TONIGHT: First single from new Weird Al CD will be ANOTHER free download!

It was announced about two weeks ago that tonight "Weird Al" Yankovic will release the first single from his new upcoming album Straight Outta Lynwood on his official Myspace page. The upload is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern and yes, it will be another free MP3 download like he did with "You're Pitiful" a few months ago. No idea which song from the CD this is going to be but rumor is that this might be "White and Nerdy": Weird Al's parody of Chamillionaire's "Ridin'". My guess is that it might be one of his new originals and that it'll be a style parody (his "Wanna B Ur Lover" from his last album Poodle Hat was a dead-on Prince-style spoof and was one of the most risque things Al's ever done). But there's also supposed to be parodies of Green Day, Usher, R. Kelly and Taylor Hicks on this thing, so I guess anything's possible tonight. I'll make an update to this post later on tonight after I've had a chance to listen to the new song.

UPDATE 10:14 PM EST: I've listened to "Don't Download This Song" probably a dozen times now since it appeared online a little over an hour ago and it just keeps getting funnier and funnier! I would say it's definitely a style parody along the lines of "We Are The World": it's not hard at all envisioning dozens of recording artists getting together and singing this. So go be a hypocrite and download "Don't Download This Song" from Al's Myspace page. Do it. Do it now now now!!

And the news just keeps getting better: the video for "Don't Download This Song" is going to premiere on Yahoo! Music Videos two days from now!

Oh yeah, and I wound up being the very first fan to listen to the song and comment about it on Al's Myspace page, too :-)

Read More

Campaign issues: The theory of "Intelligent Design"

On the website for my school board campaign there's a page called "Qualities and Qualifications". Up 'til earlier today on the part where I talk about being a Christian - which I believe anyone who's considering voting for me should bear in mind before they cast their ballot - there was a brief blurb about "intelligent design" theory. I had written this:

"... I have issues with the teaching of "intelligent design" in the public schools. If anyone wonders about why that is, write me an e-mail and I'll explain as best I know how."

I removed that small bit earlier today, because I had started to feel like it didn't really adequately address my beliefs well at all. Well, earlier this evening (okay, it's past midnight as I write this right now so this'll be late yesterday) a gentleman wrote me and asked for some elaboration. I gave it to him, as best I knew how. And it sort of confirmed something that had been growing in my mind all day long: that I should provide more about my beliefs on "intelligent design" (i.e. teaching the theory of creationism per the Judeo-Christian model in public schools) on my website.

Well, there's a brief (for me anyway) capsule synopsis of my stance on intelligent design on the Issues page of the site. But just for sake of further clarity, I thought it might be a good idea to post the entirety of what I wrote this gentleman here on my blog, and invite any questions of comments about it from my readers (all three or four of them :-)

That said, here it goes...

My beliefs on teaching "Intelligent Design" in public schools

I believe that God created the world. As a Christian, as someone who's studied science for most of my life, as a historian who's made biblical history a major part of my personal research, and for a lot of reasons I hold to the Judeo-Christian belief that we are not here by accident. I believe we are here for a purpose. And that purpose is established by Someone higher and greater than we are.

Now, about "intelligent design". Which I've pretty much stated that I *do* believe in an intelligent design to the universe already...

If we are to teach intelligent design in the science classroom, we should also be prepared to teach evolution as well, because each of them, in the strictest scientific definition of the term, is considered a theory. You and I believe that God established this world... but that's not something that is absolutely testable and verifiable by scientific experimentation. Neither for that matter is evolution (and I would be the first to point out in a science class that an increasing number of scientists are now saying that Darwin's theory of evolution is a very bad theory according to everything we now know about biology and genetics). Both "intelligent design" and "evolution" are ideas that must be accepted by faith on the part of the individual. And that's not something that we can or even should attempt to use the powers of the temporal realm in forcing another person into accepting: he or she must choose for himself, or herself, what it is they believe about how it is we came about.

I do not believe in the slightest bit that evolution is the answer to how we got here. In fact, it takes *more* faith to hold to the evolutionary model of things than it does for the creation model. But in terms of what materials we have with which to observe and make quantifiable measurements from, neither are concepts that we can either prove or disprove. Again, both come down to being things held by faith. Thus, if we are to discuss "intelligent design" (which I have no personal belief against) as a theory in the classroom, we should also be ready to discuss evolution as a theory also. And any other theory that someone might hold to (including panspermia, as much as I've always thought that was the most ridiculous theory ever postulated).

So how do we teach how it is that we got here, from both the physical and biological perspectives? The short answer is: we don't. And we don't pretend to have an answer for that either. What we *can* do as educators is admit to our students that there are several theories regarding how existence came to be and how we are where we are today. In that context, a teacher absolutely *CAN* discuss his/her personal beliefs on the subject, including if he/she believes in intelligent design (as a matter of fact, every teacher I had in a science class who did discuss his/her personal beliefs admitted that they *did* believe in creationism). If the opportunity arose in the classroom, I would certainly admit that I believe that there is a created structure to the universe that was put in place by God.

Here is the root of my personal problem with "intelligent design" in the classroom. It's not really about the theory at all, because I am a creationist. But it's how it has come to be used and pursued in many jurisdictions across the country. Instead of being something to be promoted as a legitimate theory in opposition of evolution for the students to consider, it has become a weapon to be wielded against those whose beliefs deviate from that of the Judeo-Christian mindset. All too often, the battles fought in our school systems are not about giving our students the best education possible, but rather they are about coming to possess a power over those students. As a Christian, I believe that using "intelligent design" in this context can do nothing other than corrupt unto self-destruction the testimony we are called to have of Christ. Having power over others - in the slightest bit - is not what we are called to do as ambassadors of Christ in this world. So I think in some ways how intelligent design is used has become something of a trap that diminishes us and our mission here.

We are here to convince those outside of Christ by virtue of our character and our humility. Lacking the desire for temporal power is something that markedly separates us from the rest of the world. Having that kind of peace without feeling we must possess power to keep it is something that all too many people in this world are craving in their own lives.

That is why I am suspicious of the promotion of "intelligent design" in our classrooms. Not because I disagree with the theory (as I've said, I do believe in creationism). But far more so, I fear what can and has been done with this theory in the name of God, but in reality has been for the glory of mere men.

This is something I've thought long and hard about, in the event that were to I win election to school board. I can not be a board member and proclaim that my beliefs in creationism are something that must be adhered to by the students of Rockingham County without question, because that would just be me serving my own interests. But I can be a presence on the board suggesting that in teaching science, if we absolutely must discuss the origins of existence then we *should* present "intelligent design" as as theory as viable as evolution.

It's complicated, I know. And what I've shared with you probably isn't half of my complete thoughts on the subect. In coming to my conclusions I really have sought to honor God and present Him as best I can possibly witness for Him to a very secular world.

But in a nutshell: it would be best not to speculate on how we got here, because we can't go back and observe how that came to be. Science can only show us how to observe the here and now. If discusson compels it, intelligent design should be presented but we also must accept that evolution can and will be presented also. We can admit to what we believe in regarding the subject but it's not given to us to compel our students to believe likewise. Rather we should do what we can to encourage them to come to their own beliefs on the subject... even if the answers for those questions can only be found in spirituality. And if we are to present intelligent design in the classroom, we - and I mean the Christians who would be given such authority - must resist the temptation to use it according to our will and understanding, rather than God's.

Okay, if I write anymore I'll risk once again being referred to as a "wordy wordy monkey". Feel free to discuss or write me or whatever :-)

Read More

Plight of the Bumblebee: the 'bots in TRANSFORMERS announced

Back in May I posted my list of which Autobots and Decepticons should be in the live-action Transformers movie due out next July. Well this past Friday the writers of the movie did an online "press conference". And considering that they're making some departures from "old school" Generation 1 Transformers, the Autobots and Decepticons we'll be seeing are pretty close to what I'd called for. From the Autobots we'll be getting Optimus Prime (who'll be sporting some HIDEOUS flame decals on his truck form), Bumblebee (depicted in robot form at left), Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide. The Decepticons will be represented by Megatron, Starscream, Brawl, Bonecrusher, Barricade, Scorponok, Frenzy, and Blackout. A lot of fans are outraged that Soundwave will not be one of the Decepticons, but I can sort of understand it: when the first Transformers came out in 1984, Soundwave was one of the most popular Decepticons... but he transformed into a tape deck. How many times do you see someone carrying around a tape deck anymore as opposed to a CD player or an iPod? Actually, there's an idea: Ravage or Rumble could turn into an MP3 player. And sorry all of you who were hoping we'd see a "gestalt" robot like Devastator: although Bonerusher has traditionally been a Constructicon, there's no mention of the five other 'Cons with which he combines to form the massive robot with.

But who knows: maybe if sequels are made we'll get to see a lot more Autobots and Decepticons. Maybe one of them will be Grimlock so his fanbase (who are some of the scariest Transformers fans I've ever known) will be happy. And I'd love to see Astrotrain or Blitzwing, if nothing else than to see how a robot that transforms into two vehicles translates on-screen.

Read More

"Take me out to the ballgame..."

This past Friday night Lisa and I did something that I haven't done in over twenty years: we went to a real live baseball game. It was the Greensboro Grasshoppers at home in First Horizon Park against the Lexington Legends.

And we had a really darned good time! The staff at the park really went all-out to give the eight-thousand-some in attendance some lively entertainment. One of the highlights of the night was the newest addition to the Grasshoppers team: Miss Babe Ruth, an 8-month old black Labrador Retriever who just start work as the team's "bat girl": she's trained to pick up the bats that the Grasshoppers use. After the game she ran through all four bases and then, ummmm... provided some other "entertainment" (well she's just a puppy after all :-P ) After the Grashoppers beat the Legends 9-3, there was a fireworks show launched from deep center field... and one of the better shows that I've seen at that. I ate two hot dogs with plenty of mustard while we were there and the food is pretty delicious too. It's all enough to make me wish I'd gone to a Grasshoppers game already in the two years that they've been playing in Greensboro. I'm really looking forward to going again sometime.

Read More

Once again, sensationalism overwhelms in Ramsey case

It was about 5 this afternoon that we got word at the station that there had finally been an arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. We wound up going to breaking news around 5:30 and that's practically all that was talked about for the next 45 minutes.

I guess maybe local interest (I'm writing from north-central North Carolina in case anyone's ever wondered where I am geographically) in the Ramsey case has something to do with the Short family murders, which happened four years ago this week. To this day, the killer of nine-year old Jennifer Short has not been found and there seem to be very few leads in the case. JonBenet Ramsey was murdered almost ten years ago... so I guess there is kind of a hope in these parts that if there has been a substantial break in that case after so long, that we might see justice meted out somewhere along the line on whoever it is that killed Jennifer and her two parents. I can pretty well understand that.

But I've never understood the sensationalism that has surrounded the Ramsey case from the very beginning. It's something that I've always believed has hampered the legitimate investigation into the crime. It doesn't matter who her parents were or that she was a beauty contestant, or anything else like that. At the risk of coming across as sounding cold and callous: this was just another murder case. And it should have been approached as any other murder case is supposed to be: with solemnity and seriousness of mind. But from day one this has been like chum thrown to the sharks of a headline-hungry media. It's been treated like a daytime soap-opera storyline far too much. And it's something that no doubt has prevented this case from making any significant progress until today's developments.

This isn't the first time this has happened by far. We saw it happen in the O.J. Simpson case over ten years ago. In our grandparents' day it was the Lindbergh kidnapping case of 1932: to this day there is grave questioning as to whether Bruno Hauptmann really went to the electric chair a guilty man. If cooler heads had prevailed among the press - and fame-happy prosecutors - the real murderers might actually have been found in the course of due process. But that didn't happen... or was allowed to happen at all.

So I'm glad that, apparently, there may have been a real break in the Ramsey case and a prime suspect has been found. We might have finally taken a major step toward seeing JonBenet's killer brought to justice. I just can't help but think that it could have come an awful lot sooner than now. And I wonder now just what the press is going to do this time now that it's got a second wind.

Read More

This week's sign that the Apocalypse is upon us...

I want a Mac.

That is the very first time in my life that I've found myself lusting after one of Apple's computers. And after going so long calling them "Macin-craps" too. But, it's true: I would love to have a Mac computer.

Now, I am and always will be, I guess, a Windows user. Ever since Windows 3.1 well over ten years ago. For me, it's just plain fun to get into the guts of Windows and tinker with stuff, the way we used to edit AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files in old-school MS-DOS. And it's just too practical for me to stick with Windows anyway. It's what I know how to use the most.

But in spite of all that, at long last... I'd love to own a Mac. Because as good as Windows is, there are some things that Mac can do just as well. And I'll now admit, maybe even better.

What finally did it for me is Garageband, a Mac program that lets even music-illiterate types like me make some pretty astounding audio tracks. We have Garageband loaded on a G5 Mac at our TV station and I'm really impressed with it. So much so that for the past few weeks I've been trying my darndest to find a Windows equivalent that does the same thing.

But alas... there isn't one.

And Macs also run Final Cut Pro, which I'm amazed at what some of the other guys at the station can do with this software package. When I was putting Forcery together I used Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 for the editing and After Effects 6.5 for all the visual effects. If I'd been working on a Mac loaded with Final Cut Pro, I could have streamlined the entire process so much more smoothly.

I'm starting to seriously consider eventually getting a Mac, because if I'm going to pursue filmmaking any more it might be well worth getting a multimedia platform as well-suited to so many production tasks as the Mac is. I can see where it would make a huge impact on my work.

If my friend Deborah ever reads this she's going to be laughing her head off, because she's long been telling me how good Macs are... and I've finally come to believe her.

So that might be something I'll be looking into getting in the not too distant future. And I'm sure it will work just fine alongside my Windows XP machines, or Vista if Microsoft ever gets that piece of bloatware off the ground. That's one thing I've always admired about Macs though: they don't have the excess baggage that every new iteration of Windows seems to bring with it. Sometimes less is more.

Okay, I've made my confession. Now it's time for me to go to work and do penance at the iMac that holds all of our station's TV commercials :-P

Read More

50,000

A few minutes ago I went to this blog to check on something and noticed the meter...The Knight Shift has now hit fifty thousand visitors! Not the most visits I've ever seen for a blog - heck the Drudge Report gets a few million a day - but for a humble little blog like it is, it's a pretty neat milestone to have reached. Thanks to everyone who helped it achieve this.

Read More

U.S. government sends Blade Runners to look for Replicants at Knoxville airport

Don't you just hate it when real life starts to imitate the movie Blade Runner too much?

Here's the story from the Wall Street Journal:

Which Travelers Have 'Hostile Intent'? Biometric Device May Have the Answer
By JONATHAN KARP and LAURA MECKLER
August 14, 2006

At airport security checkpoints in Knoxville, Tenn. this summer, scores of departing passengers were chosen to step behind a curtain, sit in a metallic oval booth and don headphones.

With one hand inserted into a sensor that monitors physical responses, the travelers used the other hand to answer questions on a touch screen about their plans. A machine measured biometric responses -- blood pressure, pulse and sweat levels -- that then were analyzed by software. The idea was to ferret out U.S. officials who were carrying out carefully constructed but make-believe terrorist missions.

The trial of the Israeli-developed system represents an effort by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to determine whether technology can spot passengers who have "hostile intent." In effect, the screening system attempts to mechanize Israel's vaunted airport-security process by using algorithms, artificial-intelligence software and polygraph principles.

Neither the TSA nor Suspect Detection Systems Ltd., the Israeli company, will discuss the Knoxville trial, whose primary goal was to uncover the designated bad guys, not to identify threats among real travelers. They won't even say what questions were asked of travelers, though the system is generally designed to measure physical responses to hot-button questions like "Are you planning to immigrate illegally?" or "Are you smuggling drugs."

(snip)

How is this not the Voight-Kampff test from Blade Runner?! Here's the user's end of the machine:
And here's the description of the test from Wikipedia:

The Voight-Kampff is a polygraph-like machine used by the LAPD's Blade Runner units to assist in the testing of an individual to see if he or she is a replicant. It measures bodily functions such as respiration, "blush response", heart rate and eye movement in response to emotionally provocative questions. In the film two replicants take the test: Leon (played by Brion James) and Rachael (played by Sean Young). In Blade Runner, Deckard tells Tyrell that it usually takes 20 to 30 cross-referenced questions to distinguish a replicant. With Rachael it takes more than a hundred.

Description from the original 1982 Blade Runner presskit:

"A very advanced form of lie detector that measures contractions of the iris muscle and the presence of invisible airborne particles emitted from the body. The bellows were designed for the latter function and give the machine the menacing air of a sinister insect. The VK is used primarily by Blade Runners to determine if a suspect is truly human by measuring the degree of his empathic response through carefully worded questions and statements."

There's no word yet on how many "skinjobs" have been nabbed in Knoxville so far.

Read More

Peter the YouTuber gaining a devoted following

A few days ago I posted a YouTube video featuring a 70-ish man making some "geriatric gripes and grumbles". Well in the past week or so since that first video, which he titled "first try", Peter - aka "geriatric1927" - has gained a massive following especially from the younger crowd that dominates YouTube. He's now posted eight videos of himself so far. He talks about growing up before World War II, entering the British armed forces as a radar mechanic, meeting and marrying his wife, his lifelong love of motorcycles, the passion for blues music that he shares with his audience... he's definitely one of a kind in the world of Web 2.0. Here's one news story I found about him and here's yet another. I'm highly recommending checking this guy out if you haven't already.

Read More

"I want to ride my bicycle..."

So... I got a new bicycle.

Lisa and I spent the past few weeks looking for one (although the extreme heat we've had lately put a damper on that for awhile). She brought her bike with her a few weeks ago when she came back from visiting her parents in Georgia. And there's a great bicycle/jogging trail that goes by our place. So of course being a good young married couple that does everything together, she made me get one too so we could go ridin'.

We finally found a good one today at the Super K-Mart in Greensboro, made by Mongoose. So we went out for a "test drive" on the trail this evening after dinner. And I really need to figure out the gears on the thing 'cuz my legs got a way horrid workout going uphill the hard way. But I think this is going to prove to be a very wise investment in the long term. It's great exercise, and it's going to help me work toward a goal that my friend Chad has convinced me to go for: running a full marathon, like he's done twice now.

But that's a ways off still. I gotta train first and start a real running regimen like he's got. In the meantime, I'm trying to get "Bicycle Race" by Queen out of my head :-)

Read More

Best YouTube video I've seen in awhile

You've just got to watch this. He's a first-time YouTuber:

Read More

Report on my campaign: "I am NOT a committee!"

I've been thinking about making reports here whenever things warrant them, about my running for Rockingham County Board of Education. Not so much to toot my own horn but just to give other people who've never run for office an idea of what exactly is involved with trying to get elected. So far I've filed the paperwork to be on the ballot, sent out a press release, and created a website for my campaign.

This morning I filed the paperwork pertaining to my political campaign committee. By law I must have a committee with a treasurer, even though that committee and treasurer is actually just me. I shouldn't have to file any more stuff between now and the election, unless I somehow wind up spending/raising more than $3,000. In the meantime all I have to do is keep meticulous records of everything that gets raised or spent. Which so far the expenditure just a little over $65, the bulk of which was registering knightforboard.org as my website domain name.

So I needed to come up with a name for my committee. It had to be something unique. I tried to make it something both practical and memorable. I made attempts to find something that would turn into a neat acronym, but came up with nothing. For awhile I seriously thought of naming it "The Vote Knight for School Board Committee (There's No Real Committee)"... but this is a serious thing so I didn't do that.

In the end, I settled on Knight for School Board 2006 Committee. Just something plain and simple. And short enough to hopefully fit on one line at the bottom of the screen when I start doing the TV commercials.

Tune in next time, when Our Hero talks about the intricacies and hurdles that come with looking for contributions.

Read More

More DOCTOR WHO on Sci-Fi next month

The latest season of Doctor Who - the first with David Tennant as the Doctor - will start running on the Sci-Fi Channel on September 29th, according to the Chicago Tribune. That's about 8 months earlier than a lot of us were expecting Season 2 (or 28 if you're counting from old-school Who) to broadcast in America. No word though on whether "The Christmas Invasion", the first real episode with Tennant, will be part of the set. I hope it will be.

This season of Doctor Who was a real mixed bag: the episodes that were good were very good (like "The Girl in the Fireplace", "The Age of Steel" and "Doomsday") while the ones that were bad were absolutely atrocious: the final scene of "Love & Monsters" made that episode the single most disturbing/disgusting thing I might have ever seen on television. Well anyway, if you didn't end up downloading them off the 'net for the past few months, you'll get your chance to see the newest Doctor Who episodes starting next month and then you can judge for yourself :-)

Read More

About the "no liquids rule" that was imposed on airline passengers today...

So now all liquid products are banned from carry-on luggage if you board a plane, except for baby formula and bottled breast milk. This is all because a major plot was foiled to blow up British airliners using liquid explosives.

Here's the thing: explosives don't have to be in liquid form. They can also be solid, like plastic explosives.

So if another mad scheme is stopped to blow up a plane, only this time using C4 plastique, will that mean that ALL plastic items - like combs and Game Boys and credit cards - will be banned from carry-ons from then on?

Read More

"POLICE SQUAD! In Color" and on DVD this November

Arriving this November 7th is one of the most hotly demanded DVD sets ever: Police Squad!, the complete six-episode series.
Everyone knows about the Naked Gun movies but this is the show that started it all. This was definitely a show that was ahead of its time when it aired on ABC in 1982. Too bad it only lasted six episodes 'cuz this is some of the funniest television I've ever seen (I caught the entire series back in 1991 when CBS ran it for a few weeks). Something you absolutely should consider either pre-ordering or picking up at the store when it comes out.

Read More

My political campaign now has a website!

Awright, I spent all night working on this (mostly just writing stuff) but my first-ever political campaign now has its very own website! Head over to www.knightforboard.org to get the lowdown and more information about me than you'll ever want to know :-P

Read More

Okay, WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO?

They're re-running last week's episode right now on Sci-Fi Channel. I don't usually go in for "reality" TV shows but I'm having too fun a time watching this one. In case you don't know, Who Wants To Be A Superhero? is a show where a dozen or so would-be costumed heroes compete - under the watchful eye of comics legend Stan Lee - for the ultimate prize: be a hero in a published comic book. See if you don't giggle a bit after hearing the names of some of these people: Major Victory, Monkey Woman, Iron Enforcer, Fat Momma (wearing donuts on her utility belt), Cell Phone Girl. The first week's big challenge was to change into costume without being gazed upon by onlookers, then run a short distance through an archway... and too many of the prospective heroes ignored the little girl crying for help on their way to the goal. This past week's involved being brave enough to withstand being assaulted by two vicious attack dogs (I'm still laughing at how they dragged Creature across the lawn). Is this thing contrived? Possibly. Is it watchable? Heck yes! Can't wait to see the next episode when the remaining heroes face their first supervillain.

Read More