Charging by the Byte to Curb Internet Traffic - NYTimes.com

I'M GLAD WE HAVE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY [ ][ ] WHICH GIVES US UNTOLD OPPORTUNITY [ ] [ ]: Maybe I just went to the wrong pro-market law school, but what's so wrong with the concept that people should pay their Internet usage based on how much of it they use? It works for phone lines, doesn't it?

THE LAST SEASON BEFORE REALITY HIT: While re-reading Jack Lechner's Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You recently, I was reminded that the 1999-2000 network TV schedule might have been the most impressive list of new programs in years--among that year's debuts? L&O: SVU, Once and Again, Angel, Now and Again, The West Wing, and Freaks and Geeks. Also of note? Paula Marshall/David E. Kelley PI show Snoops, Time of Your Life, which marked early major series roles for Jennifer Garner and Pauley Perrette, Get Real, the first major role for Anne Hathaway, Clerks: The Animated Series, and Roswell, the first major TV role for Katherine Heigl. Not a bad year.

AIN'T HE UN-GLAMO-RAYS? Yes, The Incredible Hulk appears to be pleasing crowds, with far more HULK SMASH! and far less HULK SMASH PERSONAL DEMONS! than Ang Lee's version of 5 years ago. (Sadly, no HULK SMASH CORPORATE AMERICA! (tm Phil)) And yes, the final scene, laying still further groundwork for The Avengers, and during which there was loud applause from the audience I saw it with, is awesome. Two big problems--Hulk, by its nature, is dark and heavy. It's not about a man reveling in his powers or having joy in them (e.g., Iron Man, Spider-Man), and there's no counterbalancing hero character there (e.g., the contrast between The Thing and The Human Torch in Fantastic Four), but just grimness and fear.

An even bigger problem is that in a modern Hulk movie, both the hero and the villain (at least in the inevitable big conflict) are going to have to be CGI creations. Part of what has made so many of the superhero movies of recent years memorable is that the heroes and villains are portrayed by actors who make us invest something in them, and when they're doing the heroism or villainy, we at least hear their voices. Big fights between two CGI behemoths (or CGI behemoth and tank) just don't bring that in, especially when the Hulk delivers three lines of comprehensible dialogue in the movie (assuming you count the repeated "line" "ROAR!" as one). The best superhero movies (the original Superman, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, the Singer-directed X-Men movies, Iron Man) depend as much or more on characters who connect with the audience than they do on CGI pyrotechnics. Sadly, Incredible Hulk falls into the latter category.

WE'VE TRIED EACH SPINNING SPACE MOTE AND RECKONED ITS TRUE WORTH: TAKE US BACK AGAIN TO THE HOMES OF MEN, ON THE COOL, GREEN HILLS OF EARTH: Just watched the mid-season finale for Battlestar Galactica. I'll say nothing but in the comments.

TIM RUSSERT (1950-2008): Wow. Dead of an apparent heart attack at the age of 58, and all of us here are stunned, shocked and deeply saddened, and express our sincere condolences to his wife Maureen and his family.

For those of us who love politics, the past eighteen months have been a thrilling roller coaster and Russert loved being at the center of it all. Indeed, when he pronounced, on the night of Indiana and North Carolina, that "We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be, and no one is going to dispute it," his stature was such that it did, effectively, end the competitive part of the race.

58. Damn. I need to hit that treadmill tonight, and tomorrow, and the next day ...

e.t.a., 5:31pm: Via commenter Chris Wilson:

I asked Adam if I could write about Tim Russert's passing for a moment. I interned at "Meet The Press" last spring, and while my contact with Tim was limited to groggy Sunday mornings and the occasional trip down to his office (the "MTP" offices are on the third floor, Tim's office is right next to the newsroom on the first), he was never anything but the down to earth, nice guy that you'd be led to believe he was watching him on television. Everyone in the entire building just called him Tim – I don't think I ever heard the words Mr. Russert uttered - and he was beyond personable to everyone that came to watch the show. My parents still talk about how wonderful he was to them when they came late in the semester to visit, and my mom e-mailed the picture of all of us to everyone in her address book.

As I watch MSNBC and the parade of NBC personalities that are bravely eulogizing him, eyes red and voice cracking, I think about the staff behind the scenes. I can't imagine how they're handling this, and I dare not consider calling them in this time, because it really was like a family. There were only six permanent staff members on "MTP," all incredibly talented and some of the best people I know. I was just down there on Wednesday, right outside of Big Russ' office, to figure some stuff out for work, as I'll be doing the Desk Assistant program there in a month or so. As it slowly dawned on me how poor and busy I would be for the foreseeable future, it all seemed worth it as I would be working for a legend like Tim and have the capability to wander upstairs and visit the staff he had so masterfully groomed and who treated me so well.

I don't really know what the point of this whole thing was other than to say that Tim was as great of a person as everyone at NBC is telling you he was. My favorite memory will be after my last show, where I was standing around with another intern talking to him and he joked that he already had a Notre Dame degree, and got it with significantly less work, because he gave the commencement speech there a few years ago. Here he was, perhaps the most well-known journalist in the world, taking the time after the show on a beautiful DC spring day to BS with two college kids he very well might never see again.

Rest in peace, Big Russ. The fact you're not getting to see this historic election through to the end is a shame, but no one will ever talk about political journalism without thinking of him.

"IF THAT MOLE IS GONE, IT'S NOT KELLY": Six-plus years after the videotape in question was sent to our friend Jim DeRogatis, the ALOTT5MA Urophilia Desk reports that R. Kelly has been acquitted of all charges by a Chicago jury this afternoon after 7 1/2 hours of deliberation.

The decision of the alleged victim not to cooperate with the prosecution, no doubt, was a problem. More from the Sun-Times, Tribune.

e.t.a. For context, Bill Wyman review Kelly's history of sexual interest in and out-of-court settlements with underage girls, none of which, I believe, was presented to the jury.

PLEASE PICK UP THE LOBSTER PHONE: Salvador Dali on What's My Line? is just as bizarre as one might expect.