Happy Birthday to Michael Caine!

The Knight Shift and its proprietor would like to wish a very wonderful Happy Birthday today to Michael Caine - one of the finest and most versatile actors ever - on the occasion of his turning 80 years young!

The above image is from Caine's 2009 film Harry Brown.  If you have not seen it yet, I heartily recommend it.  It's definitely one of the better movies I've seen made in recent years.

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Words all Christians would be wise to ponder...

From the homily that Pope Francis delivered this morning in his first Mass as the newly-elected Bishop of Rome:

"We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, always trying to live in an irreprehensible way. We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don't proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong... When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly. We may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, all of this, but we are not disciples of the Lord."

Francis also spoke about returning to the Gospels. That without building upon spiritual values and instead trusting in worldly values, all is like a sandcastle before "everything comes crashing down".

I am not Catholic, but in less than a day on the job Pope Francis is saying a lot that this fellow believer can't help but say "Amen" to.

It's also being widely reported how earlier this morning Francis rode the minibus with many of his previously fellow cardinals, bypassing the usual Vatican sedan.  How at breakfast he sat among them as their equal and joked "May God have mercy for what you have done!"  And there is how Francis stopped by the hotel where he was staying prior to Conclave, went to his room to get his bags, then stopped by the front desk to pay his bill!  I can only imagine the look on that desk clerk's face...

To my Catholic brethren: as one outside of the Roman Catholic Church, I have to believe that y'all are in for some very interesting, very exciting and very terrific times with Pope Francis.  He's already demonstrating something that has been woefully missing and direly needed among the princes and politicians of this world:

Humbleness.

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GAME OF THRONES as a mid-Nineties TV series

What if Game of Thrones came out a decade and a half earlier, in 1995?  Back when the style of fantasy television was dictated by shows like Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.  What would it have been like?

Very likely, something like this...


So if Sam Raimi had made Game of Thrones back in the day, who would Kevin Sorbo have played? My guess is Eddard Stark.  Maybe a shaven-headed Bruce Campbell as Varys, or at least Petyr Baelish.

And Lucy Lawless?  No doubt about it: Cersei.

Kudos to YouTube user "hunterlsanders" for such a great piece of work!

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POPE SMOKE WATCH 2013 #3: It's WHITE!

Either those cardinals are taking one heckuva break for Camels, or they have just elected the next pope!

Watching it right now.  Awesome scene at Saint Peter's Square.  Now we just gotta learn who it is that's been voted on.

Whoever it is, may God's wisdom and grace be upon him.  I'm not Catholic, but I appreciate my Catholic brethren's enthusiasm and I absolutely have to wish them and their new leader well :-)

"Habemus Papam!"

UPDATE 2:26 p.m. EST: Here's a pic of that white smoke going up!

UPDATE 2:44 p.m. EST: Lots of humor about this on Twitter right now.  Thankfully none or very little of it seems to be vulgar :-)

UPDATE 3:15 p.m. EST: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina is the new pope! A Jesuit from Argentina.  I think that makes him the first "New World" pope.

UPDATE 3:20 p.m. EST:  So his papal name will be "Pope Francis".  Is that the first, second etc.?

UPDATE 3:36 p.m. EST:  This will indeed be Pope Francis, first of his name.  By all accounts an incredibly humble, compassionate and quiet man.

And here he is from a few moments ago, his first appearance as pope and giving the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" blessing to the crowd...

Update 4:15 p.m. EST:  Lots of people are noting that Pope Francis' first words were to ask the people for their blessing, rather than bestow his blessing upon them.  It was a gesture of remarkable humility.

I'm also hearing that before this Conclave, Cardinal Bergoglio refused to reside in the mansion reserved for the overseer of the Church in Argentina.  Instead he chose to live in a quite modest apartment in Buenos Aires.  He rode the public bus every day.  Bergoglio even cooked dinner for himself.

A pope who does his own cooking?  Now that is pretty cool :-)

Well, this is the second Conclave that this blog has tried to cover "as it happens", and Lord willing it will be quite a long time before I have to do it again.  Congratulations to Pope Francis.  Though I be not a Catholic, my prayers absolutely go out to him as he begins the task entrusted him.

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POPE SMOKE WATCH 2013 #2: More black out of the Vatican chimney

The two sessions of morning ballots have been cast by the cardinals sequestered (that seems to be the popular buzzword of late) inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. What sayeth them?

Nope. No pope...

Two more ballots this afternoon. They should begin being cast around noon EST.

UPDATE 9:27 a.m. EST:  Hey, they've got BEER in there!!  The monks of Norcia at the Monastery of San Benedetto serve the Lord while also making Birra Nursia: their own brand of brew.

Here are Brother John and Brother Francis dropping off several cases of Birra Nursia beer at Domus Sancta Martha (where the cardinals are staying) on Monday, the day before the Conclave began.

All those cardinals, deliberating about the next pope while downing some suds.  Hey, it could happen.  Lord only (literally) knows what is going on inside the Sistine Chapel during Conclave.  Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with that particular imagery.  But then, I'm not much of a beer drinker anyway.  Never have been able to develop a taste for any of that stuff.

But if the cardinals approve of it during their discussions, hey... why not? :-)

And if you want some Birra Nursia for yourself, here's the official website where you can order it.  If it's good enough for the princes of the Church, it's good enough for you!

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This week's Tammy Tuesday gets a bath!

The very first thing I did when I brought Tammy home last May was to give her a bath, 'cuz the poor girl had sooooo many fleas!  Then I had to give her another one the next day.  It was just a rotten flea season all around 'cuz of the warm weather the preceding winter.

Anyhoo, ever since she's had something of an aversion to water.  She doesn't even enjoy going out in the rain to "do her doggie business".  But she's starting to take a liking to the warm water from the shower whenever she needs to get clean 'n shiny.

Here's Tammy about to get some puppy pamperin':

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POPE SMOKE WATCH 2013 #1: First black smoke over the Vatican

Looking at CNN right now: black smoke is pouring out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel... and how!  There's not gonna be any confusion this time around.

So we know that the cardinals within have had their first ballot and no one has been elected pope.  Which was what most people were expecting anyway.

Two more votes tomorrow.

UPDATE 2:59 p.m. EST:  Scott Bradford notes that there will be four ballots tomorrow - 2 each in the morning and afternoon - and not two as previously reported.

As an aside, I'm seeing some good-humored jesting about this.  One friend said that based on the black smoke "Willie Nelson has just been elected pope", while someone on Twitter is reporting that the Black Smoke Monster (from Lost) is the new pope.

Come to think of it, that's the blackest black smoke I've ever seen.  We need John Locke on the scene, STAT! :-)

UPDATE 3:41 p.m. EST:  Here's a photo of the black smoke that poured out of the Sistine Chapel chimney a short while ago...

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Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin has passed away

The Knight Shift today is remembering and honoring the life of an army officer from Nazi Germany.  And for good reason...

Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin was born in July of 1922.  More than two decades later at the age of 22, he was an infantry officer of the German army.  Ironic, since both Ewald-Heinrich and his father hated everything there was about Nazi ideology (the elder von Kleist-Schmenzin had even tried to arouse support from western countries for a coup against Hitler).

In January of 1944, Ewald-Heinrich was approached by Claus von Stauffenberg for a bold plan: to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a suicide bombing.  Von Kleist-Schmenzin volunteered to take the place of a wounded officer.  However the attempt had to be cancelled because Hitler kept postponing the event which would have him placed near the bomb.

Then came the following summer, and von Kleist-Schmenzin became involved with the now-famous July 20th Plot: the plan to kill Hitler - again by suicide bombing - while "Der Fuhrer" was at his Wolf's Lair retreat in the mountains of Poland.  This time it was von Stauffenberg who placed the explosive.  It went off: destroying the conference room but leaving Hitler himself virtually unscathed (the dictator later took it as a sign of divine intervention).  In the days that followed von Stauffenberg and most of his fellow conspirators were arrested and executed (some being hung with piano wire, with von Stauffenberg dying by firing squad).  Von Kleist-Schmenzin's father was one of those killed but almost miraculously, Ewald-Heinrich survived.  He wound up arrested and questioned, sent to a prison camp, then released and put back into army service.  All the while Ewald-Heinrich was helping the German resistance movement and doing a darned good job covering his tracks (obviously).

This past week, on March 8th 2013, Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin - Nazi army officer and the last surviving conspirator of the plot to kill Hitler - passed away.  He was 90 years old.

Ewald-Heinrich, this blogger salutes you and your courage.  May you have a joyful reunion with both your beloved father and your Father in Heaven.

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Found on Etsy: Crocheted Bane mask

It won't deliver pain-killing anesthetic, but it might keep your ears warm..

A knitted replica of Bane's headgear from The Dark Knight Rises.  Incredible.  And extremely clever!  Kudos to crochet artist Rose Pope for pulling it off.

You can find it on Etsy but mind ya, there's currently a four-month long waiting list for this hot lil' item.

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Dude hacks DONKEY KONG, lets his daughter play Pauline!

Times have been tough for Pauline: the damsel-in-distress that Mario had to climb up those girders to rescue from Donkey Kong way back in 1981.  Mario and DK of course went on to bigger and better things.  Then there were all those women who came into Mario's life before he settled on Princess Peach.  But whatever happened to Pauline?

Mike Mika, who works at Other Ocean Interactive, was asked by his three-year old daughter if "she could play as the girl and save Mario".  Mika hacked into the ROM of the Nintendo Entertainment System's port of Donkey Kong and after fiddlin' around with the coded innards, he had produced what he calls the "Pauline Edition" of Donkey Kong!  Here's a clip of it in action and you  have to admit, it's a really sweet thing to do for a kid :-)


Jump here for more at Cinema Blend about this awesome hack!

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"Arrow on the Doorpost": Rick and The Governor summit on THE WALKING DEAD

Rick, no.  You almost lost your mind.  Do this and you will lose your soul.

Despite the resolution to one of the show's bigger mysteries - what happened to Morgan and Duane - I thought that last week's episode "Clear" was almost too quiet a departure from what we've become accustomed with AMC's monster hit series The Walking Dead.  But having just watched "Arrow on the Doorpost", I see how there was a lot more in the previous installment that was investment toward the eventual payoff.

And judging what we saw in the final moments of "Arrow on the Doorpost", that's gonna be a hella payoff when Season 3 wraps at the end of this month.

(I just realized yesterday that my birthday is not only Easter Sunday this year but the night before sees the return of new Doctor Who episodes, and Easter night brings the season finale of The Walking Dead and the start of Season 3 of Game of Thrones!  Have the geek stars aligned for me or what? :-)

Rick and The Governor have finally come face to face (in an antezombiebellum feed store), ostensibly to hash things out between Rick's group at the prison and Gov's faction in Woodbury.  The Governor let it be known in no uncertain terms that Rick will surrender or die... but there's "a way out".  Rick had better listen to whatever Hershel has to say: he's a good Christian man with moral clarity and considerable wisdom.  I can't see him telling Rick to give in to The Governor's demands...

'Course, what makes The Walking Dead such compelling television is what human nature is capable of when the whole world has gone to hell.  This is either going to be a shining moment for Rick, or the point that he really will have fallen beyond a chance at self-redemption.  And that - as opposed to which side Andrea must choose - is as of this week The Walking Dead's meatiest situation.

I enjoyed how Daryl and Hershel had polite conversation with Milton and Caesar while the bosses were talking inside the store.  Milton especially seemed to have a measure of respect for Hershel and vice-versa (even if Hershel refused to show off his stump).  There was even a sense of kinship between Daryl and Caesar: my girlfriend thought it hearkened back to the stories about how during the Civil War.  How Union and Confederate soldiers would sometimes encounter each other before a battle and trade with each other, even attending church together.  Even though they knew that the next time they met, it would be as enemies in the field.  Seeing that kind of interaction was a nice touch.

Glenn took on more of a leadership role in "Arrow on the Doorpost" than we've seen from him in awhile.  He's taking his tasks seriously... but it was also good that he got time to make up (and make out!) with Maggie.  Meantime the two biggest wildcards of this entire game - Michonne and Merle - are each contemplating their moves.

And all the while, the clouds of war gather over Georgia...

"Arrow on the Doorpost" was a more satisfying entry than "Clear" in my mind.  And this far out from the season finale, the episode ended with a sense that the buildup to the inevitable clash won't be a rush job as has happened on too many television series.  It's a good solid pace and if The Walking Dead keeps this up it's gonna be a wild, wild ride throughout the rest of this month!

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An illustrated guide to the Papal Conclave

The chimney has been installed and tested.  The Swiss Guard are even now still sweeping the place for bugs and spies.  Saint Peter's Square is bracing for the crowds...

Tomorrow morning (Rome time) the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will enter the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican.  Once it has been confirmed that no one else is present (apart from a very few medical personnel and other attendants who are pledged to uphold secrecy) the doors will be closed and sealed, and the cardinals within will begin deliberation and voting on who will be the next pope.

It is called Conclave (from the Latin cum clave, meaning "with a key")  And it is a ritual which has endured for more than eight hundred years.  But what does happen among the cardinals once they are within the Sistine Chapel and its doors tied off with red silk ribbon?

The Fellowship Of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) has put up on its website a very thorough and comprehensive illustrated guide to the cardinal camaraderie, contemplation and ceremony of the Conclave.  Everything from the arrival of the cardinals to the Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and to the world") blessing that the new pontiff will give.

And by the way, FOCUS has also set up PopeAlarm.com!  Yes, have the announcement of the next Holy See sent directly to your e-mail or text.  Truly, we live in an age of miracles :-) 

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SIMCITY's always-online screams for urban renewal

I've been under the weather most of the past few days (not with flu but it felt like it) so this blog ground to a screeching halt. That didn't mean I was without entertainment though. For the most part that involved watching the FUBAR that Electronic Arts has made of SimCity since launching it last week...

We built this city on DRM!

This is a SimCity game.  The fifth major one since the series launched in the late Eighties.  HOW in the name of all that's good and holy does anybody... anybody... mess up a SimCity game??

EA did.  And the bustling metropoli promised to millions of players have in less than a week turned into virtual ghettos of riot and violence that even Amazon.com decided to steer clear of: the online retailer halted sales of SimCity for both physical and digital download versions.

Just like Diablo III, the heart of the problem is that SimCity requires an always-online Internet connection.  Allegedly as a Digital Rights Management (DRM) anti-piracy measure.  To be honest it's worse than Diablo III: that game's always-online obligation is a supposed "necessary component" of its Real Money Auction House (never mind that some of us don't care about spending real money for in-game gold and items).  No, SimCity has to be online because most of the game's processing takes place server-side.

Yeah you read that right.  What used to be localized to your PC or desktop, wherever you happened to be, is now something that EA's corporate computers handle for you.  EA says it's because SimCity is now an online multiplayer game and one of its innovations is inter-city commerce such as buying and selling resources and even hiring virtual people to move to your town.

'Course, that's if the game works at all.  As of this writing EA is still struggling to meet the demands of players: some of whom are reportedly waiting twenty hours or more before they can successfully log in.

I'm not a lawyer, but that doesn't sound like a complete game that EA is selling with SimCity.  It's more like a licensed client application.  One that isn't living up to its advertised capabilities.  And EA is refusing to give out refunds (they are giving a free game to people affected however, whatever that will entail...)

This is by far the worst launch of a video/computer game in the history of anything.  The players are in an uproar, the game's ratings are plummeting (some established gaming news sites are refusing to even review SimCity) and some retailers are now refusing to stock it at all.  EA is acknowledging the problems and some in the company have suggested that an offline mode could be implemented.  Others however are saying that it's impossible: that the game was designed from the very beginning to require always-online in order to work.  That this was even considered at all makes one question EA's consideration toward their customers.  One alleged EA employee has gone public with what has gone on at EA that made SimCity an "embarrassment".

There is much more that could be said about this than is possible in one blog post.  However Erik Kain at Forbes.com has an excellent piece about the legal ramifications of always-online and how it is bad policy for both gamers and publishers.  Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski also has some fantastic examination and analogy about what SimCity and Diablo III's always-online DRM means in terms of customer service and support.

In the meantime, I will not be purchasing or playing SimCity.  EA's negligence has even given me pause to wonder if their Dead Space 3 is worth plunking down my coin for.  Just as I won't be buying Diablo III until Blizzard gives us an offline mode... and I'm wondering if that company's Heart of the Swarm expansion for StarCraft II deserves an investment on my part as well.  I mean, why should I respect any company with my money if that company doesn't respect me as a consumer?

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Once again this blogger makes Cracked.com ("5 Famous Online Copyright Crusaders Who Are Total Hypocrites")

At this point I've lost count. It's at least the fourth or fifth time that my shenanigans have landed me on popular humor site Cracked.com.

This latest appearance comes courtesy of an article titled "5 Famous Online Copyright Crusaders Who Are Total Hypocrites".  With a title like that I just had to scan and tear it down and analyze it to see what I was doing that was so hypocritical... but I honestly can't find anything about my own part in that very strange episode from the fall of 2007.  In fact, the entire article is about corporations - as Viacom did in that incident - who cry and crow about copyright laws protecting their assets and then steal and violate the assets of everyone else without giving a damn!!

Anyhoo, my situation, "Viacom Lays Claim to a County Board of Education Campaign Video", made #2 on the list.  And if you wanna see the commercial that started it all, from my 2006 campaign for Rockingham County Board of Education, click here to watch "Christopher Knight for School Board TV Commercial #1".

(Personally, I'm still more proud of Commercial #2 and Commercial #3.  In fact, Commercial #3 has always been my favorite of that batch of ads.)

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Dear News & Record: Opposition does NOT equal hate and fear of homosexuals

One of the front-page stories of today's edition of the (Greensboro, North Carolina) News & Record is about DC Comics delaying publication of science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card's story for the upcoming first issue of DC Comics' Adventures of Superman anthology.  Chris Sprouse, the artist assigned to illustrate the story, is refusing to work on grounds that the "controversy" about Card's publicly-stated beliefs that homosexuality is wrong.  Especially his opposition to "gay marriage" during the lead-up to last year's amendment to North Carolina's constitution affirming that legal marriage is between one man and one woman.

You won't find it in the story posted on the News & Record's website, but the article's synopsis in the print edition reads thusly: "An uproar over author Orson Scott Card's homophobic views leads illustrator to withdraw."

"Homophobic"  As in, literally, "Orson Scott Card is in fear of homosexuals".  The implication being that if he is in fear of homosexuals, Card also harbors hate of homosexuals.  That is certainly how such things are associated in the minds of too many journalists these days.

I don't know if Robert C. Lopez - the News & Record reporter who wrote the story - is responsible for his article's print synopsis.  Regardless, whoever wrote it is either terminologically ignorant or journalistically negligent.  Or, inexcusably driven by agenda.

But that's not the point of this post...

There is a difference between disapproving of a person's activity and disapproving of that person as a whole.  I know many homosexual individuals.  I sincerely believe that their behavior is wrong and even self-destructive.  But I have never hated them.  Some are even good friends who I have worked with and acted alongside on stage.  I like to think that they can disagree with me as well without harboring any animosity.

But through the prism most politicians and journalists and media "personalities" have demanded we see reality through, a failure to endorse the lifestyle of others is indicative of hatred toward others.

No wonder the political climate of this country is so polarized.  How can there possibly be earnest and sincere discussion about anything at all, when any side sees others as deserving scorn and ridicule, and lacking merit enough to be heard out?

Orson Scott Card is being charged - whether or not it will be admitted aloud - with inciting fear, hatred and intolerance toward homosexuals.  Curiously, the irony has gone woefully under-appreciated that those levelling such claims are inciting fear, hatred and intolerance toward Card and anyone else who believes homosexuality is wrong.  At the Mysticon science-fiction convention in Roanoke last weekend, my girlfriend overheard two people conversing with each other about how Card - the literary guest of honor - wasn't "very Christian" because of his statements against homosexuality.  I also heard one attendee claim that it was wrong for Card to have been invited because he was, quote, "hateful of people like me".

The only people I see demonstrating legitimate hatred of others are those who want there to be hatred of others.  When all else fails in an attempt at persuasion, hate is the time-tested tool of evoking deceit, distrust and division.  It is a coward's tool.  It is a tool of men of barbarity, not men of intellect.

The News & Record writers and editorial staff should bear that in mind, pertaining as much to their personal predilections as their professional ones.

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Fake bishop crashes pre-conclave Vatican

"One of these is not like the others.  One of these
just doesn't belong."

No matter your religious persuasion (even my Catholic friends are finding this hilarious) you gotta admit that this is pretty funny!

On Monday a man identifying himself as "Bishop Basilius" of the Italian Orthodox Church arrived at the Vatican supposedly to attend the meetings in advance of the conclave of cardinals which will elect the successor of Benedict XVI, who stepped down from the papacy last week.

The problem is, there is no such thing as the "Italian Orthodox Church".  But that's not what aroused the suspicion of the Swiss Guard.  It was mostly because Bishop Basilius was wearing a cassock that was too short, black tennis shoes, a "strange-looking chain" holding his crucifix, and a purple scarf around his waist instead of the traditional sash.

Oh yeah, and he also donned a black fedora.

Basilius - who claimed to represent an organization called "Corpus Dei" - was already past the security checkpoint and found shaking hands with Cardinal Sergio Sebiastiana when the Swiss Guard apprehended him.  "Basilius" turned out to be in fact Ralph Napierski, a German citizen who apparently has a long history of pranking and mocking the Roman Catholic Church (he also lists himself as a practitioner of "Jesus yoga").

Click here for more about the strange but true tale of Bishop Basilius.

Of course this isn't the first time that someone has impersonated high-ranking members of the Catholic clergy...

"Authorities say the phony pope
can be identified by his high-top sneakers,
and incredibly foul mouth."

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Tammy Tuesday: Exposing herself!

Has this puppy no shame?!  This week's Tammy Tuesday has my mini dachshund Tammy enjoying a rope toy while flashing her pooch privates...
 

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