Knots
 

My BF in college had a roomate with a huge collection - great guy, but the guns creeped me out. He actually had a loading press built into his coffee table (you couldn't tell unless you pulled a panel up).

I had a roomate in college who had a little gun - I thought it was fake until I picked it up to dust and freaked out. She never mentioned this to me before I moved in. Don't you think this is something one should bring up beforehand?

I also had a similar gun-pointed-at-car experience like RT. And once threatened with a knife for a parking spot, but gave it up and lived to tell the tale.

-TL

Ewww - a friend of my mom's stepped on a needle and it was in her upper thigh when they pulled it out - those things travel. TL

New Pornographers
 

The New York Times has an audio article about the New Pornographers. If you have RealPlayer, click on the link for the NYT arts index. I can't do a direct link because it's a javascript popup and I've already maxed out my tech ability.

Link to page containing New Pornographers audio article.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to those of us who can celebrate it.

So why wasn't she wearing shoes?

Knots
 

Many moons ago I lived in a group house; when one of the girls got married, her hubby moved in. The other girls and I did not know, before we consented to this arrangement, that he had an enormous gun collection, mostly semi-automatics. He spent almost every Saturday cleaning them -- with the front door open, because he thought it was good for the neighbors in our peaceful suburban neighborhood to know the house was armed. He was not a great guy. His rationale for having the guns was that if the [insert offensive epithet]s ever rioted like they did in LA he'd be on the roof protecting our house (I guess because our second hand furniture and electronics were ripe for looting).

In addition to being a racist, he advocated violence against homosexuals. He also had a drinking problem, and he kicked my dog. I moved away and did not leave a forwarding address.

No guns in the house for me, largely for the reason cited by NCS.

Guns Galore
 

I went to a University of California school for college. While most classmates were either from the Bay Area or the LA/OC area, there were a substantial minority from the Central Valley and parts north of Sacramento. It was strange to meet people who collected guns as a hobby. I remember in Torts class our professor took a poll to note the differences between SF/LA/OC/SD people (most of whom had never seen/held a gun) and people from the rest of the US (most of whom had family who hunted/thought that guns were normal).

My dad was in the military, but there were never any guns in the home. Some families that I knew from Boy Scouts hunted, but I never went. I don't think I'd ever purchase a gun or allow one in my home. They're far more likely to be used against someone in the family than against an intruder. If I was a crack shot, maybe I'd think differently.

Obviously, many in America don't share my beliefs. I do think there's a difference between having a handgun, rifle, or shotgun and having many, many guns. My main problem with guns is that many are kept loaded and unlocked among children. There are few things more irresponsible. If you have a gun in the house, it should be kept locked and unloaded. If you have a gun in the house with children, they should go to a gun safety course at a very young age (10-12). That may seem young to some, but kids are naturally curious, so it's better to have them trained. I was suitably chastened after taking a rifle/shotgun safety course as a Boy Scout, so I think it was a good experience for me.

The leases I've signed have all banned guns from the apartment. Maybe that doesn't fly in the red states. Regardless, I think the presence of a gun is one of those things that must be disclosed before leases are signed. Others would be that you're a meth cooker, that you've been committed to a mental health facility, or that you're a vegan.

of guns and kayaks
 

I have never seen a lease here that limits the ability to keep a gun. I would be surprised if I came across such a thing given how pro gun Pennsylvania is. Heck kids here get the first day of dear season off from school.

The only time I recall seeing such a thing was in College and they made provisions for you to keep your gun elsewhere.

I personally am very uncomfortable with the idea of owning a gun. I dated a woman who owned two, and she taught me to shoot them, and I actually took some comfort in the fact she had them, which surprised me. It also surprised me I wasn't in the least upset that she had them, and never gave it a second thought after she told me about it. I also had no interest in them. I found shooting rather boring, and it seemed like a lot of work to have to clean them afterwards, never mind go someplace where we could shoot since there are all sorts of rules about where you can discharge the gun, and for some strange reason that didn't include in her back yard. Go figure.

I am glad she told me pretty early on though, I am not sure how I would have felt had I slept over a few times and only then learned about the gun.

Either way, having guns around children, without supervision, is to me a recipe for disaster. Kids are simply too curious, guns are fascinating to them. Though how you will get to your gun if you need it when it is locked in a safe is a whole different issue. Still, what are the chances someone will actually break into your home and you will need the gun to defend yourself, really? Are the chances greater that someone in the house will end up dead, either through an accident or a fit of temper?

These are questions I am asking, cause I don't know the answer. But I have always been under the impression that the latter is more likely. Is this a piece of information the anti-gun lobby has gotten me to believe, or is it so?

By the way, welcome back everyone. Hope you all had a great 3 day weekend. So what did every one do on the unofficial start to summer?

I purchased a new kayak and took it out into one of our smaller, though rather high, rivers. (No this isn't the start of a Bilmore joke.) I managed to get wonderfully muddy. Mainly cause the bank where I landed was very muddy and it was almost impossible to get a foot purchase. Down I went. It was hilarious.

I also managed to flip the kayak in an effort to do a roll, but well, I can't really do that yet and damn the water was rather chilly.

The reactions of my neigbors on seeing a bright yellow kayak on the roof of my rather small car, followed by their looks when they saw me covered head to toe with mud, were pretty amusing.

of guns and kayaks
 

Nor have I, in the red states in which I lived. Though I rarely circulate in the company of avid gunners, even among the unarmed masses I think people there would find such a clause a bit surprising. It's a cultural thing, I suppose.

I believe it is so, though I've not done the research. In my family, our perception of that risk is colored by history, in which a (somewhat distant) relative died in a gun-related accident.

Got soggy through two and a half days of rain. Sadly, no kayak was involved.

Gattigap

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

Easy answer. $86.4 over the four day weekend.

TM

of guns and kayaks
 

Kids? Dear Season? How sweet.

Texas is big for hunting, etc., so there are plenty of guns. Plus, we have the concealed carry law, so people are often packing everywhere except schools, bars, and court.

I grew up in a house with two handguns and a rifle. I never knew we had them until one of my brother's friends stole the Walther PPK. (They were 20 years old when it happened, so we had no knowledge of having guns in the house when we were kids. Apparently they were hidden in the batting under the sofas where we could never ever find them. Nor would it occur to us to look since we didn't know we had them.)

I first handled a gun when I was in law school. It was a very big handgun. I knew where my roommate kept it for protection, so I picked it up when she and the attack dog were on a hunting trip and I thought people were trying to break into our house. Handling it scared me as much as the three people peering into the windows of our house.

We currently own no guns, though we may buy a rifle or two. Like my father, the OM is a qualifed expert marksman from his time in the service, so I am comfortable with his ability to handle a firearm. (I would take a training course.) I cannot imagine owning a handgun, but a rifle seems reasonable.

As for the weekend, my "in-laws" visited for an extended shopping trip. We booked them into a hotel, so it was time-consuming, but considerably less irritating than if they stayed with us. The best part of having them here is that time passed so slowly when they were around that the weekend seemed about a week and a half long.

E/O

Guns Galore
 

I agree with this. I've done target shooting with shotguns and rifles, and I am a lousy shot. A gun in the house is just asking for trouble. It takes me a full minute sometimes just to find my glasses, let alone get the gun and ammo from their two separate locations, followed by an assessment of whether lethal force is necessary. Get an alarm system and a dog instead.

The following is vague in order to avoid outing myself. I've had a loaded gun pointed at me. A machine gun, actually. It was not pleasant, but not exactly hysterics-inducing either (I think in the back of my mind I thought the gun was fake.) However, by using deception in the face of greater fire power, I am still here and the gun-pointer is in jail.

Like others have posted, I am not anti-gun, but I am anti-"own a whole bunch of guns".

Guns Galore
 

That's stupid. Someone who is an avid collector and owns multiple guns for hunting is far more likely to keep the guns unloaded and locked up than a person who owns only one gun for "personal protection". Hunters are far more likely to have taken a gun safety class than casual owners of guns. I think most states even require hunters to take gun safety classes before they can get a license.

There is nothing wrong with owning any amount of guns, as long as they are stored safely, especially in a house where kids are or may be.

edited to add that I'm talking about a reasonable amount of guns, not a freaking arsenal like at Waco, okay? And I didn't really mean to implicate the whole "right to bear arms" issue, I just meant that it's stupid to say that it's ok to own one gun but bad to own multiple guns.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

The 10 million or so people who went to see that ($8/per person?) must really be the lowest common denominator in society.

Guns Galore
 

Sounds like a good story that, unfortunately, would be outable.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

You know, maybe everything is just pissing me off today (and no, I don't have PMS) but the judgmental crap on this board is starting to wear thin. Ok, it's cool that you don't like Jim Carrey. Even understandable. But to say that everyone who likes his movies is the "lowest common denominator" is snotty and elitist. Seriously, do you think that everybody who likes things that you don't like is less intelligent and "beneath" you?

And no, I didn't see the movie. It looks stupid.

Guns Galore
 

Who said anything about being a hunter? I think bringing up hunting when I wasn't talking about hunting is stupid.

Accusations of stupidity aside, I've never seen any evidence to suggest that accidental (or even intentional) shootings occur more often in single-gun homes than in multiple gun homes. Of course I've never seen the opposite either. But if you had to guess, do you think more shootings occur in single-gun homes or multiple-gun homes? I think the latter.

The bottom line is if I find out my neighbor owns one gun, I'm fine with it. If I find out he owns five guns, it makes me uncomfortable. Reasonable minds may differ.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

Ummmm, guilty as charged.

Not (what can I say? I like Olive Garden, too) Bob

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

It actually was pretty amusing. A nice bit of entertainment that the whole family could -- and did -- go see this weekend.

Books
 

I'm going to throw out a rec for some older sci fi that I've just picked up. Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man" simply kicks ass, especially when you realize it was written in the early fifties. I also just reread Farenheit 451 by Bradbury (the anniversary eddition with new foreward by the man himself). Beautiful prose; cool story -- though the newly written foreward shows that Bradbury is as enamoured with himself as ever.

Guns Galore
 

You said that you had a problem with people who own more than one gun, but you are not anti-gun. I still say that's stupid whether you bring hunters into the equation or not.

I haven't seen any statistics either but I'd be willing to bet that most fatal shootings take place in single-gun homes. So, since neither of us has statistics to back us up, where does that leave us? I guess it leaves us thinking that the other is stupid.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

Didn't see the movie (and probably won't because I hate it when Jim Carrey takes himself seriously), but I laughed my ass off at Ace Ventura. and Dumb and Dumber. His stand up act is the best I've ever seen too. Asslicker should get down off his high horse.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

My brothers want to go see it and I'll probably take them to see it this weekend. Of course, that will make me part of the lowest common denominator of society, but it seems that's a place where I'm comfortable.

Guns Galore
 

I said this: I am not anti-gun, but I am anti-"own a whole bunch of guns".

Agreed.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

I will see the movie on netflix because I don't go to the theather for anything but event films.

I enjoy Jim Carrey movies. I loved Truman Show and Man on the Moon. I really enjoyed liar, liar and the Ace Ventura movies. I also loved him on In Living Color.

I have to agree with Barely about the judgmental nonsense. I don't like most of the music you like, but I don't look down on any of you because you like the alt-flavor of the month. ;)

Yet, I suspect that if I mentioned I loved the lyric: "I love you like a fat kid loves cake," you'd say I was wrong for that.

E/O

PS House Party was on this weekend. Now that takes me back to my college days . . .

Guns Galore
 

It is a good story, if I do say so myself. But everyone at my firm knows about it.

Guns Galore
 

Fair enough, then it sounds like the only thing we really disagree about (besides the stuff that both of us are too lazy to look up) is what constitutes "a whole bunch of guns."

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

I agree on the judgmental issue, with the caveat that anyone who doesn't like the Jackson Five is a joyless, miserable tool.

PJ

of guns and kayaks
 

I didn't know you needed a recipe for disaster. I thought they usually occured spontaneously and were easier to create than, say, a key lime pie.

Probably a lot greater than the chances that you will ever need, say, a title-insurance policy, but you still have one of those. Besides, widespread ownership of guns deters breakins. So the odds are low that you will ever need that gun, but the reason that the odds are low is because you (and everyone else has one). It is all very paradoxical in an one-hand-clapping kind of way.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

Are you serious, or are just jumping on the bandwagon again?

Lowest common denominator? Does this apply to all slap stick humor? I suppose Daffy Duck and The Three Stooges appeal to only the lowest common denominator as well? Could be, but they're fun.

I like Jim Carrey. I think his movies have gone downhill from the days of Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber, but he still cracks me up. Stupid humor has its place too.

If you watched "In Living Color" way back, you would have seen that he is a gifted physical comedian. I'm sure you wouldn't have accused Chevy Chase or John Belushi of appealing only to the lowest common denominator, but their stuff on SNL was no more intellectual than Jim Carrey's.

Saying he annoys you because you don't like his style is one thing. Saying you don't like him because he relies on slap stick is ridiculous.

TM

of guns and kayaks
 

So true. I lived in Canada for 30 odd years and my house was broken into literally every other night.

incredibly important announcement
 

My perfect custom Tangerine Sparkle purse has arrived in all its nubby shimmering glory. Photos to come.

And I'd preemptively tell Thurgreed to shut the hell up to avoid the verbal abuse I might get for that, except that I agree with him on Jim Carrey on In Living Color. His Vanilla Ice parody,
"White White Baby," was priceless and will forever mitigate his most idiotic and annoying movies.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

I saw it. It wasn't Jim Carrey in serious mode (too much). But the end was so overly preachy and religious that it made me want to tuaom.

Thurgreed(should have waited for rental)Marshall

of guns and kayaks
 

Yes, but when was the last time having needless title insurance resulted in another person's inadvertant (or intentional) injury or death?

Top Cult Movies -- the list 36-50
 

Dude, didn't I return that to you? I'll check at home.

BRC

Guns Galore
 

You mean it is ignorant to say that it's ok to own one gun and bad to own multiple guns?

I suspect your conclusion is faulty. I would hazard a guess that a city slicker who buys a gun for protection is the one who takes the safety class (at the behest of the spouse who did not want the gun in the first place) than some country bumpkin who has a few guns to go hunting with. Statistics please?

Guns Galore
 

Ooops. Never mind. I will go on record, however, as saying that those who call others stupid for jumping to conclusions while they themselves are jumping to conclusions are either stupid or judgmental. I am too ignorant and elitist to decide which one.

Guns Galore
 

Whoa. Full stop. Let's parse some words here - it's what we do isn't it? The conversation was about A LOT of guns. Not multiple guns. The hunter who has multiple guns probably hunts for different game. That's not the same as the guys in Idaho who are "protecting" their land from the government with 200-300 assorted guns and cases of ammunition. It's the same difference as washing your hands a lot and washing your hands every time you touch something - one's a compulsion/obsession.

Off the box and on to the story. My best friend in grade school had a father who was a hunter - every weekend during hunting season. He had multiple guns. He took us shooting one weekend (we were 14) with a pump action bb gun and a .22 rifle. I guess as girls, there wasn't the fascination to go looking for the guns after that. We knew they were there in the basement, but never went to go look for them or play with them. His beer stash however, that's a different story.

Jim Carrey Almighty
 

When Jim Carrey has a decent writer behind him who writes a character who either does no mugging at all, or gives him funny reasons for mugging, he's actually quite good. He's over the top or he's not; there's no halfway for him.

Thus, he was pretty funny in "Ace Ventura I" and "Liar Liar" (plausible over-the-top mugging) and "The Truman Show" (no mugging) but not so good in "The Cable Guy" or "Me, Myself and Irene."

Similarly, he will be great as Darren Stevens in the rumored "Bewitched" project --- a role he was born to play. He will not be as good as Count Olaf in "A Series of Unfortunate Events." The Walter Mitty remake is a toss-up.

Guns Galore
 

I will go on record as saying that people that don't read ahead in threads and bash other people for things they have already acknowledged and "parsed through" are the "lowest common denominator of society".

And if you are too lazy to find statistics, then don't jump on my ass for the same attribute. Until someone proves either of us wrong, all we have are opinions. Yours just sucks.

Guns Galore
 

My point was that it was rude to call someone stupid when the caller really thought their intended was ignorant. Therefore, I thought it apropo to suggest that perhaps the caller really meant to call their intended "ignorant". Either way, it was a truly condescending way to counter a point the caller disagreed with. The condescension on this board really pisses me off. Does that put me in the lowest common denominator?