Spesul iz as speshul does

My civil procedure is a sleazy, cynical sonofabitch, blatantly so. How the fuck people think it's a good idea for him to be teaching anywhere outside of a community college is beyond me (that's how "ew" he is). Some people would call it "practical," but with having to face ethics boards at the end of our education, shouldn't the sleaziness be staved off until we actually pass? Or maybe that's his fucked up plan all along, limit the number of lawyers out there so that there's more money and clients for him.

Obama using teleprompters in a classroom is kinda shady (even if it is for the media). The man needs to be weaned off of them, or sent to rehab for the addiction. I swear, seems like he's becoming more of a puppet with his mind being controlled by some evil mastermind. Is he that afraid of messing up an answer for a simple question like the Miss Teen USA contestant who flubbed on the geography thing? The teleprompters also put a barrier between him and the people, making him seem as if he does not wish to connect with his audience, by dragging his eyes from the faces of whomever he is addressing.

A friend asked me an interesting question last night. Do you morally feel that downloading is illegal? Well, it isn't a crime until somebody's actually convicted of it and fulfills the assigned punishment (because you could still prove the new "law" to be unconstitutional). Disregarding that, if it's all within the US (as in the item was registered for a copyright in the US, the company who owns the item has a US branch, the person whose creative juices created the item is American, the item was sold/distributed in the US, and the uploader is American) then, yeah, you probably shouldn't be downloading it. Throw in some internationals in there and it gets iffy. Example, in Denmark, it's not illegal to download, so what if you're an American downloading something that's purely Danish? It's to be expected that once it's up on a Danish website, it's going to be downloaded. And what if the item was never introduced into the US? Is the item really protected under our copyright law if it never sought to be copyrighted in our country in the first place?

Food, work, and "good times"

"Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." Today was the first time I've ever heard that. The woman who rang me up when I bought breakfast told me that...after commenting that I must not be hungry since I only had a piece of toast and a sausage patty on my plate. On the contrary, I was hungry, or I would've passed on the concept of breakfast as I normally do. Growing up in a non-agrarian society, breakfast has always been dine-and-dash at best. A quick bowl of cereal, or a Pop Tart in hand, often skipping when I could simply because I had no interest in eating Cheerios, my eldest brother's favorite cereal and, thus, generally the only cereal in the house. Plus, sleep > breakfast every time. Last night, people were surprised to learn that I am not a fan of sandwiches. Not that I refuse to eat them, for they do serve a purpose, but I prefer to take a minute out of the middle of the day to procure something that cannot be consumed on the fly, forcing me to stop and take a breather. Of course, I'm usually too lazy to make anything. However, I am the goat of my family and will gleefully delve into almost any leftovers that I happen to have or find in my parents' fridge. Whenever I am working, I take my lunch time seriously. My lunch hour is my hour, even if I happen to be eating at my desk.

Sometimes I wish that I was an actor, so that I would always have union-enforced lunch breaks and I would always get fed by craft services. The only downside is the unsteadiness of the work. Even someone like Angelina Jolie will fade from the limelight or have a dry spell where there are no productions with a role that she fits the description of. Although in these economic times, is it really any more of a gamble than trying to get a "real" job? With the number of layoffs, maybe now is really the time to go after your dream job, kind of like how Michigan is reinventing itself as a new Hollywood now that the auto industry has finally driven the final nail into the coffins of their factories near Motor City. The idea that the economy is improving is bs until we really start to see tangible improvements, not just word from Wall Street or from the White House.

Speaking of the White House, Obama's asking for even more money, this time for a new incentive program for teachers. Nice idea, but not the right time. What good is improving education if the kids can't stay in school because they're being shuttled around to different relatives or various homeless shelters because their parents can't afford to have a singular residence for an extended period of time thanks to being unemployed? Can Obama learn to pinch pennies? He can't run the US like he ran his household in a tony Chicago neighborhood on his wife's salary. The man's a "good times" president, and if this were the 1920's, I'm sure that his approval rating would be through the roof. We're in hard, lean times, and the man's lightbulb has yet to go off. Instead of escalating the national debt and increasing taxes to finance his pet projects, he should be trying to trim the fat and putting forth non-expensive ideas on how to keep jobs in the US.

Permanently stuck in the 50s

I had never realized that January Jones and John Slattery were both in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. The Silver Fox played Romola's father, exhibiting serious moves, and the ex-Mrs. Draper was the resident queen bee, which was a decidedly small role and gave her a chance to be openly racist. I have to admit that the movie is a guilty pleasure. I own the dvd, the soundtrack, and the novel adaptation. Bought the book for a flight to Atlanta, where I competed for a full ride at Oglethorpe, the soundtrack after seeing the move in Atlanta, and the dvd when I found it at Kmart for a low price. Since my prom dress was red with a boatneck and a full circle skirt (the year before that type of dress became popular), I had my hair styled like Romola's when she danced in the competition.

I wish I was on a beach in Puerto Rico right now. I wonder what will happen if/when the US ends its embargo on Cuba. With the Castros losing their grip and Obama pushing for an improved relationship, it seems that the end is near. However, with Guantanamo Bay closing, it provides Cuba another chance to fortify itself against capitalist countries. Has Cuba had enough of the Castro version of communism? I have a feeling that this will be the final question standing between remaining closed off from the US and welcoming Americans with open arms. What will this mean for Puerto Rico? At the very least it will drastically cut into Puerto Rico's tourism.

New Theory on Reality TV

While people simultaneously mock and bemoan the excess amount of reality tv, it serves an interesting purpose in this craptastic economy. With the variety of reality tv, there's a show for everyone, meaning that every John Doe out there has a chance at making money or a name for himself, providing a new niche for jobs that are being killed in rapid succession these days. It also provides a new place for flailing companies to reach out to consumers who they wish to target but could not reach, or did not need to reach, before the economic downturn. Motor City Motors is probably the best example of this (2 free episodes are available on iTunes). A father and his two sons found that their motorcycle company was dying a slow death (it still is), so they were able to get a reality show about re-doing cars to race. They then are able to employ men who used to work at car factories before getting sacked, not in exchange for a steady pay check, but for new tools and a chance to go on tv and say "Here's what I can do, so please hire me." The car parts are donated, providing the donators free advertising. Strange to think that reality tv could be doing society at large a real, tangible favor.

Crossroads for Conan

"Conan Exit Deal Imminent

By: Andrew Wallenstein // Friday January 15, 2010

Sources tell me that Conan O’Brien’s deal to exit NBC is “very close” to being signed. “The lawyers are almost finished,” the source says.

The deal would likely allow O’Brien to finish his stint on “The Tonight Show” next Friday. After that, O’Brien will be free to negotiate a deal elsewhere. Although a deal with Fox remains a question mark, another source close to the situation did concede, “Kevin Reilly loves Conan.”

Contrary to fevered reports, no agreements have been signed."

-Showbiz411

Conan has 2 choices. A) He can continue negotiations, sign the deal, and end the drama in good faith. B) He can end negotiations and sue NBC if it is true that they've already signed a deal with Jay for the Tonight Show. Good graces and looking more like someone who can be pushed around versus more money and more public victimization (which means more ratings for Conan if he competes with Jay). Will Conan grow balls or will he go with the sure bet?

Johnny Carson's ghost should be contacted to settle the dispute...

Took until today before someone actually wrote an article about why the devastation in Haiti was so great and, surprise, surprise, the magnitude of the earthquake wasn't the only factor listed. Surprised that it took so freakin' long for something like that to come out.

If NBC and Jay really have inked a deal for him to take the Tonight Show (boo! >:I), then either NBC's cut a parting deal with Conan, or they have effectively released him from his contract without any hassle (of course, if they haven't completely cut ties with Conan, and his contract was to host specifically the Tonight show...well, you can put two and two together, right?). Jay has officially made himself look like a jerkoff in this situation, which will seriously hurt the numbers of any pre-existing Tonight Show fan base (I can practically hear Letterman's evil cackling as he greedily anticipates the return of his minions who had shunned him because of the extramarital affair scandal). This means that we can anticipate that his ratings are not going to be much better than they were for his primetime show and he is once again going to be a money pit for NBC. It's tragic that Jay's selfishness and NBC's (as well as Conan's representation's) sloppiness have led to the death of the Tonight Show, but maybe it should have ended once Johnny Carson said goodbye to it. The whole thing is reminiscent of a distasteful sibling squabble over the inheritance left by the dead father while the elderly mother is still alive, but too feeble to truly regulate the bickering.

There have been rumors floating around that Conan has a bit of an ego problem, which is never good. When you've been handed a present you've always wanted, you're supposed to say thank you, and act grateful for the gift. Instead, if the rumors are true, Conan's been acting as if he earned his gift by right. Excuse me, but who graciously gave you the show that you've wanted since childhood and is handing you a paycheck every week or so, Conan? They always could have gone with someone else. It could be Carson Daly hosting the Tonight Show right now instead of Conan. In Hollywood, once the ink dries on the contract, it's always good to remain humble and respectful of your superiors and inferiors (if 30 Rock has taught me one thing, it's that you never know which page may end up running the network someday). Or else they'll either find ways to make your life hell (if your contract is ironclad) or they'll find loopholes in your contract (which is far worse), like the time loophole in Conan's.

All the world's a reality show...

I know I blogged just an hour ago, but I'm so freakin' anxiety-ridden over the las grade being posted today (hasn't been posted yet) and waiting to see if I hear any more from the company that I can't really focus on anything that requires serious brain function.

So I'm posting about Haiti. I feel bad for the country, I really do, because that many deaths is an absolute tragedy. And, yes, Pat Roberts can go suck it (I think the guy's secretly craving a gang-rape-style anal pounding or he wouldn't be always making antagonistic comments) for what he said. While the earthquake is shocking, the results from the earthquake are less so. The quality of the majority of the buildings on the half of the island that Haiti is on leaves something to be desired. It's a third-world country, so thy don't have the money to make buildings secure against natural disasters (the US does, hence the US Embassy is still standing). Because it is a third-world country, there's a number of people inside of most dwellings at any given time that would make a fire marshal have a heart-attack. The more crowded a building is, the fewer secure spots (like under a table or in a doorway) there are available for a person to go to that are not occupied. Now, admittedly, the Dominican Republic is on the other side of the quake, so Haiti did have to bear the brunt of it, but there are no horror stories coming out of that country. It has the second largest economy of the region and therefore is more developed than Haiti. Moral of the story: if you have a choice, don't live in a third-world country with a corrupt government when there's a more developed country right next door.

Quick note about NBC: Will somebody please get the animatronic of Jay Leno off the stage? Get rid of him (the fact that he made such a spectacular fail of himself shows that people don't want to watch him for the sake of him) and keep Conan at his spot. These late night shows are interchangeable and Conan is more likely to kiss NBC's ass instead of Jay, who enjoys having NBC give him metaphorical bjs. Oh, and I really really really hope that they keep Trauma, or at least turn it into the Taylor Kinney Half-Naked Variety Hour (he's a real man's man without being a frat boy *coughMatthewMcConaugheycough*).

The future don't look bright

Wow, people are idiots today. 2 people did not know the answer and didn't take a stab of answering it and the 3rd person who did got it wrong. The opinion is crystal-clear as far as the answer is concerned. Irked the professor, but that's what he gets for calling on the wrong people. *smirk* Don't like the man anyways because it's pretty fucking obvious that he's still stuck in a BMOC phase from high school. Apparently there's an ex-sorority girl in this class who has a crush on him and I know there's a prick who also has that BMOC complex who idolizes him and would probably go gay for him (ew). Yet another student had to be walked through a slam dunk answer. *shakes head* For shame. The peroxide must have leaked through her skull and destroyed her brain (her dark rots are at least an inch long).

Last push of applying for jobs and ish today, since the last grade should be up. If I don't hear anything positive for anywhere else, then I'll say yes to the offer (partly because it could lead to employment down the line in the location that the job is at and it would still look good on the resume even without any desire to stay there forever). It always comes down to money, doesn't it?

If you give an intern a cookie...

...will they be willing to say that you're the only applicant for the job?

The questionnaire that was sent to me from the company that I'm stressing over (which is causing me to check my email more often than Ari Gold comes up with a new insult to use on Lloyd) was sent by an HR intern. Tempted to use bribery to push myself to the top because, having interned for shit before (actually I got a stipend to cover my transportation, which was nice) I know how a juicy amount of cash or some other item would be greatly appreciated. Not that I'll actually do it, but it would be sweet if I could do it and get away with it.

The questionnaire says that it's supposed to be sent back before the scheduled interview, but the sweetheart didn't give me a date when she sent me the questionnaire, which makes Girl86 go "wha?" Hope there's nothing srsly wrong and that this is an indication that they are legitimately interested in me enough to interview me (which needs to happen soon, I'm hesitant to throw away an offer for an unknown).

Another company under the same giant corporate letterhead is now looking at my resume (I like to hedge my bets), so hopefully I'll hear from them soon as well.

Applying to a couple of last shot places tomorrow (if I get my grade tomorrow, actually wrote an email harassing that prof for it).

Twitter is a sick addiction for me. I still think it serves no real purpose, except to save me time on looking at my fave gossip blogs. Really, it's little more than an rss feed on steroids. Like people really need to know what I'm doing every 10 mins, but I can't stop posting. :/

Speaking of social media, aside from privatizing the shit out of stuff keeping most of my stuff clean and covering my tracks with leaving no identifiable, easily google-able connections between who I really am and what I do uncensored on the web (Twitter is linked to my personal email account and this is linked to an account I set up just for this blog), I wonder how much future employers are going to dig. Anyone with 2 brain cells knows not to post vulgar pictures, super identifiable/personal info, and questionable content on the web that could lead to "egg on one's face," so why do they keep stressing it? It makes me think that every company has a shitload of tracers that track ip addresses and will pull up every single website you've ever visited, and every single thing you've ever done on the internet, just based on what contact info you have on your resume. Freakin' crazy.

I've got a late dinner that's growing cold and a movie to watch, so ponder the Big Brother-style probing by future employers and let me know what you think (am I morphing into a crazy conspiracy theorist?).

How sweet it is...

Got an offer for a judicial clerkship (they have a Wahoo's in this place so I won't die, <3 their ahi rice) today. Still waiting for my school to get their ish together to give me the thumbs up so I can beg this company for an interview for this summer job (better than the clerkship because I would have a free place to crash). At least the school knows what's up. I've got a week before I have to say yes or no, so thank God the other company is on West Coast time (more time, thanks to the time difference).

Back on the horse...

I've been absent because I've been busy with school. If you want any free time, don't go to law school.

In Entourage, the guys just roll up to Urth without buying anything first. In real life, they would be kicked off the premises (in accordance with company policy to rid their place of as many screenwriters as possible). It would be sweet if you could do that in real life.

My grades for the first semester sucked ass. So I cried and got over it. My grades are still good enough to keep me from being kicked out (still waiting on one, but I have a 2.2, 1 C-, 2 Cs, 1 B).

Unlike my slacker classmates, I've already applied for some summer jobs. Got a phone interview for one in 20 mins and am dealing with another in California (state law there requires school involvement and my school doesn't get that concept, so it's a bitch to convince them that they need to give an official thumbs up in order for the company to feel secure in interviewing me).

Doing another oral competition at the end of the month. It's hosted by the state bar, so it's more than just my school.

That's all for now. Over and out.