Splendid Isolation

Informed List

January 15, 2025 Kim du Toit Drive Time

Iain Tyrell talks about his favorite cars. Unsurprisingly, cars that inspired him as a young man get on his list:

1. Lamborghini Miura
2. Ferrari Daytona
3. Fiat Dino Spider
4. Rolls Royce Camargue
5. W.O. Bentley 4.5-liter Supercharged “Blower”
6. 1983 Toyota Supra 2.8i
7. Chevy Corvette C3
8. 1914 Rolls Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost
9. Rover SD1
10. Jaguar XJC 5.3C
11. Lamborghini Espada
12. Fiat 130 Coupé,
13. Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3
14. Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9
15. 1965 BMC Mini Cooper S Mark 1
16. 1912 Stutz Bearcat 6.4-liter
17. Bristol 411/412
18-20. 1963 Citroen DS/CS/SM 2.5-liter

Even if you disagree with his choices — and there are some surprises — you can’t really take issue with his rationale for their inclusion.

I have to say that if some of the older ones were remade today, using better build quality, steel and electrics — hello Bristol 411 and Rover SD1, for instance — I’d grab one in a heartbeat.

Today’s Earworm

January 14, 2025 Kim du Toit Music

Always loved John Parr — a Brit, no less — a man who could make blues sound fine, even in a cheesy song like this one.

Good Advice

January 14, 2025 Kim du Toit The Gun Thing

From this article cometh these words of wisdom:

“Choose your small carry gun to be similar to the big gun you shoot best.”

…because in almost all cases, the “pocket” guns are more difficult to shoot than the regular “big” guns.

I can attest to that, because my “backup” S&W .38 Airweight is not just small, but teeny. That said, it is my backup and I almost never carry it as my primary piece — i.e. I carry it when I go to check the mailbox inside the apartment complex — because I know that in terms of results, my 1911 is an order of magnitude better in my hands.

However, the question then arises: why carry the Airweight at all?

Maybe I should dump the little revolver in favor of something like the “pocket” 1911:

And the budget option:

…although because it’s a carry gun, cost is not really an issue because my life may depend on it. That said, the Girsan has garnered plenty of good reviews from the people who use them.

I’ve carried a Colt Officer (and their Combat Commander) before too, so no issues there.

Of course, I’d stick with .45 ACP over any other cartridge (200 words of explanation plus innumerable past writings elided), and yes, I’d prefer a 1911 action because in my time I’ve shot more 1911 handguns than all the others combined, so why bother to learn a new action? [/OldFart]

It’s definitely something to chew over.

New Word

January 14, 2025 Kim du Toit Immigration, Resistance

…and I like it:

Germany’s hard-right AfD party has vowed a total closure of borders for 100 days and signalled it would enact mass deportations if it wins power in the upcoming election.

Alice Weidel, the co-leader of Alternative for Germany, announced the party’s election manifesto, endorsing a policy ‘remigration’ for migrants, regardless of their citizenship status.

Not only is “remigration” a lovely description of the action, but the words that follow it are even more portentous: “regardless of their citizenship status”. (Cue: screams of “racism” now.)

So if you’re a German citizen and drive your car headlong into a Christmas market while waving a Palestinian flag and screaming “Allah akbar” or whatever, expect to get your ass (and your entire family) shipped back to Shitholistan as soon as your prison sentence ends. Sounds appropriate, dunnit? And those mosques you’re so proud of and use to spread your loathsome 9th-century socio-political philosophy, and call “a spear into the heart of the infidels”? Cue the bulldozers. (Are those screams deafening, yet?)

And finally, a pro tip: AfD are not even remotely “far-Right” — unless, of course, common sense, a demand for justice and national pride are rightwing principles.