Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this blog is all about me and the events that happen in my so-called life. Plus the random thoughts that float around in my head that need a home.
There was a sidewalk sale today in Lawrence. All the stores--well, most of them--were selling stuff on the sidewalks. Downtown Lawrence has an eclectic selection of stores covering the gamut of items to buy. You've got bookstores, places to eat, clothing, clubs, jewelry, and one store that will sell you everything but ice. Incidentally enough, the store that sells you everything but ice is called "Everything But Ice." I'm partial to the bookstores as I like reading. That and some of the restaurants like Zen Zero. For some reason, I can't seem to find a restaurant that serves really spicy food. The last time I went to Zen Zero, I asked for the food to be as spicy as they could make it. I still needed to add in like four teaspoons of sambal to get it decent. Anyways...
It was pleasant to spend some time browsing the stores and the various wares being offered. That and the people watching. I like watching people more than I like shopping. The experience would have been more pleasant if the weather had cooperated. It was well over 90 degrees and the humidity wasn't helping much. That and the prices were a little out of my price range. And I wasn't in the shopping mood as there was nothing that I wanted or needed to buy.
Speaking of money, the KU Alumni Association keeps excellent track of the alumni. I think I've received at least one piece of mail from them every day. All of these offers. The official KU Alumni Association VISA card. Plus the Mastercard version. The official KU Alumni temporary health care plan. The official KU Alumni insurance policy/car insurance plan. Every single brochure for alumni donation and the wonderful benefits like the magazine, autographed basketballs, posters, pictures, Christmas ornaments, etc.
Um...I don't need that stuff right now. It would be nice of them if they could give me money instead of asking me for it.
Today, I got a letter from them. It asked me to fill out a form so they could keep track of how I was doing and so they could update their records...so they could send me more stuff asking me for money. I was sorely tempted to put in wrong information. Like giving them the phone number to a pizza place in Seattle, Washington. The address of a homeless shelter in New York City or some place in the middle of nowhere. Just to stop getting that stuff.
Considering how well they can track people down, I wouldn't be surprised if the alumni association could send you mail anywhere, any time. I could change my name, have a new address, an unlisted phone number, and join the witness protection program, and the alumni association would still be able to track me down and ask me for money.
That's all for now.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Car Watching
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this site is all about me and the little things happening in my life that I find interesting. If you don't like what this site is all about, leave it.
While driving in Lawrence, I look at the cars that people drive. This year, I've noticed a sharp increase in the number of Ford Mustangs on the road. In the past years, I would notice a whole lot of Beetles. I guess that was the vehicle of choice in past years, considering the hippie/college town vibe that Lawrence is known for.
Of course, a lot of the cars being driven in Lawrence are pretty practical and few are what you would consider luxury cars. Sure, there are the many variety of Hummers and SUVs on the road. However, they're nothing like the traditional luxury cars you normally think of.
I've seem a few BMW Z coupes in red, bronze, and silver. Every once in a while, I see a Corvette. Sometimes, it's the classic Corvette Stingray which is still an awesome car. And sometimes, it's the C06, but never a Z06. I'm thinking the $40,000 version (C06) rates high enough on the car coolness scale to top all the competition. Once you think about it, the C06 is a fine car, as good a sports car you can get for that price. Some might argue it's better than a Porsche and a lot more fun. Face it. A Corvette is an iconic car.
Speaking of Porsches, they exist in Lawrence. The one I see the most is a red Porsche Boxster. I can't imagine a yellow Porsche for some reason. I've also seen a black Cayman S and a silver Cayman driving down 23rd Street. Those were eye-catchers.
I've never seen a Ferrari in Lawrence before. Then again, you rarely see a Ferrari in most corners of the world. Except in Italy. And on a F1 racetrack or in places where the rich and famous hang out.
It's kind of nice to see them in real life. Pictures, no matter how glossy they are, just don't have the same visual appeal as the real article. So it was nice to see a stream of Ferraris crusing down Mass Street. All of them were red, oddly enough. Or at least the Ferraris I was seeing at that moment. For some reason, I can't imagine a Ferrari that is not red. They are always red.
Apparently, the Ferrari Club of America was hosting a meeting in town. So for a few hours today, a large number of Ferraris were in Lawrence. Now, if I can only see a Lamborghini in Lawrence...
That's all for now.
While driving in Lawrence, I look at the cars that people drive. This year, I've noticed a sharp increase in the number of Ford Mustangs on the road. In the past years, I would notice a whole lot of Beetles. I guess that was the vehicle of choice in past years, considering the hippie/college town vibe that Lawrence is known for.
Of course, a lot of the cars being driven in Lawrence are pretty practical and few are what you would consider luxury cars. Sure, there are the many variety of Hummers and SUVs on the road. However, they're nothing like the traditional luxury cars you normally think of.
I've seem a few BMW Z coupes in red, bronze, and silver. Every once in a while, I see a Corvette. Sometimes, it's the classic Corvette Stingray which is still an awesome car. And sometimes, it's the C06, but never a Z06. I'm thinking the $40,000 version (C06) rates high enough on the car coolness scale to top all the competition. Once you think about it, the C06 is a fine car, as good a sports car you can get for that price. Some might argue it's better than a Porsche and a lot more fun. Face it. A Corvette is an iconic car.
Speaking of Porsches, they exist in Lawrence. The one I see the most is a red Porsche Boxster. I can't imagine a yellow Porsche for some reason. I've also seen a black Cayman S and a silver Cayman driving down 23rd Street. Those were eye-catchers.
I've never seen a Ferrari in Lawrence before. Then again, you rarely see a Ferrari in most corners of the world. Except in Italy. And on a F1 racetrack or in places where the rich and famous hang out.
It's kind of nice to see them in real life. Pictures, no matter how glossy they are, just don't have the same visual appeal as the real article. So it was nice to see a stream of Ferraris crusing down Mass Street. All of them were red, oddly enough. Or at least the Ferraris I was seeing at that moment. For some reason, I can't imagine a Ferrari that is not red. They are always red.
Apparently, the Ferrari Club of America was hosting a meeting in town. So for a few hours today, a large number of Ferraris were in Lawrence. Now, if I can only see a Lamborghini in Lawrence...
That's all for now.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
I Hate the Oreo Commercials... a Rant on TV
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site (that I know of) on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this site is all about me and the random things that I find interesting floating around in my head. Things can get messy up there. For some people, this site may not be for your viewing/reading pleasure. If so, then please kindly press the Back icon on your web browser. Or you can try one of the links in the sidebar.
You've now been warned. Any harmful effects from viewing this site are your problems and your problems alone. I'm not responsible.
I've been watching much more television than I should be watching. What I have seen lately has proven to be disappointing. And the ads talking about what will be coming on TV this summer, well, I'm sorely disappointed. I also wonder who are the idiots doing the scheduling this summer until the much better programs come back in the fall.
Maybe my tastes aren't exactly what the Madison Avenue suits think is the ideal viewer. Then again, I'm not the typical person. At least when it comes to TV habits or TV tastes. After all, I find PBS entertaining. I think that people would be smarter and much more well-informed about the world if they watched PBS and read some more books and newspapers. It's depressing when people know all the details about Lindsey Lohan's drunk driving/drug use/party behavior yet know little about Iraq. Or when Paris Hilton's time in jail trumps the war in Iraq that's nor really a war as major combat has been declared officially over 3 years ago. I digress. You can see my personal views on American society aren't that popular.
If everyone had my tastes in television, TV might consist of cooking programs (nothing too saccharine-like, commercial-grade fluff like Rachel Ray. How I miss Julia Child), science shows like NOVA, British mysteries, sports like football and basketball, and lots of comedy (Monty Python, Red Green, In Living Color, stand-up, etc. SNL's quality is nothing like what it used to be. Think of the glory days in the 80's and early 90's), and certain types of movies. To accurately describe the movies I like would take a while. It's an odd and ecclectic mix of the stereotypically high-brow and the stereotypically common and average. Nothing that would make much money if it actually became a TV channel.
I hate the Oreo commercials they are broadcasting right now. I absolutely hate them. Despise them. Loathe them with great contempt. I think they are one of the most annoying commecials I have ever seen, as well as the biggest waste of perfectly good money and time ever.
I remember when the Oreo commercials were good. Sure, they were kind of kitschy and cloyingly Norman Rockwell in their nature. And they pulled on the emotions a lot. There were the three ballerinas who poured their milk into one glass to dunk Oreos. And there was the little boy who had a sippy cup. And there were the numerous father-son, mother-daughter, grandparent-grandkid commercials when everyone got together and ate Oreos with a glass of milk. Those were simple, well-made commercials that, I believe, appealed to everyone. Who hasn't had an Oreo with a glass of milk?
And now, the commercials make me want to smash a television. Seriously.
There were the series of commercials that had two people competing against each other on who could eat their Oreo the fastest. The one where they showed people licking the creme filling. That was disgusting in my opinion and it turned me off. Couldn't look at a package of Oreos without imagining tongues licking them and coating them in saliva before dunking them in milk.
Currently, the commericals have taken the levels of annoying and sheer stupidity to a place I never thought was possible. The first commerical is the "Cat and Girls Singing" commerical. In this commercial (made to look homemade with the camcorder and shaky video quality), some girls are singing the Oreo jingle while their cat is playing with a dish. The commercial is already annoying as the girls can't sing worth a damn and I want to smack them to shut them up. If that wasn't bad enough, when the plate of Oreos fall into the cat's dish of milk, the girls start screaming like it was the coolest thing ever. No. It's not. And the screams are annoying as well. It makes me want to reconsider having children. If this is how they're going to end up being like, well, I sure as hell ain't having them.
In addition, I also hate the "Chin Face" commercial. For some reason, the makers of Oreos want to torture people watching TV by choosing the most annoying and least entertaining ways of selling their products. They've got the multicultural kids/adults, which isn't a bad thing. But they all stink at singing. Seriously stink at singing. It's like they studied and graduated magna cum laude from the William Hung Acadamy of Vocal Arts. If this was done in a cute/entertaining way like the Oscar Mayer commercial, I would forgive them. But they don't do it in a cute way. Oh no. The Oreo people have to do the fucking chin face.
For those that do not remember the Chin Face, it's when you stick little eyes on your chin, cover the rest of your face with cloth, and pretend your chin is your forehead. It's the amazingly unfunny shit that thousands of people/sheep/dumbass morons did during the late 80's and early 90's so they could win $10,000 on America's Funniest People or America's Funniest Home Videos. That period in time when Bob Saget and Dave Coullier were the hosts of the shows. The embarassingly stupid and pointless cultural phenomenon that I thought was dead and buried under ten feet of concrete like Jimmy Hoffa. I didn't find it entertaining back then and I sure as hell don't find it that fucking hilarious right now. Whenever I see a chin face video, I wish I could beat the person and ask them "What are you thinking? It's not funny!" I want to do that to the Oreo people as well.
I also think that the network executives are fucking crazy. Whoever came up with the new show ideas were retards. And whoever approved those ideas are even bigger retards. And whoever thinks these shows are amusing, well, you guess.
ABC has a show that's supposed to be similar to Candid Camera or something like that. I've seen the ads promoting the show and I don't think it's that amusing. Or that funny. Or even worth watching. Whoever made that commercial was a sadist. I don't think it's funny when someone pretends to stab themself in the hand with a sharp butcher knife. Or it's even remotely funny when a person thinks a guy in a wheelchair is coasting down a hill and it looks like they might get hit by speeding traffic. A normal person would be shocked at that. That's the normal reaction to an event like that.
Think about it. If someone actually stabbed themself in the hand with a knife by accident, would you laugh at that and find it hilarious? If a person in a wheelchair lost control while going up a hill and was about to get hit by a car, would you find that funny? A normal person who saw those events happening and didn't realize it was fake, would be scared, shocked, etc. You don't laugh at them. If it was for real, then what? Would you laugh at them for acting that way?
Anyone who thinks that is amusing is sick. It's not funny. It's tasteless. And I'm a person that is pretty open to lots of things.
That's all for now.
You've now been warned. Any harmful effects from viewing this site are your problems and your problems alone. I'm not responsible.
I've been watching much more television than I should be watching. What I have seen lately has proven to be disappointing. And the ads talking about what will be coming on TV this summer, well, I'm sorely disappointed. I also wonder who are the idiots doing the scheduling this summer until the much better programs come back in the fall.
Maybe my tastes aren't exactly what the Madison Avenue suits think is the ideal viewer. Then again, I'm not the typical person. At least when it comes to TV habits or TV tastes. After all, I find PBS entertaining. I think that people would be smarter and much more well-informed about the world if they watched PBS and read some more books and newspapers. It's depressing when people know all the details about Lindsey Lohan's drunk driving/drug use/party behavior yet know little about Iraq. Or when Paris Hilton's time in jail trumps the war in Iraq that's nor really a war as major combat has been declared officially over 3 years ago. I digress. You can see my personal views on American society aren't that popular.
If everyone had my tastes in television, TV might consist of cooking programs (nothing too saccharine-like, commercial-grade fluff like Rachel Ray. How I miss Julia Child), science shows like NOVA, British mysteries, sports like football and basketball, and lots of comedy (Monty Python, Red Green, In Living Color, stand-up, etc. SNL's quality is nothing like what it used to be. Think of the glory days in the 80's and early 90's), and certain types of movies. To accurately describe the movies I like would take a while. It's an odd and ecclectic mix of the stereotypically high-brow and the stereotypically common and average. Nothing that would make much money if it actually became a TV channel.
I hate the Oreo commercials they are broadcasting right now. I absolutely hate them. Despise them. Loathe them with great contempt. I think they are one of the most annoying commecials I have ever seen, as well as the biggest waste of perfectly good money and time ever.
I remember when the Oreo commercials were good. Sure, they were kind of kitschy and cloyingly Norman Rockwell in their nature. And they pulled on the emotions a lot. There were the three ballerinas who poured their milk into one glass to dunk Oreos. And there was the little boy who had a sippy cup. And there were the numerous father-son, mother-daughter, grandparent-grandkid commercials when everyone got together and ate Oreos with a glass of milk. Those were simple, well-made commercials that, I believe, appealed to everyone. Who hasn't had an Oreo with a glass of milk?
And now, the commercials make me want to smash a television. Seriously.
There were the series of commercials that had two people competing against each other on who could eat their Oreo the fastest. The one where they showed people licking the creme filling. That was disgusting in my opinion and it turned me off. Couldn't look at a package of Oreos without imagining tongues licking them and coating them in saliva before dunking them in milk.
Currently, the commericals have taken the levels of annoying and sheer stupidity to a place I never thought was possible. The first commerical is the "Cat and Girls Singing" commerical. In this commercial (made to look homemade with the camcorder and shaky video quality), some girls are singing the Oreo jingle while their cat is playing with a dish. The commercial is already annoying as the girls can't sing worth a damn and I want to smack them to shut them up. If that wasn't bad enough, when the plate of Oreos fall into the cat's dish of milk, the girls start screaming like it was the coolest thing ever. No. It's not. And the screams are annoying as well. It makes me want to reconsider having children. If this is how they're going to end up being like, well, I sure as hell ain't having them.
In addition, I also hate the "Chin Face" commercial. For some reason, the makers of Oreos want to torture people watching TV by choosing the most annoying and least entertaining ways of selling their products. They've got the multicultural kids/adults, which isn't a bad thing. But they all stink at singing. Seriously stink at singing. It's like they studied and graduated magna cum laude from the William Hung Acadamy of Vocal Arts. If this was done in a cute/entertaining way like the Oscar Mayer commercial, I would forgive them. But they don't do it in a cute way. Oh no. The Oreo people have to do the fucking chin face.
For those that do not remember the Chin Face, it's when you stick little eyes on your chin, cover the rest of your face with cloth, and pretend your chin is your forehead. It's the amazingly unfunny shit that thousands of people/sheep/dumbass morons did during the late 80's and early 90's so they could win $10,000 on America's Funniest People or America's Funniest Home Videos. That period in time when Bob Saget and Dave Coullier were the hosts of the shows. The embarassingly stupid and pointless cultural phenomenon that I thought was dead and buried under ten feet of concrete like Jimmy Hoffa. I didn't find it entertaining back then and I sure as hell don't find it that fucking hilarious right now. Whenever I see a chin face video, I wish I could beat the person and ask them "What are you thinking? It's not funny!" I want to do that to the Oreo people as well.
I also think that the network executives are fucking crazy. Whoever came up with the new show ideas were retards. And whoever approved those ideas are even bigger retards. And whoever thinks these shows are amusing, well, you guess.
ABC has a show that's supposed to be similar to Candid Camera or something like that. I've seen the ads promoting the show and I don't think it's that amusing. Or that funny. Or even worth watching. Whoever made that commercial was a sadist. I don't think it's funny when someone pretends to stab themself in the hand with a sharp butcher knife. Or it's even remotely funny when a person thinks a guy in a wheelchair is coasting down a hill and it looks like they might get hit by speeding traffic. A normal person would be shocked at that. That's the normal reaction to an event like that.
Think about it. If someone actually stabbed themself in the hand with a knife by accident, would you laugh at that and find it hilarious? If a person in a wheelchair lost control while going up a hill and was about to get hit by a car, would you find that funny? A normal person who saw those events happening and didn't realize it was fake, would be scared, shocked, etc. You don't laugh at them. If it was for real, then what? Would you laugh at them for acting that way?
Anyone who thinks that is amusing is sick. It's not funny. It's tasteless. And I'm a person that is pretty open to lots of things.
That's all for now.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
I'm Not An Employee
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. This site is all about me, the things that I find interesting, and the events that happen in my so-called life. If this is not your cup of tea, then this site is just not for you.
It's time for an update to this site, something I am doing on an irregular basis. I've been keeping busy doing other tasks, so the amount of free time I have to spend on things like this is not as much as before. Despite the lack of time, I will try to make posts on this site as often as I can.
A funny story. Since I come from a South Korean background as both my parents are from South Korea, I visit Asianl supermarkets that sell Korean food. The one in Lawrence does not carry certain products that I want, so it is necessary to make a trip to Kansas City. There are two Asian supermarkets there and both have the products that the Lawrence store do not have. Of the two Asian supermarkets, I prefer the one at 103rd and Metcalf. It has a much larger variety of items--everything from noodles, produce, candy, snacks, and beverages--and in general, the prices are cheaper. Then again, if you're importing anything, it is expensive, unless it's mass produced and sold at a retail store like WalMart or Target. I digress.
I'm shopping at the Asian supermarket at 103rd and Metcalf. I'm pushing my cart, going through the aisles, looking at the various food products being sold. I'm in the aisles selling sauces when a Korean girl (probably attending college) and with her boyfriend asks me, "Excuse me, do you know where the dried seaweed is?"
For those who cringe at the thought of dried seaweed, consider this. If you eat at a Japanese place serving California rolls, you're eating dried seaweed. Guess what makes ice cream so creamy? Ground up seaweed. Same thing with lots of other food and products like shampoo and soap. Seaweed is everywhere.
I respond, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure."
"Don't you work here?"
Um...I wonder why she asked that? I guess that she saw that I was obviously Asian. I'm in the store. Therefore, I must be an employee. Uh...the cart makes it obvious that I'm not an employee. I'm not carrying any clipboards or the little price sticker device or anything that would make me an obvious employee. If that wasn't good enough, I'm asking myself, "Where is the red pepper paste?" If that isn't enough, then I don't know what is.
"Uh, no. I don't work here."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I thought that since you were Asian..."
'That's OK. I'm not sure, but I think the dried seaweed is over there." I point towards the back of the store.
"I'm so sorry for the mistake I made." Why Koreans (she did speak in Korean and what she did speak, I understood. Stuff like "I'm sorry, thank you, etc.") have to appologize so much is beyond my comprehension. I've read about the cultural differences, but it still makes little sense. "Thank you (In Korean, mind you)."
This makes me think that I should carry a sign that says "I DON'T WORK HERE" whenever I go to an Asian supermarket or any other store that caters to Asians.
That's all for now.
It's time for an update to this site, something I am doing on an irregular basis. I've been keeping busy doing other tasks, so the amount of free time I have to spend on things like this is not as much as before. Despite the lack of time, I will try to make posts on this site as often as I can.
A funny story. Since I come from a South Korean background as both my parents are from South Korea, I visit Asianl supermarkets that sell Korean food. The one in Lawrence does not carry certain products that I want, so it is necessary to make a trip to Kansas City. There are two Asian supermarkets there and both have the products that the Lawrence store do not have. Of the two Asian supermarkets, I prefer the one at 103rd and Metcalf. It has a much larger variety of items--everything from noodles, produce, candy, snacks, and beverages--and in general, the prices are cheaper. Then again, if you're importing anything, it is expensive, unless it's mass produced and sold at a retail store like WalMart or Target. I digress.
I'm shopping at the Asian supermarket at 103rd and Metcalf. I'm pushing my cart, going through the aisles, looking at the various food products being sold. I'm in the aisles selling sauces when a Korean girl (probably attending college) and with her boyfriend asks me, "Excuse me, do you know where the dried seaweed is?"
For those who cringe at the thought of dried seaweed, consider this. If you eat at a Japanese place serving California rolls, you're eating dried seaweed. Guess what makes ice cream so creamy? Ground up seaweed. Same thing with lots of other food and products like shampoo and soap. Seaweed is everywhere.
I respond, "I'm sorry. I'm not sure."
"Don't you work here?"
Um...I wonder why she asked that? I guess that she saw that I was obviously Asian. I'm in the store. Therefore, I must be an employee. Uh...the cart makes it obvious that I'm not an employee. I'm not carrying any clipboards or the little price sticker device or anything that would make me an obvious employee. If that wasn't good enough, I'm asking myself, "Where is the red pepper paste?" If that isn't enough, then I don't know what is.
"Uh, no. I don't work here."
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I thought that since you were Asian..."
'That's OK. I'm not sure, but I think the dried seaweed is over there." I point towards the back of the store.
"I'm so sorry for the mistake I made." Why Koreans (she did speak in Korean and what she did speak, I understood. Stuff like "I'm sorry, thank you, etc.") have to appologize so much is beyond my comprehension. I've read about the cultural differences, but it still makes little sense. "Thank you (In Korean, mind you)."
This makes me think that I should carry a sign that says "I DON'T WORK HERE" whenever I go to an Asian supermarket or any other store that caters to Asians.
That's all for now.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Graduating From KU...Again
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Just in case you don't know, this site is all about me, my so-called life, and all the little things that I find interesting. If this is not your particular cup of tea, Google can help give you some other sites to look at. And so, something that you've been waiting for. It's an update to this site, so you're getting something. This post is about graduation day. Yes, I'm late with this post, but at least I'm talking about this momentous occasion. So read on and enjoy.
"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it."
--Sir William Haley
"Sometimes justice cannot be had without money."
--Thomas Hobbes
In August 2004, I entered the doors of the University of Kansas School of Law as a 1L, the bottom of the totem pole. Like the other students in the class of 2007, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard and read all of the stories about law school. There were the professors from Hell who employed the Socratic Method, berating students who failed to prepare for class. There were the legends of the heavy workload, all of the reading that had to be done. The grading system that was supposed to be fair but was unfair. There were the final exams and the dreaded Bar Exam and how that was another level of Hell added to the mix. Then there were the other stories I heard about law school.
Graduates of law school made money, lots of money. They were respected members of the community. You had a certain level of prestige that others did not. You could never fail law school unless you totally messed up and failed to show up for the final exam. And there was the legendary parties and social events where drinking alcohol was the norm. The four day weekend that began on Thursday night.
On May 17, 2007, it was all over. The last final exam was turned in. Graduating 3Ls attened parties, got drunk, and celebrated the end of law school. Not the end of the semester, but the end of law school. No more school, no more classes, no more books. The end.
And what did I learn from three years of law school? I learned quite a bit. I learned about the intricate nature of contracts, criminal law, criminal procedure, property, civil procedure, constitutional law, international law, trial advocacy, income tax procedure, and everything else under the sun. Much of this involved concepts expressed in a foreign language like Latin and French instead of English. This made understanding such concepts harder. I also learned that law school will cost you money, lots of money. Any graduate of law school will know what I am talking about. I also know that I really don't know everything there is to know about the law, but a very broad but shallow base. The rest I will have to learn on my own in the real world. I guess that this is more that what most people learn in law school.
Even then, despite turning in my last final exam, it still was not official according to the University of Kansas. It would not be official until May 20, 2007 when the Chancellor of KU declared it so. But first, came the law school hooding ceremony. There would be some extra guests there: The Westburo Baptist Church led by Fred Phelps.
"Fundamentalists are to Christianity what paint-by-numbers is to art."
--Robin Tyler
Fred Phelps and the Westburo Baptist Church...what more can be said about the congregation led by a homophobic minister who used to be a lawyer? Good ol' Fred Phelps used to be a lawyer. Interestingly enough, he was a civil rights lawyer. This might be a case of irony writ large. Note the phrase "used to." He was disbarred in the State of Kansas. Not for his religious or personal beliefs, but for conduct not becoming of a lawyer (basically, this is lawyer-speak for being a total jerk). Now, Fred Phelps graduated from a Kansas law school. I get the feeling that the law school who gave him the diploma would have taken it back long ago had the law school known this would be the result. Ah, but you can't turn back time. You just have to make the most of it. Just like Fred Phelps.
He has protested the KU Law hooding ceremony for many years. It's a chance to get a whole lot of free publicity. At least 1600 people who will walk by and see his motley crew of homophobes. If he gets some coverage by the news, all the better. As long as people see him, he wins in his opinion.
While waiting for the ceremony to start, several guys I know thought this would be a great photo opportunity. Why not take a picture in front of the protestors? Show some KU Jayhawk spirit. The Westburo Baptist protestors, showing the level of wit that the average Mizzou basketball fan possesses (who also have no intelligence or taste at all), has a sign saying "KU Gayhawks." So the guys and I take a few pictures.
After talking to some people in some random conversation, it's not time for the hooding ceremony.
"My parents sent my brother through law school. He graduated. Now he's suing them for wasting seven years of his life."
--Mike Binder
Faculty and staff at the law school describe the hooding ceremony in grand terms. After experiencing this rite of passage, I'm not that impressed. Just like many things in law school, it sounds important but really isn't once you translate it to English. Then again, the law school is telling me that I've graduated, so it's important.
Law school has taught me how to condense everything and just mention the really important stuff. Procession down the aisles. Sit in chairs. Listen to a professor give out awards to members of the graduating class. The Dean gives the traditional graduation speech. Get up again. Get on stage. Shake hands. Get picture taken. Shake hands. Get back in seat. End of ceremony.
"One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor."
--George Carlin
It would not be an official graduation at the University of Kansas unless one has taken the "Walk Down the Hill." This is what makes the graduation official to most KU students, not the ceremony inside Memorial Stadium. It's an essential symbol, an essential rite of graduation. The walk through the Campanille and down the hill is graduation. Sure, the speeches and pomp and circumstance is nice, but The Walk Down the Hill is what counts.
All the administration at KU tells you to be at your appointed spots before 2:30 PM as that is when the ceremony begins. That's when the walk begins. What they don't tell you is that there's a certain order in how the various schools go down the hill. The professional schools go after the College of Liberal Arts and Science or CLAS. Law is second to last. Medicine is last. Basically, the Law school has to wait for about an hour until everyone else has gone down the hill and entered the stadium. When it gets hot (which has happened before), near a hundred degrees, waiting for an hour can seem like a lifetime, an experience akin to torture.
Thankfully, it was a glorious day in May. Not too hot. Just right.
Since this is the law school, this year's graduating class was prepared for the long wait. And since this is law school, there was lots of alcohol involved. Several students brought in bottles of champagne. Not to open and spray everyone, but to drink. As one law school student commented, "Spray the champagne everywhere? Hell no. That would be a perfect waste of alcohol. I'm drinking this. Want to join me?" And he pulled out two glasses.
Someone was even more prepared, just like the Boy Scouts, but with a ticket to AA. His backpack had a miniature stereo system installed. Plus some ice packs. And a bottle of champagne. And a bottle of Jack Daniels. And a bag of ice. And a set of highball glasses to boot.
Some other people brought along cigars to smoke. One person came in late, carrying a box containing beer. Let's just say that there was a miniature party in the law school section. Anyone dropping by the law school section would have had a marvelous time or at least gotten very drunk. In either case, there was loud music and alcohol.
Oh. The graduation ceremony. It was like any other graduation ceremony. A moment of silence. The singing of the national anthem. The general procession of awards given out to excellent students and faculty. A lot of other filler that extends the ceremony an additional thirty minutes. The graduation speech given by the Chancellor. This speech does not change that much each year. Though he might give a new speech if it's been used too often, like once every, what, ten years. It may seem like a joke, but it's the truth. I've heard this year's speech last year. And also again in 2004 when I graduated from KU with a BA in English.
Once this was all over, the ceremony came to what everyone was there for. The Chancellor officially conferring degrees to all the worthy graduates. This didn't take too long...about five minutes. Then it was done. Oh. I forgot a few steps that were necessary for a KU graduation ceremony.
No graduation ceremony at KU is official without the Alma Mater, the KU fight song, and the Rock Chalk Chant. Once that is all done with, the ceremony is finally over. And this was done in quick order.
That was graduation day in a condensed form. If you would like to know more about graduation day in detail, please graduate from KU. That's the best way to know.
That's all for now.
"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it."
--Sir William Haley
"Sometimes justice cannot be had without money."
--Thomas Hobbes
In August 2004, I entered the doors of the University of Kansas School of Law as a 1L, the bottom of the totem pole. Like the other students in the class of 2007, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard and read all of the stories about law school. There were the professors from Hell who employed the Socratic Method, berating students who failed to prepare for class. There were the legends of the heavy workload, all of the reading that had to be done. The grading system that was supposed to be fair but was unfair. There were the final exams and the dreaded Bar Exam and how that was another level of Hell added to the mix. Then there were the other stories I heard about law school.
Graduates of law school made money, lots of money. They were respected members of the community. You had a certain level of prestige that others did not. You could never fail law school unless you totally messed up and failed to show up for the final exam. And there was the legendary parties and social events where drinking alcohol was the norm. The four day weekend that began on Thursday night.
On May 17, 2007, it was all over. The last final exam was turned in. Graduating 3Ls attened parties, got drunk, and celebrated the end of law school. Not the end of the semester, but the end of law school. No more school, no more classes, no more books. The end.
And what did I learn from three years of law school? I learned quite a bit. I learned about the intricate nature of contracts, criminal law, criminal procedure, property, civil procedure, constitutional law, international law, trial advocacy, income tax procedure, and everything else under the sun. Much of this involved concepts expressed in a foreign language like Latin and French instead of English. This made understanding such concepts harder. I also learned that law school will cost you money, lots of money. Any graduate of law school will know what I am talking about. I also know that I really don't know everything there is to know about the law, but a very broad but shallow base. The rest I will have to learn on my own in the real world. I guess that this is more that what most people learn in law school.
Even then, despite turning in my last final exam, it still was not official according to the University of Kansas. It would not be official until May 20, 2007 when the Chancellor of KU declared it so. But first, came the law school hooding ceremony. There would be some extra guests there: The Westburo Baptist Church led by Fred Phelps.
"Fundamentalists are to Christianity what paint-by-numbers is to art."
--Robin Tyler
Fred Phelps and the Westburo Baptist Church...what more can be said about the congregation led by a homophobic minister who used to be a lawyer? Good ol' Fred Phelps used to be a lawyer. Interestingly enough, he was a civil rights lawyer. This might be a case of irony writ large. Note the phrase "used to." He was disbarred in the State of Kansas. Not for his religious or personal beliefs, but for conduct not becoming of a lawyer (basically, this is lawyer-speak for being a total jerk). Now, Fred Phelps graduated from a Kansas law school. I get the feeling that the law school who gave him the diploma would have taken it back long ago had the law school known this would be the result. Ah, but you can't turn back time. You just have to make the most of it. Just like Fred Phelps.
He has protested the KU Law hooding ceremony for many years. It's a chance to get a whole lot of free publicity. At least 1600 people who will walk by and see his motley crew of homophobes. If he gets some coverage by the news, all the better. As long as people see him, he wins in his opinion.
While waiting for the ceremony to start, several guys I know thought this would be a great photo opportunity. Why not take a picture in front of the protestors? Show some KU Jayhawk spirit. The Westburo Baptist protestors, showing the level of wit that the average Mizzou basketball fan possesses (who also have no intelligence or taste at all), has a sign saying "KU Gayhawks." So the guys and I take a few pictures.
After talking to some people in some random conversation, it's not time for the hooding ceremony.
"My parents sent my brother through law school. He graduated. Now he's suing them for wasting seven years of his life."
--Mike Binder
Faculty and staff at the law school describe the hooding ceremony in grand terms. After experiencing this rite of passage, I'm not that impressed. Just like many things in law school, it sounds important but really isn't once you translate it to English. Then again, the law school is telling me that I've graduated, so it's important.
Law school has taught me how to condense everything and just mention the really important stuff. Procession down the aisles. Sit in chairs. Listen to a professor give out awards to members of the graduating class. The Dean gives the traditional graduation speech. Get up again. Get on stage. Shake hands. Get picture taken. Shake hands. Get back in seat. End of ceremony.
"One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor."
--George Carlin
It would not be an official graduation at the University of Kansas unless one has taken the "Walk Down the Hill." This is what makes the graduation official to most KU students, not the ceremony inside Memorial Stadium. It's an essential symbol, an essential rite of graduation. The walk through the Campanille and down the hill is graduation. Sure, the speeches and pomp and circumstance is nice, but The Walk Down the Hill is what counts.
All the administration at KU tells you to be at your appointed spots before 2:30 PM as that is when the ceremony begins. That's when the walk begins. What they don't tell you is that there's a certain order in how the various schools go down the hill. The professional schools go after the College of Liberal Arts and Science or CLAS. Law is second to last. Medicine is last. Basically, the Law school has to wait for about an hour until everyone else has gone down the hill and entered the stadium. When it gets hot (which has happened before), near a hundred degrees, waiting for an hour can seem like a lifetime, an experience akin to torture.
Thankfully, it was a glorious day in May. Not too hot. Just right.
Since this is the law school, this year's graduating class was prepared for the long wait. And since this is law school, there was lots of alcohol involved. Several students brought in bottles of champagne. Not to open and spray everyone, but to drink. As one law school student commented, "Spray the champagne everywhere? Hell no. That would be a perfect waste of alcohol. I'm drinking this. Want to join me?" And he pulled out two glasses.
Someone was even more prepared, just like the Boy Scouts, but with a ticket to AA. His backpack had a miniature stereo system installed. Plus some ice packs. And a bottle of champagne. And a bottle of Jack Daniels. And a bag of ice. And a set of highball glasses to boot.
Some other people brought along cigars to smoke. One person came in late, carrying a box containing beer. Let's just say that there was a miniature party in the law school section. Anyone dropping by the law school section would have had a marvelous time or at least gotten very drunk. In either case, there was loud music and alcohol.
Oh. The graduation ceremony. It was like any other graduation ceremony. A moment of silence. The singing of the national anthem. The general procession of awards given out to excellent students and faculty. A lot of other filler that extends the ceremony an additional thirty minutes. The graduation speech given by the Chancellor. This speech does not change that much each year. Though he might give a new speech if it's been used too often, like once every, what, ten years. It may seem like a joke, but it's the truth. I've heard this year's speech last year. And also again in 2004 when I graduated from KU with a BA in English.
Once this was all over, the ceremony came to what everyone was there for. The Chancellor officially conferring degrees to all the worthy graduates. This didn't take too long...about five minutes. Then it was done. Oh. I forgot a few steps that were necessary for a KU graduation ceremony.
No graduation ceremony at KU is official without the Alma Mater, the KU fight song, and the Rock Chalk Chant. Once that is all done with, the ceremony is finally over. And this was done in quick order.
That was graduation day in a condensed form. If you would like to know more about graduation day in detail, please graduate from KU. That's the best way to know.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Last Comic Standing
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for an update to this site. Only because I love you and I know that you want to know what's going on in my so-called life. You must be dying to know. Come on...admit it.
I've been watching Last Comic Standing on NBC and I'm kind of enjoying it. Being an amateur stand-up comic and all. Well, I'm more of a dabbler with this gig. As much as I would like to make millions and become world famous, I've got to make a living. So that dream will have to wait for a while. Hey, you've got to be realistic and this is realistic. Anyways...
When the comics are good, the show is great. The stuff is funny. On the other hand, when the comics are bad and have no idea of what is funny, well, there's a certain amount of cringe involved. It's that "Oh my God, what the hell was that" feeling. And there have been many instances where I watch the television and wonder. Of course, these people are probably aware that they suck like a prison inmate. They just want the chance to be so horrible that they make it on TV. Kind of like American Idol and any other show of that kind.
But this would not be such an interesting post if I was all positive. There's a part of the show that drives me mad and provides much agony. The little thing they call "Joke of the Day."
I'm not exactly sure why they call it "Joke of the Day." Yes, you get a joke if you pay $.99 and make a text message. Assuming the crap they call a joke is actually funny and not a bad pun like this:
Cue up the groans on the laugh track, get a gun, aim it, and pull the trigger. This is the kind of unfunny, trite shit you would expect from a hack or a six year old doing a bad ventriloquism act. And they expect you to pay money for jokes you can get free from the Internet. A search on Google willl get you thousands of sites filled with these lousy puns. This must be why they call it "Joke of the Day." Only an idiot would pay money and the joke is on them
I've now taken these lousy puns and made them better. For example, they had a joke that went like this
The actual answer is pretty dumb (a carrot). My answer is the love child of Gilbert Gottfried and Carrot Top. Apparently, other people have noticed that these jokes suck. Whoever came up with this idea was high on drugs or recently had a lobotomy.
Last Comic Standing also has a website feature that allows people to submit even more of these horrible jokes so others can get tortured by them. Damn. What are the odds that talentless hacks who have no idea of what's actually funny will submit more of these jokes? Very good. If Powerball had odds like that, I'd be playing and paying for every jackpot. Please, for the love of God, do not submit more of these horrible jokes.
That's all for now.
I've been watching Last Comic Standing on NBC and I'm kind of enjoying it. Being an amateur stand-up comic and all. Well, I'm more of a dabbler with this gig. As much as I would like to make millions and become world famous, I've got to make a living. So that dream will have to wait for a while. Hey, you've got to be realistic and this is realistic. Anyways...
When the comics are good, the show is great. The stuff is funny. On the other hand, when the comics are bad and have no idea of what is funny, well, there's a certain amount of cringe involved. It's that "Oh my God, what the hell was that" feeling. And there have been many instances where I watch the television and wonder. Of course, these people are probably aware that they suck like a prison inmate. They just want the chance to be so horrible that they make it on TV. Kind of like American Idol and any other show of that kind.
But this would not be such an interesting post if I was all positive. There's a part of the show that drives me mad and provides much agony. The little thing they call "Joke of the Day."
I'm not exactly sure why they call it "Joke of the Day." Yes, you get a joke if you pay $.99 and make a text message. Assuming the crap they call a joke is actually funny and not a bad pun like this:
Q: How much does it cost a pirate to get their ears pierced?
A: A buccaneer! (Buck an ear)
Cue up the groans on the laugh track, get a gun, aim it, and pull the trigger. This is the kind of unfunny, trite shit you would expect from a hack or a six year old doing a bad ventriloquism act. And they expect you to pay money for jokes you can get free from the Internet. A search on Google willl get you thousands of sites filled with these lousy puns. This must be why they call it "Joke of the Day." Only an idiot would pay money and the joke is on them
I've now taken these lousy puns and made them better. For example, they had a joke that went like this
Q: What is orange and sounds like a parrot?
The actual answer is pretty dumb (a carrot). My answer is the love child of Gilbert Gottfried and Carrot Top. Apparently, other people have noticed that these jokes suck. Whoever came up with this idea was high on drugs or recently had a lobotomy.
Last Comic Standing also has a website feature that allows people to submit even more of these horrible jokes so others can get tortured by them. Damn. What are the odds that talentless hacks who have no idea of what's actually funny will submit more of these jokes? Very good. If Powerball had odds like that, I'd be playing and paying for every jackpot. Please, for the love of God, do not submit more of these horrible jokes.
That's all for now.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Graduation Party
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Just in case you don't know, this site is all about me, my so-called life, and all the little things that I find interesting. If this is not your particular cup of tea, Google can help give you some other sites to look at. And so, something that you've been waiting for. It's an update to this site, but in a slightly different format than normal. OK, you might not know the difference, but I know the difference at least. Either way, I hope you enjoy this post.
And I'll be back 'round again
Yes I'll walk in time with you old friend
And we'll find that place
That we had danced in so long ago
--"The Song That Jane Likes," Dave Matthews Band
Recently, I wrote about how I attended a law school pary hosted by one of my friends from law school, but failed to mention what happened at said party. I've had several opportunities to write about this experience, but I have failed to write about this event. It's not that I am lazy (well, maybe I am). It's not that I have some qualms about writing about the drunken antics of fellow law school students (as Gray Hall proves otherwise). I guess that I've just ignored it for other things to write about. This is one of the few law school social events that I have attended on a consistent basis. The other event that I have attended consistenly is Pub Night. As you may have guessed, I am not much of a social person. Maybe I should rephrase that to say "I don't attend many social events." I have issues when it comes to social interaction and so I try to be selective when it comes to social events. When I do attend a social event, I tend to have fun.
Again, I digress. I digress a lot with these posts and I tend to go on tangents. You probably don't want to read more about my problems, so I will continue with the point of this post.
So why would you care
To get out of this place
You and me and all our friends
Such a happy human race
Eat, drink and be merry
For tomorrow we die
--"Tripping Billies", Dave Matthews Band
For those who do not have experience about law school and law school students, the traditional law school social event, whether hosted by the school or students, is fueled by one thing: large amounts of alcohol. This liquid is the magic elixir that makes law school social events what they are. It's the glue that binds law school faculty, students, and alumni. For some reason, alcohol and lawyers go well with each other. Then again, it's not all that surprising as law school can be a stressful and painful experience. Drinking alcohol is an effective way to release steam.
At your officially sactioned school event, one with distinguished alumni attending, behavior is generally clamped to keep a level of acceptable behavior. One does not want a drunk person doing stupid things. There is a lot at stake, like a big donation. And it doesn't look too good if your students have a reputation for being drunken morons. And having a reputation for being the drunken idiot can screw employment opportunities.
At your student hosted event however, nearly anything goes. Typically, the traditional law school student party has three essential elements--loud music, cheap food, and lots of alcohol. The alcohol is beer in a keg, and in large amounts, as many kegs as one can afford. Beer is essential. One cannot play drinking games like beer pong. One cannot get drunk without drinking large amounts of beer as beer leads to whiskey and tequila shots. One cannot have the necessary frat-like atmosphere without beer. In essence, without beer, nothing is possible.
And this year, the end of the year finale hosted by my law school friend, it was just like every other year. Lots of loud music. Copious streams of beer flowing freely from kegs. Large groups of people playing raucous games of beer pong. In general, law school students getting drunk. And not on their best behavior.
...this man drinks, that man drinks
a hundred drink, a thousand drink.
Six hundred pennies would hardly
suffice, if everyone
drinks immoderately and immeasurably.
"In Taberna Quando Sumus (When We Are in the Tavern)," Carmina Burana
As the designated photographer (as I was the only person there who could operate the camera due to being sober), I took pictures of the event. I managed to take lots of pictures of people. Many of them were drinking beer. Many of them were doing drunken antics. Law school students never fail to disappoint, especially when they are going to graduate on Sunday. The last hurrah (at least until the parties on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) before the real world.
I count the Kansas Law Student (KLS) as a friend. He was in my small section during the first year and we somehow managed to have at least one class together during every semester. KLS has many wise nuggets on drunken behavior and this is just one fine nugget: "You can always tell when a person is getting drunk. Things get worse and worse as time goes on." He managed to say this coherently, without slurring, while holding a Dixie cup full of beer. And this is after drinking for several hours.
Things did start out fine and then events got progressively worse, a whole lot worse. These moments were very entertaining. The pictures captured many priceless moments (many of them would qualify for Facebook/Myspace photos you should not post lest you wanted to lose your job). Here are some of the moments that I captured on film, but described in words.
*There was a girl who worked in the district attorney's office. One of the more common cases that gets prosecuted in that county is drunk driving. Well, let's just say that I got a few pictures of here making an attempt to drive a car while plastered on beer. Not a car for adults, but a Barbie Jeep.
*I got pictures of another person trying to operate that same Barbie Jeep. This time, it was a guy, but he was trying to drive it in reverse. I'm not exactly sure what is the attraction with drunk people and toy cars, but this was a common occurence that night.
*How about a drunken toast with Midori Melon, the green alcohol flavored like something other than melon and an integral part of a large number of cocktails? I got a lot of pictures of drunk people making toasts. Most of them made funny faces, so the pictures are kind of funny.
*Posing for pictures is a common occurence when a person has a camera. Under normal circumstances, this is much welcomed unless one acts like a moron. It's not a good idea, however, if you are drunk. Kind of hard to keep balance if you are trying to ride piggyback on a person and that person is drunk as well. After I took the picture, one of the people asked me if she was "showing lots of cleavage." She was, so she noted that "her boobs were spilling out."
*I didn't get any pictures of drunk females kissing each other. For some reason, this behavior happens in other places, but not at the normal law school party. If this behavior does happen, I'm going to the wrong parties. I digress. I did, however, get a picture of a guy kissing another guy. Which was pretty funny. The look on the guy's face getting kissed was classic, though not as cool as it would have been if it were girl-on-girl action. I digress again.
Sadly to say, it was time to leave. I had enough sensory stimulation for one day. I had enough loud music. Enough human interaction. Enough conversation with drunk people. I can only take so much sensory stimulation before it gets to be too much. It's probably just me I guess.
And so, that was what happened at my friend's graduation party. There was lots of loud music. There was lots of beer flowing freely. There was lots of freinds and lots of memories made. I kind of wish that it didn't have to end, but as with many things in life, all things must end.
That's all for now.
And I'll be back 'round again
Yes I'll walk in time with you old friend
And we'll find that place
That we had danced in so long ago
--"The Song That Jane Likes," Dave Matthews Band
Recently, I wrote about how I attended a law school pary hosted by one of my friends from law school, but failed to mention what happened at said party. I've had several opportunities to write about this experience, but I have failed to write about this event. It's not that I am lazy (well, maybe I am). It's not that I have some qualms about writing about the drunken antics of fellow law school students (as Gray Hall proves otherwise). I guess that I've just ignored it for other things to write about. This is one of the few law school social events that I have attended on a consistent basis. The other event that I have attended consistenly is Pub Night. As you may have guessed, I am not much of a social person. Maybe I should rephrase that to say "I don't attend many social events." I have issues when it comes to social interaction and so I try to be selective when it comes to social events. When I do attend a social event, I tend to have fun.
Again, I digress. I digress a lot with these posts and I tend to go on tangents. You probably don't want to read more about my problems, so I will continue with the point of this post.
So why would you care
To get out of this place
You and me and all our friends
Such a happy human race
Eat, drink and be merry
For tomorrow we die
--"Tripping Billies", Dave Matthews Band
For those who do not have experience about law school and law school students, the traditional law school social event, whether hosted by the school or students, is fueled by one thing: large amounts of alcohol. This liquid is the magic elixir that makes law school social events what they are. It's the glue that binds law school faculty, students, and alumni. For some reason, alcohol and lawyers go well with each other. Then again, it's not all that surprising as law school can be a stressful and painful experience. Drinking alcohol is an effective way to release steam.
At your officially sactioned school event, one with distinguished alumni attending, behavior is generally clamped to keep a level of acceptable behavior. One does not want a drunk person doing stupid things. There is a lot at stake, like a big donation. And it doesn't look too good if your students have a reputation for being drunken morons. And having a reputation for being the drunken idiot can screw employment opportunities.
At your student hosted event however, nearly anything goes. Typically, the traditional law school student party has three essential elements--loud music, cheap food, and lots of alcohol. The alcohol is beer in a keg, and in large amounts, as many kegs as one can afford. Beer is essential. One cannot play drinking games like beer pong. One cannot get drunk without drinking large amounts of beer as beer leads to whiskey and tequila shots. One cannot have the necessary frat-like atmosphere without beer. In essence, without beer, nothing is possible.
And this year, the end of the year finale hosted by my law school friend, it was just like every other year. Lots of loud music. Copious streams of beer flowing freely from kegs. Large groups of people playing raucous games of beer pong. In general, law school students getting drunk. And not on their best behavior.
...this man drinks, that man drinks
a hundred drink, a thousand drink.
Six hundred pennies would hardly
suffice, if everyone
drinks immoderately and immeasurably.
"In Taberna Quando Sumus (When We Are in the Tavern)," Carmina Burana
As the designated photographer (as I was the only person there who could operate the camera due to being sober), I took pictures of the event. I managed to take lots of pictures of people. Many of them were drinking beer. Many of them were doing drunken antics. Law school students never fail to disappoint, especially when they are going to graduate on Sunday. The last hurrah (at least until the parties on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) before the real world.
I count the Kansas Law Student (KLS) as a friend. He was in my small section during the first year and we somehow managed to have at least one class together during every semester. KLS has many wise nuggets on drunken behavior and this is just one fine nugget: "You can always tell when a person is getting drunk. Things get worse and worse as time goes on." He managed to say this coherently, without slurring, while holding a Dixie cup full of beer. And this is after drinking for several hours.
Things did start out fine and then events got progressively worse, a whole lot worse. These moments were very entertaining. The pictures captured many priceless moments (many of them would qualify for Facebook/Myspace photos you should not post lest you wanted to lose your job). Here are some of the moments that I captured on film, but described in words.
*There was a girl who worked in the district attorney's office. One of the more common cases that gets prosecuted in that county is drunk driving. Well, let's just say that I got a few pictures of here making an attempt to drive a car while plastered on beer. Not a car for adults, but a Barbie Jeep.
*I got pictures of another person trying to operate that same Barbie Jeep. This time, it was a guy, but he was trying to drive it in reverse. I'm not exactly sure what is the attraction with drunk people and toy cars, but this was a common occurence that night.
*How about a drunken toast with Midori Melon, the green alcohol flavored like something other than melon and an integral part of a large number of cocktails? I got a lot of pictures of drunk people making toasts. Most of them made funny faces, so the pictures are kind of funny.
*Posing for pictures is a common occurence when a person has a camera. Under normal circumstances, this is much welcomed unless one acts like a moron. It's not a good idea, however, if you are drunk. Kind of hard to keep balance if you are trying to ride piggyback on a person and that person is drunk as well. After I took the picture, one of the people asked me if she was "showing lots of cleavage." She was, so she noted that "her boobs were spilling out."
*I didn't get any pictures of drunk females kissing each other. For some reason, this behavior happens in other places, but not at the normal law school party. If this behavior does happen, I'm going to the wrong parties. I digress. I did, however, get a picture of a guy kissing another guy. Which was pretty funny. The look on the guy's face getting kissed was classic, though not as cool as it would have been if it were girl-on-girl action. I digress again.
Sadly to say, it was time to leave. I had enough sensory stimulation for one day. I had enough loud music. Enough human interaction. Enough conversation with drunk people. I can only take so much sensory stimulation before it gets to be too much. It's probably just me I guess.
And so, that was what happened at my friend's graduation party. There was lots of loud music. There was lots of beer flowing freely. There was lots of freinds and lots of memories made. I kind of wish that it didn't have to end, but as with many things in life, all things must end.
That's all for now.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Update to Gray Hall II
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this site is all about me and the random things that I find interesting. If this is not a topic you might like, try Google and find something else.
I've done an update to Gray Hall II. Chapter Six is up and running. I know I've been pretty lazy with updating, but there were other things going on in my life that had a higher priority. I doubt that there will be another update in the next week or so. It's possible. Chapter Six is based upon an interesting incident that actually happened to me while in a lovely class called Trial Advocacy. Even if you don't happen to like law or are utterly confused by the topic, this chapter will provide a certain level of amusement to your life. And you might learn something about the law as well. Two for the price of one.
That's all for now.
I've done an update to Gray Hall II. Chapter Six is up and running. I know I've been pretty lazy with updating, but there were other things going on in my life that had a higher priority. I doubt that there will be another update in the next week or so. It's possible. Chapter Six is based upon an interesting incident that actually happened to me while in a lovely class called Trial Advocacy. Even if you don't happen to like law or are utterly confused by the topic, this chapter will provide a certain level of amusement to your life. And you might learn something about the law as well. Two for the price of one.
That's all for now.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Blog Reviews
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. As I like to say, "It's all about me and not about you, unless you merit my attention" It's time for an update and this will be a little different than normal. I'm doing some reviews for blogs instead of writing up stuff that makes it seem I have an actual life outside law school, which, for the most part, does not exist. I did go to a party last night, but I will save that for later.
The blogger responsible for MindBlogging Stuff says that his blog is not a touchy-feely, sugar-coated, politically-correct blog. Just the name alone conjures up the images of amazing, in-your-face material. Mind boggling things that might make you think.Well, he had made me think, though not in the way the blogger has intended. I'm thinking that I want the old blogger back, and not the alien that has taken over. It's not terribly mindblowing or mindboggling. It's...it's...kind of dull. It's kind of generic, sugar-coated, bland stuff.Don't get me wrong. His earlier materials are great. They seemed to be coming from the heart and not too canned. They read like they were honest material. Some of his best material involved politics, social issues, and other aspects of life in Singapore and the United States.
His timeline of authoritarian rule in Singapore was enlightening. It was a nice summary of how a democracy can act like a dictatorship. His post on amazing crazy quotes by politicians from Singapore was another fine post. Apparently, politicians all around the world say stupid things that can get them in trouble. As well as proving that they are seriously out of touch with reality. His post comparing Paris Hilton to a similar person in Singapore reminds us that no matter where you go in the world, we are all alike in some way. Those were posts that exhibited a level of honesty, originality, and a nice touch with language.
His recent posts beginning in April 2007, especially May 2007 have been, to be quite honest, disappointing. A lot of them are very short (one sentence with accompaning link). A lot of them involved videos (as if the blog reader has a two second attention span and cannot read a paragraph of text). A lot of them focus on humorous photoshopped pictures (already done before and not so clever). A lot of them are kind of inane and recycle bad one liner jokes (already done by Jack Handy and many others). In sum, his recent posts are not mindboggling or mind blowing.
And another thing that is quite annoying. All of the freaking Google text ads in the sidebar and in the main post area. And the sidebar buttons, and the links, and the Technocrati tags, and the...on and on and on. The amount of vistual diarrhea is mindboggling. Even more so than the posts. They chop up posts and makes it hard to continue reading a post. They're way too distracting. I want to read a post about Singapore, not an ad or a button or a link or whatever is slowing down the page from loading. The blog would be so much better without half of them.
As an English major, I shudder and cringe when I see how badly people abuse the English language. I try my best to spell correctly and use acceptable grammar as often as possble, even in e-mails, blog posts, and well, everything else in general. It's the way I operate.I don't like people who have to use aLtErNaTiNg CaPs LiKe ThIs when they type blog posts. I wonder how the hell they manage to do this without going crazy or driving people crazy. Is there some special keyboard shortcut that allows you to do this that I do not know about?I also hate it when people use Instant Messaging and cellular phone text messaging shortcuts and abbreviations, let alone the Hacker Speak (1eet -a@xxorru1z, lol). They had a story in the New York Times and other newspapers lamenting the usage of Instant Messaging and cellular phone abbreviations in English research papers and the children thinking it was proper English. Here's an example from an actual blog, though not in neon font:
Oddly enough, after spending a few monents trying to translate the title, I finally figured out what it said: "So Tired After Remedial..." What she is referring to is Remedial English. Apparently, she is struggling with English class. Maybe if she learned how to spell correctly, did her homework, and actually paid attention in class, this would not be a problem. This is based upon what she wrote this blog entry, which took several minutes to translate due to the beating she gave to the English langague ( I think it's English).
Let this be a lesson to everyone here. Please, for the love of the English Language, use spell check. Use some semblance of proper English grammar. You will bring back my confidence in the future of the world. It will make your life and the lives of others (especially your teachers, your friends, you bosses, your coworkers, heck, everyone in general) so much better.
That's all for now.
The blogger responsible for MindBlogging Stuff says that his blog is not a touchy-feely, sugar-coated, politically-correct blog. Just the name alone conjures up the images of amazing, in-your-face material. Mind boggling things that might make you think.Well, he had made me think, though not in the way the blogger has intended. I'm thinking that I want the old blogger back, and not the alien that has taken over. It's not terribly mindblowing or mindboggling. It's...it's...kind of dull. It's kind of generic, sugar-coated, bland stuff.Don't get me wrong. His earlier materials are great. They seemed to be coming from the heart and not too canned. They read like they were honest material. Some of his best material involved politics, social issues, and other aspects of life in Singapore and the United States.
His timeline of authoritarian rule in Singapore was enlightening. It was a nice summary of how a democracy can act like a dictatorship. His post on amazing crazy quotes by politicians from Singapore was another fine post. Apparently, politicians all around the world say stupid things that can get them in trouble. As well as proving that they are seriously out of touch with reality. His post comparing Paris Hilton to a similar person in Singapore reminds us that no matter where you go in the world, we are all alike in some way. Those were posts that exhibited a level of honesty, originality, and a nice touch with language.
His recent posts beginning in April 2007, especially May 2007 have been, to be quite honest, disappointing. A lot of them are very short (one sentence with accompaning link). A lot of them involved videos (as if the blog reader has a two second attention span and cannot read a paragraph of text). A lot of them focus on humorous photoshopped pictures (already done before and not so clever). A lot of them are kind of inane and recycle bad one liner jokes (already done by Jack Handy and many others). In sum, his recent posts are not mindboggling or mind blowing.
And another thing that is quite annoying. All of the freaking Google text ads in the sidebar and in the main post area. And the sidebar buttons, and the links, and the Technocrati tags, and the...on and on and on. The amount of vistual diarrhea is mindboggling. Even more so than the posts. They chop up posts and makes it hard to continue reading a post. They're way too distracting. I want to read a post about Singapore, not an ad or a button or a link or whatever is slowing down the page from loading. The blog would be so much better without half of them.
As an English major, I shudder and cringe when I see how badly people abuse the English language. I try my best to spell correctly and use acceptable grammar as often as possble, even in e-mails, blog posts, and well, everything else in general. It's the way I operate.I don't like people who have to use aLtErNaTiNg CaPs LiKe ThIs when they type blog posts. I wonder how the hell they manage to do this without going crazy or driving people crazy. Is there some special keyboard shortcut that allows you to do this that I do not know about?I also hate it when people use Instant Messaging and cellular phone text messaging shortcuts and abbreviations, let alone the Hacker Speak (1eet -a@xxorru1z, lol). They had a story in the New York Times and other newspapers lamenting the usage of Instant Messaging and cellular phone abbreviations in English research papers and the children thinking it was proper English. Here's an example from an actual blog, though not in neon font:
finally gt hm after an hour of Lit extra cls. combine extra lesson wit 2E1. thos peeps gd at their Lit. every ques. oso can answer. unlike me, noe nth. salute them man. ~hahs~ mayb my fate in life wit Lit tt i cant understand wadever its toking bout. how much effort i put in oso seems e same. ~pathetic sia~ didnt noe tt exams coming n e teachers piling us wit tests. first maths. den History. ~wad e....~ mayb treat as revision. ~heck care~ tt pri6 gal told me she failed her prelim maths. was telling me can retake. nv in my life heard tt prelim can be taken for 2nd time if 1 fail. ~wadever~
cant catch-up in cls for Eng. dunno wad Sandra Teo teaching in cls yest. wad e heck is adjectival clauses. didnt do e worksheet for it myself. got someone to hlp me wit it. not bad sia.
(--answer correct. thxs Denise--) sum peeps eng so pro. unlike me agn, eng oso damn lousy. tink im fated to do badly in eng based subs. ~haiz----hopeless case~ hahs. gotta end. revisions 1st mayb. ~hahs~
Oddly enough, after spending a few monents trying to translate the title, I finally figured out what it said: "So Tired After Remedial..." What she is referring to is Remedial English. Apparently, she is struggling with English class. Maybe if she learned how to spell correctly, did her homework, and actually paid attention in class, this would not be a problem. This is based upon what she wrote this blog entry, which took several minutes to translate due to the beating she gave to the English langague ( I think it's English).
Let this be a lesson to everyone here. Please, for the love of the English Language, use spell check. Use some semblance of proper English grammar. You will bring back my confidence in the future of the world. It will make your life and the lives of others (especially your teachers, your friends, you bosses, your coworkers, heck, everyone in general) so much better.
That's all for now.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Another May Update
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's all about me...it's all about me and the things that I find interesting while I write this. If you don't like this, go to another site.
The experience called law school is almost over. Then will come a hooding ceremony. Then will come the official graduation ceremony. And then comes the realization that my seven years of being in college will be coming to an end. Real world, here I finally come!
I've been listening to Michael Buble, the Canadian singer who evokes the Sinatra/Martin style of singing. He can actually sing and doesn't need a computer, synthesizer, and technology to make him sound like an actual singer with skills. Unlike a lot of present day entertainers. I can list quite a few of them...Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, Cher...etc.
His rendition of Fever is brilliant. I get a kick out of the Romeo and Juliet stanza. Only because it is entertaining and being an English major, I get a thrill out of Shakespearean references. Plus the use of "thy" and "sooth" is great as well. That also applies to the John Smith and Pocahontas reference, though it never really happened in real life. To be honest, Pocahontas was like a minor (think twelve or thirteen) and nothing like the animated version (physically in particular). Though in some regions in the South and a while back, Kansas, she might have been of marriagable age. I digress.
In particular, You'll Never Find Another Love is another great song. Just listen to him sing the lyrics and you will agree with my personal judgment. Very soulful. And it might get the schwerve going if you play it at the right time. Not that I would have any knowledge on this topic.
It's time to go. Put some finishing touches on a take home final. Have lunch.
That's all for now.
The experience called law school is almost over. Then will come a hooding ceremony. Then will come the official graduation ceremony. And then comes the realization that my seven years of being in college will be coming to an end. Real world, here I finally come!
I've been listening to Michael Buble, the Canadian singer who evokes the Sinatra/Martin style of singing. He can actually sing and doesn't need a computer, synthesizer, and technology to make him sound like an actual singer with skills. Unlike a lot of present day entertainers. I can list quite a few of them...Ashlee Simpson, Britney Spears, Cher...etc.
His rendition of Fever is brilliant. I get a kick out of the Romeo and Juliet stanza. Only because it is entertaining and being an English major, I get a thrill out of Shakespearean references. Plus the use of "thy" and "sooth" is great as well. That also applies to the John Smith and Pocahontas reference, though it never really happened in real life. To be honest, Pocahontas was like a minor (think twelve or thirteen) and nothing like the animated version (physically in particular). Though in some regions in the South and a while back, Kansas, she might have been of marriagable age. I digress.
In particular, You'll Never Find Another Love is another great song. Just listen to him sing the lyrics and you will agree with my personal judgment. Very soulful. And it might get the schwerve going if you play it at the right time. Not that I would have any knowledge on this topic.
It's time to go. Put some finishing touches on a take home final. Have lunch.
That's all for now.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Here Comes The Rain Again and Again...
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, it's all the things floating in my head that I find interesting. It's time for an update today. Woohoo! I know you're all excited about this prospect. Come on, admit it.
The only thing I can say about the weather around this part of the world is wet. It has been raining continuously for several days and with no end in sight. Well, at least this week. The weather people say that it will end next week, based upon their super-duper, top-secret, high-tech weather forecasting computers. I get the odd feeling that they actually toss darts at a board and make up the forecast as they go along. Or they roll a bunch of dice and consult a book like a Dungeons and Dragons player.
For some additional words to this post, I've culled up some lyrics using the word "rain" from Google. Have fun guessing where these lyrics came from. They're pretty easy, so it shouldn't be too taxing on the brain...
"One more rainy day
Once again my mind is grey
This is what a rainy day can do
One more rainy day
One more rainy day"
"Come back when it ain't raining
Come back when your skies are blue
Come back when it ain't rainin' on you
It ain't rainin' on you"
"I can't stop the rain, here it comes again
Lightnin' strikes across the sky
Oh, I can't stop the rain, here it comes again
Lightnin' only blinds my eyes"
"Stormy Weather
Since my gal and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time
Keeps raining all of the time"
"She laughed
She cried
She damn near died
On the day it rained forever"
"But I'll still sing you love songs, written in the letters of your name.
The rain is gonna come, oh it surely looks like rain"
That's all for now.
The only thing I can say about the weather around this part of the world is wet. It has been raining continuously for several days and with no end in sight. Well, at least this week. The weather people say that it will end next week, based upon their super-duper, top-secret, high-tech weather forecasting computers. I get the odd feeling that they actually toss darts at a board and make up the forecast as they go along. Or they roll a bunch of dice and consult a book like a Dungeons and Dragons player.
"Hmm...what will the weather be like tomorrow? Let's see..." FHWIP! CHUNK! "It's going to be sunny tomorrow with a high of...what number haven't I used yet? Hell, let's say 75."
For some additional words to this post, I've culled up some lyrics using the word "rain" from Google. Have fun guessing where these lyrics came from. They're pretty easy, so it shouldn't be too taxing on the brain...
"One more rainy day
Once again my mind is grey
This is what a rainy day can do
One more rainy day
One more rainy day"
"Come back when it ain't raining
Come back when your skies are blue
Come back when it ain't rainin' on you
It ain't rainin' on you"
"I can't stop the rain, here it comes again
Lightnin' strikes across the sky
Oh, I can't stop the rain, here it comes again
Lightnin' only blinds my eyes"
"Stormy Weather
Since my gal and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time
Keeps raining all of the time"
"She laughed
She cried
She damn near died
On the day it rained forever"
"But I'll still sing you love songs, written in the letters of your name.
The rain is gonna come, oh it surely looks like rain"
That's all for now.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Online Monkey Personals...
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, for those a little too dense to figure this one out, this site is all about things related to Un. All the things that I find interesting and are floating around in my head.
You've all heard about the online personal site. Places like Match, E-Harmony, and Family Watchdog. The last site, as you may have guessed, was meant to be a joke. You know, something that violates a set pattern. Forget it. I found that to be funny, but if you didn't, this site is not for you.
These web personal sites have only focused on people finding their perfect match. And these sites have provided fodder for numerous joke sites that poke fun of these online personal sties. What about an online personals site for monkeys?
That's the basic premise for Monkey Personals, another online personals parody site. What makes this site so brilliant is the attention to detail that the site maker has. The language used on the site is spot on to the language used by other personals sites like the following example:
it's not a complete site, as there is only one "member profile" there, but the premise and execution is great. One can even submit a profile to the site, though it takes up to 24 hours for approval. Very clean and easy to navigate. It made me laugh. I think that it brings in new meaning to "jungle love."
That's all for now.
You've all heard about the online personal site. Places like Match, E-Harmony, and Family Watchdog. The last site, as you may have guessed, was meant to be a joke. You know, something that violates a set pattern. Forget it. I found that to be funny, but if you didn't, this site is not for you.
These web personal sites have only focused on people finding their perfect match. And these sites have provided fodder for numerous joke sites that poke fun of these online personal sties. What about an online personals site for monkeys?
That's the basic premise for Monkey Personals, another online personals parody site. What makes this site so brilliant is the attention to detail that the site maker has. The language used on the site is spot on to the language used by other personals sites like the following example:
We have helped thousands upon thousands of lonely, miserable monkeys find true love! Is there any better proof that this site works? Why limit yourself to the few acres in the jungle where you roam? You too can harness the power of the internet. Sure, there's plenty of fleas in the jungle, but there's millions of fleas on monkey personals!
it's not a complete site, as there is only one "member profile" there, but the premise and execution is great. One can even submit a profile to the site, though it takes up to 24 hours for approval. Very clean and easy to navigate. It made me laugh. I think that it brings in new meaning to "jungle love."
That's all for now.
Monday, April 30, 2007
An April Update
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's been a while since I've done an update to this site, so today is just as good as any other day to post up an update.
I've been going into a a weird (even for myself) mental and physical state as of lately. I alternate between days of feeling like I'm flying high and then I go into a state where I think I'm a total failure at what I do. And some days, I'll go through all of them at once. Some days, I just want to bury myself and hide from everything and not face the day. I just don't want to wake up, which is another thing that's weird as I am a morning person and waking up is not much of a problem. Sometimes, waking up is the problem, as in the bouts of insomnia.
In addition, I'm becoming more and more forgetful. Much more that usual. I misplace stuff and I forget where I've put it. I rarely, almost never, misplace things. To me, not being able to find something, no matter how minor, is scary. It means I'm not being careful. I guess I'm one of those people who has to have everything in its place or near its place for me to feel like things are all right.
Deadlines don't mean so much any more. I generally get things done early, really early, so I can have time to do other things. Now it's like, "I've got until. That's two, three months away. Plenty of time." And time goes by and I'm now barely getting thing in before they're due. It's not good. I should be more on top of things. And then I beat myself up for this. And I enter the depressive state. Maybe I might change to a more happy state. And the cycle repeats again.
Even when I'm doing things that I enjoy, it becomes a problem. Like when I did the Stand Up Stand Off Finals last week. The beginning is going fine. Got some laughs. And then I just can't do my routine. It was scripted and had transitions. I just lost it. To be honest, I had an even better one, but I couldn't use it due to the events at Virginia Tech. (The joke was a "What's the worst thing that could happen if you make fun of an Asian? They don't do your laundry? They don't help you do your homework? They put chicken in your chicken fried rice?") The joke would have been in poor taste considering an Asian guy killed 33 people, including himself and injured just as many. The middle was terrible. I kind of redeemed myself in the end, but not enough. It wasn't good. It was having one of those nights where I just bombed, as it goes in the stand-up comic parlance. Terrible. And I beat myself up for that. And I began the cycle of wondering why I even have dreams of being a stand-up comic or at least being a funny guy for that matter. It's irrational to think this way, but it happens. More and more often.
Maybe this is the price I pay for not being so emotionally open and honest with myself and others. Maybe this is a sign of something. Or I'm just being irrational about this entire episode. I just don't know anymore. How I long for the world of black and white answers and not shades of gray.
That's all for now.
I've been going into a a weird (even for myself) mental and physical state as of lately. I alternate between days of feeling like I'm flying high and then I go into a state where I think I'm a total failure at what I do. And some days, I'll go through all of them at once. Some days, I just want to bury myself and hide from everything and not face the day. I just don't want to wake up, which is another thing that's weird as I am a morning person and waking up is not much of a problem. Sometimes, waking up is the problem, as in the bouts of insomnia.
In addition, I'm becoming more and more forgetful. Much more that usual. I misplace stuff and I forget where I've put it. I rarely, almost never, misplace things. To me, not being able to find something, no matter how minor, is scary. It means I'm not being careful. I guess I'm one of those people who has to have everything in its place or near its place for me to feel like things are all right.
Deadlines don't mean so much any more. I generally get things done early, really early, so I can have time to do other things. Now it's like, "I've got until
Even when I'm doing things that I enjoy, it becomes a problem. Like when I did the Stand Up Stand Off Finals last week. The beginning is going fine. Got some laughs. And then I just can't do my routine. It was scripted and had transitions. I just lost it. To be honest, I had an even better one, but I couldn't use it due to the events at Virginia Tech. (The joke was a "What's the worst thing that could happen if you make fun of an Asian? They don't do your laundry? They don't help you do your homework? They put chicken in your chicken fried rice?") The joke would have been in poor taste considering an Asian guy killed 33 people, including himself and injured just as many. The middle was terrible. I kind of redeemed myself in the end, but not enough. It wasn't good. It was having one of those nights where I just bombed, as it goes in the stand-up comic parlance. Terrible. And I beat myself up for that. And I began the cycle of wondering why I even have dreams of being a stand-up comic or at least being a funny guy for that matter. It's irrational to think this way, but it happens. More and more often.
Maybe this is the price I pay for not being so emotionally open and honest with myself and others. Maybe this is a sign of something. Or I'm just being irrational about this entire episode. I just don't know anymore. How I long for the world of black and white answers and not shades of gray.
That's all for now.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
It's An Update...Finally
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for an update to this site. It's been a while since I updated this site, so I decided to do one now.
I haven't updated this site for about two weeks. It's not that I've been lazy or I haven't had any stuff to write about. I've been busy doing other things and they have been cutting into time I could use to write witty posts that mention the great things that are occuring in my most wonderful life...as if I actually had one. Not that I'm being harsh on myself, but honestly, I don't have a social life. More on that later...
Yes, what have I been doing?
1. Exercising as often as I can, which isn't as much I have been earlier this year.
2. Writing a God-awful research paper from hell. Why I wasn't smart enough to do the writing requirement earlier...I am not sure. I guess it was due to sheer laziness. I'm putting the finishing touches on it right now, so it shall be done before it is actually due. Which reminds me, I might need to get more printer ink.
3. Writing jokes for my performance on April 25, 2007. I'm in the Stand-Up Showdown Finals on that day. Kansas Union, 5th Floor, 7:00 PM. I might have to tweak the routine a little given the recent events.
4. Wondering why I have no social life. I've come to the sad conclusion of why I have no social life. It's due to my underlying personality. After much deliberation and reflection, I have some sort of complex. Not Oedipal, but some kind of complex that restricts my thinking in some way. I know that I have reasons why I shun social contacts or activities. I've got transportation and some money. I can talk about subjects other than law or the digits of pi or whatever is floating in my head that is socially acceptable in most situations.
After much thinking, I've come to the following explanation. I'm too narrow minded in certain aspects and I really shouldn't be. Not like bigoted or anything like that. I automatically assume that most people aren't as smart as I am and in most cases, I automatically narrow my perceptions about them. I don't want to deal with them, unless I absolutely have to. I'm prone to snap judgments that are faulty. After a while, it became some kind of complex where I don't associate with people. It's not because I am afraid of looking like some social dolt, but because I'm afraid of dealing with people not on my level. This then leads to the "not dealing with people" routine. And that leads to problems with social interaction and my current situation of social interaction ineptness. In sum, I've cursed myself into the position that I am in. I've always assumed it was due to some psychological behavioral disorder like Aspergers. Which may be so.
Of course, this is proably just a junk psychological examination that probably isn't all that accurate. I've probably missed some stuff, but for now, it works.
So that's what I've been doing recently. Nothing that exciting. The highlight of my week is the Lawrence Public Library's Free Book Giveaway this weekend. Woohoo.
That's all for now.
I haven't updated this site for about two weeks. It's not that I've been lazy or I haven't had any stuff to write about. I've been busy doing other things and they have been cutting into time I could use to write witty posts that mention the great things that are occuring in my most wonderful life...as if I actually had one. Not that I'm being harsh on myself, but honestly, I don't have a social life. More on that later...
Yes, what have I been doing?
1. Exercising as often as I can, which isn't as much I have been earlier this year.
2. Writing a God-awful research paper from hell. Why I wasn't smart enough to do the writing requirement earlier...I am not sure. I guess it was due to sheer laziness. I'm putting the finishing touches on it right now, so it shall be done before it is actually due. Which reminds me, I might need to get more printer ink.
3. Writing jokes for my performance on April 25, 2007. I'm in the Stand-Up Showdown Finals on that day. Kansas Union, 5th Floor, 7:00 PM. I might have to tweak the routine a little given the recent events.
4. Wondering why I have no social life. I've come to the sad conclusion of why I have no social life. It's due to my underlying personality. After much deliberation and reflection, I have some sort of complex. Not Oedipal, but some kind of complex that restricts my thinking in some way. I know that I have reasons why I shun social contacts or activities. I've got transportation and some money. I can talk about subjects other than law or the digits of pi or whatever is floating in my head that is socially acceptable in most situations.
After much thinking, I've come to the following explanation. I'm too narrow minded in certain aspects and I really shouldn't be. Not like bigoted or anything like that. I automatically assume that most people aren't as smart as I am and in most cases, I automatically narrow my perceptions about them. I don't want to deal with them, unless I absolutely have to. I'm prone to snap judgments that are faulty. After a while, it became some kind of complex where I don't associate with people. It's not because I am afraid of looking like some social dolt, but because I'm afraid of dealing with people not on my level. This then leads to the "not dealing with people" routine. And that leads to problems with social interaction and my current situation of social interaction ineptness. In sum, I've cursed myself into the position that I am in. I've always assumed it was due to some psychological behavioral disorder like Aspergers. Which may be so.
Of course, this is proably just a junk psychological examination that probably isn't all that accurate. I've probably missed some stuff, but for now, it works.
So that's what I've been doing recently. Nothing that exciting. The highlight of my week is the Lawrence Public Library's Free Book Giveaway this weekend. Woohoo.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The Car in a Shrub or a Strange Dr. Seuss Title
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for an update as there really is nothing much to talk about at this hour. I'm only doing this so I can have the vague feeling of doing something on this blog. Maybe I'll post something up longer later, when I can think of something to post up. This is quite a change from my first few months of blogging when I posted up massive, rambling, semi-philosophical posts about my life.
Anyways...
I saw the funniest thing this morning while coming to school today. While heading west on 23rd Street, I saw some flashing lights. Must be a cop car pulling someone over for speeding or something like that. I don't see any ambulances, so it's a minor thing.
Go forward a little bit more and I see the cop car, parked near the intersection of 23rd and Naismith. This intersection, for some reason, seems to attract a lot of cop cars for some reason. Maybe it's because Naismith takes up up to KU...which for part of the school year is the area around Allen Fieldhouse.
Ah yes, the police car is there, but where's the other car? I don't see it. What's the point of a cop car there if there's no accident, no lousy driver? Then I look a little bit closer at the concrete lane divider.
There are some "trees" or "shrubs" or something like that in the middle of the lane divider. I'm no horticulture expert so my limits on naming plants are quite constricted. "Ooh...there's a pretty yellow flower. What the hell is that called again?" A quick aside on how moronic the city of Lawrence can get with priorities. The city of Lawrence, for some foolish reason, is more interested in making roundabouts and other traffic impediments look nice. I can think of other things they can spend the money on like paving roads, fixing sidewalks, and a few more parking spaces in downtown...but I'm not making the budget, am I?
Kind of like KCMO and how they're spending billions on stadiums and other big buildings that will never get used by an actual pro team instead of fixing their lousy sewers and streets. Which leads to the joke that the Royals aren't the only thing that stinks in KCMO during the summer. I digress again.
What do I see smack dab in the middle of a tree/shrub thingy?
A car. An ugly, black car with an ugly spoiler-type thing on the rear. Which leads me to the observation that cars are getting uglier and uglier. Who the hell is responsible for designing these cars? Some cars I've seen look like they stuck a giant bologna sandwich and called that the trunk. But I digress again.
It was pretty funny to see a car stuck in a shrub. Made my day. Alas, I did not have a digital camera so I cannot post a picture of this site. Oh well. Only in Lawrence.
That's all for now.
Anyways...
I saw the funniest thing this morning while coming to school today. While heading west on 23rd Street, I saw some flashing lights. Must be a cop car pulling someone over for speeding or something like that. I don't see any ambulances, so it's a minor thing.
Go forward a little bit more and I see the cop car, parked near the intersection of 23rd and Naismith. This intersection, for some reason, seems to attract a lot of cop cars for some reason. Maybe it's because Naismith takes up up to KU...which for part of the school year is the area around Allen Fieldhouse.
Ah yes, the police car is there, but where's the other car? I don't see it. What's the point of a cop car there if there's no accident, no lousy driver? Then I look a little bit closer at the concrete lane divider.
There are some "trees" or "shrubs" or something like that in the middle of the lane divider. I'm no horticulture expert so my limits on naming plants are quite constricted. "Ooh...there's a pretty yellow flower. What the hell is that called again?" A quick aside on how moronic the city of Lawrence can get with priorities. The city of Lawrence, for some foolish reason, is more interested in making roundabouts and other traffic impediments look nice. I can think of other things they can spend the money on like paving roads, fixing sidewalks, and a few more parking spaces in downtown...but I'm not making the budget, am I?
Kind of like KCMO and how they're spending billions on stadiums and other big buildings that will never get used by an actual pro team instead of fixing their lousy sewers and streets. Which leads to the joke that the Royals aren't the only thing that stinks in KCMO during the summer. I digress again.
What do I see smack dab in the middle of a tree/shrub thingy?
A car. An ugly, black car with an ugly spoiler-type thing on the rear. Which leads me to the observation that cars are getting uglier and uglier. Who the hell is responsible for designing these cars? Some cars I've seen look like they stuck a giant bologna sandwich and called that the trunk. But I digress again.
It was pretty funny to see a car stuck in a shrub. Made my day. Alas, I did not have a digital camera so I cannot post a picture of this site. Oh well. Only in Lawrence.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
An Update to the Site
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the known only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. For those who do not know what this means, this site is all about the random thoughts floating in my head that I find interesting.
That's all for now.
The semester is about to end very soon and my many years of school--19 years to be somwhat exact, will all be over. I will have more diplomas and more education that I probably will ever need in real life. As much as I dislike certain aspects of the American law school educational system like well, nearly everything about it, as well as the other asssociated hassles that come along the way, law school wasn't all that bad. I mean, when compared to certain aspects of real life.
In law school, you could plan you days such that you only went to school for half a day. Or you could have your Fridays free of class, let alone any day you chose. If you only wanted classes in the morning or the afternoon, that's fine as well.
In the real world, however, it's a mandatory 8 hours, five days a week. At a minimum. Add in the forced overtime, or in the lawyer's world, 100 hour weeks for your first year so you can have a chance at being a partner in the firm...law school isn't so bad. Sure, you have to deal with boring books, even worse classes, and faculty and administration that you might not get along with, but it's nothing like the real world.
In sum, given the choice between law school (or grad school) and the real world, hand me the books and I'll write a paper. I might be persuaded even more if you throw in some cash as well. Fat chance of that happening.
In sum, given the choice between law school (or grad school) and the real world, hand me the books and I'll write a paper. I might be persuaded even more if you throw in some cash as well. Fat chance of that happening.
That also and I won't have so much time to see KU basketball and stuff like this:
I'm not a big fan of the law school rankings given out by US News and World Report as its a giant load of bullshit. I'm not a fan of their methodology. If you've seen the news lately, they arbitrarily will put numbers in their formulas if they don't have that information from your school. Which totally defeats the "objective" purpose of their rankings.
The University of Kansas is doing so much better in the rankings...if you can actually believe them. I've always thought that KU Law is much better than what the rankings say and I think that the University and others put too much emphasis on those numbers. For me, personally, I could care less about the rankings. It's all about the personal stuff. You could go to the number one school in the nation, but if you don't like the experience there, it's not the best school for you at all. The same applies to grad school and college.
Oh well. Believe what you want. But the rankings and the methods they use to come up with them are all pseudo-science mumbo jumbo.
That's all for now.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I Just Said That...?
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for an update to this site, as it's been a long while since I've posted one.
I've always considered myself to be a not-so-great public speaker. It's something that does not come naturally to me. The only way that I can do well with public speaking, so it seems, is by writing it down and going over it over and over again. And yet, all of my experiences in law school seem to go against what I've always considered to be true.
In my 1L year, I had to take Lawyering, one of the most God-awful classes ever. Perfectly and utterly boring and useless. Every law school professor I've talked to considers that class to be overly academic and not based upon reality. People I know who are in the Defender Project and Legal Aid talk about how on the first day, they are told to forget everything they've learned in Lawyering.
The same applies with Trial Advocacy as the authors of the textbook are not really lawyers. They have no idea of what it's like to be in an actual trial, but base their book upon social science and not on real trial experience. Sure, they might ask some lawyers, but it's pure academic bullshit. This is another problem with the law school education.
Anyways, in Lawyering II, you have to do oral aguments. I really didn't type anything out, which normally would have doomed me. I just made a quick outline and modified it as the oral arguments proceeded. And when it was my turn to speak, I winged it. Absolutely winged it and went on gut instinct. And I did amazingly well. So well that the professor grading my performance said that it was one of the best he had seen.
And in Trial Advocacy, the Judge who was grading my performance, an actual judge with experience, said that I did a mighty persuasive performance. Again, I just winged it. I did what I thought, instinctually, would work. It was a great performance, though the jury didn't think so for some reason. I guess that it might have been due to them not paying much attention and automatically thinking my client was guilty.
Same thing in Advanced Litigation. I don't really write my closing/opening argument word for word, but come up with a basic outline. They come out in perfect order and they combine precise logic with emotional appeal. And I have not practiced it in any way. I just say what I want to say.
Yesterday, I was arguing a case in Advanced Litigation involving a car accident. Since I was representing the plaintiff, I was arguing that my client was hit by a drunk driver travelling at 60MPH in a 30 MPH zone. In addition, the drunk driver borrowed the car from his next door neighbor and the neighbor knew about this person's bad driving record. A simple case of negligent entrustment.
I forgot that the case what that night, so I really didn't prepare that well. Despite my failure to prepare, I somehow manage to spot every single issue except for two, as well as make coherent arguments. The two I missed, I should have known. One was a prior conviction and the other was improper use of circumstancial character evidence.
I did manage to exclude a very important piece of evidence in a police report. The cop at the accident scene came to the conclusion that my client failed to make a complete stop. If it had gotten in, it was game over for my client. It somehow popped into my head to exclude that little piece of evidence.
Which brings me to an interesting question. Am I setting myself short on my speaking abilities, let alone my thinking skills as a lawyer? I'm beginning to think that I probably am selling myself short. Or I was using a wrong method of preparing myself. Maybe it's a bit of both. Or I'm thinking myself into failure and making a self-fulfilling prophesy.
I never considered myself to be much of a trial lawyer who speaks in front of the court. My experiences in Advanced Litigation are making me reconsider this notion. I just might be a brilliant issue spotter.
Well. it's time to get back to writing a research paper. Man, how I hate that paper with utter vehemence. I should have fulfilled my writing requirement much earlier and not have waited until the final semester of law school.
That's all for now.
I've always considered myself to be a not-so-great public speaker. It's something that does not come naturally to me. The only way that I can do well with public speaking, so it seems, is by writing it down and going over it over and over again. And yet, all of my experiences in law school seem to go against what I've always considered to be true.
In my 1L year, I had to take Lawyering, one of the most God-awful classes ever. Perfectly and utterly boring and useless. Every law school professor I've talked to considers that class to be overly academic and not based upon reality. People I know who are in the Defender Project and Legal Aid talk about how on the first day, they are told to forget everything they've learned in Lawyering.
The same applies with Trial Advocacy as the authors of the textbook are not really lawyers. They have no idea of what it's like to be in an actual trial, but base their book upon social science and not on real trial experience. Sure, they might ask some lawyers, but it's pure academic bullshit. This is another problem with the law school education.
Anyways, in Lawyering II, you have to do oral aguments. I really didn't type anything out, which normally would have doomed me. I just made a quick outline and modified it as the oral arguments proceeded. And when it was my turn to speak, I winged it. Absolutely winged it and went on gut instinct. And I did amazingly well. So well that the professor grading my performance said that it was one of the best he had seen.
And in Trial Advocacy, the Judge who was grading my performance, an actual judge with experience, said that I did a mighty persuasive performance. Again, I just winged it. I did what I thought, instinctually, would work. It was a great performance, though the jury didn't think so for some reason. I guess that it might have been due to them not paying much attention and automatically thinking my client was guilty.
Same thing in Advanced Litigation. I don't really write my closing/opening argument word for word, but come up with a basic outline. They come out in perfect order and they combine precise logic with emotional appeal. And I have not practiced it in any way. I just say what I want to say.
Yesterday, I was arguing a case in Advanced Litigation involving a car accident. Since I was representing the plaintiff, I was arguing that my client was hit by a drunk driver travelling at 60MPH in a 30 MPH zone. In addition, the drunk driver borrowed the car from his next door neighbor and the neighbor knew about this person's bad driving record. A simple case of negligent entrustment.
I forgot that the case what that night, so I really didn't prepare that well. Despite my failure to prepare, I somehow manage to spot every single issue except for two, as well as make coherent arguments. The two I missed, I should have known. One was a prior conviction and the other was improper use of circumstancial character evidence.
I did manage to exclude a very important piece of evidence in a police report. The cop at the accident scene came to the conclusion that my client failed to make a complete stop. If it had gotten in, it was game over for my client. It somehow popped into my head to exclude that little piece of evidence.
Which brings me to an interesting question. Am I setting myself short on my speaking abilities, let alone my thinking skills as a lawyer? I'm beginning to think that I probably am selling myself short. Or I was using a wrong method of preparing myself. Maybe it's a bit of both. Or I'm thinking myself into failure and making a self-fulfilling prophesy.
I never considered myself to be much of a trial lawyer who speaks in front of the court. My experiences in Advanced Litigation are making me reconsider this notion. I just might be a brilliant issue spotter.
Well. it's time to get back to writing a research paper. Man, how I hate that paper with utter vehemence. I should have fulfilled my writing requirement much earlier and not have waited until the final semester of law school.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
A Spring Break Update
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, this means all the random stuff that the author of this blog finds interesting. It's spring break and this means that I am kind of on vacation from that minor Circle of Hell in life called law school.
Ah...there's nothing like Spring Break. It's a nice break from law school or any kind of school for that matter. It's even better since it coincides with the period of inactivity called March Madness. As a men's college basketball fan (not overly obsessed, thankfully), March Madness is a wonderful time of the year, even if my favorite team is losing (Rock Chalk Jayhawk). Well, I wouldn't go that far. I still get angry when the Jayhawks choke or when the Jayhawks lose. I'm not going to act like some nutjob and act psycho about it. They lose, they lose. They win, they win. Jayhawk basketball. They're doing pretty well this season. At least they didn't choke in the first round as a #1 seed. If that happened, Coach Self would need to find a new place to live in. That's the polite way of saying that he would be a persona non grata in Lawrence, KS.
This year, I'm expecting at least a Final Four. Southern Illinois is an excellent defense-minded team, but I doubt their offense has enough firepower to counter the Jayhawks. If the game turns out to be a run-and-gun down the court, Southern Illinois will have some problems. The Jayhawks can rotate and replace guys and not suffer too much when it comes to offense or defense.
If it turns out to be a KU-UCLA Regional Final, I'm not worried either. UCLA is a good team, but after seeing the Indiana-UCLA game, they're not that scary. Texas with Kevin Durant is much scarier. But I might have to temper that statement just a bit. Texas plain stunk against USC. UCLA can match up against Kansas but I give the edge to Kansas. I'm just biased towards Kansas...OK?
I also saw 300. As an action movie, it's great. Lots of fighting. Lots of blood. Like watching the most hyper, balls-to-the-wall fighting game. Stilted and not-so-great dialogue. The score is not John Williams material, but it works well for what the movie is.
For those who do not know, 300 is based upon a graphic novel (codeword for comic book) based upon the historic battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans and their allies--300 Spartans and 700 from a place called Thespiae (no relation to the Greek word for actors)--valiantly fought to the last man against the mighty Persian army led by Xerxes. I shall not bore you with the historical details, as they can be easily found on Google, but to make a long story short, someone betrays the Greeks and they all die. A year later, at the battle of Platea, the Greeks rout the Persians. Then comes the bitter war between Athens and Sparta. And the rest, as they say, is ancient Greek history...
Many have complained that the movie has numerous faults. Bad dialogue. Humdrum music. The lack of historical accuracy. Guilty on all charges. Sure, the dialogue was bad, one dimensional, gallows humor. Last time I checked, in real life, short and pithy is how they communicated in battle. Nobody busted out a Shakespearean speech while people are getting sliced and diced to pieces. It was "Man the torpedoes" or "Shoot the #%**!" And soldiers are known for their gallows humor. M*A*S*H made the best of it and few people complained. Hell, the theme to M*A*S*H was called "Suicide is Painless."
The lack of historical accuracy. Blatantly inaccurate. No giant monsters or ogres in Persia, despite what the movie shows. Costumes were totally wrong. The events were wrong as well. And the real life Spartans did not wear the homoerotic/women turn-on battle dress that the Spartans wore in this movie. The movie Spartans are muscle men who wear nothing more than Speedo-like briefs, a cape, a helmet, a shield, and a sword. Now you get it? I digress. But 300 is a movie that never billed itself as historically accurate, let alone, accurate. It was meant to be a retelling of a historical event in a entertaining way.
The music. Not John Williams in the least. No Star Wars fanfare, but repetitive power chords, frentic slapdash, hypnotic rhythms. This movie is about fighting, remember? And the fights become eerily engrossing when the music is going.
Despite all of its flaws, 300 is an entertainingly bloody way to spend 2 hours of one's time. If the fighting is not your fare, there are other movies to watch...like Road Hogs. Yup, nothing like seeing fat, overweight, middle-aged men in black leather.
That's all for now.
Ah...there's nothing like Spring Break. It's a nice break from law school or any kind of school for that matter. It's even better since it coincides with the period of inactivity called March Madness. As a men's college basketball fan (not overly obsessed, thankfully), March Madness is a wonderful time of the year, even if my favorite team is losing (Rock Chalk Jayhawk). Well, I wouldn't go that far. I still get angry when the Jayhawks choke or when the Jayhawks lose. I'm not going to act like some nutjob and act psycho about it. They lose, they lose. They win, they win. Jayhawk basketball. They're doing pretty well this season. At least they didn't choke in the first round as a #1 seed. If that happened, Coach Self would need to find a new place to live in. That's the polite way of saying that he would be a persona non grata in Lawrence, KS.
This year, I'm expecting at least a Final Four. Southern Illinois is an excellent defense-minded team, but I doubt their offense has enough firepower to counter the Jayhawks. If the game turns out to be a run-and-gun down the court, Southern Illinois will have some problems. The Jayhawks can rotate and replace guys and not suffer too much when it comes to offense or defense.
If it turns out to be a KU-UCLA Regional Final, I'm not worried either. UCLA is a good team, but after seeing the Indiana-UCLA game, they're not that scary. Texas with Kevin Durant is much scarier. But I might have to temper that statement just a bit. Texas plain stunk against USC. UCLA can match up against Kansas but I give the edge to Kansas. I'm just biased towards Kansas...OK?
I also saw 300. As an action movie, it's great. Lots of fighting. Lots of blood. Like watching the most hyper, balls-to-the-wall fighting game. Stilted and not-so-great dialogue. The score is not John Williams material, but it works well for what the movie is.
For those who do not know, 300 is based upon a graphic novel (codeword for comic book) based upon the historic battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans and their allies--300 Spartans and 700 from a place called Thespiae (no relation to the Greek word for actors)--valiantly fought to the last man against the mighty Persian army led by Xerxes. I shall not bore you with the historical details, as they can be easily found on Google, but to make a long story short, someone betrays the Greeks and they all die. A year later, at the battle of Platea, the Greeks rout the Persians. Then comes the bitter war between Athens and Sparta. And the rest, as they say, is ancient Greek history...
Many have complained that the movie has numerous faults. Bad dialogue. Humdrum music. The lack of historical accuracy. Guilty on all charges. Sure, the dialogue was bad, one dimensional, gallows humor. Last time I checked, in real life, short and pithy is how they communicated in battle. Nobody busted out a Shakespearean speech while people are getting sliced and diced to pieces. It was "Man the torpedoes" or "Shoot the #%**!" And soldiers are known for their gallows humor. M*A*S*H made the best of it and few people complained. Hell, the theme to M*A*S*H was called "Suicide is Painless."
The lack of historical accuracy. Blatantly inaccurate. No giant monsters or ogres in Persia, despite what the movie shows. Costumes were totally wrong. The events were wrong as well. And the real life Spartans did not wear the homoerotic/women turn-on battle dress that the Spartans wore in this movie. The movie Spartans are muscle men who wear nothing more than Speedo-like briefs, a cape, a helmet, a shield, and a sword. Now you get it? I digress. But 300 is a movie that never billed itself as historically accurate, let alone, accurate. It was meant to be a retelling of a historical event in a entertaining way.
The music. Not John Williams in the least. No Star Wars fanfare, but repetitive power chords, frentic slapdash, hypnotic rhythms. This movie is about fighting, remember? And the fights become eerily engrossing when the music is going.
Despite all of its flaws, 300 is an entertainingly bloody way to spend 2 hours of one's time. If the fighting is not your fare, there are other movies to watch...like Road Hogs. Yup, nothing like seeing fat, overweight, middle-aged men in black leather.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
A Two For One Deal: Riverdance and Fred Phelps
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Basically, it's all about me. It's time for an update to this site because I know that you all want to get a look into my so-called life and have a few laughs about how it is terribly lacking. Anyways...
I'm a person with a taste taht for most people, is not very fashionable or trendy. I don't watch the in shows like Desperate Houswives, American Idol, or any other mega hit on TV. Shows that get rave reviews are not on my radar. I don't read the books that are the must-read fiction best sellers. My tastes, to sound a little elitist, are not what you might consider are for the masses.
I like classical music. There's nothing better than listening to a symphony by Beethoven or a little sonata by Mozart. I can probably rattle off operatic scores better than I can rattle off pop songs. I've never gotten why people like certain artists when their songs are...well...lacking any real merit when it comes to harmony or lyrics. I sometimes long for the days when singers could actually sing a tune without resorting to tawdry computer effects and other means of digital modification.
As much as I enjoy my quasi-elitist, quite possibly snobbish tastes, I do enjoy the commercial stuff and the TV opiate of the masses. I get a big kick out of watching the Jerry Springer show and I find myself strangely glued to the set when Maury Povich does "Who's the Daddy" episodes. I freely admit to enjoying these shows.
I also like Riverdance...the spectacle of Irish step dancing that has been going strong for over a decade. Well over 9,000 performances in over 30 countries. Nearly 19 million people watching this production. One could easily say that this show is something for the masses, as well as a staple for public television. It can be said that public television spread the phenomenon across the United States. This led to Lord of the Dance, another Irish step dancing show.
So when Riverdance was coming to the Lied Center, it was something that I could not miss. And put simply, I enjoyed the show. Every single minute of it.
Lots of Irish step dancing defined by fancy foot work, quick tapping, and smooth gliding. The amount of energy used to keep the upper body rigid the entire time. The grace and elegance combined with sheer power.
There was some other forms of dance involved with this show. Some sultry flamenco expertly done. As well as an entertaining "dance off" between American tap dance and Irish step dancing, which was a crowd pleaser. Energetic. One can only wonder what it might have been like if Savion Glover and Michael Flatley were doing this number...
One of the musicians decided to sneak in a little "I'm a Jayhawk" into the program. When a musician can play a song about the spring and segue right into the KU fight song, that's great. Rock Chalk indeed. The singing was great. The lead singer for "Heal Their Hearts--Freedom" had a booming, powerful baritone. Brought the house down. The other singers were just as skillful. All in all, it was a most excellent show.
Yes, Riverdance has been around for a while, but it's still entertaining none the less. I wasn't going to let Fred Phelps and his gang of loonies get in the way.
Oh...Fred Phelps. Forgot about him. Before the performance, his family decided to protest at the Lied Center. I'm what you may call a forgiving person, someone who tries to be as tolerant as possible, but I seriously wish there is a spot reserved for Fred Phelps and others like him in the deepest parts of Hell. I wish he and the rest of his kind were dead and they didn't exist. He gives the state of Kansas a bad name. The State School Board of Education, for a while, did that job pretty well. Adding Fred Phelps to the mix just makes it even worse.
All those protesters were singing a version of "God Hates America" complete with references to IEDs, perverts, and hating gays. I think that the Taliban and Al Qaeda might have some spots in their membership, but they might consider the Phelps clan too crazy. Note to the government: I am not a terrorist. Seriously.
I'm thinking that Fred Phelps and his clan are secretly closet homosexuals who are doing the homosexual bashing to make themselves feel better. It's the only reason I can think of why they're doing this. I feel bad when I think this as it's an insult to gays and lesbians to put them in the same group as Fred Phelps. And to think Fred Phelps used to be a civil rights attorney (the painful irony in this comment). I should know this as one of my professors used to know Phelps when Phelps was an attorney. This also reflects badly on the legal profession, so I would like to add in that Fred Phelps was disbarred...thankfully. Now his daughter is continuing the tradition of gay bashing and making legal arguments in front of the court as to why the government should not ban their hate speech.
I feel sorry for all the police who have to watch over these nutjobs. These police officers deserve a raise or bonus or something...
And to think that the Phelps clan will be at the Law School graduation ceremony in May. Oh boy. Another dose of those wackos.
So, in sum, I had a lovely time at Riverdance despite the appearance of the Phelps clan. I got a two for one deal with the entertainment, though the entertainment brought by the Phelps clan was entertainment I did not need or want at all.
That's all for now.
I'm a person with a taste taht for most people, is not very fashionable or trendy. I don't watch the in shows like Desperate Houswives, American Idol, or any other mega hit on TV. Shows that get rave reviews are not on my radar. I don't read the books that are the must-read fiction best sellers. My tastes, to sound a little elitist, are not what you might consider are for the masses.
I like classical music. There's nothing better than listening to a symphony by Beethoven or a little sonata by Mozart. I can probably rattle off operatic scores better than I can rattle off pop songs. I've never gotten why people like certain artists when their songs are...well...lacking any real merit when it comes to harmony or lyrics. I sometimes long for the days when singers could actually sing a tune without resorting to tawdry computer effects and other means of digital modification.
As much as I enjoy my quasi-elitist, quite possibly snobbish tastes, I do enjoy the commercial stuff and the TV opiate of the masses. I get a big kick out of watching the Jerry Springer show and I find myself strangely glued to the set when Maury Povich does "Who's the Daddy" episodes. I freely admit to enjoying these shows.
I also like Riverdance...the spectacle of Irish step dancing that has been going strong for over a decade. Well over 9,000 performances in over 30 countries. Nearly 19 million people watching this production. One could easily say that this show is something for the masses, as well as a staple for public television. It can be said that public television spread the phenomenon across the United States. This led to Lord of the Dance, another Irish step dancing show.
So when Riverdance was coming to the Lied Center, it was something that I could not miss. And put simply, I enjoyed the show. Every single minute of it.
Lots of Irish step dancing defined by fancy foot work, quick tapping, and smooth gliding. The amount of energy used to keep the upper body rigid the entire time. The grace and elegance combined with sheer power.
There was some other forms of dance involved with this show. Some sultry flamenco expertly done. As well as an entertaining "dance off" between American tap dance and Irish step dancing, which was a crowd pleaser. Energetic. One can only wonder what it might have been like if Savion Glover and Michael Flatley were doing this number...
One of the musicians decided to sneak in a little "I'm a Jayhawk" into the program. When a musician can play a song about the spring and segue right into the KU fight song, that's great. Rock Chalk indeed. The singing was great. The lead singer for "Heal Their Hearts--Freedom" had a booming, powerful baritone. Brought the house down. The other singers were just as skillful. All in all, it was a most excellent show.
Yes, Riverdance has been around for a while, but it's still entertaining none the less. I wasn't going to let Fred Phelps and his gang of loonies get in the way.
Oh...Fred Phelps. Forgot about him. Before the performance, his family decided to protest at the Lied Center. I'm what you may call a forgiving person, someone who tries to be as tolerant as possible, but I seriously wish there is a spot reserved for Fred Phelps and others like him in the deepest parts of Hell. I wish he and the rest of his kind were dead and they didn't exist. He gives the state of Kansas a bad name. The State School Board of Education, for a while, did that job pretty well. Adding Fred Phelps to the mix just makes it even worse.
All those protesters were singing a version of "God Hates America" complete with references to IEDs, perverts, and hating gays. I think that the Taliban and Al Qaeda might have some spots in their membership, but they might consider the Phelps clan too crazy. Note to the government: I am not a terrorist. Seriously.
I'm thinking that Fred Phelps and his clan are secretly closet homosexuals who are doing the homosexual bashing to make themselves feel better. It's the only reason I can think of why they're doing this. I feel bad when I think this as it's an insult to gays and lesbians to put them in the same group as Fred Phelps. And to think Fred Phelps used to be a civil rights attorney (the painful irony in this comment). I should know this as one of my professors used to know Phelps when Phelps was an attorney. This also reflects badly on the legal profession, so I would like to add in that Fred Phelps was disbarred...thankfully. Now his daughter is continuing the tradition of gay bashing and making legal arguments in front of the court as to why the government should not ban their hate speech.
I feel sorry for all the police who have to watch over these nutjobs. These police officers deserve a raise or bonus or something...
And to think that the Phelps clan will be at the Law School graduation ceremony in May. Oh boy. Another dose of those wackos.
So, in sum, I had a lovely time at Riverdance despite the appearance of the Phelps clan. I got a two for one deal with the entertainment, though the entertainment brought by the Phelps clan was entertainment I did not need or want at all.
That's all for now.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Stand Up
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. It's time for an update, something I have not done lately to this site. So you will get an update today.
If you are a regular reader of this site, you will know that I do stand up comedy on a semi-quasi-regular basis. It's generally done on Wednesday nights when the Student Union Activities people have their somewhat regular stand up comedy competitions. It's pretty fun and amusing to see people go up on stage and make fools of themselves, myself included.
In addition, if you are a regular reader of this site, you will know that I have a long history of getting fourth place whenever I do one of these events. It, for some reason, is a running joke being played on me by some higher power. Or an elaborate plot made by aliens. Or it is my fate to be Number Four. I sometimes joke with Bryan that I'm going to get fourth place when there are only three people competing.
So I compete last night at SUA's Stand Up Stand Off. The MC is a pretty hilarious guy named Roy Wood, a man who does prank calls, stand-up comedy, and a lot of other funny stuff. He did a great job of being the MC and his jokes were funny. His best ones were about college and his advice to women.
I'm the first one up and I do my little number. For those who do not know what I perform, I do obserational humor about race, current events, and the little things in life that I find interesting like Gary Lezac is crazy, which is the truth. If you name your dogs after the weather and you punctuate the weather forecast with spastic arm and hand movements, you're most likely crazy...or a little too enthusiastic about the weather. One can only go too far with one's excitement over a topic before it gets to be troublesome. A lot of what I do is edgy and most definitely, politically incorrect. It involves quite a bit of anger and sarcasm. If its possible, I also throw in impressions of famous people.
My set included the following list of topics (somewhat in order of appearance): Calculus, Guantanamo Bay, Gun, Jesse Jackson, Chinese food, homework, bad driving, racial profiling, sex, casinos, migrant workers, cost of college tuition, Apocalypse, End of the World, Gary Lezac's dogs, weather, Gary Lezac's weather forecast, Gary Lezac having sex, cigarette break, Woody Allen, adoption, more end of the world, online tests, dating life, dogs again, eating cats, why standup comedy is better than sex.
This was just a ten minute set and I probably could have done a lot more stuff, but getting all of that stuff in that amount of time isn't too bad. I could have added in the M&M joke, had I had more time.
The final results were that I did not get fourth place. I made it into the top three, thereby qualifying me for the Stand Up Stand Off finals, which will be held some time at the end of April, most likely the last Wednesday in April. I hope to do well and not be in fourth place. I would like to continue this tiny streak of top three into the Final Round competition and actually win a prize of some sort. This will be the only final that I will be interested in this semester.
That's all for now.
If you are a regular reader of this site, you will know that I do stand up comedy on a semi-quasi-regular basis. It's generally done on Wednesday nights when the Student Union Activities people have their somewhat regular stand up comedy competitions. It's pretty fun and amusing to see people go up on stage and make fools of themselves, myself included.
In addition, if you are a regular reader of this site, you will know that I have a long history of getting fourth place whenever I do one of these events. It, for some reason, is a running joke being played on me by some higher power. Or an elaborate plot made by aliens. Or it is my fate to be Number Four. I sometimes joke with Bryan that I'm going to get fourth place when there are only three people competing.
So I compete last night at SUA's Stand Up Stand Off. The MC is a pretty hilarious guy named Roy Wood, a man who does prank calls, stand-up comedy, and a lot of other funny stuff. He did a great job of being the MC and his jokes were funny. His best ones were about college and his advice to women.
I'm the first one up and I do my little number. For those who do not know what I perform, I do obserational humor about race, current events, and the little things in life that I find interesting like Gary Lezac is crazy, which is the truth. If you name your dogs after the weather and you punctuate the weather forecast with spastic arm and hand movements, you're most likely crazy...or a little too enthusiastic about the weather. One can only go too far with one's excitement over a topic before it gets to be troublesome. A lot of what I do is edgy and most definitely, politically incorrect. It involves quite a bit of anger and sarcasm. If its possible, I also throw in impressions of famous people.
My set included the following list of topics (somewhat in order of appearance): Calculus, Guantanamo Bay, Gun, Jesse Jackson, Chinese food, homework, bad driving, racial profiling, sex, casinos, migrant workers, cost of college tuition, Apocalypse, End of the World, Gary Lezac's dogs, weather, Gary Lezac's weather forecast, Gary Lezac having sex, cigarette break, Woody Allen, adoption, more end of the world, online tests, dating life, dogs again, eating cats, why standup comedy is better than sex.
This was just a ten minute set and I probably could have done a lot more stuff, but getting all of that stuff in that amount of time isn't too bad. I could have added in the M&M joke, had I had more time.
The final results were that I did not get fourth place. I made it into the top three, thereby qualifying me for the Stand Up Stand Off finals, which will be held some time at the end of April, most likely the last Wednesday in April. I hope to do well and not be in fourth place. I would like to continue this tiny streak of top three into the Final Round competition and actually win a prize of some sort. This will be the only final that I will be interested in this semester.
That's all for now.
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