TRANSFORMERS trailer hits Yahoo!

In spite of the problems that I've heard this movie has had/will have, I must say that this trailer rocks the house. 'Course, I've seen plenty of awesome trailers for movies that when they finally arrived in theaters, were total letdowns (I would even say that the "teaser" a year ago for Spider-Man 3 promised a lot more than what that movie actually yielded). So this could go either way... but for what it's worth, I really am hoping to be more than pleasantly surprised with Transformers. Watching this tidbit of it does give me a feeling of some optimism (or should that be "Optimus"? :-).

Mash down here for the exclusive trailer at Yahoo!

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Last World War I veteran living in Canada has died

Dwight Wilson, 106 years old, passed away this week. He was the last veteran of World War I still living in Canada.

John Babcock, the last known Canadian vet of the Great War, is living in the state of Washington.

There are but 3 American soldiers who fought in World War I that are still with us, ranging in age from 106 to 108.

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Immediate reaction to tonight's LOST "Greatest Hits"

This ain't television. This is high art.

"Greatest Hits" didn't have the shock value that "The Man from Tallahassee" or some of the other more recent episodes did, but it was definitely one of the saddest episodes of Lost ever. I will admit to feeling more than a little choked-up at how Charlie was preparing for the inevitable...

...and then the last few seconds happen, and not for the first time this season an ep leaves us thinking "Okay NOW what?!? We didn't see THIS coming!"

Good to see Bernard and Rose again. And lo and behold, the dentist is pretty handy with a rifle! 'Bout time he saw some real action.

How many DHARMA hatches are there? I'd thought that the "underwater" one would have been the Hydra. This raises the count of known DHARMA stations to 7 (when the orientation film said there were 6). And didja notice that as Charlie was diving down, that the DHARMA logo for the Looking Glass station is a white rabbit?

Ben is now, at last, officially the Jim Jones of Lost Island. The thing I can't figure out is, what exactly is driving him? There's some obsession at work in the guy. Richard looked worried.

I wouldn't want to be caught in between Rousseau and whatever the heck it is she's giving that hard stare at.

Gonna have to watch this again tomorrow and let it sink in more. But if tonight was any indication, after next week's finale I think we're all gonna need that eight-month hiatus!

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Cop uses confiscated weed in brownies, then calls 911: "I think we're dead"

Thanks to Mark Childrey for sending this along...

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Limbaugh: "I alone have the power" to pick nominee, accuses Paul supporters of spamming

Once upon a time, I was a "dittohead". I discovered Rush Limbaugh not long out of high school: first from his syndicated TV show and then his radio show (which I listened to religiously). I read his books, I phoned and faxed my reps whenever he said we needed to make our voices heard... heck I was even a caller on his show one day in December 1993.

Thank the Lord that I came to my senses.

I still have my copies of The Way Things Ought To Be and See, I Told You So, along with other relics from the strange days of my youth. Back when I couldn't see past the two-party fraud. By the time The Matrix came out in '99 I had already taken the proverbial Red Pill and started seeing the way things really are in this world. Like, how people like Limbaugh aren't so much interested in pursuing a righteous cause as they are with feeding their inflated egos. And I've come to realize something else: that the ones who insist on perpetrating this Democrat/Republican "either/or" sham do so for the primary reason of exploiting America instead of serving her.

Limbaugh has said some things over the years that have confirmed my later beliefs about him, but this one tops them all: Rush Limbaugh has declared that he will be the one who decides who the Republican nominee is... and that it definitely won't be Ron Paul. Then he accused Paul's supporters with "spamming" the post-debate polls so as to inflate their candidate's popularity figures...

Limbaugh's remarks came today during his analysis of last night's GOP presidential debate in South Carolina, as a caller urged Rush to throw his support behind Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, as the caller claimed Paul was the most conservative of the field of candidates.

"I don't think Congressman Paul has a snowball's chance," Limbaugh said.

"You have the power yourself to make him the Republican nominee," the caller responded.

"That is very true, and that is why I must exercise this power responsibly, not as a cheerleader," said Limbaugh, "which is why I'm not picking a name right now. I alone have the power to move the [Republican] base."

But we all know that he would never pick Ron Paul, or any other candidate who believes in adherence to the Constitution. Rush Limbaugh is now nothing more than a mouthpiece for the status quo. For all his long-standing boasting of being "the new media", he has only proven that he is not much different than "the old media" and just as corrupt. And like the old media, he knows that his stature would be direly threatened as never before if someone as serious-minded as Ron Paul came into the Oval Office and began rocking the boat.

Once again, it's a case of the press wanting to be lazy.

Somebody please 'splain to me how it is that Limbaugh is now supposed to be better than "the liberal media".

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Is this the title of the next Indiana Jones movie?

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Moses?

I doubt it (but hey, I've been wrong before). It's a title that's been bandied about at least once in the past decade (click here for an EXCELLENT synopsis of the long, strange trip to the fourth Indy film, including Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars).

Personally - and I'm probably one of the darned few who will ever admit to saying this - I've always thought that Indiana Jones and the Sons of Darkness would have been a great movie. Too bad that script turned out to be totally fake :-(

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Tonight's LOST: Will "Greatest Hits" be Charlie's swan song?

Last week's episode of Lost is still freaking me out. The part where Ben takes Locke to Jacob's cabin might be the hands-down creepiest scene from a television show I've ever watched. No kidding: when Locke heard that voice I jumped from the shock. Then the whole cabin went nuts. And then there was that final scene where Ben showed Locke what happened to the DHARMA Initiative... again, creepy.

There are two episodes left for Lost this season, and of all the episodes so far these are the two that I know the least about. Tonight's is titled "Greatest Hits" and all I know is that it's centered on Charlie. And that for quite awhile now it's been rumored that Charlie is going to die soon. Will it be tonight? I hope not: Charlie has been one of the most fun characters to watch. He deserves to get back home and have his music career take off and become the man that Claire needs and the father that Aaron deserves to have.

But this is Lost, and the best things aren't guaranteed to happen to the characters we like most. Any one of them is ripe for killing-off.

Then next week is the 2-hour season finale, "Through the Looking Glass". And I am hearing that details about this episode have become very widespread in the past few days. I don't know what those are and don't want to know until the episode ends next Wednesday night. Just wanted to give plenty of warning to anyone else so they'll know that the spoilers are being disseminated out there, so if you want to go into the season finale as pure as possible, there are some places on the 'net you might not wanna visit for the next week or so.

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About what Ron Paul said last night ...

He's right.

The biggest attacks against Dr. Paul for his comments on terrorism and 9/11 are coming mostly from those who proudly call themselves "neoconservatives": the ones who can't get enough of American intervention in the rest of the world. And that's what has invited so much hatred against America to begin with. I defy anyone to tell me that there hasn't been a correlation between our trying to be the world's policeman, and anti-American sentiment.

As for Rudy Giuliani's tantrum: to me it seemed more like an act of desperation than something of solid principle. So he took what Paul said out of context and tried to spin it to make Paul look like a "kook".

But I've no problem with what Ron Paul said last night. It was an honest and intelligent answer. What else are we supposed to want out of a potential future President?

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Larry Flynt makes a statement about Jerry Falwell

Say what you will of Larry Flynt, but this was high class. And I can't help but think he's sincere in saying all of this, in spite of the legal turmoil that went on between him and Jerry Falwell. Here's the statement he released today after news came out that Falwell had died:

"The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in."

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Bush's most glaring leadership failure yet

President George W. Bush has tapped Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute to be his "war czar".

For the first time in American history, the President of the United States has outsourced his job as Commander-in-Chief.

Bush started this insane war in Iraq. Now he doesn't want to devote any more of his own time toward finishing it. So he's letting someone else handle it.

Pathetic!

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Gonzales, "attempted" software piracy, and Inslaw/PROMIS

Let me get this straight...

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wants to make "attempted" copyright infringement a crime.

Among other things, Gonzales is calling for life imprisonment for software piracy.

It logically follows, then, that the entire frickin' U.S. Justice Department - and a damn huge chunk of the rest of the federal government - should be sentenced to life in prison for its continued piracy of the PROMIS software.

To this day, the Justice Department has not paid Inslaw a dime for what was proven in court to be a clear case of software piracy by the federal government.

If this isn't a grandiose case of "chutzpah", I don't know what is.

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Jerry Falwell has passed away

Breaking news now. Was found in his office "unresponsive" and rushed to the hospital. In just the past few minutes it's coming out more or less verified that Falwell has indeed died.

I know that I've written a lot on this blog about how I disagreed with a many things that Falwell did. The biggest problem I had with him was that he put too much an emphasis on gaining political power. That said, I have to add here that my prayers are definitely with his family today.

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Classic Garfield cartoon: "Mistakes Will Happen"

This is not only one of the best animated Garfield cartoons ever: I think it's also one of the greatest cartoons of all time! From the fifth season of Garfield and Friends in 1992, here is "Mistakes Will Happen":

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When Christians get it all wrong ...

Two stories - both from here in North Carolina - that caught my attention this morning, that illustrate the frustration that I have so often with some who profess to share my faith in Christ...

The first has to do with Good News Independent Baptist Church in Raleigh: its pastor has placed this sign out in front of the church. I could say something about the horrible grammar and spelling ("Christain"?) but that's not the point. What is troubling is that Rev. Gary Murrell is being a very poor witness for Christ in doing this. Does he seriously believe that this sign is going to convince any Muslim to give up his or her religion and embrace Christianity? Because he's gravely mistaken if he does. We are supposed to be convincing people of Christ with our love toward them, and not militant hostility. When Murrell does this, he's really not showing that he's that much different from the Muslims who do kill other people. The hatred and loathing is the same, it's just a difference of extremes to which each chooses to express that hatred.

The other story involves the opening prayer at Forsyth County Board of Commissioners meetings. The ACLU is suing the board for what it calls "sectarian prayer" during its meetings. The board is supposed to be voting on how to handle the situation later tonight.

Here's the thing: I don't believe that the ACLU should be filing these ridiculous lawsuits against local municipalities for how they choose to carry on their public meetings. This is something that's left up to the local community. So I definitely believe that the ACLU should butt-out. At the same time, too many of the people who are most defending this kind of prayer are doing so for the completely wrong reason. They aren't "defending" or "standing up" for prayer for prayer's sake. They are doing this to turn prayer into a public show of force and power... which is something that Jesus expressly taught against. In fact, Jesus said that people who do this kind of public prayer were "hypocrites". Prayer is supposed to be a personal thing between the individual and God, not a public rallying cry against "those evil liberals" or some-such. When it becomes that, then prayer is worthless... and like the story of the church sign above, it poisons our witness for Christ.

The common point in both of these stories is the notion that Christianity should be a "religion" in competition with all the other religions of the world. That is wrong, because that gives Christianity the purpose of accumulating temporal power instead of furthering the kingdom of God for no other reason than it's own sake. Christianity shouldn't even be considered a "religion" at all, anyway. It's about relationship with God, not ritual for God.

We do neither God or ourselves any favors when we use the name of Christ to achieve stature in the eyes of the world.

Maybe if the Christians of this country would realize the dire need for humbleness, and stop trying to dominate the world, then perhaps we would get out of the way and allow God to fix some of the things that we complain about most. But hey, I'm just a guy with a blog: what do I know?

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First surface map of an extra-solar planet

The first map of the surface of a planet outside our solar system has been produced. This is a temperature-variation map of HD 189733b, orbiting a star about 63 light years from Earth. HD 189733b is considered a "hot Jupiter": a gas giant that orbits extremely close to its parent star (like, closer than Mercury does to our Sun). The map was produced with observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Click here for more info.

Absolutely amazing. It wasn't that long ago that we only suspected that there were planets orbiting other stars. In just a few years we've catalogued hundreds of new planets and now we've arrived at where we can get a picture of a planet's surface. Who knows what kinds of things we'll be picking out of the sky in another 10 or 20 years.

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My latest letter to the News & Record: ban political labels from the op-ed page

Here's the link to my latest letter to the editor of the News & Record. I had a wonderful conversation with Becky Layton in the editorial department a few days ago when she called to verify that I wrote this (standard procedure for letters to be published) and I said then that I'm very serious about this suggestion. The News & Record staff had a great idea when they started encouraging blogging and commenting on op-ed pieces. Now here's a chance to take it way on past the next level: ban all political labels, like "Democrat" and "Republican", "conservative" and "liberal", "right wing/left wing" etc.

Some will say that this will drastically limit the amount of material for the op-ed pages. No doubt that's true. But it will encourage serious, engaging and even polite debate about real ideas, instead of the partisan bickering that has become so anemic. And there are plenty of writers out there who do pursue ideas instead of ideology.

Words are like tools, or weapons: they can be used for good and they can be used for evil. But they should always be used with consideration and forethought. And if the News & Record would actually do this, it would not only be raising the bar and expectations (which is always a good thing) but it would become a real leading light in the field of the news media.

Anyway, you can read the letter at the link above, and leave a comment if you feel so led.

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How Ron Paul is destroying the media's grasp of politics

Something I'm not seeing talked about much during the past week or so, especially in light of the intense popularity - online and elsewhere - that Ron Paul seems to be enjoying following last week's GOP presidential candidates debate.

There seems to be a massive disconnect between what the mainstream press sees and is reporting, and the apparent support that Paul is getting as gauged from "alternative" outlets. F'rinstance, right now Paul has more people subscribed to his YouTube channel than any other Republican candidate. And as of this writing, "ron paul for president" entered into a Google search yields 162,000 results... compared to 75,400 for mainstream press-projected "frontrunner" Rudolph Giuliani.

And yet, the "traditional" media persists in largely ignoring Ron Paul, because he's not "polling high enough" compared go Guiliani, Romney, and a few others.

There's something horribly, horribly wrong with the mainstream media's perspective...

The only "scientific" polling that is being done by the major news organizations relies on old-school telephone landlines. No cell phones are being called for these polls (it's not allowed by law). A lot of people have migrated entirely to wireless phone sevice. That doesn't necessarily mean that a huge portion of those without landlines will not be supporting the "frontrunners", but it certainly seems that there would be a comparable level of interest in these candidates on the Internet. But right now, there isn't any.

In every way, Ron Paul's candidacy is the one getting the most attention... except the standard media isn't seeing that because it's still locked-in with old-school methodology.

What does this mean? I think it indicates that there are a lot of people who are interested in Paul and his message of less government, that are invisible on the regular media's radar screen. And there really is no currently known way of taking many of those into account with statistical polling as has been understood for the past several decades.

If the mainstream press is to act as responsible journalists, it's going to have to take this into consideration when reporting on candidates from now on, because otherwise they are practicing subjective reporting by omission... which I am compelled to wonder whether or not this might be by design.

I'm going to be interested to see what kind of reaction there will be following this coming week's Republican candidates' debate. A lot of people did not know who Ron Paul was before last week. Since then he's fast become an unavoidable contender. How much higher might his star rise in the weeks and months to come in the lead-up to the only polls that really count: the ballot boxes? And how is the media going to react to something that, for the first time in a very long time, it cannot project with any sense of accuracy?

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