These items will be dripping in today as there’s a lot on my list of “to-do’s” beyond the blog.

THE SOTOMAYOR CHRONICLES
Yesterday’s hearing went on for 8 hours. I saw/heard up to 6 on the pool feed, but was fortunate to witness a reversal of fortune where life imitates art. Judge Sotomayor broke through the fourth wall with an “Annie Hall” moment — the scene where Alvy (Woody Allen) and Annie (Diane Keaton) are standing in a movie theater line while a Columbia University professor pontificates film criticism ending with a comment about the media theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911 – 1980). Alvy just happens to have the real Marshall McLuhan behind a billboard for a cameo appearance.

Watch the clip (“Annie Hall,” 1977, directed by Woody Allen):

And now….
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), in an effort to discredit Judge Sotomayor based on her “wise Latina” speech, referenced Judge Miriam Cedarbaum (a Reagan nominee to the bench) whom, Session said, “believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices.”

Sotomayor responds: “My friend Judge Cedarbaum is here….We are good friends, and I believe that we both approach judging in the same way, which is looking at the facts of each individual case and applying the law to those facts.”

According to Washington Monthly, Judge Cedarbaum reported back to the Wall Street Journal: “I don’t believe for a minute that there are any differences in our approach to judging, and her personal predilections have no affect on her approach to judging.”

Yes, life can be like this.

WORTH THE READ – ROLLING STONE
Summer is the most agonizing bore of a season for magazine reading. Since I don’t own a grill, the foodie magazines don’t even appeal to me. Press pause until September. But based on recent events, I suppose some have the ways and means to catch a 2nd wind in this shrinking print media market especially periodicals that cater to the celebrity or entertainment reader. Rolling Stone is one of the few magazines that never waits for September. This month, they rolled out a commemorative Michael Jackson issue. Not only does it include a fine overview of the music, artistry, mania, and manic mania that was Michael Jackson, it includes a reprint of Rolling Stone’s 1983 interview by Gerri Hirshey. While flipping through the Rolling Stone I realized I know nearly every Jackson 5 or Michael Jackson song recorded including lyrics. Was I a life-long fan and didn’t know it? Hmmm.