I have decided that Winter 2010 is officially going to be recognized as "The Fell Winter".
Look it up if you've never read Tolkien :-)
Friday, February 12, 2010
The most popular article on The Knight Shift lately...
...has been my report on visiting a Seventh Day Adventist church and what I learned about my fellow followers of Christ known as Adventists. There's not a day that goes by now that a nice e-mail doesn't comes in about that write-up (including from places as far away as Singapore and Russia).
I don't usually do this but in light of the huge amount of traffic that's come in during the past few weeks and months about it: I'm very much in awe at how well this seems to have resonated with so many people, and if perhaps God has used it in His own wide and mysterious ways then I am thankful to have played some small part in that.
Anyway, if you haven't read it yet, feel free to check it out!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
See Eric Smith in AN EVENING OF SHORT PLAYS #22 at the Greensboro Fringe Festival this weekend!
Good friend and colleague in fighting the good fight Eric Smith, hot off his portrayal of Reverend Hopkins in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever a few months ago, wants y'all to know that he'll be appearing in "An Evening of Short Plays #22" this weekend, presented by the Greensboro Playwrights Forum as part of the Greensboro Fringe Festival. The show runs tonight through Sunday in the City Arts Studio Theatre at the Greensboro Cultural Center. Admission is free but a $5 donation is encouraged (and no doubt more would be appreciated if you enjoy it... as you no doubt will :-)
Wanna know what to expect? Here's the rundown of one of the plays...
"Viewer's Like You by Tommy Trull"Heck, I'd pay full admission just to see that one :-PIn a highly meta-theatrical play, a snowman actor struggles to find his motivation in a film about snowman porn.
Iran is now a "nuclear state"
So declared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today in Tehran on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the revolution that put the current regime in power.
Ahmadinejad's basis for this announcement is that Iran is "capable" of producing weapons-grade uranium.
By the same token, the fact that I used to launch Estes model rockets as a kid means that I can declare myself to be a space-borne superpower.
(I'm just sayin'...)
Is a gift of the Magi a cure for cancer?
It's a very educational and intriguing read, especially if you've ever read the Christmas story out of the Bible and wondered what the heck frankincense is supposed to be :-)
(And although that painting has nothing to do with frankincense specifically, I'll give props to whoever can tell me the name of it, who painted it and what its historical significance is ;-)
Newly released 9/11 photos show World Trade Center collapse from aerial viewpoint
Eight and a half years later and new material of the 9/11 attacks is still coming out.
Look at this image of the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, taken from a New York City Police helicopter...
And eight years later, the same words come out of my mouth upon seeing it: "My God..."
"Subversive" groups in South Carolina must be legally registered
What. The. Hell. ?!?
If you are a "subversive" person - i.e. if you are honked-off enough with the government that you think it should be overthrown or even coerced in any way whatsoever (which could mean anything) - and you happen to live in South Carolina, you must now register with that state's government or else get slapped with a $25,000 fine and up to ten years in prison.
Hit here for the full text of the "Subversive Activities Registration Act", which is now codified in the South Carolina law books.
Right off the top of my head, this law violates the First Amendment (right of peaceable assembly), the Fifth Amendment (protection against self-incrimination) and damn near everything that the Founders had in mind when they wrote the Declaration of Independence.
Who the hell in the South Carolina legislature voted for this abomination? Whoever they are, they should be dragged out into the street and horsewhipped most heinously. Followed by a good tar 'n featherin'!
EDIT 8:52 a.m.: It just hit me what South Carolina's lawmakers really have in mind with this thing. Let's start calling it for what it is: a dissent tax! South Carolina like most other states right now are having a bigtime budget crunch, so they've hit on a new channel of revenue. And right now there's beacoups of anger at the government, so South Carolina's legislators are attempting to tap into that as a lucrative source of income.
Dissent tax. That's what I'm gonna start calling it anyway...
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Robertson the Lesser is all kinds of incoherent tonight (and PROVES that Methodists, Presbyterians and Catholics are biblical!)
Yah, talking about Micah Robertson, son of local cult leader Johnny Robertson of the so-called "Martinsville Church of Christ". Someone sent me an e-mail saying that Robertson the Lesser was doing daddy's show tonight (why is it that Micah seems so ashamed to acknowledge that Johnny is his father?) and I was about to work on a video project and needed some background noise, so I dialed up the Martinsville feed of WGSR for chuckles.
Even while busy authoring a DVD, I was able to poke tons of holes in Robertson the Lesser's alleged "presentation".
First of all, I'm not at all convinced that Micah Robertson is completely confident in what he professes to believe. The guy comes across as too nervous, too insecure. He drones on and on like a monotone robot.
Well, when I tuned in Micah Robertson was claiming that pianos and guitars were carved idols and shouldn't be brought into churches. Ummm... ohhhkaaaaay...
Then a little later on Micah Robertson condemned churches that vote on memberships, saying that it's not scriptural. He then immediately followed that up by talking about how his so-called "Church of Christ" denies the Lord's Supper to those who the church believes doesn't deserve it. How is that at all NOT judging someone as being unworthy of fellowship?! Heck, even if there's not much scriptural basis for voting on church membership, what Johnny Robertson and his cult are doing is worse and even more un-biblical!
But as outrageous as that is, that's nothing compared to what took place a few minutes earlier, when Micah Robertson himself demonstrated that the Methodist churches, the Presbyterian churches and the Roman Catholic churches are scriptural and how his own "Church of Christ" is not!
Robertson the Lesser was using some Old Testament verses out of context to build up his cult's usual twisted case for legalism. As is often the case, this involves water baptism, without which the cult believes one is going to Hell (but you're probably going to go to Hell anyway).
And then Micah Robertson cited Ezekiel 36:25.
What does Ezekiel 36:25 say, per the King James Version that Robertson quoted from?
"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you."WHOA!!! "SPRINKLE" water?! You mean it DOESN'T have to be full immersion in water in order for one to be "clean"?!
That is what the Bible says, folks.
Now, who among our brethren in Christ are most known for sprinkling water? The Methodists, the Presbyterians and the Roman Catholics come most to mind, and there are a number of others.
In fact, nowhere in scripture are we told that a person must be dunked at all. We're told that people "came up" from the water, but that could mean any number of things.
The only logical conclusion, if we are adhering to a strict interpretation of scripture, is that Micah Robertson has proven tonight, if nothing else, that his own church is not biblical and has instead shown that Methodist, Presbyterians and Catholics are on very firm scriptural foundation. No doubt he didn't mean to, but hey: God can even work through the foolish.
I would say that I'm waiting for that $5,000 check from Johnny Robertson for showing how his son has proven that "denominations" are in the Bible, but I'm not gonna hold my breath...
BIOSHOCK 2 is making Chris cry
BioShock 2 went on sale yesterday. I was in line at midnight on Monday evening at the local GameStop to get my copy. I'm still early in the game but it is wildly exceeding my expectations!! There'll be a full review of it up as soon as I finish the game.
But...
...Can somebody PLEASE tell me HOW in the world can I beat the Big Sister?!?
The first Big Daddy that you meet in the game, I was able to take him out easily (probably 'cuz after playing BioShock no less than seven times it had become old hat and I not only knew the tricks but was able to adapt BioShock 2's new weapons to those tactics). And I've got my first Little Sister to harvest the ADAM (which took considerably longer 'cuz those Splicers were coming at us like there was no tomorrow).
Well, I've been stuck in the museum for several hours now because of that Big Sister. She is whipping my butt like no nemesis I've ever fought in a video game.
So I'm putting the call out to anyone who's gotten lucky. All I'm asking is for the best strategy to taking out the Big Sister. Nothing more than that.
If you've gotten past this... thing, feel free to post how you dunnit as a comment :-)
Meanwhile tonight in North Carolina...
UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE UNC DUKE ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz...
All creatures great and gluttonous
Outside my window is a wooden bird feeder. All this winter I've kept it well stocked with sunflower seeds and whatnot, and it's proven especially popular with our local feathered friends during the recent spate of harsh weather. 'Tis been quite good fun watching the cardinals and blue jays flutter in and get their fill.
Well a short while ago a new customer flew into the joint. It was a woodpecker...
...and he's pecking away furiously on the wooden sides of the feeder!
Hey Woody: it's a bird feeder, not bird food!
But I guess I have no choice but to let him have at it. My feeder enjoys too great a reputation as an "all you can eat" establishment and the woodpecker is determined to take me at my word.
Maybe next year I should change it to a metal feeder and leave out some strips of bark for the cellulose-loving clientele...
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
"What Kate Does": Reaction to tonight's LOST
Hmmmm...
I don't feel at all that this was a "filler" episode. Way too much good character drama in "What Kate Does" for that.
Like most Lost episodes, I'm just trying to figure out what its real shape and form is. Where it's going. There's certainly a sense that the past five seasons have been well-invested but... invest in what?!
The scene where Dogan was "testing" Sayid evoked genuine groaning. That looked positively hurtful.
Anyone else thing that Claire's blurting out "Aaron" in the other timeline might be some of the "main" universe leaking through? Perhaps a subtle hint at the quantum mechanics at work in Lost?
I'll give this episode a 6.5 out of 10. Not overwhelmingly excellent, but not mediocre either. And who knows: there might be more that we saw in this one than we realize, that'll be more appreciated as the rest of the final season unfolds.
Christopher Nolan to guide rebooting of Superman and is already working on the third Batman movie!
The cinematic future of DC Comics' two most classic heroes is in good hands.
Christopher Nolan is set to "godfather" the relaunch of the Superman film franchise. This will not be a sequel to Superman Returns, but will begin its own new continuity. Nolan won't be directing or writing, just kinda shepherding and mentoring the process along into the kind of movie series that Superman needs to become.
(I'm probably one of the few who'll admit to honestly liking Superman Returns a whole lot. It wasn't perfect, but I thought it hit on some of the right tones for a Superman flick. But hey, I also liked Ang Lee's Hulk and still loved 2008's non-sequel The Incredible Hulk :-)
But that's not all folks! According to the same report at GeekTyrant, David Goyer and Jonah Nolan are already at work on the third installment of their Batman series.
Gotta wonder how that'll turn out. The Dark Knight was darn nearly the most perfect comic book movie in the history of anything. But I've faith in the Nolans and Goyer. I'm thinking that where Batman Begins ended with "escalation" and The Dark Knight built on that, the next logical step would be how Gotham City goes from being run by organized crime, to now a place where the mob has been toppled and the time of the "freaks" like Joker, Scarecrow etc. will finally be at hand. At which point the people will have no choice but to turn to Batman and embrace his role as protector of Gotham.
The best thing about that scenario is that it opens up Nolan's Batman continuity indefinitely! We could see a movie or two for everyone in the Batman rogue's gallery. And regardless of what Chris Nolan has said, I'm confident that the Penguin could be set loose in his Batman 'verse and still be convincing. That's what I most wanna see anyway :-P
White House official sez: Critics of Obama are aiding Al Qaeda
John Brennan, Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, has stated in an essay for USA Today that "Politically motivated criticism" of President Barack Obama and "unfounded fear-mongering only serve the goals of al-Qaeda."
Hey Republicans: Remember when your President George W. Bush declared that "If you are not with us, you are with the terrists"? Do you recall all that howling about how disagreeing with the President was tantamount to treason?
Some of us were trying to tell y'all then that this sort of thing would come back to bite y'all in the ass.
How does it feel now, to be named as helping terrorism?
I think Mr. Brennan's statement is just as ridiculous as what Bush said following 9/11. And to anyone with a working neurobiology, this should demonstrate once again that there is no discernible difference between the Democrats and Republicans.
But hey, now the vast majority of Americans have been officially declared as harboring terrorist sympathies! 'Twill no doubt make it far easier for The Government to declare us all enemies of the state...
"Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration"
An outfit called Soomo Publishing out of Asheville, North Carolina has cooked up this astounding music video that should be used in high school and college history classes across America.
Here is "Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration"...
