Larson - Virginia Law Weekly

Friday, 28 October 2005
Volume 58, Number 08
www.lawweekly.org
INSIDE
Here's to you.............................................................................4
Thunder Missed the Stones.......................................................6
Get Lost.....................................................................................5
Faculty Quotes and Mel the 2L..................................................6
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
The Newspaper of the University of Virginia School of Law Since 1948
Fox News Outfoxed in
controversial documentary
Adrienne Hadley ‘07
Contributing Writer
photo by Drew Snyder
Professor Jerry Kang believes new behavioral studies might be the key to
more effective affirmative action policies.
Science may have the answer
to affirmative action
Drew Snyder ‘07
Executive Editor
The tumultuous story of affirmative action in The United
States has undergone countless
revisions from multiple authors.
As the next chapter of affirmative action begins, the principle
drafters may not be Congress or
the Supreme Court, but scientists.
Scientists using implicit social cognition (ISC), a science that studies
how past experiences subconsciously
effect decision-making, have discovered new evidence about implicit
biases in human behavior which
could lead to significant changes in
how society defines and justifies affirmative action, UCLA Law Professor Jerry Kang told students Friday
during an event hosted by the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
Kang believes findings from the
implicit social cognition science can
be used to help enact policies called
“fair measures” – Kang’s term for
what before has been called affirmative action – which could combat various forms of discrimination.
These fair measures policies, which
include responding to discrimination
in the here and now, reconsidering
how merit is measured, creating
debiasing agents, and suggesting an
endpoint for affirmative action – take
into account implicit biases humans
may or may not realize they hold
about themselves and other groups.
The first policy - dealing with the
discrimination in the here and now
- is a shift from previous models for
affirmative action, which took either
a backward-looking approach that
emphasized righting past wrongs
or forward-looking approach that
focused on the benefits of diversity.
“It’s not about the past. It’s
not about the future. It’s
about right now,” he said.
In his second argument, Kang argues merit may be mismeasured.
Even assuming tests like the LSAT
are accurate measures of merit,
recent studies have shown that
social groups plagued by negative stereotypes about intellectual
performance tend to underperform.
To illustrate this “stereotype threat”,
scientists had African-Americans take
two took tests of similar difficulty.
In the first test, African-Americans
were told they were merely doing a
laboratory experiment, while the other was described to them as an IQ test.
The African-Americans scored significantly higher on the “laboratory experiment” than they did on
the “IQ test,” even though each
tested basically the same thing.
Conversely, whites performed noticeably better when told IQ was being tested than when they told the
test was a laboratory experiment.
Kang’s third point advocates the
need for debiasing agents, which
are images or individuals with traits
that run counter to stereotypes of
that particular category. Debiasing
agents help alleviate an individual’s
implicit bias toward certain stereotypes. Kang touched on a study
which found people’s bias against
African-American decreases when
they are shown a picture of a positive
black example like Martin Luther
King Jr., but increases when shown
a picture of the Lewis Farrakhan.
In his final point, Kang says affirmative action should end
when implicit bias goes to zero.
“I’m seeking colorblindness that lurks
to the infrared frequencies beneath. If
you want to be colorblind, let’s be colorblind. When it reaches zero, then
fair measures can be lifted.”
Third-year law student and audience member Ted Jou found Kang
to be an effective and engaging
speaker, but worries about how
practical his solutions are, such as
his “discrimination now” approach.
“I think it has a lot of intellectual
► KANG page 3
Monday’s screening of Outfoxed:
Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism in WB105 was followed not by a
preaching-to-the-choir indictment of
the right wing, but by a disciplined
and informative discussion of whether the documentary constitutes fair
use of Fox News’ copyrighted material. The film screening and discussion with U.Va. Associate Professor of
Law Chris Sprigman was sponsored
by the American Constitutional Society.
Sprigman served as counsel to
film producer Robert Greenwald,
who copied hundreds of hours of Fox
News footage, coded the material by
the propaganda tools it contained,
and spliced together numerous segments to “let Fox News speak for itself.”
Sprigman, speaking carefully because of his role in potential suits
instigated by Outfoxed, pointed to
statutory damages for copyright
infringement as his main concern.
While actual damage to Fox News
may be negligible—particularly since
its viewership growth continues to
outpace that of other networks—
copyright law awards $300,000 for
each infringing use. In this case, a
“use” means one episode, and thus
potential damages could tally in the
millions.
Piercing the corporate veil is also
much easier in copyright law than in
normal corporate situations, Sprigman explained. Litigants can often
pierce until they find money. Unlike
bloggers, who use copyrighted material in a fashion similar to Outfoxed,
deep pockets lurk behind this documentary. Moveon.org collaborated in
its genesis.
If you have seen Outfoxed, or are an
O’Reilly Factor fan, you will remember Jeremy Glick. He was a young
opponent of the Iraq war who lost his
father on September 11, 2001, and
then prepared gallantly for a prime
time berating by Bill O’Reilly. One
way in which Sprigman protected
Outfoxed from lengthy use of this episode was by copyrighting the interview on behalf of Glick. Participants
in an interview are co-owners of the
material.
Through discussion with Glick and
subsequent episodes of the O’Reilly
Factor, Outfoxed shows how Fox
News unfairly distorted Glick’s opposition to the war, painting him as an
unpatriotic and undutiful son who
blamed Bush for his father’s death.
Glick reports that producers told
► FOX page 3
Former manager provides glimpse
into music industry
Scott Dorfman ‘07
News Editor
talk the talk or walk the walk, you
won’t get very far. Also, if you are
shy or inward, you won’t be sucFormer music industry man- cessful. The music business also
ager Larry Larson spoke to an as- takes very thick skin. You can’t be
sembled group of 75 students in offended by people. If you fail, and
Professor Richard Wideman’s En- you will fail, you have to brush it
tertainment Law class about the off. Also, you have to be able to lisrewards and pitfalls of a career in ten. If you’re client is wrong—and
musician management. Larson, 90 percent of the time your client
now an attorney licensed in New will be wrong—you have to be
York, California, Neable to listen in a way
vada, and New Jersey,
that will help you to
previously managed a
“If you can’t explain your position.
number of well-known
you have to be
talk the talk or Finally,
recording artists, inaggressive, and agwalk the walk, gressive in a way becluding Iron Butterfly,
Poco, Kenny Loggins,
being a litigator.
you won’t get yond
and Boz Scaggs. He
You have to be able to
very far.”
also managed Michael
fight for your artist.”
Jackson’s 1984 Victory
Larson said one
concert tour, then the
of the most difficult
largest grossing tour in history.
things a manager encounters is
Larson began his speech on a having to work with people who
cautionary note.
are far more creative than they
“One word of caution to those are business savvy.
of you who want to get into the
“You must remember that the
business: intelligence, experience, artists are not typically educated,”
education, or even being creative Larson said. “They are usually not
is not required,” Larson said.
the sharpest blades in the drawer
Instead, Larson said, what is with respect to business, but they
required are a combination of are very, very creative people.
personality and industry-specific However, by my experience, arttraits that you cannot learn in law ists are not very rational people.
school.
Does anyone here think Michael
“First you have to know the Jackson is rational?”
lingo,” Larson said. “If you can’t
► MUSIC page 2
around north
grounds
Congratulations
to second-year Mike
Rush on his marriage
to Sarah MacKinnon.
Congratulations
to second-year Jacob
Rooksby on his engagement to Susan
Tuck.
Congratulations
to third-year Dustin
Peterson on the birth
of his baby girl.
Congratulations
to Dan and Dawn
Cohen on the birth
of their new baby.
Thumbs, down, to,
comma, happy, Law,
Weekly, editors. Thumbs up to
people who, when
the parking lot is full,
drive right past the
line of cars waiting
for spots and steal one. At least
ANG now has a reason for vandalizing your cars.
Thumbs down to
the SBA for failing to
take any action on
the perennial parking
shortage. Funny how
you all have D-2 spots . . .
Thumbs down to
C-ville cops who patrol the law school
parking lot for expired
tags, then sit in their cars for a
few hours (with backup) waiting for you to come out. Karma
sucks, see page 6.
Thumbs down to
people who talk in
the library. Seriously,
knock it the @#%$
off!
Thumbs up to students who eat full
meals of breakfast in
class. ANG is glad to
know that classes are
no longer for learning, so bring
on a dozen bagels!
Thumbs down to
the person who left
the massive coffee
spill on the desk in WB
128. Sorry your butler
didn’t make it into U.Va. Law so
he could clean up after you.
Train’s on time:
Professor Schragger
has not dismissed his
Local
Government
Law Class on time in the last
four weeks.
2
News & Features
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
► MUSIC
Want to go to Bangkok?
PILA Auction is your first stop.
continued from page 1
Larson: "Sell your kids before you
sell your publishing rights."
Larson went into detail about
the sources of revenue available
to an artist, and said he always
attempted to isolate a successful
artist from middlemen.
“When you are a hot artist, you
have an army of new friends,”
Larson said. “Everyone wants to
help you out, and everyone wants
a piece of the candy. It’s the manager’s job to keep these people
away.”
According to Larson, a common
misconception among people who
don’t know the music industry is
that artists make money off of album sales.
“The fact is that most recording artists make little from selling records, except for previously
agreed upon advances,” Larson
said. “This is because record companies have all the leverage, and
have created accounting schemes
that generate little income to artists.”
Unlike other industries, musicians are even charged for the
manufacturing costs of pressing
their compact discs, according to
Larson.
By contrast, Larson said the big
money in music comes from owning the actual publishing rights
and copyrights to songs. This form
of property ownership has the potential to yield millions in future
royalties from radio airplay and
commercials, according to Larson. He cited Michael Jackson’s
ownership of half of The Beatles'
music catalogue, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, as an
example.
“If you own the publishing and
the copyright to the songs, the
income is gigantic,” Larson said.
“That’s where the money is. Today, hit songs and recordings are
being used in commercials. Advertisers are looking for hit songs
from other decades to appeal to
people getting older and looking to purchase cars and other
things…. Owning copyrights to
songs is like owning title to real
estate, or better yet, it’s like owning a goldmine. If you own your
own publishing, you are not going to get ripped off by middlemen.”
Larson said that he advised his
artists to “sell your kids before
you sell your publishing rights.”
Larson closed by telling students that the music management business can be frustrating,
but that they should follow their
dreams. He said managers can be
an important source of motivation for artists and in time become
trusted confidants.
“A good manager must be willing to give bad news to their artists,” Larson said. “You have to tell
them things they don’t want to
hear, and you can’t hide the ball.
You also have to be a motivator.
Sometimes the artists get a little
money and they want to coast.
But you can’t coast in the music
business.”
Virginia
Law Weekly
COLOPHON
Lee Kolber
Editor-in-Chief
Drew Snyder
Executive Editor
Dan Spurlock
Production Editor
John Kabealo
Managing Editor
Toby Mergler
Columns Editor
Scott Dorfman
News Editor
Joey Katzen
Features Editor
Audrey Wagner
Reviews Editor
Anna Nisbet
Photography Editor
Andrew McCarthy
Treasurer
Austin Curry
Business Editor
Karen Elligers
Associate News Editor
Archie Alston
Irene Noguchi
Subscriptions Editor
Associate Reviews Editor
Ulrick Casseus
John Sheehan
Associate Columns Editor
Associate Web Editor
Contributors:
Columnists:
Reviewers:
Adrienne Hadley, Brent Savoie
Katie Cole, John Kabealo, Jimmy Thunder,
Matt Watson
Chad Bell, David Lobe
Published weekly on Friday except during holiday and examination periods and serving the
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Although every effort is made to publish all materials meeting our guidelines, we regret that not all submissions received can be published.
Friday, 28 October 2005
Brent Savoie ‘07
Contributing Writer
It’s that time of the year again- the
annual night of guilt-free dancing,
drinking, and impulse buying in support of the Public Interest Law Association. Do you need a car? A sense
of fashion? A reason to go out? Then
this year’s masquerade-themed PILA
Benefit Auction is for you.
The Seventeenth Annual Benefit
Auction will be held tonight at Doubletree Hotel on 990 Hilton Heights
Rd., from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Buses will
be leaving from the Law School for
the auction every 15 minutes from
7:15 until 9:15. The doors to the auction open at 8 p.m., at which time the
Silent Auction will open for bidding.
Masquerade masks (useful for concealing your identity on the dance
floor) will be sold at the door for
$1-5. The Live Auction will start at
9:30 and the Silent Auction will end
at 11:30 p.m., after which dancing
will continue until 1 a.m. D.J. Chad
will be dishing out the music. If you
thought that the fun stopped once
the auction ends – well, you were
wrong. Buses will leave Doubletree
for the after-party at University Circle and the Law School every fifteen
minutes from 11:45 to 1:45.
An appealing array of generously
donated goodies are up for bidding
at the auction. From an iPod to a car,
the items come in all shapes and sizes. For sports fanatics, there are floor
seats at a Wizards game, and luxury
suite seats at a U.Va. football game.
For the fashion-impaired, there is
a “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”
makeover donated by LAMBDA. Politicos can enjoy a behind the scenes
day on Capitol Hill and a guided tour
of the International Spy Museum by
a CIA retiree.
If your class participation has been
sub-par, you can enjoy a number of
outings with our generous professors, including a tennis match, Sunday brunch, and wine tasting. Journals have donated “Get out of a cite
check free.” Once you are free of your
cite check you can then take advantage of the “Party like an Undergrad”
package that includes gift certificates
at Corner bars.
And, if partying for PILA has left
you exhausted and in need for a vacation, never fear – we have homes
for rent in Florida, the Outer Banks,
Nantucket, and Bangkok. Yes, Bangkok.
A critical part of the bidding process is not listening to the voice in
your head telling you that “you don’t
need that.” When you hear this voice,
you should follow the brave example
of the second-years who bought an
RV at last year’s auction, and immediately dismiss it, knowing that your
impulse buying is going to a good
cause. So go ahead, rent a house in
Bangkok – you deserve it!
The PILA Auction is a critical part
of the Public Interest Law Association’s fundraising efforts, raising over
$40,000 in 2004. PILA uses these
funds to provide fellowships to firstand second-years, enabling them to
work in public interest jobs over the
summer. Last year, PILA’s fundraising efforts allowed them to award a
record 33 first-year fellowships and
19 second-year fellowships. PILA
grantees work in a variety of public
interest fields, from prosecution to
human rights work. They also work
in diverse locales, with PILA grants
supporting U.Va. Law students working in public interest from Charlottesville to Ethiopia.
Tickets to the Auction are available for $25 today at the PILA table
in Hunton and Williams Hall, and
they will also be available at the
door for $30. You can pay for tickets
with cash or check. Live and Silent
Auction items can be paid for with
cash, check, or credit card. For more
information on the PILA Auction,
stop by the PILA table in Hunton
and Williams Hall today.
The big picture of action photography
Drew Snyder ‘07
Executive Editor
Photographs, it’s been said,
are the milestones of our memories. They chronicle who we
are and what we’ve done; the
people we’ve loved and the significant achievements of our
lives. It’s no surprise that photography is the world’s number
one hobby.
And with the advent and improvement of digital photography in the last several years,
the world’s number one hobby
has gotten easier and more affordable for the gumshoe photographer. Today, a beginning
photographer with the right
equipment and a steady hand
can take crisp, clear images only
the most veteran of shutterbugs
could have captured two decades ago. That beginning photographer, with patience and
practice, can also take excellent
action shots.
It’s action photography that
I’ll primarily discuss in this column. The simple suggestions I
offer are intended to guide you
in the right direction as you begin to learn how to harness the
power of your digital camera to
capture spontaneous, vivid, and
interesting action shots.
Whether you are trying to
take a picture of a pitcher in
his wind-up during a baseball
game, of wildlife on a nature
hike, of the UFO landing in your
corn field, or of that incorrigible law school classmate in a
compromising position that will
one day earn you thousands
from the tabloids and derail her
Supreme Court nomination, a
good action photograph is particularly rewarding.
There is bad news, however.
Digital cameras aren’t equipped
to take great action shots.
Though digital technology is
steadily improving, and even
run-of-the-mill digicams are capable of taking clear pictures of
non-moving objects, shutter lag
and camera shake prevent most
digital cameras and their users
from taking excellent action
shots. Yet with the right equipment, the right timing, and a
good point of view, you’ll be
well on your way to capturing
some remarkable photographs.
Arguably the most important
aspect of good action photography is the camera. People
who use the cliché that it’s the
photographer who makes the
picture and not the camera
probably don’t know anything
about photography. Common
sense dictates that a top-of-
the-line Canon SLR will take
much better photographs than
some generic disposable camera you bought from the local
CVS, regardless of whether the
photographer is Ansel Adams
or Bryan Adams. The cameras
I’ve seen most law students use
are small enough to fit comfortably in a pants pocket and cost
in the $200-$400 range. These
cameras aren’t ideal for action
photography, but unless you’re
a hardcore camera enthusiast or
a trust fund baby, investing over
$1000 in a Nikon D70 or a Canon 20D and its assorted lenses
► ACTION PHOTO page 4
photo by Drew Snyder
Snapping that perfect action photo requires a good subject, the right angle,
and a bit of luck.
Friday, 28 October 2005
Student Life
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
3
SBA Notebook
A big weekend features PILA and Halloween
Katie Cole ‘07
SBA Transfer Representative
Hello there folks. We have
quite the weekend ahead of us,
don’t we? From the PILA auction on Friday to the Halloween
party on Saturday to the critical
Redskins-Giants game on Sunday, there is much to look forward to. Let’s go in chronological order:
1. PILA Auction:
I have never been to one of
these because I’m a secondyear transfer student, but I have
heard great things. After all,
how many times in your life can
you purchase a car care package,
courtside Wizards tickets and a
dinner with Professor Dudley all
in the same place? Note: Please
do not bid on any of the aforementioned. My diabolical plan
is to acquire all three so that after dinner I can drive Professor
Dudley (and his wife, of course)
in my pimped out Mazda Protégé
to the Wizards game – preferably
the one where we win the NBA
championship, but our academic calendar may prohibit that
– where he will enjoy himself so
much that he decides to cancel
our final exam in Evidence.
As an aside, those organizing
the auction have been working
tremendously hard and long
hours to make this the wonderful event it is bound to be.
On behalf of all the soon-to-be
drunken revelers, not to mention those who could not work
public interest jobs without
a PILA stipend this summer:
Thank You.
2. Halloween Party:
This year’s Halloween party's
location is TBD, but it definitely will be a lot of fun. Word
on the street (and by street, I
mean Scott Commons) is that
people are coming in costume.
I’m thinking of going as devil’s
advocate, but then again, that
is who I am in my street clothes
(and by street, I mean J. Crew).
If you’re on the fence about
wearing a costume, don’t fight
it - you know you want to. Halloween is every 20-something's
opportunity to dress in the scandalous and absurd way he or she
would gawk at on any other day
of the year. Isn’t it time you lived
the experiences you’ll regret tomorrow?
3. Redskins v. Giants:
Coming off a ridiculously
lopsided victory over the highs c h o o l - m a s qu e r a d i n g - a s - a n NFL-team 49ers has reassured
us ’Skins fans. However, Sunday
is a huge game: Manning and
company are going to put up
a fight. But, with a confident
Brunell, LaVar back on the field,
and Portis cartwheeling in the
end zone, I think this is where
we turn the corner and become
a legitimately good team. (You
doubters, and you know who
you are, just wait and see. Playoffs, baby, playoffs.)
I’d like to take a few lines to
speak to being a transfer student. There are 22 of us this
year, and we’re all really excited
to be here. If you’re a second
or third-year and haven’t met a
transfer student yet, just look
for that person you didn’t recognize at the beginning of the year
who made you think, “I didn’t
know someone that good looking went here,” and say hello.
► KANG
continued from page 1
Kang speaks on
affirmative action
appeal, and it may be a useful way
to develop legal arguments, but we
are probably a long ways off from
the IAT becoming a tool for policy."
But Jou appreciated Kang’s
proactive and thought-provoking approach to racial justice.
“I think the best thing about
Professor Kang’s talk this year and
last year, when he discussed 'Trojan Horses of Race,' is that it really made me think more seriously
about the effects of implicit racism.”
“A lot of people say that there’s
racism everywhere or that everyone
is biased, but what’s exciting about
Professor Kang’s research is that instead of just criticizing the system,
he is trying to give us some tools to
actually do something about it.” ► FOX
continued from page 1
Exposing Murdoch
him to leave the studio immediately
because they feared O’Reilly would
physically attack him.
The documentary produces evidence from former Fox News employees, anonymous sources, and—
most damning of all—daily “Internal
Memos” to set the channel’s tone.
They reveal how Murdoch engaged
in hands-off ownership for three
years, but in 1988 insisted that certain news segments be replaced with
tributes to Reagan. From that point,
his dislike of reporting on race and
AIDS spread through the channel,
and he specifically ordered segments
to embarrass the Kennedys and Jesse
Jackson.
While Outfoxed does not attempt
comparative analysis to other cable
news networks, it breaks down Fox
News’ unique use of opinion, gratuitous sound-bites, and graphics to
demonstrate how Rupert Murdoch,
as the filmmakers fear, is waging
war not merely on journalism, but on
democratic culture worldwide.
Travel the blogosphere: Part 1
According to the Law Weekly’s September 30 edition, at
least nine of your fellow U.Va.
law students maintain blogs.
And in last week’s issue, Eric
Wang reviewed the pros and
cons of leaving a paper trail—
which in his case includes a
blog called Res Ipsa Loquitur.
But our informants tell us that
some of you don’t know much
at all about the blogosphere.
Since we always aim to please,
here is part one of a two-part
tour.
What are these blogs, and why
should I care? A blog, as defined
by Wikipedia, is “a web-based
publication consisting primarily of periodic articles” usually
in reverse chronological order.
The blog-wary wonder what
type of brain damage blog readers and writers suffer—why
would anyone do such a thing? In truth, blogs serve a number
of purposes. For writers, they
can be simple online diaries
that give you focus, “a dumping ground for discoveries, and
a vehicle for clarifying your
thoughts,” (One-Trick Pony)
or they can help informationgatherers collect, organize and
retain interesting information
(Cary Doctorow, of the hugely
popular
BoingBoing). Sometimes blogs serve primarily as tools for socializing
(e.g., pretty much anything
on MySpace or Friendster).
Law blogs, often referred to as
“blawgs,” can serve both as marketing tools for the writer and
incredibly useful collections
of information for readers. For
example, SCOTUSBlog and How
Appealing are heavily relied on
by appellate lawyers, to the extent that they are now included
in the Eighteenth Edition of the
Bluebook. Howard Bashman,
author of How Appealing, regularly posts about the conferences he is invited to speak at in his
role as blawger, while Goldstein
& Howe brings a lot of eyes to
its logo at SCOTUSBlog. Other blogs provide discussion forums for legal intellectuals—see, for example,
PrawfsBlawg (young law professors); Conglomerate (business law professors) or the
new official blog of the University of Chicago Law faculty. For sheer entertainment value,
no blawger is better than the
anonymous Article III Groupie
of Underneath Their Robes, ­ a
kind of People Magazine for
the federal judiciary. In 2004,
Alex Kozinski personally petitioned to be included on the
slate of candidates for the “Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary” contest, which he eventually won­—beating out Judge
John Roberts, who only placed
fifth.
Curious? Want to know
what’s out there in the blogosphere? To find any of the blogs
mentioned in this article, just
Google the blog name or follow
the links on the library’s webpage. You can also try search
engines Icerocket or Google
Blog, which will help you find
postings of interest. Want to
see what others are reading?
Technorati maintains a “Top
100” blogs list, and The Truth
Laid Bear tracks blog postings
on “hot topics” with links to the
most recent and most popular
articles. For recent headlines
on selected blawgs, see Juris
Novus. And if you’re ready to
start your own blog, there’s a
blog for that (of course). Take
the online blogging class at
http://iamsogonnablogthis.
blogspot.com and have fun!
Time to pick spring classes
As spring semester class selection
looms, peer advisors should hold a
meeting to talk about class choices.
As a starter, here are a few tips for first
years:
1. Consider prerequisites – Evidence is required for all clinics, Basic
Tax is required for Corporate Tax, Accounting and Corporate Finance is required for all law and business classes.
Glance at classes you might want to
take in the future and consider taking
a prerequisite for those classes.
2. Take classes that interest to you
– You’ll have the rest of your life to
work on serious legal areas, but when
will you ever again have the chance
to look into politics of airline deregulation or the meaning of money?
Virginia’s idea of a liberal arts legal
education is a beautiful thing.
3. Think about the obligations you’ll
have next semester – Your job search,
journal tryouts, cite checks, and your
brief for LR&W can put time-sensitive
burdens on the second semester of
first year. Plot out when those busy
times will occur and try to arrange any
short courses around those events.
4. Ask your Peer Advisors for advice
– While not everyone has the same
view of a course, most people can offer you helpful reasons for why they
do or do not like paper courses, short
courses, or certain professors’ teaching styles. Course evaluations on LawWeb can also be helpful in determining this.
We will be distributing Peer Advisor evaluations next week and meeting with each peer advising team
the week after that. Please be candid
and explain your responses so next
semester’s activities and next year’s
program will better suit the needs of
new students.
Section News
Section L has developed a habit
of getting together to watch Sunday
night TV dramas. Transfers held a
Thursday evening dessert social at
Irene Noguchi’s home to celebrate the
end of callback season. Second-years
Katie Cole and Christy Garrett hosted
a transfer section pumpkin carving at
Ivy Gardens last Saturday, complete
with freshly-baked pumpkin bread,
baseball watching, and LOTS of
pumpkins. LL.M.s also celebrated fall
on Saturday, with apple picking, making apple pies, carving pumpkins, and
eating chili at the home of Kat Monahan. Last Friday Sections K, E, and G,
got together for a friendly party competition; Section G finished their drink
of choice first, with Section E second.
Section K alleges that they purposely
savored their drinks. Kudos to Peer
Advisor Molly Mitchell’s small section
in Section K, who organized a dinner
party in appreciation for the small section get-together she held for them.
Events
The Virginia Film Festival is going
on all weekend right here in Charlottesville, and this year’s theme is “InJustice.” Movie theatres all over town
will show more than 60 films about
people who suffered from flaws in our
legal system. Two of our local celebrities, John Grisham and Sissy Spacek,
will speak on Friday and Saturday
nights. Find a complete schedule at
vafilm.com.
HOME FOR RENT
Neighborhood living close to U.Va. grounds! Enjoy the
peacefulness of a residential neighborhood but the convenience
of being close to U.Va. grounds. This home boasts hardwood
floors, three spacious bedrooms with 2 baths, kitchen, dining
room, and large living room with built in bookshelves, and
a fireplace. Residents enjoy a private driveway and a large
patio. Move-in is January 2006 for a semester lease. Call MSC
at 977-8203 or visit our website www.msc-rents.com.
4
Features & Columns
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
Friday, 28 October 2005
An open letter to U.S. Air: God Bless the U.S. of Air
Dear U.S. Air:
I believe in America, Liberty, and
all that patriotic crap. Bald eagles
make me cry, and not just because of
John Kabealo '07
Managing Editor
the memory of that
freak childhood incident. I also believe
that when assuming
the title “U.S. Air,” you elected to be
held to a standard fit for this nation
itself. Thus, your airline must be bigger, more powerful, and more decadent than all others. When choosing
to fly U.S. Air, customers should be
steeped in the luxury and comfort
that our station affords us, enabling
them to forget about the problems of
smaller, weaker airlines. You are the
last, best hope for airlines. Yet, alas,
you disappoint, as two experiences
have proven.
Flight One: Wright Brothers In
Motion: C-ville to NYC
I could have constructed a paper airplane bigger than the one
you put me on, and its propellers
weren’t much more powerful than
if you had given me roller blades
and two hair dryers to launch myself down the runway. In World War
II, the Luftwaffe had a plane, the
Messerschmitt 262, that had jet engines. Yeah, you read that correctly:
The Germans had better technology
in their airplanes than some of the
planes in your current fleet—sixty
years ago. And they lost that war.
As we taxied, steam started pouring into the cabin. We passengers
exchanged, shall we say, troubled
glances before the woman in front
leaned forward and tapped the copilot. He looked back—shoulders
slumping as if to say “Again?!”—
and tapped the pilot. The pilot got
on the mike to tell everyone, “Not
to worry, it’s just the compressor.
Quite common.” Um, no, it’s not
“quite common,” and try as I might
to pretend that the steam created a
majestic, early-morn-meadow-mist
atmosphere, the “haunted airplane”
thoughts remained unshakable.
Flight Two: Give me a meal and a
seat, or give me death: Columbus to
C-ville
At the end of fall break, I was to fly
from Columbus to Charlottesville.
The original flight was cancelled
due to “mechanical failure.” Maybe
some people would like to know that
they were one inspection oversight
away from certain, fiery death, but
I’d prefer just to hear that the flight
was cancelled—smile, nod, fear not.
Five hours did I wait in that beacon
of entertainment, Port Columbus
International, for the next flight.
After browbeating a meal voucher out of you, I went to the airport
Damon’s. Awestruck was I to realize—at the end of the meal—that the
voucher was worth a whopping $5.
The term “meal voucher” certainly
carries implications, but I never figured it would finance an entire feast
courtesy of U.S. Air. Next time a flight
gets cancelled, I’ll cut you a deal and
settle for an airline of my own.
When the plane arrived, none
of your people were sure whether
there was an empty seat for me. It
inspires little confidence when simple arithmetic (you know—number
of seats minus number of passengers?) confounds your minions. Ignoring my suggestion that you take
a head count, you left me in standby
purgatory until five minutes after
the plane was to depart, then told
me to “run” down the gate and to
my seat. Of course, I strolled—into
an airplane of vexed faces—and
assumed my position as That Guy
Who Caused the Flight to be Late.
Rad.
Finally on an airplane with jet
engines and without noxious fumes
permeating the cabin—two oftoverlooked aspects of pleasant flying experiences—I was able to pay
attention to the more nuanced aspects of a U.S. Air flight. Seatback
upright, belt tightened, full speed
ahead.
I was about to give one word—respect—to the person in charge of
that safety message, because the evil
genius of forcing flight attendants
to double as pantomimes warrants
commendation. No one would really think that a woman pointing to
the sides of the airplane with robotic
gestures will help reinforce the idea
that, if the plane crashes and people
are burning, the emergency exits
are in row 14, would they? Alas, I
realized it was decidedly not a joke
when the flight attendant asked—
nay, ordered—me to pay attention.
Respect revoked! And, if they do
mime the message and intend for
people to pay attention, then they
really need to sell it. I didn’t see the
fear in their eyes they acted out a po-
tential crash, nor did I detect a primal will to survive as they described
the flotation capabilities of my seat
cushion. Instead, I saw a faint humiliation as they demonstrated to a
plane full of unsurprised adults how
to . . . operate . . . a . . . seatbelt.
Speaking of flight attendants, I
must apologize for being behind
the times, but I was unaware that
sex no longer sells. The women and
men serving that flight might, might
have been attractive—in 1960. A
half-century later, though, they
were locked in the final stages of a
futile battle with Father Time and
couldn’t be distracted with menial
tasks like, oh, giving me trail mix
Here's to you, law students
The Law School salutes you, Mr.
“Your job is my business.” Interview
season draws to an end, but your questions go full tilt. You met John Doe
Matt Watson '07
Columnist
may not be the wisest long-term
financial move. I suggest you
stick with the camera you have,
increasing the camera’s ISO
setting (helps prevent blurring
of the action, though causes
a grainier image), and utilizing the flash whenever it won’t
scare away wildlife or cause a
disruption indoors.
Just as important as what
to take a picture with is when
to take the picture. Timing
is a key element in great action photography. Shutter lag,
which I mentioned earlier, is
the amount of time it takes
from when you fully depress
the shutter-release button to
when an image is saved to the
memory card. If you shoot just
a split second before, to give
the camera time to compensate
for the shutter lag, you’ll have
a better shot of taking the perfect shot. The keys to good timing are knowledge of the event
you’re photographing, repetition, and good luck.
Where to take the picture is
equally as important. A major
part of successful action photography is being at the right
place at the right time. This is
mostly a matter of luck, but you
can also help yourself out considerably by positioning yourself in a good spot.
At baseball games, you
know action will be occurring
around the batter’s box, pitching mound, or first base, so try
focusing on these spots for a
while. Races have more action
at the corners, as cars bunch
up as they slow down around
the turns. Whatever the activity
may be, go for the location with
the clearest view of some likely
action.
Plenty of publications are
available that go into detail
about action and sports photography. More than anything,
just practice. With digital photography, you don’t have to get
the right shot right away. If you
mess up a few hundred times,
just keep deleting the bad photos and try again.
once at bar review,
but now you know
how he struggles between Skadden and
Akin. And Jane down in Atlanta? She’ll
get her first offer, soon enough. Never
mind the shocked looks they gave you
when you asked. They’ve just never
talked to someone who has Googled
them before. Keep up the excellent
work. Non-awkward situations had
gone unchecked for far too long; it’s
been at least since the last time grades
were issued. Oh, and while you’re at it,
tell us once more how tired you are of
those New York City hotel beds.
The Law School salutes you, Mr.
“Class time is a good time for politics.” When your hand reaches for the
heavens, it’s not a groan you hear, but a
collective gasp of admiration. What will
you come up with this time? Bringing
up free markets when we were discussing Coase was brilliant. Oh! And when
you brought up free markets when we
got to unconscionability? Genius. Mistake of fact in the free market and the
free market’s effect on the Model Penal
Code – what a memorable day that
was! Your uncanny ability to bring new
issues to the forefront is unparalleled
and always surprising – like the time
you said you liked Posner. We’ll see you
at the next meeting of the Federalist Society. Only time will tell what dynamite
drop-ins you’ll bestow upon us in the
years to come, but one thing is for sure
– no one will see it coming.
The Law School salutes you, Mr.
“Library Conversationalist.” Some
From the
Cavalier Daily...
final ruling is still flexible, and the
University is awaiting further direction. “It’s not clear exactly what
will be required anywhere because
the standards are still being developed,” University Director of Communications and Systems Jim Jokl
said. “But my understanding is that
the law has been passed and there
are 18 months to comply.”
21 October 2005
Census increases C’ville population estimate
U.S. Census Bureau officially revised population estimation for City
from 36,605 to 40,745. Officials
stated that the City’s Department
of Neighborhood Development
Services had filed the challenge
in September after the Bureau’s
population estimate showed a
3,494-person drop in Charlottesville’s population between 2000
and 2004. As a result of the challenge, the Bureau has increased
the estimate of the City’s population from 36,605 to 40,745, which
results in a population increase of
1.6 percent since the formal 2000
U.S. Census.
20 October 2005
Man charged with peeping
near U.Va.
Thirty-five-year-old Charlottesville resident Frederick Jermaine
Ayers was served charges for peeping and spying into private residences in the University area while
he was in court Tuesday for the
sentencing of a similar previous incident. Ayers allegedly spied into
a residence of four University students Oct. 3 on the 1700 block of
Jefferson Park Avenue, Investigations Detective Randall S. Higgins
of the Charlottesville Police Department said. “This had been an
ongoing problem -- the residents
had actually given chase to this
person before,” Higgins said. “The
guy kept coming back.”
19 October 2005
Signing off: Recent influx of
demonstrations around Grounds
stirs up students, puts to question University policies on protesting
Several weeks ago, three Christian groups staged demonstrations
at various locations on Grounds.
The groups have sparked debate
within the community regarding
First Amendment rights and the
University’s policy on demonstrations. In the first incident, Michael
Woroniecki, with his wife and six
children, carried banners on South
Lawn and shouted remarks such as
“You’re going to hell!” and “This
flood, do you think that’s a coincidence?” The group had been
demonstrating for several hours
before Dean of Students Penny
Rue contacted University Police to
moderate and relocate the protest
after receiving complaints from
passersby.
19 October 2005
Group expresses desire for
traditional style
In response to the open letter
► ACTION PHOTO
continued from page 2
Practice makes for the perfect shot
This week the Law Weekly inaugurates a new feature designed to
better include the Law School in
the greater U.Va. and Charlottesville community. In this space, you
will be able to find passages from
selected stories from recent Cavalier Daily editions. To read more
about a story, click to the Cav Daily
archives at www.cavalierdaily.
com.
24 October 2005
FCC orders schools to ready
systems for surveillance
The Federal Communications
Commission recently ordered an
expansion of an Internet surveillance law that will require universities to redesign their computer
networks in order to give law enforcement officials easier access to
online communications. The FCC’s
(hold the fiber, though).
When I finally did get someone’s
attention to order a drink, hoping
to blunt the harsh edge of the U.S.
Air reality, I went for a vodka tonic.
What I got was a miniature bottle of
Absolut, a mockery of my quest for
chemical satisfaction. No one wants
rationed portions of liquor; quit with
the sissy stuff. Like violence, those
mini bottles never solved anything.
Bring out the good stuff, you know,
the stuff that causes pilots (probably yours) to lead the charts in per
capita alcoholism, because we need
something—something American—
to make it through flights with you.
Email: [email protected]
might say that silence is golden, but
where they see rules, you see opportunity. You had a blast at bar review – and
now everyone in the stacks knows it.
There’s no competition when it’s silent,
and a second-year with a laptop and a
book is a captive audience. Everyone
else is only glaring because your sixinch voice is longer than theirs. One
more year of this and you’re headed for
the big time – fish bowl, look out!
The Law School salutes you, Miss
“Maternity fashion is the new Stonewashed jeans.” You scoff at the tube
top and turn your head in disgust at the
halter. Individualism and bare midriffs
are for fascists and undergrads. Your
full-bellied blouses cover all manner
of sins, making sure men have no idea
what to expect – or whether you’re actually expecting. You’re no fool. Nice to
look at even after a night at the Bistro,
maternity shirts will keep your secrets.
No one has to know about that trip to
Arches. With your sense of fashion, you
know your boyfriend has to like you for
your brains, and knowing is half the
battle.
The Law School salutes you, Mr.
“No one has seen me do it, but I swear
dude, I did it, and I am awesome.”
Back in the day, you scaled mountains,
won championships, and dated models
while beating Contra without dying
even once. Never mind that you aren’t
the physical specimen that you once
were, or that you actually have no pictures of your childhood/teenage years
and/or proof of residence or birth in a
particular existing city or that you have
no friends in common with anyone
now attending or ever having been to
Virginia Law. The only reason you refuse to join Facebook is to avoid one of
your old model girlfriends stalking you.
We know that you’re a player. After all,
you told us.
Email: [email protected]
issued in September by 24 members of the University’s Architecture School faculty, another group
ran an advertisement in Monday’s
Cavalier Daily expressing its desire to preserve a traditional style
of architecture at the University.
The group consisted of national
and international proponents of
traditional architecture who believe the architectural styles found
on Central Grounds, especially the
Lawn, are “paramount examples
of the classical tradition,” and
that Modernist architecture represents an intentional divergence
from this traditional style of Central Grounds. “There is no place
in the United States that is more
meaningful for architects than the
University of Virginia -- the Jeffersonian Grounds and the legacy of
Jefferson,” said Carroll Westfall,
an architecture professor at the
University of Notre Dame and a
former member of the University
Architecture School faculty.
Reviews
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
Friday, 28 October 2005
5
Domino: She's been a bad, bad girl
Irene Noguchi ‘06
Associate Reviews Editor
Let me answer a few questions early
on:
Yes, Keira Knightley plays a modelturned-bounty-hunter.
Yes, she’s like a psycho ninja turtle
with nunchucks and a shotgun.
And yes, she gives a lap dance.
Now on to the movie.
Shockingly enough, Knightley’s lap
dance is not the steamiest part of the
movie. (There are plenty more strippers and porn stars in the film to rob
her of that glory.)
And, despite the endless explosions,
bullet-riddled bodies, and ripping
off of arms, the movie is actually…
funny.
Domino, Tony Scott’s latest masterpiece of fiery explosions, fails to
give much depth to the life of Domino
Harvey, the daughter of a model and
a movie star whose distaste for the
privileged life and personal hunger for
danger turn her toward bounty hunting. But it’s riddled with social commentary and one-liners that make for
a half-decent good time.
Domino (Knightley) joins a team
of L.A. bounty hunters, Ed (Mickey
Rourke) and Choco (nicknamed so
for his “choking” methods, and played
broodingly by Edgar Rodriguez). Correction: she forces her way on. “[Beep]
[beep]ing [beep] lady,” says Ed, as he
removes her knife from his windshield.
“Everyone wants a [beep] job.”
While they start off with collecting small-time thugs for the local bail
bondsman, their work quickly escalates into an entangled mess involving
$10 million, the FBI, mobsters, and an
Afghani with a knack for explosives
– all of which ends in a fiery blowout
50 floors high in Las Vegas.
Perhaps taking a cue from Snatch
(done by fellow Brit Guy Ritchie),
Scott packs his violence with noncha-
lant killers and bumbling victims. But
without descending into pure dark
humor, Scott juxtaposes strands of
gentle emotion with cold-blooded,
mechanical violence – a surprisingly
artistic move.
In one scene of contrasting worlds,
he shows Domino’s rich mother polishing crystal while the daughter
cleans automatics in the background.
By coating a fragile-looking girl with
tattoos and ammunition, it’s as if Scott
is aware of the humorous contradiction, and lets us know he’s in on the
joke. When Domino and her cronies
burst into a gang-infested home with
shotguns, he overlays a soulful tune
with the lyrics “trying to make a living
working.” He also does an especially
good job of playing off L.A. stereotypes
and mocking the entertainment world.
(E.g., a catfight on Jerry Springer, a
reality show producer [Christopher
Walken] who wants Bounty Squad
to be his next meal ticket, and Beverly Hills 90210 alums trying to revive
their careers as show hosts. As one fan
tells Ian Ziering, “My friend Tina, she
thought you were dead!”)
(Other bumper sticker-worthy lines
include: “My agenda is to kick ass and
get bounty”; “Once you hunt a human
being, you’ll never hunt an animal
again”; “My name is Howie and I am a
recovering nymphomaniac”; “APATT
– All Porno All The Time”; and “I am a
Blacktino woman.”) But while you can
admire individual elements of Scott’s
artistry, the movie as a whole doesn’t
leave much of an impression.
Domino’s problem is that it tries to
redeem itself. Throughout the movie,
Scott tries to inject religion (a schoolgirl Domino in church stares up at Jesus, and the crucified savior appears
when Domino talks about sacrifice)
alongside his lawless renegades. But if
these thugs have any respect or love, it
is for each other.
And that is where Scott stumbles.
photo courtesy of dominomovie.com
Keira Knightley is one bad domino.
He focuses so hard on redemption
through religion (even going so far
as to have a preacher drive up in a
pink Corvette to say they must sacrifice themselves for a child and be
“cleansed in the blood of the lamb”),
that he overlooks one thing: the hunters’ strongest relationships are with
each other. Choco deeply loves Domino despite his violence, Ed sees her
as a daughter, and she calls them her
family. Scott, so busy with his explosions and religious references, misses
what the actors themselves seem to be
trying to convey – that the essence of
the movie lies in their ties to each other. Scott is like a parent so absorbed in
setting up fireworks for a spectacular
show, he forgets the birthday girl. He
loses sight of Domino and her “family”
of bounty hunters.
Knightley does a half-decent job
playing the rebellious girl. But she’s
hard to identify with. Most movies
with obscure characters, no matter
how absurd or unreal they may seem,
still try to humanize them in some
way. But Knightley never opens up
enough. The audience connects more
with Ed and Choco – each man fighting his own demons – than the woman
who seems to be a locked door.
There aren’t many deep scenes in
Domino, but Rourke takes the prize
for best acting. He inhabits his character. The smirk, the gravelly, whiskeyand-cigarettes voice – all give him a
natural toughness that Knightley only
attempts to mimic. A former boxer in
real life, it probably didn’t hurt that
Rourke had plenty of his own tattoos.
My movie companion suggested
that Knightley was trying (perhaps
too hard) to show her acting range.
Knightley, who tends to wear gowns
in period pieces, is set to appear next
as Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s
Sense and Sensibility. Elizabeth is sassy
with her tongue.
In Domino, Knightley, um, loosens
her corset.
There are a few gratuitous shots of
her lace underwear, her lap dancing in
a room full of L.A. gang members, and
her (what one character calls) “mosquito bites.” (Cover your eyes, Ms.
Austen. Lizzy has gone ghetto.)
But Knightley’s body aside, Scott
has a keen director’s eye. The sandy,
colored shots of L.A. give the impression the celluloid is overheated and
lend to the city’s grittiness. But a few
scenes, no matter the artistry, aren’t
enough to build an entire movie.
Domino’s motto is “Heads you live,
tails you die.”
And while it gives off a few worthwhile, entertaining sparks, Domino
ultimately falls face down.
Classic Depeche Mode transcends the '80s
David Lobe ‘06
Reviewer
Depeche Mode, the most influential electro-snyth band in history, has
earned the right to rest on their laurels, churn out cookie-cutter albums,
and rake in lucrative touring dollars.
The band that launched one thousand synthesizer bands is back with
a new album, Playing the Angel, that
defies that logic.
The influencers have become the
influenced, as Depeche Mode (Dave
Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andrew
Fletcher) have embraced a darker,
rougher sound on this album.
“Precious,” the first single, remains
true to the sound that made Depeche
Mode famous. This song could fit
seamlessly into Depeche Mode albums from 10 years ago or longer. It’s
a shrewd marketing decision targeted
at luring back fans who may have
forgotten about the band in the intervening years. Because, hey, it’s been a
long time since high school. But, this
song is not representative of the new
direction that the band has taken.
Cacophonous electric guitars set
the attitude right off the bat on “A
Pain That I’m Used To.” The dissonant tones and gritty keyboards on
“John the Revelator” are effective, but
would work better if Gahan’s vocals
could match their intensity. “I Want It
All” borrows Nine Inch Nails’s staccato
cuts of static to punctuate the beat.
Religious themes abound on Playing the Angel, which includes numerous references to God, angels, saints,
sin, repentance, and prayer. While the
band denies a conscious effort to develop these concepts, Gahan’s lyrics
belie these claims.
On “John the Revelator,” he sings
“By claiming God as his only rock / He’s
stealing a God from the Israelite / Stealing a God from the Muslim too / There
is only one God through and through.”
And “The Sinner in Me” expresses the
struggle of anyone who can’t control
himself. “If I could just hide / The sinner inside / And keep him denied.” This
is even more poignant in light of Gahan’s two suicide attempts.
There are some definite misses
on Playing the Angel. The two Martin Gore ballads, “Macrovision” and
“Damaged People,” are beyond terrible. Unlike his classic “Somebody,”
these songs won’t be on any high
school slow-dance play lists.
The other questionable choice
on the iTunes version of this album
is “Waiting for the Night (Bare).”
It’s hard to understand what “Bare”
means since the original rendition
of this song on Violator was quite
stripped down. Many people consider
Violator (with hits like “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence”) to be Depeche Mode’s high water mark, so this
could be an attempt to link Playing the
Angel with that album’s success.
Aside from these shortcomings,
this is an album worth picking up. All
this talk about Depeche Mode has me
feeling nostalgic. Do you have a date
for the Eighth Grade Dinner Dance? I
hear Mr. Andrukonis is DJ’ing.
photo courtesy of lost-tv.nl
"Hey, do any of you guys know where we're going?"
"Where are we?"
A guide to getting Lost
Chad Bell ‘06
Reviewer
I’m distracted from school, and it’s
not because I’m a third-year. I’m busy
trying to figure out how a polar bear
got onto a tropical island, and who exactly “the Others” are. I’m scrounging
around message boards for spoilers
and re-watching episodes frame by
frame trying to figure out the mysteries of the island. And I’m playing the
numbers (4-8-15-16-23-42, if you
were curious) in the Lottery each
week.
Yes, Wednesday Night Beer Pong
will have to wait until 10 p.m. – I’m
busy getting Lost.
If you haven’t gotten swept up in
the phenomenon yet, now is the perfect time to start. Season 1 is available
on DVD, all the episodes are available
for download on iTunes, and you have
two weeks to catch up via TiVo on the
current season until new episodes return on November 11. (I have them all
on the vaunted “Save Until I Delete”
status). But even marathon viewing
sessions and gunner-level strict scrutiny (okay, that’s my last and only lawrelated pun) won’t reveal all of the
mysteries of this show, which is why
it is simply the best program on television today, and perhaps the most
revolutionary television drama of all
time.
To call Lost a television show is an
insult to its carefully crafted story and
exquisite production. More slowlyevolving suspense film than television drama, Lost is the brainchild of
Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams, the
creator of Alias. The show centers on
the survivors of the crash of Oceanic
Flight # 815, who are forced to fend
for themselves on a mysterious and
dangerous tropical island. Among
the large cast of survivors are doctor/
leader Jack (Party of Five’s Matthew
Fox), escaped fugitive Kate (Evangeline Lilly), spooky survivalist Locke
(Terry O’Quinn), has-been rock star
Charlie (Lord of the Rings’ Dominic
Monaghan), con-man Sawyer (Josh
Holloway), and cursed lottery winner
Hurley (Jorge Garcia).
But while the survivors of Flight #
815 are stuck on an island, this story is
more Hitchcock thriller than Gilligan’s
Island rip-off. Every episode, a different character is featured in flashbacks
to his or her pre-crash life, peeling
back the layers of secrets each castaway holds. And with each episode, it
becomes clearer that these castaways
are entwined together in a much
deeper sense, and that their crash
together on this island may have happened for a reason or purpose.
While the main cast is untraditionally large by conventional television
standards (fourteen characters at the
beginning of Season 1), this was a
function of the creation of the show,
which was approved for production
on the basis of a twenty-three page
outline without any script or set
characters. According to J.J. Abrams,
“we saw all these actors, many of
whom inspired the characters;” as
ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson has noted, casting
the show “was about finding great
actors, and then finding a place for
them in this piece.” Both the writers
and actors excel in this respect, creating complex, multi-layered characters
that audience members care deeply
about, as a public outcry last season
for the death of one main character
demonstrated.
Despite the talented cast, the main
character of Lost is the island itself.
Danger is constantly present, whether
it is in the form of polar bears (how’d
they get there?), the mechanical-dinosaur-sounding,
tree-uprooting,
never-seen monster, or the unseen
other residents of the island, known
simply as “the Others.” The island has
secrets, too: why does it distort the
survivors’ compasses? How did a slave
ship end up crashed in the middle of
its jungle? What is in “the Hatch” – a
handless, metal subterranean bunker
buried deep into the island’s ground,
with no handle on the outside? And
why are Hurley’s cursed Lotto numbers (which appear in the lives of the
other survivors as well) written on the
side of the Hatch?
Heightening the mystery is the excellent production value of the show.
ABC has spared no expense, spending over a million dollars to buy the
wreckage for the plane, filming on
location in Oahu, Hawaii, and hiring
a live-orchestra to score each episode
individually. Shot entirely on film,
Lost’s story, characters, music, and
cinematography are evocative of the
best of Alfred Hitchcock, a huge inspiration to the writers of the show. In
fact, each episode of the show unfolds
in classic Hitchcock fashion: monsters
are never shown to heighten the terror; all characters have secrets and
pasts that effect their actions; mystery
is revealed slowly so as to bait the audience; and the filming and music are
designed to heighten the terror for the
audience at every turn.
If anything, Lost’s biggest potential
pitfall is that it must satisfy two competing interests. It must reveal the
island’s mysteries to satisfy the curious audience, but it must do so slowly
enough that suspense is allowed to
build and fester. This tension has led
fans of the show, including writer Stephen King, to challenge the writers
to let the story finish when it is time.
As King has written in Entertainment
Weekly, “Memo to Abrams and staff
writers: Your responsibilities including knowing when to write The End.”
For fans of the show, though, there
is no need to worry. Co-creator Damon
Lindelof has stated that the outline of
the show planned out five to six years
of episodes, meaning we’re still at the
beginning of the mystery. If anything,
Season 2 so far has only added more
suspense to the puzzle.
So delay the beer pong game, and
watch Lost. In an era of dumbeddown entertainment, it’s challenging,
intelligent, awe-inspiring cinema,
beamed out each week free to your
television set.
6
The Back Page
VIRGINIA LAW WEEKLY
Papa was a Rolling Stone . . . not mine, of course
A lot of people say that the
law school experience is a roller
coaster – it has a lot of ups and
downs, it makes you a little sick,
Jimmy Thunder ‘08
Columnist
and some people
are simply too
short to ride.
My experience
so far, however,
has been more like a Ferris wheel
– it is taking me to new heights,
I look forward to coming full circle, and I kissed a girl while on
it (don’t worry, I won’t say who
– wink!). Actually, it might be
more appropriate to eschew carnival metaphors and say instead
that my law school experience
has been like a helicopter – it is
super awesome, it goes straight
up, leaving a lot of wind behind,
and not many people would be
able to pilot it. Some thoughts on
events since my last column:
Foxfields: I didn’t make it
to Foxfields (Sundays are for
CivPro), but I did enjoy seeing
the pictures – especially of all the
colorful hats. Every week in college, my friends and I would have
“Hat-tastic Wednesdays” where
we would wear hats to all our
classes and social engagements
(my hats were always the most
colorful and often quite humorous). This event was usually held
on Thursdays.
I also couldn’t make it to Foxfields because I had gotten a
little nutty on Saturday. That’s
right, I attended the annual early
fall “Nut Festival of Spotsylvania.” While I had a great time
sampling nuts, the main reason I went there can be “boiled”
down to two words: marching
bands. My three favorite things
to watch are: Charles Grodin, a
great computer technician in action, and marching bands. The
“Nut Festival” bands certainly
did not disappoint, though I was
a bit surprised that none of them
had room for a freelance bagpiper. All and all, I had a great
time and it made me nostalgic
for “The Thunder Family Nuts
Celebration” where we used to
invite over both of my (clinically)
insane uncles, eat walnuts, and
talk about the law. The reason I
bring all this up is to encourage
other students to take advantage
of our surrounding geography
outside of just “getting drinks
at the Biltmore” or “picking up
chicks at the Kroger.”
Supreme Court Nominations:
Up until I was ten, when people
would ask me what I wanted to
be when I grew up, I would say
“Beethoven.” (The composer, not
the affable dog, I’m not THAT big
a Chuck Grodin fan.) Once I realized I couldn’t become a dead
German, I decided that I was going to be a Supreme Court Justice
and that idea has actually stuck.
Thus, the Roberts and Miers confirmation hearings have a little
more importance for me than for
the average law student. We have
not even gotten to Miers and I’m
already sick of the senators. Why
do they get to prattle on so? No
one that egocentric should be
given yet another platform to talk
about themselves. Nonetheless, I
recognize that there is some controversy over this latest nomination. Thus, without further ado,
I give you my own (better) set of
rules as to how Justices should be
nominated:
1. Only sitting Circuit Court
judges should be available for
nomination.
2. The President nominates
any three judges for each open
spot.
3. Each nominee has two
weeks to tour the country, make
speeches, go on Leno, kiss some
babies, elucidate their judicial
philosophy to the national public, etc.
4. Each senator, governor, and
accredited law school dean gets
one vote for which of the three
judges should be placed on the
Supreme Court.
5. The judge receiving the most
votes is put on the Court; the
judge receiving the second most
votes is returned to their circuit
and given a $50,000 raise; the
judge receiving the fewest votes
is removed from their circuit and
can never be a judge again. (This
may seem harsh, but it should
prevent cronyism and make sure
the nominees understand they
are taking a risk.)
The Rolling Stones: I did not
go to the concert as I am not a big
fan. In fact, I’m embarrassed to
admit that I did not know they
were a band, not a magazine, until a few weeks ago. Before that
my only involvement with the
term was when one of my uncles
used to scream in pain from his
bedroom while passing a kidney
stone and my mom would laugh
and say, “Jerry is up there rolling
stones.” Also, I am familiar with
the cliché, “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” I don’t really know
what that means – maybe that
if you keep moving forward you
avoid stagnation, but that seems
obvious. I’ll leave you with a few
other clichés whose derivation I
wish I knew:
“A stitch in time saves nine”
– nine what? And what kind of
stitch? A sewing stitch? A medical stitch? Tennis great Michael
Stitch?
“A shipyard’s fool is often a
junkyard’s poet.” – Maybe this
means that people excel at different things.
“To trick a thief is noble, but to
trick an ostrich is boastful.” – No
idea. None.
“Hate ain’t nothin’ but an “H”
that ate.” - I don’t even know if
this is a real cliché but one of my
(clinically) crazy uncles used to
say it all the time. Of course, he
also ate glass at parties.
photo by Andrew J. Stephens
"I told you if I gave me one more parking ticket . . ."
Mel the 2L: by Josh Kaplowitz '07
Friday, 28 October 2005
faculty quotes
J. Harrison: “You know it used to be that the image for bankruptcy was a guy wearing nothing but a barrel around him. I remember
once…well let’s just forget about that.”
G. Robinson: “Can the law really be this silly?! Yes, it can - this IS
tort law!”
J. Harrison: “You know that bloody shoot-out in The Untouchables?
When the Canadian Mountie tells Sean Connery that he doesn’t approve of their methods, and Connery replies, ‘You’re not from Chicago.’ Well, that made me think of Posner and Easterbrook on the
Seventh Circuit.”
J. Kraus: “Spending 24 hours in jail is completely unpleasant and
humiliating, I can tell you personally – How do I know? Wild horses
couldn’t drag it out of me. No, the offense did not have to do with
wild horses.”
J. Harrison: “Where is Harvard located?”
Student: “I don’t know, I didn’t go to Harvard.”
J. Kraus: “You don’t need to be having sex with someone to miss
them.”
D. Ortiz: “Oh my - you have your name tag up. It’s been so long
since I’ve seen one of those.”
Student: “We have to have them up for Contracts.”
D. Ortiz: “That’s kind of hardass.”
D. Leslie: “Every time I drive by Hooters, I say to my wife ‘Let’s go
there for lunch’ and she says ‘No!’ so I’m not very receptive to Hooters
examples.”
J. Kraus: “My wife says I can’t tell the difference between blue and
purple…. But in truth, my wife can’t tell the difference between blue
and purple.”
M. Collins: “You can go through the hypotheticals and come up with
a different analysis than I did and it would be perfectly reasonable. It would be wrong in this class, but it would be perfectly reasonable
anyway.”