Dear Client:
I did not correct you when, yesterday, you admitted that you might have made a "fox pass" or two in relation to the plaintiff, though you deny harassing her.
You meant to say "faux pas". (Pronounced Fo-Pah).
But considering that your deposition is coming in February, my New Years resolution is to correct your error. The best pronunciation is "I don't recall."
Happy New Year,
Patrick
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At the beginning of the year, back when the world was full of hope and change, we wrote about our friend Rob's plan to document 2009, as he'd experienced it, with one photo each day. That project is now a day from completion.
It's safe to say that 2009 didn't turn out so well for much of the world, but there were worse years this decade. At the very least, Rob has produced a document that will allow him to remember 2009 in all its squalor.
Each image is explained by text, but after reading a while I just lost myself in the images. Since this is a holiday weekend, please consider this your Friday time-waster, delivered in true Popehat fashion a day early.
Marc Randazza presents compelling evidence that Route 60 Hyundai, of Vero Beach Florida, does in fact suck.
I'd have been far harsher in my review of Route 60 Hyundai than Randazza's client, if Route 60 Hyundai had done to me what Thomas Allegio claims. I'd have named the employees of Route 60 Hyundai, who make it suck. And I'd have named Route 60 Hyundai's lawyer, Douglas Thompson of Vero Beach Florida, who has done nothing to allay my concerns that Route 60 Hyundai, of Vero Beach Florida, is the suckiest Hyundai dealership in America.
Via Walter Olson.
Years ago, as the Soviet Union's network of puppet satellites in eastern Europe was crumbling, the purest avatar of communism who ever lived pointed out that western democracies are hypocrites:
[Dead and deified North Korean dictator] Kim Il-sung said in a [1990] New Year's address that Seoul had built a massive concrete wall to divide the two states, which are technically still at war.
The wall has been described by North Korean press as between five and eight meters high. It is made of concrete. It divides the Korean peninsula. It was built by reactionary South Korean fascists in the 1970s, and continues, in 2009, to frustrate the ambition of the Korean people for peaceful reunification.
And yet it's hard to find via satellite imagery. Perhaps because it doesn't exist. Yet the North Korean press continues, every year at this time, to demand that it be destroyed.
Of course, the wall may exist. I could be wrong, and the Great Leader Kim Il-Sung, the eternal president of Korea, could be right. My brother-in-law, who serves in Korea, hasn't mentioned the wall. But what does he know? He isn't Korean. He doesn't even speak Korean. Or perhaps he does, and he's just fooling me. Perhaps he's one of THEM.
You know … THEM. They're the same people who keep you from being happy. The same people who built that wall.
Via Colin Samuels, who is probably one of THEM, too.
Look, I firmly believe that the world is a funnier place when the Russians are being.. well.. Russian. Whether it's putting Putin on their Olympic Team, or some other Bond Villain nuttiness. But, I just don't see them bouncing a spacecraft off an asteroid going well.
Especially when their space agency's chief officer says comforting things like: "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032.." There is some question over just how dangerous the asteroid is, NASA keeps increasing the odds that it might hit the Earth, but the Russians are ready to go for it. At least their plans do not call for using any nuclear weapons. No word on if Bruce Willis is being approached.
I thought this was an interesting representation of the last 10 years. It also made me remember some things I would rather forget (like Bennifer and Punk'd.)
Blawg Review is a weekly "blog carnival," a round-up of links to recent posts from different weblogs on legal topics. Often the review itself is organized around a theme, though it need not be. We were honored with an invitation to host such a review this year. Our effort, commemorating the life of Joshua Norton, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, may be found here. It was a load of work to prepare this post, which for all the effort didn't turn out quite as what we'd envisioned. Such is life.
Appreciating the effort that others put into these reviews now that we've gone through the process, we'd like, at the invitation of Blawg Review's editor, to nominate the following posts, in chronological order, for consideration as Blawg Review of the Year 2009:
We would nominate Colin Samuels' Pearl Harbor-themed Blawg Review, but Samuels seems to win the honor every year, so we're not nominating him. Sorry Colin. For that matter, we'd encourage you to read the other Blawg Reviews published this year, compiled here. There isn't a bad one in the bunch.
Blawg Review is a unique institution, a weekly lens on the law over the web which exposes us to many voices and bloggers we'd otherwise not find. It's well worth a bookmark.
Found a quirky story over the break. About a time when the Communist Party USA had a sportswriter. His name was Lester Rodney, and he was an amazing man. Mr. Rodney was one of the earliest and strongest voices calling for the integration of major league baseball.
Writing for the Daily Worker (the organ of the Communist Party in the US) Mr. Rodney constantly browbeat baseball commissioner Landis to bring black players into the major leagues. Here's a sample of his writing:
“You, the self-proclaimed ‘Czar’ of baseball, are the man responsible for keeping Jim Crow in our National Pastime. You are the one refusing to say the word which would do more to justify baseball’s existence in this year of war than any other single thing.”
Imagine any sports league in this day and age credentialing a reporter from the Communist Party? It's hard to believe. It's also hard to imagine that the press and the people acknowledged the efforts of the Communists here.
Mr. Rodney died last week, at the age of 98. He really led an extraordinary life.
It's a safe bet that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's personality cult will never wax that effusive, but does it need to? After all, Joseph Stalin was many things, but he was never an Olympic judo champion:
Vladimir Putin has offered to join the national judo team after showing off his martial arts skills to members of the squad.
The 57-year-old prime minister made the proposal at a special coaching session Friday that was aired on state television, adding to his carefully-crafted macho image.
Putin entered the hall of St. Petersburg’s School of Sport Mastery dressed in a white judogi and black belt, to applause from the assembled squad. After bowing, he went onto the mats, throwing squad members half his age and even tackling the chief trainer, Olympic gold medalist Ezio Gamba.
It's true that Ezio Gamba earned a gold in the 1980 Olympics and a silver in the 1984 Olympics. But Gamba competed as a lightweight. When 57 year old Vladimir Putin competes, even against men half his age, he's always a heavyweight.
Officials praised Putin’s technique in the Japanese martial art and dismissed any hint that he may have been allowed to win. “He has the psychology of a winner, the psychology of the victorious,” said Georgy Kukoverov, the school’s chief.
Of course he does.
Usually our Friday time waster is a game or a large collection of photos or something that will use your entire day. Today, I offer more of an appetizer. Something to cleanse the old palate.
Despite my total lack of style or fashion sense, design fascinates me. Why things look like they do, and how different cultures take a specific spin on the same themes. Apparently, it's just as common in fashion as it is in Nationalism. I give you Flags By Colours.
Here, each nation's flag is pie charted to show the selection (and percentage) of colors in the flag. If you click on the pie chart, it reveals the flag. It's fun to try & guess what the flag is from the pie chart. At the very bottom is an inclusive pie chart that shows the color breakdown of all national flags. I was a little surprised how prevalent black is, given that it is hard to think of flags that have a lot of it (mainly Arab & African countries..)
It's not gonna take your whole day, but I thought it was fascinating. Enjoy!
I saw Avatar last night. It's pretty much what you expect (superlative graphics, pretty meh story, some wince inducing dialogue). There were several incidences where the CG (especially where creatures were involved) were up to Gollum quality (or maybe even better..)
But here's what fascinated me about the movie: it didn't feel the need to explain things. Most sci-fi falls into the trap of needing to explain things. I'm sure the writer feels like they catering to their geek audience. In reality, that's usually the biggest problem we have with the movie. Their explanation is so far-fetched (or based on ridiculously bad science) that it damages the movie.
Avatar takes a different approach – it gives no explanations at all. There is no pseudo science or exposition about why mountains float on Pandora. Mountains just float on Pandora. Everybody knows that. I found myself enjoying the film more because they didn't explain how the person could control an alien homonculus, they just could.
It's an interesting narrative tool, and it definitely increased my enjoyment of the movie. I didn't spend time thinking "that can't happen" or looking for the (definitely there) problems with science.
It's not a great movie. It is a beautiful one. It's also a movie that doesn't owe you any explanations, and doesn't offer any. I think more sci-fi movies should consider this path.
US Airways: I could have driven home from Philadelphia in six hours less than what you cost me today. And you never offered me a drink, or even peanuts.
This morning one of the ESPN morning shows had Cowboys receiver Miles Austin, who is from New Jersey (even gave the Garden State a shout out…) This led to the awkward moment of the interviewer asking Austin "You're from New Jersey, have you seen the show Jersey Shore on MTV?" Happily, the player hadn't (or at least wouldn't admit it).
What was the rationale behind that question? Would this then lead to a long discussion of just why that guy calls himself "The Situation"? Or perhaps we could finally hear the word Guidette on ESPN airwaves? Were they really that starved for interview material with the new star of the team that beat an undefeated team? Sheesh.
If there is an ur German game, it might be Die Macher. It is the quintessential eurogame, with just about all the mechanics you would expect (role selection, bidding, various paths to victory, etc.) It is also a 3-4 hour simulation of German politics. Oh, and it is one of the best games you will ever play.
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I've used the crutch of cool volcano videos before, but this time there's at least a little content. Researchers at the University of Washington brought a remote control sub within 10 feet of an underwater volcano as it erupted! The 2 videos on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association website give a remarkable view. Since the pressure at that depth supress some of the explosive power of the eruption, the sub was able to get super close. I highly recommend spending a few minutes watching these videos.
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Dec 31, 2009 
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