7 Quick Takes Vol. 12

Still hosted by Conversion Diary! 

1.     So, one of my favorite blogs is Monster Hunter Nation, run by a sci-fi/horror author/gun-nut named Larry Correia. See, it’s great because it features nerdy sci-fi/horror/fantasy, Conservative politics, guns, and writing tips. If you threw in Catholic Theology and musical theater it’d be my one-stop internet shop. Anyway, the other day he posted a great article on writing professionally, which basically compressed everything I’ve been trying to get through my head over the past week into one handy 4000+ word article. Highly recommended!

2.     My mind has been full of controversial topics lately. I’ve been holding off publishing them because I want to make sure I get them right and decide how conciliatory vs. blunt I want to be.

3.     Combining the last two items, I really need to blog more. So, I’m declaring here that I will blog something – even if it’s just a video or meme – every day this coming week. So, keep an eye on my other two blogs!

4.     Does anyone know about Macbooks? Because mine keeps giving me trouble; it runs sluggishly a lot of the time, especially when I start programs up, but even at just odd times. It’s a fairly new machine, and I’m not over-taxing the memory at all (there’s over half of it left), nor can I find any background programs causing problems. So what gives?

5.     Had a very nice dinner earlier this week with a friend of mine. We tend to discuss theology a lot, since he’s a Protestant and I’m Catholic, and we got into it fairly good this time (though we spent so long on other topics we didn’t get too far) I don’t think I did a very good job of defending Marian devotion (I’m still something of an amateur on the subject), but I do think I managed to explain the big problem with Sola Scriptura well enough. In any case, a good time was had by all.

6.     So, I’m kind of excited because I found an AR-15 model for just under eight-hundred. Very no-frills (not even sights!) so I’m not so sure about it, but it is encouraging to know that it can be had for under a thousand. I figured twelve-hundred was the bare minimum price. That doesn’t mean I’ll get it; for one thing, I need to save up a lot more before I even consider making a big purchase, for another even then I’m leaning away from the gun to something a little more immediately practical. In any case, when I do get my AR, it’ll probably be a little higher end. Nothing too fancy (since I am a beginner), but at least one that includes iron sights and a dust-cover. I mean, we must behave like civilized people!

7.     In addition to Witness, I’ve also picked up The Last Lion again (the epic biography of Winston Churchill). Might have been a mistake, since I’m being sucked into the life of Churchill and leaving poor Mr. Chambers just as he was about to tell of his tragic upbringing. Of course, Churchill had it rough too. It’s really hard to find a historical figure without a tragic childhood, isn’t it? Oh, I suppose Roosevelt counts, since his big tragedies didn’t happen until his adult years.

Well, that one went kind of off topic, didn’t it?