Small solace

Today, the temperature is only in the 90s. Tomorrow, the heat index is supposed to reach 110 and continue to broil until Friday.

Joy.

I have two interviews on Wednesday (good thing). That means a suit (bad thing in this weather). A dark colored suit (even worse thing). I'll try to put my best face forward, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my face is going to resemble Nixon's during his debate with Kennedy (doom and gloom thing).

::sigh::

It's true

Mel Gibson jumped the couch with his bizarre behavior when he got pulled over for a DUI the other day.

But what I wanna know is why is it that when we like an actor's work and looks that we seem to think that the private person behind the public face is just as likeable? Just because someone plays a good guy/gal role doesn't make the actor a good guy/gal. Why are we surprised to find out that celebs are just regular folks with just as many ordinary and offensive views as anyone else? Heck, why do we consider these folks role models? What is it about fame that suggests that celebrities -- actors, sports stars or anyone else -- have any more substance or integrity or character than any one else just because they have one talent?

I'm just sayin'...

According to a reliable source

or rather, The Reliable Source (WaPo):

Did Eleanor Holmes Norton get the joke when she appeared Thursday on Comedy Central's fake-news cult favorite "The Colbert Report"? D.C.'s congressional delegate says she not only got it, she figured out how to beat Colbert at his own game.

"I went in there determined not to be his victim," Norton told us on Friday. The mistake her colleagues make, she said, is answering Stephen Colbert as if he were a real reporter. "I thought I should be very straight, don't laugh, answer him with answers as ridiculous as his questions were and to use my law professor background."

The reviews were sharply divided: those who thought Norton was clueless and those who thought she was hilarious. Our take? By playing the perfect straight man, Norton came off much wittier than those congressfolk who try to be funny on the show.

Take my word for it, she got it. I've seen her do "law professor", and yes, she definitely got it.

Heh. Brilliant.

Easiest-ever pasta sauce recipe

Last night, my book club had its first book discussion meeting. And of course, we also ate and drank. Smart women, good book, wine, yummy food... what more could you want on a Friday night?

I was charged with bringing the main dish, and since I had little time to prepare it, I made pasta. And the easiest-ever pasta sauce recipe... that is, if there were a recipe. There isn't. I concocted this little dish one day when I had left-overs in the fridge and a growling stomach. And I've replicated it several times since because it is that yum.

There is no name for this dish, but here's the basic plan for making it...

one large onion
one rasher (package) turkey bacon
basil pesto
one can (19 oz.) tomato basil soup
crushed garlic (approximately 2 teaspoons or to taste)
one package grape tomatoes (one pint?)
oil

Heat large saucepan or wok on medium-high with oil. I use garlic oil, but olive oil works too. Chop the onion into medium-sized chunks and fry (I'd say "sautee", but there's no butter here!). Stir frequently. Add the crushed garlic (fresh or from a jar is fine; use a bit less if fresh). Stir.

Chop up the entire package of bacon so that each piece is about 1/4 inch wide. When the onions have started to wilt, add the bacon to the pan. Stir frequently. Continue frying until the onions are translucent and starting to carmelize. The bacon should also brown and start to crisp. Adjust the heat down if the onions or bacon are starting to burn.

Once the onions are thoroughly cooked and the bacon is browned, add the entire can of soup. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add two healthy dollops of pesto (approximately 2 tablespoons) and stir. Bring sauce to a simmer. Stir frequently.

Add entire package of grape tomatoes. Stir and allow the sauce to reduce a bit. Simmer until the tomatoes have cooked. Serve over fusilli or penne pasta. Serves 4-6.

Note: I recommend turkey bacon because I don't eat pork. But I think pork bacon would be too salty for this sauce. Also, the amounts for the pesto and garlic are approximated because I eyeball the amounts when I make this dish -- so adjust these ingredients for taste. You can make this is a bit fancier by adding cream or sour cream or diced tomatoes, but I like the simplicity of this dish. Yum.

P.S. The next book we're reading is Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley.

Coffee

I desperately need coffee... I think I have a (lack of) caffeine headache. Gotta feed the beast!

Smack down -- Colbert v. Norton

You must watch this. Who do you think wins?

I had Congresswoman Norton for a class at GULC, and the woman is just like this clip -- smart as hell as well as... well, see for yourself.


That's MY representation in Congress, baby!

On the Fringe

This month has given us the debut of the Capital Fringe Festival here in our little old capital town. It features all sorts of productions and performances by local and not-so-local fringe artists:

From July 20-30, 2006 downtown Washington DC will come to life with the inaugural Capital Fringe Festival. This celebration of the performing arts will bring together nearly 100 performing artists/groups who will present more than 400 performances in over 30 venues within 11 days!

... Performances will take place in more than 20 traditional and non traditional performance venues and will include performing artists producing in theater, dance, music, poetry, spoken word, puppetry and art forms that are simply unclassifiable. Each venue will be filled with multiple performances everyday, creating one of the cities busiest and most exciting outlets for the performing arts.

And what am I seeing? Yes, the infamous One Man Star Wars Trilogy (kinda like Reduced Shakespeare for twinkies, geeks and others like me who remember the movie from when it was first released in 1977). Yes, Saturday.

Yes, I am appropriately geekily excited about it. And hope to make some of the other performances too.

Congrats!

Congrats to everyone who survived the bar. It's over, done and done. And nothing to worry about until you need to worry about it.

I strongly encourage everyone to skip town on the day the results will be posted. I did, and I am so glad I was elsewhere. Being outta your normal routine and place, if only for that day or a long weekend, really gives you the space (literally and figuratively) to go through the full emotional cycle that will inevitably plow over you.

But in the meantime -- yay! Relax, bask and fogettaboutit.

My batting average

So, yay, I got another interview... it's next week. If I were to be optimistic, I would remind myself that my interview-per-resume-submitted average is quite high. That's mainly because I am responding to job postings that are interesting to me (and consequently, a good fit for my skills and experience).

However, a stark reality check reminds me that my interview-to-job-offer ratio stinks. Rotten.

But all it takes is one good one, right?

Who knew?

It is actually possible to learn something from daytime TV... I did!

I was watching listening to a TV show that I'm too embarrassed to admit was on (in the background!), and I learned that, historically, Jews with tattoos are not permitted to be buried in Jewish cemetaries.

Who knew? And who knew I could learn something from daytime TV?

Well, I suppose that lots of folks knew the former, although maybe not the latter. So, I googled away and found out that Leviticus 19:28 proscribes orthodox followers from permanently marking or cutting their skin -- so no piercings or tattoos.

But as this thread points out, what about circumcision? Well, actually, the text prohibits cuts in the flesh for the dead -- which means no ritual cutting in mourning-- so piercings are actually permissible, but tattoos and other markings remain verboten.

Now I'm off to the library to engage my brain.

You know it's been a bad day when...

You watch Oprah during its original airing at 4:00 and the TV is still on for the re-run airing at 1:00 a.m.

Eeeks, help me -- my brain is melting!!

(But to be fair, I did watch Vera Drake, a la Netflix, somewhere in that mix.)

Time for bed. Hopefully sleep will stem the atrophy experienced by my brain today.

Good luck, ya'll!

Good luck to all of you who are taking the bar this week. The finish line for this marathon is in sight -- yay! Hang in there.

I remember that none of the platitudes that people kept tossing at me helped me feel better about the impending doom of the bar... but for what it's worth, no matter how traumatized you are now, it will not be nearly as bad as you have imagined it to be. But you'll probably be more tired. Marathon, remember?

I have no doubt that any of you will do any less than successfully slay the beast. Lots of positive vibes going out at all of you!

Hang tough!

That's three!

I'm in WTF territory right now. I have now encountered three -- count 'em, 1. 2. 3. -- hugantic flies in my apartment in the past day and a half. I'm talking horse-sized flies, not just regular houseflies. One got the squish (and in the process I broke a nice jar of preserves from the local farmer's market... grrr), and two got the shoo (no, not shoe -- but shooed out the balcony door).

Now, I'm not afraid of flies or anything. I'm just wondering where the heck they're coming from. I have no open windows. Heck, I've barely been out of the apartment, so nary a cracked door.

So does that mean they hatched inside here somewhere? Eeeeeuw.

I guess I found an unemployment project. Summer cleaning. Bleh.

CORRECTION: 4! Dammit!

It's been one year

No, this isn't another post about my inability to receive, watch and return Netflix movies within a 12-month span (we've already been down that long and winding road). It's now been one full year exactly since I donated my hair to Locks of Love. One year since I got a hair cut.

Any hair cut. At all. Not even a tiny one.

::gasp::

Yep, I know this is shocking news to most women -- and frankly, it is shocking to me in retrospect that I have not even had the ends trimmed since July 23, 2005. I guess I just wanted to let it grow a bit, and then I just ignored it. And then, let's face it, got lazy.

So, since I've saved a chunk of change on haircuts in the past 12 months, I've decided to pay for a really good cut. Ya' know... go to a cool, cutting edge kinda place (where they'd probably look at me and think "WTF are you doing here?") and park my credit card for a new do.

But not until after my interview this Friday. 'Cuz who knows how long it will take me to figure out how to style it? You know what I'm talking about...

How do you spell misery?

Chronic insomnia.

'Nuf said.

Actually, I have plenty more to say (such as, we all deserve representation, not just those who risk their lives to save lives), but the poster is pithy so why diminish it?

Speaking the unspeakable

What do I do if I don't can't get a job?

Possible career options

Based on the daytime TV commericals, I could really open up a world of possibilities for myself by training...

* to become a medical billing or office assistant
* for a career in criminal justice
* to work as a paralegal or legal assistant
* to invent and write code for computer games

AND, I could improve my life immeasurably by losing weight, hiring the right disability/personal injury lawyer, or trying innumerable gadgets that are guaranteed to save all sorts of time in the kitchen and doing housework.

Who needs a JD anyway?

A smattering of searches that have landed folks on my blog

* andre chreky locks of love (my ongoing saga of donating my hair)
* mnemonics, "civil procedure" (yeah, the bar...)
* unemployed lawyer (::sigh:: we all know why I came up on this search)
* "pink reason" kevin (huh?)
* failure to exercise right of reverter maryland (now this is just plain scary)
* is tarja woods conan o briens aunt or mother (one post about Conan O'Brien and...?)
* remote places of the world (Easter Island, baby!)
* pavlovs dogs amazon (not sure about this)
* most remote places in the world (Easter Island, baby!)

Now THIS is a button I need to get for my collection

An Asian American woman named Melody Damayo is running for governor of Nevada. This is interesting for a number of reasons... first, that she's a republican and faces three others in the primary. Second, that she's Filipina, which is why one of her buttons would be a great addition to my collection.

But what makes this really interesting is that she's a professional. Yes, THAT kind of professional. Check out her official campaign website here.

Her campaign slogan? Mimi 4 governor -- "For the bare and honest truth." (Mimi is her professional name.)

And sorry, I just couldn't resist posting one of her campaign ads.


I wonder what the Republican party is going to do with this?

More class for me?

Remember this?

Well, I've received notification of my possible inclusion in the class. Have you?

Rats.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this afternoon's interview has been postponed, time to be determined later today.

I now return to my regularly scheduled blah.

Scoring 100+ sucks...

Because that's the projected heat index here in DC for this afternoon -- ya' know, when I need to be wearing a suit for my interview? It's supposed to be the worst day in two years in terms of heat and bad air. Ug-ly.

I hope I don't meld before I get there. Sheesh.

Like a tsunami crashing over you

All of those who read this and are facing down the bar next week, I remember well how that felt. Like a tsunami about to crash over you -- impending, inevitable and completely unsurvivable. Like you're going to drown and you already can't breathe for the weight and volume and depth of it... certain doom. And there's nothing you can do about it. You're stuck, and it's coming.

I remember.

But I also survived. And if I can get through it with my crappy study habits and lack of any discipline whatsoever, others can too.

And this is what I need to keep reminding myself now. I feel the same sense of dispair now, facing down a long, dark void of unemployment. I know there's a light there somewhere. I just can't see it now. And there's no definite date which signals the end of the anxiety, after which I can feel the relief of putting this stress and uncertainty behind me. This could go on forever.

::sigh::

This stinks. Where's the chocolate?

Let's hope so

For Democrats, Wave Is Building. So says Thomas E. Mann:

But my own reading is that the odds favor a Democratic takeover of the House. The 15 seats that the party needs for a bare majority is well below the range of minority-party gains in past tidal-wave elections. The national winds blowing against the GOP are strong and have not diminished over the past nine months. Credible progress on the ground in Iraq before November is implausible. The public's harsh evaluation of the president's performance on the economy is unlikely to be reversed by Election Day. Prospects for significant legislative achievements in the remaining months of this Congress are remote. Enough seats will be in play (including some that Republicans carried in 2004 with more than 60 percent of the vote) to allow Democrats to gain majority status in the House.

Prospects for a Democratic majority in the Senate are less bright, given the limited number of Republican seats in play. But even here, a national tide could tip all of the close races in the same direction, allowing the Democrats to hold all their threatened seats and to win the six Republican seats they need to take control.

Atsui!

(that's Japanese for "hot")

Today, it's supposed to hit 100 here in DC -- and with the humidity, it's going to feel like 106 or something. That's just completely unnecessary.

I think Mother Nature is at her wit's end with and tremendously pissed off at us. The extreme weather of late is her way of letting us know that we need to take better care of this world.

Sometimes Mother knows best.

Just in case you were interested...

I decided that since my posts of late have been so superflous and silly that I need to add a bit of interesting (albeit trivial) information.

Following are charts which I compiled based on information available about the First Session of the 109th Congress. That's the data I was using. Things have changed since my facebook was published (think Delay, Cunningham, etc.), but I don't think the retirements, indictments, appointments, and other activities of our elected officials will affect these statistics all that much (although Chris Cox, a Harvard grad, is no longer in the House...). And, while these numbers are no longer completely accurate, they were at one time -- the beginning of the 109th Congress.

So, for your perusing pleasure, ladies and gents... here is a snapshot of alumni of various law schools elected to Congress. I based these statistics on first law degrees -- that is, JD (or equivalent). If you want more specific numbers about schools not listed, feel free to email me.


59% of the Senate has a law degree!


Compared with only 38% of the House.



In doing this, I did notice at least two or three trends, most notably that our elected officials often attended their local state schools, as well as some of the "name" schools. Beyond that, I attach no analysis to these facts and figures and leave any conclusions to be drawn to you.

Hey, I'm a lawyer who can do excel spreadsheets and charts. I's got me some skills!

(And I know... yes, I'm a geek. Shut up and be nice to me. I don't have a job.)

My week

Monday: go into work in the morning to clear everything out, hand in my keys; lunch with Denise.

Tuesday: interview #3 in the afternoon.

That's it. Last week, I was busy all week -- taking grandma out to lunch, doing stuff for work, interviews, etc. Not this week.

This unemployment thing is starting to sink in. It's kinda scary.

And here I thought I knew my own birthdate

Is it me or is it the silliness of these quizzies? Hmm... tough to figure out.

You are 67% Pisces

How Pisces Are You?

Okay, now I'm done with these... for now.

Can you tell I'm a bit bored?

Guffaw

With my real name:

Your Pirate Name Is...

Evil Flirty Fran

With my blog name:

Your Pirate Name Is...

Captain Mistress of Death

What's Your Pirate Name?

Guess I should go see Pirates of the Caribbean.

Can I just say

that pesto is one of the greatest foods ever? Yum.

Interview round-up

So I had two interviews yesterday -- one for a clerkship and one for a firm. One in the morning in southern Virginia and one in the afternoon in DC. Same suit for both. Lots of driving in between. Both went pretty well but were so very different in how they were conducted.

For the clerkship, I interviewed with four (out of five) judges together, who had to recess from their morning dockets to fit me into their interview schedules. So they were all in their robes, and I sat at the head of a conference table facing them. Like a dissertation defense or something. As formal as this sounds, the judges couldn't have been nicer. I really liked them and was able to joke around with them, etc. It was clear that they were an affable and down to earth group. The interview was conducted mostly by one of the more junior judges, which gave me the impression that they didn't put much stock in bullshit hierarchies where the situation didn't require it. I really liked them, and they were hugely complimentary to me. What more could a girl ask for but the rapt attention of men in black, paying compliments and being friendly?

So that interview went well. I don't know if I'll get an offer. And frankly, I don't know if I'd take it if I did. I'd have to move about 4 hours from here for very low pay, and I don't know if I am prepared to do that. We'll see.

The other interview was for an associate position with a firm. Before I went in, I didn't know how comfortable I'd feel working for this firm, but I have to say that I walked out of the interview feeling more excited about the prospect than I had before it. I now very much want them to make me an offer. The two attorneys with whom I'd be working were a trip. They acted more like a married couple than attorneys. They were just that laid back and easy-going. And I actually had FUN talking to them. Can you believe it? In an interview... fun? Plus, I'd definitely learn a lot in this position, and I know I could do the work. No relocation involved, and I could walk to the office. Yay. They won't be making a decision for another month. Bleah. I don't know what my prospects are, but I didn't get the impression that they were interviewing more than a handful of attorneys. I'm hoping my bad jokes helped in this case... Fingers crossed!

My next interview is Tuesday. This is a vastly different job than the clerkship or the associate position. More about it later, but I gotta do some homework for that one.

Also gotta get more resumes out.

Unrelated to anything

I just saw a PSA about using car seats for children. The recommendation was that car seats should be used for kids shorter than 4' 9". The rationale is that kids must be that tall in order for the seatbelts to be adjusted to fit them properly.

I was surprised at the 4' 9" height requirement. That means that, conceivably, Olympic gymnast Kerri Strugg should have been in a car seat even as a teenager. Ditto for Dr. Ruth, Edith Piaf and Gary Coleman.

Hypochristianity?

A snag from Jami, this is not for the faint of religion. Meaning, if you don't have a sense of humor about religion and/or if you're easily offended, then don't watch this. If that disclaimer only increases your interest, then click below (but not at work or in the library...!).




(and hey, I "You Tubed"! Yay for me!)

Check this out

From a post by guest blogger Deven Desai over at concurring opinions, read here about a new endeavor Campaigns Wikia.

Intellesting... velly intellesting.

I'll take encouragement from all quarters

Even silly ones. Seems accurate, given my current limbo.

Your Power Level is: 74%

You're a very powerful person, and you know that all of your power comes from within. Keep on doing what you're doing, and you'll reach your goals.

How Powerful Are You?

Getting ready to head to the beach

For the clerkship interview.

I'm not terribly excited about the 3 hour 45 minute drive, especially on the return, when I'll be under a time crunch for my afternoon interview.

But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get a job.

My stomach hurts

Gee, I wonder why?

Ick.

This is what I've eaten today:
* half a bagel with cream cheese and lox
* a mug and a half of coffee (with milk)
* one can of diet coke
* about 1/3 a pint of chocolate ice cream
* a chocolate bar
* 5 slices of cheese
* one slice of deli turkey meat

I told ya' -- ick. Truly ick.

Step one

Isn't the first step of overcoming an addiction to admit that you have a problem?

Well, I am admitting that I have a problem.

With online bargain shopping.

Hi, my name is She Says, and I am absolutely an expert in finding good deals online. I also spend too much money on things which I may not actually need just because the bargain is too good to pass up.

There ya' go.

So my next step in getting past this addiction is to confess my secret shopping sites. So ladies and gents, if you are looking for a bargain, here is a list of sites where you can almost always find a something interesting for a good price.

* For shoes: Shoemall
* For shoes, clothes, outdoor equipment and so much more: Sierra Trading Post and Burlington Coat Factory
* For more clothes, click the "bargain" section of Old Navy
* For all of the above and then some, try eBay or Goodwill or Overstock.com
* For kids' gifts, bags and other stuff: Lillian Vernon
* Designer discounts: Bluefly (where, admittedly, I do more looking than shopping because even the clearance prices are often beyond my unemployed self -- and, as you can tell from the above sites, I don't care about designer labels)

In addition to these sites, there are lots of other places I go just to find interesting things, such as Ten Thousand Villages, the Smithsonian Store, Signals, Pearl River and Everything Silk (and related sites).

And here's a tip, whenever you buy something online -- especially for major retailers -- search first for a coupon. Fairly frequently, you can find an online coupon that will give you free shipping or some percentage off for purchases over a certain amount.

WWTRRS?

What would the religious right say?

I know several people who espouse the view that they do not intend to get married because of all the political baggage and hurtful discrimination that the religious right is heaping upon the word "marriage". Further, say these folks, while they have nothing against a civil ceremony to sanctify the relationship with legal meaning, they do not want a "marriage" until that option is open to same sex couples. In the meantime, they choose neither and will simply live together.

So, this mini-strike against "marriage" basically means that these hetero folks will "live in sin" rather than get married. I wonder if the religious right realizes that their efforts to legally define marriage as between a man and a woman in an effort to "save traditional values" is pushing people to eschew marriage completely and opt for the non-traditional route...?

Of course, opting out of marriage and foregoing its legal benefits is a luxury that many cannot afford. So I don't know that this trend towards eschewing marriage will have any impact in the overall scheme of the religious right, but they should know that one immediate and direct consequence of their politics is couples "living in sin".

In case you were wondering

For those of you with jobs, bar prep or otherwise legitimate pursuits during the day, yes, it's true that daytime television is utter crap.

Judge-tv, soaps, cartoons or the only decent thing on -- M*A*S*H*. Unfortunately, being a child of the 70s, I've seen every episode multiple times.

Doncha' just hate

Doncha' just hate when you find mold growing on the grounds in your coffee maker?

Oh. Is that just me? No one else abandons their coffee maker for the requisite mold-growing period (about 3 days)?

I guess that probably means that my milk has gone bad too.

Crap. I was really jonesing for a cuppa joe.

Looking for new blogs and links just for fun reading

Can anyone recommend a few faves? Thanks!

Hat trick

Wahooo, it's a hat trick for me!

I got another call for an interview this afternoon -- three within 24 hours! Great, great news for my ego. Unfortunately, the third one is for an out-of-town clerkship and the only time they offered was the same time as one of my other interviews. And pretty much the only time I couldn't make it.

I ask them if there was any possibility of any other time, but she sounded skeptical. Getting the panel of judges together with free time on one day is somewhat of a miracle, it seems. I told her that I'd be happy to rearrange my schedule otherwise if there were any possibility, so we'll see...

And if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. So be it.

But yay on #3. This will help energize me in my efforts -- gotta keep getting those resumes out the door!

A quicker-picker-upper

Within the span of 20 minutes this afternoon, I got calls for two job interviews. Wahooo! One is one I'd LOVE and the other could be very, very interesting. Both are jobs for which I sent resumes within the past few days (yesterday for one of them).

Can I reiterate? Wahooooo!

Still got more out and more to get out, so I'm a bit more perky today. Yeah!

The best Ann Coulter interview yet

Adam Carolla hangs up on Coulter

Listen to it here.

As they point out in the post-"interview" commentary, it's pretty much the only media appearance she's ever made where she didn't say something completely moonbatty and offensive (although she did sound awfully petulant).

I agree.

(Thanks, Scooter!)

A great word

Zaftig.

A friend at work was telling the story of how she saw BBC coverage of the the World Cup, and a few British news announcers and commentators were discussing various players, describing one of them as being "zaftig". My friend said they should have just called him "chunky" because zaftig just sounds too nice.

I agree. It does sound so much better than "chunky" -- particularly since it's obscure enough to confuse.

Zaftig, yeah... that's the ticket.

And on a slightly related note, can you ever imagine an American sports commentator -- someone like, oh, Terry Bradshaw or Howie Long -- describing William "Refrigerator" Perry as "zaftig"...?

Heh. Hardly.

How long is too long for a sequel?

We've all been there -- waited for years for a sequel to come out, waiting hours on line at a theater to actually see it. For those of us who saw all of the original Star Wars trilogy in the movie theater, you know what I'm talking about. Ditto Raiders of the Lost Ark.

But when I was seeing The Devil Wears Prada -- which was highly entertaining and could earn Meryl Streep an Oscar nomination because she was that good -- yesterday, I saw a trailer for Clerks II, coming out this year.

Wa-haaat?

I saw the original Clerks in the theater... like more than ten years ago. And especially given the nature of the movie and its characters, I gotta wonder if the sequel can maintain the same humor and reality and style as what made the first successful.

Those clerks as 30-somethings...? I dunno. But maybe that's a reason to see the movie?

Maybe on Netflix.

I had an old person moment on the metro

Red line train to Silver Spring. Picture this scene: college girl sitting and chatting with college guy who is standing and playing with his yo-yo (no, that is not a euphamism; he actually had a yo-yo) and his girlfriend who is just hanging out (literally -- that dress was way low cut).

They're discussing the new The Pirates of the Caribbean movie and how much they love, love Johnny Depp and the character he plays. Guy is very animated as he yo-yos away. He is going on and on about the movie and the Depp character Captain Jack. He tells Girl and Girlfriend that if the third movie is any good, he's going to have to buy the second one on DVD because he already has the first one and if the third one is any good, he can't not have the second one and... (you get the picture, right?)

Girl, still sitting, says that she's heard they are definitely going to make a third movie. "In fact," she tells them excitedly, "Keith Richards has been cast as Captain Jack's father. Isn't that perfect?"

Boy and Girlfriend look at her and then each other and both ask, "Who is Keith Richards?"

(I slap my forehead, look at my friend and pull a face.)

Kids these days, what are you gonna do?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was my old person moment on the metro.

Campaign racism

Candidacy Fosters A Debate On Race: White Democrat Finds Resistance From Black Voters

This is just plain wrong:

The City Council member's bid has not been well received by the district's black establishment. Rep. Major R. Owens (D), the retiring 12-term incumbent, labeled Yassky a "colonizer." Local black leaders have staged events to pressure the 42-year-old Brooklyn Democrat out of the race. A Web site was launched. Al Sharpton is calling on prominent white politicians, including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), to take a stand against Yassky.

A majority minority district isn't an ironclad promise of electing a minority Congressperson. It's a tool to facilitate greater minority representation in Congress. The candidate still has to win the support of the electorate. And it's complete bullshit for the other candidates who are black to try to oust him just because he isn't.

That's racism. Let's call it what it is.

If a candidate in, say, in the 15th Congressional District of California, were to suggest that its current Member of Congress Mike Honda had no business representing the district because it's not majority Japanese American (or even Asian American), then wouldn't the Congressional Black Caucus and others be screaming and throwing a fit and staging press conferences and protests and boycotts?

You betcha'.

That's why this is bullshit. And hypocritical. And completely counter-productive. Race can never, never be the sole criteria of consideration or qualification -- although I think it can be a factor, one of many. And if we continue to espouse politics that allow the exclusion of one because of his/her race, then aren't we just feeding racist separatism? We'd never have any folks like Mike Honda -- who very ably represents his district even if his race and face don't match the demographic makeup of his constituents -- in Congress. And forget about someone like Tammy Baldwin (how the heck did SHE get elected?) or Barbara Lee (oh, horrors!) for that matter. That's not democracy. It's a complete abrogation of the intent of the Civil Rights Act and a set-back to a pre-civil rights era.

This congressional seat is not earmarked for a black candidate. It's for the candidate that the district elects fairly. Let the man stand or fall on his merits, just like anyone else.

Definitely a bad day for equality.

A bad day for equality

A two-fer in the news today:

New York court refuses to recognize same-sex marriage

Georgia's top court reinstates gay marriage ban

::sigh::

Driving down memory lane

The first car I ever owned (as opposed to driving the family car or the "kids' car"), which I bought used in 1988, was a Datsun 200SX. I don't remember the model year, but it was probably a 1982... or 84? I don't have any digital photos of it, but I loved that car. It was spiffy. It was a 5-speed and had every possible gadget on it. And boy, could it move. And move fast. Lotta engine for the weight of the car. This is the car that took me from New Brunswick, NJ to my parents' home in MD (exit to exit) in 2 hours and 39 minutes (about 200 miles).

I paid $3000 for it, and it only had 33,000 miles on it when I got it. And it was BRONZE. Now who buys a bronze car by choice? Particularly when it's a specialty color that costs extra? I dunno because I got it used. People made fun of me for the color, but I could always find it in a parking lot. But then again, police could also always find me miles down the road when they caught me on radar speeding. Bronze sticks out, then and now.

When I went googling for the car, I found someone who had the same car as his first car. He lists this as a 1980, and it looks pretty much like mine did (but without the dorky yellow lamps mounted on the front bumper and maybe more refined lines). So maybe my car was a 1980? I don't remember, but I don't think so. I'm pretty sure it was a 1982 or 84. I sold it when I moved to Japan in 1990, with all of 66,000 miles on it. Sweet.


Isn't it cute?

Now I drive a 1988 Toyota GTS. It's a cute little thing. Another 5-speed. Not as zippy as the Datsun, but another bargain buy. I love the moonroof. I got it in 1994 for $5600 with <27,000 miles on it. I bought it from a little old lady who drove it back and forth to work, two miles each way. Thus the low mileage. It now has only 80,000 miles on it. I guess I've become that little old lady. Living in the city, it doesn't get much use these days. It used to get lots of highway miles for roadtrips, but that was before law school. It looks like this, spoiler and all, but different hubcaps and gray, not red.


I am told that this model is a favorite among the car customizers because it's easy to add boosters and other stuff to jack up the engine to run as a racing car. One mechanic even told me that, as a "virgin", my car could sell for decent money. But I'm not selling. It's been good to me, and I plan on keeping it until it craps out, gets wrecked or my situation requires a larger car (it only carries two and a half people because the back seat is that small).

I've been lucky with my car purchases. Next car I buy will likely be a new one, probably a hybrid. But here's hoping that my little Toyota makes it to "historical car" status, which it may very well do. It is, after all, 18 this year and has been driving longer than a lot of people I know.

Clubbing with the gals

So after I passed the bar, one thing I promised myself was to start reading for fun again. I am a book whore, and I wanted to find that inner slut again -- and get back to reading interesting and well-written books for pleasure, as opposed to the less readable materials I was forced to ingest and digest for the past three plus years (not that I didn't love law school; I just didn't love reading archaic English and poorly written opinions). Law school sucked the love of reading outta me, and I desperately wanted to get my mojo back.

And what is more fun than fun in groups? So I started a book club with a bunch of girlfriends, who asked their girlfriends. And now we have a group of about 7. Perfect! And there's even some diversity in this group -- not all of us are lawyers. Yay.

Our first meeting to discuss the first book is next week. We are reading The Known World, a book which I've had in a pile by my coffee table taunting me for the past year. I'm so glad that I've finally been able to made the time to read it. Not that I've actually read it yet. Sadly, I've barely started it, so I need to hop to it this weekend. Good thing I'll have plenty of time starting next week!

How could I (almost) forget?

Happy Blog-i-versary to me! I'm two! Don't I just look fabulous for my age?

In honor of this auspicious birthday, I've uploaded a real photo of myself (taken during our trip to the internment camp in June) on my profile page...

I don't look 2, now do I? Nor 38 for that matter, right?

And sure, I regularly wear that hat around DC. Sure, sure, I do.

Yeah, that will do it

OUCH!

Can Castration Be a Solution for Sex Offenders? Man Who Mutilated Himself in Jail Thinks So, but Debate on Its Effectiveness Continues in Va., Elsewhere

It's one thing to self-mutilate, but another thing for someone to pull a Lorena Bobbitt (and did she ever bob it! [sorry]) -- and still another for the state to promote a policy of voluntary castration for convicted sex offenders in exchange for even conditional release into a community. Welcome to the dark ages. Would that program be considered punishment or rehabilitation or both?

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I gotta think that any man who would take that deal probably has other really compelling issues that need to be addressed as well.

Don't believe it

This op-ed by James Carville and Mark J. Penn describes the "Power of Hillary" and why she could win the 2008 Presidential election.

Okay, they make some reasonable (but not necessarily new) points.

The part you shouldn't believe? Where they say, "We don't know whether Hillary will run..."

Uh-huh. Just because this is in the spin-cycle doesn't mean we're airheads. Give us some credit here for recognizing a sales pitch when we see it, okay?

Not just old, but creaky old

I had the most glamourous extended weekend of being laid up in bed all day Saturday and Sunday.

No, not like that.

I woke up on Saturday with a serious, serious shoulder strain. Like a crick in the neck from sleeping on it funny but taken to "giving birth" degrees of ouch. I couldn't even lift my arm without pain searing down my arm and back. So I took lots of drugs and stayed in bed all day. And again all day Sunday. I slept like a champion. Like a teenager, even!

Monday I felt better, but still not great. The mobility was up and the pain down, but I still needed to pop the pills. This morning was a little worse than yesterday, but it's getting better as the day goes on and I work it out as I move around.

But five days of this?

Man, I'm feeling old. And creaky. Next thing you know, I'll be sitting around with my cronies carrying on extended conversations about our aches and pains...

Or blogging about it.

Yikes, I am old. Now where's my Geritol?

(P.S. Happy Independence Day!)