Oh?

Posted by: Ace at 12:28 PM | Comments (213)
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Everyone uses a text editor of some sort, right? They've been around forever but seem to have gotten rather ummm...the German word would be Zaftig, perhaps even more than just Zaftig...
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 03:10 PM | Comments (181)
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At Legal Insurrection. Give it a read; I have a thought about this.

My thought about this is that people don't like thinking very hard, and this goes quintuple for low-information people. The more you do something, the more skilled you get at it, and the more you like it, which in turn impels you to do more of it. (I'm a champ at self-abuse, for example. When there's a Hall of Fame I'm in on first ballot.)

On the other hand, the less you do of something, the harder it is for you to do it, and the less you wish to do it, which then leads to you becoming, in this context, dumber still.

And one thing that it occurs to me that dumb, low-information people might crave is reassurance for their ego that their dumb, low-information ways are in fact ideal and a perfect response to the world.

No one wants to hear, "Read a book." In fact, people so don't want to hear "Read a book" that "Read a book" is officially an insult.

What people would like to hear -- if printed words and sentences containing dependent clauses (or even parentheticals nested within interrupting clauses set off by em-dashes) make their brains hurt -- is that all this "political self-detemination" and "informed consent of the voter" stuff is all just a bunch of silly hooey for Smarty-Farties Who Probably Can't Get Laid.

And hence, any message that presents an extremely simplified take on things which reassures your average dumb, low-information person that he Knows Everything if He Just Repeats This One Stupid Meme and Laughs At the Right People is naturally going to be a Big Seller in the marketplace of ideas.

Because people without taste or discrimination shop there occasionally too.

And by presenting this idea in a user-friendly form for dumb people (a CHEEZBURGER cat and an LOL) is going to probably have more sway that a dozen Thomas Sowell columns.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Thomas Sowell is unworthy.

I'm saying most people are unworthy, and will seek out entertainments and "politics" that shields themselves from realizing that. Call it the Honey Boo Bourgeoisie.

Something to think about. I don't know what to make of it because I don't like the conclusion this points to -- essentially government by Idiocracy.

"Says here you talk like a fag and your shit's all retarded."

-- Thomas Jefferson to Alexander Hamilton, 1792

Defense of the Self: This is rather obvious, but worth noting, in case it's not:

Once someone has a certain amount of their personal sense of self-worth invested in a proposition -- that is, as soon as someone believes They're Smart because they Read this Funny LOLPolitics thing at Huffington Post -- he will naturally resist (and grow hostile towards) any attempt to disabuse him of the notion.

Because we're no longer talking about some airy abstract idea, of course. We're talking about something that gives him value.

Posted by: Ace at 01:26 PM | Comments (577)
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Of course the recommended charging time is something like 4-6 hours which is just long enough that you always forget to unplug the damn thing and don't remember that its still charging until a day or two, or 30 later.

Sound familiar?
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:47 AM | Comments (117)
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Gun Manufacturers Continue To Fight Back

We've talked about Ronnie Barrett's great letter to the LAPD and refusal to service their .50 cal. rifle in this space before, and last week we reprinted LaRue Tactical's notice that they won't be selling to law enforcement agencies in New York.

More folks are getting in on the act with Olympic Arms adopting LaRue's stance and Magpul telling Colorado it'll be 'adios' if they go through with a magazine ban.

The little town of Ilion, NY, home of Remington Arms Co., has been pointing out that it has a lot to lose, but I doubt the boneheads in Albany care.

Hopefully this trend will continue and the big boys, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Glock, etc. will jump on board.

A Thought On Dealing With The Ammunition Shortage

With the cost of even .22 ammo being through the roof, when you're lucky enough to be able to find it, I've been thinking of getting a pellet gun. Specifically, I've been looking at this one:

Benjamin Trail NP Camo .22

With 250 pellets selling for about 7 bucks, this idea is looking better every day.

A reader also sent in this search at Cabela's that shows the wide variety of air pistols available.

If you've recently gotten into airgun shooting or are considering it, drop me some recommendations in the comments.

Gun Of The Week

What the heck is this thing?

(answer below)
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Posted by: andy at 09:28 AM | Comments (195)
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Content free, just like grandma made.

Posted by: andy at 04:28 AM | Comments (281)
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Afternoon Horde,

Not alot from me this week. If you would like to do a write up for the "Weekly" Gaming post, be sure to shoot it to aoshqgaming at gmail dot com . I have been working with a Moron on a Racing Post, but it's not quite ready yet. Maybe next week. Have a wonderful Sunday! -Zakn

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Posted by: Gang of Gaming Morons! at 10:45 AM | Comments (101)
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"Does this red binder make my ass look fat?"

Good morning morons and moronettes, and welcome the overweight, morbidly obese, and positively corpulent Sunday Morning Book Thread.

The Fattest of the Fat

When I was in high school, I had a weekend job as a radio dispatcher for the local police department in the small town where I lived. As you can imagine in such a small town with not a lot going on, the job entailed lots of sitting around and downtime. So I usually brought in books to read to pass the time, and that habit, plus my generally nerdy nature was a source of amusement to everyone else. So one Christmas season, we had one of those anonymous gift exchanges, and the officer who drew my name told me afterwards he no problem picking out a gift for me. He simply went to a downtown bookstore and picked out the biggest, fattest book he could find. As it turned out, it happened to be The Source by James Michener. And it was, indeed, a very fat book, especially the paperback edition that he got for me.

But the joke was on him. He admitted it was strictly a gag gift and never intended that I would actually read it. But I did read it, and you know what, it's actually a pretty good read. The story concerns an archeological dig at a site in modern-day Israel, and in every layer, they find a period artifact that Michener uses to write a story. Totally fictitious, of course, but in Michener's usual compulsively-readable style.

Another fat book, one which that has left a lasting impression on me (heh), is the massive Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. I first read it in 1985, the which was the first summer after I had gotten married, and I was so profoundly affected by what I was reading that it became my holy duty, and that is the only way I can describe it, to read all of it, all three volumes. I felt I owed it to the man who suffered so much to bring it to the world's attention. It was not a happy read, it was not fun, at least not in the usual sense of the word, but I was happy to do it. I still remember Solzhenitsyn's closing sentence on the last page of Volume III, "There is no law."

Reading all three volumes took me the rest of the summer, but I felt compelled to do so, and the more I read, the stronger the sense of obligation grew.

Unfortunately, there is no e-book or Kindle edition of this great work.

So, what fat books have you guys read and enjoyed?

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:57 AM | Comments (348)
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There's all sorts of "stuff" that goes on behind the scenes to make the modern world possible. Most people have no idea what any of it is or appreciation for any of this because they just see the finished products.

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Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:14 PM | Comments (178)
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You're in luck this weekend since Hulu is offering the Criterion series of classic movies for free.

Pretty much any of their movies are worth watching but if you're unsure of where to start I'd recommend one the following:

The Seven Samurai - 3 hours long but a classic. There's a reason this movie has inspired and been copied by so many other directors.

Solaris - A classic sci-fi movie about a scientist sent to a space station where the crew has been slowly going insane. Still better than the 2002 Clooney/Soderbergh remake.

La Jetée - A time travelling tale about a slave from the future that the movie 12 Monkeys was based on.

The Hidden Fortress - A Japanese movie about a fleeing princess and general, hidden gold, and two bumbling peasants that was a direct inspiration for George Lucas' Star Wars. It's enjoyable in its own right but even better as you recognize all the parts that later appeared in Star Wars.

To watch any of these click on the images below:

Posted by: Maetenloch at 01:49 PM | Comments (318)
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