This will hurt me...

Ezra takes aim at cars flying Australian flags. At present, he has three. We're aiming for at least ten by Australia day...

Nothing says FUN like a GUN ! Nothing! You hear me? NOTHING! And no-one is going to take that FUN away from me! NO-ONE!

Nothing says " Christmas " more than " concealable weapon ". If, like me, you don't enjoy the Yuletide period with its overly cheery tone, the crude mix of corporate and religious, and generally annoying songs; a handgun can be essential (if only to keep carollers at bay). In fact, I've had my eye on a nifty little Derringer just down Henry's alley, and I know that Ezra has his heart set on one of Remington's world famous .44 Magnum (I'm trying to steer him towards the Desert Eagle, given his love of the beach and the tendency of sand to play up with the breech). In fact, the arms trade is the only thing that keeps me going through the holiday period!

I will put my cards on the table up front and declare I am all for gun control. I figure if you are going to let deadly weapons out into the community, it is worth trying to regulate them. HOWEVER, I had to laugh at this post that cropped up on the always excellent clusterflock . It concerns the list of questions that you are asked by the Illinois State Police in an application for a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card. Let us look at the questions shall we? 1) Have you ever been convicted of a felony? That's a good question. We don't want crooks with guns. 2) In the past 5 years, have you been a patient in any medical facility or part of any medical facility used primarily for the care or treatment of persons for mental illness? Another good question. We don't want lunatics with guns. I know that there are plenty of people who suffer from mental illness who aren't crazy insane killers, but hey, better safe than sorry! 3) Are you addicted to narcotics? Like the mental...

In this brief but engaging book, Kalashnikov's story is told in an engaging and colloquial style. It is a fascinating portrait of a man of ingenuity and vitality in the context of the harsh and often brutal Russia of the twentieth century. Against what appears to be the effort of the publishers (or at least whoever designed the book sleeve), this is not a text for serious firearms or military enthusiasts. Despite the title, this book is less a story of the AK-47, and more the story of its designer, Mikhail Kalashnikov. The autobiography of Mikhail Kalashnikov, inventor of the renowned AK-47 assault rifle, recounts a far more interesting story than his most famous invention. In it, he shares his life story for the first time: his deportation to Siberia with his family while still a child; his time as a soldier in a tank regiment; his invention of the world's most famous weapon and his experiences of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Gorbachev and Yelts...