Today, I went to class (Please hold your applause). Since I figured that actually sitting through the lectures was enough of an accomplishment for one day, I couldn't be bothered to go the extra mile and actually pay attention. To occupy my time as my professor droned on and on about patent law, I took advantage of one of those rockin' law school perks: high speed wireless internet. While hoping that my professor didn't notice that I was typing my "notes" instead of writing them in my trusty notebook, here are some stories that peaked my interest:
Is there a more entertaining story going around right now than the Lindsay Lohan-Hillary Duff feud? Supposedly, bad feelings have been festering for years, but it has recently grown due to Duff's relationship with Aaron Carter...Lohan's ex. Top 3 funniest things about this story:
1) Lohan reportedly egged Duff's car;
2) The thought of Duff and Paris Hilton double-dating with Aaron and his brother Nick Carter;
3) The fact that many mainstream news outlets have reported this story.
The new Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ has been attracting way more media attention than it deserves. I have not seen it, so I can't comment on its cinematic merit, and I don't know enough about religion or history to determine whether Gibson's vision
2-23-04 - Meaghan's Birthday Thoughts
2-18-04 - Columns Revisited
2-3-04 - 2003 Movie Awards (Updated)
1-29-04 - 2003 Movie Spectacular (Updated)
1-28-04 - A Year Remembered
1-27-04 - Chien's Guest Column
Archives
1) "Temporary" - The Tah-Dahs
2) "Action" - Razorlight
3) "Wonderwall"- Ryan Adams
4) "Bar Room Hero" - The Dropkick Murphys
5) "Rubber Band Man" - T.I.
6) "Eve of Destruction"- Bishop Allen
7) "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
8) "Assassinator 13" - Chikinki
9) "The Lonely"- British Sea Power
10) "Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
In a semi-related note, the big news this week has been President Bush's announcement that he would support a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I'm not sure if there has been a recent mainstream political move that has troubled me more. I can't believe that this is 2004 and there isn't more outrage! Despite one's religious or personal beliefs, it amazes me that so many people seem willing to write discrimination into the constitution. Haven't we been trying to write discrimination out of the constitution for the last one hundred years? Just what is it about gays and lesbians that seem to scare so many people?
It is rare that I find myself siding with the religious right and Justices Scalia and Thomas. I find myself in that odd position, though, because the Supreme Court recently ruled 7-2 that states have the right to withold scholarships from students studying theology. I am one of the biggest proponents of separation of church and state (I even find the pledge of allegiance to violate this), but I have a hard time with this particular decision. Why should the state have a right to dictate what a student chooses the study. I believe a student should have the right to receive schaolarship money to study any religion he or she chooses, as long as the student meets all of the necessary requirements of the scholarship. As long as students aren't prohibited from studying one religion but allowed to study another, why should this privilege be limited?
The New Jersey Nets win streak has been phenomenal. Sure they haven't played any of the five best teams from the West (until tonight), but they have been absolutely destroying people. Only one of there fourteen wins during the streak has been by less than eleven votes.
Baltimore Raven's running back Jamal Lewis was indicted today on federal drug conspiracy charges. Supposedly, he is accused of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the summer of 2000. Why did it take four years to get the indictment? I am guessing that, like me, U.S. Attorney William Duffey had Lewis in his fantasy league.
In the Houston Chronicle today, there is a story about a Houston police officer who is arrested for delivering one kilo of cocaine and 100 pounds of marijuana to a house in Humble while in uniform. Wow...at least he assured himself a place in those World's Dumbest Criminals books.
I am not completely willing to give up on John Edwards's presidential campaign yet. I am pretty much on the ABB (Anyone But Bush) bandwagon, but I'd really prefer if Kerry isn't the candidate. My views aren't that out of line with his, but I think it will be very easy for Bush to paint Kerry as a wishy-washy politician who flip flops on key issues, because he is a wishy-washy politician who flip flops on key issues. I think Bush would much prefer to campaign against Kerry, Edwards is much more difficult to paint negatively in broad strokes. Sure you can call him young and inexperienced in foreign policy, but when does that ever work (see Clinton, Schwarzenegger, Bush himself).
It is an often quoted statistic that the number one news source among 18-25 year olds is Comedy Central's The Daily Show. I wonder if that is such a bad thing. Despite its generally liberal audience, Jon Stewart is very balanced, taking pot shots equally at bothsides. On top of that, he is a underrated interviewer. He manages to address hard topics and ask insioghtful questions, while still managing to be very funny. Quite possibly the best show on television.