Month: January 2019

Unknown At This Address

Music

PJMedia published a list of songs that turned 20 this year…

…and I can proudly announce that I’ve never heard of any but one, that being the Britney Spears thing (and even for that one, I sort of remember the video — Brit in a schoolgirl uniform! — but not the song).

The rest?  Wouldn’t recognize the songs (or their performers) if I tripped over them in the street.  To paraphrase the late great John Barrymore:  my memory is filled with beauty, wonder and loveliness — and you expect me to clutter it up with this shit?

Banzai

Business, Food & Drink

I don’t quite know what to make of all this:

London Pride maker Fuller, Smith & Turner, better known as Fuller’s, is to sell its entire beer business to the European division of Japanese brewer Asahi.
In a deal which values the division at £250million, the London-based brewer will sell the production and distribution of its well-known beers, including its flagship drink London Pride, as well as its ale, stout, porter, craft lager and cider brands.

Considering that London Pride is my second-favorite beer (after Wadworth 6X), I can only hope that Asahi won’t look at Pride’s miniscule U.S. distribution and decide that it’s not worth it.

On the other hand, they might also think that Fuller are a bunch of morons for not getting Pride greater exposure in the U.S., with the result that I could soon buy it at Kroger.

So it’s “wait and see”, not something I typically enjoy doing.

Gah.  I hate  change.

Western Civilization

Africa, Culture, Ethics, Gummint, Politics

Here’s a map which ranks the various countries of the world from light to dark, from least corrupt to, well, Somalia.

Pop quiz:   Of the lighter-colored (i.e. least corrupt) countries, find the common thread.  (Hint:  it’s in the title of this post.)

For those who are surprised at the relatively-low ranking of the United States among the civilized nations, I would suggest that we would rocket upwards with the conviction of Bill and Hillary Clinton, the dissolution of the Clinton Foundation and the imprisonment of all its officers.  To reach the top of the charts, we’d have to convict all members of Congress (active and/or retired) who became millionaires whilst earning only a Congressional salary.

And by “conviction”, of course, I mean this:

Too Many Words, Mozart

Freaks & Loonies

My dear friend Sarah spends way too much time, devotes way too much empathy and writes far too many words talking about 0.0005% of the population.

There is a similarly-sized percentage of the population who consider voluntary amputation of limbs as a worthwhile life choice, but (so far) this bunch of sad people hasn’t been elevated by progressives and their media lickspittles to a topic for national debate and enforced social accommodation.

Me, I’m sick of hearing about how “transitioning” people get offended when people either don’t recognize their “status” or (like me) refuse to give them the recognition and “caring” that they demand by, for example, using nonsensical pronouns (xir? xey? xooey?  they sound like 50s comic book sound effects) in describing or addressing them.

As far as I’m concerned, this whole “trans” bunch may be a group worthy of sympathy/empathy, or alternatively a collection of pathetic, dysfunctional people;  but  either way, as a percentage of the populace they fall so far down the bell curve numerically that there’s no point in talking or even thinking about them.  We have better things to do with our time.

And I too have spent way too much time on this particular topic, so now it’s back to guns.

SHTF Guns: Interesting Take

SHTF, The Gun Thing

I stumbled on this article a little while ago, and the author makes an interesting proposition in his selection of decent alternatives in the SHTF (survival) scenario, in that his list includes the Usual Suspects (AR-15, AK-47, M1 Carbine, large-caliber lever rifle), but also suggests the… semi-auto .22 rifle.

Say what?

Now I know, one should embrace the power of the word “and” with the idea, and indeed, the idea of an EBR coupled  with a .22 rifle makes all sorts of sense, but I’m not at all sure that relying on a .22 rifle alone  would be a wise thing.  Here’s Cody Griffin’s take:

The .22-caliber rimfire ammunition doesn’t deliver any kickback or recoil, but can hit targets at 100-yards with deadly precision and ease.
…
One of the biggest advantages of a .22-rimfire long rifle is the abundance and affordability of ammunition. This will allow you to enjoy endless days of target shooting before SHTF and the opportunity to stockpile plenty of backup rounds to have on hand when disaster strikes.

No issue with any of the above, but here’s the (unspoken) kicker:  is it better to drop a small bullet into an eyeball out to 100 yards, or to have a decent stopper with “reasonable” accuracy operating at the same range?

I myself have embraced the first scenario, only I’ve attempted to increase the oomph  somewhat by having a small-caliber rifle in .22 WinMag (rather than .22 LR) which can, and does, drop bullets into a dime-sized target all day.  (I also have a Harris bipod for it, just to assist in the process.)  Not only does the .22 WMR boolet arrive with more authority than the .22 LR’s, it nearly doubles the effective range thereof.

“But Kim,”  you wail, “what about rate of fire?  A boltie is nowhere near as quick as a semi-auto!”

Which is why I have that covered (embracing the power of “and”) by also having my little Taurus 62, with a dozen rounds of .22 LR goodness in the tube mag:

Here’s my final take on the topic, and it should be well known to all Loyal Readers by now.

The .22 rifle (of whatever action type) is not a firearm, but a household appliance like a frying pan — and its ammunition is not ammunition, but a household commodity like sugar or salt.

In short, every  home should have one, and under such circumstances, a “survival” scenario will always include both  the EBR and the rimfire options.

And as such, Cody Griffin’s list needn’t include the .22 LR rifle, for the same reason that a list of survival items needn’t include “clothing” because duh.

You all do own at least one rimfire rifle, don’t you?  One for each family member, yes?  And an elegant sufficiency* of rimfire ammunition on hand?

*over 1,000 rounds (two bricks) per gun.