Dear Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and attendees of today's "Restoring Honor" rally in Washington D.C.:America does not need a "religious rebirth". America and her people do need to experience genuine contrition before God. And the two are absolutely NOT the same.Honor is good. But humility is far better.sincerely,
Chris Kni...
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans five years ago
Five years ago tonight was when Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and beat the city of New Orleans to within an inch of its life. The photo is a now-famous one taken of the storm surge as Katrina made landfall.Katrina started out life on August 23rd, 2005 as a tropical system in the southeastern Bahamas. It did substantial damage and caused a number of deaths as it went across...
Friday, August 27, 2010
It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man... in LEGO!
When you've got a massive amount of LEGO bricks and inspiration from one of the greatest comedy movies of all time... who ya gonna call?!?That is absolutely insanely AWESOME!! And if you want more, GeekTyrant has this and another version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scene from Ghostbusters recreated in LE...
Elvis spotted at Sheetz in Eden, North Carolina this evening
I wasn't going to make a blog post this late but I was still up working on stuff and this report came from a longtime trusted source. And as this blog has become one of - if not the most - viewed and respected sources of reliable information about Rockingham County matters, I would be remiss in my duties if I did not pass along the following...The title pretty much says it all: Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll who allegedly died in 1977,...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Some Thursday evening theology...
God will always take us just as we are, and if we let Him then He will always make us more than we we...
What do they know that I don't?
For the past week or so, I have noticed that The Knight Shift is receiving an inordinately high number of visits from law firms.All of them are coming in through the "front door" (the blog's main URL at theknightshift.blogspot.com), not at any one particular post. And it's not just been legal firms in North Carolina. If anything visits from law firms in my own home state are being vastly outnumbered by visits from across the country: places like...
Dude gets shot in head... and doesn't find out 'til 5 years later!
Robert Chojecki, a fella out of Herne, Germany, went to his doctor because he had been suffering severe headaches for a year and didn't know why.So his physician took some x-rays of Chojecki's head... and found a bullet nestled between his skin and his skull.It had been there for five years. At the time Chojecki, now 35, thought that he had either bumped his head or been...
Told y'all this was coming: glasses-free 3D television!
Two months ago I discussed some reasons why I wasn't particularly led to jump aboard the 3D television fad just yet. The most prominent among them was my understanding that we could fairly soon expect 3D teevee technology that worked without those clunky glasses (which many are now saying not only induce headaches but are just a plain ol' nuisance to deal with).Welcome to the future.Toshiba is set to be the first manufacturer to roll out glasses-free...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Got the LOST Complete Collection Blu-ray set today!
Am enjoying it right now. This is by far the most intimidating behemoth of a box set that I have ever added to my personal library. I mean, you not only get a whole heapin' bunch of Blu-ray discs (or DVD discs if that is still your flavor) but also a touchy-feely relief map of the Island, a Senet board with black and white playing pieces, a cryptic note, and an even more mysterious DHARMA Initiative pen-sized dark light that can be used to illuminate...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Three reasons why "the mosque" should be built
Personally, I find the "mosque at Ground Zero" - the Islamic worship center that is being planned for construction not far away from where the two towers of the World Trade Center once stood - to be as big a "non-issue" as there's been in recent memory. It, like too many other things, is a distraction from matters that are of more dire priority.So I honestly haven't given the issue much thought until someone over the weekend - and a devout Christian,...
Scott Adams tries to build a "green" house
In addition to being a great cartoonist and creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams has emerged in recent years as being a brilliant and respected commentator on a wide variety of subjects. In a piece that he wrote for The Wall Street Journal Adams turns his keen intellect on the challenges of building an eco-friendly house... and the quickly-mounting problems that come with seriously undertaking the endeavor.Here's a snippet...As a rule, the greener the...
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Happy 90th Birthday to Ray Bradbury!
On this, the occasion of ninety years since he first arrived in our world and in thanks for the many new worlds that he has since given us - as well as daring us to look at our own anew - The Knight Shift and its eclectic proprietor wishes author Ray Bradbury a very Happy Birthd...
Jack Horkheimer - AKA the "Star Hustler" - has passed away
Late last night the sad news arrived that Jack Horkheimer, known to millions as the "Star Hustler" and host of PBS's long-running Star Gazer, passed away Friday afternoon. He was 72.There's a whole heap o' amateur astronomers and no doubt quite a few professionals as well who can say that Jack Horkheimer, with his exuberant style and enthusiastic love of astronomy, was one...
Saturday, August 21, 2010
How I spent my Saturday night
This evening I was on stage three times. Two of those I was appearing as either Elvis Presley, or as Jacob Black (the werewolf guy) from the Twilight saga.Yes, there are pictures. And if y'all behave nice I might post them...
Friday, August 20, 2010
Classic SESAME STREET: Adults finally see Snuffy!
Thank the Lord for YouTube. 'Cuz without it, I would have probably gone the rest of my life without ever seeing this legendary moment for myself!Kids watching Sesame Street these days are used to seeing Mr. Snuffleupagus mixing it up with his best friend Big Bird and all the other characters. But once upon a time the situation was very different. "Snuffy" was introduced to the show during Sesame Street's third season in 1971. He and Big Bird...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
About Roger Clemens and Congress...
My final thought for the day:Why is Roger Clemens in trouble for lying to Congress... when Congress lies to us ALL the time and always gets away with ...
Chris sez that LIMBO is SUPER MARIO BROS. as envisioned by David Lynch!
I have not yet finished playing Limbo (click here for official site), the new game from Danish-based independent Playdead Studios for the Xbox 360. A few days ago I finally beat Batman: Arkham Asylum... after owning it since its release a year ago this month! Hey what can I say: Bane had been kicking my butt since February.Anyhoo, since I'd committed to only playing through...
Salvation: Plain and simple
I haven't reported much lately about the nefarious goings-on of local cult leader Johnny Robertson and his "Church of Christ" (which again, has nothing to do with the real Churches of Christ). Number of reasons for that, not the least of which is that I've been quite busy this summer with ummm... "other projects". And because as one good friend noted: Robertson and his cronies (and the bisexual criminal that they give so much business to) aren't...
Bang? Multi-flavored popsicles look like real handguns!
Call them "Pistol Pops"? European inventors(?) Florian Jenett and Valentin Beinroth have come up with popsicles that look like actual handguns! It started when they made life-like guns out of ice a few years ago. But last year they began flavoring their creations with Coke, licorice, and cherry.(These guys should bring their product to market here in the states. I bet...
Department of Justice seeks to hire "Native American Medicine Man"
How is this not an example of racial preference in hiring?! Hell, this is explicitly a sexual preference too. Isn't that what government isn't supposed to be doing?!Well anyway, it's a tough job market out there but if you happen to be Native American, a man and a practitioner of sacred healing, you're in luck! The Bureau of Prisons divison of the United States Department of Justice is hiring a "Native American Medicine Man" to work at the Federal...
1 in 5 Americans believe Obama is a Muslim
Read the story here.I don't know what faith President Barack Obama professes to belong to. And in all honesty... it's not really my business to be concerned with it anyway. He could be Christian. He could be Muslim. He could be Hindu. He could be a follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster for all I care. As has been said before on this blog and I'll state it again: I believe that every person has the right to seek God as best he or she can...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I was featured on GRUEN NATION on Australian nationwide television last night!
Niall Doran, a regular reader of this blog from Down Under, e-mailed to inform me a short while ago that I was seen on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's hit show Gruen Nation last night!Here's Niall's report...As a regular browser of your blog, I was surprised to see you make an appearance on Australian television earlier tonight!A regular part-humorous, part-analytical...
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Things I think about when I'm in the shower...
Fred Flintstone and the people of Bedrock were the very FIRST to employ biotechnology.(I mean, you can't get much hardcore than using a velociraptor for a garbage disposal....
Monday, August 16, 2010
HE DID IT!! Heang Uy completes epic bike ride across America
On June 23rd, Heang Uy departed from Cannon Beach on the coast of Oregon on his bicycle. He's been pedaling ever since.Two day ago and 3,578 miles later......Heang arrived at Folly Beach, South Carolina!Here's Heang's account of reaching the finish line for his amazing journey.Congratulations Heang! You were always uber-kewl in my book, and this accomplishment puts me in...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
BIOSHOCK INFINITE coming in 2012
I was going to write a review of BioShock 2 months ago but never got around to it for various reasons. One of them being that I wanted to play it again to properly absorb it all. Personally, I loved BioShock 2. Even with a few issues (I had hoped to be able to explore around Rapture more) I thought it was a superb follow-up to 2007's BioShock: a title that is on my short list of greatest video games ever.Well today, like a bolt out of the blue,...
Remember my post last week about solar flares and earthquakes?
Here's the link if you wanna look at it. It was about the massive discharge of highly-energized particles that the Sun threw out at the Earth early last week. As a result there were some astonishingly brilliant aurora reported at the northern latitudes.Well anyway, in my post I wondered aloud if there might be any earthquake activity that would happen as a result, 'cuz I've noticing for the past few years that whenever this planet gets hit by particles...
What I've come to realize about denominations in Christianity
There is no such thing as "denominations". Christ is not divided.There is, however, a great many perspectives of Christ, Who is too magnificent for any one person or group of people to fully comprehend.As it should be.Who is another or others then, to tell me - or anyone else for that matter - that my perspective of Christ, as one of His followers, is the wrong o...
Slow day today...
And since it's been asked for by a number of you, here once again is a photo of my ravishingly beautiful and sweet cousin Lauryn! As an added bonus, you also get to see my equally beautiful and sweet cousin Karissa, who just got married this summer!Thank you ladies. You have contributed some much-needed loveliness to this site ...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thoughtcrime: Music festival organizer PRE-sues bootleggers
If you're going to attend the Mile High Music Festival this weekend in Denver, don't even think about bootlegging the music. Merely considering the notion means you've already been sued by event producer AEG Live. The company has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against "John Does 1-100, Jane Does 1-100, and XYZ Company" for illegal bootlegging... which hasn't even been committed yet. Since nobody exists (yet) to contest the lawsuit, it...
BACK TO THE FUTURE timeline chart... and two graphs that (might) help ya understand INCEPTION!
A substantial majority of my two or three regular readers (yeah looking at you Ed and Eric) are hardcore fans of Back to the Future and its two sequels. Well, all that mucking around with history can be a pain to keep up with for some people, so a smart dude named Sean Mort has put together a terrific timeline chart of the Back to the Future saga, taking into account the events of all eight different timelines! Seriously, I had no idea there were...
Color photographs of the Great Depression
How easy it is to think of eras gone by as being more drab and subdued than our own time. Especially the Great Depression: I think imagining it as being all black and white must be the "default" setting in the minds of many.And then photos like this of a grocery store in Washington D.C., taken in 1941, show us otherwise...Between 1939 and 1943 the Farm Security Administration...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The ______Act of___ passed by U.S. Senate
That's it. I've had it. Throw the whole sorry lot of 'em out. ALL of them. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. Show them no quarter.And whoever among our legislators were so irresponsible in voting for this, should have the word "STOOPID" branded into their foreheads so that the rest of humanity will know to steer clear of them forevermore amen.Call it "The Law With No Name" (sounds like Mr. Smith Goes To Washington directed by Sergio Leone)....
A new model of quantum physics has begun formulating in my mind
It had been percolating across my gray matter for the past several weeks. It started when I found myself contemplating certain problems with the forces of gravity and electromagnetism.About 3:30 a.m. this morning a possible solution was hit upon. Doesn't look like it's the re-invention of Wheeler foam. Not yet anyway. I can't help but think it's too much like that and at the same time it's more than a tad different.I'll probably be pondering...
Monday, August 09, 2010
One state's wonky finances: Hawaii has $1.4 BILLION in unspent revenue (but the politicians want MORE taxes!)
Ten years ago this summer I went to work as a full-time reporter. It was with a... well let's just say they don't make outfits like this anymore. Probably one of the last of the newspapers with that old-school journalistic 'tude. Anyhoo, my very first assignment was to investigate the budget that the General Assembly had proposed for North Carolina's next fiscal term.A full decade later and I still get fits of anger just thinking about the crap...
Arguments to the contrary are most welcome...
One who believes a vote must be chosen between two parties in order to win has already lo...
Movie posters rendered in LEGO
Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs is one of Amusing Planet's collection of 26 movie posters recreated with LEGO bricks and minifigs. Also in the set: Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and Kill Bill Volume 2, Jaws, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Forrest Gump.Hat tip to Chad Austin for the great fi...
BLACKSTAR WARRIOR: A Star Wars blaxploitation trailer. 'Nuff said.
"Get between this brotha and his woman, and space ain't black enough to hide from him!"About time somebody made a fan film about Lando Calrissian going up against the m...
Saturday, August 07, 2010
In memory of Mike Ashley
"The good die young."Those were the words of my grandmother, twenty-five years ago this evening. And when those words were the most semblance of comfort that an eleven-year old kid had to grasp - even if he didn't really understand what it meant at the time - on what was at the time the absolute worst day of his life......well, they kinda stick with ya, even a quarter century later.Heck, I can even still remember what I was wearing that day, what...
Friday, August 06, 2010
ABC's V next season featuring the return of Jane Badler!
Yeah you read it right. And not only that but Badler will again be playing evil Visitor baddie Diana: the role that she is still notorious for nearly thirty years later. In the relaunched series however Diana will be the mother of Anna (Morena Baccarin's character), the Visitor who's been leading the invasion of Earth. So it's two different characters, but each named Diana and each played by Jane Badler. Got it?Ain't It Cool News has more info,...
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH: Epic television we haven't seen in DECADES
Who'da thought that the story about the building of a church would make for the grandest use of the television medium since Lonesome Dove and War and Remembrance more than twenty years ago?The best thing on the tube this summer in this blogger's opinion is without a doubt The Pillars of the Earth, currently running on the Starz channels. Based on Ken Follett's bestselling...
The 367 miles per hour school bus
Sporting a jet engine from a Phantom fighter plane, this school bus that Paul Stender and his team at Indy Boys Inc. out of Indianapolis hacked together can reach speeds up to 367 miles per hour!!The downside is that top speed is sustainable only for a half-mile. And it takes 150 gallons of fuel to reach it. But that's gotta be a hella scary ride for any kiddies that might...
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Happy 80th Birthday to Neil Armstrong
The Knight Shift and its eclectic proprietor would like to join the very many other admirers of Dr. Neil Armstrong in wishing him all the best on his 80th birthday tod...
Proposition 8, states rights, and the end of jury nullification
Two things that trouble me about California's Proposition 8 - the "gay marriage" ban - being struck down yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker...The first is that a single member of the federal judiciary is empowered to render null and void the vote of more than 7 million voters in a matter pertaining to their own state of residence.The other thing is that even as this is being cheered in some quarters as a "victory" for certain individuals,...
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Huh?!? So the plot for INCEPTION was already done in a Scrooge McDuck comic book?!?
Yesterday the Internets were lit up about how Christopher Nolan's new film Inception shared some common elements with one of Bill Waterson's Calvin and Hobbes comic strips.If you thought that was a honkin' big coincidence, wait'll you get a load of this 'un...Those same sharp lads at GeekTyrant have scored another find. The whole plot of Inception is eerily similar to Dream...
Darth Plagueis novel WILL be published after all!
James Luceno is a happy man: word came out a few days ago that his long-simmering Star Wars novel about Darth Plagueis is going to be published at last! Release date at the moment: February 28th, 2012.That's a year and a half from now, but given what we've gone through already to see this book happen, it ain't so bad. Around the same time that Star Wars Episode III: Revenge...
Man robs restaurant, calls back to complain about small haul
Crime does not pay. At least it not pay enough for one Atlanta-area robber, who held up a Wendy's and then phoned the restaurant to gripe about how little money he got away with.From the story at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution...A man who robbed a Wendy's at gunpoint Saturday night apparently was so upset with his haul that he twice called the restaurant to complain, Atlanta police said."Next time there better be more than $586," he said during...
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
CALVIN AND HOBBES did INCEPTION first!
Props to GeekTyrant for noting that years before Christopher Nolan's cinematic foray into dream country with Inception, that Bill Waterson was already "kick"-ing around the idea in Calvin and Hobbes :-)Y'know, this would explain some things about Calvin, when you think about it...
Fred Reed's take on WikiLeaks
The inimitable Fred Reed - who I consider to be the Internet's greatest curmudgeon - has weighed in on the WikiLeaks issue. And as is the case more often than not, he's saying the harsh truth that too many reporters, pundits and professional policy makers would rather the rest of us not think too much about (for our "own good", 'course).Here's some of Fred's musings on the matter...Two ways exist of looking at Wikileaks, the site that publicizes...
Monday, August 02, 2010
Severe geological activity about to happen?
I may get called a "kook" from some quarters for writing about this. All I can really say in my own defense is that it's something I'm sincerely curious about and I was told a long time ago that the only wrong question to ask is one that isn't asked at all...Slashdot is spreading the news this afternoon about a massive ejection of high-energy particles from the the sun. It's headed toward Earth and should reach us sometime tomorrow. Among other...
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Greetings to all of y'all at the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree!
Tonight I'm sitting in Reidsville... but my heart is at Fort A.P. Hill.Here's bidding a hearty "hello" to all 45,000 or so of my friends who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts in style this week ...
Question for anyone who's playing STARCRAFT II
Is this game really that good? I'm thinking of getting it.And should I play the original StarCraft first? Believe it or not, for all of the original's legendary renown, I've yet to play it.(I'm way behind on my video games. I still need to finish Batman: Arkham Asylum sometime. Not to mention Halo 3: ODST.)Anyway, StarCraft II looks incredibly promising. Just wondering if it's worth dropping sixty bucks for it, or if I should wait ...
