NRO Talks Firefly (With a mention of Serenity)...

Libertarians really are the bestest people out there (would have been a small "L" if it wasn't at the start of the sentence).

Really good little article. Give it a read, politics and Firefly... how could it suck!

Otter

Serenity = Damn Good

Saw Serenity last night at a pre-screening. Its real good... Real real good.

It's like visiting old friends again.

I think I need more time to chew it over. To give a full review I need more, maybe after I see it on Friday or the time I see it after that. Multiple viewings are instore. Wanna do a Firefly marathon too.

Ohh yeah, pre and post game in Scaggsville for anyone who wants to see it with the cool kids.

Otter

I'll Be In My Bunk (Or We're Going to See Serenity)

We have been waiting for this film to hit the theaters since . . . well, since they cancelled the show. We initially expected it to come out sometime this past spring, but, alas, we were made to wait until September 30 (or so we thought). However, it turns out that we are now going to get to see a prescreening tomorrow night. We can't wait (Hence the "I'll be in my bunk"), and we will definitely blog about it extensively. We are also going to have an opening party on Friday the 30th to celebrate the opening of the film to the general public.

Go see it. Here's a trailer for it, which we have run before. There are also some cool features on the movie site, which I linked above (or just click here). There are also some great reviews on Netflix (apologies if you can't get this link).

You can also see posts here and here where we have blogged about Firefly before. I definitely want to expand on our favorite quotes post.

Finally, the SciFi channel is still running the episodes of the show. And, you can buy the box set and check out all the cool scenes that didn't make the show.

Check it out.

Kid H

Here's a nice pic for you. (Except that blogger won't actually post it - it already cost me one post today, so I'll edit when I figure it out)

UPDATE: Serenity Synopsis
Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

Serenity Instalanched...

... Scaggsville hopeful... News at 11.

Otter

One of the saddest things I have ever read.

Bad News Hughes, one of the top three best blog writers out there, did it again. Usually his work is funny beyond belief. And this is too... sort of... until the end. It really struck a chord with me.

I'm am very sad now. Like, end of the dirty dozen sad. Choked up even.

Otter

How to find a human...

List of short cuts in corporate phone trees to get you to a human fast!

Otter

Updated to add a link to PayPal humans.

KH

Couple of things . . .

that demonstrate that Government is too big for anyone to care whether it minds it's own business:

Here is this post on the Agitator about the government screwing up foreign aid from England, and this one about them wasting time on steroids in sports, and finally this one about the FBI's new duties.

Here is an interesting post from Hit & Run that has a Kelo (eminent domain) type case involving the state taking away a bar for a private school. I just think it's interesting because, while the Supreme Court recently ruled that such a taking was (likely) perfectly legal in its Kelo decision, the language of the Constitution's eminent domain provision shows they are (in my opinion) clearly wrong - which I think is the case more often than not recently. More interesting is, as is pointed out in the post, whether people will care about a bar being stolen to fund a private school even remotely as much as they cared about a group of residents whose property was stolen to provide room for a large pharmaceutical company (as in Kelo v. New London).

Finally, there is this article, which I also found via Hit & Run, about the way we use curse words and the reasons that we use them..

I thought it was really interesting overall. I also think the FCC is a joke organization that our country doesn't need or want and is the most obvious example of the emergence of the U.S. nanny state. With that in mind, I especially liked the contrast of these two excerpts:

"Incensed by what it sees as a virtual pandemic of verbal vulgarity issuing from the diverse likes of Howard Stern, Bono of U2 and Robert Novak, the United States Senate is poised to consider a bill that would sharply increase the penalty for obscenity on the air."

and,

"The investigators have found, among other things, that men generally curse more than women, unless said women are in a sorority, and that university provosts swear more than librarians or the staff members of the university day care center."

I'm pretty sure that's de facto evidence that this law, as applied, would have an undue and discriminatory impact on men (and, potentially, University Provosts). I mean if excessive swearing is a sex characteristic, and the FCC applies a strict code to suppress that characteristic, it follows that men will be fined at a much higher level. Where do I go to get this class action suit started?

Kid Handsome

Soccer Fans are Unethical Liars . . .

who will stop at nothing to get what they want.

It's true - Soccer (or Metric Football) causes brain damage and a strange sense of entitlement.

Kid Handsome

Self-importance

I was just reading this post over on A Small Victory about labeling generations. Here is a brief excerpt:

"How is your generation defined? Or, how do you define your generation; by its living standards, its pop culture, its social structure or the world events that happened and how you reacted to them?

Is it stupid to label generations and subscribe such qualities to them? Would it be better to just say "what decade(s) did you grow up in?" as in "I am a child of the 60s/70s." Even then it gets confusing. What I mean is, do you identify yourself with a specific decade or decades and why or why not? What parts of those decades do you identify with? Are there certain pop culture references that you attach yourself to - music, tv shows, etc.?" [emphasis mine]

I think it's a little bit silly to try and label an entire generation. To me, it's just another means of assualting the notion of individualism. Certainly, it's convenient for me to have a label. I'm not against generalities per se, but I can't look at a particular generation and define their qualities and contributions and then turn around and apply it to an individual.

I can only think of two labels for generations that carry any meaning to me. They are: The Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers. Generation X means nothing to me. I don't know what saying that someone is from Generation X is meant to imply. Note: What I think it is supposed to imply is that Baby Boomers did so much more for us than the Generation Xers, so it's very origin is rooted in the selfish desire of Baby Boomers to elevate themselves and their deeds in their own eyes and in the eyes of history. I just think it's kind of silly to attribute qualities (respect, disdain, whatever) to people based on their generation.

C'mon people, when we refer to the great works of DaVinci, Michelangelo, Erasmus, and Gutenburg, etc., we don't refer to them as being a part of Generation Renaissance (Gen Ren - that's a good one) or Generation Enlightenment (Gen En - not so good). Instead, we refer to their actual accomplishments and to the people who actually had an influence on history (good or bad). Labeling a whole generation based on what was popular or important at the time seems a little weird to me - sort of over-inclusive as if we are trying to give everyone credit. It's like saying that everyone in the class has a part in little Johnny's victory at the school spelling bee, except that's crap and everyone knows it. Johnny's little hypothetical victory was accomplished by Johnny, maybe his parents, and (assuming it isn't a public school) there is a remote possibility that the teacher is involved.

Anyway, I just think it's pretty silly to say, "I am a part of [insert label here] generation." It just doesn't mean anything. What views, skills, or deficiencies does it really reflect? None. It just pretty much makes you a pretentious asshole who, in most cases, is just trying to brag about the fact that you only took 7 showers from 1966 to 1972.

Does anyone think there is a real benefit or purpose for these labels (which seem to be a historically new phenomenon to me - though it may not be). I'd be happy to hear an alternate explanation for why we need these generational tags.

Kid Handsome

Petals Around the Rose

See if you guys can figure this out. The name of the game is important.

Kid H.

Pork, Porn and Liquor

So I’m sitting on my sofa Friday night enjoying a bottle of Oban 14 year. About ¾ of the way through it, I get this idea. This crazy and wonderful idea.

Pork, Porn and Liquor. Ohh yeah!

Yea see, there are forces at work on this planet that wanna make sure you can’t enjoy a nice ham sandwich, a Playboy or a glass of Scotch. I’m not just picking on the Muslims (well mostly I’m picking on them). There are wackos all over the place (MADD) that wanna seriously curtail your ability to live your life as you see fit. Be it sharia law or Bible belt prudes, we should stand up this tyranny, until we fall down drunk fat and aroused!

So, Starting October 5th, and for the next 30 days I say we go out and eat as much bacon as we can, watch as much porn as we can handle, and kick the living shit out of our livers until they are rock hard.

This is America god damn it! Lets celebrate our FREEDOM!

Ohh yeah, those of you near Scaggsville, look forward to a Pork, Porn, and Liquor Party coming your way!

Otter, on his way to his own personal fatwa against him!

Apparently, it's Talk Like a Pirate Day

Arggh. Ye should o' tole me thisa morn.

El Cabrito Hermoso

Update on Gun Seizures in New Orleans

. . . and I don't mean the seizures people have when they find out that gasp some law abiding citizens believe in their natural right to protect themselves (even from the great and good Government shhh!).

See this post by Otter.

By the way, you should check out the entirety of the linked site. David Hardy is a pretty bright guy when it comes to the Second Amendment (and Michael Moore as well).

Kid Handsome.

An Instapundit Comment on the issue of racism . . .

with respect to Katrina.

"CLIFF MAY:
579. That’s the current death toll in Louisiana from the hurricane and catastrophic flooding. Terrible for the victims, their family, their friends.
But also much less than the 10,000 widely predicted.

And, BTW, much less than the more than 35,000 killed by a heat wave in Europe two summers ago.

You recall the debate that set off about European heartlessness, racism and discrimination? No, neither do I.

Me neither."

Me Three

Kid H.

...

I'd kill a man for a pickle... or did I last year?

Hippies.. if you're reading this, I might be moving into the castle...

Otter

My kind of wedding....

I could hang out with this crew. Money quote...

"At least 10 police officers responded, and when they arrested the groom, other members of the Fortunato group went ballistic and started fighting the cops."

Charging them with 1st degree riot is a bit much don't ya think. Most states attorneys suck serious balls.

Anyway...

Otter

What? You only have THREE blades?

Loser.

Kid H.

Piracy Calculator

How much do you owe the RIAA / MPAA. I did some quick math, using a top secret formula, and calculated that we don't owe them anything.

Still, it might be worth knowing.

Kid H

Scaggsville's Very Favorite Celebrity

Everyone knows that Scaggsville's very favoritest celebrity/icon/movie and television god is the one and only Mr. T.* In fact, our theme song is "Treat yo Mama Right" by the one and only Mr. T - which teaches all of us to treat our mama's right, because Scaggsville pities the fool who don't.

Every city, municipality, principality, hamlet, town, vale, burg, megalopolis or metropolis needs a hero - an officially sanctioned hero. Having an appointed cultural icon is recommended. Mr. T (or T as we call him) stands for goodness and right. He stands up for what he believes in and he isn't scared to kick a little ass - a lot like Scaggsville. Look, Baltimore has John Waters, Laurel has K-Fed, but the fact is that Mr. T could kick the crap out of both of them at the same time (and also a bear). Anyway, I think it's pretty clear why Scaggsville embraces Mr. T as it's town celebrity. If you question that, well . . . keep talking.

Anyway, just thought you should know about our official favorite celebrity.

Kid H.

Just a little bonus:

Otter knows not to tell Mr. T what to do (all small furry creatures are the same to T - so long as they aren't invisible).


* Note the variety of characters he plays - he's Mr. T - he play whoever he wants.

Amusing Picture for you

Kid H

Got Rights????

Actually no. No you don't, without a citizenery forcing the governement to recognize our rights, there isn't anything stoping the governement doing what they wish.

Bye bye freedom.

Otter

Why Professional Soccer will never make it in the U.S.

I mean, besides the fact that it is incredibly boring.

Kid H

Update: I'm not going to comment on the fact that they had to make it 1 and 1/2 times larger than life size . Well .

From Chuck....

As always, Chuck makes some pretty good comments... I thought it would be useful to put it up here so others could read it. This originally was on the Meat is Murder post.

Otter

Kid and Otter,

Haven't been over in a while. I'm going to briefly mention the carnivore vs. herbivore debate before I discuss New Orleans.

What strikes me as funny is the way that for this argument -- as with most arguments -- we select the extremes on either end as our foundations. "Meat is Murder" vs. "Animals are happy, relaxed, and listening to Mozart (or, God help them, Barry Manilow) as they travel down that comfy conveyor belt." Both are true, but neither is an honest representation of the overall situation. Yes, there are absolutely ghastly slaughterhouses, and yes, there are slaughterhouses that maintain extraordinarily humane conditions for their animals in life and death. But somewhere in between the paint-throwing PETA extremists and the bow-hunting Ted Nugent extremists lies the true conditions that most animals face.

Just for fun, pick a topic about which you have strong feelings. Now, pick the extreme opposite argument of your feelings, and go research it. I guarantee that you can find some sort of Person Of Authority who will give you lots of Facts that back up this point of view. But in the overall scheme of things, it's just extremist bullshit that has little to do with the true conditions facing the relevant parties.

Likewise, it's easy to look at a few fuck-ups in New Orleans and use them to paint a picture of how America is going to hell. But if you're going to make an honest argument based on that fact, you need to determine how many people actually did take responsibility for themselves and evacuated before the storm; then determine how many people did the best they could with the resources they had, and still civilly followed directions when the shit hit the fan; then determine how many people used the opportunity to loot, rape, and pillage. I'm completely making up numbers here, but I imagine that they'd look something like 300,000 to 100,000 to 2,000.

Can you really declare that America is going to hell because there are 2,000 (or however many) assholes amidst the 400,000 (or however many) people who took responsibility for themselves in the best way that they were able?

On my site, I often discuss that Baltimore is a Horrible Place because we have about 300 murders a year. But let's look at Baltimore: There are about 650,000 people living here. About 10% of that population is estimated to be involved in some sort of drug addiction. So that means 585,000 people are not drug addicts. 300 people get murdered, which means there are about 300 murderers, which means that about 649,700 people in Baltimore did not commit murder last year.

We can spin the facts any way we choose. But we have to remember to be careful as we spin them, for pretty soon they stop being spun and start being nothing more than lies.

Crap....

Having a story be picked up by a couple of popular blogs has a downside... We've been hit by comment spammers... Anyway, I turned on word verification for the comments... Sorry for the trouble.

Otter

Once again ladies and gentlemen.... Bill Whittle

There are two people I point out every time they post. One is Michael Yon and the other is Bill Whittle.

Bill just wrote, yet again, what I am feeling a million times better than I could ever express. Read this article. It will take about 20 minutes but it is well well worth it.

Otter

The Welfare State and Disasters

This is a good article by Robert Tracinski. Read about how those in need attacked those trying to help. Read about armed soldiers needed to silence mob attacks in American cities.

He writes about why so many people are rioting and looting in New Orleans and makes a lot of points I only alluded to.

The current welfare state is turning America from a place where individualism and self-reliance reigned, to a place where no one is expected to do anything for himself or herself.

Those left in New Orleans, for what ever reason – there is some fault here, were those who have been raised to rely on the Government for everything. As a result, we don’t see the incidents of neighbors spontaneously banding together to overcome tragedy like we have elsewhere in the face of disaster. Those type of people, the ones who take care of themselves, the ones who we saw in Florida last year, or in New York on 9/11 all left. Evacuated. Instead, the “give me” and “its not my fault” culture is showing it’s ugly head.

When is this country going to realize our best hope is the same thing that made this country great? REAL FREEDOM (which includes the freedom to fuck up, and pay the consequences for fucking up)… Our social safety net is too large, instead of helping it’s creating a culture that doesn’t allow for people to band together in the face of a shared tragedy. If this continues, the America that gave the 20th century this unprecedented level of world freedom, will soon be gone.

Otter

Meat Is Not Murder

Today many of us will be observing Labor Day by drinking beer and firing up our grill one last time. Most likely a nice piece of thick meat will be cooking on that grill. With that in mind, initially I was going to write about cheesesteaks, but since a debate about meat being murder broke out after my last blog, I had to address this topic. The act of turning an animal into a vital nutritious product, also known as meat packing, is not murder; rather it is known as “humane slaughter.”

Animal activists have created a lot of trouble for the meat industry by spreading this false notion that meat is murder. The activists have used extreme actions in the past to try to illustrate their point. For example PETA has been known to throw red paint on meat company owners, and have told the Oscar Meyer Wiener Children’s Choir that hot dogs are made from puppies and kittens.

The truth of the matter is leaders of the meat industry are very much in favor of the ethical treatment of animals. That is why their trade associations in Washington, DC supported and help create the Humane Slaughtering Act of 1978. This law ensures that livestock and swine are unconscious or dazed so that they will feel no pain during the meat packing process.

The beef and pork industries have developed new technologies to provide a relaxing atmosphere for the animals before they become a product. Case in point, most beef packers use an enormous conveyer belt that allows the steers to lie down and let their legs hang. Likewise pork packers shower the pigs with warm water and all natural nutrients which basically intoxicate the animals. Some pork companies have even gone as far as playing soothing music for the pigs.

Surely factory owners who go to these measures to make the animals comfortable can not be labeled murders. In fact it is in the company’s best interests to take care of these animals. In order to make a good product the animal must be relaxed and calm before the meat packing process. Otherwise the packers are liable to end up with meat that is too tough to sell to processors.

The bottom line is, if you don’t want to eat meat because you are an animal activist that is your choice. As a meat eater I wouldn’t push my lifestyle on a vegetarian, but I expect the same in return. Meat is not murder, meat packers are not murderers, and unless you kill somebody, no one deserves that label.

Happy Labor Day and enjoy your BBQ.

--The PCSB

Lessons form Katrina, pt 1

Lessons from Katrina, pt 1

There is some seriously fucked stuff going on in the United States of America right now. An AMERICAN city closely resembling some crappy third world hole in the ground is only the beginning of it. There are so many rants going on in my head right now I can barely contain them all. Instead of yelling and screaming at my computer and TV, I think it’s best to break them down into the lessons I am learning from this tragedy.

Arm myself. That’s the lesson for today. I’ve always had access to guns. Owned a few, though I don’t have any right now. Never really thought much about it, I could borrow guns if I wanted them, though not necessarily immediately. I’ve always been a big supporter of the Second Amendment (odd that the Bill of Rights even needs to be defended). Always told people THEY should own a firearm. Always knew I'd get a couple eventually.

For the last couple of years I’ve been putting off buying some new guns because the ones I want are more expensive than the funds I normally have available to me ( DSA-58, Sig p220, Ithica 37 M). Figured, maybe the next side job. Maybe the next paycheck. No more excuses. No more waiting. Arming myself to protect my family, friends and possessions is now my new paramount concern. Cut back on the booze, cut back on the dining out, cut back on everything until I have what I need.

When I see how far this country has slid, I can no longer trust some of my fellow Americans. In most places and most times in this great country events like this bring people together, everyone helping each other out. However, too many times our criminal and welfare culture has so far eroded the decency of enough people, that even in the most tragic of situations animal instincts still take over and looting and rioting become the norm. New Orleans is not Rwanda, but give the police more pressing concerns and I can’t tell the deference between the two. Headlines in both cases have the words "looting" in them, what's next Warlords?

With our cultural bonds breaking down, civil interaction substituted for violence, and a class of people whom long ago forsook the social contract, force is the only hope for the rest of us. When the government cannot exercise that force then an armed citizenry is often the best, last, and only defense.

I will not be an unarmed victim. This is the second time I’ve seen in 10 years (LA early 90’s) Americans, devoid of direct police authority, behaving in a manner unbefitting of members of a western civilization. Liberal excuses of years of repression, poverty and other so-called injustices do not give anyone the right to loot or rob from others. Don’t give me this "it's all about the food" bullshit either. I can understand taking some water or food from a store, however don’t deprive others because you weren’t prepared or smart enough to handle a disaster. Even less justified, most of the looting taking place now has nothing to do with necessities, it’s all TV’s , jewelry and luxury items. Stealing a leather sofa and then going back for the matching end tables does not make you a modern day Robinhood.

If it has happened twice, this type of behavior will happen again. Even worse, every year that we slip further and further away from our fundamental American values of hard work and self reliance, behavior like this will become more common place. I will be ready if it happens to me. I will not lose everything I have because I relied on someone else for either protection or to respect our shared social contract. Armed response is an option I will have.

I will not go down whimpering.

I won't beg for what's mine.

Otter

UPDATE - Welcome readers from Smallest Minority. If you are not from TSM, head over there and read Awakenings I, II, and III.

UPDATE 2 - Yeah Rev, I am serious. I might have used a little more rhetoric than I should have but there are a couple of basic facts that when put together I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t come to the same conclusion I have.

1. There are people in our society who only curtail their actions ONLY because of fear of violence and not because of other moral consideration (afraid to go to jail or die).
2. Traditionally, the government, with its monopoly on violence is the source of fear (police using force to take you to jail or kill you).
3. There are times when the government is not capable of exercising its authority to create fear (New Orleans).
4. Natural law gives all men the right to defend ones self.

Owning and knowing how to operate firearms is really the only way to protect yourself when the rules of society break down. Give it a shot, type looting into Google News… See if it doesn’t make you sick, but then look for the stories where lives and property are saved by application of or threat of violence.

Otter

This Amused Me - though it may frighten you . . .

Hope this link works. I want to know where these people live - I'm guessing Iowa somewhere.

Kid H.

Destroy them all.