So you don’t know what to ask your wealthy friends and family members for for Christmas.  Well, how about Indiana Jones’s whip or fedora from Temple of Doom?  Or how about that light saber used by Mark Hamill in the original Star Wars movie?  Now you know why I said wealthy friends and family, because no ordinary person is going to be able to afford these things, but if you are one of those who can, the auction is December 11.  There are some things for ordinary mortals too (though still starting at $1000 for most), but don’t expect to get some of the more famous stuff including the above mentioned items for less than 100 grand, and no- the chocolate bar won’t work as payment. 😛

The place to find more information is Profiles in History and what to look for there is Hollywood Auction 33.  Besides the two films above by Mr. Lucas, you can find items from films like Harry Potter, Gremlins, Men in Black, Terminator, and many more.  What are you waiting for?  Go and check it out.  Be sure to get something to catch that drool first…  The first bunch of items are photos, but after those the good stuff starts.  I downloaded the catalog at 24 megs, but you can view the lots on the web too.  Indiana Jones starts at lot 368.  Star Wars at 346.

This is the post you were expecting today.  Happy Thanksgiving!  My mother, my grandmother, my uncle, and I got together on this fine day for our nonstandard (read: restaurant) meal, followed by pumpkin and apple pie at home.  My brother and nephew always spend this day with Alex’s relatives on his mom’s side, so they didn’t join us.  Not a big gathering as you can see, so there is not much to say unlike my fellow blogger Jamiahsh.  As such, I will just say thank you God for my family, my job, my friends, and my salvation through Jesus who died on the cross for my sin.  Now I will end with a couple of Thanksgiving videos I pulled from Godtube.  They are sort of related to the theme of my site too, as they involve kids.  Enjoy!

[godtube]https://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e7a4e540c5408f9820be[/godtube]

[godtube]https://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=63b7e045fc2964c6ed23[/godtube]

This is one to be appreciated by spy show enthusiasts everywhere.  Apparently someone in Italy was caught with a gun disguised as a cell phone.  Read on:

A 28 year old man was arrested by the Italian police in a Naples suburb. He was caught with a gun disguised as a phone. The phone gun – complete with a dummy display – holds four .22 bullets. The phone transformed into a gun by sliding the keypad section.The stubby antenna is the barrel, and a touch on a particular key fires a bullet. A gun disguised as a mobile phone, the Cool gun! A police spokesman said: ‘This is the first time such a weapon has been seized and shows the sophistication that the crime syndicates are turning to.

Article with pictures and video can be found at this Likecool.com link.  Well, since the video is hosted at youtube, why don’t I just post it here:

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving!  I think among the important things like my family and Jesus Christ’s free gift to me, I can be thankful this was found half a world from me and not here… 😮

Today marks the end of an era.  No, I am not writing about the 102 years it has been since both Chicago MLB teams were last in the playoffs.  I will leave that blog post to a more sports-interested blogger.  I am referring to the end of Randhurst Mall.  Today was the last day for all the stores inside the mall.  According to the article I read they will soon start tearing it down inside, but the reconstuction won’t begin in earnest until next year (as the anchor stores that remain open breathe a sigh of relief for the holidays).  I wan’t alive when it first opened in the sixties, but I do remember going there as a child.  I remember the Kresge’s that used to be there a long time ago.  I remember before they rebuilt the center and replaced the merry-go-round with a food court.  I remember as a teen visiting the arcade known as Supercade.  I even worked at two stores over there at different times- Circuit City and Software Etc.  All gone now.  I knew about this day coming and I could kick myself for not getting over there to take some pictures.  I got busy and forgot I guess.  Oh well.  It’s not as if I’ve never visited a virtual ghost-town mall before- I remember the last days of Meadows Mall before they tore it down to make way for a Walmart and Sam’s Club- but I should have gotten pictures for this blog.  They say the new so-called “lifestyle center” will be completed in 2010.  I’ll probably visit it once just to see, but it just won’t be the same.

They are moving the movie theaters in the process, so I wonder what they will do to improve them, as I’m sure AMC won’t miss the opportunity.  They didn’t build the theaters after all, merely purchased General Cinemas, who had the original theaters there.  They were already rebuilt once after large-capacity theaters went out of style and they replaced four theaters with sixteen smaller ones.  I wonder what AMC will do to put their own mark on it?

Well, I guess you will be wanting a link to the story I mentioned.  It even contains a few pictures that I fully do not take credit for as I missed my opportunity. 😛

Randhurst Shopping Center reaches the end

As a Christian, I believe we, as individuals and as a country, should put our trust in the Almighty God.  That’s why I was a bit disappointed to see that, though not a majority, a large number of people in this country do not believe this trust should be shown on our money.  This is the email forward I got today.  I removed some of the message, such as email addresses and other comments except the last.  Yeah, I know- where have I been.  Well, I’ve just been taking a break I guess.  Regular posting will resume soon.

MSNBC is taking a poll on weather we should remove In God We Trust from our currency.   Thought you might want to give your opinion too.  As Greg says a little lower, I am saddened by the results of this pole.

Here’s your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation. NBC is taking a poll on ‘In God We Trust’ to stay on our American currency. Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off the web page.

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MSNBC poll is still open so you can vote.

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VOTE SEE RESULTS HERE:

https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

The day: August 27

The show: Mythbusters

The myth: Was the moon landing faked?

That’s right.  The Mythbusters, famous for taking on myths of all sizes, are taking on the giant-sized myth that says the original USA moon landing was faked.  As it has not aired yet and their findings have not been revealed, this news is completely unbiased for those on both sides of the fence.  Yes, there have been documentaries on this topic, but they didn’t involve Adam and Jamie, now did they? 😆

Here’s some sneak previews I ran across:

I meant to post this a few days ago in response to the conviction of Ralph Lewis in the fatal accident that killed 16-year-old Corey Diamond (CLICK HERE FOR STORY).  Apparently the jury didn’t take much time, under three hours in fact, in deciding that yes, he is guilty of first-degree murder.  This story made me wonder just what constitutes first-degree murder.  I had always thought that first-degree murder was a premeditated killing.  The killer planned to kill someone and then carried it out.  Maybe the plan wasn’t always long and drawn out, but could have been mere seconds ago, “Okay, I’ve drawn my gun and I’m going to shoot you now.”  That would cover killing police and vicims in armed robbery.

So what happened in the case of Ralph Lewis killing Corey Diamond?  Well, apparently Lewis was trying to get away from police after a botched attempt to make a purchase from a store using false ID.  He wove in and out of traffic and through red lights until finally smashing into the car where Diamond was a passenger.  Now, in my mind, first-degree murder in this death would have meant Lewis thought to himself while trying to get away from the police, “Hey, here’s a car with some people in it- I think I’ll just crash my truck into it and see if I can kill anyone.”  This of course is not what happened and even the article discussing his conviction doesn’t say it happened this way.  So it would seem that I am wrong in what constitutes first-degree murder.  Here’s what Wikipedia says about the subject:

After the Supreme Court placed new requirements on the imposition of the death penalty, most states adopted one of two schemes. In both, third degree murder became the catch-all, while first degree murder was split. The difference was whether some or all first degree murders should be eligible for the most serious penalty (generally death, but sometimes life in prison without the possibility of parole.).

• The first scheme, used by Pennsylvania among other states:

1. First Degree Murder: A premeditated murder, and (in some states) murders involving certain especially dangerous felonies, such as arson or rape, or committed by an inmate serving a life sentence.
2. Second Degree Murder: Non pre-meditated killing.
3. Third Degree Murder: Any other murder.

• The second scheme, used by New York among other states, as well as the Model Penal Code:

1. First Degree Murder: Murder involving special circumstances, such as murder of a police officer, judge, fireman or witness to a crime; multiple murders; and torture or especially heinous murders. Note that a “regular” premeditated murder, absent such special circumstances, is not a first-degree murder; murders by poison or “lying in wait” are not per se first-degree murders. First degree murder is pre-meditated. ^[55] However, the New York Court of Appeals struck down the death penalty as unconstitutional in the case of People v. Taylor.^[56]
2. Second Degree Murder: Any premeditated murder or felony murder that does not involve special circumstances.^[57]

The death of Corey Diamond doesn’t seem to fit the definition of any of these.  But then Wikipedia just has a generalized definition for the entire US.  As this happened in Illinois, a look at IL law is necessary.  From the Illinois Criminal Code of 1961:

(a) A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits first degree murder if, in performing the acts which cause the death:

(1) he either intends to kill or do great bodily harm

to that individual or another, or knows that such acts will cause death to that individual or another; or

(2) he knows that such acts create a strong

probability of death or great bodily harm to that individual or another; or

(3) he is attempting or committing a forcible felony

other than second degree murder.

The rest of this section of code is about the death penalty.  As far as this case goes, apparently they got Lewis on the second one listed.  My own thought on first-degree murder seems to be contained in the first part and so was clearly limited, at least in Illinois law.  So it sounds like any time someone does something that they know could lead to “a strong probability of death or great bodily harm” to someone they could be found guilty of first-degree murder.  Is it just me or does this seem kind of broad?  Say in the classic example of moving a very heavy object like a piano or safe either to or from a second (or higher) story room using a rope and going through the window.  Now suppose, also from the classic example, that the rope breaks just as someone is passing under so that the piano/safe kills the person.  By Illinois law, the people moving the piano/safe are guilty of first-degree murder since they knew there was a possibility that the rope could break, causing the death of anyone who happens to be passing below at the time!

Am I just being pedantic about all of this, or does this case make you wonder too?  I’m not saying that Lewis was completely innocent of everything and should walk away scott-free.  Crimes were clearly committed, but should one of them have been counted first-degree murder?  Please discuss.

How does a techie solve a Rubik’s Cube?  Simple, he builds a machine to do it!  Even geekier is the fact that the machine is made out of Legos.  Check it out:

Original site:  Tilted Twister

Maybe not, but this 11-year old has the makings of a civil servant one day.  Upset about speeders, he decided to do something about it.  He dressed up in a helmet and reflective vest, armed himself with a toy radar gun, and stood off to the side of the road measuring the speed of drivers coming down the road.  Let me just post the article for you.  It’s short, but to see a picture click on the link below.  It’s also almost a week old, so you may have already read it.  I just discovered it today, so tough. 🙂

Boy, 11, tracks speeders with toy radar gun

Wed Jul 16, 7:59 PM ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Police can’t be everywhere, so 11-year-old Landon Wilburn is on patrol in the Stone Lakes subdivision in Louisville. Landon told The Courier-Journal he used to shout at speeders to slow down — then had a better idea.

Dressed in a reflective vest, wearing a bicycle helmet and armed with a Hot Wheels brand radar gun, he points and records the speed of passing traffic.

The boy also carries a flashlight with a built-in siren.

Subdivision resident George Ayers said he has seen drivers lock up their brakes when they saw Landon clocking them.

Officials say the city will install speed humps in the neighborhood if 70 percent of residents agree and are willing to put up half the money.

Normally I just roll my eyes to yet some other scandal happening in sports.  Athletes are given god-like status by many fans, so why shouldn’t they act like egotistical know-it-alls {sarcasm}?  Today, it seems Little League teams are no longer allowed to use the names of actual major league teams due to trademarks.  Not just the logos- the names too.  That is, unless MLB gets its share of the pie by forcing the Little League to use their “approved” uniform manufacturer.  How cold can their greedy hearts get?  Now, to be fair, the trademark office requires companies to actively enforce compliance or risk losing their trademarks; and the MLB could have been threatened with that from said trademark office, but I really doubt it.  I remember when I was in intermediate league one year and was on the Astros.  A friend of mine was on the Phillies.  Today we would probably be on the Oranges and Greens thanks to this ridiculous enforcement.  What happened to just giving a nod and a wink because you support youth sports?  It sounds like they support $$$ more.  Here’s a link to the story:

Major League Baseball Tells Little Leaguers: We Own Uniform Rights