Well here’s something for the gun nut in your life…. a 22ct gold-plated chair made from a batch of AK-47 rifles.
Why? You might ask. Well why not?
There doesn’t seem to be any reason for this pricey butt-holder other than it’s a functional work of art created by Austrian artist Rainer Weber, who (apparently) “transforms his imagination into reality.”
If this is your idea of reality then I’m pretty sure you’ll appreciate the way in which Weber has welded together these “still in service” AK-47s to serve as the legs, frame and armrests of this beast. Then finishing it all off with some damn fancy handwoven upholstery. If this is your heart’s desire then it will cost you $127,000.
Weber explains his inspiration stating he was always “fascinated by concepts such as design, technology and functionality” ever since childhood.
I have always been keenly interested in art and seating furniture of any kind. My incentive is to create seating furniture that is unique in its form, meaning absolutely different from other pieces of furniture.
The idea for the AK-47 chair was born while I was reading a book about Mikhail Kalashnikov and I decided to transfer the inspiration into a chair.
But if you think all these gold leaf guns are just a wee bit tacky then maybe you should go for Weber’s original AK-47 chair—price on request.
A new Change.org petition is currently circulating demanding that the Quicken Loans arena, site of the 2016 RNC, allow the open carry of firearms. The convention will be held in Ohio, which is an “open-carry” state, but the venue itself strictly forbids the carry of firearms on premises.
According to the petition, the gun ban is a “direct affront to the Second Amendment and puts all attendees at risk”:
As the National Rifle Association has made clear, “gun-free zones” such as the Quicken Loans Arena are “the worst and most dangerous of all lies.” The NRA, our leading defender of gun rights, has also correctly pointed out that “gun free zones… tell every insane killer in America… (the) safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.”
Cleveland, Ohio is consistently ranked as one of the top ten most dangerous cities in America. By forcing attendees to leave their firearms at home, the RNC and Quicken Loans Arena are putting tens of thousands of people at risk both inside and outside of the convention site.
*snip*
This doesn’t even begin to factor in the possibility of an ISIS terrorist attack on the arena during the convention. Without the right to protect themselves, those at the Quicken Loans Arena will be sitting ducks, utterly helpless against evil-doers, criminals or others who wish to threaten the American way of life.
*snip*
We are all too familiar with the mass carnage that can occur when citizens are denied their basic God-given rights to carry handguns or assault weapons in public. EVERY AMERICAN HAS THE RIGHT TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THEIR FAMILY. With this irresponsible and hypocritical act of selecting a “gun-free zone” for the convention, the RNC has placed its members, delegates, candidates and all US citizens in grave danger.
We must take a stand. We cannot allow the national nominating convention of the party of Lincoln and Reagan to be hijacked by weakness and political correctness. The policies of the Quicken Loans Arena do not supersede the rights given to us by our Creator in the U.S. Constitution.
It’s no secret that many top GOP officials are not at all happy about the possibility of Trump getting the party’s nomination, and there has been much speculation about the possibility of a brokered convention where the popular will of their base could be superseded. If Trump is denied the nomination, there’s a very good chance of an angry backlash from his supporters. You can count on it. Trump himself has even suggested that his supporters may “riot” if he is not the party’s nominee.
Imagine the 1968 DNC riots all over again, except move the venue over to the RNC and replace anti-war hippies with bitter old white people… WITH GUNS.
So, hey, go ahead and sign the petition—just to see how interesting it makes the 2016 RNC. The problem of Trump’s supporters may just solve itself.
A Florida gun manufacturer called Spike’s Tactical is manufacturing “The Crusader,” an assault rifle engraved with a Templar shield, boasting the safety settings “Peace,” “War, and “God Wills It,” and emblazoned with the following Biblical verse, from Psalm 144:
A spokesman for Spike’s Tactical explained to Tampa Bay/Sarasota’s 10NEWS that the Christian iconography on the weapon is intended to make it repellent to Muslims:
Right now and as it has been for quite some time, one of the biggest threats in the world is and remains Islamic terrorism. We wanted to make sure we built a weapon that would never be able to be used by Muslim terrorists to kill innocent people or advance their radical agenda.
It sounds like they’re shooting for something resembling nobility or righteousness—albeit in a bigoted-dick kind of way—but ultimately that explanation rings hollow. If their motivation was truly to prevent Jihadists from using their wares against the good folk of By-God-AMERICA, why don’t ALL their guns have, say, John 3:16 on them, like an un-stealthy version of the Trijicon rifle sights provided to the U.S. Military a few years back? I was amused to find an assault rifle on their site called the “Pure Estrogen,” which sports the molecular diagram for that very important hormone etched right where the Crusader has the verse from Psalms. So it seems far likelier that the Crusader is just a fetish object, pandering to the tastes of right wing Christian machine-of-hot-lead-death enthusiasts. Besides, while it’s true that in many parts of the world Islamists ARE one of the gravest threats going—the Middle East and parts of North Africa leap readily to mind—Florida simply isn’t one of them. In fact, in the USA you’re vastly more likely to be the victim of a gun-obsessed white right-winger. I’m 100% sure I’ll get flamed for that, but research supporting the assertion is morethanabundant, and the FBI has been warning of that eventuality as far back as February of 2002, just months after the 9/11 attacks.
But knowing that will stop no asshole from praising the Lord and passing the ammunition.
Via Boing Boing, with a big h/t to Austin Hall for the find.
I’m on the fence with this one. Hollywood glorifies gun use so much, you can’t blame what the kids do when they find one (the gun is very realistic-looking prop, btw). The kids are just acting out what they see in movies and TV shows. You know, it’s what you’re supposed to do with a gun. But at the same time, it’s the parents responsibility to teach kids that if you find something like this perhaps the best thing to do is report it to an adult or an authority figure.
Only one child showed his mother the gun he found. Sadly, the first thing he asked her to do was “Pull it.”
I must admit I got a little queasy feeling with that one kid flashing the gun around in the air and trying to pull the trigger.
I really loathe the idea of “Darwin Awards.” In addition to being utterly corny (and scientifically inaccurate), I usually find the idea both smug and unkind. For who among us has not pulled a total boner move that may very well have ended our life, right then and there? This is not to say I’m above laughing at an absurd, untimely death. On the contrary, some people are so awful, they inspire a fuck-youlogy, and I’ll be damned if I deny myself that pleasure. I can’t think of a more deserving candidate than Christina Bond—biker, Evangelical and Republican Precinct Delegate for Saint Joseph Charter Precinct 1 in Michigan, who fatally shot herself in the eye recently, adjusting the gun in her bra-holster.
The folks over at Raw Story noted that her Facebook page was heavy on the Bible quotes and Republican boosterism, with some choice words against Obama and the protestors at Ferguson. Her status after winning the election spoke of needing “people involved in taking our country back,” though she failed to mention if “taking our country back” would require firearms.
Christina was born in Niles at Pawating Hospital on Oct. 8, 1959, to George Blake and Inez Brock. She was a member and administrator to Road to Life Church for 15 years. Christina left the safety of home and joined the United States Navy out of high school. She served two tours and was an active MP (military police) officer. As an active member of the Christian Motorcycle Association, Christina was “on fire for the Lord.” She often served at the Berrien County jail in ministry as well as being an active member on her church’s prayer team. Christina was recently elected as a precinct delegate for St. Joseph Charter Township Precinct 1. Always physically fit, Christina took home the 2013 Miss Michigan Figure Overall Championship. She was a light to the world and will be missed.
I added the link to her church for a point of cultural reference. The late Ms. Bond adhered to a pretty old-time religion; as someone who grow up around them, I can tell you that extreme conservatism and religious zealotry are pretty par for the course with Christian bikers. In fact, I feel quite the involuntary kinship with Bond—as if it was one of my very own dumb redneck aunts who shot herself in the eye. (She is not to be confused however, with my kind and reasonable redneck aunts, all of whom are perfectly delightful).
To be perfectly honest, I thought the biggest surprise in all of this is that she lasted this long—if she was stupid enough to keep a loaded gun in her tits, she probably didn’t wear a helmet either.
I’m actually not all that put off by bronies—in theory. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that dudes in dresses make up a significant portion of my night-life acquaintances, but the idea of grown men embracing something originally marketed to little girls seems kind of progressive, right? I can’t say I claim to totally understand the appeal (the animation and story line is not to my taste—I’ve tried watching), but from what I’ve seen and read of brony convention footage, it looks like a relatively diverse group. Some are a little ironic about their pony-love, some seem to be into fandom in general and quite a few are open about being on the autism spectrum—I suspect the highly interpersonal plot lines could be reassuring (or even informative) for someone who has trouble reading social cues and interacting with a group. There must be legitimate reasons for My Little Pony’s appeal, even if it leaves me cold, personally.
But to be perfectly honest, once your fandom starts making its way into your armory, my open-mindedness becomes… strained. I mean, it’s creepy, right? They’re guns! Why would you want a My Little Pony gun?!? Guns are absolutely counter-intuitive to the My Little Pony ethos—it’s called “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” not “My Little Pony: Killing Machines are Pretty Fuckin’ Great!” The most disturbing thing is how many actual people have modded their guns in some way to reflect their fandom. What you see below is only a tiny sample of the Pony-themed firearms I’ve found. Dear god… are the bronies building an army!?! Heaven help us…
Little Macintosh .44 Colt Annoconda [sic] (Applejack)
Smith and Wesson .44 New Model No. 3 Single-Action Revolver, serial no. 25120, sent to Tiffany’s in November of 1888
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany that would make your head spin—lighting, jewelry, furniture, stained glass landscapes—all manner of lux design with those trademark Tiffany saturated colors and organic shapes. It was a family business. It was only after the death of his father Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1902 that Louis Comfort Tiffany start really focusing on jewelry design and more romantic pieces.
Prior to Louis’ redirection of the brand, the Tiffany name was associated with luxury glass and silver goods of a much more robust variety, like the collection of handguns you see here from the Met. There is art nouveau, distinct middle eastern and Japanese influences, and ornate engraving reminiscent of scrimshaw. Some of the pieces were displayed at exhibitions to demonstrate Tiffany’s gorgeous work, the others were commissioned for wealthy patrons. One would imagine such finery would be kept somewhere in a glass case as a conversation piece, but you’ll notice some wear and tear on some of the pieces that may be evidence of use.
Detail from the 25120
Detail from the 25120
Detail from the 25120
Smith and Wesson New Model No. 3, .44 Caliber Double-Action Navy Revolver, serial no. 23060, shown at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago,1893
While the very idea of an ornament dangling from a gun is absurdly dangerous, the holidays are right around the corner, and I thought these might make a good key-chain for the most discerning of my misandrist comrades (perhaps with a copy of the SCUM Manifesto included?)!
Unfortunately, it looks as if Gun Nutz have gone belly-up, meaning either someone suffered a Gun Nutz-related firearm mishap, or perhaps there’s simply no market for completely superfluous, totally unsafe, and embarrassingly compensatory plastic pink testicles to adorn your AK-47.
$20 says a gun nut lost their gun nuts to a misadventure of Gun Nutz.
Guns—lots of ‘em—and really strong coffee. What could possibly go wrong?
You might expect something like this from Chick-fil A, but did you know that it’s “Starbucks Appreciation Day,” as organized by Second Amendment enthusiasts in as many as 30 states? Apparently so according to the Facebook page that was set up for it. Might be a good day to test out the java at Dunkin’ Donuts, eh?
“Starbucks is allowing us to lawfully carry firearms in their store. Recently, they have been the target of unjust attacks from certain groups that do not support our right to bear arms. We will thank starbucks for standing up for our right to bear arms by going there on Friday, August 9th. We ask that if you choose to carry a firearm during this event that you follow all local, state, and national laws; and if you choose not to carry that you wear pro-gun rights apparel.”
TELL STARBUCKS TO STOP ARMED RALLIES AT ITS STORES ON AUG. 9: More than 2,000 gun advocates are planning armed rallies inside Starbucks across the country on Friday as part of “Starbucks Appreciation Day,” which honors the company’s lax gun policies. More than 30 states allow open carry without a permit, screening or training. Starbucks has the legal right to prevent gun in its stores, just like it bans smoking outside its stores.
To say nothing whatsoever about the SAFETY OF THEIR OWN EMPLOYEES, for fuck’s sake! (“You screwed up my mocha latte ON PURPOSE, you lib’rul barista piece of shit. You think you’re funny, don’t cha?” and so on.)
Fred F. Cuomo-Tondalo left this scathing comment on the guns and caffeine fanpage:
Yeah in Newtown Starbucks they are having cutouts of the Newtown kids who were killed for target practice while you digleberries drink your lattes
Pretty much…
But Jame Yeager, the wag who posted the below pic of “the event,” on its fanpage asking for captions, had the best comment of all:
Moments later they formed an ass to mouth human centipede.
BOOM! Some university researcher needs to study the correlation between gun permits and Viagra prescriptions. There should at least be a legal provision in our gun laws stating that you must be able to actually SEE your own dick to own and carry a firearm.
During his concert Sunday in Quebec City, Stevie Wonder declared he would not be playing Florida again until the abolition of “Stand Your Ground,” the law that allowed George Zimmerman to go free after murdering Trayvon Martin. His impassioned speech to the crowd:
The truth is that—for those of you who’ve lost in the battle for justice, wherever that fits in any part of the world—we can’t bring them back. What we can do is we can let our voices be heard. And we can vote in our various countries throughout the world for change and equality for everybody. That’s what I know we can do.
And I know I’m not everybody, I’m just one person. I’m a human being. And for the gift that God has given me, and from whatever I mean, I decided today that until the “Stand Your Ground” law is abolished in Florida, I will never perform there again. As a matter of fact, wherever I find that law exists, I will not perform in that state or in that part of the world.
Because what I do know is that people know that my heart is of love for everyone. When I say everyone I mean everyone. As I said earlier, you can’t just talk about it, you have to be about it. We can make change by coming together for the spirit of unity. Not in destruction, but in the perpetuation of life itself.
Wonder is no stranger to artistic boycotts. He was a part of a wave of musicians who refused to play South Africa’s Sun City resort to protest apartheid, even penning a song, “It’s Wrong (Apartheid)” to raise awareness. It’s possible Wonder’s declaration could spark a trend of boycotts to shame Florida into overturning its draconian laws.
Of course, boycotts today don’t really have the same cultural context they once did for Apartheid. Last November, Wonder himself played a concert for Israeli Defense Forces, in spite of emphatic demands from activists for artists to boycott Israel in protest of the Palestinian occupation. Overwhelming international public sentiment opposed Apartheid, which was easily identified as cut and dry racial segregation, but for the west, the topic of Israel is mired in Islamophobia, and is much more difficult to organize around. Likewise, we have a lot of paranoid, reactionary gun nuts in this country, and artists might argue that playing Florida isn’t an endorsement of a single law. Regardless, I do think famous spokespeople (for better or worse) help steer the national dialogue, and we need to do everything we can to keep focus on the abolition of the “Stand Your Ground” law.
On her MSNBC program last night, Rachel Maddow warned people who were personally affected by the mass murder in Newtown, Connecticut that they might want to change the channel as new information has been made public about the tragedy. Via The Raw Story:
The Hartford Courant reported Wednesday that the shooter, Adam Lanza, fired a total of 152 bullets in less than 5 minutes, killing 20 young children and 6 adults. Lanza used a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and had 30-round magazines. As Maddow noted, he only needed to reload his weapon four times before killing himself with a pistol.
“Had he only had access to ten-round magazines instead of 30-round magazines he would’ve had to reload 14 times,” she continued. “He would’ve needed 14 spare magazines beyond the one in the gun with the extra round in the chamber. Reloading 14 times. You think he would’ve still pulled off the whole thing in less than five minutes?”
Contemplate that for a moment. I don’t ever think there’s ever going to be a time when guns won’t be a part of American life, but this cuts straight to the heart of the matter about allowing semi-automatic weapons as a society.
As someone who was born and raised in rural West Virginia, I grew up in a household where there were guns. Guns for protection, my father isn’t a hunter. He’s not really a gun “enthusiast” in any way, really, but he’s got a few. Considering where my parents live, it did then and it still makes total sense to me why my father would want to have a gun around the house for an emergency situation—it would take the sheriff at least 30 minutes to get to their house. In a life or death situation, frankly, I can well understand wanting to own a firearm for protection, but especially if you live way out in the boonies.
In the American spectrum of opinion, on most matters, I would describe myself to the far, far left. On the matter of gun control, however, I’d describe myself as almost “neutral,” but can anyone tell me why in the world any civilian would need to own an weapon that can fire a fucking 30-round magazine for ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN KILLING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A VERY SHORT TIME FRAME?
I’m truly not an anti-gun person, but the NRA and its little bitches, the GOP, have got to scale one hell of a logical precipice to make a better argument than is made here. I mean, seriously, come the fuck on, WHO NEEDS A BAZOOKA???? This is getting ridiculous…
I think Michael Moore is right: If the country saw photos of those dead kids in CT, the ban on semi-automatic weapons would be all but assured and there would be nothing the NRA or the Republicans could do about it.
Get your naughty pooch in line with a gun-shaped retractable leash from Art Lebedev Studios. I wonder if the designers got the idea from the infamous National Lampoon cover of a dog with a gun pressed to its head? It sure looks like it. Whatever the case, it’s brilliant!
Povodokus sports a gun-shaped handle, which retracts the leash when you need to control your target dog. It’s a sure shot!
The lead goes out freely as the dog pulls and reels in when you pull the trigger.
I lived in Northern New Mexico during the late 1960’s and from 2003 to 2008, right at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo (blood of Christ) mountain range. This is an area that has drawn artists, outlaws, visionaries and lost souls for decades, from D.H. Lawrence to Dennis Hopper to the New Buffalo Commune and the Rainbow Tribe. The mountains are thought to have mystical powers, both good and bad. It is said they can mess with a man’s mind. I lived in Taos, which a friend once called “the world’s largest open air mental institution”, and I saw the flow of neo-hippies coming into town blending with the old guard who had been living there for decades. It was a wild mix of 1960’s Aquarian Age values and a kind of longhair punk nihilism - a fascinating blend turning a bit moldy at the edges and slightly rotten at the core.
Dennis Hopper was busted in the mid-1960’S in Taos for walking into a town council meeting brandishing a shotgun.
Shot in New Mexico, the “fat Jew on shrooms” video (Rob Tyner, is that you?) is a comically surreal version of the kind of madness you’ll find in the high desert, on the mesas and in the bloody mountains. The altitude can turn a simple psychedelic trip into something straight out of a Castaneda book and, in this dude’s case, something gonzo from Hunter Thompson. I don’t know how ‘real’ it is, but at 10,000 feet above sea level shit happens. Whether shroom boy is having a bonafide mystical experience or just going apeshit for the camera doesn’t matter. It’s the vibe, man. And the vibe is spooky.
In New Mexico, guns, pot and longhair are totems of some new bizarre breed of hippie outlaw.
The other video included here is from a film called “Off The Grid” and is the real deal. I knew these folks in the video. I had a store not far from where they lived on the mesa and they were my customers. Many were Vietnam vets, a few were clinically insane, others were social outcasts or folks just looking to live the simple hippie life. I liked most of them. But a few had feral children that saddened me. Dirty and hungry, these little kids were living in poverty and squalor, not by their own design, but by the choices their parents, mostly quite young themselves, had made in deciding to live outside of society.
The directors of “Off The Grid” were told by the folks depicted in the film never to screen the movie in Taos. If they did, they’d regret it.
A little comedy followed by something a bit more serious. The connection between these videos is kind of tenuous; longhairs with guns. That’s something I never imagined during the Summer Of Love.
