Daily Show

This is hilarious.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-april-7-2011-jamie-oliver

Letter to the Editor

The nola.com comment board is malfunctioning on one of their stories, so I'll utilize this woefully maintained blog to do what it is meant to do: spout my personal opinion which likely matters to no one but me and is perhaps read by even fewer people if I don't come back and review it myself.

This letter was written to the editor in today's paper:

LSU grad rate isn't great, either: A letter

Published: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 4:59 AM

By Letters to the Editor
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The recent bashing of two of our local universities for their low graduate rates, the University of New Orleans at 22 percent and Southern University at New Orleans at 5 percent, is like shooting fish in a barrel. It unfortunately deflects from the larger public higher education morass we find our state in.

Sure, UNO's rate is low -- but so is LSU's, our flagship university, which gets the best resources our state has to offer. According to Kiplinger's magazine, February 2011, LSU's four-year graduation rate is 28 percent. In Kiplinger's list of 100 other public universities, only eight have a lower graduation rate. Contrast LSU's four-year rate with other state flagship universities: University of Virginia, 85 percent; University of Florida, 58 percent; University of Texas, 52 percent; University of Georgia 51 percent; University of Alabama, 38 percent; University of Arkansas, 32 percent, and University of Tennessee, 31 percent.

Is it any wonder that our children leave the state for jobs, and businesses are hesitant to locate here? Of course UNO has to improve, but so does LSU and all of our public education. It seems that we Louisianians haven't yet figured out that a really excellent educational system is the best long-term economic engine for our state.

No surprise there. Only 28 percent of us can graduate from our flagship in four years.

Malcolm Villarrubia Jr.
Metairie

My response:

While the 4 year graduation rate for LSU was 26% in 2004 (the most recent date for which UNO also supplied numbers), the 6 year graduation rate at LSU was 60% that year. Compare that to UNO's 2004 six year graduation rate: 20%. This is not to berate UNO as an institution, I am against the merger and I believe UNO performs an invaluable service to the city's residents, but I was also taken aback by the misleading statistics you are using in your letter concerning LSU's effectiveness as an institution of higher learning.

Unsupported by statistics is my other contention: if you were take the students who return to LSU for their sophomore year (83%), the graduation rate for 4 years would be appreciably higher, as I'm sure UNO's (66% returning for sophomore year pre-Katrina) numbers would likewise be higher.

Citations are from self-reporting of LSU and UNO respectively:

http://irdm.uno.edu/outcomes/

http://www.bgtplan.lsu.edu/TREND/students/enrollment/acttracking.pdf

Who Dat lawsuit

All you need to know, from the article below:

The counterclaim states that the phrase "Who Dat" has been "applied to many sporting contests...for many decades before 1983" and that Who Dat Inc. "has abandoned any trademark rights it may have ever had in WHO DAT? By non-use and non-exclusive use for a significant period of time."

http://www.louisianarecord.com/news/230837-defendants-counsel-pile-up-in-who-dat-lawsuit

Basically, they let it sit for too damned long without defending their right to it and only asserted that right in 2009, when it was far expired. It has since entered into the public domain in a big way.

Looking out for the Little Guy (who is a fortune 500 bank)

So these people:

are running this ad, warning us about how big government wants to take away the power of banks to charge retailers exorbitant credit card fees and how that's the government going into your wallet:

Really.

The Striking Poboy

I haven't written a post in many months, and for that I apologize. I plan on writing a series of posts reviewing varying New Orleans restaurants which I've been to, in no particular order, but considering the number I've been to in the past four years, I should never run out of topics to write about. Also, in order of events I've missed, WHODAT, Throw me somethin' Mister, and Happy Jazz Fest to y'all!

Concerning the post title, "The Striking Poboy", it is common knowledge in New Orleans that the poboy was invented as a cheap sandwich to feed striking streetcar conductors. What was lesser known is that the two brothers who invented the poboy and fed it to the striking workers were former union members themselves of the conductor's union, the Martin boys. I just ran across a Salon.com article with a copy of the original letter in support written by the Martins to the striking workers and thought I should also share.

Vive la po'boy!

#LawyerUp

Amid all the fury surrounding who owns Who Dat, which for the record I think the NFL does not (for various reasons, a 1983 court decision declaring who dat had entered the public domain, the case of Sun Banks of Florida v. Sun Federal Saving & Loan Assn, 651 F.2d 311 (C.A. Florida, 1981), which held that where there was EXTENSIVE third party use of a term to such a degree to where there would be no likelihood of confusion, there is no protection, and the large number of business and events in town who use the phrase without any licensing and have so for years, even those not even remotely associated with football. As far as extensive third party use goes, look at this yellowbook listing: http://www.yellowpages.com/name/New-Orleans-LA/who-dat ) I decided I should provide my own Tshirt answer, the brain child of @curlilox, for all to use. For the record, I am entering it into commerce as a merchantible item and no one else has done so (as a tshirt, there is one book out there of the same name with an exclamation point), which grants me intellectual property rights with or without filing. You do not need to ever pay me to use it though, feel *free*.





For sale here.

End of an Era

Saúl Litvinoff passed away early Tuesday morning. Besides teaching almost every lawyer who graduated from LSU Law Center from 1965 to last year, he was the secretary for revisions to the Louisiana civil code, fluent in a half a dozen languages and a great mentor to many who passed through those halls, including me.

This was my favorite exchange during one of his classes:

Litvinoff: "If you swear, will you go to jail?"

Student: "No, I don't believe so, sir."

Litvinoff: "Yes, you won't go to jail, you'll go to hell, but not jail."

He will truly be missed.

Saúl Litvinoff, 1925-2010.

Merry Christmas

Gift Buying Guide

For all of you who find it tortuous to choose gifts for people, a gift for you, a boon, the Ivory Woodpecker you've been searching for (it's Elvis for birdwatchers, trust me), behold: The New York Times gift buying guide. It is the most complete and satisfying guide to buying gifts for someone you will ever encounter outside a personal shopper with ESP.

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanuka!

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

On top of being set in and shot mostly on location in New Orleans, the chief reason why you should see this movie, according to the description of Nicolas Cage's performance by the New York Times Film Review: 

"Sometimes his loose-limbed shuffle and sibilant drawl suggest Jimmy Stewart as a crackhead."

3rd Annual Po Boy Preservation Festival

Is coming up this month, on Sunday, November  22 from 11 AM to 6 PM on Oak St between Carrollton and the river.  I personally have a framed and numbered print of the image above hanging in my dining room, suffice to say, I respect the mighty po-boy.

The New York Times just covered the upcoming festival and the cause celebre which it supports, preservation of the culture behind the poboy's origins in depression-era New Orleans.  Read up on a good if slightly stilted story (Mahoney's, really?  How about Parkway or Mother's?), and be sure to get yourself to the festival, it promises to be a fantastic time.

What the Kids are Reading

The lazyman's post, just a nicely diverse list of hyperlinks of interesting stories/reviews/news.

Interview with John Cleese.

Interview with Willem Dafoe.

Review of Willem Dafoe's new movie, "Antichrist".

Physicians have less respect for people who make obviously poor health decisions.

The Weather Channel will now have a movie night.

"The Dog Whisperer" to become a scripted show starring Fez from "That Seventies Show".

Ray Nagin loves China and Cuba for how they handle crisis events, such as cracking down immediately with the military.

Vitter refuses to criticize Tangipahoa racist justice of the peace.

But Vitter still leads in early polling in Louisiana.

The funniest animated comedy on the air.

New Sponsor

PJ's Coffee is a new sponsor of the New Orleans' Saints. I like the creative advertising.

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Bad Element

The horror.

New Orleans: An Update

The New York Times look back to four years ago, and looks to today in New Orleans.

Update:

Anderson Cooper reporting from New Orleans this week.

People magazine does a photo spread, New Orleans then and now.

Huffington Post Editorial on New Orleans' children today.

USA Today Editorial, New Orleans four years later.

NPR coverage of New Orleans four years later.

CNN article on celebrities helping to keep the spotlight on New Orleans four years later.

Associated Press article on the realities of New Orleans today versus political rhetoric.

London Guardian article on the persisting rumors and lies about Katrina.

Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana editorial on the four year anniversary of Katrina.

Believable Excuse

City of New Orleans' crime camera which supposedly captured image of suspect . . . did not actually capture image of suspect.

From the article:

Following a media inquiry, the NOPD sent out a revised news release Wednesday. This version still included Paden and Richardson's photo but it didn't describe the photo's origins. The image was now "caught on camera, " not "caught on the city's crime camera."

A department news release Wednesday evening acknowledged that the photo it circulated a day earlier was from the private surveillance camera. However, NOPD spokeswoman Shereese Harper said a city crime camera at the corner of Esplanade Avenue and North Rampart Street -- roughly five blocks away from the private surveillance camera -- also captured video footage of the suspect. Police included the private camera photo because the video file from the city camera was too large to send out by e-mail, she said.

Fox News: The Transformation

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Fox News: The New Liberals
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Coffee the Wonder Drug

In what should come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog or met me, coffee is really, really great for your health.

From the article:

Turns out caffeine, a naturally occurring, flavorless chemical that stimulates the central nervous system, does more than wake us up. Medical researchers and nutritionists long have touted the health benefits of black coffee, antioxidant-packed teas and dark chocolate. In moderation, these natural sources of caffeine are associated with weight loss, the treatment of asthma and headaches and a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. Coffee, in particular, is associated with a decreased risk of depression, colon cancer and type two diabetes, according to researchers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies.

The Bumper Sticker May Need to Change

Mayor Nagin's last day might be sooner than we expected.

Feds seize Nagin emails.

You say addiction, I say delicious

As seen in the Times Picayune on Sunday.

This would have been good in 2006

I guess City Hall just has a mild case of dyslexia and is confusing their sixes and nines.

Nagin announces blighted area renewal program to funnel tax dollars to blighted areas which otherwise would not be revitalized.

Seriously, why did it take almost 5 years to implement this?

I don't normally comment on financial stories

But this one has a great line. From the New York Times, quoting a small bank owner:

“The credit pendulum is stuck at ‘stupid,’” said Lou S. Barnes, an owner of Boulder West Financial Services, a Colorado mortgage bank. “I am turning down loans every day that my grandfather in his Ponca City, Okla., savings and loan in 1935 would have been happy to make. And he was tough.”

What's Nagin Hiding?

Nagin's email was erased professionally, well after it was requested by the Times Picayune and his excuse was "they ran out of space to store it."

Hurricane Season

There is a tropical wave in the Caribbean which stands a chance of moving into the Gulf of Mexico and becoming the first named storm of the year, Ana. It would have little to no chance of hitting the United States, but the first storm is the first storm. Keep an eye on things, people!

This Weather is Obscene

Driving home today. 38 degrees celsius for my European reader(s).

Let Me Just Say One Thing

This stuff is delicious.

Alternative Medicines Don't Work

The US government spent $2.5 billion dollars over ten years testing the effectiveness of "alternative medicines" and has come to the conclusion that the majority do nothing or are less effective or just as effective as dummy pills.

Conclusion: if it's called alternative medicine, it's not been proven and likely does not work. If it did work, it could apply for patent status and make the companies who make it a lot more money. All those companies are trying to make money, why would they turn down MORE money? The answer is that they would not if they could, their "medicines" simply don't work.

Nagin Quarantined in China

Mayor Ray Nagin quarantined in Shanghai, China.  The officials are claiming it's because someone on his flight had a confirmed case of H1N1 swine flu, but I have my doubts.  I personally think it's a goodwill gesture by the Chinese government to the citizens of New Orleans.  

So from me to you, China, THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Utility Lens

I am an amateur/hobbyist level photographer with a fairly nice camera, but I am always drooling over lenses. I currently shoot with a Canon xsi, 12.2 megapixel with the kit 18-55 mm Image Stabilized lens and a telephoto 55-250 mm Image Stabilized zoom lens, which is a fairly recent acquisition (only having had the camera itself since October of last year). Years ago I had a lot of interaction with professional level cameras and my parents have owned a film SLR (single lens reflex) longer than I've been alive, recently making the crossover to digital SLR themselves as well.

All that said, and with some very nice results to speak of through using the camera with the current lenses, I was reading a photography magazine the other day and foolishly read about the "best in value" kit lens that comes with the Canon 5D Mark II, a 21.1 megapixel, full frame sensor monster, a 24-105 mm Image Stabilized zoom lens with USM (ultra sonic motor) for ridiculously fast auto-focusing so you don't miss a picture. It led me to the thought: what a great utility lens you would almost never need to change out. My kit lens is great, but limited, due to the 55 mm range, and my telephoto obviously is not getting a group shot inside a room any smaller than an auditorium, starting at 55 mm. All of this is idle desire aside, I have to wait quite a while before I spend any more money to make my hobby easier, but a guy can dream:

(1) 24-105 mm IS, USM;

(2) 28-105 mm, without image stabilization, much cheaper version of the above lens, still neat;

(3) 17-85 mm IS;

(4) 50 mm, 1.4-22 f-stop (VERY low light shooting possible without flash); and just for fun, not utility at all

(5) 45 mm tilt shift (for very narrow depth of focus pictures).

Just The Facts

Seen going down Poydras and stopping and putting on the emergency flashers in front of the DA's office. Not making any guesses as to why, just saying what I saw.