comical

I read Natalie Dee on occasion. She considers a cupcake + a multivitamin a healthy breakfast, offers to knit for tattoos, and she's kind of a local chick (she's in Columbus, I'm in Cleveland, close enough) - doing comics about Ohio weather that have made me laugh...and then sigh in despair. I quite like her brand of quirky, simply drawn nonsense.

Anyway, the other day I noticed that Natalie Dee is part of a group of comics, so I decided to poke around in their archives. I found a handy little search box, which seems like it was created with bored librarians in mind. Just type in the term you're looking for, hit enter, and voilà! Funnies all organized by subject, almost as good as Dewey.

The first term I searched for was "cats." Huh. Natalie Dee hates cats. Hmm...-1 for Natalie. Ok, moving on. Next, I searched for "guns," natch.

And found this by Toothpaste for Dinner, drawn by Drew, the husband of Natalie Dee... (embiggen)

and this...


Huh. Looks like someone needs a lesson at the range and quite a few things explained to him before he goes and embarrasses himself by drawing more ignorant comics, no?

stuck.

You ever go to the grocery store and get completely stymied in the cereal aisle? You stand at one end, with the rest of the shelves stretching out into what seems a sugary carbohydrate infinity, trying to decide. You notice that even the simple, wholesome Cheerio has devolved in to limitless variations: honey nut, banana nut, multigrain, berry burst, yogurt burst, apple, fruity, even cheerios crunch and then there's the flakes (bran or corn?)...and the cocoa (puffs or pebbles?)...and the fiber (clusters or buds?) and...it's overwhelming.

This is the exact feeling I've been having lately. I'm stuck. The Great Ammo Crisis of 2009 has put a damper on my shooting, the library is like an unchanging Twilight Zone of putting up with other people's crap for a laughable wage, and despite my certifiable news junkie status, everything just seems so miserable that I can hardly comment. I could probably write an hourly blog post on the upcoming and ongoing horrors of the current administration and the Democrat-controlled Senate (which now includes Stuart F'ing Smalley, for heaven's sake) but others do that far better than I could and besides, my head would probably explode in a fit of rage anyway.

So I tend to sigh a lot, look out the window at the beautiful golden days of yet another short Ohio summer and decide to read a book or go play in the garden instead.

The herbs are coming along nicely.

Gun Nuts Radio, layin' down the law!

Click over to Caleb's blog for all the details! I'll be hosting the show (yes, webcam!) and managing the switchboard - just waiting for YOU to call in.

Here's the link:

www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts

Click that at 9PM EST and listen to the show and...

...here's the number:

(347) 539-5436

Dial that, talk to me (and yes, Caleb too) and join in on the fun!

wearing my heart on my, uh...

...well, you get the idea.

in the know

Quite a few of my readers are fans of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series, so I thought I'd pass on a little bit of information...there's a new book on its way - Unseen Academicals, due out October 6th.

Your own personal librarian, at your service.

branding

At a 4th of July party, we met a little girl named Amaya, who is 6. She was chatty and sassy, hair all done up in braids, and decked out in pink, pink and more pink. Just the cutest thing. She entertained our table for a while and then got around to a topic that all 6 year olds love...birthday parties, her next birthday party specifically.

We quizzed her about the theme. "Hello Kitty?"

"Yeah, that'd be cute," Amaya agreed.

"Sponge Bob?"

"Sponge Bob is for boys!" Amaya was scandalized.

"Um, ok...how about Barbie?"

Amaya considered for a moment. "Well...Barbie's okay, I guess. But what I REALLY want is a Barack Obama birthday party!"

Wow. I totally did not see that coming. I wondered if they sold Obama birthday sets - balloons, napkins, a big eared candle - and quickly realized that I would not be surprised at all if they did.

Say what you want about the Obama campaign and administration, but their marketing has been brilliant. There is an Obama aesthetic now - it's consistent enough to be recognizable in any format and pervasive enough that a little girl in a little town in Ohio thinks it's cool enough to put on her birthday cake.

have a happy

You're free. Go celebrate.

Lionesses

The Marines have long had women among their ranks but the Iraq War is changing women's roles. The Lioness program, referred to as the "pride of the Corps", was originally developed to provide culturally-sensitive searches on Iraqi women but has also given women more equality on the front lines. Unlike the woman in this WWI recruitment poster, female Marines today have actually seen and taken part in combat. Sometimes peacekeeping missions run into ambushes and as one veteran so aptly said in a NYT article, "When someone is shooting at you, you don’t say, ‘Stop the war, I’m a girl.'"

The Marines have discovered how valuable the Lionesses are in obtaining information and cooperation from the Iraqi people, whether by befriending the women or subtly intimidating the men - an American woman in uniform carrying a rifle is a jihadi's worst nightmare.

So, on the eve our own Independence Day, here's to our brave women, fighting and dying alongside our men while bringing hope and freedom to the rest of the world. Thank you.

p.s. My good friend, frequent commenter, and self-proclaimed #1 fanboy Mad St. Jack gifted me with a copy of Band of Sisters by Kirsten Holmstedt the last time I saw him. It's a great read, I strongly suggest it.

what I did at work today...

I helped a few patrons, ordered some books on CD, weeded some books on CD, took the "new" stickers off some books on CD, and then reorganized the new non-fiction...


The middle book is titled, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"

Heh. Subversive shelving.

Genus Insanus Derangus

Librarians hoard the wisdom of humanity. They are the keepers of all knowledge, the guardians at the temples of understanding, and devoted protectors of the sanctuary in the midst of uneducated anarchy. Plus, they are often aware of very cheap places to dine alone with books. Let us not mince words: librarians are hiding something. A group of Librarians is also known as a shoosh.

Finally! Librarians, defined.

500% better!

Gun Nuts Radio is celebrating its one year anniversary!

Thanks to everyone who has set aside an hour on Tuesday nights for our show. It's been a honor to be able to learn and grow alongside my friend Caleb and our entire listening audience.

We've come a long way but naturally we still want more - & the future of Gun Nuts depends on you. Spread the word about the fastest growing gun podcast on the 'net!

(by the way...the latest show is available for download now, in case you missed it.)

the bacone!

Wow, these people went to a lot of trouble!

...and then they didn't even fill the thing with ice cream. For shame.

Gun Nuts, from sea to shining sea

Last week, we had a segment where we asked listeners to call in and tell us what exactly was pissing you off about the government but tonight on Gun Nuts Radio, we'd like you to do just the opposite. Call in and tell us what you love about this beautiful, unique country of ours.

Independence Day is this weekend and I think it's a great time for all of us to stop and remind ourselves that despite everything, we are still the greatest country on the planet, the last best hope for people wanting to be free.

We'll also be responding to some of the listener email we've received over the past few months. Finally! Answers to all your burning questions!

Join us tonight at 9PM EST for a fun show and get ready to call in! Caleb has all the details!

www.blogtalkradio.com/gunnuts

bling bang

(& more at Amy J Metals)

Dear Glamour,

I will never read your magazine again, no matter how many free copies you send me. Now, I admit I like to look at the pretty photo spreads but, really? Not only are the articles poorly written and the subject matter completely inane but you have page upon self-loathing page on how to be prettier, thinner, and better smelling and pieces with titles like "8 Times It's OK to Throw a Hissy" and "Guys Tell: What I Love About Her Boobs"? Are you serious? And those gushing snippets about how Michelle Obama stays so radiantly beautiful and the heartwarming, girlpower blurb about the inspiring American story of Sonia Sotomayor? Come on, not even big city folks like yourselves believe that every woman is a liberal. And, oh Lord, the one male writer you do have on staff, this Jake fellow? A dazzling urbanite (read: simpering insecure metrosexual) who admits in print he's not even man enough to drink a shot of whiskey. Not that whiskey drinking is a requirement for manliness but, seriously...Pathetic.

Between crap like that and all the celebrity-worship, I'm starting to think that magazines like yours serve two functions...to make women buy stuff and to keep them stupid.

So, make it as glossy as you like, sell it with SEX, SEX, SEX on the cover, hell...wrap it in a big red bow but the fact remains that you had to send a FREE COPY of your idiotic magazine to my house to make me even look at it.

Sincerely,
Breda

p.s. could you please stop with the "How to make yourself look taller" fashion advice for us petite girls? There is no pair of jeans in the universe that will do that. Besides, it's really not good for one's mental health to walk through life attempting to be an optical illusion.

teamwork

(I don't remember if I've already posted this video, but if I have, watch it again - it's good for you. It will make you smile, guaranteed.)

I hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday. We have sunshine and blue skies so I'm outside with Mike - the salsa garden is coming along nicely, as are the freckles. I'm sipping some lemonade at the moment, cooling off and tracking dirt through the house. But, hey, it's my house and my dirt so it's good.

Now back to work - those hot peppers won't plant themselves!

geeking out

When Mike and I first got married, we had a rotary phone. In fact, I still have it on my nightstand. I figure if someone sneaks into the room at night and Plan A (chunks of lead traveling at high speed) fails, I could always resort to Plan B - beating the intruder to death with all of its retro avocado green glory. I'm sure it wouldn't be first time "bludgeoned by rotary" was listed on a death certificate.

Since that time, we've moved into the 21st (okay, maybe just the 20th) century and gotten ourselves some cordless phones and even a pair of very basic pay-as-you-go cell phones. Even though I'm much more into techy gadgets than Mike is, I'm also pretty asocial - we never really called anyone but each other, so it worked out.

And then I met an iPhone. When I discovered what this small device could do - it was like a miracle to me. It can take photos and play videos and music and can instantly tell the weather and hold the entire works of Shakespeare and the United States Constitution (etc, etc, etc). Remarkable.

I've wanted one since that day - but the cost was always prohibitive, I figured it was a luxury I didn't really need. But technology advanced, as it always does, and Apple came out with a new improved version.

So I bought an old one. The entire internet, the whole world, in the palm of my hand.

Fáilte

...and people wonder why we never have guests.

Heh.

Help!

Please save Ohio's libraries! (and probably my job)

5 days from today, Governor Strickland is going to cut the budget for Ohio's libraries by 50%, despite his claims to support education. Even worse, library business has actually been booming during the difficult economy - people need our services more than ever.

So, if you're an Ohioan, please help. Contact your state representatives, email the the governor...anything. Please.

indy pix

We arrived fashionably, although not intentionally, late to the Broadripple Brewpub and found a full house. Smiles and introductions all around - new faces and old friends.


We ordered some beer and settled in for a pleasant evening.

Mike modeled his new Hawaiian shirt - not only does it show off the blue in his eyes but it conceals a pistol, too! (yes, folks - alcohol and firearms at the same time, and yet there was no blood running in the streets. Imagine that.) There was a gentleman in attendance wearing a kilt which might also serve well for CCW, if only through the element of surprise. (nice gams, by the way.)

RobertaX liveblogged the event on an antique typewriter and was kind enough to let everyone have a go. Caleb had never used a typewriter before and was confounded. (& look at that stylish Gun Nuts Radio polo shirt! Now available!)


I had a turn, too...

After a few hours of conversation and laughter, and with our bellies full of pub grub, some of us headed back to the porch. Yes, THAT porch.

My friend Les drove all the way from Illinois (that's him below, the guy in the brown shirt talking to Caleb) with some exciting news. He started a women's shooting group at his range and is now wanting to help people learn to become riflemen - at a Chicago Appleseed! If you're in his area, please consider attending. It's a worthy cause if there ever was one.

Mike and I had a grand time, as always. Thanks to everyone who showed up and made our time in Indianapolis so special.

***
p.s. We won the Cup Of Turonistan for being among the people who drove the farthest to attend. Here it is in action. (No octopi were harmed in the filming of this video.)



p.p.s.
I was just informed by Robb Allen that I'm officially an official gunblogger now!! YAY!