News. (To me.)
Jul. 28th, 2011 09:27 amA few days later [in June 2011] on the opposite side of the Atlantic, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed a bill into law that makes it a crime to use the web to "transmit or display an image" that could "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" to anyone who sees it. Those found guilty face a maximum of one year in jail and a $2500 fine.[1]And, on the flipside
The US Supreme Court recently struck down a 2005 California ban on the sale of violent video games to those under eighteen. Speaking for the majority in the court's 7-2 ruling, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia wrote "California's argument would fare better if there were a longstanding tradition in this country of specially restricting children's access to depictions of violence, but there is none." He went on to cite the circulation of Grimm's fairy tales to children. "The basic principles of freedom of speech and the press, like the First Amendment's command, do not vary when a new and different medium for communication appears."I'm annoyed by the first and relieved by the second, but... why on earth am I hearing about this from the latest issue of Rue Morgue, again?
The clerk at Mags'n'Fags was stocking the shelves and offered it when she saw I had the last issue, and I picked it up on impulse, since the cover had a Fright Night splash and a mention of a new John Shirley collection. (Also, I think I need to take a look at Haven; I do not have enough creepy in my TV viewing.) I've been sort of looking forward to it--Fright Night--since I saw the trailer and pegged the movie at the thirty-six second mark.[2]
This vaguely confuses me since I never saw the movie. I recognize the cover art, sure, but I am thinking I actually need to skip the articles on it since they are absolutely full of spoilers, and I persist in misremembering the line on the back of the VHS case as "Michael likes his drinks warm, red--and straight from the jugular!" Michael being the mortal protagonist, I am clearly off-base. (And now I'm just wondering even more how I recognized the movie, since misremembering the villain's name so throughly means it wasn't his introduction that tipped me off.)
Huh. Apparently Haven is based off Stephen King's The Colorado Kid. Will see if it feels as much like King as happytown did.
This early morning (relatively) rambling has been brought to you by an internet connection and fifteen minutes of free time.
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[1] Also, apparently there is no use for the Oxford comma in the writing of Tennessee bills. Not overly impressed.
[2] In a fit of "I am in early, yay," I just grabbed the trailer and checked.