Mackenzie's Weblog

Case

Crime and Federalism has an interesting Guest Post that is both entertaining and educational. I suggest checking it out.

Taunting

I had a good friday catblogging post ready, but due to an inexplicable hardware disappearance (I suspect that cats, ironically, had something to do with it), I am unable to get the pictures off my camera.

So, instead, a little comparison shopping:

That is all.

Note from the promised land

It's been a couple days since my last entry, obviously. I'd like to say that I've been having a whirlwind, fabulous time. It's been fun, but not all clubs and music, it's mostly been sniffling and sneezing. That's right, my first cold in nearly two years.

That's right, I've been sick. Not bedridden, please-kill-me sick, more of a can't-sleep-well, hack-hack kind of sick. And as much as I'd like to think that I picked up something on the plane, chances are good that I picked it up before I left. I even have a likely candidate or two in mind.

Anyway, it has actually still been rather pleasant. I've not had anything urgent to do and the worst part of the cold hit me when the weather was a bit unpleasant anyway. We still went to Magazine street (I got a load of sock yarn and some new needles - must make new socks) and will probably wander around the French Quarter a bit tomorrow.

Probably the only thing I really hate was the automatic thought I had when I realized I was sick: at least it isn't during the semester. Sad.

Christmas Blog

Well, I'm just about to go to bed on Christmas. It's been a totally strange holiday, but today was really cool. Not only did I make out like a bandit, but I had fun with the MackenzieFamily. I scored an awful lot of things on my wish list, including Vampire: Bloodlines, a wireless mouse, The Return of the King, Babylon 5: Crusade, and some cartoons, among other things.

Not too shabby, and I can fit it all in my luggage. We even had snow today, the first time in 10 years from what I hear. It should be warming up by Monday, though, and it looks like we'll be heading to the beach, so there. Oh, plus my friend found my present that I hid with a series of clues in my house. That's awesome, too.

Anyway, must to bed. I'm gettin over a cold, so rest is important. I hope everyone had a good time, despite the religious overtones and the commercial bent of this and any holiday season.

Friday Catblogging!

Well, my server seems to be working fine, so now I can do my Friday Catblogging. Granted, a little late, but such is the way. I'm going forward because we have a new feature this week: Who Wants a Kitten?

A little background. For those familiar with the New Orleans area, you may know that there are an awful lot of spare cats around. MackenzieMom has a bit of a soft spot for animals, which will come as no surprise to those who know me; I had to get it somewhere.

Anyway, when my parents moved there, MackenzieMom started collecting cats. The process went something like, see a cat, feed him, neuter him. Over time (and with the addition of a few pregnant strays) the collection of cats grew. Currently they have a quite nice setup including an enclosed porch (complete with space heaters) with an outdoor cat-run accessible through a pet door.

To the point, recently they took on a pregnant stray who had a litter of two kittens. Naturally, MackenzieMom is reluctant to add to the approximately 78 cats currently residing in and around the house. She is therefore currently looking for people to take on the kittens. Spaying/Neutering is a mandatory condition of the adoption. Also, you'll have to go to New Orleans to get them. The kittens are currently about seven weeks old (a couple of the pictures are from earlier), so are ripe for adoption. If you're interested, look to the link to the right and email me. A vigorous screening process applies.

Also, a few of the grown-up cats may be available.

So, without further ado, I present the Kittens (Click for a larger image):

Thought on the Law

In showing my mother my open memo, I came to a little bit of a realization. I asked if she would like to read it, and she essentially questioned whether she'd be able to understand it. The thing is, the way I was taught, anyone should be able to understand a memo like that. I dismissed that concern and she read it and had no trouble following it.

This made a minor impact as I realized something: the law is not that hard to understand. No, really! We may dive into some complicated, subtle points from time to time, but really most people could read a SCOTUS opinion comprehend the essentials.

The trouble comes with trying to use the law. That's what requires skill, and that's where the real value of legal education comes in.

I've started thinking as the law as a sword. Everyone can look at it and understand in a basic way how it works. Point the sharp end towards someone and go. In many cases, someone who doesn't know how to use it may be able to crudely get it to accomplish their goals, but that will come to naught when that person comes against a true practitioner trained in it's use. That's where the skill comes in, and that's when you see the subtle beauty of the sparring of two skilled weilders of their tools.

I'm a bit of a romantic, so this image really resounds with me.

[Up Next: Friday Catblogging: Who Wants a Kitten?]

More on Blogging

The Volokh Conspiracy mentions something about the student blogging thing (see below). The gist is to always assume that your professors read what you write. I do. If I am critical, I suppose it's because I consider it constructive, and I sort of assume that most professors wouldn't mind. I mean, I don't say anything on the blog I wouldn't say in class, it just seems easier to avoid taking up class time with funny quotes.

The Guest Blogger and memory lane

Somebody please tell me why something like classmates.com exists?

Personally, I think that they exist just to clog up my email box and to take money from people who are still stuck in high school. It seems to me that the growing trend is to not go to your high school graduation, but instead skip it and feel basically nothing. The thing is that I keep in contact with the people I want to from high school. Luckily for me, they just happen to be married to each other.

There are relationships that I had in high school that I don't even want to think about again; neither do I want to be reminded of them weekly by classmates.com. How did these people even get my email address? They're worse than my student loan people. But I like my student loan people, to be quite honest. If you have a loan with WSLC you're lucky, they're incredibly nice while they're taking your very last cent -- the one you'd been hoping to buy a crumb with so you wouldn't starve.

Just for kicks, I decided to check out what's been happening with my graduating class on classmates.com this evening. It was just as I had suspected, no one's really ... what's the word I'm looking for? ... involved in this process. Or shall I say invested? Hmmm...that's exactly what they were like in school, incomplete homework, apathetic, good intentioned but lacking follow through. Though, I did peek at a few profiles (people I had been friends with, but lost along the way) and they seem to be doing well. They are not in contact with old friends from high school either.

Being so opposed to such a site as I am, why in the world would I have a profile there or check in on my old buddies who know far too many embarrassing things about me? I suppose it's a morbid interest in where I came from.

But believe me...I'm not going to the high school reunion...unless my married friends drag me there.

Rules for the baggage claim

Finally, once and for all, the unspoken rules for the baggage claim are now spoken:

• Before leaving on your journey, mark your bag with some distinguishing feature. Spraypainting something in what may look like Arabic is a sure way to attract attention from the TSA fairies, and it makes your bag easy to identify to boot!
• When waiting for your bag, make sure you stand 2-3 feet from the baggage carousel so that everyone has a chance to see the degree of devastation wrought upon their baggage.
• Speaking of the degree of devastation, remember that it's a contest and you must so your utmost to win. Never admit that someone else's has been manhandled more than yours. Except for that guy who spraypainted Arabic-looking writing on his bag. In pink.
• Do not lick every bag to "claim" it.
• When a bag that looks vaguely like yours, black for example, comes around the corner, grab first and ask questions later. If someone says that they think the bag might be theirs, politely tell them The Hell It Is and politely yank the bag away from their grip.
• Mumble something vagely apologetic-sounding as you give the above person the bag that is, after all, theirs.
• If your bag is missing, go talk to the airline. They will tell you that your bag will be conveniently delivered to your hotel/relative's place/opium den the next business day. It's not true, but they'll tell you that. Especially if the next day in question is Christmas and your bag has all your gifts in it. Trust me.
• In order to guarantee delivery before you return home, make sure to spend the next day yelling at poor, powerless airline employees. If you can lead them in a revolt a la Kamp Krusty, you may get your luggage. There is no more powerful force in the universe than the collective will of motivated airline employees. If just one can make your 3-hour flight hell on (above?) earth, imagine what they can do when they get together.

The Guest Blogger and the Sleepless Night

Okay. I'll admit it now. I'm now an official Marylander. I have come to this conclusion after a sleepless windy night.

Now, first, you must understand that I grew up in Wyoming. I had the rattling windows. I love the wind. I couldn't sleep out here for the first 6 months unless the wind was blowing (which wasn't often). I have never been scared by the wind, I've been comforted by it. Until last night...

The wind was blowing harder than it ever blows out here. That, of course, means that there will be all sorts of strange sounds. And boy, were there. There were all kinds of thuds and thunks. There was one thwack against my bedroom window that nearly frightened me to death. These noises came in such a way that it sounded like someone was moving around my apartment. My roommate is gone and my boyfriend was already asleep at his own home 60 miles away. The noises were so bad that my cat was frightened (his tail was 300% bigger than normal).

So I did the thoughtful thing. I called my boyfriend and woke him up to reassure me that I wouldn't be killed. Such a wonderful girlfriend am I. He did manage to calm me down and I did manage to get some sleep. But I'm mortified this morning to realize that none of those actions were indicitive of someone from Wyoming. To be fair to the state, I must relinquish my Wyomingite-ness and adapt to the fact that I'm now from Maryland. Dang it.

Boring Policy Stuff

There's an interesting article in New York Times Magazine today about weblogging, particularly concerning the privacy limits. (Thanks to How Appealing for the link.) It sort of makes me think that perhaps I should clarify the rules a little, since it has come up in the past. Oh, and by 'the rules,' I mean 'my rules.'

Until recently, I have avoided using proper names in my blog, as many will notice. My default position is that people don't want to be mentioned, or if I'm going to anyway, it will be anonymous. For example, if I were to mention something about someone getting thrown out of school, which would be big news, I would never mention anything identifying. Anyone who could figure out who it is would already know.

The same goes for things like private conversations with professors, both mine and those of which I am aware through a primary party. It's a private conversation.

Class, however, is a different matter. That's a public forum, and as anyone can tell from my quotes entry, I consider class to be pretty much open territory. I'm also assuming that prospective students may come across the site, and if they can get a realistic taste for my experiences, so much the better.

There is a limit, however. There are occasions when people say things, even professors, that just don't come out as intended. This is why in entries like this I did not say who the professor was. For one thing, it was out of context, so I don't think that people should form any opinions on the person based on this. The entry wasn't really about that anyway, it was about my thoughts and reaction. (Yes, the funny quotes are out of context too, but if anyone really takes those seriously, they need their head examined.)

And of course everybody says things they regret almost immediately. Anyone in my class can remember a particularly funny moment that never made it to my quote page, because I figured that it really would be too embarassing. What would a person with a reasonably developed sense of fun about themselves think of their words on the page? That's what I ask myself. Those are the things that you'll have to come to my school and sit there like the rest of us in order to enjoy.

Oh, and yes, I clearly identify professors by name, unless it's an anonymous quote. Everyone knows what school I attend and if they like, they can easily look up the faculty. Hell, they can even see my class schedule, once the school gets it up. So it is rather silly to keep things like that anonymous. But if anyone gets loaded after a final and does a Carmen Miranda table dance with a liquor-themed hat, you have to know that's getting in.

Don't worry, I won't use your name.

[UPDATE: Evan at the Underground has an interesting response to the NYT Magazine article. His rules are much more succinct and short than mine. Consider them adopted, with the caveat that I consider class to be a public forum.]

Nothing to do.

I feel great. I have nothing to do today. I could play a computer game. I could read a book I could sleep all day. I could find pictures of GWB on the internet and supply them with funny mustaches and blacked out teeth. The world is my oyster today because I have no homework and no studying that must be done. Tomorrow I must clean and pack and stuff, but today I chill.

Friday Catblogging!

Jupiter is a little tired today:

Lunch

So a couple weeks ago I revived correspondance with an old friend from High School (and we hung out a little bit in College, too). I haven't seen her in probably around seven years or so. We had lunch today in Cheyenne, and it was a lot of fun. I love hearing what's going on, how things have been different for us, seeing someone go in unique directions, just talking. Plus she's got a lot more cool stories than I do. And now that we've reconnected, I think we'll keep in touch, hang out from time to time. Between finals being over, seeing an old friend again, going for a nice little vacation, and getting my best friend a kick-ass birthday present, I'm feeling pretty good about life.

Done

The application of logic to my last post demands the conclusion that finals are now over, which would be correct. Naturally, we went out again. A 3L told me that we were pretty tame, just wait until somebody loses their pants. There wasn't any pants-losing, but I think we all had a good time. I must admit it will be weird not to see everyone for so long. I've gotten used to them being around.

Anyway, I learned that one of my classmates met Maynard of Tool and A Perfect Circle. Incidentally, A Perfect Circle will be in Denver on March 20, anyone else want to go?

Oh, and no more mentions of anyone in the class without one of two things: You have to do something worth mentioning, such as the aforementioned pantslessness, OR give me money. We'll negotiate rates later.

[UPDATE: March 20 was for last year. I'm going to keep up on tour dates, though, so if anyone's interested, I'll be in charge of knowing.]

Last Day!

I found this great program that will take whatever I'm playing at home at the moment and jam it into my blog. It will even direct my good readers to iTunes or Amazon.com to purchase said music, if you so desire. I try to make life convenient for everyone. Plus since I pretty much always play music, there will pretty much always be something posted.

On another note, today is, of course, our last exam of the year. One-hour, so it's not too bad. Then, at least for me, it's off to New Orleans. I'll be taking pictures periodically with my digital camera, so for those of you stuck in the icy north you can get some relief/taunting while on your break. So, good luck to all of us, particularly Corey, Jake, Ron, Nick, and just for good measure, Haley, Kate, Matt...um, and an extra special good luck to *Your Name Here*.

Oh, and thanks to Travis who is driving me to and from Denver for my trip. Even paying for all the gas, I save about half what I'd spend on parking. Of course, he gets two free trips to Denver, so I suppose everybody wins.

P.S. During our last little outing, on Wednesday, some individuals expressed an interest in role-playing. Assuming that the inclination holds once alcohol is out of the picture, I'll work on adding it to our study-avoidance systems.

Dating Disasters

I just finished reading Energy Spatula's hilarious account of a bad blind date, the first in a series of five. Naturally, this got me thinking about my own experiences. Let's face it, if we've dated nearly anybody, we've had some bad experiences. I would say most of my experiences were pretty bad, but they're only really funny in the "ambulance gets in a wreck after rescuing you from being trapped under your bookcase for three days because you climbed up a little to get your copy of Accidents in the Home by Tessa Hadley off the top shelf" sort of way. So because they are not really interesting to anyone else, I won't talk about them here.

There was one time, however...

Long ago I worked for a telemarketing company. I know, I know, but I managed one of the quality control departments, so I got to be one of those that listened to tapes and said, basically, this person obviously has no idea what's going on, we can't send this thing to them. I felt pretty good about that. We were the conscience.

Anyway, there was a merchant in town with which my department did business on a regular basis, so I had occasion to see the staff there from time to time. One of the women working there had these amazing eyes that were such a different color than one would normally think that they drew me in immediately.

So I, being the smooth operator I am (sense the irony), simply ask her for her phone number. She says her schedule is crazy and she'd rather get mine. So I give it to her thinking, "oh, yeah, that'll happen. I've just been brushed off." Surprise, she actually calls me.

We talk for a couple hours and it goes pretty well. I tend to be somewhat reserved, but there's no problem here because (we'll call her) Susan fills up the gaps like a pro. I feel pretty at ease and we're getting along great. So we decide we're going to set up a little rock-climbing picnic sort of thing. There's a national park about 20 minutes out of town in which one can do some great casual boulder-climbing, no equipment necessary. Keep in mind that this was mutually agreed upon about a week ahead of time.

So I spend a significant amount of time getting ready and making the food. I'm a decent cook, so I do something simple: a roast chicken, potato salad, that sort of thing. I even remembered to bring water bottles for the climb.

I pick her up and we go out to the rocks and go out to the picnic spot. The weather is beautiful and I'm thinking, this is going to be a lot of fun. We sit down and Susan tells me that she has some kind of infection or something in her teeth and is going for a root canal in, like three days. Yeah, so not so much with the eating. I eat part of the chicken and a helping of potato salad while Susan nibbles a bit. In my head, it's not really a total disaster or anything, because we're gonna have a good time rock climbing and stuff, right? I figure that she must be ok with that if she went along.

As we approach the rocks, water in hand, she turns and says to me, "Oh, by the way, I'm not sure how much climbing I'll really be able to do. I have asthma." Um...ok. So we basically wander around on the more sidewalk-like rocks until she starts wheezing, panting and breathing heavy. (I don't need to hear the jokes, thank you.) We called it mercifully short at that point and I took her back to her apartment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if someone proposes a significantly athletic activity like rock climbing, and one is asthmatic, does it not make sense to a) suggest a different activity, or b) take some sort of pharmaceutical precautions? Perhaps it's just me.

There's a little more to the story, but it's not particularly interesting or funny, so that's it for now. I hope I've managed to entertain/divert from studying long enough for you to get your money's worth.

Incidentally, I'm about to add categories for posts. I don't know how useful it will be, but it will help me out when writing, I think.

Night on the Town

I just got back from a little 5.5-hour get together (not everybody lasted quite that long) with a few peeps from my law school class, and it was a fantastic time. In the process, I learned something a little disturbing, which is that I seem to be a closet celebrity. Not so much in the "everybody likes and respects me" sort of vein, though there may be a few, but more in the "following my weblog has become a good way to avoid studying" sort of way.

Seriously, at the bar I found out that there are apparently a lot of people in my class who follow my weblog. I must admit that I'm a little surprised at this. I always sort of approached it as one of those things that I figured was possible, but not likely. And here I find out that out of about six people or so at the table, most of them followed it, at least casually. I have no reason to think that this is not the case generally.

As an aside, I promised one of my classmate-peeps that he'd get a mention, so if anyone ever gets the chance to hang with Preston, do so. He's great to go out with.

Other than that, tonight I had a chance to hang out with some other cool compatriots (yeah, Preston, others are cool too) and had some nice coversations.

Can you tell we had a final today? The last one is on Thursday: another one hour test (like today), but essay rather than multiple choice (today). After that, it will nice to be done. Monday: New Orleans for 2.5 weeks.

Anyway, here's to hoping that some of y'all will start to comment a bit, even anonymously. I'd love to hear from you. For some reason, I feel like the class knows way more about me than I do about them, which is a shame because I like all of them. So please, do share! That's about it for today. I need to get some rest so I can get busy avoiding Torts tomorrow. Later.

Couple of things to say

Clearly I never got around to writing about what's wrong with democrats. One of the ideas I had, though, has been articulated by Jack Balkin, though better and more completely than I could have done. I think a lot of it has to do with reconnecting with the people that Democrats purport to be representing. For the record, this doesn't mean becoming republican-light. It means giving a real choice and making sure that people know the difference between the two. Prof. Balkin goes a bit further than what I was thinking with his ideas about what the democratic leadership sees as important not being what the general population sees as important. Things like health care, fiscal responsibility, etc. I hadn't thought of all that, but it makes a lot of sense, and it presents some unique challenges.

On other fronts, I'm considering adding Google ads to the site. Like Heidi, I'm curious to see what sort of ads would come up. Unlike Heidi, however, I probably won't give any income away, should I do it and should there be any. I'm just too poor to pass up pencil money.

Added to my locker: Being single is like being on a deserted, tropical island. Sometimes you might be stranded there, but sometimes you just need to get away.

I relate to this article in so many ways. I would have made the same choice in High School, I think. One difference in my experience, though, is that while there was bullying and stuff before high school, for the most part once I hit 9-10 grade it just didn't happen. Not that I was partucularly popular, but the culture of our school didn't really allow it to the same extent as in other schools. Perhaps that's because I moved to a new school so there was no established bully history, but I really feel like my high school was much more egalitarian. We had popular kids, but there was not really a lot of snobbishness and dumping on other people, with a few exceptions. As time goes on, I'm increasingly glad that things went as well as they did.

Today is our review session in Criminal, and tomorrow is our final. I'm really sad to see it go (we only have one semester). While it is nerve-wracking to have one test determine my grade (see also Property), I just like Criminal so much that it's more devastating to see it go.

First Final

Well, I completed my first final today. Property, of all things. It's a bit disconcerting, knowing that my entire grade for a semester is based on this one test. It's even more disconcerting that I finished the test an hour early. The office staff seemed a bit shocked. I was a bit worried, but there are several factors in my favor: 1) I generally finish tests early. This wouldn't matter so much in law school, except for the subsequent numbers. 2) Prof. Property specifically gave a lot of time. In fact, he told the office staff that people would likely be done early. 3) Some of the 2-3Ls said that most people in their classes finished at about the 2.5 hour mark, which was about when I finished. 3) The test wasn't too complicated, from what I could tell. It took me some time to sort out the fact patterns, but I didn't think that the issues were particularly hard to spot.

Bottom line is that I'm sure I passed, perhaps even with a B. Considering that's the class that has the least amount of interest to me, I don't think that's too shabby.

Plus, since my fate is sealed, my time is better spent worrying about Criminal, on Friday, and the overwhelming anger I feel towards my ex at the moment, concerning which a few of my friends received a private email.

The Guest Blogger and wow

I have been in meetings all week; which, for my job is highly unusual. I'm a little peon used to work the desk and input the magazines. But let me tell you, this online book discussion idea is really flying. We're doing beta testing right now. And I somehow ended up as head of the committee. It's strange what a little idea will do for you.

I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm even overwhelmed that once it's no longer just a project for class, I have a huge say in what the site will look like and what it will contain. Admin has asked me to design every page that I would like to have on the site and they will see what they can do about doing it. Now, I know, this is the chance for them to stomp a little girl's dreams, but just the fact that they want to do it and that they want me to be so involved in the process is gratifying enough for me.

Okay, for all of you who took in a shocked breath when I said that they want me to design it, I'll tell you a secret... They want me to draw it out or lay it out in Word. I'm not writing the code for it. No no no. That would be bad. I think that I can remember how to italicize something in html code, but that's about all I can do. So if you were hyperventilating about that, you can breathe normal now.

Good Plan

This seems like a good first step. It's a small one, with a pretty clear answer. Overall it reminds me of the general strategy pursued by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in the late 1800's. It seems to me that chipping away at the discrimination, as much as it galls me to see ther remaining injustices, is a sound strategy and this seems a good place to start. Now, I think, is the time to get organized and take some baby steps instead of shooting for the moon.

We don't want another Plessy v. Fergusson situation, do we? There, the strategists moved too quickly. After that decision, it took time to erode it, and I don't think we want to see ourselves in that situation - particularly since the court today is much more conservative than the Warren court (FYI: Rehnquist was clerking for one of the Justices during the Brown case. I forget which).

Grades

Heidi has a great post about law school grades, and I think a lot of her ideas/criticisms are extremely valid. In particular the bit about sharing grades.

I know you're not supposed to talk about grades, but I have a hard time with that. I think a big reason is that I really don't care about them all that much. I don't mean that I don't want to work hard, or that I don't care what a potential employer will see on myresume, but that I don't base my whole self identity on my grades. If I do well, all that says to me is that I know the material. It doesn't mean that I'm a better person that someone who got a lower grade or vice versa. I don't feel jealous of people who got better grades than I did, nor do I feel superior to those who did worse.

It's just really a non-issue, except where I wouldn't mind sharing my happiness for those things I did well on or getting support for those things that were not so good. That social dynamic has effectively been eliminate, or at least severely compromised.

Unfortunately, the key to doing this right rests in people not using grades to define their worth, and that's hard to do considering the extent to which employers doing so. I'm afraid I don't see the culture changing any time soon.

My mind ain't spotless

So, the first time I saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind I recognized its greatness. And it truly is great. I bought it a week or two ago, and in the last couple days I've watched it a couple times.

One of the great things about this movie is that it's one of those that has so many themes and nuances that you continue to come up with things you haven't seen before every time you watch it. That's when you know that it's a keeper.

One of my favorite things in the movie is the idea that our experiences make us who we are. Even the unpleasant things. It has particular relevance in my situation. Are there things in our (my) lives (life) that we (I) would do differently? Of course. But would we (I) like to erase those memories? The idea literally turns my stomach; I feel nauseated when I seriously think about it. As much as things might not have worked out, there's no possible way that I would ever give up my memories of my Ex. Some things are just too precious.

The Guest Blogger, Computers, Games, and a visit to the LOC

I am almost officially able to keep my (tiny) pension. I just have about a billion pages of busy work to finish and an online book discussion to get off the ground. Yes, that's right, I'm designing an online book discussion. Me, the person who can't even deal with her own blog (which is why Mackenzie has been so gracious to let me dribble my words here from time to time). You see, since it was my idea, the organization feels that I should be the one to handle it. That's awfully kind of them. Usually, in business situations, the young person who comes up with the idea is thanked and then thrown off the committee. ... ... I am the committee on this one. I guess it'll be something to put on my resume later.

Accomplishments: Conceptualized and moderated online book discussion at www.somelibrary.org/idon'tknowwhattheheckimdoing.html

(I don't know if you all got the snooty accent that goes with that piece.)

Not to be an ad for something, this was kind of fun this morning. Sadly, that's about the most advanced computer game I can be successful at. We have Arthur's Computer Adventure in the children's department. Sometimes that's a little too advanced for me. I stopped really playing video and computer games after the Super Nintendo. My all-time favorite computer game is The Black Cauldron. My family and I had that game for a good... oh, 8 or 9 years. We never did win, though. I guess I just wasn't good enough with the sword. Actually, we never finished any of our computer games, Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country... I guess that says something about our hand-eye coordination.

On a completely different topic; There's a really interesting exhibit at the Library of Congress. I know we don't often think of the Library of Congress as an exhibition hall, but they tend to have excellent (free) installations. From Haven to Home was probably one of the best exhibits I've seen there. (Now ask me how many I've seen...) It's all about the American Jewish experience over the last 350 years. To be quite honest, a few pieces in the exhibit blew my mind. Did you know that the Confederate Secretary of State was Jewish? Who knew? And that during the Civil War, Grant basically threw the Jews out of three Union States? (Lincoln rescinded the order and allowed everyone to go back home about a month later.) If you can't visit the exhibit in person, you can visit a part of it online. It really was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Although, I have to admit that the best part was waiting for my boyfriend to arrive. I sat on the stairs in the main hall and watched three librarians try to decorate the 15 foot Christmas tree. The best part was when one librarian, who was completely exasperated, took a large metal pipe, climbed the ladder and started beating the bottom of the huge star on top of the tree. She kept yelling to the girl below her "Is is straight? Is it straight?" while grunting and swinging her pipe. The star wasn't budging with all that beating. They must have attached it with library glue. After that, they drove the cherry picker (the mechanical lift, with a basket on the tippy-top so someone can stand in it and screw in lightbulbs, or in this case put glass balls on a fake tree) straight into the tree and almost tipped it over. I guess if they had, they'd have been able to fix the star easily.

Quotes!

Well, it's the end of the semester, and that means that it's time for funny professorial quotes. There were many more moments of levity, of course, but sometimes you just have to be there. Particularly with Professor Johnson, there's a mannerism that is really funny, but just can't be captured in text.

If you learn too much about this you'll definitely be confused. -Johnson (Criminal)

What does Satan command us to do? Does he command us to do good things? -Johnson

I lived in the '70's, and they weren't that great. I really don't know why we're bringing them back. -Burman (Torts)

The Waffle House's duty was to serve food that didn't have glass in it. -Burman

If I take out a gun and shoot you because I'm angry at your failure to answer my question appropriately... -Johnson

Unless we use the Spock mind-meld, it's not going to work. -Welle (Contracts) (Discussing the idea of the meeting of the minds.)

She was raising the gun to kill herself and something happened and the gun went off and hit the victim nine times. -Johnson

You can't do bad things. You're not supposed to do bad things. -Welle

It's like I stomped your little hearts out. -Welle (regarding the class after discussing our first exam)

I think of these as nice young chickens, and [those] as skanky chickens. -Welle

It's not strictly that Mr. Dressler is an egomaniac... -Johnson (referring to the author of our casebook)

So all you women, stay well clear of Mr. X -Johnson

When I got to law school I was surprised that there were laws involved. -Welle

The best liars are going to win. -Welle

I think NPR pronounces it [Moussaoui], but I'll do the Fox News Version. -Johnson

They don't have casseroles in the Midwest, they have dishes. -Burman

(after asking the class a question, and soliciting for several answers) You couldn't possibly know the answer to this. -Johnson

Writing law school exams is like making sausage: you don't want to know how it's done. -Romero (Property)

Don't freak out. -Johnson

He has the power to eject people from his car. Not with an ejection seat... -Johnson

If anybody wants to leave, they can, but I wouldn't advise it. -Johnson (telling us that the class will run a little long.)

Only one party had the power to screw. -Welle

I don't know, there's so little crime in New Hampshire. -Johnson

Well, that's the semester. Now for a drink!

Friday Catblogging!

Not a great photo, but cute.

Later: Favorite professorial quotes from the semester.

Waxing Idealistic

well before I went to law school, I looked up the word esquire. I had an idea of the roots, of course, but was curious about modern usage. I've been reflecting on it a bit recently and while I know some people regard it as a sign of presumption, to me it embodies all that is good in the law.

In general, I'm not a huge fan of the chivilric tradition. In its modern day incarnation of holding doors for women, I find it rather offensive (I find the practice of holding doors open for everyone to be much more polite). There are some aspects of the tradition that are great, and like it or not as a lawyer I will be an inheritor of that tradition (and yes, I refer to myself as a lawyer because that is how we are encouraged to think of ourselves from day one of law school). Some people may be a bit skeptical at this, but it's really only in the last couple dozen years that popular perception of lawyers has changed to the negative.

Lawyers are the standard bearers for our clients. We are their champions in the trial by combat of the courtroom. It's our job to prove the rightness of our cause upon the corpus of our opponent's arguments. One of my legal idols is Thurgood Marshall, not so much in his Supreme Court days as in his time for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. I tend to think of him (and of the others at the Fund) as a Knight-Errant travelling the country fighting injustice.

This is where I think the legal profession has lost its way, in perception if not in truth (though I think there's a lot of truth there, too). For example, where is the respect for an opponent? (Yes, I recognize that this is a bit of a romantic illusion; many medieval fights were preceded by comments like, "your father was the bastard child of a jackal and idiot James with the massive underbite.") Overall, where is the civility? And where is the conscience? One of my professors said recently that "[Prof. X is] going to tell you how to be ethical, then in your 3d year you come to me and I tell you how it works in the real world."

There's something very wrong with that viewpoint. It's almost like we're giving up on what the profession could be. That we're accepting that this is how the system works and we should just fit in. Well, I refuse. I may not be successful, but damn it, I'm going to fight like hell to keep my idealism about the profession, its potential if not its current condition. And I'm going to fight like hell to make the profession live up to the potential I see in it.

When I graduate, I'm going to put that Esquire proudly after my name and take up my shield and sword which will have been so finely crafted by my education. I will be proud to inherit this tradition, and this burden.

Hail and well-met on the field of battle.

Why He's a Writer

Here's why Neil Gaiman is a writer:

"...that strangely affectless Scandinavian way of singing, like small girls singing nursery rhymes about dead people straight into the middle of your head."

Now that's funny.