June, 19, 2001 archives

so, the phantom menace is finally going to come out on dvd. right around my birthday, as it happens. but i don't want it! i'd rather have this movie. (i still haven't even seen phantom menace, but i'll probably put it in my netflix queue when it is released.)

speaking of movies, i watched se7en several times over the last few days (for the first time, and then to listen to a couple of the commentary tracks). i like david fincher's work, and the film is pretty good. but i knew a little too much about the ending going in (but not who played the killer, which was a cool surprise), and i don't think all of the killings fit into the pattern very well. (a slight non-sequitor: a group of bears is known as a sloth, and a group of apes is a shrewdness.)

one more movie-related tidbit. i watched all the president's men last night (catching up on another movie classic thanks to netflix), and it was very odd to see the dad from seventh heaven in the movie as the former treasurer of nixon's reelection campaign.

here's how i might spend my jury duty money.

verdict. kidnap with the intent to commit rape: not guilty (along with all lesser charges). sodomy of an unconscious victim: guilty. rape: guilty. (all links to approximate locations of the relevant california law. i didn't make note of the specific charges against the defendant.)

now that i've had a chance to look at the penal code, i'm a little surprised to learn that the kidnapping with the intent to commit rape charge carries the stiffest sentence (life with possibility of parole, compared to three to eight years each for the sodomy and rape charges).

more thoughts on the experience at a later date, maybe.

wow, you can now donate money to my alma mater online. cool. i think it is funny they're still using the page layout and graphics for the alumni association's website that i made shortly after i graduated six years ago. (except for the addition of two ugly logos for the companies that donated the hardware and connectivity.) maybe some year they'll complete the apparently arduous task of putting the alumni directory online. (i just don't have the heart to get involved.)