but geez, wouldn't that make a cool Supreme Court case? Godzilla v. Mothra. How could SCOTUS make a decision? Which ever big, bad ass monster they decide against would go on a rampage, destroying Washington D.C. That'd probably make the court less likely to accept cases involving giant monsters and superpowered beings.
and what about Ecks v. Sever? The justices would all be killed in the resulting gun-and-martial-arts battle.
Friday, January 31, 2003
from Appellateblog, An interesting ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit:
Sharply divided en banc Tenth Circuit, by vote of 6-4, rules that a Kansas appellate court could hold defendants guilty of crime for which they were not charged, tried, or convicted.
In these consolidated appeals, one habeas corpus petitioner had been convicted of indecent liberties with a child, while the other habeas petitioner had been convicted of rape. Under Kansas law, because the victims of both crimes were close relations of the offenders, the proper criminal charge that should have been brought against both offenders was the charge of aggravated incest. On appeal in the Kansas state court system, appellate courts corrected the error themselves, changing the defendants' convictions in both instances to convictions for aggravated incest.
The majority opinion began by noting that "Petitioners-appellants Steven D. Beem and Donald H. Henson, Jr. sought habeas corpus relief in federal district court, 28 U.S.C. sec. 2254, arguing that the Kansas state courts violated their federal constitutional rights by sentencing them for aggravated incest -- a crime for which they had never been charged, tried, or convicted." By a vote of 6-4, the en banc court affirmed the federal district court's denials of these petitioners' habeas petitions.
Now, most of my legal training came from watching Perry Mason and The Practice, so reading the actual ruling is something of a headache for me to try to comprehend. I rely on the Appellateblog summarization, but, by what's provided, I agree with the lead dissenting opinion on this:
In the present case, the majority has ignored the Supreme Court's mandate in Cole. Mr. Henson was charged, tried, and convicted of rape, and Mr. Beem was charged, tried, and convicted of indecent liberties with a minor. As the Kansas Court of Appeals in these cases held (based on Carmichael), under Kansas law, both should have been charged, tried, and convicted of aggravated incest. Vacating Mr. Henson's and Mr. Beem's sentences and then sentencing them instead for aggravated incest (because their conduct also violates that statute) clearly violates Petitioners' due process rights because they were never charged, tried, nor convicted of aggravated incest. As this court previously stated, "[w]hat . . . is before us now is the fundamental due process question of whether one can be sentenced for a crime not charged and to which no plea of guilty has been entered. The answer is an unequivocal no." Von Atkinson v. Smith, 575 F.2d 819, 821 (10th Cir. 1978) (applying Cole)
I haven't been able to find anything else on this (mainly, I think, because they aren't conveniently named things like Godzilla v. Mothra. Or they may be and I missed it). I'm waiting to see if anyone picks this up and breaks it down for the Judiacially Challenged such as myself.
Sharply divided en banc Tenth Circuit, by vote of 6-4, rules that a Kansas appellate court could hold defendants guilty of crime for which they were not charged, tried, or convicted.
In these consolidated appeals, one habeas corpus petitioner had been convicted of indecent liberties with a child, while the other habeas petitioner had been convicted of rape. Under Kansas law, because the victims of both crimes were close relations of the offenders, the proper criminal charge that should have been brought against both offenders was the charge of aggravated incest. On appeal in the Kansas state court system, appellate courts corrected the error themselves, changing the defendants' convictions in both instances to convictions for aggravated incest.
The majority opinion began by noting that "Petitioners-appellants Steven D. Beem and Donald H. Henson, Jr. sought habeas corpus relief in federal district court, 28 U.S.C. sec. 2254, arguing that the Kansas state courts violated their federal constitutional rights by sentencing them for aggravated incest -- a crime for which they had never been charged, tried, or convicted." By a vote of 6-4, the en banc court affirmed the federal district court's denials of these petitioners' habeas petitions.
Now, most of my legal training came from watching Perry Mason and The Practice, so reading the actual ruling is something of a headache for me to try to comprehend. I rely on the Appellateblog summarization, but, by what's provided, I agree with the lead dissenting opinion on this:
In the present case, the majority has ignored the Supreme Court's mandate in Cole. Mr. Henson was charged, tried, and convicted of rape, and Mr. Beem was charged, tried, and convicted of indecent liberties with a minor. As the Kansas Court of Appeals in these cases held (based on Carmichael), under Kansas law, both should have been charged, tried, and convicted of aggravated incest. Vacating Mr. Henson's and Mr. Beem's sentences and then sentencing them instead for aggravated incest (because their conduct also violates that statute) clearly violates Petitioners' due process rights because they were never charged, tried, nor convicted of aggravated incest. As this court previously stated, "[w]hat . . . is before us now is the fundamental due process question of whether one can be sentenced for a crime not charged and to which no plea of guilty has been entered. The answer is an unequivocal no." Von Atkinson v. Smith, 575 F.2d 819, 821 (10th Cir. 1978) (applying Cole)
I haven't been able to find anything else on this (mainly, I think, because they aren't conveniently named things like Godzilla v. Mothra. Or they may be and I missed it). I'm waiting to see if anyone picks this up and breaks it down for the Judiacially Challenged such as myself.
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
I'm crossing my fingers…
My Buffy season 3 DVD set should be in today.
That will be the only time I order something important from the video store. I ordered and paid for it 7 weeks ago, and I've been waiting not-so-patiently for it to arrive. You know what really sucks about that? Other video stores have had it for some time while I've had to wait.
My Buffy season 3 DVD set should be in today.
That will be the only time I order something important from the video store. I ordered and paid for it 7 weeks ago, and I've been waiting not-so-patiently for it to arrive. You know what really sucks about that? Other video stores have had it for some time while I've had to wait.
David Greenwalt talks about the Angel season 1 DVD set and DVD sets in general. sorta. (via WHEDONesque)
Same website: Wherehouse Music Seeks Chapter 11 Protection. Setting aside the share of blame they give to illegal music downloading, the other major factor they attribute is... competition. "If it weren't for those damned competitors, we'd be doing great!" Fa la la
Same website: Wherehouse Music Seeks Chapter 11 Protection. Setting aside the share of blame they give to illegal music downloading, the other major factor they attribute is... competition. "If it weren't for those damned competitors, we'd be doing great!" Fa la la
Monday, January 27, 2003
from the TVtracker daily ratings analysis:
"On Fox, the Friday news remains grim with recently relocated drama Fastlane (#4: 3.8/ 6) and the once relatively promising John Doe (#5: 3.4/ 5)."
Friday nights will kill these shows (not that either deserves to live. To put it in perspective, Firefly started around 4.1 and slid to just under 3.0).
And FOX still fucking sucks.
And Jayne is still yummy.
Friday, January 24, 2003
Coming to Lifetime Movie Network: "On the Edge of Innocence"
A rebellious 17-year-old manic depressive is committed to a mental hospital after she starts skipping her medication. When she becomes romantically involved with a fellow patient, her psychiatrist tries to break up the relationship, forcing the troubled teens to flee for the Mexican border, encountering trouble along the way.
Forced to flee to the border!
I love this network. I've never actually watched it, but I'm reading through a movie synopsis for March and it's hilarious. All of these women in all of these unfortunate, often bizarre circumstances. It's not all murder. Sometimes, it's women facing suspicions when long-thought-dead relatives turn up to claim inheritences, or "emotional and financial distress when a business tycoon decides to buy their property, which would sever their longtime roots in a Nova Scotia fishing community."
A rebellious 17-year-old manic depressive is committed to a mental hospital after she starts skipping her medication. When she becomes romantically involved with a fellow patient, her psychiatrist tries to break up the relationship, forcing the troubled teens to flee for the Mexican border, encountering trouble along the way.
Forced to flee to the border!
I love this network. I've never actually watched it, but I'm reading through a movie synopsis for March and it's hilarious. All of these women in all of these unfortunate, often bizarre circumstances. It's not all murder. Sometimes, it's women facing suspicions when long-thought-dead relatives turn up to claim inheritences, or "emotional and financial distress when a business tycoon decides to buy their property, which would sever their longtime roots in a Nova Scotia fishing community."
Thursday, January 23, 2003
A quick rundown of today:
1. At around 3am, power went off at my apartment again. Repeat of Sunday (grrr), only this time, it wasn't restored until 8:40am. My alarm clock has no batteries,so I awoke when the heater and my fans kicked on. I was two hours, thirty minutes late for work. /cheer Temperature in apartment when I awoke: 40 degrees. No hot water. Makes for a grouchy Terrence.
2. Workload maintained at level of the previous 5 weeks, i.e., twice as much as normal due to #3.
3. Long ass, boring meeting this afternoon with 75 other people. Very boring and quite long ass. Topic: How to find another job. Our jobs are going away over the next several months to Pennsylvania. They originally told us that in a November meeting, but today's meeting was to let us know that the time table has been moved up. Some groups will be leaving months earlier than originally planned. My group was scheduled to go sometime around July 1. Now, we'll be leaving… around July 1. We'll find out definite date ranges next week. Also, we're not being Laid Off. We're being "Transitioned" (thank god, 'cause I'd cry if this was a lay off). And they did spend the bulk of the two hour meeting going over tips for a better resume and cover letter, and even roleplayed an example of an interview.
1. At around 3am, power went off at my apartment again. Repeat of Sunday (grrr), only this time, it wasn't restored until 8:40am. My alarm clock has no batteries,so I awoke when the heater and my fans kicked on. I was two hours, thirty minutes late for work. /cheer Temperature in apartment when I awoke: 40 degrees. No hot water. Makes for a grouchy Terrence.
2. Workload maintained at level of the previous 5 weeks, i.e., twice as much as normal due to #3.
3. Long ass, boring meeting this afternoon with 75 other people. Very boring and quite long ass. Topic: How to find another job. Our jobs are going away over the next several months to Pennsylvania. They originally told us that in a November meeting, but today's meeting was to let us know that the time table has been moved up. Some groups will be leaving months earlier than originally planned. My group was scheduled to go sometime around July 1. Now, we'll be leaving… around July 1. We'll find out definite date ranges next week. Also, we're not being Laid Off. We're being "Transitioned" (thank god, 'cause I'd cry if this was a lay off). And they did spend the bulk of the two hour meeting going over tips for a better resume and cover letter, and even roleplayed an example of an interview.
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Mr. Pointy, a Buffy script/transcript dialogue search. My first search, for "Computers don't smell," came up empty. Misspelled words in the transcripts can cause some problems. Via WHEDONesque:
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
Jason and I were talking the other night about various console games, and we decided suddenly to buy a Gamecube. And six games. I haven't made my way through them yet. I've only tried a little of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, but I spent a lot of time on Hunter: the Reckoning, one of the two games for which I wanted an Xbox (the other being, of course, Buffy).
"Hunter" is based on the White Wolf pen-and-paper role playing game of the same name. I enjoy a good hack'n'slash video game, and Hunter certainly doesn't fail there. Hordes of zombies, gargoyles, and other unidentifiable undead come relentlessly. It's grand fun for up to four players.
It's a bit different from the normal hack'n'slash in that you can choose one of four "Creeds" (no, not that one), or character archetypes, that has a distinct role, with appropriate "Edges" ('supernatural' abilities, though if you're familar with the RPG you'll now why "supernatural" isn't right) to fulfill that role. Edges aren't your only weapon/defense though. Each character starts with a melee weapon (sword, axe, knives) and a ranged weapon (mostly firearms, but one has a crossbow), and there's also a variety of weapons you can pick up along the way, from shotguns to chainsaws.
The first night we played, we were up well past sunrise. It's a kick ass game, everything I'd hoped it'd be, and well worth the cash if you like that sort of game. It stays mostly true to the game on which it's based, and has a decent storyline to follow. It can be tough too. Jason and I together only made it through a few chapters (the toughest part we played so far was the part where you have to keep the little girl alive as you escort her through the cemetary to a church where her parents wait. The girl is stupid and slow. She runs for the nearest player instead of the one safest, that is, the one who's not actively engaged in serious smackdown with some walking dead. I wanted to let her die, but you can't continue without protecting her, and since I was playing the Creed: Defender, it was kind of my job to hold her hand throughout). If we restart, without the learning curve, we'd do much better and get to see much more of it. If we could get a couple of other people to play with us to fill out the party, I've no doubt that we'd own those zombie hordes.
Now that Hunter is out of the way, I wanted to add that Jason (who works evenings) has me doing the same thing for him. I'm turning on the stupid lighthouse at 6pm.
"Hunter" is based on the White Wolf pen-and-paper role playing game of the same name. I enjoy a good hack'n'slash video game, and Hunter certainly doesn't fail there. Hordes of zombies, gargoyles, and other unidentifiable undead come relentlessly. It's grand fun for up to four players.
It's a bit different from the normal hack'n'slash in that you can choose one of four "Creeds" (no, not that one), or character archetypes, that has a distinct role, with appropriate "Edges" ('supernatural' abilities, though if you're familar with the RPG you'll now why "supernatural" isn't right) to fulfill that role. Edges aren't your only weapon/defense though. Each character starts with a melee weapon (sword, axe, knives) and a ranged weapon (mostly firearms, but one has a crossbow), and there's also a variety of weapons you can pick up along the way, from shotguns to chainsaws.
The first night we played, we were up well past sunrise. It's a kick ass game, everything I'd hoped it'd be, and well worth the cash if you like that sort of game. It stays mostly true to the game on which it's based, and has a decent storyline to follow. It can be tough too. Jason and I together only made it through a few chapters (the toughest part we played so far was the part where you have to keep the little girl alive as you escort her through the cemetary to a church where her parents wait. The girl is stupid and slow. She runs for the nearest player instead of the one safest, that is, the one who's not actively engaged in serious smackdown with some walking dead. I wanted to let her die, but you can't continue without protecting her, and since I was playing the Creed: Defender, it was kind of my job to hold her hand throughout). If we restart, without the learning curve, we'd do much better and get to see much more of it. If we could get a couple of other people to play with us to fill out the party, I've no doubt that we'd own those zombie hordes.
Now that Hunter is out of the way, I wanted to add that Jason (who works evenings) has me doing the same thing for him. I'm turning on the stupid lighthouse at 6pm.
Tonight's Buffy is a new episode, "Potential."
I missed it before, but now that I know about it, I'm sharing: Jean has started a TV Guide Spoiler Topic over on her forums. You can check on the TV Guide summaries for future episodes of Buffy and Angel, and talk about 'em there.
I missed it before, but now that I know about it, I'm sharing: Jean has started a TV Guide Spoiler Topic over on her forums. You can check on the TV Guide summaries for future episodes of Buffy and Angel, and talk about 'em there.
Because Hotmail is crap, I've updated my email address. If you've been using the stinky fish address, just change the domain name (see sidebar) and I'll get it.
I was able to get to my Hotmail yesterday, and I've forwarded everything to the new addy. I'm still going through and replying to everyone. Give me a wee bit o' time.
I was able to get to my Hotmail yesterday, and I've forwarded everything to the new addy. I'm still going through and replying to everyone. Give me a wee bit o' time.
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Woot! I knew I wasn't wrong about using a comma before an and. Now I can stop editing them out when I review the papers, reports, and blog entries I write, and I can feel good about it not doing it.
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Garth Franklin of Dark Horizons gives some "links, rankings and quotes from my reviews for the creme de la crap that blinded us in 2002."
I haven't seen some of the films he lists (The Master of Disguise and Texas Rangers) and one I hadn't even heard of (Abandon). Of the ones I have seen, for the most part, I agree with him (though I did like Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. C'mon! It's a shoot 'em up with lots of explosions. Who needs a story?). His list of "Other Notable Fizzers" contains one that amused me (Big Fat Lier) and one that really cracked me up (The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, but probably not for the reasons that the producers, studio or Steve and Terri Irwin hoped for).
I haven't seen some of the films he lists (The Master of Disguise and Texas Rangers) and one I hadn't even heard of (Abandon). Of the ones I have seen, for the most part, I agree with him (though I did like Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. C'mon! It's a shoot 'em up with lots of explosions. Who needs a story?). His list of "Other Notable Fizzers" contains one that amused me (Big Fat Lier) and one that really cracked me up (The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, but probably not for the reasons that the producers, studio or Steve and Terri Irwin hoped for).