Law Students

Why Experience Doesn't Matter

Posted on February 07, 2008
Barack Obama has inspired me, and many others, in a way no other leader has. His utterly genuine mantra of change strikes the right tone at the right moment in history.Hillary Clinton has seized on this message, and repeatedly countered that she is the only candidate who has the experience necessary to implement change in this country...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, Etc Etc

Posted on December 25, 2007
Too much has happened over the past few days to discuss in any detail. Four family gatherings--two low-key, and two definitely not--several multi-hour car trips with the wife and kid, and plenty of angst and celebration to last the next 12 months.I'd tell you about the ham I ate that I learned--after the fact--to be from a pig my cousin shot eight months ago, but the story kind of tells itself...

That's It?

Posted on December 19, 2007
Today, I finished my very last final exam ever, bringing an end to about 20 years of consecutive schooling.This is the sort of thing that takes some time to process, but I can tell you what looks like at the moment. Consider this the field report.From 5am to 4:30pm I did nothing but cram for--and take--my Federal Courts exam...

Great Way to End a Day

Posted on November 15, 2007
Anderson (now 17 months old!) has been in daddy-mode quite a lot lately. It used to be that dad was for playtime and mom was for naptime.It seems that may be changing.A couple times this week, he's been very upset when I leave the room at bedtime. He doesn't want to get up and play, he just wants me there...

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The MTTLR Blog

Posted on October 22, 2007
Today marks the official launch of The MTTLR Blog, the official online companion to the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review. We'll be publishing multiple pieces a week, both from Michigan law students and from faculty guest contributors from all around the country...

Filmmakers Who Should Stay Anonymous

Posted on September 15, 2007
The plot synopsis of the 2004 movie "Anonymous Rex" is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read. And I'm in law school.The dinosaurs didn't go completely extinct when the asteroids hit 65 million years ago. Today, every ten thousandth person in the country is a dinosaur, evolved to be human-sized, wearing sophisticated solid-light holographic disguises to maintain the facade, getting stoned off regular cooking herbs like basil, rosemary and tarragon, and living by their own shadow government's laws; any human who stumbles upon them is to be immediately executed...

As Han Solo Would Say...

Posted on September 10, 2007
It's not my fault!Clerkship applications, start of the semester, multiple moves, a forthcoming article, two forthcoming notes, and a rambunctious 15-month-old son. Blogging has officially hit the bottom of the totem pole for me.The good news is that as my current note rewrites smooth out, I'll find myself needing to waste more time...

Lansing Serial Killer Caught

Posted on September 01, 2007
Police have caught an alleged serial killer in my hometown of Lansing, and I feel I need to chime in. The man, Matthew Macon, has been accused of killing 6 women, one of whom was a good friend of my grandmother.Also a little personally mind-bending is that two of the victims were found just a few blocks from where I went to high school, and one was found directly across the street from the church I attended while growing up...

iHate

Posted on August 22, 2007
There are not enough expletives to express how deep my loathing is for iTunes. I don't even buy anything through it, but wrestling to keep the library updated is enough to make me want to see the Apple headquarters collapse into a pile of rubble.Although, most of my problems are probably due to not buying anything through it...

When Everything is Everest

Posted on August 21, 2007
Anderson started walking at 7 months, and was a steady walker by 8 months. I credit his enormous thunder thighs, but when he's older we'll just tell him he was "advanced." By 12 months, he realized that walking was for chumps and decided to start running everywhere...

The Non-Survivalist

Posted on August 18, 2007
Every boy imagines himself a tough, resourceful outdoorsman, capable of braving weather, hunger, and wild animals to survive. 99% of men have a moment in which they realize they are not Daniel Boone, and would likely die if they got stuck in their backyard without a shower and a microwave...

Low Profile Kind of Guy

Posted on August 18, 2007
The ABA Journal has started keeping a directory of blawgs that describes me as "anonymous University of Michigan law student keeps a low profile." I guess I should stop telling people that I'm easier to find online than practically everyone I know.

Update on Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc.

Posted on August 12, 2007
I've been remiss in covering some of the developments in the Second Life virtual property law suit, Bragg v. Linden Research, Inc., so here's a brief rundown of what's happened since the arbitration clause was invalidated.No one has covered the developments of the case better than Benjamin Duranske at Virtually Blind...

The Unexpected Welshman

Posted on August 12, 2007
I discovered this morning that my great great grandfather was born in Wales. That makes me part Welsh, and now obligated to celebrate the cultural successes of Tom Jones, Charlotte Church, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.I really don't know what to think about this.

Law Student Blogger Directory Update

Posted on August 07, 2007
Today's update to The Law Student Blogger Directory is huge, so I won't bother listing all the new additions separately.Almost 120 blogs and 40 law schools have been added to the list (including that damned elusive Northwestern). That leaves us with a total of 404 law student blogs representing 118 different law schools...

Blogger Directory Update

Posted on August 06, 2007
I'm working on a huge update that will add dozens of new blogs to the Law Student Blogger Directory, but, y'know, it's not done yet. Instead, I'll point you to bowlinger qua bowlinger, an anonymous group 2L blog from the University of Michigan Law School...

"Lost" Fans Enjoy Caps Lock

Posted on August 04, 2007
The most recent comment on my Why "Lost" is Lost post has left me... baffled. Is it a threat? A premonition? A misposted schizophrenic fantasy? Let me knowIT'S A SHAME U FUCKIN' MORONS ARE SO CLUELESS TO THE HURT AND DISTRUST EACH OF YOU HAVE CAUSED...

Happy Belated Birthday To Me

Posted on August 02, 2007
My 25th birthday was yesterday. Although it was a pretty exciting, crushing, roller-coaster day (more on that later), none of it had to do with my birthday. I'm not a cake guy, I'm not a party guy, so I just laid low with my wife and son and enjoyed having quiet, uninterrupted time with them...

SCOTUS Is Watching

Posted on August 02, 2007
I'm pretty sure I'm on some kind of government black list now. Poking through my visitor statistics yesterday, I noticed that someone from the U.S. Supreme Court read my recent church and state post in which I fakequote former Chief Justice Rehnquist...

The Supreme Court on the Pledge of Allegiance's Use of "Under God"

Posted on July 30, 2007
A professor kindly pointed out that the Supreme Court recently dealt with the question of whether the Pledge of Allegiance's use of "Under God" violates the establishment clause. And as an excuse to toy with citation formatting in a blog, I'll direct you to Elk Grove Unified School Dist...

"In God We Trust"

Posted on July 30, 2007
51 years ago today, the US Congress adopted "In God We Trust" as our national motto. Just like the insertion of "one nation, under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance (which, incidentally, was also added in the mid-50s), the motto's reference to God is said to be more convention than religion...

"The West Wing": Is It Actually Very Subtle Interracial Porn?

Posted on July 28, 2007
This afternoon I popped in Season 4, Disc 3 of "The West Wing" into my computer's DVD player, planning to enjoy some more fast-talking White House staffers being witty and yelling at each other. Imagine my surprise when the disc label popped up on the screen to read: "So Many White Women, So Little Time...

A Friend on the YouTube Debate

Posted on July 24, 2007
As I worked on my note about YouTube and the fair use doctrine, I found that one of the biggest hurdles was the perception that YouTube was, to borrow the words of Newton Minow, a "vast wasteland." People saw it exclusively as a depository of "stolen" content and prank videos...

Interesting Interests

Posted on July 23, 2007
In the course of adding an "Interests" section to my resume, I was struck by an unpleasant realization. I have become a boring person.Somewhere in the tangle of law school and fatherhood, I've lost track of many things that used to define me. Law school leaves little time for introspection...

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badgers

Posted on July 13, 2007
Official spokespeople have to deal with pretty outrageous claims sometimes, but I bet Major Mike Shearer never thought he'd have to make this statement:"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area."In other words, the rumors of man-eating badgers have been greatly exaggerated...

Four Lizard Day

Posted on July 12, 2007
It always amazes me the sorts of things that come to define a city. In the midwest, for example, you get used to squirrels. They become background, like cellphone conversations or that guy who always follows me to my bus stop on Thursdays.But what defines my summer city isn't the insane taxis, like in Chicago, or the tiny cars, like in the UK...

Why "Lost" is Lost

Posted on February 18, 2007
Lots of people are talking about how "Lost" is spiraling into the depths of crap TV, so I figured, as one of many disillusioned fans, I would add my two cents. Sneaky Edit: There seems to be some confusion in the comments. I am not watching the show anymore, and I doubt I ever will again...

The 1L Diaries

Posted on February 05, 2007
When I decided to collect my thoughts on completing my first year of law school, I hit an insurmountable barrier. Perspective.Law school is a different experience for every student. Some worry more, some work more, some love it, some hate it, some are sober, some are drunk from day one...

The 1L Diaries: Alexis

Posted on February 05, 2007
This entry in The 1L Diaries was written by my classmate Alexis, who also started law school in the summer of 2005.My sage advice:All first year students need to relax. Believe it or not, your stress level will not correlate with your first semester grades...

The 1L Diaries: Dan

Posted on February 05, 2007
This entry in The 1L Diaries was written by my classmate Dan, who also started law school in the summer of 2005.For most of this year, when people who were thinking about going to law school asked me how stressful it was, I told them that it was only as bad as you make it...

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