knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s door November 29, 2007
Tonight, I attended what should be my last law school class, evah. I say “should be,” because there is still plenty of time for me to fuck it up. There is no way I am going to prematurely celebrate. Law school is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, including playing the title role in “Hedda Gabler,” where I had to remember a million lines, get myself all worked up every night and shoot myself.
I had an experience a couple of semesters ago that scared the living crap out of me. I had attended a class all semester and thought I learned a lot. I thought I had done a good job of studying, although I have never thought I had learned all there was to know in a class, it’s just too intense. I went into the exam and turned the paper over. There were three short questions, and each of them looked like complete and utter GREEK. I thought I was going to DIE. I just started writing, flop-sweating all over the paper, and my answers were obvious bullshit. I somehow pulled out a barely passing grade, having accidently answered something right. Since that experience, I don’t count any chickens until they are hatched, caught, killed, plucked, stuffed, cooked, out of the oven and on the plates.
My undergrad degree is in visual arts (painting and graphic design), and I am a very creative person. My income tax professor told me one day that we “creatives” are notorious as poor law students, but we often make the best lawyers. I believe that my creative, problem-solving, focused mind will be an asset to whoever I end up working for, but it’s going to be harder for me to get in the door. Problem is, they don’t let you do any lawyering until you pass all the tests, and we are all judged on our grades in the absence of any accomplishments. Apparently, many creative people have a hard time even getting in to law school, which is something I didn’t know at the time I applied and was accepted.
Also, I don’t come from that “world.” I don’t have any lawyers in my family. I was the first person in my family who ever graduated from college, never mind earning a law degree. I know people who are walking into cushy jobs because of family connections, and that route is not available to me. I’m almost glad it’s not. I have a great sense of accomplishment for having come this far completely on my own (well, with the help of federally-backed student loans and scholarship money from Loyola). My favorite people at law school are the others like myself who came in without a fraction of a clue and have come damned close to mastering this material.
After the exams are over and the grades are posted, assuming I pass everything, I will bask in the glow of having accomplished it for about 15 minutes. Then I will start the 10-week Bar-Bri course that prepares you for the Louisiana Bar Exam. There is no graduation ceremony for December graduates. I might march in the May ceremony, because Loyola Law grads wear the most fetching puffed-out berets with our gowns. They are to die for.
Don knows what a struggle this has been for me, and he’s been pretty funny. He acted like it won’t be such a disaster if I have to take a class over, and he asked me, “so, when’s the first time you’re taking the bar?,” as though it won’t be a big deal if I fail the first time around. Don asked me what I thought of all the professors now that I’m at the end. I have to say, they are all great and they all go way beyond what is necessary to help you when you are struggling.
At the end of class tonight, my Copyrights professor, Steve Bullock, told us that we were the most enjoyable class he had ever taught because of our enthusiasm for the subject. He gave a little talk about that feeling that you get when you are working in a law office and someone wants you to do something. You think, “I’m I already supposed to know this? Am I going to look like a moron if I ask a basic question?” He said, “I need to look that up and get back to you” is never a wrong answer. He also told us that if we face any situations where we are unsure of the legal or ethical thing to do, we can pick up the phone and call him and talk about it. He was very sincere, and I really appreciated it. Bullock is an adjunct, and he practices at a big firm in town. I would recommend him to anyone who has an intellectual property issue, he is a specialist in that field.
So, now I have to study my ass off for exams. My eyeball is feeling better again, since I sat half the day yesterday with a warm compress on it. I’m filled with excitement, anxiety and dread, and I occasionally think, “girl, what have you gone and done? Now, you have no excuse to not make something out of yourself.”
“awww, look at the tree!”
You have to see this video. TRex cracks me up. His post on Trent Lott is hysterically funny.
living on dangerblond time November 28, 2007
I have been busy lately going in several different directions at once, so I haven’t had time for a coherent thought, much less a long-winded, self-important blog post. Don’t think I haven’t been keeping my eye on things, however. My good eye, that is. The pain in my right eye went away, but now it’s back in a slightly different place. Not good, eyeball! Not good at all. Exams are coming up, and I need all my accessories. Perhaps it’s divine retribution for making fun of Roy Orbison. Orb, I was kidding, babe. You’re the best.
I was alerted to the foolishness at the City Council garbage meeting by Karen “Wall Street Journal” Gadbois, so I watched the coverage. Schoolmarm Cynthia looked for all the world like someone had taken the meat out of her sandwich. She used her Tweety-Bird voice to whine that her good friends at Metro and Richards were being maligned, when “evwyone says da city looks bettew dan beforw.” She comes off like a retarded child, but she knows exactly what she is doing. She’s mischaracterizing the criticisms of the garbage contract.
Cynthia: no one is saying that they aren’t picking up the garbage. We are saying that YOU and Ray Nagin rigged the bidding process and gave the contract to your campaign contributors. We are saying that we have been hoodwinked into paying TWICE as much for garbage pick-up than before, and we have half the number of people. As for your paid retinue of “ministers” claiming that any criticism of the garbage contract is an insult to the entire black community, please. YOU are an insult to the entire black community.
And, whoa, Sidney Torres. Totally hot, in a kind of scary way. It’s like, you want to give him a ride home from the council meeting, but you’re afraid he’ll steal your Visa card.
I’m frustrated with the whole garbage issue, because no one has gotten back to me with a report on the satellite monitoring of the garbage. What does the data look like? How many pounds of garbage did my street generate last month? What sorts of stuff have the new people four houses down been throwing out? Enquiring minds want to know.
One thing that has been interfering with my garbage obsession is that I’ve been seeing a guy who has two little children. One of the children is a girl. An honest-to-goodness girly girl, who has French braids and refuses to wear pants even if it’s 35 degrees outside. Actual conversation:
Me: What would you like to do tonight, S?
S: I want to watch Shrek III, in my princess dress.
And she did. Princess dress, princess jewelry, and princess shoes, too.
After I met her, I did what any normal red-blooded American woman would do. I got on E-bay and ordered a bunch of used Barbie dolls, the clothing, the pink convertible, the fold-out house, etc. When they arrived, I spent several hours a little while playing with them unpacking the boxes, making sure the clothes fit and setting up the stuff like a toy store display. Her father asked me if I thought it was a good idea for him to encourage his daughter’s devotion to Barbie in this day and age. I said, “I don’t think you have a choice. Besides, that’s what therapists are for.”
As I told her father, I feel like I have been cheating on my grandson, but I plan to make up the time when exams are over. I also told him that I’m not much of a “mom” any more. I’ve gone over to grandma status. I give two-year-olds chocolate cake for breakfast. I don’t enforce the rules, I break the rules. I color out of the lines (and even add my own lines), and I don’t go by the picture on the package. Fortunately, for everyone involved, I’m not their mother and I don’t see them enough to completely spoil them and make them unfit for polite society. At this point, I don’t think I could clean up my act, even if I wanted to.
of mice and men November 21, 2007
What is Oliver Thomas’ problem? Varg has expressed my opinion exactly. Something just totally ain’t right. Thomas’ lawyer (Clarence Roby, whom we somehow managed to NOT elect as a municipal court judge) is saying Thomas doesn’t have what the Feds want. Thomas is saying he doesn’t want to be a “rat” because his father and his aunt don’t want him to tattle on people. If you don’t have any information, then you don’t have to worry about being a rat. If you are worried about being a “rat,” then you must know something.
Is Thomas just using his father and his aunt in this shameful fashion, or did they actually ask him not to tattle on crooked people who are ripping off the good citizens of New Orleans and running our city into the ground? If Thomas’ father and aunt are really leaning on him to keep his mouth shut, that would explain a lot about why their son/nephew turned out to be such a gelatinous piece of slime. The only acceptable excuse for this behavior from the father and aunt would be threats to their lives and safety, or threats against other family members. If that’s why they are acting like that, then we have a far worse problem than bribery, and the Thomases should by taken into protective custody until the people who threatened them are jailed without bail.
If the Thomas family is being threatened, then let’s put them in the witness protection program and send them somewhere else. Let’s send all their associates, too. The federal government would have to pay for it. That might solve a few of our problems. Hey, perhaps they could go to wherever Marc Morial and Ray Nagin are living now.
Thomas made this statement:
He said one of the lessons he has gleaned from his ordeal is that people must “speak out more pointedly about wrong, to make this a better place. What I’m getting out of all of this is that God doesn’t make any mistakes. If you put your trust and faith in him, he’ll lead you.”
Oliver, do you think the good lord wants you to protect people who are stealing from the citizens of New Orleans? The flooded-out, broke-down, cash-strapped, bitch-slapped, rat-fucked citizens of New Orleans? I think you (and your father and aunt)Â need to take another crack at those Gospels, my friend.
must watch November 20, 2007
From Andrew Sullivan, a wedding dance.
big hairy woman, you need to shave that stuff
Tonight in copyrights class, it was the 1994 case of 2 Live Crew’s parody of “Oh Pretty Woman.” Roy Orbison’s publishing company sued 2 Live Crew, claiming that their version of the song was copyright infringement. The Supreme Court said, “Nah. Fair Use.*” What good is a parody if it doesn’t use enough of the original to let people know what is being made fun of? The opinion contains an explanation of the factors for determining fair use, as well as the two versions of the lyrics.
Thank god. I wouldn’t want to live in a country where people couldn’t record parodies of songs without the permission of the owner of the original copyright. I’m not a huge fan of Weird Al, but I will defend to the death his right to make fun of Michael Jackson and the Amish. Besides that, Roy Orbison, bless his heart, was blind as a bat. How in the hell would he know if a woman was pretty or not?
*[Edit: Actually, the Supremes remanded on the question of whether the song cut into the derivative market for rap versions of "Oh Pretty Woman," but that didn't really help Acuff-Rose.]
texans. i don’t know.
Check out the last photo on Jeffrey’s post about the Saint’s game. Racymind, you are, of course, excepted, just as you are excepted from my rants on Cynthias, but I just don’t understand Texas people. Jeffrey, is this photo from the game this last Sunday? You would think they would give it a rest by now.
I was talking with a friend this weekend about how I think it is extremely unwise for any parent to go judging another’s kid while the jury is still out on yours. I think the same principle applies to American cities and states. Yeah, ya’ll keep trashing the people of New Orleans while the weather gets worse, the price of oil keeps climbing, the economy goes to shit and every jughead in America is running around with guns. I hope I’m not around to see how you do when the shit hits the fan.
The thing that really aggravates me about Texas people rubbing Katrina in the faces of New Orleanians is that I know how we would treat them if a disaster should befall, say, Houston. We would take them in, feed them the first decent meal of their entire lives, show them how to do something with their hair, give them some “what not to wear” tips, and help them turn that frown upside down.
the family bu$ine$$ November 19, 2007
More has come out about Dollar Bill Jefferson. Again, he extorts businesses to make payments to his family members. He promises the business that he will get them connected in Africa. I wonder how long ago this guy completely lost interest in Louisiana? Perhaps there were no Louisiana businesses with enough money to pay for the bribes to get the African access. The Jeffersons are all about the Jeffersons. The Inspector General needs to research the Jefferson family tree and nix any city contract connected with Jefferson, his wife Andrea Green Jefferson, his daughters, his brothers, sisters, nephews, neices, cousins, husbands, wives, girlfriends and boyfriends. We also need to do these African countries a favor and warn them about the whole clan.
By the way, how close are we to being rid of Jeffersons? Andrea Jefferson is no longer holding a state job at SUNO, Judge Alan Green (Andrea’s brother) is off the bench in Jefferson Parish, Judge Carolyn Gill Jefferson (sister-in-law)Â has resigned from CDC and left the state, Renee Gill-Pratt (girlfriend of a Jefferson brother) is mercifully off the city council, and Jalilla Jefferson Bullock is out of a job for now. Eddie Jordan, Jefferson’s protegee, spectacularly self-destructed.
Has anyone been keeping an eye on the other daughers? What are they up to? The Jefferson brothers are definitely a group that we should be tracking with satellites. Their names keep turning up.
I think Betty Jefferson (sister) is still a tax assessor. Are any of the other relatives besides Dollar Bill and Betty still holding public office? Are there any stealth accolytes in office that I don’t know about? Help Dangerblond construct a Jefferson Matrix before the next (undoubtably special) election.
Here’s another thing I’m curious about: Does anyone know of the existence of a Jefferson relative who actually has a job, other than working for government entities or getting contract work from the government? I know they were involved at one time in a string of kidney dialysis centers which are now defunct. I think kidney dialysis machines are a perfect metaphor for the whole family - literally charging people to suck their blood.
rodney mallett: test it again
Michael has some photos of the gas well fire in Ramah, Louisiana, that is right beside Interstate 10. On Friday, the officials said they hoped to have the fire out and the well capped by Sunday. Now they are saying Wednesday. That means I-10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette will be closed down for most of Thanksgiving week.
Here is an interesting quote from Rodney Mallett of the Louisiana DEQ:
Tests on Friday did not find any air quality problems, said Rodney Mallett, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
Oh, really, Rodney? Hows about if you go back there and test it again, and this time get downwind.
dude needs to get out more November 18, 2007
I think I must be the only person who doesn’t think this website is just hilarious. I find it kind of gay-bashy and older-woman-bashy, especially the comments. The guy posts photos of male celebrities who are wearing too much make-up, or who have gone with a misguided hairstyle, and then captions them with what I suppose are stereotypes about lesbians. Most of the guys in the pictures are definitely odd-looking for my tastes, but I don’t get why they look like “old lesbians” as opposed to just looking rather like older women. Oh, I get it. This guy can tell from looking at a woman whether or not she’s a lesbian. That’s pretty good. Maybe he should start a website called “People Who Look Like Criminals.”Â
older posts »
