An unbelievable NBA statistic
January 25, 2009
In the car today I was listening to the BBC World Service broadcast of the 4th round of the FA Cup (Liverpool v. Everton), which in and of itself was pretty cool. During the halftime break, the studio announcers were discussing NBA All-Star voting and, in particular, why Dwight Howard of Orlando was the biggest vote-getter with over 3 million votes cast for him. One theory — not sure how credible it was but it was interesting — was that Chinese voters respect NBA centers because of Yao Ming, and Howard especially because he played well at the Olympics. And they also said online Chinese voters don’t have to vote against Yao because he’s in the Western Conference. Oh, and 30% (30%!!) of all online votes for the All-Star Game come from China. Mind-blowing stuff. Too bad I don’t live in an NBA city — I should bring some jerseys with me . . .
Slow cooker football
January 12, 2009
In a recession, people hunker down. More use of the family crockpot, less eating out. (Though we love ours in all economic climates and had a great dish from it yesterday.) Is it any wonder that the three teams with the best defenses (in yards per game allowed) won their playoff games this weekend?? I am of course sad to see the Giants make an early exit, but they played their way right out of contention.
Lisa Jackson for EPA: a dissenting voice?
December 20, 2008
I haven’t commented yet on Steven Chu, Lisa Jackson and the rest of Obama’s energy & enviro team because I just can’t wrap my arms around what would make my hosannas that much more worthy of your limited eyeball time than anyone else’s. In all honesty, though, I do have some reservations about Ms. Jackson, based on my published study of New Jersey’s program designed to remediate brownfield sites. See vol. 34 of the Fordham Urban Law Journal from 2007 if you are curious. My principal source for some background info for that article, Bill Wolfe of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), strongly opposes her, for reasons some of which are described in my article. Note this as one example: “The state hazardous waste clean-up program under Ms. Jackson was so mismanaged that the Bush EPA had to step in and assume control of several Superfund sites.”
I’m going to go back and look a little more closely than I did at the time at specific persons and offices who bore responsibility for the mess in the NJ brownfields program (the quote above refers to the Superfund program, designed for the more contaminated sites). If anything, I might get some clues about a post-Bush EPA. My gut instinct, based on other appointments (Solis, Chu, Holdren, Lubchenco, etc.), is that the transition team is so focused on reversing eight years of climate change policy that other priorities may have been crowded out. I also think that Carol Browner had a lot to do with this nomination; Jackson worked in her EPA.
PEER argues that even in the area of climate change, New Jersey is not a shining beacon on the hill. As I told my Law of Global Warming class, and as PEER rightly observes, NJ missed out on the first RGGI greenhouse gas auction because it could not get its regulatory act together.
Maybe Mary Nichols of the California Air Resources Board would have been a better choice. I hope I am proven wrong.
A “must-read” on Obama and the inauguration controversy
December 20, 2008
I don’t use that term often. Heck, we read so much (Google Reader alone throws 100+ items my way each day, not to mention the NYT, new books, etc., etc.) that it’s really hard for anything to stand out from the pack.
But this jumped out at me. Don’t get me wrong: I am no more thrilled than my LGBT friends at the choice of Rick Warren, but let’s not trap Obama from day one with the political noose others have used on Democrats for my entire lifetime.
“Midsummer in December”
December 15, 2008
We attended the magical one-off production of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” by Richmond Shakespeare tonight. An all-star cast of Richmond theater read Shakespeare’s trippy play from music stands accompanied by a minimum of props, and the overall feel was something akin to a sneak peek at a final rehearsal. However, with direction by Andrew Hamm that made maximum use of the crowded stage and the omnipresent stands, and added reality show-like narration, the production was far more magical than a simple reading and more like a festive private performance in a parlor. Which, come to think of it, ’twas, except with an audience of about 50 in the august surroundings of Second Presbyterian Church’s chapel.
Characters raised and lowered the stands, crouched under them, and moved among them to create comedic effect. And hearty laughs were easy to come by. Scott Wichmann was the best ass in town as a hee-hawing Bottom, and his wildly over-emoting Pyramus stole the show of the play within the play. The ever sparkling, sexy, and saucy Liz Blake got every ounce of outrage from the play’s jokes at Hermia’s small stature. Frank Creasy and Daryl Clark Phillips, two RS vets who simply define “presence” on stage, lent heaps of gravitas, sometimes faked, sometimes real, to their dukely and lordly roles. Joe Carlson was a whirling dervish of a Puck — the character who moved about perhaps the most — drawn somewhere between rake and imp. Joe’s new to RS this year but won a deserved RTCC nomination for his Pistol in Henry IV, and he was sterling in Hamlet. Another fine graduate of the excellent VCU program! And I think it was local critic and player Harry Kollatz in his trademark hat as the full of himself leader of the hilarious band of players. I didn’t catch who played Helena (there was no program) but she was undoubtedly the best at conveying the full range of a lover, from come hither seduction to showing displeasure at being spurned.
In the festive spirit, a few flubbed lines, crashes into music stands, and hiccups in timing were smoothed over and laughed off brilliantly. (After the show, Frank told us there had been only two rehearsals.) Grant Mudge’s ad lib, “It’s hard to get good help around here,” was memorable. And Cynde Liffick’s Titania swooning over Bottom, . . . well let’s just say words won’t do it justice.
Here’s hoping that this “Midsummer” becomes an annual enchanting midwinter diversion!
In memory of Bob Shepherd
December 11, 2008
My colleague and friend Bob Shepherd passed away today after a long illness. He came to Richmond Law in 1978, well before I did, and was already a legend at the school by the time I arrived. He was a tireless advocate for children, and was nationally known for his work. He was a lion of the law school, one of those in every workplace without whom going on would simply not seem possible. Revered by students and faculty alike, he was an intelligent, thoughtful, and convivial educator, colleague, and friend (even if he did persist in a quixotic quest to promote the fortunes of the Baltimore Orioles). He will be sorely missed.
Policy snapback on global warming
December 10, 2008
AP: “former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Lisa Jackson and Mary Nichols, who heads the California Air Resources Board, are in the running for the EPA administrator post. Both women worked at the EPA under Clinton EPA chief Carol Browner, who is leading the energy and environmental policy team for Obama’s transition.
Browner, who ran the agency for 8 years, is expected to be named to a new position in the Obama White House overseeing energy, environment and climate matters.” Later: we learn that position may be as head of a new Climate Council.
I continue to be impressed at how President-elect Obama is filling out his team with many who represent a sharp break from the past . . . with Shinseki, Browner et al. he is sending a message that things are going to be the polar opposite of the policies of the past eight years.
Music review: Rebuilding the Rights of Statues
November 29, 2008
As many readers will know, in a parallel universe I’d be a music reviewer (if not a full-time crossword puzzle editor/constructor). Almost Famous? Story of my wannabe life. I came exceedingly close to becoming a freelancer for the Times-Dispatch in the late 1990s, but budget cutbacks doomed that. So, to scratch my itch, from time to time I’ll pick up the music pen.
Last week I chatted with a Chinese law student and a UR law student who’s taught in China. Both advised me in no uncertain terms to give in to the guilty pleasures of karaoke in Beijing. I shuddered. My first thought was, is this like what I’ve heard about Japan? Drunken locals warbling “My Way” and forcing everyone on stage? (And from what I’ve heard about baijiu, this is a particularly terrifying thought.) Are the bars going to have anything newer than “Bus Stop”? In the spirit of adventure, I won’t resist. Judging from my students’ enthusiasm, there must be no better way to break the cross-cultural ice than yelping out “Sweet Home Alabama,” “The Joker,” or whatever dated stuff a Beijing KTV jukebox is likely to have. I think they just want to see a prof get down.
OK, then, so what song to be ready for? No chance I’m gonna do this without some advance prep. There’s a fine art to selecting the best karaoke song. You want something that showcases your vocal talent (or lack thereof). Few lyrics . . . or a ridiculously large number that makes you look suave for knowing them all. Maybe fast and loud, covering imperfections and getting off the stage as quickly as possible. Perhaps some real over-the-top cheese — like “Dancing Queen”? (The Brits have this one covered, no surprise there.) No super high notes or booming lows. Above all, you’d better know what you are doing. I’m no pro, obviously, but I would rather do this with confidence.
And wait, my friends both said the same song would be atop Chinese students’ request lists for me . . . “Hotel California.” As a karaoke song? Really? A great song, to be sure, but 6:30 of SoCal irony from 30 years ago, so unlikely to register with Beijingers?? I can think of five Eagles songs I’d rather sing, never mind those of other artists. I was shocked to discover that it’s on some top ten lists. “Billie Jean”? Sure. “YMCA”? Of course. But “Hotel California”? WTF? Well, at least that might explain why Beijing students would ask for it — it’s a song in English that they might have heard of, though as quickly as the first verse (”warm smell of colitas/rising up through the air”) there’d be some serious head-scratching in any Beijing audience.
Well, I thought, why not really surprise my hosts? Let’s be ready with something awesome.
I went looking for a representative playlist. Googling “Beijing karaoke” for inspiration was entertaining, but not helpful. Wacky descriptions of KTV bars and bloggers’ tales of late night debauchery just confirmed my gut instinct about what I’m in for. And I learned you’re typically not in a public setting, but a “karaoke room” (private, partitioned-off part of the bar). OK, so the audience will be 10, not 200. And this advice: “you’ll only be embarassed in front of friends, not strangers (which might be worse)” . . . not sure about that. There was a long story on one site about how an American student memorized a Mandarin song. I suppose the tour de force of memorizing lyrics in their language might kill. But that seems like way too much effort, and the songs themselves were mainly forgettable and maudlin.
I struck out in a different direction. If I had to get up on stage here, I’d do the Springsteen-meets-indie of the Hold Steady, and too bad for the lack of familiarity. I’d sell the song. But searching for the “Chinese indie rock” analogue seemed unpromising. In a land where bands have to have their lyrics “approved” by the government, the very idea of free-spirited rock seems impossible. I gave it a whirl anyway. And I came across the unusually named “Rebuilding the Rights of Statues,” or “Re-TROS,” for short. “Re-TRO,” get it? Man, that is clunky. Still, you have to marvel at the audacity of this effort. They have their own MySpace page, all red and black with early-80’s post-punk graphics. They’ve been to South by Southwest. They plug their record with song samples. In short, the typical indie band’s play for exposure.
And it’s not hard to figure out what “retro” means to them. Check out their MySpace page:
“Born in the shadow of . . . nihilism, the collapse of state run industry and a desert that will someday swallow their city whole, Cut Off!, the first E.P. from pioneering Beijing-based post-punks Rebuilding the Rights of Statues delivers explosive, danceable, unsettling energy that leaves you unsure whether you want to take your clothes off and shake the spiders out, or go look for a rope, a closet and a copy of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot.”
OK, so we’re in Joy Division territory. But wait, “Nihilism”? “Collapse of state run industry”? And the first song is called “Hang The Police”? How’d they get away with THAT? Or any of it? As I learned, it’s a good story in and of itself.
I listened to “Hang The Police.” It was angular, with taut chords at the intro followed by shearing guitars and jarring but insistent, minimalist Gang of Four-ish vocals. Cutting edge 25 years ago in the U.S., but passed over by the Pixies, Nirvana, and everything else since. If it were the Beijing equivalent of the soundtrack to the Velvet Revolution I might consider learning it (the lyrics are in English, at least), but it’s not . . . just a song from a band trying to make a go of it under serious restrictions. And it’s obviously no karaoke song. “American Law Professor Causes International Incident,” . . . uh, I think I’ll pass.
Then I got to thinking. Under what criteria should we judge rock music in China? Many bands are just copying Western acts — Re-TROS’ influences are obvious. But given what it takes just to get to this point, we should be impressed and mighty generous in our assessment. How does a Chinese youth discover Western musical influences? Learn to play rock guitar? Get past the societal filter? Have original thoughts that will get past said filter? Construct songs in English idiom? Be reasonably faithful to the spirit of early ’80s post-punk? I can’t fathom how tough all of that must be, even in the Internet age.
Also, I imagine that this is the first act of a much longer timeframe in which China’s uniqueness (”in China how we say things is not very direct,” says one band member) leads to a more homegrown and less derivative music. I’ve seen this in Israel’s popular music over the past 15 years; at the outset it was warmed-over Brits and Amerks, but much more now of a stew of local and international influences. And the most intriguing question remains: how is the evolving domestic situation going to manifest itself in bands’ work? I’m trying to imagine the members of My Morning Jacket constantly fretting over whether the government will let them make their music, with no definite way of knowing whether you’ve crossed the line.
Well, this was an intriguing way to spend an hour, but hardly productive for karaoke. I’ll go back to the drawing board on that. Suggestions are welcome.
Obama’s economic stimulus plan: how accurate were my predictions?
November 23, 2008
Two weeks ago, I told both of my classes that within the next few weeks, President-elect Obama would announce that upon taking office he would propose an economic stimulus plan with the following features:
1. It would be termed “Green Recovery” or something to that effect
2. It would be touted as a plan that would create 2 million or more jobs in the short term
3. It would feature direct federal spending of at least $100 billion (but probably considerably more than that) over two years in the following areas:
- Retrofitting buildings to increase energy efficiency
- Expanding mass transit and freight rail
- Constructing “smart” electrical grid transmission systems
- Wind power
- Solar power
- Advanced biofuels
I also predicted that any new comprehensive federal carbon regulation (a cap-and-trade program similar to that proposed in the Climate Security Act, for example) would not be a priority until after this stimulus plan was underway.
I predicted that Obama would use the following talking points to justify this program:
– it would create 2 million new jobs, with a significant proportion in the struggling construction and manufacturing sectors (I showed a graphic detailing the professions that would see increased jobs).
– it would be a strategy to “invest in the greening of our economy,” “to jumpstart a comprehensive clean energy transformation for our nation,” to provide “more jobs, and better jobs, compared to continuing to pursue a path of inaction marked by rising dependence on energy imports.”
It now appears that this sort of plan is pretty close to what the incoming Administration has in mind, according to this report.
I had several reasons for my confident prediction.
First, “personnel is policy,” as Ronald Reagan once famously said. John Podesta, head of the Obama transition team, is the head of the Center for American Progress, the progressive think tank that issued the Green Recovery report in September. That report “shows the impact of a swift initial investment in climate solutions that would direct funding toward six energy efficiency and renewable energy strategies.” There are other proposals of this sort floating out there, but none came with Podesta’s central position in the transition to power. Robert Reich, the former Clinton Secretary of Labor and an Obama economic advisor, repeated most of the six strategies on his blog, calling for investment “mostly [in] infrastructure — – repairing roads and bridges, levees and ports; investing in light rail, electrical grids, new sources of energy, more energy conservation.” Note the substantial overlap.
Many Americans still believe that protecting the environment and growing the economy are incompatible. So what’s a new President to do in a time of economic downturn? Simple: use government spending to create “green jobs,” which was a theme Obama touched upon frequently during the campaign. It’s no accident that creating the kinds of jobs described in Green Recovery, jobs for civil engineers, mechanics, HVAC professionals and the like, could do a wealth of good in Rust Belt states. Just ask Tom Friedman.
Finally, let’s return to the idea that a “green recovery” program signals that action on a comprehensive regulatory program for carbon regulation is not forthcoming immediately. I think Obama knows that if Congress moves forward with a cap-and-trade bill shortly after taking office, he will be “Harry and Louise”‘d to no end, and it will be a major blow to his political standing. The cloture vote on the Climate Security Act was 48-36 in favor of closing off debate. Six Senators (including Obama, Clinton and McCain) were not present and indicated they would have voted with the 48. So it has been reported that 54 Senators in this outgoing Congress were in favor of the bill. That’s misleading, as the vote was on a procedural matter, not the underlying substance of the bill. I don’t think there are 60 votes for a variant of the bill in the new Congress.
Here’s an interesting nugget from Green Recovery: “[t]he next president and lawmakers can pledge to repay the Treasury the cost of the green infrastructure recovery program from cap-and-trade auction revenue.” This is both a justification for starting with a green recovery plan (the $ will come back later) and a signal that the economic stimulus plan will come first. What better way to resolve a primary difference between the two Presidential candidates’ global warming plans (McCain wanted to distribute free pollution allowances to companies) than to remind lawmakers in 2010 that auctioning off allowances is necessary to recoup the downpayment on green recovery?
And while we’re at it, let’s not forget that the international community will be meeting in Copenhagen in December, 2009 to conclude negotiations on a global warming agreement. I foresee President Obama announcing that the United States will agree to binding greenhouse gas reductions and achieve its target through implementation of a comprehensive control scheme to be put in place after Copenhagen.
As for the plan itself, I offer the words I say at the outset of every class I have ever taught: “let’s get started.”
My voice cries out
November 20, 2008
And it is heard!
