A1. Arrr, be sure that I did, me hearties!

A2. Nay, ye scurvy scoundrel!

Although I tend to agree with Dave and Larry that we should strive for more precise use of language (despite my use of “so” to begin my last post), I think the word in the right place such as to start a story or anecdote gives the impression of being in the middle of a conversation and draws others into that flow of thought. To use the term too much as Larry described does not seem to be a problem of the word so as much as the bad habit of repeating a phrase as a crutch or space filler. I [...]]]> Legend: When someone informed Peter Gabriel that his fifth album was named “Peter Gabriel” as his previous four had been, Gabriel replied “So.”*

Although I tend to agree with Dave and Larry that we should strive for more precise use of language (despite my use of “so” to begin my last post), I think the word in the right place such as to start a story or anecdote gives the impression of being in the middle of a conversation and draws others into that flow of thought. To use the term too much as Larry described does not seem to be a problem of the word so as much as the bad habit of repeating a phrase as a crutch or space filler. I recall those who say “you know” or “know what I mean” or “right” or the ever popular and with us forever “like” having the same effect Larry describes. Nonetheless, like Larry, I admit that I try to eliminate poor usage and find that I slip. I hope to do better. Here, however, is another way to think about the problem.

*Security was supposedly a label choice, not Gabriel’s.

After the break is a little pop culture fun Amadeus (as in Rock Me) style.

Fun stuff but here is the problem. The Monty Python Channel has nowhere near the quantity of Python material one can find elsewhere on YouTube. I wonder whether the Python folks chose to leave the other posters alone and [...]]]> So I had my iTunes open and on shuffle yesterday when Monty Python’s “Finland” came on. That was what prompted me to check YouTube for Python offerings. Now the Python chaps have offered their own channel. This video has the usual Python cheek as they talk about YouTube, being ripped off, and the open plea that viewers buy the products after they enjoy them. The clip also touts the troop’s interest in showing the clips as they wanted them to be shown and in high quality.

Fun stuff but here is the problem. The Monty Python Channel has nowhere near the quantity of Python material one can find elsewhere on YouTube. I wonder whether the Python folks chose to leave the other posters alone and offer what they see as the best or most in demand clips in a branded area. Then again, they may have decided to go after the other posters too. And to think this train of thought all started in Finland. Finland? Yes, because I could take a CD, put into MP3 format, and listen to “Finland” as a shuffle tune. But wait. There’s more! The devil you say. No, really.

Check out the clip for Finland below. It is a good quality stream of the music. It is funny and adds a fair amount of creativity. It attributes the visual work and the software to make the work. It also acknowledges Python as the source of the music. In addition, it has embedded ads to allow a viewer to buy the song from iTunes or Amazon. Now given all the new works, Python’s failure to offer a similar video (even if they did the video is a new work albeit one needing the song to make much sense), AND the ads is it fair use? After all YouTube and the poster probably take a cut, as would the seller, but as the Python folks acknowledge they too are giving access to and enjoyment of their clips away for free with the plea that people buy their work. As my essay Individual Branding: How the Rise of Individual Creation and Distribution of Cultural Products Confuses the Intellectual Property System argues these facts present confusing situations for intellectual property. Sharing, attribution, some control, encouraging purchases, remixing, and more can all be seen in my encounter with Finland which may be my new personal metaphor for IP. Watch the video and tell me what you think, fair use, attribution, new work, infringement, all of the above?

If people don’t like something, the solution is often as simple as a name change.  Consider fish.  Some of the most popular fish today are renamed versions of less desirable fish.  Orange Roughy used to be called slimehead.  Chilean sea bass used to be called toothfish.  Monkfish used to be goosefish. The result of these name changes has been a dramatic increase in popularity, so much so that many renamed fish are now overfished and endangered.

The renaming trend is now spreading to academic courses. From the Boston Globe:

Boston College German studies professor Michael Resler went searching for a way to boost flagging interest in his “German Literature of the High Middle Ages’’ class a few years ago, and settled on the [...]]]>

Chilean sea bass

If people don’t like something, the solution is often as simple as a name change.  Consider fish.  Some of the most popular fish today are renamed versions of less desirable fish.  Orange Roughy used to be called slimehead.  Chilean sea bass used to be called toothfish.  Monkfish used to be goosefish. The result of these name changes has been a dramatic increase in popularity, so much so that many renamed fish are now overfished and endangered.

The renaming trend is now spreading to academic courses. From the Boston Globe:

Boston College German studies professor Michael Resler went searching for a way to boost flagging interest in his “German Literature of the High Middle Ages’’ class a few years ago, and settled on the idea of simply giving the course a sexier name. The resulting “Knights, Castles, and Dragons’’ nearly tripled enrollment.

Resler then replaced his class on “The Songs of Walter von der Vogelweide,’’ a great German lyric poet, with “Passion, Politics, and Poetry in the Middle Ages.’’ Again, enrollment swelled.

“I suppose the moral of the story is that we live in an age where everything has to be marketed in order to find a willing audience,’’ Resler mused.

Maybe it’s time to rename law school classes:

Torts –> Crashes and Accidents

Criminal Law –> Murder Most Foul and Other Dastardly Crimes

Trusts & Estates –> Dead Hands: Power After Death

Corporate Law –> Gold and Parachutes

Property –> The Story of a Whale and a Fox

Hat tip: Inside Higher Ed

Enjoy (Remember these folks were cool once upon a time; and even if not so cool today, the song still thumps).

“Cigarette taxes pay for a third of the cost of the National Health Service. We are saving many more lives than we otherwise could because of those smokers who voluntarily lay down their lives for their friends. Smokers are national benefactors.”

Yesterday, Goldman reported extraordinarily high earnings, and promise of massive employee compensation.  It recently repaid the billion dollar loans government made to it to help it weather the financial crisis.

This report was jarrringly juxtaposed with news of relentless increases in unemployment.  In many parts of the country, it exceeds 20% when measured using realistic inputs like part-timers seeking full-time work.  Official Labor Department statistics don’t capture that when reporting unemployment at the 10% level, still disturbing. 

Here’s an excerpt from Andy’s piece, titled Goldman Sachs in Talks to Acquire Treasury Department, but check out the whole thing:

In what some on Wall Street are calling the biggest blockbuster [...]]]> I don’t usually use this blog to direct traffic on the Web, but Andy Borowitz has a laugh-out-loud post over at Huffington. 

Yesterday, Goldman reported extraordinarily high earnings, and promise of massive employee compensation.  It recently repaid the billion dollar loans government made to it to help it weather the financial crisis.

This report was jarrringly juxtaposed with news of relentless increases in unemployment.  In many parts of the country, it exceeds 20% when measured using realistic inputs like part-timers seeking full-time work.  Official Labor Department statistics don’t capture that when reporting unemployment at the 10% level, still disturbing. 

Here’s an excerpt from Andy’s piece, titled Goldman Sachs in Talks to Acquire Treasury Department, but check out the whole thing:

In what some on Wall Street are calling the biggest blockbuster deal in the history of the financial sector, Goldman Sachs confirmed today that it was in talks to acquire the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

According to Goldman spokesperson Jonathan Hestron, the merger between Goldman and the Treasury Department is “a good fit” because “they’re in the business of printing money and so are we.”

The Goldman spokesman said that the merger would create efficiencies for both entities: “We already have so many employees and so much money flowing back and forth, this would just streamline things.”

Mr. Hestron said the only challenge facing Goldman in completing the merger “is trying to figure out which parts of the Treasury Dept. we don’t already own.”

Goldman recently celebrated record earnings by roasting a suckling pig over a bonfire of hundred-dollar bills.

Hat Tip: Lynn Turner

Fantastic as it seems, a report proliferating on the Web says a new company in Latvia is using that business model, successfully. Two-month old Kontora Loan Company of Latvia, brainchild of a 34-year old entrepreneur, offers cash loans up to about €700 (about $500) with daily interest rates of 1% (and some opacity on the frequency of compounding). The soul part aside, requirements are modest: borrowers must be Latvian residents and provide name and signature. The company has low overhead, foregoing collection staff or policy, reasoning the soul is security enough. Business is off to a good start, with 200 customers on board, a demographic heavily populated by poor [...]]]> Is a usurious cash loan secured solely by the borrower’s immortal soul enforceable, as a matter of mortal law?

Fantastic as it seems, a report proliferating on the Web says a new company in Latvia is using that business model, successfully. Two-month old Kontora Loan Company of Latvia, brainchild of a 34-year old entrepreneur, offers cash loans up to about €700 (about $500) with daily interest rates of 1% (and some opacity on the frequency of compounding).
The soul part aside, requirements are modest: borrowers must be Latvian residents and provide name and signature. The company has low overhead, foregoing collection staff or policy, reasoning the soul is security enough. Business is off to a good start, with 200 customers on board, a demographic heavily populated by poor drunks recently in bar room brawls.
Regulators in Latvia reportedly do not object, except that its Consumer Rights Protection Center questions the business from “a humanistic standpoint.” It would not take our nascent Consumer Financial Product Safety Commission much effort to find the loans objectionable in the US, although mere excuse from mortal legal obligation may leave risks that human judges cannot exonerate.

As a mere matter of mortal law, there probably is sufficient consideration for the contracts, and duress would not be a defense for the merely impecunious. But drunks could be excused on the grounds of lack of capacity; opacity in the compounding clause may justify excuse for all borrowers based on nondisclosure. In addition, compounding aside, the daily interest rate would be usurious in the US, probably even in Delaware, Nevada and South Dakota, making the whole bargain unenforceable in our courts.  And there is always unconscionability.

But even if excused in the courts of human law, there remains the religious side of the bargain. In Latvia, spiritual leaders vehemently object to the loans and the whole business model. They say the loans are un-Godly and impermissibly prey on people’s fears.

Religious leaders also stress an additional concern, which seems a mixed question of law and religion, and is a bit puzzling: the loan agreements may be assignable. Assuming the contracts are enforceable, they may well also be assignable. Yet does it matter who holds the loan?

As a matter of contract interpretation, one supposes, if the borrower defaults, the soul is lost, no matter who holds the right to repayment. Perhaps the danger is that this firm, reputable enough, may assign the contract to a disreputable one, perhaps one with links to the devil?

Hat Tip: Sara Rothman

Stage 1:  That’s ridiculous.  It can’t possibly be true.

Stage 2:  It’s not true.

Stage 3:  You can’t prove it’s true.

Stage 4:  Why are you trying to prove it’s true?

Stage 5:  It’s disgusting that you proved it’s true.

Stage 6:  What’s the big deal anyway?

1.  The Antony Blunt Excuse

“There is a perfectly satisfactory explanation for everything, but security forbids its disclosure.”

2.  The Education Excuse

“It’s only gone wrong because of heavy cuts in staff and budget which have stretched supervisory resources beyond the limits.”

3.  The Concorde Excuse

“It was a worthwhile experiment, now abandoned, but not before it had provided much valuable data and considerable employment.”

4.  The Munich Pact Excuse

“It occurred before certain important facts were known, and couldn’t happen again.”  (The important fact:  Hitler wanted to conquer Europe.)

5.  The Charge of the Light Brigade Excuse

“It was an unfortunate lapse by an individual which has now been dealt with under internal disciplinary procedures.”

AP:  Washington, DC. — Santa Claus was greeted with deep skepticism on Capitol Hill this afternoon as he told members of Congress that he could not fund operations for the remainder of the year without federal assistance.

“Global warming created a real estate bubble in the North Pole that has burst,” Santa explained. “Now my elves are under water and under water on their houses too.” Aggressive cost-cutting steps, such as selling reindeer and reducing mall appearances, have failed to stem the tide of red ink.

In an emotional plea for support, Santa told lawmakers that his bankruptcy would lead to [...]]]> I wrote this for some friends during the original congressional hearings on GM in November.  Given the news of today, I figured it was worth a rerun:

AP:  Washington, DC. — Santa Claus was greeted with deep skepticism on Capitol Hill this afternoon as he told members of Congress that he could not fund operations for the remainder of the year without federal assistance.

“Global warming created a real estate bubble in the North Pole that has burst,” Santa explained. “Now my elves are under water and under water on their houses too.” Aggressive cost-cutting steps, such as selling reindeer and reducing mall appearances, have failed to stem the tide of red ink.

In an emotional plea for support, Santa told lawmakers that his bankruptcy would lead to a devastating loss of jobs in the tree, stocking, and toy industries. In addition, “millions of crying children would deal a devastating blow to the nation’s morale at a time when we need some cheer.”

Senator Christopher Dodd, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, demanded more information on the Claus method for handing out gifts. “You say that you keep track of who is naughty and nice,” Dodd asked, “but I think this committee has a right to know how you get that information and make those determinations.”

Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on the committee, was critical of Santa’s business plan and wondered, “How will taxpayers benefit from funding an operation that gives gifts away for free?” When Santa responded that he got “millions of cookies every year” that could act as collateral, the Senator did not seem impressed.

Other members were just as hostile. One asked why Santa had relocated all of his operations outside of the United States. “In exchange for any bailout,” this Senator said, “I think you should pledge to hire American elves.” Another complained that all she got when she was a kid was a lump of coal, and that it took guts for Santa to come begging for help now.

Similar sentiments greeted Santa in the House. When told that he had flown to the hearings in a private sleigh, Congressman Brad Sherman of California was livid. “Couldn’t you have taken a dog sled? My constituents are having a hard time understanding that.” Another called for a federal investigation of Santa’s repeated break-ins at American homes over the years, which she described as “an outrageous invasion of our privacy.”

The atmosphere of the hearings was best summed up by Congressman Barney Frank, who informed Santa that he’d need to develop a better plan and return to Congress in a week. “What the American people see here is a fat and bloated operation that needs to be trimmed,” Frank said, “and I’m not just talking about you.”

“No one really understands the true nature of fawning servility until he sees an academic who has glimpsed the prospect of money or personal publicity.”

“The surprising thing about academics is not that they have their price, but how low that price is.”

For 20 years, the eagle has been the mascot of athletic teams at UW-L. Only earlier this month, however, did students at the campus get around to voting on a name for the bird, and the name they chose was “Eddie.” Unfortunately, “Eddie” is also the trademarked name of the mascot of the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program,” which is aimed at students in pre-K through the third grade.  Apparently claiming that marketplace confusion would likely result from use of “Eddie the Eagle” in a post-secondary educational setting, when benchmarked against the elementary educational programming [...]]]> The world is again safe for trademark law, now that the National Rifle Association has put an end to efforts at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to name the university’s eagle mascot “Eddie.”

For 20 years, the eagle has been the mascot of athletic teams at UW-L. Only earlier this month, however, did students at the campus get around to voting on a name for the bird, and the name they chose was “Eddie.” Unfortunately, “Eddie” is also the trademarked name of the mascot of the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program,” which is aimed at students in pre-K through the third grade.  Apparently claiming that marketplace confusion would likely result from use of “Eddie the Eagle” in a post-secondary educational setting, when benchmarked against the elementary educational programming offered by the NRA, the NRA forced the university to stand down.

Undeterred by possible claims of intellectual property rights in alternative names, the students re-voted and named their eagle “Colbert.” Apparently, neither the actor nor the character objects to the use of a name that is likely protected by trademark law and right of privacy and/or publicity law, or both — despite the obvious and ubiquitous association of “Colbert” with eagles.  This seems to put Stephen Colbert squarely at odds with the National Rifle Association, at least when it comes to symbolic representations of birds of prey. 

There is no word on the matter of the validity of the NRA’s mark from the original Eddie the Eagle – Eddie Edwards, former ski jumping champion of Great Britain and world-famous competitor in the Calgary Olympics, who taught all of us important life lessons.

So what is the best source of wisdom about politics?  Aristotle?  Leviathan by Hobbes?  The Federalist Papers? John Rawls?  Hayek’s Road to Serfdom?

No — it’s “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister,” the British TV show from the early 1980s that depicted the clash between elected politicians and civil servants.  From time to time I’ll post some wit from that program that seems especially pertinent.  That should be easy once health care reform is introduced, as I can then use the National Health Service jokes.  (”We don’t measure our success by results but by activity”).

For now, consider this description [...]]]> I want to start by thanking everyone here for inviting me to join on a full-time basis.  To celebrate this momentous occasion, I thought I should write about something profound.

So what is the best source of wisdom about politics?  Aristotle?  Leviathan by Hobbes?  The Federalist Papers? John Rawls?  Hayek’s Road to Serfdom?

No — it’s “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister,” the British TV show from the early 1980s that depicted the clash between elected politicians and civil servants.  From time to time I’ll post some wit from that program that seems especially pertinent.  That should be easy once health care reform is introduced, as I can then use the National Health Service jokes.  (”We don’t measure our success by results but by activity”).

For now, consider this description from “Yes Prime Minister” about bureaucratic or political inertia when there is a clamor for action but officials do not want to act.  (This applies to liberal complaints about global warming or conservative complaints about illegal immigration.)

Stage 1:  There is nothing happening.

Stage 2:  There may be something happening, but we should do nothing about it.

Stage 3:  Maybe we should do something about it, but there’s nothing that we can do.

Stage 4:  Maybe there is something that we could have done, but it’s too late now.

The checks were unexpected. I would have rendered either service without pay. Both were in some sense a civic contribution, the jury service by law, the op-ed piece by vocation. But the figures nevertheless struck me as backwards. Suppose no civic obligation, imposed or elected. In an arms’-length negotiation, I would have requested far less from the paper and far more from the court.

Neither outfit [...]]]> Two unexpected checks arrived in my mailbox today, both dated late April for actions I took in late March. One is from the The New York Times for $300 for an op-ed piece I published in the paper March 18; the other is from the District of Columbia for $4 for jury service I contributed at its Superior Court March 23.

The checks were unexpected. I would have rendered either service without pay. Both were in some sense a civic contribution, the jury service by law, the op-ed piece by vocation. But the figures nevertheless struck me as backwards. Suppose no civic obligation, imposed or elected. In an arms’-length negotiation, I would have requested far less from the paper and far more from the court.

Neither outfit is doing well financially. The District of Columbia faces a $400 million budget deficit amid declining tax revenues and increased costs; The Times Co. lost $74.5 million last quarter amid declining ad revenues and contraction in its business. I appreciate both checks. And love both DC and the NYT. I am tempted to cash neither one.

Indeed, a funeral group in the U.K. did a survey of most popular songs [...]]]> Although much has been written about the importance of sharing culture and the way information flow helps connect people, concrete examples aid in illustrating the point. Infamous stories about “Happy Birthday” serve that role well, but now we have a possible new arena from which to ask “Did they really need to go after that use?” For we sing at the beginning of life, on the day we commemorate life, and of course when we die. Yes, funerals! Here’s the possible difference. Whereas old classics like Amazing Grace (not as old as you might think) are all over the place. It appears that popular songs are big part of modern funeral services.

Indeed, a funeral group in the U.K. did a survey of most popular songs played at, well, funerals. Apparently, Sinatra’s “My Way” was at the top of the list. I must admit that when I saw the headline about the U.K. funerals and My Way, I thought that they meant the Sid Vicious rendition; that would have been the more ironic, darker choice. As a sign that polls and surveys are only as good as their sample set, a different group’s poll showed that My Way was second to Robbie Williams’s “Angels” (my vote is an eloquent “Ick”) and thankfully Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”

came in third. At the risk of sharing too much, I have always thought that the Python is the way to go for a funeral and may be one of the more pithy ways to set forth a life plan.

So in the spirit of sharing and engaging with others about a key part of life here is the beginning of a list of songs that I think would be on my funeral mix (not in a particular order yet)

1. In My Time of Dying (Zepplin version, although Dylan and Blind Willie Johnson offer much in different ways; actually a whole Blind Willie funeral would make sense to me)

2. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (because it would be time to remind folks about the bright side)

3. Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding by Elton John – this one starts with a somber tone one may want, and then the 70s Elton/Taupin build up is almost too campy yet still so wonderful that it goes past the problems of later power ballads and works (Elton has a few others that would make this list)

Ziggy Stardust seems to work, but if you listen to the lyrics, it may depend on who the dead person is. And, the Bauhaus version may be one of those covers that surpasses the original. Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus almost made the list, but it may be too somber to want to hear at a funeral.

I am sure I have more for the list, but for now I invite nominations for the non-obvious choices (i.e., Over the Rainbow, Highway to Hell, Another One Bites the Dust, the classical choices, and others that made the lists). And in the words of Wayne’s World “No Stairway, Denied.”

Now you may notice that it is staged. Which I suppose means that the media company behind the event has taken its cue from flashmobs. One difference may be the high production value with excellent camera work and sound quality. Still, the YouTube tag claims that there were only two rehearsals. I admit that I had a blip, but just a blip, of thinking that it would have been nice without the media production. Then my brain kicked in, and I realized that it is fun, it is creative, and I can share it with others. Will I ever seek out [...]]]> This one just made me smile (and maybe sing). It is fun, and although I associate the music with Christmas, it works for Easter too.

Now you may notice that it is staged. Which I suppose means that the media company behind the event has taken its cue from flashmobs. One difference may be the high production value with excellent camera work and sound quality. Still, the YouTube tag claims that there were only two rehearsals. I admit that I had a blip, but just a blip, of thinking that it would have been nice without the media production. Then my brain kicked in, and I realized that it is fun, it is creative, and I can share it with others. Will I ever seek out or watch the Belgian show about finding a lead for the Sound of Music? No, but I thank them for their efforts.