Now onstage: UNBORN WIDOW!

I'm surprised some enterprising law student hasn't set up a consulting business naming bands from legal terms. I'd definitely take a second look at a rock group called Unborn Widow. Or if you're a rap group, how about Blackacre?? Or, maybe malIce A4Thought...

Play-off beard is on

One of the 1L's in my mentor group pointed out to me that hockey players traditionally grow out their beards for the playoffs, so I guess I'm in the hunt for the cup. I'll try to post some before and after pictures.

One downside of the playoff beard: I can already see more grey hair in it than from just last May!

Good luck, eh? (you hoser...)

Joking apart, life's good in Kazakhstan

That's what came up today as I was scanning through the headlines--it's an article about British ex-pats working in KZ. I actually met the guy interviewed in the bottom half of the article, Andy Atkinson, in Atyrau. His VP is a guy who used to work for us at TRUCAT.

I don't know the first guy interviewed, but I do know that the hotels they're talking about are pulling in a ton of cash.

Halfway there

Well, now that the mock trial competition is finally over, we're getting dug out enough to start prepping for finals. With everything going on, the semester went by pretty much in a blur.

Somewhere back there in September, though, we crossed a milestone: two years of this last stateside hitch down, so there's really only one year left under the original plan. Looking at the calendar, I realized that I could start looking for work back overseas as early as next summer!

Of course, I won't be done with the Deadman that fast, so that puts back the jump date a bit. Still, I should be done inside of the next two years or so, so the way I figure it, I've now got fewer days left to go than I've already crossed off. The best part: rain or shine, good day or bad day, that plane ticket just keeps getting one day closer.

Unhinged

There's nothing like a terminally earnest, hyper-self-righteous wingnut going over the edge into self-parody. I came across this little nugget being advertised on the Nation's webpage.

A tale of terror set in the 4th term of President George W. Bush. Talk about subtle--not satisfied with ripping off 1984 by naming his main character Winston, the author decides he needs to make sure he gets his point across by putting Orwellian right in the title. No fever-swamp here, pal. (Note: the author is a 'he', despite the pen name Dawn Blair).

Check out this link for some excerpts, including the re-drafted Constitution adopted in 2009, after the U.S. has been renamed to God's United States. My personal favorite is this line:

Preamble: We the people of God’s United States, in order to provide for the common defense, in balance with the blessings of liberty and our position as the Freest Country on Earth ™, do ordain the replacement of the Amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America,...

Yep--we trademarked a national slogan. I didn't read on to see if the trademark belongs to Halliburton or a resurrected Enron led by a zombified Ken Lay brought back to life by secret stem-cell research (conducted only in underground bunkers where neo-con scientists developed cures for Parkinson's, AIDS, etc., but have kept them from the public until they can be weaponized against the Muslim Other)...

OK--I'm going to stop there. It's too easy, too much fun, and I've got other things to do today.

NOW we know why Justin Timberlake is a rock star...

Men's testosterone levels declined in last 20 years

I also now understand the sad rise of the man-sandal, too.