Things I Don't Hate

This year's Ig Nobels are out!

This is an astute move. I cannot tell how pleased I was by the Supreme Court's decision earlier this year to invalidate patents on isolated human genes or alleles. I don't know how extensive patent trolling really is, but many of the high-profile patent-infringement lawsuits seem to involve it, to the public detriment (e.g., NTP's threat to interrupt BlackBerry service). To me it is a symptom of what seems a legalistic (rather than just) economic and political climate, leading to public injury. Anyway, the first link of this bullet won't be a panacea and it isn't reform, but it's a start. If only there were a way to do something similar with copyright.

What I think of movies of within 3 months of now:

• There are too damn many 3D movies. A movie that is unappealing in 2D is sure as hell not going to be appealing with a price premimum of 25–50%. And here I'm only referring to new releases: 3D re-releases are even less appealing.
• Limited-release flicks that interested me enough to see: The Intouchables, To Rome With Love, Chicken With Plums, Farewell My Queen, Moonrise Kingdom
• Flicks to the opening of which I am looking forward: Anna Karenina, Frankenweenie
• Flicks the to the opening of which I am indifferent: Beasts of the Southern Wild (despite the fact that the little girl reminds me very much of my niece), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Life of Pi, Hotel Transylvania (I'm not actually indifferent to this: I'm hostile), ParaNorman, End of Watch