Triscribe

Category: Washington, D.C.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Last Week of October Continues

    The annual viewing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” special tonight, plus a viewing of the more obscure “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown,” wherein Linus loses his lead in the class president election with his broadcasted belief in the Great Pumpkin (and Lucy learns that it’s very hard to be the campaign manager). Hat tip from Time’s tv critic James Poniewozik on the Peanuts specials (with a reference to Sisyphus!). I think I want to look for the most sincere pumpkin patch, now – but really, Linus, your idealism is killing me…

    Goodbye to Geocities; an observation by Slate’s Farhad Manjoo on Geocities’ impact on fads in the Internet.

    Interesting Angry Asian Man posts:

    on the lack of diversity in Hollywood – that is, there is something of an increase on APA’s on tv, but there’s still some lacking on the big screen.

    A photo opp of President Obama with the APA’s in his staff, in the Oval Office.

    US Senator Daniel Inouye is now the third longest serving in the Senate; Angry Asian Man has some interesting links and observations.

    The Mets fans’ dilemma, with the impending Yankees v. Phillies World Series: who to root for?

    Hat tip to my brother about this: C. Montgomery Burns for (NYC) Mayor. Eeeexcellent… Actually: Hilarious!!! So, don’t forget to vote next week…

  • Post Labor Day

    “Even old New York was once New Amsterdam…” — we’re apparently celebrating the 400th anniversary of Hudson on the river, with the Dutch monarchy in town.

    The NY Times on bento boxes.

    The president making a speech on telling kids to work hard in school and all that stuff — honestly, it’s either going to bore the kids or inspire them; it’s only the beginning of the school year – and it’s hardly indoctrination of ideology.

    Meanwhile, Justice Sotomayor is formally taking her seat on the bench, plus the US Supreme Ct in general is about to face a difficult case with an all-star cast (Theodore Olson, Floyd Abrams, Seth Waxman, and even the new Solicitor General, Elena Kagan, in her first oral argument).

    Dare we begin to write in italics, to have a more legible America? Hmm…

    As Entertainment Weekly’s Ken Tucker notes: it’s the return of “At the Movies” – with movie critics! A.O. Scott of NY Times and Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune – the new guys, since the two Bens were ousted (see here on my acknowledging the arrival of the two Bens). Not that there was anything wrong with Ben Mankiewicz (as Tucker noted), but Ben Lyons bore the brunt of the (bad) criticism of his movie criticism ability (he’s not quite like his dad, Jeffrey, apparently; I didn’t hate him, but I didn’t watch the show at all while the Bens were on, so…).

    So, thankfully, A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips are At the Movies (considering that they’ve filled in for Ebert when it was the Ebert and Roeper show, they’ve shown they are able folks). I love that the embedded video that Tucker included in his blog, previewing the new show, is all about how Scott and Phillips are Serious Journalists and Longtime Film Critics (totally trying to make up for the whole Ben Lyons thing, no offense intended for the kid, but guess it’s time to find other things to do; I do miss Jeffrey Lyons though).

    I watched it an episode this past weekend and it was pretty good, although I’m not sure of their “see it/rent it/skip it” rating (Ebert has the rights to the thumbs up/down thing, so it wasn’t as if they could use it). But, it is great to see Scott and Phillips talking serious (joy or hate) about movies.

    I did see “The Time Traveler’s Wife” this weekend; could’ve been a better movie, but was ok. I’ve heard the book was better, but it’s an adaptation; it does what it can do.

    Saw “Adam” last week – that was kind of sweet and sad; I think this one and “(500) Days of Summer” are the dark romantic movies of the summer – can’t really say anti-romantic, since they both suggest that it’s better to have loved than to have never loved at all, but they were both bittersweet movies.

  • Labor Day Weekend!

    I wish summer didn’t have to end.

    Catching up on reading: Time Magazine on one man’s attempt to stop the tide of suicides in Japan, not a great trend in the middle of a recession.

    Hat tip to Angry Asian Man for some great links, namely:

    John Cho, in style, Angry Asian Man notes. Not looking like Harold or (New)Sulu at all. Thumbs up!

    California gets some more Asian judges and Angry Asian Man profiles one of his readers, a law student at Howard Law, who is a founding member of their APALSA and he’s currently taking a class with Prof. Frank Wu (cool).

    US Open and Ramadan – a Pakistani tennis player who tries to be cosmopolitan, religious, and professional all at once.

    Jason Bateman profile. He’s come a long way from the 1980’s child acting gigs. Plus, I loved how the article mentions his Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family days (the one tv series with three different titles (and two networks) – an average comedy that somehow managed to stay on the air for a decent run).


    Space has a smell    . That’s more than I would have figured, since smell involves someone’s brain, via the senses, to detect.


    People in NYC read while underground    . No kidding.

    More on the High Line.

    NY Times’ Alessandra Stanley on the anchorwoman trend.

    I can’t seem to find a link to an on-line version of the article, but Richard Huff of Daily News reported that Friday’s edition of Channel 11’s 10pm newscast was likely the first time in NYC metro area new that both anchors were Asians, with Arthur Chi’en filling in for Jim Watkins and sitting with Kaity Tong. They even acknowledged it during the news, just before the sports segment (and had otherwise made it just the usual Channel 11 news thing).

    I’m confused with Barney and Robin, but that’s ok. Another season of “How I Met Your Mother” to enjoy!

    Last but not least; go vote in the US Dept. of Health and Human Services‘ contest on how to prevent flu. The rapping doctor is the New Yorker, as the Daily News reported.

  • Labor Day Looms

    A follow up to the story that I linked on the rapper who allegedly got herself an education: I say “allegedly” because a Slate article by Ben Sheffner says it’s all faked. Daily News has some explaining to do.

    At least Daily News did a correct story on the upcoming closing of the French bookstore at Rockefeller; I saw the sign for the closing when I was there last month, and it was sad to think about it. Seeing it in the newspaper makes it no less sad.

    Meanwhile, NY Times does some NY stuff – we read in the subway. Books, that is.

    Momofuku heading to midtown? Ooh!

    The Q&A on the bagel. Ooh!

    Ice cream in review, as the summer winds down.

    A Power Ranger who wants to do Mixed Martial Arts. As they say in “Grey’s Anatomy”: Seriously? The ex-Green Ranger did a recent return to the Power Rangers show (umm, about a couple of years ago), as the adult version of his character, and he came off his age on the show – meaning, his 30’s. He isn’t a kid anymore, so he really ought to be careful.

    Change is coming to the land of tv news: Charlie Gibson’s retiring by the end of the year, with Diane Sawyer as his successor. This isn’t a bad idea at all; but it apparently caught ABC by surprise, because they have no successor for Sawyer on Good Morning America. Hmm. ABC really ought to have better contingency plans.

    Plus – one wonders: does hiring one law clerk really mean one justice shall contemplate retirement? Or are we reading too much into the tea leaves for the future of one J. Stevens? Hmm.

  • Stuff

    Angry Asian Man has some nifty links roundup, including on a NY Times profile on Andrea Wong of Lifetime (ok, granted, besides being the channel with Golden Girls reruns, it seems to be making its way with reality shows… must we continue the track on reality shows?) and an article on the honoring of Cristeta Comerford, the Filipina head chef at the White House.

    Angry Asian Man also considers the new Nissin ad with the little Asian Master (preaching the way of the Nissin noodles) racist. Scenario: wise little Asian Master (appearing to be CGI created) appears in an Office pantry, directing young white woman to “enlightenment”: add water and zap your Nissin noodles for a nice lunch. Granted, I was weirded out by the commercial – thinking along the lines of “This broad stereotyping still happens on tv in 2009?” – but I’m not sure of what to make of the way the commercial ended – where, while enjoying her bite of Nissin noodles, the woman asks little Asian Master who is he, and he responds (with a less broad accent) that he’s Eddie from Accounting; later, he walks into the cubicles and does a high-five (for him anyway) with a white guy who greets “Eddie” – suggesting everybody knows Eddie (or maybe he’s walking to his cubicle in accounting; who knows?).

    Was that the ad’s way of trying to somehow compensate for its offensiveness? The twist to the wise Asian Master thing? If he wasn’t wearing the silly robe or have the silly accent, maybe I’d forgive the ad, but it’s kind of stupid – it doesn’t really make me want to eat Nissin noodles at all anyway.

    Angry Asian Man also does a Q&A with James Kyson Lee and notes that Nevada may have its first Asian American federal judge — maybe (if someone can prod Sen. Reid along).

    I’m not a Phillies fan, but I can certainly applaud Phillies’ Shane Victorino for contributing to trying to keep Hawaiian high school sports going.

    The return of Inspector Lewis in American (public) television. Good stuff – looks like Lewis is hitting his groove as an inspector, with the dishy young Sgt. Hathaway as the trusty sidekick (well, he’s referred as “dishy” by Dr. Hobson, the medical examiner; not like I’d refer to him that way! … but he is dishy). Lewis is moving forward out of Inspector Morse’s shadow. Kind of interesting that he and Dr. Hobson seem to have some chemistry (she was fond of Morse, if I recalled – or maybe it was the other woman medical examiner?).

    Aww. No more Reading Rainbow. Growing up on Levar Burton (before and during his Star Trek years, believe it or not), as he encourages kids to read. So what will encourage kids to read now? (besides much Harry Potter).

    Fascinating video on Neil deGrasse Tyson on whose more pro-science – Republicans or Democrats – or maybe it doesn’t matter (sort of – check out the link to the full video – which posits that NASA is a non-partisan thing, sort of – except when who’s president). Meanwhile, in the NY Times, Lawrence Krauss (the guy who wrote “The Physics of Star Trek”) posits that making a manned-trip to Mars might involve a one-way trip – and that there are volunteers willing to do it and it’s be less costly and scientifically fascinating. Hmm.

  • History

    With the passing of Walter Cronkite, Don Hewitt, Eunice Kennedy and now the passing of Edward Kennedy – this has been the summer of watching the passing of an era. I feel touched by the airings of the clips of Sen. Kennedy’s speech about the work, hopes and dreams continuing.

    Based on my readings (and probably too much viewings of documentaries on Kennedys) Ted Kennedy wasn’t a perfect man, but as a US Senator – at least in his work – his service – he apparently tried his best, regardless of his personal stresses or problems. The various analyses have been interesting, including Chuck Todd’s on MSNBC.

    Slate posts an Explainer on Kennedy.

    I was really moved by VP Joe Biden’s personal thoughts about Kennedy, and how Kennedy had a personal impact in his life and career.

  • It Can’t Be the End of August

    I’m in denial that it’s almost the end of summer.

    This Slate article by Daniel Gross raises a good point: it’s kind of hard to criticize government health insurance if you’re a recipient of government health insurance. Well, no one said that hypocrisy isn’t funny.

    I’ve really enjoyed watching Nova ScienceNow this summer. It had a good presentation on how algae could be used as a biofuel (better than say, ethanol; at least algae can give us oxygen back). I thought it was a great idea.

    Saw “Julie & Julia ” (FC had also seen it; he said the movie makes one hungry; I’ll second that). Good movie!

    This was a great story about how Roxanne Shante, one of the first female rappers of the 1980’s, went on to earn a Phd. in psychology from Cornell, all paid by the recording company, per her recording contract (which otherwise gave her paltry royalties, sadly). Apparently, those clauses in an entertainment contract (I think these clauses are in some professional athletes’ contracts) that the employer pays for the education of the employee – or the service provider, if you will …- are worth it. You can get your dream, or pursue new ones.

    Speaking of the 1980’s, interesting ideas on what ye olde ’80 tv stars should do. But, really – I count Arsenio Hall as a 1990’s tv star, not an ’80’s star (contrary to what Television Without Pity says in the foregoing link). Oh well.

    Thought this was an interesting article in Time magazine about John Kerry‘s post 2004 election life and how his current situation – as Senator from Massachusetts dealing with the future and a leading foreign affairs leader – has been. I thought it was poignant that the article mentions how Kerry has on his wall his invitation to the Obama inauguration and a handwritten note from Obama thanking him: “‘I’m here because of you’” – a reminder that it was because of Kerry that Obama made that amazing speech at the 2004 convention and received an early endorsement.

    Of all the various pieces about the presidential summer reading, I thought John Dickerson’s analysis was most pragmatic yet insightful (yeah, really, is he really going to read all that? Bill Clinton was a voracious reader, apparently, and it was a bit much when it turned out he read the same mainstream mysteries that I was at the time). But, really, couldn’t President Obama read something nice and light? It kind of makes me feel bad that I still haven’t finished reading the McCullough’s bio on Adams or Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals” for some years now, and Obama apparently will have already gotten through both books by the end of the summer (well, granted he read Goodwin last year, and took the Adams one with him to the Vineyard this summer)…

    I’m not ready for the fall, but Television Without Pity is already doing the fall tv previews – complete with recommendations on what to watch, dvr, or online. While I am looking forward to news episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” and “Fringe,” and even the new shows “Glee” and “Community,” (and maybe even more “Law & Order” so we can watch more of the alternate universe DA election of Jack McCoy and the continued hijinks of ADA Michael Cutter), the shows I really want to watch aren’t going to be on until… 2010… (I’m talking about you, “Lost,” among other things).

    I think series like “Smallville” outlasted its lifespan. (technically, so has “Heroes,” in my opinion, but apparently there are still fans out there). “House” has tired me out too, so perhaps I am in need of a boost of good new stuff.

    Because we’re lawyers and Asians here at triscribe, consider the following:

    Puer tea (or Pu-erh or other spellings) is about to be better regulated, in hopes that it’d be the next big thing, like Champagne from Champagne or something. Hmmm…

    Angry Asian Man posted a Q&A with Ken Chen, Executive Director of The Asian American Writers Workshop – who admits that he was once a lawyer and that it is a source of frustration (or “what makes you angry”) that people don’t read more Asian American/Asian writers.

    I’ll concede that I ought to read more Asian/Asian Americans. I should read more, period. Can someone fund my lottery fund to help me pursue this lovely idea?… hmmm….

    I had no idea: Scottish actor Gerard Butler was almost a lawyer, but bailed on qualifying (or failed or was asked to leave his apprenticeship or however it works in Scotland) and ended up acting instead.

    What is with lawyers/lawyers-to-be and the arts? Hmm….

    Trailer for a C-SPAN thing – apparently, they might have actually gotten the Nine to be talking heads; minus Alito and Sotomayor, so a tad dated – but still – they’re actually all talking? About the court building itself, of course – not about anything substantive… Still, an interesting trailer. Very spiffy looking.