New sponsor: HyperMind, for all your gaming needs!

The Knight Shift is proud to welcome a new advertiser, and if you've been a longtime reader you'll already know something about HyperMind.

A positivalutely abundawonderful game store in Burlington, North Carolina, owners Nick and Denise Shepherd have established a place that draws loyal customers from as far away as Virginia, Raleigh/Durham and Winston-Salem.  And by "games" we're talking about the old-fashioned stuff that doesn't require batteries or a specialized console... but does require you to play with others and have fun.

Whether you're looking for time-honored pastimes like Monopoly and Risk, or new classics such as The Settlers of Catan, HyperMind has something for everyone.  They also stock a healthy amount of miniatures-based games (including my current drug of choice, X-Wing Miniatures).  One of the biggest sellers is perennial favorite Magic: The Gathering.  And HyperMind goes all-out to provide for its devoted players, with an ample stockpile of cards (just about every kind of current booster pack you can think of) and a huge room serving as a place of casual play and weekly tournaments.  Role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons are also a favorite.  If they don't have it on shelves, the folks at HyperMind will gladly order it for you.

Serving the Triad area since 2006, HyperMind is an experience that you will want to return to again and again.  Stop by today, and discover the fun!

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Two new advertisers with The Knight Shift

If you have a product or service and you would like to reach an average audience of 20,000 viewers a month*, please consider this blog as a venue for your advertising.  I am very thankful that the The Knight Shift's readership represents so vast a variety of interests and backgrounds.  And you can reach out to them!  Write to me at theknightshift@gmail.com with "Advertise on The Knight Shift" in the subject line, and let's get started.  I'm looking forward to working with you to build your brand and give you solid results.

And now, I am proud to announce that this blog has two new sponsors!  The first is Sweet Wick Candle Company.  Makers of fine hand-crafted candles infused with the best of fragrances, the good people at Sweet Wick are dedicated to the art of creating their products to be as much a beauty to look at as they are an aroma to indulge in.  Since its founding not too long ago, Sweet Wick Candle Company has enjoyed tremendous success and is already beginning to see nationwide distribution.  Don't wait for their amazing products to show up at your local shop, visit the website and check out their offerings today!

And next up, we have Yard Draggin...

Inventor Stephen Shumate has pulled off something that has not been done in at least one thousand years: he has re-envisioned the wheelbarrow.  Except that Yard Draggin has no wheels.  Instead, advanced materials are used in the construction of... well, to be honest I don't know how to describe it in words.  If you go to the website you'll find some videos of Yard Draggin in action.  It's just now hitting the market and I wouldn't be surprised if there are soon going to be television commercials for this product: something so useful and versatile, that you'll wonder how did you get by so long without it.

Be sure to keep watching The Knight Shift, as this blog continues to bring new products and services into the public eye.


* based on Google statistics for March 2015

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Strange and bizarre Russian ads from a century ago

It's stuff like this that reminds me of something: we're not all that different from people a century ago.  Far longer than that even.  We laugh at this sort of thing today, but a hundred years from now our great-grandchildren will be looking at our ads for vacuum cleaners and light beer and wonder: "What the hell were they thinking??"

I don't think geography has anything to do with it: humanity tends to do wacky things in the pursuit of profit no matter where it's at.  So it was with our Russian friends in the years leading up to the October Revolution and then the early Soviet era.  And now io9 has compiled a collection of "The Oddest Soviet Ads From The Late 19th And Early 20th Century".  There are many ads for cigarettes (see image) and other tobacco products,  but also for wine, gunpowder and soap.  One young lad brandishes a club as warning against taking his chocolate bar.  A babushka shows off her new galoshes.  An airplane threatens to bomb tsarist Moscow with beer.  And there's one tobacco ad that is a work of visual genius!  It's a great article to check out whether you're into Russian history or just want a good laugh :-)

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Dear Amazon: I don't care about gay marriage, just gimme my damn books

I believe that homosexuality and bisexuality is just as wrong as heterosexual extramarital intercourse, rape and polygamy and for the same reasons.

Do I have gay and lesbian friends?  Yup, sure do.  Plenty of them in fact.  They already know that I cannot approve with a sincere heart the behavior they engage in.  They also already know that though I must judge as wrong that behavior, I cannot judge them wrong as people.  Certainly not as the friends who I am thankful to have.

I don't believe that "homosexual marriage" is wrong.  I know that it is.  The notion itself is a contradiction against logic and human culture.  "Marriage" entails the uniting of two unique characteristics into one, so that the the sum is greater than the equal of its constituent parts.  That is something among human society that can only be found in the uniting of one man and one woman.  We've had six thousand years of recorded history without "gay marriage" up 'til now, and many thousands of years of human culture just as absent of it before that.  Sure there were aberrations and deviations once in awhile, but by and large gay marriage is a mutation that has never survived social Darwinism.

Those who advocate "gay marriage" are ignorant of something else.  Namely, that true marriage is not focused at all on sexuality.  That is a defining aspect of marriage... but it's only one aspect of it.  If a marriage is based primarily on sex, then it's not going to be a marriage that tends to survive and endure the trials and tribulations of a couple's lifetime together.  That goes for any couple, be they gay or straight.

So why are we seeing homosexual marriage hoisted high and in our faces lately?  There are two reasons, I have observed.  The first is that legalizing "gay marriage" is perceived by its proponents as being official endorsement for that behavior.

The second is that many if not most of those demanding "gay marriage" believe that doing so demonstrates how "progressive", how "forward-thinking", how "wise and tolerant" they really are.  They won't admit or acknowledge it in the slightest but to them, they are assuming that they "know better" than the rest of us and that we have to be "educated" and made to conform to their own demands and expectations.

Case in point: Amazon's new commercial for its Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader.  I first saw it last night.  It opens with a man and a woman laying on the beach.  The guy is squinting at his tablet in the harsh sunlight while the lady is obviously enjoying reading without straining her eyes.  Convinced, the man immediately orders a Kindle Paperwhite and tells the girl they should go out and celebrate.

Trying to shut him down, she tells him "My husband is bringing me a drink right now."

"So is mine," the man tells her.  Cut to the bar behind them and their husbands(?) waving back at them.

No doubt that Amazon deems this to be a groundbreaking and culturally revolutionary ad.  That it's a game-changer for marketing.  The climax of the commercial practically screams out "WE'RE DIFFERENT AND PRO-GAY DAMMIT!"

Fine.  Amazon is pro-homosexual "marriage".  I couldn't care less what Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos believes on the matter.  He's as entitled to his beliefs and spending money on them as much as anybody is.

But this kind of marketing is a terrible, terrible model for a business.  In fact, it's proven to be downright disastrous.

And I'm not talking about for taking pro-gay stances either.  Anytime a company's leadership decides to use that company as a platform for a social or political agenda, the profits drop.  Ever heard of Hechinger?  It used to be a pretty major name in the hardware and home improvement business, right up there with Lowe's and Home Depot.  And then its head executives chose to make Hechinger as a company pro-gun control.

People stopped shopping at Hechinger as a result.  They wanted lumber and bathroom fixtures, not a political statement.  That was twenty years ago and very few people now remember the company existed at all.

Want more proof?  J.C. Penney's profits dropped 32% in the past quarter.  The situation there is so dire that the company is apparently deferring payments to its suppliers.  Many are blaming J.C. Penney's pro-homosexual marketing: a blunder bad enough to warrant many to demand the banishment of Ron Johnson, the current CEO.

Look, it's not the particulars and peculiarities of the personas involved that is the present problem.  I've come to enjoy the products I buy from Apple.  My iPad goes with me everywhere.  It's become an indispensable part of my life.  I also know that Apple's CEO Tim Cook is widely reported to be gay.  But not for a moment have I considered not buying stuff from Apple because of it.  I buy Apple's gadgets because they work and because the company trusts its products enough to sell themselves.  I do not now, nor will I ever buy something because it's being sold as "pro-straight".  I would however very seriously consider not buying a product if the officials running the company selling it decide to get "in yo' face" about an issue that I disagree with.

And based on history, I don't doubt that there are many others who would refuse to support such a company either, on those same grounds.

Amazon: seriously?  A pro-gay e-book reader?  Why should I care?  Why should anybody care?

Jeff Bezos, keep your pro-gay stance to yourself.  Just be a responsible CEO and shut up and sell books.

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The Knight Shift welcomes a new sponsor: The Detailed Decorator!

This is a momentous day for The Knight Shift! Yours Truly is proud to announce the very first business to contact this blog for advertising.

So without further ado, it is my great honor to direct your attention to The Detailed Decorator LLC, based in Atlanta, Georgia!

Owned and operated by Jaime Casstevens, The Detailed Decorator specializes in finding unique interior decor custom-tailored for each customer. In her own words, Jaime says that...

The Detailed Decorator was created with YOU in mind. Do you not know what accessory to buy for your home? Do you not have the time to go shopping? Let The Detailed Decorator do it for you.

From shopping in exclusive stores to just looking for something you couldn't find anywhere else, we are here to help. We specialize in personalized shopping to meet all of your home decorating needs.

The customer is our #1 priority. It's our goal to help you make your house a home.

Don't know how to get started, check out our online store and blog you just might find something you're looking for.......

We sale and ship to all of North America!

You can click here to visit The Detailed Decorator website and if you are on Facebook you can visit The Detailed Decorator's page there and see much, much more!

So here's a hearty welcome to The Detailed Decorator! And if you have a business (or some other legitimate operation) and want to advertise on a blog that serves up bunches of unique hits per day to a worldwide audience, contact me at theknightshift@gmail.com and we'll work something out!

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Truth in advertising?

If a law firm's TV commercials boast that they "know the local judges", is that really code-speak for "We know how to grease the right palms"?

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BIOSHOCK 2 marketing hits the beaches!

BioShock 2 may have been pushed back to next year but that's not keeping 2K's PR team from going to some extraordinary lengths of viral marketing for the much-anticipated game. This past week a mysterious note appeared on the game's teaser site listing numerous beaches around the world and a time to be there... which was yesterday morning.

This was the scene at Australia's Bondi Beach, where BioShock fans found dozens of wine bottles (from Arcadia itself) washed up on the shore. Within each bottle was one of several posters from Rapture, including this advertisement for Andrew Ryan Industries. Kotaku has photos of more discoveries. And wouldn't you know it, but the Rapture wine bottles are already fetching a pretty price on eBay.

BioShock 2 is due sometime next year. Hopefully sooner than later.

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Why has Old Dutch Galaxy Food Center apparently pulled out as an advertiser on WGSR Star 39?

Could it possibly be because of a certain anti-Barack Obama sign that WGSR general manager Charles Roark devoted obscene amounts of airplay and screentime to this past Friday afternoon, and then again on Monday?

The answer to that question is, evidently, "yes".

Old Dutch Galaxy had been a major advertiser for WGSR. A chain of four grocery stores around the Danville and Chatham area in Virginia, Old Dutch Galaxy had been running updated commercials every week (on a station that was still running spots for the Reidsville Christmas parade last week, mind ya...).

But the word from our friends around south-central Virginia, is that Roark's constant harping about a sign calling Obama a "bastard" and his mother a "slut" was way over the top and into the realm of completely inappropriate behavior.

I doubt that this lesson will be anything but lost on Charles Roark, who has abandoned responsible broadcasting ethics for tabloid-style trash that caters to the least common denominator.

Except now, WGSR has lost one of its bigger clients because of Roark's reckless behavior.

But I'm pretty confident that Roark won't care, and he probably even told the Old Dutch Galaxy guys as much when they pulled out, since cult leader Johnny Robertson can always be relied upon to make up for the loss via all those thousands of dollars coming in from "the Mysterious Texans"(tm).

Seriously though: I've been arguing for awhile that the image conveyed by WGSR's management is a detriment to the commerce of this area. Does anyone now doubt the veracity of that contention?

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This blog's policy on presidential campaign banner ads

See those ads for John McCain that pops up every now and then? I didn't put them there. Didn't want them and don't ever want them. In a few hours they should hopefully go away for good.

This blog will not be used to promote any presidential candidates. Unless there is one that really, really impresses me with sincerity, humbleness and ability. But that will not be John McCain or Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or just about any of the other "front-runners" we're supposed to buy into.

Up 'til now, the ads that have appeared on this blog, I really didn't give much thought to them. That's changing starting now. If there is an ad for something that I don't approve of that's appearing on here, it's going to get zapped off the site.

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