Archive for the ‘Bagatelle’ Category

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Brief random gun crankery.

Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

If I had a million dollars…

…I’d put in a bid on this. It does push two of my hot buttons:

  • Smith and Wessons.
  • Theodore Roosevelt.

But that might not be enough: the estimate is $800,000 – $1,400,000. That’s a lot of money, but still less than a vintage warbird or car. And it would be cheaper to maintain…

(I don’t know if you can get factory loaded .38 Long Colt ammo. Starline does offer brass, so you could load your own, but they currently list it as “backordered”.)

I think I actually saw this gun earlier this year, but I did not handle it. Nor did I ask to. Further, deponent sayeth not.

Posted in Bagatelle, Guns, History, Smith and Wesson | Comments Closed

Leonard, part II.

Sunday, October 23rd, 2022

Neat profile in the Detroit Free Press of Gregg Sutter. Alt link.

“Who?” For many years, he was what the Freep refers to as “Elmore Leonard’s leg man”.

He also operates ElmoreLeonard.com and oversees a Leonard Facebook page, lends periodic expertise to the archivists handling Leonard’s papers at the University of South Carolina, and leads the push to put Leonard on a 100th anniversary postage stamp.
Actually, he is the push. His idea, his research into the postal service’s Literary Arts series, his three-page nominating letter that will, according to the Oct. 6 response, “be submitted for review and consideration before the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee at their next meeting.”

Damn skippy Leonard deserves a stamp.

In early October, he stumbled across the unveiling of Mama Cass Elliot’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with Stephen Stills and the Monkees’ Mickey Dolenz in attendance, and it reminded him of a disappointment.
“I have inquired about getting Elmore a star on Hollywood Boulevard,” he said, “but that costs $55,000,” and the appetite for a deceased author and screenwriter seems slight.

Kickstarter or one of the other funding services. (Not GoFundMe, because GoFarkThem.) I’d throw a few dollars in the direction of the Elmore Leonard Hollywood Boulevard Star. I bet you could get at least a few more out of the producers of “Justified” and “Justified: City Primeval”.

Mr. Sutter is also writing a memoir about his time with Leonard.

The library hopes to build an event around Leonard’s 100th birthday in 2025, she said, with exhibits, a movie or two, and presentations by Sutter and Leonard’s authorized biographer, C.M. Kushins, who has written books about rockers John Bonham and Warren Zevon.
That will require Sutter to finish his memoir. He says he will, in plenty of time.

I’ll be looking forward to both these books.

Posted in Bagatelle, Books, Clippings | Comments Closed

Leonard, Part (N).

Friday, September 23rd, 2022

I’ve lost track at this point, but a quick Fat Leonard update.

He’s been caught.

In Venezuela.

The U.S. government faces an uphill challenge returning the fugitive back to American soil. The U.S. government doesn’t recognize Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government, has no embassy in the country and has imposed crushing sanctions on the country that has further embittered relations. Law enforcement cooperation between the two countries is rare.

And according to this story, he was trying to get to Russia.

The official said Francis intended to board a plane to the Venezuelan Caribbean Island of Margarita, which Venezuela wants to turn into a popular destination for Russian tourists because of its pristine beaches accessible by ferry or flights from the mainland. The government said last month it plans to offer five flights a week between Margarita and Moscow starting Oct. 1. Signs in Russian can already be seen at the island.

Posted in Bagatelle, Law | 1 Comment »

Memo to Nick Chubb.

Wednesday, September 21st, 2022

Dear Mr. Chubb:

When your team’s defense gives up 13 points in the last two minutes of a game – the first time this has happened in 21 years – the loss is not your fault.

Just saying.

Posted in Bagatelle, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment »

Good news, bad news.

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

Good news: per “The Rap Sheet”, Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Victor’s in Minneapolis have re-opened. You may recall they were burned down by rioters in 2020.

Bad news:

The new space is about 20% smaller than the previous location, and as a result Uncle Hugo’s will cut down some categories of used books, including paranormal romance, submarine adventure novels and a lot of true crime books.

Okay. Paranormal romance? Yeah, the heck with that noise. But don’t mess with my true crime or submarine adventure novels, man!

Posted in Bagatelle, Books | Comments Closed

Tweet(s) of the day.

Friday, September 9th, 2022

Bonus:

Posted in Bagatelle | Comments Closed

Norts spews.

Friday, September 9th, 2022

Stolen by me from my beloved and indulgent aunt:

Edited to add: I went through this list of Cleveland Browns starting quarterbacks and tried to come up with a count. I may be off, but I didn’t come up with 59.

I came up with 64.

Posted in Bagatelle, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Well. Well well well. Well.

Tuesday, September 6th, 2022

A quick update, which I just found on the “Task and Purpose” website.

Remember “Fat Leonard”? Of the Navy contracting scandal? That guy?

Leonard Glenn Francis is now on the run.

Francis, who had been under house arrest in San Diego went missing on Sunday after cutting off his monitoring ankle bracelet, the San Diego Tribune first revealed. Francis’ neighbors had noticed moving trucks going in and out of his home recently.
“He was planning this out, that’s for sure,” Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo told the newspaper.

And for those of you who haven’t been keeping track at home:

Former Navy Capt. Daniel Dusek was sentenced in March 2016 to 46 months in prison after admitting to prosecutors that he had redirected the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships to a port terminal owned by Francis, according to the Justice Department.
Francis and his company Glenn Defense Marine Asia agreed to repay $35 million that they had overcharged the Navy for fuel, tugboat services, sewage disposal, and other services.
In June, a federal jury convicted four former Navy officers of receiving bribes from Francis, and jurors could not reach a verdict on a fifth former leader, retired Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless. Additionally, 29 other people, including Francis, have pleaded guilty in connection with the scandal.

Posted in Bagatelle, Law | 1 Comment »

Brief notes on film.

Monday, September 5th, 2022

Lawrence posted a review of “The Beast” (aka “The Beast of War”) which we watched Saturday night.

I have very little to add to what he said: I liked the movie, and I encourage folks to seek it out. My only two notes are:

1. It was interesting to see George Dzundza in a non-LawnOrder role. (In a curious coincidence, one of the low-rent broadcast channels was re-running those first season episodes that Saturday morning as well, so I got a double shot of George.)

2. I also wanted to link to the Internet Movie Firearms Database entry, which I found quite fascinating. Especially the parts about the AK-47s and the Israeli Blank Firing Adapters and the fake Hind. The tank stuff is interesting, too.

(I remember, back when I was reading Soldier of Fortune, they made a big deal about getting 5.45 rounds and (I think) an AK-74 out of Afghanistan. I wonder, with the benefit of historical perspective, how much of that was true. “The head of the Afghan bureau of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the official intelligence agency of Pakistan, claimed that America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) paid $5,000 for the first AK-74 captured by the Afghan mujahideen during the Afghan-Soviet War.”)

(Speaking of SOF, it looks like they’ve been sold to a new publisher. Dare my inner 13-year-old hope for a resurgence?)

Posted in Bagatelle, Guns, History, Movies | 1 Comment »

The Agony of…something or other.

Wednesday, August 24th, 2022

It isn’t exactly defeat. This makes falling off the end of a ski jump look tame.

By way of a comment on Reddit’s “Hobby Drama” sub, I learned that there is such a thing as the International Tank Biathlon World Championship. The 9th one of those is either wrapped up or just wrapping up. Yes, it did go on: it was not called on account of WAR, though the page linked above seems to be confused about whether this is the 2022 or 2021 edition.

But wait, there’s more! We have a Twitter thread! With video! And commentary!

Two highlights. Number one is a clip from “Fast 12: Tank Drift”:

Number two: everything is better with music.

And this goes out to the Saturday Night Movie Group:

Posted in Bagatelle, Sports | 3 Comments »

Tweet of the day.

Wednesday, July 20th, 2022

Yeah. I hadn’t thought about it, but it absolutely makes sense that if you need a bunch of movie armor, there are places you can go for that. It sort of surprises me that the places are in India, and it apparently involves “Blacksmiths followed by cargo containers” rather than local rental houses, but that’s the global economy, I guess.

Bonus:

Posted in Bagatelle | Comments Closed

It’s a Major Award!

Monday, July 11th, 2022

Leg Lamp Mug, from the Christmas Story House. A gift from my beloved and indulgent aunt and uncle.

Posted in Bagatelle | 1 Comment »

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