McMansion Hell

Kate Wagner is the creator of the viral blog McMansionHell, which roasts the world’s ugliest houses from top to bottom, all while teaching about architecture and design.

The city in which I live is rife with McMansions. Monstrous houses –all with 3 car garages– squeezed onto tiny lots.

Praise the Lord!


I’ve been watching the HBO series, Carnivàle. First aired (streamed?) in 2003 so nearly 20 years old but holds up well. The scene above is a great example of what I call the “after thought” shooting. A staple in action movies but not so much back then.

According to Fashion Stylist Rebekah Roy: “It cost $4 million US per episode; it was one of the most expensive shows to produce. There were an estimated 5,000 people costumed in the show’s first season!” The costumes were designed by Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko.

BBQ Gun

(Urban Dictionary) “An old term from the Southwest that refers to a gun that is not worn daily. It won’t have the scratches, wear marks, etc a daily wear gun would have. These guns were not something that were never used or “useless.” In the time the term came about they were functional guns (sometimes, heavily modified for better accuracy/reliability/etc) that might have some custom engraving, polishing, or custom grips. They didn’t make many guns purely for show – they made guns to use and users modified them for show. They were normally worn in tooled leather holsters as opposed to daily wear holsters – which were plain.”

“In the revolver days (before semi-auto pistols) a church gun was a normal firearm as described above. After the semi-auto pistols arrived on scene this term applied to mostly Colt 1911’s. Current times this can apply to any firearm that has custom work designed to enhance mainly appearance and, much of the time – functionality.”

“However, this should not be confused with a (today’s term) “bling gun” – which can imply that the gun is more for show than effectiveness. Or that the user is not proficient in its use because it is only worn on special occasions.”