Guido gets in trouble

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about my entertaining torts classes with Judge Guido Calabresi. Guido has been at the center of a controversy about some remarks he made to the American Constitution Society (a bunch of wishy-washy centrists) about the rise of George Bush. The New York Sun broke the story and it was soon picked up by CNN and The New York Times. Pretty soon bloggers were weighing in. I didn't think Guido's remarks were all that outrageous (especially given the disclaimers he made at the time) but they were careless (the mere mention of Bush and Hitler in the same sentence leads directly to the sensationalist headline: Judge Compares Bush With Hitler). Also, Guido's remark that the public should expel Bush from office to cleanse the democratic process was (if the remark was correctly reported) a clear violation of US judicial ethics prohibiting Judges from endorsing candidates. Anyway, Guido made a prompt and thorough apology so it should all blow over soon.


I congratulate Guido after he wins the silly hat competition at graduation. 

Global village idiots

I'm testing a new service for posting photos on my blog. The photo shows Brad and Ray singing karaoke in Beijing. Unfortunately, the resolution probably won't be good enough for you to read the text in the background. It reads: "I want it that way." Yes, these drunks are belting out some Backstreet Boys. 

Pleased for friend vs. Having to drink Night Flight

Brad and Ting are engaged. Congratulations Brad!

Sadly, this means that I lose yet another bet with Ray (who had wagered that they would be engaged by Christmas). Under the terms of the agreement, I must buy Ray a Colt 45 (perhaps the finest of all 40oz malt liquors) and I must drink a Night Flight (perhaps the most terrifying of all 40oz malt liquors). According to these reviews, the Night Flight “tastes like the waste water from a CNC lathe” and doesn’t “go down too smooth”. On the plus side, you can’t complain about the $1.69 suggested retail price.

At least I don’t feel as foolish as the time I bet Ray that Spiderman wouldn’t even make 100 million at the box office (hey, I saw a preview and it looked awful).

Did you know?

Did you know that the accompanying future interest to a fee simple determinable is the possibility of reverter? Did you know that a civil defendant has 20 days to file an answer after being personally served with process within New York State? I didn't think so. I have calculated that my bar review lectures will contain about 5000 little factoids like those to be memorized.

. . .

Felisa has a new blog. She proves that you can never go wrong with a post about accidentally punching your fiancé in the groin.

Jonathan Richman

I saw Jonathan Richman at The Space on Thursday. I had never heard of him or his old band, The Modern Lovers, but my friend Amy said that it would be worth seeing. Jonathan Richman obviously has access to the same youth potion as Iggy Pop because at 53, and after a life of touring, he could pass for under 40. With just a classical guitar and a drummer he managed to create as much energy as most amplified bands. Some of the lyrics were very jokey (i.e. Does she cook beans? / Does she cook rice? / Does she do ritual sacrifice? / Vampire Girl, Vampire Girl / Whoah, I get so intrigued when they look like a vampire girl) but despite that (and a fair amount of ironic dancing and twirling of the classical guitar) Richman couldn't help sounding sincere during many of his songs. He's probably best known these days for the songs he played (after incongruously walking on screen) in Something About Mary but he's definitely more than a novelty act.

Less Amusing

AJ complains that my blog has been less amusing lately. She suggests that this is because she is less prominent in the posts. Undoubtedly, she is correct. My life in general has been less amusing lately. Band stuff ended after AJ and Jen moved to New York for the summer. Then many of my friends moved out of town after graduation.

And then bar review began. The horror, the horror. It is difficult to explain how tedious the bar course is. As an exhibit, I offer the following e-mail from Malcolm, written and sent during a BarBri essay writing workshop:

Subject: essay writing lecture

dear dan,

holy shit this sucks.

yours,
malcolm

. . .

From Nicholas: Try this puzzle. I solved it in less than five minutes. Be warned, it's the kind of puzzle that could cost you hours of time if you head down the wrong road.

Bar Coaster Poetry

My friend Carolyn Graham-Taylor composes great poetry (and postcards) on the back of beer coasters. Like the haiku, the bar coaster form ensures brevity and focuses the slightly drunk poet’s attention on what’s important. Carolyn G-T also writes great stories and I regularly get on her case about writing a draft for the Vogel (she has only 4 years left of eligibility).

I asked Carolyn if she could send me any recent poems and if I could post some on this blog. She said yes but I’m not sure if she approached the task with the seriousness I expected. She sent me this:

little kate, your morning smile
already made my day worthwhile
but i am late, my train is due
becos of your large and sticky poo

Clearly, Carolyn is letting her life inspire her work.

New Look and Links

As you can see, danmusic has a new look. The new look is brought to you by the letter D, the number 5 and Nicholas Carvan. The Sydney dwelling Nicholas is the author of Suburban Aliens. I have not yet read his book but I know that it is excellent because my friend Tim is on the cover.

Nicholas just finished a draft of a new novel that he claims contains dialogue like this: "I think I am going to go down the beach now, and you should come with me, and you should stay here, because you're not needed in this scene." Actually, I think he's kidding. My friend Jeremy here at the law school claims that the current draft of his novel begins with a 60 page sex scene. I think he's kidding too but he insists he's serious. I'll await publication before I believe anything Jeremy says.

I finally have a sidebar and some links. I've linked to blogs from Chris, Nicholas and Tim plus the fourelles' homepage [sadly, the fourelles are my ex-band now that I'm moving to Vermont]. I've also linked to pages about my surf trip to Alaska and the time I got hauled off to jail in Washington DC.