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I’ve been binge-watching the excellent Brit TV show Kingdom, which stars Stephen Fry as the eponymous market-town lawyer.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it’s one of those gentle shows the Brits do so well — drama mixed with comedy — and some genuinely touching moments.

And as always with shows like this, it contains some wonderful character parts, played by a good selection of my favorite Brit actors:  the always-brilliant Hermione Norris as his demented sister:

…the late Tony Slattery as the perpetually-litigious (and malodorous) client:

…Phyllida Law (Emma Thompson’s late mum) as his elderly (and sexually-forthright) aunt:

…and Celia Imrie as his long-suffering secretary:

(played straight, with no comedic bits;  amazingly so, because Imrie is as good a comedic actress as can be found).

It will come as no surprise, however, that the real star of the show for me is Peter Kingdom’s car, the exquisite 1967 Alvis TE21 Drophead:

…with its powerful-for-the-time 3.0-liter straight-six engine and sublime interior:

…and of course it too plays a role in the show, often breaking down at critical moments (as they were all wont to do).  (It’s one of those tourers common for that glorious late 50s-to-mid-60s era, like the Maserati 3500 GT, the Lancia Aurelia B24 and the Lamborghini 400*.)

Anyway, I’m currently at Episode 4, and counting.

Quote of the series (so far) is from Phyllida Law on living in an elder-care home with its addled occupants:  “It’s like living in the midst of people all on LSD.”

*in order, the Maserati, Lancia and Lambo:

…and I’d still take any one of them in a heartbeat

Giveaway Madness

Marxists, Two-Minute Hate

And the madness begins:

A Texas Democrat filed a bill this week in the State Senate to give $1,500 to every household in the Lone Star State. The one-time payment from the Texas Rainy Day Fund would fulfill a campaign promise by Governor-Elect Gina Hinojosa and would include payments to illegal aliens.

We Texans are very proud of our Rainy Day Fund, because when Bad Things Happen (floods, tornadoes, hurricanes etc. — which are a frequent occurrence in the Lone Star State), it means that our government can actually give a helping hand to the people affected by said Bad Things without going into debt (unlike the FedGov, which just prints money to do the same thing).

Now the part that really gets me loading up the gun bag for a range trip:

On her campaign website, Governor-Elect Hinojosa promised a $1,500 Corruption Tax Refund. She stated:
“Greg Abbott has hoarded $27 billion in taxpayer money into the Rainy Day Fund – money that belongs to Texans – while families struggle to pay their bills. No Texas politician has ever hoarded taxpayer dollars like this – and it’s time Texans get that money back. It is fiscally irresponsible for the government – that money should be working in our economy.
“The Rainy Day fund needs about a $10 billion balance to be fiscally responsible according to experts, so Gina will direct the legislature to return the other $17 billion to Texas families in the form of a $1,500 refund – because Gina knows your money should work for you, not sit idle in Austin.”

If I had a dollar for every time some Commie invoked the “hoarding” trope, I’d be able to afford that seaside cottage that New Wife wants so badly.

And just for the benefit of the economic moron politicians like our future governor [gritting teeth], the Rainy Day Fund doesn’t sit in some giant Scrooge McDuck-like vault:

…it’s invested in things like municipal bonds — you know, money that pays for things like roads, schools and infrastructure — which actually helps grow the Fund.  It’s not some government piggy bank that can be plundered at will by Marxists.  That’s the very definition of “fiscal irresponsibility”, you fucking Marxist sow.

And let’s not even talk about the part that would give the money away to illegal aliens.  That’s worth another half-dozen extra boxes of ammo in the bag, all by itself.

I would hope that the Texas legislature will defenestrate this little Communist activity with prejudice, but I’m no longer sure of anything, anymore.

Not after the latest elections.

News Summary

Bad News


...half a million in a single year?  Admirable.  Don’t let the midterm results deter you from doing even better for the next two years, because despite all that, it’s one of the promises that got you re-elected in the first place.  And still on that topic:


...stand by to repel boarders, ICE.


...same here.  And never mind importing;  can we start “exporting” maggots like Ilhan Omar and her ilk as well?

Canadian PM Carney Labels United States More
of a Security Threat than China 
...considering he’s essentially sold out his entire country to the Commies, this comment should not be entirely unexpected.


...well below, as I’ve noted elsewhere ($2.65 in my ‘hood), but that $4 thing is because of California, Illinois, New York etc., where they hate cars and their drivers.

Texas governor-elect’s plan to freeze electricity prices
raises questions over legal authority
...yeah, because the state government can’t legally “fix” prices on things they don’t directly control — and in Texas, electricity supply is 100% in the private sector.  Still in Cuidad Tejas:

Democrats File Red Flag Bill, Other Gun Controls
in Texas Legislature
...well, they do this before every session (and get their pee-pees whacked every time), so there’s no surprise here.  Guess they forgot that the Republicans still control both houses in Austin.


...is this hotel anywhere in North Texas?  No?  Then fuck you, Greggs.  Come back to me when you’re serious.


...somebody explain to me why Hubby Dearest shouldn’t be savagely whipped, then dragged behind a truck at thirty miles an hour for ten miles down a dirt road.  Ditto this asshole:


...eleven months old?  Those who would rather just see this bastard taken out and shot in the back of the head, raise your hands.

The only good news about this is that unbelievably, the baby survived.


…

How you’re cooking broccoli might be stripping away
its health benefits
...not that I care, because I never touch the revolting stuff except out of politeness (i.e. when served to me by friends).


...and nobody will miss your no-talent ass because you don’t deserve to be in the same building as Elvis, the Beatles and Chuck Berry anyway.

“Dear Dr. Kim”

Advice

“Dear Dr. Kim,

“Some months ago I met a man at a work function — a cocktail party for clients and some of their suppliers.  “David” was very handsome, witty, successful and a sly way of flirting that I found irresistible.  He was also married, something I discovered during our first date, a quick meal at a local sandwich shop.

“Anyway, I was completely captivated by him and we began an affair that lasted for three months.  I have to admit that while the first couple of bedroom sessions were purely lustful, I began to develop a romantic attachment to him, and he to me, and from steamy sex we progressed to lovemaking.

“Then after one such delightful occasion after a lunch date, David mentioned that his wife had a strong sex drive, and in fact he’d had sex with her that very same morning before meeting me.

“I felt betrayed, even though I was well aware that he was betraying his wife by having an affair with me.  But what was I to do?  I could hardly demand that he stop having sex with her, could I?  Still, I was — I admit, unreasonably — very jealous, and the thought of him having sex with her really hurt me deeply.

“So I ended the affair, but after two long years, I still haven’t been able to get him out of my mind.

“Dr. Kim, what advice do you have for me?”

— Jealous Girlfriend, Omaha.

Dear Jealous,

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to reply to you, but every time I try to think of some worthwhile advice, I can’t help bursting into uncontrollable laughter.  So let me just give you my opinion:  you are a selfish, stupid woman who deserves everything that has happened to you.

You were prepared to wreck a marriage — the lives of two other people —  and when that didn’t work out, you felt betrayed and hurt.  In life, that’s called tough shit, and its taste isn’t pleasant at all, especially when you brought it all on yourself.

I suspect that your reason for writing to me was a search for sympathy, but when I looked in my Sympathy Cupboard, I couldn’t find any.

May you live a long and unhappy life:  it’s what you deserve.

—

Note:  Dr. Kim is not a licensed physician or even, gawd forbid, a psychologist, so any advice he gives should not be followed without the simultaneous ingestion of huge quantities of salt.

Disappearing Fast

Drive Time

…from your next new car:  21 things we grew up with, and we’re going to have to learn to live without.

(No dipstick for your oil?  WTFFFF?)

How nice.  All in the name of convenience, “climate change” fears and “safety”.

[250,000-word rant about evil cocksucking car manufacturers and government nanny interventionists deleted because it contains calls for tar ‘n feathers and in some cases death threats as well]

Nowadays, it seems that if I were to go to the range every time I read something that enraged me, I’d be going through ammo faster than a company of Marines attacking a Nazi strongpoint.

Nevertheless, this is definitely one of those times.