Archive for July, 2022

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A horse is a horse, of course, of course…

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

…and no one should flee from a horse, of course,
Especially (of course) if the NYPD owns that horse.

Somebody in the thread responded with a still, but what the heck, let’s go to the ‘Tube:

(Jessica Walter! Damn!)

Posted in 1970s, Horses, Law, NYPD, TV | 2 Comments »

Obit watch: July 19, 2022.

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

Mickey Rooney Jr.

Not a whole lot of credits in IMDB. I’m wondering if “Beyond the Bermuda Triangle” counts as genre. (Fred MacMurray? On a totally unrelated note, I just picked up the 4K/UHD package of “Double Indemnity” during the Criterion 50% off sale, and am looking forward to watching it soon. I’ve never seen it, but I keep hearing it is one of the great noir films.)

Michael Swanwick posted a nice tribute to Claes Oldenburg on his blog.

Posted in Art, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Random gun crankery.

Monday, July 18th, 2022

Remember in my NRAAM coverage I threw in a photo, “At the weird intersection of SF geekery and gun geekery”?

Here’s some more deets for you.

Perhaps the most iconic surplus firearms used as props in the movie however was the Mauser C96 pistol or “Broomhandle” Mauser, which would not only become the Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc. Model 44 blaster carried by many Imperial officers, but also the iconic BlasTech DL-44 heavy blaster pistol carried by the stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, Nerf-herder himself, Han Solo.

RIA estimates $300,000 to $500,000 for this one. I’m not sure how this compares with Indy’s S&W revolver, as I can’t find any information on what that went for (or even if it was ever sold).

The Firearm Blog also has a story.

Posted in Guns, Movies | Comments Closed

Obit watch: July 18, 2022.

Monday, July 18th, 2022

It was a bad weekend for SF writers. Lawrence sent me two obits:

Herbert W. Franke.

…not only studied physics, mathematics, chemistry, psychology and philosophy at the University of Vienna, was the author of numerous science fiction novels and an avid cave explorer.

Eric Flint. I’ve heard good things about his “1632” books, but haven’t read any of them.

Claes Oldenburg, visual artist. His thing seems to have been making huge versions of everyday objects.

One of his most famous installations, erected in 1976 — the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence — is “Clothespin,” a 45-foot-high, 10-ton black steel sculpture of precisely what the title indicates, complete with a metal spring that appropriately evokes the number 76. The work stands in stark contrast to conventional public sculpture, which Mr. Oldenburg, impersonating a municipal official, said was supposed to involve “bulls and Greeks and lots of nekkid broads.”

Gerald Shargel, criminal lawyer. He defended a lot of Mob guys, including Gotti.

The lanky, bearded lawyer got so close to some Mafia clients that a federal district judge, I. Leo Glasser, removed him from representing one mob figure after prosecutors accused him of serving as “house counsel” to an organized crime family, an allegation he denied.
Mr. Gotti himself also got upset with Mr. Shargel, for being too talkative to reporters. The mob boss was caught on a wiretap warning his lawyer: “I’m gonna show him a better way than the elevator out of his office” (which was on the 32nd floor).

…

When one witness explained that the accessories required for a mob induction included not only a needle to draw blood for the ritual oath, but a bottle of alcohol to sterilize the pinprick, Mr. Shargel asked mordantly: “In other words you were going to get into the Mafia, but you didn’t want to infect your finger?”

Lily Safra. I probably wouldn’t have said anything about this at all, were it not for all the stuff in the obit about the death of husband number four, Edmond J. Safra. (Archive.is link for those who can’t read it otherwise.)

Posted in Art, Books, History, Law, Obits | Comments Closed

Quick book note.

Friday, July 15th, 2022

Just got an email from The Mysterious Bookshop.

Sherlock Holmes In 221 Objects: From the Collection of Glen S. Miranker is back in stock. At least for now: they claim to have a very limited number of “first edition, signed, limited copies” at $60. They also state “The Grolier Club will be printing a second, more expensive edition soon…”

So if you were interested, but gave up hope, now’s your chance.

Posted in Books | Comments Closed

Camel bites Kan be pretti nasti.

Friday, July 15th, 2022

A worker at a central Minnesota zoo was flown to St. Cloud Hospital on Wednesday after a camel got the man’s head in its mouth and bit down.
A second man who helped free the first also was bitten.

…

Deputies were told an employee was escorting a camel through an alleyway to prepare it for transport when the animal got the employee’s head in its mouth and bit down. The camel then dragged him about 15 feet.
A second employee, a 32-year-old Texas man, placed a plastic board into the camel’s mouth to release its bite from the first man, who was able to run to safety. The camel then charged at the second man and bit his head. He was able to get away on his own and declined medical treatment at the scene.

Posted in Camels, Mammals | 1 Comment »

Norts spews.

Friday, July 15th, 2022

There are many, many reasons why I hate the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee.

I have one less reason to hate them now.

Jim Thorpe, stripped of his 1912 gold medals because he’d been paid to play minor league baseball, was reinstated Thursday as the sole winner of that year’s Olympic decathlon and pentathlon by the International Olympic Committee.

…

“We are so grateful his nearly 110-year-old injustice has finally been corrected, and there is no confusion about the most remarkable athlete in history,” said Nedra Darling, the co-founder of Bright Path Strong, a group created to share Native American voices and a leading organization that fought for Thorpe — who died in 1953 — to regain his medals. She is also a citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
“Jim Thorpe is a hero across Indian Country, and he is an American hero,” she said. “He represented this country before it even recognized Native Americans as citizens, and he did so with humility and grace. Even after he was wronged by his coach, the American Athletic Union, and many others, he never gave in to bitterness and led with a spirit of generosity and kindness. I pray that Jim, his family, and our ancestors are celebrating that the truth has been respoken today, on this 110th anniversary of Jim being awarded his Olympic gold medals.”

Posted in Sports | Comments Closed

Obit watch: July 15, 2022.

Friday, July 15th, 2022

Ivana Trump.

Mark Fleischman, owner of Studio 54.

Owning Studio 54, Fleischman partied with the likes of Andy Warhol, Calvin Klein, Halston, Liza Minelli and Cher. The lifestyle may have taken a toll on the business owner.
“I liked to be high. So I would do drugs and drink. Possibly, this [health condition] is because I drank a lot and did drugs,” he told The Post.

He was 82 years old, and died from assisted suicide in Switzerland.

For the record: Monty Norman, composer of the James Bond theme.

John R. Froines, one of the Chicago Seven.

This isn’t quite an obit, but: according to news reports, the 988 number for access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will go into effect this weekend. The old 1-800-273-8255 number will continue to work as well.

Posted in History, Obits | Comments Closed

Sniper! No sniping!

Thursday, July 14th, 2022

I thought I mentioned this in my NRA Show coverage this year, but apparently not. Mike the Musicologist and I went to a talk by Maj. John L. Plaster, U.S. Army (Ret.), noted sniping expert, on “Sniping in the Ukraine”.

If you were not able to go this year, Maj. Plaster has an article in the new American Rifleman.

Days before the invasion, Bilozerska spoke with Nick Craven of the London Mail newspaper about her feelings on taking enemy lives. “When the enemy crawls toward our position to kill me, does he think if I have a husband, parents or kids? Of course not. And I don’t bother myself with stupid things either. That stuff is for books and movies.”

…

Interestingly, the FSB snipers had British-made Accuracy International AZ rifles chambered in .338 Lapua Mag.

Interesting indeed. From what I’ve read in the two Swift and Bold sniping books, AI keeps very tight control on who their guns go to. Perhaps these went to the FSB back in the good old days?

Individual foreign volunteers, too, have appeared in Donbas, the most notable being a Serbian sniper nicknamed “Deki.” Armed with a quality Russian T-5000 rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Mag., Deki was the focus of a 2018 Russian documentary, “A Sniper’s War.” His sniping ability, however, was questionable, due to his jerking the trigger and carelessly exposing himself at windows.

Posted in Guns, History | 2 Comments »

You’re going down in flames, you tax-fattened hyena! (#93 in a series)

Thursday, July 14th, 2022

Jason Lary, the ex-mayor of Stonecrest, Georgia, was sentenced to 57 months in prison yesterday.

Former Mayor Lary pled guitly in January to wire fraud, conspiracy, and theft of federal funds. He took COVID relief funds granted by DeKalb County and used them to pay off his mortgage and back taxes. Some of the money also went to pay his bookkeeper’s son’s college expenses. (She’s also pled guilty to conspiracy, but hasn’t been sentenced yet.)

In addition to the prison time, Mr. Lary will have to pay $120,000 in restitution, and serve three years of supervised release.

Apologies for linking to the NYT on this. I can’t get the story from the Atlanta paper to go through archive.is, and the AJC is very obnoxious about subscribing/adblocking.

Posted in Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Murdaugh watch.

Wednesday, July 13th, 2022

Alex Murdaugh has been officially disbarred.

There are also reports circulating that he’s going to be charged with killing his wife and son, but so far those are just “reports”. I’ll try to update if and when an actual indictment is returned.

Update 7/14: The indictment is official.

Murdaugh faces two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Posted in Law, Murdaugh | Comments Closed

Blues, Blues, Blues…

Wednesday, July 13th, 2022

Charlie Montoyo out as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto is currently 46-42 and is 15 1/2 games out of first place.

Montoyo took over for John Gibbons — the last Jays manager fired mid-season, in June of 2008, before coming back to manage the team again from 2013-18 — to begin the 2019 season, and the Jays were 236-236 over his three and a half seasons.

More from ESPN. As you know, I don’t like using ESPN that much, but in this case, the other Toronto media outlets either had no story, required a subscription, or would not load.

Bench coach John Schneider has been named interim manager for the rest of the season.

Does this mean those Duke boys are at it again?

Posted in Firings, Sports | Comments Closed

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