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Comments and opinions expressed on THE KNIGHT SHIFT are those of Christopher Knight and not necessarily those of subjects discussed in this blog, of advertisers appearing on it or of any reasonable human being. Any correspondence/irate letters/lawsuit threats/Nigerian e-mail scams can be sent to theknightshift@gmail.com.
And for some reason, YouTube made sure to note that "IMAX movies are projected through two 2k resolution projectors".
Ummmm... why is YouTube doing this? I haven't a clue. Perhaps someone could enlighten me about this. Because I'm having a very hard time imagining why anyone would need to display video at 4096 x 2304 (do they even make monitors that big?).
Heck, I've seen 1080P projected onto a regular-sized movie screen, and it looked just as good as regular film. Not really sure what mainstream purpose 4K could be serving at the moment.
Hey gang, just blew back into town after being gone for a few days. Take a looksee at who I met last night in Knoxville...
None other than "Weird Al" Yankovic himself!! We were at his concert at the Historic Tennessee Theatre and got to hang around after the show. Folks I cannot possibly begin to tell you how off-the-chain frenzied awesome a tour Weird Al and his band are doing for 2010. This was the fifth Weird Al concert I've been to since 2000 and it was by far the best yet! It was a nearly sold-out house as people from ages 5 to 75 and everything in between came to enjoy a rousing show! Al and the band went for more than two hours, leaving the stage just long enough to change costumes (during which we were treated to several great Al-produced or otherwise associated video clips, like faux interviews with Celine Dion and Eminem, the "Germs" educational film, etc.)
What did Al perform? It was a solid mix of some of his "classic" stuff like "Eat It", "Fat" (wearing the legendary Fat suit), "Another One Rides the Bus" and others but also a bunch of his newer material like "CNR" and "Craigslist" from Al's Internet Leaks collection (note to Prince: the Internet is NOT "finished"! That so many last night were singing along to music that hasn't even been released on physical media yet is plenty enough testament that for those savvy like Weird Al, the Internet is still the future of music entertainment!). What I keep thinking of most though is Al's performance of "Wanna B Ur Lover". The dude got out into the crowd, was walking on top of seats and serenading numerous lucky(?) audience members. It was great!
And then for an encore Al and the band came out in Jedi Knight costumes while a dozen or so members of the 501st Legion accompanied them dressed in full Imperial Stormtrooper armor in addition to Boba Fett, a guy in a Bossk costume (whoever made that, props to you!) and a fully-functioning Artoo-Detoo. Then Al did "The Saga Begins" and the show ended as always with Al and the band doing "Yoda"... which included the longest and most crazy choreographed Yoda Chant I've ever seen them do.
"Weird Al" Yankovic and his talented crew are touring now and if at all possible you simply must catch them! I came from 6 hours away to see this show and it was well worth it! Mash down here for Weird Al's official website and see where the 2010 Tour is coming next!
What the hell does President Obama think he is doing?
Obama's administration is suing Arizona for that state's recently passed anti-illegal immigration law. Obama's rationale is that Arizona is overstepping its limits as to what a state can and cannot do. The official line coming out of the White House is that Arizona's getting tough on illegals is something that only the federal government should be handling.
Like hell it is. The people and government of Arizona would not have had reason to take up the initiative on their own had Barack Obama, George W. Bush before him, and too damned many other politicians actually taken seriously their own pledges and oaths of office to defend the integrity of the United States.
So in effect, Obama is trying to punish Arizona for doing the job that Obama and others have failed to accomplish.
When the federal government has that kind of disdain toward a state, and legally takes sides with another sovereign country bordering that state, well...
...I don't have a hard time envisioning - and I don't have a problem with articulating the possibility of - sympathies toward succession in that state.
If the people of Arizona come to sincerely believe that the federal government does not have their best interests in mind and is in fact working against them, then why would the people of Arizona or any other state in such situation believe that they have a moral obligation to be beholden to said government?
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England is visiting the United States this week. Yesterday she visited the site of the World Trade Center in New York City and took part in a memorial service there for those who died in the 9/11 attack.
I didn't know until yesterday that Queen Elizabeth II had served her country during World War II. In fact, the Queen is the last surviving head of state who served in uniform during that conflict.
Here is a photograph of Elizabeth Windsor, all of 17 or 18 years old at the time, changing the tire on a British army truck...
The future Queen of England spent a lot of time as a truck mechanic and driver, enthusiastically doing her part to defend England against the dark of war.
I've always thought Elizabeth II was a classy lady. Knowing this about her now, my admiration for her has soared even more.
That was an incredible generation of individuals, sometimes in the most surprising of places. The thought of Queen Elizabeth II being a wrench-toting grease monkey once upon a time... somehow that seems just right, in ways I can't fully express.
If you have yet to be astonished at the costuming creativity that is apparently running rampant through the land, then this should drop your jaw to the floor: Anthony Le's full-sized, fully automated set of War Machine armor! That photo on the right? That's not a still from Iron Man 2: that is Anthony fully suited up.
Meanwhile I'm sitting here, looking at my humble Jedi Knight costume, looking back at the ingenuity of these other outfits, a single tear trickling down my cheek...
(Okay someday, Lord willing, I will at last put together that movie-quality Boba Fett costume that I've always dreamed of, muhahahahaha!)
According to the story at GeekTyrant, Anthony spent $4000 on his War Machine suit, and took him but one month to construct! It's made from high-impact urethane and held together with 1,500 rivets. The helmet was sculpted from clay and then liquid resin used to cast the finished item (with servo motors making the faceplate open and close like in the Iron Man movies). Add some LEDs to the chest and a motor to make the machine gun spin, and Anthony was all set!
But why just look at the pictures when you can see War Machine in full glorious action? Behold the video, true believers!
Words fail to describe just how glorious a piece of work that is. Bigtime props to Anthony Le for his hard work and cleverness!
I've long been fascinated by the history of Christianity in places like India and Ethiopia. There exist today in western India congregations of the faithful that claim - with some evidence - to have been founded by the apostle Thomas in the years following the earthly ministry of Jesus. And then there is Ethiopia: a land where Christianity is said to have arrived courtesy of the eunuch chronicled in the Book of Acts, chapter 8.
So how old is this thing? The Garima Gospels have been dated back at around the Fourth Century A.D.
Sixteen hundred years old. And the illustrations - depicting the writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the earliest known Christian rendering of a building (possibly the Temple of Jerusalem) - are still as vivid and colorful as when they were first drawn.
A dude in Germany has built a costume of General Grievous from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (as well as being featured in numerous other Star Wars works of fiction). Yeah you read that right: a General Grievous getup. And it not only looks incredible but it moves incredible! Check it out!
This is gonna be a wild and packed week ahead. Maybe even a surprise or two that I may be inclined to share. Just keep watching this space :-)
So while I was enjoying this Fourth of July weekend those industrious folks at Muppet Studios uploaded another new clip onto YouTube! It's der Swedish Chef in "Pöpcørn"...
I'd love to know if the Chef's hands are being operated by one Muppeteer or two. If it's two, that would make this clip even more impressive!
I'm gonna step away from the blog for the next few days. Will return Monday. Perhaps then I'll even finally be caught up on my movies for this summer (if there might be anything good playing...)
In the meantime, have a great Independence Day weekend y'all! But don't let it be just about fireworks and hot dogs. Freedom, after all, is never free.
The above photo was taken on the coast of Oregon a few days ago by Heang Uy. Heang is a friend from my college days, who has been a bigger inspiration to me than I've ever been able to articulate. He's a true brother in the Lord, a great teacher, and an excellent coach at his school.
And this summer Heang is bicycling across the continental United States! Word has come down the wire that sometime this evening Heang should be entering the Mountain Time Zone, headed toward Idaho. If all goes well he'll be pedaling back into North Carolina in August. In the meantime Heang Uy is out there somewhere: exerting both mind and body in an epic odyssey that will have him living the landscape like few dare to experience.
Pretty neat, aye? :-)
Here's Heang's blog, where he's chronicling his journey (accompanied with photos from the trek). Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he perseveres toward the goal!
Meanwhile, our friends in Japan have just unloaded something just as eyeball-blowing spectacular: a new trailer for the Space Battleship Yamato (better known as Star Blazers on this side of the pond) live action movie! There was a teaser released earlier this year, but this one shows us much more.
One thing I'm worried about: how is the story from Season 1 of the animated series going to be compressed into one motion picture? Maybe Space Battleship Yamato/Star Blazers could become a live-action TV adaptation with modern technology. Perhaps on HBO? Then they wouldn't have to pretend that Dr. Sane was drunk on "spring water", heh-heh...
Anyhoo, what glorious eye candy awaits us from the Land of the Rising Sun! Can't wait to see this.
I'm very thankful for the Twilight movies, because never again will I get flack from my sister for going to see the Star Wars movies premiere at midnight.
