Here is one made by im_a_pepper. Look at the amazing level of detail on this pumpkin!
And then there is this one (of two) made by Mustardseed (click to see more photos):
I'm about to go light my own Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern (along with that... other thing). They'll be on display on our patio throughout the night. So if you're in Reidsville and are driving around Sherwood Drive, come by and take a looksee!! :-)
(Here's Ron Paul's official campaign website and I'll also recommend the Ron Paul Forums, where I hang out a lot.)
I started carving it a little before 7 p.m. tonight, and finished just before 9:30. Like the Jack-o'-Lantern I made of local politician and admitted thief Ron Price last night, a lot of the work in this one related to the extra-thick skin that had to be scraped away. But also on this one, the "RON PAUL" letters that I made on the pattern were not very workable. I ended up having to re-design them on the fly, as I was carving them (had to do that carefully 'cuz I did not want to botch up a perfectly good pumpkin :-).
Finally after two and a half hours, here was the finished product...
What does it look like when it's lit-up with a candle? Feat your eyes on this my friends!
And here's what it looks like on our porch...
So... what y'all think? :-)
Here's a shot of it on our kitchen table. Note that Monday Night Live on WGSR is playing in the background. Yup, even in our home, I make darn sure that Price cannot escape the scrutiny of WGSR, which Price once said was "bad for the community" (and click here if you want to hear Price say it himself)...
Here's a shot of the "Ron Price Political Protest Pumpkin" on our front porch...
With a bit of the light inside coming out...
And here it is in total darkness, with a wicked, sinister glow...
In case anyone's wondering, it took me a little over an hour and a half to carve this. Most of the work had to do with the fact that this was a robust pumpkin with a very thick (over an inch) outside, so it took some doing to scrape out the excess material. Ron "the Con"'s mouth and teeth were the hardest thing to carve out. But after a little patience, I can now boast that we have the scariest Jack-o'-Lantern on the entire street :-P
So I gotta wonder: now that I'm being summoned for deposition in Price's lawsuit against the Moores, does this thing up my own chances of getting sued by Ron Price? Probably. I mean, any elected official loco enough to sue a private citizen for (a) wearing a t-shirt and (b) practicing the constitutional right to petition, is capable of doing anything. Which makes it all the more important that we do what we can to knock people like Price off their pedestals. "They" serve us... and no matter how much Ron Price insists that he can get away with it because "I was elected", he's to be held just as accountable as anyone else. Price had the chance to do the right thing and step aside when he was caught stealing. He didn't do that. So now it falls to the rest of us to ridicule him and put him to shame... which he'll have to put up with, since he's a public figure by personal choice.
The pictures are nice, but this really is something that must be seen in person to be believed. The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern will be on display every night through Halloween (meaning that after tonight you only have 2 more nights to see it).
Next up: tomorrow night I'm going to carve Ron Price's light-side antithesis: good-guy Presidential candidate Ron Paul!
Numerous times on this blog, I've written about how the biggest thing keeping me from getting an iPod is that they don't have user-replaceable batteries. Which is "bass-ackwards" 'cuz Apple could be making a fortune by selling spare batteries. Because especially with a power-guzzling thing like an iPod (especially in video mode) it makes sense that consumers should be able to slap in a freshly-charged battery during a long plane ride or elsewhere that a power socket isn't readily available. But Apple still seems loathe to take this simple, yet potentially very profitable, measure. Oh sure, Apple does have a battery-replacement program... but it charges around $70 and then they don't even guarantee that you'll get your original iPod back!
Then I happened to find this news story about a company called iPodjuice.com. For $29 you send in your iPod, and the company replaces the worn-out battery. Not only that but you get your original iPod back, along with its contents (that you may or may not have paid for) intact! And supposedly the batteries that iPodjuice.com put in last much longer than the ones that Apple installs. They also service iPhones, and boast of being able to replace the battery and ship the iPhone back on the same day that it was received. iPodjuice.com is so confident of their batteries and service, that they have a ten-year guarantee from the date of purchase.
I won't commit to buying an iPod yet... but knowing that there is a company out there doing what Apple is consciously neglecting to do for its own product, does tantalize me toward possibly purchasing one in the near future. If only Apple wasn't so stubborn about this point: they would no doubt be selling more iPods than they already are.
Congratulations to Adam and Kim! Our prayers have definitely been with them the past week... and will no doubt be staying with them.
May God shower all His blessings on them as they embark on their new adventures with sweet Abbey Leigh :-)
(So many births lately. Gotta wonder when Lisa and I will be making our own little contribution to the gene pool, hee-hee-hee... ;-)
"This is my Mecca!" Hilarious :-)
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.
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 :-)
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.
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! :-)
Click on the image to get it full-sized, print it out and follow the directions, feeling free to re-size as desired.
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 :-)
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 ...
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! :-)
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...
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, ChrisAnd 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 ,And here's the other one that she received, from ardeifoc@ (gmail.comardeifoc@gmail.com)...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!
I have for sale: Transformers: The Score (CD) signed by Steve Jablonsky Item Number: 150172275487Okay 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.
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
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 :-)
