Currently feasting on these. Enjoy!
Blarney Stones
Icing
1 box sifted powdered sugar
½ t. vanilla
½ t. coconut flavoring
½ t. butter flavoring
2/3 c. milk
2 lbs. Spanish peanuts, salted, roasted, & finely chopped
Blend together until smooth all ingredients except peanuts.
Batter
4 eggs
1 c. sugar
3 T. cold water
1 c. flour, sifted
1 t. cream of tartar
1 t. vanilla
½ t. almond extract
Separate eggs and beat the yolks lightly. Add ½ cup sugar, then beat until light & creamy. Add water, flour, cream of tartar, vanilla, & almond extract. Blend well. Beat egg whites until frothy. Add remaining ½ c. sugar to whites & beat until they hold a peak. Fold into the egg mixture carefully. Bake in an ungreased 13x9" pan. Start in a cold oven and bake one hour at 300 degrees. Let cake cool completely. Loosen with a sharp knife. Cut into 1 1/2" cubes and dip into icing, covering all sides. Then roll in finely ground peanuts. If icing gets too thick for dipping, add a few drops of milk.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
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Thursday, March 15, 2012
Meet the newest member of the family
All right, enough crying. Now on to the good stuff!
Yesterday I picked up my Glock 26. He's a Gen 3 (which is fine by me, because the accessories are cheaper and I hear there are reliability problems with the g4 stuff) and by paying a little bit more he came with an extra magazine and a range bag. Since that "little more" is actually less than what a spare mag would cost, I went ahead and splurged.
The "carry" mag is loaded is 115 gr +P JHP by Magtech. The others have regular FMJ practice ammo. (Once I start carrying they'll all have JHP rounds in them.)
A nice close-up... well, about as nice as I can get with a regular digital camera.Fine Austrian craftsmanship in 9mm Luger.
So, since you folks were kind enough to help me buy him, it's only fair that you all get to suggest names for him. I'm rather partial to "Oleg," since it was Mr. Volk who helped advise me throughout this whole endeavor, and whose global reach was responsible for rather a lot of contributions.
But that's just my nomination. What do the rest of you suggest?
Yesterday I picked up my Glock 26. He's a Gen 3 (which is fine by me, because the accessories are cheaper and I hear there are reliability problems with the g4 stuff) and by paying a little bit more he came with an extra magazine and a range bag. Since that "little more" is actually less than what a spare mag would cost, I went ahead and splurged.
The "carry" mag is loaded is 115 gr +P JHP by Magtech. The others have regular FMJ practice ammo. (Once I start carrying they'll all have JHP rounds in them.)
A nice close-up... well, about as nice as I can get with a regular digital camera.Fine Austrian craftsmanship in 9mm Luger.
So, since you folks were kind enough to help me buy him, it's only fair that you all get to suggest names for him. I'm rather partial to "Oleg," since it was Mr. Volk who helped advise me throughout this whole endeavor, and whose global reach was responsible for rather a lot of contributions.
But that's just my nomination. What do the rest of you suggest?
An Embarassment of Riches
Oh, you guys. Last Sunday was my birthday, and thanks to you kind folks (most, but not all, of whom are gunnies) it's been the best birthday I've had in a long, long time. I love you all. :D
I have been advised by certain knowledgeable people that I should not disclose the exact amount I raised lest I invoke the dread gaze of the IRS, but I do want to say that you folks went far above and beyond what was necessary to help me acquire a carry pistol, a permit, and training. I will be sending out thank-you notes later this week.
In one of her posts, A Girl says she sometimes feels guilty, as if all she does is take. Well, let me tell you something: this wonderful woman has given away self-defense training, has helped me get a pistol for concealed carry, and is in the process of giving away even more training. That's not taking; that's very much the example of giving. Meanwhile, here I was, begging strangers to give me money so I could buy a gun I should have been able to get for myself. That is taking, and I have to admit, as the donations came pouring in from as far away as the Czech Republic, I felt terribly embarrassed and unworthy to received such generosity.
As Oleg recently advised me: "Get over your guilt issues. They are not terminal. You aren't getting repeat donations -- people are giving you what would have otherwise gone to political campaigns or similar. For some reason, people feel you merit that. Isn't it nice to be valued for reasons other than T&A?"
Wise man, that Oleg. Still, there's a part of me that worries I received donations solely because I am female. I don't honestly think that's the case -- I believe you folks would have donated to anyone who asked, be they male or female, straight or gay, because it's something you strongly believe in -- but it's still something that gives me pause. I like to fret, I guess.
Anyway, what I am getting at is that I have been overfunded such that I feel I can't, in good conscience, keep all of this money. I feel like I should give some it to charities like Wounded Warrior, or other folks in need, or contribute to A Girl's training giveaway. But then I think, "Well, isn't that rude! These folks gave me money for a gun and a permit and ammo and training, and to spend it on anything else is an insult to their intentions, regardless of whether they will know about it or not."
Again, I feel like the gun community has given me so much, and all I've really done is take.
The only thing I can do, I guess, is to promise everyone that I am good for it; and I deserve this; and that I will give back to the gun community with my time and my effort and my love, even if I can't give back financially.
I love you all so much. You've made little sister cry, but in a very, very good way.
I have been advised by certain knowledgeable people that I should not disclose the exact amount I raised lest I invoke the dread gaze of the IRS, but I do want to say that you folks went far above and beyond what was necessary to help me acquire a carry pistol, a permit, and training. I will be sending out thank-you notes later this week.
In one of her posts, A Girl says she sometimes feels guilty, as if all she does is take. Well, let me tell you something: this wonderful woman has given away self-defense training, has helped me get a pistol for concealed carry, and is in the process of giving away even more training. That's not taking; that's very much the example of giving. Meanwhile, here I was, begging strangers to give me money so I could buy a gun I should have been able to get for myself. That is taking, and I have to admit, as the donations came pouring in from as far away as the Czech Republic, I felt terribly embarrassed and unworthy to received such generosity.
As Oleg recently advised me: "Get over your guilt issues. They are not terminal. You aren't getting repeat donations -- people are giving you what would have otherwise gone to political campaigns or similar. For some reason, people feel you merit that. Isn't it nice to be valued for reasons other than T&A?"
Wise man, that Oleg. Still, there's a part of me that worries I received donations solely because I am female. I don't honestly think that's the case -- I believe you folks would have donated to anyone who asked, be they male or female, straight or gay, because it's something you strongly believe in -- but it's still something that gives me pause. I like to fret, I guess.
Anyway, what I am getting at is that I have been overfunded such that I feel I can't, in good conscience, keep all of this money. I feel like I should give some it to charities like Wounded Warrior, or other folks in need, or contribute to A Girl's training giveaway. But then I think, "Well, isn't that rude! These folks gave me money for a gun and a permit and ammo and training, and to spend it on anything else is an insult to their intentions, regardless of whether they will know about it or not."
Again, I feel like the gun community has given me so much, and all I've really done is take.
The only thing I can do, I guess, is to promise everyone that I am good for it; and I deserve this; and that I will give back to the gun community with my time and my effort and my love, even if I can't give back financially.
I love you all so much. You've made little sister cry, but in a very, very good way.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Crowlander
Aha, you have fallen for my cunning ploy! Now I shall tell you why I think The Crow is a Highlander movie in disguise.
First things first: it has nothing to do with Eric Draven. He's a revenant, a ghost given flesh in order to extract revenge. No, the real reason for "Crowlander" is Top Dollar.Sure, he's a charismatic psychopath who rules a criminal empire, but I maintain he's also an immortal.
Exhibit 1: A closet full of swords
Knives? Sure, he's a villain. One sword? Why not, he's filthy rich, he can be eccentric. But an entire armory of swords? Easily accessible? That he's clearly practiced with?
There's also the fact that this man, who clearly must have enemies both in the police and organized crime, doesn't carry a sidearm. In fact, he has to borrow one from his bodyguard.
Okay, yes, by itself this isn't convincing. Moving on...
Exhibit 2: Uses intelligent anti-immortal tactics
All right, so in the previous example Top Dollar hears from a trusted lieutenant and a groveling flunky that there's a guy out there who gets shot/jumps out of windows/etc and keeps on trucking in his quest for vengeance, and this doesn't faze him in the least. He doesn't question the apparent insanity of it all. He just goes "Hmm, that's interesting."
So when he arranges things to have Draven's last person on the "to-kill" list in the room with him, he also arranges to be surrounded by dozens of armed goons. This is good strategy, because as we've learned from the Highlander films and TV show, immortals can be killed conventionally -- they just don't stay dead. So obviously his plan is for his goons to shoot Draven, whereupon Top Dollar can take his rival's head easily.
Except that he's surprised when Draven shows up, because he doesn't get that characteristic "buzz" immies get when they meet each other. So he thinks that, maybe, this guy is just a loon hopped up on drugs.
And then he is totally gobsmacked when it turns out his opponent is immortal after all.
Also: a katana shows up in this fight scene. Because when I think of "Immortal Scottish warriors," I think of ancient samurai swords.
Exhibit 3: He runs to holy ground
Because that's what you do when you're immortal and you don't want to fight another one. Why else would this incredibly rich, incredibly dangerous man hide in an old abandoned cathedral?
Also, kindly note how neither his bodyguard nor his sister are all freaked out by this. "He has power you can take," she says, and T.D. replies with "I like him already." Even as he's running for his life, Top Dollar is planning how best to take Draven's Quickening.
Exhibit 4: They have a swordfight during a lightning storm
Some of you may be asking, "What about the proscription against fighting on holy ground?" Well, first, that prohibition is only between immortals. So when T.D. has his assassin take a shot at Draven's totem bird, that's allowable. And when that results in Draven losing his powers, Top Dollar now knows for certain that he isn't fighting another immortal... and therefore the rules don't apply.
If you're a fan of the series, you know that electricity is a metaphor for the Quickening, so it's no surprise that the final battle of the movie takes place where there is lots and lots of it about. Oh, and look, Top Dollar uses another katana.
Conclusion: Top Dollar is an immortal
The only question this begs is, "What happened to him afterwards, since his head wasn't taken?" To my mind, there are two possibilities.
One possibility is that his hired goons in the police department -- come on, if you're an immortal crimelord you're going to have some cops in your pocket -- pulled him out of the morgue and falsified the burial data. After this he probably spent the rest of his life hiding from ghost-men before another immortal (probably Duncan) took his head.
Another is that the supernatural vengeance of The Crow ("Thirty hours of pain. All at once! All for you!") was able to short-circuit immortal healing, leaving Top Dollar permanently brain-dread, if not dead-dead.
Either way: he was totally an immie throughout that movie.
First things first: it has nothing to do with Eric Draven. He's a revenant, a ghost given flesh in order to extract revenge. No, the real reason for "Crowlander" is Top Dollar.Sure, he's a charismatic psychopath who rules a criminal empire, but I maintain he's also an immortal.
Exhibit 1: A closet full of swords
Knives? Sure, he's a villain. One sword? Why not, he's filthy rich, he can be eccentric. But an entire armory of swords? Easily accessible? That he's clearly practiced with?
There's also the fact that this man, who clearly must have enemies both in the police and organized crime, doesn't carry a sidearm. In fact, he has to borrow one from his bodyguard.
Okay, yes, by itself this isn't convincing. Moving on...
Exhibit 2: Uses intelligent anti-immortal tactics
All right, so in the previous example Top Dollar hears from a trusted lieutenant and a groveling flunky that there's a guy out there who gets shot/jumps out of windows/etc and keeps on trucking in his quest for vengeance, and this doesn't faze him in the least. He doesn't question the apparent insanity of it all. He just goes "Hmm, that's interesting."
So when he arranges things to have Draven's last person on the "to-kill" list in the room with him, he also arranges to be surrounded by dozens of armed goons. This is good strategy, because as we've learned from the Highlander films and TV show, immortals can be killed conventionally -- they just don't stay dead. So obviously his plan is for his goons to shoot Draven, whereupon Top Dollar can take his rival's head easily.
Except that he's surprised when Draven shows up, because he doesn't get that characteristic "buzz" immies get when they meet each other. So he thinks that, maybe, this guy is just a loon hopped up on drugs.
And then he is totally gobsmacked when it turns out his opponent is immortal after all.
Also: a katana shows up in this fight scene. Because when I think of "Immortal Scottish warriors," I think of ancient samurai swords.
Exhibit 3: He runs to holy ground
Because that's what you do when you're immortal and you don't want to fight another one. Why else would this incredibly rich, incredibly dangerous man hide in an old abandoned cathedral?
Also, kindly note how neither his bodyguard nor his sister are all freaked out by this. "He has power you can take," she says, and T.D. replies with "I like him already." Even as he's running for his life, Top Dollar is planning how best to take Draven's Quickening.
Exhibit 4: They have a swordfight during a lightning storm
Some of you may be asking, "What about the proscription against fighting on holy ground?" Well, first, that prohibition is only between immortals. So when T.D. has his assassin take a shot at Draven's totem bird, that's allowable. And when that results in Draven losing his powers, Top Dollar now knows for certain that he isn't fighting another immortal... and therefore the rules don't apply.
If you're a fan of the series, you know that electricity is a metaphor for the Quickening, so it's no surprise that the final battle of the movie takes place where there is lots and lots of it about. Oh, and look, Top Dollar uses another katana.
Conclusion: Top Dollar is an immortal
The only question this begs is, "What happened to him afterwards, since his head wasn't taken?" To my mind, there are two possibilities.
One possibility is that his hired goons in the police department -- come on, if you're an immortal crimelord you're going to have some cops in your pocket -- pulled him out of the morgue and falsified the burial data. After this he probably spent the rest of his life hiding from ghost-men before another immortal (probably Duncan) took his head.
Another is that the supernatural vengeance of The Crow ("Thirty hours of pain. All at once! All for you!") was able to short-circuit immortal healing, leaving Top Dollar permanently brain-dread, if not dead-dead.
Either way: he was totally an immie throughout that movie.
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