ULC Mariage Update

As noted in the past, officially being married by an internet minister (often cited in NYT wedding announcements) can be tricky. (Becoming one while in prison might be too!) An intermediate court back in the 1980s covering 3/5 of NYC rejected it though the city later on handed out marriage registrant certificates to such ministers. A separate court last year refreshingly didn't go along and remanded the matter for clarification.

Switched At Birth

Before The Fosters, this show is on, and I finally caught the first few episodes on DVD. Starts off well, another show that is teen focused but has room for the adults too. Also, well acted. Some familiar faces -- hey, it's the girl from Back to the Future and the "bad" coach from FNL! The deaf character and her vantage point of the world seems to be handled well.

Scandal and More on the "travesty"

Interesting discussion on the nature of a "scandal" using "Bridgegate" as a case study. The "travesty" mentioned earlier concerned some Dems not voting for person a top civil rights slot basically because some law enforcement types don't like his defense of a cause celebre cop killer. This is not good, but as a realpolitik matter, it happens. It is not because he supports civil rights or defended any murderer. Let's be clear on what is going on.

Update: To be clear, the action here [his statement] is a "travesty," since there should be a blanket rule that this should not matter. See the video here. But, let's be clear on the specific problem. And, in Ted Cruz is a b.s.-ing asshole news.

"Three generations of imbeciles are enough"

Or, none, apparently. Diane Chamberlain's Necessary Lies is a fictional account that reminds that forced sterilization continued long after Buck v. Bell via a young social worker and some goings on at a rural tobacco farm in 1960 North Carolina. Powerful page turner that is mostly told thru the eyes of the social worker and a fifteen year old poor white girl.

"a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant"

Debo P. Adegbile was blocked at least so far with the help of eight Democrats for the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division position because the law enforcement community opposed someone who defended a cop killer. Lawyers do that sort of thing.

Amusing Brief Reading

Seriously -- with an assist of satirist/commentator P.J. O’ROURKE.

TV

A comment today at Balkinization led me to find out that there is a new season/series of Doc Martin. The second half of the first season of The Fosters hasn't been as good, but still enjoy it overall if not all the subplots. Watching Wonderful Town-- a rather laid back but pretty good so far Thai film (some ending!). And, reading a good novel, Necessary Lies.

"In New York City, Making Strip Clubs Go Dry, Then Go Away"

The USSC provided the strategy -- talk about "secondary effects," which is not ("not") targeting the speech as such. So, you can cite "crime, noise or other quality-of-life issues, or highlight a club owner’s lack of qualifications or possible criminal ties" but also do so when targeting liquor licenses. The licenses can turn on content too -- total nudity, no liquor, pasties/G-strings liquor. That seems lame, but the former can work, if open to abuse.

Oscars

I didn't see many of the nominees, but did see two of the animated ones. Frozen (winner) and The Croods (nominated) are worthwhile, but the two foreign ones look like hidden gems too. Despicable Me 2 is sort of "we have to nominate" something material.

Rev. Joe: Holy Spirit

This general Wikipedia entry provides various links on this concept, entity and "person." As noted, though there are many references to the "spirit" (think wind/breath) of God in the Hebrew Scriptures, a "holy spirit" is rarely cited as such. Since Jesus was believed to be the entry point of God's presence for us all, it is unsurprisingly popular in the Christian Scriptures. The concept of a "holy spirit" as a sort of conscience was even cited by Seneca.

Rev. Joe: "Odes of Solomon"

But to spray paint them in the colors of the Gospels is a travesty of restoration which effectively buries what glimmer of meaning we might derive from these golden, subtle poems.

Count this in the non-Christian camp. Note how it is listed both in "early Jewish" and "early Christian" writings in that collection. A bit of modern musical accompaniment. A New New Testament cites it as part of "some Christ movement," but that doesn't make it non-Jewish.

Lee Lorch, RIP (Died February 28)

H/t. A hero and martyr (his wife was no slouch) in the battle for racial equality and academic freedom in NYC and beyond. A query in comments was made to how specifically as a math scholar does him being an "irritant" matter, but I think being a scholar isn't just about a specific field. It is being part of academia generally, part of the whole.

Rev. Joe Book Review: Converting Kate

I re-read this book, discussed here. The author was inspired from personal experience. She is not listed as writing another book since then, which is unfortunate. Showed talent. To preview a bit, it concerns a teenager whose dad died (a skeptic), pushing her to doubt the fundamentalist faith of her mom. Deals with a new town etc.

I am Curious

Two versions (yellow and blue) were made using extensive footage for this 1960s Swedish art film that might have a few scenes of nudity, but if you are looking for porn, look elsewhere. A bit of male nudity/touching penis, which still is taboo even today, might have got it in trouble. Unlike some tacked on, this actually has "social value," even a MLK interview!

A decade ago ...

And it also holds off, for the time being, a decision about whether same sex marriage violates the Constitution.

A comment in a blog comment on the release of Lawrence v. Texas. The "time" is here.

Grapefruit Season Time

I make fresh grapefruit juice (half-grapefruit per 48 oz. or so of water), but darn if there is only pear juice in the frig at the moment. Anyway, Colon is a bit old and Chris Young a tad expensive, but if the Mets can handle getting a Tejeda replacement, the off-season might seem more satisfactory. Ike Davis is enough stress. Reliever could help too.