A Few of My Favorite Things

I think list entries are to blogs what mime is to art. Every once in a great while they can really be satisfying, but mostly they are things to largely be ignored and avoided.



That said, it's finals time and my brain is full of rules and cases. I don't think I've had a decent thought independent of the federal rules of evidence or criminal procedure for a week or more.

Without further ado...

A few of my favorite things for December 10, 2008, non-exclusive:

Tiny older women driving really big trucks.

Pretending like I can't see people who are wearing camouflage.

Puppies rolling over and falling out of bed.

1 Nephi 21:23.

Deuteronomy 31:6.

Guys who can pull-off baseball hats (baseball specific, as opposed to baseball style hats).

Snow (the form of precipitation, not the rapper who gave us "Informer").

The way Mormons habitually pray and give thanks for moisture in smaller towns.

Cowboy-cut suits.

Formal boots.

Joe Erikson's mustache circa 1995.

Life, etc.

Absurd

I once cried during the song "Footloose."



True story.

Colloquialism

I'm pretty sure I just heard someone on the radio say, "Let me put this to you in Layton's terms..."

While it's not what the person meant to say--I'm sorry, but "layman's terms" was answer the judges were looking for--it's actually not a bad expression.

ACK!!

This morning while I was getting ready I made up a Cathy cartoon. I think it's pretty good (for a Cathy cartoon).



Panel One: Cathy is rummaging through her closet. Maybe some sweat or tears are flying horizontally off her head.

Panel Two: Cathy turns around. She continues to look distraught. "So many woman are looking for soul-mates..."

Panel Three: She holds up socks in her hands. One is black, one is white, one has polka dots. "But today I would settle for a sock-mate! Ack!"

Also, I think she's late for work.

The Value of Adversity and Rockets

I'm really, really busy right now. I'm woefully behind on everything and I will, in fact, not be able to catch up. In my academic, financial, and social life, it's not a matter of restoring and healing: it's a matter of slowing the bleeding or making the cancer of my ineptitude and incapability spread at a more manageable rate.

I know what it sounds like, but I'm not complaining. I'm somewhat of a narcissist, I'm fascinated by me, and I tend to learn the most about myself in adverse conditions.



Let's be clear; I'm no Fred Nietzche. I don't believe that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I don't have an endless amount of resources, resiliency, or a crazy mustache. There are a number of things that are kind of like A.I.D.s, but for character--they do not kill you, but make you weak to the point that common ailments can finish the job. There are a lot of silly ways people can blow strength, or at least waste a lot of time.

Super Mario Brothers in the late 80s neither killed me nor made me stronger. I don't know if Nietzche would've changed his mind if he had a nintendo entertainment system.

But I digress...

Today I have/had 17 pages of paper to write, endless hours I should spend outlining, and class or two that I should've attended. But I didn't.

Today I learned something about me: I think it is more important to drive two hours into the desert to watch a space shuttle rocket be tested, than it is to study law. The motor was loud, warm, and threw up a cloud of dust thousands and thousands of feet high. I laughed like a child until I started to cry. It burned for 122 seconds.



Today I have a better sense of who I really am.

Legally and Lawfully Married

There is a couple at my law school. They are so cute, petite, polite, and married.

They have desks next to each other in the library.

They just walked by me, and my heart broke a little. I hope they wouldn't think I'm patronizing them because I think of them like kittens--too cute for a harsh, cynical, and sometimes cruel world.



I wish they would walk by again. I wish I was like them.

Thoughts from my Morning

Once anything of value is learned, felt, realized, or experienced, it should instill some kind of change in behavior. Failing to act is the first step to forgetting. Forgetting inevitably leads to regression, and is a waste of our time and experiences.

Voter Psychology

I spent four years studying political science. The end result was less interest in politics--the more I learned the sillier it became.

For a long time people thought voting behavior could be explained in rational terms. Person X votes for candidate Y because it yields desirable result Z. So, as the theory goes, the rich will vote for the capitalistic republican, the poor will vote for the giving democrat, etc.

Seems to make sense, but I don't think it's true. It assumes that we believe candidates, think candidates will have power to change the status quo, that information about our interest can be distributed, and that we can assess what interests are more valuable to us. And if we're so rational, why would we vote at all since the odds are astronomical that our vote will actually be the difference?



And, if we're all so rational, then why does anyone wast time and resources voting for an American Idol candidate?



I think we vote because it offers us an opportunity to define and validate ourselves. To me, that is the beauty and danger of the process.

If we as a society are looking to define ourselves in meaningful terms, then we should be alright. But, as I worry is the trend, if we define ourselves by things that are largely superficial, self-aggrandizing, and polarizing, then the future looks bleak.

Vote as you will, but think about what you're really looking for the next time you put on a political t-shirt, or cleverly update your status message on facebook, or attach a provacative bumper sticker on your car. Do you really think you're making a difference in a meaningful way, or are you just trying to get some attention and an external sense of identity? Are you looking for high-fives from your NRA or Darwin-Fish buddies, or do you think you're making a meaningful statement?

It might be a tough call.

The Dynamics of Power

Pride from the top down is distasteful, but pride from the bottom up is what really scares me.



Seems like the well-to-do are prone to look down with mere contemptuousness based on self-conceit. The people at the bottom may look up with hatred based in pain and suffering.

The status quo doesn't seem too comfortable with a minority scorn.

America, Capitalism, Socialism, and the Class Action Law Suit

America is great. I love it here. But sometimes we sue each other a lot.



I've been reading today about class action law suits. It never occurred to me before that this is means for redistribution of wealth. American companies do whatever it is they do. Despite what AM talk radio is telling you, these companies aren't so regulated--especially for being companies doing business in a land of plumbing, potable water, gas, and electricity.

Where our European forebears regulate and control, we wait until the wheels fall off, and then we sue. Sometimes this kills a company, but usually they just pass the cost of suits onto the other consumers.

I'm not saying this is good or bad policy. Somethings are over regulated while somethings are under-regulated. And I know of no perfect system or solution.

But I do think my countries litigious nature is a reflection of our laissez fair attitude--laissez fair until someone loses an eye; then we sue.

A New Blog for a New Era.

Like my other blogs, but slightly more sincere.