Motorcycle Dreamin'

On these pages I have noted the desire to have a motorcycle, when finances permit. And, on the comments section of LandShark's blog, I opined that the Suzuki V-Strom, and possibly the KTM were high on my list.

Well, after watching Motor Week on Saturday, I'd like to add another. 3 cylinders totaling 1050 cm³, said to be good for about 110 hp.

Presenting the Triumph Tiger:

Fully dressed...

...and naked.

I like the second bike much better (surprisingly, the first is a 2005). Don't care for the stripes, the single headlamp, or the bulges on the front forks of the full dress bike, but would like to have the saddlebags available to attach to the naked bike if I decided to go on a weekend, or week-long, jaunt.

Ruger P-90

One of the other bloggers notes reading the owner's manual of his Ruger P-90 as one of his favorite literary pursuits.

While I can't necessarily disagree, I would note that shooting the P-90 is more fun than reading about it.

Unfortunately, this morning, the only shooting was with my Fuji FinePix. Herewith is a properly attired P-90, with Hogue aftermarket exotic wood grips and Hi-Viz sights. .380 and .32 shown for scale.

Harvey, part II

The last post was a run-on, based on the mention of James Stewart in the post prior to that.

This post is also a continuation, based on the previous mention of Harvey.

As a pooka, or sprite, Harvey's not often seen, so I thought I'd post this portrait of him, and me, commissioned about 18 years ago for a local stage production of the same name. He appears a bit mischievous here - though I can't say for sure, as the portrait artist painted from separate sittings. I do know that my dog gets that look sometimes, so possibly she's channeling his spirit.

The blog author with Harvey, circa 1991.

Heeere's Harvey...

I mentioned the actor James Stewart in passing in the last post.

Tonight I happened to tune into PBS and caught a documentary (?) about Jimmy Stewart, hosted by Johnny Carson. I think I'd seen parts of it before, but still, how great is that?



Clips from It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey, Winchester '73, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, including scenes with Duke Wayne and Henry Fonda. And interviews with Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, Kate Hepburn, Ronald Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Richard Dreyfuss and Sally Fields. Cool stuff.

But I do think it was cruel to air such a work featuring the great Johnny Carson, just a week before The Tonight Show heads to its final oblivion.

Zombies-R-Us

I know I've been 'phoning it in' as of late, so am going to try to come up with some new material.


First, let me say that I'm no expert on the undead. Until recently, my main information about zombies came from Harry Belafonte's early '60s calypso folk tune (also covered by The Kingston Trio) Zombie Jamboree. I used to like Belafonte until I found out what a PItA he was politically, but his music still stands on its merits.

Anyway, among last weekend's video selections was: Undead or Alive, your typical, formulaic zombie/western/comedy/native american mysticism genre film. Say what?! And of course in the pantheon of great western actors: John Wayne, James Stewart, Ben Johnson, Clint Eastwood, this vehicle starred Chris Kattan. Chris Kattan? In a western? Say what?!²



Nonetheless, it was sort of fun, also featuring the guy from Desperate Housewives, and the short gay guy from several episodes of Boston Legal (or maybe late episodes of The Practice?) as a priest. And it really brought into focus the amount of, uh, dread the undead can wreak when you fail to heed the advice of Geronimo's neice, or something like that.


Which brings me around to news from the science front. I was probably as concerned as you on learning that soon there may be billions or trillions of newly created zombies underfoot, thanks to researchers at Texas A & M (way to go, Aggies!).

Where can I buy Zombie Strength Ortho Fire Ant Killer?

Guess I'll count that as a "no"

Call Him Mr. Fulcrum?

This is stolen from Denney Crane.

Like 'Mythbusters' and some of the PBS shows, I like this because the guy's obviously put some thought into this.