Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Group Identity & Presidential Politics

Yesterday, I posed a question to the ladies of the self-identified "momosphere"... I asked about what they thought that the current Presidential candidates should be discussing with them, in particular, during this campaign.  The answers, some delivered via the comment box, some delivered via email, were interesting. 

The overarching theme that was addressed was that the Presidential candidates need to talk to the "momosphere" like they are more than "just mommies"... that they have greater concerns than health care, and education... that they care about all of the issues that other voters care about... that they are not a monolithic group of voters.

Excellent. 

I was pleased at most of the answers, but not surprised, they were what I expected of such a great group of people.  As pleased as I was, however, I was left with  a bit of a quandary:  If mommy-bloggers are just like every other voter, why do they feel the need to be addressed as a voting block?

This is one of the biggest problems with Presidential politics.  Americans have a deep-seated need to feel special.  We want to feel like we are being payed attention to.  We want to be courted... but that isn't terribly productive.  Let's take a look at my group, shall we?  I belong to the married-with-children-middle-class-black-law-abiding-male-suburbanite, group.  My group is fairly large.  Should Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John McCain be calling me to set up a time to talk about my issues?  Some would say yes... I say bollocks!

Look, my concerns overlap with a large majority of the populace to some degree or another.  I care deeply about the continued prosecution of the war in Iraq.  I care about the economy, I care about education (and getting rid of the no-child-left-behind law), I care about global warming, I care about fostering an equitable and just society... I care deeply about equal treatment under the law for ALL of our citizens, not just the ones that look or act like me.  I care about lots of things... but are any of the things that I mentioned specific to my group?  I don't think so.  So, I really don't need to hear from the candidates in person.  I can look at their track records and the stated policies and the way that they have voted in the Senate to see if their views and activities dovetail with mine.  I think that I would be turned off to have any of the candidates come and tell me how great my neighborhood is, and how important Prince William County is, and how special the people on my street are.  I would find it condescending and disingenuous.  That sort of campaigning would turn me off.

You see... what candidates say and do is far more telling when they are talking to someone else.  Candidates that gear their speeches towards an audience based on the color or gender of their audiences, bear a great deal of watching.

Sadly, American voters are lazy.  Generally speaking, few people put in the real effort that it takes to make an informed decision.  Instead, they want that hold-my-hand-and-tell-me-you-love-me bullshit.  They want to hear the speeches.  They want to be convinced, they want to be courted, and generally speaking, they vote for whomever makes them feel the best about themselves.

It's no way to elect a leader.  You can bet your ass on that.

***NOTE*** The point of  this post isn't to beat up on the mommyblogers.  If you have that thought in your head, consider yourself in a Time-Out.

Obama For President!

With the departure of Dennis Kucinich from the Presidential race, Gunfighter must find a new candidate to back. Knowing, as you do, how I feel about Republicans in general, it won't surprise you to know that effective immediately, I am throwing my whole-hearted support to Senator Barack Obama for the nomination of my party, and for the Presidency of the United States.

My reasons for supporting Obama are many and varied, but to tell you the truth I think that the most desirable trait that Senator Obama has, that perhaps only one other Democratic candidate possesses, and that is his ability to inspire people.

I suppose there are many that believe that a President has to have experience to lead the nation, but I submit that no one has that kind of experience. No one. I don't care how long you were a Senator, or a Governor, or a Member of The House of Representatives... I don't care that you built a business empire from the ground up. None of those things can truly prepare someone for the kind of power wielded by the President of The United States. That said, let's look at what a President needs:

The President of The United States should be someone prepared to follow the law. S/he must know what our Constitution says and DOESN'T say, and understand that the Constitution is a living, breathing document. It is meant to be interpreted.

The President must be a leader. A sitting President isn't the chairperson of some giant committee that decides policy. The President must lead... and must lead ALL of the people, not just those of his own party or political stripe.

The President must be strong, but not so strong as to think that all that need be done to solve a problem is to either ignore it, or bomb it into oblivion.

The President must know that s/he is a servant of the people. In a representative Democracy such as ours, dictatorial autocrats have no place.

The President needs to know the workings of government, and how to get things done in an ethical and legal manner.

The President should never lead this nation into the instigation of unnecessary wars.

The President must be reasonable. Reasonable people, of any political bent can always find some degree of middle ground... and really, at the end of the day, isn't finding middle ground what Americans are supposed to want? Something that we all can live with? A President has to know that there is no room for Shiite-like intransigence when it comes to leading our Republic.

As I said, I believe that a President has to be able to inspire people. Inspire them with goals, and with optimism, and with vision. Yes, vision. A vision of the things that this country should be, and can be again if we only have the courage and the will to move forward.

I believe that the Democratic candidate who embodies these things is Barack Obama.

I believe that Barack Obama has the leadership skills.

I believe that Barack Obama has the ability to build coalitions to get things done.

I believe that Barack Obama is a reasonable man.

I believe that Barack Obama is an optimist

I believe that Barack Obama is an inspiring leader, a man of vision and courage, and a man of character.

I believe that Barack Obama should be the next President of The United States.

Join me in joining him, won't you?

Man Movies (6)

...And so, dear friends... so ends MAN MOVIE week, here at The View From Here. I hope you have enjoyed the selection of MAN MOVIES... from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Before we completely close the door, your faithful correspondent would be remiss in his MANLY MAN duties, if I left out this little gem.

Pulp Fiction is a MAN MOVIE even before you get to it's rather unusual plot. It earns it's MAN MOVIE status because of it's Seinfeldian nature. Seinfeldian in that it is a movie that is essentially about nothing. Oh, sure, lot's of "nothing" happens in this movie... from the opening scene with Brett (Frank Whaley) and the other young fellows that get terminated with extreme prejudice by Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta), all the way beyond the point where Marcellus (Ving Rhames) gets raped by a couple of whacked-out rednecks.

No, this movie is a MAN MOVIE in all aspects... it has great one-liners, LOTS of gunplay, fist fighting, a short chase scene, and good dialogue. This movie also has great music, from the opening credits with classic songs like "Miserlou" from Dick Dale (If you don't know this one, look it up), to the old standard "Jungle Boogie"(1973), by Kool & The Gang

I mentioned the opening scene and the well written dialogue at the very beginning of this post, so I am going to show you an example of what I meant... now, this isn't for the squeamish, so all of you nice ladies, close your ears if you play this...



Ahem. Moving on.

I don't know what else to say about Pulp Fiction... I mean it only had this huge cast... Bruce Willis, and Harvey Keitel were in this movie... Eric Stoltz was in this movie. Uma Thurman was in this movie (and I am an Uma fan, despite the fact that she is so skinny). One of those Arquette chicks was in this movie (I get them confused), That Tim Roth guy... from Rob Roy was in this movie. Saturday Night Live alums Julia Sweeney and Phil Lamarr were in this movie... This movie was so damned good, even Christpoher Walken was in this movie! (and you know that Gunfighter loves some Christopher Walken... he is almost as bad a MoFo as I am!)


So, MAN MOVIE week is over. Sometime in the next month or so, I will continue my list of MAN MOVIES, because there are waaaay too many good ones to stop now.

Until next time,

GF

Posted by Gunfighter at 5:42 PM 5 comments

Man Movies (5)

This 1979 MAN MOVIE certainly needs no review for most men, and certainly for some women, too, but for those who aren't familiar, I'll give you a quick run-down.

Apocalypse Now is almost the ultimate MAN MOVIE. This movie is worthy, not only for it's gonzo level of violence, and not only for it's necessary suspension of disbelief, but because of the fact that the opening sequence is of a napalm strike against a jungle treeline, set to The Doors classic song: The End.

In Apocalypse now, an American officer, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), who is a CIA operative, is assigned to hunt down a renegade Special Forces Colonel named Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who isn't fighting by the army's rules. Willard is assigned to move up the Nung river in a navy river patrol boat in order to avoid notice... only it doesn't quite work that way.

Shortly after joining up with the patrol boat and it's crew, Willard makes contact with a whack-job of an Air Cavalry officer, Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who practically steals the entire film in only one scene. Kilgore is an avid surfer, and finding out that one of the sailors with Willard is a famous surfer, he decides to attack a village that is close to the ocean, just so he and the sailor can surf. The village is a bit tougher to crack than he expected, so after the initial assault, he calls for an air strike, after which he delivers the most famous piece of dialogue from the movie "I love the smell of napalm in the morning"

This movie is filled with air strikes, people being machine-gunned to death at close range, an attack by tribesmen who use spears as well as bows, pyrotechnic displays, music by The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones, and some really great cinematography.

This film also had great early-career performances by Laurence Fishburne...

...and Harrison Ford.

As if all of this wasn't enough... in the final scene of the movie, there is a film sequence of the ritual killing of a bull... with a machete! The same sort of weapon that Sheen's character uses to kill the Brando character.

This movie will always be a favorite of mine.

GF

Posted by Gunfighter at 11:09 AM 7 comments

Man Movies (4)

Hi kids... sorry to have been out of pocket for the past few days... we have had big drama at work, and lots of activities here at Castle Gunfighter.

All is well, so let's talk a little more about MAN MOVIES!

Today's MAN MOVIE is one that, even to me, is almost TOO gritty. I am talking about Bad Lieutenant, starring Harvey Keitel.

Did any of you ever see this one?

Harvey Keitel plays a corrupt Detective Lieutenant in the New York City police department. His character is a gambler, drug user, and all-around dirty cop.

In the film, Keitel is shown betting on major league sports, getting a... well, sexual favor from a teen aged girl in trade for letting her get away with underage driving, beating and ripping off a small time drug dealer... and it only gets worse from there.

I mentioned that MAN MOVIES aren't about redemption, but Keitel's character does make movement towards redemption in this film... but don't be fooled, that isn't what this movie is about. Keitel's character is a violent, unscrupulous, misogynist, criminal of the worst sort. He is the worst sort of criminal because he does all of these thing while wearing a badge, the symbol of public trust, and servant of the law.

In the end, Keitel ends up how people who live that sort of life usually end up. Dead. Murdered by enforcers for a bookie.

Posted by Gunfighter at 10:44 AM 11 comments

Man Movies (3)

Next on my list of MAN MOVIES are two more recent additions to the long line of movies for men. Neither of these two films (and I hesitate to even call them "films") have any social redeeming value. Neither of them are particularly realistic, and neither of them are particularly well-acted.

Why do they make the list? Because of the gore factor… that’s gore with a lower-case g. An upper case g would mean something else entirely… that Gore makes documentaries. Anyway, both of these movies get to the blood and guts, right from the jump, so let’s talk about them: Today’s MAN MOVIES are Shoot ‘Em Up, and The Three Hundred.


The Three Hundred

The Three Hundred has a fairly simple plot. Leonidas, The King of the Greek City-State of Sparta, played by the exceptionally chiseled Scotsman Gerard Butler has been delivered an ultimatum from Xerxes, King of Persia, to bend the knee and pay tribute, or pay the price of refusal in the destruction of his people. 

Well, as you can imagine, this threat doesn’t go down well with the Spartan King… I mean, c’mon! Sparta is a warrior nation! You wouldn’t expect a society whose whole raison d’etre (hey, that’s French!) is to produce the best-trained, strongest, toughest soldiers there are, to take threat lying down, would you? Of course not. So, what does our King of Sparta do? Why, he kills the messenger, of course!

The King is overruled by members of his council, who will not authorize a war. So he gathers 300 of Sparta’s best, and personally leads them into battle against the Persian hordes.

The Spartans hold a choke point against the Persian Army, and commence slaughtering them by the hundreds… and thousands. Remember, this takes place before the time of Christ, so the weapons used here, as you can imagine, are the sword, spear, knife, bow, and or some sort of bludgeoning device. Almost all of the violence takes place at personal distance, with lots of spraying blood, decapitations, traumatic amputations and the like.

By the end of the movie, all of the three hundred are dead, except for one, who went back to Sparta to bring the rest of the army. If the Persians thought 300 Spartans were tough to deal with, they were really going to take it in the shorts from the rest of the Spartan nation.

The movie was a glorious exercise in blood-letting.



Shoot 'Em Up

OK, get real, here... with a title like that, how can a guy named Gunfighter not love this movie?

In this flick, a carrot-eating man-of-few-words named Smith (well-played by Clive Owen), rescues a newborn child and kills everyone who gets in his way. That's it. That's the plot. The first gunfight happens within 90 seconds of the beginning of the film.

The action improbable, and unrealistic, but it sure is fun... and even funny at times. The principle bad guy is played (excellently) by Paul Giamatti, that sterling actor who plays in just about every other movie.


If the fact that this movie is full of car chases, high speed stunts, and even gunfights-while-free fall-parachuting, isn't enough for you, don't worry... there's more!





In my initial discussion about what makes a MAN MOVIE, I mentioned gratuitous nudity... well this movie has that, too. You see, our hero has some sort of history of consorting with practitioners of the oldest profession... one in particular one that specializes in adult wet nursing (yeah, I know... but I suppose that if there weren't a real market for it, they wouldn't sell it. Ewww!).

So, the hero enlists the aforementioned pro to help him care for the kid while he kills bad guys. During one VERY brief break in the carnage, our hero and our who... um, wet nursing friend, find the time for a little physical bonding, which goes well enough until the bad guys show up. Oh, yeah... can you REALLY get any better than this? Hell no!, because our hero never misses a beat and proceeds to shoot and kill more bad guys while continuing to do the deed!

I can't even begin to give you a body count for this movie, but I don't think you can beat it for it's MAN MOVIE qualities.

Posted by Gunfighter at 5:23 PM 10 comments

100 Things - Revisited

I Wrote this in July of 2006... I decided to look at it again and see if it needed an update. It did.

1. I love to read.
2. I read alot.
3. I usually read sci-fi or military/nautical fiction (and theology).
4. I have lots of books.
5. I don’t have as many books as Mrs GF.
6. Despite my tough-guy image, I am a romantic at heart.
7. I sometimes get choked up during sappy movies.
8. I avoid sappy movies like the plague.
9. I spend a lot of time wondering what my life is supposed to mean.
10. I haven't found it yet.
11. I like what I do for a living, but am now thinking of the next phase of my life.
12. I am disgusted by the agency I work for.
13. I teach Sunday School to first through fifth grade. It is incredibly rewarding.
14. I speak German fairly well, and can get around in Japanese and Spanish.
15. I'm a history geek.
16. I coach youth soccer.
17. I love children.
18. I love going to WalMart.
19. I love dogs.
20. All dogs.
21. Especially retired racing Greyhounds.
22. I want a new dog.
23. My neighbor has an sweet pit-bull named Darla. I love that dog… and she loves me.
24. Rugby is my favorite sport.
25. Rugby is the best sport in the world.
26. A good back scratch is almost better than sex. No... I’m not joking.
27. I'm too fat.
28. Terrorism is NOT caused by a hatred of freedom.
29. My maternal grandmother is my favorite person. She is a saint.
30. I think that Aaron Burr is a misunderstood historical figure.
31. Put down that bloody phone, and drive the friggin' car!
32. I think I'm an intelligent man, but, I regret my lack of formal education.
33. I have an educational inferiority complex.
34. I am proud of my military service.
35. I will not encourage my children to serve in the armed forces.
36. I was married to a woman that I had no business being married to.
37. I hope she and her husband are happy.
38. I have been married for nearly 14 years now, to a brilliant historian.
39. Who is scary smart.
40. She is also a great mom.
41. I recently passed up a promotion. The extra money wasn't worth the extra grief.
42. I love my bloggy friends. Really.
43. I think that boys and girls should be educated separately.
44. I’m a good boss.
46. I always look forward to family vacations.
47. Ozzy Osbourne is wierd, but seriously talented.
48. I have two tattoos, and will have another by spring.
49. I can be obsessive when I start to study a new area of interest.
50. I sometimes think that I should enter the clergy, but I probably never will.
51. I think that Angus Young and Slash are as important to rock as Jimi Hendrix.
52. I'm not ashamed to be a Tom Jones fan.
53. I like to dance.
54. I’m not a very good dancer.
55. Not being a good dancer doesn’t keep me from dancing.
56. I like to sing. In the shower, in the car... wherever
57. I like to sing hymns.
58. I like headbanger music, or hadn't you noticed?
59. I think invading a nation that isn’t threatening you is criminal and immoral.
60. I make rosaries and prayer beads as a hobby.
61. I'm a good cook... which is probably why I am so fat.
62. I believe the biggest threat to The United States is China.
63. I don't believe that any of our politicians have the stones to do what must be done about that.
64. I believe that terrorism is a minimal threat to our security.
65. I don't believe that any of our politicians have the stones to do what must be done about that, either.
66. I enjoy my life of contradictions.
67. I want to make a difference in the world. I worry that I won't.
68. I like teaching.
69. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a history teacher.
70. I like award shows.
71. I think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I could have made those shots fairly easily... they were less than a hundred yards!
72. I enjoy British television.
73. I want to visit Australia some day... New Zealand, too.
74. I have travelled quite a bit.
75. Some of those places I’d like to see again, especially Vancouver, BC
76. I have a soft spot for Canadians.
77. I have a conformist's job, but I'm a bit of a rebel.
78. I enjoy good beer.
79. Especially malty, hoppy American made beers.
80. I’m very sociable.
81. I crave human contact.
82. My wife doesn’t.
83. I reckon that is part of the reason that I blog.
84. It works for me.
85. Socializing takes a lot of time.
86. I’m exceptionally opinionated... not that you'd notice, right?
87. I like take-out Chinese food.
88. I think Dick Cheney should be imprisoned for shooting that man in the face.
89. Eating pizza from Dominoes is a sin.
90. I’m respected in my career field.
91. I find basketball, baseball, and football intensely boring.
92. I wish our professional sports leagues weren’t havens for felons.
93. I wish the same about Congress.
94. I frequently wear a kilt, I can get a way with it.  Being a big guy helps
95. On my deathbed I will achieve total consciousness, so I've got that going for me.
96. Which is nice.
97. Racism, sexism, and homophobia bother me. They haven't gone away, people.
98. I like expensive Scotch.
99. I smoke the occasional cigar, but I don't consider myself to be "a smoker".
100. My name is Gunfighter, I’m pleased to meet you.

Man Movies (2)

Movies made for men (no, not those kinds of movies).

I wrote about this in January of last year, but I got busy, and other things came up, and we didn't really get to delve too deeply into the subject. Well, this week, I plan to correct that.

The kind of movies that I am talking about are full of fights, explosions, guns, explosions, high-speed car chases, sophomoric humor... and guns. Throw in some sports hard-hitting sports action, and perhaps a bit of gratuitous frontal nudity, and you've pretty much got it made.

Oh, I know that many of the people reading this are women,and that some women may like some of these movies, too, but that doesn't really matter. These movies were made for men, but if our wives, girlfriends, lifepartners or whatever want to enjoy them with us, so much the better!

The truth is, MAN MOVIES are not about love interests. They aren't romance movies with guns. They aren't romantic comedies. They aren't feel-good movies about connecting with children... or saving whales, or any of that stuff****. MAN MOVIES are NOT about redemption.

***NOTE*** None of the above suggests that men can't enjoy those movies... but they aren't MAN MOVIES.

For example, here is a movie that men enjoy... but aren't MAN MOVIES: Wedding Crashers... I loved it! It was funny, it was basically a continuous sketch comedy... but Owen Wilson's falling in love with the pretty girl... renouncing his ways as a crasher... sorting out his feelings of luuuuuv, make this a good movie, but NOT a MAN MOVIE.

See where I am going here?

We can talk about this through the week, and as so many of my readers are women. Strong, smart, independent women... I know that many of you will disagree with some of my conclusions... and that's OK, I'm ok with backing up what I write.

Here is how this week is going to play out. I will be reviewing several MAN MOVIES over the next 5 days... I will give a brief synopsis, and then tell you why it made my list. Then, if we need to, we can battle it out (JANET) about why certain movies are on the list, even though some of you may disagree. Please note that my list isn't meant to be definitive or exclusive, in that there will be MAN MOVIES that exist that don't make it this week.

Let's gets started, shall we?

Slapshot:

This 1977 Paul Newman classic remains one of the funniest movies that I have ever seen.

It is the tale of a down-at-heel minor league hockey team, The Charlestown Chiefs, in the fictitious "Federal League". The Chiefs are a franchise that is about to fold (to be disbanded as an entity). The team's player/coach, Reggie Dunlop, played by Newman, in what I honestly believe will be the role he will be best remembered fior... at least by most men who aren't gay, generates interest (and drives up revenue) for the team by instigating extreme violence during the games.

Once the team starts fighting, people start attending the games, and all of a sudden there is new life to the Charlestown Chiefs.  The Chiefs become local heroes, which leads to the creation  a travelling fan club.  This fan club, we must be reminded, is mostly made up of frequently topless (and bottomless?) bimbos  (remember what I said about these movies not being about redemption).

The team's biggest draw is a trio of very young brothers... The Hanson's (no, not those kids who sang "Mmm-bop") who turn out to be among the most hard-fighting "goons" in the league.

Basically, this movie is about hockey fighting and sex. The fact that it was filmed in the late 1970's, when violence in the National Hockey League got so out of hand, the game had so many new rules as to change it from the hard-hittng North American game that many had come to love, into a slightly more rough and tumble version of the European style of hockey.

This movie has absolutely no social redeeming value, but will nonetheless be remembered as a classic.

Ask any man between the ages of 40 and 55 about this movie, and the first thing he is likely to do is smile... or maybe laugh out loud.

In any event, it was a great movie for 13 year old Gunfighter when it came out, and it remains very high on my list of MAN MOVIES.

Posted by Gunfighter at 1:27 PM 7 comments

Haiku (9)

Afternoons lengthen
The darkness begins to ebb
New spring approaches

Shoot 'em up Friday (or, GF Does A Favor)

The idea for today's shoot, came from a fellow DC area blogger, whom I met at a blogger event almost two weeks ago. As it turns out, this blogger is a former federal lawman lawwoman lawperson, and she and I have at least one mutual acquaintance (small world, innit?),but more about that later.

Today, I will be using a slug round from a shotgun (actually, I'll be using two slugs and two buckshot rounds) to shoot up a book. Not just any book, mind you, but a really crappy book by a really crappy writer, who is also a television talking head.

I happen to know that there are some bloggers who read this who are probably laugh themselves silly, or who will cheer because of what I am about to show you For them, I am particularly pleased. I share your joy, trust me.

DISCLAIMER: If you are one of this commentator's fans, please note that there are no real or implied physical threats to the author of the book (lawyer friends, back me up here. I'm on solid ground, aren't I?) I just hated his book so bad that I felt that I had to dispose of it in an appropriate manner. After all, just throwing it in the trash, where it belongs, just isn't enough.

Moving on.

I already told you that I would be using a rifled slug to shoot the book, but I am fairly certain that there may be some folks who don't know what a shotgun slug (or a buckshot round) is, so here is a quick breakdown:

A shotgun shell used for police work is a self-contained cartridge (unit) loaded with buckshot (pellets) or a slug (a solid lead mass, about the same size as a musket ball) designed to be fired from a shotgun. In the main, shotgun shells are designed like this:



In the case of a buckshot round... this is what a dissected shell looks like. You can see the shell itself (the red plastic cylinder), the wad, the cup, the buckshot (nine .32 caliber pellets... each roughly the size of an M&M):




Here is a close up of the buckshot:






This shot shell differs from a slug in that a slug is a solid mass, so instead of nine buckshot pellets, you have this (Sorry, couldn't get a picture large enough).

OK, how is that for an explanation? Sure, I know, it was probably more than you wanted to know about ammunition, but hey, let me geek it up every once in a while, ok?

Alright, enough for now, it's video time... we'll finish up afterwards, OK?









Well! That was fun!

Here are your results:





As you can see here, neither the buckshot nor the slugs had any problem going straight through the book... or the 1/2 in plywood that it was glued to. Nice, eh?



Well, kids, I am afraid that this is the end of today's installment of Shoot 'em up Friday. I'll be back soon with more.

Oh, and this post is a great segue into next week's blogging theme. Next week, I will be blogging about Man Movies. I plan to review several of my favorite "films made just for guys"

Have a nice weekend,

GF