Upvoted for accuracy in tragedy. Kool-Aid would have used that fact in ads in a parallel universe.

Yeah, Obama's generally pretty popular around here. If he visits after he's out of office, I daresay many places would give him a hero's welcome. Clinton seems to tap into a deep well of distrust. Given that we don't really have anything that we can do about this one and it's just another country's election, I do…

Haven't seen it yet. I gather that went much farther as far as gore goes. My statement was probably more about how Criminal Minds is somehow still running and you can almost certainly watch it right this second on TV if you want to. Basic cable channels! Gotta fill those hours!

I figure that it's probably not so much an inherent quality of the breed as it is a matter of pitbulls apparently being owned almost exclusively by people who train them to be aggressive and dangerous. I guess it's a chicken and egg situation at this point. It's obviously not the dog's fault, but you're still going…

I ran into a guy at a party once who had two topics of conversation and was determined to barrel into them whatever your response might be. Said topics were the relative safety of pitbulls (apparently it's the other breeds that are really dangerous) and the relatively low cost to the health care system of smokers…

Ah, some former friends had knives of that style. I was certain they'd be illegal to carry, but it turns out that Canadian law about knives hasn't been updated for nearly 50 years and assisted opening mechanisms are fine so long as they don't involve the handle, centrifugal force, or gravity. Anyway, looks like…

Get To The Back
Get 2 The Back: The First Cut Is The Deepest
Get To The Back III: No One Is Above The Line
Get Back: No Justice, No Place (In Line)

The significance of all of this would make no sense without having played some of the other games. The easiest way to explain it is to say that a) the other games in the series collectively contain dozens of hours of storytelling in cutscene form alone and b) this installment is sort of a direct prequel to all but…

My friend, who is a fourth dan black belt, has told me that she still figures that running is the best defense when available. Can't hit what's not there and all that. Self-defense isn't so much about being a fighting machine as it is about facing fears through preparation. The important thing is to be able to keep…

That's it! MLA doesn't need a knife, she needs a spoon. Now, what kind of spoon could be pointy enough to serve as a weapon?

Mind if I ask what kind of knife? I used to carry my lockback around for general handyperson purposes, but I haven't been doing that lately. I have a tiny folding knife that handles pretty much everything I run into during the day.

Cobra II: Resident Smartass

I've only really talked to one person who likes Trump in real life (as I am in Canada and he'd have zero chance in hell in our political climate). What I gathered from that is that he liked Trump mainly for fringey reasons, for lack of a better word. Trump has managed to be the conspiracy theory candidate in this…

I used to end up watching a lot of Criminal Minds because my mother loved it. That show had some good aspects, but Jesus Christ did they ever tart some of those killings up. If you want to see some stylishly grotesque murders on network TV, look no further.

I like how piano manufacturers almost went out of the way to endanger the environment. It really underscores the classy decadence of a Steinway that costs more than I make in a year.

The thing is that I don't think they actually care about self-driving cars transporting humans. That's not really the appeal to these companies. Self-driving automobiles, in concept, lend themselves more readily to delivery. Drones can only go so far. A self-driving truck/van, though, could safely cross the…

I suppose this is just my bias, but I tend to think that faith often hasn't transformed people to the extent they profess. In other words, people who convert or become more active in church usually seem to me like their practice of Christianity is essentially a more sanctimonious version of whatever they'd have been…

It's also used in some fretboards (rosewood and maple are other common choices). If you're carrying a guitar when someone tries to fill you with arrows, just get it in front of you and try to remember any melodies they strike for later.

It wouldn't have to be a far cry, either. Look at No Country For Old Men. It's set post-Vietnam and still has tons of Western magic. Setting something in the '20s in the Southwest could allow for tons of Western influence.

I had a look into Maranatha after reading this. It's all sort of falling into place. It looks like that may have been the origin of the authoritarian quasi-cultish aspect, as they were frequently accused of that. They also appear to have been dominionists (or close enough), which adds a fresh layer of hell to this…