Thursday, July 31, 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

*Checks the Loads In the Super Blackhawk*

Drudge is trying to scare us here locally:




It'd be funny to start a Twitter account named "Ebola Man" along the lines of "Florida Man" and "Florida Woman."

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Ship Skeleton That Was Found At the World Trade Center Site...

...during cleanup after 9/11 has been identified as to type, but no name yet.

It is a Hudson River Sloop and was active during the American Revolution.

So He Won Some Cash...

...he'll never win his good name back, which is what he said he sued for.

And now he'll forever be known as the prick that sued a widow. Yah, he'll be welcome at SEAL functions.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Turn Full Circle

Remember No Irish Need Apply?

Works both ways:

It is hardly the way to win over tourists, but this Irish cafe doesn't seem to care.

Peter's Place, a pretty eatery in County Kerry, has placed a notice in its window banning 'loud American's from entering.

The cafe lists the undesirables it would prefer not to receive in its establishment, including bus and coach tours and rowdy tourists from across the Pond.


Monday, July 21, 2014

Arrival



This is a vintage copy of the classic Marble's Woodcraft hunting knife, made in Solingen, Germany, and featuring a stag handle, brass guard, and nickle-silver pommel. No sheath, but sheaths for these old knives were usually of poor quality, anyway; the replacement I'll have made won't be.

In the first half of the 20th century the knives and other outdoor products made by Webster L. Marble's company were what American men carried in the woods, and they were the first real innovation to come along in nearly 100 years, US hunting knife design being stuck to that point on variations of the Bowie knife. The Marble's knife patterns remained popular throughout most of the 20th century, until the coming of knifemaker Bob Loveless and his handmade dropped point, tapered tang knives.

No less an authority than Horace Kephart advocated the Woodcraft pattern in his classic book Camping and Woodcraft.

This one was acquired on eBay for $50.

I should note that while the Marble's name still exists, the product line is knockoff crap made in China these days, and so not worth spending your money on. There was a period during the 1990's when the owners of the name hired Mike Stewart of Bark River Knives to make their knives, and for a few years the Marble's name again meant quality, but that period has ended.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Meanwhile, In Texas...

...a court ruled that the state can't ban Confederate flags on license plates:

According to the Los Angeles Times, there was a 2-1 ruling in the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that the Texas department violated the First Amendment rights of the Sons of Confederate Veterans group when they rejected their specialty license plate application in 2011. The majority vote made by the court stated that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles “engaged in impermissible viewpoint discrimination.”

Last April U.S. Judge Ann Sparks ruled that the state had the right to reject the plates, but now that ruling has been overturned.


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Johnny Winter, 1944-2014: R.I.P.

Dead at 70 of undisclosed causes in Zurich, Switzerland. Got to see him once back in the early 1980's during his Alligator Records years, and he was in fact scheduled for a Charlotte appearance later this year. I'll miss him, he was a favorite of mine.



h/t Ann Althouse.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Meanwhile, In Connecticut...

...a man was arrested for stabbing a watermelon "in a passive-aggressive manner."

He Scalzified it, in other words.

Carjacker Deterrant

Drive a car with standard shift.

It's looking more and more like most of those dummies can't drive a standard shift car. And they might just conveniently put their gun down while they try to work three pedals and a shifter.

Monday, July 14, 2014

It Wasn't the Book, Jesse...

...it was the fact that you chose to sue the widow of a hero.

Jesse Ventura is unhappy that he's no longer welcome at SEAL functions.

The Voice of Midnight

A concept from a couple of strangely-named men:

Gurf Morlix:



And his friend and fellow Austin resident Slaid Cleaves:

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Meanwhile, Right Here In Charlotte...

...three Usual Suspects™ attempted to steal from an ice cream vendor's pushcart, then began beating him when he objected.



Unedited video via Gateway Pundit.

Just another day here at Detroit-On-the-Catawba.

And, funnily enough, I had a black guest at the hotel who, standing at the front desk to buy laundry detergent, tried to make conversation by remarking on a news story from the lobby TV: "Man, you sure do have a lot of murders in Charlotte."

MUST. NOT. REPLY.

So I didn't.

Incidentally, the news story from WSOC strongly hinted that the ice cream vendor was an illegal alien. Well, if he was, at least he was trying to earn a living. Probably more than could be said for the animals that attacked him.

For You Navy People...

...who have visited or been based out of Rota, Spain: Did you know that, once upon a time, Rota had its own variety of sweet dessert wine, Tintilla de Rota? Old books on the subject describe it as a muscat varietal, but one which was distinct to the Rota area.

As you will see if you click the link, Tintilla de Rota (anglicized to "Rota Tent") is back, courtesy of the Gonzalez-Byass sherry company; it is now grown near Arcos de la Frontera, a picturesque town perched atop a mountain about a dozen miles from Jerez de la Frontera, where sherry is made. Rota Tent was often used in Great Britain for communion wine.

Arcos de la Frontera, Spain.

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Snake Island!

Ilha de Queimada Grande, off the coast of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

It's home to the Golden Lancehead (Bothrops Insularis), a venomous snake that is both beautiful and deadly. And there's lots of them on the island.

The Animal Planet network used to have a show called "O'Shea's Big Adventure" in which herpetologist Mark O'Shea traveled the world in search of the planet's venomous snakes and lizards; one of the shows featured Ilha de Queimada Grande and the Golden Lancehead. The island is actually closed to the public because of the danger presented by the snakes.

The Monty Python Reunion

A distressing gallery of photographs.

Sample: