a minor incident

change.

2009-07-30T11:58:00.004-05:00

Looking back through the (embarrassingly few) posts on this site has led me to consider what has changed: a new president, weight I have gained, friends I have lost or found. And also to consider what has not: my job, my house, and a desire to change. What I now know is that change has happened- and will occur with or without help. It is best to provide the direction.

As long as you convey meaning.

2008-06-30T13:17:00.002-05:00

I wonder if this would work at my job.

but no, I was out for stars.

2007-08-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

On our way home from a trip to Moosalamoo this weekend, we stopped at the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail near Breadloaf. It was a beautiful day and a nice walk- Frost's poems were posted along the path. One in particular moved me. Though I believe in the power of Google, I can't seem to find it. I'll share it if I do.

But no, I was out for stars;
I would not come in.
I meant not even if asked;
And I hadn't been.

-Come In, Robert Frost.

this too shall pass.

2007-07-12T15:42:00.000-05:00

ok, i know the title of this blog is a little dramatic. i just had a frustrating day on the job front. things will work out, and i've been (wisely) counseled by many to be patient. it's a hard pill to swallow, though ultimately it's probably the best thing. i want to "fix" things that make me unhappy immediately. sometimes, perhaps, most fixes aren't immediate, but instead require a period of convalescence.

at what price, justice?

2007-07-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

I have tried to keep this blog a relatively politics-and-law-free zone, as a distraction from my personal and professional life. However, the President's commutation of Scooter Libby announced yesterday squarely infuses the law with politics, and I could not let this passed unnoticed. I find this one of the President's most egregious and unfair decisions he has made. I wonder if the many people sitting in prison today for lying under oath and obstructing justice who don't have the money or access that Libby has should also be given blanket commutations. What about the thousands of people who have petitioned for pardons for relief from the nation's far-too strict drug sentencing guidelines?

The flagrant disregard for the rule of law by this administration is stunning in its reach, dangerous in its cavalierness, and sad in its pervasiveness.

a return.

2007-06-29T13:37:00.000-05:00

Hello there- and apologies for the absence. I recently returned from a trip through the iberian peninsula that still has me feeling happy, rested, and many pounds heavier. One of my best friends got married in Granada, Spain- one of the most beautiful places in the world. This is a view from my dinner table at the wedding.

details.

2007-04-17T22:53:00.000-05:00

Referring to the Virginia shootings, a commentator on NPR said yesterday that "the narrative has already been written, it's just the details that need to be filled in."

The phrase took my breath away--momentarily-- and I've been thinking about it ever since. Initially it was the scope of the tragedy in Virginia, and the thought that a narrative encapsulating those horrors could be written. But then my mind dissected the phrase (as it tends to do), and I thought about it more broadly. Have all narratives been written? Has mine? Perhaps we simply go forth daily in a search or a stumble for details. I'm not sure I believe that, but it made me think. Who writes a real-life narrative-the character or the storyteller? Or, perhaps neither?

nonpareil.

2007-04-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

i was eating a dark chocolate nonpareil the other day, and realized- we know what these aren't, but we don't know what they are.

what's his face

2007-04-12T23:22:00.002-05:00

"and I remember how I would always refer to her boyfriends
as what's-his-face, which was wrong of me and I'd like
to apologize to those guys right now, wherever they are:

No one deserves to be called what's-his-face."

David Berman, Classic Water In Snow (pp. 6-7) New York: Open City Books (1999).

Default.

2007-04-12T08:32:00.000-05:00

A good friend sent me a posting yesterday by Paul Graham, an internet investor, about the pros and cons (mostly pros) of joining or starting a start-up company. It lists the main reasons people shy away from starting their own company- from feeling inexperienced, to not having enough money, to feeling gunshy about starting.

Graham's last point is what stuck with me- having a regular job is a default. It's the standard template. We all need money (at least some), and we like the security. But it doesn't take much creativity or risk to go to a regular job every day. Someone else figures out the rules and pays the bills.

Well, I better get going to my default. Getting late...

Ira, Hipster.

2007-04-11T13:51:00.000-05:00

Like my good friend gt, This American Life is one of my favorites. And it just got more interesting. I was wary of its tv debut since the radio format is what makes TAL so good- but Ira and crew manage to keep TAL true. The first episode is available for free, and both stories are terrific.

The Paradox of Law

2007-04-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

It's an age-old dilemma. The law applies to all, and everyone has the right to representation in front of the bodies of government that make, execute, and apply it. We learn this in grammar school. It became particularly apropos and sacred to me in law school. But what about the bad guys? Is it ok to differentiate between who is good and who is bad? Should some people have more representation than others?

In a meeting at work this morning, a friend's name came up in conversation. He's a lawyer at a relatively big firm (RBF, since that's about as big as they get in smallish state, to differentiate between an actual BF) who has an array of clients as diverse as local nonprofits and major corporations. Referring to his lobbying on behalf of major corps, boss said "how can he live with himself?"

Squinting, I said "because he's a lawyer." I meant it at face value. It's important. I believe that. A good lawyer has to be a relativist.

A House.

2007-04-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

I am ready for a house. A house where there is room to cook, a door that thwaps in the summer, and a quiet place to read. I don't think I need a yard, but I might. And probably not a garage or a place for a boat.

the rest

2007-04-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

gt reminded me earlier this morning of the when harry met sally line (to paraphrase): when you meet the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start right away.

What a great thought. Does the end begin with love?