talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

"bullshit" is recognized

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. So true. And so I'm pleased that the sales of this volume reflect its subject's ubiquity: On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt is in the number 1 position on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list. Too bad the Times doesn't print the full title (they've settled for "bull----," which is transparent, but still...)

Princeton's edition is a handsome volume. It's small (67 pages in a 4" x 6.25" trim size), and would neatly fit into a pocket. It would make a great stocking stuffer for those friends and family who would appreciate this sort of thoughtful work. I keep my copy at my desk, on the shelves to my immediate left, with the other volumes that make me smile, make me think, and/or answer my questions. More on those later.

got to get back in the saddle

Or is the phrase "to get back up on the horse"? Whatever. You know what I mean. I was just getting comfortable with the bar review routine of reviewing a topic and embarking on lots of practice questions for the multistate exam when--WHAMMO--we had our first essay workshop. It wasn't that difficult in the wow-this-is-complicated sense, but it was a four-hour reminder of the difficulty I've had making my thoughts and writing conform to a particular style of legal analysis under tremendous time pressure. My brain hurts today, but I've got to shake this off and resume my review.

In the meantime:
++ The identity of the Watergate scandal's "Deep Throat" has been revealed (Vanity Fair gets the distinction of breaking the news, which has been confirmed by Woodward, Bernstein, and Bradlee. I've often thought Bradlee got the short end of the stick in the casting of All the President's Men, but maybe I'm just not a Jason Robards fan.
++ Speaking of sticks...Chuck, the beloved dooce.com dog has, after 32 days, eliminated the corn dog stick (includes photos of the stick after some cleanup was performed).
++ Whole Foods' stock (WFMI) is still hovering above $118 per share. Yowza.
++ Thelma Schoonmaker talked with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. I often love conversations with film editors, and because I don't have many opportunities to participate in them or listen in, I'll be sure to finish this one later tonight.
++ Just refreshed our stamp supply with the USPS series Masterworks of Modern Architecture. The John Hancock building--a hometown favorite--made the cut.
++ I have embraced the Apple way of computing and have even warmed to purchasing my music via iTunes, but I'm really unhappy about a tantalizing feature of iTunes: You can switch from one national store (the United States, the default for U.S. users) to another (say, iTunes France) with one click (maybe two), but once at the other store you can't purchase any music unless the credit card on file with iTunes is based in that foreign country. I have no doubt this is imposed by the record companies and not by Apple, and have had as much confirmed, but how stupid is this? (Answer: Very stupid.) I want music available on the French site, music that's not available on the U.S. site. I have a valid credit card on file with Apple. I'M WILLING TO PAY rather than find an alternative (ahem) source for the music. And yet...I return to the U.S. site with less than bobkis in my cart and a sense of frustration in my brain.

And on that note, I have to take Wallace for a walk. He's been most patient with me this afternoon, but his patience is finite.

if we update our blogroll

If we ever update our blogroll (or create a proper one in the first place) I'll definitely have an entry for dooce.com. I've been reading it for some time now and have come to look forward to the daily snapshots, and to news of Leta.

Some news, though, brings to mind this site's reminder: a word to the wise is sufficient. In this case, it's a tale that should be sufficient warning to any prospective parent, new parent, babysitter, and diaper purchaser. If you are easiy grossed out by stories involving poop, don't click on the link.

mp3 update

An update: iTunes has twelve versions of the Colonel Bogey March, but none as good as the original whistling from the movie. Mitch Miller and his gang are a little too polished for me, and the merengue version...well, it seems a little odd to combine merengue with the story of POWs forced to build a bridge that would carry a "death train" to Burma but hey...to each his own. One could see the story as an uplifting one--men who maintain their sense of pride and dignity under difficult circumstances--but merengue seems a little too upbeat, even for that.

found the mp3

I just found an mp3 snippet of the Colonel Bogey March from The Bridge on the River Kwai and played it for Terrence and Wallace. I got the distinct impression that they prefer that I listen to it on my headphones.

Here are a few tidbits on the movie (and a photo of the real bridge, which supposedly still stands). Back to torts...

the last week or so

A few of the events from the last week or so:

+ Graduation was an interesting event. The good:
-- My parents joined Terrence and I in the celebration.
-- The simple fact that it was my law school graduation.
-- We had a beautiful, almost too sunny day.
-- Everyone was in a festive mood.
-- Several of the professors whom I hoped would attend did.
-- I now have a doctoral hood hanging in my closet. Not an accessory I'll have many occasions to wear, but what the hell. It's fun to have my own.

The rest:
-- Having an outdoor ceremony itself didn't strike me as odd, but the whooping and party atmosphere was a little unexpected. Even with "Pomp and Circumstance" being played over the loudspeakers I guess I had expected...well, a little more pomp and circumstance.
-- Sunburn. Ouch. An oddly shaped stripe of burned skin marking where the sunscreen ended and where my graduation robe began. It could have been worse; there were many crispy faces in the crowd.
-- I still have to wait a few weeks for the actual parchment. And for my final semester's grades. Terrence suggested that I not even check for them until June, which isn't that far away. I'll see if I can hold out.

+ A decision in the wine wars cases: My blogging on this is terribly behind the curve, so I'll only say that the good guys won. I thought it would be a squeaker, and hoped the wineries and consumers would be victorious. It was and they were. The alignment of the Court was strange, and I have to reread the opinions, but I was heartened that the Court seized the opportunity to strike down the New York and Michigan direct shipping bans and that the Justices in the majority saw the statutes for what they were: not protections for minors, not attempts to maintain orderly market conditions via taxation, but bald discrimination against out-of-state producers. Now to find out how this will pan out as wholesalers test their lobbying muscle and press for complete bans on direct shipment (not only bans on shipment from out-of-state shippers).

+ Bar exam preparation has begun: The countdown widget on my Dashboard registers 63 days until the California bar exam begins. My Bar/Bri class began yesterday. Warning #1: Don't fall behind. Yow. Lectures in the mornings; personal work in the afternoons and evenings. Today and tomorrow are Torts-focused; Thursday and Friday will be Con Law lectures. I'm writing this during the short break I'm giving myself from wading through sample Torts questions for the multistate portion of the exam. I'm not complaining--I'm treating this as a forced march of sorts. (Reminds me that I wanted to see if the theme from The Bridge on the River Kwai is on iTunes. You know the tune. The whistling tune. I'll just put in on repeat for the next 63 days.*) But really, it could be much worse: unlike the LSAT, there are no logic games on the bar exam. This realization is called "giving thanks for small things" or proof that everything in life really is relative.

+ Dogs can get urinary tract infections. Yes, I knew this. But I learned first-hand about them when Wallace urinated and it was bright red. Blood. In his urine. At the sight of this I went into maternal overdrive and whisked him straightaway to the vet's office. After a week of antibiotics everything seems back to normal. And he's now getting a capsule of freeze-dried cranberries as a daily supplement. It can't prevent a recurrence, but it will minimize his risk.

* I checked. It's not there. So now I have a new audio mission, to find something longer than an mp3 snippet.

I've just submitted my last exam, which means...

Law school is finished!

Well, except for final grades, and graduation, and turning in my law school key, and those kinds of things...

Wallace is not very impressed, but I hope he'll note the additional spring in my step during our afternoon walk.

And Terrence...well, I suspect Terrence is very relieved. After all, how many people go through law school themselves, and then practically relive it a decade later? (It's scary how good his recall of his first year classes is...) So I should thank him for having that enormous soft spot in his heart for me;
for encouraging me to do this thing;
for providing technical support above and beyond the call of duty and allowing me to avoid most interactions with the university's IT departments;
for letting me babble about this conflicts doctrine or that civil procedure rule;
for sage advice on legal analysis, organization, and outlining (which I should have taken to heart sooner);
for knowing when to crack the whip and when to let me cry into my mashed potatoes and pour another glass of wine;
for knowing when a glass of wine would be the worst thing and pouring a tall glass of water instead;
for sitting through Alias marathons when I finally decided to catch up on all those episodes, and for tolerating What Not To Wear when I couldn't read another page of my case book;
for reading--aloud and with obvious delight--the Southern District of New York's opinion dealing with the mysterious history of the Archimedes Palimpsest in Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem against Christie's, Anne Guersan, and John/Jane Doe (citation available upon request);
for taking Wallace for extra walks when I was finally on some sort of a roll with my writing;
for convincing me that I should submit my Comment for publication, and for soothing all the labor and growing pains associated with it;
for reminding me at every exam period not to engage in post mortems with my fellow classmates;
for commiserating with me when a professor seemed to be taking the class in loopy doctrinal circles, and for warning me when I was creating the loopy circles in my own mind;
for recommending Beethoven's "KlavierKonzert No. 5 'Emperor' Concerto" when I had to crack a thorny problem;
for saying "Make the reservations!" when I had the opportunity to attend the Swedenburg/Heald oral arguments at the Supreme Court, and for driving to the Long Beach Airport twice in two days so I could spend time studying for my exams and not dealing with shuttle services;
and for dozens...no, hundreds...of other favors and courtesies and considerations large and small which make me quite sure that I couldn't have done this without him.

two down, one to go

Two of my three final exams are complete; one more, plus a short essay, and both can be completed at home. I won't have any sense of my grades until after graduation, and I by the time they're posted I expect my Bar/Bri work will be well underway. Just as well, I suppose. It's time to move on to other things.

still cloistered, but...

One exam down: The eight-hour First Amendment exam is behind me. I have to say that downloading it and doing it at home was far superior to sitting in a library carrel, trying to ignore my classmates' conversations and comings and goings, grabbing lunch on the fly, and hoping that no one messed with my computer while I dashed to the restroom or to get a bite to eat. Between the relative quiet of home, Terrence and Wallace's cooperation, and my Bose headphones, I couldn't have asked for a better exam environment.

Two more exams and one essay...