Supreme Court Decision

When I was in college, either five years ago -- according to John of Canterbury's reckoning -- or when the dinosaurs roamed, I refused to sign petitions. My parents paid for me to go to school, with no student loans or request to pay them back, and it seemed disrespectful to me to sign my name to a document which I knew they would disapprove of. The military looked at the family more closely back then, too.

I have always been aware that signing a petition meant I was making a public statement of my beliefs. So I was not shocked that the Supremes went 8 - 1 on the Doe versus Reed case about disclosure of petition signatories for ballot initiatives; they upheld the existing law that all of these were public. It's still possible to seek an exemption if it can be proved those signing face something more than simple harrassment.

Imagine my surprise at the number of people posting comments at the LATimes and Slate that this is equivalent to eliminating the secret ballot. Apparently, we are now on the road to becoming North Korea by the Supreme Court's decision to let this stand.

My point, which I made in the comments at both sites, is that the ballot is secret, but voter registration is not. I have to prove I am Fabrisse to get a ballot. If I live in a state without mail-in options, I must go to the polling place in order to vote. These are public acts, public declarations that I uphold my duties as a citizen in order to have my rights as a citizen.

Am I viewing this the wrong way? I don't want to have to learn Korean.

Wow!

I don't know why I've been such a chatty Cathy lately, but there you have it.

Anyway, I followed a link to a link to The Independent, as one does, and came across a review for an album called Requiem in Blue by Harvey Brough.

This means nothing to anyone, I know, but I followed a group called Harvey and the Wallbangers all around Europe for nearly two years. The idea that Harvey would be a classical composer is not completely unlikely -- he started as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral as a lad -- but I always thought he was more on the jazz side of things.

I'm happy that he's doing so well. Now, who can tell me what happened to Jeremy Taylor? I know at least something about all of the others.

Day 04 - Your favorite show ever

This one is tough in some ways. Ultimately, I have to go with Beauty and the Beast.

I don't think Linda Hamilton is or was a great actress, but Catherine was less important in many ways.

Vincent was a unique creation. Ron Perlman has said that much of Vincent's appeal was that people could see he was already the Prince whatever his exterior.

It was the first show I fought for. I wrote letters to CBS (hmm, that feels horribly familiar), and I bugged my friends to do the same. If I'd known about fanfiction back in the dark ages, I'd have written it.

My sister loved Catherine. The episode titled "A Happy Life" inspired her to go back to school, get her degree in film, and become a film editor. It hasn't been a smooth ride for her, that profession, but she loves what she does and is truly excellent at it. I just wish TV showrunners and movie producers recognized her talent.

My first episode was "Dead of Winter" which I still think is one of its best. The creation of the underground world was so detailed, and this mid winter festival of theirs with all the helpers invited was a stunning introduction. Beyond that, the use of quotations, always a feature of this show, was very intricate. I've never checked it, but I remember at the time telling my sister that not only had all the quotes come from Hamlet, I was pretty sure they were used in order.

Other than Vincent, the two best characters for me were the villains.

The mundane villain was Elliott Burch, and I cried when Edward Albert died because I remembered how much detail he'd brought to a character who was never going to be anything more than second best to Vincent, even if he hadn't started out as a ruthless millionaire.

Tony Jay's Paracelsus was the villain of the world below, and just as the underworld held fairy tale magic, so did Paracelsus -- of the Maleficent variety. (By the way, I thought it was hilarious that he also voiced one of the villains (Monsieur D'Arque) in the animated Beauty and the Beast.) His powers were legendary. A scientist who pursued the mystical arts of alchemy as well as being one of the founders of the world below, Paracelsus had a chilling voice and a knack for mythmaking that made him a formidable opponent.

George R.R. Martin was a producer and writer for the series. Two of my favorite episodes, the aforementioned "Dead of Winter" and "Ozymandias" which introduced the character of Elliott Burch (n.b. there were actually two prior Elliot Burch episodes, both of which I loved, but had forgotten about, "Siege" and "Shades of Gray") were his. He also wrote the pivotal Paracelsus episode, "Ceremony of Innocence."

These days one of the biggest moments of magic in watching the episodes on DVD are the shots of Manhattan with the twin towers shimmering in all the different lights at all the different times of day.