Monday, December 29, 2014

Meanwhile, In Brasstown, NC...

...the annual New Year's Eve Possum Drop again won't feature a live possum.

Thanks, PETA. He should find a roadkilled possum, have it taxidermied with an upraised middle digit, and put it in a "Fuck PETA" t-shirt for the event.

And If You Don't Voluntarily Submit Your DNA...

...you can rest assured that they will knock on your door and ask why...and demand you submit a sample.

"Will the real Midsomer Murder ever be solved? A year after Valerie Graves was bludgeoned to death £1.6million mansion, police ask EVERY man in the area to take a DNA test."

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Quote of the Day

"Unwed mothers popping out kids like a pez dispenser, no regard for courtesy, and all the other classy trappings of liberalism."

Found in comments here.

Fill In the Blank (With a Dog Breed)

"A northwest Indiana man was mauled to death by one of his pet _________________ on Christmas Day, police said."

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Headline of the Day

"There are planty [sic] of ways to recycle Christmas trees."

One way we did it in Florida when I was growing up was to tie a concrete block to it and dump it in the lake with the other old Christmas trees, it made a great habitat for speckled perch (Black Crappie). No better-tasting panfish exists on this planet.

Go Tell It On the Mountain

Over the Hills and Everywhere.

A story of Manly Wade Wellman's mountain troubadour Silver John. Merry Christmas, all.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

If You're Alone...

...this Christmas Eve - - maybe having to work - - and you have the time, and you're of a religious bent, you might consider saying the Liturgy of the Hours sometime after midnight tonight. In Roman Catholic monasteries and convents, it is said/sung by the monks and nuns as part of their daily routine. Since I'm generally at work most Christmases, I've made a practice of saying it the last few years. I don't claim any great faith or profess to be any sort of saint, but it comforts me to do this once a year, sort of a clutching at the hem of grace.

Chicken Mull

A type of BBQ stew I have never heard of.

Apparently it's a Georgia thing.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Or, As W.C. Fields Described It...

..."An Ethiope in the fuel supply."

"The trend is especially noticeable in the South."

Well, imagine that.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Survival Pouch

This is something I carry on my belt when I'm not at work:



Shown in the picture are a compass, knife, whistle, butane lighter, and four home-made fire starters. The fire starters are made by impregnating cotton balls with Vaseline, then inserting them into plastic drinking straws and sealing the ends shut by melting and pinching with pliers. All of this fits into an Altoids tin, which slides into the leather pouch shown, the pouch positioned on my belt above my left hip/buttock. For those of you who carry a pistol and magazine pouch, this still leaves room for you to do so on your belt. The survival pouch weighs only a few ounces. I use a quality leather pouch from Atlanta Cutlery, but you can just as easily use nylon ALICE or MOLLE pouches. In fact, a slightly larger pouch would allow you to add a mylar Space Blanket, which should be in every survival kit.

Atheist Ten Commandments

They have their own SJW-oriented list of advisories - - can't really call them "commandments," since there aren't any "Thou shalt nots..."

Here's the list:

Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence.

Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true.

The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.

Every person has the right to control over their body.

God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life.

Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them.

Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Think about their perspective.

We have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.

There is no one right way to live.

Leave the world a better place than you found it.



Monday, December 15, 2014

Dreaming of Utopia

In this case, utopia comes about when Blue America secedes from Red America:

Two years later, President De Blasio, elected leader of the Democratic States of North America, and President Abbott of the Republic of America, stood together on the platform on the border at St. Louis to sign the Dissolution Pact. The countries split the national debt and apportioned federal assets, while agreeing to temporarily share the currency. They divided the military (along with all nuclear capabilities), but signed a mutual defense agreement. There would be free travel between and through the new nations. “We will remain good neighbors,” President De Blasio remarked, “Even if we are no longer brothers, sisters, or differently-gendered siblings.” President Abbott politely maintained a poker face.

Click the link to read the whole snarky thing. It's probably much cleaner than what would really happen - - ethnic/racial cleansing would probably occur in various areas - - but it's fun to speculate about.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Up For Air

My apologies for lack of posting, I've been devouring Nathan Lowell's space operas, the Trader's Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, that begin with Quarter Share and conclude with Owner's Share. He has other books in the same universe, and I'll get to those - - some are already on the Kindle, waiting to be read - - but I thought I'd stop off and explain my absence. I saw the recommendation for these books on Instapundit's page, so I gave the first one a try, and quickly bought up the rest of them. They're well worth reading.

Sunday, December 07, 2014

Yogi's Upsizing

"More food, less hibernation mean bigger NC bears."

Since NC agriculture has shifted from tobacco and cotton to corn and soy beans, the bears have more to eat, and less reason to hibernate.

Friday, December 05, 2014

Quote of the Day

"Black people exist for the political convenience of progressives. Black lives don’t matter to them except when they can make use of them. The master-slave relationship has shifted from the plantation to the poll inflating the self-esteem and power of the masters while destroying the lives of their slaves."

Found here. Read the whole thing.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Cane Syrup

Syrup made from sugar cane.

It's not molasses. Cane syrup was a favorite of my father's, he'd spread it out on biscuits and eat them with a fork.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

The French Are So Fed Up With Jihadis...

...that they want to send them to their very own version of Guantanamo: Devil's Island, the infamous penal colony of Dreyfus and Papillon. Got any Papillon fans out there? Not just the Steve McQueen movie, but the wonderful (and largely fictional) book written by Henri Charriere? How many of you know that the English translation of Charriere's book was done by Patrick O'Brien of Aubrey-Maturin fame?

Friday, November 28, 2014

10H

John Derbyshire's Rules, #10H: "Do not act the Good Samaritan to blacks in apparent distress, e.g., on the highway."

Unfortunately for Andres Alberto Martinez Trouch, he either didn't know the rule, or chose not to follow it, with tragic consequences.

Rest in peace. Your intent was noble, but its subject was unworthy.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Meanwhile, In New Jersey...

and I'm not talking the NY-suburb "You talkin' to me?" New Jersey, but backwoods Pine Barrens New Jersey, an Indian (not Hiawatha) out with his friends met a bear, and proved the slowest of his group in the chase that ensued.

Thus once again proving the adage Stay fit and carry a .44 Magnum.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

When the MSM Collaborates In Conspiracy To Murder

No other way to explain this, is there?

New York Times Publishes Darren Wilson’s Address Info As Ferguson Simmers.

The public's right to know? Really?

Apparently, just to make things easier, Slate has even published a photograph of Wilson's house.

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Treasure Blog: Ivan the Terrible's Sword?

Maybe.

A medieval sword found buried under a birch tree in Siberia may have belonged to Ivan the Terrible, archaeologists have claimed.

The rare 12th century blade, discovered in 1975 and nicknamed Siberia's Excalibur, was found three kilometres from where the lieutenant of a Cossack leader favoured by the tsar is thought to have died.

Until now the sword had been considered a spoil of war, but a new theory suggests it could have may have been a gift from the leader to Ermak Timofeyevich, and passed along to Ivan Koltso.


Pic:



The article later describes it as a "a massive sword, about a metre long with a typical iron hilt of medieval knight's swords with a clearly expressed crossbar guard and tripartite pommel."

It's a Viking-style sword. The Russians were part Viking in their ancestry.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Arrival

Retired my old watch after 20+ years, purchased a very similar watch from the same company, L.L. Bean:



Field watch. I have definite prejudices about watches. I want high contrast between the hands and the face for easy reading, I want a date window, and I want a 50's-style expansion band for comfort and easy on/off. Band on this new one is aftermarket, the watch came from Bean's with a leather band. This one is upsized a bit at 42mm, which makes it easier to read with my aging eyes. Let's hope it gives the sort of exemplary service its predecessor did.

Monday, November 17, 2014

I've Heard This Song Before

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming...

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed an executive order activating the Missouri National Guard on Monday afternoon.

According to a news release, the role of the National Guard is to “…support law enforcement during any period of unrest that might occur following the grand jury’s decision concerning the investigation into the death of Michael Brown.”

“As part of our ongoing efforts to plan and be prepared for any contingency, it is necessary to have these resources in place in advance of any announcement of the grand jury’s decision,” Nixon said in the release.


Another "Lost Colony" In Georgia?

Melilot.

A long-forgotten letter, discovered in early November of 2014 by regional planner and historian, Michael Jacobs, has provided very significant collaborating evidence that an English colony thrived in what is now northeast Metro Atlanta throughout the 17th century. Jacobs is Senior Regional Planner at the South Georgia Regional Commission in Waycross, GA.

The seven page letter was written on January 6, 1660 in perfect Renaissance French by Edward Graves (Graeves) a member of the board of directors of the colony, to the Rev. Charles de Rochefort, a French Protestant minister living in exile in Rotterdam, Holland. De Rochefort’s commentary on the letter said that Graves held a Doctor of Law and lived in Melilot within the Apalache Kingdom. The ruins of Melilot are probably located at Little Mulberry River Park in Gwinnett County, GA.


Apparently some survivors of Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke Colony made their way to Melilot. Also interesting is that the dominant Indian tribes of the region during that time period - - the Apalache - - were related to the Maya of Central America.

Read the whole thing for a lesson in forgotten history. H/T Free North Carolina.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Creche Festival at Mepkin Abbey

If you happen to be down in the Charleston, SC area.

Gallery here.

Sample pic:

Don'tcha Just Hate It When That Happens

José Canseco, who shot his finger off while playing with a handgun, had it reattached surgically, but apparently with little success, as it has fallen off.

Read the whole sorry story at the link.

John Muir? Just Another Old White Guy

SJW's in the environmentalist movement are calling for John Muir to be chucked under the bus.

Environmentalists say they’ve moved past their 19th century patron saint John Muir because he represents the monied, white privilege that continues to haunt the environmental movement to this day, the Los Angeles Times reports.

In an effort to connect more with Latinos and African Americans, some environmentalists are considering ditching Muir as their intellectual godfather. Environmentalists say that while they respect his ideas, they represent rich, Anglo-Saxon values that likely alienate minority communities.

“Muir’s legacy has to go,” Jon Christensen, a historian at the University of California in Los Angeles’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability, told the Times. “It’s just not useful anymore.”

“The conservation movement reflects the legacy of John Muir, and its influence on a certain demographic — older and white — and that’s a problem,” Christensen said.


Hey, John Muir: check your privilege!

Friday, November 14, 2014

Meanwhile, Here In Charlotte...

...they be tryin to figure out if baby got back.

A Charlotte mother is expressing concern after a class assignment she considers offensive was given to high school students. Some say it has racial undertones.

“I was completely stunned,” the mother said. “This is not appropriate language at all for the children in the school.”

The question was from a test on genetics.

"LaShamanda has a heterozygous big bootie, the dominant trait. Her man Fontavius has a small bootie which is recessive. They get married and have a baby named LaPrincess" the biology assignment prompts students.

The assignment then continues to ask, "What is the probability that LaPrincess will inherit her mama's big bootie?"


Ardrey Kell High is what is euphemistically known as an inner city school. There's no indication of the race of the teacher who originally came up with the worksheet, or even the teacher who used it in this case.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Meanwhile, Here In Indian Trail, NC....

...we have some indoctrination going on at the high school:

Is the faith of most Muslims “stronger” than that of the typical Christian? That’s what one public high school in North Carolina apparently is teaching students.

Outraged over the “correct” answers to her son’s ninth-grade assignment about Islam, a mother in Union County, N.C., turned to local news reporters to shed light on his school’s fill-in-the-blank worksheet.

Upsetting the mom most? A statement that read, “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.”


I also note with amusement that in line 2C of the worksheet, the teacher uses the word "remerge" incorrectly; (s)he meant re-emerge.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Arrival

Condor parang:



This brush chopper, made in El Salvador, is much higher quality than I was expecting. The blade is expertly forged and is intended for heavy work. The sheath is high quality leather, expertly sewn. Got it for around $61 at Amazon. Condor makes a number of different knife styles, their website can be found here.

So He's a Member of SPECTRE?

First you had Dr. No:



Now you have Dr. O:



That's Dr. O's flunky behind him, goes by "Rimjob."

A Blessed Veteran's Day To My Fellow Vets

Thanks for your comradeship and your service.

Friday, November 07, 2014

With Apologies To Mr. Heinlein

A hotel guest should be able to use the TV remote, connect to the wi-fi network, turn the air conditioning or heating on, cook food in the microwave, not explode sodas in the refrigerator, change the time on the clock radio, make the shower work, figure out how to use the guest phone, find the nearest soda and snack machines, return the luggage cart to the lobby and fetch any additional towels or linens personally. The desk clerk is for emergencies.

(a parody of Heinlein's "Competent Man.")

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

From the President's Press Conference

At one point, when asked about his relations with Mitch McConnell, President Obama indicated that he'd like some Kentucky bourbon, and that he didn't know what McConnell's favorite drink was. Well, remember Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill? Does anyone not believe that Reagan knew what Tip's favorite drink was? If the President hasn't had McConnell and John Boehner on speed-dial on his phone and doesn't know their favorite foods and drinks, it's his own fault for being aloof and unwilling to work with political opponents. He can't do that, and yesterday's election was a sharp rebuke to that approach.

Oh, About That Election?

Not To Put Too Fine a Point On It, But...

...if all the liberal tears on Twitter last night could be collected, they'd be enough to end the drought in California.

If 2010 was a "shellacking," last night was an old-fashioned ass-whipping.

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Sharyl Attkisson Interview With the Hollywood Reporter

The former CBS reporter in a remarkable interview tied in with the release of her book on the scandals she covered during the Obama administration, including Fast & Furious and Benghazi.

I wasn't expecting much from an outlet such as The Hollywood Reporter, but the journalist conducting the interview, Paul Bond, does an incredibly good job at trying to get Attkisson to dish on the Obama administration and CBS. Attkisson plays it very close to the vest, being careful not to say anything legally actionable (libel, slander) save in a couple of cases where she names names. One new reveal is that she's the subject of a whispering campaign at CBS to characterize her as paranoid or a liar, and she identifies CBS bureau chief Chris Isham as responsible for this. A good, good interview, well worth reading in full.

It's Election Day

And in Chicago, the Voting Dead rush off to the polling places:

Monday, November 03, 2014

If You're a Fan of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael Novels...

...you should know that today is the feast day of St. Winifred, an important character in the novels, although she never actually appears in the flesh.

Pic:



St. Winifred is one of the Catholic Church's Cephalophores, or beheaded saints.

Boy Clerks

You want to change the focus? Fine, then change the name.

"Baden-Powell undone as today's Scouts are told: Forget the knot-tying and earn badges in IT and public relations."

If you work really hard you can even become an Eagle Clerk.

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Meanwhile, In U.K....

...schoolchildren were threatened with a black mark on their permanent records if they failed to attend a "mandatory" field trip on Islam.

Dear Parent/Carer,

As part of the National Religious Education Curriculum together with the multicultural community in which we live, it is a statutory requirement for Primary School aged children to experience and learn about different cultures.

The workshop is at Staffordshire University and will give your child the opportunity to explore other religions.

Children will be looking at religious artefacts similar to those that would be on display in a museum. they will not be partaking in any religious practices.

Refusal to allow your child to attend this trip will result in a Racial Discrimination note being attached to your child’s education record, which will remain on this file throughout their school career.

As such our expectations are that all children in years 4 and 6 attend school on Wednesday 27th November to take part in this trip. All absences on this day will be investigated for their credibility and will only be sanctioned with a GP sick note.

If you would like to discuss this further please contact our RE Coordinator, Mrs Edmonds.


After "discussing it further" with the local Member of Parliament and the town council, the school walked it back.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Nation of Anteaters

"Almost three-quarters of Danish people 'want to ban circumcision.'"

*Imagines ban leading to back-alley circumcisions by Jews and Muslims*

Charles Barkley Slams Blacks For Not Valuing Achievement

"Charles Barkley: ‘Unintelligent’ Blacks ‘Brainwashed’ To Keep Successful Black Men Down."

The Australians have a name for this phenomenon: Tall Poppy Syndrome.

Jack Bruce, 1943-2014: R.I.P.

The bass player/singer for Cream has died of liver disease.

Graffiti Left On Transport Ship Tells a Vietnam Tale

Drawn on canvas racks - - bunks - - that soldiers and Marines travelling to Vietnam slept on.

The White House Guard Dogs

Story from The Navy Times.

You may be familiar with Sunny and Bo, the Obama’s family pets. But meet Hurricane and Jordan, two of the White House’s protectors.

Wednesday night, an intruder scaled the White House fence, but he didn’t get far. He was stopped by Hurricane and Jordan, two members of the Secret Service’s K-9 unit.

The service has been using dogs since 1975, specifically a breed called Belgian Malinois, according to the Secret Service. The dogs are gentle enough to be around children, but they are known for chasing people down. They take off like bullets to subdue suspects, can run up to 30 miles an hour and have a 270-degree field of vision. That’s why many Malinois dogs are used in the military, and one dog was even on the team to take down Osama Bin Laden.

Secret Service dogs, in particular, must complete 20 weeks of training with handlers before they can report for duty. On average, the dogs work until about age 10.


Click the link to read the rest.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Nassssty Black Paint All Gone

I have a Cold Steel Trail Hawk and a Becker BK5 knife (made by Ka-Bar) that came from the factory with black paint on the steel: the hawk just a single layer of glossy black, the Becker with a well-executed baked-on finish. Both of them had the paint removed early this morning, I'm happy with the results:



I think that the hawk needs a leather thong wrapping around the handle for a better grip.

The Most Transparent Administration In History...

...is withholding so many documents in the Fast & Furious gunwalking scandal that it takes a document 1,323 pages long just to list them all.

Former CBS reporter extraordinaire Sharyl Atkisson continues to do the reporting on Fast & Furious that the MSM won't do.

Hero

The Sergeant-At-Arms of the Canadian Parliament returns to work this morning to receive a standing ovation from the grateful MP's:

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Congratulations To Wilmington, NC...

America's #1 Riverfront City.

Gallery here. Why they didn't include a pic of USS North Carolina (BB-55) is baffling.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Update: Jack the Ripper Identified By DNA Evidence?

An update to this post from September 6th.

Looks like I was write to qualify my post with a question mark, because the DNA evidence is being challenged as incorrect.

Looks like the scientist involved in the DNA work got some calculations wrong, and is being called out on it. He's standing by his work at the moment, but if he's an ethical scientist he'll be willing to admit a mistake, if mistake it is.

Shipwreck Blog: U-576

Found off the North Carolina coast near Cape Hatteras, along with one of her victims, the tanker Bluefields.

The area in which the U-boat sank was part of the official record, but the ship itself had never been located exactly. Now it has. The location can be seen on Google Earth, if you have shipwreck locations turned on.

Headline of the Day

"MASTER DEBATER: Wendy Davis Attacks Abbott With Dildos."

Sunday, October 19, 2014

From the Collection

My Swiss Army Knives. Those made by Victorinox are on the left, those made by Wenger are on the right. I like Wenger better, but they have been acquired by Victorinox, so their continued future is doubtful. With the plastic-handled ones I always try to buy models without the tweezers or toothpick, which I find annoying. I also have customised a couple of them with blade serrations.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

For Campers & Hikers

Especially those travelling in south Texas: Woods Roamer.

It's a defunct blog, but only recently so. Jim Curtis, this should give you some south Texas reference material when you write your next Grey Man novel.

via Primitivepoint.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Meanwhile, In Lenoir City, Tennessee...

...where I lived for a year in the late 1970's and where I graduated high school from, a woman has been thrown in jail for keeping a messy yard.

Now Lenoir City is not a liberal, latte-sipping enclave of rich elites; it's a small town on the Tennessee River, 30 miles south of Knoxville, and is famous only for the Snail Darter, which prevented a dam from being constructed back in the 1970's when I lived there. These are country people, in other words. Sounds like the citizenry needs to rise up and throw out some politicians and hire a new police chief, one that isn't a shrubbery Nazi.

h/t Amy Alkon.

Headline of the Day

"Obama: Ebola 'SWAT teams' to respond to infections."

Just what we need, more militarized police to kick in people's doors and shoot their dogs. I can just picture it:

"Hey, that guy over there is sweating! He must have a fever! He's got ebola, SHOOT HIM!"

What's next, drone strikes on suspected ebola victims?

Monday, October 13, 2014

Happy Birthday...

...to the US Navy.

Fighting For the Culture

Sometimes it seems that surrendering to secularism and progressivism in US culture is the default answer, but it ain't inevitable by any means.

Hundreds of residents took to a high school football field Friday night to collectively bow down and pray — a massive response to atheist activists’ recent accusations that a local school district is guilty of at least two violations of the separation of church and state.

But the prayer event wasn’t the only noteworthy response to secularists’ complaints, as local resident David Hoover placed three large Christian crosses on land he owns across the street from Licking Valley High School in Newark, Ohio — 10 to 13-foot symbols intended to send a message.

As TheBlaze previously reported, a free speech debate touched off in the city after the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a secular activist group, accused the Licking Valley High School District of violating the First Amendment by allowing high school marching band members to wear T-shirts with the word “salvation” on them during a recent performance.


As the Chik-Fil-A kerfuffle of a couple of years ago showed, Christians and conservatives haven't fully surrendered to the forces of secularism and progressivism, but it takes a lot to motivate people, and the Left is nothing if not persistent.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

For What It's Worth

Ebola: How It Spreads.

Buckle Yourselves In...

...the ride is about to start.

I'm thinking of a couple of things happening in the next month: the outbreak will get bad enough that it will cause an election massacre of the Democrats, who will be held to blame for allowing the outbreak to begin; or a conspiracy theory will start that President Obama will try to postpone the election for fear of spreading Ebola.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Mrs. Backorder

It's sad when a company you have done business with goes downhill. I have been buying knives and other products from Atlanta Cutlery Corporation from the early 1980's. Back then there was no internet or world wide web, and companies like Atlanta Cutlery sold their products through the mail, and once you had ordered from them they would send you catalogs regularly to encourage repeat business. The original owner, Bill Adams, sold whatever captured his fancy, or whatever he saw as a trend in the knife magazines of that period, also the Knives annual that was edited back then by Ken Warner. He also sold knifemaking supplies in a small way, and many a professional knifemaker probabably got his start with blades, handle materials and hardware from Adams's catalog. I made some knives myself from materials from the Atlanta Cutlery catalog; I still have one of them, an Ontario sticker blade with olive wood handles.

Adams sold the business to Hank Reinhardt, and Reinhardt sold it to the current owners, Windlass Steelcrafts of India, the suppliers of the British Army issue Kukris to the Ghurkha regiments. Windlass has changed the focus of the catalog to their own Indian-made products, as is of course their right as the business owner, but their customer service has suffered, along with innovation. While they have a website, the merchandise shown there isn't linked to inventory, so if you try to order online your merchandise is more than likely to be backordered - - and this isn't disclosed at the time of ordering, you'll be informed of it in an email you receive after you place your order. You're encouraged to call the company via its 800 number to make sure that the merchandise you desire is actually in stock.

When you call the 800 number you'll probably talk to an elderly lady I like to refer to as Mrs. Backorder. She will happily take your order, and just as happily inform you that the item you desire is backordered, so you have the choice of ordering and waiting for the item to ship - - from India, via ship - - or canceling your order.

Today I tried to order a Kukri. Now, Windlass Steelcrafts is the sole supplier of these to the Ghurkha regiments, so if anyone is going to have them, it would be Windlass, right? Wrong. Backordered. Likewise with the "antique" Ghurkha Officer's Patch Knife (are they really antique if they can be backordered, or are they manufactured to order?) That was backordered as well. Then I tried the replica German WWI Trench Knife, which I had unsuccessfully tried to order on three previous occasions (backordered), and it was actually in stock! So, a trench knife should be here by the end of next week. Still have to acquire a kukri, though.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Hey, I'd Go In a Heartbeat

"Navy Stations Sailors In Romania."

To live in the land of Vlad Tepes? Visit Dracula's Castle? Hell, yeah!

Is Your Son a Thug?

*Jeff Foxworthy voice* If your son has ever worn an ankle monitor...he might be a thug.

If your son has a felony gun conviction...he might be a thug.

And so on.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

While On That Subject...

I'm Starting To Think...

...that Ebola 2014 will be the equivalent of the 2008 market crash that brought Barack Obama to power. Discuss.

Meanwhile, Over At CNN...

...the hosts are touchingly concerned about the President's health:

Could the government be keeping a dose of Z-Mapp in reserve incase President Obama gets Ebola? CNN’s Erin Burnett really wants to know. The CNN host posed that question to guest Dr. Alexander van Tulleken. Burnett also asked van Tulleken if the medicine or even a blood transfusion could have saved the life of Thomas Eric Duncan.

“Now, what about the Z-Mapp itself. We’re told there’s just none of it left, and a lot of people say ‘well, of course there’s gotta be some of it left.’ If the President of the United States had Ebola, surely there would be a Z-Mapp dose for him?” asked Burnett.


*starts singing Save the Last Dose For Me.*

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

No Last-Minute Manufactured Votes In NC Midterm Election

US Supreme Court has spoken.

When You Open Carry, You Can Still Be Robbed

As happened here.

GRESHAM, OR (KPTV) - A man openly carrying his new handgun was robbed on a Gresham street by a man with a gun of his own.

Police were called out to the area of 172nd and Glisan Street at 2:10 a.m. Saturday.

Investigators said the 21-year-old victim bought a handgun earlier in the day and was openly carrying it while talking to his cousin.

They said a man approached them and asked for a cigarette. Talk eventually turned to the victim's new purchase, before the robber pulled his own gun from his waistband and said, "I like your gun, give it to me," according to police.

The victim handed over his gun and the suspect ran away.

The suspect is described as a light-skinned black man, 19 to 23 years old, 6'1" with a skinny build. He had black, wavy hair and was clean cut, except for a small patch of facial hair on his chin. The man was wearing gray sweatpants, a white T-shirt and flip-flops.


Open carry will deter the more timid of criminals, but a clever and confident robber will still be able to fool you into being complacent, which is what happened here. In fact, this is an Old West scenario: when everyone openly carries firearms, the focus shifts to deception and "getting the drop" on your victim by drawing first and when he is not expecting it. The victim here was relying on his openly carried gun as a magic talisman to protect him, and the robber wasn't impressed by its power as a talisman. The victim seems to have little knowledge of basic robbery techniques; asking your victim for a cigarette or asking the time is a standard ploy designed to distract the victim while you pull your own weapon out. And, of course, the victim ignored John Derbyshire's Rules and allowed a strange black man to approach him. Jeff Cooper would describe this victim as in Condition White: totally oblivious to his surroundings.

What should the victim have done, then? This: placed his hand on his gun, ready to draw, and told the man to go elsewhere, and if he didn't immediately do so, draw the gun and prepare to shoot him, all the time watching the man's hands, not his face. If the man at this point makes any move to reach into his pants or pockets, you shoot him, and if necessary shoot him again until he is no longer a threat. Then call the cops and get ready to deal with the aftermath.

Clean-Shaven Jesus?

If a newly-discovered 4th-century artifact found in Spain is anything to go by, yes.

The discovery of a glass plate depicting Christ that dates to the fourth century AD may lead to a new understanding of the history of Christianity in Spain.

“We were afraid to say what we believed at first, because it forces us to rethink the history of Christian Spain,” said Marcelo Castro, an archaeologist involved in the project that unearthed the plate from the ruins of the ancient city of Cástulo in southern Spain.

The plate is a paten used to serve the bread of the eucharist. Coins and ceramic items found at the site appear to confirm that it coincided with the rule of Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, who ruled from 306 to 337. Prior to Constantine, Christianity was persecuted and the figure of Christ was presented allegorically, often in the form of a fish.

The plate, which is on display in the archaeology museum in Linares in Andalusia, is one of the earliest representations of Christ after his followers emerged from clandestinity.

The plate, 81% of which has been recovered and reassembled, depicts Christ and the apostles Paul and Peter, according to Castro. Unlike later Christian iconography, the men are all clean-shaven and have short hair. They are also wearing togas, in keeping with the Roman influence on early Christian art.


The fact that the paten shows Jesus, Paul and Peter as clean-shaven means nothing, as Jesus has been portrayed many different ways, depending on the art style in fashion at the time the art was made, and also depending on the whim of the artist involved, or the patron who commissioned the work.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

165 Years Ago Today, In Baltimore, Maryland...

...Edgar Allan Poe died.

Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight

Actually, early tomorrow morning, near dawn.

And apparently this one has some extra tricks:

On Oct. 8, Interested skywatchers should attempt to see the total eclipse of the moon and the rising sun simultaneously. The little-used name for this effect is called a "selenelion," a phenomenon that celestial geometry says cannot happen.

Well, we'll see if it does...or not.

Monday, October 06, 2014

It's the Feast Day...

...of St. Bruno of Cologne, the founder of the Carthusians.

The Carthusians are the Catholic order of hermit/monks who are known for the liquer that they manufacture, called Chartreuse. The Carthusians are hermits who live in community; each monk spends around 20 hours per day in an apartment-like cell, and the other few hours are taken up with a daily Mass and a few other functions. The Carthusian spends most of his time in prayer, but also working, either at a craft, gardening (each cell has an enclosed, private garden) or, if he has no skill at a craft, at processing firewood. They have almost no contact with the world outside the Charterhouse (the name for a monastery of Carthusians), and their devotion to their way of life is so unswerving that the order has never had to be reformed since it was first begun by Bruno in 1084 - - over 900 years.

Anyone wanting to see how Carthusians live should watch the documentary Into Great Silence. The filmmaker had to wait over a decade for the Carthusians to decide whether to allow him to film them going about their daily life. Filmed without extra lighting or special effects, what you see is basically what life is like inside a Charterhouse. Warning: 9 out of 10 people will be bored to tears by this movie.

St. Bruno of Cologne.

Victor Davis Hanson: Fantasy Island

Professor Hanson notes how President Barack Obama lives in a place where what has taken place in the world and what takes place in the President's rhetoric are two very different places.

In the make-believe world of Barack Obama, the American financial system melted down hours before he took office due to the crimes of others. He then quickly saved it, and devised an economic plan that has made Americans far better off than when he entered office. Obama next went on to revolutionize the energy sector to lower gas and electricity prices, brought stability to Iraq only to see it destroyed by others, and crafted a unique outreach to the Islamic world that has lessened the threat of violence and cooled passions in the Middle East. The net result, as the president reminds us, is a more secure, quieter world than anytime in history and unprecedented good economic times at home.

Ooookay.

(earlier in the piece Prof. Hanson makes a common error of usage when he mistakes a tenet for a tenant:

) John Brennan not only trashed his former boss George W. Bush, but also in a series of astounding statements over the next few years assured us that jihad was a normal, peaceful tenant of Islam and the idea of an Islamic effort to recreate the caliphate absurd.

Sunday, October 05, 2014

Have You Ever Said To Yourself...

...I think I'll run across the Atlantic Ocean to Bermuda in a plastic bubble that operates on the hamster wheel principle?

Me neither.

What To Do In a Mob Attack?

In the aftermath of two mob attacks in Memphis, Tennessee, people are asking how far they are permitted to go in attempting to preserve their lives against a mob. As is always the case, the law offers little help, and actually threatens your freedom.

So if the law offers no help, and an act of defensive violence on your part is the only way you see out of an act of offensive violence by a mob, you're on your own, especially if you're white and the mob that attacks you is black. You'll be painted with the Mark of Cain by the mainstream media and the race hustlers, and we have a President who has shown in the past that he puts racial solidarity above justice. What, then, do you do?

In the end there is nothing to be done but to state clearly what has been done, without shame or regret, and say: Here I am, and this is what I am. Now deal with me as you see fit. That is your right. Mine is to stand by the act, and pay the price.

You do what you must do, and pay for it. So in the end all things are simple.
- - Ellis Peters, Brother Cadfael's Penance

And get the best lawyer you can afford, of course.

Saturday, October 04, 2014

"Alcohol Played A Factor In Man’s Shooting Death..."

...at the Johnny Walker mobile home park in Alexander County, NC.

Well, of course it did.

Headline of the Day

"COLOMBIAN WOMAN PLANTS POTATO IN HER VAGINA AS A CONTRACEPTIVE."

Medical staff at a central Colombian hospital were shocked after they found a potato wedged in the vagina of a 22-year-old woman, according to Cosmopolitan.

The girl reportedly sought medical attention due to severe abdominal pain. She was given a pelvic exam and a nurse discovered a germinated potato with roots growing inside of her uterus.

Apparently, her mother advised her to use the spud as birth control. "My mom told me that if I didn't want to get pregnant, I should put a potato up there, and I believed her," said the unidentified patient.


Gee, thanks, Mom.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

An Unkind Thought

Somewhere in the US at this very moment, a black girl is about to give birth, and she's seriously considering naming the little tyke Ebola.

He's Missed 60% Of His Intel Briefings...

...but never misses a tee time.

Who is President Barack Obama, Alex?

Um...It's Not In the Woodpile...

...it's in the sperm vial.

A white Ohio woman is suing a Downers Grove-based sperm bank, alleging that the company mistakenly gave her vials from an African-American donor, a fact that she said has made it difficult for her and her same-sex partner to raise their now 2-year-old daughter in an all-white community.




h/t Gay Patriot.

Wednesday, October 01, 2014

NC BBQ Doyen Bob Garner Has New Book Out

Story.

The book is called Foods That Make You Say Mmm-mmm, and appears to be based on the weekly restaurant reviews he does for UNC-TV:



It should be good. Garner will be appearing in Charlotte on the 25th.

Gallery: Walrus, Alaska.

via the UK Guardian.



More at the link.

Tar Poochy

Only way you could tell he was alive was that his eyes moved - - and his chest moved as he breathed.



Here's a video of the cleanup:

Monday, September 29, 2014

Today's Vocabulary Word

Cephalophore.

A cephalophore is a Catholic saint, a beheaded martyr, one who is noted for miracles surrounding the circumstances of the beheading. St. Paul is supposed to have been one of the earliest cephalophores, if not the very first. Cephalophores are portrayed in paintings, sculpture and other media as standing upright, with the head cradled in the arms:



update: It occurs to me that beheading is topical, these days.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Volcano Blog: Ontake, Japan

A hiker who had climbed to the top and Tweeted "Enjoying Mt. Ontake All Alone" hasn't Tweeted since.

Here's some video footage that some other climbers took of the eruption:



Let's home they're all ok.

h/t Ann Althouse.

Heckuva Job, Bloomy

Stick a fork in Colorado governor Hickenlooper...he's done.

NRA and gun owners really have given those hippie California transplants in Colorado a taste of the whip, haven't they?

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Good Riddance...

...to bad rubbish.

The contemptible Eric Holder is resigning his post as US Attorney General.

Holder was a net liability to the Obama administration; Republicans hate him, as do gun owners and even reporters. If he had remained in office he would have increased turnout by Republicans in November, eager to flip the Senate and impeach his sorry ass. I think he probably saw the handwriting on the wall, and didn't want to be the first US Attorney General impeached and removed from office, in addition to being the first one to be held in contempt of Congress.

It will be interesting to see whether there will be an effort by the Justice Department to be more open in the days before the election: stop blocking Fast & Furious documents, less opposition to voter ID efforts, Benghazi, etc. If the interrim AG makes a good-faith effort to work with Congress, it will probably suppress some of the GOP turnout that was motivated by hatred of Holder.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

"We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident...

...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the the pursuit of close kin.

"Incest a 'fundamental right', German committee says.

Anti-incest laws in Germany could be scraped [sic] after a government-backed group said relationships between brothers and sisters should be legal."


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Meanwhile, Down In Australia...

...even the hippies that took away the people's right to self-defense are having second thoughts.

Australia’s ban on practical self-defence sets it apart from most other countries. Almost none prohibit non-lethal means of self-­defence, while many permit ownership of firearms at home. A few (including most US states) allow the carriage of firearms for self-defence almost anywhere, subject to a permit system.

Australia’s prohibition on practical self-defence is relatively recent, emanating from the 1996 changes in firearms laws that followed the Port Arthur massacre. Not only were many types of firearm prohibited, but Australia embraced an international push to prohibit civilian ownership of firearms for self-defence.

This was driven by several factors. One was a desire to avoid America’s so-called ‘gun culture’. However, this seems to have broadened to include all means of self-defence. Another was a type of religious pacifism, of ‘turning the other cheek’. There was also a type of precautionary approach — average citizens may one day be struck with murderous tendencies. And then there were the perennial claims that resistance is futile and weapons will inevitably be turned against those using them. Underlying all these is the assumption that the government will always be there when we need it. Australians are probably unlikely to ­embrace the use of guns for self-defence except in special cases (a battered wife dealing with a murderous ex-husband, for example, or within our own homes).

But there is equally no sign that Australians ever agreed to or have accepted being rendered defenceless. In particular, women and the elderly do not believe that relying on the police to arrive in time will keep them safe. If asked, most would unequivocally demand the right to practical self-defence, at least with non-lethal means.

It should never have reached this stage. Only an authoritarian society would treat its people like helpless victims, with the government masquerading as some kind of guardian angel. Free societies have a strong emphasis on individual self-reliance, including responsibility for personal safety.


Captain Kirk Will Have the Blue One, Of Course

Some mother brought vagina-shaped cookies to school for the li'l chirrens to eat:



"Which one do you want, Li'l Johnny?"

"Fire Crotch!"

"Of course you do. How silly of me to ask."

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Do You Enjoy Dry-Roasted Peanuts?

Their days are probably numbered.

"Dry-roasted peanuts 'worst for allergies': Findings will help scientists develop nuts that prevent reactions."

Peanuts cause allergic reactions chiefly when they have been dry-roasted, a study suggests.

Tests carried out by Oxford University researchers found that eaten raw the nuts had little effect on the immune system.

They are now working on safe, dry-roasted peanuts to help prevent an allergy that affects one in 50 children.


If the traditional dry-roasted peanuts aren't banned outright, they'll probably be altered in a way that makes them less tasty to eat, although this being America, the packaging will no doubt read New and Improved!

The Trespasser Who Almost Entered the White House...

...was a deranged military veteran.

The man who allegedly made it inside the White House yesterday after jumping a fence was carrying a folding knife - and is an Iraq veteran who had half his foot blown off on duty and now suffers from PTSD, it has been claimed.

Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, was arrested by the Secret Service yesterday after agents claimed he made a dash for the Presidential residence while carrying a three-and-a-half-inch folding knife.

Gonzalez, who is thought to have served 18 years in the military, including three tours in Iraq, and reportedly told Secret Service agents he was convinced 'the atmosphere was collapsing' and that he needed to warn the President.


Well, belief that Barack Obama can prevent the atmosphere from collapsing is certainly proof of derangement in my book.

I'm not an expert on Spyderco knives by any means, but the photo shown in the article appears to be of a Dragonfly; VG-10 is the steel, not the model name. Sounds like the writer tried to get it right, but trusted what someone else told him/her. It's a very minor mistake.

Rationers Vs. Producers

Daniel Greenfield talks of two different types of societies, the Production society and the Rationing society. It's worth reading in full, as are all of Greenfield's essays. You follow him, right?

We have become a rationing society. Our industries and our people are literally starving in the midst of plenty. Farmers are kept from farming, factories are kept from producing and businessmen are kept from creating new companies and jobs. This is done in the name of a variety of moral arguments, ranging from caring for the less fortunate to saving the planet. But rhetoric is only the lubricant of power. The real goal of power is always power. Consolidating production allows for total control through the moral argument of rationing, whether through resource redistribution or cap and trade.

In a production society, the role of government is to expand the territories of exploitation and to protect those territories. In a rationing society, the role of government is to control the available quantities of production with a view to distributing them fairly. Naturally, the rationers, as always, get the best rations. In a production society, government is a means of protecting everyone's ability to produce. In a rationing society, government prevents the bigger from grabbing the rations of the smaller and protects everyone from grabbing all the rations at once and starving to death.

The sort of society we have is fit for passengers adrift at sea on a lifeboat parceling out their last crackers. It is an emergency society for the lost and the starving. And perversely we are starving amidst plenty.

The rationing society discourages people from farming and encourages them to peer in each other's mouths to see who is eating more than his fair share. In the rationing society everyone is certain that they are not getting their fair share and eager to sign on to initiatives to get their group's fair share. In a rationing society everyone is an informer because everyone's livelihood depends on informing on others.


That should give you a good taste of Greenfield's thesis. Now go and read the rest.

Friday, September 19, 2014

Just Shut Up and Get On the Ice Floe, They Explained

All you selfish senior citizens ruining Obamacare for the rest of us.

It seems every time I see the word bioethicist in a news story or article, they are advocating doing horrible things to babies or old folks, usually by neglect, sometimes by direct action.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Two Wines Born 25 Miles Apart...

...made from the same grapes and by the same methods, still manage to become two different wines.

Manzanilla sherry from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain and Fino sherry from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain are basically the same wine. They are made from the same grape (Palomino) and processed into wine in the same way (the famed Solera system). The only differences between the two wines are that the vineyards for Manzanilla tend to be nearer the ocean, and the bodegas (wineries) where the wines are stored certainly are. Now comes a study that confirms what most suspected, that both the grapes and the wines of Sanlúcar have a slightly higher salinity than those of Jerez.

I don't have a sophisticated enough palate to distinguish wine much anymore, but when I lived in Spain I got to the point where I actually liked Fino and Manzanilla, which are quite dry and take getting used to. At sherry bodegas when the tourists got to the tasting room it was always fun to watch their reactions when they tasted Fino; they'd taste it, make a face, and quickly pour it out and ask for more Cream sherry.

New York Times Article (and Gallery) On Lighthouses

"The Lighthouse Keepers."

It's not really about lighthouse keepers. It's about lighthouses that are no longer needed as aids to navigation, and what to do with the old buildings themselves. The writer doesn't offer much in the way of a definitive answer; seems to hate tourist-oriented lighthouses, yet doesn't want unneeded lighthouses to decay and fall into the ocean.

You Keep On Using That Word...

...I do not think it means what you think it means.

That word would be castle.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines castle thusly:

castle: a large building usually with high, thick walls and towers that was built in the past to protect against attack.

You will see, then, that the building that this Englishman took refuge in - - his home - - wasn't also his castle, because it offered him no defense when he was attacked.

Of course, even in feudal days, a castle by itself wasn't secure; it had to have armed defenders. And that is where UK has failed its citizens subjects: it made self-defense improbable by banning firearms. So this Englishman was beaten nearly to death because his government didn't believe he should be allowed to defend himself.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Other Civil War Cars (WBTS, For You Unreconstruced Fellers, You Know Who You Are) ;)

Everyone is familiar with the General Lee, of course, since it was on TV. The General Lee was never the same after that race in Pennsylvania; tried its very best, but it was a Lost Cause from the very start.

There were other cars, though; I had one named the General Thomas J. Jackson; I was tooling around in it late one night, maybe a little bit too fast, and I reached over to grab a lemon to suck on, missed a curve and totaled it against a stone wall.

I had another car named the General James Ewell Brown (JEB) Stuart; loaned that one to my nephew one afternoon; "Don't be gone long," I said; he disappeared on some long-assed trip and didn't show up until way after I was supposed to be at work.

I briefly considered the General Joseph E. Johnston, but that one would only go in reverse...

Then there was the General Braxton Bragg that I owned briefly; that was one sorry-assed car, I cussed it on a regular basis. Hated that car.

Briefly owned a car named the General George Pickett; yes, it was a Charger...

Bought one named the General Edmund Kirby Smith; was pretty good at first, so I took it on a long road trip out west. When I crossed the Mississippi it quit on me, wouldn't start after that. Far as I know it's still over there.

The General Nathan Bedford Forrest I found in a barn, under a white sheet...

Had a car named the General George B. McLellan; ran that one in a drag race, it lost to a Lincoln.

While I was at the drag races I saw one named the General Ulysses S. Grant; wasn't much to look at, but it wouldn't quit. That one ran on alcohol.

I bought a car named the General William Tecumseh Sherman in Chattanooga; when I got to Atlanta the brakes failed and and the accelerator stuck, and I didn't get the damned thing under control until nearly Savannah. The Georgia Highway Patrol didn't much care for my excuses, either. That whole trip was something of a bummer.

The General John Bell Hood I pretty much ran to pieces, wasn't much left of it when I finally traded it.


If any of you can think of any more, let me know in comments.

©Robert G. Evans 12 September 2014, all rights reserved.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Indoctrination Chronicles #14: Bush=Hitler

Assigned to 7th graders at a Washington, DC school.

Naturally the school administration is shocked - - shocked! that gambling is going on such a comparison would be made, and swear that it won't happen, and that the teacher who is responsible is sorry she got caught is full of remorse.

I'm Shocked - - Shocked! That Indoctrination Is Going On In This Establishment!

Remember

Monday, September 08, 2014

Best Description Of NC Barbecue EVER

"The pork is absolutely perfect. It’s not smoked by man – it’s smoked by God through man."

The Barbecue Bros. visit Lexington BBQ #1, AKA "Monk's Place."

I last ate there back in 2010.

Musical Interlude

Gina Villalobos, We Got It Slow:



Listen to that pedal steel and weep.

Sunday, September 07, 2014

Rice Culture In Coastal North Carolina

A look back at how rice was cultivated along the Cape Fear River in Brunswick County.

Used to be the most important crop in coastal North Carolina in the antebellum days.

A Matter of Degree

"You can't contain an organization running roughshod through that much territory, causing that much havoc, displacing that many people, killing that many innocents, enslaving that many women. The goal has to be to dismantle them," the president said during a press conference following the NATO summit in Wales.

Let me get this straight: you mean that it's acceptable to run roughshod over territory, cause havoc, displace people, kill innocents, and enslave women, you're just concerned about the degree?

*shakes head sadly*

Obama Administration To Use Contractors In Iraq?

"In place of 'boots on the ground,' US seeks contractors for Iraq."

Let's get this straight: they're still boots on the ground - - mercenary boots.

So we're to have two separate armies in the US now? One a low-paid army of suckers patriots, the other a high-paid army of mercenaries? Basically you'll spend a term in the Army of Suckers Patriots before taking a discharge and joining the Army of Mercenaries?

h/t This Ain't Hell.

Navy Treating Sailors Like Children Or Lab Rats - - As Usual

Want fries with that? Sorry, they'll be baked. Want a soda? Tough.

Why don't you just go back to bully beef and weevily hardtack?

What'd you do, put Michelle Obama in charge of Navy chow?

Saturday, September 06, 2014

Bronco Bamma, the Crypto-Muslim*

Tom DeLay goes there:

President Obama’s left-leaning political ideology combined with sympathies for Islam acquired from being raised by a Muslim stepfather paralyze him as he faces the threat posed by the Islamic jihadist group ISIS, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told WND in an interview.

“In defending America against radical Islamic terrorism, Barack Obama cannot be trusted,” DeLay said.

“Barack Obama was raised a Muslim, and he claims he is a Christian, and I can’t say for sure whether he’s a Christian or not, but he has shown over the last few years that he has great sympathies with Islam,” DeLay explained.

“You combine that with Obama’s political orientation that is far to the left,” he continued, “and you get a president who hates war, hates the military, and you have a formula for military inaction when it comes to combating radical Islamic terrorists like we are seeing in ISIS.”

DeLay’s indictment of Obama did not end there.

“You add to mix that Barack Obama is incompetent, way over his head as president, and the whole combination produces a worldview that makes Obama detached and reluctant to take the type of the military action against ISIS that would be effective,” he said.


Former Congressman Allen West has also accused Obama of being a crypto-Muslim.

*"Bronco Bamma" is how he was described in a viral video:

Who's This Talosian Running For Governor of California?

This guy:



And how did he manage to hide his throbbing veins?



Of course, Jerry Brown looks rather Talosian himself. It's an infestation!

Jack the Ripper Identified By DNA Evidence?

Appears so.

It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for more than a century and spawned books, films and myriad theories ranging from the plausible to the utterly bizarre.

But now, thanks to modern forensic science, The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the serial killer responsible for at least five grisly murders in Whitechapel in East London during the autumn of 1888.

DNA evidence has now shown beyond reasonable doubt which one of six key suspects commonly cited in connection with the Ripper’s reign of terror was the actual killer – and we reveal his identity.


Aaron Kosminski.

Click the link to read the rest. This will probably piss off a lot of Ripperologists, including novelist Patricia Cornwell, who picked another man for the role in a book she published on the Ripper.

h/t Vox Day.

Arrival

Small French Douk-Douk folding knife:



The Douk-Douk is a folding knife made by the M. Cognet company in France, it's a working man's knife, similar to the Sodbuster made by Case in the US, the Merkator K55 soldier's knife (Germany) or France's other knife for the working man, the Opinel. The Douk-Douk is most similar to the Merkator, with construction consisting of a blade, a piece of folded sheet metal for the handle, a spring and a couple of pins. this is the smaller version, about the same length as a Barlow or Swiss Army; the larger version is the size of a Buck 110 (but much, much lighter in weight). Because of the construction method, the Douk-Douk is only a couple of millimeters thick:



It is small and light enough to use as a neck knife, if you so desire, but, since the blade is carbon steel rather than stainless steel, it will definitely rust when exposed to sweat. It could be sewn into your belt - - or, if you own a money belt, hidden along with any coins/currency you place there.

This small knife would shine in the pocket survival kit role; it will fit just fine in an Altoids tin, with plenty of room left over for a button compass, whistle, butane lighter and other small items:



If you don't wear such a kit in your everyday travels - - why not? It can fit into any pants pocket, or, if you don't want it in a pocket, you might consider one of the fine leather pouches sold by Atlanta Cutlery:



I wear one of these pouches on my belt, over my left hip, in the same position you would wear a handgun (which, being right-handed, I wear on my right hip). Incidentally, these pouches can fit small cell phones, cartridges for you handgun (that was the original purpose of this pouch design, as a matter of fact) or even a small handgun - - Ruger LCP, deringer, or a North American Arms mini-revolver.

This little knife was only $21.15, purchased from Knife Country USA via Amazon.