Review: 1L of a Ride

I just finished reading Andrew J. McClurg's book, 1L of a Ride. McClurg writes from this premise: You think you know how hard law school will be. You're wrong. And now you think you know. You're still wrong.

Then the book goes on to explain how to thrive in (or at least survive) the environment of law school. (Don't drink too much. Get enough rest. Brief your cases. Sit in the front row; use 3" binders for each class; buy a sturdy 3-hole-punch and use it religiously; use a medium-point pen if you write essays longhand.) Clearly the tips range from the general to specific.

The book finishes with actual comments from actual law students just finished with their first year of school but written before the final exams. One piece of student advice: "Don't work ALL of the time, only most of it." Another: Don't let yourself fall behind. "There is never enough time to get things done in law school, so what you think is free time, really isn't or shouldn't be." A third commentor felt full of "EXHAUSTION. I have reached a new level of mental exhaustion I did not know existed." Another commented that "I know I am exhausted, but can't feel it because I am under so much pressure and stress while preparing for exams."

The theme here? You think you know how hard law school will be. You're wrong. And now you think you know. You're still wrong.

Oddly,though, the book is reassuring. I'm now pretty sure that if I can just keep myself consistently, rigorously, efficiently, and diligently organized I will glide through my first year. Professor McClurg's credo is, in fact, CREDO. His characteristics of successful law students are these: Consistency; Rigor; Efficiency; Diligence; Organization. I am most of those things, so this might just work out for me.

And yet: You think you know how hard law school will be. You're wrong. And now you think you know. You're still wrong.

Ok, so 1l of a Ride doesn't offer to make the first year easy. It simply suggests ways to make it a tiny bit less difficult. And by describing various aspects of law school's first year, McClurg dissolves a bit of its mystique.

Also, it includes this great piece of student advice: "Drop the Ho-Ho's and back away from them. True, they whisper nice, sweet things in your ear, and call out to you in the middle of the night, but when you have to get all gussied up for your oral argument, you're going to look like a fat man in a little suit."

Good to know.

Kurt Cobain was our first; Michael Jackson is our second. This is MY generation. These are MY icons.

Afterlife after art school

Philosophy teacher Simon Critchley on Socrates:

After he had been condemned to death on the trumped up charges of corrupting the youth of Athens and failing to revere the local gods, Socrates began to ruminate on the afterlife before an audience of his judges.

He said that death is one of two possibilities. Either it is a long dreamless sleep and really rather pleasant, or it is a passage to another place, namely Hades, and there we’ll be able to hang out with Homer, Hesiod and rest of the Greek heroes, which sounds great. Socrates’ point is that we do not know whether death is the end or some sort of continuation.

Art school, with its grand theories and postulations, was a thrill-a-minute trip in which I lingered until my mid-twenties. The years following have been quick and sleepy but not thoroughly pleasant. Whether the next phase is the pleasant-dreamless sort or the pleasant-exhilerating kind is TBD. Even the 'pleasant' piece is up for a vote. The next three years will be novel. There's no continuation here, and the possibility of an abrupt sort of end.

Critchley on pursuit of happiness in American Society: "We assume that the question of happiness is a question of my happiness or, more properly, of my relation to my happiness."

Here's hoping that I discover some happiness to relate myself to.

New law school dream--not flying

Last night I dreamed about a law school classroom that was creepily similar to my middle school social studies room. But in this dream I was decidedly behind my classmates. I walked in late and was, in fact, only making it to class a few weeks into the semester. Also I sat in the back.

Still, this was an honors class and I was honored to be there.

Then I realized I had neither bought the book nor done the assignment. It was lucky that this didn't matter because the prof.--a gigantic version of John Houseman--was kind enough to ignore me.

The classroom debate was vigorous and I was stunned by the intelligent points other students raised. In my dream, then, suddenly, all noise stopped and I only watched the soundless class continue. That was when I noticed the books resting on the desks of the students in the rows before me. (It's common knowledge that while LSAT scores aren't reliable indicators of law school performance, high class grades are directly tied to a student's proximity to the front of the classroom. I was in a 'D' seat.) The assigned book, called The White Paper, was over three feet thick. Students used wheeled suitcases to carry them to class. I hadn't even remembered to bring my backpack.



When I was a kid the dreams where I was flying were my best. The nightmares were soundless giants.

Away we go.

1L of a Ride

I'm reading Prof. Andrew J. McClurg's book, 1L of a Ride. The first year of law school seems incredibly intense and formidable but also quite exciting. I've been working a low-stress job for the last three years and I'm ready for some stress and intellectual rigor. Law school will certainly provide that. Law school will also turn my life into a ball of business, much crunch, and lots of urgency.

I think I'm looking forward to it. I think. Ask me again in three months.

In which Barack Obama officially supports LGBT rights

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country’s response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration — in both the White House and the Federal agencies — openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA