talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

nightline casualty list

Further to my post earlier today, Nightline has also posted the list of casualties on its page of ABC's site. I don't think this brouhaha is over.

the diebold bullet dodged!

Every once in a while, after long stretches of insanity, something good happens for democracy. Now if we can only get the other states to do the same...

California Bars a Firm's Voting Machines in November Election

California will prohibit the use of 15,000 of voting machines from Diebold Inc. in the November election because of of security and reliability concerns, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley announced today.

open source, voter-verified paper trails, and testing, testing, testing, please!

koppel's role call of the dead

Ted Koppel was on Al Franken's Air America program this morning to discuss this evening's Nightline broadcast, during which he will read the names and show the photographs of the more than 500* U.S. servicemen and women who have been killed in Iraq. I think this is an important step--akin to the one Jim Lehrer's NewsHour took at the start of the conflict and about which I wrote recently.

Some ABC affiliates have declared that they will boycott the program, and that's unfortunate. During this morning's radio interview, Koppel read a statement Senator McCain had issued, lauding the decision to name the fallen servicemen, and suggesting that Americans should understand the real burden of going to war--including the cost in human lives. Senator McCain said:

U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) issued the following letter today to Mr. David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, in response to the preemption of this evening’s Nightline program:

I write to strongly protest your decision to instruct Sinclair’s ABC affiliates to preempt this evening’s Nightline program. I find deeply offensive Sinclair’s objection to Nightline’s intention to broadcast the names and photographs of Americans who gave their lives in service to our country in Iraq.

I supported the President’s decision to go to war in Iraq, and remain a strong supporter of that decision. But every American has a responsibility to understand fully the terrible costs of war and the extraordinary sacrifices it requires of those brave men and women who volunteer to defend the rest of us; lest we ever forget or grow insensitive to how grave a decision it is for our government to order Americans into combat. It is a solemn responsibility of elected officials to accept responsibility for our decision and its consequences, and, with those who disseminate the news, to ensure that Americans are fully informed of those consequences.

There is no valid reason for Sinclair to shirk its responsibility in what I assume is a very misguided attempt to prevent your viewers from completely appreciating the extraordinary sacrifices made on their behalf by Americans serving in Iraq. War is an awful, but sometimes necessary business. Your decision to deny your viewers an opportunity to be reminded of war’s terrible costs, in all their heartbreaking detail, is a gross disservice to the public, and to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. It is, in short, sir, unpatriotic. I hope it meets with the public opprobrium it most certainly deserves.

* Note that today's Times notes that the Department of Defense has identified 718 American servicemen and women who have died. Other news outlets have put the number at 736.

one down, three to go

My Wills & Trusts exam is behind me, and tomorrow brings Administrative Law. Next week: Lifecycle of a Corporation (my transactional class) and Negotiation Theory. In the meantime I'm reviewing and annotating my outlines to the sound of Mozart, Mehldau, and Depeche Mode; wondering how my desk area got so messy; and being grateful that it's cooled a bit since our record high temps earlier this week. 100° in April? No thanks.

sofia...in a can

Francis Ford Coppola has packaged sparkling wine--named after his daughter, Sofia--in a can.

Wine Spectator has information on the launch and target audience. (I think the "Sex and the City" crowd might prefer flutes to cans, but hey, who am I to argue with the marketing types at Niebaum-Coppola?) Is it the first sparkling wine in a can to have its own web site? No time to research that now. I can't say that I'll buy one of the cans, but I might be persuaded to try the traditional, glass-bottled version, just to see what Niebaum-Coppola is putting on the market. They're just up the road (or is it down...?) from Domaine Chandon, and I like several of the sparkling offerings from Chandon, so maybe there's more bubbly goodness to enjoy.

No bubbles until I get through exams, though...

when "organic" is just a marketing tool

An article on today's SFGate looks at the labeling of salmon as "organic" and why this is misleading.

wackeren

An amusing episode on today's As the Apple Turns: Apparently the good folks at Öko-test, in Germany, tested the radiation emissions of a number of laptops. To make a long story short: the only laptop to pass all tests was Apple's, the only laptop to fail miserably was Dell's. Apple Turns draws the obvious conclusion about the Dell Dude.

Suddenly the whole "Dude, you're getting a Dell" thing starts to make sense: Steve the Dell Dude only acted like a simpering moron because he'd suffered radiation-related brain damage. (Clearly that was medical marijuana he was buying.) And hey, could this explain the behavior of those feeble-minded Dell interns, too-- and, dare we say, perhaps even the psychosis of the company's Steve-obsessed CEO? You heard it here first; apparently excessive radiation exposure causes idiocy, dementia, and rampant mediocrity.

migraine

The May issue of Vogue features, among its eye candy, an article about new directions in the treatment of migraine, including the use of Botox. The thought of having botulism toxin injected into my scalp and at the base of my neck is a little scary, but I'm typing that in a period of relative calm, headache-wise. When I'm in the throes of a migraine, my sense of what's scary is very different--the scariness is inside my skull, and I'd do just about anything to make it stop. A quick series of injections for a few months of peace sounds intriguing.

Two quotes in the article jumped out at me. The first is that "[t]reating a migraine only after it strikes is almost like treating cardio-vascular disease post-heart attack--it makes much more sense to take measures to stop it before it happens in the first place." The other is that migraine is now being viewed as a "progressive disorder" because brain-imaging techniques have shown that "severe headaches affect not only the activity of the brain but also its structure." More to investigate. After final exams.

curriculum revision

Since I scoffed at the comments made by Harvard's president with respect to financial aid for students, I thought I should balance out the blogging equation by sharing a piece from today's Times about the recommendations for changes to the Harvard undergraduate curriculum. The recommendations make a lot of sense to me, perhaps because some of the suggestions remind me of the spirit behind my own undergraduate curriculum at Chicago. I also think there's merit to being able to understand more about the world around us so we can digest and use the information that's so plentiful. More information isn't better unless one has the means/knowledge base to assess it. The Harvard committee's recommendations strike me as a step in the right direction.

And for those of you who appreciate UChicago humor, a few funny (and accurate--ouch) words from one of my former professors, courtesy of Crescat Sententia.

Back to the exam prep...

observation

At the end of its broadcast The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer shows, in silence, the photographs of servicemen and women who have died in Iraq, along with their names, ages, and home towns. They broadcast this information as it is made public. Some nights I find it quite unsettling; one might become numb to casualty figures, but sharing the faces and personal information behind those figures takes them from the sanitary realm of statistics to real life, or more accurately, real death.

Would it change perceptions of the war in Iraq if, as a public service feature, all news broadcasts, or at least all national ones, did the same thing? (By "same" I mean the same format as the NewsHour, unaccompanied by fanfare or commentary.) Perhaps it would make a lot of viewers uncomfortable, and perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad result.

more on corgi history

Another article, this one from the BBC, about the discovery of corgi bones in the ruins of a 9th-century Welsh compound. Check out the BBC's "watch and listen" video clip on the linked page, too.

"the nightmare of citation"

I smiled throughout my reading of "The End Matter" by Louis Menand, published last fall in The New Yorker. Citation has played an oddly large role in my life thus far, and after the last year (which involved several Law Review citation checking assignments and preparation of the draft of my comment), some of Professor Menand's observations elicited both chuckles and moans. If you want a sneak peek at the thoughts that occupy far too much of my time...read the piece.

And if you're really interested...I've also purchased the paperback edition of The Footnote: A Curious History by Anthony Grafton. Perhaps I'm a glutton for punishment.

Review sessions for both Wills & Trusts and Admin Law are today, so having gotten a bit of blogging out of my system I'm going to put myself together and head toward campus. More musings on citation will have to wait...

economic diversity

An article in today's New York Times addresses the concerns about the declining economic diversity among students at colleges and universities, and notes that many administrators are as concerned about this issue as they are about maintaining or increasing racial diversity. So far, so good. What stopped me in my tracks was a quote from Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard, who said that "An important purpose of institutions like Harvard is to give everybody a shot at the American dream."

Really?

The article goes on to note that many universities are now offering modified financial aid programs for some students: as an example, "The University of Maryland recently said it would no longer ask students from families making less than $21,000 a year to take out loans, and would instead give them scholarships to cover tuition. Officials at Harvard, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia all recently announced similar, even more generous policies." While that sounds great, what about the families who easily exceed the $21K threshold? My own experience as an undergraduate was that there was very little concern about helping those in the middle of the economic spectrum.

food/wine criticism

For those of you interested in such things, the Wine Spectator discusses the (possible) reasons behind the recent decisions at The New York Time re food and wine criticism, and the announcement of Frank Bruni's and Eric Asimov's new positions.

royal corgi news

Two great news pieces recently about corgis and their relationship to royalty:

The first, from Hello! magazine (not one of my regular reads), news of a recent attempt to auction a drawing and note by Queen Elizabeth II regarding the burial of one of her first corgis, Susan. Seems the auction has been stopped, the reason being that the papers relate to "state business" and were sent to the deceased in his capacity as an employee and that he (and his heirs) cannot claim ownership and therefore can't sell the pieces.

The second is a piece from the Associated Press on the possible discovery of corgi bones among the ruins of a 9th century royal dwelling in Wales. Although the Welsh corgi is considered an "ancient breed," this new evidence suggests that corgis have been the favorite of monarchs long before QEII.

Our considerations in choosing Wallace (or choosing his breed) weren't very royal. We admired the traits that corgis possess: spirit and high intelligence, their compact physical size combined with an oversized personality, and yes, even the "little Napoleon" quality that sometimes tests our patience. And the appetite...well, the breadth and depth of his appetite is shocking, despite all we had read about corgis as bottomless food pits.

secret vinaigrette

Our vinaigrette receipe is not a closely guarded secret, but I've heard that some are, so I laughed out loud at today's post on Chocolate and Zucchini, one of my daily stops on the blogway. For the preamble, see the Clotilde's post about pissaladiere in which she mentions the vinaigrette, sparking requests for the recipe. Her father's response is a hoot.

a good start to the day

There are few things as satisfying as starting the work day with a good cup of coffee and my feet being warmed by Wallace. Some days he decides to curl up at the base of my desk chair, and manages to position himself on top of my feet, in just the right way so my feet are warmed and he gets the contact he wants but neither of us feels restricted. Nice.

let's give Bush a break

After watching Kerry this morning on Meet the Press once again invite Bush to participate in a series of debates, with the obvious expectation that Bush will decline, I got to thinking about the President's upcoming meeting with the 9/11 Commission.

Why not have Kerry invite both Bush and Cheney to debate him at the same time? I'd think that way we'd get a real look how they matchup. And then when Kerry selects his running mate, they can alternate. Bush can help Cheney. I think it would be very instructive one way or the other.

and the prize goes to...

We've gotten some useful and thoughtful gifts for Wallace, but our friends Jon and Veerle brought him perhaps the most original one to date: a rubberized bust of Bush 43. So far, Wallace's interest has been limited to knocking it over and pushing it around with his nose, but perhaps we'll soak it in beef bouillon... A few other uses have been suggested for the toy if it doesn't make Wallace's hit parade, but we'll defer discussion of those.

Turns out there's a cast of political characters who have joined the pantheon of dog toys.

baboons...law...

Just in case you think I'm way out in left field with the baboon article when I should be thinking of loftier legal matters, here's an excerpt from a New Yorker profile of Judge Posner entitled "The Bench Burner," written by Larissa MacFarquhar and published in the 10 December 2001 issue:

Posner is an ardent fan of monkeys, his instinctive attraction perhaps bolstered by his socio-biological sense that monkeys are basically humans with fewer affectations. A couple of years ago, he watched a nature program about baboons, and found them so delightful that he decided to call the zoo and adopt one....

One Sunday morning in the early fall, Posner and Charlene took their four-year-old grandson, Nathaniel, to the zoo. Nathaniel had an appointment in the early afternoon, so Posner was eager to get to the zoo first thing, in order not to be short of time. He allowed, however, rather too much time, and so even though he absent-mindedly drove past the entrance and quite a long way into town before he noticed, he, Charlene, and Nathaniel still arrived forty-five minutes before the zoo opened. It was raining hard, so they first sat in the car and then, when that got too depressing, huddled, shivering, under the eaves of the ticket booth until the gates were unlocked. It was not, truth be told, the first time that Posner had felt cold-shouldered by the zoo. When his baboon-adoption materials arrived in the mail, they had contained not a picture of his baboon but only a postcard of a generic baboon. Posner discovered to his dismay that he had not, in fact, adopted a particular baboon but, instead, had contributed to a general fund, which entitled him only to part of a baboon, in a kind of time-sharing arrangement. Upon learning this, he had felt infantilized and perhaps even a little deceived by the zoo, but then he put these feelings aside and made inquiries about adopting a whole animal....

When they left the monkey house, it was raining harder than ever. Still, having come all that way; Posner felt he should pay a visit to the baboons. The baboons were housed in a fenced-in area, in the center of which stood a large rock, pocked with shallow caves. Most were huddled inside the caves, away from the rain, but three baboons were sitting side by side on an exposed branch, perfectly still, enduring the weather in silence. Why? Posner mused, fascinated by the sight, which appeared to defy even the most minimal dictates of rationality. Did they like the rain? he wondered. They didn't look as if they liked it. Were they too stupid to move? Were they being punished in some way? Or were they, perhaps, conducting this bitter vigil in the service of some impenetrable simian stoicism? What if one of the stupid or criminal or stoical baboons turned out to be his baboon? Posner stood for a minute more, peering at the dripping, motionless trio on the branch, then turned away, baffled.

dissecting the credibility problem

Since Tim Russert's extended interview with the President I've been trying to put my finger on what annoys me about the President's responses to so many questions. William Saletan's piece in today's issue of Slate hits the mark, explaining why neither consistency nor loopy logic yields credibility.

retooling a culture

Baboon culture, that is. Yesterday's New York Times featured a fascinating article about the results of a study of how the culture of a particular baboon troop changed, and how the new culture has been sustained for two decades, despite changes in group membership. I've not yet read the research cited in the Times' article, but I'm looking forward to it. If baboons can make this sort of change (with the attendant benefits of lower stress levels), isn't is possible that humans can, too? Nice to think so, even though the daily news might suggest otherwise...

joining the game

An exercise that's been making the rounds of some of the blogs I read (Terry Teachout's About Last Night and Crescat Scententia):

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Oh, dear. Following the instructions--for me, at this moment--results in the following:

Annuitization is wonderfully effective in allowing a person to consume capital without fear of outliving his capital, but the corollary is also manifest: Accounts that have been annuitized disappear on the deaths of the annuitants.

Perhaps I'll try this again later...

the queen's corgis

I came across this photo of Queen Elizabeth's corgis (and dorgis--corgi/dachshund mixes) deplaning at Heathrow and had to smile. The third corgi from the top of the photo reminds me of Wallace: When going down stairs Wallace often gets a careful look on his face, and his ears go a little horizontal. If that expression reflects real care, it's probably a good thing, since corgi bodies aren't quite suited for trotting down steep stairs. Wallace loves bounding up stairs, though, usually taking them two at a time and turning around at the top with a big "here I am!" smile.

Today's been an unusually hectic day. Aside from a lot of comings and goings on our block, we welcomed Mr. Doody, long-time friend of talbotlucas.org, for dinner. He's now en route to the airport with Terrence, so this (9:05pm) is the first time Wallace has really settled down for a nap. I suspect that after Terrence returns and Wallace has had a final walk and a bit of night air he'll be in deep slumber mode for the rest of the night.

Lots of things on my agenda for this week, including Law Review work and exam prep, so details of the fantastic cheese we found at The Cheese Shop will be coming soon but not tonight. Those of you who read us regularly might recall my praise of the sundried tomatoes prepared by Dominick. I haven't been making my regular Thursday visits because this semester, Thursday is my busiest and longest day of the week, so my cheese talk with Dominick yesterday afternoon was long overdue. His recommendations--and a new batch of his tomatoes--more than made up for the long intermission. Fantastic! Photos and more details to come.

Back to my cite checking work...

blondie returns!

I don't purchase CDs often, and mostly save my dollars for ones I know I want rather than on test cases, but I can't wait for tomorrow's release of the new Blondie album, The Curse of Blondie. In this age of Britney, Christina, et al I still think Debbie Harry's one of the slickest chicks out there. And that's not nostalgia talking--she's got style that lasts for miles.

The only thing that disturbs me is an odd mental connection I made between Debbie Harry and Alice Waters. This came to me while watching Blondie's recent appearance on the David Letterman Show. For a few moments I found myself thinking that if life taken another twist and turn, and Alice Waters had followed Joey Ramone instead of Richard Olney... No, Debbie Harry was not wearing a cloche, nor was she talking about the benefits of eating seasonlly. Blame it on the camera angle, or the fact that both gals hail from New Jersey, but...there was some sort of spooky similarity.

Now if that doesn't engender comments, I don't know what will...

Back to Admin Law...we're in the home stretch of the spring semester. By this time next month I'll be raising a glass with Terrence and breathing a sigh of relief with my 2L year behind me.

observed today

I hadn't thought about the fact that today is 04/04/04 until I saw the Crescat post on it. (What can I say...the brain's taking its time waking up today.) Also via Crescat, a reminder about Slate's dangerous time suck of an FAQ page. These aren't FAQs about how the site works, but basic questions stemming from recent news stories. It's a great resources, and as is often the case with such things, a HUGE time suck. I'm going to try to stay away until after final exams.

The guys who post to Lockergnome Bytes have alerted me to the "what kind of geek are you?" quiz. Amusing--my geeky friends (you know who you are) will have to let me know how they fare.

And from the Times, a haunting photo of an anti-American protest in Iraq. The photo is of women in the Mahdi Army, and I found the image oddly disturbing. (The article which accompanied the photo is here.) Perhaps it's the uniformity of their appearance, or the way their bodies fill the frame. Or maybe it recalls those alien enforcer types from The X-Files who had sewed up their eyes, nostrils, and mouth (or some combination--I don't recall) to avoid infection by the black oily goo. (If any X-Files devotees are reading this, please be kind to my limited memory of the precise details.) This has been a week of tough images from Iraq, and while not as gory as some, this one has really stayed in my mind's eye.

daylight savings time

Daylight savings time begins tomorrow (Sunday). What's a little scary to me is how swifty the time seemed to pass between the last clock adjustment in October and this weekend.

Air America & Mac OS X

For those asking me what's up with all the RealOne Player litter on the desktop when trying to listen to Air America Radio, here's a tip for adding Air America directly to RealOne Player's Favorites list.