Here we go again

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It is a damn shame that we are having this discussion yet again today. The murder of 27 people in Connecticut, 20 of them small children between the ages of 5 and 10, once again highlights a unique problem with American society. I have been watching the television coverage for most of the day with a mixture of sadness and calm acceptance of the reality of the world we live in today. I wasn’t sure of whether or not to add my two cents since I have recently become NRA certified with a pistol and have taken up range shooting as a hobby. As a child of the 70’s and a a resident of NYC, where we have some of the most strict gun laws in the country, I would be a Continue reading “Here we go again”

Throw ‘ya guns in ‘da air!

It appears that my Groupon and Livingsocial addiction continues onward. My wife and I spent the day at the New Jersey Firearms Academy taking the NRA sponsored Basic Pistol certification course. We had the opportunity to work with some great instructors. I hadn’t been to a gun range in nearly 20 years but the instructors at NJ Firearms made me feel very safe and comfortable. They introduced us to 9mms, 357s, 45s, 40 Calibires, 38s, and 22s (revolvers and semi automatics).

So overall it was a good day and I confirmed a couple of things that I always suspected. One, Chow Yun Fat and John Woo are absolutely full of crap. Two, shooting ranges are radically different than the paintball competitions that the family and I use from time to time. And three, my wife is a much better shot than me and definitely not the person I want to piss off. However, while my wife  once again showed me up, I did much better at the range than I did on the motorcycle training course from a few weeks back. Plus I had a really great time and met a bunch of really cool people.

Midlife crisis – 1, James – 1.

A dark night indeed

As long as I can remember I have had a special place in my heart for the comic book character known as Batman. More than any other fictional character, and if I am really honest, more than any real life person as well, Batman has helped to define my own personal and moral code. My mother, who is a fairly religious person, has lamented over the fact that I have never in my life asked myself “what would Jesus do”, but have on more than one occasion chosen a course of action based upon “what would Batman do”. With that said, as I sit here on my vacation Norway I  have been thinking about the recent shooting in Colorado during the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” and the Norwegian shooter from last summer quite a bit.

Anyone familiar with the Batman mythos will know that Bruce Wayne’s (aka Batman) parents were senselessly murdered in front of him while on their way home from watching “The Mark of Zorro”. Their murder marks a critical turning point in the life of the young Bruce Wayne. I keep thinking Continue reading “A dark night indeed”