They Settled Virginia Tech Today

They've reached a settlement in the Virginia Tech killings, and the Judge approved the agreement today. I'm not sure how I feel about this, or what I think.

I hope that these 24 families get some closure from today's ruling. What happened on that campus was such a horror, with so many of the victims, so young. So many years stolen from them.

I think about the legal fees. I wonder what the cut was. Forty percent - fifty? Plus expenses before the families see a dime? That's not unreasonable, that's sorta standard these days. How much of that $11 million will the 24 families really get?

I think about litigation from a legal perspective, and how being an attorney turned into a business somewhere in the past 30 years or so, and reading this newstory today makes me sad.

Did anyone sue the University of Texas after the sniper, Charles Whitman, shot students at random from the Tower? Did anyone ever seriously think to do so?

How responsible can any university truly be when someone with a severe mental illness turns violent?

Do we, as a society, really think money is this powerful and important?

Just some of the things I'm pondering this evening. My condolences to everyone who was harmed by the Virginia Tech Tragedy, as well.

Starting Over Heroes: Colonel Sanders and William Shatner

Colonel Sanders did not even BEGIN his chicken-selling business until he was 66 years old. I like that -- and he did so out of need: he had been running a service station and selling his fried chicken on the side for several years, when an interstate highway was completed that routed traffic away from his station and forced him to close. He used $105 from his first Social Security check to fund his new project, and began his KFC business out of his pickup, driving around and selling chicken that he was frying up in the back of the truck. Within a couple of years, he sold the franchise for $2 million and remained involved as company spokesman until his death at age 90.

William Shatner was a Shakespearean actor who had appeared several times on Broadway when he got the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek. After its three-year run, he couldn't find work elsewhere - he'd been typecast as Kirk - and concurrently with the show ending, his wife divorced him. Soon, Shatner was living out of a camper-covered pickup truck, and finding gigs doing special appearances at kid's parties to make ends meet. He had to start over at age 44 - he kept on moving forward, and appeared in guest star slots in Columbo, and other tv shows, as well as on game shows, and got his second big break when he was 51, in the TV show TJ Hooker. He's gone on to write lots of science fiction books, win Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his role as Denny Crane on Boston Legal, achieve respect in horse circles for his thoroughbred ranches, and while his spoken-word album has been the source of lots of laughs, he's actually gained respect in jazz circles for his second album, which had lots of famous folk participating in it (Joe Jackson, Ben Folds).

Now Here's An Innovative Judge - $1000000 for 1 month

Wow. Lou Pearlman, con artist of boy band fame (Backstreet Boys, 'NSync, O'Town), was sentenced today to 300 months incarceration - with the proviso from the Judge that one month would be knocked off the sentence for each $1,000,000 that Pearlman provided in restitution.

Since Pearlman was found to have looted $300 million from his victims, the Judge pointed out, this was conceivable a Get Out of Jail Free card.

I'm lovin' this Judge -- of course, Pearlman has to still HAVE the money for this to be anything more than cocktail party fodder.

For more info, including the sentencing statement and the judge's comments from the bench, go here.

While You Watch American Idol I Will Be Watching NCIS

What is it about American Idol -- Idull --- I just don't care anymore.

I don't know that I'd watch this finale week anyway, but I know that there's no decision to be made now, CBS has made it for me:

I've got to watch the two-hour finale of NCIS.

I love Mark Harmon, I admit it. Plus, all the characters are moving along nicely.

And, fine: I admit to playing Man from Uncle as a young child, back when Ducky was so cool and hip as Illya Kuryakin. (I got to play the Girl from Uncle when we were tired of riding our bikes thru the streets, towel-capes flying, playing Batman ... I was Catwoman ...ah, the good old days.)

Okay, back to reality. We all knows that one of the main cast members is being killed off. I'm voting that it's the Director that dies tonight. Makes good sense plot-wise, and besides: I will sooooooo ticked off if it's anyone else.

Kenny Chesney - Right or Wrong?

You know, when I first read that Kenny Chesney was all over the way he won his 4th Entertainer of the Year Award, I thought "idiot ... now I understand why Renee Zellweger dumped this guy...."

In case you missed it, Chesney said (according to Reuters), "I don't think it's right that they picked the one award that means the most, that all artists sacrificed the most for, and turned it into ... a sweepstakes, to seeing who can push people's buttons the hardest on the Internet. It's a complete disrespect of the artists. I think because of that it really diminishes the integrity of the work."

Then I thought about it, considered the whole, boring (and am I the only one who wonders if American Idol is rigged) American Idol finale this week, and I've decided he's right.

Lawyers know who the good lawyers are -- artists would be the best to pick the cream of their crop, too.