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“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Saw the latest James Bond movie, “Quantum of Solace.” Fun and very much Bond. Actor Daniel Craig makes one feel Bond’s pain (psychological and physical neither are that much fun). Judi Dench and Jeffrey Wright also make for a nice watch.

Citifield… ought to be called Shea Stadium again. City council people seem to suggest calling it “City/Taxpayers Field” considering how much money the taxpayers are pitching in to help Citigroup.

November’s going by quite quick.

Pardon the lengthiness of the post; I got behind in blogging due to the progress of my National Novel Writing Month project.

Various articles on the state of the legal profession, at least from the NY Times. (ABA Journal has articles, too, apparently, but I’m way behind on reading that):

An article on how even lawyers are getting layed off. Sigh… Local and state gov’ts are in hiring freezes (well, if you hunt down the agency with the need, and willing to wait it out, you the poor lawyer might still have a shot at being a local/state lawyer); fed govt is… well, wait that out; and the private sector… I’m rolling my eyes now.

Plus, so, the Big Firm are sending lawyers abroad… well, the ones with some years under their belt and who are now more willing than ever to go. Hmm. That and the options in outsourcing could make difficult. Just a thought. Not like I really know.

The US Attorney of Southern District of NY and the US Attorney for the District of NJ – both are resigning, and reflecting on their work and their future. Big changes coming, and with the new US President, well, transitions are going to take time.

Plus, the possibilities raised in having Eric Holder as the next US Attorney General – a former NY’er (Stuyvesant H.S. alumnus; an Alma Mater alumnus) — very interesting! Dahlia Lithwick’s column on Slate — interesting analysis on Eric Holder. I do agree that people who push his one negative – that whole pardon problem during the end of the Clinton administration – can only go so far on that; Holder is a great nominee to restore the DOJ’s standing – which is badly needed.

And, speaking of Cabinet selections, Time’s Karen Tumulty observes that someone else recognized that this proposal to have Hilary Clinton as US Secretary of State sounded an awful lot like a “West Wing” episode. Hmm… Goodness, did Obama watch more tv than he claimed he did?

Time’s Joe Klein suggests what I think is a lovely idea: “Bush Junior’s national security team was thought to be ‘strong’ in 2001–but Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld ran away with it. I don’t see that sort of thing happening here, but if this is, indeed, the team–it might be a good idea for [Hilary] Clinton, [current and possibly retainable Sec’y of Defense Robert] Gates, [Retired General-possible next National Security Advisor James] Jones, Obama and [VP-elect Joe] Biden to go off for a weekend retreat somewhere, have a few drinks and get to know each other.”

If they get to know each other, maybe they can work together well and brainstorm ideas that might work. And, this might also sound like an episode of “West Wing” too.

Oh, heck, let’s just do everything that they did in “West Wing.” And, have Alan Alda be behind our science policy and Martin Sheen in something or what (as his imdb.com’s bio notes how often he ha been arrested for protesting, probably not quite what his President Bartlet would do, but that’s hard to say).

NY Times’ analysis on the whole “maybe the car industry ought to file for bankruptcy” idea. Look, it’s been a few years since I studied bankruptcy, but Chapt. 11 isn’t that bad – it’s reorganization, not liquidation; so why is GM looking for a “bailout” when what they want is “help”? “Oh, no one’s going to buy a car if they know we filed for (Chapt. 11) bankruptcy” — so don’t call it that! Oh, gee whiz, GM… Then again, maybe having unions to deal with does make things complicated and I do feel for the unions. Sort of. Maybe. Well, I just don’t know; not when the American car industry doesn’t seem very practical.

Time Magazine’s Justin Fox, who has been commenting on the car industry situation on his Time.com blog, The Curious Capitalist, suggests something that’s bankruptcy-like – conservatorship – in the magazine this week; which I thought, “Whoa, haven’t heard that since law school!” – but it does sound like a nice idea. Complicated and still unfolding situation, with employment, bankruptcy, and policy issues clashing into each other. Crazy.

In this week’s Time, there’s also this great article about wind power, by Bryan Walsh. If I wasn’t for wind power before, I’m more for it with this article (the drawbacks: still a little expensive to do, and might kill birds, but the pros seem quite worthy). But, we apparently need more encouragement from the government and more or less laws or deal with bureaucracy. Or something.

Speaking of law, Law and Order continues with its standard plot twists, with Det. Lupo, ADA Cutter, and the rest dealing with fundamentalist Mormons (particularly in the form of actor Colm Meaney – ex-Chief O’Brien of Star Trek fame). When even Slate has someone mildly entertained by L&O, it must be making some kind of comeback. I mean, I am actually watching it; well, yeah, the cast is attractive and amusing and the law crazy, but still, the show knows what it’s doing!

Horribly behind on NBC’s “Life.” But, the most recent episode was fun – Detective Reese ought to be more careful with her flirtation with the precinct’s current boss – and realizes her being an addict helps in certain cases; Detective Crews really ought to be more careful with his romances and his still-ongoing obsession with the conspiracy.

This week’s “Fringe” – touching stuff. Crazy Dr. Walter Bishop volunteers to go back to the insane asylum (umm, “institution”) to get info from his old friend, so that FBI Special Agent Olivia can crack the weird kidnapping. Peter Bishop comes to have some affection for his father, realizing that the institution probably did awful shit to Walter and Peter becomes quite protective for this man who probably did unforgiveable things to him. But, when the head of your institution is played by the actor who was Sloan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (which even worried Chief O’Brien, note above), I wouldn’t think this is a nice institution for anyone’s mentally ill relative to be in. The father-son plotline is the heart of “Fringe.”

And, I’m behind on this – I think it’s sad that the passing of Michael Crichton came upon the last season of “ER,” which he had been among the creators. Hope the last season can be a good season to honor him; that episode with the flashback return of Dr. Green was a heartbreaker.

The passing of theater critic Clive Barnes — sad too, because it means less out there in the area of dance and theater.

And, last but not least – the upcoming Star Trek movie trailer. To paraphrase the good Dr. McCoy, “I’m not a movie critic, Jim.”

We can hope, America, as Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne says.

Frank Wu, law professor and former Wayne State University Law School dean and writer (author of “Yellow: Race in American Beyond Black and White,”) on parental expectations and how they affect a career – particularly fascinating from the APA perspective. I thought it was funny that he started that article with, “My mother is still hoping I’ll go to medical school.” (I certainly empathized with his point about how his parents weren’t thrilled about his wanting to be a writer; it’s tough, really).

“Law & Order” is back – yeah! So glad we didn’t have to wait until January for it! Last week’s season premiere had the usual twisty legal knots to untie (DA McCoy decides that an anti-terrorism law can be used to charge vigilantes for their acts of murder, manslaughter, and assault, since – arguably – their actions of taking the law unto themselves threatened the legal system); tough investigation (umm, jeez, Detectives, can’t you do a slightly better job than that?). Exec. ADA Cutter disagrees with McCoy’s legal theory, but pulls off a pretty darn good closing argument; and yeah, he’s pretty still hot as ever (uh, yeah, continuing my crushes on British actors playing Americans, of course). The episode ends with some nifty plea bargaining and someone from the media at the press conference asking McCoy if he’s joining the Obama administration… (yeah, some last minute editing obviously threw that in!). Speaking as someone who usually doesn’t watch L&O, thumbs up.

So, if Obama’s imaginary Cabinet could include McCoy, who else could be picked? Television Without Pity posted some ideas, including Donald Sutherland’s millionaire/billionaire Tripp Darling (of ABC’s “Dirty Sexy Money” for Secretary of Treasury and Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer (of FOX’s “24”) as (what else?) Secretary of Homeland Security (what? Both Sutherlands?). They also nominate James Spader’s Alan Shore (of ABC’s “Boston Legal”) as Attorney General — but, really, over Jack McCoy?! No way!

Good stuff by NY Times’ Bob Herbert, on America’s pride at making this moment in history with the historical election of President-Elect Obama.

On Time.com, Pico Iyer on meeting Obama in Hawaii two years ago and seeing the future of America.

Take a moment to think about our veterans on this Veterans’ Day and salute their service and that we as a country can serve them better too.

It’s for real now: President-Elect Barack Obama.

NY Times’ Thomas Friedman on the moment of history that we’re in, dating back to the Civil War era.

NY Times’ Bob Herbert on how it’s nice that there’s history, but there’s a boat load of work to do to engage with this “fierce urgency of now.”

Obama’s speech – it was awe-inspiring; realistic; humble; and optimistic. It reminded me why I ended up being a supporter since the primaries. This is what I voted for. But, yeah – let’s be realistic – the hard part of governing’s coming.

But, it was a moment of living in history, as Newsweek’s Anna Quindlen notes. Cherishing and honoring the legacy of the work of those before us and acknowledging the collective strength of organization – community organizing does work. The first Black President. The beginning of something, no matter what may happen.

On an amusing note: soon to be in the White House, someone from Alma Mater (which hasn’t had a US President – FDR and Teddy Roosevelt were Columbia Law dropouts and Eisenhower was a University President, never a graduate). US Presidents can’t all be Harvard and Yale people (okay, yes, Obama’s a Harvard Law alumnus, but still this is cool. Heck, Occidental College can take a claim here too!).

Slate’s John Dickerson on the fascinating lines of the Obama speech.

The hilarious Time.com live blog of the Election night results.

John McCain’s concession speech was gracious. We have to be united, even if we disagree with each other.

What will we do without the endless campaign? Well… maybe some of us ought to spit and polish our resumes…!

I changed the channel several times once I got with the election coverage at 9pm last night. Stuck with the network stuff, since I wasn’t going to touch FOX News. I miss Tim Russert. I miss Peter Jennings. Election Night wasn’t the same without Tim Russert’s good spirits and Peter Jennings’ authoritative facilitation.

But, we move on, as best we can. We can hope for the best, work for the best and see what’s next.

Halloween 2008 – got in the subway in the morning; saw people in their costumes already. Some teenagers in the clown face of The Joker, a la Heath Ledger’s portrayal in “The Dark Knight.” A woman dressed as the Gecko of the Geico commercials (seriously weird). Some guy looking like a daisy. When I got home, passing the trick-or-treaters, I watched some of the Village’s annual Halloween parade and kept wondering where were those folks along the parade. Ah NYC in Halloween.

Sad but true – I watched a zombie movie on Halloween. And, yes, it was silly. “Resident Evil” was really ridiculous. Some creepy moments, but mostly ridiculous. The ending, predictably, didn’t end well for humanity. For a good zombie movie, watch “Shaun of the Dead.” Really.

Holiday time — sigh, I miss the Peanuts specials, as even Slate’s Dana Stevens observes their specialness.

Now that it’s November, it’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and like last year, as already noted, I’m at it again. This is going to be a tough slog in trying to write this story that’s not quite working already.

At the moment that I’m writing this post, I’m watching C-SPAN’s “America and the Courts,” doing a preview of the upcoming oral arguments of “FCC v. Fox Television” indecency language cases at the US Supreme Court. The complicated mess (which I’m finding disturbing just because there are some instances where no one expects the fleeting cursing and FCC should know better than to get crazed about that; versus… well, this is FOX, after all…) does make for some amusing tv – the attorney Carter Phillips used some unbleeped F-bombs and the s-word in the interview and it reminded me that surely it’s going to make for a real fun oral arguments (Carter Phillips is apparently going to do it at the oral arguments) and C-SPAN’s trying to see if they can air it… (seriously? Cool!).

My past fondness for “West Wing” (and its sad but brilliant last season) was recalled when I read this NY Times’ article about how the whole McCain v. Obama campaign is awfully reminiscent to that Vinick v. Santos campaign of the “West Wing” universe. Considering that the season was developed/made around the time that this country became aware of Obama, and McCain’s been around the block for awhile, perhaps it’s no surprise that their natures become inspirations for the characters on “West Wing.” And, that was a really good last season of West Wing (despite some flaws) – it made me love the show again. Plus, Alan Alda – a real life Democrat – played an honorable moderate Republican; the parallels of Jimmy Smits’ character and Obama… whoa…

Speaking of last seasons, considering that it’s likely the last season of “ER” (for real now!), I actually watched most of “ER” this Halloween’s Eve. Decent episode; very watchable.

In light of the coming Election (don’t forget to vote!), PBS posted a fun video on YouTube: Mr. McFeely (he’s still around?!) demonstrates how to use the touch screen voting machine – and he had weird hypothetical votes (Barney Rubble for president? Betty Boop for Attorney General? Robert DeNiro – a Republican? And Mr. McFeely’s write in vote was for… Cher?! Mr. Rogers would shake his head in shame… (no, really, this was funny!). Enjoy!

Biographer Edmund Morris, known for his unusual biography of Ronald Reagan and work on Theodore Roosevelt, with a NY Times op-ed presenting an imaginary interview with a 150-year old TR himself. Rather quirky in Morris fashion, but poignant, considering how the Republicans of today sure ain’t the party of Lincoln or Roosevelt:

Q. What’s your impression of President Bush these days?

[Teddy Roosevelt] A. (suddenly serious) He looks like Judas, but unlike that gentleman has no capacity for remorse.

Q. Is that the best you can say of him?

A. I wish him well, but I wish him well at a good distance from me.

Q. One last question, Colonel. If you were campaigning now, would you still call yourself a Republican?

A. (after a long pause) No.

This is pretty heart-breaking – the piece-by-piece end of Shea Stadium.

Removal of the remainders of the old Hudson & Manhattan Railroad from the World Trade Center’s slurry wall.

The passing of writer Tony Hillerman, best known for writing the novels of Native American detectives Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.

I’m Ba-ack! (to paraphrase the creepy kid from the “Poltergeist” movies). Life caught up on me (or at least the fact that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming in November; I’ve been outlining, character sketching, and other elements of novel planning – which is all still in progress). So, let me sweep some dust around here and on to some STUFF.

Recently had brunch at Miriam, at its Park Slope location.

Friday: dinner at Cafetasia, near NYU. Good Thai and other Asian food. Plus cookies at Insomnia Cookies near NYU (if only we had this when I was at Alma Mater; mmm, warm cookies!).

Saturday: hanging out with friends in NJ; dinner at Old Man Rafferty’s in Hillsborough, NJ; great variety of food.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Paddington Bear! As the NY Daily News reported, he turns 50; I read so much of the Paddington books when I was a kid.

“Number 6!” … The NY Times’ Thomas Vinciguerra on the release of the 40th Anniversary DVD package of “The Prisoner.” Ah, why, I remember watching “The Prisoner” episodes on PBS some years ago, and thinking it didn’t make that much sense to me, but watching it made a bunch of “Simpsons” episodes perfect sense in hindsight. Weird show, but… on DVD! Just in time for Xmas!

Entertainment Weekly had a cover story on the new Star Trek movie, pushed for next year (boo! hiss! Star Trek’s never been a summer franchise…). Fascinating article, but I don’t know whether to be scared or excited, or both. The photos look great, but that’s not quite enough! The sidebar article on the inspirations for the movie (with the plot still not totally revealed) – that was cool too (wow, the book “Best Destiny” (Amazon link to the Kindle version, which is out) as one of the plot sources? Cool!). Oh, well; wait and see…

NY Times talking to author Henry Chang, formerly of Mott Street. When I had read the book “Chinatown Beat,” I had a feeling it was going to be a series; turns out to be exactly the case. Author Chang really did a nice job with the flavor of tension of NYC and culture and generational clashes; looking forward to see what he does with his next book.

Some fascinating Election season stuff:

From the NY Times: What it means to be a “maverick” — for one thing, it means understanding that the Maverick family were a bunch of progressive liberals from Texas.

Too funny (and you don’t have to be a Baby Boomer to enjoy; you just have to be someone who watched massive amounts of tv – and certainly at least “Happy Days”!): Ron Howard as “Opie” and “Richie” joins forces with Andy Griffith and “Fonzie” (Henry Winkler) to tell us to vote and make the right decision. As Fonzie would say, “Ayyy!”