I'm with Foobar: Yes, I'm glad he did it and yes, I'm glad he was wise enough to admit his error.

But he didn't do it without a true loss of control -- not knowing when, or if, it would end, or that the people in the room may have meant him harm or wanted information he couldn't provide.

Instead, he had a hand signal.

It reminds me of the "I'm going to live in the wilderness for 7 days and see how I do" experiments of Les Stroud, who I love and admire deeply: Yes, he's out there, being badass and filming it all, but at any moment he could signal rescue. Once he films what it's like to panic knowing rescue can't or isn't coming when he's lost somewhere out there, that'll be a real survival show worth watching.

I'm sure there's a Copenhagen Interpretation reference to be made here, but I'm not smart enough to know how.

I'd love to read more of this, but the link crashes my Firefox 3.

Just wanted to report it in case y'all know of why that might be.

Can't help but wonder if the legal system will have more limits in D.C. than in the states, since D.C. isn't actually a state at all and the folks who live there have limited rights (at least in terms of voting, though I'm not an expert on the rest yet).

I sure hope it gets stomped out, right quick. Disgusting.

While they're checking my (potentially) illegal movies and songs, will they also have designer label experts on hand to verify if the bag I'm carrying them in is a ripoff or legit? What about the clothes I'm wearing, and the shoes on my feet? I could have stolen them, you know, in one of my many retail heists. What if my haircut is actually a cheaper version of the $300 one I could have gotten uptown?

Oh, the agony of small, unimaginative minds.

Aww, he just needs to go to Exo-Export Monopolies, as per Thomas Disch:

http://www.art.net/~hopkins/Don/text/head.html

Why in the world does everything have to be solved with the nuclear option?

:::sniff:::
SUSPENDED!

(Okay, maybe the nuclear option would have been expulsion, so this is maybe just the WMD option.)

I thought part of school was that you're supposed to teach. This could have become a learning experience to all (and in a way it has). Instead it just generates a lot of resentment.

#7 Rob: I've wondered this for years. Early on (when they were still sending albums with a gold-lettered stamp telling you how you couldn't re-sell it), I knew it was a disingenuous argument, but legally, why shouldn't it hold up in court? I didn't request this album, you sent it to me, ergo I may do what I want with it.

Further to the point: I received a CD recently from a major label, and the CD actually had my name and company affiliation printed on it (along with the usual finger-waggling). I called up the company and said, "I didn't ask for this, and I don't want to be on your mailing list if you're going to send these out, because I can't be responsible for what gets sent me at work." The PR woman said she didn't even know the name printing was being done, then offered to send me non-watermarked CDs. I still don't need them, but I shrugged and said, "If you want."

I'm still getting CDs, just non-watermarked ones, and nothing with my name has shown up. I feel no responsibility about returning them.

The thing is, by handing the responsibility for the CD they've watermarked and sent to us on our behalf -- without requesting it -- the company must have some sort of legal obligation to provide postage and an envelope for its return. To not include that means they expect the onus and costs incurred in returning it to fall on the people they sent it to.

I've long wondered if someone tried to mount a case, saying, "You want your CDs back? Great, come get them, or pay me (shipping costs plus handling costs plus postage plus my time spent) and I'll be happy to make sure you get them. Of course, if you want guaranteed delivery you'll have to pay more for priority postage."

Seems to me a group action could tally up those charges pretty fast. Whether it would hold up in court, I have no idea.

Not real! Alas, that negates my intended joke about getting a hung jury.

Thwarted!

Aaaaand... here's the update on the situation, as per the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/20/usa1/print

And I thought it was Dramatic Guinea Pig!

If ever I've heard of a legit reason to use that overly-friendly eminent domain law passed by the Supremes recently, this is it.

Just TAKE IT, L.A.!

I saw a great movie recently from Belgium called "Ben X" in which an Aspergers kid finds his voice (and a friend) via MMORPG (ArchLord specifically). Very well done, and I hear they're remaking it for English audiences. Should be interesting.

Well, there's nothing here on the site about Lyokha yet, but for all of your feral children needs, go here:

http://www.feralchildren.com/en/index.php

It'll keep you reading for the rest of the holiday season.

Kind of time to retire the "ho ho ho" being taken out of Santa's jolly already -- I heard this on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" too -- because Snopes has debunked it:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/christmas/hohoho.asp

Not that the NewsTimes should pass up a good UL to round out their "Santa Under Attack" trilogy, of course.

FWIW, they're mainly concerned about cheap ripoffs being made from photographs. This is not unlike being able (or not) to take photos inside stores. I was with a friend who bought a pair of $800 shoes in Chanel over the weekend (let's put the usefulness of that aside for the moment) but since she was getting them in a pre-sale and couldn't take them home before the sale commenced, they wouldn't let her take a photo to show her friends later. After she left the store with them, go with God. Inside the store, no way: They want to avoid competitors getting a leg up.

Not supporting the policy, just explaining it a bit.

For what it's worth, The Smoking Gun now has the real ... uh, poop on the subject:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1130071onecup1.html

If his Thursday, Nov. 15 gig at Upright Citizens Brigade was any example, he's much funnier on the Internet/in video. Live, there's really not much there, and just about zero actual funny sensibility, just a willingness to run around the stage without his shirt on.

That may be enough for some, of course.

And it looks as though Broadway may close down with a strike soon, too.

Strikes are trendy in NYC!

Ah, I'm suddenly overcome with a need to read Roald Dahl's "Skin."

Well, the good news is now we have Internet photos and "proof" so we can blame video games 10 years down the line when the child runs off the rails and does something tragic, probably in school.

I can hear Ann Curry's voice now on the "Dateline" special.

Allowing toddlers to play games that are specifically rated for adults may not be the same thing as handing them over to wolves, but I think there's some overlap on that Venn diagram.

Oh,laws, a week before you I did the exact same thing while waiting for my DiFara's pie to be ready: I went into the same store, took a cell phone shot of "Benign Girl" and forgot to upload it from the phone.

Nobody else but me found it all that amusing!

I've now wishlisted the book, and I'm really keen to read it. I've always had this sick fascination with end of the world stories, so thanks for feeding the addiction!

Jen: You need this web site:

http://www.empty-world.com/