Month: February 2007

Harvard becomes the 4th Ivy League school to have a woman president: Drew Gilpin Faust. Dr. Faust was interviewed on Lehrer’s Newshour on Monday night – and she noted that her being a historian is a plus. The journey toward the future continues.

Of course, I shall not be speaking for my undergraduate Alma Mater University; but I have to believe that one day, we too will have a woman president, sure. But, diversity in academia is still a work in progress.

Monday: I’m a bit behind on “Heroes,” having taped it and then just watched fleetingly by fast-forwarding through the storylines that I didn’t really care for (not that they’re bad storylines; they’re just not on my radar for the time being). Of note:
Hiro and Ando, the time-space bending guy and his sidekick, had a weird situation, now that they’re back in Las Vegas – but it was kind of a weak matter for them (if anything, Ando learns that falling for tall blondes may be dangerous for his and Hiro’s health).
I really find the Claire the Cheerleader storyline to be sincere and poignant – so she finds her bio-mom; bio-mom lacks some morals (well, if you go with the white trailer-park trash stereotype, hmm – surely there’s more to Meredith than that – and no, I hope she’s not Evil either); her bio-dad doesn’t want to meet her (or at least he says he doesn’t – but he’s clearly torn, because maybe he actually is a decent guy – still can’t be sure, because he’s a lawyer (oops) and a politician dealing with the final leg of his campaign (more oops)); her adopted dad – Glasses Man – well, he’s not terribly understanding toward her these days (no, not when he had let loose the Big Evil Mutant Man); and her adopted mom is suffering from severe memory loss (no thanks to Glasses Man’s mind-erasing Haitian sidekick, who erased Mrs. Bennett’s mind because Glasses Man thinks that’s the way to protect his family; yeah, right).

NBC’s sneak previews of the next episode of “Heroes” was irritating for hinting a little too obviously about who will die next. At least, I’m making my guess about Mrs. Bennett’s fate; I could be wrong. But, then again, I wasn’t surprised about who turned out to be Claire’s bio-dad; NBC has really got to avoid assigning the previews to the Promotions department – you’re not supposed to give away too much!
Also behind on “House” – got home too late, but managed to catch the end of Tuesday’s episode. House is still a basket-case jerk. I don’t believe him when he thinks he’ll find a way to end his pain (the physical pain; God only knows if his emotional pain will ever heal) – in the end, he uses his pain to define him and let him do what he will.

I liked that the episode made the three younger doctors a little interesting again – Foreman wonders if a doctor’s life really has room for a love life (umm, well, first, don’t take lessons from Dr. House about that). Cameron seems to be more willing to satisfy her physical needs rather than her desire for love – so she targets Chase. Chase, who once again proves why he’s a seminary school dropout, doesn’t seem too bothered that Cameron wants to have sex with him with no strings attached (mind you, they did that last season and she was foolish and vulnerable and he was – well – a fool (although he still strikes me as a guy who would find a way to make strings attach)). In real life, the actors who play Chase and Cameron are apparently engaged to each other – so it’s amusing.

However, FOX’s previews indicate that Cameron still has a fondness for House, though; sigh – get over him, Cameron!
See if snow will be anything at all in NYC; likely just a slippery mess. We are so not Oswego or anywhere upstate with the 10ft of snow…

Pardon the absence; life got in the way…!

Wed., Feb. 7, 2007 – attended a CLE seminar at the last minute at the City Bar – on “Blogs – Wave of the Future for the American Lawyer: Creation, Use, & Ethical Considerations.” Interesting – one of those programs that didn’t put me to sleep (uh, no, no, that never happens…) – three lawyers who blog about their subjects or about lawyers who blog. Kevin O’Keefe, Daniel Clement, and Troy Rosasco were the panelists.

According to O’Keefe, lawyer blogs, being specific to a legal subject, are “not advertising. Basis being that their primary purpose is not ‘the retention of the lawyer or law firm’” – and may be protected by Free Speech rights.  Kind of a relief to know!

The program was very fascinating stuff. Observations were made on the idea of lawyer blogs as networking or an easy way to get oneself published (as alternatives to law review and law journals).  I doubt we of Triscribe count under the state’s advertising restrictions, since we don’t advertise legal services. We just comment and, more often than not, we don’t even about the law. Personal blogging is all fine and dandy. Blogging, if nothing else, made us all Time People of the Year! Talk about societal change and being part of the wave of the future indeed.

Reading for last week: Arthur Miller’s The Crucible – gripping. I remembered reading it back in high school, and thinking it was creepy. Now with the outlook as adult and a lawyer – still creepy. The book managed to make me miss my subway stop.

How gripping it was – the Salem witch hunts going out of control and all the implications therein – the very harmfulness of theocracy; the rational mind losing out to the human flaws of jealousy, pride, and lust; the problem of witnesses with poor credibility – children or young women who had no power and then grabbing power by making the judges and the authorities listen to them.

Were they really possessed, or were they just playing with everyone? Abigail Williams pushing it too far by sending the Proctors to their doom; Mary Warren too weak-willed to resist; and John Proctor – poor man who wouldn’t give names, because the process was wrong. People believed in witches – and the way the girls were acting, how do you fight the irrational? The rule of law is nice, but what do you do when people are still… people?
This may have been associated with Miller’s times – the McCarthy witch hunts – but it was more than that – it’s timeless. The writing was great; as a movie or play – sure, that was nice (go ahead – watch the movie: the strangeness of seeing Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor – or, scarier – Wynona Ryder as Abigail), but there’s something of a difference in having the text itself.

A society in hysteria, Miller portrays and then there’s what we have these days: well, the whole Anna Nicole Smith thing – someone who invented herself for the media, and the media exploits back. It’s also wrong to compare Anna Nicole Smith to Miller’s ex-wife, Marilyn Monroe – Monroe actually had talent in acting. (umm, forgive me for noticing this about the dead). As Prof. Joanna Grossman notes on her Findlaw column: Smith’s “litigious life makes her unusual as well. Lawyers, courts, and perhaps juries will now be left to sort out the legal morass she left behind.” Ain’t that right. As FC notes: Smith’s litigious legacy is quite a bar exam question. 😀

Last but not least on a week in review: the passing of actor Ian Richardson.

Recap of the extended weekend:
Saturday – dental cleaning followed by a visit to the storied pizzeria that is Di Fara in Midwood. P, her brother and I were waiting in the Duncan Donuts down the block because it was really cold, but there were 5 true believers waiting outside the door. It opened 20 minutes late, at 10 to 12, but it didn’t matter – it’s definately slow food – there’s no way you get out of Di Fara’s in under 45 minutes. After a false start with everyone’s glasses fogged up, we managed to order a special pie, and 2 square slices. The squares were magnificant – light yet voluminous, a tangy sauce fortified with cheese and prosciutto (I am told), topped with fresh basil cut directly above the slices, then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Bold and delicate at the same time, it was an amazing treat.

Then the special pie came out after 40 minutes. The crust is micro thin (less than 2 mm thick) yet still durable enough to support the cornucopia of cow’s milk mozzarella, buffalo milk mozzarella, sausage, peppers, more basil, and grated cheese. Not quite foldable, but still delectable. Recommended if you have a spare afternoon.

Tonight I’m coming down with a cold. I’m going to try to brave it out.

Much, much pre-game coverage on Sunday. I mean, really – CBS had a show at NOON. Yeesh.

Ultimately, though, kudos to Tony Dungy, Peyton Manning, and the rest of the Colts. Quite a game. Really scary for a moment there when the Bears came ahead in the first 10 seconds, but then the Colts hanged in there. Sorry, Lovee Smith and the Bears – your Bad Rex Grossman as QB wasn’t quite it, and the Colts knew more of what they were doing.

Bears, maybe another time – I’m sure Smith can become the 2nd African-American coach to win the Super Bowl, next time. But, it was Dungy’s night – the teacher beating the protege; plus it was Peyton’s night, as he was a QB whose Super Bowl was long in coming.

The rain was a downer – lots of instances where the ball just slipped through fingers – but made it even between the teams. Well, not like I really know about football anyway – just my impressions.

Re: The half-time show – Prince was cool. Interesting way to grab the generations of music/football fans. I thought he’d sing more of his classics, but he made it a cool rock thing. I don’t think he much cared for the rain (who would?) – but he seemed to be enjoying the gig otherwise. No wardrobe malfunction, no weirdness (I mean, really – he is the guy who once insisted on being “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” and I guess he’s now “Prince, The Artist Who Was Once The Artist Formerly Known as Prince” and not to mention that he hasn’t given up his – um – symbol (or logo?)). Almost tame, really. Well, okay, I think the marching band was quite a touch, but hey, it was a football game – why not have one? Prince’s guitar riffs were cool, too. Can’t believe he’s gone… dare I say – mainstream? Liked the NY Times’ take on the performance too.

Re: Super Bowl ads – I wasn’t quite that attentive; the ads just didn’t come off feeling as good as they used to be.

I liked the Coke ads – quality stuff, even if not taking risks.

The ad with Kevin Federline (the ex-Mr. Britney Spears) was pointless – it wasn’t so much that he was slamming people who work McDonald’s jobs – it was that the ad was for Nationwide and did nothing for me as a promotion for the product.

The CareerBuilder.com ads – wherein the office/real world is compared to being in a jungle – a jungle you don’t want to be in – good stuff, really – they made me want to click on CareerBuilder.com and – oh, wait, I did register for CareerBuilder.com – and it hasn’t yet gotten me a new job. Oh well. Their ads were funny, as opposed to GoDaddy.com, where the sexy girls were uninteresting (true, I’m not the target for GoDaddy’s “sexy” ad, but I find gratuitous attractions to be simply that – gratuitous; I still don’t care to see what Godaddy.com does).

The Chevrolet ad where people were singing songs that had the word “Chevy” or related reference – interesting – though it reminded me of a Coke ad where the lady was singing a song and handing people Cokes. But, the Chevy singers sure loved their Chevies.

The Blockbuster commercial had the return of the animated pet store animals – trying to use a fellow pet store animal – a mouse no less – in lieu of a computer’s mouse to access Blockbuster’s services… – well, while I did feel sorry for the animated mouse, who didn’t enjoyed being dragged in the sawdust, I thought the ad was funny and cute (and sure hope nobody uses real mice in that manner).

The commercial in the style of Japanese action stuff (kind of like Power Rangers and Voltron and that lot) – well, I have no idea what that ad was promoting, but it was a great parody.

The GM ad with the factory machine that felt sorry for itself … ok, in light of how real people in the automotive industry are losing their jobs – I didn’t care for the GM commercial, even if it was cute.

The CBS promos for its series (Letterman; “How I Met Your Mother”; “The Class”; “Two and a Half Men”; even Craig Ferguson’s show) – funny! Laughed when I realized Craig Ferguson was parodying the old Benny Hill gag of running along with the pretty girls and patting a bald guy on the head.
I didn’t watch “Criminal Minds” after the game – wasn’t that interested. It’s a series with some charm and suspense, but it’s weird to see Mandy Patankin not sing and him back with Thomas Gibson (ex-Greg of “Dharma and Greg” and, like Patankin, an ex-castmate of “Chicago Hope”) along side Shemar Moore (ex-Young and the Restless actor and actor of many cancelled tv shows), and other actors who probably belonged on something like NCIS or CSI but wound up on this show. Hmm. Oh, well. It’s good for viewers out there.

Oh – and other stuff –>
Fascinating story on how the Jewish community of Cuba managed to continue.

A story – a recipe – on General Tso’s chicken and Hunanese cuisine.

Has anyone noticed things are getting a little bit pricier? My hair cut was a dollar more, my breakfast egg on a roll is a nickel more, my rent is up 5%. Thank heavens I booked my plane ticket to DC for my next March trip before they started the fare war today, which would have tacked another $5. With the MTA budget overruns, I’ll bet that train fare will hit 2.50, and then there goes the slice of pizza. Will this be the tipping point?

Dentist cleaning tomorrow morning – yay! I have the 9 AM appointment, and I just found out my Corporations professor has the 8:30 AM appointment.

Thank goodness for weekend.

Updated my little website.  Fixed a graphic, minor tweaks here and there, particularly on the links page.  Check it out!

TV:

“Ugly Betty” – episode deserved a thumbs up.  As much as I didn’t care for the conspiracy storyline, it worked out very well (the cast is major talented, I must say – this would have floundered at the hands of lesser talents).  Daniel found out that his long-thought-dead brother Alex was now… Alexis – via a sex change (like, gee, Alexis, seriously no one in the family knew of your deep-seated gender confusion?) – and the Meade sibling rivalry remains, causing their father’s magazine empire to face a major – uh – transformation.  Betty had her own sibling rivalry issues with her sister Hilda (who seemed to be irritating the models at Fashion Week until it turned out they like her – which frustrated Betty to no end).  Hilda and Daniel kissed (!), but more because they were drunk and foolish over their sibling issues.  Hooray that Betty and the accountant are getting closer again!  Justin, Betty’s nephew, got to enjoy Fashion Week by being Wilhelmina’s temporary assistant (Wilhemina having been blinded by faulty botoxin injection’s swelling up around her eyes).   Too funny.  Heck, even Betty’s dad’s immigration problem is turning to be not as tragic as it had been awhile back – not when the federal investigator is now trying to make him love her – uh, talk about conflict of interest, lady!

“Grey’s Anatomy” – Meredith’s mom, Ellis, got to be lucid – temporarily, though.  Wow, Ellis Grey as lucid was curiously interesting.  Ellis as senile Alheimer’s patient who still gnawed at her daughter was one thing; Ellis as lucid – clearly in conflict.  She missed the last five years of her life, and picked up where she thought she left off with Meredith – arguing with Meredith to go to med school (back when Meredith, evidentally a perfectly focused and bright girl, probably was still recovery from partying with the frats of the Ivy League – yeah, right).  Only, Meredith did go to med school – yet Ellis is still disappointed, because Meredith just wants to be happy with her man – not aggressively out to be the cardiac surgeon her mother was.  Ellis is imperfect – even those interns (re: Cristina) who idolize her knew she messed up on the life-career balance thing – Ellis mostly knew she screwed up her life in giving up the love of her life, the Chief.  The scene with Ellis and the Chief – aww – amazing stuff.  Her making him promise to look after Meredith (before she went back into senility); Meredith’s heart-breaking moment of basically telling her mom that she both loved and hated her – and saying that only hope was what helped her believe that one day a cure would let them finally get to know each other – what stuff! 

It reminds anyone why this show is called “Grey’s Anatomy.”  It’s always more compelling when Ellis appears and Meredith comes across as such a person.  Yeah, Meredith has her friends and McDreamy, but she’s often very much alone – being her mother’s daughter – and it was nice that the Chief is someone who can understand.  If he’s a father figure for anyone, he’s probably the closest thing for Meredith, who can barely face her own biological dad.

Cristina Yang’s jerking around Burke’s marriage proposal was a bit much – but gee, will she learn from Ellis’ (personal) mistakes?  And, George and Callie getting married – crazy – and inevitably, Izzy adopted the role of irritating sister-in-law, spewing all kinds of bile at Callie (good for George to defend Callie).  Liked seeing how Dr. Bailey was loving her clinic – she’s a surgeon, yes, but she’s a great doctor and a good person.

Last but not least by any means: the report on global warming is out, and what does it mean?  

In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal” and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950. 

They said the world was in for centuries of climbing temperatures, rising seas and shifting weather patterns — unavoidable results of the buildup of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

But their report, released here on Friday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said warming and its harmful consequences could be substantially blunted by prompt action.

“could be substantially blunted by prompt action” means what?  We all get hybrid cars?  use more wind and solar power?  Recyle, re-use, etc.?  What Would Al Gore Do? 

An entertaining look at a Yale undergrad who’s figuring out how to maximize the dining hall’s capabilities: for instance, young Zach Marks manages to cook up chicken satay with the common college staples and a microwave – and, in between extracurricular activities and his inclination to be an urban planner, he pulled off a roast pig party in his freshman year.  Oh, my…

Colleague and I went to Thomas Beisl, an Austrian cuisine bistro across the street from BAM.  Cool place – food was terrific for pretty good prices (in the $20-$40) range.  NY Times review said it was delicious.  I had the weiner schnitzel (breaded and fried pork cutlets, an Austrian national food – link presented for purposes of edifying those who – like I was – wasn’t sure what exactly was schnitzel) and for dessert – cheese strudel in vanilla sauce.  Mmm.  Yummy!  Plus, as BAM didn’t have a performance, not crowded at all.  Ambiance was good; staff was nice; bathroom – clean (I take that into consideration, really).

Okay, well, I’m a sucker for fried food anyway, and now I can see why schnitzel’s a loved food…

Tuesday’s “House” – an odd episode.  On the one hand, I wanted to feel it was powerful, but I thought the rape victim patient was irritating (House being the last person to help a rape victim – and, honestly, isn’t he or his hospital obligated by law to treat this far more seriously than they did – was a rape counselor even available?  Victim was so traumatized that she had lost all rationale – telling House she wanted to talk, but didn’t know what to talk about – except about the rape – and doesn’t know why she still wanted him as her doctor, when she clearly didn’t even want him touching her after he confirmed she had an STD and realized that she was a rape victim; her only reason for wanting to keep him as her doctor?  Because she could tell he had been hurt too.  Aww.  Total manipulator – she was brutalized and wanted to regain control – or so House’s team determined – by asserting she wanted House as her doctor).  For more than one moment, I thought she was a figment of House’s imagination to get him to work out his internal demons (since drug rehab was a complete failure for him).

House – actor Hugh Laurie brilliant as ever – was as a touch irritating in his constant refusal to change.  I wasn’t entirely surprised by the revelation of his abusive childhood and who his abuser was; but I’m getting tired of how he won’t … change.  Perhaps that’s how it is – he is a character who simply won’t change, because he has been too angry over how his past was and how he knows the power of lies – hell, I think he lies to himself or is just too damn honest – after awhile, things blur and you just can’t quite tell with House – oh, and he had his stroke in his leg and he lost the love of his life and he was shot last season, and life just plain sucks.  

 Dr. Cameron is another irritation, as she got saddled with yet another cancer-dying patient. Yes, we know she can’t handle people who die (why is she a doctor – uh, oh, well) and she is constantly reminded of how her husband died of cancer too.  Dr. Foreman needs some lines (after all, like House, he’s had his own traumatic thing – and I think he was in denial about it).  Dr. Chase had the closest thing to suggesting the right thing: informing House that there may not be the right answer to treating this victim.  Well, leave it to a guy who might still have a moral compass and was going to be a priest to try to say something nice. 

Personally, I enjoy the show most when they move towards the ensemble feeling and less of the obvious burden on Hugh Laurie – House and Wilson are fun to watch (come on – it’s Robert Sean Leonard as Wilson – he has acting chops!); and the younger doctors jousting with each other and House – can we get more of that again, pretty please? 

Hell, I’ll even take the evil Vogel back.  Vogel was evil for the sake of being evil – he enjoyed being the boss from hell.  Vogel the character was a total contrast from the role Chi McBride played on “Boston Public” – the high school principal with the greatest of intentions (well, I stuck with Boston Public only during the first season and a half, so perhaps I’m wrong).  I didn’t quite care for the detective character that David Morse played – Morse was a great actor, but his character strained belief as this season’s villain – I mean, if there’s a poster boy for police corruption, that was Det. Tritter.  His evilness wasn’t as fun or as excusable as Vogel’s evilness.   

And a final mention: the passing of Olympic medalist C.K. Yang.