I heard this morning that Newt has said he is not running for president. I didn't even know he was considering it. That is good, as there will be one less noodle-head we will have to worry about.
Bill Clinton is a guest on Meet the Press today. I miss him so much. I will vote for Hillary. Not only because over time I have come to believe that she would be a good president and that she has fire in the belly, but because I think we need him back. He will be a great ambassador for our country and get us back on track.
Voting democratic is good for economics!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Jury Duty Pooty
I was so excited when I got my jury duty notice about a month or so ago. I had never been called for jury duty and had always wanted to serve. My first thought when I saw the card was, I wonder if attorneys would choose me for a jury since I am in law school. My feeling was no, and that was confirmed by other people who had been dismissed for that same reason. But I was hopeful that I would be picked--it would be a chance for me to see a real trial up close.
Well Monday morning came and I arrived at the courthouse. I brought my constitutional law textbook with me to read--I figured I could hide it in my book bag if needed.
But I had no luck that day. A computer randomly picks out groups of 30 jurors for voir dire. Thirty is as large of a group as they need. I guess the computer knew I was out there in the waiting room studying my constitutional law, because it passed me by. I didn't get picked for the first or second trial. So back to work I went. But in the short time I was there, I could feel how exciting it would be to work in that courthouse.
Well Monday morning came and I arrived at the courthouse. I brought my constitutional law textbook with me to read--I figured I could hide it in my book bag if needed.
But I had no luck that day. A computer randomly picks out groups of 30 jurors for voir dire. Thirty is as large of a group as they need. I guess the computer knew I was out there in the waiting room studying my constitutional law, because it passed me by. I didn't get picked for the first or second trial. So back to work I went. But in the short time I was there, I could feel how exciting it would be to work in that courthouse.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
So-bri-ah-tee Checkpoints, Nashville Style
I have been ticked off about this for a while, but tonight I have to say my piece. Nashville has gone on overdrive, it seems, with sobriety checkpoints. I guess I see the value--you want to stop drunk driving and all that entails. My beef is it seems to hassle a lot of people for little gain. And also, I think the resources should be spent on trying to stop other more insidious crime.
Tonight I was leaving a retail establishment about 8 p.m. on West End, when a metro police car drove right up onto the sidewalk right beside me. It frightened me, as it looked like the officer really wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He could have easily smashed right into the left side of my car. To be honest, I don't think he ever saw me, and I was right beside him.
And the way the police officers stand at the side of the road in these checkpoints in their black uniforms is just dangerous. Especially in some of the locations. You just can't see them in the dark, and suddenly there they are stepping up to your car with their little orange cone???? Hello???? Can you say ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN???
You're trying to make Nashville streets more safe by being reckless????? And by the way, it is ILLEGAL to drive on the sidewalk. Have the police heard of this. Chief Serpas are you listening???
The police have also held a sobriety checkpoint a couple of times right by my house. I saw blue lights coming in through my blinds, so I took my dog outside to see what was going on. They were stopping every car, asking if they had had any alcohol. If they said yes, they were asked to get out of the car and do sobriety field tests. I stayed there for a short time watching. I was impressed at how well people did. I couldn't stand on one leg for countless minutes even sober. We have some people with good balance here in Nashville.
But the truth is most people can have about two drinks before they would be above the legal limit. Stopping everyone who drives by is just a nuisance. And the real chronic drunks are probably driving elsewhere.
I would just like to see them put that same zeal toward solving some real crime.
Tonight I was leaving a retail establishment about 8 p.m. on West End, when a metro police car drove right up onto the sidewalk right beside me. It frightened me, as it looked like the officer really wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He could have easily smashed right into the left side of my car. To be honest, I don't think he ever saw me, and I was right beside him.
And the way the police officers stand at the side of the road in these checkpoints in their black uniforms is just dangerous. Especially in some of the locations. You just can't see them in the dark, and suddenly there they are stepping up to your car with their little orange cone???? Hello???? Can you say ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN???
You're trying to make Nashville streets more safe by being reckless????? And by the way, it is ILLEGAL to drive on the sidewalk. Have the police heard of this. Chief Serpas are you listening???
The police have also held a sobriety checkpoint a couple of times right by my house. I saw blue lights coming in through my blinds, so I took my dog outside to see what was going on. They were stopping every car, asking if they had had any alcohol. If they said yes, they were asked to get out of the car and do sobriety field tests. I stayed there for a short time watching. I was impressed at how well people did. I couldn't stand on one leg for countless minutes even sober. We have some people with good balance here in Nashville.
But the truth is most people can have about two drinks before they would be above the legal limit. Stopping everyone who drives by is just a nuisance. And the real chronic drunks are probably driving elsewhere.
I would just like to see them put that same zeal toward solving some real crime.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane--the Best Advertisement for Long Term Care Insurance
I watched the movie Whatever Happened to Baby Jane again tonight and had a thought: Insurance companies could use a clip from this movie to help sell long term care insurance.
The story is about two aging actresses played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (Bette Davis is the crazy, evil, drunken sister. But you find out that Joan's character is not all sweet either, but definitely more palatable.) To make a long story short, Joan's character has an accident and is left in a wheelchair, and both of their acting careers go down the tubes.
Bette's character in effect holds Joan's character hostage in an upstairs bedroom and starts abusing her. Parts of it are very hard to watch. Joan's character becomes more and more frightened and sicker and is going to die. Bette's character serves dead rats to Joan for dinner and such, so Joan is afraid to eat, making her even weaker. I read that Bette Davis was 54 when she made this movie. Good grief! I hope she was made up to look so much older, and that she didn't really look this bad herself.
Anyway, it is about 2 hours of painful, yet wonderful cinema. Long term health insurance can help you stay independent of crazy, vindictive relatives! When my former company started offering such plans, a bunch of us signed up for it, just knowing that that would keep us freewilled and independent of any relatives who might want to have it in for us, lol!
The story is about two aging actresses played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (Bette Davis is the crazy, evil, drunken sister. But you find out that Joan's character is not all sweet either, but definitely more palatable.) To make a long story short, Joan's character has an accident and is left in a wheelchair, and both of their acting careers go down the tubes.
Bette's character in effect holds Joan's character hostage in an upstairs bedroom and starts abusing her. Parts of it are very hard to watch. Joan's character becomes more and more frightened and sicker and is going to die. Bette's character serves dead rats to Joan for dinner and such, so Joan is afraid to eat, making her even weaker. I read that Bette Davis was 54 when she made this movie. Good grief! I hope she was made up to look so much older, and that she didn't really look this bad herself.
Anyway, it is about 2 hours of painful, yet wonderful cinema. Long term health insurance can help you stay independent of crazy, vindictive relatives! When my former company started offering such plans, a bunch of us signed up for it, just knowing that that would keep us freewilled and independent of any relatives who might want to have it in for us, lol!
Lee Ann Rimes a Hit at Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Last night I went to the Nashville Symphony Pops Concert featuring Lee Ann Rimes. It was an absolute treat. She has a new fan.
I have heard of Lee Ann Rimes for years, but to tell you the truth, I had never heard her sing. I did not know about her first hit "Blue," which everyone in the whole world seems to know about. In fact, I was clueless about her.
She came on stage last night after the intermission. At first I was underwhelmed. I am not a country music fan, and her first couple hits seemed to be country tunes.
But soon, she had rolled over into the rock and roll and blues genres. I am not an expert, but I really think her talent is better suited for these categories. She has a very powerful voice and it seemed to get lost on her country tunes. But she filled the house with her voice on the rock and blues tunes. (But don't listen to me, I know nothing about country music on purpose, almost.)
I would go to another concert of hers, and I might even buy a CD. Which says a lot, because I have enjoyed country music artists in person before, but would not buy their CDs.
The only disappointment came when I read her bio, and she did not grow up in Nashville or attend high school here like I thought. She was home schooled out of Mississippi. She always seemed to be in the local press, but she had a contract with a record label here, so I guess that is why. And I guess she could travel here a lot, being home schooled.
But her performance was so good last night, you could have heard a pin drop. But that is also partly due to the perfection of the Symphony Center. It is a joy to be there. If you haven't attended a performance there, try to do so soon.
I have heard of Lee Ann Rimes for years, but to tell you the truth, I had never heard her sing. I did not know about her first hit "Blue," which everyone in the whole world seems to know about. In fact, I was clueless about her.
She came on stage last night after the intermission. At first I was underwhelmed. I am not a country music fan, and her first couple hits seemed to be country tunes.
But soon, she had rolled over into the rock and roll and blues genres. I am not an expert, but I really think her talent is better suited for these categories. She has a very powerful voice and it seemed to get lost on her country tunes. But she filled the house with her voice on the rock and blues tunes. (But don't listen to me, I know nothing about country music on purpose, almost.)
I would go to another concert of hers, and I might even buy a CD. Which says a lot, because I have enjoyed country music artists in person before, but would not buy their CDs.
The only disappointment came when I read her bio, and she did not grow up in Nashville or attend high school here like I thought. She was home schooled out of Mississippi. She always seemed to be in the local press, but she had a contract with a record label here, so I guess that is why. And I guess she could travel here a lot, being home schooled.
But her performance was so good last night, you could have heard a pin drop. But that is also partly due to the perfection of the Symphony Center. It is a joy to be there. If you haven't attended a performance there, try to do so soon.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Joe O'Donnell plagiarized photos?
I read a sad article in today's newspaper--that Joe O'Donnell, 85, a local photographer of some fame (and who died in Nashville August 10) had made false claims about some photos he had taken.
I did not know the man, but had seen some of his work around town in photo exhibits and on sale at local art galleries. The man hadn't just taken any old photos, but photos that captured the nation's history and soul. O'Donnell had served as an official White House photographer for five presidents, from FDR to Johnson. Some of his outstanding works included the famous photo of "John John" saluting his father's coffin in the funeral parade in November 1963, and the 1959 photo of the "Kitchen Debate" between VP Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, among others. The problem is apparently he didn't really take the photos.
After reading his obituary and seeing the reports on television, other photographers stood up to say he did not take the photos and said who did. It is amazing it took this long to find this out.
This recent revelation has left many scratching their heads and asking why, including his widow. She claimed that he was in ill health, which could account for some of this behavior.
I just hate that this came out now, when he can't defend himself.
The New York Times published his obituary, later adding these corrections:
Correction: September 5, 2007
Two pictures on Aug. 14 with an obituary about the news photographer Joe O’Donnell carried erroneous credits, and the obituary also included one of the incorrect credits. The photograph of a saluting John F. Kennedy Jr. during the funeral for his father in 1963 was taken by Stan Stearns for United Press International, not by Mr. O’Donnell. The photographer who took the second picture, showing Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill during a wartime meeting in Tehran in 1943, is not known, although Mr. O’Donnell claimed credit for it and the Kennedy picture. Mr. O’Donnell is not known to have been in Tehran at the time.
A Nashville gallery that handled Mr. O’Donnell’s work supplied the incorrect information. The Times is researching other claims by Mr. O’Donnell reported in the obituary.
Correction: September 15, 2007
An obituary on Aug. 14 about the photographer Joe O’Donnell, who learned the craft with the Marine Corps during World War II, described well-known pictures of four presidents that he claimed to have taken. A correction in this space on Sept. 5 described two erroneous credits to him on photographs which ran with the obituary — one, also mentioned in the obituary, of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s funeral caisson in 1963, which was actually taken by Stan Stearns for United Press International; and one of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill meeting in Tehran in 1943, by an unknown photographer.
In addition, the obituary also erroneously attributed a photograph of Vice President Richard M. Nixon during his “kitchen debate” in Moscow with Nikita S. Khrushchev in 1959; it was taken by Elliott Erwitt, not by Mr. O’Donnell.
An article describing how Mr. O’Donnell came to make these and other erroneous claims appears today on Page A1.
I did not know the man, but had seen some of his work around town in photo exhibits and on sale at local art galleries. The man hadn't just taken any old photos, but photos that captured the nation's history and soul. O'Donnell had served as an official White House photographer for five presidents, from FDR to Johnson. Some of his outstanding works included the famous photo of "John John" saluting his father's coffin in the funeral parade in November 1963, and the 1959 photo of the "Kitchen Debate" between VP Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow, among others. The problem is apparently he didn't really take the photos.
After reading his obituary and seeing the reports on television, other photographers stood up to say he did not take the photos and said who did. It is amazing it took this long to find this out.
This recent revelation has left many scratching their heads and asking why, including his widow. She claimed that he was in ill health, which could account for some of this behavior.
I just hate that this came out now, when he can't defend himself.
The New York Times published his obituary, later adding these corrections:
Correction: September 5, 2007
Two pictures on Aug. 14 with an obituary about the news photographer Joe O’Donnell carried erroneous credits, and the obituary also included one of the incorrect credits. The photograph of a saluting John F. Kennedy Jr. during the funeral for his father in 1963 was taken by Stan Stearns for United Press International, not by Mr. O’Donnell. The photographer who took the second picture, showing Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill during a wartime meeting in Tehran in 1943, is not known, although Mr. O’Donnell claimed credit for it and the Kennedy picture. Mr. O’Donnell is not known to have been in Tehran at the time.
A Nashville gallery that handled Mr. O’Donnell’s work supplied the incorrect information. The Times is researching other claims by Mr. O’Donnell reported in the obituary.
Correction: September 15, 2007
An obituary on Aug. 14 about the photographer Joe O’Donnell, who learned the craft with the Marine Corps during World War II, described well-known pictures of four presidents that he claimed to have taken. A correction in this space on Sept. 5 described two erroneous credits to him on photographs which ran with the obituary — one, also mentioned in the obituary, of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s funeral caisson in 1963, which was actually taken by Stan Stearns for United Press International; and one of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill meeting in Tehran in 1943, by an unknown photographer.
In addition, the obituary also erroneously attributed a photograph of Vice President Richard M. Nixon during his “kitchen debate” in Moscow with Nikita S. Khrushchev in 1959; it was taken by Elliott Erwitt, not by Mr. O’Donnell.
An article describing how Mr. O’Donnell came to make these and other erroneous claims appears today on Page A1.
Bridge Insufficiency
I heard a talk the other day about bridge insufficiency given by a professor of civil engineering. The program was based around the Minneapolis bridge collapse. He showed slides of the collapse and some aerial shots taken of the bridge before the disaster.
The post collapse photos he showed were more horrifying than the ones we saw on television. Not sure why that was, but the shots he had were taken at a higher angle and showed in greater detail the danger those people were in. For example, the cars that remained on the broken section of the bridge were on a steeper grade than the television portrayed. I was surprised at the difference in perspective and found it amazing that any of those cars could have stopped in time to avoid going off the bridge into the water.
He went on to say that the bridge was at 50 percent insufficiency, which means the bridge should have been replaced. The state's government received the money to do this, but apparently used it for other reasons. To me this is highly negligent, and those responsible should be held accountable. Totally irresponsible and alsmost evil in a way. Can you imagine being one of the victims or the victims' family and knowing that they could have repaired the bridge but instead used it for some pork project?
He also mentioned several bridges in Nashville that are close to being in the same condition, just like countless bridges across the country. Yikes!
It is a shame that this country was once known for its brilliant infrastructure, which is now starting to come down around us.
The post collapse photos he showed were more horrifying than the ones we saw on television. Not sure why that was, but the shots he had were taken at a higher angle and showed in greater detail the danger those people were in. For example, the cars that remained on the broken section of the bridge were on a steeper grade than the television portrayed. I was surprised at the difference in perspective and found it amazing that any of those cars could have stopped in time to avoid going off the bridge into the water.
He went on to say that the bridge was at 50 percent insufficiency, which means the bridge should have been replaced. The state's government received the money to do this, but apparently used it for other reasons. To me this is highly negligent, and those responsible should be held accountable. Totally irresponsible and alsmost evil in a way. Can you imagine being one of the victims or the victims' family and knowing that they could have repaired the bridge but instead used it for some pork project?
He also mentioned several bridges in Nashville that are close to being in the same condition, just like countless bridges across the country. Yikes!
It is a shame that this country was once known for its brilliant infrastructure, which is now starting to come down around us.
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