gistfile1.txt

# new and improved!
#
# N.B.:  how I felt about legacy tar syntax: http://i.imgur.com/fsZI0.jpg

tar () {
  local main_arg="$1"

  if [ "${main_arg:0:1}" != "-" ] ; then
    main_arg="-$main_arg"
  fi

  /bin/tar -a "$main_arg" -v -f "${@:2}"
}