An actual LED billboard this afternoon on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro, North Carolina...
Tip o' the hat and credit due to journalist Chad Tucker of Fox 8 WGHP, who posted this on Facebook a short while a...
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Frank Thornton - AKA Captain Peacock - has passed away
Found out some sad news yesterday: Frank Thornton, an amazing British actor who shone in every part he played but will forever be most remembered as the unflappable Captain Stephen Peacock on the BBC's legendary comedy series Are You Being Served?, has passed away at the age of 92.
(Does this mean that Peacock is now spending an eternity listening to Mrs. Slocombe prattling...
It's double the dachshund on this Tammy Tuesday!
Want more wiener dog?!? Tammy is a more fortunate pup than many. Ya see, my cousin nearby wound up with Tammy's litter-mate Sassy. And because of that they've had plenty of occasion to romp and play together.
So here is Tammy (with the red collar) and her sister Sassy, along with my cousin's two children. Hey, it's two cute dachshunds and two cute...
The Iraq War is ten years old today
George W. Bush is the worst President in American history. In less lucid moments (mostly when hopped-up on allergy medicine) I would write that Barack Obama has been far far worse. But there would have not been Barack Obama in the White House had Bush the Lesser been a competent leader.
I spent more time than I cared to during the Bush years chronicling and commenting...
Could a Cyprus-style banks robbery happen in the U.S.?
This past weekend was spent semi-unplugged. Heck I didn't know that Miami had beaten UNC for the ACC Basketball Tournament title until late last night! Since all that mess was happening in Greensboro I drove a hunnerd miles the opposite direction on 220 to do ballroom dancing and general geek-ery with my girlfriend.
But even so, I have been following the mess in Cyprus, where the government is poisoned to confiscate 10% of everyone's...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Americans according to North Korea: "Buying guns to kill each other" and drinking coffee made from snow...
There is some question about whether or not this is real. Having watched numerous propaganda films made behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, my gut tells me that it's legit. That, and because this video does have that "Dear Leader/all others are inferior" tone which is a hallmark of North Korea's regime.
It's allegedly a propaganda video made by the North Korean government depicting life of the downtrodden proles in the United States. ...
Towns Without Pity: Modder proves EA is LYING about SIMCITY always-online!
So... that whole thing about Electronic Arts' new SimCity requiring a constant Internet connection to play? EA told us that it was needed because most of the game's processing takes place on EA's own servers. In other words: the official company line is that it is not possible at all to play SimCity locally on your PC or laptop. And despite the horde of connection problems that players were made to endure throughout the past week,...
North Carolina Beers: A good blog about Tarheel brew
Please note: I am not a beer drinker. In fact, it's very rare that I'll drink alcohol at all. There's nothing I hold against those who enjoy it (in moderation 'course). And I know next to nothing about what makes a good beer. The first time I tried drinking any, it was in Belgium in 1993. To this day I still cannot adequately describe how dark...
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...
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...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
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...
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...
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...
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
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...
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...
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...
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' it...
