Work Rules Are Work Rules

At least he's not hanging out at the car wash.

I'm the NKA

First, I have to admit I don't know who this young woman is. But she's apparently riled the anti-knife crowd with a photo of herself shown 'wielding' a bladed instrument.

Said the accompanying article; "Anti-knife activists are concerned over this promotional shot for Katy Perry's album, in which the singer is brandishing a knife." "This woman's behavior is unacceptable. She must be out of her mind to pose for a picture like this," Richard Taylor, a father of a stab victim, says. "Any youngsters seeing her will think it is OK to carry a blade," he adds.

My informal survey indicates that approximately 99.9% of British households at present support the right to keep and bear knives, even though many are used to lacerate bovine, porcine or barnyard flesh prior to mastication on an almost daily basis. Often, these devices can be witnessed in use, many at a time, in common households. Current law does not restrict the number of knives that may be purchased or owned by an individual, nor provide any means for registration to the proper authorities.

One supposes that perhaps this is a nascent movement to restrict, possibly ban, the use of knives in the U.K., modeled after the successful gun bans (page 43) in that country.

By the way, when will that naughty, naughty 007 give up his PPK? Isn't he setting a bad example?

Onomatopoeia

MSN Dictionary defines this term as:

- imitation of sound in words: the formation or use of words that imitate the sound associated with something, e.g. "hiss" and "buzz".

It's also been commonly defined as a word that sounds like what it is or describes.

So, with that in mind, I thought of the coronation that many in this country seem to believe is inevitable for one Barack H. Obama. Many describe with glee the prospect of his election creating an Obama-Nation.

Such a prospect gives me no glee, but, in the spirit of onomatopoeia, I can agree it would probably be what it sounds like.

Born to be Mild

Since you've seen various two-wheelers on this site, you recognize the theme. Now, I want to share one that I'm not making fun of. This is an example of my first motorcycle that I bought (second-hand, for $125) when I was eleven.
The seat was a rough naugahyde something or other, and it gave good grip to my blue jeans during rough riding. It possessed two rear sprockets - by inserting an extra length of chain with quick links, you could turn it into a rock-crawlin' dude, but no speed. The only downside to this bike was that the fuel tank had a 1/4" vertical seam (hard to see in the photo) running fore and aft down the top centerline. If you were on rough terrain and happened to shift your body too far fore, it could be painful. At 80cc, this weren't no barn burner, but I sure had many hours of fun on my Old Red.

Songs That Resonate

This has rattled around AOL music columns under several labels. It's still one of my favorite stories, about the best musical kiss-offs:

'Go Your Own Way'--Fleetwood Mac (1977)

The Kiss-Off: "Packing up, shackin' up's all you want to do"


Stevie Nicks supposedly insisted that her then-boyfriend, bandmate Lindsey Buckingham, remove the line from this enthusiastic sayonara, which gave the Mac arguably their most enduring hit. Buckingham refused, and he had the added satisfaction of getting his soon-to-be-ex to sing backup on her own send-off.

Interesting Names...

I guess I’ve sort of established that I like to look at, and sometimes poke fun of, interesting motorcycles. I was reading one of my favorite magazines when I came across the following advertisement, together with the accompanying copy:

John Taliaferro Thompson founded the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1916 with John Blish and Thomas Fortune Ryan to design and develop a hand held machine gun. The product of this collaboration was the world famous “Tommy Gun.”
Since its inception, the “Tommy Gun” has become an American icon.
Carried by G-men and colorful characters like Al Capone and John Dillinger in the 1920’s and 30’s and trusted by our soldiers in WWII. The Thompson was the coveted weapon among specialized troops such as Rangers, Marine Raiders, armored and parachute units. The “Tommy Gun” went on to see
service in Korea and Vietnam. At Auto-Ordnance we take great pride in continuing General Thompson’s legacy by producing finely crafted semi-automatic versions of the historic Thompson submachine gun. Put a piece of history in your hands. Own a Thompson! Made with Pride in the U.S.A.

I guess I knew at one time, and had since forgotten, John Thompson's middle name, Taliaferro.

What I'm curious about is its pronunciation. Is it like it's spelled, or did he say "Tolliver"?

Just wondering.

Trigger Would Never Do This...

From the animal kingdom come these reports of horses. Clearly, these specimens were not in mind when the term "horse sense" was coined.

The second panel raises the question: "If Tonto is riding a horse that has been gorging itself on fermented apples, should the Lone Ranger write him a ticket?"