Coldplay new album

A friend once described U2's early-90's stuff as their "existentialist period." Sounds like Coldplay is about to enter a similar vein. I, for one, welcome something a little different from Coldplay. Kudos to the band for realizing that "you can't please everyone" and making music they enjoy.

1 in 100?

I haven't studied criminal law much, other than the required courses for graduation. However, this seems like a problem:

"For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report."

And this seems like even more of a problem:

"the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier." (emphasis added)

Like I said, I haven't studied criminal law much, so I don't have any grand solutions for this problem. However, I think it is telling that despite the fact that we lead the world in incarceration, we are not seeing a public safety benefit or a decrease in crime.

Currently Enjoying...

In all fairness to the yin and yang of life, some things I'm enjoying or have recently enjoyed:

Melting Snow.

Sundance Cinemas. Yes, Madison is blessed to be one of the places chosen for a Sundance Cinema. You have to pay a little extra, but the theater is fantastic (you can buy beer, wine and coffee at the concession stand) and the indie film selection is great. Yes, we finally got to see U23D. I thought the 3D would have played a larger role in the filming, but the setlist was great and the crowds at the shows they filmed were electric. Worth the money.

College Basketball. The only thing on tv that can make up for reality television. The TN-Memphis game last weekend was fantastic and the Badgers are definitely exceeding expectations. Should be a fun March.

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century. Picked up this book on CD last week. Very interesting read/listen - glad to be around for globalization 3.0.

International Human Rights Law. The reading load is quite intense, but at least the subject matter is interesting. Hoping to write some interesting papers this semester on human rights related topics.

Meet the Press. Yes, I tivo Meet the Press.

Currently Hating...

Winter. See here.

Marcus Point Cinemas. Our local theater canceled the U2 3D show yesterday because of demand for the Hannah Montana 3D movie. This is wrong on so many levels.

Reality Television. Thank you television writers for allowing this abomination to proliferate during your strike. I'm not blaming you for what you did, I'm just saying...

Counting Crows. I will stop hating you if you a) release your new album already and b) bring your tour somewhere near Madison this summer.

The 150+ pages of reading assigned for International Human Rights Law this week, which is less than what was assigned last week.

Superdelegates.