University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog

Celebs and Twitter

Speaking of thick skins, celebrities who make their income from their fame should probably also develop a thick skin too.

That is why it is funny to watch them laugh at themselves by reading out insulting twitter posts. Then again, are they really laughing?

Simpsons' origins

Ever wonder where Matt Groening got his characters from? Look no further than his mother's obituary  (assuming it is authentic).

Royalty roundup

1. There is a new King of Holland! Holland and Canada, of course, have many historic ties.

2. The eldest son of the Aga Khan Prince Rahim Khan is engaged to American Kendra Spears.

3. Not strict royalty, but he once ruled the basketball court, Michael Jordan got married in the biggest tent ever!

4. All the presidents, including Obama, but not including Martin Van Buren (Dutch), are related to King John. Apparently, they all have the hunger for power gene! Hats off to the 12 year old student from California who pieced all the family trees together.

A Revisionist Look at the Destruction of the Death Star

From the Youtube blurb:

An examination of some questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star, through the eyes of an amateur investigative journalist within the Star Wars galaxy. The focus is mainly on the connections between the people who created and operated the Death Star and those responsible for destroying it.
(For those who don't care for the obvious, this is a satirical spoof of the 9/11 truther video Loose Change.)

 

The Battle of Hoth redux

The Battle of Hoth was an epic battle in the struggle between good and evil. If you are scratching your head wondering in what ancient century did this 300-esque sounding battle take place, you clearly are not a fan of Star Wars, or more specifically The Empire Strikes Back.

The classic battle scene where the rebel alliance manages to stall the Emperor's forces brings into question the effectiveness of the Empire. 

Indeed, now comes a cogent analysis of how the battle was truly a colosall blunder. Here is a response. In case you don't recall the Battle of Hoth, here is the battle re-enacted in Lego:

 

Twitter Storm!

So, a few weeks ago, Fin Free Edmonton got together and asked ourselves... "How can we contribute to the national push for shark conservation that is currently occurring?"

We came up with a two-part answer:

1) Storytelling. If you are alive to the issue, you are alive to the facts, the figures, the statistics, etc. We decided to take the opportunity to also consider the narrative that society has created for sharks, the narrative the supports the current shark conservation movement, and the narrative that opposes it. By understanding each we will be better positioned to spread our message. We decided to focus on: Cruelty, Conservation, and Moderation. The act of shark finning is a cruel way for sharks to die. Sharks are needed to maintain balance in the ocean. Bill C-380 is a moderate, approriate response to the current issue which limits fin imports but does not attempt to address consumption or the import of whole sharks.

2) Twitter Storm! There are many awesome, dedicated individuals working on the Fin Free campaign across Canada and internationally. So, we decided to unite these individuals around a common Twitter hashtag. After some brainstorming and trial and error we opted for #SaveSharks. Simple, catchy, and action oriented. We prepared a call to action document and distributed it to our national friends and allies. The storm is building as #SaveSharks gains momentum in advance of the debate on Bill C-380 which takes place tomorrow!

Join the movement! Find us on Twitter! #SaveSharks!

Sharks (and Leadership Lessons from a Shirtless Dancing Man!)

So. If you have followed my posts to date, you might have noticed a trend. Yes... sharks!

Over the next month or so I plan on using this blog to help drum up support across the country for private members bill C-380 (Ban on Shark Fin Importation) that will be debated this February.

You can follow the progress of the bill here. You can use the awesome Open Parliament initiative to learn more here.

Also, to get you motivated and pumped up to help sharks and jump on board with this national initaitve, a sweet inspirational Ted Talk is linked below!

Is technology making us dumber?

The often-debated question of the impact of the media on society will always be there. The difference is the medium. Contrast this oldie about tv:

and this one about twitter:

 

Seinfeld meets Constitutional Law

Tired of losing your efforts to remove a nativity scene from a firehouse lawn? Then apply to put up your own display, even if it is the Festivus Pole from Seinfeld.

Bond Villains

With the release of the new James Bond movie, the villain comes up with yet another crazy get-rich scheme. But which scheme over the years could have realistically worked? The Economist looks at some of the schemes over the decades.

Cats Parachuting

Because nothing causes controversy like cats skydiving:

 

Greatest comic book lawyers

Topless Robot lists the top 13 best lawyers in comic books.  If that interests you, be sure to check out William A. Hilyerd's thorough article in the Widener Law Review that runs through the history of comic book attorneys - Hi Superman, I'm a Lawyer: A Guide to Attorneys (& Other Legal Professionals) Portrayed in American Comic Books: 1910-2007

 

Apple 1, Lawyers 0

Birdsong et al. v. Apple Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 08-18841.

On Dec 30, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the class action which claimed that Apple iPods were defective in the manner alleged in the action: that the  ”iPod is defective because it poses an unreasonable risk of noise induced hearing loss to its users.”

Does this mean that Mr/Ms Birdsong's song is now a sad song?

Listen (if you can hear) to Pete Townsend.

As Nigel would have said: News at 11.

But not elvenses. Well, Nigel might have said that, too, but for another reason.

Addendum

One tangentially related view from south of the border. 

Ben-Hur RIP

He was 84.

Spears Pregnant

and the amazing thing is that for once it is not Britney Spears who is the one who screwed up this time. Her baby sister, 16 year old Jamie Lynn Spears, star of Zoey 101, is preggers! I always thought she was the sane one of the two, but it just goes to show, you can take the girl out of the trailer, but you can't ....

No word on how Disney will react. They have had their own share of problems with High School Musical 2's naughty pictures. Is it too much to ask the stars of today to wait till they are 18 or over before committing their youthful indiscretions?