Ro G Biv

Summer Camp for Punk

2009-10-28T08:57:00.003-04:00

Portland, October 17, 2009. Hotel parking lot.

Gay Marriage Against the Will of the People?

2008-11-08T20:06:00.005-05:00

Prop 8 passed in California and similar bans on gay marriage passed in other states, as well. I've heard a lot of arguments against gay marriage, but none of them seem to pass the smell test. One that comes up frequently is that when those "four activist judges" overturned the law banning gay marriage they were acting in contravention of the "will of the people."

First of all, overturning unconstitutional laws is one of those things that the high courts are just supposed to do. Every time a law is deemed unconstitutional, overturning that law is against the will of the people (or the legislature that enacted it on the people's behalf). It's called checks and balances and it's a hallmark of our system.

Second, the will of the people isn't always a good thing. When it comes to civil rights and fundamental freedoms - and both the United States and California Supreme Courts have explicitly found the right to marry to be a fundamental freedom - the majority doesn't always necessarily act with the minority's interests in mind. When that happens, intervention is required to ensure the protection of those rights. If you don't believe me, just ask the folks in Little Rock.

I love NY?

2008-05-14T01:55:00.002-04:00

There are certain moments in a young lady's life, milestones really, that she will always treasure. Her college graduation, bat mitzvah, the first time filing taxes as a non-dependent and, of course, the first time she is offered money for sex. I guess I should thank that cab driver, on behalf of my self-esteem because now I know that even in jeans and a t-shirt I still look "expensive."

Get the Fuck out of My Apartment

2007-11-06T19:35:00.000-05:00

Ok- I have every type of mouse trap that has ever been made currently set in my apartment. I have long stopped caring that certain traps are more cruel than others. I just don't care. I kill about one of you fuckers a week. This has been going on for months. That's a lot of your friends and family members: dead. Clearly, my apartment is not a safe warm environment for you. I am obviously hell bent on your total destruction.

And for christ's sake, at the very least, why can't you just pretend you don't live here? I work long hours and am a sound sleeper. That gives you easily more than half the week of having the place to yourself, casual strolls through my studio, sharing food with my dog and watching tv or whatever the hell you want to do.

Every Song a Bitter Lesson

2007-10-28T23:40:00.001-04:00

And his uppance has finally come

2007-06-10T21:12:00.000-04:00

E.T. Leroy

2007-05-19T19:26:00.000-04:00

I don't think that an explanation would really add anything to this.

The Money Shot: Did Someone Say Snickerdoodle?

2007-05-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

Still the King of this Town

2007-05-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

This week saw the triumphant return of LEVY the band. Come check out their next show on May 23 at the Luna Lounge

V. Mars

2007-05-01T23:54:00.000-04:00

As if Alen's cruelly delicious veal dinner wasn't enough, tonight's new episode of Veronica Mars reminded me why I became obsessed with this show to begin with. I've heard rumors that it's going to be cancelled or, only slightly worse, that it's not being picked up for a fourth season. What I want to know is what kind of monster drops a show that Joss Whedon refers to as the best show ever. If you've never seen, please check out below to see what you're missing.

PSA

2007-04-23T22:11:00.000-04:00

I guess I’ve been lulled into a sense of complacency regarding the bums in my neighborhood. I mean, I wouldn’t let them watch my children (if I had any) or my puppy (if I had one), but, at least with the people I see regularly in my neighborhood, I’m not really suspicious of them. So on Sunday when I was walking on 6th and I see the guy who dresses in all white with the white make up and is always around the Union Square area, I don’t really think anything. He shook his cup of change in front of me and I said “sorry” and continued walking. As I pass him he smacked me upside the head! It didn’t hurt, but was definitely aggressive and even if it wasn’t, there is a very solid if unspoken rule that panhandlers should not touch you in any way while walking down the street.

I was so shocked (and with my visiting mother) I didn’t know what to do. My first impulse was to turn around and yell at him, but quickly rethought and kept walking. I saw a police officer a few blocks away and told her, but I didn’t file a police report or anything. Now I feel like I probably should have. I guess the very least I can do is let the (two) people who read this know to avoid the panhandler who generally appears cleaner than his local peers and wears all white, I think silver sometimes, but now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure if it’s the same guy. Better just avoid them all.

L.W.G.N.B.

2007-04-15T22:20:00.000-04:00

In a college speech course, a girl told the class that her friends made fun of her for talking "white" saying that she acted like "a little white girl named Becky." I had no idea we were a class of people, but it must be true as it was just confirmed on Flavor of Love Charm School (don't make fun; these shows brighten my sundays). Buckwild was forced to throw away her nickname and go by her real name, which unfortunately, is Becky. She was told that not only was she not black, but that she had the whitest white girl name of all time.

I'm still pretty sure the Becky Slater could kick her ass.

classy!

2007-04-14T11:25:00.000-04:00

Around 2 am last night I stopped at Cafeteria with a friend for some mac and cheese. Shortly after our food arrived, a girl sitting at the table next to us turned around and threw up all over the floor. One of her friends takes her out and the rest of their table stays. We immediately notified the waiter who said they’d take care of it. Five minutes go by and nothing’s done. Ten minutes go by. We yell out to the waiter, “can you please do something about this?” Waiter comes by and throws aprons over the vomit to cover it up. Five minutes later, someone finally comes by to clean it up. I ask the waiter how they can just leave vomit on the floor of a restaurant for fifteen minutes while people are trying to eat. He replies, “well, would you want to clean it up?” While, no, I do not like cleaning up other’s people vomit, I also do not run a food establishment. Then the manager comes and yells at the remaining people at their table and kicks them out, though the vomitter has already left. Way to act all high and mighty.

you've got a nerve

2007-04-12T23:24:00.000-04:00

I believe that when responding to the question, "where did you go to school?" the response, "up in Boston" is only marginally better than "a little school in Cambridge."

I've also been told that this belief makes me, "a little bit of an asshole." Maybe we're both right?

Painfully Awkward

2007-04-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

According to the Talmud, a critical element to every seder table.

An Experiment

2007-03-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was sent an article about the differences between men and women when it comes to casual sex. The main premise is that women are physically wired differently so that when they have sex, a hormone called oxytocin is released, creating feelings of “trust and attachment.” The upshot is that girls who engage in “promiscuous” behavior end up feeling depressed when they get attached to their casual partner and the feelings are not reciprocated.

My first impulse upon reading this article was that it was another way of telling girls that they had to behave and remain chaste or face the consequences. But I decided to keep an open mind and find the truth for myself. So I designed an experiment: I would have sex with a man who, absent sex hormones, I could never have feelings of “trust and attachment” for. Living on Union Square, there were many options right at my fingertips. I was initially torn between the guy who yells, “one penny? You can’t give one penny?” at every person who walks by and the guy who leads the Free Palestine protest on the weekends. Then I figured, what the hell. An experiment is only reliable if the results can be repeated, so I’ll have sex with both of them. So today it will be One Penny and tomorrow it will be Mr. Free Palestine. Maybe both tonight, if I have enough time.

Kidding, mom. Thanks for sending me the article, but what are you trying to say?

I wonder

2007-03-26T21:34:00.000-04:00

if the guy going up to the office on the elevator at 9 this morning knows that everyone else can hear that he is blasting Journey, Don't Stop Believing on his iPod. And if so, would he be embarrassed? I hope so.

town's not big enough

2007-03-24T09:42:00.000-04:00

NYC has a population of over 8 million, with almost 2 million of them living in Manhattan alone. I live in a building (and share an elevator bank) with three people I know, yet I see them once a month at best. So why do I see the same stupid guy everywhere I go?

where does the pollen go?

2007-03-18T22:33:00.000-04:00

I watched Grease 2 today and understand why Alan wanted to be Stephanie Zanoni's cool rider. However, I have to disagree with him that it was the superior of the Grease movies, though the "who's that guy scene" boasted some excellent lyrics, such as:

ensemble: who's that guy, on that motorcycle?
Michael (in inner monologue): what would they say if they knew it was michael?

Classic stuff there.

about me

2007-03-15T23:33:00.000-04:00

white female. kinda jewy, but totally hot. well, not totally hot, but cute. long neck. good skin. could easily pass for 20.

aw fuck. that's not me, that's sarah silverman.

I like this

2007-03-14T08:37:00.000-04:00

but only partly based on my crush on the guy who made it.

'bout idol

2007-03-13T23:59:00.000-04:00

I don't normally watch it, but I caught tonight's American Idol and only two things are certain

1. That Melinda chick has to win

2. It's so damn funny to hear Diana Ross instructing contestants to "pronunciate"

oh god

2007-02-11T03:05:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm associated with this guy:

Adampornotube

2007-02-10T22:39:00.000-05:00

and so he showed me this
I totally love this guy.

sorry mom

2007-01-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

I know you think that boys prefer girls with long blonde hair. Lesson learned is probably that I shouldn't get haircuts when I'm really hungover.

Sorry for boring you, Alan

2007-01-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things to do at work is stare at something like I'm reading it, while fantasizing about other jobs I could be doing. If I wasn't a lawyer, I'm not sure where I'd be. But cruise ship hostess is looking better and better. I think I would make a dynamite cruise ship hostess.

You can't piss on hospitality

2006-12-12T23:31:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me even somewhat casually is aware of my 16 year obsession with Troll II. Recently I found some of the actors on myspace and seeing how they have truly embraced that chapter of their lives has filled me with more happiness than I can describe. Even the generic comments they left me on my page make me positively giddy. So go support Troll II... Everyone wins!
Toll II

Michael aka Joshua

George aka the dad

Darren aka Arnold

he's the king of this town

2006-11-28T01:03:00.000-05:00

The new LEVY songs are so beautiful, if only they would ever play them...

Bar

2006-11-15T00:57:00.000-05:00

Thank f-ing god.

My mother told me she had a nightmare last night that I had just found out that I failed and that I was bone thin sitting semi-despondent shaking in a bathtub trying to convince her that I would be all right. That's so cute.

Tuesday

2006-11-12T14:36:00.000-05:00

According to Barbri, Bar results will be available on Tuesday. In the weeks immediately following the test, I had bar related nightmares every single night. They were your basic anxiety dream- I would suddenly remember that there was an additional part of the test that day that I hadn't studied for and it was too late to learn it. I'd wake up from these dreams in a panic and a cold sweat. Eventually, they stopped and I settled into the three month lull before results would be in. I like it here. I like when people ask if I passed and I can say that I have no idea. I've been practicing law since September, so it can't matter that much.

Here it is

2006-10-28T14:38:00.000-04:00

WHOO! ALRIGHT - YEAH... UH HUH!

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Open Letter to LEVY

2006-10-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

Dear LEVY:
I’ve missed you! I know that you’ve been busy getting the new album together and I’m really happy about it. The songs that I’ve heard sound amazing. But I was so excited when I saw that you are finally playing another show in NYC. Sadly, this was a brief moment as I realized that the show is scheduled for October 30. The day before my month of 80-hour weeks ends. The night that will almost undoubtedly end at ten the next morning.

So I’m glad you guys are playing again and I’m sure it’ll be fun.

He seemed so sweet to me

2006-10-26T19:22:00.000-04:00

The boy I've been dating for the past few months recently broke up with me because, apparently, I'm "not fun anymore." I thought that was low, but then a close friend told me that she preferred me when I was studying for the bar.

On a side note, I'm entertaining album suggestions to help with my doc review.

review doc rock

2006-10-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

Mired in the time-honored tradition of the doc review. The same songs have been on my (2 GB) nano for the whole time and I think I’m in a rut. So I’ve been trying different genres to see if it’ll help. This week has been mostly Motown. This is the lamest thing I’ve ever written.

Actually Heard in NY...Seriously

2006-10-13T00:20:00.000-04:00

A: So you know Benjamin Cardozo never married

B: Yeah...

A: Well do you know how we know he definitely wasn't gay?

B: How?

A: He totally fucked Mrs. Palsgraf

Shoulda been the cubs

2006-10-02T21:11:00.000-04:00

I saw the Red Sox play in Boston this weekend and it made me miss Wrigley so so so much. Fenway is wonderful, though, and I got one of the Orioles to give me a ball during batting practice. And that is an actual championship ring, but I didn't get to keep that.

Today, I saw HBO's documentary, 'Wait Until Next year.' I cried a total of three times through the course of one hour. I guess atonement makes me weepy.

She's crafty, and she don't mind saying so herself

2006-09-28T23:41:00.001-04:00

I learned how to knit a while ago, but never really did anything with it. Then I had my six glorious weeks of freedom after the bar and thought it would be neat to have a little project (and yes, I know I'm late on the whole "knitting is so ironic-cool-I'm-going-knit-on-the-L-thing." I don't care). Anywho, I've gotten pretty into it, especially now that I'm working. So, if you're a friend of mine with a gift-getting occassion coming up, you can expect it be of the home made variety. Here's some of the things I've made so far. And next, I'll be writing about my 12 cats.

Hello. This is my life.

2006-09-27T00:19:00.000-04:00

I guess I better get used to it. I will get used to it, won't I?

blogging because i can

2006-09-25T13:12:00.000-04:00

I just realized I can blog from my blackberry, which I am doing right now. This whole biglaw thing just might be worth it.

Privileged and confidential:

2006-09-24T22:27:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow starts week three of my legal career. I've been working at a firm doing commercial litigation, which is nothing like what I thought I would be doing with my life, but so far, it's not bad. It's interesting challenging work, but I find myself eating three meals a day at my desk. I guess you take the good with the bad. I, for the first time, understand why Sunday night really sucks.

My day as an ironic video ho

2006-09-17T19:00:00.000-04:00

I had so much fun at The Rapture's last video shoot so I was totally down to go check out their latest shoot today. This one was a roof party in Bushwick. There were no skates, but they did have a d.j. and kegs and food grilling all day, which was really nice. I was cut out of the last video, but should make an appearance in this one. Check out my sweet bling. I actually have no idea what the song was called, but it sounded pretty good.

we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl

2006-09-13T00:04:00.000-04:00

I went to see Roger Waters at MSG tonight, which was pretty sweet. There was this guy dancing next to me, though, and all I could think when I looked at him was: what if that guy was my boyfriend and I was dating him for a while and totally in love with him without knowing that he danced liked a total moron. Would I have to break up with him? I think I would have.

Dating Tips

2006-09-03T14:37:00.000-04:00

There are certain things that I thought were really obvious. But, after this weekend, it has become apparent that there are boys in this city who are somewhat lacking in basic common sense. So here are a few pitfalls you may want to avoid in the NY dating scene:

1. Current significant others is not a good lead in conversation topic if you plan on trying to go home with a girl. While some may respect your honesty in your willingness to cheat on your girlfriend, most people would just think you're sleazy.

2. If you ask a girl for a kiss and she says no, you should not yell at her and then immediately ask her out for the following night. This does not generally impress young ladies.

the video

2006-08-29T17:28:00.000-04:00

I don't think I'm in it, but the shots go pretty quickly. Maybe I'm in the background somewhere.

Blast from the past

2006-08-28T22:58:00.000-04:00

I was recently discussing Biker Fox with Doug, who had never heard of him. I realized that the pictures are good on their own, but no one has really done them as much justice as David Cross in my introduction to B Fox. So we looked it up and I tried to read it aloud, but couldn't stop the incessant giggling long enough to do so. So here it is, in all its glory:
David Cross on Biker Fox

I missed you NY

2006-08-27T21:54:00.000-04:00

I've been traveling around New England for the majority of the past three weeks, visiting Newport, Martha's Vineyard, Bar Harbor, Kennebunkport and Boston. I got home tonight and, though it feels wonderful to be back, we would have spent an extra day in Boston but for the jury duty I must report to tomorrow morning. I had postponed this a few times and decided that now is the only time that makes sense, seeing as though I have nothing but free time. If I was picking a jury, I would totally not want me on their jury. Nothing could be worse than someone who just took the bar being a smart ass with the rest of the panel. I actually wouldn't mind sitting on a jury, but the idea of sitting in that room all day waiting to be called sounds dreadful. Guess I'll catch up on my reading.

Prettier than Union Square?

boo that

2006-08-24T00:32:00.000-04:00

I was planning on blogging today all roses and smiley faces. Then Robert got knocked out of project runway and I don't see anything to smile about.

an open letter to my chin

2006-08-16T22:47:00.000-04:00

As I gazed upon you, it was clear that things had come to a head.

I went in, and I'm sorry to say that we lost a lot of good men in there. So much blood; so much pain; so much carnage. Honestly, at this point, I can't even remember what we were fighting for.

Observations from my sabbatical

2006-08-10T19:29:00.000-04:00

1. I have the time to get into the best shape of my life, but I probably won’t.
2. Drinking till four is way more fun on Mondays. Even during the summer there are too damn many people at bars on the weekends.
3. Mint is the greatest new song of the summer.
4. Union Square has a lot of people in it during random weekdays, many of whom do not appear to be homeless. What do all these people do for a living? I don’t remember seeing any of them at the Javitz Center taking the bar, so why do they have random weekdays to sit around? I want a lifestyle that allows me to sit around the park on Tuesday afternoons reading and drinking jamba juice.
5. I can watch any given episode of Project Runway three times within a week and still be entertained by it.

Obsession

2006-08-08T22:35:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a screening of a new documentary on radical Islam, called Obsession. I highly recommend checking it out, very intense. You can see the trailer below

Movin' on up

2006-08-02T16:40:00.000-04:00

To the East side. Ok, from the East side, too. Ok, only 3 blocks up, but still a total pain in the ass

New LEVY tunes

2006-08-02T01:08:00.000-04:00

Day two as a non-smoker has just gotten a whole lot sweeter. Three new LEVY songs from their much anticipated upcoming album can be found here and here.

thanks Rosie and Adam

Today's the first day of the rest of my, oh whatever

2006-07-31T17:06:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, I decided that I would quit smoking after the bar and set yesterday as my Official Last Day as a Smoker. That makes today my first day as a non-smoker. I figured I have six weeks between the bar and work and this would be a perfect time to say goodbye to nearly ten years as a smoker. Now I can start the next phase of my life free and clear, you know, except for the 100 hour work weeks.

I got the patch last night and read through all the instructions and tips for quitting. It warned of side effects including "vivid dreams." If anything could be worse than the law dreams I've been having for the past few weeks, it would certainly be vivid law dreams. The booklet also said that I should inform those around me that I may be anxious and irritable for a little while and that they should provide me with incentives for keeping up with it. Moral of the story? Buy me presents or incur my bitchy wrath.

My Post-Bar Boyfriend

2006-07-31T01:28:00.000-04:00

Worlds collide

2006-07-29T01:49:00.000-04:00

Guess I'm not the only one...with the same interests as your average 12 year old girl. must. make. my. own.

Denouement

2006-07-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

So I've been in the belly of the beast. And it smelled kind of funny. I was initially freaked out by the birds flying through the testing center/convention hall, but got over it pretty quickly.

Looking for something fun to say to people who just took the NY Bar? I suggest, "dude, that rule against suspension essay was INTENSE!" Then wait for the horror to wash across their faces when they realize that they didn't write an essay about the rule against suspension. Then tell them that you were just kidding and go home wondering why you don't have any friends.

Ok-I'm off to nurse my two-drink drunk and get accustomed to being a lady of leisure for the next six weeks.

Almost game time

2006-07-24T19:35:00.000-04:00

And I'm totally freaking out. It'd be weird if I wasn't freaking out, right? Right?

quote of the week

2006-07-22T08:47:00.000-04:00

"If you have an eating disorder, keep it up cause you look great!"

And on a semi-related note, I had easy mac for breakfast this morning and noticed that the servings are labeled as "snack packets." Now maybe it's the eating disorder talking, but that could be why America is so fat.

why are Hegel girls easy?

2006-07-22T02:39:00.000-04:00

because they'll always becoming

my silent fourth

2006-07-21T13:26:00.000-04:00

Today,
Rapidly coming on Bedford,
riding the G under and across Brooklyn,
hurdling toward Midtown,
a conductor announced the next stop
and in soothing tones
reminded the various passengers
and me
not to leave behind our fixings if we exited.
She said she hoped our day was blesse'd.
Next, the meshy Parson kids alighted-
They were all teeth and aviators-

I may never leave Brooklyn.

-Rhett Rountree
3/10/78-7/22/04

so cute i'll forgive him for wearing a trucker hat

2006-07-19T14:58:00.000-04:00

my mom has taken to sending me little messages to help keep my morale up as the bar closes in on me. This picture of my dog was included in the most recent one and I thought it was so cute it had to be shared with the world.

Biting the hand that feeds you

2006-07-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Today I received notice of a pending class action against Barbri and Kaplan alleging certain antitrust violations that may have resulted increased costs for bar review courses. You can learn more about it here.

I would like to thank the class rep for giving me a mini-review on the notice requirements for federal class actions.

Fun with Wombos*

2006-07-11T02:36:00.000-04:00

Today I discovered the best new word in connection with bar study: Procrasturbate

*Thanks Kristine

CW Fans Rejoice

2006-07-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

Almost every day, someone is directed to my blog through a google search of the terms, "charles whitebread" "barbri" and "blog." And I'm talking different people. Maybe I can understand this in the days following the crim lectures, but I can't imagine what the continued fascination could be. I checked to see where my page ranked in the search results. I'm towards the bottom of the first page, which was something of a relief. I would be truly disturbed if I was on, like the tenth page and still got hits from it. What I found most amusing, though, was the first result on the page. It was another blog commenting on people finding it from searching the terms "charles whitebread" "barbri" and "blog." It was written by someone studying for the 2004 exam. Apparently, this strange practice has been going on for some time. So, for all of you Charles Whitebread fanatics, this one's for you.

Gotta Get Myself Into It...

2006-07-07T17:23:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine does film work and was a camera man for The Rapture’s
new video, Get Myself Into It, the song that will be stuck in my head for the next three years. For a study break, I went to go visit the shoot, which was at (what I was told is) the last roller skating rink left in NYC. I haven’t been roller skating since I was about ten years old, but after 20 minutes of watching the shoot, I couldn’t resist. So I spent the next hour or so as a background skater with the song on repeat (thus explaining why it’s so deeply engrained in my head). My god, is roller skating fun!
I doubt I’ll be visible in the video because they had amazing disco skaters in the foreground and I was wearing all black, but still.
Side note, I didn’t even know that people still roller skate at all, let alone with such awesome moves. Very cool. Must go roller skating again when I’m done with the bar.

UPDATE/CORRECTION: It is the only roller rink in Brooklyn. Several exist throughout NYC. Not that it matters.

There are no stupid questions?

2006-07-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

Before class today a Barbri person came in to give us a little pep talk and asked if anyone had any general questions about the test. There were a few, but my personal favorite was, "will there be bathrooms available at the testing center during the test?" Really? Really? You're taking the bar? Thank you for setting the curve.

Note: the barbri lady answered him by name, so I suspect this isn't the first brain buster he's presented her with.

Shining

2006-07-05T00:57:00.000-04:00

Super funny. Amazing the things you find when you're supposed to be learning secured transactions.

And on a totally unrelated note, the best text message I received today, (from a Canadian friend) "The British Empire sucks colonial dick. Happy 4th"

Grrrrrr!

2006-07-05T00:48:00.000-04:00

I was in Chicago this weekend for a wedding. The cubs were playing the sox and I couldn't get to Wrigley. I miss baseball, even if the cubs are having an especially abysmal season. Three weeks from tomorrow and it will all be over. Yikes. Totally starting to freak out.

Warning: Anti-novelites roaming the East Village

2006-06-28T02:43:00.000-04:00

I was out at a bar this weekend (with the fuzzin) and got to talking to some guys sitting at the table next to me. They decided that they want to talk to this girl and her friends, who I’ll refer to as “Fishnets.” So they start talking to Fishnets. I’m not sure what it was that set her off, but she apparently thought they were gay and told them they were a couple of “Fagins.” I guess she thought this was some funny derivative insult or something. I too thought this was funny. Actually, I thought it was effing hysterical and informed the boys that Fishnets had just called them orphan organizing pickpockets. After a momentary blank stare, one of the boys turned around and yelled at Fishnets, “You’re an anti-novelite!” I'm not sure if she got it, but at least she stormed out the bar.

Review New Yorkers

2006-06-27T03:15:00.000-04:00

I heard the most worthwhile thing in barbri today. A prof (on video of course) was giving a hypo about a woman smoking pot and when he came to the way she stored her pot he found something that was "an unremarked tragedy on the move from film to digital photography, instructing the class that, "if you have those little black and gray Kodak film canisters, hold on to them." Some good advice from barbri. And he followed up with this nugget: "if you have a drug problem, now is NOT the time to deal with it." Finally, I'm getting my money's worth.

Fuzzin

2006-06-20T18:27:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to have someone visiting me this weekend. I love having people come see me in NYC because it forces me to do the things on my list of "things I really want to do in the city" that I never actually motivate to do. And I can't wait to see my favorite fuzzin.

(fuzzin=fake cousin)

Developing Pet Peeve

2006-06-16T17:27:00.000-04:00

I hate it when the barbri instructors preface a statement with "on the bar exam." It's not like they're contrasting "bar exam" world with the real world, like, "in the real world, no one would perform without consideration, but look for that situation on the bar exam." No, they'll say, "on the bar exam, if you get a question about delegation of duties," or, "on the bar exam, the underlying obligation doesn't go away until the accord is satisfied." (Can you tell we did contracts this week?) Why is it necessary to include that phrase? Of COURSE we're talking about the bar exam. That's the ONLY reason we're all here.

I know this isn't a big deal and this type of thing normally really wouldn't bother me, but when you spend four hours a day watching a video about the law, brevity is very much appreciated.

Last night at the Delancey

2006-06-14T19:10:00.000-04:00

YVEL.
I had to work so hard to fight the urge to steal his hat while he was singing.

photo by Not Much.

new blood

2006-06-13T18:02:00.000-04:00

On our first day of barbri we were given some general advice on how to spend the summer studying for the bar. We were told that now is an excellent time to get out of relationships that aren’t working, and apparently, that June was a good time to start “casual relationships” with other people studying for the bar. “Look around the room,” we were advised. “There is new blood here.” Indeed. An excellent example of this new blood is the guy who sits in the front row of my room and brings with him at least four beverages to every (3-4 hour) lecture. Yesterday, he brought 4 large cans of Arizona Ice Tea and lined them up in front of him at his seat. For the record, that’s 720 calories of tea. He drank them all throughout the class and, of course, got up to go the bathroom every 20 minutes. I thought that was kind of odd…until today. Today he brought with him four cups of coffee and a beverage cooler which he PLUGGED IN to keep his other drinks cold while he drank the coffee. So the barbri lady was right. There is some new blood in the room, at least new people to be totally mystified by.

Disclaimer: while I was commenting on this bizarre phenomenon during break, someone pointed out that he may have a medical condition which requires him to consume caffeine or sugar or calories or something. If this is the case, I do not mean to mock him about it. But I can find no excuse whatsoever for the electric drink cooler. That’s just weird.

Thing I shouldn't say when I want someone to like me:

2006-06-13T04:51:00.000-04:00

I am so excited for the draft of my Real World/Road Rules Challenge fantasy league!

awesome

2006-06-12T00:41:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Enrico Pallazzo, for giving me the best t-shirt ever. And I am a gal who is picky about her t-shirts.

More Law Revue Fun!

2006-06-11T21:48:00.000-04:00

Digital video shorts from this year's Law Revue Show can be found HERE. The rest of the show should be available on Google Video in the next few days.

UPDATE: The rest of the show is available at the above link now. Because nothing is more fun than watching Sherwood v. Walker parodies and other people's in jokes.

Awkward!

2006-06-11T17:51:00.000-04:00

I'm involved in my school's Law Revue Show. The school hired a photographer to take pics during the show and just sent them to me. This picture is priceless. That would be the dean of my law school posing with an alum. I can only pray that the dean was aware of the t-shirt's meaning.

Barbri=i'm boring

2006-06-10T04:31:00.000-04:00

I think the most exciting moment in my week was when a friend sent me a "hip hop remix" of the NY barbri lectures entitled "Bar Beat." Highlights include Prof. Charles Whitebread's answered question of "How hot? Real hot!" Man, the exceptions to the warrant requirement never sounded so good. My summer's totally going to be rockin'.

And BTW, in case you were concerned, my new study plan has been working out well; I didn't even go out until 2 this morning. So there

Lost cell phone, or the beginning of the Apocalypse. You be the judge

2006-06-09T12:58:00.000-04:00

One man's harrowing journey to recover his lost cell phone began on 06/06/06 and has been going strong ever since. There's probably a moral to the story somewhere. See him fight the good fight here

ladies of the night

2006-06-09T03:14:00.000-04:00

Week three of bar studying is coming to its tail end. When I first started out, I told myself that I was going to wake up everyday at 8, go to the gym, study for a few hours, go to Bar/Bri, study, and then have my evenings fee. I would treat it like a full time job and get my work done and still have some sort of a life...until July, anyway. My schedule hasn't exactly been working out as planned and this week I decided to accept the inevitable and that no matter what, I am never going to wake up at 8 to study when I don't have class until 1:30. So my new plan allows me to study for 6 hours a day, between 10 pm and 4 am. I've got a friend on my schedule too, which is nice. I think our deli guy is kind of suspicious of us coming in for our 2 am coffee breaks, though. On the plus side, my roommate is asleep while I am studying so I can smoke in the apartment. I choose to believe that if she doesn't see it, it's like I don't even do it.

I'm not really going anywhere with this. I guess even at 3 am I'm going to procrastinate.

Feats of Strength

2006-06-08T23:39:00.000-04:00

LEVY does Canada

2006-06-08T00:47:00.000-04:00

For those of you living in the Toronto area, LEVY will be playing at The Drake Underground on Saturday, June 17 starting at 10:30. I wish I was able to go with you.

One of their new songs, So Hard, is available for listening on their myspace page now. Very cool.

Serenity: Coolest space western EVER

2006-06-07T21:24:00.000-04:00

One of the best parts of finishing up my last semester of finals was cashing in my Lexis and Westlaw reward points. I earned a whole bunch of them doing legal research for the past three years and was able to order a lot of stuff. My first package came yesterday with the Serenity DVD.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds is so effing badass. There were some things that kind of didn’t jibe with this movie, though. Like the first scene where Simon rescues River from the alliance. Simon was a whiney little sally when he first arrived on Serenity. There’s no way he could have pulled off that kind of bond-esque escape. Firefly is so much better than Serenity. Something’s missing in the character development in the movie. I can’t imagine loving the movie if I hadn’t seen the show first.

Don’t get me wrong…I still really loved this movie. I know…I’m such a dork.

ConGRABulations! You Graduated!

2006-06-06T01:25:00.000-04:00

I had my law school graduation today. It was nice. A judge spoke and we had fake diplomas handed to us and were hooded by professors. My parents were proud. The school had a reception after with champagne and crappy kosher cheese. After some 22 odd years as a student, this ceremony symbolized the completion of my school years. Then I went home and continued studying for the bar.

Sing that song i like so much

2006-06-02T18:35:00.000-04:00

They’re eating her and then they’re going to eat me! Oh my gaaaaaaah!
Troll II: Set in beautiful historic Nilbog. I didn’t think it could get any better, but it has been brought to my attention by Elliot that Troll III exists. Like Troll II, Troll III features not a single troll. The plant theme apparently continues, however, because obviously it was employed so successfully in the previous movie. Troll 3 has several aliases out there. It is also known as The Creepers and Contamination .7. I guess the director couldn’t decide which title was the least loathsome. I cannot wait to watch this movie. Unfortunately, it’s only on VHS so it will require renting a VCR to watch. I’m sure well worth it.

Now I realize that some people reading this might not have seen Troll II. That’s ok. I know that not everyone spent the summer of 1990 watching HBO waiting for them to play this movie for the hundredth time. I’m not sure why it was on so frequently that summer, but it gave my brother and me ample opportunity to become fully acquainted with Nilbog and it’s inhabitants. (Spoiler Alert: Nilbog is Goblin spelled backwards).

Troll 1 and 2 recently came out together on one DVD with the tag line, "Be afraid...be twice as afraid." I prefer the tag line for the Troll 2 VHS "The original boogeyman is back." Which is true...if the original boogeyman was a man-eating vegetarian goblin. Oh, and if you happen upon the VHS tape you should know that neither the monster, nor the boy on the cover are in the movie at all.

Here’s some reviews on Troll II. Update to come when Troll III arrives from eBay.

Review 1

Review 2

He's a Quarterback

2006-05-26T04:54:00.000-04:00

I finally knew what it was like to be the most popular girl...A friend brought me a cake at the bar tonight. Everyone wanted to be my friend.

Likelihood of Confusion? Not Anymore

2006-05-18T02:01:00.000-04:00

I am mere hours away from being done with law school forever.

And on another happy note, LEVY will be playing twice this weekend, Tonight at the Annex at 10 and at The Delancey this Saturday at 10. Their debut album, Rotten Love is incredibly accessible, their new songs sound amazing, and the LEVY boys are plain adorable.

Everybody Raise a Glass

2006-05-16T00:23:00.001-04:00

This semester I have reverted to the lifestyle of a second semester senior. Since January, I have instinctively felt the end of my school years and the looming of the cold cruel world of working for a living. So I’ve been making the most of my carefree law school days. This has entailed a lot of late nights so it was to my absolute delight that I was introduced to the shadiest bar on the planet, let’s call it McShady’s. McShady’s probably operates as a normal bar during business hours. I don’t know. I don’t want to know.

What I do know is that the first time I visited McShady’s was a very special night. It was 4 in the morning and I had been out all night at a bar with a few other girls. We closed the place out but weren’t ready to call it a night. That’s when someone suggests we go to McShady’s. When we get to the bar, it looks as if it never existed. There are no lights or windows. We go up to the big wooden locked door and knock. A huge bouncer creaks open the door, slowly looks both ways and motions us in to the PACKED bar. He sternly warns us “no smoking.” That’s the part that confused me. This is the shadiest place I’ve ever seen. No smoking? I wanted to inform him that if they got busted, smoking would be the least of their concerns. I’m pretty sure the flagrant violations of the NYC liquor laws would trump. Perhaps, I thought, this wasn’t about rules, but about maintaining ambiance. But then I looked around and realized that couldn’t be it, either. No smoking. I’m pretty sure I could have killed a hooker in that bar and no one would have noticed.

Another time I went to McShady’s and the bouncer motioned us in and gave me the stern look, but this time said, “no cell phones.” Maybe they just like to have rules. Or, rather, one rule at a time. Smoking was allowed that night. Maybe they think that if they arbitrarily enforce at least one rule, people won’t assume that it’s just a totally lawless environment.

I have never been to this bar before 4:30 am, but I would imagine it kind of sucks during that time. What’s the fun of just going to some bar? (OK, stupid question, but whatever)

If I were at full slayer strength, I'd be punning

2006-05-13T17:06:00.000-04:00

I absolutely LOVE Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I first got into it my first year of law school, having all night Buffy marathons with a dear friend. Towards the end of the school year, I was flipping through the course offerings guide for the summer session at New School and saw that they had a course on Vampires and Literature and during one session a Buffy expert named Stephanie Zacharek. would come speak about Buffy themes. We thought this awesome. We found her email address and wrote to her asking if she would speak at our school about Buffy and the Law under the auspices of a fake law and literature club. We suggested topics like vigilante justice, moral blameworthiness, and the development of doctrine. She wrote a very polite email back saying she was flattered, but believed that Buffy and the law was outside her expertise.

At the time, we thought that the concept of an academic Buffy scholar was so novel. Today, however, I stumbled upon Slayage: an online academic Buffy journal. They even have a conference over Memorial Day weekend in Georgia. (I wish I could say I am planning the dorkiest road trip ever to go down, but unfortunately I have a wedding that weekend.) There’s also an undergrad version called Watcher Junior. I particularly liked THIS article about Buffy and Spike. The Slayage website has a huge list of Buffy scholars. I really wish we knew about this. I’m sure we could have convinced at least one of them to come speak at school. Oh well.

Heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going out with the girl that saw Ferris pass out in 31 Flavors last night

2006-05-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

I had one of the most embarrassing experiences ever this morning.

I woke up at 8:30 and was actually awake. I’m never awake that early, so of course my first thought is that McDonald’s is still serving breakfast and I should get my McMuffin on. So I throw on clothes and head out to the Union Square McD’s. At 9 am, it’s kind of crowded. I wait in line for 10 minutes, order the number 3 and pay. As soon as I do that, I completely black out. Next thing I know, I’m sprawled out on the floor and surrounded by very tenuous looking people. If I saw this happen, I would totally think the person was a junkie or something, so I can only assume what they were thinking. I’m pretty sloppily dressed and the thought briefly passes through my head that I’m happy that I’m carrying a designer handbag, so they must know I’m not homeless.

By the time I woke up, a woman had already gotten me a cup of water and the girl behind the counter was on the phone with 911. She started yelling questions at me. “Are you pregnant? Are you epileptic?” I insist that she hang up the phone and tell them NOT to send an ambulance. This isn’t the first time this has happened; I’ve fainted 7 times, the first time being in 8th grade. So it’s pretty infrequent, but it happens when I’m dehydrated or have low blood sugar. (That is, I hope that’s why it happens and the doctor will confirm this when I see him later today. Insert nervous laughter).

After a few minutes and a few kiddie sized cups of water (why the hell wouldn’t they give me a big cup?) I got up, ate my breakfast, apologized to the girls behind the counter for freaking them out and went home. I realized that I chipped my front tooth when I went down. Now I don’t know what bothers me most about this situation. The embarrassment of passing out in such a public place, the chipped tooth, or the fact that the inside of my mouth made contact with a surface in McDonald’s.

Does that make me crazy?

2006-05-10T15:46:00.000-04:00

I just can't get over how cool the Gnarles Barkley video is.

Sorry about the glitch in the video. I couldn't find one without it.

I Heart Non-Boyfriend

2006-05-10T02:35:00.000-04:00

I have the best non-boyfriend ever. I called him at 1:30 in the morning on tuesday night (tonight) and told him I wanted to go out. He said he was on his way home, (and was on the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel), but called all of his friends to see what they were doing to see if I could meet them out. (He has a lot more friends than me) and called about a jillion of them. He called them on three-way so I could personally plead my case and even called friends I have never even met.

Now in the wee hours of a Wednesday morning, not a lot of his friends were out or answering their phones, but bless his heart, he left them all messages explaining my plight. He would say "Hi, it’s (non-boyfriend). (Non-Girlfriend) really wants to go out tonight. Where are you and can she meet you out. Call me back." By the end of the calls, he told me to go to Plumm in the meatpacking and to ask for the back table where his some of his friends were. Of course I have never met these friends who were out and available and felt a little funny being so desperate to go out that I would go meet a group of strangers at a club, but his heart was in the right place. So I'm going to go to bed, but it's not non-boyfriend's fault. He knew how badly I wanted to go out and drink and dance until 4 and he did his damnedest to make my dreams come true. And for that, I salute you non-boyfriend.

We're riding out tonight to case the promised land

2006-05-09T12:07:00.000-04:00

After a day of studying, I went out for a few drinks with some friends. The bar that's around the corner from me has one of those digital jukeboxes. I hate digital jukeboxes. I usually need to be able to physically flip through the options to know what I want. And I grew up with an old jukbox in my basement so I have a total love from them. But the advantage of the digital jukebox, at least the one in this bar, is if they don't have something in their library, you can download it for an extra quarter.

Thunder Road has been stuck in my head all week and I wanted to play it at the bar. So I went and searched through the machine and couldn't find it. I couldn't find the Boss at all. (and yes I tried searching under both B and S). I thought I must be having a brain freeze or something so I got one of my friends to look and he couldn't find it, either. So we went to download it. We searched for Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road, and Born to Run. NONE of them existed as download options. I felt like I had just walked into Malkovich world. What kind of music system exists without acknowledging Bruce? I told the bartender and he was equally confused and searched himself, but to no avail. I think this must be a conspiracy. I was forced to come home and play it on repeat to make it better.

Welcome Home LEVY!

2006-05-08T13:33:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow LEVY will be performing at the Bowery Ballroom for their first show in the states since returning from their UK tour. Should be fun. Come and maybe you'll be able to answer Peter's age old question of whether James does in fact eat with his hands.

Pleated Pants: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the flat front

2006-05-08T00:52:00.000-04:00

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhbit C

NYC

2006-05-07T16:32:00.000-04:00

As the weather gets nicer and people flood to the streets I am constantly reminded of why I love this city so much. It's the little random things. Yesterday as I was walking down my block I saw a man staring intently at the ground. I looked to see what he was looking at and realized that he was standing there reading a discarded newspaper in the street. I tried not to laugh as I walked past him.

So that reminded me of my favorite thing I've seen in the three years that I've been living in NYC. It was about 11:00 at night and I was on the front stoop of my building smoking a cigarette. I see a homeless looking guy a couple buildings down and he walks to the curb and proceeds to throw up into the street. It was clearly alcohol vomit. You know, totally liquid and a lot of it. He throws up three times, wipes his mouth, takes a swig of water and sits down on the curb. Then he pulls out a BOOK from his back pocket and starts READING it! Reading! Reading! I was dying to know what he was reading. I was kind of scared of him so I didn't ask, but oh god would I love to know what it was.

I told someone about this and he suggested that the book was really a ruse to make me believe he was more respectable. Like, "I know I just threw up a handle of thuderbird in the middle of the street, but I still gotta educate myself, man." I don't know about that. I'm not so sure he knew I was there. I love NY

Last Class

2006-05-04T21:50:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I have my last class ever in law school. I imagine it will be somewhat anti-climactic to walk out of the room after an hour and 15 minutes of instant messaging with the other bored students in my class. And the applause...I don't know how this started but I think that it's a crappy tradition. Especially when you have spent the entire semester despising the professor dying a little more inside every minute that you spent sitting listening to his pretentious banter. I’ll clap. But I won’t mean it.

As for item number 2...

2006-05-02T13:32:00.000-04:00

So I went out Friday night and proceeded to drink characteristically too much. Last night I went through the purse I brought out with me that night and saw an envelope in it. I opened up the envelope and, much to my horror, found the above items. That's right. Two finger puppets and a dollar bill. Where did these items come from???? Did someone give them to me as a present? Did I find them in the street and for some reason decide to pick them up and take them home? Did I win some bizarre raffle? The mystery will haunt me until I find some answers.

So if you lost an evelope containing a dollar bill and finger puppets representing an evil looking dog and an old woman, please inform me so they can find their propper home.

UPDATE: The mystery was solved and I actually guessed right the first time. Someone DID give them to me as a present. Case closed!

Ahhhh...my new blog

2006-05-02T00:12:00.000-04:00

Ok. So this is my first blog entry ever. I suspect that every other law student in the country has already started their own blog. With any kind of luck, I will no longer be a law student in a few weeks, so I will not be writing about the misc. oddities associated with this type of education.

Two things happened today that I found entertaining:
1. As I was walking past the immigration protest at Union Square I overheard someone say (without a hint of irony), "If this many people are here, there must be some truth to it." I weep for the future.

2. Requires a picture to truly capture this one, so I'll have to post it later.