Charlotte TV station reports "Man Killed To Death"

You mean there's another way to do it?!

That's from WBTV-TV 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Tip o' the hat to Mark Childrey for finding this :-)

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48th anniversary of the JFK assassination

Here's a rare photo from happier times, when Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby and "White Hat" were still a band...

Fifteen years after first seeing that and it's still about the gosh-darned funniest Photoshop job that I've ever beheld :-)

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Time for... THANKSGIVING WITH THE KRANZES!

I have reposted stuff on this blog twice in the past, on rare occasions. But never three times. This deserves it though (and no doubt will be posted again in years to come).

It's been two years since the last time I shared this YouTube video. And since this is the week of Thanksgiving (yes I've already begun preparing to deep-fry a bunch of turkey) and there are perhaps still a lot of people who've never enjoyed this before, I thought it was well worth posting again :-)

It's the short film Thanksgiving With The Kranzes. Produced a few years ago by aviation students, it's a dead-on hilarious parody of Ron Howard's movie Apollo 13.

It is Thanksgiving 1970. This year it's Gene Kranz's turn to host the traditional dinner for his NASA colleagues. The heroic crew of the Apollo 13 mission has been given the command of the kitchen. But then... something happens.

"Take-out is NOT an option!"

Watch now the film that the real-life Gene Kranz has taken to watching with his family every Thanksgiving!

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Quote from yesterday evening

"It's Shake 'n Bake and I helped!"

Said aloud by me, at the end of the prologue from last night's The Walking Dead.

Go watch it from your DVR or from iTunes or whatever if you wanna "get" that joke :-P

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A ponderance on the Church, Christ and Christian liberty

There are some who throughout the history of Christianity have claimed to be the "one true church": the only legitimate body of Christ that came into being at Pentecost in the days following the ascension of our Lord. I speak not of those who acknowledge parity with brethren of however peculiar perspective who yet profess Christ as Lord, but instead of those who deign to be the exclusive institution established by divine mandate. Such are the ones who incessantly badger, harass and even lust to destroy their fellow servants out of the notion that doing so makes them "first" in the sight of God and man (mostly man).

Such people are terribly ignorant at best, and outright liars at worst. Invariably their founding tenet is that they are the sole custodians and guardians of "the pattern" of worship found in the New Testament.

Therein rests the fallacy of their argument. One that betrays as much a lack of faith in God as it does an ignoble grasp of theology.

Because to claim to be the "one true church" or the "restored church" or whatever is to imply, nay confess before all that Christ's Church is so invirile, so impotent, so corruptible and so weak that it has not survived and prevailed for these two millenia!

So let me put it succinctly and with some bluntness: the New Testament age... never ended.

Oh sure, the New Testament writings came to an end, when John finished his manuscript in his cave on Patmos. The time of the apostles eventually drew to a close when John died.

But the New Testament era itself?

Nope. It's still here. We're living it even now.

Where is the church of the New Testament, then? I'd say: pretty much anywhere and everywhere. It's wherever it needs to be. It is what-ever it is required to be! It becomes... all things unto all men, so that Christ is preached.

Who are the New Testament Christians? Me and... well quite a lot of people, I can tell you that! And a lot of 'em, are some that many of us don't appreciate that they are seeking after and serving the Kingdom just as we are, albeit perhaps in different ways.

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about something that Billy Graham is famous for saying: "Go to the church of your choice." And he's right. Go and worship at the place where... well, wherever it is that you believe that God is leading you to worship Him at. It could be at a Methodist church. Could also be a Baptist church. Or a Presbyterian one. Or a Roman Catholic assembly. Or a Mennonite place. Or a Seventh-Day Adventist congregation. Or a Church of Christ. Or a Lutheran gathering. Or Pentecostal. Or... need I go through them all?

So long as it is a matter of sincere conscience between you and God, it does not matter where I or anyone else tells you to worship Him at. You aren't even obligated by any of us to attend regular worship services if that is how He is leading... but as the writer of Hebrews cautioned, there is a danger in complete forsaking of assembly.

The New Testament Church didn't go away. It's persisted and endured for nearly two thousand years. It is not a brittle thing ready to collapse at the first mild breeze, but a robust edifice built upon a firm foundation. And though I wouldn't dare ascribe any like import to my own writing on par with that of Jude or James, I can at least smile a little in the assurance that mine is a role not unlike Polycarp (in spirit if not in style). The church survived those early years in spite of the weaknesses of men like Peter and Paul, and it will endure in spite of this man's weaknesses also.

I am the New Testament Church... and so can you!

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Some classic listening for a Saturday night

From a time of much better music. Here is "November Rain" by Guns N' Roses...

Yes, I have posted this before. Since it's November again and we're looking at a lot more rain in the next few days, it seemed appropriate.

And also because this is one of the greatest songs in the history of anything, to say nothing about the masterpiece of its accompanying video.

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First poster for THE EXPENDABLES 2

2010's The Expendables was twelve scoops of action insanity with sprinkles on top! Saw it at the theater with my good friend Steven and, it just all-out assaulted our eyedrums and earballs with high octane metal mayhem and madness. In short it was exactly the kind of movie that we used to dream of seeing happen back in the Eighties and Nineties... and then some!

So if putting all that action heavyweight into the same film was gloriously good fun the first time, what might we expect from The Expendables 2, due this coming summer?

Ah-nuldt, you should have stayed in acting all this time instead of playing at governor of California. And looks like we're gonna get a whole new heapin' helpin' of Chuck Norris whup-ass!

The geek in me wants this movie to premiere first at ActionFest, 'cuz I've been going to that festival since it began in April of last year and it's the perfect venue for this sort of thing! But if not, I can wait 'til August :-)

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World's lightest solid material

Crazy buff for wild engineering that I be, this lil' news item just blows my mind...

A team of researchers from the University of California at Irvine, HRL Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology have come up with a metal lattice material that is the lightest solid yet discovered. As you can see in the photo above, a sample of it can be perched atop a dandelion without damaging it at all. This stuff has less density than the air surrounding it! It's also much stronger than aerogel: the previous "lightest solid" title holder.

It's stories like this, friends and neighbors, that still give me a reliable sense of optimism about the future. Who knows what the uses and demand for this stuff will end up being.

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An open letter to Ron Price, member of the Rockingham County Board of Education

Dear Ron,

Five years ago last week, on the night before the election that included the names of you, me and fourteen other individuals on the ballot for Board of Education, you were involved in an incident that continued to make headlines long after the polls had closed.

In the many months following that incident, there were individuals who attempted to extract a measure of accountability from someone who was by that time a duly elected public official. I was one of those, as you well know. It is not only a matter of public record what I did with this blog regarding the events of November 6th, 2006, but a legal one also, as I was subpoenaed during your lawsuit against another party.

I am not writing this to reiterate what it is that you may have done, or to again press claim for what I sincerely believed was required from the seeking after a higher standard in good conscience.

I have had much time and opportunity to reflect upon what I did on The Knight Shift following those events. And now, I cannot but be left with the conclusion that the vast majority of my actions in that matter came not from a spirit of civil responsibility but, unfortunately, a heart of wrongful disposition.

So I am asking you now to please accept my apologies. I have come very much regret that I went too far, and that I failed to consider whether my own actions were earnestly in accord with the better angels of my nature. Indeed, I now recognize and do acknowledge that much of what I did to you in the name of pursuing justice, was far too much of an akin spirit to certain few in this community who revel in spite and trade in rancor and grief.

That, is not the sort of person that I wish to be or would ever want to be associated with.

And I don't believe that you're a person like that either, Ron. You're only human, like me. You made a mistake, like I have... many more times than I care to count! Maybe it took going through what I have had to endure in the past few years to appreciate anew what it is to be here by the grace of God. Maybe it took going through that to realize that I should have done my best to extend the same grace to you, instead of harping about it too many times than was ever necessary.

So now, tonight, I do extend you my most heartfelt apologies for my own part in that matter. I hope that we can move on from here, as two people who only want the best for Rockingham County and its people. I do believe you have the best interests of the children of Rockingham County at heart, and I am glad that I can now tell you that I do count you among the fine men and women who are serving the schools of this community.

I don't want this bothering me anymore, Ron. I don't want you to think that I will always hold this against you, because I don't. I was petty and inane, and I should have been better than that. And I'm thankful for the opportunity to try and make this right.

Sincerely,
Chris Knight

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Government redefined reality: Pizza is vegetable, Brillo pads are illegal gun silencers

What is it about food that brings out more than the usual looniness from government? Remember when California tried to impose the "snack tax"? And before that it was President Reagan who sought to have ketchup officially deemed a vegetable.

Now the squabbling between the Obama Administration and the Republican-held Congress has made it so that pizza is to be classified as a vegetable. The article is nigh worth reading, if only because it is the first (and I pray last time) that this blogger has ever agreed with the food Nazis at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (hey, a stopped clock is right twice a day...)

But that's not the most ridiculous act of federal gubmint to come across this desk today, folks. No, that dubious honor belongs to the assorted thugs and goons at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which has now declared it illegal to possess Brillo pads, Chore Boy Pot Scrubber and similar cookware scouring/cleaning material, depending on how it is construed. From the article...

"[S]ound/gas absorbing materials manufactured from Chore Boy copper cleaning pads, along with fiberglass insulation, constitute a silencer.

Therefore, it is illegal for an individual to replace deteriorated material within an already- registered suppressor without an approved ATF Form 1, 'Application to Make and Register a Firearm,'" along with a "$200.00 making tax" and "a 'no-marking' variance...since there is no viable area in which to apply a serial number to the sound-absorbing material."

The article further states that "The original letter included a question about the owner of a legally owned silencer having a reserve of such pads. In case, you know, they needed to clean something. According to the ATF that would be considered a "stockpile" and considered an illegal act."

So in the BATF's eyes, there is an illegal stockpile of munitions, ohhh... inside the cabinet beneath every kitchen sink in America.

I wouldn't put it past the BATF to seek warrants to invade private property on those measly grounds.

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William Shatner and State Farm make weird Thanksgiving safety video

One week from today I'm gonna be up to my elbows in marinade, Cajun seasoning and all kinds of other good stuff as I prepare three... count 'em, three... turkeys for a hot fryin' bath in cottonseed oil. Yes it's that time of the year again, when Yours Truly goes bonkers for the deep-fried turkey! As has been done in years before, expect photos chronicling the art, and perhaps even a video or two.

However I cannot emphasize it nearly enough: deep-frying turkey is potentially a very dangerous activity. I haven't been burned (yet) but there have been a few close calls, despite taking every precaution that I know of. To me it's worth the risk because deep-frying honestly does produce the most tender and succulent meat that you'll ever get from any method of cooking a turkey, and I suppose that there's always going to be a possibility of injury with any activity involving a heat source. Unfortunately the vast majority of turkey frying disasters happen because those doing the cooking overlook some ridiculously simple and even common sense issues pertaining to the peculiarities of deep-frying.

And speaking of things "peculiar", State Farm Insurance has produced this wacky and fun public service announcement starring the one and only William Shatner! So without further ado, here is The Shatner in "Eat, Fry, Love"...

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Occupy Wall Street finally ends as police clear park

Two months after it began with no clear mission, Occupy Wall Street was brought to a conclusion as New York's finest cleared out Zuccotti Park in the wee hours of the morning.

Now all that's left is a "campsite" ridden with disease, drugs, rape and Lord knows what else.

Might I make a suggestion for cleanup, courtesy of a certain Corporal Hicks...

"Nuke the site from orbit.
It's the only way to be sure."

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HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED for the Atari 2600

Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of the release of Halo: Combat Evolved. Arguably the most influential video game of the past decade, the first installment of the Halo series drew in millions of loyal players with its combination of breathtaking beauty, tactical ability and mythology on a vast scale.

Fittingly, tomorrow will herald the arrival of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in stores. It's the original game with remastered graphics for the high-def Xbox 360 (and you can even switch between the look of the 2001 Xbox game and compare it to the shiny new veneer). But one clever dude named Ed Fries has decided to go really old-school in the classiest way possible: adapting Halo: Combat Evolved as an Atari 2600 game! Yes it's true: Halo 2600 lets you guide Master Chief along on the surface of Halo in his fight against Grunts, Elites and other forces of the dreaded Covenant in all the glorious graphics that 1977's technology had to offer. It's quite a charming lil' conversion, be you a die-hard Halo fan or nostalgic for the 2600 (or both, like me :-) Check it out!

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Strange things are afoot in the deserts of China...

Bunches of e-mails, tweets and Facebook discussions today about some downright mystifying patterns that users of Google Earth have spotted carved into the floor of the Chinese desert.

Gizmodo has been on top of this story since it first came to light and you can find pics of many more odd structures. Some readers have also pointed me toward SlashGear's discussion of the patterns. Some of these configurations are huge: one has been measured at being approximately 18 square miles (or 29 square kilometers for our Brittish brethren and others using Metric reckoning).

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THE WALKING DEAD tonight: They grow 'em ripe on Hershel's Farm, don't they?

Y'know, I grew up on a farm. Saw a lot of sicko stuff, like that time the vet came to work on one of Dad's cows. He made an incision in its side and for some reason, Dad had to stick his arm into it, right up to his elbow, to do something with its stomach. One of its stomachs anyway, 'cuz a cow has four, but anyhoo...

NOTHING I saw living and working on that farm however, compared to what the kindly good Christian veterinarian Hershel Green was found keeping in his barn on tonight's The Walking Dead.

"Chupacabra" was one whacked episode, extra-trippy. We got a glimpse of the early days of the zombie apocalypse with that very cool shot of Shane and Lori watching from afar as the United States military opens fire with missiles and napalm on downtown Atlanta. Stuff like that just leaves me hungering for more fluff about those days gone by. Then there is the increasing tension between Rick's band of survivors and Hershel's family.

Andrea, dear Andrea: the Twitter feeds are screaming for your blood tonight. Be darned thankful that you only grazed Daryl, who even before that happened, had already demonstrated that he's the most hard-core bad-ass of the survivors. But what the heck was with that necklace he made?! Shades of Apocalypse Now there...

Then came the worst dinner party ever, Glenn sitting at the card table with the other kiddies before he attempted a midnight tryst in the hayloft at the barn, only to find that Hershel has at least a dozen walkers paddocked-up inside. Ummmmm... yeaaahhhh I know why they are, 'cuz I read some of the graphic novel. But even so, 'twas quite a shock to see that realized on the small screen.

A very, very solid episode, but I'm hoping the search for Sophia gets wrapped up pretty soon 'cuz it's beginning to wear thin.

And please, in the name of all that's good and holy, keep Andrea away from the guns!!

EDIT 10:47 p.m. EST: My girlfriend Kristen thinks that we should refer to that mob of walkers in the barn as "Hershel's Herd" from now on :-P

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See BS: Tiffany Network caught discriminating against Paul, Bachmann

If CBS or any other "major media outlet" alleges that this is a matter of time constraint, then I'm gonna have to call it that I see B.S.

Look, five years ago I was one of sixteen candidates for school board in my home county, and in the final week before the election we all took part (well, one of us declined to participate, but that's another story) in a public candidates forum. A "debate", if you will. And each of us got ample time to state our beliefs and opinions on the various issues. For the very same questions, mind ya. Many people to this day still tell me that they got a kick out of my answer about whether school boards should have the power to tax: I told the audience "Look, if I get on that board and we have that power, there are good people on that board but I'm telling you now: DON'T TRUST US!! Don't trust us with that power to tax you!" But I digress...

The point is, even with a considerable number of individual candidates for office, there is PLENTY of equal time and opportunity to be afforded them by the organization sponsoring the debate... IF that organization is determined to be fair, balanced and impartial, that is.

Didn't Howard Stern once say that the term "Tiffany Network" reminded him too much of the name of a prostitute? If so, then last night CBS was certainly caught in the act of selling out its principles. What few it had left anyway...

During yesterday evening's televised debate of the Republican candidates for President, Ron Paul was given a scant 89 seconds of airtime to answer questions and lay out his claim for the Oval Office. Fellow candidate Michelle Bachmann received similarly reduced on-air exposure. The lion's share of the questions and time for answers went to Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.

It is now a clearly documented fact that CBS was practicing deliberate discrimination against those candidates that it believes the American citizenry would do just as well to ignore.

CBS political director John Dickerson inadvertently forwarded the Bachmann campaign an e-mail stating that Bachmann would not be given much show time because...

“Okay let’s keep it loose since she’s not going to get many questions and she’s nearly off the charts in the hopes that we can get someone else."

CBS later said that they were trying to be "realistic" since Bachmann is "polling" about 4% nationally.

And this blogger says: that don't don't hunt. A study released last month by University of Minnesota notes that Ron Paul, though polling a strong third or fourth nationally, has been given the least amount of debate time during every televised forum.

Now if this ain't intentional bias and discrimination on the part of a major television news outlet, then... what is it? How can anyone defend CBS - and indeed, most of the more corporate-run press in this country - as being an objective and impartial observer of this country and this world?

Some are probably reading this and no doubt determined to tell me "Chris, CBS is a multi-billion dollar corporation and you're just a guy with a blog: what the hell do you think you can do about it?"

True, I don't have CBS's viewing numbers.

But I can document that network's abuse of journalistic ethics. Which in my opinion, this is an example of.

And there are a lot of others out there in the ether of the Intertubes who are likewise documenting it.

Meanwhile, networks like CBS keep losing viewers, 'cuz there are a lot of folks out there who are getting sick and tired of seeing B.S. too.

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Veterans Day is today

Do you want to know why Veterans Day is on this date?

It was November the 11th, 1918, at the 11th hour, that the armistice took effect and the guns of the Western Front fell silent.

World War I, the Great War, the "war to end all wars", had drawn to a close.

Veterans Day - a day which has come to honor all American veterans - was originally a day set aside to honor the service of the millions of soldiers from the United States who went "Over There" to fight in the trenches of Europe.

And this Veterans Day is the first that we have ever had without even one of those brave men and women among us...

Frank Buckles, the last surviving "doughboy", passed away in February of this year. He was 110 years old.

They are all gone now.

May we never forget them.

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