Triscribe

Author: ssw15

  • July 2010 Continues

    APA’s in the news: I don’t envy the position that US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, is in; he has a steep learning curve on the oil leak disaster, even if it’s pretty darn good that we do have a Nobel Laureate like him on the matter.

    Speaking of the oil leak disaster, would a Republican President have done any better or worse?  Slate’s Christopher Beam ponders on the subject.  I’m of the view that – considering the complexity and the depth and horror of the situation – it couldn’t be any better or worse under any other Presidency.  But, that’s all very speculative.

    Oh, wow – the return of the Rapping Doctor, Dr. John Clarke (who had his big break last year, with his rap on H1N1 virus), telling us to step over the gap on the subway (yeah, that’s a public service announcement in dire need of reminding, and probably does count as a public health and safety concern). (btw, he’s the rapping doctor who had the video about the H1N1 virus last year; pretty nifty).

    I thought this NY Times article by Randy Kennedy on the restoration of the Thomas Eakins painting, “The Gross Clinic,” fascinating, because it’s about a well-known American painting, by a significant American painter (reminding me of the great American Painting art history course that I had taken back in college); plus the writing on the subject of restoration reminded me of the lectures by an art history professor I had back in college, who really had strong concerns about what it means to “restore” art (granted, Prof. James Beck focused on Italian Renaissance art (see the well-written obit about him in the NY Times awhile back), but the criticism’s sort of transferable and “restoration” can be tricky stuff).

    NY Times’ Linda Greenhouse asks whether Justice Kennedy’s influence – hence a so-called Kennedy Court on the US Supreme Court – is really extant anymore, when it’s becoming clearer that he’s on the right-leaning side of the Court and not exactly that centric after all.

    My Soap Box moment: Bob Herbert, in today’s NY Times’ editorial section, is right – kind of scary to push nuclear power when we kind of suck at trying to get oil, such as it is with the mess in the Gulf of Mexico.   Getting off the Soap Box now.

    A nice Q&A on NPR’s website, with Jesse Tyler Ferguson of the ABC sitcom, “Modern Family” and currently in the city doing the Shakespeare in the Park repertoire of “Merchant of Venice” and “The Winter’s Tale.”  He’s been nominated for an Emmy for “Modern Family” – in which he plays the former child ice skater and now lawyer (sadly funny episode, where he’s trying to land a new job – and there was that episode where he was scared of a pigeon – which I empathize).

    And, let’s end on a positive note: former US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky on the subject of writing poetry for kids.  Thought this was interesting, since I was – coincidentally – recently reading some Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear work – writings for children, yet darkly funny and weird – not what you’d think as mere kids’ stuff.

  • Yet Another Heat Wave 2010

    “Hawaii 5-0” gets a Hawaiian blessing; hopefully, this means that it’ll be a decent show and gets some decent ratings.

    Of the “Facts of Life” cast, I’ve admired Kim Fields for having a prolonged career – that she went on to do “Living Single” by the 1990’s – that’s not a bad deal (I think Nancy McKeon was the other cast member who didn’t do too badly either).  Thought that this was a nice article about Fields, as she proceeds to do more directing and producing in her career, and still act, and not disassociating herself from “Facts of Life” (although, I kind of agree with her – being forever “Tootie” probably gets a little annoying as an adult).

    (oh, and yes, I did see that silly reunion Facts of Life tv movie – nothing impressive, but it was nice to see most of the cast together again, although they acted like the characters played by Cloris Leachman, George Clooney, and Mackenzie Astin didn’t exist, to my vague recollection).

    Asian American International Film Festival 2010!  I saw “Back to the Future” (the compilation of sci-fi/sci-fi-ish/abstract short films) on Friday night.  “Mao’s Last Dancer” at AAIFF was postponed to Sunday; it was its NY debut; see trailer here.

    The thing is – maybe I’m a little more fascinated in seeing more diverse casting and work by APA’s (in front of and behind the screens) – possibly since I’m still a little bewildered by “The Last Airbender” by M. Night Shyamalan (and yeah, I still haven’t posted my full comments on that subject).

    NY Times’ Sunday Routine: Q & A with NY Philharmonic’s Alan Gilbert (who spends his Sunday in a very NY way, he  being a native NYer; he’s also half-Japanese, lest anyone thinks this is somehow completely un-Triscribe-relevant).

    Summer tv:

    The return of “Mad Men” on AMC.  I’m so behind this particular series, but it’s visually gripping – the style!

    “Royal Pains” – Dr. Hank’s dad actually helped Hank this past episode, as Hank rescued the rich teenagers of the Hamptons from their hijinks and their medical problems.  I still can’t get over seeing Henry Winkler as the father of brothers Hank and Evan – “Fonzie” as his slippery best.  Plus, Divya, the physician’s assistant, might actually be smarter than either Hank or Evan.  Thumbs up for this past episode.

    Let’s deal with the latest heat wave in the city; may I never complain about snowstorms again.

  • Stuff!

    Explanations for the World Cup teams’ nicknames.

    Still too bad about Team USA, but they did as well as they could with their World Cup showing.

    Do your votes on Facebook, on the Chase Community Giving!

    Coming soon: Asian American International Film Festival 2010!

    Commentary coming soon: I did see the “The Last Airbender” movie last weekend, the opening weekend.  I’ll post some thoughts about it later, but I’ll note for the moment that Angry Asian Man’s blog has some interesting links on the subject of the movie’s casting, including a link to Dante Bosco’s thoughts (Bosco being the original voice actor for the character of Prince Zuko in the Nickelodeon cartoon: “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”).  Bottom line, to me anyway, is that it’s just tough for Asian Americans in the arts scene.

    Summer tv – well, it could be better…

    I barely watched the second season of  “Merlin” on Syfy, but finally got to watch the season finale – that was rather entertaining.  Not sure how deep into the Arthurian mythos the series plan to go into, but this variation of a young Merlin helping young Arthur and how they both got to grow up and one day be the heroes we know and love – it’s nice to watch a friendship grow on tv.  As for other items about the series’ take on the Arthurian stuff:

    Arthur and Guinevere are still working on the romance department; it’s nice to think that there’s a version where Guinevere has a personality and the romance between the future rulers of Camelot gets to develop and not just destined (as for Guinevere’s future adultery with Lancelot, Arthur’s best knight and friend – well, maybe we don’t have to see that happen on tv – although, there’s an argument to be made that Arthur is a lot more aware and perhaps forgiving or understanding than would be assumed?  Consider, for instance, the variation by the webcomic, Arthur, King of Time and Space – where Arthur in the contemporary and space arcs seems to have reluctance about giving up his best friend and his wife).

    Actually, Arthur’s really got to figure out that magic might be his friend and that things are a mess because of his father, Uther (played by Anthony Head, the ex-Giles of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, the creepy villain of a Doctor Who episode, and the unforgettable Taster’s Choice coffee commercial guy).  And, let’s just say that Uther’s intolerance toward magic and his secrets from Arthur are going to mess him up in the future.  (Uther’s creepiness was there in the old stories, so I’m just amazed that they kept him alive in the tv series to show the creepiness after all).

    Morgana’s at least not Arthur’s half-sister this time, so actual incest isn’t there; but the whole evolution of “she’s going to betray you” is still good tv.

    Maybe I’ll catch up on the “Merlin” episodes that I missed, someday.

    Season 2 of “Warehouse 13” on SyFy- season premiere was pretty entertaining.  My only question is: just how big is the warehouse?

    The return of PBS’ “History Detectives.”  Some good stuff.

  • Weekend!

    A-Team and The Karate Kid!  Oh My God – it’s the return of the 1980’s, in a revised kind of way.

    I got to see The A-Team movie; nothing perfect, but if you liked the old tv series, this was a fun.   Plot made no sense; but what was there was an origins story of how my generation’s favorite tv soldiers of fortune got together to be the gang that we know and love.

    Oh, and putting aside the excessive CGI and explosions (yeah, I know – explosions in anything related to A-Team) – but the cast was pretty good – Liam Neeson! Bradley Cooper! And, the guys playing the B.A. and Murdoch roles!

    See also: Steven James Snyder’s review on Time Magazine’s Techland; and even Richard Corliss’ review (Corliss being the official Time movie critic); review by EW’s Owen Glieberman; and Dana Stevens on Slate.  Roger Ebert really didn’t care for it – which I understand and empathize, but I seriously don’t go into watching the movie on the A-Team to hope that I’d get “Hurt Locker” (seriously – no.).

    The Smurfs movie is in progress.   Actor Hank Azaria as Gargamel – there was a picture floating in one of the entertainment magazines catching him in the city in his Gargamel costume.  But, Neil Patrick Harris as Johan?  Oh My God!

    Speaking of the 1980’s, the man behind “Voltron,” Peter Keefe, passed away.  The 1980’s as a decade keeps coming back.

    World Cup time; Slate has a good explanation for why North Americans call the sport “soccer” while the rest of the world calls it “football.”

    Pretty entertained by the US v. England World Cup game: ending on a 1-1 tie.  It seemed festive in South Africa, and even stateside (in the city, anyway).  Not sure how they took it in England, but oh well.

    I do thank the Angry Asian Man blog for posting a very hot photo of the Japanese team – these fit men in suits – so hot.

    Oh, a funny yet hot look at David Beckham’s reactions to the US v. England tie – the pictures were funny indeed (including a photoshopped look at the Obama White House laughing at Beckham.  Oops!).

    What’s with soccer athletes looking so good?

    Finished reading Bonnie Tsui‘s book “American Chinatown: A People’s History of Five Neighborhoods,” where she examines the contexts for the Chinatowns of San Francisco; NYC; Honolulu; Los Angeles; and Las Vegas.   Smooth read; especially fascinated about the Chinatowns I knew least (Honolulu and Las Vegas).  The rest could have been more original – but then again, the book might be more for an audience who need to be more aware about Chinatowns.

  • Monday into Tuesday

    Kudos:  US District Ct., North District of California – the trial court of the federal system – finally has an Asian American federal judge (the first in its 160 year history, according to the NAPABA press release); Judge Lucy Koh has been confirmed.  She will be the only current Korean American federal judge in the country and second in American history.

    Considering northern California’s place in APA legal history, this news on Judge Koh is big and good stuff.  Amazing how Pres. Obama has increased the number of APA federal judges (and hopefully the Senate will stay productive).  See also the post on the subject on Angry Asian Man blog.

    Also, from Angry Asian Man: an Indian American wins the National Spelling Bee.  He also points to this fascinating article on Slate on why have Indians done so well in the spelling bee: basically, they’re just really, really into it – community support can go a long way, that’s for sure.

    A Chinese American family fighting in Surrogate’s Court: as the family of C.C. Wang argue over the artwork that he had collected; talk about the messiness of family feuds and property issues.

    Okay, so I’m actually getting excited that the A-Team movie is coming (although ,I’m hoping it will be a fun movie and not completely crappy; I mean – come on, it’s the A-Team!).

    Strangely, besides A-Team, more of my ’80’s youth is coming back, since: via Time Magazine’s Techland – news that Voltron will be back on tv (what?  seriously?) and someone really is doing a Thundercats movie (what?  seriously?).  (well, there is a CGI animation version.  Really.  And, it seemed that Keith and Princess Allura admitted their attraction to one another.  I think.).

    Although, I’ve said it before: if they bring back My Little Pony and the Care Bears, or the Snorks – then it really is the end of the world, if not civilization.  (and I wonder if we’re pretty close to that as it is half the time, considering the political vitriol and Icelandic volcano and gushing oil leaks and financial jobless recovery/prolonged recession).

    On the other hand, I am sort of in the hunt for the summer tv thing, sort of.  Over on David Bianculli’s TV Worth Watching, contributing critic Diane Holloway reminds people of the return of “Burn Notice” and “Mad Men,” and she seems to like “The Good Guys” (the one where Bradley Whitford – the ex-Josh of “West Wing” – has a ridiculous mustache and Colin Hanks is his partner in fighting crime).

    I can’t get myself to watch “The Good Guys,” because… it’s Bradley Whitford with a ridiculous mustache.  I can be very superficial, I know.  Maybe I’ll watch it eventually, since I like the two actors (or their previous work on other stuff) and want them to have a shot at TV glory.

    I think I’ll give “Lie to Me” another shot; Tim Roth is strong (at least he’s a Brit playing a Brit, as opposed to Hugh Laurie’s (still masterful) task as House; I can only put up so much of the (kind of weird and fascinating) trend of Brits/Australians playing Americans).  I watched a little of the repeated season finale of last season and a re-airing of the pilot episode.  The concept of the show is pretty nifty; the characters — well, I like to care about the characters.  I don’t think I’m there yet with “Lie to Me.”

    And, I’d like to get another try of “Royal Pains” – the idea of the ex-Fonzie as dad to Dr. Hank is kind of … weird.  Otherwise, I would like to finally get on the bandwagon on “Burn Notice” and “Mad Men,” but I’m so not consistent with the cable tv offerings.  Someday.

    Let’s see if this week can be a bit more positive; hope springs eternal.

  • June Continues

    World Science Festival in the city; some good stuff.

    So, along with wacky service problems on weekends (shuttle bus, anyone?), MTA’s going to be issuing a new map (probably to reflect the end of some subway lines and other things). It’s supposed to look sleeker.  Hmm.  We’ll see how good it’ll be.

    But, it’s a pain in the neck over the weekend, when subway lines aren’t going between Brooklyn and Manhattan and buses all clumped up.

    Coming up, on 6/12/10: Save NYC Libraries.

    Here’s a link to a trailer of the new “Hawaii Five-O,” coming this fall on CBS.  I’m getting more into the new Hawaii Five-O than I expected, based on the trailers alone, which look good. They seem to fit in this era of “Can we please have a more diverse tv cast” and “are we losing Miranda rights?” — plus, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, even Scott Caan! (oh, and Alex O’Loughlin, who is in need of a… show that doesn’t get canceled; but, he’s no Jack Lord though as “Steve McGarrett” (and I never really watched the original Hawaii Five-O).

    I posted the trailer on Facebook, and FC noted that there’s one continuity blooper – at 1:02, one of the cops is holding his badge upside down, and at 1:03 his badge is right side up.  Clearly, they’re still working on the show (well, tv is tv).

    But, I’m not sure what does it mean if I’m not really into much fall tv as it is.  Hmm.

    Via Angry Asian Man blog: by Jeff Yang, on the SF Gate, “The Book of Daniel,” profiling Daniel Dae Kim.  Good stuff to read.

    Apparently, “Heroes” wants one more shot to say goodbye (from Time’s Techland, of the TVGuide.com posting). — seriously, no.  I gave up when they had unceremoniously killed off the Adrian Pasdar character Nathan.  I’m not getting on board just to see more mess and say goodbye.  “Lost” earned a goodbye, because they cared about their characters; “Heroes” did not, because they didn’t care about their characters (or stopped doing so).

    On the other hand, I’ll still give “Heroes” credit for its diverse cast.  Sure.  But, it didn’t do more appropriate stuff with the characters.

    Shakespeare in the City: check it out the list on WNYC and Wall Street Journal’s review on New York Classical Theatre’s scheduled “Richard III” at Central Park (yes, roving Shakespeare).

    Lawyers as writers – Scott Turow was on Charlie Rose a couple  of weeks ago about his  newest book.  John Grisham was on NPR’s All Things Considered, about his own legal thriller for kids (seriously; I’m not entirely sure how it works either, but it sounded intriguing).  I’m impressed that these two pioneers in legal thrillers are still at it.

    Linda Greenhouse on J. Souter’s commencement speech at Harvard and her observation that he hasn’t completely disappeared.  Good for him!

    The passing of John Wooden, UCLA’s legendary men’s basketball coach.

  • June 2010 Begins

    Well, Memorial Day came and went.

    FC, my sister, and I checked out the Vilcek Foundation‘s exhibit of “Lost” props and photos.  Mr. Cluck!  Dharma van!  Dharma beer!

    My sister and I then checked out Asia Society’s museum (exhibits on “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art” and “Inspired by India: Works by NYC Students“) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (“Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art“; “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity”; and “Tutankhamun’s Funeral“).

    The end of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, but really for us at Triscribe, APA Heritage stuff is every day.  But, some items of interest:

    Great stuff at the AABANY/SABANY/KALAGNY event: “Blazing a Trail in the Law.”

    Angry Asian Man showed a clip of this funny and poignant comment from Ben Kingsley to the ladies of “The View,” about how he was with a terrible dinner guest – a German woman who (1) asked if he was Jewish, and (2) said it was “worse” when he said he was half-English and half-Indian.  His outrage was on point, although I wonder if this incident had occurred before he was on “Gandhi” or “Schindler’s List.”  (or maybe it did occur afterward!  What a terrible dinner party that must have been).

    NY Times covering the Bon Chon v. Kyochon trend; fried chicken will never be the same, now is it?

    Time’s Techland (the geek/nerd/etc. coverage) post by Evan Narcisse, on a Memorial Day special – honoring Asian/APA comic book heroes (the Atom; Jubilee; the ex-Batgirl Cassandra Cain – I had to smile over those, even though, yeah, I think Asian/APA comic book heroes have gotten a little shafted.  Just a little).

    Last but not least to note: Qing Hong Wu is now an American citizen, thanks to Governor Paterson’s pardon; there are second chances and redemption is possible.

    But, life – yeah, it’s complicated.

  • Aloha, “Lost”

    Re: the “Lost” series finale – I’m still digesting it.  There is so much to be said and yet maybe nothing needs to be said; I could just leave it to the sublime, but really, “Lost” is a show that activates discussion and thought.

    On a sidenote: I thought ABC overdid it with the commercials; rendering the series finale into a 2 1/2 hours just for commercials?!  Come on!  I can’t begrudge the network for wanting to profit from the event, but they really got excessive.

    My initial reaction to the series finale was of some kind of emotional resolution.  I felt a little teary over seeing Jack seeming to be at peace, with Vincent the dog by his side at the end.  After all that turmoil, perhaps it was a satisfactory ending to realize that the Sideways Universe is a waiting area before the loved ones get be together again to the next life or the next world or whatnot (fitting to whatever belief system one has) and that our castaways were able to find their own resolutions and reunite.

    Not that I quite enjoyed the Jimmy Kimmel post-series finale show (some of the Q&A from that audience left much to be desired and the skits of alternate endings weren’t that funny to me), but I liked Kimmel’s title of “Aloha,” as I thought that the phrase “aloha” best summed up the series finale – as a phrase known to be both “Hello” and “goodbye.”

    But, ok, aloha…now what?  Good luck and farewell and welcome to the next thing, as Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Locke, Hurley – and even returning old friends like Boone, Shannon, Charlie, and Claire – move forward.  Is that all?

    I ultimately realize what a head-twister (not to mention heart-rending) the finale was.  The “real” universe – well, the island is saved and Jack can let go and … death is death; life is life; and what happens, happens; c’est la vie; love is the answer; and humans are… human.

    Was the series about science or faith, or both?  Was it about having free will or power – do we have choices or none at all?  Or was it all of the above?  (For instance, Jack chose to step up and succeed Jacob, and Jacob wanted to give the candidates a choice, which he did not have, because of his crazy adopted mom.  Meanwhile, Hurley didn’t want to be the successor, but it wasn’t like he had a choice; it wasn’t as if Jack, as human as he was, was going to give the job to Ben either.  And, perhaps only Hurley would be so compassionate and willing to ask Ben for help and to be his “Number Two,” I suppose!).

    Is it okay or not okay not to have all the answers to the plots?  I probably would have preferred more balance between characters and plots during this last season, and wished we had more time to deal with the implications (or even to have given Eloise, Charles Widmore, Daniel Faraday, Charlotte, Desmond and Penny more time to resolve their stories, and I could have lived without the head-scratching stuff – like the senseless deaths of Ilana and Widmore’s staff) – but I’m actually more okay with not having all the answers or all the mysteries resolved.  (I survived many other series finales and I’m okay – really).

    As someone who hasn’t been a rabid fan, speaking as a television viewer who wants good tv, I still stand by what I have said about the season premiere of the last season of “Lost”: I want something entertaining and with some kind of heart.  I would hope that the writers would care about their characters, and I think Cuse and Lindelof did care (at least, I felt that they did in this series finale).  While I cannot quite feel “happy” in the kind of ending that there was – that all roads leads to a life’s end, and boy is that sad or what? – it is an ending and we watched the characters seem okay with that – if not happy to be together again, even if it was in the afterlife, and that of itself is actually uplifting (there’s always hope, in some fashion).

    Am I making any sense?  Did the ending of “Lost” make sense?  Maybe not for everybody, not even for me (if I keep thinking about it, and I probably should stop that already!).  I’m relieved that Jack is at peace, even if he never really got to be a real dad to a son (in the alternate universe, he did get to be what he missed out on – where he did resolve his losses, even with his own father – but is it really the same?  Hmm.  Not sure.).  I’m sorry that Jack’s son was never “real.”  (well, he was real enough to Sideways Jack).  I’m pleased that Sawyer and Juliet are back together, even if it might have taken Sawyer awhile to get there.  And, even Kate made her peace with Jack and Claire (in both universes).  But, the ones who were left behind – Sun and Jin’s daughter; Aaron; Walt; Jack’s son who never existed – well, does the Island leave a legacy to them?  To anyone?

    The series finale isn’t perfect for not quite answering questions to the plots, but it captured the essence of the show, which made me feel okay and almost wanting to revisit it all over again.  Was it sad?  To me, yes, but it did not feel completely wrong or inappropriate to me.  There was a subtlety that left my imagination going; it seems to me that the discussion on “Lost” will never end, even if the series itself is over.

    “Lost” as a series reminds me of something a college professor of mine once said about the great books we read – along the lines that if it makes an impact on us, that if it makes us think or react however way – that is the power of reading a great book.  I think “Lost” as a series has been something really moving and it worked for me.  It’s not perfect, but it made me care.

    Great acting from Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, and Terry O’Quinn; even kudos to the rest of the cast – they held everything together.

    Aloha, “Lost.”  See you in the next life.

    Update:

    I posted a shorter, less rambling version of this on comments on David Bianculli’s blog TV Worth Watching (which is a great blog, by the way, and I liked and agreed with Bianculli’s thoughts about the series finale).

    Other posts on the series finale that I’ve taken particular notice: Time’s James Poniewozik with his Lost Watch series finale post; Poniewozik’s post on links to others’ posts; Alan Sepinwall’s thoughts; and the amazingly in-depth posts (part 1 AND part 2!) by Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff “Doc” Jensen.

  • Catching Up

    Sorry to have fallen behind; life and other things occurred.

    Like… Arizona passing odd laws: like their anti-illegal immigration law (still not sure how the law enforcement goes about stopping to identify who’s illegal without causing a whole host of other problems and not to mention where Arizona’s going to get the money to enforce their law and the litigation involved; granted, there is a whole context as to why Arizonan state gov’t decided to pass the law, there had to be a better way to do it without irritating people) and their law to end ethnic studies (primarily out of fear the ethnic studies is about producing anti-Americans).

    I’m no immigration law expert, but from what I scanned of the Arizona law is that it leaves much to be desired, since it leave room for abuse and then, if law enforcement can’t or won’t enforce it, some civilian can sue the municipality or state for not enforcing the law – more room for abuse.

    As for the ethnic studies issue, speaking as someone who has taken one or two ethnic studies courses back in college:

    (a) Arizona really is freaking crazy about that issue (apologies to Arizonans out there, but seriously!).

    (b) I’d suggest that their governor and legislators take an ethnic studies class and figure out that ethnic studies do not teach people to be anti-American; if anything, it’s about understanding how complex our country is; it’s also not about “segregating” people either (and if anything…, maybe encouraging each other to take classes that aren’t about our own cultures and moving beyond what we think we know might improve race relations – or even a lack thereof – in this country); good grief.

    (c) (insert eye roll here).

    I’ll step off my soap box now.

    The news of Justice John Paul Stevens’ retirement and the selection of his replacement took a lot of attention.

    (a) There was, of course, coverage on who was Stevens and his legacy (see Adam Liptak’s article from the NY Times).

    (b) There were articles about the folks on the short list and even a last minute addition to the short list (I liked this article in the NY Times about Judge Sidney Thomas of Montana, appellate judge of the 9th Circuit; he seemed refreshingly different – empathetic, smart, and not from the usual parts of the country).

    In the end, President Obama has selected US Solicitor General Elena Kagan; we might have a fourth woman on the US Supreme Court – quite something to think about.

    Of course, all the criticism came right away, from all sides.  Frankly, the one argument that I have found most hypocritical is the one on how Kagan’s lack of judicial experience is a lacking.  Let’s not forget that, before 1972, a lot of US Supreme Court justices had no prior judicial experience – and that the last one in that category was the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

    Plus, Kagan’s not exactly comparable to Harriet Miers, President George W. Bush’s original pick to replace Justice O’Connor.  (I’m not exactly saying that a Harvard Law graduate is better than anyone else; it’s just that the former Harvard Law dean might have more thoughts on constitutional law issues than a corporate lawyer like Miers was).

    Strangely, though – with the selection of Kagan, four out of the five boroughs of NYC might be represented on the Supreme Court.  I doubt that this is what most people had in mind as “diversity,” but it is funny to think that NJ has more representation on the Court before Staten Island will (in the form of Alito and even NJ-born Scalia).  See the article by James Barron of the NY Times on this subject.  The Daily News had some article on the subject of Staten Island feeling left out, but I’m not going to make suggestions.

    The sad news that NBC is canceling “Law and Order,” so that now, it only ties “Gunsmoke” as longest running tv drama.  Articles include:

    (a)  Its effect on NYC economy is considered by the NY Times; Daily News also covered how the acting community had built resumes via L&O.

    (b) Some tv criticism: Daily News’ David Hinckley talks about how L&O covered the basics.  NY Times’ Alessandra Stanley just had her own observations.

    Personally, I think NBC has to figure out how to fill the 10pm-11pm time slot and they’re not going to have any good transition without L&O, which – with its current cast – was a lot more entertaining than its still-extant spinoffs L&O: SVU and L&O: Criminal Intent.  NBC couldn’t even plan a cancellation with enough advancement to let L&O have a proper series finale?  Come on!

    Plus, many questions!  Are we really going to lose the most entertaining legal crew in the form of DA McCoy, Exec. ADA Cutter, and ADA Rubirosa?  Will Cutter ever realize he can only go so far with his kooky legal ethics?  Will we ever get a closing argument from Cutter or Rubirosa?  What will we do without McCoy as the DA who wonders what is he getting into with the DA thing?

    And, what about Detective Lupo?  Is he still taking night classes at Triscribe’s alma mater law school?  Is he ever going to graduate?

    Good read in the NY Times:

    Really good stuff from Michael Kimmelman on who “owns” art? Of the fight for art is for nationalist or political purposes, does the art really matter for the “owner”?  ex., the dispute between Greece and Great Britain over the Elgin Marble (or, to Greece, simply the Parthenon marble, more or less stolen from Greece).  Isn’t it about giving people the opportunity to see the art?  I especially liked how Kimmelman closed the article: “We’re all custodians of global culture for posterity…. Neither today’s Greeks nor Britons own the Parthenon marbles, really.”

    Recent museum visiting:

    at the Morgan Museum and Library; saw the Magna Carta, the basis of the concepts of rule of law and basic rights like right to trials and juries. (The Magna Carta is staying in town due to delays in shipping it back to England because of the Icelandic volcano ash cloud).

    Recent play viewing:

    Watched the roving Shakespeare at Columbia University: King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe did “Measure for Measure.”  Cool stuff; the college kids were so talented.  Plus, the play’s about how a bad law can cause serious problems.

    Recent television viewing:

    “Hamlet” on “Great Performances” on PBS – David Tennant (the 10th Doctor of “Doctor Who”) as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) as Claudius.  “Great Performances” website has the capability of letting the viewer watching the movie on-line temporarily; check it out while you can!

    “Lost” — the road to the series finale is paved with much confusion.  I can live with some mysteries left as mysteries, but that last episode – where the back story of Jacob and the Man in Black is somewhat revealed – was strange and left wanting.

    Plus, finally got to watch an episode of “Justified” on FX.  Entertaining.  Very Leonard Elmore.  Much violence.  But, strong acting and writing.  And, the lead actor, Timothy Olyphant – it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes.

    APA Heritage Month continues:

    Tammy Duckworth, on Washington Post’s website, on leadership.  (hat tip to Angry Asian Man blog).  I liked this quote from Duckworth, currently US Assistant Secretary of  Veterans Affairs and an Iraq War veteran (link to transcript):

    Being a leader is identifying who you are, bringing your strengths, but also identifying the strengths of the people that you’re working with and really building on that and pulling together a team. And just forgetting about what other people are saying about how you should be and how you’re supposed to be, just bring your own strengths to it.

    Another hat tip to Angry Asian Man blog: Virginia Tech’s Ed Wang has been drafted by the Buffalo Bills, making him the NFL’s first Chinese American.

    Last, but not least, another hat tip to Angry Asian Man blog (but I’ll also say that I got an e-mail from NAPABA about this too): NAPABA wanted people to reach out to the Senate about the confirmation proceedings on Goodwin Liu’s appointment to the 9th Circuit appellate court.

    As with Kagan, the opposition’s trying to argue that Liu’s lack of judicial experience is some kind of concern and how his academic writings somehow are problematic of how he’d be as a judge.  I don’t think either argument works, and hope that we’ll have a second Asian American at the appellate level soon, without the politics driving people batty.

  • Because We’re Lawyers and APA’s – Good News!

    Hooray: Judge Denny Chin has been finally confirmed for the 2nd Circuit!  (and in an article on the Chin news, it’s also reported that Loretta Lynch was also confirmed as US Attorney for Eastern District of NY (for a 2nd time)).

    NAPABA has a press release on the news; wow, Chin’s the first APA appellate judge outside the 9th Circuit.

    David Lat of Above the Law also on the news.

    Plus: Really great stuff in Washington Post’s website by Dr. Jim Young Kim, president of Dartmouth, on leadership, identity, and having skills so you can actually do things and give back.  We’re living in interesting times, even if progress still takes time to get there.