Summary Judgment

Jimanda gets engaged!

2008-06-20T14:05:00.003-04:00

So here's how it went down. I finished my law school exams, got drunk, then flew away to Ireland for about ten days. Shortly before leaving (and perhaps while in said drunken state), I decided that I would not return to the States without asking Amanda to marry me. But I didn't yet know when/where/how it would happen.

During a relaxing week of stout beer and constant music in Cork, I spoke with my grandfather who informed me that the magnificent Kelly clan descends from a Youghal, a seaside village on the boundary of counties Cork and Waterford in the south of Ireland. My friend and I drove there on my last day in Cork where I decided to buy Amanda a traditional Irish wedding ring called a Claddagh (you can read about the ring's romantic history and tradition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claddagh_Ring).

The idea was to buy something to honor our family traditions, and something that has a multi-cultural feel to it. Also, the ring is fantastically less expensive than anything with a diamond, and I'm still very much a boy on a budget. The ring carries additional meaning for us because Amanda has worn a similar ring nearly every day since she was a little girl, but hers recently broke.

I bought the white-gold ring from a wonderful jeweler in this town where my family's heritage springs, then continued my good luck in a nearby pub where I won my first game of darts while drinking more of Ireland's glorious stout beer!

But that's when the trouble began.

Distracted by thinking about how I would propose to Amanda, I soon became the most absent-minded person in the world. I left my camera at a bar (which was returned), left my wallet in a restaurant (returned by a waiter chasing us down the street) and very nearly forgot to buy my flight to meet Amanda in Scotland. Somehow, I made it to Dublin two nights before I was scheduled to fly to Scotland, my mind fully distracted by my upcoming proposal.

The night before a flight took my braindead self to Glasgow (where I was then to take a train to meet Amanda in Edinburgh), I called Amanda's father and asked for his blessing. He, being a good American man, was in Costco at the time...but said some very nice things to me* and gave his blessing. (* Amanda still interprets his comments as "well, Amanda can't do any better than you, so you have my blessing.")

The next morning, I flew to Glasgow. I stumbled around the airport for a good hour, trying to convert Dollars or Euros to Sterling so I could buy my train ticket to Edinburgh. After finding the right train, I arrived in Edinburgh more unprepared to be in a new city than ever before. I didn't know the name or address of the hotel, didn't have a map or guidebook...I didn't even know if the train I had just taken had traveled east or west! But I did know that the ring was in my pocket, and very soon, Amanda would be my fiancee.

I got off the train, called Amanda who talked me through the directions to the hotel and walked a steep, uphill mile to the hotel, all the while, thinking about how much I had missed her over the last week and thinking about when and how I would propose. It wasn't until I was going up the stairs in the hotel lobby, thinking about what an odd job hotel porters have that I realized....wait a second....shouldn't I have more in my hands? Why is this staircase so easy to navigate? WHERE THE HELL IS MY LUGGAGE???

That's right...I left it on the train.

Amanda and I had a smoochy, though brief, reunion which quickly turned into frantic phone calls to the train station, a brisk walk back to the station, a struggle to understand the blue-collar Scottish brogue, then, finally, the recapture of luggage.

When we returned to the hotel, I immediately began trying to convince Amanda to walk with me to the castle atop a mountain in central Edinburgh, where I had decided to propose. It wasn't far, in fact, we could see it from our hotel room window. However, she was tired from her redeye flight and suggested a quick nap before doing anything. We laid down on the bed together and I immediately became overcome with emotion. I was nervous. My body trembled and my heart beat like I had just run a marathon. I hadn't seen my love in more than a week and I knew sometime very soon...I would ask her to become my wife.

"Jim, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied.

"Sweetie, are you sure?"

"I'm just so happy to see you."

But my nervousness continued unabated, as did Amanda's concern for me. I realized that there was no way I could attempt to play it cool any longer. I asked if she was ready to get her gift from Ireland. Amanda, always a big fan of presents, excitedly said yes. I moved my bag to the side of the bed, where Amanda was sitting and knelt down, as if to lift something heavy from the bag. Everything moved in slow motion.

"I want to give you something to remind us who we are, where we're from and what we will be together. Amanda, will you marry me?"

The ring.

Tears.

"Of course I'll marry you!"

In the days that followed, we explored the Scottish highlands, visited distilleries (with free tastings!), shared laughter and thoughtful discussion with good friends, and enjoyed shockingly good weather. As if this time together worked out exactly as it was meant to be.

It wasn't until we were back in front of a computer that we learned more about the Claddagh ring. While the Claddagh Amanda had worn since she was a girl sat on her dresser in New York City, the band severed in half, we read the following line on wikipedia:

"Another legend of the ring states that if you are wearing the ring on the right hand and the band breaks, the person you are with is destined to be your true love."

Los Roques and the Pookie visit

2007-07-08T00:40:00.000-04:00

Amanda came to Caracas last week!

She was supposed to be in Asia for work, but the trip was mildly delayed. So she had some time on her hands and decided to put it to good use. Afterall...that´s what miles are for, right?

Not wanting her to feel too far from our NYC home, we managed to wander into a Pride parade one afternoon.

I have to say...for a fairly conservative culture, the gays really know how to be fabulous down here!

Then it was to Los Roques. As you can see, we were very distracted by all of the scenery...

As was I... :-)

Sage advice...

2007-07-07T23:46:00.000-04:00

So I asked a friend for career advice. For some reason, this part of his message resonated with me. Maybe this will mean something to anyone out there looking for a job!

¨Graduating with Honors, passing the bar exam, and living in the library is less than or equivalent-at-best to a law degree, passing the bar exam, living and researching abroad, leadership experience, global-business management and negotiation, and an undergraduate degree from a well-respected basketball school in the Mid West. The bar exam is what gets you in the door (and your network, etc). But the job is given to the person who makes the best sales pitch once that door closes behind you and the interview begins. That's a life lesson, kid. Cause when it comes down to it, undergraduate, advanced and professional degrees still only explain that you've mastered the minimum skills necessary to lace-up your wing-tips. The Firm is going to want to mold you into a player. All they need to know is that that you want to play THEIR GAME THEIR WAY and that you WILL BE rookie of the year. Period.¨

Colombia, Caracas y Casa

2007-06-27T21:02:00.000-04:00

Ahhh...Colombia. What a great time. I won´t attempt to fully describe everything I saw in five days, but I can say that it was wonderful to get out of Caracas for a bit.

Oddly, my Spanish was´t much better there than it was here, but I was lucky enough to have good friends to chaperone me through Bogota & Pereira.

And drink Aguardiente with me!

Anyway, I´ll let these pictures tell the thousand-ish words. The trip was great, especially the drive through the Andes (minus the three hour, high-altitude traffic jam at 11pm on Friday night!)

Strangely, coming back to Caracas was eerily like coming home. I have only been here for about a month, but when I was in another damned traffic jam on the way into Caracas, I felt that sort of familiar relief one has after a trip abroad.

Speaking of home...Amanda arrives in Caracas on Friday morning! We still haven´t decided if we´ll go to island paradise, Los Roques, or to the Amazon. Once she leaves, I will have a mere three weeks of Venezuela left.

But somehow I get the feeling, I won´t be gone from my Latin American home very long...

Sí, sí, COLOMBIA!

2007-06-14T09:20:00.000-04:00

No time for a substantive update (and I really need to get some of the good pics I´ve taken on the blog), but I wanted to tell anyone reading this that I´m heading to Colombia this weekend for a friend´s wedding! Anyone from NYC a couple of years ago probably remembers Jorge Murillo...we often played good ol´fashioned guitar-rock at parties.

Anyway, I fly to Bogota early tomorrow morning, Juan Maria is picking me up, we´ll collect my international-wedding-partner, Paola, then head to Pereira for the wedding. I can´t wait! Hopefully, pictures will follow!

Condi and Chavez

2007-06-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

"It would be difficult for any commission to debate more fully, to investigate more fully, to criticize more fully the policies of the United States government than is done every night on CNN, on ABC, on CBS, on NBC," she said.

"That is the point of press freedom -- that in a democracy the citizens of a country should have the assurance that the policies of their government will be held up for criticism by a free and independent press without the interference of their government," she said.

"The citizens of the United States have that assurance. I sincerely hope that the citizens of Venezuela will have that assurance as well," she added, standing up from the table, turning on her heel and walking away.
(From the NYTimes)

It is rare that I find myself in such strong agreement with any member of the Bush administration. But Dr. Rice really hit the nail on the head here, at least in principle. While I don´t think any educated person would say that any political discussion on these networks constitutes a full criticism of current policies, at least the possibility for that type of discourse exists (the good stuff is on NPR, PBS, C-Span and other nerdly channels which I miss ever so much.)

This weekend, I attended two massive protests. The pro-Chavez, government-sanctioned (and obviously, fully funded) march was on Saturday. My neighborhood was filled with red-clad Chavistas, spray painting and chanting in the hot sun. On Sunday, I joined one of my activist co-workers (there are quite a few!) in the larger, less graffiti-prone anti-government march down the same streets. Fortunately, I was treated kindly by both groups, though obviously standing out as one of the very few gringos in attendance. There were rumors that CIA operatives were taking pictures. Riiiiiight.

I have to say, being in Venezuela and learning as much as I possibly can about the closure of RCTV (if you´re interested, read more here), I am reminded how well the media has it in the US. Sure, there are serious problems with the media in the U.S. (just ask Judith Miller, or those whose minds have been fully numbed by Fox News´ incessant support of the government), but at least there are other channels in which people can speak. I´m encouraged further when taking into consideration the large portion of the U.S. population which has access to the Internets.

Here, the public has just one local news channel that is not controlled by the Chavez regime. And Hugo has already said he has his sights set on shutting it down for alleged abuses (which is perhaps more of an icy warning than an action plan). Few Venezuelans have internet access...which, by the way, is run by a recently nationalized company, CANTV. There have been threats of censoring the internet here, but I´m not sure how realistic that is.

Deep down, I´m hoping for an opportunity to meet Chavez and to ask him a question about this issue. (note: if I could ask Chavez about ANY issue, it would who writes such clever analogies for making fun of Bush, i.e. ¨Bush is more dangerous than a monkey with a razorblade¨...GENIUS!)

I would ask him to explain how any regime, his, W´s, China´s, can claim to be strong when it is unwilling to stand up to mere criticism. Corny analogy ahead (I really need to know who does this for Chavez!), but a diamond only becomes beautiful only after enduring pressure and hardship. I think the same can be said for governments. Just as Rome began to fall when it traded democratic principles for security (i.e. exacted more control on outside influences), even a well-intended Socialist government can quickly turn to dictatorship. If Chavez is so averse to suffering the slings and arrows of mere ideas to the point that he shuts them out...then I fear Venezuela may be on the long, desolate road to Havana.

Al Fin de Semana

2007-06-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

I´m still getting used to life in Caracas, so I´ll save my observations on how life here is different from NYC once I really feel like I´m more of a caraqueño (Caracas-ite)

Things at work are great, but definitely among the more challenging things I´ve ever done. Not only am I struggling to quickly learn the ins and outs of complicated financial transactions...but I´m doing so from the perspective of a smaller market outside of the United States. So the foundation of knowledge I have, which is limited to begin with, isn´t entirely relevant. Oh, and I´m learning everything in Spanish. While I know enough to interact with people on the street or to buy a coffee (which is so deliciously strong here!), I´m floundering when it comes to understanding how corporate stock buybacks cause the stock to lose economic and political rights as compared to non-corporate stockholders.

But enough of the boring stuff...on to the protests! As Dan has more completely explained, there are a plethora of student protests in Caracas now, challenging President Hugo Chavez´s decision to close the nation´s oldest and most popular television station. I´ve seen a handful of protests to date, but as I type this, there is a HUGE pro-government protest literally at the end of my street. Thousands of Chavistas are dressed in red shirts, waving signs and singing songs. One catchy one goes ¨Ooh! Ah! Chavez no se va!¨ This means that Chavez will not leave power. If my research is correct, that was the chant during the brief coup in 2002, where Chavez was removed from power for a couple of days (and the impetus for closing RCTV, because he said that they promoted the coup.)

I´m cautiously observing from afar, because of the ¨anti-Imperialist¨element of the protests. George Bush and America have both come up in the chants I´ve heard, so I´m doing my best to watch what´s happening while honoring the promise I made to my mother before arriving...not to appear on CNN!

That said, I´m off to take some photos and maybe some video of the protests. I have to be careful because there are rumors that CIA agents are infiltrating the rallys...and I couldn´t look more American if I were wearing a cowboy hat and draped in the stars and stripes. My boss has already said that I need to get a baseball cap for Caracas´local team. Perhaps I´ll go back to the mall for that today.

In the meantime...¡Viva Venezuela!

One year later...

2007-05-31T12:23:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah...I seem to remember something about ¨having a weblog.¨

Well, I´ve got a new purpose for keeping it updated now (as if anyone would still check it.) But first, an update: I never made it to China. At the last minute, I switched plans and worked for a large firm in NYC. It was a good summer, regardless. I learned a lot, got paid for it and still managed to spend way too much money traveling.

A year later...I finally made it abroad! I arrived in Caracas today for an internship with a small law firm that does impressive work for impressive clients. I´m a bit overwhelmed by arriving in Caracas and realizing that I´ll have a tremendous opportunity to do a lot of really great legal work, so I´ll save my thoughts on that for the coming days.

In the meantime, just know that I´ve arrived safelyand that I haven´t yet seen any protests of Chavez´s decision to close Venezuela´s oldest and largest television station (although my coworkers tell me that they could watch the protests from the windows in the office here.)

More to come! I promise!

Finals

2006-05-05T12:45:00.000-04:00

Two down, two to go. But the toughest ones are out of the way. In less than a week, I'll be home free, ready to head to China!

Of course, there's the 400 pages of reading I have to do before I get there. And find a summer internship. And prepare for the writing competition. And get registered for classes. And prepare for Con Law.

Ugh.

Flash in the Pan

2006-05-02T11:39:00.000-04:00

Yeesh. It's been a while. Lots going on, so I haven't had much time to update this thing. I've commented randomly on other people's blogs, but that's about it.

Anyway, school is going well. I'm amidst finals right now (one down, three to go!) but that'll be over soon. When it is, I'm going to Beijing for two weeks to take law classes, then a week of vacation with Amanda. I believe we will finally meet up with the Rat in his home environs.

The band is going very well! We've added a drummer, played a "big" gig and are starting to get invited to play more shows. We were even invited to play a place that has bands on the first floor and a strip club in the basement! All in all, we've progressed well for about four months of practice. Now if we could just decide on a name...

Anyway, that's what I've been doing. You?

Catching Up, Turning On, Tuning Out

2006-01-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

Finals are over, so things are back to...busy!

I'm a full-time law student now, so I've got more studying to do than last semester. And more time in which to do it. And with much less money to spend on distractions. So, all in all, I'm pretty darn happy right now.

Amanda is out of town for Accenture training, so I'm taking advantage of my temporary solitude and renting all of the movies from Netflix that I would otherwise be scolded for enjoying. As Digidy always says, "When the cat's away, the mice shall play!"

Normally, I'm pretty snobbish when it comes to movies. I think the dialogue must be clever, the cinematography must impress and all other elements must gel before I'm pleased. I enjoy (and sort of understand) arty films (Fellini, Goddard, Kubrick, etc.)

But my brain is busy thinking about adverse possession, mens rea and torts. So I'm taking a break and watching brainless comedies.

I finally saw "Super Troopers" and up next are "Wet Hot American Summer" (starring the actors from The State and Reno 911, two of my favorites) and "Zoolander", which I watched a long time ago. But I am excruciatingly familiar with the movie's popular quotations. And the face poses.

Soon afterwards, I'm getting "Cabin Boy" (another favorite from long ago), "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" and someone told me I should get "Club Dread." Can you see the theme?

Am I missing anything? I've only got one more week, so even this list is a bit ambitious. But if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know right away. Starting next Saturday, I'm back to "The Lost Boys of Sudan", "8 1/2" and "Gandhi".

Still Crazy After All These Years

2005-12-07T14:59:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came to Still Bar last night for my first (and definitely not last) show with Scott Tworek. Although the crowd was small and we had to watch KU basketball lose, I still had a great time. It was my first performance in a NYC venue and the first time I've played my bass on stage in years.

In fact, I haven't played bass since I was in The Vetivers with my good friend Paul Solecki. He just released a solo album, consisting of songs we performed in our old band, Carniverous Grass, and songs he's written since moving to Ireland. I've been listening to the album the last couple of days and it's good. Very good. I'd *highly* recommend picking up a copy or at least checking out his website. You can play with his eyebrows! It may feel weird at first, but after a couple of hours...it is empowering.

Farewell to Aiesec

2005-12-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

It seems that people have enjoyed my farewell message to Aiesec, so I thought I'd post it here for anyone who hasn't already read it. Thanks to those who have written me! I'll get back to you soon!

One Aiesec tradition is that when someone leaves the national team, they send a farewell message out to the nation. The message is usually an explanation of what that person did in Aiesec, a list of what they learned from the organization and a plea to the reader to stay involved in Aiesec so that, by reading the e-mail, you too will have similar, wonderful experiences.

Departing staffers have sent these messages ever since the national team has used e-mail. And the tradition now turns to me.

I’ve always been big on traditions. Perhaps it’s because I went to such a tradition-laden school. In case you’re wondering, you haven’t seen real tradition until you’ve been to a University of Kansas basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse!

Anyway, I was trying to think of one good story from my eight years in Aiesec that would give you all some tremendous insight into life. Some experience I could share that would motivate you to be even more active in this organization. I needed one good story.

But I couldn’t do it. After a day of thinking about it, I got the list down to about twenty.

I considered telling a story about the unique things I’ve done, like being a guest on a talk radio show about Aiesec. Or when I got to go to the West Wing of the White House for Aiesec. Or when I gave a copy of the U.S. Constitution to the Vice President of Kenya at an Aiesec conference.

I considered stories about my international experiences, from my traineeship in Thailand to the weekend I spent in Norway after my plane was struck by lightening. Or of the incredible people I’ve met from nearly every country where Aiesec has an office.

I considered sad stories, like the rough time Aiesec had after the tech bubble burst. Or the morning at team days when Dianna told us planes had just crashed into buildings downtown and that we should call our parents. Or of my friend Ahmed, one of the most motivated Aiesecers I’ve ever known…and how he recently died while eating an exotic food.

I considered funny stories, like the time my LCP called the police on me because she forgot I was picking her up to go to an early networking event. Or the time my successor built a mattress fort at LTM in New York. Or the infamous song my executive team wrote about having only $9 in our LC balance (to the tune of the Barenaked Ladies song, “If I had a Million Dollars.”)

Upon looking at this list of memories, I realized that none of these stories could possibly sum up what this organization has done for me in the last eight years. None of them could describe how I went from being a shy, dorky guy from Kansas into being an outgoing…well...dorky guy from Kansas. No one story could convey how humbled I’ve been by learning from the people around me. No story could describe how disappointed I’ve felt when I’d failed to achieve some goal and then how satisfying it has been to turn around and achieve that goal.

No story could do these things. Telling all of these stories? Well, this e-mail is already long enough.

Instead, I leave you with this: be brave enough to give everything to Aiesec. Dive in head first, run at full throttle, give it everything you have…any of these. Be brave enough to give everything to Aiesec. I can’t promise that you’ll succeed at everything you try or that this will be the experience that absolutely changes who you are.

But I promise, the more you give to Aiesec, the more stories you’ll have of your own.

Jim

Pointless crackhead story

2005-12-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

You're just not a New Yorker until you have a good crackhead story.

I had gone to Scott's place last night to practice for our upcoming gig. I had done a good job of not having TOO much to drink...with Scott. But free beer and pizza at school earlier had already primed me for a tipsy evening.

After Scott and I had played, I carried my bass to 79th Street and waited for the downtown trains. And waited. And waited. About 25 minutes later, a train FINALLY showed up. As the train slowed down, I noticed that there was no one in the car. I've lived here long enough not to be afraid of being alone on the subway, but I thought it was unusual that no one was in the car on a Wednesday night.

The doors opened and I noticed there was a jacket crumpled on the ground. I thought that was strange, but walked in and prepared to sit down. I heard a load moan and saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned and saw a tall, half-naked man kicking his shoes and jumping around the train. Instincts led me to run out of the train and try to get into the next car.

But I was too late. I seem to remember yelling a frustrated "f-ing crackheads!" as I watched the train pull away.

Ten minutes and $11 later, I was home.

Africa calling...who will answer?

2005-08-25T12:51:00.000-04:00

The NYTimes has a very "culture-clash" article about mobile phones in Africa. You can read it here.

I can certainly attest to the ease of use of phones during my time in Kenya. A SIM card cost me a little under $2 and I even considered spending $20 to buy a phone for my two weeks there. Calling the U.S. wasn't cheap, but it was worth the cost to keep in touch with my friends in Nairobi.

I think this article does a good job of alluding to technology's empowerment of the individual. That's really what this revolution has been about. Blogs allow people to share their thoughts with those who choose to listen; just as cell phones liberate many Africans from the tyrrany of a lack of infrastructure. The article points to many who are able to reach out, if only a little bit, to expand their businesses or keep in touch with loved ones.

This trend will only continue and the "dark continent" will be a place of tremendous growth. I envy the entrepreneurs will take advantage of this, especially those who already understand the power of empowerment.

I'm In!

2005-08-05T15:11:00.000-04:00

Brooklyn Law, here I come!

I plead guilty!

2005-08-03T13:07:00.000-04:00

Ah, the ebb and flow of life.

The last three or four days have been a constant reminder of why I need to keep up my weblog. First, an article in the New York Times Book Review by Judge Richard Posner about media, which essentially ends with an essay on the power of blogs to influence issues (click here to read it...but get a big cup of coffee first...it's a long one!)

Dody and I have been chatting for the last two days about blogs and the virtual NEED for everyone (companies, individuals, organizations, etc.) to participate. He pointed me to a short video interview with Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer, who talks very frankly and openly about how a company should approach the weblogs of their employees.

We agreed that not having a weblog is akin to a defendant not showing up in court when faced with a lawsuit. Regardless of the charges, evidence, merit...if you don't show up to respond, you lose. Plain and simple. With weblogs, if you're not out there putting out your point of view, defending your positions or even apologizing...you lose. Those who attack you define you.

With that said, I'm going to try to do a bit better at keeping my own weblog updated.

Talk to you soon!

Art from Ooolathe!

2005-05-10T14:01:00.000-04:00

My friend Paul Solecki (with whom I was in several bands in Junior High, High School and College and is now a musician in Cork, Ireland) has posted a link to the artist and fellow Olathe-native Kiel Johnson. He will be creating the cover art for Paul's newest (and hopefully aptly-titled) album "A Young Girl's Guide to the Vetivers".

Upon perusing Kiel's website, I found a collaborative series titled Ooolathe he did with another Olathe native (many of whose works grace subway stations in and around Brooklyn), Travis Millard. I can assume that the title came from an unfortunate car dealership television ad where a poorly dressed man yelled about the great deals one could have at Sunflower Dodge "in Oooolathe". I hated him. His "wife" was named Ms. Hap, which didn't help. When I still meet people from the KC area, they will refer to my hometown in that annoying way.

Anyway, the series by Kiel is great, and is particularly interesting for anyone who is familiar with the locations they mention (in fact, my Mom's house could be one depicted in "Old Executative Airport".) Would Dali-esque be a fair assessment?

Grammar Rules

2005-05-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

Rather than spamming this out to friends, I thought it would be better suited here.

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.

7. Be more or less specific.

8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)
unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

10. No sentence fragments.

11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.

12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's

highly superfluous.

14. One should NEVER generalize.

15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.

16. Don't use no double negatives.

17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.

18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20. The passive voice is to be ignored.

21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words

however should be enclosed in commas.

22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.

23. Kill all exclamation points!!!

24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.

25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth

earth shaking ideas.

26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not
needed.

27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate

quotations. Tell me what you know."

28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times:

Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it
correctly.

29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.

30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.

32. Who needs rhetorical questions?

33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

34. Ewe can knot bee two careful wren using homonyms.

35. Edit for mispellings.

Jim and Rift Valley

2005-04-28T17:22:00.000-04:00

Jim and Rift Valley
Originally uploaded by jimkrunk.

Here is a nice picture of me (and my hip beard!) at the Rift Valley. It's also the first picture I've put on this site.

I'm cool again!

2005-04-28T15:07:00.000-04:00

I've managed to become hip just in time for the New York Times to tell me about it! (Now, if I could only figure out how to post pictures on my blog, I should show off my newly hip beard).

"Maybe it's fitting, maybe it's paradoxical, maybe it's that murky mix of the two popularly called ironic. But in a day when men's grooming has hit heights of polish not seen since the roaring 20's, when Rudolph Valentino ruled the screen and Col. Jacob Schick patented the electric razor, the beard, in all its scraggly splendor, has come back to town."--From NYTimes.com

A Dream Deferred

2005-04-27T13:20:00.000-04:00

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

by Langston Hughes

Uncle Paranoid travels to Africa!

2005-03-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

'Twas a long, impoverished weekend, darkened only by Kansas' loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon. However, there was some exciting and joyous news. I am now an uncle! My brother and his fiancee had a baby girl on Friday night, which is simultaneously exciting and terrifying. I am excited for my brother, as he has done a tremendous job putting his life together in the last year. I won't get into the details, but suffice it to say that I am VERY proud of him. He has become a man almost overnight.

Those thieves at the NYTimes stole my blog entry idea. I had a great idea to talk about how Kansas has been in the news on an almost daily basis recently (not including sports stories or the crossword), but some scoundrel in the Week In Review section apparently read my thoughts and beat me to it. If only the Internet were working at my apartment! (Click here to read what you should have read on this blog.)

On a less delusional note, I'm getting ready for my first international conference with Aiesec! But, having never been to an Expros, I was wondering if any of you can give me tips. I'm impressed (and excited) that so many people have commented on my blog so far, so I'd like to put you to work. What should I bring with me? What should I expect? Any advice from those of you who have been to loads of international conferences? Please comment below...and hopefully I'll see some of you in Kenya!

Bullet Points

2005-03-07T15:11:00.000-05:00

Bullet-point updates are cheap and unsophisticated. They're also very easy to write. Enjoy!

* Kansas has been in the news on an almost daily basis recently. Stories range from the capture of the B.T.K killer in Wichita, to a NY Times op-ed piece about dying Kansas towns giving away land to people who agree to move there, to commentaries on the continued relevance of the book "What's the Matter with Kansas" as a framework for understanding the success of the conservative movement in the U.S. It's almost (almost) enough to make me wistful for the Great Plains. If only *some* of it were good news...

* I'm going to Kenya! For the first time in my eight (!!) years with Aiesec, I'm finally going to an international conference. Expros! Not only will I have the opportunity to meet Aiesecers from all over the world, but I'm going where Amanda, my lovely girlfriend, spent four months on her traineeship. After a week of the conference, I'll head to the Masaai Mara for a safari, then to the coast of the Indian ocean. Now if I can just find a way to post pictures....

* No word back from law schools yet. However, I'm making good progress in studying my first year classes. I've already been through Tort, I'm nearly finished with Contracts, then it's on to Property, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law/Procedure and possibly Constitutional Law. I'll save the polemic of justifying why I'm doing all of this. If you're truly interested, let me know.

* In the last several months, I've been listening to more (and more interesting) music. We've been to a couple of great jazz concerts (John Scofield, Matt Wilson, and, on Saturday night, Arturo Sandoval), seen the amazing M. Ward at the Knitting Factory and putting some serious wear and tear on my iPod.

Online again!

2005-03-04T16:34:00.000-05:00

After almost a year of silence (and infrequent posting before that), I'm back online! Hi Mom!!

I'm currently deciding between naming the site "Voir Dire" and "Summary Judgement". Both are legal terms, which I'm using for two reasons: first, I'm hopefully headed off to law school in a couple of months and, second, I am being cute/annoying with the legal puns. Fortunately, I have drawn the line at calling this a blawg. You'll find none of that here!

Anyway, voir dire is a legal term derived from Latin then French and means "to speak the truth". Cute, right? Summary Judgement is something a court can do when a case will clearly be decided one way based on the facts presented and the clarity of the legal issue. I like that one, because I'll tend to put quick posts here, rather than drawn out analyses on this blawg (ha ah! I lied!)

If you have any opinions (or other cutsy legal terms), please post them here. I believe you can use the "comments" to give me your thoughts/rants/blatent advertisements for roofing services. I'll talk with you soon!