people who inflicted them out of the situation and you have a group of healthy people and a gun that just sits there. Insert criminals and/or stupid people and you have wounded people. (emphasis mine)

Any firearm-related injury or death is because someone is either a criminal, uneducated about firearms, or just stupid. Seriously, do people just not get that? I guess not. Punish the criminals, teach the ignorant, and pray you don't run across an idiot. Read the whole thing, it's worth it.

2. Moving on, I ran across an interesting Op-Ed all the way back on May 21st that I bookmarked and am just now mentioning. Of course, one would expect that any article titled The Myth of the Easy Machine Gun would pique my interest. The author (who seems like a gun novice, but that's only an impression of mine) calls into question the ease with which one can create a fully-automatic "assault" rifle from a legal semi-automatic rifle, one of the central themes of fear-mongering proponents of "assault" weapons bans. After all, isn't it just super easy to MacGuyver a legal gun into a flame-spouting, death-dealing, baby-killing Übergun? Well, no, as the author found out:

Does any of this make sense to you? It doesn't to me. And so I suspect you are getting the point: The easy machine gun is a myth. In fact, if I weren't so polite, I would call it a blatant lie.
...
The very same people who accuse President Bush of playing the "fear card" on terrorism are themselves playing the "fear card" on machine guns. The true motive behind this ban is to take another sneaky step toward prohibition of all private firearms of every kind.

Damn straight. Yeah, you can make a semi-auto into a full-auto, but you either need already-regulated parts or you need to make those parts in a decently-equipped machine shop; and if you have the latter and are making/selling those parts without registering them, you're probably breaking the law already, thus negating the need for yet another gun-control law. It's a great editorial; read the whole thing here.

3. Good news out of Louisiana, for once:

The number of people applying for concealed handgun permits has risen since Hurricane Katrina hit southeast Louisiana, but Louisiana State Police aren't sure why.

Um, could it be that people are realizing that their nanny-state, government-will-protect-us-from-everything mentality is misguided? Could it be that people saw and understood that it was ultimately up to them to protect themselves? And check this out, from the same article:

Since Louisiana enacted the 1996 concealed-weapons law, no one has died at the hands of a permit holder, State Police said. In two cases, someone was injured.

So you have properly, legally vetted gun-carrying people out there for ten years and not ONE of them killed anyone? But I thought ALL gun-owners were irresponsible, no matter if the guns are legally carried or not. Because of the lack of relevant data, I won't comment on the two injuries; they could be the result of self-defense, improper gun-handling, etc.

Here's the best news out of the NOLA.com story though:

Font said the monthly concealed-weapons safety classes with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office have been either full or almost full since they resumed in April.

GOOD. Safety should ALWAYS be the priority, and stories about unsafe gun-handling drive me crazy. So if you're going to carry, learn how to do it safely and responsibly.

D-Day

All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
...
Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

-Ronald Reagan, Pointe du Hoc, June 6th, 1984.

Thank you all.

Tomorrow

I'm interrupting my unintentional blog hiatus to remind everyone that tomorrow is the National Day of Slayer. 6/6/06. The day of EVILLLL (FYI - "evillll" is best enunciated in a guttural roar). If you don't know who Slayer are, I feel a little sorry for you (but not that sorry, because pity is not an emotion embraced by Slayer) and you should go here for the Wiki for more information. So what are appropriate activities, preferably for the whole family, to engage in on NDS? Well, see the above link for a more comprehensive list, but I suggest the following:

1) Accost random passers-by, co-workers, etc.: grab them by the shirt, pull them inches from your face, and, in your best MetalVoice, yell "SLAYER" at the top of your lungs. In order to obtain a proper grip on their shirt, you may have to put down your Budweiser.
2) Drink Budweiser.
3) Drive down the street in a residential neighborhood or whatever roadway the denizens of your municipality have designated as "The Strip" playing "War Ensemble" (or any other Slayer song) as loud as you possibly can. If you drive a nice car, sell it. Slayer fans don't drive nice cars.
4) Wear leather. If leather is unavailable to you, denim with a crapload of patches is appropriate attire.
5) Beat up hippies and force them to listen to Slayer. Hippies hate death metal. And finally,
6) Figure out that the date 6/6/06 is just another Tuesday, and this is just an excuse to dust off Reign in Blood or Seasons in the Abyss and remember when you didn't have to be responsible.

All kidding (is it kidding?) aside, sorry about the blogging hiatus; it was both unintentional and unavoidable. Hopefully, I'll be able to begin again tonight or tomorrow.