Mission Accomplished

Farsighted readers of this country life mind blog may remember that today started off with a plan. Viz. Put rod, reel and gun in the rig and head out for action, and that's what happened.

First stop, the Big Pond, hook up for Bass and cast off. I used a pink worm, I don't know why, it just seemed right. Perhaps I thought the sluggish-heat-of-the-afternoon-fish would be stirred up by the shocking pink plastic of the thing.

Whatever the case, it worked, and before too long out came a very decent Bass. Good result, they want the pink worm, so keep it coming. Sure enough, I didn't have to wait long before the hook was set and the line was playing out again. In a big way. 

It felt, in my mind, like a Leviathan Bass or a big Catfish, so imagine my surprise when I finally reeled in a turtle, a big one. Both it and the Bass lived to fight again another day.

Then it was time for dove and I joined some of the team, who were merrily shooting down an avian acrobat the size of a Condor. No kidding, it was a huge dove and that got my hopes up. I've entered the Land of the Giant Dove (LGD), I thought to myself. But it was a false peak, the birds weren't flying, though it was fun to look out on the bucolic paradise of Olde Texas in eager expectation.

After an hour or so of that, everyone fell back to HQ for a grillout and fun and you know what? That's what it was, a lot of fun in the countryside, and there's nothing wrong with that, at all.

Your Old Friend,

LSP

The Plan

So what's the plan? It's simple, read up on  Luke's Gospel, drink some coffee, fry up a steak and couple of eggs, then load some rods and a gun in the truck and get out in the field. And who knows, maybe catch a fish or two and shoot some birds. I think you'll agree, a clear, compelling, achievable plan.

Bill Clinton has a plan, too. He plans to fill Detroit with Syian refugees. Well, hey, they've got to go somewhere and Martha's Vineyard is already booked, by millionaire socialists.

Champagne all 'round!

LSP

You Dirty Rat, Knife Review

Every once and a while something catches your eye, like an Ontario Knife Company Rat 1 in Walmart's discount sporting goods section. There it was, lying in a confusion of camo baitcaster reels, SOG novelty items and unwanted Gerber knick knacks. The knife looked solid and workmanlike against the rolled over detritus of the outdoors industry.

It felt good, too, fitting the hand well and weighing enough to let you know you're holding something (5.0 oz), which you are, over three and a half inches of AUS 8, full flat grind, 58-59 HRC, satin finish steel. And it was even sharp, very sharp. So I bought that knife and took it home.

The Ontario Knife Company describes their product, which is made in Taiwan, thus:

The immensely popular RAT folders are among OKC's top selling products. Featuring versatile AUS-8 stainless steel and a nylon handle, the RAT folder comes in a variety of styles including different blade and handle colors. The RAT folders are an ideal and affordable every day carry.

That's the marketing, what's the reality? 

Fit and finish are fine, with metal liners and scales flush and no upwards, downwards or sideways movement from the blade when it's in the open position, or when it's shut. Dual thumbscrews provide ambidextrous opening and the jimping is pronounced enough to do its job. The scales (handles) look like G10 but are, in fact, Nylon 6, but don't worry, they're attached to the metal liners with 5 screws. Yes. Five. What about the blade? It's sharp, really sharp, and deploys well, with an authoritative click, like a magazine coming home. I like that. The verdict?

Does it work? Oh yes, my Rat 1 sliced through a frozen pie package as though it were butter. The knife is sharp. Does it feel good? It fits in the hand well and has a good heft to it and it's not too big to fit in the pocket. Do women like them? They love them. A lot. Is it tactical? You better believe it is, just look at that black handle. But how much does it cost? It costs the grand total of $15. Seriously, 15 bucks, that's all.

So go out and get this knife if you're looking for an inexpensive workhorse folder. The only downsides, to me, are that it's made in Taiwan and the Nylon 6 is a bit slick, G10 would be better. But look, for $15 you can't go wrong with this knife. Get one, I don't think you'll be disappointed. The specs are here, and elsewhere.

Don't be a rat, get the knife,

LSP

Opening Day

"Mornin', looks like Summer's back," I called out to my neighbor, through the humid miasma of a Texan September 1st. "Yeah, happens 'bout every 100 years," he growled. "Sure, it's like a war," I replied, hauling an empty trash can behind the compound's perimeter. And that was the start of Opening Day, but not the finish.

A few hours later we were in a dove field, somewhere in Texas, setting up. Rigs parked, decoys out, shooters positioned strategically and then wait, in the sweltering heat. No birds, just heat and steam rising up from the waterlogged ground.  Then things changed.

Clouds rolled in from the North, along with thunder, complementing the sound of distant shots. Somewhere, not too far away, birds were coming in and there was action. Would it come our way?

Cooler weather certainly did, a big relief, and with it, small groups of dove, in twos and threes, came barreling over the treeline at the decoys as lightning arced from the sky, and the guns blazed away like the flak towers of Old Berlin. All against the far-off barrage of thunder.

Pretty dramatic, and the shooters down the line got the best of it, downing 8 birds in fairly quick succession. Good work, boys. It was slower from my position but still, not bad. I shot enough to get the adrenaline up, as well as missing enough to guard against the sin of pride.

Then, as dusk set in, we fell back to HQ to grill up some poppers and sausages and I tell you, a good day was had by all.

Get out in the field,

LSP

They're Not Saying It's Aliens

But they're not saying it isn't, either, which is why ET boffins at SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) are tuning their telescopes onto a mysterious signal coming from a star in the Hercules constellation, HD 164595.

A tentative translation of the signal reads:

"I don't have a good answer to it. If we were the only Church here and [there were] no other Churches, and if division didn't matter it would be much easier to answer. We were traditionalist, then we were vicious. Now we just look odd."

The stargazing scientists who discovered the strange signal, led by Nikolai Bursov of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Special Astrophysical Observatory, think that HD 164595 is as a good candidate for SETI investigation as any. “Permanent monitoring of this target is needed,” they say.

Others discount the signal as "meaningless gibberish."

"It's just stray signals being microlensed by the star's gravitational pull," said one SETI source, "They don't mean anything, it's meaningless gibberish."

Justin Welby, who is known on social media as the Deputy Anti-Christ, was unavailable for comment.

To the Stars,

LSP

The End of Days

Well, the summer sure went fast and now the cadets are back in their mountain fastness, the land of the ice and snow. The panfish in Lake Whitney are deeply relieved as are various species of small game, but Blue Loyalty is confused. "Where's the pack?" he seems to say.

In other news, a crazed Muslim knifed a French policewoman in the neck, in Toulouse. The fanatical Aloha Snackbar holy warrior was described as "mentally unstable" by authorities and we have to ask, why are so many Muslims mentally unstable? Is their religion a kind of psychic disorder?  

And people say DJT is a fascist for wanting to vett Muslim immigrants into the US? You know, just in case they're "mentally unstable"? 

Oh, what a Nazi for not wanting to import thousands of deranged Allahu Akbar head choppers into the country. Wake up.

Nuance,

LSP

Scorn Hippies, Again

What's the connection between A Train Robbery and hippies, you ask yourself, wonderingly. Simple. Hippies are notorious thieves.

Of course these days we don't have train robberies because there aren't any trains to speak of, sadly. And why hold up a train when you can rob an entire country?

Nuance,

LSP

Nuance

Everyone knows that this blog is about nuance, about finely weighed principles of cause and effect, theoria and praxis in the life of the mind as it plays out in the public square. Heck, it's like First Things but with pictures of Lena Dunham, Mantids, space aliens and Justsin Welby cruising the pawns.

So that's why we're bringing you Dom Garrigou Lagrange on the sin of intellectual pride:

So filled with their own learning, which has cost them so much, that their souls are saturated with it and no longer open to receive the superior light that would come from God in prayer.

Not bad, eh? In the future, when we win this war, every Harvard professor will have that tattooed on their forehead.

Nuance.

LSP

Listen Up, Heathen

I'd say this was especially appropriate to the way we live now. St. Thomas Aquinas, via Dom Garrigou Lagrange:

St. Thomas, who was exceedingly humble and magnanimous, established very well the exact definition of these two virtues, which should be united, and that of the defects opposed to them. He defined pride as the inordinate love of our own excellence. The proud man wishes, in fact, to appear superior to what he really is: there is falsity in his life. When this inordinate love of our own excellence is concerned with sensible goods, for example, pride in our physical strength, it belongs to that part of the sensibility called the irascible appetite. It is in the will when it is concerned with goods of the spiritual order, such as intellectual pride and spiritual pride. This defect of the will presupposes that our intellect considers our own merits and the insufficiencies of our neighbors more than it ought, and that it exaggerates in order to raise us above them.

Love of our own excellence is said to be inordinate as it is contrary to right reason and divine law. It is directly opposed to the humble submission of the defectible and deficient creature before the majesty of God.

Inordinate love of our own excellence. Dodge the flying monkey.

Salve,

LSP 

Microsoft, We Scorn You

Do you remember the good old days when you could buy the ridiculously overpriced and bloated MS Office? Sure you do, it was Halcyon, back then. But not anymore. MS Office sells itself as an "app" that you have to rent by the month or year. Not dissimilar to Adobe's incredibly awesome "Creative Cloud." Yeah, creative on the wallet.

Well guess what, NWO software overlords, Team LSP isn't falling for your little game. Bye bye, Illuminati elites, we scorn you.

Open Source,

LSP

Lena Dunham Launches Womyn Bishop Lingerie Line

Clay Golem

Popular body positive TV star, Lena Dunham, has launched a controversial lingerie line for women bishops.

Womyn Bishop

Labelled "Lonely," Dunham describes the racy underwear as a "love letter to yourself" and refused to have images of herself promoting the lingerie in Brooklyn photoshopped, so that womyn bishops would feel empowered about their bodies.

At Last!

But will cash-strapped prelates be able to afford Dunham's upscale boudoir wear? Not to worry, Lonely retails at a price even penny pinching Church of England bishops can afford, $60.

Justsin Welby

Lena Dunham is a wealthy celebrity socialist with an estimated net worth of $12 million. When asked whether Lambeth Palace endorsed Lonely, Old Etonian, Justsin Welby, declined to comment.

Cantaur,

LSP

Mystery Planet Home to ACoC?

The Anglican Church of Canada

Stargazing boffins have spotted a mystery world which may be home to the long-lost Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC).

Star Map

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory discovered a world orbiting our closest star, Alpha Centauri, that's only four light years away. Because the mysterious planet inhabits the "goldilocks zone," allowing it to have liquid water, the planet may host life, and ACoC.

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream

Eager scientists are trying to find a way to send a gigantic robot probe to the planet to see if it's home to alien life forms. However, although close in astronomical terms, it would take 76,000 years to reach using present day spacefaring technology.

According to Nick Pope, a UK based UFO expert, the discovery is "game-changing."

Space Aliens

"This game-changing discovery may help us answer the question of whether or not the Anglican Church of Canada is in this universe," he stated, "Many people believe there are aliens out there and now it's possible they're our galactic next door neighbours."

The Church of England

The Anglican Church of Canada left earth orbit several decades ago and has yet to be found. Whether the tiny denomination will be discovered circling our nearest star is uncertain because of the distances involved.

Artist's Impression of a Light Sail Starship 

When asked if it was building a "light sail" to reach the far-off planet and make contact with the diminutive ACoC, Lambeth Palace declined to comment.

Ad Astra,

LSP