Fundamentals

Sarge made this adorable mockery of the innumerable shooter diagnostic charts circulating on the internet.  He takes what we're all thinking and sums it up in one picture.

YouTube videos and gun forums are dubious sources of knowledge at best, and they provide no real-time feedback for the shooter.  A simplistic chart (which is designed to correct defects in long-distance, one-handed shooting, by the way) might help as part of a whole suite of training tools, but taken by itself, it is of little value.

Most people don't need a more expensive gun, a laser, or larger magazines.  They need to find a shooting coach and drill on fundamentals.  Once they do, they find that shooting is an enjoyable hobby rather than a disappointing ordeal.

Today in Music History

On this day in 1957, Jimmy Smith began recording a series of sessions that would be compiled as The Sermon!

The first song recorded was "J.O.S." (for "Jimmy Oscar Smith").  It's a fast-moving 32-bar blues buoyed by Smith's deft pedalwork and Donald "Duck" Bailey's drumming.  Though Bailey would be replaced by the unstoppable juggernaut Art Blakey in subsequent sessions, he's a great fit for this setting.  Kenny Burrell is magnificent on the guitar, but the real shock is the trumpet work of Lee Morgan, who was 19 years old at the time of the recording.

Morgan is brash and cocky, and what's more, he's got the talent to get away with it.  At 6:24, you can hear his solo running well past the chorus.  Smith stabs a dissonant chord to signal him, and Morgan's either blowing too hard to notice or he feels like mischief.  In either case, it's a dose of humor that fits right in with the informal feeling of the record.

Shaking Through

A few minutes ago, things in my house wobbled and swayed for 30 seconds or so.

Wind?  No.

Strange.

As it turns out, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Virginia, north of Richmond.  While the news reports it as being felt as far as North Carolina and Ohio, I can attest that we felt it down here on the Piedmont Plateau as well.

I'm telling you, allowing this to happen is yet another failure of this Congress and White House.

At Least He Hacks Off the Bradys

I was incorrect in a previous article, and I'd like to post a correction.  Steve Perry, the beloved singer from arena rock band Journey, is not running for the Republican Presidential nomination.  I regret the misunderstanding and assure the readership that swift punishment will be meted out.  There will be demerits.

As it turns out, the actual candidate is Rick Perry, shown here displaying some truly wretched muzzle and trigger discipline:



Way to set an example, Rick.

The Brady Campaign wasted no time putting the shot to good use, issuing a press release on the matter.

The Republican primary campaign has hardly begun and already it is being dominated by extremists. None as scary as Rick Perry who brazenly carries weapons — concealed and revealed. Even on the campaign trail!

Only an egotistical extremist would carry a loaded weapon into a crowd — encouraging others to do so.  Is this where America is headed? Is this the America you want for our nation’s children?

Heck, why not?  Let us not forget that Teddy Roosevelt was known to carry a pistol, and he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905. He also kept a gorgeous engraved FN 1900 on the nightstand in the White House.  Of course, handguns weren't banned in Washington DC in the early 20th Century.  A modern President might find himself running afoul of the law by keeping and carrying a gun there.

Perhaps Warming Up to Ron Paul

Tonight's Republican Presidential debate in Ames was, of course, little more than glossy dinner theater wrapped in the flannel shawl of politics. Heck, it was run by Fox News. Nevertheless, it gave us some clue as to the intentions and character of our possible nominees.  Some of it came as a surprise.

In short, Ron Paul rocked the house. We're talking Hendrix at Woodstock, folks. All the man needed was a bottle of Zippo fluid and a Fender Strat.

The most interesting dynamic was the running academic debate between him and Rick Santorum on constitutional limits. I disagree with Paul vehemently on his blanket hostility to the 14th Amendment, but I sure wouldn't have to debate it with the guy in person. Though he comes across as a little nervy, Paul is capable of delivering complex concepts in layman's terms, and doing so with real fire. The crowd responded to him, in approval and not, more vocally than they did for any of the other candidates.