Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
THE MORNING RANT: Housing Affordability Requires Vast Swaths of Virtually Uninhabitable Urban Areas Be Reclaimed
—Buck Throckmorton
An issue I have periodically revisited is the need for “municipal conservatism” as an alternative to Democrat-administered destruction of our cities. In a 2024 piece at The Blaze, I wrote“Republicans need to offer our struggling cities an agenda focused on delivering excellent city services, including effective policing, cleanliness, anti-vagrancy measures, public safety, reliable utilities, and family-friendly parks. This agenda should promote a political climate that supports small businesses, primary education, churches, families, and patriotism. Democrat-run cities have grown hostile to these foundational elements of urban civilization, creating an enormous opportunity for Republicans.” This is not “small government conservatism.” It is “civil order conservatism.”
Hampton Prescott, one of my favorite follows on Twitter/X (@HamptonPrezcott), is a real estate professional in Atlanta who is heavily focused on this exact issue. (He also covers architectural trends, commenting on the correlation of bad commercial architecture with the state of urban environments.)
The Trump WH was close to figuring this out when they deployed the National Guard to crime ridden cities. The ONLY way to solve housing affordability is to reclaim vast swaths of urban areas that have been rendered effectively uninhabitable due to lack of safety. https://t.co/pgkBbEW5Jg
Because I want to keep fueling discussion about the importance of municipal conservatism, I invited Mr. Prescott to provide me an essay as to his thoughts on the subject. He kindly obliged. Here it is:
Donald Trump’s second term has coincided with an increase in use and application of the phrase “you can just do things.” Whether it is taking out the Ayatollah after 50 years of western appeasement, shutting the southern border after hearing all kinds of “reasons why we can’t do anything about it” by the leftist/libertarian industrial complexes, or eliminating discriminatory hiring practices after decades of conservative apathy (or enabling), the age of dismantling stale orthodoxies is firmly upon us. I’d like to talk about another example of something justified for decades as “just the way things are” - abysmal governance of major cities and the idea that there is no hope for right-leaning leadership that efficiently and effectively provides safety and security for citizens.
Even many left-leaning folks will admit, our major cities are disaster zones. Capital flight, out of control vagrancy, serial criminals let loose by a malignant justice system, expensive services that underperform in quality (to put it charitably) - our major cities may be experiencing the roughest stretch since the dark days of the late 1970’s. Now the median conservative may look at this sad state of affairs and remark to himself, “not my circus, but maybe this will provide fodder for an attack ad come election season.” I’m here to tell that this is the height of loser attitude, and is a set of common wisdom that is commonly wrong. A few reasons why people are looking at this issue the wrong way:
• Yes, while a statewide or national GOP candidate likely won’t be winning over 50% of a major metro’s vote anytime soon, you need to look at the gross numbers involved. For example, Metro Atlanta has 6.4 million people in it as of 2024. If you apply the standard 65% turnout rate and assume that the GOP candidate is going to lose by 10 points, that is still 1.84 million potential voters that could be in your camp. Therefore, politicians ignoring the concerns of urban right-leaning voters or simply those longing for public safety may end up costing them the election. Having a tailored candidate at the local level, that delivers on their simplified promises (see later in the post for my proposed three-point pledge) would filter up to benefit these statewide and national candidates (granted they tailor their message to these urban voters!)
• A dynamic of municipal elections that is often overlooked - turnout is generally absolutely abysmal. To wit, the 2021 Atlanta Mayoral Election (which saw multiple competitive candidates) had a whopping turnout of 25% of active registered voters. Even the 2024 NYC mayoral election, likely the most ballyhooed municipal race in recent memory, saw turnout come out to a ho-hum 43% of registered voters.
• The GOP has made housing affordability a huge priority for their governance platform. As anyone who follows my X account knows, proponents of housing affordability are missing the absolute largest driver of the problem - the only way you can materially help with housing affordability is to reclaim the vast swaths of buildable land surrounding job centers that were abandoned to crime and disorder over the past few decades. Further straining affordability, city dwellers are also effectively forced to pay twice for services like education - their taxes pay for dysfunctional schools which in turn force them to pay tuition, with prices reflecting inelastic demand, for private school. Solving this issue at the local level would filter up to substantial improvements on a national scale, another factor that should interest the GOP.
Of course, a “national GOP” style of message at the local, urban level is a guarantee of failure. Talking about fiscal conservatism, tax cuts, and reducing municipal services is not going to motivate and inspire your average urban voter. (Probably not even affluent voters.) A candidate that follows the spirit of the ideas posited here would need to prioritize safety and municipal order above all else. I highlight these issues as they are the absolute prerequisites for quite literally anything in an urban ecosystem to work. As a real estate professional, I am always amused at the relative lack of attention paid amongst industry luminaries towards something that is absolutely core to any success in the industry. There is almost a learned helplessness to the issue, as if the move is to perpetually be in retreat as destructive, pro-crime forces destroy more and more of the built environment. Those who remain spend their political capital seeking out tax breaks (which won’t matter as long as a neighborhood feels unsafe and is seeing its productive populace flee.) This approach, of course, is absolute nonsense.
The real estate community, as generational leadership turnover occurs, is a natural ally in this endeavor. They need to get organized on the front end, defining simple goals for candidates to support, such as:
1. Effectively address crime and disorder.
2. Utilize the Walt Disney approach to cleanliness.
3. Manage but don’t cut services, which will benefit tremendously from effectuating #1.
Getting voter turnout in municipal elections above its current anemic levels would yield tremendous ROI - for the cities themselves, and for their own business interests.
Look no further than the value appreciation seen in Florida cities benefiting from strong messaging and action on crime and disorder. (And for the inverse, look no further than the value destruction in formerly high-flying cities such as Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland and Denver).
This is an exciting time where long-held, indefensible orthodoxies are being discarded. “You can just do things” is the ethos of our time. Taking back our cities and making the apathy that has dominated for so long a relic of a bygone era is an opportunity waiting there for the taking.
[Hampton Presoctt]
Thank you, Hampton, for this much appreciated contribution. Here is a link to his Twitter/X page if you would like to read more from Mr. Prescott.
Good morning kids. And so we had the so-called "No Kings" protests in a number of cities and towns across America over the weekend. Is it just me or, for a tyrannical king, Donald Trump is the most piss-poor example in history. As longtime commenter of note MP4 once quipped, if he and by extension we really were a fraction of the Nazi fascists they shriek we are, they'd all have been smoke up a crematorium chimney long ago. And this past weekend would've seen the protesters bullet-ridden corpses stacked up like so much cordwood or scooped into dump trucks as seen in Soylent Green. Of course, the things that so many braindead Americans railed against are all part and parcel of the Democrat/Left playbook. Despite parading around in the moldering skin suit of "Democracy" it is they and they alone that have spent the better part of two centuries tearing down the very pillars of the civil society they claim to be defending. It is the sine qua non of projection.
In Saturday’s “No Kings” protests, the usual “resistance” crowd managed to again show their rage at President Donald Trump and their fury at being out of power; they may even have succeeded in mobilizing Democrats for the midterm elections — but they also broadcast the opposition’s complete lack of any coherent political message.
Forget about the waving of Soviet flags and tributes to anti-American dictators at various rallies: The entire “No Kings” conceit is a lie. Democrats against “kings”? Hah! They love them — as long as the king has a (D) after his name.
Not long ago, Democrats applauded every abuse of executive power by President Barack Obama.
From unconstitutional rewrites of the Affordable Care Act (a k a ObamaCare), to immigration amnesty for “dreamers” (DACA) and their parents (DAPA); to unilaterally declaring the Senate to be in recess so he could pack the National Labor Relations Board with union lackeys, Obama was not shy about autocratic behavior.
“I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone,” he declared when Congress refused to bow to his will, vowing “to sign executive orders, and take executive actions and administrative actions.”
He did, and Democrats didn’t complain, but applauded.
Tom Friedman, The New York Times’ smug voice of liberal “wisdom,” fantasized of what Obama could achieve “if we could just be China for a day.”
Obama lost, often at the Supreme Court. That didn’t stop him.
Nor did it stop President Joe Biden, who became infamous for ignoring Supreme Court decisions.
When the Supreme Court said that extending a COVID-era moratorium on evictions would be unconstitutional, Biden just did it anyway.
The same when the Supremes told Biden he lacked the power to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt. Democrats didn’t protest against Biden acting like a king. In fact, they encouraged him to go even further.
Then there were the coronavirus restrictions, imposed and extended by every Democratic governor.
Blue states shuttered businesses and locked kids out of schools — when Americans in fact could’ve conducted most normal activities safely.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom even banned religious worship in private homes; he’d eventually lose in the Supreme Court — but Democrats had no problem with it. So when it comes to “no kings,” Dems aren’t just accusing Trump — they’re falsifying their own history.
The truth is that Democrats cheer authoritarian behavior — as long as they’re in charge.
Let them back into power, and they’ll prove it once again.
No Kings demonstrations in Portland, Oregon got out of hand in the evening with protesters sporting gas masks attacking police officers who were trying to control the crowd, according to video posted on X by FreedomNews.tv. There was no immediate word on arrests.
In Dallas, Police had to separate No Kings demonstrators from “Pro America” counter demonstrators as the two groups engaged in heated clashes. Video of the scene showed a protester being hauled away and arrested and other shouting “f–k you” at apparent pro-Trump demonstrators who were carrying flags and automatic weapons.
A large mob of demonstrators waving Palestinian and other flags hurled cement blocks towards Department of Homeland Security agents in Los Angeles.
They’re figuratively huddling behind you, and putting their citizenry’s security and substance at risk in direct dereliction of their sworn duty to “insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty.”
You, the American people, are the Democrats’ human shields.
As I stated last week, the phrase "Death to America" is not native to the Iranian mullahs. It was and is the goal of the anti-American Left and its epicenter in the Democrat party.
Have a great day!
And lastly, a quick shout-out and a huge thank you for your continued support in hitting our tip jar. It truly is appreciated more than you can know.
ABOVE THE FOLD, BREAKING, NOTEWORTHY LINKS
...The incident happened while the president's aircraft sat on the tarmac at Palm Beach International Airport. Military pilots moved quickly, intercepted the plane, and deployed flares to get the pilot's attention and force a change in course.F-16s Scramble Near Trump’s Air Force One After Security Scare
The Pentagon is preparing for what could become weeks-long ground operations inside Iran — including Special Operations raids and limited infantry missions — as U.S. forces, including a Marine expeditionary unit now in theater, continue to build up for a potentially more dangerous next phase of Operation Epic Fury, according to a report published Saturday. Report: Pentagon Preps Weeks‑Long Ground Ops in Iran as U.S. Marines Arrive in Theater
Thad McCotter: Iran’s chokehold on the Straits of Hormuz exploits Western division, turning diplomacy into surrender and giving the mullahs a new shield for terror, coercion, and nuclear ambition. The Dire Strait of Hormuz
If Iran can order American blood spilled on U.S. soil, the real question isn’t why confront it—it’s what alternative would actually stop it. The War of Salman Rushdie’s Eye
We do not want the Battle of Kharg to become part of the United States Marine Corps legacy. They have more than enough to be proud of without being saddled with this potential debacle. Lindsey 'warmonger' Graham needs to give peace a chance
A decorated patriot’s fall into conspiracism shows how even the best can be consumed by antisemitic fantasy—and why such thinking must be confronted before it spreads. Why Joe Kent Matters
“The people that have been inflicting this harm [on migrants] need to be prosecuted,” Indian immigrant Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Friday at a “shadow hearing” she hosted. “They need to be brought before us, and they need to be held account [sic] for the trauma that they have created, and we are going to have to have some form of reparation for the kids and the families that have been traumatized through all of this.” Immigrant Rep. Pramila Jayapal Urges ‘Reparations’ for Illegal Migrants
How many American citizens have to be raped or murdered before politicians are motivated to get our borders under control? When is enough enough?
Pritzker blamed President Donald Trump for Gorman’s murder, allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien released twice under the Biden administration in 2023. Johnson, likewise, said the killing would not change his approach to governing. Egbewole asserted on “Fox News Live” that Pritzker’s offive released a good statement on the murder, but then he politicized it, while Johnson failed to respond sympathetically to Gorman’s family. Former Biden Official Yemisi Egbewole Blasts JB Pritzker, Brandon Johnson Over Responses To Sheridan Gorman Murder
Immigration hard-liners are taking aim at rules that protect foreign-born U.S. citizens from deportation even if they become terrorists. Naturalized citizens committed three suspected terrorist attacks in Texas, Michigan and Virginia in a two-week timeframe after the U.S. went to war with Iran’s Islamic regime in February. Other naturalized citizens caught plotting terrorist attacks have been released or are due for release back onto America’s streets, according to Department of Justice (DOJ), court and prison records. US Law Says These Foreign-Born Terrorists Are Just As American As You
A Pakistani Christian could face the death penalty due to blasphemy allegations.Trial proceedings were completed for Ishtiaq Saleem, who was accused of downloading blasphemous material on social media, Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADF) said in a news release on 18 March. Saleem will receive a verdict after court proceedings conclude for his alleged accomplice, Muhammad Umair, ADF said. Pakistani Christian Faces Death Penalty Over Blasphemy Allegations
The FBI investigation into Phares features some of the same figures that are accused of railroading Carter Page and advancing the Russia collusion hoax against President Donald J. Trump, including former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith and former Obama government Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director John Brennan. FBI Abused FISA to Wiretap ANOTHER 2016 Trump Advisor – Who Says the CIA Was Also Spying on Him.
FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES, CENSORSHIP, FAKE NEWS, MEDIA, BIG BROTHER TECH
Futures market traders on Friday raised the likelihood that the Fed increases interest rates before the end of the year to 52%, CNBC reported. This marks the first time the prospect of the Fed raising rates before 2026 is over is more likely than not, according to the futures market. Furthermore, the stock market shed over 3 trillion dollars in market capitalization since conflict began, a decrease of over 7% from January, according to Axios. Three-Headed Economic Monster Looms In Face Of American Consumers As Iran Conflict Rages, Midterms Approach
“Voters began associating Democrat governance with rising prices... Democrats have started to back sweeping middle-class tax cuts... Both movements are responding to the same underlying reality.” Democrats’ Tax-and-Spend Dead End
Such stories evoke the prurient pop music theme found in the rock band Van Halen’s 1984 tune “Hot For Teacher.” However, in the real world, the overwhelming majority of these criminal relationships are never disclosed and prosecuted, and their destructive impact on victims goes largely unreported. Exclusive: Teacher Sexual Misconduct Is ‘Rampant’ in U.S. Schools, Leading Experts Find
More than two-thirds of Americans indicated they are against Biden-era Food and Drug Administration rules that allow women to receive dangerous abortion pills without seeing a doctor in-person first, according to a new poll reported Wednesday. Majority Of Voters Want Tighter Abortion Pill Safeguards, New Poll Shows
THE 2020 and SUBSEQUENT ELECTION HEISTS , SHENANIGANS/FRAUD and AFTERMATH
The amendment comes amidst lackluster effort by the Senate GOP to pass the SAVE America Act, which would amend the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast a ballot. 47 Democrats Vote Against Voter ID After Claiming They’d Support It
President Donald Trump and other conservatives have long accused Omar of marrying her brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to facilitate his move to the U.S. in 2009. Vance said on “The Benny Johnson Show” that the White House “definitely” believes Omar committed fraud, and they are actively looking into options on how to investigate and ultimately “go after” her for it. JD Vance Says White House Plans To ‘Go After’ Bro-Fo Omar For Alleged Immigration Fraud
“After barely registering in the informal survey last year, 35% of attendees at this year’s event said they wanted him to be the party’s next nominee.” Vance Tops CPAC, Rubio Surges as Field Collapses
"I really believe this is a time where we need new leadership, new moral imagination to pull our country together, because the challenges on the horizon aren’t just this current crisis that Trump has caused. He shouldn’t be the main character of our narrative right now. We have real challenges from new technologies like AI and robotics, new challenges that we need more unity in our country, and a reminder that we are not each other’s enemies. In fact, our ability to find common ground is always been our greatest hope.” Cory Booker Calls for New Leaders: Democrats Have ‘Failed This Moment’
The only nation in the Middle East where Christians can practice their religion freely and thrive is once again facing disgusting misinformation ahead of Passover and Easter. And the woke leaders of France and Spain, who so often attack Christian values, are suddenly pretending to love Christianity in order to smear Israel. Macron, Sanchez Slam Holy Sepulcher Closure, Ignore Iranian Missiles That Necessitated It
The Paris incident follows a pattern seen in neighboring countries, according to France 24. Dutch authorities suspect Iran recruited four youths arrested in connection with a Rotterdam synagogue bombing. An obscure group with ties to Tehran also claimed an arson attack last week in London targeting volunteer ambulances operated by a Jewish organization. Police Arrest Three Suspects In Attempted Bank Of America Bombing In Paris
It is “a possibility that is quite close” that the British people will pass into history “like the Canaanites or the Arcadians”, and it is an open question whether there will be a Europe in 50 years’ time, a European Parliament conference heard from a panel of expert speakers. EU Parliament Conference Hears Continent ‘On Track For Civil War’
A recent book challenges humans’ common ancestry with primates. More Man Than Ape
FEMINAZISM, TRANSGENDER PSYCHOSIS, HOMOSEXUALIZATION, WAR ON MASCULINITY/NORMALCY
To rebuild masculinity, boys must return to manual work—where real skills, real tools, and real consequences forge discipline, independence, and purpose. On Manual Work for Men
“We got the Gulf of America now,” Cannon explained. “He’s like the club. He’s charging a $5 million bottle service fee to get into the country.” Of course, Cannon was entirely correct about the Republican Party. The GOP, which was created only a few years before the Civil War, won the war against the south, outlawed slavery, and even elected some of the first blacks to public office after the war. Then, in the 1960s, the 1964 Civil Rights Act could not have been passed if it weren’t for GOP votes as the Democrat Party voted against rights for blacks. Watch: Nick Cannon Calls the Democrat Party the ‘Party of the KKK,’ Says ‘I F**K With Trump’
ALSO: The Morning Report cross-posts at CutJibNewsletter.com usually within an hour or so of posting here, if you want to continue the conversation all day.
A bill in Florida made some noise recently—well, more than usual legislative noise, honestly—before it quietly stalled out in the Senate. It got people asking a surprisingly common question: can you legally marry your first cousin in Florida? The short answer, at least for now, is yes… but the longer answer drifts a bit.
The proposal, known as HB 733, was introduced by Anne Gerwig back in December. On paper, it wasn’t really about cousins at all—at least not primarily. It focused on healthcare changes, workforce adjustments, Department of Health stuff… the kind of policy that rarely trends. But tucked inside, almost like an afterthought, was a provision that would make it illegal to marry your first cousin.
***
Oddly enough, the bill itself passed through the Senate without opposition. No drama there. But once it bounced back to the House, it lost momentum and died.
So as things stand, yes, you can still legally marry your first cousin in Florida. That hasn’t changed.
Believe it or not, there are currently SEVENTEEN states where first cousins can legally marry.
It's that time of the week - when we turn the ONT over to our good friend Piper for a bit. Here's this week's fashion pr0n.
-----
Audrey Hepburn’s Effortless Chic: The Iconic Givenchy Wardrobe in Charade (1963)
If there’s one film that captures Audrey Hepburn at her most stylishly modern, it’s Charade. This 1963 romantic thriller—often called “the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made”—pairs Audrey with Cary Grant against a glamorous Parisian backdrop. But while the plot delivers mystery, suspense, and witty banter, it’s Audrey’s wardrobe that truly steals every scene.
Designed by her lifelong collaborator and dear friend Hubert de Givenchy, the costumes in Charade mark a perfect bridge between Old Hollywood glamour and the clean, sophisticated style of the early 1960s. No over-the-top ball gowns here, just impeccable tailoring, rich autumnal colors, structured coats, and simple yet stunning dresses that highlight Audrey’s signature gamine silhouette. The result? A wardrobe that feels utterly wearable today.
The Red Coat Ensemble: Playful Parisian Perfection
One of the most memorable looks is Audrey’s vibrant red wool coat paired with a crisp white pillbox hat and white gloves. Whether she’s strolling along the Seine eating an ice cream cone with Cary Grant or navigating the streets of Paris, this outfit radiates joyful elegance. The coat’s clean lines and bold color make it pop, while the accessories add polish.
The Marigold Coat: Bold & Structured
Givenchy’s marigold wool single-breasted knee-length coat is another standout. Featuring three-quarter sleeves and distinctive black domed buttons, this piece brings sunny energy. Audrey wears it with confidence—hands in pockets or paired with a sleek black bag—showing how a strong color and sharp tailoring can create instant impact. This look is my absolute favorite.
The Beige/Cream Coat & Dress: Understated Sophistication
For quieter, more introspective moments, Audrey slips into a soft cream single-breasted coat (rumored to be one she kept in her personal wardrobe). Often layered over a matching dress with a contrasting black belt or funnel neck detail, it embodies quiet luxury. The high-buttoned jackets and pencil skirts in Givenchy’s designs for the film masked the collarbone (a preference of Audrey’s) while accentuating her tiny waist. Simple, elegant, and endlessly chic.
The Little Black Dress and other looks
Even in a film full of daywear, Audrey delivers evening sophistication in a sleek black Givenchy cocktail dress. Fitted yet restrained, it’s paired with dramatic eye makeup. Beyond the LBD, she rocks several tailored skirt suits and shift dresses in tones like deep navy blue, cream, and black.
Accessories That Elevate Everything
No Audrey wardrobe is complete without the perfect finishing touches:
• Hats: From classic white pillboxes to leopard-print versions and headscarves.
• Gloves: Crisp white or sleek black, always adding polish.
• Shoes: Simple black kitten-heel pumps for day (with pointy blue evening slippers for night).
• Extras: Oversized sunglasses, a chic black handbag, and dramatic winged eyeliner with nude lips.
Why Charade’s Wardrobe Still Inspires Us
What makes this collection so special is its modernity. Givenchy drew from his Autumn/Winter 1962 collections, delivering tapered silhouettes, frock coats, and tailored suits that feel fresh even now. Audrey’s character, Reggie Lampert, is navigating murder, hidden treasure, and romance—and she does it all looking impossibly put-together. Many of these pieces—especially the coats—have become cultural touchstones, referenced by designers and vintage lovers alike.
If you’re looking to channel Audrey in Charade for your own wardrobe, start with a bold-colored coat, a tailored sheath dress, or a classic LBD with statement accessories. Add a pillbox hat or white gloves for that extra Old Hollywood-meets-60s flair.
Howdy, Y'all! Welcome to the wondrously fabulous Gun Thread! As always, I want to thank all of our regulars for being here week in and week out, and also offer a bigly Gun Thread welcome to any newcomers who may be joining us tonight. Howdy and thank you for stopping by! I hope you find our wacky conversation on the subject of guns 'n shooting both enjoyable and informative. You are always welcome to lurk in the shadows of shame, but I'd like to invite you to jump into the conversation, say howdy, and tell us what kind of shooting you like to do!
Holy Shitballs! How in the ever-loving Hell did it get to be the fifth of five March editions? This is madness!
Coming Soon: April editions.
With that, step into the dojo and let's get to the gun stuff below, shall we?
So was this helpful? Do you agree with the methodologies presented in the video? If not, why not?
******
Guns Of The Horde
Yowza! Our pal Biden's Dog shoots and scores!
It took over half a year for Israel's Ministry of National Security to process and approve my gun license application. As of this past Wednesday, I am licensed. As of Friday, I am armed with the first firearm I have ever owned in my life.
Until about seven months ago, Israeli laws did not make me eligible to be licensed to carry. Because of the October 7th War, licensing was expanded to include more categories of citizens. However, I only became eligible 7 months ago, when the law was modified to include most Jerusalem residents, like myself. Recently, additional cities and towns have become eligible.
The license is solely for a handgun, not a rifle, for which I am not eligible. I had about 15 handguns to choose from. I chose the Glock 43X MOS. The weight and grip in my not large hand seemed just right. To finalize the license, you have to pass a written test on Israel's weapons laws, which are very strict and limiting. In addition, there is basic gun training, including weapons handling, followed by live fire shooting with 100 bullets.
Speaking of 100 bullets, that's the MAXIMUM Israel's law allows you to possess. And if you think that's crazy, the maximum used to be 50 bullets until the law was changed after the October 7th War broke out in 2023.
In Israel, concealed carry is not only legal. It is the government's preferred method for its armed citizens. I received an IWB holster with my purchase. However, I also have a Galco Lite shoulder holster. I originally bought it for one our pups but he changed his mind and stuck with IWB holstering. I prefer shoulder when wearing a jacket or coat.
So, I will definitely be paying MORE attention hereon in to the gun thread. The thread is published past my bedtime, which is why I've almost never commented there. Thanks for much I've already learned to date from the threads' contents.
CONGRATULATIONS Biden's Dog! Nice shooting!! This really made my day, thank you!!
******
F.A.R.C.
More From Eugene Stoner.
******
Palmetto State Armory Tour
******
Air Marshal Qualification
Anyone tried this? How do you think you would do? Anyone care to attempt this and report back?
******
Our Pal The Vacuum Tube
******
Highway Patrol!
This week's episode: Suspected Cop!
******
Terror From The Year 5000!
******
Cigar of the Week
This week our pal rhomboid scores again with this excellent review of the West Tampa Red.
Rick Rodriguez is a veteran of the cigar industry, having worked a quarter century at General Cigar (owner of many brands including non-Cuban Cohiba, Macanudo, Partagas as well as La Gloria Cubana, Diesel, Torano and many others). Four years ago he set out on his own and started West Tampa Tobacco. His is an interesting story - his grandparents were immigrant Cuban cigar makers in Tampa, but he smoked his first cigar at .... age 40.
The Red is West Tampa's third release, and features a Mexican San Andres maduro wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler. I had the toro (6 X 52).
I got an immediate sweet note with a smooth light leather and earth base. As you burn through the stick, the sweetness element fades and the leather and earth predominate, but still with an overall smoothness to the blend. Smoke is abundant, burn line needed very limited management, and the performance matches the appearance of excellent construction. Medium-full seems to be the consensus on strength, which was my experience as well. A very solid cigar, surely with more flavor nuances than your justifiably humble reviewer can bring to this report. The West Tampa Red is available online for around $9 and up
Bigly excellent, rhomboid! Thank you!
******
Here are some different online cigar vendors. You will find they not only carry different brands and different lines from those brands, but also varying selections of vitolas (sizes/shapes) of given lines. It's good to have options, especially if you're looking for a specific cigar.
A note about sources. The brick & mortar/online divide exists with cigars, as with guns, and most consumer products, with respect to price. As with guns - since both are "persecuted industries", basically - I make a conscious effort to source at least some of my cigars from my local store(s). It's a small thing, but the brick & mortar segment for both guns and tobacco are precious, and worth supporting where you can. And if you're lucky enough to have a good cigar store/lounge available, they're often a good social event with many dangerous people of the sort who own scary gunz, or read smart military blogs like this one. -rhomboid
Anyone have others to include? Perhaps a small local roller who makes a cigar you like? Send me your recommendation and a link to the site!
Please note the new and improved protonmail account gunthread at protonmail dot com. An informal Gun Thread archive can be found HERE. Future expansion plans are in the works for the site Weasel Gun Thread. If you have a question you would like to ask Gun Thread Staff offline, just send us a note and we'll do our best to answer. If you care to share the story of your favorite firearm, send a picture with your nic and tell us what you sadly lost in the tragic canoe accident. If you would like to remain completely anonymous, just say so. Lurkers are always welcome!
That's it for this week - have you been to the range?
Food Thread: You Say Dumplings, I say Kneidlach: Let's Call The Whole Thing Off!
—CBD
I couldn't resist the photo! There is a joke somewhere about it being the major food groups of the Irish, but I would never stoop so low!
That is a full brisket from Wild Fork Foods, which is a frozen-food purveyor with a robust shipping business and also a bunch of stores across the country. I have been pleased with some of their stuff, although it is obvious how they manage costs...their butchers are not the most impressive trimmers in the industry. But that brisket is sold as trimmed, and they do a good enough job at an excellent price, so all I have to do is trim a bit more fat, and it's off to the races, or into the roasting pan for a quick sear.
Well, actually it takes a fair amount of time, because it's a big piece of meat!
What? No! I am not smoking it, because braised (or roasted) brisket is one of the foods of MY people! Passover starts in a few days, and I have a bunch of people for the Seder. While I would have preferred another main course, I was informed that brisket was on the menu this year. No, I have no free will when it comes to these things...why do you ask?
Come to think of it, smoked brisket would be good! There are Jews in Texas...well, do you make traditional or Texan-style for Passover? It's tradition, not religious law, so I could make collard greens and smoked brisket and a big pot of beans, and nobody could complain.... much.
The only thing that is non-negotiable is Matzoh-Ball Soup. For two reasons. First, that's what my mother made, and second, mine is spectacular! And yes, I use duck fat instead of vegetable oil. Of course my mother once made Matzoh-Ball Soup with bacon bits inside, so you can probably guess that I didn't grow up in a Kosher home!
By the way, if you really want to show off, call them "kneidlach," because that's the Yiddish word!
I try not to fall into the foodie conceit that the hipper, rarer, and more expensive the ingredients are, the better the end result. Plain old black pepper is good! But damnit! MY MiL gave me some Cambodian black pepper a few years ago and I was infuriated to discover that it was fantastic! Now, it could be because it was fresh (she bought it there), but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is simply better quality than the stuff I buy. And this is a new batch she just gave me, so I will be busily grinding and tasting to see what's what!
******
For whatever reason I decided a week or so ago that pizza is low-carb. So I made some dough from a standard NY style pizza recipe. And while the pizza itself was tasty, I think the dough recipe was designed for ease of handling rather than for taste. But that is a problem with lots of bread recipes...handling high-hydration dough can be a challenge!
I'll dig up a better recipe in a month or so and see what happens.
That's disgusting on so many levels, that I am suspicious. It's either AI, or somebody is trying to drive eyeballs to their site. It's horrible, but maybe it's like a crash on the highway....
******
I hate this sort of crap. It is conspicuous consumption of the worst kind, akin to the Potlatch ceremonies of the Northwest Indians. NYC steakhouse rolls out an ultra-decadent hot cocoa cocktail loaded with booze -- for a whopping $1K If you need to validate your social status by pissing away $1,000 on something this stupid, just give me the cash and I will stand next to you for 30 minutes or so and tell you how impressive you are.
******
The Dijon mustard that I ate in France is simply better than the same brand that is exported to America. I find that maddening, but my one attempt at making mustard failed miserably, so I either have to find a local source for French domestic Dijon, or fly there regularly to keep my larder stocked.
******
Well, the garlic is out in the sunshine, probably soon to be eaten by those vile rodents with bushy tails and a penchant for damaging my home. But if they survive the squirrel apocalypse, and actually grow into something edible, I will be in garlic heaven! In case it doesn't, send all of your excellent home-grown garlic to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.
Rumor has it that the Bourbon Bubble is bursting. I have seen no evidence of decreasing prices, but maybe the bursting started somewhere else! I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.
The problem...or the solution...is to buy lots of bourbon, take tasting notes, and eventually arrive at your favorites! It should take forty or fifty years, but it is worth it!
Yes, it's an old house...coming up on 100 years old in a few years. And of course we'll have a party, with cake and some gasoline and matches!
That is the last of the original moulding (molding?), and as you can see it was pieced together with what I can only assume was scraps from the rest of the house. The math suggests that the house was built in the beginning of the depression, so it is entirely possible that the builder tried mightily to save every penny.
But that line between pieces irritates me every time I see it, so that is the next thing to be replaced.
In my youth I did that sort of work, and I was taught early on how to avoid exactly that sort of problem. And if the trim carpenter who installed that moulding wasn't as good as I was, he was very bad indeed!
No Kings? If We Had A King, These Morons Would Be In Jail
—CBD
The "No Kings" demonstration on an overpass across Route 4 in Bergen County New Jersey was an anemic, lightly attended hissy fit by a few dozen true believers, even though it is a fairly liberal area.
But what do they believe? Everything they are told by the Democrat party apparatus, without questioning the underlying data or even whether it makes any sense at all. The Democrats have cultivated cadres of shock troops they can mobilize to wear their old Tie-Dye shirts and chant awful rhymes about the cause de jour, and that has been the case for a very long time. "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out!" Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Western Civ Has Got To Go!" "Hey, Hey, LBJ, How Many Kids Did You Kill Today?" Those are 60 years old, and even stupider today then they were in the 1960s.
Today's chants are no more intelligent, and no more representative of an honest protest movement based on political differences. "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA!" Really? A cursory examination of real fascist dictatorships would yield the uncomfortable fact that street protests were and are sometimes met with machine gun fire, mass arrests, and one-way flights on helicopters. Or, "Say It Loud, Say It Clear, Immigrants Are Welcome Here!" That's particularly brain-dead, since it carefully conflates legal vs. illegal immigration, which the parrots on the street don't understand, but their masters on the left certainly do!
The left has always embraced chants and songs and long-winded diatribes that can be trotted out to answer any challenge. That most of these things are utter nonsense, employing circular logic, false historical narratives, and flat-out lies is secondary to their power to inflame the hearts of their true believers.
That is one reason why Charlie Kirk was so effective. He was able to answer their jingoistic canned phrases with facts, and since these people are intellectually bereft, they would often sputter and stutter and stalk off, because their logical basis for their beliefs is simply cant, and without a firm historical or data-driven foundation.
Yet it often works, especially when the left employs their dancing monkeys in the entertainment industry to provide the rhyming and the singing and the angry denunciations of today's crisis.
But the two-edged sword of social media and instant communication has broadened the reach of these script-reading sub-wits, while simultaneously exposing their stupidity to the world. Sure, Springsteen will draw people to the protest, but he looks and sounds like an aging lesbian, especially when he is surrounded on stage by his peers, who also look like aging lesbians! Did Billie Eilish further the cause of... um... indigenous people, or just expose herself as an ignorant and entitled fool? When George Clooney flies to a climate conference on a private jet, he might make a splash on the talk shows, but a lot of people see his rank hypocrisy.
Below the fold is a wonderful example of the intellectual vacuousness of 2026's entertainment spokesmen. It's painful and laughable...you choose which!
The Secrets of Publishing, part 2 : Bookstores and Libraries and Distributors, oh my!
Greetings, O Book Thread! They let me come back. (Actually, the lock on the door of the server room is a little flimsy...)
So how are bookstores picking their books anyways?
Back in the good old days, a bookstore owner or minions would have some vague idea, from recommendations or personal experience, what books were good and could sell. Then the big publishers consolidated, were run by accountants and NOT book lovers, and books became items in a catalog to be ordered like produce by people who voluntarily eat brussel sprouts. And the bookstores were the same. Books were treated as widgets and rather than personal knowledge bookstore owners went with the recommendations from the publishing houses and ordered only from the big distributors. Maybe some smaller publishing houses that are trendy and/or had kompromat on their purchasing department manager.
But what about small, innocent publishers and indie writers? Can they get their books in bookstores?
Yes, but it is non-trivial. First, you have to get your books in the distributor catalogs and it must have a print version, not just ebook. There are two main ones, Ingrams and Baker&Taylor. They charge a fee per book. Also, your book has to have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and it can NOT be the one Amazon gave it. [Sidebar: Publishers hate Amazon and so do bookstores. They firmly believe Amazon is stealing all their business. Well, that part is true ... .
Anyway, they refused to let Amazon books sully their premises. So, you have to have your own ISBN. And they cost money.] All of this is annoying but doable, except ... bookstores demand the right of RETURNS.
Bookstores hate risk. And for various stupid historical reasons, they want to return books that don’t sell, but sending books back is expensive, so they would cut off the cover and send THAT back, and “pulp” the rest of the book. Which is why you sometimes see “if you bought this book without a cover it has been stolen”. Now they don’t even want to do the cover. They just want to either dump the book entirely to get their refund. Oh, and they want a huge chunk of the cover price too. You can actually have a negative invoice if there are too many returns. I have books in the catalogs but not a lot of sales to bookstores. A book with no push from publishers (yes they can provide monetary incentives to bookstores to pick their books) means bookstores overlook it. They will of course have Oprah’s picks and a few other celebrity things but the rest is just based on pub listings and push.
Why bother with bookstores then?
Because a big vector for reader discovery is libraries and they also use the distributors. Even librarians with an interest in new books (and indie) don’t have the time or the resources to hunt them down individually. Their purchasing systems, and I actually worked at a company that made that software so I know a good bit about it, require the ISBN at a minimum and often also the distributor catalog or they can’t make a purchase. This is print and ebook, by the way.
And THEN you get the stupid library purchase rules for ebooks. An ebook is just a computer file, so why can’t they just have infinite copies? They don’t want to pay for infinite copies. Some publishing houses had insane rules like making libraires purchase a new license after 6 borrows (as if the file expired). Things have calmed down a bit and you can now allow “library licensing” where they pay a higher per-book price, once, and only allow one borrower at a time. It’s an “evolving situation” as they say at the War Department …. BUT! I am happy to say that without any effort on my part beyond getting in the catalog, my books are showing up in libraries! Including in Dubai. I have no idea who in Dubai asked for my book. I want to know.
Anyway, people who want more than the sample chapter on Amazon will go to the library to see if an author is worth the money, so I want my free ice cream samples out there. But it is annoying.
How can we get good books in bookstores again?
Good question! Going to bookstores and having them order books (in the catalog) that you know or suspect are good. They then know there is customer demand. Also know the tradpub industry is dying but like any ginourmous dinosaur, they die slowly. You won’t get an accurate feel for the book industry from a bookstore. Really and truly, indie by sales (units and dollars) is already doing better than tradpub. Even I, with my very first indie ebook, sold MORE units and got MORE money than the contract I was offered by tradpub. And all the intellectual property rights remain mine. (Bwahahah!)
Publicity remains the real problem. Tradpub doesn’t understand what the market wants either. You may have heard of Brandon Sanderson breaking Kickstarter with his secret book project in 2022. These are books his tradpublisher didn’t want at first, so he published them himself. That Kickstarter raised 41.7 million dollars in DAYS. The most funded project in Kickstarter’s history.
People really do want to read good books. They will pay good money for those books. Tradpub has proven they don’t know what people really want. The tricky thing is, still, connecting the writers to the readers … and nobody has figured that out yet. But we are working on it!
While TurboQuant is real and does substantially reduce the amount of memory taken up for quantized vector database used to store LLM weights while - and this is the trick - not noticeably increasing noise in the models, any connection with commodity DDR5 memory pricing is best expressed in the polar co-ordinate system that TurboQuant is built on.
This has been expected since DRAM prices headed the same way starting in November, but it was delayed by the large volume of devices already in the retail channel.
Now reality has hit, hard, with prices doubling and further increases likely. The video notes that spot prices have increased ninefold, though that doesn't mean that drive prices will increase by the same amount.
What it does mean is that the smaller manufacturers who didn't have existing long-term contracts have just been wiped out, while the companies making the NAND flash chips - Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix, again, plus Western Digital, Kioxia, and China's YTMC, can set whatever prices they choose.
(The second horseshoe was the graphics card market, though that has been muted so far unless you were looking to buy an RTX 5070 Ti or higher. Prices of AMD and Intel cards have increased a little, but nothing like the devastation that has hit the memory market.)
That would be bad for OpenAI which is 100% bubble and good for Apple which is close to 0% bubble.
As for Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta, they'll survive either way, and Anthropic and xAI will likely do fine on a smaller scale than they had hoped.
ClickFix is an anagram which means "I'm too lazy to hack you myself but I think you're dumb enough do do the work for me". As the article shows, it presents a page telling users to open a terminal session and execute a command that will download and install the malware in question.
Where upon it steals all your passwords and the contents of any crypto wallets while laughing so hard it makes itself sick.
Saturday Night Club ONT - March 28, 2026 [D Squared]
—Open Blogger
Welcome to Club ONT - a collaboration of The Disco and The Dino. Come in in, grab a drink or 3. If you do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around, you'll find out what its all about.
She timidly asked, "Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?"
The operator said, "I can. What's the name and room number?"
The old lady, in her weak voice, said, "Norma Findlay, Room 302."
The operator replied, "Let me place you on hold while I check with her nurse."
After a few minutes, the operator returned and said, "Oh, I have good news. Her nurse just told me that Norma is doing very well. Her blood pressure is fine, her blood work came back normal, and her physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged on Tuesday."
The old lady said, "Thank you. That's wonderful! I was so worried! God bless you!"
The operator replied, "You're more than welcome. Is Norma your daughter?"
The old lady said, "No, I'm Norma Findlay in Room 302. No one tells me shit."
---------
A nurse walks into a bank, totally exhausted after an 18-hour shift.
She grabs a deposit slip, pulls a rectal thermometer out of her purse, and tries to write with it. When she realizes her mistake, she looks at the flabbergasted teller and, without missing a beat, says,
"Well, that's just great... Some asshole's got my pen."
*****
Drink of the Night
To commemorate the start of baseball season, tonight we feature a Ballpark Paloma.
Ballpark Paloma cocktail recipe:
*1.5 oz Patrón Añejo
*.75 oz Fresh grapefruit juice
*.5 oz Simple syrup
*.25 oz Fresh lime juice
*1 Egg white
*Peychaud’s Bitters
*Tajin seasoning rim
METHOD
1. Combine the first five ingredients in an empty cocktail shaker.
2. Dry shake vigorously until combined.
3. Add ice to shaker and shake again to chill.
4. Double strain into a coupe glass rimmed with Tajín.
5. Top with drops of bitters to resemble baseball stitching.
*****
Club ONT Department of Youthful Exuberance
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed for one minute straight until I watched this. 😂 pic.twitter.com/xUZcGeD2WL
A recording of a dispatcher contacting Saginaw County Animal Care & Control confirmed a 911 call came in about 1 p.m. Wednesday from a St. Charles resident.
"Caller has a monkey wearing a diaper that's on their porch trying to get inside their house," the dispatcher says in the recording. "I guess it belongs to their new neighbors."
Officers arrived to find the female spider monkey, named Brazil, had already been returned to its home next door.
Authorities confirmed Brazil's owner was the same woman who brought a squirrel money into the Bay County Court Facility in 2017. The monkey was inside the woman's purse when she put it through the X-ray scanner.
Michigan does not have any laws prohibiting monkeys as pets. St. Charles does not have any local ordinances limiting primate ownership.
Congratulations Michigan. Sounds a lot like something that would be reported through the Pittsburgh scanner.
March 25 (UPI) -- Philadelphia International Airport celebrated National Cheesesteak Day by breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteaks.
Airport eateries from PHL Food & Shops teamed up with the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation to assemble 1,291 cheesesteaks on the concourse between Terminals B and C on Tuesday.
The sandwiches were made from a total 225 pounds of cheese sauce, 990 pounds of shaved beef and 1,291 foot-long rolls.
A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand to confirm the snaking line of sandwich was enough to create a new record.
Hmmm.... The Philadelphia airport delays were previously attributed to TSA funding and staffing, but apparently there is another explanation?!
*****
Too soon?
*****
The Club ONT Jukebox
We're featuring ladies of rock tonight!
*****
Prayers for the Horde from Reverend Hrothgar:
*****
Top 10ish Comments of the Week
*****
Club ONT is brought to you tonight by questionable infant placement
*****
Club ONT sincerely hopes you've had the time of your life. We know that you've never felt like this before. Stop looking at us with those hungry eyes!
Why are they overlong slogs of poorly thought out worldbuilding, self-seriousness, and and self-indulgent senses of coolness that just bore me to tears?
Why do these movies make so much money? Granted, removing Keanu Reeves from a starring role in the spin-off (he has an extended, mostly pointless cameo sprinkled throughout), Ballerina: From the World of John Wick seemed to hurt the last entry's ability to make money at the box office (it pretty obviously lost money considering its reported $90 million budget and $137 million haul at the worldwide box office), but my main focus is the four main entries themselves. I've seen Ballerina, and it does have some of the same problems as the first four, but it fixes one of my main complaints while creating others.
Could these movies have been written...better? Could they have covered the same ground but just been compelling in the interminable two hours of each film that wasn't dedicated to action?
Okay, I actually like the first entry. John Wick is a simple story of revenge that lasts for a grand 100 minutes (including credits) that is a thin reed on which to hang action sequences. The clear emotionality is just enough to support the action, make it all make sense, and make it compelling enough to watch in between the action beats. It's not great drama, but it's functional and clear. There are clear moments where it's obvious the creative team is inventing reasons for the movie to keep going, inventing reasons for Wick to not take revenge on the Russian gangster punk who killed his dog just so the movie can keep going. It's the ravages of making a supernaturally gifted assassin one's main character.
However, it does come other things as well. It implies relationships with Wick talking to figures from his past in cryptic terms about who he is, what he's capable of, and how he got out of the assassin game. It works well enough in the first entry because it's about building a mythos around this central figure on a killing spree, but the writers and director took the exact wrong lesson from it.
Because every movie after that takes that approach to character as gospel. John meets someone, like the main antagonist of the second film, Santino, who forces John to re-enter the game by invoking a marker that John had to swear to in order to leave. (I assume this works with the first movie where it was that movie's bad guy who gave him the task, but whatever.)
So, the film spends more than thirty minutes getting John from his house to the target he's supposed to kill (Santino's sister) so that Santino can take her seat at The Table, the governing body of the assassin underworld, or whatever. And when he meets Gianna, Santino's sister, they imply some kind of deep history, talk in serious tones for a long stretch, and action finally breaks out.
The space between the action is...interminable. And there's a lot of space between the action. The action itself is quite good. Not perfect. There are moments where it's obvious people are just waiting for the next hit, but with so much action, not every beat of every fight is gonna slap. Really, the quality of the action is very, very high. It's just, there's so much of it, and the stuff in between is so boring that the action beats are extended demo reels for the stunt team and little else. They don't really mean much because John Wick ceases to be much of a character, the character interactions he has are mostly implied relationships of characters who appear only briefly before he's off to another locale to fight more faceless goons.
However, watching all of the films in a row made it obvious that there was an attempt at a larger story. It's just it's told really badly. The overall story is Wick being forced back into the life, him making the choice to either become a tool of the High Table or be free, and then his quest to destroy the High Table, effectively, to overturn the system. It's just that the movies are more concerned with looking cool than actually telling the story.
I'm deeply, deeply frustrated by the bloated, 2.5-3 hour sequels to the focused, 100-minute long original. And I thought that the problems wouldn't be that hard to fix from a screenwriting point of view. So, I sat down and wondered...if the director of the movies, Chad Stahelski, came to me before the filming of Chapter 2,handed me the three scripts for the second, third, and fourth entries and asked for a rewrite. I couldn't scrap them completely because they were already building sets, had cast everyone, and had practiced every fight for months. I needed to keep the major elements, but I could change dialogue, rearrange scenes, expand and contract roles. That sort of thing.
So, what would I do?
Rewrites
I've had Dante's Inferno on the brain for a bit, and my first direction would be to take the ending of the first movie as a death. He's following his wife, Helen, into a metaphorical death. Each of the three following movies would be concerned with three circles of Hell each.
John Wick: Chapter 2, Limbo, Lust, and Gluttony
Wick makes his way home, and he's confronted by the fact that he's alone. He has no one anymore. He reflects on Helen, his passed wife, and then he starts to think of the people he had before he left the life. He focuses on Gianna, the last woman he loved before he met Helen. Lost and without purpose, he tries to contact her, but the five years away from the life has made it difficult. He wanders the haunts he had with her, but he's seen by Killa Harkan (a character from Chapter 4). Grotesquely overweight, he dangles the promise of meeting Gianna. John must kill someone for him, and he will let him know where Gianna is.
So, John takes the job, and he goes to Rome to kill the target, a woman. After fighting through a host of goons, it turns out that the target is Gianna herself. She asks him why he's doing this. He doesn't know. He doesn't ask. That's not the job. But, now that he has what was promised him, he feels the need to break the contract. However, she gets hit by a second assassin (Cassian, played by Common) sent by Harkan to make sure the job is done.
It becomes a chase to get to Harkan. John versus Cassian as John wants further vengeance, and we enter into Gluttony with Harkan being a king of excess, and when John ultimately gets Harkan, Harkan tells him that he was just following orders from Gianna's brother, Santino, because he can take her place at the High Table upon her death. That ends the first sequel.
John Wick: Chapter 3, Greed, Anger, and Heresy
We start in media res with John fights his way towards Santino in his mansion in Paris. Upon reaching something like a throne room, John is stopped by the presence of the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator confronts John, offering him whatever he wants in order to stop. He's killed too many of the High Table's agents, and they are willing to pay any price to get him to stop. However, the conversation cuts to the core of why John is doing what he's doing. She knows why he left in the first place. It wasn't love. It was because he knew that the work he did was evil, and he needed to get out. He's on a rampage because of his wife? His dog? Gianna, a woman he hadn't even thought of for five years? John can have Santino as long as John is done after that, but what does he actually want?
John sets out to find Santino, and he's in Arabia. John goes and meets with Sofia (Halle Berry) who helps him get into Santino's fortress where he fights through hordes of people to get to Santino, eventually killing him. The Adjudicator arrives, and offers him everything he wants, but he has to say what it is. What he actually wants is...blood. He only lives for violence. So, she offers him Santino's spot on the High Table.
On the High Table, John becomes ruthless, ordering the execution of his enemies, becoming the evil, embracing the heresy, that he had tried to escape.
John Wick: Chapter 4, Violence, Fraud, and Treason
John has become a tyrant of the High Table, and a rebellion is brewing against him. But not only is he a tyrant, he's a general who leads his men into battle. In Arabia, he strikes out against the palace of the fellow High Table member the Marquis. John leads a dozen men on an assault on the palace, killing everyone in his path in order to get to his target, an impediment to his power. He confronts the Marquis who has a trump card. He has dug up Helen's coffin and uses it as a bargaining chip. Defended by the blind assassin Caine (Donnie Yen), the Marquis makes a deal. He will bend to Wick's vision of the table, not desecrate Helen's dead body, and nominate John to be the High Commander of the Table if John does something for him. John must go to Japan and prove that the owner of the Osaka Continental, Koji, has defrauded the High Table.
John agrees, and he goes to Osaka. There, he confronts Koji, an old friend, and learns that yes, Koji has been defrauding the High Table for years. However, it's because of the corruption of the High Table that he did it. This conversation reveals to John the depths into which he's sunk. Thinking he was in control, he realizes that he's only been the tool of corruption, a last gasp effort by the High Table to recruit him rather than have him dismantle them. So, he decides that he must turn traitor to the High Table but also deal with the fact that he had become a traitor to Helen in re-embracing the life he'd promised to leave.
John heads to New York and the Continental run by Winston, recruits the help of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), and becomes the one man killing machine against the High Table once more. He fights through his goons to find the High Table together, and he must execute them all. The fight leaves him fatally wounded, and he succumbs to his wounds, dying.
We fade to black, and we hear Helen's voice calling out for John.
No More than a Thought Exercise
The main problem I have with the overall feel of the actual sequels is that despite there being something like an overall story from one entry to the next, it's approached with such lack of care that it might as well not be there. John ends up just being a killing machine moving from one action sequence and thin interaction with a character with an unexplained backstory to the next. I want some kind of structure imposed on it, some kind of real progression of his character.
I really don't think there is one, that the John at the start of Chapter 2 is still the same at the end of Chapter 4, that he's nothing more than a cipher caught in someone else's plot for the vast majority of things, and that he has little agency. From the moment Santino shows up the marker and forces him back into the game, instead of John choosing to go back, the sequels are off the rails, forcing John into situations rather than having him guide himself. He does kind of gain his own direction in the fourth film, but it's very little very late, and we have so much obsession with other characters, lore, and world-building around rules of the organization that Wick ends up something of a side character in his own franchise.
Imposing a stronger structure from the beginning, borrowing from something like Inferno and having an eye towards John's journey first and foremost would have tremendously helped the sequels.
To No Avail
Chad Stahelski did not some to me before production and ask for my help. I am just a nobody off in the hinterlands wondering if I could have found a better way to give the people who love the 1/3 of these films that are no-holds barred action a bit more to grasp onto in between those action sequences.
The movies got really long, really obsessed with self-important world-building, and lost sight of its central, eponymous character really quickly. And I do not understand the money they made and their relative popularity.
Do people really remain gripped in between the action scenes? Or do they wander off, look at their phones, and do other things as they wait for the sound of gunshots and pumping music to reappear? I imagine that there are some, but I am not one of them. All of the praise I hear of the films is the action itself. The stuff in between could use some punching up, right?
The Rossiter Case (Rating 3/4) Full Review "It's not the most involving thing, but it's a good melodrama that understands what it needs to do and how to do it." [Library]
To Have and to Hold (Rating 2/4) Full Review "I mean, the films' not bad, but it kind of makes no real sense and doesn't connect. It's very bland and a bit frustrating." [YouTube]
A Case for PC 49 (Rating 1/4) Full Review "The whole "based on a BBC radio serial" was mostly a mark of warning in this era, it seems." [YouTube]
Cloudburst (Rating 3.5/4) Full Review "Pure noir with a solid emotional foundation and good performances, very well filmed by Searle, but with an ending that just doesn't quite hit the way it should." [YouTube]
The Last Page (or, Man Bait) (Rating 3/4) Full Review "And the end result is a tense, knowing thriller that works solidly well. Welcome to the Hammer club, Mr. Fisher. I think you'll be a welcome addition." [YouTube]
Wings of Danger (Rating 2/4) Full Review "It's not good, but it's a mild entertainment that looks good while it plays things out." [YouTube]
Never Look Back (Rating 2/4) Full Review "It functions, and no more. It's unexciting and largely unmemorable, but it works. Kind of." [Library]
Email any suggestions or questions to thejamesmadison.aos at symbol gmail dot com.
I've also archived all the old posts here, by request. I'll add new posts a week after they originally post at the HQ.
My next thread will be on 4/18 and it will discuss something or other.
Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. When you follow the long and windy road, you end up with singing as a theme for this Hobby Thread.
As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. I understand that some people pay attention to military hardware, tactics and strategy as a hobby. Discussion of current events permitted but must be made in the form of hobby commentary. Pants are optional. As always, puns are welcome and encouraged.
Play nice and do not be rude. Do not be a troll and do not feed the trolls.
***
Your dino host is not known for being able to carry a tune. Dinosaurs in general are ranked lower in the animal kingdom on the scale of singers (and probably rank below most humans). You trying making "RAWR!" melodic.
Some among the Horde, however, are likely to be blessed. Do you sing in a church choir? Did you sing in a children's choir? Have you appeared on a stage and made music with a band?
Are you are a terrible singer, but love belting out the classics in the shower? Are you wise in the way of karaoke? Have you done karaoke in Japan?
Have you taken singing lessons? Have you had formal schooling? Have you sung professionally? Do you wish you tried but life took you in other directions? Have you sung at a friend's wedding or a family member's funeral?
Do you have horror stories of singing at your youth holiday concert recital? Do you have epic stories of when you carried a tune (whether good or bad)?
Have you sung in a venue that was special, such as a cathedral? Have you sung at an event that was special, such as a national anthem for a big game?
Let's limit the theme to voice. Musical instruments are an entirely different category.
Let's also keep this to YOUR singing. This is a hobby thread. There are plenty of other music threads to debate "the singer of my favorite band rocks" and "the singer of your favorite band sux."
Going to need help from the gray boxes on this one. You don't want to hear me sing. Trust me on that. If you are unable or uninterested in singing, whistling is an acceptable substitute.
***
Beethoven to get started:
***
Has anyone been in a Barbershop Quartet?
***
Rick Beato with his top 20 vocal intros:
Any you've tried to emulate?
***
Watch this video in the privacy of your own home. Attempt making musical sounds at your computer or phone. Report back.
***
Is twelve hours sufficient?
***
Hallelujah:
***
Tennessee Whiskey:
***
When the audience is the instrument:
***
This will give you goosebumps. This video is a longer story of a TikTok video that went viral of an American singing acapella in a Spanish church. Skip ahead to the 5 minute mark if you just want to watch the singing.
When being pitch-perfect or in-tune is not the point:
***
Ave Maria in the Dresden Frauenkirche:
If you are wondering whether taking in a concert at the Frauenkirche should be on your bucket list, we can confirm that it should be. We also had the memorable experience on a visit when the spirit moved two random visitors to sing Amazing Grace acapella.
***
Interview with Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson about his singing style and technique (no, I didn't recognize him immediately either):
***
Is this good advice?
***
For the big finish:
***
Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did a maps theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.
***
Notable comments from last week:
***
Words of wisdom:
"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).
***
If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute your own. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.
— Restoring Your Faith in Humanity (@HumanityChad) March 26, 2026
* * *
Meet The PetMorons
The Big Dummy dozes in his man cave at a show. It's a 4x4x4 pen with a top that can be put together in a few minutes, giving him plenty of room to stand or lie down on blanket and pads. Sheets hung on the outside give him some privacy, he has food, water and chew toys and a floor fan to keep him cool. The only things missing are beer and a TV.
Hadrian the Seventh
He's all set, and looks relaxed! Thanks for sending in the great photo of his life at a show. Quite the set-up!
* * *
PetMoron Adjacent Animals
Encountered by Members of The Horde
&&&
This week's wildlife photo is... a Gray Treefrog (Hyla Versicolor)
A man eating amphibian, weren't they one of the bad guys in Jack Chalker's Well of Souls series of novels?
BifBewalski
I don't know about the series of novels, but I looked up another famous amphibian: From an Aztec god to Minecraft star. Why does Mexico love the axolotl so much?
Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian
It's nearing Passover and Easter, and here we have a flower associated with Christmas (maybe a different subspecies). I love its distinctive flowers!
The hellebores started blooming in mid-March. I first planted them by the concrete steps years ago when there was a weeping cherry providing shade. We had to take the cherry down after the trunk split and I expected to need to move the hellebores since they're supposed to be shade plants. They have been growing and blooming for over ten years in full afternoon sun. Hellebores hate being moved, at least in my experience, so I've left them alone since they seem to be doing fine!
Chandelier plant (Kalanchoe delagoensis): Received something small from a fellow gardener who lives down the street. Over the summer, it got strong and multiplied (also known as Mother of Millions), and now the stand has been flowering nicely for a few weeks.
An interesting succulent. I think that this is a good plant for beginners.
*
Edible Gardening/Putting Things By
The strawberries are Fragaria vesca that I grew from seed last year, basically just to see if I could. I didn't expect them to survive the winter as they were growing in a clay pot left out on the top step. I was surprised to see there were two flowers by May 20th. The plant is supposedly self pollinated but our temps are going down again so might not see any berries right now.
Lirio100
Beautiful! Let us know how they taste! Another photo of the ripe berries would be fun.
*
I think that Lirio's strawberries are in a "safe" container.
from The Nature Nomad
Cadmium, arsenic and lead are problem minerals here. Zinc, usually not so much, unless you really get a lot of it. You need SOME zinc. You don't need any cadmium.
*
Gardens of The Horde
Updated landscaping around the pond. Mexican heather along the walkway with poker plants behind them.
Phlox around the falls. Herbs on the slope. Lantana and yarrow for the butterflies. Petunias and dianthus for the humming bird. Bird feeders for everyone else.
Cross vine, Carolina Jessamine, and honeysuckle along the fence with some cannas because they’re outta control. Flowering yucca in red and yellow.
Daffodils, irises, dianthus and daylillies along the wall. Caladiums and hostas under the fig tree.
And the auxiliary office.
R/s
CrotchetyOldJarhead
WOW!
A lot of work! Everything looks great. Thanks for sending in the photos.
*
Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
If you would like to send photos, stories, links, etc. for the Saturday Gardening Thread, the address is:
ktinthegarden at g mail dot com
Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.
This week, I ran across a podcaster who blamed the influence of the "Rockefeller-funded" General Education Board in the 1930s for the inability of Boomers to see that Israel was behind most of the problems in the world. The internet allowed podcasters to show younger people the truth. He thought most Boomers were stuck in limited ways of thinking like Mike Huckabee - - unable the process "gotcha" questions of Tucker Carlson, like one about the ancestors of the Prime Minister of Israel.
Hmmmm.
I kinda think that Mike Huckabee is not the best example of a guy who thinks on his feet in confrontations with intellectual foes. There has been some conflict centered around him recently in connection with his role as ambassador to Israel. While the "Woke Right" thinks he always kowtows to the Israeli point of view, he seems in at least one instance here to have gone in the other direction to appease Catholics and others without knowing the facts. I don't think this had much to do with the General Education Board in the 1930s and Boomers in general.
I'm also not real sure that the typical under-a-minute hot takes from today's podcasts are advances in our intellectual lives, especially if most people stay in "bubbles" with people who agree with them.
Do you think the next step from the internet - robot teachers - will help?
"Figure 03" AI-powered robot accompanies first lady Melania Trump to a White House summit on empowering children with educational technology. pic.twitter.com/RShdfvEG38
Update: Think a robot would show this film to Tucker's followers, or the followers of podcasters who follow him?
This colorized video is a collection of B-roll footage mostly shot in the Arab town of Akko (a shot of Jewish sunbathers on a beach slips in momentarily) for a “March of Time” documentary on British ruled Palestine praising the prosperity brought to the land by the Jews 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Zxd8uLDWIa
The thread (not real current) below includes ideas concerning ways that being too smart can get in the way of progress. Several of them may be relevant to current military actions:
John Fowles explains in "The Aristos" (1964) how high IQ can subvert your will to act: "High intelligence leads to multiplicity of interest and a sharpened capacity to foresee the consequences of any action. Will is lost in a labyrinth of hypothesis." Rule 1: Do not lose the will pic.twitter.com/qvBc8TdHZg
A LOT of interesting stuff here. But below are a few selections from the thread above if you don't have time to read it all:
1/ Carlyle in 1841: "A man lives by believing something; not by debating and arguing about many things." Chesterton on how an open mind is no more a virtue than an open mouth: "The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid”
2/ A knight who owns a sharp sword should make sure he does not cut himself with it, and a man gifted with a great mind should make sure he does not start living inside it...
This is gold. One of the less talked about side-effects of intelligence—seeing every possible outcome from every possible perspective = philosophical rumination, stagnation. I practice now setting boundaries with my open mind, directing it wisely instead of being a slave to it.
Napoleon on how he planned wars: "There is no man more pusillanimous than I when I am planning a campaign" In the planning stage, Napoleon exaggerated, in his mind "all the dangers and calamities" possible BUT while fighting, he forgot everything "except what led to success"
Does it seem sometimes like life is just one long TSA line? Cheer up! You could be a ship stuck at the Strait of Hormuz. But I have an idea that will supercharge this weekend’s off-Broadway revival of the “No Kings” improv troupes. . .
* * * * *
Music
✨🇨🇳Robots play traditional Chinese drums in perfect sync—what a cool mix of tech and culture! pic.twitter.com/wlkKjJ5QE0
The Classical Saturday Coffee Break & Prayer Revival
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
[Every. Single Day!]
Good morning boys and girls and every thing in between. Before we enter the Prayer Revival just a few housekeeping matters to go over. (Rulz for those of you in Poy Sippi.)
1) This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
2) Be kind, be nice. Ace's house, Ace's rules.
3) Running with sharp objects is highly frowned upon.
4) Have a great weekend!
Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.
Prayer Requests:
2/14 – L gave an update on her brother Ron. He has been in declining health for the last 6+ months, and has been transferred to a nice facility for hospice. They had been discussing this possibility for months. He would make improvements, then relapse, each time ending up more disabled. The best part is that he is at peace with the decision. He is aware enough to assist with the final plans and is enjoying parceling out his remaining possessions to family and friends. L’s daughter’s cardiac recovery continues. L says she cannot thank all sufficiently for the many prayers.
3/21 Update – Ron’s struggle is over. He died on 3/9. His 65th birthday would have been 3/22. His funeral was well attended and many people described him as their “best friend”. Despite never being married of having children, he leaves a legacy to be proud of. L’s daughter has finally recovered enough to start cardiac rehab. They expect great progress. L and her husband are rebuilding their relationship after putting it on the back burner for far too long, and working to get healthier. Thanks to everyone who prayed. It has meant a lot.
2/20 – Gouveneur Morris requested prayers for herself as she has surgery scheduled for 2/27 for spondylolisthesis.
3/5 Update - Gouveneur Morris’ surgery was successful – every prayer and thought directed her way is appreciated.
3/2 – RickZ posted that he received bad news. He went to the ER with muscle pain and came out with a cancer diagnosis. He could use prayers for an extremely capable oncological team of cancer specialists, and that God guides their hands and minds as they work to rid Rick of cancer. And also that God would provide him peace and calm, and to help sustain him through this trial.
3/5 – Inogame posted the good news that baby #5 arrived! Baby was overdue by 12 days. Mom and baby are doing well. Baby was 9 pounds 8 ounces, and 21.5 inches long.
3/5 – IrishEI has learned that she needs major surgery on 3/16, and she would really appreciate prayers.
3/7 – Uncle Slayton posted the good news that his son-in-law, Kenny, is almost 3 years cancer-free. He beat lymphoma and leukemia, and Uncle Slayton wanted to thank everyone who prayed for him.
3/7 – Joe Kidd sent an update on a previous prayer, for a young girl named Jasmine. She is the adopted daughter of a friend of a friend. She had been rescued from abuse, but was withdrawn, etc. The friend took the family on an RV trip, and with lots of TLC for Jasmine, things have improved. It appears that God has surrounded this young girl with an army of angels, and your prayers for her are being heard. May those listed here and whispered elsewhere receive similar affirmation.
3/7 – vmom deport deport deport requested prayers for GB, the husband of her friend; he just had a quadruple bypass a couple of days ago, following a heart attack.
3/10 – Warai-otoko asked for prayers for a sister-in-law with some respiratory issues, who just took a hard turn for the worse. Thanks to everyone, even if you just take a fraction of a second for it.
3/10 – Update on Susan, who we have been praying for as she battles cancer. She is hospitalized again with an infection in her colon that quickly turned bad. The doctor says the signs are sepsis but they are running tests to make sure. The good news is that the pancreatic cancer was and is responding to the chemo and her cancer numbers are going down. God bless and thank you!
3/19 Update – Susan is still in the hospital, but she is doing 100% better. The doctors are not ready to release her yet, but everything is going in the right direction. They keep saying “maybe tomorrow”.
3/23 Update – Susan finally was able to come home. She is doing better than expected. Thanks to everyone for your prayers.
3/11 – Bulg sends a prayer of thanks. He called his formerly estranged sister on her birthday, and they had a wonderful conversation. It was their second conversation since February, and there was no animosity at all.
3/11 – Doof sent his appreciation for the Horde’s prayers for his mom, who has been in post-hospitalization rehab since mid-January. She has recovered from her illnesses, but her body seems to be increasingly giving up on her. PT has become too painful and exhausting for her. She is also having increased brain fog and is rapidly losing the ability to do things like answer her phone or send texts. Continued prayers requested for her, as she is very sad, and also for Doof and his sister as they figure out what’s next.
3/16 Update – Doof’s mother is not doing very well. Her 100 days of post-hospital rehab will be ending soon, and she is not nearly recovered enough to live alone. She’s almost completely confined to bed. She will be moved to long-term care soon, and will likely be there for the rest of her life. They appreciate the prayers.
3/14 – Retired Buckeye Cop asks for prayers for Mrs. Cop’s cousin, “A.B”. He has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. He is a retired police officer who was hit by a car years ago. He attempted to deal with the pain by self-medicating with too much Tylenol, which ended up poisoning his liver. His only alternative is a liver transplant, but he is uncertain if he wants to have surgery.
3/21 Update – A.B.’s situation isn’t quite as dire as originally thought. It’s still bad, but his readings are better than originally thought.
3/18 – TecumsehTea requests prayers, as her husband was fired from a job he enjoyed very much on 3/17. Prayers are needed for peace, direction, and clarity. They trust God will provide the right job at the right time, and that He would give them peace in the waiting. TecumsehTea is still dealing with the effects of her heart attack last July. Prayers for healing, as her BP continues to be unstable. Chronic Lyme disease and autoimmune disease complicates everything. She trusts that God is faithful and good and He will take care of their needs.
3/21 – FenelonSpoke asked for prayers for her son, who is still looking for work. He has a horticulture major, and would ideally like something related to research, but he is certainly willing to labor outdoors.
3/21 – Count de Monet gave prayers of thanks for a son who has been accepted into the IVEW Apprenticeship program. He will earn while he learns for 4 years on his way to becoming a Journeyman Electrician.
3/21 – pookysgirl asked for prayers as they start IVF again.
3/22 – Retired Buckeye Cop has a happy prayer request. His 16 year old grandson said he is feeling a call to the priesthood within the Catholic Church. He is a devout young man who has particular compassion for the poor. (He thinks he might want to be a Franciscan friar.) Please pray for L. H. as he pursues the vocation of religious life.
3/22 – JackStraw asked for prayers for IrishEi. She has been in the hospital for nearly a week. It sounds like she is on the mend, hopefully.
3/24 – NR Pax requested prayers for a friend. On Sunday, the friend went to ER after collapsing at work. After a series of tests, she was found to have pulmonary arterial hypertension. Her current prognosis is five years left to live.
3/24 – GMAC posted that he has received his death sentence. His prostate cancer has metastasized into his bones. Medication will slow it down, but there is no stopping it. He doesn’t know how much time he has, but plans to do some travelling while he can. He sends his compliments to “the wittiest group of morons” he has ever had the pleasure of reading. He will still be lurking.
For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
Some glitches with the sites aside, this server has been running nonstop for two years, and that's pretty typical for Linux. It only reboots when you reboot it.
That is they can refresh as little as once per second, if you're just sitting there looking at a static screen - or up to 120Hz if the display is active.
Apple's new MacBook Neo has a phone CPU that uses as little as 4W, but still has fairly mid-tier battery life. What's draining all that power?
You guessed it.
The panels are already shipping as the default choice in Dell's latest XPS models.
The share offering is expected to be small - about 2% of the total stock - but will value the company at $500 to $700 billion.
SK Hynix reported 50% revenue growth and 100% growth in profits in 2025 - and only the last couple of months of that were in the DRAM Apocalypse - so I don't think they'll have a hard time finding buyers.
Recent reports of open-source projects - including Linux - being overwhelmed by useless AI-generated bug reports have ameliorated into useful AI-generated bug reports.
Nobody knows exactly why the change, but this is something I am personally in favour of. Testing in-depth is time-consuming and painfully boring, precisely the sort of job you'd give to an junior developer with clinical OCD in the good old days.
Now everyone has a junior developer with clinical levels of OCD.
What? Skeleton of the most famous Musketeer, D'Artagnan, possibly discovered in Dutch church closet. Dumas picked four names of real musketeers out of a history book, D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. So there was an actual D'Artagnan, though he made most of the story up. (Or, you know, all of it.)*
Charles de Batz de Castelmore, known as d'Artagnan, the famous musketeer of Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV, spent his life in the service of the French crown.
The Gascon nobleman inspired Alexandre Dumas's hero in "The Three Musketeers" in the 19th century, a character now known worldwide thanks to the novel and numerous film adaptations.
D'Artagnan was killed during the siege of Maastricht in 1673, and there is a statue honoring the musketeer in the city. His final resting place has remained a mystery ever since.
A lot of Dumas's stories are based on bits of real history. The plot of the >Three Musketeers, about trying to recover lost diamonds from the queen's necklace, was cribbed from the then-almost-contemporaneous Affair of the Queen's Necklace. And the Man in the Iron Mask is based on real accounts of a prisoner forced to wear a mask (though I think it was a velvet mask).
* Oh, I should mention, Dumas says all this, about finding the names in an old book, in the prologue to his novel. But authors lie a lot. They frequently present fictions as based on historic fact. The twist is, he was actually telling the truth here. At least about these four musketeers having actually existed and served under Louis XIV. Fun fact: You know the beginning of A Fistful of Dollars where the local gunslingers make fun of Clint Eastwood's donkey and Eastwood demands they apologize to the donkey? That's lifted from The Three Musketeers. Rochefort mocks D'Artagnan's old, brokedown farm horse and D'Artagnan is incensed.
A commenter asked which should be read first, The Hobbit of LOTR? Easy, no question -- read The Hobbit first. It's actually the start of the story and comes first chronologically. It sets up some major characters and major pieces in play in LOTR. Also, the Hobbit is Beginner-Friendly, which LOTR isn't. The Hobbit really is a delightful book, and a fast read. It's chatty, it's casual, it's exciting, and it's funny. In that dry cheeky British humor way. I love that the narrator is constantly making little asides and commentary, like he's just sitting next to you telling you this story as it occurs to him.
LOTR is a very long story. Fifteen hundred pages or so. The Hobbit is relatively short and very punchy and easy to read. If you don't like The Hobbit, you can skip out on LOTR. If you do like it, you'll be primed to read LOTR.
Oh, I should say: The Hobbit is written as if it's for children, but one of those smart children's stories that are also for adults. Don't worry, there's also real fighting and violence and horror in it, too. LOTR is written for adults. (It's said that Tolkien wrote both for his children, but LOTR was written 17 years later, when his children were adults.) Some might not like The Hobbit due to its sometimes frivolous tone. Me, I love it. I find it constantly amusing. Both are really good but there is a starkly different tone to both. LOTR is epic, grand, and serious, about a world war, The Hobbit is light and breezy, and about a heist. Though a heist that culminates in a war for the spoils.
The Hobbit Challenge: Read two more chapters. I didn't have much time. Bilbo got the ring.
I noticed a continuity problem. Maybe. Now, as of the time of The Hobbit, it was unknown that this magic ring was in fact a Ring of Power, and it was doubly unknown that it was the Ring of Power, the Master Ring that controlled the others.
But the narrator -- who we will learn in LOTR was none of than Bilbo himself, who wrote the book as "There and Back Again" -- says this about Gollum's ring:
"But who knows how Gollum had come by that present [the Ring], ages ago in the old days when such rings were still at large in the world? Perhaps even the Master who ruled them could not have said."
In another passage, the ring is identified as a "ring of power."
I don't know, I always thought there was a distinction between mere magic rings and the Rings of Power created by Sauron. But this suggests that Bilbo knew this was a ring of power created by Sauron.
Now I don't remember when Bilbo wrote the Hobbit. In the movie, he shows Frodo the book in Rivendell, and I guess he wrote it after he left the Shire. I guess he might have added in the part about the ring being a ring of power created by "the Master" after Gandalf appraised him of his research into the ring. I never noticed this before. I know Tolkien re-wrote this chapter while he was writing LOTR to make the ring important from the start. And also to make Gollum more sinister and evil, and also to remove the part where Gollum actually offers Bilbo the ring as a "present" -- Bilbo had already found it on his own, but Gollum was wiling to give it away, which obviously is not something the rewritten Gollum would ever do. But I had no memory of the ring being suggested to be The Ring so early in the tale.
Finish the job, Mr. President! Melanie Phillips lays out the case for the total destruction of the Iranian government and armed forces. [CBD]
Podcast: Sefton and CBD talk about how would a peace treaty with Iran work, Democrats defending murderers and rapists, The GOP vs. Dem bench for 2028, composting bodies? And more!
Oh, I forgot to mention this quote from Pete Hegseth, reported by Roger Kimball: "We are sharing the ocean with the Iranian Navy. We're giving them the bottom half."
Tomorrow is March 25th, "Tolkien Reading Day," because March 25th is the day when the Ring is destroyed in the book. I think I'm going to start the Hobbit tomorrow and read all four books this time. The only bad part of the trilogy are the Frodo/Sam chapters in The Two Towers. They're repetitive, slow, and mostly about the weather and terrain. But most everything else is good. Weirdly, the Frodo-Sam chapters in Return of the King are exciting and action-packed and among the best in the trilogy. (Though the chapters with everyone else in Return of the King get pretty slow again. Mostly people talking about marching towards war, and then marching towards war.)
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click
One day I'm gonna write a poem in a letter
One day I'm gonna get that faculty together
Remember that everybody has to wait in line
Oh, [Song Title], look out world, oh, you know I've got mine
“robert mueller just died,” trump wrote in a truth social post on march 21. “good, i’m glad he’s dead. he can no longer hurt innocent people! president donald j. trump.”
.jpg)
