Monday, July 31, 2006

And the Living Is Easy

Work, travel, travel for work, heat, and travel in a vain attempt to avoid the heat have been taking and will continue to take up most of my time for a while. So, apologies for the light blogging. I'm just back from Chicago and head out again today for Pittsburgh. Then it's back in Philadelphia for a day and then off for a short vacation. So, not much will be happening here until the middle of next week.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

I was happy to see that a New Jersey Supreme Court ethics panel has ruled that New Jersey lawyers cannot be involved with attorney-ranking schemes, such as "SuperLawyers" and "Best Lawyers in America." I can only hope the Pennsylvania bar follows suit so that we can get rid of them here as well.

This is some racket these ranking publications have going. They send out large numbers of survey forms (though I have never gotten one -- I guess I am not even a SuperSurveyGetter), who knows how many get returned, then abracadabra they choose the SuperLawyers. Picking Miss America is hard science compared to this.

And then there's the best part: It's no good being a SuperLawyer if no one knows about it, so the ranking companies distribute magazines filled with advertising paid for by the SuperGullible lawyers and firms who get picked. I guess it is no surprise that these SuperLawyers have SuperEgos that need to be fed.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

I See Dead People Too Much

I don't mean to seem insensitive (really, I don't), but can athletes and the TV heads that goad them on please just stop talking about recently deceased relatives?

I wasn't sure if I was watching the British Open today or the joint memorial service of the Woods and DeMarco families. I know the TV people think such emphasis is very dramatic, but I find it all just a little too creepy. In the real world, i.e., the one not inhabited by athletes and not shown on television, people die every day. Their relatives go to work soon thereafter and do what they have to do. Appropriate allowances should be and usually are made, and life, as it must, goes on.

But why these athletes feel compelled to bring us all into what should be their private emotional spheres is beyond me. Just think how weird it would seem if your co-worker in the next office talked about dedicating the next staff meeting to his late father or started pointing to the sky every time he wrote a good brief because his recently deceased mother encouraged him to go to law school. Yet, athletes do this sort of thing all the time, and people apparently think nothing of it. I, for one, prefer more private forms of mourning.

Friday, July 21, 2006

That's No Yolk

One of the Freakonomics guys muses here about what the next great advertisement platforms might be, now that eggs and barf bags are taken. What I find interesting is that U.S. Airways doesn't have a problem giving people the idea that barf bags are used so frequently that it pays to advertise on them.

The ads I really hate are the ones piped in to elevators, including on little TV screens. I never thought I would yearn for the days of Muzak.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

People are Sheep

You think your life lacks meaning? It could be worse -- you could be one of the people described in this article from today's Philadelphia Inquirer. Parents who have nothing better to do on a Friday or Saturday night than wait one or two hours outside of a suburban chain restaurant all need to stop talking about how busy they are with their kids and jobs and soccer and blah blah blah. Because whatever other descriptive terms may be applicable (baaa, baaa), obviously they don't have too much to do.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Maybe God Will Provide

Check out these budget numbers, courtesy of Andrew Sullivan. It is hard to imagine Democrats spending more recklessly than this Bush crowd and, perhaps more important, getting less bang for all those bucks. Yet I am sure, come the Fall, we'll all start hearing about big-spending liberals, yadda, yadda, yadda. And, sadly, people will believe it.

80 Is The New 20

You are never too old to chase your dreams. Just not all of your dreams.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

King for a Day

I was watching the World Cup final today, and a hockey game broke out.

Actually, I enjoyed watching the France-Italy match today, but I still think the game could be even better. So, I am appointing myself Soccer/Football Grand Poobah for a Day, presented by Adidas. Here are my first new rules:

1. No more deciding games by penalty kicks. That's the best way the people running this sport have come up with to pick a world champion after 120 minutes in the final of a once-every-four-years tournament? One problem with penalty kicks is that the goalies are mostly irrelevant -- did you notice that neither of the goalies today so much as came close to stopping one of the penalty kicks? The one shot the French missed just banged off the cross bar while the goalie was diving in the opposite direction, something they both seemed to do on most of the shots. If how well a goalie guesses is a factor in the outcome, it is not a good way to decide the game. You might as well cover the goal with cardboard and leave a circle for the shooters to kick through, like some sort of carnival game. No, the way to pick a winner is to (gasp!) just keep playing until somebody scores. It could take a while, sure, but eventually someone will just keel over, have to go to the bathroom, head-butt someone to death, or something. Then, the other side will score, and it will be a much more legitimate victory.

2. No more of the incessant flopping, flailing of arms, looks of stunned disbelief at the call or the no-call, and general cry-wolfing that occurred repeatedly today and in the other games I have seen during the past month. Enough with the rolling around on the ground with the Munch-like expression, all the while peeking to see if the referee is near enough to catch the performance. Did you notice that the teams even have people bring out a stretcher every time a trainer goes out on the field to check on someone? They used fewer stretchers when these two countries met in World War II. Time to suck it up, boys.

That's enough for now. Be sure to catch some more of my new rules when FCB next posts about soccer -- in 2010.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Just Another Day?

Three more people were murdered in Philadelphia yesterday.

According to this article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, one of the victims was 15-year-old Jarrett Gore. He was gunned down on the street at 2:25 -- in the afternoon. Apparently, lots of people saw what happened, but not many are talking. According to the article:
"Police say they believe dozens of witnesses were on the street when the teen
was killed -- and few volunteered to tell them what happened."

"'Considering the number of people who had to be out here when this had occurred, we certainly are disappointed that more people have not come forward,' said Inspector Joe Sullivan of the Northwest Police Division. 'The murder of a 15-year-old should bring outrage.'"
And yet it still doesn't seem to. Even the Inquirer treats the story in a just-another-day-in-the-big-city kind of way. In its print edition, the article is not on the front page, or even the front page of the Local News section. It appears on page B3, although it should be noted that the lead story in Section B is the creation of a task force that seeks to address the problem of illegal gun possession in the city (better late than never, I guess). On the Inquirer web site, this story does not make the front-page cut either, and you have to go to the "Around the Region" page, and then scroll down to find the story listed 12th among "Other Regional News."

And on it goes.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

Of Thee I Sing

This story received a lot of play last week, especially in New York, of course. But what all the stories missed is a point that -- on the Fourth of July of all days -- needs to be made: Making the decision to reverse convictions like these for criminals like that takes courage -- the kind of courage our Founding Fathers knew could exist when judges are insulated from the political process and given life tenure.

Last week's Supreme Court decision in the Hamdan case is another example of why such judicial independence is so important to the maintenance of our freedoms. Sure, lots of people will disagree with the results of these cases, but what we are (or at least should be) in part celebrating today is a legal system that forces our government to live within the rule of law and gives substantial rights and protections to all of us, including Mafia cops and suspected terrorists.

Sure, we can all think of examples when the system has failed in one way or another. But, for today at least, I am going to think about all the times it hasn't.

God Help Us All

Here's a charming story describing the recruitment by Adidas of a 10-year-old basketball "phenom." Really, what is wrong with these people (both the parents and the shoe reps)? You know things are bad when people talk so openly about cash, free equipment (the kid has 20 pairs of sneakers!), and applying pressure to play on travel teams and develop "brand loyalty." Think about this kid the next time you hear some sanctimonious coach on the payroll of one of these shoe companies talking about how much they care about "student-athletes."

Monday, July 03, 2006

All-Star Blunder

I've never liked, but have learned to accept, fan voting for the baseball All-Star team. Ultimately, what does it matter if Jason Bay, who has carried the Pirates to nearly 30 wins this season, gets a starting nod because of a shameless promotional campaign orchestrated by a front office that you would think might have something better to do?

But if you are going to have fan voting, the least The Hapless Bud Selig can do is not continue to screw up the rest of the decisions. It is bad enough that, in an effort to make an inherently meaningless game meaningful, he has allowed the World Series home field advantage to go to the team from the league that wins the All-Star game. And he continues the ridiculous practice of having no DH when the game is played in a National League city, which leads to David Ortiz being selected to play first base for the American League, something he has done for his own team only seven times so far this year.

But how in the world did he allow Ozzie Guillen to pick an All-Star pitching staff that did not include Francisco Liriano, the single most interesting and exciting new player in the game? After yesterday's win over the Brewers, Liriano is 9-1, with an ERA under two runs per game. You don't think people would love to see him throw an inning or two against the NL stars? Not our man Bud, I guess.