Ron Paul campaign is shattering fundraising records today (and it's not over yet!)

It must be said: supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul are, by the widest of margins, the most passionate and creative of any candidate for President out there right now... and perhaps ever. Look at all of the Ron Paul videos on YouTube, and everything else going on to show that we believe in Dr. Paul's message of personal liberty and responsibility... along with limited government.

Some have claimed that this "enthusiasm" is nothing more than the work of a relatively few rabid followers working out of their mom's basement. That's gonna be a hella thing to claim, after tonight.

A few weeks ago some Ron Paul supporters had a great idea: "detonate" what they are calling a "money bomb" (meaning a single day of mass contributions to the Ron Paul campaign). Inspired by the movie V for Vendetta the date was set for today, November the Fifth. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. this morning, Ron Paul supporters were encouraged to donate as much as they can for this fundraising quarter.

It's now 6:42 p.m. Look at this chart comparing fundraising throughout today, with funds raised for the Ron Paul campaign over the previous two days...

That's almost $3 million... raised in a single day. Some are now seriously saying that it could reach 4 or 5 - and perhaps even 6 million - dollars by the end of this evening. In fact, by the time you read this Dr. Paul has probably already overwhelmed the single-day fundraising record (set by Mitt Romney) of $3.1 million earlier this year.

I know of no better way to celebrate such an awesome accomplishment, than to post V's televised speech from the movie V for Vendetta:

"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November."

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I'm going to Butt-Numb-A-Thon!

I've been able to share the good news with enough people on this end, so I might as well post it here too (especially since I promised that I would on the post about yesterday's wedding/car crash)...

Yesterday morning, around 4:30 a.m., I discovered that I made the list to attend this year's Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin, Texas!

What is Butt-Numb-A-Thon? It's an annual film festival in Austin, sponsored by the website Ain't It Cool News and hosted by site creator Harry Knowles (and here is it's entry on Wikipedia). It's a 24-hour long (sometimes a bit more) movie event, and this will be the ninth one ever since Harry started it in 1999. The whole thing is a neat fund-raiser that supports stuff for children. Butt-Numb-A-Thon used to be held at the now-legendary original Alamo Drafthouse. This will be the first one held at the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz.

As for what is shown at Butt-Numb-A-Thon: it's the most maddening melange of movie mayhem that you can possibly imagine! There's some older, more vintage stuff (I am seriously hoping and praying that Harry will include Mother, Jugs and Speed on this year's program 'cuz that is the perfect movie for a Butt-Numb-A-Thon crowd) but Butt-Numb-A-Thon (or BNAT as it's also known as) has become rather world-famous for having the first public showings of a lot of big movies... and sometimes months before they get wide release! At Butt-Numb-A-Thon in 2003 Peter Jackson was on-hand to premiere The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the final film of the show was The Passion of the Christ (with Mel Gibson himself in attendance). Last year's crowd got to see Zack Snyder come and he brought 300 with him. The year before that, they got to see V for Vendetta.

Anyhoo, I'm insanely delighted that I'm getting to go this year! To be considered to be in the audience, you have to fill out an application that's loaded with weird questions. One of them for this year was "Celebrity sexual fantasy?". I answered "Betty Rubble (from the cartoons not the live-action movie!)". You also had to send two photos of yourself, including one of you in costume. So I used this screengrab from WFMY's report on the July 9th school board meeting...

(So if we didn't have to fight so hard against the school uniforms, does this mean that I might never have had this to send in to try to get into Butt-Numb-A-Thon? Could it be that board member/admitted thief Ron Price is greatly responsible for my sudden good fortune?! Who knows... but it's fun to contemplate :-)

Just applying for Butt-Numb-A-Thon can be a fun lil' activity. And I've been playing at it pretty much every year since 2000...

...And now, I'm finally getting to go and I'm extremely thankful for it! After all the craziness that's gone on during the past 12 months and more, this is going to be a very nice way to help wind down 2007 on an upbeat, happy note :-)

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The car got smashed... but we still made it to Meg and John's wedding!

Why is it that some of the more monumental events of my life have happened right on November 3rd? Weird, that.

Chalk up not one, but three things that took place yesterday. One we knew was coming and the other two were complete surprises. Of the three, two were very good and the other was pretty bad... but as nobody was hurt, and that the rest of the day's events were so joyous, I can't say that there's been any lingering regret.

I'll save Good Thing #1 for the post right after this one. That took place yesterday morning at 4:30 a.m. It was so awesome that I had to wake up Lisa to tell her the great news. Well we got in a few hours of rest and then made ready for Meg and John's wedding, which was set for 3 p.m. at First Congregational Christian Church in Reidsville. Just before we left, Lisa and I took pics of each other...

We headed out just before 2:30. Normally, this would be less than a 5-minute drive to the church. But not long after we had turned on Richardson Drive and were about to turn left onto Benton Lane to take a short-cut to the church...

...my Toyota Corolla got rear-ended by a truck.

Don't worry: Lisa is okay. The other driver is okay. And I'm okay. That nobody was hurt is a huge thing to be thankful for: things like vehicles can always be fixed or replaced. People, not so easily. I pulled the car into a guy's driveway and the following things came to mind, in this order:

- Is Lisa okay?

- Is the other guy all right?

- CRAP WE'RE GONNA MISS THE WEDDING!!!

Here's what my car looked like after the crash:

At least we weren't smuggling anyone in the trunk this time...

We don't know yet if it's totalled. I think it might be repairable, but we won't know for sure until this week. And if not well like I said: I have to thank the Lord that nobody was hurt. If this one is one then I'll just get another car.

But this lil' Corolla has had a glorious history! So many adventures that took place with it: travelling all around the mountains of western North Carolina as a newspaper reporter, driving all those times to see Lisa in Athens, escaping gunfire from neo-Nazis, fleeing a church full of snake-handlers, running surveillance on a swindling operation, going on the De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River, crossing the Chesapeake Bay, doing the campaign trail around Rockingham County as a school board candidate...

If it can be fixed, I'll look forward to many more adventures to come in it. And if not well, it's had a good run. At least my Toyota Corolla will live forever on film, immortalized in our first movie Forcery :-)

The cops came by shortly afterward, got the relevant information and began cleaning the glass out of the street (the entire rear windshield of my car got blown out). By this time there were less than 5 minutes before the wedding was supposed to start, and we had tried calling over there to let our family know what happened but nobody was answering any phones. The wife of the other driver then offered to drive us over there (and we are very thankful for that offer!). The tow-truck was just starting to get my car when we drove away from the scene. We got to the church right at 3 p.m., and luckily for us the actual ceremony had not yet started. Lisa and I slipped in just before the wedding party started down the aisle.

So here is Meg and John during the ceremony...

And here are the happy newlyweds just after tying the knot!

We showed Meg and John the pics of the car and I told them "You know how at Jewish weddings, how they always smash a wine glass for good luck? Well, we did you guys one much better!" No seriously, I actually told them that :-P

But anyhoo, wrecked car aside, it was a beautiful ceremony, with a wonderful autumn theme to it. And after the wedding, which ended a bit before 4, everyone went back home or to their hotel rooms, to rest up and then change for the wedding reception at Wentworth Recreation Building. Meg and John had something of a barbecue dinner/hoedown for a post-nuptials party and they wanted everyone to dress-down out of formal-wear and be comfortable (and also 'cuz barbecue sauce is hard to clean out of a nice tuxedo).

And that was the day's more ummm... spectacular events. All things considered, it was pretty good. But I couldn't resist having a laugh with my car crash. Now, this next bit probably won't make much sense unless you are a regular viewer of WGSR Star 39 in Reidsville/Rockingham County and the surrounding area. It's referencing a commercial that I've heard a lot of people giggle at ever time it runs. The line that this guy delivers, it's something like the "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" of the Reidsville/Martinsville/Danville area...

---

"We've had a terrible accident in the city and now we're going to Brian for a live report!"

"Coming to you with a live report right now from the city where we've heard that there's been an accident!"

"Let's check the condition of the driver! I wonder if he has anything to say..."

---

Maybe I should post that commercial on YouTube so that people can really understand why it's so funny. The "Get me to Hoffman's!" line has been one of the bigger jokes that we've had to make light of the situation.

But hey, Meg and John are now married! And we got to see it! That's the important thing :-)

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AMC right now is showing THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

Still an awesome movie. I saw this in the theater on my 16th birthday.

We just watched the scene where Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) and Borodin (Sam Neill) are in Ramius's cabin, talking about what they will do when they reach America. And Borodin is talking about how he will travel from state to state, with "no papers": in other words, the government won't be watching where he's going all the time.

Does anyone else find it horribly ironic that the country that Ramius and his crew are defecting from in a 1990 movie, is what the America they are defecting to is really becoming in 2007?

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11 years

To those who will understand...

I've made it this far. That's now a third of my life, that I've spent doing this.

And I haven't given up.

I know there were times that I came close. But I still didn't surrender.

The things that I have done, the places where I have been and the things yet to come: I claim credit for none of these. They only came about because of you. And I was never thankful enough for that.

I wish that I could have been the person then, that I am now. Because I didn't know then what I do now. I didn't possess the understanding or wisdom. And I still don't possess enough of it.

But I have enough now, to know some of the things that I did and how wrong they were. It's now that there isn't a day that goes by, that I can't reflect on what I've done. And have regret for what happened and for what might have been. Especially for what might have been.

My one great hope comes from something that I've come to understand over the years: that for all our schemes and devices, there are patterns and designs at work beyond our will that can neither be undone, or even assisted.

If it is meant that someday we will see each other on this side of Heaven, then I will be glad beyond all measure. And if not, then I will go the rest of my days with the hope that we will yet meet again beyond the circles of this world.

To my enemies: I am betraying nothing to you. Other than the wisdom that you turn back, as I should have done, lest you come to regret. I would save you the sorrow that I have known.

To my friends, however long-absent and wherever you are, if you read this:

Gird up, and be ready.

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Caption this pic!

The $120 million Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, which is finally about to start operation...

I'll start us off...

"Autobots are watching over you!"

"So that's what happened to Sam the Super-Automated Robot from Sesame Street."

"Johnny Five is alive!"

This could be a lot of fun :-P

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This is already one of the best days I've had in a LONG time!

Later today, my cousin Meg is getting married. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this. She and John are really, beautifully in love with each other and they are going to have a wonderful life together. And I've been hearing for the past few weeks that this is going to be a very wild wedding! I'll try to post pictures later.

But already, at 5:30 in the morning, this is shaping up to be an awesome day.

I'm going to postpone explaining exactly why today is so awesome until later, when I can have the pleasure of telling a few people and hearing their reaction (no, Lisa isn't pregnant... yet). Let's just say that this is something that I've been trying to do for a way long time, and as of this morning, success is finally in sight!

And what you see in this image has a lot to do with it...

More later :-)

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Steve Jablonsky Appreciation Group on Facebook

Right now I'm listening to the CD of Steve Jablonsky's score for the movie D-War (it was mostly marketed as Dragon Wars when it came out here in the U.S.). It's the third time that I'm playing it and admittedly it's very hard to put movie soundtrack music in context without having seen the movie itself yet. But as a standalone album, the D-War score still rocks the house! I'm going to give it a full review as soon as I've had a chance to check out the film when it becomes available on Netflix.

As for the real reason I'm posting here (amid what may or may not still be my sabbatical from blogging): if you have a Facebook account and are also a fan of this amazing composer, a few days ago I started up the Steve Jablonsky Appreciation Group. So if you enjoy Steve's work on Transformers and Desperate Housewives and the jillion other good things that he's composed music for, come on by and join us! :-)

Finally, a bit of shameful news to report: a few weeks ago I wrote here that I had vowed not to listen to Transformers: The Score at all until I was able to purchase 2 copies at a real store. Well a few days ago I admitted on Seibertron.com's forums that I have broken that solemn vow. It happened this past Sunday, while Lisa and I were on our way to Boone to go cruising on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the peak of the season for fall leaves. I couldn't help myself!! We were on that wide-open road, headed toward the mountains, and Transformers: The Score was begging to be played. So we listened to the whole thing and played "Decepticons" and "Arrival To Earth" each at least twice.

I am hearing that the Transformers score CD is starting to appear in more stores though. Still not as widely-enough as we were hoping for. But that does assuage my humiliation some. I'm still going to buy two copies as soon as I can. Maybe more. They'll make great stocking-stuffers for Christmas :-)

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This so-called "sabbatical"

Guess I couldn't stop blogging after all :-P

Actually, I am still taking a break from "serious" blogging right now. It's only when there's been "cool" stuff to report on - like the Ron Paul and Ron Price Jack-o'-Lanterns - that I've broken in to post about, 'cuz it wouldn't make much sense to show you pictures of them in February, would it? And there's nothing really wrong with doing that.

But the rest of my energies really are being focused on some other projects right now. That's why you won't be seeing any "heavy" essays from this end anytime soon. It's all too easy to write about a pumpkin with Ron Price's mug carved in it. Incidentally, last night we got a lot of trick-or-treaters who are in the Rockingham schools, and they both admired the work that went into the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern, and booed and hissed at it 'cuz this is the man who most tried to impose school uniforms on them.

But so far as more head-heavy stuff goes: that's work that I'm pouring into some other things right now.

Maybe in another month or two, I'll be able to return to fresh content like that. In the meantime, I am enjoying being liberated from more intense, regular blogging. And by posting the fun stuff, I can keep it viable too :-)

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Zack Snyder will film TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER for the WATCHMEN DVD!

Dear Lord... I'm finally starting to believe that Zack Snyder is going to be the one who actually pulls off a Watchmen movie!

Not that I doubted Snyder himself, per se. 300 is still the best movie that I've seen all year and after how he adapted that to film, I was convinced that he could "probably" do a good job helming Watchmen too. The problem is with Watchmen itself: it's such a dense book, that there's no way to do all that story in 2 or 3 hours.

But now my hopes are soaring for the Watchmen movie: Warner Bros. is letting Zack Snyder shoot Tales of the Black Freighter, to include it on the DVD of Watchmen!

So if you've never read Watchmen, here's the skinny: inside the alternate-1985 universe of Watchmen, superhero comics were only big in the Thirties and Forties, before the real-life superheroes started turning up (well in Watchmen anyway). In place of the superhero comics, pirate comics became all the rage. One part of Watchmen's story involves a young man who hangs out at a newsstand, who is reading a pirate comic book called Tales of the Black Freighter. So we see the story in Tales of the Black Freighter interspersed throughout much of the rest of Watchmen, like this...

It's an extremely violent, gory story. And it would have been insanely difficult to put it in the context of the rest of a Watchmen motion picture. But by putting it as a feature on the DVD... that really is the way to go with this. In doing this, Zack Snyder is showing everyone that without a doubt, he "gets" Watchmen.

Can't wait to see this movie! Heck, I can't wait to buy this DVD! :-)

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More Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lanterns!

Apparently, Ron Paul is a big theme for Jack-o'-Lanterns this Halloween :-)

Here is one made by im_a_pepper. Look at the amazing level of detail on this pumpkin!

And then there is this one (of two) made by Mustardseed (click to see more photos):

I'm about to go light my own Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern (along with that... other thing). They'll be on display on our patio throughout the night. So if you're in Reidsville and are driving around Sherwood Drive, come by and take a looksee!! :-)

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The Ron Paul for President Jack-o'-Lantern!

Tonight I set to work on carving a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern, using the pattern that I came up with a few days ago. I've been a longtime admirer of Dr. Paul and I am definitely supporting him for President in next year's election (as I've said here before: I'm voting for Ron Paul or I'm voting for nobody at all). So I thought it would be fun to do something in keeping with the spirit of the holiday for when the trickster-treatsters in the neighborhood come around for candy on Halloween tomorrow night, and do my part in promoting Dr. Paul.

(Here's Ron Paul's official campaign website and I'll also recommend the Ron Paul Forums, where I hang out a lot.)

I started carving it a little before 7 p.m. tonight, and finished just before 9:30. Like the Jack-o'-Lantern I made of local politician and admitted thief Ron Price last night, a lot of the work in this one related to the extra-thick skin that had to be scraped away. But also on this one, the "RON PAUL" letters that I made on the pattern were not very workable. I ended up having to re-design them on the fly, as I was carving them (had to do that carefully 'cuz I did not want to botch up a perfectly good pumpkin :-).

Finally after two and a half hours, here was the finished product...

What does it look like when it's lit-up with a candle? Feat your eyes on this my friends!

And here's what it looks like on our porch...

So... what y'all think? :-)

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The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern IS ALIVE!!

Just as I threatened to do a few days ago, here is the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern. Yes, I actually went ahead with my plan to carve a pumpkin in the likeness of Rockingham County's most larcenous, arrogant and condescending school board member! Ron Price is now immortalized in pumpkin... or at least until the thing starts to rot and decay (to match Price's moral principles).

Here's a shot of it on our kitchen table. Note that Monday Night Live on WGSR is playing in the background. Yup, even in our home, I make darn sure that Price cannot escape the scrutiny of WGSR, which Price once said was "bad for the community" (and click here if you want to hear Price say it himself)...

Here's a shot of the "Ron Price Political Protest Pumpkin" on our front porch...

With a bit of the light inside coming out...

And here it is in total darkness, with a wicked, sinister glow...

In case anyone's wondering, it took me a little over an hour and a half to carve this. Most of the work had to do with the fact that this was a robust pumpkin with a very thick (over an inch) outside, so it took some doing to scrape out the excess material. Ron "the Con"'s mouth and teeth were the hardest thing to carve out. But after a little patience, I can now boast that we have the scariest Jack-o'-Lantern on the entire street :-P

So I gotta wonder: now that I'm being summoned for deposition in Price's lawsuit against the Moores, does this thing up my own chances of getting sued by Ron Price? Probably. I mean, any elected official loco enough to sue a private citizen for (a) wearing a t-shirt and (b) practicing the constitutional right to petition, is capable of doing anything. Which makes it all the more important that we do what we can to knock people like Price off their pedestals. "They" serve us... and no matter how much Ron Price insists that he can get away with it because "I was elected", he's to be held just as accountable as anyone else. Price had the chance to do the right thing and step aside when he was caught stealing. He didn't do that. So now it falls to the rest of us to ridicule him and put him to shame... which he'll have to put up with, since he's a public figure by personal choice.

The pictures are nice, but this really is something that must be seen in person to be believed. The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern will be on display every night through Halloween (meaning that after tonight you only have 2 more nights to see it).

Next up: tomorrow night I'm going to carve Ron Price's light-side antithesis: good-guy Presidential candidate Ron Paul!

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Company gives iPod battery service that Apple should be providing

I might have to get an iPod now after all.

Numerous times on this blog, I've written about how the biggest thing keeping me from getting an iPod is that they don't have user-replaceable batteries. Which is "bass-ackwards" 'cuz Apple could be making a fortune by selling spare batteries. Because especially with a power-guzzling thing like an iPod (especially in video mode) it makes sense that consumers should be able to slap in a freshly-charged battery during a long plane ride or elsewhere that a power socket isn't readily available. But Apple still seems loathe to take this simple, yet potentially very profitable, measure. Oh sure, Apple does have a battery-replacement program... but it charges around $70 and then they don't even guarantee that you'll get your original iPod back!

Then I happened to find this news story about a company called iPodjuice.com. For $29 you send in your iPod, and the company replaces the worn-out battery. Not only that but you get your original iPod back, along with its contents (that you may or may not have paid for) intact! And supposedly the batteries that iPodjuice.com put in last much longer than the ones that Apple installs. They also service iPhones, and boast of being able to replace the battery and ship the iPhone back on the same day that it was received. iPodjuice.com is so confident of their batteries and service, that they have a ten-year guarantee from the date of purchase.

I won't commit to buying an iPod yet... but knowing that there is a company out there doing what Apple is consciously neglecting to do for its own product, does tantalize me toward possibly purchasing one in the near future. If only Apple wasn't so stubborn about this point: they would no doubt be selling more iPods than they already are.

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Let us welcome Abbey Leigh!

Abigail Leigh Feldman, born two days ago to Kimberly and Adam Feldman.

Congratulations to Adam and Kim! Our prayers have definitely been with them the past week... and will no doubt be staying with them.

May God shower all His blessings on them as they embark on their new adventures with sweet Abbey Leigh :-)

(So many births lately. Gotta wonder when Lisa and I will be making our own little contribution to the gene pool, hee-hee-hee... ;-)

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"And Nicolas Cage as ... Fu Manchu!"

A great post for the Halloween season! Courtesy of its official Myspace page, here is Werewolf Women of the SS. This is the fake trailer that Rob Zombie made for the recent movie Grindhouse.

Werewolf Women Of The S.S.

Add to My Profile | More Videos

"This is my Mecca!" Hilarious :-)

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Final trailer for I AM LEGEND

This is one of two posts that I'll probably be making today. The other will hopefully share some good news. Otherwise, I'm still trying to take a break from blogging.

The final trailer for I Am Legend hit the Internets yesterday...

This is an amazing trailer! And it's really starting to look as if they stayed true to the spirit of the book. Love the music in this trailer: I don't know if that's some of James Newton Howard's score but it evokes a lot of the same feeling as Ron Grainer's music from The Omega Man (which was also based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend). And Will Smith here, looks like he's hitting on all the right cylinders as Robert Neville. I'll admit to being a bit taken aback when I heard that Smith was playing Neville (I'll always wonder how Arnold Schwarzenegger would have done with the role) but right now, this looks like it could be one of Smith's best films ever.

Click here to watch it in Quicktime. Or click here to watch it in streaming Flash video.

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eBay auction for Steve Jablonsky-signed copy of TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE ends today

A friendly reminder in case you've been watching it, that in just less than six hours from now the eBay auction for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky will be ending.

All proceeds from this auction will be going to benefit music education in Rockingham County (North Carolina) schools.

EDIT 10/26/2007 6:31 a.m. EST: The auction was a great success! The winning bid for the CD was $312.

Thanks again to Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky, and the Transformers fan community which helped spread the word, for doing this to assist with music education here in Rockingham County :-)

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I'm being deposed by Ron Price

Don't have complete details right now, but here's what I know...

In the next few days I can expect to receive a summons to appear for deposition in the lawsuit that Ron Price has filed against Richard and Debbie Moore.

This means that I'll be sworn in and be asked questions under oath.

The deposition is set for November 15th at 10 a.m. at the Eden office of Price's attorney, Douglas Hux.

I'll post the summons when I receive it.

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How about a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern instead?

Okay, this will be the last post I make before getting back to my much-needed break from blogging! Because after making and publishing the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern pattern, I couldn't in good conscience leave things dangling with something that scary.

So here's a Jack-o'-Lantern pattern of the candidate for President that I'm backing: Ron Paul. Same basic instructions as the original: Click on the image to get it full-sized and print it out. Use pins or tape to secure it to the side of a pumpkin. Then use a Pumpkin Carving Kit from Pumpkin Masters, and do with this as you would do with any other pumpkin pattern.

Happy Halloween! :-)

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The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern

The only time I plan on breaking my sabbatical... but only because this was too funny not to do and share with the world.

Click on the image to get it full-sized, print it out and follow the directions, feeling free to re-size as desired.

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Review of STAR WARS: DEATH STAR by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

It's a great Star Wars book. I liked it a lot.

Just wanted to let y'all know that if you were thinking of buying it. I'll recommend it.

Going to leave for awhile. I won't be back unless it's either (a) major catastrophe (b) Ron Price does something so cosmically insane that I have to step in again or (c) I'm good and ready to return... which may not be for quite some time.

So 'til then... goodbye goodbye goodbye!

EDIT 4:33 p.m. EST: My sabbatical in no way affects the eBay auction for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky. I'm just stepping away from the blog for awhile, not the Internet entirely. So I'll still be monitoring this until Thursday when the auction ends :-)

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Too much CUJO

It's on right now. Again. This is the seventh or eighth time that Cujo has played on WGSR here in Reidsville during the past few weeks... at least.

After so many times of watching Cujo try to kill Dee Wallace-Stone and that kid from Who's The Boss?, I don't know if I'll ever pet another St. Bernard for as long as I live.

C'mon guys: I know that I've seen Psycho II in there somewhere. Howsabout giving us something new? 'Cuz right now I'm starting to feel like Hawkeye in the "Adam's Ribs" episode of M*A*S*H ...

"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"
"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"
"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"

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Jenna Olwin's terrific take on the "Dumbledore is gay" thing

Earlier today I relayed the news that surely every Harry Potter fan on Earth has heard by now: that J.K. Rowling has announced that Albus Dumbledore was gay.

In the hours since then I've felt led to contemplate what significance that bit of info is supposed to have (and some of that thinking took place while watching a wedding, of all places). And I thought about posting some more about the subject. But it turns out that I don't have to...

In her unique voice, and with profound wisdom, Jenna Olwin has now weighed in on Rowling's revelation. And there's no way that I could excerpt it here and do it any justice or honor. You'll have to click on the link and read it as an entire thought, the way it should be taken in as an idea. It's quite an impressive read, and definitely recommended if you are of the Judeo-Christian ethic and are still wondering what to make of this... thing.

Excellent work, Jenna! :-)

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J.K. Rowling says: Albus Dumbledore is a homosexual!

Okay, this one blows my mind bigtime (and it takes a hella lot to blow this mind)...

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has "outed" Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School and Harry's principle mentor (yeah I know how weird it looks to read that).

Not only was Dumbledore a gay man, but he had an unrequieted love for Gellert Grindelwald: his one-time accomplice in an ill-spirited bid for conquest of the wizard world, before Dumbledore came to his senses and later defeated Grindelwald during World War II.

I honestly don't know what to make of this. It doesn't really take away from the enjoyment of the books themselves, because this was nothing that was ever, ever a part of the story. It could be like Ridley Scott insisting years later that Deckard was himself a Replicant in the movie Blade Runner, when there was nothing indicating that to be the case either. And looking back on the Harry Potter books, even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I'm still not seeing any sexual undertones about Dumbledore at all.

Yet Rowling insists that Dumbledore is a homosexual...

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.

The article also brings this up...

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.

Let's just hope that Rowling doesn't answer any questions about what Albus's brother Aberforth is doing with all those goats...

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Scammers trying to hijack the eBay action for the Jablonsky-signed TRANSFORMERS Score

Someone... or someones... out there is trying to run a scam involving our auction on eBay for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky.

Last night, through the item's eBay page, I received a question from Crystal, (which you can read for yourself toward the bottom of the page, just below the big photo of the signed CD). Here's what she told me (and I've put this scammer's name and e-mail address in bold)...

Hi Chris. I got a message through my e-mail from Mr Rhichar (rhichar2dgerer@gmail.com). They said they were you and that I won the CD by default. I figure its a scam. I know you are selling it for a good cause. If you would like I can send you the entire e-mail. I figured it wasn't you. Thought you should know about it. Crystal (aka Uniapeg)

Here's the answer that I gave back to Crystal...

Dear Crystal, That's not me. The only regular e-mail address associated with this auction is my theknightshift@gmail.com one. This dude "Rhichar" is a fraud. If you could, yeah please forward his e-mail to me (again to theknightshift@gmail.com) I'll go over it and might post something accordingly to warn people about this. And thanks!! :-) Take care and God bless, Chris

And earlier this morning Crystal sent me not only the original e-mail from Rhichar but another one from someone who might be a different person. Here's "Rhichar"'s e-mail...

Dear Buyer ,

I'm the seller of the item that you've recently bided through the eBay system.
Item name : Transformers: The Score (CD) signed by Steve Jablonsky Item number: 150172275487 and i`ve just been contacted by the eBay staff who informed me that due to some reasons the eBay policy automatically proclaims you to be the winner by default.
I need your agreement on this so I can contact eBay to confirm you that you're the winner, otherwise I'll relist the item. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I need an answer asap.
What is your price for my item ?You have oportunity to purchase my item if your offer is resonable for me !!
Waiting for your answer!
Best regards!

And here's the other one that she received, from ardeifoc@ (gmail.comardeifoc@gmail.com)...

I have for sale: Transformers: The Score (CD) signed by Steve Jablonsky Item Number: 150172275487
My price is negociable.
If you are interested just give me a fast reply on this email address and you will find all the info that you want.
Thank You For your Time

Okay well obviously, these aren't from me. And the only way to contact me about this auction is through either the CD's eBay page or through my real e-mail address which is theknightshift@gmail.com. It's only through those two that there'll be any correspondence from this end (the one holding the actual CD) about the auction.

And the only party that is getting this CD is the one that wins the auction and pays the money for it. There won't be anything shady or underhanded going on involving it, and that's why I'm posting this right now: to warn others that there are some bad people out there trying to unfairly profit from it. And to reaffirm - if it needed it - that this auction is one for a good cause and because of that, I'm full-blown committed to keeping everything above the boards and open to scrutiny.

With all of that in mind, I hope that this can remain a fun and memorable lil' event :-)

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Interview with MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL cast at Chinqua-Penn

A few weeks ago this blog reported on Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, a new movie now filming at Chinqua-Penn Plantation near Reidsville. It stars Dean Jones, Lexi Johnson, Amanda Waters, and William Yelton. Matt Smith from Reidsville TV station WGSR attended the press conference this week with the cast and he posted the broadcast interview on YouTube. Here 'tis, and great work Matt!

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Here's the skinny on those staph/MRSA stories in the Rockingham County schools

All afternoon numerous reports have been forwarded to The Knight Shift about "confirmed" staph infections - and particularly MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) - running loose throughout the Rockingham County Schools system. This is of especially serious concern in light of numerous cases of MRSA that have been confirmed in Forsyth and Yadkin counties. And word is just coming down the wire that a student at George Washington High School in Danville has been diagnosed with MRSA. So what's going down our way?

I called up the office of Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rodney Shotwell earlier this afternoon, to see what he knows. I didn't get to talk to Dr. Shotwell but a very short while later I got a call from Rockingham County Schools spokeswoman Jean Steverson. And this is what the good lady told me...

There are no confirmed MRSA cases in Rockingham County school at this point in time. That doesn't mean that there aren't cases, however. Steverson said that MRSA isn't something that a medical doctor is required to formally report. But as things stand right now, there is no need to panic. Just precaution, Steverson emphasized. Doing things like washing hands on a regular basis, and taking care to bandage open wounds and taking steps to make sure that there is no contact with open bodily tissue (blood, mucous etc.). Steverson also said that the custodial staff at the schools are taking extra precautions to sanitize exposed surfaces with anti-MRSA disinfectants. Athletic departments are also being advised to practice caution.

We talked a bit about how this thing is much like polio: even though polio is a virus, it needs physical contact to get around. It's not like this is an airborne pathogen, like this is "Captain Trips" from Stephen King's The Stand. So long as we tell the kids to be careful, and that we do likewise, we should be cool.

But being cautious is a far cry from paranoia. It's good to be aware and with that in mind, here's a data sheet about MRSA from North Carolina Public Health...

An automated message from Dr. Shotwell is also going out to the phone numbers of all the homes of students and faculty, advising them about the MRSA concerns and relaying the measures being taken to control possible outbreak. In fact, we just got our call in the past few minutes. So you might wanna keep the phone handy for awhile.

And that's everything that we know at this hour.

"DON'T PANIC!"

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Chuck Baldwin slams Bob Jones III for prostitution of principles

As was written about here a few days ago, earlier this week Bob Jones III - the head of Bob Jones University - came out in support of Mitt Romney for President. I had a few things to say about it then.

And now Chuck Baldwin has a lot more to say about it and he does it better than I ever could.

In his latest article, "Bob Jones Dances With The Devil", Baldwin goes at length as to why it is wrong for any sincere Christian to support Romney (and not it has nothing to do with Romney being a Mormon). But here's where he really nails how bad Jones has become...

Folks, here is the problem: Christian leaders such as Bob Jones III have succumbed to the temptation to become glorified politicians. They surrendered their convictions thirty years ago when the old Moral Majority married the Republican Party. Ever since then, Republican politicians have made a living by making dupes out of the so-called Religious Right.

There is another problem: our so-called Christian "leaders" crave attention. They desire notoriety. They are obsessed with having access to power. They want a seat at the king's table. As a result, they are willing to believe the lies being told them by shrewd and cunning frauds--as long as they are Republicans, of course. As Doc Holliday said in the movie Tombstone, "My hypocrisy only goes so far."

Accordingly, our Christian "leaders" will never promote a man's candidacy on principle alone. They want to pick a "winner." They want to be on the good side of the last guy standing--even if that guy is a no-good, compromising louse.

If you want to know where the real Christian leadership is in America, it's not found at Bob Jones University or at Focus on the Family. It's found with people like Chuck Baldwin and the rest of that curious group sometimes known as "the Remnant". These are the ones that I would associate with more than any other "faction", if they might count me among their number.

It's not a popular message, but it's one that history has proven to be highly accurate over the millennia: Give up your lust for power. Don't just kill it, but crucify it with all your strength. Destroy it, lest it destroy you in time.

Because is it really worth selling-out who we are in Christ, for a tiny share of a world that is passing away?

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Hey, I can do "quiet repose" too! And someone else comments on Ron Price

My friend Tilly Gokbudak posted a really nice comment on his blog recently, and I just had to share it here...

Lastly, my friend Christopher Knight of Reidsville, NC, has a quaint photo of himself visiting Natural Bridge near Lexington, Va. I was shocked by the stunning simplicity of this photo because Knight became a virtual overnight household name in the Triad for his great over-the-top tv spots which spoofed "Star Wars." The ads were part of Knight's campaign for the Rockingham County school board last year. They were even featured in an article in "The New York Times!"

Tilly is talking about the profile photo that is currently on my Facebook page. Here it is, taken in late August at Natural Bridge in Virginia...

Tilly also adds in this comment...

Alas, he did not win the election, but no one outside of the county knows who Ron Price** is anyway.

(**-one of the election winners)

Y'know, Tilly touches on a good morality lesson here. I mean, I didn't win election, but I was honest and I stayed true to myself even though I knew it might not garner enough votes... but look at all the good that still happened in the past year. While Ron Price was dishonest about who he really was and though he may have won a seat, how many people outside of Rockingham County really know anything about him? And it's not like he's earned any respect here, is it?

The lesson here is: be honest, especially about who you really are. It's not worth losing that to try to gain some power, which you will eventually lose anyway.

Be true to who God made you to be, and trust in Him to do amazing things that you can't begin to imagine.

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TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE charts on Billboard in debut week despite limited store release

NOW can we see a wider release for this thing?

After its first week out, Transformers: The Score, Steve Jablonsky's orchestral soundtrack for the blockbuster movie, has debuted at #172 on the Billboard 200 chart and is #13 on Billboard's Top Soundtracks. This comes in spite of what MTV has noted was a limited store release with about 4300 scans at the cash registers.

Meanwhile, the Transformers score CD continues to do well at Amazon, where it is now #39 in overall music (having increased in rank in the past few days) and is currently #5 in soundtracks.

Someone... probably a lot of someones... at Warner Brothers Records needs to very strongly consider getting this thing out to a lot more outlets. They are sitting on a goldmine with this CD and the demand is only going to get bigger now that the DVD is out and folks who didn't see Transformers during its theatrical release will be just now discovering both the movie and its beautiful orchestral soundtrack.

Don't make us have to start up another online petition now ;-)

Thanks to Transformer World 2005 and Seibertron.com for the heads-up!

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Deborah Kerr and Joey Bishop have passed away

Some sad news to report tonight...

Deborah Kerr, the star of The King And I and From Here To Eternity, has died. She was 86.

And Joey Bishop, the last member of the legendary "Rat Pack" which also included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, has also passed away at the age of 89.

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Robot cannon malfunctions, kills 9

According to this story on Wired (which I first found via Slashdot), a robotic cannon being tested by the South African military went haywire last week and started shooting at everything on its own. Nine people died and fourteen others were wounded.

Here's some of the account...

SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known...

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

Other reports have suggested a computer error might have been to blame. Defence pundit Helmoed-Römer Heitman told the Weekend Argus that if “the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found."

So much for Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics :-(

Or maybe not...

"Please put down your weapon. You have twenty seconds to comply."

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Can you hear this?

Chris Fettig found something really kewl. It's a 2006 story from National Public Radio about a special high-frequency sound - which most teenagers can hear but not most adults - that storekeepers in Great Britain have been using to keep young people from loitering in their stores. Well, now the kids are using that same sound as a ringtone on their cellphones... which lets them know while in class that they've a text message. The teachers can't hear it but the teens can!

Well, supposedly adults can't hear this. Because I'm in my early thirties and I've heard it clear as a bell every time that I've played this: it's a very high-pitch buzzing sound that might give you a headache if you listen to it for too long. Want to try it for yourself? Take a listen to it right here!

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HELLRAISER remake coming and the HELLBOY II site launches

This is gonna be one heckuva post about upcoming movies :-P

A remake of Hellraiser is in the works, according to this story at the Hollywood Reporter. Two French filmmakers will be writing and directing it, supposedly with the full blessing of Clive Barker: the creator and director of the first Hellraiser movie.

Hmmmm... what to make of this? I though that the Hellraiser movies had a great first two installments. There was tons of potential for development and exploration. And then the series tried to become too much like every other horror movie franchise that existed at the time. They tried to turn Pinhead into another "slasher" like Freddy or Jason, when Pinhead was something much more than that.

Personally, I'd like to see a "relaunch" for the Hellraiser franchise like what Superman Returns did, acknowledging the first two movies at least and then for Barker and crew to redevelop Hellraiser along the lines of the 1990s Epic comics... which were really cool! Hellraiser: Bloodline evoked some of that sense of broad mythology. With a bigger budget (among other things), that would be a great direction to take this series into.

And on the more heroic side of cinema, the website for Hellboy II: The Golden Army has just opened in the past few days. I loved the first movie and Guillermo del Toro has become one of my favorite filmmakers. Can't wait to see this one when it comes out next year :-)

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Review of TRANSFORMERS on DVD: 2-Disc Special Edition and that Wal-Mart exclusive

It's a funny thing: I've been so wound-up about the release of Transformers: The Score last week, after months of crusading for the thing, that when the actual movie came out on DVD a few days ago it was something that I had almost overlooked! I'm still ransacking the music shelves at all the local stores for the score CD, by the way: it's still not turning up anywhere. I may have to break down and get it off of Amazon, which I'd rather not do only because I like picking stuff off of shelves and ringing it up at the register. But Amazon really is a terrific place to find stuff especially if you can't locate it on your own, so that might have to be the route to go. In the meantime, the copy that Steve Jablonsky sent is still not being played, out of solidarity with everyone else who can't buy it in stores.

(But if you want a copy of Transformers: The Score signed by composer Steve Jablonsky to call your very own, remember the eBay auction we've got going on right now, with all proceeds going to benefit music education in Rockingham County schools.)

So Transformers came out in multiple packaging on DVD (and on HD-DVD) on Tuesday. I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter here in Reidsville at quarter-'til 1 that morning, hoping to get the 2-Disc Special Edition. Wal-Mart didn't have that: only the regular one-disc version, and the one-disc packed with the Wal-Mart-exclusive Transformers: Beginnings, which is a 20-minute "prequel" to the movie. I really wanted the 2-disc edition with the bonus features, but since Transformers: Beginnings is something that I was wanting to check out anyway I bought the Wal-Mart exclusive version. And then later on Tuesday after doing some business in Burlington I went to Best Buy there and got the Special Edition. So I have two DVDs of Transformers here. And despite how cool my friend Eric Wilson tells me it is, I won't be getting the Target-exclusive set that has a box that transforms into Optimus Prime: Lisa has expressly forbidden any more Transformers DVDs to come into the house :-P

The Transformers 2-Disc Special Edition DVD is, in my opinion, the way to go so far as the home version of this movie goes. Disc 1 is the film itself, and this is one of the best-looking DVDs that I've ever watched. We have a 37-inch LCD high-definition television with a Philips DVP 5960 DVD player that "upconverts" standard DVDs for high-def sets. It's not true high-definition, but the picture quality has never been anything short of outstanding. Well, Transformers even from a regular DVD looks fabulous. The colors are bright, the image is crisp and the detail is remarkable. A lot of people complained about how in Transformers when it hit theaters, that a lot of the action sequences were way too blurry. For some reason the faster scenes (like the final battle in Mission City) really do seem much easier on the eyes on the DVD than they were on the big screen. The audio quality was likewise terrific. But as I'm still content to use the speakers built-into the television (no, we've yet to put in a Surround Sound setup in our place :-) I've no way of telling how "really" good this might be. But based on what I've heard from others, the audio from the Transformers DVD on more elaborate setups is pretty amazing. All told, Transformers stands tall as one of the finest titles that I've experienced in the DVD format.

Disc 1 of the Special Edition set also includes the option to watch the movie with commentary by director Michael Bay, which is interesting enough just to listen to his initial account about how he got involved with Transformers. The one-disc version doesn't have the Bay commentary, but otherwise it's identical in image and sound quality to the 2-disc set, right down to the same basic menus.

Disc 2 in the Transformers Special Edition is the bonus features, which is broken up into a number of sections. "Our World" delves into the more human-performance aspects of the making of Transformers, including the cast, stunts, physical effects and the logistics that came with shooting around the United States and making it look like a globe-spanning conflict. "Their War" is a lot of fun to watch for two big reasons: the computer-rendered artwork that brought the Transformers to life, and the extent of cooperation that Bay and his crew received from the United States military. "More Than Meets The Eye" contains a feature on the making of the Scorponok attack scene (his name is spelled "Skorponok" on the DVD features), conceptual art and a collection of trailers for the movie, from the original teaser up to the one that came out a few months before the movie's release in July.

There's 2-some hours of extra features on the bonus disc, which I thought really enhanced the overall enjoyment and appreciation of the movie itself. My only beef with the 2-Disc Special Edition is that it doesn't contain deleted scenes in the traditional sense of most 2-disc DVD sets. If you saw the IMAX release then you know that there are about six scenes (none of which really feature the Transformers themselves by the way) that weren't in the regular theatrical run. I didn't expect them to be include in the movie itself, but for the most part they were fun enough to merit featuring as bonus material on the second disc. Sadly, they aren't here, although we do see a couple of them during the "making of" segments. There is also some additional footage of the Transformers in action, like one shot of Devastator rolling down a highway in tank mode, but no real "deleted scenes" feature. I would love to see another DVD release of Transformers in the near future that did have these things, maybe even with some of this stuff integrated into the movie itself as a true "extended cut", because I definitely believe the market is there for it.

And so far as the two-DVD pack that's the Wal-Mart exclusive goes, which also gives you Transformers: Beginnings... if you're a Transformers "completist", I would recommend getting it. But otherwise, go for the 2-disc Special Edition. Transformers: Beginnings is a 20-minute "faux"-animated adaptation of the Transformers: Prime Directives prequel comic that Dreamwave published leading up to the film's release. That story revealed how the Allspark was first jettisoned into space, then how Megatron went after it (following his grievously wounding Bumblebee's voicebox) and eventually came to Earth, where the history of the Transformers became intertwined with that of humanity. If you want the full tale of how Captain Witwicky discovered the frozen Megatron and the origins of Sector Seven, and then how Bumblebee arrived on Earth with the Decepticons in close pursuit, you'll like this exclusive DVD (in spite of some inconsistencies with the movie's canon). It's also worth noting that the voice acting is terrific in this animated short, especially with Frank Welker back as the voice of Megatron (Welker was Megatron in the original 1980s cartoon). But if you only need one DVD sitting on your shelf and don't really care for intricate backstory, the 2-Disc Special Edition is the better deal. I'm the kind of guy who is going to like having Transformers: Beginnings there anyway though, but that'll hopefully give you enough to decide if you want to spend some extra coin for it.

Transformers on DVD is a sweet lil' package, and it's pretty cool that they were able to put it together so relatively fast (the film is still playing in some theaters even). Definitely worth getting 'cuz this is one movie that you'll no doubt enjoy many time in years to come.

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Continuing "stop loss" shows lack of respect for military on part of Bush White House

The United States Army will continue its program of "stop loss" to keep personnel close to retirement or re-enlistment from leaving, so as to keep up President Bush's "surge" in Iraq.

Which only indicates to me that Bush has no understanding or sense of respect at all for the lives of our soldiers.

These men and women have lost enough already for Bush's private little war. Too many of them have already lost their homes back in the states, many have lost spouses. A few have even committed suicide.

And yet, the damaged little boy in the White House continues to play with their lives as if they were so many G.I. Joe dolls.

Y'know, for all the "God bless our troops" that I've seen over the past six years, I have to wonder how much not just this President, but a lot of Americans seriously value the men and women in our armed forces. Because these people offered to volunteer years of their lives - which could have been spent doing other things like pursuing career and family - to serve their country. And they did so having faith that we would honor their commitment by choosing how to wisely employ them.

Instead their lives are getting wasted. Not just in the battlefield but by sapping away at what's left to them when they come back. And yet somehow, to question this is to be branded "unpatriotic" in some quarters.

The more patriotic thing to do would be to remember that these men and women did not willingly choose to become "second class citizens" by virtue of their offer to serve, so that the rest of us could sit on our butts and wave American flags and "feel good" about blowing stuff up half a world away.

But then, we have a President who has never really been confronted with that kind of pain and death. He doesn't know. He's never understood what that's like.

We have a very foolish man, who has no comprehension of the real meaning of life, occupying the Oval Office and who believes that other people have no other purpose than to help him live out his fantasies.

Meanwhile, our good men and women in the military are being robbed of what good reality they could have made with the rest of their lives.

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Ron Price is a monument to all our sins

I really hate to say this, but righteous anger is something that has always helped me feel more creative so far as parody goes. If there's something wrong out there in the world, I do what I can to point it out and try to make it right, using whatever talent that God has given me... and in a way that I hope will make people both laugh and think about things.

So now that Rockingham County Board of Education member Ron Price is apparently trying to start-up the school uniforms thing again, my creative juices have gone into overdrive. A lot of ideas have come to mind in the past day or so regarding the Piedmont's #1 larcenous elected official.

Here's my latest work: Ron Price as the Gravemind in a piece inspired by the Halo video game series...

It was a bit hard to do, because Gravemind is one of the most undefinable objects that I've ever seen in a visual medium (no I haven't played Halo 3 yet so maybe he'll look better in that). But I still like how this turned out. And since Gravemind is the power-hungry, conniving central conscience of the Flood, I thought that the parallel to Ron Price was all the more appropriate :-)

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J.K. Rowling opens up bigtime on Christian inspiration for Harry Potter

Perhaps more so than she has ever done since the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling has started talking about the deeper theological meaning of her runaway bestselling books... and especially the profound Christian underpinnings that only really came into focus with the final novel of the Harry Potter series. Here's the story at MTV.com.

Among the highlights...

But if she was worried about tipping her hand narratively in the earlier books, she clearly wasn't by the time Harry visits his parents' graves in Chapter 16 of "Deathly Hallows," titled "Godric's Hollow." On his parents' tombstone he reads the quote "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," while on another tombstone (that of Dumbledore's mother and sister) he reads, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

While Rowling said that "Hogwarts is a multifaith school," these quotes, of course, are distinctly Christian. The second is a direct quote of Jesus from Matthew 6:19, the first from 1 Corinthians 15:26. As Hermione tells Harry shortly after he sees the graves, his parents' message means "living beyond death. Living after death." It is one of the central foundations of resurrection theology.

Which makes it a perfect fit for Harry, said Rowling, who was talking about those quotes for the very first time.

"They're very British books, so on a very practical note Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," Rowling explained. "[But] I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hollow, they sum up — they almost epitomize the whole series."

Rowling also addresses the numerous religious detractors - who have all too often claimed the same Christian faith that she holds to - who have condemned the Harry Potter books over the years...

That, by the author's own acknowledgement, "Harry Potter" deals extensively with Christian themes may be somewhat ironic, considering that many Christian leaders have denounced the series for glamorizing witchcraft. When he was known simply as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Pope himself condemned the books, writing that their "subtle seductions, which act unnoticed ... deeply distort Christianity in the soul before it can grow properly."

For her part, Rowling said she's proud to be on numerous banned-book lists. As for the protests of some believers? Well, she doesn't take them as gospel.

"I go to church myself," she declared. "I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion."

And there's plenty more at the link above. Thanks to Roxanne L. Martin for this great find! :-)

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ANOTHER petition for a Steve Jablonsky soundtrack CD!

Found this one over at Hans-Zimmer.com. This time it's for a score album for Desperate Housewives, which Jablonsky does a lot of the music for.

Click here to let your voice be heard in support of this CD! :-)

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Robotic "bugs" might be spying on you

Eric Wilson passed along this... strange... story: apparently there are teeny-tiny robotic cameras that are flying around disguised as bugs. And they seem to have already begun to be deployed...

Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month.

"I heard someone say, 'Oh my god, look at those,' " the college senior from New York recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects."

Out in the crowd, Bernard Crane saw them, too.

"I'd never seen anything like it in my life," the Washington lawyer said. "They were large for dragonflies. I thought, 'Is that mechanical, or is that alive?' "

That is just one of the questions hovering over a handful of similar sightings at political events in Washington and New York. Some suspect the insectlike drones are high-tech surveillance tools, perhaps deployed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Others think they are, well, dragonflies -- an ancient order of insects that even biologists concede look about as robotic as a living creature can look.

Eric has a great idea: "Now this might be a good way to incorporate Insecticons into a Transformers sequel w/o being hokey!!" :-)

For the rest of the story mash down here.

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Bob Jones III says "This is all about beating Hillary"

Dr. Bob Jones III, chancellor of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina and grandson of the founder, has endorsed Mitt Romney for President.

Which I don't particularly have a problem with. Dr. Jones is free to endorse whoever he wants to for President.

Here's where he goes totally wrong...

"This is all about beating Hillary," Jones said.

What a wonderful Christ-like sentiment that Dr. Jones is expressing here. And yes, I am being sarcastic.

You know, so-called "Christian leaders" like Dr. Jones just don't get it. They haven't bothered to understand that not in a million years can they claim America for Christ. Because they can't even let Christ take claim over their own hearts and minds. Christ cannot change America anymore than we let Him change us first.

And that is something that people like Dr. Jones refuse to do at all. To them, Christ is something to wield as a weapon to make others yield. When instead a relationship with Christ is supposed to break us down and make us yield to God, so that we become what He wants us to be.

That is how it is that in the name of God, people like Bob Jones III and James Dobson and too many others have lost sight of how they are to serve Christ, and instead have turned His name into something to use for political power.

And it's something that completely disgusts me.

If nothing else, Bob Jones III is showing that he is worse than a fool: he is a willing slave, who cannot resist the patterns of this world.

And he wants us to believe he's some great witness for Christ, for this?

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