Keep Eating In Troubled Times

With's Steve's post about survivalblog.com, I'd thought I post some stuff I've found over the last few years that might help you guys plan ahead. A warning though, that some of these sites are huge, and you could spend days looking through it all.

Unfortunately, I still haven't learned how to hotlink on Blogger, so you'll have to cut and paste these.

First of all, there's the Old Timer's Page. This is a page devoted to living like they did in the old days, without power or refrigeration. There are also links to dozens of other sites with similar info.

http://www.waltonfeed.com/old/old/index.html

Next comes Alpha Rubicon. AR is pretty much a die hard survivalist site, that's easy to navigate, and has just about all the info you could want on SHTF scenarios. BTW, read the Distilled Message of Preparedness on the home page first.

http://www.alpharubicon.com/index2.html

http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/themainmessage.htm

Equipped To Survive is a site that focuses on the gear involved in SHTF undertakings. I found this site to be generally reliable and worth checking out.

http://www.equipped.org/

On Fighting

To begin with, we'll start on the unarmed category of fighting. My favorite for the WWII and conemporary combatives is gutterfighting.org. Gutterfighting is the bailiwick of the New Jersey combatives crew of the late Carl Cestari. You'll see Cestari's Bare Knuckle Boxing vid on the upper left corner. Gutterfighting has a slew of Carl's articles he wrote over the years, as well as a lot of other applicable stuff, and all of it is worth reading and learning from. Carl was the man.

Their forum is awesome as well, but it is readable by invite only, and I don't have the clout to get anyone else in, unfortunately.

http://www.gutterfighting.org/Main.html

One of the better sites I've seen is Lee Morrison's Urban Combatives site. Lee is a UK combatives trainer, and I own a couple of his training dvd's. The free stuff on his site is basic, but good. Give it a serious read through, and take notes.

http://www.urbancombatives.com/index.htm

Jimmy Fatwing has a bunch of links on his site worth reading. Much of this stuff comes from old texts, but the material is still just as useful as it always was.

http://www.jimmy-fatwing.co.uk/

For the use of the knife, here's a PDF of a good slam and jam knife book, Put 'Em Down, Take 'Em Out. A classic knife fighting manual.

http://www.zhivitam.ru/files/83d9f916f68c532.pdf

Here are a slew of the classic combatives works of the old masters such as Colonel W.E. Fairbairn, E. A. Sykes, John Styers, Col. Rex Applegate, AJ Biddle, and others. All of them are good reads, and are good manuals for beginners. Indeed, the WWII combatives curriculum evolved during the war to meet the needs of instructors who had to train thousands of beginners in combative principles in a matter of weeks, so the methods they designed had to be easy to learn, easy to remember, and easy to make work in the field.

Cold Steel by John Styers. His knife and bayonet work is excellent. Anytime you see bayonet, substitute cane or walking stick, 'cause the techniques are the same.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2346045/Cold-Steel-John-Styers

Get Tough by W.E. Fairbairn. The greatest hand to hand manual of WWII.
http://www.vrazvedka.ru/main/learning/ruk-b/fairbairn-01.shtml

Shooting To Live by Fairbairn and Sykes. The original point shooting manual. I've taught Jeremy and Kyle in these methods, and they can vouch for how effective they are.
http://www.gutterfighting.org/files/shooting_to_live.pdf

Do or Die by A.J. Biddle.
http://fliiby.com/file/41489/81blmvoowf.html

Kill or Get Killed by Colonel Rex Applegate. Another of the great WWII manuals.
http://www.gutterfighting.org/files/Kill_or_Get_Killed.pdf

Arwrology by Gordon E. Perrigard. Weird name, decent book.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3026801/Arwrology-AllOut-HandtoHand-Fighting-Gordon-Perrigard

That should get you started.

And remember when reading through these combatives books, that unlike martial arts, which is something you do with someone, combatives is something you do to someone. There's no sparring, no give and take, no cutting slack, no giving an even break. Just bare naked caveman aggression and killer instinct. Attack, attack, attack.

The Coming Charlie Foxtrot

You know guys, we try on our blogs to post more of the lighthearted things in our lives, but right now, I think that there is a dark cloud hanging over us all, and I feel like I need to get you guys informed and able to cope with what I see coming down the road.

Now, I know that you guys probably think that I just sit around all day reading books and watching movies and looking at guns on the internet, but the truth is that in the last year and a half or so, I spend at least four or five hours a night online getting what is probably the equivalent to a college degree in history, economics, and geo-politics. I'm constantly crawling through various forums, blogs, organization websites, institutes, and think-tank sites trying to learn as much as I can about What Is Going On. Everything I've seen for months and months points to the fact that it doesn't look good for us in the future.

So I'm going to try to keep everyone here informed, in a way that's easy for everyone to understand.

First of all guys, we've got trouble abrewin' in this country. Everybody knows it, but the average person, it seems, would rather believe that everything is going to be okay as long as they trust the government and simply believe that everything will be okay.

In reality, though, what we're looking at is another Great Depression, and very possibly either the collapse of the federal government, or at least a drastic curtailing of federal power. According to some of the experts out there, we're already in a depression, but the government is refusing to call it that for fear of causing a panic and making everything worse. At this point, the actual unemployment numbers sit at 13%, not the 7% being claimed. There are experts out there predicting unemployment at 25% before the year is out. Market strategist Dr. Brandon Kim thinks that number could actually get into the 30%+ range, which is freaking scary to think about.

Just like with the Soviet Union, the US is spending itself into collapse, and we get to watch it all unfold on Fox News every day. The Spending Bill of 2009 is going to be the beginning of the end. This turkey is all about the Dems getting all of the funding for programs they haven't been able to get passed in the last forty years all in one go. They're pushing social programs that cannot in any way be supported by the taxpayers. There's just no more money.

The Dems grand plan is to borrow money to pay off debt. WTF? Anyone who has ever payed off a credit card with another credit card knows that this is a losing game. Why the Democrats can't see the lunacy of this just amazes me.

There are several US States though that can see this as the biggest problem to our security. At the moment, eight states have introduced legislation declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. Another twenty are expected to draft similar bills in the coming weeks. Halle-freakin'-lujeh!

Essentially they are telling the Feds to back off of their latest power grab and stop spending money like drunken sailors. They're also rebelling against pending legislation that violates 2nd and 4th Amendment rights. Things like the REAL ID act and gun registration and ammunition encoding are absolutely unconstitutional, and the Dems are trying to push this stuff through ASAP.

This is how the Soviet Union started breaking up. I've even been hearing talk of secession now, and the movement is growing. New Hampshire, Montana, Texas, Arizona, just for starters.

So what does all this mean? We'll throw aside politics, and get down to what this means at the individual level, which means you and me.

Well, for one thing, it means that we are now looking at drastic changes in how we live our lives. The luxuries we've all gotten used to will likely be gone in the next few years. There is a very real need to start by planning ahead at covering the basic necessities of life. Food, water, shelter, transportation, and security.

Food- For one thing, start stocking up right now on food and seed. As much as you can afford. Buy it cheap, stack it deep. Also, I want everyone, and I mean everyone, to rip up their back yards and start planning subsistence gardens. Seriously, it may be the thing that gets you through the bad times in the years to come. Learn how to can and preserve food.

Jeremy, get Kyle and Dad together, tear out every patch of grass and Mom's flower beds, and start planting food. Do the same at Heidi's house. Get food growing, and start making compost.

Water- Very important. Keep a good supply in the garage, just in case. Enough for a few days at least. Maybe more if you live in AZ.

Shelter- At this point, shelter is going to be the least of anyone's problems. If you had to, it wouldn't be tough to find an empty house to squat in, given how many foreclosures there have been in the last few years. There is a three year inventory of houses in this country. There's plenty of room.

Transpo- Keep your car at least 3/4 full. Get a ten gallon gas can or three and fill them up. Rotate them, but keep the gas handy. 30 gallons of gas on hand would allow you to Get The Hell Out in an emergency.

Before the Spending Bill was passed, there were experts saying that gas would be down to eighty cents a gallon by summer. Now, though, we're looking at the very real threat of hyper-inflation, so the cost of gas could go through the roof. Keep some extra handy.

Get a bike. Start riding it. Get used to doing as many chores as you can on it. Eventually, it may be the only vehicle you can afford to use. You'd be surprised at how folks in third world countries get along and thrive on the bicycle.

Security- This means guns, friends, and family. The family we got covered. The guns though, are another issue. Get one or two, and buy as much ammo as you can afford. There may come a time when ammo will be worth more than money. No, I'm not kidding. Get to know your neighbors. Establish good relations with those around you.

Also, if the economy and the nation collapse, which is likely, crime will go through the roof and you have to be ready to protect yourself at a moment's notice. Cops will be few and far between. Guns and friends will be the only protection you have.

Get into the best shape you can. Exercise as much as you can, and lose some weight. If we collapse, you're going to want to have as few health issues as possible. Get used to walking long distances with a backpack. Trust me, I've done this a lot in the last few months, and it isn't easy. The Army has guys run with full packs every day for a reason. Get your body used to hardship.

Learn how to fight. Unarmed, with blade, club, and firearm. This is important. Keep it basic if you must, but learn something. Especially you men. There is no excuse for not knowing how to put the hurt on an enemy, and your family might need you to be able to defend them someday. So might your friends and neighbors. So learn what you need to learn, and become modern warriors.

Next time I'll post a few articles on the coming cataclysm, and solutions to surviving when the times are interesting, in the Chinese sense of the word.

I know this sounds like end of the world, tin foil hat stuff, but you can't ignore the lessons of history. America is not immune to the stupidity of those in charge. We've had nearly two decades of bad government leading us down the road to failure.

We've arrived.

The Great Kabuna

Anybody remember the movie Lt. Robin Crusoe, USN? I do. Me and my family used to watch it a lot when we were young, and we still quote this movie all the time, but I'd mostly forgotten about it until I stumbled across a an article on Dick van Dyke today. It was an awesome retelling of the Robinson Crusoe tale, but with island girls and drunken monkeys, so it's better.

Everything is better with island girls and drunken monkeys. Trust me on this.

Turns out Netflix has the movie available, so I'm gonna have to rent it again for old times sake. I hope the years haven't rendered it stupid and unwatchable for me, like they did with Weird Science. LT. RC, USN was funny as can be when I was a kid. Hopefully it remains so.

While I'm at it, I've been going over some movies to put into my Netflix queue. I usually only get Netflix for a month at a time because I quickly go through all the movies I want to watch and by the end of the month I'm getting a bunch of crappy b-movies that I'm invariably disappointed with. So before I start up my Netflix again, I'm going to have a big stock to choose from.

The only problem is, I have nothing to watch.

Modern movies are usually not worth the time, but there are still a bunch of old movies out there that I've either never seen or haven't seen in a while. On my queue right now, I have a handful of old movies like Operation Petticoat, In the Good Old Summertime, The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Strangers on a Train. For starters.

Anybody got any ideas for some good, old movies I can rent?

By old I'm talking movies made before I was born. The '60's or earlier. Once Hollywood got into the seventies it was all turtlenecks and afro hair and swankyness and chickawakka chickawakka music. Oh yeah, and Joe Don Baker, which I will never forgive the '70's for. No thankee Mitchell.

No, the seventies are best forgotten. I'd rather watch movies from an earlier, less obnoxious time. I like action movies, war movies, pulp, film noir, mystery movies, and even some comedy, unless it has Jerry Lewis in it.

Gimmee some ideas, folks.

Why did I do it? Why?

So today I was on a big internet forum, and out of nowhere some guy starts posting all kinds of stuff about guns. He did this, naturally, in the most arrogant tone possible, and came off like he was an expert in all things gun related.

The trouble was, everything he said was wrong. Not just wrong, but wrong in a way that could only happen if you know nothing about guns at all. Additionally, many of his statements were absolute fabrications, and some were actually illegal if anybody had taken his advice.

I went through his posts and noted the amazingly improper grammar and the misspelled words and the fact that he couldn't seem to put a coherent thought down on paper, and came to the conclusion that it had to be a kid who plays way too much Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and thinks he's now an expert.

So I asked him how old he was. That's it. I posted nothing else.

Boy, I shouldn't have done that. I must have hit home with that remark, 'cause he jumped all over me and started attacking me like I'd told him he was stupid and his sister was ugly.

Well, thinking I needed to make a point, I began to rip every one of his posts to pieces, showing him where he was wrong, demeaning him for his ignorance, and giving proof of where he was incorrect.

It took me an hour to put the whole thing together. An hour of my life wasted to put some loud-mouthed punk in his place.

I didn't need to do that. I could have just put him on ignore and gone my own way, but no, I had to shred this boy. And for what? What did it get me, but a few moments of gloating? Nothing. Bupkiss.

Now I know that the saying is true. Arguing on the internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.

I never argue with people online. There's no point. I hate it, and yet, this makes twice in as many weeks now.

I must be getting crotchety in my old age.

Here We Go Again

Night number two.

It's almost five in the morning and I'm still wide awake. I accidentally fell asleep at six last night and woke up at nine, so I've only been up for eight hours. Oh, kill me now. I took a walk at three, and just got back, so now my blood is pumping and my brain is working overtime.

I'm becoming a vampire. Too many things to see online, and nothing to really do during the day, except work on occasion. I really need to get back to some normal hours. Either that or get a night job. A night job sounds good, although I'm Procrastination Man! and probably won't go get one, if there is even one to get in this town.

Oh, well. I just downloaded Merry Andrew tonight, and will watch that until I tire.

Anybody else remember Merry Andrew, with Danny Kaye? Great movie, as I recall, although I haven't seen it in years. I hope it hasn't gotten stupid as I grow older. I've found that lots of movies are like that. I loved the movie Weird Science as a teenager, but a couple of months ago I tried to watch it again and couldn't get through it because it was so stupid. Not even a 23-year old Kelly LeBrock in a bikini could keep me interested.

Or try some TV shows. I loved MacGuyver as a kid, but after trying to watch an episode a while back, I found it corny and silly as could be, and MacGuyver's pinko-commie liberal ideals repugnant.

What happened to me? How did I become such an old curmudgeon?

Make It Stop!

I don't get really bad headache's anymore. After I got my neck fixed up years ago, I usually only get headaches that are easily manageable, not the kind where I spend the day with my head under a pillow and praying for morphine.

Not today. I've had a headache for about six hours now that is turning into what I hope doesn't become a migraine. I can feel my pulse in the back of my head and I'm starting to get really light sensitive. My neck is almost too sore to turn, and I'm starting to feel sick to my stomach, although that may be the sandwich I ate a half hour ago.

I need to go to lay down and wish for the sweet release of death.

After typing that last sentence, I had to put my head in my hands and squeeze it to put enough pressure on my skull to stop the pain momentarily. It's that bad. Aaarrgh!!!

I need to sleep. I hope I actually can.

Goodnight.

General Waverley...Sir!

'Tis the season, and it's getting to be time to watch the most entertaining holiday movie ever made-- White Christmas. In my family this flick is required viewing during the holidays, and sometimes even in the summer. It's the perfect feel-good movie.

I don't have it on dvd, or even VHS, but I was able to download it yesterday, along with the commentary by Rosemary Clooney, who plays Betty Haynes in the movie. The commentary isn't overly fantastic, since she mostly seems to talk about clothes and hair, but there are some interesting bits in there as well.

On an interesting note, she mentions Dean Jagger in the commentary, and I was curious about this man who plays General Waverley. I always liked him in the movie, and thought he played the part perfectly. He was also in another of my favorite movies, Bad Day At Black Rock.

When I checked out his bio I found out that when he was younger, he played Brigham Young in the movie Brigham Young(1940), and I found this little tidbit.

Jagger was very taken by the character of Brigham Young, reacting warmly when his performance was praised by then President of the LDS Church, Heber J. Grant. This led to a careful study of the Mormon faith for Jagger, who was ultimately baptized a member of the faith in 1972. Subsequently, he willed his personal papers and movie memorabilia to the Harold B. Lee library at Brigham Young University.

So now I can't help but like the guy.

They just don't make Hollywood types like they used to, do they?