Honor: Never Do Anything Today That You Won't Be Proud of Tomorrow

As humans, we are all fallible.

Such was the case two nights ago when New Jersey Devils Goaltender Martin Brodeur blew a gasket over the official not calling interference over a bump outside the crease, just prior to the Carolina Tropical Storms* scoring the game-winning goal.

Brodeur had a fit, swearing at the officials in his native French, smashing his stick against the boards, and then throwing it to the ice.

After that, he had to answer to a power higher than the referees, or even the commissioner:

And when he woke up at home in New Jersey on Wednesday morning, his youngest child, Annabelle, walked into his room and said:

"I saw what you did last night, Daddy," Brodeur recalled.

The goaltender then asked his daughter what he did. She refused to say.

"So I said: 'OK, I won't do it again, sorry,"' Brodeur said with a laugh indicative of a proud father.

I think he gets it.




*The team formerly known as the Carolina Hurricanes has been downgraded. See this and this.

Free Love in Bloomington

So I was feeling like shit today [Friday] (the price I pay for getting drunk off 151 on a worknight), but I gathered up the will to drag myself off the couch and go to Hairbanger's. Great show--as always--and it was good to see the 0L's beginning to integrate with us. One thing about me though, is as much as I like good shows, I fucking hate crowds. I hate having the mob press in on me, and I hate it when people try to walk through me instead of around me while they're on their way to wherever. To me, the crowd is really one single entity instead of individuals. Unless, of course, you do something to stand out.

Halfway through the show, we moved up to close to the stage, and I started to get a bit more relaxed and into the mood. And, I started to notice a certain regularity in the incidental contact I was getting from the stern quarter. Hmmm. Worth a glance. So I quickly survey the scene. There's a dancing couple right up against my back and they're pretty into it. The girl is OK looking, and the guy is a dirty long-haired hippie in a tank top. Ew. So anyways, I evaluate the situation to be accidental, albeit repeated, contact from an apparently drunk girl. No big deal. And as the night goes on, I notice that others around me are getting "bumped" into as well, but I'm clearly getting the brunt of it, and the duration of the contact is getting longer. At one point, I turned around and made eye contact with her. She smiled and said something--I couldn't hear, but I assumed to apologize--so I just said it's cool and directed my attention back to my group and the band. But immediately after, she backed into me again. This continues for a few minutes, and the contact is lasting long enough that we are clearly out of the "bump" side of the spectrum and into the "grind" side. I'm slightly annoyed, but not really, because there are much worse things that could happen to me than having a girl grind her ass against mine. But it's awkward because I can't really reciprocate, because she's obviously with this dirty hippie guy...............

Girl grinding on me...not an accident...but still dancing with her date? Still dancing with the dirty hippie. Wait, hippie--

...And then it hits me.*




Ew.

So now I have to try not to wonder too much about why they apparently thought I was a comparatively good bet.

Sigh. Fucking hippies.

*To better illustrate this moment, recall the scene from The Hunt for Red October where Jack is shaving and thinking aloud, trying to figure out how Ramius intends to deal with the crew that are not defecting with him: "...they'd have to want to get off. How do you get a crew to want to get off a submarine? How do you get a crew to want to get off a nuclear sub---?"

Misguided Outrage

In response to the sentiment being expressed by some on the blogonets that the fine American institution of drinking to excess at universities is to blame for the despicable conduct of one individual:



[For the record: To the extent that this is a response to Doug, it is limited only to the sentiment expressed by his rationale, and does not reach the issue of how he allocates his own resources.]

[For another record: spot the scene that shouldn't have been included and tell me what it is, where it's from, and why, and you win a cookie!]

[And for another record: I also object to the suggestion that people, in their ordinary social interactions, should be "lovable." What a bunch of peace, love, and happiness tree-hugging hippie crap! Oh, and so I don't disapoint those waiting for the Kevin Smith reference--you love the cock!]

So this makes sense to anyone stumbling in here, a "short" recap:

Steven broke Dizzy's nose by applying some kind of force (there's a dispute about whether it was a "punch," "hit," or something else (not that how it it characterized should make a difference to anyone but the neanderthals. See, e.g., comments 12-13.)) in an apparently drunken dare. Steven, instead of apologizing profusely and offering to pay all her medical expenses, made fun of Diz on her blog and on Facebook, which served no function other than to make himself look even worse and to piss off the person who is in the position to press charges and/or seek action from the law school administration.

Then, Doug overreacted and decided to use this one person's behavior as a reason not to throw a party this year--calling irresponsible drinking the "proximate cause" of the incident. Apparently, Doug forgot the "intervening human act" part of proximate cause from Torts, but I digress... Then, sensing that the time was right for even broader blame-slinging, Corey commented (and this is so ridiculous that I'll post it in its entirety)

Stop drinking. It is boring as hell. You are all smarter and more lovable when sober.

In general, this law school has disappointed my optimistic 1L expectations about student engagement with each other on problems of law, politics, and society. People were drunk at my orientation and I should have known then. I found hope in the few wonderful people I met on my way out the door so I stayed. (Even though not all of them did.)

All my friends have provided the counterweight that kept me here and kept me optimistic. And to be honest, the excessive drinking the rest of you did actually helped me, because see... I was studying and spending time with people I love instead.

But if people are going to hit each other and then get ugly over it, then I am done, out. May I have my diploma please?

And yes, this is moralizing, and might anger many. But maybe some moralizing is called for. People are getting hurt.

Peace and better luck next semester for those who have to stay.

Pete has already weighed in on this nonsense.

Ode to Alcohol

So as those who know me have surely noticed, alcohol and I have been having some relationship issues since finals ended. The results were troubling in that I crossed some lines that I normally don't, and much of that I don't remember. On the other hand, and to my surprise, it now seems I got away with all of it. Why? Some of it was because, really, it was the right thing to do anyways and I should have gone farther. Some of it was because it was considered appropriate or excusable in the spirit of the occasion. And the most inexcusable instance of my conduct was not remembered by the person who had to bear the brunt of it because--you guessed it--she was even more blacked out than I was!

Year in Review

Because I'm an unoriginal bastard.

There were a few significant downs, but for the most part 2006 was a surprisingly good year for me.

The year began with a new round of classes, most of which I found interesting. I even argued a little bit with my professors, granted I didn't gain much ground. I got harassed (and yes, that's a fair characterization) to seemingly no end to go to law prom, but I was an oak. I had a great time going out with some friends instead. After dinner had ended and I met up with the law prom crowd, I managed to permanently alienate a classmate with a remark that was--well, actually--perfectly appropriate for the situation. As the saying goes, "if she can't take a joke, fuck her!" However, other gaffes cannot be so easily dismissed, and I come to the realization that as a rule, if I get drunk, I will say or do something I regret. And I've been losing lots of potentially productive weekend afternoons to hangovers. At some point before spring (I think), I implement a new "1-night-of -drunkenness per week" rule. I'm not sure it's made a difference.

After a bit of back and forth about whether there would be legal work, I spent my Spring Break in New Orleans and Biloxi doing volunteer work. It was a great time, despite (or maybe because of) some awkward--yet very comical--moments, and I made a great new friend. Battlestar Galactica ended a rather disappointing second half to the second season with 3 amazing episodes in a row, ensuring that 7 months we had to wait for season 3 would be unbearable. Thank the lords of Kobol for the DVD's! So say we all!

I turned in finals relatively confident that I would do well, but ended up disappointing myself, but not terribly. The post-finals partying was much less intense than it was fall semester, but the smaller groups at the bars made for easier conversation and a much more pleasant time for me. I got a job at the last minute by sliding into a position that one of my friends traded up out of. Yeah, I'm a circling vulture, and I'm OK with that.

I ended up getting jerked around at the summer job, but managed to get some real work done at the end. I also get a new friend to argue politics and talk BSG with, so it's not a total loss. I discovered Falcon 4 and foresaw falling grades. At the end of the summer, I visited my brother in VA with my family. I left with some badly-needed motivation to get in shape and a Smallvile addiction I could probably do without. I also learned that one of my first law school friends would be transferring away.

Just as the fall semester was beginning, I lost my grandmother. She was pretty much the central pillar of the family. Thanksgiving and Christmas weren't the same without her, and never will be.

Fall semester proved to be the most difficult so far. All that crap I heard about the first year being the hardest was, well, crap. A lot of that was brought on by my own choices, though. My classes were generalist-type classes that I just thought should be under my belt, rather than classes in subjects I thought were interesting--with First Amendment law as the exception. I signed up for both moot court and journal, not because I wanted to do them but to make up for an otherwise unremarkable resume. (A friend who was on the journal last year even scoffed at my request for advice from her, knowing full well that I was going to sign up for the wrong reasons no matter what she told me.) Something had to give, and it ended up being the job search. I also saw a lot less of the bars, but with BSG on again, I still had my Friday night reprieve. As the semester wore on, exhausted and bored, my reading started to take a hit in addition to the job search. On the plus side, my new commitment to fitness actually went well, and I only found myself slacking when something major was due (moot court briefs, moot court/trial ad performances, studying for finals). I also managed to get my first paintball game in quite a while. An intense end of the year studying blitz ensured stellar performance on finals though (crossing fingers).

Winter break was awesome. After working hard, it was time to play hard. It started out with me and friend going through half a bottle of Patron Anejo together, plus some Dewar's on the rocks for good measure. The hangover was quite a bitch, though. There was more drunken craziness at Sara's going away party, although my DD bitched out and left early to get laid. (EDIT: My bitching apparently made her stay a bit longer than she otherwise would have). Some arrangements should be made in advance rather than sprung at the last minute--but oh well. I headed back home for pre-Xmas turducken, and ended the year right with the best New Year's Eve that I've had in years. It was a smaller group than I was used to, just two friends from HS and one of their SO's, plus some NU grads I didn't know, but a smaller turnout wasn't going to stop me after a semester like this! We pre-partied at my friend's apt to keep the cost down, and I managed to get trashed off hurricanes before we even left for the restaurant. And as luck would have it, my normal inability to interact with new people was trumped by the fact that I had a number of common interests with the "new" guys. I danced for the first time in years without the slightest hesitation, and I amazingly had fun doing it. I committed excesses for which, although I still have my doubts, I have been assured were considered consistent with the spirit of the occasion. And I got to stay with someone who whose irresistible majesty is matched only by her infinite patience. Either that, or I have a really, really great friend. Or both. ; )


To my friends and family, thank you, and I wish you a great 2007!

The results are in!

It's true, I'm evil.

You scored as Dr Gaius Baltar. You have betrayed humanity, for a blonde. However you'd rather people learnt to just get past that. After all, you never meant wipe out the human race. Luckily you are cleverer than everyone else, so no one will ever know. Even though they look at you with suspicion behind their eyes. Dr Gaius Baltar 88% Capt. Lee Adama (Apollo) 75% Lt. Kara Thrace (Starbuck) 69% Commander William Adama 50% Tom Zarek 44% President Laura Roslin 38% Lt. Sharon Valerii (Boomer) 38% Number 6 25% CPO Galen Tyrol 19% Col. Saul Tigh 6% What New Battlestar Galactica character are you? created with QuizFarm.com

I'm rather surpised I'm more Apollo than Tyrol or Tigh, though.

Woke up on the Wrong Side of Poolside

I'm pissed today. Someone apparently thought it would be a good idea to mow lawn/leaf blow/shred mulch/whatever at 0700 hrs this morning, right outside my fucking window! They kept at it for an hour. Do these fucktards not realize that in a college town, people have (gasp!) class in the fucking morning and might need to sleep?

Apparently the noise ordinances in this town suck monkey balls. (I'm assuming that noise is allowed starting at 0700 since that's exactly when the fucktards began their work.)