If you follow me on Twitter, or belong to any of the message boards I frequent, then you know last week I had to report for jury duty. It was my first time being called up, and it just so happened to fall the week after finals, so I had no excuse for pushing it off for another time (probably later in the summer).

I was under the mistaken belief that either I would be picked for a jury the first day, or they’d let me go. That was not the case; when they said to report for the week of May 11th, they meant the entire week. I was not picked for a jury on Monday, but still had to report back at 9am on Tuesday. Tuesday I was picked for a jury, but still had to report back at 9am on Wednesday… etc etc.

In total, I was on three juries: a civil case, a criminal domestic violence case, and a DUI case. Quite the variety. However, the latter two cases ended before we were able to make a decision. On the DUI case, we were sworn in and told to return to the courthouse after lunch, but when we came back we were told that they didn’t need us anymore… we assumed they’d reached some sort of agreement.

The CDV case was dismissed because there was no evidence and the woman must have changed her story (not completely sure on this, as we never saw the police report or heard the 911 call). Her story on the stand was… devoid of any activity that could be construed as domestic violence. One of two things occurred – either she initially called the police and wrongfully accused her spouse of domestic violence or he did actually harm her, they reconciled, and she changed her story to absolve him of guilt.

On the civil case I served as the jury foreperson, which was fairly interesting. I was also the only female on that particular jury… which reminds me…

It is fun to watch both parties try to form their “perfect” jury. For those who haven’t served on jury duty, or for those who have a different process, I’ll explain how it went for me. All the potential jurors were gathered into a large courtroom with the judge and both parties at the front. They call out names from the list of jurors, and when they call out your name you stand up and state a few things (your street address, occupation, and the occupation of your spouse/partner). Then, both parties can request that you be seated on the jury or excused from the jury.

I’m sure you can imagine how that goes. hah

In the interest of posting a music-themed entry, I’ll share some of Taylor’s current favorite songs. It’s a safe bet that any time I’m in the car with her, one of these songs will be playing:

“Heads Will Roll” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

“Lights Out” – Santogold

“Until We Bleed” – Kleerup ft Lykke Li

“Pirate Jenny” – Nina Simone (couldn’t find a video on youtube, so this will have to do)

Watchmen:
Reviews have been all across the board for this film, eh? From “AH! Perfection!” to “Eh” to “Guys, this is the worst film that will ever be made. Ever.”

I’ve read Watchmen quite a few times, and I knew about the “major” plot changes before going in. So, I had an idea of what to expect and I was not disappointed. I feel it is worth the price of admission…

That said, Watchmen is a HARD thing to translate to the screen. What they did with the movie was very to-the-book, save the plot changes mentioned above and a few ‘editorial’ deletions. The pacing seemed a bit off in places, but I was able to look past it. The actors handled the characters well, especially Jackie Earle Haley’s Rorschach.

My biggest letdown? Some of the song choices made it feel like they were beating you over the head with the meaning. And don’t get me started on the music during the sex scene. It made the sex – what I thought was a great intimate moment between Dan and Laurie – into a joke.

However, the Philip Glass instrumentals? Always excellent.