TRANSFORMERS: THE SCORE continues to do well!

I just checked the Amazon page for Transformers: The Score. Almost two months since it came out and it's continuing to rack-up impressive sales: right now the overall Amazon music rank is #257, which isn't bad given all the other releases that have come out since then. In the category of Orchestral Pop it's at #6 and its #10 in both Classical and Movie Scores!

Where it's really shining though is the Amazon customer reviews: Transformers: The Score has been given a consistent average of 4 and 1/2 stars. And out of 52 ratings so far, 41 of them have given the CD the full 5 stars!

Okay, I'll share a lil' story about the CD. A few weeks ago, Lisa and I went down to Georgia for her cousin's wedding and then we stayed on through Thanksgiving (that's where we did the deep-fried turkey at). After the wedding, a whole bunch of Lisa's extended family came by her parents' house and we were hanging out for a bit and Lisa told her cousin the story about the whole thing to get Steve Jablonsky's Transformers score released: the petition, how we auctioned off on eBay the copy that Steve signed to help buy some music instruments for the schools here, etc. Lisa's cousin's girlfriend said that she didn't know the CD of that was out and she liked the score too when they saw the movie in the theater. Soooo long story short: I had the copy in our car that we found at Best Buy a week or so earlier (I haven't had my signed copy framed yet but I will soon :-) and I wound up giving it to her. So now that's another happy owner of Transformers: The Score.

The thing that I didn't realize though is that I had brought that copy to Georgia to be the accompanying soundtrack for this Thanksgiving's turkey-frying!

Well, it's like this: either I have the right music to fry to, or I don't fry at all. It's that important to The Ritual. It's part of what gives each turkey its own distinct history and personality. So a few days later, while Lisa was out shopping with her mom and her dad was off on an errand, I drove our rental car (yah still looking for a permanent one after the Corolla was totaled) to Marietta, got a few things (including more marinade for the turkey) and at the Border's there I bought another copy of Transformers: The Score. So now that's five copies of this one CD that have been in our possession since the beginning of October!

But at least it's pretty easy to find now :-P

Read More

Truck adorned with pics of aborted babies lands man in jail

This Associated Press story comes from Buford, Georgia, where the Mall of Georgia is located (one of the best-designed shopping malls that I've ever been too)...

Man arrested for truck showing images of aborted fetuses near Atlanta area mall

The Associated Press

BUFORD, Ga. -- Police have arrested a Missouri man for driving near the Mall of Georgia with a truck that showed large, graphic photos of aborted fetuses.

Gwinnett County police arrested Robert Roethlisberger Jr., 44, for disorderly conduct Friday. He was released from jail Monday on $1,200 bond.

Police went to the area after a caller reported seeing a panel truck displaying "bloody" and "gory" images. The truck had two large banners on each side and a banner on the rear of the truck, police said.

The images on the banners included the headless and bloody torso of an aborted fetus and the partially crushed head of an aborted fetus being held in forceps, police said.

An officer told Roethlisberger the banners were being displayed in an area full of shoppers and children. He was arrested after refusing to display less graphic banners instead, police said.

Police also impounded the truck and removed the banners from it. The truck was released from impound Monday, but the banners are being kept as evidence, Gwinnett County police Cpl. Illana Spellman said.

Roethlisberger is a driver for Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group.

The group called Roethlisberger's arrest "an egregious abuse of power."

Operation Rescue's president, Troy Newman, said the arrest was unconstitutional because the truck's display was protected under the First Amendment.

"We intend to vigorously fight these unjust charges and will seek a remedy for our property loss," Newman said. "We cannot allow the illegal use of police authority to bully us into silence."

I believe abortion is wrong... but this is not the right way to fight it. In fact, a stunt like this is perhaps more likely to galvanize indifference toward abortion as it is to impassion people to be against it.

And after watching the Operation Rescue people in action over the years, I have to wonder if they are doing things like this out of sincere concern for abortion. It could be just as likely that they do stunts like this because they want to be arrested. Because that gives them grounds to claim persecution. If they can project the notion that they are persecuted, then that - in their minds anyway - bestows upon them the status of being "legitimate". Legitimacy brings with it the quality of purpose. Take away the supposed rationale for persecution, and the assumed purpose likewise vanishes.

You see, I also have to wonder if people like the Operation Rescue folks are not secretly grateful that there is abortion: because it gives them something that they can use to assume importance and affluence.

All too often in affairs of human nature, there comes a point when the fight is no longer about a real cause, and it becomes a fight for sake of the fight itself. That's the surest sign of purpose gone astray. And there are also plenty of unscrupulous people out there who don't think twice about exploiting others' misplaced passion. It already happened a long time ago with the civil rights movement. It's also happened with the anti-abortion and "pro-family" movements, too.

In any case, the police were right to stop this guy. Mall of Georgia, especially at this time of year, is packed with families and small children. This sort of display is completely inappropriate for that kind of public venue.

EDIT 7:41 a.m. EST: If you can stomach it, here's a picture of Operation Rescue's "Truth Truck". This is something much larger than I had imagined it would be... and I'm downright horrified that something like that was driving around the Mall of Georgia on the day after Thanksgiving! Click if you must, but be warned: it's rather gruesome.

Read More

"Nature Trail to Hell" live on stage!

Right now I'm averaging just one blog post a day. Which means that behind the scenes, I'm up to something.

But whenever I'm not on sabbatical from blogging (boy did that one go SNAFU or what?) I like to keep a little activity going so that the site doesn't stagnate.

Here's something that I found tonight that's well worth sharing: from a 1994 variety show at a New York high school, it's a live-action on-stage performance of "Weird Al" Yankovic's classic song "Nature Trail to Hell"!

Read More

Some INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL pics!

Look at what Phillip Arthur has found: three sweet new pics from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! They all feature Harrison Ford as Indy and one of them has Shia LaBeouf as Indy's sidekick. Look closely at LaBeouf's leather jacket and it seems like the word "Mutt" is inscribed on the left side. Is that his character's name? Are the rumors true that LaBeouf is playing Indy's son? If so, "Mutt" would be kinda fitting, since Indy took his nickname after the family dog anyway :-P

Read More

WATCHMEN official set photos!

Hey hey! Taking a bit of a break from getting my U.S. House campaign website up and running. Okay, at this point it's an "exploratory committee" and the website is going to reflect that. But it's still looking pretty good.

Anyhoo, I wouldn't normally break in from doing something serious like that (and it is a serious endeavor) unless it was pretty massively major and/or immensely cool. If you've been following this project for the 20 years that it's been attempted, then you'll understand that this certainly qualifies as both.

It's about Watchmen. Namely, the first officially released photos from the set.

I don't know what else to say but... "HOLY COW!!"

Zack Snyder and his crew have nailed it. So help me, they have actually nailed it. This is really going to happen.

Let's take a look, courtesy of this blog post on the official Watchmen site.

This first photo alone is enough to make me believe that this is finally going to work. If you've read Watchmen then you already know why this picture is a big deal...

A seemingly more innocuous pic but close inspection will reveal some more Watchmen eye candy...

Here's the Gunga Diner itself. See the taxi going past it? I'm assuming that this is being driven by the same female cabbie that we see a lot in the graphic novel. Look really close and you can see that she's even wearing the same hat!

And finally there is this one: a big re-election poster for President Nixon (this is taking place in the 1985 of an alternate-history Earth). And that's none other than Rorschach himself walking past it! Looks like he's headed toward the bar on the left. That can't possibly be a good thing...

So there ya have it: our first official glimpses of Rorschach, Bernie the newsstand vendor, the comic book kid, the Gunga Diner, the cabbie, the Nixon poster, "Who Watches The Watchmen?" graffiti, the Tales of the Black Freighter comic...

This could be to comic book movies what Gone With The Wind was to Civil War epics.

Read More

The 50 greatest fictional weapons ever

ToyFare and Wizard Universe have compiled their list of the 50 greatest weapons throughout all of fiction. Lightsabers make the list twice (the standard design and Darth Maul's two-bladed terror) and I was glad to see that the BFG9000 from the videogame Doom also made the cut. There are also some things mentioned here that I'd never heard of before, like Hitler's Handgun (exactly what it sounds like, from Marvel Comics' Doctor Strange: The Oath miniseries) and some that are surprisingly obscure in this day and age (like the Target Seeking Bullet Gun from the movie Runaway). And the Tall Man's homicidal Christmas tree balls from Phantasm (left) came in at #24. A great fun read and I'm particularly glad to see what came in at #1 :-)

Read More

My decision on running for U.S. House

I'll do it.

Meaning: I am going to run for the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 13th District. As a lot of people have been suggesting over the past year. And it will be as a Republican.

I am absolutely serious about this.

But I'm not entirely happy with what I'm going to have to do in order for this to be a legitimate thing. You see, per the twisted myriad of Catch-22s that is federal election law, it's not feasible to have that amount of signatures on a petition just to see if you "should" run. Because in order to seriously consider running at all, you have to say that you are running... even though you don't count as a real candidate until you've raised enough money.

I need to make that clear: I'm going to run but at the present time I am not a candidate. I only become a candidate if my exploratory committee raises $5000. Then I become a candidate. In the meantime I'm "just running". Even though in my mind I'm still just "exploring" the possibility of running. But according to the rules I have to say that I am running, so I am running. And the only way to really gauge whether or not there is the support for this is to start raising money. And I don't know for sure if there really is enough support of that kind out there for this.

So basically we have a guy who's ran for school board, and didn't win that, and has since had a lot of people telling him that he should "set your sights higher", is already having to capitulate on an earlier statement, and is now declaring that he will run for United States Congress. My assets include 1 blog, 2 computers, 2 video cameras, a YouTube account, a few friends and family members (including 1 wife who is shaking her head in disbelief but has told me that if there is enough support that I should go for it), and not much else. And with this I am soon going to be asking people to contribute money - and hopefully lots of it - to my campaign.

Oh yeah and I will be running as a Republican who is against the Iraq war, does not believe that America should become an empire, has long thought that too many "Christian leaders" care more about having political power than earnestly seeking Christ and so I won't be seeking their endorsement, believes that the current presidential administration is the worst in American history because of things like the PATRIOT Act and No Child Left Behind and its refusal to do anything serious about illegal immigration, and will be running my own campaign without any "handlers" or "image consultants".

Are there any details that we are missing here?

So why am I doing this? Well, there are two reasons that have occupied my mind, for motivating me to take a shot at this...

First, I want to write. I want to make my movies. I want to get my masters degree. I want to be creative and productive. I want to have a full life of growing into whatever person it is that God wants me to grow into.

Most of all I want to be a father.

And it scares me, to think of what this country is becoming. What it has become already in a very short period of time. It scares me to think about what my children will be growing up in and what they will eventually inherit.

In the Boy Scouts we learned to always leave a campsite better than how it is that you found it. I've always thought that's a great philosophy for living your life. And as much as I want to do some things for myself personally right now, I would also like to know someday that I had done my best to leave this world not just a little better for my own children, but for everyone else.

So that's why, if people will have me, I'll sacrifice a few years of my time and do my best to serve others toward that end.

And the second reason why I've decided to run (and be a real candidate if the support is there): I'm just an ordinary citizen. But you know: why shouldn't regular Americans run for high office?

The beautiful thing about the Constitution is that the Founders wrote it so that anyone could understand it and the government it establishes. They never intended for it to be the sole province of a group of "professionals" or "elites". Quite frankly, I think Washington, Jefferson and Franklin would have been horrified to see what modern American government has turned into: politicians picked by party bosses, young men and women wasting the best years of their lives being little more than cogs in a merciless machine obsessed with power. And these so-called "experts", who have conned us into believing that they are somehow our "betters", have done nothing but waste our freedoms, our money, and even innocent lives while they continue to play their games.

People like that don't really see how the rest of us have to live with their mistakes. They don't know what it's like to make ends meet out here in the real world. It's cost them understanding, it's costing us our liberty and livelihood, and it's costing America whatever vitality she has left to her.

It's time for the "professional politicians" to go. And it's time for regular Americans to take hold of the destiny that the Founders intended for them to have for themselves.

That's the other reason why I'm going to run for United States House of Representatives: because I want a lot more people to see this guy running, against all odds, and think "hey, I could do that. I can do that. Maybe I will do that!" If I don't get in this time, then next time maybe there will be dozens more people out there who will try this too. I'll do my darndest to help them along the way. And I've no doubt that some of them will go all the way to the House, wherever they live.

I'm doing this because I want to see that entire House of Representatives filled with regular Americans, who are loyal to something other than political power or the fastest buck. And I'll do whatever it takes to see that happen.

I do not want to be a career politician. My earlier stipulation is still in effect: if in spite of everything set against me I were to wind up winning this seat, I would be there for no more than three terms. And I don't know if I would even want to be there that long. Lord only knows: I might get there and serve out one full term and then decide that I'm sick and tired of the corruption and that I want out. Besides, I don't believe that this is something that the Founders wanted to be a "lifetime career" anyway: I'd go and serve a few years and then get out and let the next guy start serving.

And by the way: there are a lot of things going against me, since I'm doing this.

I won't lie to anyone about my chances, because I understand them all too well.

I'm 33, plenty enough old to run but still very young compared to most people already there. Again, I have to emphasize that I am not "well off": I'm just now getting a business started - after trying to do that for a year - and although I'm very optimistic about it in light of how well some things are lining up for it, that's a far thing from saying that I'm "successful" with it yet.

I am not a perfect human being by any stretch. There are a lot of flaws that I've got to admit that I have. I like to think that I've overcome and grown past a lot of those. That's only come about because of the grace of God and a lot of patience. But all the same: there are lesser angels of my own nature that I still struggle with, and will continue to struggle with for the rest of my life. I won't shy away from admitting that.

Last week I changed my voter registration to Republican. That doesn't really mean anything to me though. I only did it because the way the election laws have been written over the years, you only stand a real chance at all of getting elected if you are a member of one of the two major parties.

Truth be known, I don't care much for political parties anymore. They are one of the bigger problems that are destroying this country.

So I'll be a Republican on the ballot, if it comes to that. But I'm not "running as a Republican". I'm running as Chris Knight. Stand or fall, I can't compromise on that. I do realize that because I've got "Republican" next to my name, that alone will disqualify me in many people's minds. And that I'm not a life-long, lock-step committed member of the GOP (and don't want to be either) will have some calling me a "Republican In Name Only".

Fine, I'm a RINO. As if "Republican" even means anything anymore. I believe in the values that the Republican party used to hold to: limited government, personal responsibility, individual freedom. I believe that abortion is wrong and that we have the right to self defense per the Second Amendment (and I don't believe elected officials should be playing games with things like that just to keep persuading the voters).

But I do not believe that the Republican party as a whole can claim to have the market cornered on those virtues any longer. If I run as a Republican and if anyone demands that I be labeled, I guess you could say that I'm going to be a "paleo-conservative"... and that is not a popular thing these days with the current Republican leadership. I'm not counting on any support from that quarter. But I wasn't hoping for it from them either.

I'll be listed on the ballot as a Republican, if things get that far. But I'll be running as I live my life: as an individual. Because that's how I see the world: as individual people, not groups of people to "trick" and manipulate and lie to.

That first commercial from my school board campaign? Better get ready for more like that, if TV commercials start getting made. Because if there's one thing that I will absolutely try not to do, it's insult your intelligence as a voter. Heck, you and I both know that you can think on your own. I'm not gonna be the candidate who tries to fool you. I may entertain you some but I'll also do my best to tell it like it is. Because I know that you can handle it.

My original declaration has not changed at all: there will be no negative advertising coming out of my campaign. If I run a single negative commercial, I won't run for office again, anywhere, for as long as I live.

I don't even want it to be said that I'm "running against" anyone. I'm simply running for a seat. That means I'll be presenting myself and my beliefs to the voters and will offer to serve them. If they don't want to take me up on that offer, there'll be no hard feelings and I go on and will still get to have that productive life (Lord willing with lots of kiddies) and I'll be happy.

I also want to reiterate something else that I said earlier: that I will not accept political action committee (PAC) money in my campaign. This has to be something that individuals must contribute to.

And I'm still not going to refer to anyone else running in this race as either a "liberal" or a "conservative". Other people need more respect than to have some silly label slapped on them for sake of our own convenience.

If you're thinking this is a joke, put that notion aside. Within the limits that I've set and have been established by circumstance, I am bound and determined to give this the best effort that I can. And if people really want me to do this, I'm going to serve them to the utmost of my ability.

This will be a very hard thing to attempt.

The odds are against me.

But it's worth taking a shot at.

And it has the added incentive of quite possibly being a lot of fun.

I'll say it again: if you thought my school board commercials were great, you ain't seen nuthin' yet!

Much more coming next week, including the launch of the exploratory committee website. And possibly a video or two as well.

Not much else to say right now except...

"Here we go, fast and furious!"

Read More

Women who won't have babies "for the good of the planet"

This may be one of the most screwball things that I've ever read. And I've read plenty of screwball in my short time in this world...

There's a story at the Daily Mail website about women who refuse to get pregnant. Who have gone so far as to choose to be sterilized. Because to them, babies are "not eco friendly". They have rendered themselves incapable of having babies to "protect the planet".

So in order to preserve the beauty of the Earth, it now becomes morally righteous to wipe out people who can enjoy and appreciate that beauty. Ooh-kaaaaaay...

I long ago came to distrust Radical Environmentalism (which I capitalize because it really has become a religion as much as Christianity or Buddhism or what have you). Radical Environmentalism is the "observer effect" taken to an ecclesiastical extreme and turned into a weird cult of neo-flagellants. I have never understood why some people believe that the possession of conscious thought is grounds for ecological segregation. Man is not a thing apart from the environment: man is an active component of the environment.

And the idea that man must be diminished or even banished entirely from that environment in order to "preserve" it is absolutely insane. Even on a strictly "environmentalist" level it makes no sense, because for radical environmentalism of this sort to be valid, it must be true that Earth's environment exists in a pristine, static state without flux or change. We know that this is not true at all: Earth's environment is constantly changing, caused by factors well beyond our control and influence. Those include solar radiation, magma displacement far underground, genetic mutation (such as the periodic shifting of the flu virus), many other things. So the rabid environmentalist mindset is already something wildly illogical.

Here is where Radical Environmentalism differs from conservation, which is a good thing. Conservation does embrace the fact that man is part of the environment, and maintains that we are to be stewards of the land as best we can. Conservation has us as participants in the world, while extreme Environmentalism makes us a disease to be cut out.

But let's cut to the real problem with Radical Environmentalism: as happens all too often with religion, it's purpose has become that of power and control over other people. And apparently, it is a religion much like that of Molech in the time of the Old Testament, where the highest sign of devotion was to sacrifice your own child. Now we have women sacrificing their own wombs to demonstrate fealty to their idol. Would these women have done such a thing, had they not wanted a sense of empowerment and decided that it was worth sacrificing their identities and their flesh for that measure of power? Probably not. But such is the allure of the collective mind.

Sad. Just very, very sad...

Kinda makes you wonder if watching Children of Men should be required in high school biology classrooms. Hey if An Inconvenient Truth can be mandatory viewing , why not a movie about what happens when there are no more babies being born?

Read More

What I am thankful for in 2007

Last year for Thanksgiving, I posted here a list of things for which I am thankful. It seemed then that this might be a great thing to turn into an annual tradition.

So as Thanksgiving 2007 is winding down, I have to say that I am thankful for...

...my dear wife Lisa, who more times than I can possibly count over this past year has shown again that she is the most remarkable woman that I have ever met, in addition to being the most beautiful. I absolutely do not deserve to have her in my life, and I thank God every day that for whatever reason, He put the two of us together. And Lord willing, we will have children someday soon who will come to know how wonderful she is, too :-)

...for my family.

...for the many, many new friendships that were made over this past year. That was the most consistent thing that happened throughout all of "these crazy situations" (as Chad Austin put it).

...and I'm especially thankful for my brothers and sisters in POTSMOD and how that brought us together to not only stand up against a bad thing and put a stop to it, but also to have a lot of fun along the way :-)

...for the hardships. Yes, I am thankful for the adversities that have come up seemingly nonstop since this year began. Because each of those things caused me to grow, even when they sometimes almost broke me down completely. And I sincerely believe that this is the biggest testimony that I can offer about how God has been working in my life. The Chris Knight from a decade ago could not have stood up to all of these crises and situations. That Chris Knight would have tried to face them on his own and he would have fallen and been utterly crushed by them. Heck, he was crushed by them. The Chris Knight of 2007 has finally (or I like to think so anyway) learned to yield his life to God and let Him shoulder the burden instead. The Chris Knight of today has become a person who doesn't try to do it on his own... because he finally realizes that attempting it can only hurt and destroy a person, and comes in the way of what God would have for us.

...for the weddings of so many loved ones.

...for the arrival into this world of so many beautiful new little ones.

...for acing the Praxis II exam and doing so well on the GRE!

...for the start of what I hope will be a successful business, which will be the first time that I've really set out to make my own living. Whether I succeed or fail is not only in my hands but more importantly it's in God's hands... which is where it belongs to begin with.

...that I was able to make another short film (which was also an opportunity to meet some terrific new people).

...for Transformers: The Score, which to me became not only a beautiful piece of music but symbolic of something much more profound and wonderful. What I mean by that is something that would take too long to go into here.

...for Lost, which is the kind of television storytelling that I wish I could have grown up watching my entire life.

...for the Rockingham County Board of Education, which has been one of the most entertaining things that I have ever borne witness to.

...for finally getting to eat at Mama Dip's restaurant.

...for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which was one of the most amazing and profoundly Christian novels that I have ever read.

...for Facebook, which has led to me getting back in touch with a lot of people that I've lost contact with over the years.

...for WGSR Star 39, which never ceases to entertain and enlighten with its oddball quirkiness (but please guys, no solid month's run of Cujo anymore, 'kay?).

...and speaking of WGSR, I'm thankful that I got to co-host an entire hour of Monday Night Live earlier this year.

...for Marvel Ultimate Alliance, one of the greatest video games ever (and I hope that we get a sequel someday soon)!

...that I will be finally attending Butt-Numb-A-Thon two weeks from now, after trying hard for so many years to be there.

...for a wonderful trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway around Boone last month, which ended up being very much the swan song trip for my trusty Toyota Corolla. I am sorry that it was totaled less than a week later, but I couldn't have asked for a better "going away" for it.

...for finally, after years and years of trying to comprehend and accept this, realizing that God's grace is sufficient.

...for so many other things that I'm trying hard to think of right now but am failing horribly at recalling, mostly 'cuz this has been such a long day.

...and as last year, I am just thankful for being able to say that I am thankful.

Read More

Pics and report on Thanksgiving 2007's deep-fried turkey

I awoke at dawn, had breakfast but didn't bother to shower. When you know that you'll be working with searing-hot oil and will get blasted with steam rich in the aroma of garlic butter, getting cleaned-up for Thanksgiving dinner is kind of a moot thing.

Deep-frying a turkey is the only form of cooking that I know of that demands wearing extra layers of clothing and such demanding attention to detail. It's like being a combination firefighter, M*A*S*H surgeon and gourmet chef. This is masculine cooking to the max. In fact, I've only seen one woman deep-fry a turkey: the indomitable Paula Dean. But then, Paula Dean can do anything in the kitchen. That she is the only woman I have witnessed frying a turkey makes her all the more magnificent. Behold her awesome culinary skills and tremble, mere mortals!

Anyhoo, we had breakfast - just a little bacon and toast 'cuz I didn't want to eat too much and feel slowed-down by digestion. I decided to start the operation a little earlier than usual because the forecast called for increased winds and dropping temperatures later in the day.

Here's the turkey, after more than a day of preparation with lots of garlic butter marinade and Cajun rub...

Here's the setup for today's frying. When this photo was taken the peanut oil was already about 100 degrees Fahrenheit and steadily rising. That's Lisa's dad sitting in the background, oggling the flames and glory...

Closeup of the peanut oil as it was heating up...

Every time I figure out how long to deep-fry a turkey, I'm reminded of the official U.S. Army manual Procedure for Military Executions, which is the how-to guide that was used to dispatch the Nuremberg war criminals (among others). Just like the Army personnel had to figure in the weight and height of each condemned man so that they'd know how much rope to use on the gallows, so too do you have to take the bird's weight and then determine how long to cook it. It's a fairly delicate dance: the turkey must be fried at 350 degrees, but you want to heat the oil up slightly more than that (say, an extra 10-20 degrees) because the oil temperature is going to drop once the bird is fully submerged. Then figure that for each pound of the turkey that it must be fried for 3.5 minutes. Then tack on an extra 2-5 minutes just to be sure that it's thoroughly cooked. In the case of this turkey, I figured that 40 minutes exactly would be sufficient.

So here it went into the pot...

Lisa's dad took this shot of me still lowering it in. If you want to be safe (which you should) it ought to take you at least 30 seconds, maybe even a full minute to completely put the turkey in. Also make sure that the inside and outside of the bird is as dry as possible...

Putting the turkey in is the most absolutely scary point of the whole operation. When it's safely in, and you have unhooked the spit and can let the hot oil run its course... only then can you really relax (but not too much). But every time that it's finally in the pot, it's a moment of triumph and I couldn't help but let out a big huge rebel yell of "Yeee-haw!!!"

And there's the mad fryer himself!

Like a scene from Dante's Inferno. Ladies and gentlemen, behold the mouth of Hell...

After it was in the pot and I felt comfortable enough about it, I walked a short distance to my car (the one that we've rented 'cuz I'm still without one of my own after the Corolla got totaled) and started Transformers: The Score going almost full-blast out of the speakers. Because part of my turkey-frying tradition is to have good music for the event.

Finally, 40 minutes later, at 11:30 a.m. exactly and just as "Arrival to Earth" was reaching its crescendo, it was time to remove the turkey. Here now, be awed at how beautiful it turned out!

And here it is a short while later when we started serving it for dinner and had begun to carve it. Notice how well cooked it is... and after only 40 minutes of frying time! It also came out very moist and tender, not like traditional basting at all.

Along with the deep-fried turkey we had corn, snap beans, hash-brown casserole and biscuits. It was quite a good meal, and everyone said that they enjoyed the turkey. I certainly did, since it had been almost two years since I had tasted any!

And that was Thanksgiving Dinner 2007 for us. And there's plenty of turkey still left over and I'll no doubt be bloated to the max by the time this weekend is over :-)

Read More

New poster for CLOVERFIELD

About to get in a bit of a nap ('cuz you also gotta be wide-awake when you fry a turkey) but before doing that, courtesy of ComingSoon.net here is the new poster for Cloverfield:

And in case you've been following this movie and haven't heard already (like I did from Phillip Arthur), there is a slow-motion close-up of the brief glimpse of the monster that we see in the new trailer (the full version of which you can watch in Quicktime here... and is that a lot of linkage to put together or what? :-).

Read More

Thanksgiving 2007: Gonna fry now

So it's now early Thanksgiving morning and in case anyone is wondering: yes, this year I am deep-frying a turkey! It'll be the first I've done in two years. I didn't fry one for Thanksgiving last year because I had to work all day at the TV station. Here's a pic of the 2005 Thanksgiving fried turkey and the one I did the previous Christmas and Thanksgiving 2004. You've no idea how much I missed doing one and how much I've been looking forward to this Thanksgiving. I started prepping the bird yesterday and just gave it a checkup and even pre-cooked, it smells delightful!

It must be borne in mind however that deep-frying (or Cajun-frying) a turkey is an EXTREMELY dangerous procedure! Every year, there are dozens (hundreds?) of accidents involving turkey frying that result in damaged homes, some even thoroughly destroyed and worse: severe injury including second and third-degree burns. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying fried turkey (in my opinion the only way to cook so noble a bird) but you really must be exceedingly cautious and maybe even a little crazy if you want to even begin contemplating doing such a thing.

So if you ever decide that you can't resist "going in deep", remember: do the "water trick" before preparing the bird so that you'll know how much oil to use (because the vast majority of turkey-frying accidents stem from putting way too much oil in the pot), don't use a bird that's too big for your pot, wear plenty of protection (especially hands and face), make sure the bird is completely dry on both the outside and inside, never leave the fryer unattended, never do this alone, keep children and animals a safe distance away, do not operate while intoxicated (a good rule for anything), move all vehicles a safe distance away, do not operate the fryer indoors or under a shelter (you wouldn't believe the stories I've heard of people attempting this in their living rooms and I've never heard of it turning out in any way other than the whole house burning down), and perhaps most important of all be patient and do not try to rush things. Cooking at only 3 1/2 - 4 minutes per pound at 350 degrees, it will be ready to eat very soon anyway (this is one of the reasons why I prefer deep-fried turkey, compared to basting which is too slow and leaves the meat too dry for my tastes: Cajun-fried turkey is exceptionally moist and tender).

In addition to all of these rules, I would also say that as a personal preference, I do not use the tripod-stand fryers. My turkeys have always been fried on a four-legged fryer because this maximizes stability for the pot (i.e. far less likely to tip over). It may cost a little extra but the added safety and peace of mind are well worth it.

So with all that said, here are the pre-game stats for Chris Knight's Thanksgiving Deep-Fried Turkey 2007:

Bird: Butterball(tm) brand 11.5 pound turkey (one of these days I'm going to find and prepare a wild turkey)

Marinade: Cajun Injector(tm) Creole Butter

Rub: Cajun Injector(tm) Cajun Shake, used generously on the inside and outside of the bird

Type of oil to be used: Peanut (would like to try cottonseed oil sometime if I can ever find any)

Music: A very important part of my personal turkey-frying ritual is to have a CD playing to mark the occasion, and for entertainment while the bird is cooking. The last time I did this for Thanksgiving, in 2005, it was the soundtrack for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which given all the seared flesh that I was working with seemed quite appropriate :-) This year, for reasons which should be obvious for anyone who's followed this blog over the past few months, the turkey-frying music will be Transformers: The Score by Steve Jablonsky.

After dinner today I'll post some pics of the turkey and show y'all how it turned out (and maybe even some of it frying :-)

Read More

The official poster for Butt-Numb-A-Thon 9!

Tonight Harry Knowles unveiled the official poster for Butt-Numb-A-Thon 9 and it looks frickin' awesome!! Check it out...

Still can't believe that I'm finally getting to go to Butt-Numb-A-Thon this year. After everything that has happened going as far back as the summer of 2006, and especially the past several months... I can't help but feel like maybe this is a sign that things are looking up. You just gotta have faith, folks. As a highly respected philosopher once put it: "faith manages" (and props to whoever can spot where that came from :-P).

I had a crazy thought the other night: might one of the big movies that we'll see premiered at Butt-Numb-A-Thon 9 possibly be... Cloverfield?!? Dunno. I'm still hoping that we'll get to see Mother, Jugs & Speed 'cuz that's the absolutely perfect movie for a Butt-Numb-A-Thon crowd. Even more than those two though, I'm praying that the good Mr. Knowles might possibly pull off the coup of the millennium and have The Day the Clown Cried on the program (sometime soon I'm gonna make a blog post about that) 'cuz that's prolly the only way that I'll ever get to see that movie.

Anyhoo, props to D. Campbell MacKinlay (aka CARTUNA) for the awesome poster!

Read More

Deputy attempts to murder family dog (family should have murdered the deputy if you ask me)

A family in Idaho says that a sheriff's deputy tried to murder their dog.

Apparently the deputy came to their door, demanded to see the dog and claimed that he was there to kill it after a complaint had been filed. When the dog's owner asked to see proof the deputy is alleged to have replied "I don't need any proof". He was then led to the dog and he shot it multiple times with a rifle.

What I can't figure out is why the dog's family just let the deputy go ahead and shoot it. The dog survived, by the way.

It would have been a far better thing for the family to have disobeyed and called the deputy's superiors before this goon was allowed to go any further. And if worse came to worst, they should have shot the deputy dead.

No, I'm not kidding either.

I don't care what kind of trouble it gets me in for saying this, because it needs to be said: "law enforcement officers" who act without restraint like this are nothing more than criminal thugs. The fact that they wear a badge is irrelevant. And by acting this way they give the decent officers who do care about serving others and the rule of law a very, very bad name.

Am I making my point clear here? We do not need to obey someone just because they have a badge and a uniform and a gun. Being an agent of the government does not make someone "anointed" or "morally superior". That kind of respect must be earned, it cannot be endowed. And sometimes the moral thing to do is to disobey such people. With all due force if need be.

The whole thing about being a civilized society? That's for the people to enforce even more than it is for the government to do so.

This is why the Founding Fathers had the wisdom to include the Second Amendment: so that we could shoot back when "they" start shooting first.

Read More

WREV reunion video

Matt Smith at WGSR posted this on YouTube yesterday: it's the video of the reunion of the WREV vets. WREV - the original one anyway - was Reidsville, North Carolina's radio station for many years, operating from sunrise to sunset. The classic WREV was replaced a little over ten years ago by "salsa"-style 24-hour all-Spanish broadcasting. So if you're a current or former resident of Rockingham County, here's a nice lil' trip down memory lane...

Read More

Star Wars Force FX Lightsaber Construction Set by Master Replicas

I saw this on sale yesterday at Radio Shack. If you've ever lusted after one of those awesome Force FX lightsabers that Master Replicas makes but have somehow never got one, this may finally make you yield to the Dark Side enough to shell out $99 for it...

With a variety of grips, switches, pommels and whatnot (to say nothing of how you can select from three different colors for the blade) to choose from, the Lightsaber Construction Set boasts that you can create thousands of different combinations of this most elegant of weapons.

Bunch more photos of the thing over at Simply Toys. And no, I did not buy this. But I soon might :-)

Read More

"Weird Al" Yankovic's video for "Fat"

Here is a dire warning for all of those tempted to pig out this Thanksgiving. From his 1988 album Even Worse, here is the video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "Fat" (which is a parody of Michael Jackson's "Bad", right down to the same subway set!)...

Read More