Final trailer for I AM LEGEND

This is one of two posts that I'll probably be making today. The other will hopefully share some good news. Otherwise, I'm still trying to take a break from blogging.

The final trailer for I Am Legend hit the Internets yesterday...

This is an amazing trailer! And it's really starting to look as if they stayed true to the spirit of the book. Love the music in this trailer: I don't know if that's some of James Newton Howard's score but it evokes a lot of the same feeling as Ron Grainer's music from The Omega Man (which was also based on Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend). And Will Smith here, looks like he's hitting on all the right cylinders as Robert Neville. I'll admit to being a bit taken aback when I heard that Smith was playing Neville (I'll always wonder how Arnold Schwarzenegger would have done with the role) but right now, this looks like it could be one of Smith's best films ever.

Click here to watch it in Quicktime. Or click here to watch it in streaming Flash video.

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eBay auction for Steve Jablonsky-signed copy of TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE ends today

A friendly reminder in case you've been watching it, that in just less than six hours from now the eBay auction for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky will be ending.

All proceeds from this auction will be going to benefit music education in Rockingham County (North Carolina) schools.

EDIT 10/26/2007 6:31 a.m. EST: The auction was a great success! The winning bid for the CD was $312.

Thanks again to Transformers composer Steve Jablonsky, and the Transformers fan community which helped spread the word, for doing this to assist with music education here in Rockingham County :-)

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I'm being deposed by Ron Price

Don't have complete details right now, but here's what I know...

In the next few days I can expect to receive a summons to appear for deposition in the lawsuit that Ron Price has filed against Richard and Debbie Moore.

This means that I'll be sworn in and be asked questions under oath.

The deposition is set for November 15th at 10 a.m. at the Eden office of Price's attorney, Douglas Hux.

I'll post the summons when I receive it.

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How about a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern instead?

Okay, this will be the last post I make before getting back to my much-needed break from blogging! Because after making and publishing the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern pattern, I couldn't in good conscience leave things dangling with something that scary.

So here's a Jack-o'-Lantern pattern of the candidate for President that I'm backing: Ron Paul. Same basic instructions as the original: Click on the image to get it full-sized and print it out. Use pins or tape to secure it to the side of a pumpkin. Then use a Pumpkin Carving Kit from Pumpkin Masters, and do with this as you would do with any other pumpkin pattern.

Happy Halloween! :-)

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The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern

The only time I plan on breaking my sabbatical... but only because this was too funny not to do and share with the world.

Click on the image to get it full-sized, print it out and follow the directions, feeling free to re-size as desired.

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Review of STAR WARS: DEATH STAR by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry

It's a great Star Wars book. I liked it a lot.

Just wanted to let y'all know that if you were thinking of buying it. I'll recommend it.

Going to leave for awhile. I won't be back unless it's either (a) major catastrophe (b) Ron Price does something so cosmically insane that I have to step in again or (c) I'm good and ready to return... which may not be for quite some time.

So 'til then... goodbye goodbye goodbye!

EDIT 4:33 p.m. EST: My sabbatical in no way affects the eBay auction for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky. I'm just stepping away from the blog for awhile, not the Internet entirely. So I'll still be monitoring this until Thursday when the auction ends :-)

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Too much CUJO

It's on right now. Again. This is the seventh or eighth time that Cujo has played on WGSR here in Reidsville during the past few weeks... at least.

After so many times of watching Cujo try to kill Dee Wallace-Stone and that kid from Who's The Boss?, I don't know if I'll ever pet another St. Bernard for as long as I live.

C'mon guys: I know that I've seen Psycho II in there somewhere. Howsabout giving us something new? 'Cuz right now I'm starting to feel like Hawkeye in the "Adam's Ribs" episode of M*A*S*H ...

"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"
"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"
"WE WANT SOMETHING ELSE!"

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Jenna Olwin's terrific take on the "Dumbledore is gay" thing

Earlier today I relayed the news that surely every Harry Potter fan on Earth has heard by now: that J.K. Rowling has announced that Albus Dumbledore was gay.

In the hours since then I've felt led to contemplate what significance that bit of info is supposed to have (and some of that thinking took place while watching a wedding, of all places). And I thought about posting some more about the subject. But it turns out that I don't have to...

In her unique voice, and with profound wisdom, Jenna Olwin has now weighed in on Rowling's revelation. And there's no way that I could excerpt it here and do it any justice or honor. You'll have to click on the link and read it as an entire thought, the way it should be taken in as an idea. It's quite an impressive read, and definitely recommended if you are of the Judeo-Christian ethic and are still wondering what to make of this... thing.

Excellent work, Jenna! :-)

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J.K. Rowling says: Albus Dumbledore is a homosexual!

Okay, this one blows my mind bigtime (and it takes a hella lot to blow this mind)...

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has "outed" Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School and Harry's principle mentor (yeah I know how weird it looks to read that).

Not only was Dumbledore a gay man, but he had an unrequieted love for Gellert Grindelwald: his one-time accomplice in an ill-spirited bid for conquest of the wizard world, before Dumbledore came to his senses and later defeated Grindelwald during World War II.

I honestly don't know what to make of this. It doesn't really take away from the enjoyment of the books themselves, because this was nothing that was ever, ever a part of the story. It could be like Ridley Scott insisting years later that Deckard was himself a Replicant in the movie Blade Runner, when there was nothing indicating that to be the case either. And looking back on the Harry Potter books, even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I'm still not seeing any sexual undertones about Dumbledore at all.

Yet Rowling insists that Dumbledore is a homosexual...

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character.

The article also brings this up...

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.

Let's just hope that Rowling doesn't answer any questions about what Albus's brother Aberforth is doing with all those goats...

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Scammers trying to hijack the eBay action for the Jablonsky-signed TRANSFORMERS Score

Someone... or someones... out there is trying to run a scam involving our auction on eBay for the copy of Transformers: The Score signed by Steve Jablonsky.

Last night, through the item's eBay page, I received a question from Crystal, (which you can read for yourself toward the bottom of the page, just below the big photo of the signed CD). Here's what she told me (and I've put this scammer's name and e-mail address in bold)...

Hi Chris. I got a message through my e-mail from Mr Rhichar (rhichar2dgerer@gmail.com). They said they were you and that I won the CD by default. I figure its a scam. I know you are selling it for a good cause. If you would like I can send you the entire e-mail. I figured it wasn't you. Thought you should know about it. Crystal (aka Uniapeg)

Here's the answer that I gave back to Crystal...

Dear Crystal, That's not me. The only regular e-mail address associated with this auction is my theknightshift@gmail.com one. This dude "Rhichar" is a fraud. If you could, yeah please forward his e-mail to me (again to theknightshift@gmail.com) I'll go over it and might post something accordingly to warn people about this. And thanks!! :-) Take care and God bless, Chris

And earlier this morning Crystal sent me not only the original e-mail from Rhichar but another one from someone who might be a different person. Here's "Rhichar"'s e-mail...

Dear Buyer ,

I'm the seller of the item that you've recently bided through the eBay system.
Item name : Transformers: The Score (CD) signed by Steve Jablonsky Item number: 150172275487 and i`ve just been contacted by the eBay staff who informed me that due to some reasons the eBay policy automatically proclaims you to be the winner by default.
I need your agreement on this so I can contact eBay to confirm you that you're the winner, otherwise I'll relist the item. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I need an answer asap.
What is your price for my item ?You have oportunity to purchase my item if your offer is resonable for me !!
Waiting for your answer!
Best regards!

And here's the other one that she received, from ardeifoc@ (gmail.comardeifoc@gmail.com)...

I have for sale: Transformers: The Score (CD) signed by Steve Jablonsky Item Number: 150172275487
My price is negociable.
If you are interested just give me a fast reply on this email address and you will find all the info that you want.
Thank You For your Time

Okay well obviously, these aren't from me. And the only way to contact me about this auction is through either the CD's eBay page or through my real e-mail address which is theknightshift@gmail.com. It's only through those two that there'll be any correspondence from this end (the one holding the actual CD) about the auction.

And the only party that is getting this CD is the one that wins the auction and pays the money for it. There won't be anything shady or underhanded going on involving it, and that's why I'm posting this right now: to warn others that there are some bad people out there trying to unfairly profit from it. And to reaffirm - if it needed it - that this auction is one for a good cause and because of that, I'm full-blown committed to keeping everything above the boards and open to scrutiny.

With all of that in mind, I hope that this can remain a fun and memorable lil' event :-)

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Interview with MANDIE AND THE SECRET TUNNEL cast at Chinqua-Penn

A few weeks ago this blog reported on Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, a new movie now filming at Chinqua-Penn Plantation near Reidsville. It stars Dean Jones, Lexi Johnson, Amanda Waters, and William Yelton. Matt Smith from Reidsville TV station WGSR attended the press conference this week with the cast and he posted the broadcast interview on YouTube. Here 'tis, and great work Matt!

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Here's the skinny on those staph/MRSA stories in the Rockingham County schools

All afternoon numerous reports have been forwarded to The Knight Shift about "confirmed" staph infections - and particularly MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) - running loose throughout the Rockingham County Schools system. This is of especially serious concern in light of numerous cases of MRSA that have been confirmed in Forsyth and Yadkin counties. And word is just coming down the wire that a student at George Washington High School in Danville has been diagnosed with MRSA. So what's going down our way?

I called up the office of Rockingham County Schools Superintendent Dr. Rodney Shotwell earlier this afternoon, to see what he knows. I didn't get to talk to Dr. Shotwell but a very short while later I got a call from Rockingham County Schools spokeswoman Jean Steverson. And this is what the good lady told me...

There are no confirmed MRSA cases in Rockingham County school at this point in time. That doesn't mean that there aren't cases, however. Steverson said that MRSA isn't something that a medical doctor is required to formally report. But as things stand right now, there is no need to panic. Just precaution, Steverson emphasized. Doing things like washing hands on a regular basis, and taking care to bandage open wounds and taking steps to make sure that there is no contact with open bodily tissue (blood, mucous etc.). Steverson also said that the custodial staff at the schools are taking extra precautions to sanitize exposed surfaces with anti-MRSA disinfectants. Athletic departments are also being advised to practice caution.

We talked a bit about how this thing is much like polio: even though polio is a virus, it needs physical contact to get around. It's not like this is an airborne pathogen, like this is "Captain Trips" from Stephen King's The Stand. So long as we tell the kids to be careful, and that we do likewise, we should be cool.

But being cautious is a far cry from paranoia. It's good to be aware and with that in mind, here's a data sheet about MRSA from North Carolina Public Health...

An automated message from Dr. Shotwell is also going out to the phone numbers of all the homes of students and faculty, advising them about the MRSA concerns and relaying the measures being taken to control possible outbreak. In fact, we just got our call in the past few minutes. So you might wanna keep the phone handy for awhile.

And that's everything that we know at this hour.

"DON'T PANIC!"

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Chuck Baldwin slams Bob Jones III for prostitution of principles

As was written about here a few days ago, earlier this week Bob Jones III - the head of Bob Jones University - came out in support of Mitt Romney for President. I had a few things to say about it then.

And now Chuck Baldwin has a lot more to say about it and he does it better than I ever could.

In his latest article, "Bob Jones Dances With The Devil", Baldwin goes at length as to why it is wrong for any sincere Christian to support Romney (and not it has nothing to do with Romney being a Mormon). But here's where he really nails how bad Jones has become...

Folks, here is the problem: Christian leaders such as Bob Jones III have succumbed to the temptation to become glorified politicians. They surrendered their convictions thirty years ago when the old Moral Majority married the Republican Party. Ever since then, Republican politicians have made a living by making dupes out of the so-called Religious Right.

There is another problem: our so-called Christian "leaders" crave attention. They desire notoriety. They are obsessed with having access to power. They want a seat at the king's table. As a result, they are willing to believe the lies being told them by shrewd and cunning frauds--as long as they are Republicans, of course. As Doc Holliday said in the movie Tombstone, "My hypocrisy only goes so far."

Accordingly, our Christian "leaders" will never promote a man's candidacy on principle alone. They want to pick a "winner." They want to be on the good side of the last guy standing--even if that guy is a no-good, compromising louse.

If you want to know where the real Christian leadership is in America, it's not found at Bob Jones University or at Focus on the Family. It's found with people like Chuck Baldwin and the rest of that curious group sometimes known as "the Remnant". These are the ones that I would associate with more than any other "faction", if they might count me among their number.

It's not a popular message, but it's one that history has proven to be highly accurate over the millennia: Give up your lust for power. Don't just kill it, but crucify it with all your strength. Destroy it, lest it destroy you in time.

Because is it really worth selling-out who we are in Christ, for a tiny share of a world that is passing away?

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Hey, I can do "quiet repose" too! And someone else comments on Ron Price

My friend Tilly Gokbudak posted a really nice comment on his blog recently, and I just had to share it here...

Lastly, my friend Christopher Knight of Reidsville, NC, has a quaint photo of himself visiting Natural Bridge near Lexington, Va. I was shocked by the stunning simplicity of this photo because Knight became a virtual overnight household name in the Triad for his great over-the-top tv spots which spoofed "Star Wars." The ads were part of Knight's campaign for the Rockingham County school board last year. They were even featured in an article in "The New York Times!"

Tilly is talking about the profile photo that is currently on my Facebook page. Here it is, taken in late August at Natural Bridge in Virginia...

Tilly also adds in this comment...

Alas, he did not win the election, but no one outside of the county knows who Ron Price** is anyway.

(**-one of the election winners)

Y'know, Tilly touches on a good morality lesson here. I mean, I didn't win election, but I was honest and I stayed true to myself even though I knew it might not garner enough votes... but look at all the good that still happened in the past year. While Ron Price was dishonest about who he really was and though he may have won a seat, how many people outside of Rockingham County really know anything about him? And it's not like he's earned any respect here, is it?

The lesson here is: be honest, especially about who you really are. It's not worth losing that to try to gain some power, which you will eventually lose anyway.

Be true to who God made you to be, and trust in Him to do amazing things that you can't begin to imagine.

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TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE charts on Billboard in debut week despite limited store release

NOW can we see a wider release for this thing?

After its first week out, Transformers: The Score, Steve Jablonsky's orchestral soundtrack for the blockbuster movie, has debuted at #172 on the Billboard 200 chart and is #13 on Billboard's Top Soundtracks. This comes in spite of what MTV has noted was a limited store release with about 4300 scans at the cash registers.

Meanwhile, the Transformers score CD continues to do well at Amazon, where it is now #39 in overall music (having increased in rank in the past few days) and is currently #5 in soundtracks.

Someone... probably a lot of someones... at Warner Brothers Records needs to very strongly consider getting this thing out to a lot more outlets. They are sitting on a goldmine with this CD and the demand is only going to get bigger now that the DVD is out and folks who didn't see Transformers during its theatrical release will be just now discovering both the movie and its beautiful orchestral soundtrack.

Don't make us have to start up another online petition now ;-)

Thanks to Transformer World 2005 and Seibertron.com for the heads-up!

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Deborah Kerr and Joey Bishop have passed away

Some sad news to report tonight...

Deborah Kerr, the star of The King And I and From Here To Eternity, has died. She was 86.

And Joey Bishop, the last member of the legendary "Rat Pack" which also included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford, has also passed away at the age of 89.

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Robot cannon malfunctions, kills 9

According to this story on Wired (which I first found via Slashdot), a robotic cannon being tested by the South African military went haywire last week and started shooting at everything on its own. Nine people died and fourteen others were wounded.

Here's some of the account...

SA National Defence Force spokesman brigadier general Kwena Mangope says the cause of the malfunction is not yet known...

Media reports say the shooting exercise, using live ammunition, took place at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre, at Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape, as part of an annual force preparation endeavour.

Mangope told The Star that it “is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident. The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have," he said. "It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion, and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

Other reports have suggested a computer error might have been to blame. Defence pundit Helmoed-Römer Heitman told the Weekend Argus that if “the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found."

So much for Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics :-(

Or maybe not...

"Please put down your weapon. You have twenty seconds to comply."

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