TRANSFORMERS score CD update: "'Till All Have One!"

Just because yesterday was the release date, doesn't mean that the struggle is over with. We won't stop demanding Transformers: The Score ...

Bigtime props to Mike Halverson for coming up with that awesome line!

(It's a paraphrase of the '"Til all are one!" final quote from the 1986 animated Transformers movie, in case ya didn't know :-)

Now, on to serious business regarding the problems still plaguing the release of the score CD...

Am still trying to get hold of someone at Warner Records about this, especially the Canadian distribution issue. It may take another day or so before I can come back with something definitive on that though, but will keep working on it. Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow 'cuz I hope to be able then to talk with someone who can provide some real skinny about what's going down.

Now about the orders placed through Amazon.com, which there have been all kinds of stories coming in about folks now getting e-mails from Amazon stating that their orders will be delayed. A source has said that "It's almost impossible!" right now to get Transformers: The Score shipped immediately from them because Amazon is running extremely low on stock. It is now being considered a "top priority" by Amazon to get more CDs sent to their warehouse (and Amazon is asking for "thousands!").

Unfortunately this means that anyone now ordering from Amazon will probably have to wait 1-3 weeks before their CD arrives!

Clearly, the demand for this was very unexpected. By everyone.

I am still looking for a couple of copies in the stores too, and went all over Greensboro (the biggest town around here) today and it's nowhere to be found. A dude in High Point has said he went looking for it to, but to no avail. Have also heard that Burlington is a complete bust.

Nothing much else to say at this point except...

"Transform and roll out... them CDs!!!" :-)

Read More

Universal turning LAND OF THE LOST into a comedy starring Will Ferrell?!

This sucks donkeys balls to no end.

Yeah you read that right: I did dare to use my personal "worst epithet ever" for this. Because everything about this project (with the possible exception of Will Ferrell which I'll get to later) screams out "wrong" in every way possible.

I was 5 years old and in kindergarten when WFMY out of Greensboro started showing Land of the Lost on weekday afternoons at 3:30. Land of the Lost, even before I ever saw a Star Wars movie, was my first serious exposure to what I would come to appreciate as epic storytelling within a broad mythology. The weird landscape, the dinosaurs, the Sleestaks, the Lost City, the Pylons, the Civil War soldier, the ape dudes, the spaceship... and Rick Marshall and his two kids trying to get home: I ate it all up and wanted more. Here's the first season's opening title sequence if you've never seen it before...

Then they had to show the Season 3 episodes where Rick left and Uncle Jack showed up. By that time I was 6 years old and had realized, before the term had ever been coined, that Land of the Lost had "jumped the shark". Let's not even talk about the early Nineties remake.

Ain't It Cool News was where I first heard that Universal is about to spend $100 million dollars on a big-screen Land of the Lost feature starring Will Ferrell.

Universal's Land of the Lost is being billed as "an event comedy".

Ummmm... 'scuse me?

Land of the Lost is not a comedy. No doubt that there were some light-hearted moments in the original show, but for a children's series it was always dark and foreboding. What ABC's Lost is today, is what Land of the Lost was back then. And in the hands of people who understand Land of the Lost and "get" the whole concept, this could turn into a fantastic project. I think that Will Ferrell could do a fine job with this: it has the potential to move him out of the perception that he's mainly a comedy actor, if the material is treated seriously. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Can't Sid and Marty Krofft maintain some creative control over this? The way things are going we can look forward to Chris Rock and Adam Sandler in the Far Out Space Nuts movie any day now.

Read More

TRANSFORMERS Score CD Roundup: "Good first day!" at Warners but distribution problems plague Canada and elsewhere

Okay, let's try to make sense of this...

Earlier today reports came in that Transformers: The Score was being found at a number of stores across the United States. I'm wondering how many copies those places got though 'cuz I've been asking these same folks who wrote in then and they all said that they got the last or next-to-last copy on the shelves. So some went out. But were they enough?

Apparently not 'cuz the vast majority of people who've written me are saying that they can not find the CD anywhere where they live. Count me among those 'cuz I haven't been able to find it either. I'm going to Greensboro tomorrow (the "big city" south of us here in Reidsville) and will be checking out Best Buy, Target and other stores, to see if it turns up there.

Like I said before, I'm not going to be 100% satisfied until I see the CD on the shelves with my own two eyes, and can put a couple o' copies down on the counter at the cash register. This Knight's crusade is still on: everybody needs to be able to get the score.

Unfortunately, I am hearing nothing but bad news from our friends in Canada: nobody there at all has been able to find it. Or at least nobody in Canada who has either written in here or on any of the Transformers-related forums has reported being able to find the score. Oddly enough, I'm hearing that the CD is on sale in Europe.

I intend to contact Warner Bros. Records tomorrow to ask about this. And if they can tell me what might be going on with Canadian distribution, I'll pass that along to y'all.

In spite of this, I am hearing from a source at Warner Records that "we had a good first day!" regarding sales of Transformers: The Score. "The results are better than we imagined: the pre-orders which have been placed all over the world just shipped out today, and web stores like Amazon are asking for more and more CDs!" The source later added that these outlets "can't handle the large demand for score CDs of Transformers."

Since Amazon was mentioned, according to its product page on Amazon Transformers: The Score is currently #30 on the music sales rank and is #3 on the movie soundtracks, after High School Musical 2 at #1 and then Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus.

I am already hearing that the unexpectedly high sales may bode well for the chances of a 2-disc edition of the soundtrack.

And that's basically it right now for the first day of this album's release: some folks are getting it, but most aren't and that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Pray that the morrow brings better news :-)

Read More

TRANSFORMERS score CD is selling out on first day!

Transformer World 2005 is hosting multiple reports that Transformers: The Score, which went on sale today, is selling out all over the place.

Among the accounts...

- "Checked three stores today. Best Buy - Got in several copies, set them out before opening, sold out in less than an hour. This from a hardcore Transformers fan who works there. She didn't even get her copy, as they were gone before she got to work. Target - They aren't even in their computers according to the cat I talked to. Not sure if that's legit or not. FYE - Got in several copies, sold out before eleven (when I was there)."

- "If you haven't yet, try the "mega-bookstores". Found the last copy at a local Borders. Didn't check Barnes and Noble or a Books-A-Million, but I assume they might be carrying it. At the very least, check a Borders if you have one nearby. Search high and low near the soundtracks section. My copy was actually in the Latin music selection next to it."

- "I think best buy is the only retailer that actually got it in. I called one of the ones in the area and got them to hold their final copy"

Meanwhile I'm hearing from a few of our friends north of the border (no not Virginia... I'm talking Canada!) who are having especially big problems finding the score there. Here's hoping that this CD can get some good distribution going 'cuz it's apparently in considerable demand (yah as if we didn't know that people really wanted this thing ;-).

Read More

Marco van Bergen's review of TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE

Here is Marco van Bergen's review of Transformers: The Score, which in some ways is considerably better than my own 'cuz Marco gets into a lot of detailed analysis of the score as a technical achievement. Well worth checking out if you've a good mind (and ear) with music appreciation and terminology :-)

Read More

TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE is on sale TODAY!

Just a friendly reminder that today, October 9th 2007, is the day that Transformers: The Score, the CD of Steve Jablonsky's beautiful orchestral soundtrack from the movie Transformers, goes on sale.

I had hoped to have photos of it on the sales rack, but the Wal-Mart here in Reidsville doesn't have it yet (they can be slow in putting new music and DVDs out anyway). But some reports have come in from Georgia, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Texas that the CD has been spotted at various Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target and Fye stores. So, it's out there. And it's also on sale via iTunes as a digital download. I'm still hoping that everyone will buy the physical CD though 'cuz it's a wonderful thing to hold and behold.

I won't be completely satisfied until I see it with my own two eyes and purchase a couple and see them ring up on the register. But if folks are able to get it now, then I'm a happy man :-)

THANK YOU, all of you, who have worked over the past few months by signing the petition and getting the word out that this score album was not only desired, but that we wanted a lot of care and attention to be given it. Here's my review of the soundtrack from a few days ago and just as I did then, I can attest that this CD is everything we hoped it would be.

Thank you also, to the good folks at Warner Bros. Records, who published this score and went all-out in its production. You guys did a great job. And I very much hope that you will pay attention to the sales figures for this CD and determine that it warrants that 2-disc set we have heard might be coming.

Thanks to Michael Bay and his crew for making such a kick-butt movie for this music to accompany!

Most of all, a most heartfelt thank you to Steve Jablonsky, and to his fellow musicians, for giving us this remarkable score. More than anyone else, I sincerely believe that you captured and presented the spirit and essence of the Transformers, in a way that hasn't been done in the entire 23-year history of the franchise. The score for the Transformers movie, more than you might realize, really did bring about a much-needed evolution for these characters: it helped to define and even re-define them, and grow into their own at long last. And even on its own it is an amazingly beautiful, epic and at times haunting score.

I can't wait to see what you have in store for Transformers 2.

Anyway, today is finally the day, and y'all should be able to buy Transformers: The Score most anywhere. What are you waiting for?! Go get it!! Do it now now now!!!

Read More

So what do I believe about law enforcement?

Earlier today I received an e-mail from a fella named John, who is a law enforcement officer in a major metropolitan area. John has been a supporter of the Transformers score (out today!) but he mainly wrote to share some concerns he had with things I've written here lately about law officers abusing their power.

It was a very good letter that he wrote me. And I absolutely listened to him and took his words to heart. And it made me realize that maybe I haven't adequately shared my beliefs regarding law enforcement. So I wrote back to him, explaining more about my position. And I thought that maybe it would be well if I shared those thoughts here, also.

So here's my reply to John:

Please understand that at no time have I wanted to imply that I have "something against" law officers, because I don't. There are several who are very good friends of mine. Are family, even. I've never known any of them to have anything but a sober mind toward their profession. In that respect this entire county has been blessed: we really do seem to have the kind of police and sheriff's office personnel who hearken back to Andy and Barney of Mayberry: "peace officers", not "law enforcement officers", in that they try to create peace rather than impose it.

The stance that I write from is based on a long study of human history in general and human nature in particular. The biggest observation I have made is that given power and the authority to use it, all of us - absent the humility that comes with a never-ceasing seeking and chasing after God and fully understanding our place before Him - *will* abuse that power. I do believe we need law officers in our society. But just as they stand to counter the people being overwhelmed by a sense of power, so too do they require a counter... as does everything regarding our government.

It's a very delicate balance between too much power given individuals, and too much power given the government. One way leads to utter chaos, the other leads to imposed order. Anarchy or a statist government. I'd rather we not have either.

So a measure of constant vigilance is called for on the part of all individuals in a society: citizens and government alike.

This goes back to something that you referenced: Romans 13. Yes, we are to respect the authority of government. But here's the question: WHO exactly is in authority in America? Because we have two documents written by the Founding Fathers - the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - which clearly delineate that all government and authority in the United States derive from the people. It is not government for sake of government, but government of the people, by the people and for the people. If we believe that government is an authority unto itself and that dictates that authority and wields power on its own terms, then we have already become something far different than what the Founders envisioned and intended.

By the way, here's an interesting historical note: "the sword" that Paul writes about in verse 4 of that chapter was not something that Roman soldiers used in the line of duty like a pistol or a taser. It was actually a fairly small sword that all soldiers charged with keeping the peace were issued as a visible indication of their job: more like a badge than a serious weapon. These were rarely, if ever, actually used. But from these came the tradition that eventually gave you the badge that you wear in the line of duty.

Where do law officers fit in all of this?

If the people cannot live in the understanding that there is something above them (as with your beliefs, I hold that this is God) then it does fall to government to establish that, however inadequately it can do so. But that's still better than doing nothing at all. Law officers are a material, tangible reminder of something higher than man and if need be, they work to actively establish that fact. Along with not only the rest of our judicial system but everything of government that we have in our society, from the voting booth on up to the White House.

I think that at their best, law officers do remind is that this is still a government of our own making, and that each of us has a role in that, whether paid or unpaid. Police and sheriff's deputies have taken this a step further: it's not just a matter of personal responsibility but something that they have chosen to make a full-time profession of, and this is quite admirable. In a perfect society, every citizen would be just as serious about upholding the rule of law.

It's the rule of man that worries me though. And I've read too much of history to know what happens when man becomes too inebriated with power and authority.

John, I must run for now but I do thank you for taking the time to write to me about your concerns. Please know that I *have* taken what you have written to heart. And please know that at no time have I meant to encourage harm or anything other than respect to your and your fellows in your profession. I'm just trying to do right by *everyone* - law officers and citizens alike - per the big picture... 'cuz I'd rather like to have a country still worth passing down to my own children someday.

Remember folks: this government doesn't belong to itself. It belongs to you. And this country is what you choose to make of it, whether by your action or your apathy. I'd rather we take that responsibility seriously, so that good men and women like John who do serve in law enforcement (or as "peace officers" as I prefer to call them) won't have to shoulder that burden any more than they really should have to.

Read More

NOT AGAIN! School uniforms come up at tonight's Board of Education meeting (and I try to get tasered!)

After everything that happened at the July meeting, you would think that Standard Mode Of Dress ("SMOD") aka school uniforms would not come up again anytime soon at the Rockingham County Board of Education. Or ever again for that matter.

Well, tonight it did.

Take a wild guess who brought it up.

Now to be fair, Ron Price did not outright suggest putting the SMOD issue back up for discussion as something to be immediately implemented (all hell would have broken loose on the far opposite side of the table if he had tried to). But the mere fact that Price spoke at length about wanting to have policies and guidelines already in place and ready for SMOD "in case" it is ever implemented, is troubling enough. I also happened to notice that Price spoke about SMOD as if it was something that the administrators and faculties of schools should decide upon, without any reference at all to soliciting input from the parents as to whether or not they and their children want uniforms.

Someone else told me during the meeting that it sure sounded like Price is trying to impose SMOD somewhere, that he's laying the groundwork down for it at least.

Talk about beating a dead horse!

In other Board of Education items, Gene Saunders - the drama teacher at Rockingham County Senior High and a longtime leader in area theatre - addressed the board about a new drama guild for high school students throughout the county that is now forming up. Saunders said that the plan right now is to have everything ready so that this summer the guild's first production will be Disney's High School Musical, which would no doubt be a big hit with the kids. The issue of where the wrestling team at Rockingham County Senior High also came up, 'cuz there's not any real room for them to practice on their own and it's a hassle - and a lot of wear and tear - to keep unrolling out the mats every afternoon. The biggest concern is not just room but having it stay warm over the winter without incurring too big a heating cost.

Oh yeah, and I tried my darndest to get tasered tonight! Superintendent Dr. Rodney Shotwell brought up the issue of tasers in high school and Rockingham County Sheriff's Deputy Clarence Cheshire gave a great impromptu discussion of tasers, how they work etc. I think it was board member Steve Smith who jovially asked for a demonstration and while everyone was laughing I spoke out "Hey Steve, I'll do it!" Steve told everyone "Hey we've got a volunteer!" and I think it must have horrified some folks especially board chair Elaine McCollum 'cuz she knows that I'd have done it, too! Unfortunately because of legal liabilities etc. Deputy Cheshire wasn't allowed to use the taser on me as a demonstration. But hey, I was willing to do it! I was hoping that Cheshire - who's a really good fella - would zap me so that I could start screaming "DON'T TASER ME BRO!" Woulda made for a great write-up in tomorrow's Reidsville Review :-P

All things considered, it was one of the quieter Bored meetings that I've been too.

But let the word go out to my brothers and sisters in the cause: beware and be aware, that we may have to fight this all over again...

"There is one SMOD, and Ron Price is its prophet!

P.O.T.S.M.O.D. ACKBAR!!!"

Read More

Real-life X-Wing Fighter goes down in a blaze of glory

Remember the story a week ago about the X-Wing Fighter from Star Wars, that was an almost life-sized replica built by Polecat Aerospace? Well, a few days ago they actually launched the thing!

So how did it do? The X-Wing got off the launch pad and remained intact for about 3 seconds of flight before disintegrating spectacularly over the California desert.

Mash down here to watch 2 videos of the carnage. In spite of the destruction, this was still an awesome effort by the Polecat guys and it sounds like everyone had a great time!

EDIT 3:01 pm EST: Here's a YouTube video of the X-Wing taking flight...

Read More

My upcoming sabbatical

Sometime soon I'm going to take a break from blogging. Maybe a long one.

Yeah, I've walked away from the blog before (like when I gave up blogging for Lent last year). But this time it's going to be different. I'll no doubt do the Christmas post that's become tradition for this site, but other than that - and unless something really serious happens - this is going to be a real sabbatical with no defined end, until I feel like I'm ready to return.

For over a year now I've been involved in one long continuous series of struggles. Some of those I've written about here, like the school board race. And giving hell to unscrupulous government officials and fighting schemes to impose school uniforms. There have also been a number of things that I haven't written about here: situations that you can't begin to imagine.

All this past year I've had to fight one battle after another: some political, some legal, and some that were extremely spiritual. With no time to really rest or reflect throughout the whole time. I'd be lying if I said that this hasn't taken a toll on me. It's certainly caused me to become more mature than I've ever been before. And I believe that I'm much wiser now for it.

But all the same: I've lost something. And I need to go and find it again.

That, and there are still projects that I would like to devote more personal time toward pursuing. Things that I like to believe will enrich my life and that of those I care about. One's time on this Earth shouldn't be entirely devoted to fighting the battles: there also needs to be time to create things.

So no, this Knight's crusade isn't finished yet. But the warrior needs a respite to go and discover again what he is fighting for, and just as importantly why he is fighting.

I expect to be posting for another week or so, long enough to launch the auction for the copy of the Transformers: The Score CD signed by Steve Jablonsky, and then take off for a spell. And then hopefully I'll be back sooner than later and with new things to write about :-)

Read More

Sheriff's deputy goes "berserk" and kills 6 innocent teenagers

And the death toll might be 7, if another hospitalized victim loses the fight for his life.

Here's one story that I've found so far about Tyler Peterson, a 20-year old off-duty sheriff's deputy in Wisconsin who, overcome with anger after an argument with his girlfriend, stormed her house with a gun and opened fire on ten teenagers, who were having a party with movies and pizza. At least seven were hit, with six dead including Peterson's girlfriend.

I'm hearing some reports that in spite of his age, Peterson was already a member of the sheriff's department's SWAT team. Which if true would add an even worse angle to this story. Nobody that young and inexperienced needs to be put into the situation of being a SWAT member. Personally, I think that SWAT teams are something that lend themselves toward tremendous abuse anyway: the trend is that we see these ninja-suited thugs with way too much weaponry, who don't think anything about shooting first and asking questions later. A lot of innocent people have died at the hands of these goons in the past few years ("rack 'em stack 'em", some SWAT types call it) during supposedly "official" business.

It just comes with the nature of being given too much power: something that most people can't adequately handle without being corrupted by it. So giving it to a 20-year old kid - if Peterson indeed was a SWAT member - who lacks the self-discipline to understand not only how to use that power but how not to use it, is only asking for trouble.

Sadly, this reinforces my arguments from a few days ago, when I wrote that without law enforcement officers (another thing that is wrong: calling them "law enforcement" officers, which automatically suggests that an empowered government is of utmost priority over all else) being as much in fear of common citizens as the citizens have been led to be in fear, then there becomes something worse than a state of anarchy. There is no reason at all why Peterson shouldn't have been made to wonder if any of his intended victims might be able to strike back at him. As it is, it took another law officer to take him down (Peterson is now dead also).

Either we are all equal, or we are not. Either we have the right to defend ourselves, or we are forced to rely on officers of the law who cannot guarantee that they will be able to immediately heed our call for assistance. Either we depend on our own ability and initiative, or we depend on a government which in spite of its promises cannot possibly provide for our safety and well-being.

As I said in that earlier post, there is a role for duly-sworn officers of the law in our society. And the ones who understand that role and the responsibilities that come with it do deserve our full respect. But the fact remains that we can't depend on them to keep us entirely safe. And to expect that would be no more fair to them than it would be to ourselves.

Read More

The "Radioactive Boy Scout" gets 90 days in jail

Oddly enough this is the second story in the past few days involving Boy Scouts and hazardous materials (here's a link to the first). Curious, that...

Anyway, last week David Hahn was sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing smoke detectors from an apartment complex. After being caught taking one, police found 15 other smoke detectors in his apartment.

Years ago David Hahn achieved quite a bit of notoriety as "the Radioactive Boy Scout". It was as a 15-year old kid in Michigan working on achieving his Eagle Scout that Hahn, having already earned the Atomic Energy merit badge, set out to build a full-blown nuclear breeder reactor (a reactor that not only generates energy but creates new fuel) in his parents' shed. The entire weird story was later turned into a book. When Hahn was 17 the authorities finally caught wind of what he was doing. By that time the shed now had a thousand times more radiation than normal background levels. The shed and all of Hahn's apparatus were later buried in a low-level landfill in Nevada.

By the way, Hahn found a lot of the material for his original reactor by cannibalizing smoke detectors for the radioactive isotope of americium that most detectors contain. So was Hahn trying to build another reactor, this time in his apartment's living room?

Read More

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Yesterday Lisa and I went to Winston-Salem and wound up eating at Texas Roadhouse. This was my first time trying their food, although Lisa ate at one in Georgia a few months back and kept telling me how good the barbecue ribs were.

Well, I ordered a full slab of ribs and something happened that very, very rarely occurs: I couldn't eat the entire order. And ya wanna know why? 'Cuz that slab was huge!! Probably the biggest portion of ribs that I've had in quite a long time. Next time I may have to get a half-order. But they were delicious! The meat was tender and true to their word, comes clean off the bone. The sauce was exquisitely spicy. I'll definitely be enjoying the leftovers tonight for dinner. The place also had great service.

Lisa says that a Texas Roadhouse is supposed to be coming to Burlington sometime soon, in which case I'll be getting to eat there more often. But in the meantime, if there's one fairly close by to you, check out Texas Roadhouse. And if you're really lucky maybe you can sit in the "Willie Nelson Corner" just like we did last night :-)

Read More

First review ANYWHERE of TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE by Steve Jablonsky (and a peek at how you might be able to get a signed copy!)

The doorbell rang just after 11 this morning.

Usually that means it's Dad come by for a visit, 'cuz he's the only person who ever rings the doorbell: everyone else just knocks. So I took a looksee out the peephole to see if it was him.

It wasn't. It was a lady in a FedEx uniform holding a package.

I thought that it must be something Lisa had ordered, because she's all the time getting books and other stuff for her music classes. Although I had been told that something was coming to me via FedEx, but I wasn't expecting that particular package until sometime next week. So I signed the lil' computer pad thingy and the nice FedEx lady handed me the package and the first thing that I noticed is that it was addressed to "Chris Knight".

The second thing that I noticed is that it was sent from "Steve Jablonsky".

Here's some of what was inside:

Steve Jablonsky sent signed copies of Transformers: The Score to both Lisa and me! Lisa was especially thrilled about it: this is going to be quite a cool thing for her to show to her students! It must be said: between the Star Wars decor in her classroom, doing stuff that encourages appreciation of folk music and now this, she goes all-out to make learning music interesting.

And as for my copy, well... I already have some plans for it. This CD of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky himself is going to be put on display in a shadowbox, along with a printed-out copy of the online petition that I started a few months ago (including ALL of the signatures). And my original idea was to put a little plaque in between them saying "Some things are worth fighting for" but my friend Eric Wilson had an even better idea: his suggestion is that it should be emblazoned with "NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY!". So that's what it's going to say :-)

Along with these two CDs, Steve also sent a signed copy of the D-War soundtrack. And he sent one more signed copy of Transformers: The Score, which has a very special purpose which I'll talk more about to wrap-up this post. Which I can't thank Steve Jablonsky enough for not only sending us these nice copies of the Transformers score, but how he's helping out with a really groovy cause.

Okay, wellllll... here's the first review anywhere of Transformers: The Score. I just spent the past few hours listening to it twice. So what's it like?

In a word: "Magnificent!"

Folks, I can gladly report to you that the wait has been well worth it. In fact, as good as Transformers: The Score sounds, I now appreciate that they didn't rush this into production. It is exceedingly obvious that a great deal of care and attention went into putting this CD together. It is the common belief of many people that Steve Jablonsky's score for Transformers is among the finest in motion picture history, and a lot of us have wanted a CD that does justice not only to the movie and its score, but to the man who composed the orchestral soundtrack. Thankfully, Transformers: The Score does all of that, and more.

If you're a fan of the Transformers movie and you loved its instrumental soundtrack, you absolutely should do yourself a favor and purchase the actual CD, rather than buy a digital download. Why? Because I don't know if a digital file can come close to replicating the tremendous depth and splendor of a compact disc, and this score absolutely demands that you enjoy it at the fullest possible clarity. I cannot begin to emphasize this point nearly enough regarding Transformers: The Score. It deserves space on your CD rack, to be admired and appreciated. It's a beautiful CD to just look at, even.

There are 20 tracks on this CD. Only a few themes from the movie didn't make this cut, but don't fret: there's plenty of material here, including all of the most important pieces. And not only that but most of them are significantly longer than how they were used in the final film. The CD clocks in at just 2 seconds shy of a full hour: quite a bit longer than most CDs that I've bought in the past few years or so, but about par for the course so far as movie soundtracks go.

By the way, I can also report that the names of some of the tracks, which had previously been mis-spelled when details about Transformers: The Score first appeared online, are now spelled correctly. That is worth mentioning because not long after the track listing was revealed, some sources said that those would be the names printed on the labels because the CDs were already well in production. Now it looks like they went back and fixed these names. At least they are correct on the copies that we received. Those are noted below.

Okay well, let's get right to it! By the way, those tracks which are described on the CD as being different/longer than how they are in the movie will be marked with an asterisk ("*").

1. "Autobots"*: The opening theme from the movie, but greatly expanded. Sounds epic and majestic. Already, there's a sense of how much effort and appreciation went into this CD, because the crispness and clarity of the audio is astounding.

2. "Decepticons"*: MUCH longer than the "Decepticons" MP3 that first appeared on the Burger King tie-in website over the summer. Continuing the high quality that was introduced with "Autobots", there is also far more depth than anything we have heard before so far as available Transformers music goes, and it's especially apparent with the ominous chanting. More than any other track, I think here Jablonsky is really emphasizing the utter alien-ness of the Transformers race... which is something that hasn't been done nearly enough in the entire long history of the franchise.

3. "The All Spark"*: Music for a machine god. Has a nice, dark use of cello (I think that's what it is: my cello-playing buddy Darth Larry will doubtless tell me if I'm wrong :-).

4. "Deciphering The Signal"*: Very "cyberpunk"-ish and driving vibe here.

5. "Frenzy"*: Evil and sneaky, a fitting theme for the namesake Decepticon. This is a lot of the stuff that we heard when Frenzy was hacking into Air Force One.

6. "Optimus"*: Starts off as a soft, noble "new age"-ish theme for this, one of the most beloved characters from popular culture of the past two decades. Some beautiful strings in this track (reminds me a lot of what Howard Shore did for the Rohan theme from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers). It gradually becomes something more soaring and mighty.

7. "Bumblebee"*: A lot of the Autobot theme but "personalized" for Bumblebee's character. I thought it sounded really sweet and heroic.

8. "SOCCENT Attack": This was used twice in the movie: at the beginning when Blackout attacks the base in Qatar, and then later on when Megatron resurrects. So if you want the music for when N.B.E. 1 wakes up poky and declares "I am... Megatron!" here ya go! Wonderful music to accompany with mankind's first encounter with the Decepticons.

9. "Sam At The Lake": Pretty much what it says. For some reason I'm noticing it more listening to it from the soundtrack CD than I did in the movie. It sounds... I don't know, more "catchy". Yes, even the music from the scene when Sam and Miles are at the lake, sounds terrific on this CD :-)

10. "Scorponok"*: "BRING IT!!!" And no, your eyes are not deceiving you: the title of this track is fixed from what it was earlier reported to be! I'm looking at it on the CD label right now and it is spelled "Scorponok", not "Skorpinok". This is another one that is significantly longer than the movie version. Which will delight many because this was one of the most demanded themes from the soundtrack: Scorponok's assault on the SOCCENT survivors and then the Air Force's massive counter-attack. Of all the tracks on this CD, this is the one that I am most in fear of. Why? Because it's got that same kind of "FASTER GO FASTER!" vibe that "Duel of the Fates" from the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace soundtrack had. Which actually caused me to get a speeding ticket a few days after it came out while driving to Elon University. I solemnly promise you, I will keep this track handy in the car when Lisa goes into labor someday and I need to get to the hospital fast.

11. "Cybertron": A very desolate, empty, haunting theme. For some reason I'm reminded a lot of Brian May's score from The Road Warrior. A sad requiem for a dead world.

12. "Arrival To Earth"*: THE MOST DEMANDED track on the whole thing, bar none! This is the track that was called "The Autobots Descent" by a lot of people over the summer (some still refuse to call it anything but that... yeah I'm looking at you Mr. Smart-Alecky Young Dutch Filmmaker :-P). Whatever it is you want to call it, "Arrival To Earth" is staggering in its majesty. The whole theme, from just before the "meteors" appear in the sky, to Optimus's introduction, is here. And there is a LOT more to it than what you heard from the movie, too! I actually had a tear in my eye listening to this one from the CD, just as I did when I watched this scene in the theater. Pretty much the heart and soul of the entire album.

13. "Witwicky": Mischievous. Notice that the title of this track is also fixed, where earlier reports had it as "Whitwicky". This is from when Sam arrives back at his house and the Autobots are trying their best to hide.

14. "Downtown Battle": This is the music that you'll probably have playing in your head when you know that something big and angry is about to arrive to lay some serious smack down.

15. "Sector 7": Trying hard to remember where this was from: when Simmons first arrives on the scene, perhaps? Good music for a government agency that doesn't really exist. Too bad the National Security Agency can't ask Steve Jablonsky if they can use it for their anthem 'cuz coming out to get permission like that would be an official acknowledgment that they are really there :-)

16. "Bumblebee Captured": A very moving track. This was a genuinely painful thing in the movie to watch: sorta like that very horrific scene in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial that has scarred my mind ever since seeing it at the theater in 1982. "Bumblebee Captured" strongly evokes the innocence of this brave Autobot caught in tragic circumstance. Quite appropriate music for the scene's tone.

17. "You're A Soldier Now": A continuation from "Downtown Battle" with a nice reprise of all the major themes spread throughout, especially those of the Autobots and Decepticons.

18. "Sam On The Roof"*: There's a really nice use of the chorals from the Decepticons theme in this one. More continuation of the previous tracks used for the Mission City fight.

19. "Optimus Vs. Megatron": It all comes down to this: the battle between two brothers. "At the end of this day, one shall stand, one shall fall."

20. "No Sacrifice, No Victory"*: They have lost a beloved comrade. But they have gained new ones. Ends with military-like drumming along with the closure of the Autobots theme, as the remains of the Decepticons are consigned by the U.S. Navy to the freezing depths of the north Atlantic.

By the way, I haven't looked at the interior fold-out artwork much. Since the front label is what Steve Jablonsky signed, I'm very reluctant to mess with that :-) I will be buying another copy this coming Tuesday from the local retailer, and make my fair contribution. Actually, I might buy more than one, maybe as Christmas stocking-stuffers for friends or something.

How do I rate Transformers: The Score? I'll give it the full five sparks!

That's pretty much all I have to say about the actual score itself, but there's one more thing that I need to talk about to finish out this post. As I said earlier, Steve Jablonsky sent signed copies of Transformers: The Score to Lisa and me. He also sent one more, which isn't signed to anyone in particular. We asked for his help on something, and he was very glad to oblige. For this, we are extremely thankful:

There are a few things I need to wrap up on this end before I can get this going. But this copy of Transformers: The Score, signed by Steve Jablonsky, will soon be put up for auction on eBay. Where everyone can bid for it. And 100% of the proceeds will be going toward something involving music education.

There will be much more about this very very soon. In the meantime, keep checking this blog for further details.

Very special thanks again to Steve Jablonsky, for his remarkable score and for how he's helping us with this.

So now you all know what to do to help Steve out: go buy Transformers: The Score next week and put some money in his pocket!! Go buy it because you love this music and you want to enjoy it at its fullest grandeur. Go buy it because in your heart, you know it's the right thing to do. Or, don't buy it, and perish in flame.

It's your choice. But, not really.

Read More

Y'all ain't gonna BUH-LEEEEEVE what I'm listening to right now!

It arrived via FedEx today!

It's not out in stores until this coming Tuesday!

It's (GASP!) a legitimate copy!

It's even signed by the composer!

I'm listening to it right now!

It sounds glorious!

And there is something very very cool coming soon regarding this, that is going to be for a good cause, that you are going to have the opportunity to take part in.

Review coming soon.

Read More

The "Star Wars" school board commercial is 1 year old today

It was one year ago today - on October 6th, 2006 - that the now-(in)famous first commercial from my campaign for Rockingham County Board of Education started broadcasting on WGSR in Reidsville...

I had just finished it that morning, and while the video was doing the final render I ran out to find Debbie Moore so that I could give her the check for a month's worth of airtime. Then I got home, burned it onto a CD and drove it over to WGSR and handed it to Matt Smith. Right after that I had to go to Greensboro for an errand, then got back home and after seeing Lisa I went back to the station to see if the commercial was running yet.

Ooh-boy...

Y'know, this commercial, I had to make it. If I didn't produce it for my school board run, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. It was one of those "vision things" that when it overtakes you, you're compelled to see it through. So I did it and thought that it did a pretty good job conveying who I was and what I believe in, so that should be the end of it, right? Right?!?

Instead I get to the station and Matt not only tells me that it's already running, but general manager Charles Roark tells me that my commercial is going to be the topic of discussion for the 5 o'clock show: "I've never seen a commercial like this before in my life!" he told me. So he started the show and he runs the commercial and the phone lines began lighting up like a Christmas tree. Quite a few people actually said that they would vote for me. About the same number said things like "I think this Christopher Knight has a mental problem" and "he looks evil" and "who does he think he is, blowing up a school right after those Amish children were shot?" etc.

Probably the best moment of it all was something that nobody saw on television, when Tyler Richardson walked into the front lobby just as the commercial started airing: the incredulous look on his face is something that I will remember for the rest of my life :-)

And then Mark Childrey started off his newscast talking about it, and during his Talk Back segment people were still calling in to either praise or rant against my commercial.

I got back home from the station and started uploading the commercial to YouTube, with the innocuous title "Christopher Knight for School Board TV Commercial #1". Along with some tags like "Star Wars" and "Death Star" and "lightsaber". I put it on YouTube mostly so that I could post about it on this blog and share it with a few friends.

Then the following week the News & Record ran a story about not just mine but the other wacky commercials in the Rockingham school board race. And then The New York Times featured the commercial! And over the next few days it would also wind up in the pages of The Reidsville Review (with a huge color pic of me wielding the lightsaber on the front page), the News & Observer in Raleigh, the Charlotte Observer, and a few other places. I didn't see them but people told me that Fox 8 WGHP and WXII (the local NBC affiliate) also ran the commercial during their newscasts.

So then there was the election, and I didn't win a seat. But was that the end of the commercial? Far from it: things were just getting ramped-up! A few months after I put it up on YouTube it started getting a lot more notice. This past June it was screened at the Pixelodeon film festival at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles.

And then VH1 featured it on their show Web Junk 2.0. Which ummmmm... led to quite a lot of commotion. But there's already been enough written about that.

So here it is: my very first commercial is one year old today. And what a long, strange trip it has been since then because of it. Y'know, I really did make this mostly for the local audience in mind, 'cuz those were the voters that I was trying hardest to appeal to. That it wound up going this far and being so widely discussed and apparently rather popular was something I never imagined would happen to it. And oddly enough, out of the three commercials that I made for my campaign, the "Star Wars" one isn't my favorite: that honor belongs to the third and final one.

But I'm still rather proud of this one. It was a lot of hard work (and not a lot of time to make it in). It uses a lot of humor to convey a very serious message. The commercial was even discovered by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which called it the "Best Campaign Ad Ever!"

Not too bad for a guy who used the Death Star to blow up a school while trying to win election to Board of Education :-)

Read More

Bad cops, fear, and the Second Amendment

A deputy sheriff in Minnesota shot and killed a family's dog, in front of a 2-year old toddler in the family's yard. It's a pretty sick story.

Who here is willing to bet that after an "internal investigation" that it's going to be announced that the deputy over-reacted and will be fired?

More likely the sheriff's department will come out and say that the deputy did nothing wrong, and will soon be back at work as if nothing happened.

That's what always happens in these situations. And they've been happening all too often in the past few years.

Let me be clear on something: for the most part, I honestly believe, there are good people in law enforcement. I've known plenty of them over the years. Some are good friends, if not outright members of my family. I can't say that there's been any reason for me to think anything but very highly of them.

Unfortunately, there are some people out there who are employed in law enforcement agencies, who do not deserve to be wearing a badge. And there are starting to be plenty enough of those that they are ruining things for the rest of us, including their fellow officers.

These thugs - the ones who do this kind of thing - always get away with it. They never go punished. Or if they ever have, I've certainly never heard about it.

I won't deny that there are some lesser angels of my nature. This is going to be one of those times when I give them a voice...

The Second Amendment has but one purpose: to give good people without badges the authority to shoot and kill bad people with badges, if need be.

Peace in the community ultimately can't be something that we can rely on duly-sworn officers of the law to create and uphold. It's something that every citizen is called upon to build.

What is the purpose of police and sheriff's deputies, then? To be a bulwark against the citizenry being consumed by its appetite for power, which ultimately leads to chaos and anarchy. But without the citizens likewise providing a bulwark against the government's own appetite for power, there becomes something worse.

If people employed by government are abusing the power of government, then it becomes a moral obligation for those being governed to remove these agents of government by any means necessary. Up to and including with lethal force, if all else fails (and it will always be my prayer that it never comes to that).

Would this thug of a deputy have been so quick to have killed an innocent dog in front of a baby, if he had felt that someone would have shot back at him in retaliation? Probably not. But what would be so wrong with a sheriff's deputy or any other law enforcement officer being susceptible to the same kind of fear that it seems too many of them try to instill in us?

Maybe America needs the bullet-riddled bodies of a few bad cops laying around, as a warning to the others that they can't abuse the power that's been entrusted to them.

Is that an evil thing to say? No. Just something that comes after long observation of human nature. And the biggest thing that I've learned about human nature is that it ultimately cannot be trusted with power, without some kind of checks and accountability. These bad cops get away with what they do because they aren't held accountable. And unfortunately, I don't know of what else is going to shake them back to their senses without their knowing that some of their own kind are pushing daisies because of their own arrogance.

"They" need to be in more fear of us than we are in fear of them. That's the way it must be. Otherwise, we really will be living in a police state.

Read More