Mid-week Links

Most people don’t understand sarcasm.  At Psychcentral, via Andrew Sullivan:

the majority of people — 55 percent — who responded to this survey thought they were giving an example of a sarcastic remark they made, when in fact what they gave was a non-sarcastic remark!

Also via Andrew Sullivan, a “Dark ‘n’ Stormy” is made from:

two ounces of Gosling’s Black Seal rum and a fizzy hit of ginger beer.

And, by law, nothing but.

That’s according to two trademark certificates on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which — in an exceptionally rare instance in the cocktail world — dictate the precise ingredients and amounts required to call a Dark ‘n’ Stormy, well, a Dark ‘n’ Stormy.

“We defend that trademark vigorously, which is a very time-consuming and expensive thing,” said E. Malcolm Gosling Jr., whose family has owned Gosling’s since its founding in Bermuda in 1806. “That’s a valuable asset that we need to protect.”

But this runs counter to the current bartending trend of putting creative individual spins on traditional drinks.  See this discussion at Liquidity Preference.

Real insurance for fantasy league owners. From the Wall Street Journal (HT: Tyler Cowen):

[T]wo Long Island insurance brokers have developed a way for the fantasy owner to experience the bittersweet taste of an insurance payout when their superstar goes down with a season-ending injury. . . . Now owners of fake teams can now protect themselves against the injuries of real players with actual insurance policies.

Lessig.org/blog goes on sabbatical. Related: The Life Expectancy of A Legal Blog at Drug and Device Law Blog:

Even the academics can't do it! The professors can't feed their blogs; it's too much work.

And those guys spend their lives wearing tweed jackets, smoking pipes, and thinking great thoughts!

Via Paul Caron, Arizona State is hosting the Aspiring Law Professors Conference on October 17, 2009, designed for Visiting Assistant Professors and Fellows who plan to go on the academic teaching market.

Via the Washington Post, ethical debates on tourism to areas where women are expected to wear traditional costume, which is often uncomfortable, painful, or disfiguring. 

Henry at Crooked Timber on The Market For Predictions.

Via the New York Times, using sentiment analysis to gauge feelings, opinions, and predict future events.

Tom Bell at MoneyLaw on How Top-Ranked Law Schools Got That Way, Pt. 2.

Via Property Law Prof, Yale University Press has just released Lee Anne Fennell’s book The Unbounded Home. 

Comments

[Eric Fink]

Surely there is an important article to be written on cocktails as intellectual property. Anyway, a Dark 'n' Stormy is very nice.

[Kim Krawiec]

We should only write articles about cocktails from here on out.

[Eric Fink]

Cocktails and fishing.