Cowboy Blob's Saloon and Shootin Gallery

I'm not a real Cowboy, but I play one in the movies.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Why Do I Always Blame Ammo First?



Shooting a carbine match in the Phoenix summer heat the day after giving blood isn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Even so, I had a good time, despite some bad feeding issues with the (Rock River) 9-AR. It seemed it didn't like a single brand of ammo I tried (S&B and Pakistani surplus, mostly), so a friend suggested that maybe my extractor spring was weak. That gave me flashbacks to when I first got the gun. Doh! Time to surf to Brownells.

In the video, I clear the first jam with my finger, but the second one is too tight, so I whip out my Frost Cutlery folder, a cheap Chinese knife so beloved by sharp, pointy-thing expert Fits of Shooting the Messenger. Hey, what can I say? Free knife! Once I cleared the jam, I dumped the knife, 'cuz CB's mommy taught him to never run with scissors, dirks, and poignards.

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Cool Commercial



...even though the product doesn't rank among my favorites. Yes, heresy, I know....

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The "Gretchen" Trailer



Don't know if this will run if you don't have FaceBook. Let me know, okay?

Haven't figured out the little bugs in the video.

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

C'est Cool



h/t Cuzzin Billy

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New to the Toybox

In case you were wondering what the lady was shooting in the video, it's the Umarex SA-177 BB pistol. It's a good GLOCK clone and the second one shipped (below) came without the orange tip common to AirSoft guns--probably because it's meant to fire steel BBs, not plastic ones. The upper version is AirSoft, and the orange tip does not hold paint well.

The slide stop works as it should, so shooting it sans magazine was required to make the slide cycle completely. Some day, I might figure out how to pin the stop down, but I was too scared to apply glue without knowing where it might get.

Besides ensuring an empty chamber and no magazine, we ensured the pistol wasn't aimed at anybody during the filming of the shooting scene. I can't guarantee the same is true of the YouTube video, since Dawn had never fired even a fake pistol before. I think that showed.

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It's in the Can


Starting post-production tonight, right after the D'Backs game, of course.

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Monday, July 25, 2011

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky til Monday. Scroll down for new content.

Got a better caption or photoshop for this pic? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! If you're lucky, I'll be too busy to blog and you'll keep your ad up for weeks!

You need not be a blogger to win; however, if you post anonymously, it will be very difficult to recognize you again to design a Blog Ad.

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday Night. Or not.

WINNER!

An Anonymous Reader wins with:

The last coal fired copier in operation.



Other Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Outside the Beltway
Wizbang

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Classy, VH-1

I tune to VH-1's Jump Start at 3-something in the a.m. and what do I hear? Amy Winehouse's "Rehab." What a tribute. [this is my sarcastic face.]

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Sunday, July 24, 2011

When Photo Shoots Go Bad



Well, this one didn't go bad. Had a good time mic'ing AleX's short, which could conceivably show in the same First Friday Shorts as my own movie, but that's okay. We're not competing against each other, just against the taste of the audience and the host with the Gong. I'll blog them both if he decides to YouTube his.

Tonight, we shoot "Gretchen."

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Friday, July 22, 2011

Rifle Fun


In case you wanted to see more of the AZ CDL ID4 Rifle Match, check out Kelly Neal's Blog.

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Thursday, July 21, 2011

I Need to Branch Out

One of the great bennies for being a college student in Tucson, even a half-century-old one, is admiring the proliferation of eye-candy on campus.

One of the local students, Ukraine-born Iryna Ivanova, U of A Business student, has been selected as Playboy's Miss August. Sure, she's a looker, but you can find dozens of comparable beauties roaming the halls at the U and even humble old Pima CC. The diff here is that Iryna is willing to pose in the buff for Playboy and accept all that goes with that. I wonder what the competition was like.

We fledgling film-makers meet a lot of pretty talented people, and some pretty, talented people. (And Lordy, are there some talentless pretty people trying to get parts!) This Saturday, I'm mic'ing a friend's action short -- he's got an all-girl cast which I'm sure will include some hotties. Sunday, I'm directing my own comedy short, starring two school buddies and no women. I really need to change my screenwriting direction.

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Robb? Is That You?

Could be an alias.
They say witnesses reported seeing Alfieri wandering around the woods wearing nothing but a gun holster while carrying a pistol and yelling at the river.
Remember, pantsless is just a shirt away from nekkid.

Utah does allow Open Carry.

h/t Scott R.

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Curiouser and Curiouser


I usually get my bulk ammo from Sportsman's Guide, local shops (when they have it) or (*gasp!*) Wal-Mart. Now I hear that some of the more popular internet ammo stores are all fronts for the same company.

Funny how a company (Lucky Gunner dot com) that built so much goodwill by hosting a Blogger Shoot would endanger that goodwill by engaging in such a deceptive enterprise. Unless you don't think there's anything wrong with that.

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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Got a better caption or photoshop for this pic? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! If you're lucky, I'll be too busy to blog and you'll keep your ad up for weeks!

Original caption:
This misfortunate (sic) pilot landed his vintage tri-plane on its nose. The man had been flying the famous Fokker Dreidecker aircraft at the Flying Legends airshow at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambsridgeshire (sic). But when he landed the WW1 fighter aircraft a sudden gust of wind blew it on its nose. No one was hurt in the incident. (Philip Tyler / Rex)
You need not be a blogger to win; however, if you post anonymously, it will be very difficult to recognize you again to design a Blog Ad.

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday Night. Or not.

WINNER!
Wyatt Earp of Support your Local Gunfighter wins with:
Sadly, Major Richtofen's video invitation did not impress Mila Kunis.
Other Caption Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Outside the Beltway
The Jawa Report
Wizbang

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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Ranger Up!

Allergies too!

Different kinda "ranger."

It's 105F in the overcast and there's another reason I'm not in the hacienda's back yard doing some much-needed weeding. It figures that the only bush that survived the drip irrigation system casualty is the one that makes my eyes gummy when it blooms.

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She-Bangs

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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Are You Not Entertained?



The fragile vocals aside, have you ever seen a more kick-ass commercial (that didn't involve US Marines, tanks, fighter-bombers, capital warships, or the Swedish Bikini IPSC Team?"

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Friday, July 15, 2011

Movie Poster!



Whoohoo! I hope it makes it into the Tucson Terrorfest! I might even have to attend.

I hate watching Horror movies.

Like making them, though.

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Thursday, July 14, 2011

A Cappella Awesome


Choir does Rammstein's "Du Hast."

h/t to my cousin-or-something Bill.

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Love the Pun

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Are You a Tucson-Area Republican?

Sometimes I wonder why I ever bother to vote in Pima County....

URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL PIMA COUNTY REGISTERED REPUBLICANS:

There is nothing written anywhere in the by-laws saying that anyone has the right to keep REGISTERED REPUBLICANS from attending this Friday's GOP Special Meeting at the Manning House, 4:30pm, 450 West Paseo Redondo, Tucson, AZ 85701. Although the rogue Pima GOP Executive Committee would LOVE YOU BELIEVE OTHERWISE.

I ask each and every one of you today. Will you be bullied by this type of over abuse of power and "We speak for you" mentality or will you stand and defend liberty and justice and remind them that they work for us, WE THE PEOPLE??? I hope to see every single PIMA COUNTY REGISTERED REPUBLICAN AT THE MANNING HOUSE THIS FRIDAY. Our very freedom depends on it.
Read.

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Heresy or Hindsight?

The Garand: Almost as Good as a Real Rifle
Mr Garand designed a stripper fed, gas operated self-loading rifle in a mid-sized caliber. It was very advanced, and the only advantage it lacked was a detachable magazine, which was still a subject of discussion at the timeā€”the SMLE had it. The Mausers and Mosin Nagants did not. As designed, it had moderate recoil, and could be topped off by shoving extra rounds into the top of the action, as with every other battle rifle of the time.

Then the Army took a crap in it. I can't blame Garand for this, because the Army crapped in almost every weapon it got given in the 20th Century, then complained about the taste.

RTWT.

h/t Matthew Maynard via FB

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Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Circle of Life

At RNS.

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Ink

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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Got a better caption or photoshop for this pic from a movie hopefully to be shown at the Tucson Terrorfest (and maybe a film fest near you)? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! If you're lucky, I'll be too busy to blog and you'll keep your ad up for weeks!

You need not be a blogger to win; however, if you post anonymously, it will be very difficult to recognize you again to design a Blog Ad.

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday Night. Or not.

WINNER!

Snuf of 1219 Studios wins with:
I'M A WOMAN NOW!!!
Other Contests:

Support your Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Wizbang

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Monday, July 11, 2011

Honey...


There's a Film Crew in our bathtub!

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Saturday, July 09, 2011

Cool.

Friday, July 08, 2011

Let's Make a Movie!

Still waiting for Nine Buddhas to iron out the script for "Until Dead," a mystery centered on a murder trial, so I have a green light to jump on short-range short-term productions. My first is 1219 Studios' "There's No Such Thing as Monsters," for entry in October's Tucson Terrorfest. During last night's production meeting, I went from being Head Mixer to Head Mixer and Producer! Well, that's due to my policy that if I have to make more than three fully laden trips to load my truck, I get a Producer credit. Director Snuf Leamon was more than happy to toss me that bone since several of the crew he had lined up backed out at the last minute.

Heh, we're making a "Snuf Film." No, really!

The bad part about being so shorthanded is that I'll probably have to do my own booming, so I'll be less a Head Mixer and more "Snuf's Audio Bitch." Still, I'm looking forward to crewing with old friends on the wonderful process of crafting an original short film.

My summer Business Ethics class was cancelled for low enrollment, so instead of starting class Monday, I'll assemble a camera dolly, finish my camera crane (it came without counter-weights), and try some camera tests with them both. Either that or sit around the house in my underwear reading blogs all day.

Update: Day 1 Down! Hurray for friends! Jonathon and Carlos stepped up as boom and slate operators, allowing me to concentrate on the audio level meter. Pics to follow tomorrow night!

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Tuesday, July 05, 2011

ID4 Update

I cudda been a contendah! The match results are out and I ended up at the top of the bottom 4th. If my abysmal performance on the long range stage hadn't killed my scores, I might have been at the bottom of the top third!! But NOOOOOO!!!! Instead of scrunching down and using the plastic barrels for support, I stood up and used the flimsy plywood barricades for vestigial support while my hot rifle barrel began to melt through my Nomex glove.

Jon (pictured left) finished at the bottom of the first third. We were actually close until my meltdown.

No surprise here, Kelly Neal won the match in the Scoped Division, my man Russ Phagen of match sponsor Cavalry Manufacturing took the encumbered Trooper Division, and youngster Grant M. took the Iron Sighted Division.

UPDATE: Russ' Run

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Monday, July 04, 2011

Weekend Caption/Photoshop Contest

Sticky until Monday

Got a better caption or photoshop for this AFAIK unsourced pic? You could win a coveted Blog Ad on my side bar! If you're lucky, I'll be too busy to blog and you'll keep your ad up for weeks!

You need not be a blogger to win; however, if you post anonymously, it will be very difficult to recognize you again to design a Blog Ad.

Check out the links in Drinks Ordered for photoshops!

Judging begins Monday Night. Or not.

WINNER!

Reader Lil Bro wins with:
From his Jakarta living room, young Barry hatched his plan to claim Hawaiian birth. His only obstacle was Adobe Photoshop was yet to be invented.
Other Contests:

Support Your Local Gunfighter
Family Security Matters
Outside the Beltway
Wizbang

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ID4 Match



What better way to celebrate our nation's independence than converting money into smoke, noise, and fun? We endured the heat until the match was over, then enjoyed a rainy thunderstorm that skirted down Mt. Lemmon. I did rather well, except for the long range stage that wiped out all my progress on the other stages. I videoed three of the four stages, but will only show these two; it's a lot more fun to shoot than it is to watch!

I raced back home after the prize raffle but before the results were posted. Needed an after-match nap before studying for my final exam tomorrow.

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Sunday, July 03, 2011

It Never Fails

My GLOCK mid-frame (G17/19/22/23/32/etc.) Fobus holster blipped off into the black hole at my house, so I finally replaced it yesterday. I would rather have replaced it with a minimalist Yaqui Slide, but the shop only had the large frame version. At least the rubberized paddle on the Fobus is an improvement over my old one. I know some of you turn up your noses at Fobus, but I'm a big fan.

Gathering up my gear for tomorrow's ID4 Action Rifle Match, I began to wonder where I'd left my tube of SPF 50 sunscreen. I'd borrowed Jon's for my latest match in the great blazing PHX sun, but figured I'd better find my own or go out and buy some more. My first thought was to check my suitcase -- until I remembered it was still half-packed for a winter trip back home; but I checked it anyway and found my Fobus holster! Then I started a little memory exercise to place where I'd last used my tube of sunscreen. Movie set! I was the non-AZ native who had the only sunscreen on the set of Featherado, a student film, and immediately I could see down the hall in the other spare bedroom my cowboy wardrobe bin with the tube of sunscreen visible at the bottom. I wonder when Gabe is gonna give me a copy of that movie... it's my first movie musical credit, ya know?

So, I'm all set for tomorrow... except for the nagging sense of impending suckitude, wondering why our Forefathers couldn't have declared Independence in May or October, when it's not so blazing hot here.

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Friday, July 01, 2011

Peter Jackson's Hobbit Blog

 
Visits Since September 11, 2004