...And Justice For All

Well, today I was forced to take part in one of the least favorite services for our government - the dreaded jury duty!

Normally, I wouldn't have really minded too much, because essentially it's a long day of waiting, and I get a good bit of reading done. Today wasn't really any different in that respect, except for the fact that I haven't had to do this on my current schedule.

What the day boiled down to was me waking up on Monday at 2:45pm, and not getting any sleep until 4:45pm Tuesday. The 26 hour day is not something that I recommend. In the days of my youth I've done longer, but it was always for a good cause, or, more likely, a good time. Now that I'm old, and the fact that my "day+" began with a full shift at both of my jobs, it was that much more interesting.

I was still awake enough that I never nodded, even though it was getting really difficult not to towards the afternoon. I should have been wide awake, since waiting in a jury selection room is such gripping stuff, and besides - there were TV's with soap operas and talk shows on too! (with the volume at maximum annoyance level - just loud enough that you can hear it, but not loud enough to actually be able to make out any of the words).

I was amazed at how dumb people are. Not that I don't spend a good portion of my day doing that, but we're talking rare specimens here. Of the 189 people that showed up, about 75% of them were unable to correctly fill out the small questionaire attached to the summons. This form included such doozies as "employer" and "home phone". I lucked out, and didn't have to have my name called to come fix anything, but I'm going to go snag a jury summons for dummies book just to be safe for next time.

Once you were called to come fix the form you had neglected to correctly complete, you were to put it face down in a tray on the tables at the front of the room. There were people that sat back down with their form in hand, ones that tried to hand it over to the orientation speaker, others that started to take it out to the front desk, a bunch that just sort of wandered around looking lost in a 3' circle until someone else put theirs where it belonged.

The topper on this was that the speaker was amazingly thorough, and obviously has been through this sea of Mensa before. She litterally repeated all important points of her speech three times. Even with those precautions, we were still quite a collective.

I had a comedian bailiff for the first trial I was pulled upstairs for. He was quite good. The judge looked like Tom Kinney, and I was excused from that trial. It was for a bunch of drug charges, as we were in the courthouse on "criminal case" Tuesday apparently.

Lunch was supposed to be around 1pm, but we had an announcement that there was only one trial left for the day(the calendar had begun with 27) and if we waited a little beyond 1pm, we may just be able to go home. That turned out to be a cruel jest, especially for someone as eager for sleep as myself. We were informed at 2:15pm that selection had not been made, and we were not only going to have a shortened lunch hour, but we would need to report up in the courtroom afterwards.

I struck out to Market Street, and snagged a slice of pizza and a Tastycake because you need organic healthfood when you're preparing your mind for serving the judiciary system.

Up to the second courtroom, without a cool bailiff, and without a celebrity clone judge either. I ended up being excused from that trial as well, which was another drug case. I was done with that at 3:15pm

Knowing that I was "technically" done for the day then, it was all the more nerve-wracking to remain in the jury selection room until 4:30pm, when we were finally allowed to go home.

In hindsight, I suppose it was my fault. Towards the end, I was starting to blur words together when I was trying to read. I decided that if I got up, and went into the back room with the vending machines and few PC's for internet surfing, that would cause things to be set into motion.

It's the same uncanny effect that I have on traffic, in that in a jam of any sort, no matter what lane I'm in will invariably become the slowest. I have proven this in a double-blind study, even though it was hard to explain the blindfolds to the police officer at the time.

This mutant ability to set things into motion at inopportune times is something that I've learned to twist to my advantage in the past. When someone is running late, whether I'm entertaining, or being picked up for any reason, I will begin some involved task, and it summons the tardy party almost instantly.

In my defense for recalcitrance today, I can only say that I was quite fatigued, and didn't think of going to check my email sooner.

The good news is that the earliest I'll get summoned again is 2 years from now.

The bad news is that I didn't get chosen for a jury.

I don't know why, but whenever I come to the sidebar review with the judge, and explain that I have an Old Testament sense of justice, and would enjoy punishing the wicked, I never seem to get to stick around...

This Cold

Although we're no where near record-breaking temperatures right now, this isn't exactly the sort of weather you want your heater to go belly up in...unless you're me.

I love "the cold", but I can't say I love "this cold". The whole house is just a series of portable heaters to try to keep things livable.

I got a tech to take a look. It appears that my heater is a collectors edition, so they recommend replacing it utterly. Since that's $4000, we'll be taking another route.

The heater itself works fine, but the blower motor is what has gone kaput(actually it goes more like bzzzzzzzzzzt every time it tries to kick on - I thought it was the dryer going off at first). To replace the motor is a mere $669, so even though I'm not crazy about that idea either, it's on order as we speak.

I suppose that it could be worse, but I really wish this could have gone wrong in a warmer month.

I am going to give you all a free prognostication. If you're unsure whether to plan an outdoor event next week, go ahead and make it happen.

I'm getting a heater fixed, so I guarantee milder temps, and sunny skies...

Stardust

Any Gaiman news is good news, as long as it's not a retirement announcement.

It appears that his story Stardust is going to be on a screen near us in the near future.

Although I would love to see almost any of his stories in the movies, this one could be very good.

It's going to be directed by Matthew Vaughn. He's not what I would call my first choice, but he's definitely an interesting choice. You may or may not have seen his debut film, Layer Cake, but it's definitely worth seeing.

I'm confident that Neil isn't going to just hand the keys to one of his treasures to anyone, so I'm sure that he sees the seeds of something special. It's a bit of an enigmatic choice for me, but at the same time it's very intriguing.

They've already gathered a good portion of the players, and they all sound pretty good. You may have heard of Robert De Niro, Michele Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, and Sienna Miller. They're all joined by Charlie Cox as the hero Tristran.

Like I said at the top, I'm all for more Gaiman on the loose. If they continue to do this, and they succeed, then maybe we'll get to see more. I would love to see American Gods directed by the Cohen Brothers...or David Fincher get his fangs into a decent portion of The Sandman storyline...maybe I could get a big budget Neverwhere with Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam co-directing...

Overjoyed

Although I’m only now posting about my friends Dave and Catherine’s wedding(which was last Friday), it only speaks to my schedule, and not to my pleasure at being invited.

From start to finish, it was a wonderful evening, and I hope that they were able to appreciate just how well things seemed to get along. They deserve to have such a special day go so flawlessly. [Don’t have any concerns about not lighting the unity candle on the first try. The same thing happened to me, and several other weddings I’ve been to recently. I think that the candle makers doctor the middle candle’s wick just to add drama to wedding ceremonies]

The ceremony itself was held at the Wayside Chapel. This was a small, intimate place, and it perfectly conveyed that feeling. The music was lovely, and Christine’s singing was impressive. Even the Bible verses that were read were some of my favorites. If you ever want to read the Bible on a strictly poetic basis, take a look at the Song of Solomon. The ceremony wasn’t overly long, and seemed just right. It was hard not to feel the “rightness” of the marriage when you could see the love on the bride and groom’s faces. Marriage is the last great covenant that we have in the modern world, and I treat it with all the respect that it deserves. I enjoy seeing a man and a woman truly commit to one another, and I was honored to be allowed to bear witness.

The reception was only a few minutes away at a very nice inn. The room was perfectly suited for the group, feeling cozy but not crowded in any way. The tables looked wonderful, and the food turned out to be a match for the whole room itself.

The band was amazing! In the time between when the guests arrived and the bridal party attended, the band was noodling around with a few tunes. They even caused every guy at my table to perk up when they teased us with the opening chords of “The Wind Cries Mary”. All was forgiven when they actually played their version of “Little Wing”. They wove a Celtic strain through all of their songs, and it seemed to shine like gilt thread in the candlelight. The song selection was expectedly groovy given the couple, and I don’t think anyone left without enjoying themselves. It was a rare treat to be able to hear a real band play good music that flowed effortlessly from the traditional to the contemporary. I’m sure they weren’t purchased lightly, but they were well worth what they added to the night.

I was able to see a few friends that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. (Good to see you again, Brian. We longhairs must show our solidarity. Good to see you too, Mike. I don’t know if it was the Monkey or just you on that dance floor, but you were tearing it up for a white boy). I didn’t know many people there, but had a nice time getting to know the friends at my table.

I may not be Dave’s oldest friend, or best friend, but he’s one of mine. I am very lucky to have him, and I was blessed to be a part of his wedding celebration. While I have only known Catherine a short time, I’ve felt like a friend from the beginning. Although I’m sure Dave filled her in, I tend to think that it’s her way to share her heart with people. I’m very happy that she allowed my wife and I to come and join them on such a memorable day. I look forward to spending more time with the both of them.

I’ve been in a good mood since that evening, and I hope that wedded bliss is more than a cute little phrase to describe the happiness that both Catherine and Dave experience for many years to come. I’m so ecstatic for you both!

My earnest and continued prayers for you both are for all the love and happiness that you richly deserve together. May you continue to court each other, and grow in the knowledge of each other separately and as one.

{my apologies for the silly picture - it couldn't be helped}

Wild Thing

I have another brazier of hot movie goodness for you to warm up to.

"Cautiously Optimistic" is the reaction that I have gotten from most people when they heard about the Dark Crystal sequel in the works.

Now, there is another beloved classic on it's way to the screen. Not a sequel this time, but a live action film feature-length film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are"!

If you're unfamiliar with the book, then you should order it on Amazon now, or better yet, don't wait for shipping, and just grab a copy at the nearest bookstore. The artwork is fantastic, and the quirky story is just wonderful. This is one of those books that falls in the category of "all-time classic children's books".

While I'm not entirely sure how they'll stretch the story into a movie, it does have the author's blessing. It also has an interesting director, and one whose work I do enjoy. Spike Jonze is at the helm, and also co-wrote the script.

If you want to see the limited details so far, then let the rumpus begin.

Katherine Keener is set to play the mother in the film, and she mentions some cool tidbits here.

I love the idea of filming in the other-worldly locales of New Zealand, and the fact that Henson's team will be working on the monsters is perfection.

This is shaping up to have all the right pieces in place. Now, I just have to wait to see who they cast as Max, and just how cool he looks in his wolf suit...