IT'S RACIST PEOPLE

Ok, I know that I am a) a pedant and b) have raised similar issues before, but WTF IS WITH PEOPLE USING THE WORD 'RACIAL' WHEN THEY MEAN RACIST???

The New York Times today described Don Imus' sacking thus: 'NBC News Drops Imus Show Over Racial Remark'.

Racial slur - fine. But calling something a 'racial remark' is first, bizarrely obtuse, if not entirely meaningless and second, chickening out. There's a strong argument to be made that 'nappy headed hos' is actually racist (in fact, I think it's a laydown misere). I suspect that's what the New York Times is saying. But why the hell don't they just come out with it?

"I think hot girls are tremendous*"

There is pretty much nothing to say about the Pussycat Dolls, McG and Geffen, that Lisa De Moraes hasn't said first and better.

But, not to go into Simone De Beauvoir here for a second, it is unfortunate that on this occasion, the debate about what young women should be aspiring to is being conducted on both sides by a bunch of middle aged men. Sure, they are citing their 17 year old daughters in support. But where are the 17 year old daughters themselves?

To paraphrase McG (and frankly, I hope that it's the last time I ever do such a thing) - You must understand the fundamental paradox of gentlemen of their age demo having this very debate.

*I'm just not sure that they are qualified to speak on their own behalf.

Today's blog is courtesy of my housemate

In their exclusive $2.7 million interview with Channel 9, one of the Beaconsfield mining survivors said that he had a new outlook on life following the disaster and he was now going to 'spend less time going out shooting roos and spend more time with the family.'

My housemate has asked a very good question: why doesn't he just take the family roo shooting?

OK, I know I said I wouldn't bag out Dan Brown anymore

But is this really a ringing endorsement for a book?

It [the Da Vinci Code] doesn't read well as a novel but it reads well as an encyclopedia.

Hmmph. If you want history with your fiction, there is nothing wrong with Joseph Heller, people.

Right-o. I'll get off my soapbox now.

A cheap shot but ...

how would they know?

America's funniest home terrorists

I don't know if it's frightening or amusing that the notion of out-takes is so thoroughly engrained in our consciousness that they are now being used by governments to discredit videos by terrorists.

Brainteasers

THis post rEpresents a shout out to JUDGE SmIthy, who haS brought billAble hours in LoNdon law firms to an Effective standstill by inseRting a message in coDe into his judgment on Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code' . All hail to anyone who could derive any entertainment out of that book, I say. I am normally able to enjoy reading the back of a cornflakes box, but that book defeated me. Why on earth was it so popular?

In other legal news of the day (albeit less newsworthy), I had a meeting this morning somewhere in a small developing country about training for new lawyers. We were discussing a draft training schedule, and all was going swimmingly, until we got to the two days allocated to contract drafting. The most senior lawyer in the room stopped the meeting. He wasn't sure about the relevance of the training. What was a contract? Did lawyers need to know about them?

Law. It's a varied profession.