Dear friend Jenna St.Hilaire (who was previously Jenna Olwin before her recent nuptials) spotted this video on YouTube and sent it this way. It's a four-way split-screen of a dude who's doing an a capella rendition of several John Williams movie scores, with a Star Wars-ish twist. It's pretty amazing!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Cal Thomas sez: The Religious Right is dead (AMEN to that!)
A few days ago on this blog I wrote about how conservative Christians bore much of the blame for the election of Barack Obama. That they had let their pursuit of power blind them so much that they failed to see Christ and what He stood for anymore.
And now, writing in Jewish World Review (a very good publication, I might add), Cal Thomas doesn't just echo those same sentiments, he articulates them far better than I could.
From his essay "The Religious Right, R.I.P."...
Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?The essence of Thomas's piece is of such brilliance, that I sincerely believe that every self-declared "evangelical"/"conservative" church in America would do well to read it from the pulpit... and take his wisdom to heart. Click here to read the rest of his column.I opt for trying something else...
Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative Evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government?
Theatre Guild of Rockingham County will be performing OLIVER TWIST next month
I had so much fun taking part in the Theatre Guild of Rockingham County's production of Children of Eden, that I tried out for Oliver Twist. And I wound up with the role of Mr. Sowerberry (the undertaker who is given custody of Oliver after his pleading for "more").
Taking part means a lot to me personally, because this production is being dedicated to the memory of Gene Saunders, my high school drama instructor and the founder of the Theatre Guild. Gene's signature role was Fagin, and if you were ever lucky to see him play the part of the shifty thief, you already know that he brought an amazing weight and, I'll even say "magic" to the role.
This production, directed by Jon Young and with Jessica Reed serving as stage manager, boasts an absolutely wonderful cast. Tim Wray is playing Fagin and Mike Morrison is Bill Sikes. Jasper Thomas III (who won a wazoo-load of awards at the Theatre Guild dinner a few months back and who delighted audiences as young Abel in Children of Eden) is Artful Dodger. Rob Compton is Mr. Bumble and his lovely wife Donna is Mrs. Corney. Theresa Brown will be making her stage debut as Mrs. Sowerberry. Tish Owens is Nancy and Tony Hummel is Mr. Brownlow. And Nathan Tolodziecki stars as the lovable young moppet Oliver Twist.
The show runs for six performances, December 5 through 14 at the Rockingham Community College Advanced Technologies Building Auditorium. Click here for more information. Definitely worth catching especially if you've got kids in your crew! :-)
Saturday, November 08, 2008
LOST finds Wednesday timeslot again with 2-hour season premiere
Lost is returning for its fifth season on January 21st (two and a half months from now) with "Because You Left", the two-hour premiere. That's according to James Hibberd's The Live Feed. Lost will have the 9 p.m. Wednesday slot for the rest of the season (which will no doubt make a lot of people happy that they don't have to stay up so late... right Geoff? :-)
Speaking of Lost, I have been hearing some weird rumors regarding Season 5. Namely: that when Ben moved the Island it went backward in time and we'll see the castaways who stayed behind meeting up with DHARMA folks like Horace and "Dr. Candle", that there will be a flashback episode for the Black Rock, that "Jeremy Bentham" will turn out to be a clone, etc. What other show but Lost could make such outrageous concepts perfectly logical for the average viewer? :-P
Friday, November 07, 2008
Obama won... because conservative Christians prostituted their principles
I originally had much more to say about this, but I'm going to dispense with the flowery rhetoric and cut to the heart of the matter...
The so-called "evangelical conservative Christians" had damned well better look in a mirror if they want to see who is most responsible for Barack Obama winning the race for President on Tuesday.
And now there is no reason to be angry, and no rationale for "blaming God" for Obama's victory, as I have seen too many Christians seriously doing. God had nothing to do with Obama winning. If anything, He let the people of America have what they wanted... and He absolutely played fair with many of those who profess Him as Lord.
"Christian conservatives" paved the way to Obama's historic win because they sold out their values for sake of worldly power.
People like James Dobson and the Focus on the Family crowd: they are the some of the ones most at fault. So too are many of the "preachers" that I have read and found myself listening to on the radio (like WPIP and Ron Baity of Berean Baptist Church out of Winston-Salem). They decided long ago that reaching the lost of this world wasn't their biggest priority. Instead they wanted to "sit at the king's table". Websites like Free Republic (yeah I'm looking at you Jim Robinson, ya first-order hypocrite) became too fixated on obtaining power. They lusted for the power they thought they could have so much, that they didn't bother to ask themselves if they should have had it to begin with. And still others, like Presidential Prayer Team, turned the office of President into a high priesthood of material might: something that would have horrified the Founding Fathers. So it is that in the past eight years George W. Bush - a man of weak character and no sincere Christ-like qualities - became such a paragon of virtue that it became on par with blasphemy to object to his "wisdom".
These and many others became so obsessed with destroying the enemy (like "liberals") that they became the enemy.
They rejected the God of Heaven and instead chose to worship a god of fortresses. They, quite honestly, chose the god of this world and what he was offering them.
They chose against putting their faith in the God of Jesus Christ.
That's not to make a judgment against Obama's spiritual condition at all. But because of the spiritual condition of many of his enemies, Barack Obama is now going to be their President.
They brought this on themselves. And if they have any shred of conscience, the self-proclaimed "Christian leaders" like James Dobson and Pat Roberton and their ilk will stop looking for excuses and already trying to regain power in 2012, and turn their own hearts toward repentance instead. Not for sake of temporal advantage, but purely because they desire God's will... without trying to bend Him to their wishes.
Pastor Chuck Baldwin also has similar sentiments about his fellow Christians...
Across the country, rather than stand on principle, hundreds of thousands of pastors, Christians, and pro-life conservatives capitulated and groveled before John McCain's neocon agenda. In doing so, they forfeited any claim to truth, and they abandoned any and all fidelity to constitutional government. They should rip the stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego out of their Bibles. They should never again tell their children, parishioners, and radio audiences the importance of standing for truth and principle. They have made a mockery of Christian virtue. No wonder a majority of the voting electorate laughs at us Christians. No wonder the GOP crashed and burned last Tuesday.Click here for more of Baldwin's thoughts.Again, it wasn't Barack Obama who destroyed conservatism; it was George W. Bush, John McCain, and the millions of evangelical Christians who supported them. And until conservatives find their backbone and their convictions, they deserve to remain a burnt-out, has-been political force. They have no one to blame but themselves.
I have said it many times over the past several months: there is no faith to be had in politics. The Christians of this land would do well to understand that, if they want there to be anything of America at all to bestow to their children.
So how did I spend my evening?
In line at the local GameStop, waiting to get Gears of War 2.
I figure that if I've done midnight premieres of the Star Wars prequels and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "midnight madness" sales of new Star Wars toys and midnight launches of the last three Harry Potter books, I might as well add doing something nutty for a video game to the list.
Okay, me go play now...
Thursday, November 06, 2008
The hologram that wasn't (is that a double negative?)
There's been lots of commotion about CNN's "holographic technology" that had virtual versions of CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin and rap musician will.i.am talking in the studio with Wolf Blitzer during Election Night two days ago (click here to see what it looked like during Yellin's report). But Don Reisinger of CNET News points out that it's disingenuous for CNN to call it a true hologram...Don't say it's a "hologram" technology unless it really is. If CNN was truly using a "hologram," it would not have employed a green screen and overlay images. Instead, it would have captured scattered light and then reconstructed it back in the studio.I happened to catch this gimmick when they were talking to will.i.am and honestly, I wasn't terribly impressed. It looked too much like it was being accomplished "in-camera" (and it was). And there was no reflection from the "holograms" on the studio floor either. I know a few guys who given the challenge, could no doubt have made it look much more convincing with a minimum of equipment. But the meat of Reisinger's essay is that this kind of stunt cheapens the purpose of journalism and tilts it more toward the direction of entertainment. I'm persuaded to agree with that sentiment.Oh, and it probably would have bankrupted CNN too.
Besides, it'll be a long time before real holograms are feasible for broadcast television. Until then, just enjoy Princess Leia crying out "Help me Obi-Wan..." whenever you watch Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope :-)
Nikola Tosic interviews me for his blog
Nikola Tosic is an Internet consultant and artist who maintains a rather lively blog. He asked me for an interview and I was glad to oblige! In the process he wound up picking my brain about some things that I found I had never taken the opportunity to discuss on my own blog. Nikola described me as "weird yet eloquent"... and that's probably the best description anyone's ever had for me :-P
Here's a teaser (in Nikola's lowercase style)...
q: i am not convinced that video and internet are so dominant in your philosophy. i think you are exploring these mediums only by accident while you try to distribute a message. as they serve this purpose now in future you might expand into more different media. what is the essence of the message that you wish people to hear form you? how would you sum up your message?Read the rest of Nikola's interview here :-)the long and the short of it is: people need to think for themselves, otherwise there will always be someone else more than willing to think for them. in that regard, video and the internet are extremely useful tools… but without solid ideas behind them, they are worthless. george lucas once noted that “a special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing”. so it is with things like blogs and youtube and such.
right now, i think we’re still getting used to these new technologies. we’re still “stretching our wings” so to speak. we haven’t yet exploited them to their fullest potential. and we won’t at all until we begin to embrace them as platforms for presenting new ideas instead of reinforcing tired *ideologies*. the presidential election we just had in the united states? i thought it was a very frustrating thing because apart from the pro-ron paul movement and a few others, none of the campaigns had a serious vision about using the internet in a fresh way to promote their messages.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Michael Crichton, author of JURASSIC PARK and a ton of other awesome novels, has passed away
The first time I ever read a Michael Crichton novel, it was Jurassic Park. I bought the paperback version the week it came out, one cold and rainy Friday afternoon following swim practice at our high school. It drizzled hard all weekend and I spent most of it curled up under a blanket in my bedroom, reading Crichton's fascinating tale of outlaw cloning and systems breakdown.I wound up re-reading Jurassic Park five more times after that, prior to the movie coming out a year and a half later. By that time I had also read many other of Crichton's novels, including The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man, and Congo (which for some reason I enjoyed even more than Jurassic Park).
Over the years I hungrily devoured most of his books as they were released. The Lost World, I eagerly snapped up during my first semester at Elon (and I've always thought that both volumes of Crichton's "Dinosaur Duology" were far better than the movies they spawned). More recently I've enjoyed Timeline and State of Fear, and two years ago I both thrilled and laughed at reading Next, his most recent novel.
I had come to relish the thought of a pending Michael Crichton novel: some bold work of fiction that in addition to entertaining, it would have me thinking about some new concept... or old concepts in entirely new ways. That was part of Crichton's gift to not only literature, but the general public's appreciation of science and technology. Not to mention compelling his readers to wrestle with the same ethical questions that happen every day in the realms of research and commerce. Crichton was a much-needed cipher, who helped us come to terms with the world that we were, more often than not, wrecklessly building.
And unfortunately, his will no longer be that voice of caution that we would have been wise to heed.
Word broke a short while ago that Michael Crichton has passed away at age 66, following a private battle with cancer.
In addition to his novels, Crichton was also a medical doctor who received his degree from Harvard. He was a university instructor and wrote much nonfiction about medicine and travel. And Crichton created the hit television series ER, now in its final season.
He will be sorely missed, by his family and friends and his many legions of fans.
And on the day after...
...we still woke up. The sun rose again. There was a new morning. Life did go on.
In fact, it couldn't sincerely be said that much of anything changed at all.
This country, this world even, is not made by the grace of a single man or woman. An individual can render it grievous harm however.
But in the end, America - and every other country for that matter - is the result of the diligence of her entire people. And I tend to believe she is only as good as the lengths her people will go to admit that they are not wise enough to govern this land with mere human reasoning.
Acknowledging that much is the beginning of the enlightenment that the Founders prayed we might have. We've lost sight of that, and that has to be said regardless of what "party" we might belong to.
I'm going to have more to say about this election in the coming days. Including some things that may not be very popular, but I think they need to be said anyway.
In the meantime, congratulations to everyone who won his or her respective election.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Willie Horton, Chuck Norris, and... ME?!?
Okay, this blows my mind completely. Because for two years now I have heard overwhelming praise for this commercial that I created for my run for Rockingham County Board of Education in 2006. The comments that people have shared most often? That this is a "positive" and even "upbeat" political ad. And that's what I love hearing the most about it: that it doesn't attack anyone. Heck, I don't make negative ads, as a personal policy.
Here it is if you haven't seen it already...
So then this afternoon someone passes along this blog entry from the Denver Post newspaper in September that lists "some of the most infamous examples" of negative campaign ads.
The first one listed is Lyndon Johnson's diabolical "Daisy Girl" ad.
Then they name George Bush Sr.'s "Willie Horton" anti-Dukakis ad from 1988.
Next on their hit list is Mike Huckabee's ad from earlier this year featuring Chuck Norris.
And finally... there's my "Star Wars school board" commercial.
HOW the *#&@ does anyone figure that I'm somehow associated, in the least little way, with the Daisy Girl and Willie Horton?!?
Seriously though, I have to laugh about it. But that's still very... odd.
George Washington slept here (really, maybe)
After going to vote today I took a "scenic detour" back, going west on US 158 from Reidsville. When you get to the Monroeton community, turn right onto Monroeton Road (at the original Monroeton Elementary School buiding).
About one and a half miles on the right after that, you will find this stone wheel...
This stone marks the site west of Reidsville visited by George Washington during his tour of the southern states in 1791, when he was the first President of the United States. I've heard a lot of people say over the years that the stone even marks the spot where Washington and his colleagues camped while in the Monroeton area. The main draw during this leg of Washington's tour was the nearby Troublesome Creek Iron Works, which was used during the Revolutionary War. And then in 1781 General Nathaniel Greene and his soldiers camped there after the decisive Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
By the way, also nearby is Speedwell Presbyterian Church. Organized in 1759, it's not only the oldest church in Rockingham County but also one of the oldest in the entire country. In the cemetery behind the present building (built in 1844) there can still be found the grave markers of many soldiers who fought and died at Guilford Courthouse. And though it has never been conclusively proven, I have heard a number of people tell that Washington did attend a worship service at Speedwell while he was in the area.
(Speedwell Presbyterian is also the church that my Boy Scout troop is chartered to, incidentally :-)
In light of all that's going on today, and the tremendous amount of raw emotion that this election seems to have generated, I thought it would be a neat thing to pause for a bit. And reflect on where we as a country have come from... and what it took to get us here. That, to me anyway, certainly merits some appreciation.
Today I voted
And just as I said that I would do a few days ago, I cast a write-in vote for Chuck Baldwin for President of the United States...
There were a few others that I voted for too, but I'm keeping that information to myself.
There was a surprisingly low turnout at the poll that I went to today. There's been light rain since this morning. Two years ago when I ran for Board of Education, there was a heavy, steady drizzle and the polls were packed! But I've also heard that there was gobs of early voting this year: far more than there had been in previous elections.
So once again, I've done my civic duty by casting an informed and enlightened - as best I can muster anyway - ballot.
Monday, November 03, 2008
A message to every political candidate in the United States
To whom it may concern:
The very next "robocall" that comes into this house, I will go out, find the candidate who authorized it, and have him/her hung from the nearest telephone poll by his/her circular reproductive units. With piano wire.
This notice is being made regardless of party affiliation.
You have been duly warned.
Thank you.
EDIT 3:14 p.m. EST: I should elaborate that this only comes after I received four such automated calls from political campaigns within a span of five minutes. So yeah, I'm feeling more than a little honked-off right now...
TOO MANY people are WAY TOO TENSE right now
Look, I know that tomorrow is Election Day and many folks are feeling extremely anxious and even much worse. Personally, I'm sick of the whole damned thing. I've been an eager follower of politics all my life, but this is the first election ever that couldn't be a more dreary dull bore. And on the eve of what I keep hearing is "the most important election in our country's history" (except it's really not) I'm now more thankful than ever that I don't have a dog the McCain/Obama hunt (and I explained two days ago what I was doing regarding that).
So right now, I think most of us can agree: we need a good laugh.
I found this on YouTube not long ago and every time I watch it, it cracks me up hard! Someone took some clips of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and choreographed them to M.O.P.'s song "Ante Up". Watch this and see if you don't smile a lot too, no matter your political stripe...
Saturday, November 01, 2008
This photo screams "AWESOME!"
My good friend and filmmaking collaborator "Weird" Ed Woody dons a V getup (as in V for Vendetta) and rocks hard on Halloween at a local Wal-Mart last night...
The Knight Shift endorses Chuck Baldwin for President
His name will not be printed on the ballot here in North Carolina come Tuesday.But all the same: I have just today chosen to make a write-in vote for Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party for President when I go to the poll in a few days.
And if you have not done early voting already, I'm asking you to consider choosing Baldwin also.
In the past few days I toyed around with the idea of not voting at all. Why? Because in my own way that would be making a statement about how completely broken the political process has become. I never thought I'd ever see a Senate race in North Carolina get any uglier than it has in past years... but in the last week Elizabeth Dole proved me wrong. And I am still sticking to the policy I declared months ago: that I will not vote for any candidate who runs a single negative ad.
Friends persuaded me that I still need to let my voice be heard. Until this afternoon that meant casting votes for just three people on the ballot.
And now, even though I will have to write him in, Chuck Baldwin will join those three.
I don't necessarily agree with Dr. Baldwin on everything, but I do have all the faith and trust in the world that of the candidates running for President, he is the only one who has eloquently articulated and demonstrated a sincere understanding of the Constitution of the United States.
And through his many writings over the years, Dr. Baldwin has proven that he has an earnest desire to adhere to the Constitution. That is not something that can ever be said of John McCain, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, or George Bush Sr.
"But Chris, you're wasting your vote! You're throwing it away! You're only letting (INSERT NAME OF CANDIDATE YOU CHOOSE TO HATE HERE) win that much easier!"
Bullcrap.
A vote made out of earnest conscience is never a "wasted vote". And a vote that results from critical analysis and personal integrity, regardless of which candidate it is cast in favor of, cannot possibly be a "thrown-away vote".
If nothing else, I see it as an affirmation of the power of that most despised minority of all: the individual.
So it is that on Tuesday I will affirm the authority that the Founding Fathers clarified and which so many have fought and even died that I might yet enjoy, and cast my own vote for the one man that I can honestly say not only deserves the responsibility of being President, but also my trust.
And I will sleep very soundly indeed, knowing that unlike too many others, I will not have voted for merely "the lesser evil"... which is still evil.
I'm voting for Chuck Baldwin. And I will gladly do so come Tuesday morning.
