L. Ron Price: My best mash-up yet!

Incidentally, it was one year ago tonight that Ronald Filer Price, "conservative candidate" for Rockingham County Board of Education, stole the campaign signs belonging to U.S. House member Brad Miller. And then a number of citizens - including a doctor - spotted Ron's pilfering. Price admitted to the Reidsville cops that he had taken them, and claimed the following night on live television that he feared for his life because he was being chased by "goons".

Price, now too morally-tainted to serve on the Board, wound up elected and he had the gall to get sworn in anyway (but come the swearing-in ceremony, he meekly had to admit that there was nobody to hold his Bible for him). Ron "The Con" has since gained a reputation as being the most arrogant, sneering member of the Rockingham County school board, looking down on those he brands as "bad for the community" like WGSR and opponents of his sick school uniforms scheme. And of course, there is his ridiculous lawsuit against the Moores.

So on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of "the commotion" or "the signs incident" as Ron Price has sometimes called it, here is my most diabolical Ron Price graphic... at least so far. And I'm really tempting the fates with this one! Because not only might Ron the Con sue me for using his name and face (hey Ron, I will get away with it because parody is protected free speech!), this one also messes with the Church of Scientology: the one entity on Earth more sue-happy than Ron Price, if that's possible.

So here it is, in the fine tradition of L. Ron Hubbard and his book Dianetics, it's L. Ron Price's smash-hit:

Ron will probably sue me anyway, sheerly out of spite because he can't use Adobe Photoshop like I can :-P

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Ron Paul campaign is shattering fundraising records today (and it's not over yet!)

It must be said: supporters of presidential candidate Ron Paul are, by the widest of margins, the most passionate and creative of any candidate for President out there right now... and perhaps ever. Look at all of the Ron Paul videos on YouTube, and everything else going on to show that we believe in Dr. Paul's message of personal liberty and responsibility... along with limited government.

Some have claimed that this "enthusiasm" is nothing more than the work of a relatively few rabid followers working out of their mom's basement. That's gonna be a hella thing to claim, after tonight.

A few weeks ago some Ron Paul supporters had a great idea: "detonate" what they are calling a "money bomb" (meaning a single day of mass contributions to the Ron Paul campaign). Inspired by the movie V for Vendetta the date was set for today, November the Fifth. Beginning at 12:01 a.m. this morning, Ron Paul supporters were encouraged to donate as much as they can for this fundraising quarter.

It's now 6:42 p.m. Look at this chart comparing fundraising throughout today, with funds raised for the Ron Paul campaign over the previous two days...

That's almost $3 million... raised in a single day. Some are now seriously saying that it could reach 4 or 5 - and perhaps even 6 million - dollars by the end of this evening. In fact, by the time you read this Dr. Paul has probably already overwhelmed the single-day fundraising record (set by Mitt Romney) of $3.1 million earlier this year.

I know of no better way to celebrate such an awesome accomplishment, than to post V's televised speech from the movie V for Vendetta:

"Remember, remember, the Fifth of November."

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I'm going to Butt-Numb-A-Thon!

I've been able to share the good news with enough people on this end, so I might as well post it here too (especially since I promised that I would on the post about yesterday's wedding/car crash)...

Yesterday morning, around 4:30 a.m., I discovered that I made the list to attend this year's Butt-Numb-A-Thon in Austin, Texas!

What is Butt-Numb-A-Thon? It's an annual film festival in Austin, sponsored by the website Ain't It Cool News and hosted by site creator Harry Knowles (and here is it's entry on Wikipedia). It's a 24-hour long (sometimes a bit more) movie event, and this will be the ninth one ever since Harry started it in 1999. The whole thing is a neat fund-raiser that supports stuff for children. Butt-Numb-A-Thon used to be held at the now-legendary original Alamo Drafthouse. This will be the first one held at the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz.

As for what is shown at Butt-Numb-A-Thon: it's the most maddening melange of movie mayhem that you can possibly imagine! There's some older, more vintage stuff (I am seriously hoping and praying that Harry will include Mother, Jugs and Speed on this year's program 'cuz that is the perfect movie for a Butt-Numb-A-Thon crowd) but Butt-Numb-A-Thon (or BNAT as it's also known as) has become rather world-famous for having the first public showings of a lot of big movies... and sometimes months before they get wide release! At Butt-Numb-A-Thon in 2003 Peter Jackson was on-hand to premiere The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the final film of the show was The Passion of the Christ (with Mel Gibson himself in attendance). Last year's crowd got to see Zack Snyder come and he brought 300 with him. The year before that, they got to see V for Vendetta.

Anyhoo, I'm insanely delighted that I'm getting to go this year! To be considered to be in the audience, you have to fill out an application that's loaded with weird questions. One of them for this year was "Celebrity sexual fantasy?". I answered "Betty Rubble (from the cartoons not the live-action movie!)". You also had to send two photos of yourself, including one of you in costume. So I used this screengrab from WFMY's report on the July 9th school board meeting...

(So if we didn't have to fight so hard against the school uniforms, does this mean that I might never have had this to send in to try to get into Butt-Numb-A-Thon? Could it be that board member/admitted thief Ron Price is greatly responsible for my sudden good fortune?! Who knows... but it's fun to contemplate :-)

Just applying for Butt-Numb-A-Thon can be a fun lil' activity. And I've been playing at it pretty much every year since 2000...

...And now, I'm finally getting to go and I'm extremely thankful for it! After all the craziness that's gone on during the past 12 months and more, this is going to be a very nice way to help wind down 2007 on an upbeat, happy note :-)

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The car got smashed... but we still made it to Meg and John's wedding!

Why is it that some of the more monumental events of my life have happened right on November 3rd? Weird, that.

Chalk up not one, but three things that took place yesterday. One we knew was coming and the other two were complete surprises. Of the three, two were very good and the other was pretty bad... but as nobody was hurt, and that the rest of the day's events were so joyous, I can't say that there's been any lingering regret.

I'll save Good Thing #1 for the post right after this one. That took place yesterday morning at 4:30 a.m. It was so awesome that I had to wake up Lisa to tell her the great news. Well we got in a few hours of rest and then made ready for Meg and John's wedding, which was set for 3 p.m. at First Congregational Christian Church in Reidsville. Just before we left, Lisa and I took pics of each other...

We headed out just before 2:30. Normally, this would be less than a 5-minute drive to the church. But not long after we had turned on Richardson Drive and were about to turn left onto Benton Lane to take a short-cut to the church...

...my Toyota Corolla got rear-ended by a truck.

Don't worry: Lisa is okay. The other driver is okay. And I'm okay. That nobody was hurt is a huge thing to be thankful for: things like vehicles can always be fixed or replaced. People, not so easily. I pulled the car into a guy's driveway and the following things came to mind, in this order:

- Is Lisa okay?

- Is the other guy all right?

- CRAP WE'RE GONNA MISS THE WEDDING!!!

Here's what my car looked like after the crash:

At least we weren't smuggling anyone in the trunk this time...

We don't know yet if it's totalled. I think it might be repairable, but we won't know for sure until this week. And if not well like I said: I have to thank the Lord that nobody was hurt. If this one is one then I'll just get another car.

But this lil' Corolla has had a glorious history! So many adventures that took place with it: travelling all around the mountains of western North Carolina as a newspaper reporter, driving all those times to see Lisa in Athens, escaping gunfire from neo-Nazis, fleeing a church full of snake-handlers, running surveillance on a swindling operation, going on the De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River, crossing the Chesapeake Bay, doing the campaign trail around Rockingham County as a school board candidate...

If it can be fixed, I'll look forward to many more adventures to come in it. And if not well, it's had a good run. At least my Toyota Corolla will live forever on film, immortalized in our first movie Forcery :-)

The cops came by shortly afterward, got the relevant information and began cleaning the glass out of the street (the entire rear windshield of my car got blown out). By this time there were less than 5 minutes before the wedding was supposed to start, and we had tried calling over there to let our family know what happened but nobody was answering any phones. The wife of the other driver then offered to drive us over there (and we are very thankful for that offer!). The tow-truck was just starting to get my car when we drove away from the scene. We got to the church right at 3 p.m., and luckily for us the actual ceremony had not yet started. Lisa and I slipped in just before the wedding party started down the aisle.

So here is Meg and John during the ceremony...

And here are the happy newlyweds just after tying the knot!

We showed Meg and John the pics of the car and I told them "You know how at Jewish weddings, how they always smash a wine glass for good luck? Well, we did you guys one much better!" No seriously, I actually told them that :-P

But anyhoo, wrecked car aside, it was a beautiful ceremony, with a wonderful autumn theme to it. And after the wedding, which ended a bit before 4, everyone went back home or to their hotel rooms, to rest up and then change for the wedding reception at Wentworth Recreation Building. Meg and John had something of a barbecue dinner/hoedown for a post-nuptials party and they wanted everyone to dress-down out of formal-wear and be comfortable (and also 'cuz barbecue sauce is hard to clean out of a nice tuxedo).

And that was the day's more ummm... spectacular events. All things considered, it was pretty good. But I couldn't resist having a laugh with my car crash. Now, this next bit probably won't make much sense unless you are a regular viewer of WGSR Star 39 in Reidsville/Rockingham County and the surrounding area. It's referencing a commercial that I've heard a lot of people giggle at ever time it runs. The line that this guy delivers, it's something like the "I've fallen, and I can't get up!" of the Reidsville/Martinsville/Danville area...

---

"We've had a terrible accident in the city and now we're going to Brian for a live report!"

"Coming to you with a live report right now from the city where we've heard that there's been an accident!"

"Let's check the condition of the driver! I wonder if he has anything to say..."

---

Maybe I should post that commercial on YouTube so that people can really understand why it's so funny. The "Get me to Hoffman's!" line has been one of the bigger jokes that we've had to make light of the situation.

But hey, Meg and John are now married! And we got to see it! That's the important thing :-)

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AMC right now is showing THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER

Still an awesome movie. I saw this in the theater on my 16th birthday.

We just watched the scene where Captain Ramius (Sean Connery) and Borodin (Sam Neill) are in Ramius's cabin, talking about what they will do when they reach America. And Borodin is talking about how he will travel from state to state, with "no papers": in other words, the government won't be watching where he's going all the time.

Does anyone else find it horribly ironic that the country that Ramius and his crew are defecting from in a 1990 movie, is what the America they are defecting to is really becoming in 2007?

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11 years

To those who will understand...

I've made it this far. That's now a third of my life, that I've spent doing this.

And I haven't given up.

I know there were times that I came close. But I still didn't surrender.

The things that I have done, the places where I have been and the things yet to come: I claim credit for none of these. They only came about because of you. And I was never thankful enough for that.

I wish that I could have been the person then, that I am now. Because I didn't know then what I do now. I didn't possess the understanding or wisdom. And I still don't possess enough of it.

But I have enough now, to know some of the things that I did and how wrong they were. It's now that there isn't a day that goes by, that I can't reflect on what I've done. And have regret for what happened and for what might have been. Especially for what might have been.

My one great hope comes from something that I've come to understand over the years: that for all our schemes and devices, there are patterns and designs at work beyond our will that can neither be undone, or even assisted.

If it is meant that someday we will see each other on this side of Heaven, then I will be glad beyond all measure. And if not, then I will go the rest of my days with the hope that we will yet meet again beyond the circles of this world.

To my enemies: I am betraying nothing to you. Other than the wisdom that you turn back, as I should have done, lest you come to regret. I would save you the sorrow that I have known.

To my friends, however long-absent and wherever you are, if you read this:

Gird up, and be ready.

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Caption this pic!

The $120 million Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, which is finally about to start operation...

I'll start us off...

"Autobots are watching over you!"

"So that's what happened to Sam the Super-Automated Robot from Sesame Street."

"Johnny Five is alive!"

This could be a lot of fun :-P

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This is already one of the best days I've had in a LONG time!

Later today, my cousin Meg is getting married. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this. She and John are really, beautifully in love with each other and they are going to have a wonderful life together. And I've been hearing for the past few weeks that this is going to be a very wild wedding! I'll try to post pictures later.

But already, at 5:30 in the morning, this is shaping up to be an awesome day.

I'm going to postpone explaining exactly why today is so awesome until later, when I can have the pleasure of telling a few people and hearing their reaction (no, Lisa isn't pregnant... yet). Let's just say that this is something that I've been trying to do for a way long time, and as of this morning, success is finally in sight!

And what you see in this image has a lot to do with it...

More later :-)

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Steve Jablonsky Appreciation Group on Facebook

Right now I'm listening to the CD of Steve Jablonsky's score for the movie D-War (it was mostly marketed as Dragon Wars when it came out here in the U.S.). It's the third time that I'm playing it and admittedly it's very hard to put movie soundtrack music in context without having seen the movie itself yet. But as a standalone album, the D-War score still rocks the house! I'm going to give it a full review as soon as I've had a chance to check out the film when it becomes available on Netflix.

As for the real reason I'm posting here (amid what may or may not still be my sabbatical from blogging): if you have a Facebook account and are also a fan of this amazing composer, a few days ago I started up the Steve Jablonsky Appreciation Group. So if you enjoy Steve's work on Transformers and Desperate Housewives and the jillion other good things that he's composed music for, come on by and join us! :-)

Finally, a bit of shameful news to report: a few weeks ago I wrote here that I had vowed not to listen to Transformers: The Score at all until I was able to purchase 2 copies at a real store. Well a few days ago I admitted on Seibertron.com's forums that I have broken that solemn vow. It happened this past Sunday, while Lisa and I were on our way to Boone to go cruising on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the peak of the season for fall leaves. I couldn't help myself!! We were on that wide-open road, headed toward the mountains, and Transformers: The Score was begging to be played. So we listened to the whole thing and played "Decepticons" and "Arrival To Earth" each at least twice.

I am hearing that the Transformers score CD is starting to appear in more stores though. Still not as widely-enough as we were hoping for. But that does assuage my humiliation some. I'm still going to buy two copies as soon as I can. Maybe more. They'll make great stocking-stuffers for Christmas :-)

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This so-called "sabbatical"

Guess I couldn't stop blogging after all :-P

Actually, I am still taking a break from "serious" blogging right now. It's only when there's been "cool" stuff to report on - like the Ron Paul and Ron Price Jack-o'-Lanterns - that I've broken in to post about, 'cuz it wouldn't make much sense to show you pictures of them in February, would it? And there's nothing really wrong with doing that.

But the rest of my energies really are being focused on some other projects right now. That's why you won't be seeing any "heavy" essays from this end anytime soon. It's all too easy to write about a pumpkin with Ron Price's mug carved in it. Incidentally, last night we got a lot of trick-or-treaters who are in the Rockingham schools, and they both admired the work that went into the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern, and booed and hissed at it 'cuz this is the man who most tried to impose school uniforms on them.

But so far as more head-heavy stuff goes: that's work that I'm pouring into some other things right now.

Maybe in another month or two, I'll be able to return to fresh content like that. In the meantime, I am enjoying being liberated from more intense, regular blogging. And by posting the fun stuff, I can keep it viable too :-)

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Zack Snyder will film TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER for the WATCHMEN DVD!

Dear Lord... I'm finally starting to believe that Zack Snyder is going to be the one who actually pulls off a Watchmen movie!

Not that I doubted Snyder himself, per se. 300 is still the best movie that I've seen all year and after how he adapted that to film, I was convinced that he could "probably" do a good job helming Watchmen too. The problem is with Watchmen itself: it's such a dense book, that there's no way to do all that story in 2 or 3 hours.

But now my hopes are soaring for the Watchmen movie: Warner Bros. is letting Zack Snyder shoot Tales of the Black Freighter, to include it on the DVD of Watchmen!

So if you've never read Watchmen, here's the skinny: inside the alternate-1985 universe of Watchmen, superhero comics were only big in the Thirties and Forties, before the real-life superheroes started turning up (well in Watchmen anyway). In place of the superhero comics, pirate comics became all the rage. One part of Watchmen's story involves a young man who hangs out at a newsstand, who is reading a pirate comic book called Tales of the Black Freighter. So we see the story in Tales of the Black Freighter interspersed throughout much of the rest of Watchmen, like this...

It's an extremely violent, gory story. And it would have been insanely difficult to put it in the context of the rest of a Watchmen motion picture. But by putting it as a feature on the DVD... that really is the way to go with this. In doing this, Zack Snyder is showing everyone that without a doubt, he "gets" Watchmen.

Can't wait to see this movie! Heck, I can't wait to buy this DVD! :-)

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More Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lanterns!

Apparently, Ron Paul is a big theme for Jack-o'-Lanterns this Halloween :-)

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!! :-)

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The Ron Paul for President Jack-o'-Lantern!

Tonight I set to work on carving a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern, using the pattern that I came up with a few days ago. I've been a longtime admirer of Dr. Paul and I am definitely supporting him for President in next year's election (as I've said here before: I'm voting for Ron Paul or I'm voting for nobody at all). So I thought it would be fun to do something in keeping with the spirit of the holiday for when the trickster-treatsters in the neighborhood come around for candy on Halloween tomorrow night, and do my part in promoting Dr. Paul.

(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? :-)

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The Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern IS ALIVE!!

Just as I threatened to do a few days ago, here is the Ron Price Jack-o'-Lantern. Yes, I actually went ahead with my plan to carve a pumpkin in the likeness of Rockingham County's most larcenous, arrogant and condescending school board member! Ron Price is now immortalized in pumpkin... or at least until the thing starts to rot and decay (to match Price's moral principles).

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!

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Company gives iPod battery service that Apple should be providing

I might have to get an iPod now after all.

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.

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Let us welcome Abbey Leigh!

Abigail Leigh Feldman, born two days ago to Kimberly and Adam Feldman.

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... ;-)

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"And Nicolas Cage as ... Fu Manchu!"

A great post for the Halloween season! Courtesy of its official Myspace page, here is Werewolf Women of the SS. This is the fake trailer that Rob Zombie made for the recent movie Grindhouse.

Werewolf Women Of The S.S.

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"This is my Mecca!" Hilarious :-)

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