December 2008
23 posts
It will be fun if we all do it
via corriemuchloch: UC Irvine’s new law school, set to open next fall, is offering a big incentive to top students worried about the cost of a legal education during the recession: free tuition for three years. The financial carrot is part of an ambitious strategy by Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, a renowned constitutional law scholar, to attract Ivy League-caliber students. The school hopes to...
That's right
keyholez:
never don’t go.
Boxing Day Guest Post
morethandonna weighs in on gender and The West Wing:
I think Martha is right about Dana. Sure, Dana is CJ in TWW universe, but while Dana is in control of the show, and the boys are petulant but eventually fall into line, CJ is constantly being reminded of the fact that she is not in charge. She complains about this sometimes (see “The Women of Qumar” episode, which I re-watched on...
Frank Borman’s Christmas Greetings from...
@♥tt
fiatluxemburg
You have to include a link to the thing you are commenting on
Late night answers
A new desirable small super power occurred to me: never losing your chapstick. Also, always having a pen. And never having one burst in your pocket.
Late night questions
adrianeq:
darkwingdach:
Why are men, in general, more enamored of The West Wing than women? Corollary: Is this even true
Jonny: I’m currently making an art book which I dream shall be distributed at Printed Matter. The concept is: A collection of sentences that came from the mouth of Ann Lane Rick which I present in 6th-grade grammar diagrammed form.
Sentence 1: Then I went home and they...
Late night questions
Why do authors include preludes with snippeted scenes of horror from later in the novel? Stephanie Meyer and Barry McCrea both open their work this way.
Why are men, in general, more enamored of The West Wing than women? Corollary: Is this even true?
Still worth reading
538:
The Democrats have a pretty strong buffer against Republican gains at the margins, which might be pretty useful to them since parties taking over the White House typically lose seats at the next midterm election. For example, suppose that Republicans gain 5 points across the board in 2010 (so that, for instance, a district which they lost by 3 points in 2008, they’d win by 2 points in...
Finally
Twilight, though about other monsters, is a zombie flick; it, like the creatures Bella is horrified to discover she resembles in New Moon, doesn’t care about anything. Though the book is a tween vampire romance, the movie pays little attention to those ideas. It’s not a movie interested in tweens. It is distinctly, and perhaps deliberately, different from Harry Potter in spending...
Maybe people were already aware of this
fiatluxemburg:
Webster’s 2008 word of the year is “overshare.”
If you’re one of my seven New Haven readers and working busily on what to stuff in my stocking, a package of tea from the Elizabethan and a jar of honey from Vincent Kay would be just the things.
Jacob’s recaplet of this week’s Gossip Girl is… worth a read.
Turns out Dan is ready to fuck, and Lexi is ready to bone a guy on the first date — which they quaintly act like is a quality of character and not of, you know, 2009 — so of course Serena “extends herself” (her words) to Aaron, so Dan won’t win. On the other hand: devil you know, or Girl...
Hollywood Reporter:
The CW confirmed Thursday that it’s looking at ways to spin off its hit “Gossip Girl” for next season. CW entertainment president Dawn Ostroff told The Hollywood Reporter that the network is in discussions with the producers of the WBTV/Alloy-produced show as to how a new series could be done. But Ostroff said that nothing has been finalized and...
Worth a look
Mathematica 7 incorporates some robust and interesting image editing tools.
One of the main advantages of doing something like this in Mathematica is that you can trivially replicate operations for many images. Sure, you can write PhotoShop scripts; I’ve done that many times, and every time I end up swearing at the thing wishing I could use a real language (and now that Mathematica 7 is out, I...
Excellent:
Sci Fi Channel has given the long-gestating “Battlestar Galactica” prequel “Caprica” a series order.
The network has made a significant commitment to the project, ordering 20 hours, including a two-hour pilot. Cast members include Eric Stoltz (“Milk,” “Chicago Hope,” Ed: “Kicking and Screaming”), Esai Morales...
In Good Company
jlovett:
MTVnews:
President-Elect Barack Obama truly has a full plate. Revitilize a sinking economy. Energize a nation. Rehabilitate America’s fragile standing in the world. Oh, and get through four Twilight books with his youngest [sic] daughter. Yes, according to the latest issue of US Weekly, Stephenie Meyer has a couple fans who will be moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in a couple...
In memoriam
Bart Bass’ secretary sharesd a name, Landingham, with President Bartlet’s.
I want a chaste sensual experience, then I want...
“Why Women Find Vampires So Sexy,” NY Daily News:
There is something very sexy about a vampire’s otherworldness. They have an intensity and a desperate need to be close to other humans that is appealing. It’s exciting because you just never know when a vampire is going to lose control and have to bite you. There is a chaste sensuality at work.