Something a bit more in depth for Sunday

So back in the day, one of the most unique and influential anime I had ever watched was Fooly Cooly.  Not only was it something that was enjoyably weird, but incredibly original, had a variety of animation styles, and had a killer soundtrack by The Pillows. 

It's something that's vastly impressive in that it was really just meant to be an animation test/showcase for the studio but ended up being so much more than that. I think this and Cowboy bebop are the reasons why I'm overly picky about what anime I watch. I always hated the standard shōnen and never-ending shows designed to sell cards or toys, and the standard fare of other anime that follow all the exact same tropes.

So a couple years ago I was pretty thrilled to hear that there was going to be another 2 series of FLCL produced. Then my hopes and dreams were shattered when they turned out to be garbage because they weren't done by the same people. Oh well, at least the soundtrack is still done by The Pillows, so that part is still awesome. 

The Pillows: Spikey Seeds

Finally watched it

With everyone ranting and raving about Squid Game, I finally took the time to watch it the past couple of days. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by it. I tend to be more than a little bit of a contrarian when it comes to popular shows, as in my opinion they tend to suck.  I never cared for Harry Potter when growing up, and more recently, I never really thought Game of Thrones was all that good either (yes, even before the last season). So color me impressed when I really enjoyed a Netflix original of all things, since they are known to be mostly crap as well. Thanks to the wife for getting me to watch it. 

But yeah, it's just not something you see everyday in that it has strong characters that you actually care about, great dynamics between said characters, plenty of intrigue as the story unfolds, some fun twists near the end, and an overall great story. It's only 9 episodes long, but feels much shorter than that just because the pacing is great. It's obvious the story was inspired more than a bit by Battle Royale, but that's a good thing as that's another movie I like. 

The wife hasn't seen this one, so we'll have to watch this one over the weekend, too.

I agree with most people that the story in Squid Game doesn't really need a sequel, but if they do, it could be pretty good as long as the same people are making/writing it. If you have a chance to watch it, the hype is legit, give it a try. Although, I would personally recommend to watch it with subtitles instead of the English version, as the dub has some pretty bad performances from some of the voice actors.  

The secret is out

Much like Victoria's Secret, air to air missile shootdowns of other air to air missiles is generally something governments/militaries like to keep close to their chests, and not really show them to people, unless seriously vetted.  But then there's Iran, who is the $20 whore of all governments (still better than the $2 whore North Korea is), who likes to show off in every way imaginable. But, at least its interesting to all us aviation porn enthusiast out there, cause this is not something you see everyday, especially with live weapons! Thanks to The War Zone for alerting me to it. Just a shame I could only see it on that cesspool called Twitter. 

Video🎥: Missile launched by IRIAF F-5, subsequently immediately intercepted by IRIAF MiG-29, likely using R-73 AAM.

(yes, you read that right) pic.twitter.com/dVmw1gJyFO

— Aᴍɪʀ (@AmirIGM) October 27, 2021

Missing our furry friend

I got a call from my Mom earlier today, frantic about the condition of Breda, our long time German shepherd. The dog was in significant pain, so I told Mom to just take her to the vet immediately, and not a half-hour later, my mom called back in tears. Unbeknownst to us, the dog had a large tumor that burst causing internal injury and bleeding. There was nothing the vet could do, and my mom had to make the difficult choice of putting her down. 

Being such a patient dog waiting by my feet.

Until she sees someone she wants to say hi to!

Anyone who owns a dog and cares for them knows that dogs are territorial animals, or at least are descendants of a very territorial species. The thing we are so unprepared for is when we realize that the dog has claimed such a large territory in our hearts upon leaving our world. 

It's hard for me to write about it without having a massive problem of forming my own thoughts to words, but some years ago, one of the giants (and one of my heroes) of the blogging world lost her dog as well, and being an accomplished author, does a far better job than I in expressing feelings on the subject:

Barkley

Breda had lived a good while, and like any cared for family dog, has a unique, quirky, and loving personality. She was never one to get hugs or cuddles, but was very insistent on getting attention and affection in her own way by pushing her side into you while looking back over at you with that expectant look, waiting for you to pet her. She always had such long, fuzzy, flowing hair for a German shepherd and because of that, Mom always took to saying she looked more like a fuzzy muppet than a dog. I just took to calling her the fuzz-ball of love. 

Breda had an insatiable obsession for all forms of flowing water, and was one of the things that would always get her excited. She was an excellent companion to my mother through the years and was very patient and understanding with her human.

Breda looking stoic with an uncharacteristically closed mouth.

Mom got the dog over 10 years ago, and I remember that Breda had to actually learn how to bark correctly. When we first got her, she had this almost painful, awkward howl she would make instead. Thankfully she got the hang of a good bark later on. 

Since I left on my own, the dog was always excited to see me come back and visibly distraught when I left. She was also a very sentimental dog, and her favorite toy was the one we got her for Christmas a couple years ago. I was looking forward to seeing her again on Thanksgiving, and I hate that I won't be able to. Mom and I will miss that darn dog, and I don't think I've had such heartache since my father died. So long, sweet doggo. 

Will the universe just take a break this month already?

Dunno what is with all the bad news recently. Not only do you have all the usual stuff in the news, but you also got Dugan Ashley having a rough time, and now another YouTuber I watch on the regular has passed away. 

Taofledermaus is a great YouTube channel that does ballistic testing on a variety of different (mostly) shotgun loads for the sake of academic exercise. It's pretty entertaining, and they test a lot of things that are home made from their viewers with often surprising results, with a variety of guests and testers on the show. They are like mythbusters, but just for shotguns stuff, and they don't suck. 

Danny is a regular on the channel, who has appeared quite often as both a tester and submitter of his own projectile designs, and had an immediate charm to add to the channel when he was on. He did help with a farewell video that you can watch here.  He will be missed, and it's nice to see that so many people in the comments are both respectful and sympathetic as Jeff points out.

Again, this is some tear-jerking material, so if you need a pick me up afterwards here's something to help with that from another YouTuber that I love:

A conundrum of sorts for shells

So, a few years back I had to part with my Benelli M3 shotgun. Strangely, I don't really miss that gun, unlike some of the other's I've had to sell in the past (I miss my AK so much!).  Fast forward to today, and I've really been hankering for another 12 gauge shotgun at some point in the future, perhaps a few months from now. I don't want to blow off a ton of money so I want to just get one, but just can't seem to make up my mind on which one to get yet. 

Unlike the rest of the gun world, shotgun prices haven't been fluctuating as much, so there are lots of good contenders on the list. Now, there's plenty of great scattergats I like, so not being on this list ain't an indictment, I just need to narrow my down my choices to one. First, the pump actions: 

Totally want one configured like the Ohio ANG models, but the regular hardwood model here will suffice.

Remington 870 ($400-700) - Pros: looks good, really cheap, well built, highly customizeable, low recoil due to weight. Cons: dang heavy for their size, some parts are very expensive, and may need a tube extension depending on the model.

Retrograde. Just look at that gorgeous thing!

Mossberg 590 ($500-800)  - Pros: relatively cheap, lightweight, well built, also with a high availability of aftermarket parts and accessories. The Retrograde model is insanely cool. Cons: almost a bit too light with sharp recoil and the pump grips tend to be a bit fragile in my experience. Really don't like the stocks on most of the pistol grip models, either. 

So cool, but so dang pricey.

Ithica 37 ($1200) - Pros: uniqueness/cool factor, lightweight, and also very durable/reliable. Cons: Pretty darn pricey for a pump action and you can't do those cool quick one shot reloads since they feed from the same place they eject. Have I mentioned it's really pricey?

Then, there are the Semi Auto options (which in general are far more expensive):

I would only want the pistol grip model of this one. 

Beretta 1301 ($1100) - Pros: nice stock with a pistol grip, when most other have really crappy ones. said to be the best semi on the market now. Cons: again, the price, and not much aftermarket parts. Never shot one before, so I don't know how they handle, but has had glowing reviews everywhere. 

Oh so pretty and it does good work, too.

Benelli M2 ($900-1300) - Pros: All the pros of an M3 and M4 with almost none of the drawbacks. Reliable, customizeable, pretty, and lighter than an M3. I love the way they handle and shoot. Cons: Again with the prices, dangit...and it may need a tube extension as well. 

Really want to get some trigger time on this one.

Stoeger M3000 ($670) - Pros: very inexpensive for a semiauto, has great sights, good capacity. Cons: Kinda the wildcard in the group in that it is the only one on this list other than the Beretta that I haven't shot before. But, like the Beretta, it comes highly recommended.

This one is just hard to take seriously...unless you're on the wrong end.

KS-12T ($900-1000) - Pros: It's an AK shotgun! Cons: It's an AK shotgun! Okay, okay. It's very high capacity, and its reload times cannot be beat since it's mag fed.  However, it is pricey, parts and good mags can be scarce, and it's dang heavy. Optic mounting is annoying and requires aftermarket parts, and the gun may also need to be worked on out of the box to work right. 

Lastly, there is the honorable mention that I'm still seriously considering:

Stoeger side by side double barrel Coach Gun ($500-600) - Pros: faster reload than even the AK, even bigger cool factor, not as impractical as you'd think for self defense. Cons: Not as cheap as you think it would/should be, heavy recoil, it's still a lot longer than the gun I want it to be without going through a bunch of bureaucratic bullcrap and taxes. 

Of course, if it wasn't for all those freaking retarded gun laws we have, I could tell you there's really only one shotgun I actually want:

Operation Pandora Trigger

Some years ago, My wife and her sister both went to New York City together and were able to see a whole range of cool stuff. They went to the city library, 9/11 museum, Times Square, The Met, Statue of Liberty, saw a Broadway musical, and took the city bus tour that included a bunch of notable historical and filming locations. All in all, they both loved it and gushed about it for weeks. 

Many more years ago, when I bought my first car, I also went to New York City and hated every minute of it. Granted, it wasn't supposed to be a pleasure trip, but it doesn't help that I had to deal with worst aspects of the city. I had to argue with their DMV, experience the hellacious traffic, nosy cabbies, and filthy hobos, along with my own dumb uninformed mistakes for my first time there. My experience felt more like Escape From New York by comparison to my wife's.

Yeah, like that but without the fun parts. Wasn't able to shoot my way out, either.

However, one thing both my wife and I can both agree on about New York is that the food is absolutely incredible out there. It doesn't really matter what you get, it just ends up being the best you'll ever have of anything.  

So despite all the bad experiences, and the things I already hate about the place (all the people), I would still really love to go back sometime to see the fun stuff; well, as long as they drop their retarded covid restrictions already. Most touristy traps don't interest me, but even then, I have had few things I'd love to see.They are (not in order): 

First and foremost, gotta go by Hook & Ladder Company 8 Firehouse just to say I've been there. Not familiar with it? It's the Ghostbuster's office from the original (actually good) movies.

Next, there is the Plaza Hotel, because it's a fascinating building and it's staple of Home Alone 2. Not ashamed to admit that.

I'll absolutely be unable to miss going to Lovecraft. A restaurant completely revolving around the author's works sounds absolutely great. Normally, I don't give a crap about novelty restaurants, but this one certainly found my weak spot.

Something that could have so easily been made a political tool actually turned out to be a very reverent and respectful dedication to the victims and so I do want to visit the 9/11 Museum. As someone who remembers those events, I don't think I could escape paying tribute by not going there. 

This one's kind of a cheat since it's not actually in NYC, but rather in Calverton, NY. Grumman Memorial Park would be nothing short of a religious experience for me, and I would NOT be able to go to NY again without going here too.  

Such a dang pretty machine! I'd even be happy to steal one from Iran, if I could.

On a similar vein, the USS Intrepid is another must see if I go. Not only is it chock full of cool stuff I've never been able to see before, but it's home to the prototype F-14B Super Tomcat. Could never even imagine a trip to NYC without visiting the only cat I truly love (no apologies to our kitten at home).  

Lastly, but not least in this list is: The Met. People say you can stay in NYC a week and still not experience all this one place has to offer, and I would be happy to base an entire visit on just that. Granted, there are exhibits that would interest me more than others, but it's a history nerd's dream come true. Although, I'll admit that the primary reason I want to see the Egyptian exhibit is for purely nostalgic reasons, if you didn't guess from the title of the post.

I have shot countless terrorists through those big windows.

Another thing the wife and I agree on is taking time to also experience the back country of New Jersey and New York state. I spent years in Oregon, which known for being an incredibly green state, and it never held a candle to the beauty of New York and Jew Jersey back roads. Would totally spend some time in like an air B&B out in the country to enjoy the scenery for a day or two; maybe even stop by Palmyra just because we can.

Put your hand inside the box office

All of the press about the new Dune movie before it came out, made it seem like it was going to be a huge bore-fest filled with wokeness that was trying to turn Frank Herbert's story into something it's not. I was blatantly not excited to see it before it came out. 

That is, until my younger brother made me watch the official trailer when it was  released, and I was stunned at the great visual style and the fact that it actually looked like it could be good. Not only good, but very good. I underwent a complete 180 and was now on the hype train to see it. 

One of the big promo images for the movie before release. See how boring it makes it look? Thank goodness it's not boring at all. 

Last weekend, I was finally able to watch part one of the new movie and I think it is actually the best adaptation of the Dune story so far. Great casting choices, great sets, effects, and the 'thopters actually look like 'thopters for once! Now, the new movie has it's own weaknesses and problems, but overall it's the most seamless experience for both people unfamiliar with Dune and for die hard fans. To be honest, I think the only legit complaints I have about the new movie are: 

 - The soundtrack is so bad as to be distracting from what's happening on screen. I actually like Hans Zimmer, but this one felt like he was phoning it in like he didn't give a crap. It has some genuinely good moments, but the bad ones certainly overshadow them. At best it's forgettable, at worst it's annoying. Also, stop with following the trend of horn farts as a soundtrack. It's fine once in a great while, but damn, it certainly ain't music! It's no wonder we're already seeing a crap-ton of fan edits on YouTube that inserts the 1984 movie soundtrack into it. 

- The story unfolds far better than in any other adaptation, but it doesn't properly establish why things are happening at all because it doesn't bother to establish much of the surrounding universe very well. This can make the why pretty confusing to someone new to Dune. But, this is actually a relatively minor complaint, since it's focusing on the immediate story.

- The needless gender swapping of the character of Liet Kynes to be a woman. This actually kind of frustrates a portion of the story not much later in the movie. Dunno why they did this cause it causes a minor plot hole for certain bits of lore. 

- Why the hell is nobody using guns in the major battle? They show that the tech obviously works against shields in the movie. It's seriously stupid to see freaking sword battles happen as AAA and strafing runs go rampant in the background of the same shot.  

But that's really all the big things I have to complain about, cause it really is a great movie. The pacing is great, it's possibly the most faithful to the source material, the technology looks correct, the characters have more charm to them, and I'm eagerly awaiting the continuation. 

But don't let it stop you from watching the Sci-Fy channel miniseries or the 1984 Lynch movie if you can. The Lynch is not what I would call a great movie at all, but as a lover of good sci-fi, I can really appreciate both the good aspects of the film as well as the things it attempted to do and failed at. I'm no fan of Lynch at all, but I really think he did a good job of embracing the weird and brutal elements of the Dune universe. That, and the 1984 movie soundtrack will never be bested, it will forever reign as the ultimate Dune soundtrack.

many attempts came before, but we do have a great one now. 

Maybe if I have time, I'll do a post that compares and contrasts the strengths and weaknesses between all three versions of the story in another post. 

My wife is great

Was sitting in church with my wife earlier when I felt the urge to compliment her. She spends a good amount of time in the mornings making sure she looks presentable, and she looked good. I started by telling her, "Your hair looks great."

She matter of fact-ly replies, "Thanks, but it's getting too long, it's really hot."

"I know" I slyly retort while raising my eyebrows.

"No, not *makes seductive growl* hot, more like *makes exasperated sigh* hot."

"Why not both?"

Wife stares at me for a moment with wide eyes then just makes a guttural noise that's supposed to be a combination of the two. I was fighting not to make my reaction a big belly laugh.

It's the little things that make my day so much better every time we talk. Later on when going to the car we were talking about the weather, and she was insisting it was already too cold out by showing it was snowing and not raining by pointing out a clump of snow on her car,

"See! Ther-oh. No wait, that's a paint chip."

Weekly musical ritual

 Because I can't be bothered to write anything on Sundays, here's some more music:

The Budos Band - Tomahawk

Just shut up already, people

Again, this where I have to yell at everyone supposedly on my side. It's understandable that people who know nothing about guns or movie productions will spit out nonsensical crap that should be blatantly ignored. But I'm astounded at the amount of pro-gun and other people who should know better who are spouting retardation about the Alec Baldwin accidental shooting/death is utterly astounding. I can't help but point out the obvious to everyone because they aint thinking with their freaking brains. 

I'm not even a huge fan of Alec Baldwin. Yes he's a self-absorbed, blue pilled, die hard lefty actor who doesn't think either, but I still enjoy a few of his films. In a majority of all possible circumstances, it's not his fault that this shooting happened at all. Granted, not all the specifics about the situation are known, but working on the assumption it wasn't a blatant murder, and that it was an on-set accident, it's highly likely to not be his fault, full stop.

So far there are two big arguments people are throwing out there as to why it happened and/or why he is responsible, but both are just dumb.

"It's Baldwin's fault! He should know about guns!" This. This is what you look like.

"He should have known/been taught/followed the four (Cooper's) rules of firearms" No, this is just moronic. The very nature of how firearms are used on sets for filming completely violates all the four rules on a regular basis. In film productions you are SUPPOSED to be pointing guns and shooting blanks at other actors, at the camera with the people behind it, at flimsy sets/props with people behind them, with fingers on triggers for scenes of tension all the freaking time. The four rules would never be able to be adhered to on set with cameras rolling, and to an extent, never should be. That, and what the hell would keeping his finger off the trigger till ready to shoot help at all, if he was supposed to be pointing or shooting the gun at the camera for the scene?

"But it's still his fault it happened, even if he didn't mean to hurt anyone because he should be familiar with firearms before he used them" Shut the hell up. No. Again, it's not his fault at all, full stop. It's not his job to be familiar with firearms at all, it's his job to act. Yes, it would be good for him to have familiarity with firearms and practiced caution, but it likely still would not prevent the shooting, and he's not obligated to be responsible for all the props on set. Most actors are not and shouldn't be expected to be familiar, as there are people on set who are there to do just that. 

Hence, movie productions that get prop, blank firing, and real guns also hire propmasters/safety consultants specifically to assist with on-set firearms, safety, and instruction. Usually from the same company providing the firearms/props to be used. They will provide safety briefings and instructions on set to all who are interacting with the guns, as well as coordinate who can access them, and when it is safe to be firing blanks or performing other actions with them. This also involves a huge amount of insurance to cover these exact type of situations/accidents that have happened before (Brandon Lee). The director and his staff are supposed to be constantly consulting with them and deferring to propmasters when firearms are on set to know the safety risks, and status of them at all times before filming. The many unions/guilds involved in film-making also have strict policies for following those procedures.  

Nobody blamed the actor who killed Brandon Lee under extremely similar circumstances.

Again, all this is dependent on the circumstances of what is going on at that moment, but from what little details we have of the incident, it seems there was gross incompetence on the part of the director, assistant director, possibly the propmaster, and even other actors before the accident. However, time will tell as we get more details and the full picture on the circumstances, so I could end up totally wrong as well.

Yes, I agree that people in general should take more responsibility in knowing more about firearms, but it's still not an actor's job or responsibility to do so on set, and they are provided safety instruction on set every time they are used. If they are working under the instructions/supervision of someone else responsible for their safety, it's THAT person's fault when something goes wrong. It's nice when actors DO take the time to be very knowledgeable, Keanu Reeves and Will Smith being great examples, but I don't expect it of them. 

It's akin to somebody who knows nothing about cars, who works in accounting or something, goes to one of those super car driving courses at a racetrack. If the instructors, mechanics, or owners of that course/class do something negligent, but the accountant doing all the driving does all he is instructed to do, how it is his fault if an accident happens, unless he intentionally causes it?  

The last thing I see is a bunch of assholes (and I don't use the word lightly) on the right side of the political spectrum and other pro-gun people rejoicing in the irony of a big anti-gun advocate being involved in a gun related death (looking at you libertarian and pro-gun subreddits!). You're all far bigger pieces of shit than Alec if you are rejoicing in something that resulted in the death of an innocent woman, so go screw yourselves, too.  

I feel bad for Alec, as he does (understandably) seem pretty dang distraught about the whole situation and is getting dogpiled on for something that is (in all likelihood) nothing more than a horrible accident he had no ability to prevent. I don't care if he thinks he's better than me, if he hates my politics, hates gunowners, or even if he hated me personally. I still wouldn't wish that to happen to anyone with even a shred of humanity to them. Only monsters like Pol Pot or something who forfeit the right to be people, deserve that or something worse. Because screw that effing guy with a rusty metal pineapple covered in lemon juice. 

UPDATE: Just to clarify as it may not have been spelled out here, I'm not above making jokes about the situation, or recognizing the irony here, as I don't really like Mr. Baldwin either. I just think people are being stupid as to the why it happened without all the facts, and the people saying they are glad it happened to him are complete jerks. 

Boomers and their silly TV

 One of my biggest things I always try to work on is empathy. I like to think I've gotten better at it over the years, but sometimes I just hit a brick wall in my mind as I struggle to understand the why behind certain thoughts of others, like missing old school TV.

I delight in the death of old media. Oh, I love movies and shows, but I hate TV. Even back before the internet was all encompassing. Remember those days? You tried to find an excuse during the break to get up and do something cause the commercials were all an annoying waste of time, then you get up and someone shouts that the show is back on, but then you sit through another 5 min of recap of what they already did before the commercial break. 

Only watching what I like, when I like, where I like, with adblockers too? 

On top of that, it seems all the shows involving history or science (lookin' at you discovery and history channel) seem to love padding out the show with a bunch of terrible skits, bad humor, unnecessary drama, and/or are just so badly researched that they actually spread misinformation. I still laugh at the Mythbusters episode on Carlos Hathcocks's historically documented and confirmed shot (evidence still in a USMC museum) that they "busted" as a myth, then had to redo the episode later because they obviously never researched it at all. 

Or something like the local news, that does nothing other than fear-mongering about nonsensical crap on top of spreading misinformation all too often.  Add to that, the insane weather segment which is not only inaccurate, but takes 15-20 min to tell you what you can get a glance with a simple chart. 

I dumped having any kind of traditional TV/cable/satellite nearly 15 years ago and never looked back. I swear I can say my life is so much better without it. Say what you will about YouTube and the like, but at least you don't have to deal with all the same crap there (unless you really want to). So imagine my surprise when I hear earlier this week that some people I know still WANT to find a way to watch it. But why?

Okay, I'll post about the latest drama llama

Well, everyone already knows that now that he's out of the closet. Seriously though, this guy is one pathetic case. I mean the entire narrative as long as I have been alive is that William Shatner is a complete dick, and has done nothing but insult and offend Takei somehow. Color me not shocked when I see this article recently Thanks to Kim:

I've met Shatner on a couple of occasions and watched his traveling show when it came here and also wrote a post about that here. I had while to digest it, and I can't help but gather that Shatner is vastly misunderstood. Yes he is someone who is very confident in himself, but I doubt it's to the point of being self absorbed or arrogant from what I see. Perhaps he was like that in his past, but I really don't see it now. He has a very self deprecating sense of humor and comes across as very down to earth when you talk to him. Even his traveling act that is all about his career and experience is often making cracks at his own expense. 

Every time I've seen or heard someone bring up the subject of Takei to him, he never gets upset or even raises his voice. In fact, I've never even heard of Bill crack so much as a joke about George other than he just doesn't get Takei's continued anger at him after tying to bury the hatchet multiple times.

On the other hand, Takei never misses an opportunity to get bent out of shape, angry, snarky, and insults Shatner at every turn. You'd think he had a messy divorce with the Shat and never got over it with the way he acts. Takei is also pretty high on his horse with an ego to match. I mean, he seriously refused more screen time in Star Trek VI just so he could 1) not work on the same set with Shatner and 2) be the captain of a fake starship on screen.  But, I can't put much faith in his intelligence anyways since he's been advocating for the same political party that LITERALLY put him in a concentration camp as a child. I'd say he's the one that's coming across like the jerk here. 

Will Shatner is still human. He's got his own controversies, and has made blatantly dumb choices. But hey, even if all the crap about Shatner is true, that he's a total jerk who is completely self absorbed, I'd still rather him be my child's role model. I mean, he's a hugely successful actor, author, equestrian, has tried his hand at music, directing, and has now been to mother effing space! Meanwhile, George had a couple joke bit parts in vidja games, had a mediocre TV career after trek, causes drama on twitter, and touched another guy's junk on tv. Whoop de freakin doo, George. 

George, just pack it in buddy. It doesn't make you look good to flare up an old beef with the Shat; It just makes you look desperate for attention. I know you still have talent in there, so why not rely on that instead?

Just let it go already, man. You ain't earning brownie points here.

Forgotten films - The Last Starfighter

Some time earlier this year, I heard (likely from the Unwanted Blog) that someone was pitching a remake of the movie The Last Starfighter. They posted a youtube video with some of the soundtrack from the original film mixed with the concept art for the remake.

I'm kinda torn on this. On the one hand, it is a relatively forgotten film that does have pretty dated effects, and I think younger audiences would enjoy the story and universe it presents.  On the other hand, I love that movie and I don't think it is that dated other than the effects. The more I think about it, the more I think I'd rather just have the original re-released with all-new effects as the rest of the movie holds up very well.  Also, you'll never be able to match Robert Preston's fantastic performance as a space-fairing, music man-type military recruiter. 

So many things these days are getting remakes that don't need it, but could to with expanding and exploring their cinematic world a bit. I highly disagree with anyone who says they are tired of, or don't want any more sequels. I mean, my favorite Star Trek move is number 6 in the series and it's absolutely amazing. I think people tend to conflate sequel fatigue with crappy writing, because so many things these days are poorly written to begin with and then the sequels are that much worse. For example, can you image how cool a Blade Runner sequel could have been if it had good writing? Yes, Blade Runner 2049 sucks ass, and you should feel bad for liking it. 

Blade Runner 2049 dipwads didn't even make the movie a noir, and ruined the point of the original (and far superior) story. Top photo taken from Razorfist.

On the other hand, there's a decent-sized list of moves that are hailed as classics that are remakes and sequels. I mean, some films that were remakes that are great are: John Carpenter's The Thing (1984), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Scarface (1983), The Fly (1986), and True Grit (2010). I already touched on sequels, but anyone can tell you that they can be just as good if not better than the original, but regardless, it depends heavily on the quality of the writing. 

All that being said, the video of the concept art looks good and I would tell the guys behind it to perhaps focus on a sequel or spin-off that would be a period piece still set in the 80's. I think that would be unendingly cool. They certainly could get away with expanding that universe a lot more, and I would much rather see that than simply remaking the original.  

On a somewhat related note, the wife and I saw the relatively new movie Free Man recently and...well...it wasn't a bad move by far, but it certainly wasn't a great movie. I guess you can say it just committed the ultimate sin of being very...forgettable.  

Space gats

It's not often that I am green with envy for a gun that's chambered in .22 Long Rifle, but this one fits the bill nicely.  It's a gun that is constantly brought up in gun culture in general, purely on the fact that it has the most bespoke look to it: the Whitney Wolverine. 

There's a great write up on The Firearm Blog recently about the piece, as well as Ian from Forgotten Weapons has a great video on it from a while back. It's such a gorgeous gun that I would love to have one. It's just a shame that every time it has been on the market, it just doesn't seem to sell enough to stay on the market, so now they are multi-thousand dollar collector items. With that kind of value, I couldn't bring myself to shoot one, and if I can't shoot it, I won't own it.

Although, due in large part to the popularity of Cowboy Bebop and a resurgence of that popularity due to an upcoming remake by Netflix, my own Jericho 941R has gone from a garbage $350 CZ75 knock-off to a nearly $750-1000 dollar gun in some cases. But, since parts are a plenty, I don't feel bad about using that one up at the range. 

That, and I think it's a really darn pretty gun on it's own, too. Need to get this thing refinished, though. 

Bullet strikes the helmet's head

 What was actually going on in Jim Morrison's head during his musical career is likely to remain a mystery wrapped in an enigma (the heavy drug use helping with that). Jim also really loved to mislead, obfuscate, and outright lie about his childhood and upbringing to all who inquired. Obviously, this was the result of a strained relationship with his family. So because of that, I never really knew much about his family and upbringing until Ward Carroll put up a video about it just the other day. 

Jim and his dad on the bridge of the USS Bon Homme Richard. Pic taken from the wiki article.

I'm sure I've heard who his family is some time ago in passing, but never really read into it. The video is really interesting stuff, and I had no idea how critical Jim's Dad was to the intervention in Vietnam.  It is also funny to hear his Dad's opinion on Jim's choice of going into music. I have to say, Jim would likely have lived a much more decent and longer life had he done so, but then we wouldn't get such good music. 

Blossom Rock from The History Guy

 This is a video I shared with my Mom some time ago about an underwater demolition that helped transform San Francisco into a major port. I lived there (or near there) for a good portion of my life and never heard of this story. I think it may be due to how weird everyone is there, since EVERYONE loves talking about Emperor Norton, but nobody mentions this? Really? Even the official Golden Gate bridge history tour includes him, but do you hear about this event that had a much larger affect on the course of San Fran? Nope, it's all about emperor brain damaged hobo over there. 

More relaxing tunes for Sunday

Ice T singing metal, and doing a great job of it. What a time to be alive. 

Ice T/Body Count - Raining Blood

In where I oust myself as a religious kook

Okay, so I've been going on a number of rants recently, but I am a white, nerdy Mexican with glasses, so, isn't it expected?  Anyways, this one gets theological, so if you don't wanna deal with it, feel free to move along. For the rest of you staying, well once again:

To not be a 'useful idiot'

Soviet defection stories have always intrigued me to a large degree. I've bought and read both books by Victor Belenko and Alexander Zuyev detailing their defections in MiG fighters, which are incredible stories. As someone once said, "you will never find a more ardent anti-communist than a former one."

I can only imagine what it would have been like to see Belenko's Foxbat in japan on the news. 

However, of all the defectors I have educated my self on so far, the most interesting by far is the story of Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov, also known as Tomas Schuman. Although the pilots certainly had multiple motivations, be they political, safety, moral, and monetary needs before defecting, Bezmenov is a man who was motivated purely by a moral disgust with his government and job working for said government. 

Total Chad right there

He not only has a fascinating story to tell about his defection, but also of his life, why he came to the west, as well as his passionate desire to see it's culture and values defended from any kind of attack. Especially from the specific and devious tactics of his former employer, the infamous KGB. 

It's more than a shame the man died so young (aged 53 due to heart attack), as I'm sure he would have had more than a few hot takes and thoughts on modern events and trends. Although, I'm sure he would have also approved of the tone and message of his use in the new Call of Duty Cold War teaser trailer (despite it being a fairly mundane game). Don't pass up watching that one!

Below I'll embed the video for his most famous interview on his life, defection, and job. Enjoy!

The AR-15 IS a military firearm and civilians should own them - change my mind

In all honesty, I don't like being divisive. However, I am very willing to be so if the cost is to be honest.  

I'll admit I'm of a certain political persuasion and because of that, I do enjoy watching Steven Crowder fairly often. Okay, okay, I know I'm sounding like a broken millennial record here, constantly spouting about freaking youtubers, but hear me out. Steven has made a pretty big splash on the interwebs and in national news for a variety of reasons, but I think his most enduring claim to fame is his "Change my mind" segments (I mean, it's still a popular meme). 

My only major disagreement I have with the good Mr. Crowder is his argument for defending the AR-15 and it's derivatives in his anti-gun control segments (including the Change My Mind specials). He states multiple times on his show that the AR-15 is not a military firearm and that they just look like military firearms. I doubt he is intentionally trying to be disingenuous in his stance, but it is a very dubious argument at best for defending the 2A, refuting gun control, or preserving the civilian right to own AR-15s, and it's blatantly inaccurate or dishonest at worst. 

Now, it's not a complete falsehood, there are some important differences between a military issue M4/M16 type weapon and what's commonly available to to civilians without extensive bureaucracy and licensing, but most of those will never make much of a difference at all in handling, performance, or looks of the gun. My argument being that they are basically the exact same firearm and design minus just one minor feature. They are so similar as to make almost no difference to the average person and they would likely never know the difference, even if they handled and shot both. This same reason is also exactly why the average citizen should never be restricted from owning it.  

One is civilian, one is military. Can you tell the difference? Does it even matter? Some will tell you the difference is just cosmetic, or that they are different guns and just look similar. This is all bullcrap.

For clarity's sake, the civilian AR market has such an insanely wide range of differing features and components to be ridiculous, but we'll operate on the principle that we are trying to compare to the average rifle that is advertised as an M4 style (or M-forgery) mil-spec AR which is still one of the most common to the average gun buyer.

So obviously, this whole post is to help those with little or no familiarity with specifically the AR design. For the uninitiated, here's a little primer on the parts of an AR-15 and another short video on how the AR-15 actually works. 

So, where's my proof for this, you ask? Let's make a small list of the similarities and differences in parts/components between the average civilian AR15 (in an Mforgery/M4 style) and a military M4 type rifle below: 

Similarities	Differences
Sights	Lower receiver
Pistol grips	FCG/selector
Handguards	Auto sear
Rail systems	Bolt carrier
Stocks	Barrel length
Upper receiver
Gas system/ Gas tube
Bolt head
Buffer and Return spring
Magazines
Muzzle Devices
Slings
Optics
Triggers
Selectors
Pins
Charging handle
Dust cover
Ammunition

Buckle up, this'll be a long one after the jump:

In reference to one of last week's posts

Now, I don't remember who sent me this, or where I might have found it, but I thought it was pretty interesting nonetheless. It's a video produced by the Canadian Military Police about how to go about traveling from West Germany to West Berlin.  I may have been alive during the 80's, but I certainly wasn't of a cognitive age to remember any of the Cold War at all.  So for me, this was an interesting glimpse into the tensions of the time. Enjoy!

In other news, if you haven't stopped by the Unwanted Blog in a while, this made me laugh real hard. Just a shame that guy doesn't live in my state anymore, he's totally someone on the blogroll I wouldn't mind having a sit down conversation with about a number of topics. 

Aviation conspiracy theories for $100, Alex.

So, I was watching some YouTube videos, and one of the channels I subscribe to (Found and Explained) had a video on the Ho 229 and its derivatives that never left the drawing board.

I really like his channel, it focuses on all sorts of prototype and unbuilt designs; it's a lot of fun, and usually well researched. But, he's admitted he's new to the world of aviation and was never really an enthusiast before making videos on the subject. So naturally, he sometimes makes mistakes. But in the videos I pointed out above, he continually refers to the Horton aircraft as being 'stealth' or 'stealthy'.

That's a very popular theory among amateur aviation enthusiasts; that the Ho 229 (or any other advanced design) was the wonder weapon that would have turned the tables for the Nazis in WW2 if produced in proper numbers. They say this and boast that the Horton design specifically was the first "stealth" fighter.  Of course, the Horton is not the sole focus of this delusion; for some reason loads of people love to fantasize that some wonder weapon would have changed history if it just was produced in numbers.

Well, I'm just here as a friend, to tell you to stop it. Stop the delusions. No, it freaking was NOT the first stealth fighter. No, it wouldn't have been enough to change the course of the war, even if produced in numbers. This stupid tripe was started by a special the Discovery Channel aired years ago, and people have latched on to it as if it was proven, but it really only has the same validity and proof as Ancient Aliens.

Now, yes it was among the first successful flying wing designs as we know it today. Being a flying wing, it's the same BASIC design used by the current-day B-2 stealth bomber. Yes, the reason the stealth bomber uses the design is that it makes it naturally harder to track on radar while lending itself to a naturally lower radar cross section (RCS) from certain angles. 

However, even the Discovery Channel's special on the Horton aircraft dispels this very myth while trying to prove it. For example:

In the special, they take a replica of the Ho 229 to a radar range run by Northrop Grumman to test the radar returns of the aircraft. In this test, they even stated they did NOT include ANY metal components needed in the workable version of the aircraft, including the engines. This is critical, as any respectable aeronautical engineer will tell you that engine faces and intakes are a huge contributor of RCS. Any metal components are also a large factor in creating radar returns (obviously), which is why all stealth aircraft use radar absorbent and deflecting coatings on top of their unique shape. The coatings being a primary component of stealth technology.

The RCS of a variety of common aircraft compared to stealth aircraft

That being said, the results of the test in the special still showed only a 20% reduction in the Ho 229's RCS compared to a common Bf 109 fighter. Compare that to the B-2, who's RCS is near 0.6% of that of a non-stealthy aircraft of similar size. Being 80% of what is already there is NOT an impressive number.  That, and when you integrate the engines and metal components back into the Horton, I really don't see how the RCS would stay that low, if not increase beyond the Bf 109's. 

The Horton Ho 229 is an amazing, beautiful aircraft that was far ahead of it's time, with impressive performance projections (that certainly influenced modern designs); but so was the Me 262, and that didn't help the Nazis either. Between incompetent upper leadership, misuse and lack of resources, a significant depletion of experienced pilots due to combat losses, and a lack of training for replacements, the Ho 229 had no chance of changing any aspect of the war, even if produced in numbers.

The allies would still have made tactics to counter the new threat as well, just as they did for the Me 262. In the immortal words of the late, great Chuck Yeager, "The first time I saw a jet, I shot it down." 

I still like to think of historical "what-ifs", but I don't get the desire of some to fantasize that the Nazis were just one weapon away from ruling the Western front.  But hey, since I'm on a roll with my Columbus post and dispelling common myths, here are some other bombshells:

Michael Jackson was innocent

The last election was fraudulent

Nazis never had UFOs

and Epstein didn't kill himself

The brightest of lights

This is an emergency post. Dugan Ashley, the creator of the CarnikCon You Tube channel, is one of the greatest You Tubers of all time IMHO.  He has certainly made me laugh harder and more often than anyone else there, and has endlessly pissed off the 'ol fudds that have no sense of humor. Just a shame he was unable to carry on with his channel longer, as he had what I thought was just financial and time constraints.

Because of him, I know that I need to store skittles in my AR pistol grip, which rifle is best for combat in space, have the biggest scope possible on an SBR, MP5SD means MP5 Super Duper quiet, that woman no drive, to always wear 'meriflauge camo, watch out for the pack of crazed rapists following me everywhere, to like Freedom America Ale, a Daewoo is basically an F-15, and to shut the f up because he knows I like the HK G36.

So, color me shocked and saddened to hear that he has been dealing with the hardships of multiple sclerosis for a few years now, which has become a debilitating condition for him. There is a fundraiser to help him with the expenses for his medical treatment and the page says that his prognosis is not good, and that he might not survive for very long(careful, this link is a tearjerker). 

There are not many causes on the internet that I go all in for, especially to the point of promoting it to my non-existent readers, but this is certainly one.  If you have the ability, I would highly encourage to donate just a few dollars to his cause. I'm nearly broke, and I'm still sending a few dollars his way. I can't imagine how rough it is for his family, and I would like to help him just be with them for a bit longer. #PrayForDugan

Help out Dugan and you can be awesome too!