So over at the New York Times, music critic Anthony Tomassini has completed his excursion through Western “classical” music to come up with his Top Ten composers all time. It’s as silly, and as interesting, as these sorts of exercises usually are — maybe a bit less silly, and more interesting, given that Tomassini gives […]
Author Archive | David Post
This is either the best idea of 2011 . . .
. . . or a sure sign that civilization as we know it is perishing (or both). Sega has began deploying the “Toylet” video game — which uses “a pressure sensor located on the back of a urinal to measure the strength and location of your urine stream. A small LCD screen above the urinal […]
The Legal Intelligencer Fights Back:
Earlier today, I tried to illustrate “lousy legal writing” by quoting (in full) an article from The Legal Intelligencer. I did so because (a) the Intelligencer’s text is place behind a subscription firewall and therefore unavailable to many of our readers, and because (b) I didn’t think that readers would be able to understand the […]
Lousy Legal Writing:
When my kids were small , both took music lessons (and as many of you know, my son Sam is forging ahead with a career as a pianist), and, as a result, I heard an enormous amount of really badly-played music; I probably went to 75 or 100 school-wide recitals and performances, and while they […]
Go Viral! Go!
Well, with all the nonsense and downright crap that somehow catches the wave and makes the 5 million hit mark, surely there’s room for something that’s actually quite magnificent and inspired, like the Bach Goldberg Variations. Go forth and multiply! [And if you’re interested, the entire performance is available for free download at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/samuelpost ]
Mighty Barca!
Sports Fans!: Brian Phillips, over on Slate, has a nice piece on “the special feeling of euphoria, a kind of Olympian giddiness, that soccer fans experience while watching F.C. Barcelona.” Even for those of you who care little for the game, you should make at least a small mental note about what is happening over […]
World’s Oddest Copy-Protection Scheme:
In the entire catalogue of insidious digital rights management schemes – software that disables itself or your operating system, or that sends a message back to the distributor, if you try to make unauthorized copies — nothing beats this for intentionally inflicting emotional distress. We haven’t heard the last of vuvuzuela-based defenses, I suspect. [Thanks […]
Reasonable words about Wikileaks:
Clay Shirky has, as he often does, a very thoughtful and reasonable take on the Wikileaks Affair. I’ve been working on writing something of my own, but for now, Shirky’s hit most of the things I wanted to say . . .
Calling All Music Lovers, ChicagoLand Dep’t:
In case any of you is looking for something interesting to do tomorrow (Saturday), my son Sam is giving his Master’s Recital up at Northwestern (Lutkin Hall, 330 PM) performing the complete Bach Goldberg Variations. It should be terrific — Sam’s really a wonderful pianist, he’s always had a tremendous affinity for the music of […]
Copyright Enforcement Tail Wags Internet Dog, Cont’d; or, What the Hell Ever Happened to Due Process?
Some of you may recall that a month ago or so, I posted a comment here about a bill making its way through the Senate, the Combating Online Infringements and Counterfeits Act (“COICA”), that would allow US courts to “seize” domain names belonging to US or foreign websites simply upon a charge, by the Attorney […]
Soccer Perfection:
As Sam put it here, “If you are a soccer fan–but especially if you aren’t–do yourself a favor and watch the Barcelona-Madrid game from Monday afternoon” (still available for replay viewing on ESPN3.com). Paul Gardner over at Soccer America has a good description of the game, too — but just watch the game if you […]
Football Injuries:
A couple of weeks ago, I moderated a panel at the Philadelphia Sports Law Conference, organized by a former student of mine, Ed Wasielewski, who’s been working as an NFL agent for the past several years. I don’t know a great deal about sports law, or even about the specific focus of the panel I […]
Girl Talk:
As many of you have undoubtedly heard, the Pittsburgh based DJ and mashup artist “Girl Talk” — real name Gregg Gillis — has released his latest album, “All Day” available for free download at his website (www.illegal-art.net). [Be patient – the site’s been overwhelmed with download requests] It’s damned good stuff — maybe even great […]
Kill Calder v. Jones!
By David Post on November 19, 2010 12:25 pm in Constitutional Law, Cyberspace Law, Internet, Judicial Power
It sounds like a good Civ Pro 101 (or, perhaps, Cyberlaw 101) exam hypothetical : “Your client, Scott Roberts, a Virginia resident, purchased a Pontiac engine block from Kauffman Racing Equipment, L.L.C., an Ohio-based company that builds automotive equipment and sells it to the public. Roberts purchased the engine block after viewing it on Kauffman’s […]
Man, This Guy Can Write:
Though I’m not that much of an NFL football fan, I can’t help but noticing the extraordinarily good writing of Mike Tanier, who writes for FootballOutsiders.com (and the New York Times from time to time). Here are some examples, from his discussion of this week’s games: On the Jets v Browns: “Eric Mangini is on […]