(These guys should bring their product to market here in the states. I bet they'd be a huge hit at pro-Second Amendment events!)
Hit the link above for more photos of these tasty trigger-happy treats.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Bang? Multi-flavored popsicles look like real handguns!
Department of Justice seeks to hire "Native American Medicine Man"
How is this not an example of racial preference in hiring?! Hell, this is explicitly a sexual preference too. Isn't that what government isn't supposed to be doing?!
Well anyway, it's a tough job market out there but if you happen to be Native American, a man and a practitioner of sacred healing, you're in luck! The Bureau of Prisons divison of the United States Department of Justice is hiring a "Native American Medicine Man" to work at the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minnesota.
Here's the official job description...
The Federal Bureau of Prisons, FPC Duluth, Duluth, MN, intends to make a single award to a responsible entity for providing the services of Native American Medicine man to the inmate population as outlined in the statement of work. The anticipated date of the award will be approximately October 1, 2010 subjected to funds availability for the next fiscal year. The duration of the contract will be from the date of award through 09/30/2011. The contractor shall perform all services at FPC Duluth, in the Religious Services Department, located at 6902 Airport Road, Duluth MN, 55814.Awright, I have to ask: is the Native American Medicine Man contractor allowed to conduct peyote rituals for his inmate congregants?The contractor will conduct Native American ceremonies and provide instruction to inmates in the Native American Faith.
General Topics for Contractors - Native American
1. Red Road
2. All My Relation
3. Medicine Wheel
4. The Sacred Pipe
5. Sweat Lodge
6. Elders
7. Circle of Life
8. Traditions/Rituals
9. Prayers
10. Ceremonies
11. Fasting
12. Smudging
13. The Drum
14. Grandfather/Grandmother
15. Dances
16. The Medicine Pouch
17. Offerings
18. Decision-making
19. Ritual Objects
20. Eagle
21. Eagle Feathers
22. Nature Lessons
23. Family Relations
24. Parenting
25. Learning
26. Healthy Relationships
27. Culture
28. Healing Traditions
29. Herbal Medicines
30. Understanding Self
31. Respect
32. Traditional Games
33. Traditional Foods
34. Seasons
35. Healing Self
36. A Grateful Heart
37. Cleansing Ceremonies
38. What is the role of faith and Community Re-entry?The contractor will supply all of their own religious garments and books. The contractor will control, supervise, and be responsible for all government materials and equipment and will ensure that such equipment and materials are used only for legitimate program purposes.
The contractor will provide 4 sessions per year. The sessions will either be on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Pipe ceremony) or on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (sweat ceremony). The day and time of these services is subject to change with agreement of the religious services department and the contractor. A session will consist of 4 hours to include entry and exit.
The contractor will adhere to all regulations prescribed by FPC Duluth for the safety, custody, and conduct of inmates. All contract personnel providing services within the confines of the FPC shall have a complete investigation conducted in accordance with BOP Program Statement 3000.02, "Personnel Manual". Any contract personnel who enter the FPC on a regular basis shall be required to attend a four-hour institution orientation program prior to assuming his or her responsibilities under the contract. A "refresher" orientation must be completed annually. The CM (Contract Monitor) will be responsible for scheduling training for contract personnel.
I'm 1/16th Cherokee Indian. And I'm a guy. Maybe I should drive up to Minnesota and apply for this :-P
1 in 5 Americans believe Obama is a Muslim
Read the story here.
I don't know what faith President Barack Obama professes to belong to. And in all honesty... it's not really my business to be concerned with it anyway. He could be Christian. He could be Muslim. He could be Hindu. He could be a follower of the Flying Spaghetti Monster for all I care. As has been said before on this blog and I'll state it again: I believe that every person has the right to seek God as best he or she can understand Him, so long as it's understood that this right ends where the right of others to have the same begins. Barack Obama certainly enjoys that right as well.
I merely expect Obama to be President and uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, as he swore an oath to do. More than a year and a half into his term, Obama ain't shown yet that he's up to the job.
"It is better to be governed by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian," Martin Luther is said to have observed. Unfortunately for the United States we've suffered nothing but foolish people - irrespective of creed - for twenty years at least! And it doesn't look like our prospects for wise leadership are going to improve any time soon...
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
I was featured on GRUEN NATION on Australian nationwide television last night!
Niall Doran, a regular reader of this blog from Down Under, e-mailed to inform me a short while ago that I was seen on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's hit show Gruen Nation last night!
Here's Niall's report...
As a regular browser of your blog, I was surprised to see you make an appearance on Australian television earlier tonight!I just can't believe that nearly FOUR years later, that my first campaign commercial for Board of Education is still making waves! That wasn't something that I saw happening at all :-)A regular part-humorous, part-analytical & highly popular program on our national broadcaster (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC) is normally called the "Gruen Transfer", and unveils and discusses the techniques behind commercial advertising. However, we are in the final throes of a federal election, for which the "Gruen Transfer" has become the "Gruen Nation", with a series of specials focusing on the techniques of political advertising in particular. Tonight they showed your infamous Star Wars ad, although in the comments afterwards they unfortunately didn't raise the copyright issue that you fought and won.
Niall says that it's Gruen Nation Series 1 Episode 4 and that you can watch it here at ABC1's website for the next 14 days. Unfortunately I won't get to see myself on Australian TV 'cuz the site only lets you watch streaming vids if you're in, of all places, Australia! Gonna see if I can find a copy floating around the Internets to download via torrent or whatever.
Thanks for the heads-up Niall. And to all of y'all visiting The Knight Shift from Australia today: welcome! Hope y'all like what you find here :-)
EDIT 4:25 p.m. EST: Good friend Brian Fesperman reports that you can watch the show stateside! Click here to check it out and you won't have to wait long 'cuz it's the very first spot they run. They ran the entire commercial... including all of Melody Hallman Daniel's dramatically awesome voiceover!
And after seeing it at last I am chuckling too much for one's own good. Especially giggling at host Wil Anderson's line about "I really wish his favorite movie had been Boogie Nights!" and saying that Kevin Rudd "would have been more convincing if you'd been holding a lightsaber!" You can also download the whole show in MP4 or WMV format for later viewing.
What more can be said? I'm thoroughly delighted that I got to be a small part of Oz's political landscape this season... and that my ad brought some good-hearted laughter to Down Under from Rockingham County, North Carolina :-)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Things I think about when I'm in the shower...
Fred Flintstone and the people of Bedrock were the very FIRST to employ biotechnology.
(I mean, you can't get much hardcore than using a velociraptor for a garbage disposal...)
Monday, August 16, 2010
HE DID IT!! Heang Uy completes epic bike ride across America
On June 23rd, Heang Uy departed from Cannon Beach on the coast of Oregon on his bicycle. He's been pedaling ever since.
Two day ago and 3,578 miles later...
...Heang arrived at Folly Beach, South Carolina!
Here's Heang's account of reaching the finish line for his amazing journey.
Congratulations Heang! You were always uber-kewl in my book, and this accomplishment puts me in awe of you even more bro :-)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
BIOSHOCK INFINITE coming in 2012
I was going to write a review of BioShock 2 months ago but never got around to it for various reasons. One of them being that I wanted to play it again to properly absorb it all. Personally, I loved BioShock 2. Even with a few issues (I had hoped to be able to explore around Rapture more) I thought it was a superb follow-up to 2007's BioShock: a title that is on my short list of greatest video games ever.
Well today, like a bolt out of the blue, Ken Levine - the guy who created BioShock in the first place (but didn't work on the sequel) - and his Irrational Games announced that BioShock Infinite will be landing in 2012.
Here's the trailer. And I have to ask: "What. The. %@&#?!?"
HOW does the BioShock saga go from being set in Rapture, a city on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1968, to a city floating at 30,000 feet... in 1912?!?
"Okay Chris, take deep breaths. Remember: Ken Levine is back at the helm of a BioShock game. Trust him."
I am completely wog-boggled by the direction that BioShock is taking. And at the same time, more intrigued by an upcoming video game than I can remember being in quite awhile.
Remember my post last week about solar flares and earthquakes?
Here's the link if you wanna look at it. It was about the massive discharge of highly-energized particles that the Sun threw out at the Earth early last week. As a result there were some astonishingly brilliant aurora reported at the northern latitudes.
Well anyway, in my post I wondered aloud if there might be any earthquake activity that would happen as a result, 'cuz I've noticing for the past few years that whenever this planet gets hit by particles from a solar flare that it seems to agitate the inner workins enough to cause pretty good rumblin' soon afterward.
I wrote that last Monday, August 2nd. Today, August 12th, there have been two earthquakes reported in the past several hours. A 6.0 quake hitting the island nation of Vanuatu and then a short while ago a 6.9 quake striking just over a hundred miles away from Quito in Ecuador. No reports of injuries from either earthquake.
Not adding any further commentary. Just wanted to pass along the information for anyone interested in such things.
What I've come to realize about denominations in Christianity
There is no such thing as "denominations". Christ is not divided.
There is, however, a great many perspectives of Christ, Who is too magnificent for any one person or group of people to fully comprehend.
As it should be.
Who is another or others then, to tell me - or anyone else for that matter - that my perspective of Christ, as one of His followers, is the wrong one?
Slow day today...
And since it's been asked for by a number of you, here once again is a photo of my ravishingly beautiful and sweet cousin Lauryn! As an added bonus, you also get to see my equally beautiful and sweet cousin Karissa, who just got married this summer!
Thank you ladies. You have contributed some much-needed loveliness to this site :-)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thoughtcrime: Music festival organizer PRE-sues bootleggers
If you're going to attend the Mile High Music Festival this weekend in Denver, don't even think about bootlegging the music. Merely considering the notion means you've already been sued by event producer AEG Live. The company has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against "John Does 1-100, Jane Does 1-100, and XYZ Company" for illegal bootlegging... which hasn't even been committed yet. Since nobody exists (yet) to contest the lawsuit, it moves ahead in court. It also means that AEG Live can get "law enforcement involved by using the lawsuit to ask the court to order US Marshalls, local and state police and even off-duty officers to go ahead and seize and impound the bootlegged material."
Techdirt has more about this legally ridiculous situation, including the full text of the filed lawsuit.
(How soon will it be before we start seeing companies like Viacom using this sort of tactic against YouTube users? Can't help but wonder about that. 'Course, I of all people have more than enough reason to wonder...)
BACK TO THE FUTURE timeline chart... and two graphs that (might) help ya understand INCEPTION!
A substantial majority of my two or three regular readers (yeah looking at you Ed and Eric) are hardcore fans of Back to the Future and its two sequels. Well, all that mucking around with history can be a pain to keep up with for some people, so a smart dude named Sean Mort has put together a terrific timeline chart of the Back to the Future saga, taking into account the events of all eight different timelines! Seriously, I had no idea there were so many until I saw how Sean put it all into proper perspective. I'm gonna print this out to have handy when the Blu-ray set comes out in a few months.
And with Inception still going strong at the box office, plenty of people might still be trying to figure out its labyrinthine structure. Cinema Blend has put together a great illustrated guide to the five levels of Inception's plot. And an artist calling himself "dehas" has come through with an Escher-esque "Inception Infographic" that has already become widely popular as a reference guide to the movie. Check 'em out... but do beware of spoilers if you ain't seen the movie yet.
(Same goes for that Back to the Future chart... but if you haven't seen those movies yet, what the heck is wrong with you?!?)
Color photographs of the Great Depression
How easy it is to think of eras gone by as being more drab and subdued than our own time. Especially the Great Depression: I think imagining it as being all black and white must be the "default" setting in the minds of many.
And then photos like this of a grocery store in Washington D.C., taken in 1941, show us otherwise...
Between 1939 and 1943 the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information made some of the only known full-color photographs of small-town life during the Great Depression and early years of World War II. These became part of a Library of Congress exhibit in 2006 called Bound for Glory: America in Color. And now the Denver Post has made them available online. Some of the photographs are curiously sweet. Others are especially haunting. And each of them brings to stark crisp life a forgotten facet of the way we used to be, once upon a time...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The ______Act of___ passed by U.S. Senate
That's it. I've had it. Throw the whole sorry lot of 'em out. ALL of them. Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. Show them no quarter.
And whoever among our legislators were so irresponsible in voting for this, should have the word "STOOPID" branded into their foreheads so that the rest of humanity will know to steer clear of them forevermore amen.
Call it "The Law With No Name" (sounds like Mr. Smith Goes To Washington directed by Sergio Leone). Nancy Pelosi has brought the House of Representatives back into session for an emergency vote on a bill that, well nobody has any idea what the hell is in this thing. And the Senators who approved it didn't even bother to give it a proper name. It's officially listed as "The ______Act of___".
And if you ask me, this bill is a ________ pile of bull____.
Click on over to Slashdot to read more about this... thing.
(Obviously, the question arises as to whether this bill was read aloud in the Senate... or if it was even read at all.)
A new model of quantum physics has begun formulating in my mind
It had been percolating across my gray matter for the past several weeks. It started when I found myself contemplating certain problems with the forces of gravity and electromagnetism.
About 3:30 a.m. this morning a possible solution was hit upon. Doesn't look like it's the re-invention of Wheeler foam. Not yet anyway. I can't help but think it's too much like that and at the same time it's more than a tad different.
I'll probably be pondering it at length throughout the rest of the day. Particularly as I am reclining in the chair at my friendly neighborhood dentist's office later this morning.
For now though, my beef with gravity and electromagnetism is satisfied. Until I no doubt wind up chucking the theory out because of one tiny little incongruency that will certainly invalidate the whole thing...
(Why can't I have a normal mind like everyone else?)
Monday, August 09, 2010
One state's wonky finances: Hawaii has $1.4 BILLION in unspent revenue (but the politicians want MORE taxes!)
Ten years ago this summer I went to work as a full-time reporter. It was with a... well let's just say they don't make outfits like this anymore. Probably one of the last of the newspapers with that old-school journalistic 'tude. Anyhoo, my very first assignment was to investigate the budget that the General Assembly had proposed for North Carolina's next fiscal term.
A full decade later and I still get fits of anger just thinking about the crap I found in those hundreds of pages of monetary monstrosity that I picked through line by agonizing line.
(A space shuttle launch complex for North Carolina? Really? And how much money did we spend trying to put that here when there's already a good working one in Florida?)
Even if it's a long drive and a fair swim away from the Tarheel State, what fellow journalist/blogger and friend of The Knight Shift Danny de Garcia II forwarded to me this evening about his home state of Hawaii brought back those memories of wrath and disillusionment from a decade ago. Danny and colleague Kyle Shiroma just went public with the findings of their investigation: Hawaii has $1.4 BILLION sitting unspent in its coffers... even while many of its elected officials insist upon higher taxation!
From the report at Grassroot Institue of Hawaii...
Hawaii’s taxpayers might be shocked to discover that while numerous voices in and out of the local political establishment are calling for an increase in the General Excise Tax to cover any future budget shortfalls in education or other state services, upwards of $1.4 billion dollars in unspent excess funds may be sitting in special funds, several of which were tagged by the auditor almost a decade ago for repeal.If this kind of financial mis-sight is going on in a state like Hawaii then... is it too far to assume that much the same - if not worse - is going on in other states as well?According to the Department of Budget and Finance’s “Reports on Non-General Fund Information: Fiscal Years 2006-2012,” some 186 special funds spread across twenty different departments hold an estimated $1,412,357,203 in unspent revenues over and above their operational requirements. In plain language, if the estimates provided by the Department are correct, the state has more than just pocket change stuck in its seats.
Until recently, few members of the public were aware of how many special funds existed, what their purpose was or how much money the State of Hawaii was holding in these accounts. For this reason, Grassroot Institute analysts decided to review the Department’s worksheets and itemize all the special funds to see just what they contained.
The Department of Transportation is reported as having $582,449,161 in unspent special funds (41% of the state’s excess balances), Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has some $327,412,159 unspent (23%) and the University of Hawaii holds another $119,225,732 (8%) making them the top holders of excess revenues.
The worksheets show figures such as $6,968,895 unspent in the Works of Art Special Fund (AGS 881) for public aesthetics and art education – a fund which was advised by the Auditor to be repealed in 2001 and its balances lapsed into the General Fund – and on the opposite end of the spectrum, zero balances in the Agricultural Park Special Fund Escrow Account (AGR 141HA) which also continues to exist despite a recommendation for repeal.
Why should taxpayers approve an increase of taxes to balance the budget when the state’s own reports show over $1.4 billion in excess sitting in their accounts collecting interest? If these excess balances were divided equally among the population, there would be checks of close to $1,100 going to every man, woman and child in Hawaii.
This kind of thing might... emphasis on might... entice me to give North Carolina's budget the hairy eyeball again for the first time since 2000. Provided that I have at the ready a glass of whiskey, a gun and two bullets. Just in case.
Arguments to the contrary are most welcome...
One who believes a vote must be chosen between two parties in order to win has already lost.
