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Entries Tagged as 'Just for Fun'

Graphic Laws of Intellectual Property

March 11th, 2010 · No Comments

I am just finishing a marvelous book about cartography and the discovery and naming of America, The Fourth Part of the World: The Race to the Ends of the Earth, and the Epic Story of the Map That Gave America Its Name (by Toby Lester, Simon & Schuster, 2009).  The Fourth Part of the World [...]

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Tags: Ideas · Intellectual Property Law · Just for Fun

Not all patented inventions are going to make millions…

March 9th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Meet the ubmbROLLa:

As this blog notes: “It’s a draggable umbrella designed by Qian Jiang & Yiying Wu. Apparently, it’s for people who are so accustomed to traveling with a rolling suitcase, that they can’t make the switch to an umbrella.”

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Sackcloth and Ashes for Another Plagiarist

March 3rd, 2010 · 2 Comments

Plagiarism either makes you a bad person, or bad people are plagiarists, or both.  Either way, it’s obviously a moral crime, not an ethical economic one.  This morning brings yet another example of someone made to do penance:
Nick Simmons, the son of the rock star Gene Simmons, sought to make a name for himself in [...]

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Tags: Copyright Law · Just for Fun · Online Norms and Culture

XXX Videos!

February 17th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Here are two videos about XXX products.  With the Vancouver Olympics in full swing, many of us are extra-attentive to all things Canadian, so the second — which features Canadian native and NBA superstar Steve Nash actually promoting XXX products — is especially compelling.  The IP angle, naturally, is whether anyone thinks that the second [...]

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Tags: Copyright Law · Just for Fun

Oh, Which “New Moon” DVD to Purchase??

February 16th, 2010 · Comments Off

Readers of this blog will be familiar with my affinity for vampire stories, and the fact that in recent months I’ve been particularly partial to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, although I must admit (I’m sure to Mike Madison’s great relief) that my fascination with the series is waning and I’m trying to expand my “literary” [...]

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Tags: Art and Politics · Just for Fun · Law & Technology

Parking Chairs and Property Rights

February 10th, 2010 · 4 Comments

From Pittsburgh to Washington DC and north to Baltimore and Boston, cars in giant snowbanks mean that the thoughts of property law professors turn again to an eternal phenomenon:  If I dig out a parking spot to free my car, do I “own” the resulting parking space?  If so, why, and in what sense?  Yes, [...]

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Tags: Ideas · Just for Fun · social norms

A Great Horn Section and Some Wild Clothes to Brighten Your Day

January 25th, 2010 · Comments Off

Most of the country is facing some rather grim weather. Classes have begun. Grades are in. The holidays are over. There is work to do. Many things may be getting you down. So I offer this tune as a small pick-me-up for those who may need it. If the music doesn’t work for you, perhaps [...]

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Tags: Just for Fun

The Insulting Librarian

January 21st, 2010 · 1 Comment

Seems shocking because generally librarians are a superior class of people!

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Copyright Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry

January 20th, 2010 · 1 Comment

Erich Segal died the other day.  He was famous (or infamous) as the author of “Love Story,” the book and then movie that gave us the line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”  The movie was a smash but is utterly forgettable; if you’re looking for a throwback experience featuring its star, Ryan [...]

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Tags: Copyright Law · Just for Fun

Rickrolling In Perspective

January 19th, 2010 · Comments Off

The Simpsons get Rick Rolled:

The Christians get Rick Rolled:

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Tags: Just for Fun

Dangerous Wands

January 1st, 2010 · 1 Comment

Dangerous Minds meets Harry Potter in this vid from CollegeHumor:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.
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Tags: Just for Fun

Sherlock Holmes and The Sparks

December 24th, 2009 · Comments Off

Here’s just a little free association for what I hope are ongoing happy holidays for everyone. Sherlock Holmes opens on Christmas Day and is a front runner for holiday films I want to see. I happen to think that Robert Downey Jr. is in a great groove. I loved his acting in Chaplin and am [...]

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Tags: Copyright Law · Ideas · Intellectual Property Law · Just for Fun

Admit it, this is funny.

December 23rd, 2009 · Comments Off

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Tags: Just for Fun

Can’t We All Just Meep Along?

December 13th, 2009 · Comments Off

Via Language Log I learned about the great “meep” ban of 2009 (a high school principal in Danvers, Mass. warned students there not to say  “meep” in school,  connecting the word with disruptive behavior), but via the Salem (Mass.) News I picked up some extra flavor:  The warning followed intimations that students were organizing their [...]

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Tags: Just for Fun

Exploding Foodstuffs With Annoying But Relevant Soundtrack

December 1st, 2009 · Comments Off

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Tags: Just for Fun

In-n-Out Heads East

December 1st, 2009 · Comments Off

Via Gordon Smith, I learned the other day that In-n-Out, the California-based burger chain known as much for its cult status among its fans as for the quality of its food, is expanding into Utah.  In-n-Out started in Southern California — source of its distinctive palm-tree silhouette — and in the 90s expanded to Northern [...]

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Tags: Just for Fun

NosePod

November 24th, 2009 · Comments Off

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Doing right and wrong by college sports recruits

November 19th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Today’s Charlotte Observer reports the story of Clair Watkins, a senior basketball player who got one of those coveted “early commitments” from basketball powerhouse Duke. According to the story, Duke offered Ms. Watkins a promise of admission to Duke and a full basketball scholarship, a scholarship that Duke planned to honor for 4 years. [...]

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Tags: Just for Fun · Sports

Celebs Fight Back …

November 18th, 2009 · Comments Off

Given that the Twilight sequel, New Moon, opens this week, I just have to blog about something Twilight-related.  I’ve been writing lately about celebrity privacy rights, and the right of publicity – and considering the extent to which celebrities should be legally protected against paparazzi intrusions.  Of course, there are other ways for them to [...]

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Tags: Art and Politics · Just for Fun · Online Norms and Culture

Cultural Evolution?

November 16th, 2009 · 1 Comment

You be the judge.
1976

Pastime Paradise – Stevie Wonder
1995

Gangstas Paradise – Coolio
1996
By the way, I suggest that anyone wanting a great album acquire Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life.
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Tags: Intellectual Property Law · Just for Fun