–McThag
(So, about that Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet…)
Quote of the day.
December 11th, 2023TMQ watch update.
December 11th, 2023We wanted to get these two links up ahead of this week’s TMQ Watch, as they reference things that were discussed in last week’s TMQ (and the associated TMQ Watch):
1. “NFL officiating crew under scrutiny after missed calls”
2. “Mahomes, Reid criticize offside call that negated Kelce lateral TD”
It isn’t like we’re Switfies, or generally biased in favor of KC, though we are biased against Buffalo (which, we guess, is pretty much the same thing). Nor did we see the game. But, yes, this seems kind of like ticky-tacky officiating.
Quote of the day.
December 9th, 2023[David Mamet] was once “phone pals” with legendary director Stanley Kubrick for the briefest of times, for instance. “He called me from his home in England. We spoke for two afternoons, mostly about guns,” he recalls.
“He was a competitive pistol shot; I was too. I of course wanted to steer the conversation to film gossip, but firearms, like aviation and sexual dish among their aficionados, trump all.”
(I knew that Mamet was a shooter, and I’d love to sit down and talk guns with him sometime. I had no idea that Kubrick was also a shooter. And frankly, I have all sorts of questions about that, mostly about how you can be a competitive pistol shot in England. I suspect money helps a lot.)
Obit watch: December 9, 2023.
December 9th, 2023I’ve said this before, but: “Barry Lyndon”, even though it is long, is a hugely entertaining movie, and one I recommend watching on home video.
Obit watch: December 8, 2023.
December 8th, 2023Ellen Holly, actress. Other credits include “Spenser: For Hire”, “Dr. Kildare”, and “The Defenders”.
David McKnight, actor. Other credits include the “War of the Worlds” TV series, “Rin Tin Tin: K-9 Cop”, “Cutter to Houston”, and “The Incredible Hulk” TV series.
Go big or go home.
December 8th, 2023I have written advice to those with a crooked bent before. I don’t advocate stealing or other criminal activity, but if you’re going to do it, steal big. Don’t throw away your life for some candy bars or a case of scotch. Steal enough money so you can live out the rest of your life comfortably in a country with no extradition treaty with the United States.
Two recent examples of people who followed this advice:
Amit Patel is a former office employee with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was fired in February, and was charged this week with embezzling $22,221,454.40 from the team.
Those personal purchases allegedly include “a condominium in Ponte Vedra Beach, a Tesla Model 3 sedan, cryptocurrency, chartering private jets, luxury hotel stays, a country club membership and luxury wrist watches.”
While Mr. Patel is, of course, innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, his attorney says he has a gambling addiction and was betting at FanDuel and DraftKings.
“approximately 99% of the misappropriated funds” were related to gambling losses.
By the way, NFL policy prohibits team employees from sports betting. I think NFL policy also prohibits embezzling $22 million from your team, but I don’t have a pointer to that section of the policy.
(Hattip to Lawrence on this, though I’m using a different link.)
Janet Yamanaka Mello was a civilian employee of the United States Army, working at Fort Sam Houston (down in San Antonio). She’s been charged with embezzling $100 million from the military 4-H program.
The alleged scheme took place while Mello worked for the Army as a civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston. As part of her job, Mello determined whether 4-H Military Partnership Grant program funds were available for organizations that applied. Her supervisor would approve the funding award which she would sign off on and send to the Defense Financial Accounting Service. The service would cut and mail a check to the appropriate organization.
As part of Mello’s alleged scheme, she directed the funds to be sent to a UPS Store mailbox near San Antonio which she rented. Mello allegedly deposited the check into her own bank account.
Again, Ms. Mello is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Very short random gun crankery.
December 7th, 2023Super brief historical note, suitable for use in schools.
December 6th, 2023I’ve written before about the Halifax explosion.
I did not know that Damn Interesting had also done an article, and since Alan Bellows is a much better writer than I am, I would encourage you to read it.
(Also, if you feel like it, I’d encourage you to throw a few dollars at Damn Interesting. They’ve missed their goals for the past couple of months and I’m a little worried about the continuing viability of the site.)
Obit watch: December 6, 2023.
December 6th, 2023Dr. William P. Murphy Jr., another one of those unsung big damn heroes.
His most famous invention was probably the plastic blood bag:
…
No matter what I may have thought of Lear’s politics, he served honorably in WWII (52 combat missions in B-17s).
John Nichols, author. (The Milagro Beanfield War)
Denny Laine, of the Moody Blues and Wings.
TMQ Watch: December 5, 2023.
December 5th, 2023No clever introduction this week. Just this week’s TMQ (which you won’t be able to read in its entirety unless you subscribe to “All Predictions Wrong”, which is the actual title of Gregg Easterbrook’s Substack) after the jump…
Obit watch: December 3, 2023.
December 3rd, 2023Tim Dorsey, mystery author. Obit from The Rap Sheet.
I’ve never read any of his books, but he seems to be generally classified as a member of the Florida School of Wackos genre. (See also: Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry).
Long before Florida Man became the Sunshine State’s unofficial mascot, there was Serge A. Storms, the antihero at the heart of Mr. Dorsey’s 26 novels, beginning with “Florida Roadkill” in 1999.
Brilliant and high-strung, Serge is also a serial killer who channels his homicidal urges into taking out various baddies he encounters during a series of improbable adventures around Florida. He usually rolls in the company of Coleman, his semi-lucid friend whose proficiency with various narcotics is so well known that strangers ask him for autographs.
The Firearm Blog coverage of the Remington Ilion shutdown. Per their story, Model 700 production had already shifted to Georgia earlier this year.
Random question.
December 1st, 2023This is prompted by an email I got from Kino Lorber about their current sale. (Not an affiliate link.)
One of the things they have on sale is “Goldengirl“, a movie I remember from the 1980s but never saw. Check out that cast: James Coburn! Robert Culp! Harry Guardino! Michael Lerner! And Susan Anton, who I also remember from the 1980s but never saw.
I got curious about the plot and went over to Wikipedia, which describes “Goldengirl” as a “American drama sci-fi sports film“.
Which got me to racking my brain. Perhaps I am getting senile, but: how many sci-fi sports films are there? “Goldengirl” and “Rollerball” are really the only two I can think of. (I don’t know that I’d call “Field of Dreams” sci-fi, though I think there’s a strong argument for it being fantasy.)
Gentle readers, what sci-fi sports films am I missing that will cause me to slap my forehead and say “Of course! How could I have forgotten about that one!”