Summer Reading

Although I won't be ready to start this for a few weeks at least, on the advice of Jaremy Blachman [link via jd2b—who still needs permalinks!] I'm thinking about what to read this summer. Any ideas?

I'm thinking about some of the books on this list, but then, there's GW's list. The first list has the advantage of being shorter and being recommended by a law student. The second list has the advantage of coming from the school I'll be attending this fall, for whatever that's worth. (Should it bother me that GW recommends A Mattter of Interpretation by Justice Antonin Scalia?)

Any suggestions?

At the top of my list will be Getting to Maybe because so many people (including especially Sue) have recommended it. I've also heard good things about Law School Insider, primarily that it's supposed to be better than Law School Confidential, which I already have. And, of course, I'd like to read One L, mostly for fun.

Another option for fun would be Brush With the Law, which sounds, um, entertaining, to say the least. Could it be that the best-kept secret of the legal profession is that law school isn't really that hard? [1

What about Planet Law School? Is it worth a look? Does it contain anything the other "know before you go" books don't?

Then there's the venerable Bramble Bush, but I'm just not sure that would be any fun. (Fun is important to this reading list. This is a summer reading list, after all.)

What else should I be thinking about? Introductions to logic? U.S. history? A good novel or two? Study guides for Contracts, Civil Procedure, Torts, or criminal law? If any of these are a good idea, specific recommendations would be great.

(I realize that only a few weeks ago I was surprised to see people starting to read (and buy school supplies) in preparation for law school this fall, but now it seems I've caught the bug. Why waste the enthusiasm of starting something new?)

Footnote:
[1] ] According to this review , Frank Abagnale Jr.—the subject of last year's move, "Catch Me If You Can"—really did pass the Louisiana bar w/out any legal training. (Here's more on the accuracy/inaccuracy of the film.) Perhaps this is why the ABA works so hard to make sure people can't practice law w/out first getting a J.D. from an ABA-accredited school. It's a cartel, but then, you knew that, didn't you?

Posted 07:20 AM | Comments (2) | ai books

Fall Schedule

Yes, it's early to think about this, but people have been asking me, so here's just about all the info GW offers about class schedules for 1Ls (link requires password, I think):

The first-year class is divided into four day sections and one evening section of between 70 and 100 students. .... In addition to the knowledge of core subjects acquired in the traditional, substantive courses, students begin to develop important skills in the Legal Research and Writing and Introduction to Advocacy courses. These classes of approximately 12 students are co-taught by practicing attorneys and third-year law students. The third-year students, or Dean's Fellows, are selected at the end of their second year on the basis of demonstrated research and writing ability, communication skills, and commitment to teaching.

Typical 1L Class Schedule, Day (Full-Time) Division: Full-time students will usually have two or three classes scheduled each day, Monday through Friday. Each class session is 50 minutes in length. Day students will also meet for 75 minutes each week with both their dean's fellow and their adjunct instructor for Legal Research and Writing (fall) and Introduction to Advocacy (spring).

The first year, fall semester curriculum includes:

• Contracts I


• Civil Procedure I


• Torts


• Criminal Law


• Legal Research and Writing
  

Finally, to those of us who would prefer to know more specifics, GW says

All first-year students are automatically registered for their fall semester classes by the Law School Records Office . ....

Students will be given individualized class schedules during IL Orientation indicating the section of the first year courses to which they have been assigned. This information is not available prior to orientation. Registration is complete when payment is made through the Office of Student Accounts

Alrighty then.

Posted 07:17 AM | law school

For Mom

Add a little extra to your Mother's Day gifts this year by slipping a copy of the original Mother's Day Proclamation into your card.

Posted 07:11 AM | Comments (1) | life generally

What If

Dave Winer's comments about the Halliburton/Cheney imbroglio (see last post) made me wonder: What if we had laws against giving government contracts of any kind to any company with "close ties" to current government officials? The law could state that if any senator, representative, or member of the current Presidential administration has worked for or with Company X in the past 10 years, that company is not eligible to bid on or receive government contracts.

Wouldn't that close the "revolving door" between government and industry? Why don't we do that?

Posted 02:01 PM | Comments (2) | general politics

Bush's Very Own Tailhook?

In the '90s the Navy was called on the carpet for sexual harassment in what became known simply as "Tailhook." Last week, Yubbledew got a literal tailhook of his very own with the carefully choreographed spectacle of his speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Might history show that this was also something of a figurative "tailhook" (as in "embarrassing scandal"), as well?

Dan Rather called it a "production," which it was—staged from beginning to end for maximum drama. And in response, many critics have pointed to Yubbledew's own dubious "military" record, which David Corn summarizes here, concluding caustically:

Was this, then, just a campaign stunt? Nah, Bush and Karl Rove wouldn't waste taxpayer money and exploit a war that claimed the lives of 128 Americans--and thousands of Iraqis--for crass political advantage. And Bush really did serve honorably in the Guard.

(At least one website, bushawol.com, appears to be fairly obsessed w/Yubbledew's supposed military service.)

But that's not all. Senator Robert Byrd has denounced the stunt, saying:

it is an affront to the Americans killed or injured in Iraq for the president to exploit the trappings of war for the momentary spectacle of a speech.

Here's the full text of Byrd's speech, which includes the all-important fact that:

It may make for grand theater to describe Saddam Hussein as an ally of al Qaeda or to characterize the fall of Baghdad as a victory in the war on terror, but stirring rhetoric does not necessarily reflect sobering reality. Not one of the 19 September 11th hijackers was an Iraqi. In fact, there is not a shred of evidence to link the September 11 attack on the United States to Iraq. There is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was an evil despot who brought great suffering to the Iraqi people, and there is no doubt in my mind that he encouraged and rewarded acts of terrorism against Israel. But his crimes are not those of Osama bin Laden, and bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not bring justice to the victims of 9-11.

Meanwhile, Rep. Henry Waxman has called for an investigation into the cost of Bush's little excursion. Not only that, but Waxman is also claiming that Yubbledew, Inc. has given Iraq's oil fields to Halliburton:

It now appears however, that the contract with Halliburton -- a company with close ties to the Administration -- can now include 'operation' of Iraqi oil fields and 'distribution' of Iraqi oil," wrote Waxman to Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

As Scripting News notes, Vice President Cheney is still on Halliburton's payroll. The plot thickens.

Posted 02:00 PM | general politics

D'oh!

Man Walking in Field finds new Harry Potter—and then gives it away! Sometimes what seems like being nice ends up just being stupid.

I can't believe I just said that.

Posted 06:32 AM | ai books

iTunes4: A Shot But No Score

I haven't said much about Apple's new iTunes 4 online music service because it has been reviewed endlessly elsewhere. (See, for example, Andrew Raff's link roundup, more discussion on What Do I Know, and suggestions for improving the service at Signal vs. Noise.) A common criticism is that $.99/song is quite a lot, especially considering the labels have zero packaging and distribution costs. Also, while the service does supply CD cover art, it makes no provision for liner notes or other art/writing many artists like to include w/their CDs. This drawback further reduces the sense that downloads are a good deal. On the plus side, if you don't want to download just one song, most full albums are only $10, which is less than you'll pay anywhere else.

Now Apple says it's sold over a million tracks and is claiming to be "the largest online music company in the world." However, after putting the service to limited tests, I'm skeptical that this service is going to break open the profitable online music biz the RIAA dreams about.

For one thing, it's just too damned slow on a dial-up connection. A full CD of music takes several hours to download. This is true of all online music services, but still, this will limit the service's usefulness for many users. (To its credit, I downloaded a 16-track album in about 4 hours and the download never slowed or got interrupted and all the files were exactly what they should have been. That never happens w/P2P services -- sometimes you'll think you're downloading The Pixies and you'll end up w/Prince.)

But the biggest problem I see is w/the AAC format, which is the new codec Apple is using (instead of MP3) to protect "digital rights." MacRumors has a fairly complete summary of iTunes' DRM, but basically it limits you to playing the file on up to three authorized Macs or iPods, but it allows you to burn as many copies as you want to CD for playing in standard CD players. This is fine for me, except for one thing: I own two devices that play MP3 files burned to CD. This allows me to fill a CD w/150 or so tracks, which is great for long drives. However, w/the new AAC format, I'll only be able to fit the standard 16-20 songs on a single CD, and my MP3 capable devices will be useful only for tracks I buy on CD and rip to MP3 myself. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has made an investment in digital music players that only support the MP3 format. I guess people like us are just supposed to run out and buy iPods or buy our music at Best Buy. That's not very cool.

And yes, I know the service is not available to Windoze users, which is not cool either. It's supposed to come to Windoze by the end of the year.

Finally, as many have noted, selection is very limited. Why does the store offer 1995, 1996, and 1999 releases from The Roots, for example, but not their 2002 release, "Phrenology"? Why does it offer only two albums from Paula Cole, one of which (my favorite) is only a partial album? The full catalog from both The Roots and Cole—and the majority of other tunes your ear desires—is available used through Amazon or ebay for less than $.50/song (including shipping costs)—in a format (CD) with no use restrictions and which makes the songs easily accessible to your MP3 gear. So, like Matt, I might use Apple's new service for checking out new music via its 30-second previews of every song, but I'll probably buy elsewhere.

Bottom line: Apple's new iTunes 4 online music service improves upon the usual P2P downloading experience, but it still has a long way to go before it will become my music source of choice.

Posted 10:01 AM | mac geek

Monday's Quick Picks

The Matrix Reloaded: As Agent Smith says through clenched teeth just before he chases Neo down for the shootout at the OK Corral (ok, in a subway station, actually) near the end of "The Matrix": "They're not out yet," but the sequels are coming soon, so it's not too early to start getting obsessively prepared. Try "The Matrix—It's Harry Potter with guns" for one quick take on why the original film has been so popular. (IMO, the article is right that "The Matrix" is not ultimately about man vs. machine, but Neo's not an "early-adopter," either. You see:

The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy.

Pick a "system," any system, that's what "The Matrix" is about. That's at least part of why it's so popular—you can plug in your favorite bogeymen. Try: Capitalism and/or Globalization. I'll say more about that another time.)

For more (and better) "Matrix" preparation, try something from this list, or, if you're feeling abstract and adventurous, this list. And if you want to be my best friend, please buy me this. ;-)

William Gibson on Blogging: Sticking w/the sci-fi/cyberpunk theme, this interview w/Gibson discusses his experience blogging and why he's giving it up.

Politicans with blogs: Gary Hart has a weblog. I wonder if he'll get any comments from Donna Rice. It seems he doesn't care; he appears nearly ready to run for President again in 2004. ???

The Complete Bushisms: Sorry, I couldn't resist. These always make me laugh but sometimes the laughter verges on tears when I realize: a) our President cannot form sentences, and b) he also either refuses to correct himself or doesn't recognize when he needs to. My favorite at the moment:

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself."—Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003

Yubbledew's World is Mean: In "A mean-spirited America" Jill Nelson argues it's mean to spend millions making sure we squeeze every dime from the poorest taxpayers. She's right, but who cares? What's important is that we eliminate all taxes on stock dividends! Let's help the people who need it most!

Speaking of hypocrisy: We were, weren't we? Why does the party that used to preach the virtues of balanced budgets now seem to think record deficits are no problem? [Link via Cooped Up.]

Looting Ws of MD? While the U.S. has been battling to keep the U.N. out of Iraq (gee, I thought that was Saddam Hussein's job), no one's been doing anything to secure known sources of possible nuclear, biological and chemical materials in Iraq. Um, doesn't this look kind of bad? It's enough to make you think some people aren't bothered by all this looting and the possibility that terrorists get bad stuff. I mean, as long as the threat is credible, we can wage all the wars we want, right? And man, what could be better for a re-election campaign than being at war!? Think of all the aircraft carrier photo ops!

What if the Democrats Held A Debate: and no one cared? It's hard to care when you can't see it because your local ABC affiliate decided not to show it!

A Better Windoze Browser? Since I don't view the web through Windoze (except on public terminals at school and in libraries, where IE is the only option), I don't know how Mozilla works w/Windoze boxes. Has anyone tried it? How about "Firebird"? (Firebird is apparently a variant of Mozilla, like Camino is for Mac.) Just curious. What I can say is this: If you haven't tried tabbed browsing, you really should. Popup blocking is also a wonderful thing. YMMV.

Posted 08:44 AM | ai movies general politics