The Depiction of Animal Cruelty Law is being called into question in the U.S. Supreme Court today in an attempt to finalize the illegality of distributing film which shows animal cruelty. That would make adding footage to your documentary which depicts something horrible done to an animal as unlawful as child pornography. Showing slaughterhouse footage in your documentary on the food industry could be against the law, if the Supreme court rules broadly in favor of this legislation.

“The threat to the film community is obvious when one considers films such as ‘The Cove’ and ‘Food, Inc.,’ to name two recent ones or ‘Roger and Me,’ to go back just a little ways,” said Michael C. Donaldson, a Beverly Hills lawyer, speaking for four documentary-maker trade groups that joined in filing a brief in support of Stevens. “Certainly videos concerning hunting could fall within this statute, even though, as in Stevens case, the hunting was legal where the video was shot.”

This may be a case in which congressmen wanted to stop a particular perversion, “crush videos,” but wrote a law which reasonably applies to far more than that. You can read more on what the justices have said and the prosecuted filmmaker’s intent on Bloomberg.com.

I’m sorry this won’t be very long. I’m not feeling very well, and it’s difficult to type. More details will come later.

The last day of battle went pretty well, and I felt we’d gotten past whatever our trouble was. Then, in the very last program, I received another stab in the upper lip, and got a whack on the hand that immediately set it swelling inside my fighting glove, leading me to cancel our very last fight.

An X-ray revealed that no bones were broken. It’s just a broken blood vessel. But my velcro splint makes typing a little difficult.

I don’t know why my favorite sport has suddenly become dangerous. If we can’t figure out the problem, I may have to hang up my helmet.

Also I seem to have caught something that kept one of the other Vikings out of action for a day. There’s no consensus on what it was. He thinks it was Walking Pneumonia, while somebody else said H1N1 Flu.

Cheers!

World has a stirring interview with a guy working to get alcoholics and other addicts on their feet (subscription required). “Misdirected compassion was keeping those people on the streets and killing them on the installment plan, a little every day,” said Bob Cote of the organization Step 13. He said the holidays are a bad time for pan-handlers, because $10 from someone trying to be compassionate can enable them to kill themselves. “They’ll get drunk, get hit by a car, or maybe freeze to death,” he said.

Today is the final day of Hostfest, and I’m sitting in a corner behind a Viking tent, because I need to plug the laptop in. Last night I thought I was re-charging it as I slept, but apparently I was draining it instead.

Sorry to report that I have no further serious injuries to catalog. I got a sharp smack on the wrist at one point yesterday, but things that don’t leave a mark don’t count at this point. My hand actually feels better today, and a lot of the swelling has gone down. My upper lip is still a little numb, but I rarely smile anyway, so who’s to tell?

I haven’t told you about our host. This year I attained the heart of the Inner Circle in the Viking Age Club, by achieving the honor of being permitted to stay at Grace’s house.

When we come to Minot, we’re always housed with locals, at the expense of the festival (thank you, Festival! Most especially Touchstone Energy, which provides our Viking camp space!). But only the old-timers get to stay with Grace.

Grace is a widow lady who cleans houses for a living. Those who stay with her have to share a single bathroom, and sometimes have to sleep on a couch (though more often Grace takes the couch). She’s flexible beyond all reason, not giving a hoot how early we leave or how late we come in. She’s one of those people who have very little in this world, but whatever they have is yours if you need it.

She’s also a devout Christian of the fundamentalist variety, and not at all bashful about talking about it.

I think most of the members of our club at this point are at least nominal Christians. We lost our heathens back in the time of the Great Viking Schism.

But if anyone in our group ever experiences a profound Christian conversion, I suspect it will have more to do with Grace’s faith active in love than with my sullen (and rare) reasonings.

(Dateline Minot, ND) Well, what do you know? Live steel combat isn’t as safe as I said it was.

Yesterday I got a good solid crack on my right thumb which, I feared, would keep me from holding the sword solidly. Fortunately it’s not as bad today as I expected, though swollen and stiff.

Today I got a good smash on the right little finger, which broke the skin and required a bandage. In a later fight, Ragnar managed to stab me (the point being blunt, of course) just above the mouth, again on the right side. It’s a nasty place for an abrasian, because it won’t take a bandage well (due to my beard), but I’m frankly delighted to have a dueling scar at last. I was wounded with a sword! What could be cooler than that?

And yes, I’m entirely aware of how insane that sounds.

On the other hand, you know the chicks dig it.

We did our final set today without injury (not for lack of trying on my part, I assure you).

In other Hostfest news, the crowds are large, and from my experience they’re in the mood to spend money. If my book sales keep up as they’ve started, I’ll go home very satisfied (and not just with my rakish scar).

Reba McEntire was the big concert the first night. Other acts on the big stage include Clint Black and Ray Stevens. There’s also a special venue for Abbacadabra, an Abba tribute group, and William Christopher (who played Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H*) stars as the pastor in a production of the major midwest hit, “Lutheran Church Basement Ladies” (no, I didn’t make that up).

And, as in previous years, The Oak Ridge Boys are doing two shows a day just around the corner from us. At the moment, they’re singing “The Boys are Back.”

More as the situation develops.

If I live.