Today’s word of the now is “pwn“.
The slang term Pwn (see pronunciation note below), used primarily in the Internet gaming culture, means to own, have ownage over, and/or soundly defeat an opponent. It is sometimes used for taunting of an in-game enemy and gloating over victories.
Thanks to Sebastian, I have a textbook example of a total pwn, via blog comments. Here is the wild pwn, in all it’s natural glory.
Remind me to not get on Bitter’s bad side.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a big fan of westerns, which is why I was so excited about the movie 3:10 to Yuma. My wife and I finally got to the theatre last night to see it, and I was not disappointed. I’m not going to post spoilers, so don’t worry about that.
The first thing that really got my attention about the film was the music. The opening, and the first scenes with Russell Crowe as Ben Wade had music that was very reminiscent of the Ennio Morricone soundtracks to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti films. Needless to say, that made me very happy.
Throughout the film, you’re treated to the development of the three main characters: Crowe as Ben Wade, the ruthless outlaw, Christian Bale as the down but not quite out rancher Dan Evans, and Logan Lerman as Dan’s son, William. What really brought this movie home for me was the on-screen relationship between Dan and William, which was the cornerstone of the movie.
The chief “badguy” in the film is not Russell Crowe, as his character alternately helps and hinders Dan’s mission. No, really the primary villain is Ben Wade’s lieutenant, Charlie Prince who was played as a completely amoral psychotic by Ben Foster. The only things I’d seen Foster in before this were X3, The Punisher, and Six Feet Under, so to see him play a hardened killer was a surprise. Even more surprising was that he pulled the “hardened killer bit” off so very well.
Now, the part that my regulars have been waiting for: the guns. Oh, the guns were magnificent. When he is armed, Crowe’s character is carrying a pretty standard Colt SAA, however the grips are all black with a gold crucifix inlayed into each side. Crowe’s chief lieutenant carries a pair of Smith & Wesson Schofield revolvers in a double crossdraw rig. Meanwhile, Bale’s character, as a veteran of the Civil War is carrying a Spencer Carbine and an 1860 Army cartridge conversion.
The gunhandling is spectacular, the pacing of the film is relentless – all in all this is an excellent. It easily makes my list of Best Westerns made since 1980, and if I think about probably cracks the top ten of my all time favorite westerns.
Whether or not it was as good as the original is a matter of taste – I actually preferred Crowe and Bale as the leading men in this film. Either way, if you get a chance, get out there and see this film. If you like westerns, if you like a great plot and well crafted characters, you won’t be disappointed.
As applied to the Democratic party.
Stolen from RNS.
In the comments to this post, Sue mentioned that she likes to mix a little bison meat with her ground beef when making burgers at home. Now, they’re pretty much impossible to get at fast food places, but burgers made from exotic meat (not beef) are actually some of my favorite types of burgers.
There’s a restaurant about 10 minutes from where I live that serves Bison Burgers, and they’re fantastic. I actually prefer bison to beef when I can get it, the flavor is actually different, plus the meat is leaner.
Other substitute burger meats that I’ve tried are emu, which is a lot like a super lean ground beef (and delicious) and elk. I really do enjoy an emu burger, but they’re almost impossible to find here in the midwest. I suppose I could start ranching emus and set up my own restaurant, but that seems like a lot of work to get an emu burger.
You could also check out Exotic Meats which can ship a lot of different varieties of meat to 32 different US states. Or, if you really want to make deer burgers, you could go hunting. One of these years…
Outdoor Life has a new gun blog up at their website, the new blog is called The Gun Shots. Since I’ve come to the conclusion that reaching out to hunters who may not be “pro-RKBA” is going to be a top priority of mine, I am thrilled to see this new blog over there.
What makes me happier is that Michael Bane is one of the co-authors. Whether or not you like Michael (or his silly little earring), you can’t deny that he is definitely pro-2A, and very much interested in the fight to preserve our rights. Plus, in his “author” picture on The Gun Shots, he’s holding an AR-15. Awesome.
Right now, the Gun Shots has but the one post up, but we’re hopefully going to see more soon. Since I keep meaning to get into hunting, I’ll be checking in frequently.
Fred Thompson starts advertising at Florida gun shows.
Fred Thompson’s presidential campaign has hit a conservative bull’s eye: The exclusive rights to advertise at some of Florida’s largest gun shows.
Pasco County Republican chairman Bill Bunting said he has engineered the deal for the former Tennessee senator and Law & Order star because he’s the best person to trust when it comes to the right to buy, sell and own guns.
I know that a lot of people were kind of “eh” about Fred, especially after it took him so long to actually declare that he was going to run. I think a lot more people are concerned that he’s just talking the talk; we’ve seen too many Rudys, Romneys, and McCains to really trust that he actually cares about the 2nd Amendment.
That being said, I do agree with the article that this is a strong move for Thompson. Getting out there into the pro-gun community really helps his “street cred” in the Republican camp.
I am still cautiously optimistic about Fred Thompson, my biggest concern is that he’s not committed to endure the truly awful campaign that is yet to come. Honestly, if you don’t think that this next presidential campaign is going to be full of vitriol, mudslinging, and all around horrible behavior; you must have been living in a cave or something for the last four years.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I like food. Of the foods I enjoy, burgers are in the top three of items that I freakin’ love to eat. I love burgers so much that I have devised different categories for burgers, as well as a complicated rating system. What I’m going to do here is list my top five favorite burgers, and then I want you to share your favorite burger joints. Hell, you could even consider it a meme, so if you’ve got a blag, you could do it there. Or you can post it in the comments, whichever floats your boat.
Categories
There are two major categories of burgers, with those being “Fast Food Burgers”, which are found at establishments where you order at a counter and receive your food in a bag or a tray, and “Sit Down Burgers”, where you have a waiter/waitress that you order from. The exception is that Steak & Shake falls into the Fast Food category, despite their wait staff. We are going to focus solely on Fast Food Burgers, because, uh, that’s what I had for lunch.
So, without further ado, Ahab’s Top Five Fast Food Burger Locations, and what makes them so awesome.
1. In ‘N Out Burger – Primarily located in California, this chain has started to expand to Arizona and pieces of Nevada. Their finest burger is the Double-Double w/Cheese; all the ingredients are fresh, and their fries are literally potatoes that are chopped there in the restaurant. But the burger, oh the burger. Two perfect 1/3 pound all beef patties, grilled RIGHT WHEN YOU ORDER, combined with the freshest toppings leads to a tasty burger which has no equal.
2. Five Guys – When I moved to the DC/Metro area, I was truly disheartened. Where would I go for burgers? Despite having not lived on the west coast for years, the memory of In N Out was still fresh in my mind. Thankfully, I found the number 2 choice on my burger joint list, Five Guys. Their burgers are almost as good as In N Out’s, perhaps because they share the same “fresh ingredients made when you order” philosophy. Much to my joy, Five Guys has recently expanded into Indiana, once again giving me access to this fantastic burger chain.
3. 96th St. Steakburgers – My third favorite choice is essentially an Indiana knock-off of In N Out. It’s only found here, in the Indy Metro area so don’t feel bad if you’ve not heard of it. If you’ve eaten there, you’ll know why I love their burgers so much. Basically, take everything great about In N Out and put it in Indianapolis, and BAMF you’ve got 96th St. Steakburgers. Even their fries are the same.
4. Streetcorner Burgers – This was some dude in Boston with a streetcorner burger cart. I have no idea how he made burgers out of a cart, and frankly I don’t want to know because the burger was so good that I cried a little bit. Right there, in my Coastie dress uniform I cried just a little bit.
5. Steak & Shake – When I can’t find any of the my other top five, I’m heading to Steak & Shake. Their Double Steakburger w/cheese is almost as good as Five Guys, but unfortunately the thinness of their burgers causes them to lose points.
So, what are you favorite burger joints? Any comments that say “McDonalds” as a favorite will be deleted, and the commenter will be summarily mocked on the front page.
Edit: I should note that jokes about Big Kahuna Burger, and “that is a tasty burger” are totally welcome. If you’re not a Tarantino fan, disregard.
I saw this at Phil’s place, and I am so glad that he is pointing this out.
Melting of the Arctic ice cap does not contribute to sea level rise. Floating ice, like that around the North Pole, already displaces water, like ice cubes in a glass of tea. When the ice melts, sea level remains unchanged, though salinity can be altered.
That quote isn’t from Phil, but rather from an article in the Seattle Times. I am absolutely shocked that the ST would actually print a basic fact like the displacement of water. That pretty much made my morning.
So, the next time some Global Warming Nutbag is hollering about the seas rising to consume us, just go ahead and point that out.
My wife may have saved both of our lives this morning, and she definitely saved our new car from serious damage.
We were carpooling to work, and I was driving, because, well, I do the driving. Right after crossing Keystone Ave on 116th St. (my Indianapolis readers know where that is), I was looking out my window at the car next to me and only watching the road with my peripheral vision. I knew there weren’t any cars in front of me, so I just sort of relaxed and enjoyed my coffee.
Which exactly when my wife said “Ahab, deer-deer-DEER!” which was accompanied by a rather odd hand gesture. Now, a lot of people have said that “you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training”. I believe that, just from previous experiences in my life, and it was reinforced again today. When Mrs. Ahab said my name in that tone of voice, I knew something was wrong and pulled my head back to the road, by the time she had finished the third “deer” I was already braking, and checking my mirrors to avoid getting rear-ended and possibly move into the left lane.
I got down to about 20 mph and the big doe jumped back into the woods off the side of the road. The cars behind me weren’t close enough to pose a threat, which is good because the left lane wasn’t accessible to me.
The moral of the story is two-fold. One, keep your eyes on the road. It’s easy to get complacent when driving, especially if you drive the same route to work every day. That’s when accidents happen. We talk a lot about “staying aware” when we’re armed in public, it is just as important to stay away when you’re behind the wheel as it is when you’re behind the sights.
The second lesson is that since in a crisis situation you will default to your training, you had better make sure your training is good. The worst thing I could have done with the deer would have been punching the brakes into a hard panic stop.
Situational awareness is key, in any situation whether it’s driving to work or crossing the street. Like they say, you never see the one that gets you.
Robb wants a new gun. Seems Red’s Trading post is offering a spanking new S&W .460 Magnum for about $700, and they’re throwing in the S&W .22 Magnum Wood Pellet Smoker, of which I am the proud owner.
Now, unfortunately for Robb, he is married. Which means that like yours truly, and new gun purchase has to be begged for like a dog approved by my loving wife and Budget Committee.
In an effort to console poor Robb, I will instead link to all my previous posts about my Traeger/Smith & Wesson .22 Magnum Wood Pellet smoker. It really is one of the best boytoys that I own, not only does it reward me every time I use it with a 2 foot high flame, but the food that it produces has literally no equal. For something that I can toss in the back of my Subaru and take to a football game, or camping, or just use on my deck, the little Traeger has no equal.