Half-Cocked

Is it supposed to feel different?

Today my boss came into my office and asked me how it felt. I knew what he was talking about but since I haven't really felt anything I prodded him.

"It feels great to be done with that one brief for that one client."

"No," he said, "How does it feel to be done with school?"

I'd thought about my answer to that inevitable question for the last week or so and I really don't feel any different. Sitting here the morning before graduation feels like any random morning before copyright.

Way, way back in the day when I finished undergrad there was a tangible difference. The day I turned in my Epistemology final in December 1994 I hopped on my bike to ride home and I was hit with this weird fit of yawning. It was a nervous tic, basically. I yawned myself to sleep that night out of uncertainty about the future. I was right in being nervous about finishing undergrad since I bounced around from random corporate job to random corporate job for the next 6 years.

So, no I don't feel any different after finishing law school. For one, I have the same job anxiety I had twelve years ago. The firm I work at now isn't hiring so I need to find a job although I promised to hang around to write briefs until July. Whether that promise gets me places in August is another story although I'm confident about my boss's pull with other firms in the area. Also, 12 years ago I was single with no prospects. Now, I've been with the same woman for over 10 years, have been married for almost 5 years and have lived in the same house for almost 4 years. Stability is something I have now that I didn't the last time I graduated. Plus, I still feel like I'm learning. Everytime I hear about a court decision I feel the need to read it, analyze it and think about the arguments that should have been made or could be made on appeal. I suppose it's a tad cheesy to say that a lawyer never really graduates but that's how I feel right now.

Done?

I took my last exam on Tuesday morning - Copyright. It was very anticlimactic since it was a two-hour exam based on stuff I had a pretty good knowledge of four years ago thanks to my geekiness. It was probably balanced by the 4 1/2 hour Mediation exam last week. What a pointless exercise.

My Fed Jur exam was awesome. There were only seven of us in the class and two weeks before the exam the professor told us we were guaranteed a 5 (C+) based on our class participation so we didn't have to take the exam if we were happy with the 5. Well, only one of us didn't take the exam and my theory is that he will get the only 8 (A) in the class because clearly he was smarter than the rest of us.

Not sure why I posted this. I'm feeling a little loose since I'm done until bar study ramps up in a few weeks. My graduation robe is black with purple velvet. I wish it was purple felt so people could do the "Is that felt?" joke during the entire ceremony.

This weblog will destroy itself in two weeks

This thing ran its course about two months ago. I have nothing left to say about law school other than incoherent rants about the state bar association and Bar/BRI. Plus, there's too much else on my plate to try and gin up appropriate posts for this blog anymore.

Did he really say that?

I read some reports that AG Abu Gonzales said, during his unsworn testimony in the Senate Judiciary committee, "President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader scale."

I went to the C-Span archives and yes indeed, that's what he said. Maybe he was confused by all those crazy questions, and we all know how much the executive branch likes to be questioned, but I doubt it. He was there to provide non-answers to any hostile questions and he succeeded pretty well from the parts of the hearings to which I listened.

I think AGAG let something slip. It's a theory among some that the Illuminati has been running this country since Washington was assassinated and replaced with Adam Weishaupt. This just confirms it. Who else could have possessed electronic surveillance equipment in 1789 other than the Illuminati?.

A Warning to Shaving Enthusiasts

You might have seen the commercial during Super Bowl XL for the Gillette Fusion Power and been intrigued. Five blades, battery power like the M³ Power and an additional single blade positioned at the top of the blade array perpendicularly to provide access to the tight places that the big-headed razors have been missing since the two-bladed razors arrived upon the scene a couple decades ago. I have one thing to say. Back away from the new razor technology.

As I've said before I was skeptical of the power of the M³ Power until I finally tried one. It was the ultimate shaving experience in closeness, efficiency and blade re-use.

Well, last week I stumbled upon the new Fusion Power at my neighborhood Osco and always looking for more of a good thing, I decided it to give it a whirl. Sadly, I have shaved earlier that day and wanting to put the Fusion through its paces, I decided to wait three days. The M³ Power has never had trouble with a 3-day growth, so stupidly, despite my previous poor experience with the four-bladed Quattro, I threw caution to the wind, assuming the power and the superiority of Gillette products would carry the day.

I was dead wrong. I started shaving with the Fusion and felt something I hadn't felt in months. The Fusion was pulling at my skin and not shaving closely at all. I was finding I had to go back over each patch a couple of times to even get something near a close shave and it still wasn't as close as the shave from the M³ Power. After I finished one cheek and tested out the new single-blade on my sideburn I threw it down and went back to my trusty M³ Power which I had already used a couple of times. The difference was immediately noticeable.

What was the problem, I asked. It didn't have the small wires over the blade array like the Quattro did which held the blades too far from the face to provide a decent shave. I held the two shaving heads side-by-side and it became apparent. The blades on the Fusion were smaller and closer together so they don't catch each hair on the first (or second) pass. Plus, they're too close together to ever really get close to the face. It makes sense, though. I quit using an electric razor in high school because I wasn't getting a close shave and the standard electric razor and the Fusion share two characteristics, (1) too many small blades (2) too close together.

The name "Fusion" suggests a combination of the electric and manual razor. It appears Gillette has gotten too close to the electric razor with this one. I'll stick with the M³ Power. It's notable that the Fusion handle and blade aren't interchangeable with the M³ Power, like the standard Mach 3 blades are with the M³ Power handle. I think Gillette was looking for a way to increase blade revenue since it's pretty well known that the cheaper Mach 3 blades work just as well as the M³ Power blades on the M³ Power handle.

Fun

One thing I've witnessed in lawschool is the degradation of brand new laptops over the course of three years. Mine finally died last year and while I could replace the motherboard and be OK Best Buy fucked it over so bad (and then blamed me for it) that I doubt the problems would end with a new MoBo. Some of the 3L's are clinging to their practially obsolete Dells and Compaqs like it's their last link to law school. The man known as lunchbox when he randomly comments here props his screen up with his water bottle. I don't know if that'll help him in his duck races later this year but I really needed to say "duck races."

My class was the class that finally made laptops the rule rather than the exception demanding to be allowed to type our exams on our pet computers rather than write them. Last semester some professors actually required the exam to be typed on a computer (if you don't have a working laptop you get to use one of the library desktop machines). I guess the reading ease finally won them over. Of course, with typing comes word limits and I didn't take an exam last fall that didn't have a word limit. I also never came close to any of the word limits.

Oh, and why did I title this entry "Fun?" If you have a working laptop and are sitting through a class you signed up for because it was easy and are becoming excruciatingly bored this game with lasers and mirrors and stuff is really fun but still requires much more thought than Zuma, Snood and the like. I'll continue to entertain myself with the Sudoku and NY Times crossword.

I'm still here

And I'm here with a sweet new $9 keyboard. I've found I spill on them too often to shell out big bucks for one of those ergonomically correct and efficient setups that are all the rage these days around the office. Luckily I learned how to type on an IBM Selectric so I know how to hold my hands to avoid the afflictions associated with $9 keyboards.

School is awesome. Two weeks down, 13 to go and then I get to relearn it all over a couple of months. I wonder how someone who just took the bar review but skipped the school part would do if they were really serious about it and spent all their waking hours studying?

I have a bit of a euphoric feeling these days as I walk the halls of the school. None of my classes are particularly challenging save for Fed. Jur. which is the hardest class in the school according to the professor and everyone I've talked to who's ever taken it. Prof. FedJur also sits on the NCAA infractions committee and has 3rd row, half-court aisle seats for this year's final four so I can talk college hoops with her.

I'm now facing the endless stream of paperwork associated with this time of year for 3L's. I feel like my rights are being violated by the bar association. I have to list all the places I've lived and worked since I was 18! Only 33 I'm already suffering from age discrimination...and I haven't even started a really intensive job search yet.

I stumbled across an argument the other day over who would win a fight between Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer and I came up with this.

FACT: Jack Bauer once killed Chuck Norris by stopping his heart with a devastating roundhouse punch to his chest. Jack then resuscitated Chuck with a shot of adrenalin just so he could kill him again. And he did.

I need a new keyboard

I have to hit my space bar multi times for each space. Real posts soon when I get one.

Friday Random Play: Last Weekend Edish

With random rankings (1-10).

Morphine - "Cure For Pain": 8
Dave Brubeck - "Maori Blues": 6/4
Bob Dylan -"The Wicked Messenger": 5
Pixies- "The Navajo Know": 5
Slayer - "South of Heaven": 9
Guided by Voices - "Exit Flagger": 4
Sonic Youth - "Secret Girl": 6
Liz Phair - "Fuck and Run": 8
Juliana Hatfield - "Somebody is Waiting for Me": 3
The Band - "We Can Talk": 7

Happy Last Semester

Barring any last minute changes I have my last semester schedule nailed down pretty well. In a perfect world someone would drop Judge Riley's Thursday night trial advocacy class in which case I could drop ADR.

Monday
Copyright - 1330-1445
Fed Jur - 1450-1620
Mediation - 1630-1830
Tuesday
Copyright - 1330-1445
Fed Jur - 1450-1620
Ed Law - 1900-2100

Wednesday
ADR - 1510-1625
Mediation -1630-1830

Thursday
ADR -1510-1625

Hello

As I sit here pondering the old saw that the 3rd year of law school is the easiest and studying for three exams in three days starting Monday, I'm also pondering the direction this blog is going to take if takes one at all. I don't have much to say about law school anymore. I wouldn't call this a "blawg" by any definition. I might be inspired in a week or so when Conflicts, International Law, Real Estate Transactions and Legal Profession are far from my mind. The good news is I turned in my seminar paper this afternoon. Usually I prefer papers over exams. This time around, not so much. I practically feel like I'm done for the semester even though I have 4 exams to go.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

I just finished watching the last episode of Rome until 2007 and I have to say, HBO has really outdone itself with this series. The assassination scene was done very well; slowly, with multiple camera angles, losts of stabbing. The best part was that Caesar did not say "Et tu, Brute?" or even "Καὶ σὺ τέκνον." Instead, it was all delivered with the eyes. Ciarin Hinds deserves an Emmy for his work as Gaius Julius Caesar.

In fact, most of the cast of Rome deserve Emmys. I don't think I've ever seen such great acting from so many people on one teevee show. Kevin McKidd (Tommy from Trainspotting) was brilliant as Lucius Varenus, the centurion turned magistrate turned Senator in the last episode.

Other great performances: James Purefoy as Mark Antony. Polly Walker as Atia of the Julii who, along with Lindsey Duncan as Servilia of the Junii, brought a Dynasty-like nastiness to the show's more non-historical plotlines. Tobias Menzes as Marcus Brutus. Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo, Varenus's, rabble-rousing sidekick from the legion.

An interesting historical point. Varenus and Pullo are two of the unknown characters introduced in the show to enable the writers to create some plotlines outside of the arc of Roman history but, in fact, Caesar mentions Varenus and Pullo in Book IV of De Bello Gallico. So the writers were even using primary sources for the characters who don't appear to be historical at all.

And finally, if you like gladiators severing heads and limbs, the 11th episode of Rome is for you. It makes Gladiator look like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Last Schedule

Here's what I'm looking at for 3L spring.

Monday
Copyright - 1:30 - 2:45
Fed. Jur. - 2:50 - 4:20

Tuesday
Copyright - 1:30 - 2:45
Fed. Jur. - 2:50 - 4:20
Education Law - 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Wednesday
ADR - 3:10 - 4:25

Thursday
ADR - 3:10 - 4:25

I have one more class to decide upon. I'm still trying to get into a couple, Mediation (MT - 4:30-6:30) and Trial Advocacy (Thursday 6:15-9:15). If I get one of these I'll be thrilled. If I get both I'll probably drop ADR.

Judge Riley of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is spending his Thursday nights in the Spring teaching Trial Ad so I'm really hoping to get into that. I'm the first alternate should anyone drop. Mediation is a 4 credit class which would save me from writing the Copyright paper since Copyright is only 2 credits without the paper. I've also heard that you get your Mediation certificate or whatever which would be nice.

Federal Jurisdiction is notoriously the hardest class in the school. At this time I know of only one other person signed up for it. Why am I taking it? I discovered this summer while working on a very complicated case in federal court that not many lawyers know the ins and outs of federal jurisdiction - the various abstention doctrines, habeas corpus, etc.

Education Law is the Teachers' College version which means it'll be aimed at teachers who want to be adminstrators meaning mostly people who haven't been in school for awhile meaning it'll be easier than any law school class.

Any way this schedule shakes out I'll have most of my days free for work which will be nice.

Nader

This guy's still hanging around trying to make himself relevant. Now he's imploring the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles to be nice to Terrell Owens because doing otherwise would be violating his free speech and rights as a union member.

Ralph. Please. If you gave a shit about free speech (and T.O. isn't entitled to 1st Amendment protections from his private employer) or union members you'd be working to boost union membership in this country among people who don't make $3.5 million per year.

Try grandstanding somewhere useful to the causes you used to stand for. If you can't do that, go away.

Friday Random Play: Seminar Paper Writin' Edish

I haven't randomized the full playlist in awhile so here we go. My ranking of the songs are on a scale of 1 (I'm so embarrassed this is in my playlist that I might kill myself) to 10 (I could still be a cool record store guy).

Billie Holiday, "Them There Eyes" - Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944: 9. Billie is always cool, if a little too well known for the true record store guy.
U2, "Angel of Harlem" - Rattle & Hum: 4. Definitely not their best effort but I can make an argument couched in contrarianism.
Curve, "Cherry" - Pubic Fruit: 7. Like MBV but not as good but you can dance to it.
Echo & the Bunnymen, "Crystal Days" - Ocean Rain: 7. The best album from these guys but still plenty obscure 21 years later.
New Order, "Temptation" - Substance: 5, but only because I'm embarrassed at the decidedly 80's Brit dance-rock direction this list has taken.
Slowdive, "Catch the Breeze" - Just for a Day: 5, for the same reasons as I previously stated.
Dead Milkmen, "Gorilla Girl" - Big Lizard in my Backyard: 8.
X, "Blue Spark" - Under the Big Black Sun: 9. The only thing cooler would be a Richard Hell, James Chance or Germs song at this point.
DJ Spook, That Subliminal Kid & Dave Lombardo, "Metatron" - Drums of Death: 9. Solidly too cool.
Gun Club, "Waiting" - Early Warning: 9.5. 80's cowpunk from L.A. = instant cred.
Tom Waits, "In the Colesseum" - Bone Machine: 7. Not my favorite, but good and always relevant.
Archie Shepp, "Mr. Syms" - Four for Trane: 8. Other Shepp songs would have rated higher but this one isn't nearly out enough.
Miles Davis, "Budo" - Birth of the Cool: 4. Every wannabe cool record store guy has had this album a couple of times.
Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Do Your Thing" - Express Yourself: The Best of Charles Wright: 8. Anything from this album but the title track ranks as pretty obscure.
Iron Maiden, "Powerslave" - Powerslave: 8. Cool record store guys like 80's British invasion metal if only for the album covers and the irony factor.