Author: Kim du Toit

Late As Hell

Friends and Family

Today’s posts may be a little tardy.  Why?  Because most of yesterday was spent at the range with Doc Russia and Combat Controller, in which time a ridiculous of ammo was expended and dizzying range of firesticks employed.

Then we went off for some post-shooting drinks (note, children:  shooting and then drinks), followed by a noisy dinner which all went on for far too long.

So now it’s bed-time, and I shall resume writing later today when/if I wake up and when/if ever I can quell the storm of hobgoblins running around in my head.

I’m getting too old for this nonsense.  The drinking, that is, and not the shooting.

Addendum

Entertainment

Here’s something from Insty:

I haven’t seen any of them, of course, and am unlikely to do so — unless they’re on Netflix already, and even then…

…which brings me to a new movie — okay, series — that I have seen, watched over the past weekend, in fact.

My one-word review:  Don’t.

My longer review:  total and utter bullshit, with a paper-thin plot, an unbelievable “heroine”, and more holes in the plot (and action sequences) than in the average piece of Swiss cheese — and I apologize in advance for any slight against Swiss cheese.

Suffice it to say that the good guys all shoot like Jerry Miculek, while the bad guys (predictably) all shoot like guys who flunked out of Imperial Stormtrooper Beginners Marksmanship Qualification.  And watching the 82-pound Keira Knightley fighting a Special Forces sniper hand-to-hand — and winning — is enough to make you reach for the barf bag.

There’s even a sub-plot where the good-guy assassin is (surprise, surprise) a homo with (of course) a Black lover.  That this relationship is actually one of the more interesting and entertaining parts of the show should say it all.

I would go into greater detail, but that would require making an effort which this stupid series really does not deserve.

And to prove how totally crap this show is, Netflix has committed to Season 2 already.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Monday Funnies

Funny Stuff

And off we go, with a bumper issue of offensive jokes:


(actually, that came from The Englishman, so I stole it
because it’s so good.) #SorryNotSorry


(and believe me, that’s very close to the truth)

And to finish this epic post off, some extremely questionable taste below the fold:

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Classic Beauty: Marie Doro

Classic Beauty

No Italian, she, but a Pennsylvania girl with a very American name (Marie Katherine Stewart).  Because she looked, in the words of a contemporary critic, “like a porcelain doll” with her flawless complexion, Marie Doro was most often cast as a minor pretty-girly-type, although it should be known that offstage and -screen she had a formidable intellect.

Here’s an expertly-colorized pic of her which I think shows what she might have looked like in real life:

Exquisite.

Perhaps because of her intellect, she got sick of Hollywood and all its nonsense, and retired to become something of a religious recluse.  In earlier times, she might have become a nun.

But the saddest of all is that almost all — perhaps indeed all — of her movies have been lost.

Favorite Things Update

Good Stuff

Last year I posted two lists of My Favorite Things (Part 1 and Part 2), and while I’m not going to redo the blessed things — as I said I wouldn’t — there are a couple of substitutions on the list, mainly because the items are no longer available or I’ve found something I prefer.  Here’s an example:

which has been replaced by the CZ 600.  But upon reflection, I think I’d rather go with this one:

Anschutz 1761 DHB Classic — $2,985

Yeah, it’s kinda spendy for a .22 — but it also comes in .223 Rem, for those extra-special varminting excursions — and the quality thereof is matchless.  Remember, this list is all about beauty and quality.

Interestingly, as I peruse both lists, I find that all the items are as alluring as they were a year ago.  But as I suspected may happen, I’ve found an alternative for a couple:

I know I said they were scarce, but sheesh.  “Unobtanium” about covers it.  But here’s one that is available, albeit at a Silly Money price:

1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider — $104,000

And while the exterior is lovely, it’s the interior that gets me all a-twitter:

None of that stuffy wood nonsense here:  if that doesn’t scream “FUN!!!” at the top of its lungs to you, you’re deaf and we can’t be friends.  And as with most cars sold at E&RClassics, this one has been completely resto-modded and restored to what it should have been back in the day, but wasn’t.  A hundred grand is spendy, mind, but let’s not compare it to today’s “exotic” sports cars, shall we?  And as an added bonus, there is not a single computer chip or electronic transmission device anywhere to be found, which means your Spider won’t be a Spyder, either.  (I know, I know:  I should be ashamed of myself.)

One more, for fun:


Now I have nothing against the 686, no sir not me. But I think I prefer this one over it:

S&W Mod 48 .22 Win Mag — $1,100

Blued steel, long barrel, chambered for my favorite rimfire cartridge… sorry, I need to get something to wipe the drool off my keyboard.  Second-hand, they run about $700-$800, depending on condition.

Those are pretty much all the changes I’ve run across, so far.

Feel free to browse the links and make some suggestions of your own.

Man-Crush

Anti-Gun Nannies, The Gun Thing

Could I love ArgyPres Milei any more already?  After setting about his benighted country’s entrenched bureaucracy with a chainsaw and getting their sclerotic economy to move in the upwards direction, we now have this:

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, signed a decree this week lowering the minimum age required to purchase a firearm from 21 to 18 years old.  The decree asserts that the minimum age required for the acquisition and possession of firearms should coincide with the age of majority established by Argentine law of 18 years old.
…
“For years, no one was encouraged to make this decision. We did not hesitate. While we disarm narco-terrorist gangs and organized crime, we celebrate that good citizens can have access to weapons being Legitimate Users,” she continued. “Empty speeches are a thing of the past. In this Government, we are making the right of Argentines to protect themselves and live in freedom a reality.”

Of course, the Argies have a long way to go before they enjoy anything like our Second Amendment freedoms (see the article for details) but all journeys begin with a single step, or something.