"We are arrant knaves all; believe none of us."
Friday, June 13, 2008
"Forest of the Dead" is the BEST episode of revived DOCTOR WHO yet, maybe best EVER and should make everyone feel warm and happy!!!
Last Saturday the BBC transmitted "Forest of the Dead", the newest episode of Doctor Who (until tomorrow night anyway, when "Midnight" premieres). I watched it on Tuesday.
And it's taken me this long just to get my thoughts together about it...
"Donna?"And that is as far as I dare go with the usual choice quotes from a new Doctor Who episode."You said 'river', and suddenly we're feeding ducks."
"The only story you'll ever tell... if you survive here."
"Yo... WHO ARE YOU?!?"
"I'm going to prove it to you, and I'm sorry. I'm really, very sorry."
"LOOK AT THAT! I'm VERY GOOD!!!"
A few weeks ago I finally figured out what the "Media Extender" capability of our Xbox 360 is. So now it's configured into our home network and now I can watch those wonderful Doctor Who episodes (uploaded onto BitTorrent courtesy of our Brittish brethren) on a 42-inch high-definition television set, instead of an LCD computer monitor. Not fully high-def, but it looks amazing.
And that is how I watched "Forest of the Dead": far and away the best episode yet of the revived run of Doctor Who, and I think it could even be said that this would be in the running for the best episode of the entire 45-year history of the show.
"Wait, Chris... it's even better than "The Girl in the Fireplace"?!"
Oh yeah. Which Steven Moffat also wrote, incidentally.
This will be the episode by which all others will be judged. I feel as if after watching "Forest of the Dead" that in the words of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor "I have dipped into the future." If this is a taste of what is to come when Moffat begins helming Doctor Who in 2010, then we are potentially headed for the richest and most epic storytelling ever done with an already grand mythology.
"Forest of the Dead" begins where "Silence in the Library" left off, with the Doctor and Professor River Song's expedition trapped by the Vashta Nerada. We find out what happened to Donna, and the Doctor is determined to discover how does River Song know so much about him. The moment that he does is going to be the source of endless speculation between now and at least 2010. If you thought Lost was maddening, "Forest of the Dead" might be worth at least an entire season of that series' questions.
And that ending: if you choked back tears watching "The Girl in the Fireplace", keep the Kleenex handy for the last several minutes of "Forest of the Dead". Please folks: that's not a mild suggestion. It's beautiful and hopeful and uplifting... and after some of the nonsense I've gone through during the past week, it sure cheered me up! Murray Gold's score alone is enough to have your spirit soaring. I'll buy the DVD of this season's soundtrack just for the music when the Doctor is running back to the data core.
If you are an American fan who has only been watching this season on the Sci-Fi Channel, I cannot begin to tell you what is in store for you with "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead". Clear some space on your DVR if you need to: this one's a keeper. And I'll give it the full 5 Sonic Screwdrivers out of 5!
Frank Darabont's script for INDIANA JONES 4 is online... somewhere!
So if you are diligent enough with Google, right now you should have no problem at all finding an Adobe Acrobat file of Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods: Frank Darabont's now-legendary script for the fourth Indiana Jones movie. G4's Mike D'Alonzo wrote a review of it a few days ago and Moriarty at Ain't It Cool News confirmed that it's legit. It took me about two minutes of looking around to snag a copy for myself.
Thoughts?
Darabont's draft is so much like what became Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that until I know why, it's going to be an eternal question in my mind as to why he never received a writing credit for the final product. It's the same basic story: Jones gets involved with a quest for a seemingly-mystical crystal skull and the adventure winds up in Peru. The space aliens angle is still here. So is the rocket sled, the mushroom cloud, and the refrigerator (but those all date back to Jeb Stuart's Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars script in 1995 anyway). Mutt is not in Darabont's script, but Marion returns here too... and I have to say that Darabont's script might have captured the spirit of her character more than what we saw in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are many references to the previous entries in the series: some pronounced and others very sly (especially one thing that hearkens back to the first time we see Indy and Belloq meet in Raiders of the Lost Ark). Sallah and Henry Jones Sr. have some fun cameos in Darabont's script, too. Oxley also figures in Darabont's story and doesn't feel as tacked-on as he did in the actual movie.
Now please don't get me wrong here: I loved and still love Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are numerous elements in Darabont's draft that I wish had made it over to the finished work, however. I liked the new character Yuri and the dialogue he shares with Indy and I could easily picture Ray Winstone in the role, too. The aliens are a much bigger threat and per Darabont's pen feel very... well, "alien", in a Lovecraftian way. And Indy himself comes across as more happy-go-lucky and whimsical: a sign of the growth that he has undergone as a character after so many adventures.
Anyhoo, it's out there, if you want to read it for yourself. Good luck! :-)
Ron Paul ends campaign for President... and what this means
Ron Paul has ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for President. Instead of conceding however, Paul has shifted gears and is channeling the resources of his political aspiration into the Campaign for Liberty.
Most readers here know that I've been an enthusiastic supporter of Dr. Paul, what with the pictures of him that I did in Photoshop and the video that was posted on YouTube. Heck, I even made a Ron Paul Jack-o'-Lantern for this past Halloween! And last month I finally got to meet him.
So now, he's winding-down his drive for the Oval Office. What do I make of this?
Personally, I think that in years to come the Ron Paul presidential campaign is going to be one of the most appreciated things to have happened in the era of modern American politics. But that's not going to happen before some very rough times we'll have to go through.
Here is why I am inclined to call Ron Paul's campaign a success: it demonstrated that there is a complete absence of principles and honor in the current American political system. And if one demands further proof, he need look no further than the "two major candidates" that our system has wound up producing, with the demand that we must "choose" one of the two.
I think Ron Paul's campaign has given ample evidence that there exists between the two major parties, the corporate media, and government in general an unwritten rule that the status quo must be preserved at all costs. Those who might threaten The Way Things Are, are effectively quashed. We saw this happen numerous times during this past year to Ron Paul, especially how he was prevented from participating in numerous "debates" and when he was allowed, the "objective" moderators from Fox News or whatever made it their mission to openly question Dr. Paul's viability as a candidate. They never did that to Romney, or Huckabee, or McCain, or anyone else.
Maybe the biggest lesson we can take from the Ron Paul presidential campaign is that: "You cannot beat the system".
Maybe we don't have to try to beat it, either.
Because the system that is modern American politics is crashing and burning quite well on its own, without any help from us.
Look at what's happening around us: soaring gas prices and even higher kerosene prices (which will soon make trucking goods a much less attractive career for those who this country depends on for shipping). Skyrocketing cost of food. Illegal migrants flooding into the country. Flagrant use of illegal labor (which has led to many recent problems involving food production). Plummeting value of the dollar. Increasing taxes. Government continually stripping rights away. Wars without end, hallelujah, amen...
Those "stimulus" checks that we all got? I made a sound investment with mine (which is all that I'm going to say about that). If there had to be a sign that ours is a broken and defeated country, that was it. "Stimulus" was socialism. It was crumbs thrown to us from the table, and we gobbled it up without thinking about it. I understand that retail buying was up last month. "Stimulus worked," some will tell Chris.
Okay, fine. But now the stimulus money has run out and the economy is grinding to a halt again. Are we supposed to expect another stimulus? Believe it or not, I have heard that this is seriously under consideration. Which will pump more money into the supply, making the dollar worth even less...
I don't even want to begin to speculate on what's been going on with the weather lately, and how this has already caused the price of corn to shoot through the roof. A number of people have suggested that if there is anything like a severe hurricane season this year, the cost of commodities like oil and food will become unconscionable. Granted, there's not much we can do about acts of God. But there has been plenty that we could have already done about managing what's been granted our purview.
Except not one of the "leading contenders" for President has a damned clue about what to do about any of this. Heck, we've pretty much been promised higher taxes, no matter who is elected.
It can't be said that we didn't have a choice. Ron Paul and a very few others who took a stab at this wanted to bring legitimate concerns and solutions to the table. They never stood a chance. They were derided as "joke candidates", "also-rans" while we were supposed to believe that people like McCain and Clinton and Obama were... what, serious?!
Can anyone tell me that any of those three have been out for anything other than the power and the opportunity to stamp their names in the history books?
I don't know what that's a worse commentary on: the ones who perpetuate this system or the American people who continually buy into it.
But hey, this system already gave us George W. Bush: bar none the worst President in American history. Why should we expect any better from it?
So it is that I'm sticking with the vow that I made over a year ago: I am voting for Ron Paul for President, or I am voting for no one at all. And if I have to go to the poll and not mark down anyone for President, so be it. I've no problem with that. My conscience will be clean. Because the sad fact of the matter is, it's not going to matter one whit who among the candidates of the two major parties is elected President.
The inertia has become too great. The timbers have become too rotted. It is the acme of either foolishness or insanity to put faith in either party, or the present system at all, to stop what was already in motion long ago.
Trust me, having done the politics game already: this is not something to stock your hopes in.
But even so, I can't help but believe that Ron Paul's campaign was not only a success, it had a divine hand behind it. Maybe it was just one of the ways that God let the American people have a chance to turn back from the brink.
But we didn't take it. Now we've got two childish punks, drunk on power, fighting for control of the steering while while the car of state speeds full-tilt toward the cliff...
Hang on tight, friends and neighbors: it's a long way down.
The last, best thing I know to say about recent events
If certain people (who I have it on record are still constantly visiting this blog looking for... whatever) cannot watch this all the way through without the slightest twitch of conscience, then there is nothing more than I know to say. Because those people really will have had no soul. The main antagonist in the little drama of the past several days has already given us a glimpse into a very dark abyss, what with his proclaiming that it is his divine mission to "defeat (and) destroy" his fellow Christians."Love thy neighbor as thyself. On these words, depend the future."
Let me present to you now, if nothing else will convince, why it is that I have felt led to confront these people with the evil that they are doing.
From 1955, here is Good Will To Men.
My original idea was to use Peace on Earth. Good Will To Men is a remake of that, and was produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. The reason that I chose to use this one instead of the original is because I think the ultimate message of Good Will To Men is the more clearly stated...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thoughts and prayers for fellow Boy Scouts in Iowa
As you might have heard by now, four Boy Scouts were killed yesterday when a tornado tore through the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa.
When I did the Boy Scout camp thing years ago, at Cherokee Scout Reservation, we had a tornado alarm. I think that I only heard it used once during a drill. I don't think any of us ever expected that there'd be a reason why it would be used for real.
I've come to have a whole new appreciation for that alarm having been there now.
To our friends and brothers in the Mid-America Council and their families who are going through this right now, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you, from here in the Old North State Council and beyond.
Charles Roark offers FREE airtime on WGSR to Johnny Robertson for commercial defaming Yours Truly using my likeness
He did. It's true. I've got it documented.
And in Charles Roark's words: "I don't care... Take me on."
Just thought y'all should know.
So how is this different than what happened the other night? I never used Robertson's image.
Am glad that I didn't, now.
EDIT 5:08 p.m. EST: Roark talked about this on his "warm-up show" on WGSR this afternoon at 4:30. He's trying to spin it as if...
- I called Robertson out first.
- I told WGSR not to use my likeness at all.
Both are false. In fact, both are pretty much blatant lies.
Robertson wanted to debate me first. My only thing so far as "instigation" goes was to ask a theological question. He answered it. I was satisfied. Then Robertson announced that he was going to talk about me on his show that week and that I wouldn't debate him.
So I took him at his word, met him at the station with my video camera and let him have his opportunity. He quickly reneged.
So far as any reasonable human being is concerned, Johnny Robertson was the one who brought this to the television arena. Not I.
And so far as what I've told WGSR goes, I made it clear that my likeness could not be used in promos paid for by Johnny Robertson and his so-called "Church of Christ". Instead, Roark spun it so as to sound as if I was telling WGSR that it could not use my likeness at all.
So I called into the show. And told Roark that. I also accused him of very low journalism. He spat back that "this station is the most successful in the region" and then tried to make it sound as if I was "bitter", having worked there before.
Sure Charles, whatever.
Folks, some of you have been leaving some... not too polite... comments on this post, about Charles Roark. I don't really care to see those but I admit that the lesser angels of my nature are in resounding agreement. My last shred of respect for the man evaporated this afternoon, and I don't know if I'll ever tune in to WGSR again because of it.
He was right when he said one thing: once upon a time, I believed in that station. I thought it was good and I wanted to do my part to make it into something better. But I don't know if it will ever be anything more than it already is.
If Charles Roark is happy with that, fine. But if Roark is throwing his objectivity out the window for sake of a wealthy, paying client - and so far as I know Johnny Robertson and his "Church of Christ" are the biggest things keeping WGSR afloat at all - then I can't support WGSR anymore. Not as a matter of conscience. And the idea that I'm somehow "bitter" has nothing to do with it.
I can't help but think that I doubt Charles Roark will ever understand that.
Walter E. Williams asks: Are Americans slaves?
I've always appreciated Dr. Walter E. Williams's perspective and candor. There have been times when I didn't necessarily agree with him, but whenever he writes or speaks it's apparent that it only comes after investing considerable thought into the matter. For that reason alone, I would recommend Dr. Williams as someone far above and removed from the rest of the "talking heads" out there.
Over at Townhall.com Williams has posed the question: "Are Americans pro-slavery?". It's a fairly short but rich piece that should have everyone reading it question whether they are really free or not.
Personally, I don't believe that the state of condition in America fosters anything but captivity to the current system. That we aren't "owned" in terms of there existing a title deed with one's name on it doesn't change the fact that most of the product of our own labor does go to bigger government. And can it be said that we are becoming "more free" at all, in this day of increasing taxes and mandates on the citizenry?
Yeah, we're slaves all right, just like Williams describes in his piece. Now the question is: What are we going to do about it?
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Johnny Robertson sez: "We are here to DESTROY you" (plus: why this blog can't take this loon seriously anymore)
The Lord works in mysterious ways...
I'm content to believe that the strange drama of what has gone on between Yours Truly and Johnny Robertson of "Martinsville Church of Christ" - part of what I call the "Church Of Christ In Name Only" - has finally drawn to a close. It came with this brazen admission by Robertson on the Answering the Church of Christ blog...
"we are here to defeat destroy you and uplift truth"Johnny Robertson, supposed preacher and "Church of Christ" television broadcaster, has said that it is the mission of he and his followers "to defeat (and) destroy you".- Johnny Robertson, June 11, 2008
I don't have to say anything else or make another video, folks. Robertson has shot himself not in the foot but straight in the chest with this statement.
No doubt that the effort I went through in order to ask Robertson a simple question, about "How is what you are doing showing the love of Christ?", has been wasted. Or maybe not. Because this is how Johnny Robertson of the Martinsville Church of Christ shows love of Christ for others: by actively trying to "destroy" them.
Didn't Charles Manson preach the same thing to his "Family"?
And now, I must apologize to the readers of The Knight Shift, that I spent even one moment concerned with this loon. Because so far as I'm concerned, Johnny Robertson had already demonstrated his lack of credibility even before he said that it was his Christ-ordained mandate to "destroy" his enemies. It happened here, when he referenced someone who is apparently a member of a legitimate Church of Christ...
"Corey does not represent the church of Christ ya'll he is a liberal"Longtime readers of this blog will know what that means and just how bad Robertson has screwed-up here.
And now I cannot believe that I made such a business out of this guy. Because now I have to wonder if he is really an "evil" person after all.
Instead, Johnny Robertson is just... a blithering idiot!
And sad to say, I'm not sorry for having to observe that, either.
"He is a liberal"? Is that the best you can come up with?!
PPPPHHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Folks, seriously, I am now regretting that I spent any time at all countering this, God forgive me for saying it, poor lost soul.
"Liberal"? That word, along with "conservative", has been used so bloody often that it's completely lost all meaning!
If you've ever read my blog, you already know that this is a long-standing belief of mine. A person can have "conservative" or "liberal" leanings on issues. But to blanketly damn a person as a "liberal" or a "conservative" is symptomatic of a very petty, shallow, spiteful mind.
And thats all Robertson really has, isn't it?
Oh yeah, he knows the words of the Bible. But he doesn't know the meaning and spirit of the Bible and now I have to wonder if he possibly can know that at all!
I'm sorry folks. You see, Johnny Robertson, he puts on a good show of it. But he's not really evil. He just can't see the world with anything other than the mentality of professional wrestling.
The moment he described someone as a "liberal", I knew: Johnny Robertson was not an important man at all. Certainly not worth having a theological battle with.
This is too good. This makes my day! This is, very much, a gift from God.
(And yes, I do admit that the lesser angels of my nature are rather mirthful at the moment. But I like to think that God has sufficient grace to forgive me for that :-P)
Oh well, at least I got to make good on my promise to the cast and crew to show Schrodinger's Bedroom on broadcast television. And word has reached me that at least one other well-known person is "furious" that I didn't provide the show that had been expected on Sunday night.
Johnny Robertson, you're not worth another moment of my time. With one word, you demonstrated that.
I would even say that it's a waste of time for anyone to be concerned about Robertson and James Oldfield and Norm Fields any more. It really is the spiritual equivalent of wrestling with a pig: you only get dirty and the pig likes it.
And that's all Robertson, Oldfield and Fields really are, aren't they? They are spiritual pigs.
Johnny Robertson, ladies and gentlemen: All hat and no cattle. On a mission from God to "defeat destroy you".
I'm wondering what kind of Photoshop fun I can work with this...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hide behind the sofa: Davros IS coming!
This has got to be the worst-kept secret in the history of television. But with three weeks left before the two-part finale begins for this season's Doctor Who, the BBC is still refusing to confirm that the big baddie this year is Davros. How could it not be? Season 1 of the revived series ended with a plot by the Dalek Emperor. The following year gave us the first-ever clash between the Daleks and the Cybermen. 2007 hailed the return of The Master (who last menaced The Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie). The show will be on hiatus for one season so that David Tennant can fulfill stage obligations in London, and for that reason alone I doubt Russell T Davies is going to leave us hanging with The Rani or The Valeyard.
Gotta admire the BBC though for keeping a tight ship. Until possibly yesterday, when RichardWho.com snagged the following...
Real deal? My gut says yes.
Davros, possibly the single greatest villain in all of fiction, is returning.
And if that pic is legit, he looks great! We just gotta see if he can still scream and rave like the Davros of old :-)
Answering Johnny Robertson: "What Does the Bible REALLY Say?" (The DVD that didn't air)
In the wake of my "extending the opportunity" to "Martinsville Church of Christ" cultist Johnny Robertson on June 1st, WGSR general manager Charles Roark offered me 25 minutes of free airtime on Sunday night in response to Robertson. I took up the offer, even though 25 minutes is not nearly long enough to counter everything that Robertson, James Oldfield and Norm Fields spend thousands of dollars to broadcast for about a dozen and a half hours a week.
And I already knew that it would have been futile to have even tried to counter everything they preach, too. But I never believed that I had to try to, either.
"Christianity is not a competition", as I said on Sunday night. And I was never out to "beat" Johnny Robertson at anything. All of this began with a simple question...
"Johnny, how is what you are doing showing devotion to Christ, and demonstrating His love for others?"That was almost three months ago. To this date, Johnny Robertson has not provided an answer. He has only dodged and run away.
I spent some time this past week putting together a presentation on DVD that would run on Sunday night. And up 'til the last half-hour or so, this was going to be what people would have seen on Sunday night. A friend came over and we prayed about it and in the end, I felt led to just "be me" and let the chips fall where they may.
If you watched WGSR on Sunday night, you know that I did not run this presentation. That instead I got on live television for about 13 minutes, and just... spoke from the heart about what God had been showing me from scripture this past week.
A lot of it had to do with what we are told in Galatians 5 is the "Fruit of the Spirit". Those being...
- loveRobertson, Olfield and Fields cannot show that they have produced the Fruit of the Spirit with what they preach. They only present "...hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy."
- joy
- peace
- patience
- kindness
- goodness
- faithfulness
- gentleness
- self control
Can it be said that Robertson, Oldfield and Fields can demonstrate to us that they do produce the Fruit of the Spirit in the least bit with what they are doing?
Does that alone indicate that they preach "another Christ", are perhaps even of the "spirit of Antichrist" as the Apostle John wrote?
I won't speculate. But I will certainly observe that their evidence demands a verdict.
A number of people have passed along similar thoughts, after watching Robertson for the first time on Sunday night: that Johnny Robertson is "demon possessed", "evil", and "ungodly". As much as I would like to offer a defense on behalf of Robertson, I'm hard-pressed to find any rationale for one, parse that as you will.
And as I said on Sunday night, this is partly why I'm not going to pursue the matter any further. Because I do want my own life to produce the Fruit of the Spirit. Because I do not want to be like Johnny Robertson and his bunch. What they preach isn't the freedom and joy that comes with a life in Christ. And as I said on camera the other night: "I pity Johnny Robertson." He probably will never know what it means to be free by the grace of God.
After I finished in front of the camera, I had a DVD of Schrodinger's Bedroom which ran. That was included in the DVD that I'd prepared too. Again, because I knew that 25 minutes wasn't long enough to fully counter all the harm these men have done and continue to do... and also because I'd promised the cast and crew of the film that I'd get it broadcast on television somehow. Lo and behold, God let me uphold that promise. So on that note alone, I'll consider Sunday night a success.
I didn't watch Robertson's show, which came on after mine. I do understand that he said something about how I wouldn't speak to him as he was entering the building. Which is a lie: I didn't even see Robertson at all. I saw his car, but did not happen to notice him. And he was nowhere in the WGSR studio as my friend and I were leaving, either. So he was either invisible to the naked eye, or he broadcast an outright falsehood.
I did happen to catch him on the "warm up show" yesterday afternoon. The gist of what he was saying was: "Chris was an idiot to think he could take us on. He can't do it. We won! He threw in the towel! Yay for us! We are better than he is! We are better than ANYONE!"
Can anyone imagine Peter, or Paul, or the Apostle John, or any other follower of Christ of the first century, carrying on like this?
As I said on Sunday night, Christianity is not a competition. I wasn't out to "beat" Robertson anyway. That's never what this has been all about. It's Robertson and his bunch that insists on framing this as an "us versus them" situation. As if there is some tangible prize that is up for grabs.
All of this started with a question that I asked Johnny Robertson. Almost 3 months later, he still cannot answer it.
I'm going to assume at this point that for all the power and authority that he claims, that he cannot do so simple a thing as give us an answer.
If Robertson insists that this be a contest, and if he cannot even attempt to tell us how what he is doing is giving the glory to God and showing Christ's love to others...
...if Johnny Robertson can only run and hide behind Shirley Phelps Roper's skirt...
...then I suppose that I've beaten Johnny Robertson by default.
There is nothing that Robertson can do about that. And for years to come, the permanent record that people will be able to find on their own is going to reflect that: that in the arena of ideas, Chris Knight did beat Johnny Robertson.
I would rather have the long-term victory than be able to "brag" like Robertson did yesterday.
As I said on Sunday night, I'm not going to spend any more time on Johnny Robertson. I asked him a question, he can't answer it. It can't ever be said that I didn't try. The real reason I came to him with my question to begin with is to give him a choice. Who am I to think that I would succeed where so many others have failed? But he had to be given a choice all the same. That's done. I can't do anything else.
Here it is: What Does the Bible REALLY Say?, the presentation that I had made, but did not run, on Sunday night...
If certain technical issues can be resolved, I will post the live broadcast here also.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Dr. Jim Austin passes away
A friend let me know a short while ago that Dr. Jim Austin of Eden, one of the at-large members of the Rockingham County Board of Education, passed away yesterday morning at his home. He leaves a wife and two daughters.The photo on the right is when he was sworn in on December 11, 2006.
And right now, on top of everything else that's happened over the past few days, my heart's a wreck after hearing this news.
From the moment Jim and I met during the election in 2006, I liked him immediately. We had a long conversation following a school board meeting a few months before election day, and I thought then that he was going to be a fine addition to the board. It came as no surprise that he not only won a seat, but came in first place.
And when he began his term of office, Jim brought the same warm demeanor and affirming logic to his post. Whether you agreed with him on everything or not (and admittedly there were times when we disagreed) no one ever doubted that wherever Jim stood on a position, it was only because he sincerely believed in it for the good of the people he was serving.
Personally, I think that Jim's definitive hour on the board happened last July, during the meeting about the school uniforms in the Reidsville schools. Austin had voted for the uniforms a few months prior to the meeting. But then he wound up as one of those who voted to rescind the original vote. "People change their minds," he observed. So simple and yet something so far beyond the ken of too many elected officials these days. Jim not only voted to rescind, but he was the one who made the motion to vote on the matter. If he didn't have it already, Jim gained a lot of respect across the county for how he handled the issue that night.
There wasn't a meeting that I attended where Jim and I didn't get a chance to talk. And we wound up talking about an awful lot. I'm going to miss those moments.
J. Brian Ewing has written a story for the News & Record with more information about the life of Dr. Jim Austin.
EDIT 11:12 p.m. EST: Heather Smith has written a VERY good article about Dr. Austin for the Media General newspapers.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
To whom it may concern ...
"... something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."
-- Habakuk 1:5
"Silence in the Library": Chris finally reviews last week's DOCTOR WHO!
What, you think that helping with a musical production, coining a new phrase and even an encounter with evil incarnate would keep me from doing a review of "Silence in the Library", this past week's new episode of Doctor Who?! The action never stops on this blog, bay-bee!
"We're near the equator... so this must be BIOGRAPHIES!"Steven Moffat has already written three of my favorite episodes of the revived Doctor Who series: the two-parter consisting of "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" for Christopher Eccleston's season as the Doctor, and 2006's stunning "The Girl in the Fireplace" (and I haven't seen it yet but I've heard his "Blink" last year was absolutely amazing). He's also set to take over production of the show beginning in the 2010 season (after the hiatus next season so that David Tennant can fulfill a commitment to star in Hamlet for the London stage) and if "Silence in the Library" is any indication, we can expect great things from Moffat in the future."Without death they would be only comedies."
"A million million lifeforms... and silence in the library."
"Message follows: Run. For God's sake run."
"It's the Fifty-First Century. That's like donating a park bench."
"It's moved."
"I'm a time-traveler. I point and laugh at archaeologists."
"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. Because it's not irrational."
"Doctor. Please tell me you know who I am."
"Hello. Are you in my television?"
"My grandfather lasted a day. He kept talking about his shoelaces."
"Yeah. You gave it to me."
"Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
The episode begins with a cerebral scene involving a little girl (Eve Newton) floating across a very Coruscant-ish city landscape, before she opens her eyes and finds herself facing her father and a psychiatrist. The next moment, the Doctor (Tennant) and Donna (Catherine Tate) are bursting through the doors on The Library: the largest library in existence and so large, it covers an entire planet and needs no other proper name. All well and good, except that the Library is quiet... too quiet. Other than the Doctor and Donna, there's not a single living being in sight, though the Library's computer declares that there is a vast number of lifeforms on the planet. Then a team of archaeologists arrives, led by Professor River Song (Alex Kingston): a woman who hints very strongly throughout the episode that she and the Doctor have met before.
"Silence in the Library" is a downright spooky and jarring episode: something that Moffat has demonstrated he can pull off extremely well. The one negative critique that I would have about the episode is that there's a bit too much re-use of the "catchphrase cacophony" to elicit fright: Moffat did it with "The Empty Child" and he does it again here. But after everything else that is strong about this episode, this is a very minor thing. I thought that the Nodes were a chilling concept, but even those pale next to the idea of the Data Ghosts. Something about that is sincerely unnerving to think about, almost as if it might someday become a very real phenomenon. I mean, when you think about it, the Data Ghosts are just an after-effect of neurologically-enhanced blogging. Scary stuff...
The story concludes in "Forest of the Dead", which should be airing on the BBC for our British friends any moment now, and will no doubt be made available for download later this evening. I'll try to do a review of that one soon, too!
"Silence in the Library" gets 4 and 1/2 Sonic Screwdrivers out of 5.
Two people I know are getting married today
First there's Roger Weber, who I've known for literally all my life. He ties the knot today here in Reidsville, North Carolina.
And then there's the lovely and effervescent Abby Prince of WebProNews, who I came to know this past year. According to our sources she's getting hitched somewhere in Kentucky.
Congratulations to Roger and to Abby and their respective spouses-to-be! May God bless you today, and it is our prayer that you and your loved ones have a long and happy life together :-)
Friday, June 06, 2008
CHILDREN OF EDEN Update: 14 Days to Opening Night
Two weeks from tonight, we will all be in makeup and costume, and about to take to the stage with the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden.
We have come a very long way in a short time. But there's still plenty more to do.
The past few nights have been spent on cleaning up the choreography for the bigger numbers. Last night it was work on "In The Beginning" and "The Naming", and that one was especially fun to watch. The two that I'm working on most in my spare time have been the dances for "Generations" and "Ain't It Good". I've written about it before here and I have to admit again: "Ain't It Good" might be the most difficult song of the show... but I absolutely think it's going to rock the house when we get to perform it. It might get easier to practice when we get everything so far as the stage floor put in place.
In case anyone's wondering why there aren't pictures to go along with these reports: I've been taking some, but have been asked not to post them here. I might be able to post a pic of me in costume sometime next week though. And I'll be getting a scan of the production's poster up soon too :-)
Best part of doing this has been getting to know a lot of new and interesting people. I don't think it's possible to work on a show like Children of Eden and put your heart into it, without bonding with each other somehow. Everything about Children of Eden contributes to a camaraderie that I think is going to go with us for the rest of our lives.
Just one more reason why I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be in this production.
Oh yeah, last night I wore one of the t-shirts that I made for Forcery. Most other people have been wearing shirts from productions they've been in. I didn't have one of those, so I thought "Okay, I'll just wear a shirt from the movie that I made!" Got a lot of people asking about it, 'specially the kids. I'm already thinking that I've wound up with a huge pool of talent that I could ask to help me out with my projects down the road.
Another update sometime next week!
STAR WARS BLUEPRINTS: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION coming in August
This has to be the gnarliest cover for a printed Star Wars product that I've ever seen. Behold the box for Star Wars Blueprints: The Ultimate Collection...
That pic alone reinforces something that's taken me awhile to really grasp: that for all his dreaded reputation, Darth Vader is a pretty pitiful character. Imagine being a scorched torso with no arms or legs, not even able to breathe on your own, being surrounded by all of that intrusive technology just to keep you alive. Never mind about also having to use it to enforce the will of your dark master. Last week I was able to finally score - after months of looking - the Battle Damaged Darth Vader action figure from The Force Unleashed line. The girl at the checkout counter saw what she was ringing up and said "Oh God that's sick!" And then she said that she could no longer hate Vader as a character either, that it was "so sad" what happened to him.
Funny how our perception of things changes over time, eh?
Anyhoo, Star Wars Blueprints: The Ultimate Collection is scheduled to come out August 4th with a list price of $19.99, and will also include details plans of the Millennium Falcon (the current accepted version of the layout anyway), the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, the Death Star, and lightsabers and blasters.
