“But Kim… why Liverpool?”
This is why:
Anyway, that’s enough pomp and pageantry. Let’s let them wave the flag a little:
Right, that’s enough of that. Range time?
I think so.
Latest Posts
Classic Beauty: Debra Paget
At the height of her popularity, flame-haired Debra Paget received fan mail in quantities only exceeded by Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable. This may be the reason:
Or maybe there were two more:
Whatever the reasons, they’re all equally good.
No wonder Elvis Presley fell in love with her.
Dark Art
I really, really like the work of one-time civil engineer and now photographer Alec Dawson. If a picture is worth a thousand words, each one of Dawson’s eerie still-life pics is a volume. Here are several of my favorites (right-click to embiggen).
In case you missed the detail:
Some suggest abandonment:
And then there are the more explicit (and even more tragic) ones:
I could write a short story — or possibly a novella — about each and every one of these, simply because of the feelings and emotions contained in that simple picture.
I’m not even going to get into the lighting, other to say that it’s a rare skill to light a night scene without making it look contrived and artificial. And if these pics are nothing else, they’re realistic, almost hyper-realistic.
While all the above are part of Dawson’s Nocturna series, here’s a video sample of Nobody Claps Anymore. The man’s a genius.
Summing It Up
The problem with large numbers is that most people can’t comprehend them. Here, for example, is a summary of our national economy by John Hawkins:
When it comes to the deficit, this year the federal government is expected to take in 3.86 trillion dollars in revenue (which is iffy) and is expected to AT LEAST have a 3 trillion dollar deficit (it will probably be much higher). That’s on top of our current debt which is at $28.7 trillion. If you count the unfunded liabilities the government has such as payments for Social Security and Medicare, estimates vary, but it may very well be closer to 135 trillion dollars.
The problem with millions is that few people will ever be in direct contact with that number (unless they’re looking at the odds against winning a lottery). With billions, that distance (and therefore ignorance of the scale) increases exponentially. Trillions? Fuggeddabahdit.
Fortunately, Hawkins comes to the rescue in his very next sentence:
To put this in terms that are easier to understand, imagine your Uncle Sam is making $100,000 per year, spending $200,000 per year, is already more than $700,000 in the hole, and has another $3,000,000+ that he’s promised to people.
Now that’s perfectly understandable. And to make things worse, there’s the attitude of our beloved Gummint towards this looming catastrophe:
When you ask him about it, your uncle tells you that he’s rich and so he has no plans to EVER dramatically cut his spending as long as people will keep loaning him money.
So the Day of Reckoning approaches.
I wish I could offer some kind of solution or hope, but I can’t. I can only suggest that we stock up on food and ammo. Lots of both, but especially ammo.
Note: Hawkins’s larger point in his post is that bankruptcy is a catalyst for revolution — and it may even be a larger catalyst than political differences. He’s right.
News Roundup
And in other Medical News:
...uhhhhh no.
...thus taking away the effectiveness of the “Eat shit and die” epithet.
In the latest Woke News:
...from your mouth to God’s ear, honey.
…just accept the fact that you’ve fucked your brand, hard, in the ass — just like your precious spokesthing does. And speaking of this little asshole:
...you started it, darlin’.
…ummm is there any historical basis for the term “Minutewoman”? Asking for a friend.
And speaking of hoplophobes:
...between P.J. and Beto, it sure seems like the wrong O’Rourke died.
...works for me. Now let’s start killing a few, pour encourager les autres. And speaking of pedophile organizations:
...which I’ll believe when His Assholiness points to where the term “couch potatoes” appears in the Gospel.
...looks like they want to start something they may not be able to stop. Just sayin’.
...considering that Argentina’s total import business is lower than Alabama’s, this is ummm not significant.
And speaking of INSIGNIFICA:
…
...I know, I’d never heard of Kayla Simmons either. Does she even exist? Let’s go to the gallery:
And that’s all the news that sticks out this week.
Ritual Humiliation
Last week I went to the range with the Son&Heir so that he could put rounds through his new Springfield 1911 Ronin:
…and mirabile dictu, he pronounced himself satisfied with its trigger. Of course, he made me look stupid by putting all 8 rounds into a palm-print at 30 feet, one-handed, while I could only manage a side-plate-sized group at the same distance, two-handed.
Damn kids.
However: when we stepped up the firing speed (all 8 fired inside 5 seconds, two-handed), I was pleased to see his group opening up considerably — about the same side-plate size as mine.
Of course, I shoot my well-worn and familiar 1911 every week, whereas he last fired a 1911 about three years ago, let alone a NIB gun with stiff trigger etc.
Anyway, I was able to satisfy myself in one very important aspect: compared to the usual 230gr .45 ACP, my adopted 185gr practice ammo is far more accurate (and much less punishing). I had found some inexpensive Defender 185gr FMJ reloads and (even better) some of Norma’s excellent MHP 175gr loads for a good price at Palmetto State Armory. The latter really zips out the barrel (~300fps faster than ordinary 230gr FMJ), and from what I’ve read, the expansion in ballistic gel is impressive.
Neither of us experienced a single ejection- or chambering failure in either gun, for any brand of ammo (S&H was shooting Winchester White Box 230gr FMJ, and Hornady XTP 200gr JHP).
We’re doing it again next week, because I’m a masochist.