Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet that I know of devoted to all things related to Un. Yaddi ya. You all know the rest of the usual intro to my posts.
Apparently, one of my blog posts was referred to by two different websites. I found out by using Statcounter and Google. Not that I particularly care about these things, but I get a personal thrill. At least someone is reading my posts and actually found one of them interesting.
For those who do not know, Statcounter is a webiste that keeps track of the number of people visiting your website and where they are coming from. Plus a lot of other statistics. It's a free service, unless you go for the "deluxe" version. I'm to cheap to do this, so I get the basic one. It's king of Big Brother/1984-ish, but it's a neat thing to have on your website.
One of the visitors found my blog from a Nintendo gaming forum. They are fans of the original NES. Good old 8-bit fun instead of the fancy 64-bit gaming systems with special imaging processors and more processing power than some supercomputers. That's the capability of the soon to be released Playstation 3. I like the old school games. I digress.
So, after using Google, I've come to the conclusion that my post about what's in your food was the post they were reading and decided to link to. Only because they linked to the general July 2005 archive and not to any specific post. I'm sure they weren't referring to poetry or any other stuff I wrote about that month. I'm going by general assumptions.
This was reinforced by another search result which has the same July 2005 link and a blurb about stuff in food. Though I have to wonder why someone had to ask a question about eating moths. Weird.
I'm now a source for information about food safety regulations. Ah, the importance of knowing trivia.
That's all for now.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Wednesday Update
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet that I know of devoted to all things related to Un. You know the drill by now. It's stuff that I find interesting. Nope, I don't have any stories involving amazingly dumb drunken behavior that I have seen because I don't have much of a life. Sad but true. Though, the Kansas Law Student has an interesting story on his blog. The title of the post is reason enough to read it.
I'm what you might call a geek/dork/nerd. They're all different, despite what others might say. I've written about the differences in my other blog. Actually, it's more of a site where I store a novella. It's on two different posts, so you have to read the first one and then the second one to get the entire deal.
I can easily understand many things that are technical like quantum physics or some other dense topic that will bore a person to death. An admission: I used to read articles in math and science journals for fun. I like to see if I can understand the subject matter discussed. Go figure. Given this background, it comes as no surprise that I would be interested with a website involving quantum physics. I listened to the lectures and they were very good. Easy to understand. Then again, they were coming from a Nobel Prize winning physicist, so that was an achievement by itself. I particularly enjoyed the nod towards geek/nerd humor. Physics lovers rejoice. Yes, there is Feynman. Geez, I have no life.
If you're looking for a job (this term defined loosely), then take hope. The top jobs with the largest job growth have been posted. We need people to serve us food, give us an education beyond high school, and take care of us when were sick. In an unrelated note, this sounds perfect for America. Smart people eating a lot of food and needing medical care due to their poor nutritional/eating/exercising habits. It's a shame that "personal trainer" didn't make it on the Top Ten list.
And proof that there's no news in the news. Some low-bulk filler. Scientists have examined the Mona Lisa and discovered it is an excellent painting. They also pulled out some theories from the air and said that the subject was painted after having her second child. And this is based on...
On an unrelated note, Americans cannot read nutrition labels posted on packages and are lousy at basic math like multiplication. In other words, the American consumer are illiterate, suck at math, and are eating way too much. So what else is new?
That's all for now.
I'm what you might call a geek/dork/nerd. They're all different, despite what others might say. I've written about the differences in my other blog. Actually, it's more of a site where I store a novella. It's on two different posts, so you have to read the first one and then the second one to get the entire deal.
I can easily understand many things that are technical like quantum physics or some other dense topic that will bore a person to death. An admission: I used to read articles in math and science journals for fun. I like to see if I can understand the subject matter discussed. Go figure. Given this background, it comes as no surprise that I would be interested with a website involving quantum physics. I listened to the lectures and they were very good. Easy to understand. Then again, they were coming from a Nobel Prize winning physicist, so that was an achievement by itself. I particularly enjoyed the nod towards geek/nerd humor. Physics lovers rejoice. Yes, there is Feynman. Geez, I have no life.
If you're looking for a job (this term defined loosely), then take hope. The top jobs with the largest job growth have been posted. We need people to serve us food, give us an education beyond high school, and take care of us when were sick. In an unrelated note, this sounds perfect for America. Smart people eating a lot of food and needing medical care due to their poor nutritional/eating/exercising habits. It's a shame that "personal trainer" didn't make it on the Top Ten list.
And proof that there's no news in the news. Some low-bulk filler. Scientists have examined the Mona Lisa and discovered it is an excellent painting. They also pulled out some theories from the air and said that the subject was painted after having her second child. And this is based on...
On an unrelated note, Americans cannot read nutrition labels posted on packages and are lousy at basic math like multiplication. In other words, the American consumer are illiterate, suck at math, and are eating way too much. So what else is new?
That's all for now.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Mind If I Feel Your...
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the entire Internet devoted to all things related to Un, the only subject that I can write about without much problems. Ask me to write something about another topic and that might take a while.
Yesterday, I had an...interesting...well, maybe unusual conversation with a former professor. This professor, who shall remain anonymous (Anonymous Professor or AP as this progresses) is a really cool professor at KU Law School. He pounds information in your head like a sledgehammer and it will stay in by God or you will be woefully unprepared for one of his finals. Anonymous Professor also tells very funny jokes and makes funny comments. Students (well, maybe me at this moment) have compiled a list of APisms, or catch phrases he uses in class. Most of them involve references to crooked politicians and property law. By now, if you're a student at KU Law, you'll know who I am talking about. Then again, if you've read my writing project blog, you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.
Anyways, I've just gotten a drink of water from the water fountain. Earlier in the day, one of the water mains leading to the law school burst so water was nonexistent until the problem could be fixed. AP had noticed that the water was back on and he made several funny comments about the current situation. You've got to be there when he starts cracking jokes. It's an experience.
Anyways, he comments on how he likes my shirt. Normal conversation, right? So I'm wearing a crimson shirt with "KU" in block print and a navy blue Nike swoosh. Yeah, so KU changed it's athletic apparel allegiance to Adidas. It has KU on it, so it's good enough. I'm not spending money to replace the old Nike stuff with Adidas stuff since I am cheap and on the pragmatic side, it's still KU apparel.
The rest of the conversation goes down from here and enters into an amazingly bizarre level of non-reality. Almost surreal. What follows is an actual event and not some fictional story coming from my head. These events, for some reason, happen to me. I must be a "unusual event" lightning rod or something.
Let's pause right now. What the hell do you do at this moment? Be polite and act as if nothing has happened? Be casual? Show shock? In order to avoid escalating the level of social awkwardness any higher, I decide to take the casual route. As if this was a normal way for people to react to a shirt.
AP decides that this will be a good time to feel my shirt. He touches the sleeve and rubs it between his fingers, as if he is appraising the quality of fabric. Now this is weird.
And now it's time to go outside to sit in the sun to decompress from this very unusual conversation. It's nice when people comment on how they like the clothes you're wearing, but when it comes from a professor who decides they would like to feel your shirt because they like the texture, that's really strange. It would have been much better if an attractive girl asked, preferably with a phone number. Ah, if life only worked that way in reality and not in my little world in my head. It should happen soon. I think. Anyways, if you are a single female who would like to feel this shirt in question, please feel free to contact me at...just kidding. It was a joke. Wait. If you consider this a serious offer and would like to do so...you know what to do.
This is just a fluke and it will not happen again. I might have to search my closet for shirts of unusual texture.
It's now time to begin my day. I should be getting ready for Federal Income Taxation today and Trial Ad small section tomorrow. That's all for now.
Yesterday, I had an...interesting...well, maybe unusual conversation with a former professor. This professor, who shall remain anonymous (Anonymous Professor or AP as this progresses) is a really cool professor at KU Law School. He pounds information in your head like a sledgehammer and it will stay in by God or you will be woefully unprepared for one of his finals. Anonymous Professor also tells very funny jokes and makes funny comments. Students (well, maybe me at this moment) have compiled a list of APisms, or catch phrases he uses in class. Most of them involve references to crooked politicians and property law. By now, if you're a student at KU Law, you'll know who I am talking about. Then again, if you've read my writing project blog, you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.
Anyways, I've just gotten a drink of water from the water fountain. Earlier in the day, one of the water mains leading to the law school burst so water was nonexistent until the problem could be fixed. AP had noticed that the water was back on and he made several funny comments about the current situation. You've got to be there when he starts cracking jokes. It's an experience.
Anyways, he comments on how he likes my shirt. Normal conversation, right? So I'm wearing a crimson shirt with "KU" in block print and a navy blue Nike swoosh. Yeah, so KU changed it's athletic apparel allegiance to Adidas. It has KU on it, so it's good enough. I'm not spending money to replace the old Nike stuff with Adidas stuff since I am cheap and on the pragmatic side, it's still KU apparel.
The rest of the conversation goes down from here and enters into an amazingly bizarre level of non-reality. Almost surreal. What follows is an actual event and not some fictional story coming from my head. These events, for some reason, happen to me. I must be a "unusual event" lightning rod or something.
AP: "Mr. Un-Zone, that is a really nice shirt you're wearing."
Me: "Thanks."
AP: "It has a really nice texture to it."
Me: (Confusion is registering on my face right now, wondering what the hell is going on right now.) "It does..."
AP: "Very rugged. This might sound gay, but would you mind if I felt your shirt? Just to get an idea of what the texture is like?"
Me: (Even more confused and trying to figure out what to say or do at this time.)
Let's pause right now. What the hell do you do at this moment? Be polite and act as if nothing has happened? Be casual? Show shock? In order to avoid escalating the level of social awkwardness any higher, I decide to take the casual route. As if this was a normal way for people to react to a shirt.
Me: "Sure. Go ahead." (I'm thinking I pulled this one off very casually. And this is one big joke. Where are the cameras?)
AP decides that this will be a good time to feel my shirt. He touches the sleeve and rubs it between his fingers, as if he is appraising the quality of fabric. Now this is weird.
AP: "Very nice. It's got a rugged texture to it. Very tough. It's unlike the combed cotton they use in other shirts. Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Me: (I don't know anything about the texture of combed cotton, but I maintain some composure.)"Um...yeah."
AP: "By any chance, where did you get this shirt?"
Me: (By this time, the social awkwardness has gone off the chart. So I decide to go take a roundabout route and not say anything of value. I probably could have said something like "I got it as a present." but I don't.) "Well, I got it from someone who knows someone..."
AP: "I don't want to hear any more. I should be going right now. That is a very nice shirt."
And now it's time to go outside to sit in the sun to decompress from this very unusual conversation. It's nice when people comment on how they like the clothes you're wearing, but when it comes from a professor who decides they would like to feel your shirt because they like the texture, that's really strange. It would have been much better if an attractive girl asked, preferably with a phone number. Ah, if life only worked that way in reality and not in my little world in my head. It should happen soon. I think. Anyways, if you are a single female who would like to feel this shirt in question, please feel free to contact me at...just kidding. It was a joke. Wait. If you consider this a serious offer and would like to do so...you know what to do.
This is just a fluke and it will not happen again. I might have to search my closet for shirts of unusual texture.
It's now time to begin my day. I should be getting ready for Federal Income Taxation today and Trial Ad small section tomorrow. That's all for now.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Tuesday Update
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet that I know of devoted to all things related to Un. By now, if you have been looking at this site, you'll know that it's stuff that I find interesting to write about. So if this isn't your cup of tea, you can always press the BACK button(the one that looks like an arrow pointing to the left) on your browser or you can go to Google and redo the search that got you here. For those of you who actually want to be here on this site, read on.
It's time to have fun with news items that I find to be...well...I'm not sure how to describe them. I could say "stupid" or "obvious" or some other words or phrases, but it wouldn't encompass every news item. So let's just say I make some comments about the news item and pound some information into your heads with irony, sarcasm, and other good literary devices. The Un-Zone Bully Pulpit.
Just like President Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" comment and sign referring to the Invasion(Liberation or whatever you want to call it) of Iraq, NATO has made a similar comment about the Taliban in Afghanistan. Actually, they made a comment along the lines of "There are no more Taliban in a certain part of sourthern Afghanistan." Sort of like VP Cheney and other Bush officials saying that the insurgency(which was brewing in Iraq before the US declared "victory" by the way) was on the decline and about to be crushed by American military might. Oddly enough, guess what happens? Yes indeedy. The Taliban sets off a string of suicide bombings that kill NATO peacekeepers, soldiers, and Pakistani civilians, including children. The soldiers were involved in Operation Medusa. Maybe they should have called in Hydra, after the multi-headed monster with heads that grew back after they were cut off.
On a related note, the British admitted that they and NATO underestimated the tenacity of the Taliban. They were surprised that the Taliban would fight back with everything they got, despite going against the US military, the British, and NATO peacekeepers? Haven't they read about the recent history of Afghanistan? Don't they remember about the Afghani-Soviet War that occured during the 1980's? If Wikipedia isn't accurate enough for your tastes, how about this from the US government or maybe this? Guess what? The Taliban used to be the mujahadeen from the Afghanistan-Soviet War. The United States gave them weapons like Stinger missiles so they could shoot down Russian Hind attack helicopters. Basically, they learned their lessons from the best out there: the United States. They're going to know how to fight in their own turf using whatever weapons they have. As the History News Network so clearly states, the people we armed are the CIA armed are
Even as I write this, three US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Nothing like a good ol' mission accomplished in Afghanistan.
From the New York Times, an article stating that the Canadians are blaming the United States for it's role in a torture case.
To quote from the article:
To add a little cynicism to this, where did the Canadians think the US was going to take a suspected terrorist? Disney World? Apparently, he was sent (wait, it was a "rendition" according to the President) to Syria (a country not known for its use of humane interrogation techniques) where he was put in a cell and beaten with electrical wires for nearly a year. And then the Syrians realized he had no connections to terrorism. Ooops. Sorry. Honest mistake.
After all, G.W. Bush says the Geneva Conventions are too vague and we have to define what's acceptable or not. A little use of force isn't too bad if it prevents terrorist attacks. If you're not a terrorist, sorry for the beatings. It was for national security reasons.
That's all for now.
It's time to have fun with news items that I find to be...well...I'm not sure how to describe them. I could say "stupid" or "obvious" or some other words or phrases, but it wouldn't encompass every news item. So let's just say I make some comments about the news item and pound some information into your heads with irony, sarcasm, and other good literary devices. The Un-Zone Bully Pulpit.
Just like President Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" comment and sign referring to the Invasion(Liberation or whatever you want to call it) of Iraq, NATO has made a similar comment about the Taliban in Afghanistan. Actually, they made a comment along the lines of "There are no more Taliban in a certain part of sourthern Afghanistan." Sort of like VP Cheney and other Bush officials saying that the insurgency(which was brewing in Iraq before the US declared "victory" by the way) was on the decline and about to be crushed by American military might. Oddly enough, guess what happens? Yes indeedy. The Taliban sets off a string of suicide bombings that kill NATO peacekeepers, soldiers, and Pakistani civilians, including children. The soldiers were involved in Operation Medusa. Maybe they should have called in Hydra, after the multi-headed monster with heads that grew back after they were cut off.
On a related note, the British admitted that they and NATO underestimated the tenacity of the Taliban. They were surprised that the Taliban would fight back with everything they got, despite going against the US military, the British, and NATO peacekeepers? Haven't they read about the recent history of Afghanistan? Don't they remember about the Afghani-Soviet War that occured during the 1980's? If Wikipedia isn't accurate enough for your tastes, how about this from the US government or maybe this? Guess what? The Taliban used to be the mujahadeen from the Afghanistan-Soviet War. The United States gave them weapons like Stinger missiles so they could shoot down Russian Hind attack helicopters. Basically, they learned their lessons from the best out there: the United States. They're going to know how to fight in their own turf using whatever weapons they have. As the History News Network so clearly states, the people we armed are the CIA armed are
[S]ome of the same people who in 1996 killed 19 American airmen at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998; blew a hole in the side of the U.S. destroyer Cole in Aden harbor in 2000; and on Sept. 11, 2001, flew hijacked airliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Today, the world awaits what is almost certain to happen soon at some airport -- a terrorist firing a U.S. Stinger low-level surface-to-air missile (manufactured at one time by General Dynamics in Rancho Cucamonga) into an American jumbo jet. The CIA supplied thousands of them to the moujahedeen and trained them to be experts in their use. If the CIA's activities in Afghanistan are a 'success story,' then Enron should be considered a model of corporate behavior.
Even as I write this, three US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Nothing like a good ol' mission accomplished in Afghanistan.
From the New York Times, an article stating that the Canadians are blaming the United States for it's role in a torture case.
To quote from the article:
American officials had apparently acted on inaccurate information from Canadian investigators and then misled Canadian authorities about their plans for Mr. Arar before transporting him to Syria.
To add a little cynicism to this, where did the Canadians think the US was going to take a suspected terrorist? Disney World? Apparently, he was sent (wait, it was a "rendition" according to the President) to Syria (a country not known for its use of humane interrogation techniques) where he was put in a cell and beaten with electrical wires for nearly a year. And then the Syrians realized he had no connections to terrorism. Ooops. Sorry. Honest mistake.
After all, G.W. Bush says the Geneva Conventions are too vague and we have to define what's acceptable or not. A little use of force isn't too bad if it prevents terrorist attacks. If you're not a terrorist, sorry for the beatings. It was for national security reasons.
That's all for now.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Magic Phrases, Trial Ad, and the KFC Robber
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site that I know of on the World Wide Web devoted to all things related to Un. Yes, this is the original and only site when it comes to things related to Un. You don't accept cheap and poor knock-off imitations when it comes to other things in life, so why not when it comes to the websites you see?
I just came back from Trial Ad small section. I played the role of two witnesses--an investigator and a college professor. It wasn't too bad, though there were a bunch of facts and names to remember. I also got a really weird problem that threw me for a loop. It involved an armed robbery where my witness got robbed at gunpoint. On the surface, it seems like a simple problem of getting a gun entered into evidence. Not so with this problem. Then again, I could have received the case where you couldn't get the exhibit in no matter how hard you tried. Yes, a trick fact pattern.
In general, if you are prosecuting such a case, you do a direct examination of the witness first and then you do a direct examination of the police officer who evenually nabs the crook. During the examination of the police officer, you enter the gun into evidence once you lay down the foundation. By foundation, it means asking questions that establish three things:
1. Qualifying witness is competent (first hand knowledge)
2. Exhibit must be relevant and reliable (related to the case and can be trusted)
3. Exhibit must be authenticated (it's what you say it is)
Depending on the object, you can ask the right questions in the right order to get the stuff in. They've got nice patterns where you just replace "exhibit" with things like "gun," "picture," and so forth. (Sorry about all of this legal jargon that I'm using, but it's necessary. You can always impress people with your legal knowledge at this point.)
Well, to make a long explanation short, this fact pattern is well messed up because it's a Trial Advocacy problem. All academic testing with little to do with how things are done in the real world. Pure fantasy to test your knowledge of evidence and how to get exhibits in. This is quite common in law school.
Anyways, my examination is going pretty well. I'm breezing through without any notes and maintaining eye contact and all that other good stuff. I have a few problems articulating certain things, but all in all, it's all good.
Then comes the problem of coming up with an argument on why the gun should be entered into evidence. Problem.
I had the correct answer somewhere in my head. I know because I had been musing about why anyone would do an examination as the problem book had and how would I counter any objections. Someone had offhandedly given me the real-world answer and the magic phrases to use. A powerful WMD to nuke eivdentiary objections into nothingness and make me supreme ruler.
Right at the tip of my tongue and I forget them. So I come up with what I think is brilliant stuff, but the Trial Advocacy adjunct, a seasoned federal attorney, stops and explains what I should have said. The resulting lecture is very informative and she reminds everyone of the magic words I should have said. Apparently, one of the cases she tried is connected to this problem. As a Fed prosecutor, she tried the infamous KFC Robber Case, where the defendant armed with a gun robbed Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. The witnesses only could describe the gun as "a black gun" which later turned out to be a Glock. What were the lessons learned from this pertinent case:
1. The chain of custody relates to the weight of evidence and not the admission of evidence.
2. The magical phrase is "probative of identity" which is why she could enter the Glock the police found into evidence when witnesses could not say that it was exactly the same gun, but "similar to" the exhibit.
After that, I end pretty well. The shield of invincibility got dented, but I manage to pull one out. Next time, I should try to explain things in my language and not like a freaking rule book. After all, textbooks and statutes make for tedious and lousy reading material.
It's now time to read up on the next case I am doing a direct. I need to cover my bases a lot better. That and writing an article for the September issue of the Brief-Brief.
That's all for now.
I just came back from Trial Ad small section. I played the role of two witnesses--an investigator and a college professor. It wasn't too bad, though there were a bunch of facts and names to remember. I also got a really weird problem that threw me for a loop. It involved an armed robbery where my witness got robbed at gunpoint. On the surface, it seems like a simple problem of getting a gun entered into evidence. Not so with this problem. Then again, I could have received the case where you couldn't get the exhibit in no matter how hard you tried. Yes, a trick fact pattern.
In general, if you are prosecuting such a case, you do a direct examination of the witness first and then you do a direct examination of the police officer who evenually nabs the crook. During the examination of the police officer, you enter the gun into evidence once you lay down the foundation. By foundation, it means asking questions that establish three things:
1. Qualifying witness is competent (first hand knowledge)
2. Exhibit must be relevant and reliable (related to the case and can be trusted)
3. Exhibit must be authenticated (it's what you say it is)
Depending on the object, you can ask the right questions in the right order to get the stuff in. They've got nice patterns where you just replace "exhibit" with things like "gun," "picture," and so forth. (Sorry about all of this legal jargon that I'm using, but it's necessary. You can always impress people with your legal knowledge at this point.)
Well, to make a long explanation short, this fact pattern is well messed up because it's a Trial Advocacy problem. All academic testing with little to do with how things are done in the real world. Pure fantasy to test your knowledge of evidence and how to get exhibits in. This is quite common in law school.
Anyways, my examination is going pretty well. I'm breezing through without any notes and maintaining eye contact and all that other good stuff. I have a few problems articulating certain things, but all in all, it's all good.
Then comes the problem of coming up with an argument on why the gun should be entered into evidence. Problem.
I had the correct answer somewhere in my head. I know because I had been musing about why anyone would do an examination as the problem book had and how would I counter any objections. Someone had offhandedly given me the real-world answer and the magic phrases to use. A powerful WMD to nuke eivdentiary objections into nothingness and make me supreme ruler.
Right at the tip of my tongue and I forget them. So I come up with what I think is brilliant stuff, but the Trial Advocacy adjunct, a seasoned federal attorney, stops and explains what I should have said. The resulting lecture is very informative and she reminds everyone of the magic words I should have said. Apparently, one of the cases she tried is connected to this problem. As a Fed prosecutor, she tried the infamous KFC Robber Case, where the defendant armed with a gun robbed Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. The witnesses only could describe the gun as "a black gun" which later turned out to be a Glock. What were the lessons learned from this pertinent case:
1. The chain of custody relates to the weight of evidence and not the admission of evidence.
2. The magical phrase is "probative of identity" which is why she could enter the Glock the police found into evidence when witnesses could not say that it was exactly the same gun, but "similar to" the exhibit.
After that, I end pretty well. The shield of invincibility got dented, but I manage to pull one out. Next time, I should try to explain things in my language and not like a freaking rule book. After all, textbooks and statutes make for tedious and lousy reading material.
It's now time to read up on the next case I am doing a direct. I need to cover my bases a lot better. That and writing an article for the September issue of the Brief-Brief.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Stand Up Comedy Competition
It's an update to this blog. Apparently, there will be an Open Mic Night at the Kansas Union and it will be a stand-up comedy competition.
If you have read my blog, you will know that I enjoy doing stand-up comedy. Yes, I don't perform that often to be considered a serious comic, but hey, I've got a schedule that makes performing on a Tuesday night a tough proposition. If you go to an open-mic at Stanford and Sons, you don't end up back in Lawrence until midnight if it's a busy one. I'm not much of a night owl. Yeah, it's a pitiful excuse and I should be more serious about this, as I enjoy doing this more than law school at this moment.
I think the perfect situation has come up, thanks to the University Daily Kansan(UDK), a newspaper that I rarely read, as I prefer the New York Times.
According to the UDK, the Student Union Activities association is holding an Open-Mic series where aspiring musicians, poets, and comics show their stuff in order to win monetary prizes. I did their Stand-Up competition in February and I had a good time. I didn't win (the big prize was a gig at a comedy club for a famous comic), but I'm not bitter or anything.
The voting is done by the audience and the top-three vote getters make it to the big final contest. If I do try out for this on November 15, 2006, I'm going to need to be funny and I need to get votes. Maybe I should load the audience with law school students...just kidding. Actually, I might have to do that to win.
That's all for now.
If you have read my blog, you will know that I enjoy doing stand-up comedy. Yes, I don't perform that often to be considered a serious comic, but hey, I've got a schedule that makes performing on a Tuesday night a tough proposition. If you go to an open-mic at Stanford and Sons, you don't end up back in Lawrence until midnight if it's a busy one. I'm not much of a night owl. Yeah, it's a pitiful excuse and I should be more serious about this, as I enjoy doing this more than law school at this moment.
I think the perfect situation has come up, thanks to the University Daily Kansan(UDK), a newspaper that I rarely read, as I prefer the New York Times.
According to the UDK, the Student Union Activities association is holding an Open-Mic series where aspiring musicians, poets, and comics show their stuff in order to win monetary prizes. I did their Stand-Up competition in February and I had a good time. I didn't win (the big prize was a gig at a comedy club for a famous comic), but I'm not bitter or anything.
The voting is done by the audience and the top-three vote getters make it to the big final contest. If I do try out for this on November 15, 2006, I'm going to need to be funny and I need to get votes. Maybe I should load the audience with law school students...just kidding. Actually, I might have to do that to win.
That's all for now.
Morning Observation
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet that I know of that is devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for one of those updates that I do for this blog at a semi-consistent basis.
During the weekend, I went to Haskell University's Indian Art Market. It was an outdoor event and unlike me, they had prepared for the possibility of rain. When I arrived there, there was a heavy shower. And to think I had not expected this event to occur. Yup, I left the umbrella at home.
You know, one of the hardest questions to answer is the following, especially when it is asked by a female. It comes in many variations, but the basic premise is the female will ask how do they look in a certain item of clothing: "Does this look good on me?" The other is "which one looks better?" No matter what answer you give, something you say will cause them to become annoyed or angry. If you are blunt by saying "It makes you look *insert adjective here*," and it is not complementary, they will cry and call you insensitive. If the words happens to be "fat" or "ugly" or the death phrase of "It makes your *body part* looks fat," they will try their best not to rip your head off and insert it where the sun don't shine. On the other hand, if you say they look nice, which may be the truth, a female (most that I know of) will either become insecure and say, "Are you sure" and ask you over and over again. Or they will accuse you of lying and go through the "You don't care enough about me to tell me the truth" bit. Note, I am going by the limited personal experience that I have dealing with women and through observation. Personal experience, sadly, is lacking; however, I have had lots of time to look at couples go through this deadly dance of clothes. Not to bash on women and seemingly have a stereotypical view of women, I do know of women who honestly accept criticism and compliments without going through the moods I have described.
I generally defuse the situation by telling the truth in a funny way. I always say, "You're asking a guy. What would I know about fashion?" Which is the honest truth. What do men know about fashion? Unless you are a clothes designer, a person who is picky about clothes, or one of the guys from Queer Eye, most men will not have a clue about clothing. As long as it passes the smell test and it fits, it's good enough to wear. I do have some sense on what to wear and what not to wear, but I'm not sure if such and such bracelet accessorizes with the clothes you are wearing at that time.
That being said, I do know one thing. Clothes from the 1980's are not cool. Retro may be the cool thing to do right now, but I think they should have skipped the decade where superhold hairspray was the norm. Seriously.
A case in point. This morning, while coming to law school this morning, I happened to spot a girl walking to class. I'm assuming that she was walking to class since she was on campus. Maybe she was going to the gym. I'm not totally sure. The girl was attractive, but something was definitely wrong in the style department.
Imagine blond hair in a shade that was not natural, unless you have a genetic relationship to blond squirrels pulled up in a ponytail. A neon-pink jacket. Neon-pink shorts reminiscent of the old-school basketball shorts worn during the 1970's. A black shirt with neon-green and neon-yellow letters written on the front. Pink sneakers. And to top it all off, a hot-pink bag. Note the amount of neon colors in her outfit this morning. More neon than the Vegas Strip, more neon than Andre Agassi when he started out in tennis, more neon than a one-hit wonder 80's hair band. Not cool. She probably would have looked better if she wore something less...well...neon. A little is fine, but that much is not. I think my eyes are still hurting. If I only had a picture to post.
Then again, what would I know about fashion? I'm just a guy who can't tell if everything is nicely accessorized.
Time to go to International Trade. Oh the joys of writing six pages of notes. My Tuesday is off to a great start.
During the weekend, I went to Haskell University's Indian Art Market. It was an outdoor event and unlike me, they had prepared for the possibility of rain. When I arrived there, there was a heavy shower. And to think I had not expected this event to occur. Yup, I left the umbrella at home.
You know, one of the hardest questions to answer is the following, especially when it is asked by a female. It comes in many variations, but the basic premise is the female will ask how do they look in a certain item of clothing: "Does this look good on me?" The other is "which one looks better?" No matter what answer you give, something you say will cause them to become annoyed or angry. If you are blunt by saying "It makes you look *insert adjective here*," and it is not complementary, they will cry and call you insensitive. If the words happens to be "fat" or "ugly" or the death phrase of "It makes your *body part* looks fat," they will try their best not to rip your head off and insert it where the sun don't shine. On the other hand, if you say they look nice, which may be the truth, a female (most that I know of) will either become insecure and say, "Are you sure" and ask you over and over again. Or they will accuse you of lying and go through the "You don't care enough about me to tell me the truth" bit. Note, I am going by the limited personal experience that I have dealing with women and through observation. Personal experience, sadly, is lacking; however, I have had lots of time to look at couples go through this deadly dance of clothes. Not to bash on women and seemingly have a stereotypical view of women, I do know of women who honestly accept criticism and compliments without going through the moods I have described.
I generally defuse the situation by telling the truth in a funny way. I always say, "You're asking a guy. What would I know about fashion?" Which is the honest truth. What do men know about fashion? Unless you are a clothes designer, a person who is picky about clothes, or one of the guys from Queer Eye, most men will not have a clue about clothing. As long as it passes the smell test and it fits, it's good enough to wear. I do have some sense on what to wear and what not to wear, but I'm not sure if such and such bracelet accessorizes with the clothes you are wearing at that time.
That being said, I do know one thing. Clothes from the 1980's are not cool. Retro may be the cool thing to do right now, but I think they should have skipped the decade where superhold hairspray was the norm. Seriously.
A case in point. This morning, while coming to law school this morning, I happened to spot a girl walking to class. I'm assuming that she was walking to class since she was on campus. Maybe she was going to the gym. I'm not totally sure. The girl was attractive, but something was definitely wrong in the style department.
Imagine blond hair in a shade that was not natural, unless you have a genetic relationship to blond squirrels pulled up in a ponytail. A neon-pink jacket. Neon-pink shorts reminiscent of the old-school basketball shorts worn during the 1970's. A black shirt with neon-green and neon-yellow letters written on the front. Pink sneakers. And to top it all off, a hot-pink bag. Note the amount of neon colors in her outfit this morning. More neon than the Vegas Strip, more neon than Andre Agassi when he started out in tennis, more neon than a one-hit wonder 80's hair band. Not cool. She probably would have looked better if she wore something less...well...neon. A little is fine, but that much is not. I think my eyes are still hurting. If I only had a picture to post.
Then again, what would I know about fashion? I'm just a guy who can't tell if everything is nicely accessorized.
Time to go to International Trade. Oh the joys of writing six pages of notes. My Tuesday is off to a great start.
Friday, September 08, 2006
A Friday Post
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet that I know of devoted to all things related to Un. Please hit the "Back" button if you were looking for something else like the United Nations or porn or whatever you searching for.
It's time for one of those random updates where I write about nothing significant like web links because I have nothing interesting to write about or I am too lazy to think of something great. Man, I need to get a social life.
This is probably one of the more...um...interesting stories that I have read on the Internet. You've got to give it to the Japanese for such vivid and creative headlines for a newspaper story. What else would you expect from the people who gave to the world comics involving sex with aliens and tentacled creatures? You just have to see the article and judge for yourself.
I've been to McDonalds before and I seriously doubt that I will confuse a little eatery in Malaysia serving chicken curry with the fast food institution. Come on, it wouldn't be a McDonalds without the ubiquitous golden arches and the other features that make a McDonalds and McDonalds. Oh well, that's how the legal system works these days.
Nope, that doesn't look like I'm going to confuse the two places. Besides, the curry place probably has meat in the food.
And in not-so-smart criminal behavior, a man accused of killing his wife left behind a to-do list in his house. The police found it when they searched his house. Maybe he should have put down "Destroy this list" on the list. This comes to your from New Orleans, so I guess the cops got a "big easy" load of evidence. Sorry for the bad pun.
And more dumb behavior by criminals. If you have a damaged car, do not tell the repair people that you were car-jacked and the thieves stole crack-cocaine from your car. And if you do happen to tell that story, don't leave any incriminating evidence like a stash of drugs behind. As my Criminal Procedure professor said, "Leave your drugs at home."
That's all for now.
It's time for one of those random updates where I write about nothing significant like web links because I have nothing interesting to write about or I am too lazy to think of something great. Man, I need to get a social life.
This is probably one of the more...um...interesting stories that I have read on the Internet. You've got to give it to the Japanese for such vivid and creative headlines for a newspaper story. What else would you expect from the people who gave to the world comics involving sex with aliens and tentacled creatures? You just have to see the article and judge for yourself.
I've been to McDonalds before and I seriously doubt that I will confuse a little eatery in Malaysia serving chicken curry with the fast food institution. Come on, it wouldn't be a McDonalds without the ubiquitous golden arches and the other features that make a McDonalds and McDonalds. Oh well, that's how the legal system works these days.
Nope, that doesn't look like I'm going to confuse the two places. Besides, the curry place probably has meat in the food.
And in not-so-smart criminal behavior, a man accused of killing his wife left behind a to-do list in his house. The police found it when they searched his house. Maybe he should have put down "Destroy this list" on the list. This comes to your from New Orleans, so I guess the cops got a "big easy" load of evidence. Sorry for the bad pun.
And more dumb behavior by criminals. If you have a damaged car, do not tell the repair people that you were car-jacked and the thieves stole crack-cocaine from your car. And if you do happen to tell that story, don't leave any incriminating evidence like a stash of drugs behind. As my Criminal Procedure professor said, "Leave your drugs at home."
That's all for now.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Random Wednesday Thoughts
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet(and I've searched for them) devoted to all things related to Un. Then again, this really isn't something special, so I can't brag too much about it. There probably is some similarly positioned site on the Internet. I digress.
It was one of those perfect weather days today in this part of the world: Lawrence, Kansas. The sun was shining brightly. The sky was blue with some puffy, white clouds. A slight breeze, but not too windy. To gild the weather-related lily, it wasn't hot, but very comfortable. If it weren't for law school classes, I probably would have spent all day outside, just soaking up the sun and slowly getting a nasty form of skin cancer. I'm going to spend a lot of time outside when the weather is this nice. It's much better than staying inside, considering the condition of certain building on campus. *COUGH*Wescoe Hall*COUGH* for example. Not that I'm naming names or anything. The Law School isn't so bad, but it's a good thing to get outside. Maybe it might be possible to get my Public International Law professor to have class outside tomorrow. Not that it's going to happen, but it's worth asking him. Just once.
Things are going as usual at the Law School. The new 1L class thinks Lawyering is a useless class that gives no guidance and probably won't be useful any time in the real world. And they are thinking about word counts and all the other "fun" stuff that encompasses a class involving "legal" writing in the "real world". Note that items in quotes are meant to be interpreted as sarcastic. When they say "good luck" after giving an assignment, they mean "Good luck in guessing what we want from you in this assignment" and not "Good luck" as traditionally meant in such situations where it applies.
And Facebook is becoming more and more creepier. They have a new feature called "News Feed" and it tells you what updates you've made and summarizes what has happened to your profile. Stuff like Relationship Status, Wall postings, and all the things you can change on your Facebook Profile. When I think about it, it's kinda, well, it is voyeuristic. Almost like a electronic stalker that follows you and knows what you are doing. If it were a person, it would receive a restraining order from the courts.
I've got a new blog listed on the "Blogs I Read" section of the sidebar. I'm probably biased, but I think it is a well-written blog about an American in Estonia. It's more like an American in Europe, but the writer lives in Estonia and travels around Europe when she has time to do so. It's not the official name of the blog, but it works in a practical way. The posts are informative and entertaining. Why I might be biased is because I have known the writer of the blog since middle school when I used to live in Manhattan, Kansas. You just have to read it. I'm sure you will enjoy reading this blog.
That's all for now.
It was one of those perfect weather days today in this part of the world: Lawrence, Kansas. The sun was shining brightly. The sky was blue with some puffy, white clouds. A slight breeze, but not too windy. To gild the weather-related lily, it wasn't hot, but very comfortable. If it weren't for law school classes, I probably would have spent all day outside, just soaking up the sun and slowly getting a nasty form of skin cancer. I'm going to spend a lot of time outside when the weather is this nice. It's much better than staying inside, considering the condition of certain building on campus. *COUGH*Wescoe Hall*COUGH* for example. Not that I'm naming names or anything. The Law School isn't so bad, but it's a good thing to get outside. Maybe it might be possible to get my Public International Law professor to have class outside tomorrow. Not that it's going to happen, but it's worth asking him. Just once.
Things are going as usual at the Law School. The new 1L class thinks Lawyering is a useless class that gives no guidance and probably won't be useful any time in the real world. And they are thinking about word counts and all the other "fun" stuff that encompasses a class involving "legal" writing in the "real world". Note that items in quotes are meant to be interpreted as sarcastic. When they say "good luck" after giving an assignment, they mean "Good luck in guessing what we want from you in this assignment" and not "Good luck" as traditionally meant in such situations where it applies.
And Facebook is becoming more and more creepier. They have a new feature called "News Feed" and it tells you what updates you've made and summarizes what has happened to your profile. Stuff like Relationship Status, Wall postings, and all the things you can change on your Facebook Profile. When I think about it, it's kinda, well, it is voyeuristic. Almost like a electronic stalker that follows you and knows what you are doing. If it were a person, it would receive a restraining order from the courts.
I've got a new blog listed on the "Blogs I Read" section of the sidebar. I'm probably biased, but I think it is a well-written blog about an American in Estonia. It's more like an American in Europe, but the writer lives in Estonia and travels around Europe when she has time to do so. It's not the official name of the blog, but it works in a practical way. The posts are informative and entertaining. Why I might be biased is because I have known the writer of the blog since middle school when I used to live in Manhattan, Kansas. You just have to read it. I'm sure you will enjoy reading this blog.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Running and Going Nowhere
"Now! Now!" cried the Queen. "Faster! Faster!" And they went so fast that at last they seemed to skim through the air, hardly touching the ground with their feet, till suddenly, just as Alice was getting quite exhausted, they stopped, and she found herself sitting on the ground, breathless and giddy.
The Queen propped her up against a tree, and said kindly, "You may rest a little now."
Alice looked round her in great surprise. "Why, I do believe we've been under this tree the whole time! Everything's just as it was!"
"Of course it is," said the Queen, "what would you have it?"
"Well, in our country" said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
-Chapter Two of Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. If you haven't guessed by now, that means stuff that I find interesting. If this doesn't meet your standards for "interesting," you can always hit the "Back" button on your web browser and go to another more interesting site like Facebook or Google.
I've started to run and I find the activity to be quite amusing, though my standards for amusing are, put nicely, different than most people. Well, I find it amusing in an intellectual way. My legs, however, could care less what I am thinking about while running. They're probably thinking, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU RUNNING? STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
I have to admit, there is a weird feeling while jogging on a treadmill. It's sort of like the quote I have from Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. You run and run as fast as you can and you never go anywhere. You have to run to keep in the same place or end up flat on your face, having an extremely painful exfoliation done by the tread going at whatever speed you've set it on. If you go twice as fast than what you've set it on, you end up going somewhere...right into the control panel or you go so fast that you trip and fall and end up with your face on the tread. Just like if you go too slow.
One of the dumber things that you do if you go on a treadmill is forget about the little voice in your head. The one that reminds you of using a modicum of common sense. Like running for a distance of 2.5 miles at a 5.0MPH speed is different than running the same distance at 4.5MPH for one mile and finishing the rest at 5.0MPH. I know this may sound pretty obvious, but the mind works funny.
And another thing. Guys seem to do it more than women, which shows that despite many years, men have the "alpha male" behavior still residing in their brains. It might show that women have more common sense. I haven't done this before as I know that I will lose any speed battles. Maybe it might pop up when I start running at a faster speed than I run right now. Or I decide to be more competitive. Nah, I don't think so.
If there is another person on the treadmill by you, you will unconsciously (maybe consciously) loook over and see what speed they are running at. Then you will look at your speed and see what you are doing. If you are running faster than they are, you will feel a sense of smug satisfaction. If you are slower, you will up your speed so you are running faster than they are. The other person will counter. And you will counter that counter. And it will continue in a treadmill Cold War until someone can't counter any more. If you happen to reach a detente(I know there should be an accent) of some sort (same speed or you're both at max speed), it will be an endurance contest of who can last the longest at that speed. It always happens at one point or another.
In an unrelated note, there is a really strange guy at the place I exercise at. It's the same place where I took a dancing class (country-western, boot-scooting boogie stuff) during the summer. I didn't have anything better to do. I still have two left feet. He dresses in the same clothes, which normally isn't too bad. There are some people there who wear the same outfit, but he takes it to an extreme. As in he doesn't wash his clothes, so he smells bad. Words can't describe the odor, but it's something akin to a run-over skunk that's been lying on the road for a few days and a septic system trunk spilling some raw sewage over the entire mess. It's that bad. He also talks and mumbles and laughs to himslef. Like he has a connection to a radio station in his head. I've though the "implanted chips in the head" stories were stories, but this might be actual proof that they are true. I'm not kidding. People have complained about his...strange behavior...but the staff can't do anything about it. Unless he goes berserk or violent, they can't do anything like kick him out. Oh well. That's just the way it is. Some things you just can't change.
Time to go to International Trade Regulations. How fun. An exciting lecture about the early history of GATT. And six pages of notes to write in a frantic rush. My wrist is so happy to be part of the experience. Carpal tunnel here I come.
That's all for now.
The Queen propped her up against a tree, and said kindly, "You may rest a little now."
Alice looked round her in great surprise. "Why, I do believe we've been under this tree the whole time! Everything's just as it was!"
"Of course it is," said the Queen, "what would you have it?"
"Well, in our country" said Alice, still panting a little, "you'd generally get to somewhere else -- if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing."
"A slow sort of country!" said the Queen. "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.
If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
-Chapter Two of Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. If you haven't guessed by now, that means stuff that I find interesting. If this doesn't meet your standards for "interesting," you can always hit the "Back" button on your web browser and go to another more interesting site like Facebook or Google.
I've started to run and I find the activity to be quite amusing, though my standards for amusing are, put nicely, different than most people. Well, I find it amusing in an intellectual way. My legs, however, could care less what I am thinking about while running. They're probably thinking, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ARE YOU RUNNING? STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"
I have to admit, there is a weird feeling while jogging on a treadmill. It's sort of like the quote I have from Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. You run and run as fast as you can and you never go anywhere. You have to run to keep in the same place or end up flat on your face, having an extremely painful exfoliation done by the tread going at whatever speed you've set it on. If you go twice as fast than what you've set it on, you end up going somewhere...right into the control panel or you go so fast that you trip and fall and end up with your face on the tread. Just like if you go too slow.
One of the dumber things that you do if you go on a treadmill is forget about the little voice in your head. The one that reminds you of using a modicum of common sense. Like running for a distance of 2.5 miles at a 5.0MPH speed is different than running the same distance at 4.5MPH for one mile and finishing the rest at 5.0MPH. I know this may sound pretty obvious, but the mind works funny.
And another thing. Guys seem to do it more than women, which shows that despite many years, men have the "alpha male" behavior still residing in their brains. It might show that women have more common sense. I haven't done this before as I know that I will lose any speed battles. Maybe it might pop up when I start running at a faster speed than I run right now. Or I decide to be more competitive. Nah, I don't think so.
If there is another person on the treadmill by you, you will unconsciously (maybe consciously) loook over and see what speed they are running at. Then you will look at your speed and see what you are doing. If you are running faster than they are, you will feel a sense of smug satisfaction. If you are slower, you will up your speed so you are running faster than they are. The other person will counter. And you will counter that counter. And it will continue in a treadmill Cold War until someone can't counter any more. If you happen to reach a detente(I know there should be an accent) of some sort (same speed or you're both at max speed), it will be an endurance contest of who can last the longest at that speed. It always happens at one point or another.
In an unrelated note, there is a really strange guy at the place I exercise at. It's the same place where I took a dancing class (country-western, boot-scooting boogie stuff) during the summer. I didn't have anything better to do. I still have two left feet. He dresses in the same clothes, which normally isn't too bad. There are some people there who wear the same outfit, but he takes it to an extreme. As in he doesn't wash his clothes, so he smells bad. Words can't describe the odor, but it's something akin to a run-over skunk that's been lying on the road for a few days and a septic system trunk spilling some raw sewage over the entire mess. It's that bad. He also talks and mumbles and laughs to himslef. Like he has a connection to a radio station in his head. I've though the "implanted chips in the head" stories were stories, but this might be actual proof that they are true. I'm not kidding. People have complained about his...strange behavior...but the staff can't do anything about it. Unless he goes berserk or violent, they can't do anything like kick him out. Oh well. That's just the way it is. Some things you just can't change.
Time to go to International Trade Regulations. How fun. An exciting lecture about the early history of GATT. And six pages of notes to write in a frantic rush. My wrist is so happy to be part of the experience. Carpal tunnel here I come.
That's all for now.
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