Precious metals

My blogshoot hostess gift of "ammo" from Newbius:

Chanel Peridot (aka My Precioussssss)


Just look at the duochromey goodness, look!!

How I wore it:


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Drilling (& why to try)

Newbius had brought a beautiful old long gun to Northcoast II and everyone who shot it was ooh'ing over the recoil. I hung back, watching.

Mike said, "You want to try it?" He was grinning.

I demurred. No, no. Too much for little ol' me. Alan nodded. "Do it." Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

Fine. I'll shoot anything once, or at least try - I had promised myself that long ago.

*language warning*


Uh..okay. I guess I'll try again.



And yes, I liked it so much, I DID shoot it again. 
(3rd video and excellent NCII AAR at New Jovian Thunderbolt's blog. Go see!)

hat tip

At the very end of NCII, while we were cleaning up the destruction, THOTpd found a perfect (and hilarious) photo op.

A blogshoot referencing another blogshoot. I love the internet.

Last chance

Buy a shirt so Sean can make Sarah Brady cry!

culture clash

Tonight is the first night of the Oktoberfest in July festival! The Catholic church has games, rides, a little biergarten and plenty of German food - all in the hopes of raising money for the upcoming year. It's a popular event in Willoughby and since it's about a block from our house, we walk down in the evenings for supper. (which sometimes consists solely of the best onion rings in the known universe)

Anyway, I was describing this to a certain Texan recently and discovered that certain foods, well...they don't really translate.

Me: "Mike and I always go to the festival for the schnitzel, but we try to get there early because the line for it is usually so long."

Alan: "What's schnitzel?"

I describe schnitzel.

Alan: "So it's like chicken fried steak?"

Me: "Uhm. Not exactly, but sure...we'll go with that."

(Ask my mother about the time she got Alan to eat his first potato pancake. With applesauce. I have never seen a man look more skeptical in my life.)

save the date

Labor Day weekend.
Northcoast Blogshoot II. 
You coming?

Dragon Leatherworks

Things that have been made skillfully and thoughtfully by hand have an incomparable beauty - and something that's been custom made especially for you by a talented craftsman is quite a treasure indeed. That's why I'm pleased to be able to endorse the Talon holster from Dragon Leatherworks.

(please enlarge photos for clearer detail)

The Talon, originally designed with the 1911 in mind, was a perfect choice for my Bersa Thunder .380. It wears comfortably (even with a skirt, ladies!) and the surprising amount of retention this holster offers, along with its amazing good looks, makes it a perfect option for open carry.


My Dragon Leatherworks Talon is one of a kind but because each is made by hand from gorgeous high quality leather, one at a time, with extraordinary attention to detail - yours will be too.


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what to wear

2A cufflinks

Since we know he looks awfully dapper in a tie, maybe I can convince JayG to buy a shirt with French cuffs for the next Gunnie Prom.

Beer porn

I hung out with these guys at the brewery this evening.




Mike Fallacy, Bubblehead Les, William the Coroner. (I've been assured they didn't coordinate their outfits.)

Good times.
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a will and a way

My friend Mad Saint Jack finally has a blog - and it's about damn time, too, because not only is he smart and owns lots of guns but it seems he makes a habit of doing awesome stuff like this.

Still too loud

Shhhh...

But thanks for thinking of me, Mr. Sorrentino - perhaps I'll join the Luckygunner fun next year.


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down with O.C.

Hey, a couple of friends and I are planning on doing nothing of note on Sunday, June 5th. There may even be t-shirts to commemorate this somewhat trivial nonevent.

Want to join us?* (Of course, if you're in my area, hit me up -  maybe we can be unremarkable together!)

*Open carry only if you can, legally. Also, bonus points** if you email me photo evidence!

** bragging rights and the sweet, sweet taste of freedom are the only prizes that will be awarded. Maybe. Or at least until I can come up with something better (highly unlikely)

OC update

Photo evidence - I really did it...and nothing happened. Mike says he thinks he saw a few people take a second glance, but that was it. No comments, no hysteria, no police. I did not go berserk and mow down other shoppers in a crazed hailstorm of bullets when I got in the vicinity of the beer cooler. Just a normal trip to the store, like any other Saturday...except for the first 15 minutes where I felt like I was stuck in one of those dreams where I go to work and I'm the only one who's naked and I had a giant neon "zOMG, GUN!" sign plastered to my forehead. Oh, and the collard greens I bought for tomorrow, that's a bit out of the ordinary.

When I got back to the car, I looked at Mike and Mike looked at me. "Well, then," I said. "I guess that's that."

"I guess so," he replied.

"No big deal."

"I guess not."

I'm still grinning.

And, hey! NancyR and MikeW are OCing too. Freedom is really fun, you should try it if you can. (And if you can't, well...get active!)

hip & armed

Another view of my terrific new holster.

At least I think it's a photo of my holster.

Mr. Crabbypants

Newbius recounts the tale of our run-in with one of Pittsburgh's least friendly denizens.

I had to share the link because I am LOLing now almost as hard as I did that night (at least I believe I was laughing then - it was so loud in that bar I could hardly hear myself think) and because, well, my tshirt is awesome and Iain Harrison - TopShot winner and Crimson Trace rep (thank you for the super awesome Bersa lasergrips!) totally deserves an "eye candy" tag.

Folks I'm lucky to know.

One of my biggest joys of the past weekend at the NRA Convention was being able to put my arm around this gentleman and announce to Alan Gura*, "See this guy, right here? HE's the man."

And, you know what? Anyone who has ever met him would say the same.

*yes, that Alan Gura 

gimps with guns...

Don't mess with us because we're more likely to shoot than try to run away.

 (aren't we tough?)

Me & my buddy MikeW from Another Gunblog, who is awesome.

a major award!

JayG thinks I'm a stylish blogger and for that dubious honor, I must perform a task:


The rules of this award are that you then list seven things about yourself that other people might not know. And then pass the award to 15 other bloggers. (Nope, you can't make me. Blog it if you want.)



1.) I won a contest to name twin tiger cubs and part of my award was a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo, during which I had a minor monkey-brain "OMG! giant carnivore! Run away, fling poo!" panic attack when I realized I was about a foot away from a bear - who was elderly...and asleep...and in a cage. I also got to feed the giraffes, which was a lot more fun.

2.) One of my older brothers is the drummer for one of Cleveland's most notorious punk bands of the 1980s.

3.) I road the bus home on the last day of high school - because I was just that dorky. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 20.

4.) I used to hate bacon - the ribbons of fat gave me the squicks.

5.) I took acrobatics classes when I was young and can still do awesome cartwheels.

6.) I am missing both fibulas, kinda sorta.

7.) I won the school spelling bee in the 8th grade by correctly spelling the word "obstinate." My mother still finds this mildly hilarious.

the Z-Team

There's a little meme floating around the social interwebz today and it just made me giggle.

You're supposed to go to your Facebook profile page and take note of the top 5 friends in the sidebar. They are now your team in the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse. Judging by your friends' skill sets, you have to imagine how long your team might last.

My zombie squad is: Tam, Marko the Munchkin Wrangler, SayUncle, Carteach, and OrangeNeck.

Just a hunch, but I think we'll be okay.

packed & packin'

Lipgloss? Check.

Spare mag? Check.

Tactipanties? Check.

Pocketknife? Check.

Zombie socks? Check.

Yep. I'm ready to visit Detroit. (POGUES SHOW TONIGHT!)