Boston, here we come

Dellynnidate 2006. Let the games begin.

Christmas in Chapin

Two little elves.

If you can imagine the choir from Charlie Brown Christmas, you can imagine what she sounds like.

TOO MUCH EGGNOG.

I can't think of a cuter picture.

CHRISTMAS MORNING...NO ONE goes downstairs until we've taken a picture on the steps.

A Christmas Eve tradition - Paintball at the Luther's. In a few hours, these same four gunners will transform into a string quartet of Bachish flair at the Christmas Eve service.
Mighty Morphin Paintball Stringers.

NOAH. Assassin.

What I usually do on holidays, or Sundays, or any day where we eat a big meal and then lounge around. I'm gonna make a totally sweet Grandpa one day.

Keira Knightley fans. Two boys after my own heart.

Merry Christmas from Manville

Dave Page at his merriest. Perhaps ol' Evan or Jack had just visited...

Top 10 reasons you know you go to law school in South Carolina

10. Your professor's final exams always make derogatory references to Clemson and its graduates (e.g. please sign your name at the top of the exam packet, or if a Clemson graduate with special permission, make your mark; or fact patterns refer to a student from Clemdaughter, a Clemson graduate named Guber, etc.)

9. Your reading (for ANY class) regularly involves statements to the effect of "the vast majority of states recognize XX legal doctrine, with the exception of South Carolina" (e.g. SC the only state that doesn't recognize res ipsa loquitur, SC only state with 20 year theory of adverse possession, SC one of two states that still has fee simple conditional posessory estate, no second degree murder in SC, etc.)

8. Even the community desk/bench (it's large and semicircular, perhaps even a BFD) in the law school lobby, which students use for everything from eating to studying, has some serious history behind it. It was handcrafted as the first bench in the original South Carolina Supreme Court.

7. The winning class (2 year lawyer wannabes) in the annual Harvest Hope Food Drive won with 29,381 pounds of foot, probably 29,000 lbs. of which were large 50lb. bags of salt. And yet the law school thought this was pro bono enough of them to put pictures on the web page. Perhaps the 2L's got confused, and thought that instead of helping needy families, the food drive was actually a environmental effort to replenish the ocean's salt supply.

6. Despite your love for our glorious state (and all things South Carolina), you secretly hoped that the Charleston School of Law would not get accredited. When it passed accreditation a few weeks ago, you secretly hoped Charleston might try to secede from the state, and take its law school with it.

5. Your school's most notable publication is the ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal, the premier scholarly publication in the property and probate fields (it is the second largest law review in the country). Which is ironic, given that South Carolina is somewhat of a property law anomaly (see #9 above).

4. Your professors will call on you repeatedly simply because you wear a shirt containing any shade of orange. You will also be ostracized/ridiculed by your classmates (except for the other gubers wearing orange).

3. Bow ties are a common clothing accessory among faculty and students alike.

2. Some guys in the back row dip while taking their finals.

1. With 20 minutes left during your last final exam, you hear the pop of an aluminum can being opened...one of your classmates hands in his exam and walks across the front of the classroom with a small brown bag in hand. He turns, waves to the class, and chugs the whole beer as he exits the room.

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal: Essien wonder goal

I was cruising ESPN Soccernet last week, killing some time and getting my football fix for the day.

Arsenal had faced off against Chelsea the day before, so I read the recap.

"Essien rescued Chelsea with a 35-yard thunderbolt six minutes from the end and the home side were unlucky to finish on level terms when they twice hit the woodwork in stoppage time."

I searched in vain for video footage of the 35 yard thunderbolt - surely a shot like that is worth watching. Thanks to Johnny T, however, the search is over.

As Macey and I used to say - an absolute howitzer.

Monday's with Murray: Musings on food and the character of some friends while eating at a diner with Winston

We know most of you Subscribers probably wet yourself with excitement when you saw this Blog post title. He's back!

Indeed, our beloved Murray has returned (by proxy). And, with the highly anticipated reunion over New Year's Eve in Boston, we're sure there will be more where this came from...

[The following is from a recent Blackberry email from Murray entitled "Musings on food and the character of some friends while eating at a diner with Winston." We have inserted bracketed explanations for your reading ease - Eds.]

There's Winston [third founding member of MPC and current Project Manager] who always orders the worst thing on the menu ("egg sandwich sunny side up"). Characteristic of his bad taste in pop culture and most food.

Jamey ["Cool" Poole] who always eats free (years of practicing golf have finally paid off). Ironic since Jamey doesn't come across as much of a gambler.

Slippery [if you don't know who Slippery is...] who always eats free... at home instead of eating out with us. Before he got slippery he was known as Stingy Sleuth.

Andy Givens [Murray's Pensacola roommate] who always upsets the waitress ("would you like a beer?" "No just cheerios and orange juice" after being singled out for a driver's license at Big Bear). Andy likes to upset people.

Brien [Murray] who is always stuck with Jamey's bill. Typical of his ill-luck with golf.

Scott Hudson who always orders the best thing on the menu (and probably most expensive). Scott demands the best in quality and is willing to pay for it.

Miller Weedn [MPC salesman] who always eats out three times a day, 7 days a week. Miller Time to find a wife.

Christmas Cheers

Thanks to Noel and Elissa, the past few years have seen a new staple of Christmas celebrations - the Saint Arnold Christmas Ale. Noel found this local microbrewery somewhere in Houston a few years back, and he's been supplying us with a steady stream ever since. After all, you've got to support a brewery that makes a beer named after your wife.


Well, now its my turn to add to the Christmas spirit(s). And so, I present to you [drum roll]...


Santa's Butt. And his helper, Seriously Bad Elf.


No joke. And there's more where they came from.

You may have heard about them in the news recently - apparently Maine has banned the sale of Santa's Butt - sketchy advertising or something like that. And for holiday reading, you can check out the Brewery's take on the whole debacle in their beer blog.

For now, I just want to try an English Ale that is 9.0%.

Law School Exams, Day 4

Quote of the week:

"Don't get icing on your fingers. When I hand you this piece of cake." - Martin McWilliams (my Contracts professor), as he handed out our exams.


If that was a piece of cake, then I'll pass on desert.

Law School Exams, Day 2: Thoughts on Day 1

Noel, Gilli, Tricia, Paige, and all my fellow Apple mates, you will find this particularly nauseating.

USC now (as of this school year) began requiring all law students to own a laptop. Unbeknownst to me (prior the semester) the requirement was that all law students own a PC laptop.

Let the discrimination/frustration/superiority complex begin.

First, there is a fairly cumbersome procedure one must go through every time one attempts to access the law school wireless. My PC user friends have all had trouble with it at some point this semester. I have not.

Mac 1 - Bill Gates 0.

The one time I DID have trouble (at the very beginning of the semester) I was turned away by the law school IT guy because they don't support Mac. I figured out the problem on my own.

Mac and Me 2 (since I discovered the solution) - Law School Techie who apparently has an old 486 shoved up his butt, 0.

Now the fun begins. The laptop requirement exists because of an evil program called Secure Exam. Secure Exam hates Macs. Actually, from my experience, it doesn't get along well with PC's either. Secure Exam was probably created by kids who don't play well with others.

Here's how it works:
1. Shut down all programs.
2. Access USC wireless.
3. Log in to Clean Access Agent - I have no idea what this does.
4. Log into VPN Client - extra protection hoop for wireless access.
5. Log into Secure Exam.
6. At this point, your entire computer is frozen except for Secure Exam - no accessing the internet, other files, etc. And if you're computer shuts down, it logs automatically back into Secure Exam, and you can't get out of it without a Proctor's password.

Again, this doesn't work with Apple computers.

So if you're a Mac user, you're SOL. A month ago I was informed that I would have to find a PC to borrow during exams. Difficulty #1, who can just loan a laptop out for 2 weeks? Difficulty #2, Secure Exam requires you to delete all antivirus protection (Norton, McAfee, etc.) and turn off a bunch of other stuff I don't understand (and neither to the IT guys). I find it no coincidence that USC announced this fall that they are hiring/creating a new Head of IT position for next year.

After deleting all of the protective software and updates etc. from my mom's computer and spending an entire Saturday in the library downloading and installing all the necessary programs, Secure Exam still did not work.

I gave up. Also, I swore a lot.

USC finally owned up to their ignorance, at least partially, and offered a loaner computer to Mac users during exams this fall. Since they claim this is a one time deal, I may still have to purchase a PC for next spring.

NOW...

Prior to yesterday's first exam, our class received an email stating that, inter alia, Secure Exam has found a glitch where if you attempt to use word count or spell check (both of which are important because our profs are sticklers about spelling and length of answers) there is a 15% chance the program will freeze and you will lose your work entirely. Brilliant.

Query: What Mac has EVER frozen from running a word count or spell check?
Answer: None. No not one.
Mac 3 - USC, Secure Exam, Bill Gates, and all PC's in general, 0. Minus 1 million for every brain cell you caused me to lose, and because I hate you. So now, -1 million.


Further, just minutes prior to taking the exam, our proctor instructed us that at least 5 or 10 of us would get an error message when attempting to upload our completed exam - alert her IMMEDIATELY or all is lost.

Thankfully, my loaner computer worked fine. Not everyone can say the same - some folks had trouble logging in before the exam started. Some folks had error messages regarding the completed exam. I think we all survived. But thanks to the PC world, our first exams in law school are even more stressful than they should be.

And to think I get to do it all over again on Friday...

Law School Exams, Day 1: Contracts

Inconvenience and injustice would result if matters in writing, made with consideration, and intended to embody the entire agreement were liable to be controlled by the uncertain testimony of slippery memory. - Lord Coker, quoted in Thompson v. Libby

I hope to heck that for once, I'm not Slippery.

In a commercial transaction it does not promote justice to seek strained interpretations in aid of those who don't protect themselves. - Judge Learned Hand, James Baird Co. v. Gimbel Bros., Inc.

On the other "Hand," the Lord helps those who help themselves. Or something. Anyway, I've helped myself about as much as I can.

Reasonable reliance resulting in a foreseeable prejudicial change in position affords a compelling basis for implying a subsidiary promise not to revoke an offer for a bilateral contract. - Justice Traynor, Drennan v. Star Paving Co.

In other words, if you build it, they will come. And if they don't, we'll sue 'em all. Also, those who study a lot should get better grades.

Snatch this soundtrack up

We're still looking for your musical ideas/suggestions/advice.


In consideration of your input (let no one ever say that ol' Slippery is not a legal bargain for exchanger), we recommend our own musical selection...


Snatch Original Film Soundtrack.


We've rediscovered the soundtrack over the weekend, after a long sabbatical dating back to probably our junior year of college. Snatch was a sweet film. The soundtrack is equally groovy. With the exception of Track 16 (Sensual Woman, by The Herbaliser - you can tell by its name is probably not worth your time) and maybe the Madonna cut (although some argue that a dose of Madonna on occasion is healthy for you) this eclectic album makes for some fun study music, and at least for us, brings back some great memories. We're pretty sure Dreadlock Holiday made it on to a PBT mix on year.

From Amazon: "In the same vein as Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction, the soundtrack covers a spectrum of musical hipness that is essential to the tone of the film artists included are Massive Attack, Madonna, Mirwais, Oasis, The Stranglers and The Specials."

Which reminds us, Murray, did you ever get the Snatch DVD back from Antonio...?

Must Have Music - Please Advise

Disclaimer: We stole this idea from a contemporary philosopher/southern intellectual.

We have re-signed with BMG music - we're a sucker for their sales, and we've found that $5 cd's make great Christmas gifts. (The trick is to keep signing yourself up under different pseudonyms - you get 5 free CD's for referrals, plus the 12 for 1 sign up deal = 17 for the price of 1)

So We need your help - what sort of meaningful music have we missed, what essential "must haves" should we include in our pending 17 CD order?

We think Gilli will include some Phish
We think Jamey may refer us to Sufjan
Macey will lead us in the ways of techno. Or Rush.
Noel has probably found some new hip hop band with sweet grooves that you would never imagine a computer programmer would jive to...
Strawbridge will lavish praises on some shuttle bus driver/musician that he met at the airport
Murray = Phoenix
Bintz says Mother Love Bone, but we seriously doubt BMG has that
Johnny T's music collection is already identical to ours

Anybody else?

Now taking suggestions...

Law School: Milestone #4

As best I can figure, there have been at least 3 milestones in my law school career to date.

Milestone 1. Being accepted.
Milestone 2. First day of class.
Milestone 3. First time being called on.

Today I reached Milestone #4 - Completion of first semester of law school classes.

Good news? Not exactly. This means Milestone #5 is in full effect - the deflowering of my law school exam virginity. I like to think of it as Mental Statutory (of, pertaining to, or of the nature of a statute; i.e. all things LAW) Rape.

Surely this is a crime.

Carolina 31, clemson 28

The 2004 debacle is gone (though not forgotten). The streak of 4 straight losses is over. The Spurrier Streak has begun.

Meaningful Music (Mozart, Metallica, and beyond)

I'm currently sitting in Panera, working on my outlines for Contract and Criminal law, and listening to the classical music that is playing softly in the background.

As a kid, I listened to a lot of classical music. Partly by my own choosing, mostly because its all my parents would play in the house/car. I developed a great appreciation for classical music.

High school and college were much different. Classical music quickly = not cool. Give me some good ol' rock and roll. Let me jive occasionally to some smooth jazz or the catchy rhythms of hip hop. Shoot, I even tried some of that indie rock razzmatazz (although I've never been a huge fan and I'll just as soon pop in some Skynyrd or CCR as I will a little Wilco or Sufjan).

Since starting law school, I've rediscovered classical music. That junk is good. I love Bach because of his precision and technicality (almost like listening to a good logical analysis put to music). Beethoven brings out that romantic side of me that many of you question if I really have. Tchaikovsky is as passionate about his music as I am about college football. And then there's Mozart. I don't know which I like more - the fact that his music is probably what the angels play in heaven, or that by the time he was my age he had written more brilliant music than I'll be able to listen to in my lifetime.

There's a great article in the recent edition of Christianity Today about Mozart. Lengthy, but good. In it, the author quotes Hans Kung, the pupil of Karl Barth, who talks about the "traces of transcendence" in Mozart's music, i.e. within good religious music itself there can be an "intrinsic liturgical significance," even without words, which can potentially make music a "source of revelation alongside the Word":

I think that music which speaks the truth is not just limited, say, to vocal music or explicitly religious music; it also includes purely instrumental music—and especially the intimacy of many second movements. An abstract masterpiece can speak the truth in the pure language of sound… . And though music cannot become a religion of art, the art of music is the most spiritual of all symbols for that "mystical sanctuary of our religion," the divine itself. In other words, for me Mozart's music has relevance for religion not only where religious and church themes or forms emerge, but precisely through the compositional technique of the non-vocal, purely instrumental music, through the way in which this music interprets the world, a way which transcends extra-musical conceptuality… . With keen ears [one] may perceive in the pure, utterly internalized sound, for example, of the adagio of the Clarinet Concerto, which embraces us without using any words, something wholly other… . So here are ciphers, traces of transcendence.

Whether it be classical, rock, or independent, that's the kind of music I want to listen to. Let me know if you've found it.

Will the real USC please stand up?

At some point every year, some dufus not from the South mistakes southen cal for USC.

Little do they know. For those of you who live in the Blue States, the following is provided to help clarify the difference between USC and Southern Cal.

USC v. USC

Enough to make you want to be a criminal prosecutor...

This kind of stuff makes me sick. In case you haven't heard, OJ Simpson is apparently about to publish a book entitled "If I Did It," a hypothetical thought experiment of how he would have killed his wife, say, if it HAD been him that had killed her.

How tactless, low-class, self-centered, shameless, and disgusting can a person be? It's a complete spit in the face of justice. A cold hearted disregard for his deceased wife's family. And its the most repulsive display of attention seeking I have probably ever seen.

It's almost enough to make an aspiring civil attorney consider criminal law.

Law School imitates real life

Last week we got into the Parol Evidence rule and principles of interpreting contracts that may appear ambiguous on their face. One case we read began like this:


"The issue is, what is chicken?. . .To support its [interpretation], plaintiff sends a number of volleys over the net; defendant essays to return them and adds a few serves of its own." - Frigaliment Importing Co. v. B.N.S. International Sales Corp. (screw the Blue book citations)


From today's headlines:
What is a burrito? Is a burrito a sandwich?. Basically - no.
In his ruling, Locke cited Webster's definition of a sandwich and explained that the difference comes down to two slices of bread versus one tortilla: "A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans." - (from a suit between Panera Bread Company and Qdoba Mexican Grill)

Happy Birthday, volk man.

Today marks the birthday of the man who Inspired this Blog.

November 10, 1483.

We celebrate Martin Luther's birthday, in part because of his enormous influence. He changed the way the Church views soteriology, ecclesiology, theology, marriage, God, the State, and pretty much anything else to which Christianity might relate.

He changed the Church.

Because of Luther, we don't go to mass, Rome's appeal is historically romantic (not theologically fundamental), our pastor has a wife, we don't work hard to get to heaven (even in the South), chills go through us when we hear the tune of Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, the Diet of Worms is not just for fish, we pulled for Germany in the World Cup final, and we like beer and don't feel guilty for it.

We're not alone. There are 400 million other protestants who's lives as they know it have been intimately affected by this lawyer turned priest.

Hans and Margarethe must be proud of their boy.

Luther's Seal.

"How to Apologize," by John Kerry.

For those of you contemplating parenthood, keep this in your files as a model apology for when you teach your kids how to say “I’m sorry.”

WHAT JOHN KERRY SAID:
“You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

HOW HE APOLOGIZED:
"I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member or American who was offended."

“Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how: I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy.”

Hmm…he’s not sorry, or apologetic, and definitely not repentant, for anything he said. He’s just upset that his “words were misinterpreted,” and he’s only sorry that people were offended by it.

Slick Dick had a good response. “Of course, now Senator Kerry says he was just making a joke, and he botched it up,” Vice President Dick Cheney said in remarks prepared for a campaign appearance in Montana. “I guess we didn’t get the nuance. He was for the joke before he was against it.”

Then again, perhaps Kerry’s bad joke is true. After all, our Haughty French Looking Senator from Massachusetts who by the way served in Vietnam was in a man in uniform, and apparently he got 4 D’s his freshmen year at Yale, one more D his sophomore year, and an overall grade average of 76. Don’t study = get stuck in ‘Nam.

Or, as Jay Leno notes, “those who don’t campaign well and are really boring will get stuck in the Senate…It’s so hard to believe Kerry botched a joke because he’s usually just so hilarious. ... It’s hard to tell when Kerry is joking because of all the Botox. ... Who would have ever thought that the Democrats would miss the wit and charisma of Al Gore?”

Disclaimer: I contemplated posting this yesterday, but decided not to on principle – John Kerry deserves to get NO mention, good or bad, on Election day.