Guns Galore and !?!?
 

I'm still reeling from the revelation that DT got "conjugal visits" with her dog. Wasn't aware they had that kind of relationship.

As for the original subject of this thread, my dad is a lifetime member of the NRA and owns several firearms. However, they were always stored in the back of a deep closet and generally only gotten out for hunting and practicing for hunting (clay pigeons, mostly). The exception was a pellet rifle and the target range he set up in our (long) basement family room. I was pretty good with the pellet rifle, but the one time I tried the shotgun on clay pigeons I was 1/25 and tired of the very loud and very hard-kicking gun. We were definitely taught safe practices with firearms, and my brother who went hunting had to take a hunters' safety course before getting a license.

It always seemed to me like there were two kinds of NRA members--ones like my dad where we ate everything he killed and the most visible evidence of hunting activity was the meat in the freezer, and the ones who collected lots of non-hunting weapons (handguns, semi-automatics, etc.), who hunted things that weren't good to eat (predators, chukars, etc.), and whose homes were decorated with lots of dead stuffed animals.

As far as guns for safety, my brother lived for a while in Kingston, Jamaica--not a particularly safe place. I don't know if he ever actually did it, but he said if he were ever to get a weapon for defense it would be a shotgun. No aiming required and there's no deterrent like that universally-recognizable <chuck-chuck> sound.

No guns in our household, and not likely ever to be, but I'll probably let Magnus go hunting with my dad if he wants to someday.

tm

Various and sundry
 

Amen, sister. I have no problem with citizens driving gas guzzling, oversized vehicles designed for military use provided that citizens who do not drive Hummers are also allowed to carry shoulder-launched missiles to fire at Hummers. I think that's a fair trade off. You get a military vehicle. I get a rocket launcher to shoot at your military vehicle. It's just like when the kids from the neighborhood used to play War.

Guns Galore and !?!?
 

Agree with that. If you're going to pack heat under your bed, might as well make it a shotgun. Just blast away -- no need to put on eyeglasses or see the intruder, you'll be sure to cause some injury and certain to get him running the other way as fast as possible. (although won't the <chuck-chuck> come when you're reloading?

Trendspotting
 

Interesting.

Questions:

Any idea how it's activated? It probably loses its desired effect if the wearer isn't able to do so easily.

Does the person have to be grabbed, or does mere contact with the jacket cause the desired effect?

I can just imagine how much fun it might be wearing this on crowded city sidewalks. I can just see Paigow "accidentally" brushing against short porcine umbrella-toters on the sidewalks of D.C.

ZZZZTTT! "Oops, sorry!"

sf

America's Next Top Model!!!!!
 

I caught a bit of this last night--man o' man is it stupid. There is one interesting woman on there who is 20 years old and probably 85 pounds but who comes across as intelligent. (Per the other girls and the "model trainers": She is going to medical school next year!!!!! Medical school would be a lot of work!!!!!! -- meanwhile, how many people graduate with a four year degree, so as to qualify them for med school, by age 20?)

The rest of the women are obnoxious and some are Anna Nicole-esque in their spaced-out observations. Moreover, some are not attractive.

Tyra Banks is the Monica Lewinsky of the show, although she does a much better job. My favorite line of hers: "It's all in the eyes. Look at me. Right now I'm doing dead eyes. (Appears how Tyra always appears). Now look. (Tyra looks left and right). See how much more sexy? (Looking exactly the same as before)." America's Next Top Models!!!!!! were mesmerized and complained that they would never be able to have as sexy of eyes as Tyra. Gag.

They kicked off one girl who was among the most beautiful because she "looked too Playboy. I look at her and I see Ms. July." Then they kept the ones that look and act like they are "special."

Greg Smith, boy genius
 

I caught an interview with this kid on the CBS morning news today. Did anybody else see it? He's so children of the corn, he scared me. He's about as unnatural as those child beauty queens. Everything that he says sounds totally calculated to please and impress adults.

http://a799.g.akamai.net/3/799/388/a...ws/1908486.jpg

And I can't imagine how he survived college with that haircut!

America's Next Top Model!!!!!
 

I caught a snippet of this while surfing between sporting events. What a strange group of women. I can't believe that the woman from Joliet, IL made the cut for the trip to NY. She makes Anna Nicole look intelligent and well spoken.

Greg Smith, boy genius
 

I always feel sad for these people. What the hell is he going to do with his college degree at age 13? He can't even get a job at McDonald's for another two years.

If he were truly a genius he would have said no the haircut.

America's Next Top Model!!!!!
 

"Who cares about Derek Zoolander? The man has only one look! Blue Steel? Ferrari? Le Tigre? They're all the same face! Doesn't anyone notice this?"

Greg Smith, boy genius
 

Yeah, I'm sure he was chillin' with the Sigma Chis on a regular basis.

I went to law school with one of these purported "boy geniuses," who was about 18 when he started law school. As best I could tell, he spent the entire time he was not in class back in his apartment with his mom.

Guns Galore and !?!?
 

The shotgun does seem to be the defensive weapon of choice. I used to work with a guy who was a Vietnam vet. He told me that the number one weapon of choice for close combat in the jungle was a Winchester pump-action, because you didn't have to be accurate and could do a lot of damage with one.

trading spaces
 

Did anyone watch the marathon on Monday? I looked on the website for updates on the shows that they featured Monday night. I thought that I remembered hearing somewhere that the woman who got Kia's swinging bed actually hated it and was pissed after the show, but that's not the impression I got from Kia's typed in blurbs. TLC needs to do a better job posting follow-up reactions...

n(sorry, e/o, guess the Spurs will have to finish us off in Dallas)cs

Greg Smith, boy genius
 

Actually, he was seen hanging out with these guys.

http://www.primechoice.com/philosoph...ages/nerds.jpg

Guns Galore and !?!?
 

I haven't kept up with this whole gun thread but this caught my eye. In that brief period during which Mr. Kiss and I were dating, we were drunk and out and about near where his parents live. Rather than drive the 45 minutes home, Mr. Kiss said we should go to his parent's house and crash. Except he didn't have a key so his brilliant plan was to "break in." He warned me, though, that the last time he did this he was met as soon as he got in the house (through the deck out back) with his dad and a shotgun.

Hoops and Movie Rec
 

I am still upset about it.

The game was so well in hand, we got bored (forgetting it was the bleeping Spurs and it's never over unless they have a 31 point lead with 10 minutes left in the 4th) and decided to watch The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat), the Inuit folk tale movie. It's excellent, and I highly recommend it.

As for hoops, we turned the movie off in time to watch the wheels come off with 5 minutes remaining.

E/O