notalwaysright.com
Dec. 7th, 2009 | 12:36 am
posted by:
last_real_angel
(The customer holds up a picture from the movie ‘Wanted’.)
Me: “All righty, we’ll have to order that one for you, but we can have it to you in a few weeks.”
Customer: “WHAT?! I NEED THE GUN BY NEXT WEEK! CAN’T YOU GET ME THE GUN BY NEXT WEEK?!”
Me: “You’ll have to deal with the waiting period, anyway. What exactly do you need it for so quickly?”
Customer: *suddenly calm again* “Me and my friend are going to curve a bullet around his head for a YouTube video.”
Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a gun then. All you’ll do is kill your buddy and go to jail.”
Customer: “YOU’RE GOING TO GET ME THE GUN, OR I’M GOING TO TALK TO THE MANAGER!”
Co-worker: “I love working here.”
(The manager, who was in the room behind the counter, walks out with a shotgun on his shoulder.)
Manager: “You’re in my store, where I have literally hundreds of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Are you really that stupid?”
(The customer looks around at the guns like he hadn’t noticed them before, and runs out of the store as my co-worker walks up.)
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IN A SEASON OF LOVE, UNDERCURRENTS OF HATE
Dec. 7th, 2009 | 05:22 am
posted by:
mayoob
In a time of year where even secular Americans traditionally get into the spirit of brotherly love, there seems to be more than enough murderous hatred to go around.
Ironically, love of family got misplaced in the Pacific Northwest when relatives of a cop-killer aided and abetted him after the murders of four cops. They had ignored his statements around Thanksgiving that he wanted to kill police…and wanted to mass murder children at a school, or perhaps open fire at people at random at a crowded intersection.
Perhaps even more ironically, in a season steeped in religion, the killer has been linked to both Nation of Islam and a weird sect that calls itself Black Foot Soldiers, who consider police terrorists who must be assassinated, and are celebrating the cop-killings. Follow such links at your peril: they will lead you to a cesspool of racial hatred and filthy, twisted thinking that flows in both directions. Nor is all such madness racial: late in the comments that follow the immediate previous blog entry below, you’ll find the link to another recent cop-killing, this one in the South, where the man on film committing this mindless murder is painted in the news as a young Ward Cleaver gone wrong. He, too, has at least one relative of whom we must ask ourselves, “What was he thinking?!?”
Evil, murder, and madness have always been with us. It just seems in the last five or six weeks that more of it has occupied our national attention. Sloughing away responsibility continues too, as we see in Howard Nemerov’s link to the updated report on the Virginia Tech massacre.
Sorry this corner of the Backwoods Home Blogs is so far out of the stream of Christmas Spirit. Murderous SOBs in the news keep getting in the way. Prepare for the worst so you can enjoy the best. Today (Sunday) I shot a pistol match with friends. It sharpened defensive skills, and it was time well spent with good people who have a solid grasp on core human values such as, oh, the protection of the innocent from evil.
Forgive me, but that’s about as close to segueing back into Christmas Season as I’m likely to get this week. Right now, I can’t offer anything much more cheerful than a picture of a dead cop-killer, forwarded by a brother in the northwest. (Cops have cell phone cameras, too.)

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Advent calendar of friends,
Dec. 7th, 2009 | 12:23 am
posted by:
eveglass
December 6:
Ernst (aka Ernie, aka Da Coach) is my formal mentor in the SCA, meaning that I'm officially his student and part of "Da Team." Ernst is one of those guys who knows absolutely everybody worth knowing, one of those guys who just has a knack for making sure the important stuff gets done. He also has a knack for making people laugh. I've followed him around at events a few times, and it's been one of the most fun experiences I can remember. He's been court herald for more reigns than I can count, and he's the only reason I ever found out what happens behind the thrones at court. He's also a Vietnam vet and a holder of the Purple Heart and Silver Star. I'm incredibly proud to be associated with him. Those who are interested can see his web site.
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Addenda
Dec. 7th, 2009 | 12:03 am
posted by:
helwen
One definite minus for me was that
Hm.... despite being tired, here I am, still up at midnight. Expect I should call it a night shortly...
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silliness
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 11:39 pm
posted by:
last_real_angel
Go to the glasses every month.
Give up hephaestus.
Give some rpgs to charity.
Apply for a new sca.
Give up modeling.
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Willful Paraplegia...
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 09:11 pm
posted by:
dwarven_brewer
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Meme Sheep
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 08:28 pm
posted by:
dwarven_brewer
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(no subject)
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 06:23 pm
posted by:
jtdiii
I wrapped oranges with red satin ribbon, pierced them with a toothpick and inserted cloves and hung them up in the kitchen and bathroom.
I am now completely exhausted.
I hate bronchitis.
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Weekend report
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 05:49 pm
posted by:
kumir_k9
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Bhakail Yule
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 05:15 pm
posted by:
alysten
( Yule recap )
( BIG thank yous! )
I don't remember much else from the day, except that there were a lot of people, the hall looked awesome under candlelight, I swore fealty to their Majesties, her Majesty has a special project she wants to work on, I received several really nice thank you tokens, and I didn't sit down or stop moving all day.
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BBM/Bergental Yule
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 04:39 pm
posted by:
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Bergental/BBM Yule
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 04:20 pm
mood:
calm
posted by:
helwen
Here.
And some photos, also hers: Here.
Some additional stuff not in the above post:
***
Sir Tommaltach issued a challenge to all Bergental fighters, throwing down a gauntlet in court. He will be wearing a special favor whenever in armor (except major Pennsic battles, to protect the favor), and Bergental fighters may challenge him in combat for the favor. The challenger must best him with three different weapons forms. Should the challenger succeed, he/she will wear the favor and carry the challenge to the other warriors, and so on. The names of the bearers of the favor will be inscribed on the back of it.
***
Sweet moment in BBM's court. Labruinn expressly took up the challenge of winning their heraldry challenge because the prize was a to-be-personalized embroidered item. In this case, the back of a mirror. He had it embroidered with his lady's coat of arms, as a sign of his gratitude for all her support and help in making it possible for him to pursue activities in the SCA.
***
Their Highnesses are really cool people, as are their respective partners. Looking forward to this reign, and to working with them again in the spring at Coronation. Although after that particular event, they might be a little too tired to help out in the kitchen, but we'll see ;)
It was nice to see that tradition being revived, I have to say.
***
Concentus performed well, with flying colors :)
***
Had some good chats, both with people I already knew and some new folks as well. Didn't get to chat with everyone I would have liked to, but alas, not enough hours in the day.
***
Won a couple of items in the auction; a couple of embroidered mats/doilies, and a beautiful strand of amber. I like amber but have avoided buying large quantities of it. This strand had a very nice energy though, so I'm glad I ended up with it.
***
Fracti Modi was there performing during the day. They continue to improve, and are always a delight to have here, adding greatly to the atmosphere of our events.
***
So, very good event! I was especially pleased that
***
As an offshoot of various discussions, we may end up with another teacher from our group, and I had an idea for a new class that I'd like to teach. I'll have to work on the description so it sounds interesting and makes sense to readers, but it would be useful to anyone who spends a lot of time doing stuff in front of them, be they artists, researchers, or athletes (or a mix thereof).
***
Clean up seemed to go pretty well. Helped as usual, of course. Had to stop though because the baby powder scent from the central ladies bathroom was giving me grief, and the lungs were definitely on the losing side.
***
Got home about midnight.
***
Slept in a bit this morning, took some more allergy meds plus inhaler, went up to town to deliver eggs and 1 lb. containers of maple cream (1/2 lbs. the other day), had brunch and visited one of the buildings with crafts, etc. That was interesting -- ran into some folks I wanted to talk to, made some connections. Came home and diddled around on the PC and stuff, then Penny and Dorcas came by to buy a small leaf bottle of syrup, so chatted with them for a bit. Still tired, but feeling mostly pretty decent :)
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FUCK E-BAY!!!!!!!!
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 03:54 pm
mood:
angry
music: FTW by ICP
posted by:
turkchief
fuck e-bay
Fuck E-bay
FUCK E-BAY
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TC
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listening to "Symphony of Science - 'Our Place in the Cosmos' (ft. Sagan, Dawkins, Kaku, J
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 11:33 am
music: of Science - 'Our Place in the Cosmos' (ft. Sagan, Dawkins
posted by:
wdonohue
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listening to "Symphony of Science - 'Our Place in the Cosmos' (ft. Sagan, Dawkins, Kaku, J
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 11:32 am
music: of Science - 'Our Place in the Cosmos' (ft. Sagan, Dawkins
posted by:
wdonohue
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Answers for
argent_tyger
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 01:40 pm
posted by:
liamstliam
Keep 'em coming
I know I owe some folks questions.
1. Keeping in mind that I do not care for dark beers and LOVE Belgians What 4 "under the radar" beers must I make sure to drink before I die?
A. The Flemish Sour at Monk's Cafe, conveniently located in Philadelphia.
B. Fantome Chocolate Farmhouse Ale.
C. Southern Tier Pumking.
D. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA.
2. Do you have a "most memorable" or "favorite match" from all the fencing lists you have run?
Give me a chance to watch any match again , and it's Conor vs. Gunny. Over hill and dale.
3. If you could choose the Pennsic Champions team for fencing who would you choose?
See, now I want to change the format. 20 Easterners and 20 Midrealmers vs. 30 allies allotted by rough Pennsic attendance.
I think it would be an absolutely hoot to be cheering for Big Kai against Random Atlantian Provost or for Martin against The Best of Aethelmearc.
I learned a lesson about choosing theam a couple of years ago.
In the current format, it's not the team, it's what you do with it.
That was proven when the East won, partly because of great strategy by
artisticphoenix and
jane_elliot.
4. If you could alter the polling orders any way you wanted what would you change?
First of all, the polling lists would be strictly for discussing candidates in a fair and reasonable way. There would be no chatter about anything else, no welcoming anyone to the list, just more discussion.
Sure, you can say something negative, but it better be objective and factual. You need to be clear and succinct and not get into fights with other people.
I like the way the system works, especially with the last five or so sets of royalty, and I have no doubts about the prince and princess.
I would do away with secrecy in terms of when someone's getting an award. It causes more headaches than benefits.
5. if you could work for any paper in the world what one would you choose and why?
Not such a great time for that. ;)
I would love to be the lead high school guy for the New York Times. They don't really have such a position, but they have writers who serve in that role.
Sports writer for the Wall Street Journal (ala Stefan Fatsis) would be great.
If I was sure of the solidity of the company, I would love to go back and work at the hometown Westerly (RI) Sun.
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Never has a song better expressed my feelings on the yule tide season....
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 01:16 pm
mood:
amused
music: See above
posted by:
turkchief
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(no subject)
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 12:38 pm
posted by:
last_real_angel
1) Go here: The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter+ Challenge.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clic
2) Search for the Mansfield Animal Shelter, in Mansfield MA.
3) Click to vote; it will ask you to confirm that you're a real person by asking you to identify an animal in a photo - do so, and you're done!
You can click daily between now and December 20th, and every single click helps!
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I don't have a good title line - how about "thank you?"
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 12:37 pm
posted by:
kls_eloise
What I don't tend to mention is that I couldn't do ANY of this if Bob wasn't picking up all the slack.
While I'm cooking pork filling for the boar's head, or mixing shortbread dough, or lettering, or painting, Bob is making dinner, taking care of the baby, washing the dishes, feeding the cats, emptying the litterbox, answering the phone... all the things that I'm not doing because I'm off doing cool thing for the organization.
Thanks hon - I couldn't do it without you.
And you thought I hadn't noticed...
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Been a good weekend so far....
Dec. 6th, 2009 | 12:11 pm
mood:
happy
music: Burritos By Sublime
posted by:
turkchief
Spent Friday night noodleing around on line, and doing some reading.
Saturday, slept in, then ran my usual errands. (In the rain thank Jah, and NOT snow) Hit the Bank, then the stationary store for my scratch off games....(3 winners).....Then gassed up the Buick for the week. Went up to visit Jim at MAA. While there I grabbed a used hard back from the discount table for $3 called soldiers, and 2 new Ospreys, "The Czech Legion" and "The Spanish Blue Division". Hung around and chatted with Jim, and one of the customers for about an hour.
Next. I hit Bensons Gun Shop for a bit. I put a few more dollars down on my "On hold" Stoeger, (Only 53 more days to go!!!), had them look up 2 things for me on line.. (NEITHER of which is in stock)......and just generally hung around for about 90 minutes BS'ing with the staff and other customers. A soldier came in at one point. I walked over, shook his hand and thanked him for his service. He was... kind of choked up by it. There are a few nice pieces in Bensons right now, but nothing I really need or even want terribly......
On the way home I stopped at Taco Bell and grabbed 2 of my special 5 ingredient Burritos.....(Grilled Chicken, Cheese, Tomato, Sour Cream and Guacamole)..... Enough for a late lunch, and lunch on Sunday. I spent the rest of the night on line, cleaning up my favorites folders and puttering about the house.
Sunday: Woke up early for some reason. Had Tea and toast for breakfast, and then ran out on a few errands. Dropped off some clothes in the Salvation Army bin while out. Been doing house stuff since. Emptied the garbage, took out the recyclables, checked a few things on line.....(Discovered that I had WON a bid on E-bay in MARCH that I was never informed about so now they're mad at me)......reorganized one of my drawers and the closet, now I'm at lose ends. No plans. Probably going to just keep on doing what I'm doing now until folks show up. Hopefully. Weasel has recovered and there will be "Paranoia" tonight...
TC

