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[DERBRUCER]

TOD:

I think before anything becomes a LAW - it should be legislated NOT adjudicated.  The idea that a judge SOMEWHERE can say THIS IS THE LAW and the entire country has to abide by HIS opinion is ridic! (As they might say in WEST SIDE STORY).

I agree with your concerns; however, judicial legislating is usually the result of a court deciding, when petioned, what an exiating law, does, in fact, mean. Also, a Judicial decision does not extend beyond the courts jurisdiction (Iowa judges rulings only apply in Iowa, Federal 9 th District Court rulings do not apply in Indiana.) Courts often do back-door legislating by declaring that a particular law is not valid because it violates a Constitution (state or Federal).

Most of the complaints against judicial activism are not that the Judge has said "this is the law", but rather, has said "this is not (or may not be) the law".

Unfortunately our current society seems to support the concept that anything I don't like should be against the law. "I don't approve of condoms" - so outlaw condoms." "I don't believe in spanking my children" - pass a law that says you can't spank yours, either. "I don't want Fries with my Burger" - enact a law that says Burger King must sell salads. "I don't believe in God" - pass a law that says you can't proclaim you do. "I think talking on a cell phone while at a dining table is rude" - outlaw cell phone useage in restuarants ... wait a minute, mabe that's not so bad

Much judicial mischief is facilitated because legislatures craft sloppy laws!

der Brucer

[DERBRUCER]

I got a good laugh yesterday when my cell phone started ringing (it plays Tubular Bells).  

The 25 minutes of Part One, or the shorter 23.5 minutes of Part Two?

der Brucer

[Danise]

 

[George]

I'm happy to say that after lots of meetings over the last few weeks, all the money for our play is in place.

Congratulations!  So, when (not if) it's a huge success, are you heading to Broadway...or at least New York??

[TCB]

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY,

WEL!!!

[DERBRUCER]

From The Onion

White Foragers Report Threat Of Black Looters

NEW ORLEANS—Throughout the Gulf Coast, Caucasian suburbanites attempting to gather food and drink in the shattered wreckage of shopping districts have reported seeing African­Americans "looting snacks and beer from damaged businesses." "I was in the abandoned Wal-Mart gathering an air mattress so I could float out the potato chips, beef jerky, and Budweiser I'd managed to find," said white survivor Lars Wrightson, who had carefully selected foodstuffs whose salt and alcohol content provide protection against contamination. "Then I look up, and I see a whole family of [African-Americans] going straight for the booze. Hell, you could see they had already looted a fortune in diapers." Radio stations still in operation are advising store owners and white people in the affected areas to locate firearms in sporting-goods stores in order to protect themselves against marauding blacks looting gun shops.

der Brucer

[Cillaliz]

Whew! Finally caught up. Long day at work, about 11 hours.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, DR WILLIAM E. LURIE!!!

[DERBRUCER]

Perps, skells and stiffs: a user's guide
By Greg Braxton
Times Staff Writer

September 4, 2005
…
You don't have to be Jerry Bruckheimer to figure out that if you want to make it on TV, you write a procedural. Ready to try it? Here's a 10-step formula for stepping onto the well-beaten path:

1. The 'murder before the opening titles' setup

Atmosphere must be established with either moody electronic music or throbbing techno — violent crimes and murders are never underscored by Barry Manilow tunes or the caressing tones of Sarah McLachlan. Victims, who must be young and female, should be photogenic, work out regularly and be well dressed or, better yet, barely dressed.

2. The 'What d'ya got' scene

The star investigators must arrive at a crime scene walking at a regular pace or in slow motion. Dark trench coats are a must, and the stars should look properly stern and speak cryptically out of the sides of their mouths when asking officers at the scene, "Who's the stiff?" Detectives should possess a background in comedy or philosophy: Nothing kicks off a murder investigation or leads into the first commercial like words of wisdom or a morbid one-liner such as, "Dinner really did cost him an arm and a leg."
…
4. The eating scene

Early in the investigation, detectives must have some kind of food — preferably a hot dog from a park vendor or something else suitably nonnutritious (save those soy lattes for HBO!) that can be consumed on the run while discussing the case. But not all routine daily functions should be depicted. If a detective says, "Excuse me, I have to hit the head," he should not be referring to using the restroom.

5. The 'special guest star' role

When a B- or C-list movie star winds up on a procedural and acts like an innocent party, it's a pretty sure bet he or she will be the killer. Even fading stars have their pride, after all.
…
8. The chase scene

At some point, the investigators and a suspect will just happen to see each other in a market or on the street. Several seconds will pass while the suspect contemplates whether he should run. The suspect must always run, resulting in knocked-over pedestrians and crashing cars.
…
10. The 'alone again naturally' montage

Even though the detectives have once again solved another big case, their personal lives are still empty and lonely. They are shown alone at home feeding the cat, or walking aimlessly alone on a brightly lighted street.

Now is the time to cue the Barry Manilow.

(Excerpted from  LA Times)

[TCB]

Does anyone know where I can buy a copy (video, DVD) of a Stockard Channing film from 1976 called either Sweet Revenge or Dandy, the All-American Girl?  It costars Sam Waterston, and it was filmed here in Tacoma.  I have a friend (Yes, I do) who wants this movie in the worst way.  The only copy I found was on ebay from Great Britain, and it says that it is a PAL recording.  Can those be played in the States the Colonies?

[Cillaliz]

BB6,
Yes, I laughed when Janelle talked about Ivette's girlfriend. It was catty and I loved it.

I know Ivette went directly to April and Maggie and said Janelle and Howie wanted her to join them. She may just be doing it to make Maggie worry since she didn't use the veto to save Ivette. She'll stick with Maggie and April and lose the money.

The new America's Choice is lame, but I think we all need to vote for Janelle. She really doesn't have a chance to win the money with the make-up of the jury, but she really is my favorite and it would KILL the other three for her to win another America's Choice. Good enough for me

[Cillaliz]

TOD

I don't know if I even want to get started on this......

I think our election process is insane.  I hate political commercials and living in Iowa we have to watch them for 2 years!!!  The Iowa Caucuses are crazy - total insanity. I like being able to meet everyone who runs for president in someone's livingroom, but to have the party's nominees decided before the populated areas of the country get to vote is insane.

The electoral college makes no sense. I realize it's supposed to give the small states more of a say, but that hasn't turned out too well and I live in a small state. I'd scrap it.

I would make the judiciary stronger, not weaker.  It is supposed to be an equal branch of the government to protect us from Congress and the President going crazy over the issue de jour to the detriment of our civil rights. Right now the Bill of Rights has been reduced to a quaint notion. That has been a long slow process, can't blame it on the Republicans. But it's sad. When congressmen write letters to judges threatening them if they don't change rulings, we have lost the foundation of our system.

I would enforce the separation of church and state. Oh, yeah, that's one of those pesky rights that has eroded.

[Cillaliz]

I would stop the federalization of criminal law. It isn't right that in states where medical marijuana is legal, people can be prosecuted for violating federal law.  I would get rid of the death penalty, but if that didn't happen, the feds shouldn't be allowed to ask for it in states like Iowa where we don't have it.

I would require prosecutors to have some life experience and not be little robotrons who just got out of school, don't know what it's like to have things go wrong etc.  They have way too much power and no understanding of what it is to be a human.

[Cillaliz]

Let's see. We need tolerance. There is a great Teaching Tolerance by the Southern Center for Human Rights to be used in school. It should be mandatory.  

I would legalize many drugs and treat drug addiction as a health problem.

I would make it easier to become a citizen and to enter legally so that people who come here to work and are basically law abiding while they are here can come here.

[Cillaliz]

Ok, I'll step down for a little while, but that's really just a start.

[Cillaliz]

One other thing. I would love to see "The buck stops here" come back into favor. What's wrong with a little accountability? Why not say, this went wrong, I did it. How can we fix it?

[Cillaliz]

Wow! After that frenzy I may need some ice cream and I've already been to the Ice Cream Capital of the world once today

[George]

Does anyone know where I can buy a copy (video, DVD) of a Stockard Channing film from 1976 called either Sweet Revenge or Dandy, the All-American Girl?  It costars Sam Waterston, and it was filmed here in Tacoma.  I have a friend (Yes, I do) who wants this movie in the worst way.  The only copy I found was on ebay from Great Britain, and it says that it is a PAL recording.  Can those be played in the States the Colonies?

TCB, no, PAL video tapes will not work in US machines.  Technically, you could put it in the VCR and it will go through the process of playing, but you wouldn't see anything except static.  There are places that will convert them for you (one here in Olympia is relatively reasonable), but some places will keep the original and only let you have the copy, saying it's a copywrite issue, but I don't think that that's true.  The one place that I've taken videos to have converted (well, my sister's boyfriend actually took them for me) gave the originals back.

[Ben]

I had another thought regarding our East Coast shindig on October 5th. I think Jose had mentioned if Artie's is closed (because of Rosh Hashana) we could maybe go to Joe Allen's. As much as I like Joe Allen's, I think the possibility of getting a table for a large group such as ours on a Wednesday late afternoon (sometime after 6:30) between matinee and evening performances would be difficult. I just tried sending an e-mail to Artie's asking about their hours during the holidays and it came back as undeliverable. I'll try to call tomorrow. I think if we can't get into Artie's, we should try for the official Upper West Side hang out for HHW, La Concina. They have a large basement room which seems frequently unoccupied and they have vegetarian fare on the menu which is good for some of our celebrants.

Just a thought.

Later, gaters.

[George]

And if your friend really "wants this movie in the worst way," it might be worth it for him/her to get the PAL video and have it converted.  I think the place that I've used charged $20 if it's less than 2 hours.  That's pretty cheap for a movie that you can't get anywhere else in the world!

[bk]

Cillaliz, well put.

We're just hoping to make the production of the play as good as we can.  If it succeeds here, then we'll be inviting people in from NY to see it during the run.

[Cillaliz]

Thanks BK

[Matt H.]

After I cleaned the den tonight, I resumed the last 15 or 20 minutes of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. I then watched the Christopher Lee interview which is a special feature on the disc. Some lovely remembrances of making the film and of his friendship with Peter Cushing.

[Matt H.]

When this was over, I put in the DVD I had selected for tonight's viewing: THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.

I only got to see the first hour of it before VERONICA MARS came on, but it's as engrossing and beautiful as it ever was. This is another film I hadn't seen in years, and seeing things like the eerie, tragic beauty of the dead Shelley Winters in that pond is just mesmerizing. So many other directorial touches that make the film so special.

Makes one VERY sad Charles Laughton never directed another movie.

And how did Robert Mitchum not get an Oscar nomination for this performance? I guess the fact that the movie flopped at the box-office did him in, but he is really electric.

[bk]

I have finished watching Crash, about which more later.  I may start my Sabata movie now.

[Matt H.]

At the beginning of the NIGHT OF THE HUNTER DVD, we get those dreaded words "This movie has been modified from its original form. It has been framed to fit your screen." Of course, it DOESN'T fit my TV screen, but thankfully, I used one of the slight widescreen zoom modes on my set and it matted the image pretty perfectly to my eyes without making the image grainy or false looking.

I will be eager to finish this tomorrow.

[Matt H.]

VERONICA MARS had some astonishing revelations tonight, an episode just full of surprises every 10 minutes or so. Wow! I'm SO ready to see the conclusion of the murder mystery next week.

[Matt H.]

However, with the other viewing done tonight, I did not get around to RENO 911! so it'll have to be something I watch tomorrow while eating lunch.

[DearReaderLaura]

I don't have a den, so I worked outside today.

[DearReaderLaura]

TOD: Wouldn't it be a nicer world if everyone took responsibility for themselves and their families and then helped out others, when needed?

[DearReaderLaura]

Speaking of helping others, we have had a very nice response from the new neighborhood regarding the flyers I put out the other day asking for help stocking our childcare kits for the shelter work. People can be good.