That was fast: JudgeRoberts.com.

The only issue: After watching two hours of punditry of the nomination of John Roberts, three four things are obvious to me:

1. He’s going to be confirmed. Key reason: His son’s cute little outfit.
2. Despite all the aspects of our lives that can be affected by Supreme Court decisions, the only issue apparently of interest to TV interviewers and the pundits they interview is Roe v. Wade — The CNN promo for its 11:00 p.m. block was this (and this is a direct quote): “Who is he? Where does he stand on abortion? Can he be confirmed?.
3. Never in the history of television has the word “affable” been used more times in two hours.
4. One day, his son will never forgive his mom for dressing him in that cute little outfit.

Washington Post “John Roberts” blog: The paper has launched the Campaign for the Court weblog (complete with comments and trackbacks) and is tracking response to the nomination.

And the winner loser is: The Acura Integra was 2004’s “most stolen vehicle.” One of every 200 registered 1999 Acura Integra’s was stolen last year.

(via: ResourceShelf)

Vetting John Roberts: I’ve been doing some instant background checking on the President’s nomination for the Supreme Court and here are some of the facts I’ve uncovered:

John Roberts perhaps is best known for his long stint as a CBS news correspondent however, he is also a successful business entrepreneur, the founder of two health and beauty facilities in Mayfield Heights and Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Other business ventures of Mr. Roberts are a printing company in Minnesota and a Toyota dealership in Manchester, Tenn.

A noted artist, John Roberts is well-known for his chainsaw woodcarvings. He also practices holistic dentistry.

All his friends think he’s a saint.

Agent-generated subs disqualified: (From
MediaWeek.com) “The Audit Bureau of Circulations today
announced it has disqualified paid subscriptions generated by two sales
agents, a move that will affect the circulations of 100 consumer
magazines, as well as a handful of business titles and newspapers.”

More RSS ads: (via: B-to-B Online) “VNU Business Media Europe on Tuesday announced it has formed a partnership with FeedBurner that will enable it to tap into revenue-generating RSS services for its publishing platforms. It has already run RSS ads placed by FeedBurner from advertisers including Nokia Enterprise Solutions, a division of Nokia, in several VNU feeds.”

“Revenue-generating RSS services for publishing platforms”? Further proof: The MBAs have taken over RSS.

Slate is podcasting: Slate now offers regular weekday podcasts “of one or more of our articles read aloud…Think of this as books on tape—only without the books and without the tape,” they say. If you want to add it to iTunes, click here.

Does anyone know of other magazines (the kind with ink and paper) who are doing this? Not the Audible.com model (I’ve explained it in the past, but can’t find the link), but magazines who are jumping on-board podcasting by, simply, having someone read articles and post them.

Speaking of movies: Wedding Crashers. Laugh therapy. Park your brain at the door. My ribs hurt afterward.

Movies and magazines: The NY Times today has a story about “the decline” of journalists as portrayed in movies. A long time ago on the rexblog, a post about magazines in movies led to this list. Once in a while, I still get e-mails suggesting new movies to add to the list.

What Rance Crain said: (Reg. required) “I predict it won’t be long before movie companies will let people into theaters free to drive DVD sales (especially to movies where they can’t sell many tickets anyway and also to movies loaded with product placements). They would still overcharge for a stale box of popcorn.”