Let's take a moment of silence to remember the late, great Peep-O-Rama, which closes its doors today. DeadDotcom's offices were right across from this wondrous institution, and now it's gone. *sigh* There's just nowhere to find smut on good old 42nd Street any more.

A train crew in Boston forced a man suffering a heart attack on a rush-hour commuter train wait while they made regularly scheduled stops before reaching paramedics in the city. The crew, aware of the man who was apparently unconscious and not breathing, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The man's condition is critical.

UPDATE: The man has died. Jesus Christ. What were those transit workers THINKING???

There's been yet another domestic violence death at Fort Bragg, but this time the wife of an Army Special operations officer has been charged. The other four domestic killings involved men allegedly murdering their wives.

Ireland's largest drugmaker plans to cut 1,000 jobs to try to revive sagging profits. Elan's stock has fallen 95 percent since January 2002.

Today's Mystery 80s Lyric (from the CD I listened to on my way into work this morning):

I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you 'cause I find it hard to take

Anyone? Anyone?

A New Jersey jury will soon decide whether a person can be held responsible for letting a friend drive while intoxicated. Police called Kenneth Powell to come and pick up his friend Michael Pangle, who had been arrested for drunken driving. Powell picked Pangle up and drove him back to Pangle's car, and Pangle drove off with a BAC of 0.26, and was later involved in an accident that killed both Pangle and another driver.

Powell faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the charges of manslaughter, vehicular homicide and aggravated assault.

I don't know how I feel about this. Stupid, yes. Reckless, even. Maybe negligent. But criminally responsible? I don't think so. Are we supposed to police everyone with whom we come in contact? I don't think that I should have to take on that kind of responsibility.

"It looked like a slasher movie populated by people with root beer for blood."

It's just really got to suck when you find out that you've been laid off by looking at your company's website.

The Atlantic Online has excerpts from American Ground, by William Langewiesche, detailing his observations of the WTC site over the nine months after the attacks. I can't really effectively comment. Just read it. Trust me.

New Jersey's appellate court ruled last week that the "mere presence" of a harasser in a workplace could constitute a continuing violation for the purposes of keeping a deadline from passing on a hostile-workplace claim. The court stated that even one incident occurring within the statute of limitations could fall within the statutory period if the incident was one of a series of acts.

When the conservative group Judicial Watch tried to serve Dick Cheney with a lawsuit alleging fraudulent accounting practices at Halliburton Corp., the Secret Service at the White House threatened the process server with arrest. Way to support the justice system, Dick.

Like most people, I don't generally think of s'mores as deadly instruments. What a horrible story.

Merck's CEO says his firm will not be acquiring of merging with any other pharma anytime soon. Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it.

New reads I've picked up recently: Nikki, Esq., who starts law school next month, Sua Sponte, whose author is also embarking upon the law school adventure this fall, Unbillable Hours, by an associate who lives somewhere not that far from me, and DB's Medical Rants, by an academic internist with a keen eye fixed on the pharmaceutical industry. I'm just amazed at how many lawyers keep weblogs these days. I absolutely do learn something new every time I peruse their work.

The inimitable Jane Galt has an excellent piece on the economics of the pharma industry. She's absolutely spot on.

All nine miners who have been trapped in Somerset, PA for several days ARE ALIVE!!!!!!!!

Which Peanuts Character Are You Quiz

(courtesy of the lovely Kate)

Any person who believes that Lance Armstrong is not an athlete, let alone an amazing one, is a complete and total assclown.

Dave brought this hilarious article to my attention, since part of my job (really!) is to make sure that my company's pens and other promotional items conform to FDA regulations.

Wyeth has made a business decision not to resume sales of its implantable birth control device, Norplant, nearly two years after pulling the device from the market because of concerns about its effectiveness.

A 12-year-old boy died Friday after being infected by an amoeba while swimming in a Florida lake. He contracted meningeal encephalitis which caused swelling in his brain. The amoebas enter the body through the nose, and exist in practically every lake.

A California state judge recently took the unusual step of increasing a verdict awarded to an injured snowboarder from $713,000 to $5.3 million. The paralyzed man's lawyers had argued that a ski jump had been constructed with angles that were too steep.

Here's a lovely article about the hotel I stayed in this week. You'll also see a photo of the "fairy princess bed." I cannot wait to get back to that place.

Thanks to Melissa for the tip that yet another GW Law professor, the ever-wacky John Banzhaf, is behind the "Fat Guy Suing Fast Food Chains" case. Like it's not enough that my alma mater already has Jonathan Turley on track to be the most media-overexposed faculty member in history?

Moo.

I don't really have time to write a whole entry about this now, because I'm due at a training session, but I had to share this:

At pharmaceutical launch meetings, there is often entertainment during general sessions (singing and dancing, often involving usage of the product name). This morning, the featured performer was none other than Brian D'Arcy James. For the non-musical-theater geeks, he's an amazing performer who's appeared in many Broadway shows, and is a hottie to boot.

When our launch coordinator confirmed for me that it was in fact Mr. James and that I was a huge fan, she arranged for me to meet him after the morning session ended. He could not have been kinder or more gracious, and is also very smart -- we spoke at length about our new product and about the pharma industry in general, as well as his future plans.

Holy cannoli, I can't stop giggling.

I'm in love with this hotel. My bathroom is approximately the size of the entire upstairs of our house, with a whirlpool tub and separate multi-jet shower. The bed has nine, count 'em, nine, pillows and is the most comfortable I've ever slept on. It's like a fairy princess bed. The staff is amazing, we just had a delicious dinner sitting outside by the lake, and I'm dining *in* the kitchen of one of the restaurants tomorrow night at the "Chef's Table."

All of this more than made up for the fact that I was pulled out for random searches at the gates in both Newark and Houston, and my checked bag was tagged for special x-ray screening before I even got through the security checkpoint. I guess I must have looked particularly suspicious in my floral-trim capri pants today.

I hate getting up when it's still dark outside.

Hopefully, I'll be able to update from Colorado Springs. Ciao.

An Iowa judge has ruled that pregnancy tests taken at a Planned Parenthood Clinic are not private medical records protected by state law, and has thus ordered the clinic to turn over the names of women who had tests there between August 2001 and May 2002. The fight stems from the search for the mother of a newborn found dead at an Iowa recycling center in May.

The judge's position seems to hinge on the fact that some tests were administered by clinic employees who were not doctors or nurses, a position which is just ridiculous. If a doctor or nurse is required to administer any test which needs to be part of a person's private healthcare information (see this link for more information on the federal Standards of Privacy of Individually Identifiable Patient Information, which go into effect next year), this country is going to need a hell of a lot more doctors and nurses.

Any attorneys from Iowa want to chime in on this one?

"I've finally figured out why Rep. James Traficant's hair always looks so bizarre: He takes his aluminum foil hat off for the cameras. There can be no other explanation."

Dodd, you rock.

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court ruled this week that a nurse's aide's
off-the-job use of marijuana did not constitute "willful misconduct" for
the purposes of invalidating her right to unemployment benefits. She
admitted smoking pot every night, but there didn't seem to be any evidence that this affected her job performance.

I've been running around like a madwoman all morning -- meetings, conference calls, email, you name it -- because I head out of town Monday morning for a product launch in Colorado Springs. Specifically, I will be here, and I sure am hoping that I'll at least have a tiny bit of downtime to spend in that spa. I've been dreaming about a massage for weeks now, because my neck and back are to the point where I expect something to snap sooner rather than later.

Nothing on the agenda for the weekend other than my usual pre-trip madness, and trying to get a haircut before I fly out. Monday morning will not be fun, as the car is picking me up at 6:15, and I'm in a freaking middle seat from Newark to Houston. I'm almost to Silver level in the Continental frequent flyer program, and I cannot wait for that. I don't fly very often, but I sure hate coach, and especially the middle seat in coach, when I do.

I could not possibly be happier about the Emmy nominations. Six Feet Under led the pack with 23 nominations, including two for best actor, two for best actress, and one each for best supporting actor and actress. It also got a nom for best opening titles, which I love. Anyway, very busy, must run, but my favorite thing is that Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry both got nominations as best actor for a comedy, leaving La Schwimmer out in the cold. Bwah!

Oh, Harrison. What the hell are you thinking?

Emmy nominations will be announced tomorrow. Expect commentary.

Scott updated! Scott updated!

Since I watch the Mole like a freakish Anderson Cooper fangirl (and I still don't think Dorothy is the Mole, even though it seems like everyone else does), I've started watching Houston Medical. Generally, it's just on in the background as I'm doing other things, but last night I got really sucked in to the story of Marnie Rose. She's a 28 year old second-year medical resident who's currently undergoing her third round of treatment for a rare form of brain cancer. In last night's episode, a brain scan revealed some lesions in her brain that could either be a recurrence of her tumor or necrosis from her previous tumor. She's trying to work through all of this, and on top of that, her boyfriend broke up with her in last night's episode, seemingly because being with her when she has cancer seemed just too hard for him. Please note that I am not making a value judgment of the guy -- it just was very sad to watch her, trying to be upbeat during a Passover dinner, when she knew that she needed to tell her mother about the scan results after the guests had gone. I'm hoping that the rest of the series shows a happy ending for Dr. Rose.

My dear friend and law school buddy Mike is quoted in this National Law Journal article on the DOJ's planned changes to immigration appeals. He's also been asked to assist Senator Kennedy's staff with the creation of an immigration bill. I'm so proud!

A student in Peoria, Arizona plagiarized, failed tests, and skipped classes,so her parents hired a lawyer to intimidate her teacher into passing her. It's stories like this that make me embarrassed to be an attorney.

And you thought you were bored at work...this guy made $95,000 a year as a geologist at Argonne National Labs, and he did literally nothing all day. He apparently isn't the only one. He and six other white men have filed suit, claiming that they were shunted aside in favor of minorities.

Congratulations to Kerry and Rich on the birth of their daughter, Aislin Brook, last night. Mom, dad and baby are doing fine, and I am just so thrilled for all of them! Kerry is one of the few journalers/bloggers I have actually had the privilege of meeting, and she is just a wonderfully sweet, funny person. Hooray!

I've believed that Allen Iverson was a punk and a thug since he was at Georgetown, long before he ever played for Philadelphia. It's just appalling to me that this level of media coverage is being given to a criminal who thinks he's a role model for today's youth. Oh, and by the way: I don't think that most fairy-tale marriages result in the husband throwing the naked wife out on the street in the middle of the night, followed by the husband breaking into his cousin's apartment with a gun to look for said wife.

And then, hey, when you're under house arrest, what's an NBA star to do? That's right. Throw a house party. And include your new Rottweiler puppy in all the fun, too! I wasn't invited, and I'm feeling kind of left out.

The Answer? I think not. What a punkass.

Today? Sucked. For a variety of reasons.

I also found out tonight that, sadly, my husband does not, nay, REFUSES, to Swiff.

Pssst...someone updated!

WHEDONesque is live! With Naked Giles!

I'm in the midst of redyeing my hair to try to rectify the stripey horror of last weekend. It didn't look bad in the light here at home, but in the fluorescent light of my office, I had a Bozo the Clown-ish orangey thing going on, and it was Not. Good.

We've not done much this weekend, mostly because I've been exhausted and feeling under the weather. I played a whole lot of Diablo II yesterday, which I haven't done in a while, and then managed to get showered and dressed in time for a yummy meal at the deservedly well-reviewd Mexicali Rose. Then we met up with my paralegal and her husband at the local ice-cream institution, Applegate Farm. A double scoop of vanilla fudge on a sugar cone cures most ills, I think.

Today, as I mentioned, I'm covered in dye. When I'm done with that, we're going to head over into Fairfield to see if we can find a futon and frame so that we can get the upstairs den/guest room into some semblance of order.

I'm also looking forward to a new episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law tonight. I'm so easily amused.

The color that my hair turns after I've finished with the color remover but before I've redyed it is really, really frightening.

Google! DayPop! This is my blogchalk: English, United States, New Jersey, Montclair, Heather, Female, 31-35!

We're the pirates who don't do anything
We just sit at home and lay around
And if you ask us to do anything
We'll just tell you

We don't do anything

I got out of work around 2:30, and now that I'm home, I'm ill. That's just fucking wonderful.

For all you fanfic writers: The Mary Sue Generator!

Sorry for the lack of posting. I've worked approximately 49 hours over the last four days, and I can't even think straight any more.

The Florida attorney general has issued investigative subpoenas to Eli Lilly & Co., Walgreen's, and several medical providers in connection with patients in Florida receiving unsolicited Prozac through the mail. A woman who received the drug has already filed an invasion of privacy suit against Lilly, Walgreen's, and her physician.

A diabetic teacher showing his high school students how to draw a blood sample apparently allowed about 24 seventh-graders to share the same needle, according to school officials. The school will pay for HIV and hepatitis testing for the students. The teacher, who is now retired, will not face any disciplinary action.

Oh, no. No 'N Sync members in 'Rent'. Please, no.

Bye, Kvetch. I'll miss you.

You've GOT to be kidding me.
"I'm totally financially irresponsible! Send me more money!"

Potential jurors in Snohomish County, Washington, were inadvertently told via a recorded message to report to Superior Court for orientation at 5 a.m., and 70 people arrived to find a cold, unlit room. The court staffer who made the error showed up and tearfully apologized, garnering a round of applause from the jury pool.

This morning, I am surfing eBay, sanctioned by the boss, in order to determine whether any of our trademarks are being infringed upon. I've come across one item so far, and am in the process of joining eBay's Verified Owner program in order to get the auction pulled, as well as to receive warnings of future auctions containing materials which bear our trademarks or service marks. My job is really amazingly cool sometimes.

The Eastern District of Virginia is releasing Zacarias Moussaoui's pleadings in his criminal case. They're scanned handwritten documents, but definitely an interesting read.

Hendrik Hertzberg has a nice essay in the New Yorker about the history behind the Pledge of Allegiance. (via How Appealing)

I've really had a wonderful weekend. Friday, I worked in the morning and then we picked up the in-laws and drove them to JFK for their annual summer jaunt to Ireland. Dave's mom also gave me a used copy of this book; I'm not really sure what that was all about. Anyway. I then took my usual Friday afternoon nap, and decided to pass on the evening out that Dave and his brother had planned. Instead, I highlighted my hair and did my nails.

Yesterday, we were up early, so that we could stop off at my parents' house to pick up our wedding photo album (which I had left for mom to show off) before heading to Limerick to a barbecue/anniverary party for our friends. We had a great time sitting on the deck in the sun, eating hot dogs and stuff, and then retiring to their finished basement to play some pool. God, do I suck at pool. I used to be really good, but when you haven't played at all in a few years, it sure does show. Sheesh.

We also got to see the digital pictures that our friends had taken of the webcast of our wedding. Yes, they took pictures of the various cams and of the chat room that our viewers were kibitzing in. It was so funny to see their commentary along with the time-lapse of the ceremony. I'm so glad that they thought to do that.

We rolled into the house in time to catch the end of Disintegrator Radio, and then crashed out. Today, we decided to go to yet another New Jersey Jackals game, where I got some sun and subsequently some new freckles. Unfortunately, the Jackals lost, but it was fun nonetheless. Now I'm contemplating laundry, and planning to sack out on the couch with the New York Times. I had to go over to the cvs and buy a copy, because although I ostensibly subscribe to the Saturday and Sunday editions, I haven't received a paper in two weeks. I called and made a complaint today about it, asking that the paper be placed on the porch instead of almost in the street as it usually ends up when it's delivered at all. Grrrrrr.

So I found out tonight just as we were arriving home from our lovely and fun jaunt to PA that Lou Lamoriello has seen fit to trade my favorite player to Anaheim. To say that I am slightly upset would be a great big fat lie.

And my hair. Ugh. I tried the home highlighting today, and this resulted in stripiness of a high degree, which you can see on the cam. Tomorrow I will be exacting damage control.

I'm one of the poor shlubs who actually had to come into work today -- well, I could have taken a vacation day, but why blow a whole one of those when I could come in for three hours and have some peace and quiet?

Unfortunately, many of my coworkers decided that today was "Bring the Spawn Into the Office to Run Around and Generally Wreak Havoc." Don't get me wrong. I love kids. But really, when I'm trying to get some work done, involving time on the phone with outside counsel, and I've got three eight year olds running up and down the corridor outside of my office screaming, it gets more than a little tiresome.

Happily, I can sprint out of here at noon. Maybe tonight I can recreate the huge entry about Asbury Park that I wrote last night and finished just as my computer suffered a major infarction.

I had heard that Amy Fisher was writing a column, but I was woefully unprepared for the horror that is her "writing."

Which Willy Wonka character are you?

made by

Via Snarkcake.

Do Not. Mess. With Mister Softee.

A chance for me to paper my walls anew with John Taylor photos.

I have to thank overlawyered.com, one of my most visited and respected sites, for its link to this weblog (or should I say "weblawg," Bill?) I'm humbled to be in such great company as the wonderful Howard Bashman, the aforementioned Bag and Baggage, and Ernie the Attorney. I've learned so much from all of you. Congratulations on your anniversary, Overlawyered!

I'm so glad that America West and the FAA have laid the smackdown on the pilots who were legally intoxicated while attempting to fly. Note that one of the pilots already has numerous alcohol-related violations on his record. Lovely.

A Florida woman has sued Eli Lilly after receiving samples of Prozac in the mail. The problem? She never received a prescription for Prozac, and was in fact taking another SSRI at the time. This story highlights the problem of pharmaceutical companies possibly influencing pharmacists to switch patients from one drug to another regardless of the doctor's original prescription. It's also scary to think that this woman's personal medical records were not kept confidential.

I mean, I know my closets are a mess, but come on.

Don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?l

Carry around fake guns, apparently.

I had absolutely no idea that Milton actually spawned the red Swingline stapler.

"Please remove your head from your ass, and proceed to get over yourself. Thank you."

Has Bill Cosby lost his marbles? People are starting to wonder.

Apropos of nothing, I'll highly recommend this 1997 column from the Atlantic Monthly by Ian Frazier, concerning manners at the dinner table. This one had me absolutely *crying* with laughter, especially the part about the cat.

Thanks to Beth for the link.

In an item of local legal interest, a judge in Passaic County, NJ, has upheld a religious, dowry-style contract signed by two Muslims at their marriage is enforceable upon their divorce.

...and now a judge has declared the federal death penalty unconstitutional, finding that it creates an unreasonable risk of executing innocent people.

I didn't think that I could hate the Rangers more than I already do, but I'm confident that Holik isn't worth $45 million. We'll see.

I'm so tired. I'm just so, so tired.

I'm meeting girl again today, with a break for a conference call at 3. I did just ask for Friday off, and my wish was granted, so there's a big plus. We've potentially got a bit of travel in the offing, but nothing set in stone as yet.