I was able to watch part of the inauguration today. One thing I thought was good about the speech was that it attempted to inspire people to start setting goals and trying to unite together. And manage expectations, that's the big thing I got out of it. Excellent speech. There are plenty of sites with the text of Obama's inauguration speech (or here) so I need not repeat any of it here.
I also sort of laughed when he and the chief justice flubbed up the oath. Hey, if anything it shows they make mistakes like anyone else. I think they were both just anxious and nervous, and as one article said, it was "close enough for government work." Embarrassing yes, but what can you do. I thought they played it off well. At least all of these silly suits about his citizenship were immediately mooted as a result, if they are even still around.
Looking over the crowd, I am still amazed how many people the president has inspired and this probably was the most watched event ever. It's a good thing, and probably has larger, long-term effects than any of us realize right now.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
President Obama elected
Monday, January 12, 2009
New season of 24: pass
As a followup to my post the other day, I did wind up watching most of the four hour season premiere of 24. I'm sure there will be some good episodes mixed in, but the plot isn't doing anything for me and I will not be watching any further episodes, except maybe the season finale depending on my schedule. Frankly, the whole idea of a massive government conspiracy (which seems to be the basis for every season of 24) is just a bit spent. Fortunately, I have plenty of work to keep me busy, even in this slow economic time.
But, if you like the action and conspiracy theories that are prevalent in the past couple of seasons of 24, I'm sure you'll devote another day out of your life to watching Jack Bauer save the day again. I'll be content to just read the top 100 facts about Jack Bauer instead.
Now, Lost is another story - I'm too far invested in the show to give up on it this close to the finish. Only another week or so to go for that one.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
24 new season starts up
Although I have been fairly successful in limiting my television watching (or at least limiting the tivo to just a couple of shows), I think I'm going to go ahead and watch 24 tonight and then decide whether I want to keep watching it or just record it and watch it all at once in the summer. It is nice having the freedom to watch shows online at my own convenience, that's for sure.
So is the new season of 24 going to be any good? I'm sure that it will be entertaining and nowadays I need some mindless crap to watch just to keep things interesting and sane.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
NY Model wants to unmask anonymous commenter
A blogger called model Liskula Cohen a "skank" has decided that she wants to confront the person who hurled the insult under the guise of first amendment protection. See Model Liskula Cohen Sues Google Over Blogger's 'Skank' Comment. Apparently these posts came shortly after what amounted to a drunken brawl.
Now, I'm no first amendment expert, but I think that implying that this is a slam dunk defamation case is a little bit much. Of course, I haven't read the complaint either, and I'm sure there is more to it than the article makes there out to be. Regardless, it's an uphill wall to climb, and I'm sure this just made the headlines for lack of more pressing things to report about. Doesn't this model bring more negative publicity to herself by bringing such a longshot suit? At least she acknowledges that this is "petty . . . stupid and . . . pathetic." Oh wait, that's what she said about the sniping. Same difference.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Thoughts after a month of online dating with match.com
Much of this sort of echoes my previous experiences with online dating, but it's changed somewhat since I'm not in school and I'm actually have a decent job, so I thought it worth writing some thoughts. Maybe someone with experience from the other side can chime in as well. I almost am tempted to do something along the lines of what Law With Grace does out in Chicago with some of these dates, but I'll have to think about that some more.
I did have drinks with someone who told me she had just quit her job to go back to school (at night), but when I asked why they didn't want to take a part time job (during the day), she told me she wouldn't be able to collect unemployment. She must have seen the look of confusion on my face and it ended not too long thereafter.
This whole winking and emailing is nonsense. Winking moreso than emailing. I hate email, but you have to do it in order to get anywhere on this site. One girl told me she averaged 30 winks a day during the week and double on the weekend, and probably 10 or so emails a week. I had no response to that one other than shock and awe. Well, more shock and then a thought that maybe I'm not emailing enough to different girls. Then again, apparently a boatload of these are from divorcees and men with two or more half-children, so it sort of makes sense now why so many women feel compelled to put in their description that they don't want 60 year olds emailing them.
I could write more, but there's simply no point. Since I often get searches for "how long should I wait to respond to a wink" (or the other side of the coin "how long does it take for someone to email back"), however, I'll simply offer this advice: There is no internet etiquette (or at least the threshold is pretty low). If you're interested in a guy or girl who winks, you should respond within one day. If you're not interested, use the "no thanks" option. Same goes with email. If it takes a day or two and she seems to be playing on the swingers calendar, I take the same amount of time to respond. Other times I do it that day, but mainly because (again), I hate email and I figure I'll forget otherwise.
If you send one email and don't get a response, I take that to mean they aren't interested. Apparently others interpret this to mean send another two or three emails and a bunch of winks, or, in one case, stalk them on facespace or over i-m after figuring out their name. Weirdos. Don't do that, you're making the rest of us look bad. It's like that saying, if you don't know who the most annoying kid in your class is, it must be you.
Also, I can't tell you how many profiles I've seen where women under 6'0 are looking for men more than six inches taller? Seriously? There must be a lot of men on this site that lie about their height. Because of this, and these weirdo emailers, I'm beginning to think people like me (who stands at a meager 5'9) are getting screwed over.
Read more!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Uncle Scrooge decides to put a tax on air
This is just ridiculous: Gov. David Paterson unveils dire New York State budget that includes new taxes, layoffs and cuts. This is the sort of progressive taxing plan that operates to hurt those not making those hefty six figure salaries. Taxes are going up on everything related to entertainment, junk food, travel, clothes, gas, and everything else. This almost reminds me of the Simpson's Radioactive Man episode where Springfield taxed the movie company out of production, but just not as funny. I wonder how McDonalds and Coke are going to react to this one. Why not start putting a tax on people's weight and complete the circle.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A quick followup to the Dr Pepper and Chinese Democracy debacle
One additional post on this Dr Pepper deal that had good intentions but didn't quite have its intended effect (although given the publicity that was spawned as a result, I am inclined to think that the campaign was more successful than either camp lets on). The Entertainment & Media Law Blog reports that Dr Pepper has given a "fizzy" response. See Dr Pepper's Fizzy Response ot the 'Chinese Democracy' Shakeup. Their sentiments echo my own and similarly bring up Taco Bell, although they refer to another advertising campaign that led the parties down a much different legal path.
Speaking of chinese democracy, I did happen to catch the series finale to Boston Legal, which is the first episode I watched since last year when I axed it from my list. Having seen the US Supreme Court in action on more than one occasion, I think they took a lot of liberty with the decor (and I don't think they would have tolerated a lot of the nonsense, including speaking past the time), although the set was sort of similar.
Overall, I don't care what David E. Kelley is complaining about (see David E. Kelley Is Frustrated With Broadcast TV and David E. Kelley: ABC Shunned Boston Legal; "Satified" with Series Run): the show was axed (from both my list and ABC) not because it doesn't have some good dialog on occasion, but because it lacked in substance what it attempted to make up in character. While I'm not a fan of the serial storylines (although I still plan on watching Lost), they certainly can work if the story is compelling enough, and the series (for me anyway) became way too outrageous and disjointed for me to keep watching at all, let alone with any regularity.
Monday, December 08, 2008
More bailing out - but don't forget who is in charge of the country right now
I see that the Big 3 auto industry is on the verge of receiving a bailout. See Automaker Plan in Bush's Court. I'm not getting into the logistics of all of this, but merely point out two aspects of this that are troubling. First, although the "Big 3" auto players are in trouble, I fail to understand how their plight is such that they require government help when other auto manufacturers who also have plants in the US are not suffering. See generally The Becker-Posner Blog: Bail Out the Big Three Auto Producers? Not a Good Idea-Becker. Granted, they have a much bigger employment base, but still. How many dozens of businesses have went under or have declared bankruptcy and survived nonetheless.
Second, unlike the banking industry, the auto industry is a significantly more private enterprise. This sort of relates to the first point, but isn't the whole idea of the free market to have minimal government interference? Maybe with this bailout the government will be able to do something about the unions, or at least interfere to the same degree.
Hopefully the president shoots this down (or better, it fails to pass Congress) and the effect on the market is minimal.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Chinese Democracy, GNR, and Dr Pepper
Did you ever notice that Dr Pepper doesn't have the "." in Dr.? Besides this factoid, the long awaited promotion that the Dr Pepper soft drink company would give a free can of soda when Guns N' Roses would finally release their Chinese Democracy album has run into a bit of a snag. But what is funnier is that the band is up in arms about it. Obviously there are a lot of underlying issues, but it's a rather funny story of promotion gone wild. Will GNR succeed? Well, you know what they say about any publicity. See Guns N' Roses Lashes Out At Dr Pepper. Next up, rabies shots for the Easter bunny.
It's a good thing the Phillies let one get by them during the world series or else people may have been unjustly denied their delicious free taco and that would just be legally upsetting. Just like this.
Libel lawsuits continue
In another story about online gossip and those who get offended by it, I saw a headline that shows another person who has turned to the court system to stop the spread of internet libel. See Colorado Man Charged With Libel Over Craigslist Posts. I find this story particularly interesting in light of a recent comment posted in response to one of my former television stories. Personally, I don't find it offensive but rather funny given the unnecessary use of profanity. See Eli Stone Write-Up comment number 5.
I'm beginning to think there are more subtle differences to anonymity on the internet than the founders actually considered when they blessed the freedom of speech in the Bill of Rights. Will this turn into another evolving standard? If only suits like the Juicy Campus one would survive a little longer for some interesting legal commentary. See also The Great E-Barrier Reef. But then again, with cases like the Myspace suicide one filling the news, it's sufficient to say that the area of first amendment law and its intersection with the internet will continue to provide news for many years to come.
