Justin Hall twittered this website:

"The Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition has joined BlueServo in a public-private partnership to deploy the Virtual Community Watch, an innovative real-time surveillance program designed to empower the public to proactively participate in fighting border crime. The TBSC BlueServo Virtual Community Watch is a network of cameras and sensors along the Texas-Mexico border that feeds live streaming video to www.BlueServo.net. Users will log in to the BlueServo website and directly monitor suspicious criminal activity along the border via this virtual fence."

Question Copyright has a 42-minute interview with Paley on the heartbreak of having to strangle her acclaimed art.

After pouring three years of her life into making the film, and having great success with audiences at festival screenings, she now can't distribute it, because of music licensing issues: the film uses songs recorded in the late 1920's by singer Annette Hanshaw, and although the recordings are out of copyright, the compositions themselves are still restricted. That means if you want to make a film using these songs from the 1920s, you have to pay money — a lot of money.

It's a classic example of how today's copyright system suppresses art, effectively forcing artists to make creative choices based on licensing concerns rather than on their artistic vision.

The music in Sita Sings The Blues is integral to the film: entire animation sequences were done around particular songs. As Nina says in the interview, incorporating those particular recordings was part of her inspiration. To tell her — as many people did — to simply use different music would have been like telling her not to do the film at all. And that's part of her point: artists "internalize the permission culture", which in turn affects the kinds of art they make.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
While we properly view this as satire today, I would bet my 1940s rollerskates key that down the decades there will be an internet connective device like this. The world does go around and around, don’t you know.

PureSolo.com is a site and free downloadable software that enables musicians to play along to a wide variety of professional, original and well-known music tracks, then record and share the music.

According to the press release, PureSolo.com was founded by a mixture of entrepreneurs who included ex-Goldman Sachs financiers, and a professional trumpeter who has played with everyone from Ray Charles, to Kylie, and albums like Pet Shop Boys ‘Very’ and Tina Turner’s ‘Simply The Best’.

What do you think? Are these the backing tracks you’ve been looking for? Go to the site, download the software, mess about with it - and come back and report!

Post from: New Music Ideas

Modern Marvels

After seeing the post on Palm’s official blog about the airing of a new episode of the History Channel’s Modern Marvels featuring the Treo line of smartphones, I promptly scheduled a recording on my DVR at 4:00PM and 9:00PM (redundancy is to ensure that I would get it!).

It’s nice to see Palm products being featured on TV, right? Click on the YouTube link to watch the clip!

Related Links

Palm’s Blog Post

Modern Marvels: Retro Tech

Watch the clip on YouTube

Sonneschein is the latest firm to adopt a creative approach to associate compensation during the financial crisis. The firm announced bonuses that can go much higher then their peer firms, but also announced a salary freeze.

First the bonus news:

We are pleased to announce that Associate productivity bonuses for 2008 range from $10,000 to $70,000. The Policy and Planning Committee has approved the attached bonus schedule which, as we have discussed during recent Firmwide Associate meetings, remains unchanged from last year and includes a step up for seniority. These bonus levels will result in some of our Associates receiving significantly higher bonuses than their peers at many of the firms with whom we compete for talent and clients, and reflect our strong belief that it is important to recognize and reward our most productive Associates.

You don't often see a firm go the "significantly higher bonuses than their peers" language. Clearly, Sonneschein wants its people to know they are valued.

However, no firm is an island in this economic storm. The salary freeze reflects that reality:

With respect to our Associate salary schedule, Policy and Planning has concluded, after consultation with our Practice Group Leaders and Office Managing Partners and consideration of marketplace and client factors that, effective January 1, 2009, Associates moving to the next class year in 2009 will continue to receive the same base compensation as they did in 2008.

As with Quinn Emanuel, the top bonuses are available for highest billers. But, if you were a top biller, the extra bonus offsets the lack of a pay raise.

But perhaps the larger point here is that every firm needs to come up with individualized answers to the economic client. Sonneschein laid off 25 attorney, acquired 100 Thacher Proffitt attorneys, is paying very high bonuses to associates who bill more than 2450 hours, and is freezing associate salaries. Put another way, Sonneschein is just another entity trying to navigate through the new economy as best it can until things settle down.

Read the full memo after the jump.

We are grateful to each of you for your many contributions to the Firm, including the time and
passion you invest in our clients, your engagement in the Firm's diversity and pro bono initiatives, and your commitment to enhancing the communities in which we live and work.

Today, the Firm is announcing Associate productivity bonuses for 2008 and Associate compensation for 2009. Despite the global economic turmoil that has affected all sectors of the
legal industry, Sonnenschein is positioned to grow and thrive in 2009 and beyond. We have
aligned our capabilities and teams to meet projected client needs in the new economy, invested in diverse practices and client teams, and continued to focus on the creation of opportunities for
Associate training, mentoring and career advancement.

2008 Associate Bonus Program

We are pleased to announce that Associate productivity bonuses for 2008 range from $10,000 to
$70,000. The Policy and Planning Committee has approved the attached bonus schedule which,
as we have discussed during recent Firmwide Associate meetings, remains unchanged from last
year and includes a step up for seniority. These bonus levels will result in some of our Associates receiving significantly higher bonuses than their peers at many of the firms with
whom we compete for talent and clients, and reflect our strong belief that it is important to
recognize and reward our most productive Associates. Full time, on track Associates who meet
productivity levels will be paid bonuses with the end of January payroll according to our usual
schedule.

2009 Associate Salaries

With respect to our Associate salary schedule, Policy and Planning has concluded, after
consultation with our Practice Group Leaders and Office Managing Partners and consideration of
marketplace and client factors that, effective January 1, 2009, Associates moving to the next
class year in 2009 will continue to receive the same base compensation as they did in 2008.
After the first of the year, as in the past, you will receive a memo with your individual base
compensation.

As you well know, 2008 has been the most challenging year for law firms in many decades.
Lawyers and professionals at every level in the Firm -- and in our peer firms -- have been impacted by the economic turndown. However, our prudent financial management and
discipline in executing our strategic plan has allowed us to continue to attract and retain
outstanding lawyers and capitalize on growth opportunities.

Our vision is to create an environment that inspires the talent and clients that continue to fuel
Sonnenschein's success. Over the past year, 65 exceptionally talented and profitable partners
made the decision to bring their practices to Sonnenschein, and they are a key part of our
strategic expansion. In the last two years, we've added four new offices -- Charlotte, Dallas,
Silicon Valley and Zurich -- and grown both historic and new practices and offices. We will
dramatically enhance our national and international transactional and finance capabilities with
the addition of approximately 100 partners and associates from Thacher Proffitt on January 1st.

As the world has changed, we have adapted accordingly. We appreciate your continued commitment to our clients and the Firm, and look forward to a strong 2009.

Chicago, Dallas, DC, NJ, NY, SF, LA, SV and PHX
2008 Bonuses to be paid in 2009

Creditable Hours Bonuses

Class 2050 Hours 2150 Hours 2250 Hours 2350 Hours 2450 Hours
2001+ $25,000 $34,000 $44,000 $56,000 $70,000
2002 $25,000 $33,000 $42,000 $53,000 $65,000
2003 $25,000 $32,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000
2004 $20,000 $27,000 $35,000 $45,000 $55,000
2005 $20,000 $26,000 $33,000 $41,000 $50,000
2006 $15,000 $21,000 $28,000 $36,000 $45,000
2007 $15,000 $20,000 $25,000 $32,000 $40,000

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of associate bonuses
Prior ATL coverage of salary freezes

In our first two installments of 2008 law school stories, we looked back at our favorite law school students of the year and important trends. For our third post in the series of four, we're indulging in one of our favorite topics: law school listservs.

When tightly-wound law students use the e-mail list as their forum for airing grievances, the back-and-forth can get rather catty. A mixture of Type A personalities, the desire to procrastinate, and extreme law school stress has resulted in some explosive exchanges in 2008.

Whether you call them list servs, list serves, listservs, listserves, list-servs, or list-serves, we call them extremely amusing. Find out which three law schools made the "Best of" listserv list, after the jump.

Tales from these three schools may make you think twice, thrice, four times before sending out your next listserv e-mail. In ascending order of audacity, we give you the best law school listservs of 2008.

3. Yale Law School: Yale may top the US News law school rankings, but it barely made the bottom of our listserv listing with its "Prissy Chicks of YLS" exchange. One alliterative YLS student, tired of having her bottom "dampened by prissy potty puddles," blasted the listserv with a plea for other women to either sit their asses down on the toilet seat whilst peeing or to wipe the seat of droplets sent flying after squatting.

We loved that this was sent out on the listserv, rather than written on a note inside the offending stalls. Ah, the inefficient beauty of the modern electronic age. The responses ranged from sympathy, to "this is inappropriate for The Wall," to passing the blame--undergrads have access to the bathroom too, one respondent claimed, while another said the droplets were sprayed by the "force of the vacuum" when those particular toilets are flushed.

Revisit the exchange here. If it makes you laugh until you pee, please make sure to wipe up any droplets.

2. American University Washington College of Law WCL's listserv makes our list for the rejection it suffered. A WCL student who transferred to Harvard Law School decided to rub the noses of the entire listserv in the good news, while asking how to get off the now irrelevant listserv. Said student wrote:

How do I get off this listserv? I transferred to Harvard, and have no need to continue receiving emails from WCL.

Amusing, yes, but not enough to make number two on the listserv list. The Washington College of Law got an extra bump from another electronic communication exchange: Kids These Days: Or, Why You Should Always Sign Out of a Public Computer.

In that instant message exchange, inadvertently left on a public computer, two rambunctious WCL students discussed their plans for a blow job appointment. Very romantic. The chat made the rounds around school, and eventually found a home here at ATL.

1. University of Michigan Law School: The University of Michigan listserv was a gift that kept on giving this year. Many an exchange found its way to the ATL inbox in 2008:

As always, please send hilarious law school listserv e-mails to tips@abovethelaw.com.

Earlier: 'Prissy potty puddles' on the Yale Law School list-serv
American University / Harvard Law Student Adopts More Fire, Less Bridges Platform
Kids These Days: Or, Why You Should Always Sign Out of a Public Computer
'How To Handle This?' (By not sending out over the law school list-serv?)
The Voracious Wolverine
Michigan 2L Responds
Michigan Law School Circles The Wagons (Almost)

What a day! While Apple was busy announcing, relatively speaking, nothing at MacWorld, 4Chan, the bad boys of the Internet, went ahead and hacked MacRumors’ live coverage of the show; Twitter freaked out, which is to be expected. Hardly confusing wrechedness.

It is, however, another high profile “hack,” following Facebook’s and Twitter’s own problems with phishing in recent days. (How people still fall for phishing, I don’t know.) That said, I can’t help but think that many of my fellow Apple watchers went overboard with their reaction to the hack.

Shortly after the keynote began, vandalism started to appear in MacRumors’ commentary. It was mainly childish nonsense—I can understand how people might think the Steve Jobs lines were insensitive, though—that, while annoying, isn’t worth losing any sleep over. (This comment on MacRumor’s message board made me laugh: “The folks who hacked in are straight up losers who have nothing better to do with their pathetic lives.” Casting stones, I see! What is so noble, then, about reading a live stream of a series of product announcements?)

The only people that should be upset is the MacRumors crew, primarily because MacWorld, one would think, is their biggest day of the year; Lord knows their advertisers won’t be too thrilled to learn that the site was so terribly insecure, and have subsequently been associated with this tomfoolery. But for everyone else, the people who reacted as if the sun suddenly ran out of helium, chill out. You were briefly, marginally inconvenienced; you had to wait a few more minutes, or visit another site, to learn that iWork now lets you share documents, for a fee.

In summary: calm down, friends.

If you’re in the middle of converting your DVD library to the next big good-for-a-few-years TOTALLY FUTURE PROOF medium, this may take a bit of the sting off. From today until January 16th, Amazon is giving away one Blu-ray disc for every two that you buy.

The deal doesn’t appear to include the entirety of Amazon’s 3,000+ deep Blu-ray library, but there are plenty of worthy movies in there to make use of the deal at least a time or two. Pro Tip: Do not pick The Mist as your free movie. That movie sucked something horrible.

Check out the full list of eligible discs here.