We'll just have to wait and see

You're a huge Suns fan. You're always blogging about them even though anyone who has ever seen this blog has asked for less Suns and more anything else. Thus, you have to have an opinion on the Diesel coming to the desert, right?

Sorry. Can't help you. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Initially, I felt good about it - I think because everyone was trashing the idea. But over time, as some people have come around - I've started going the other way. And ultimately, I don't know.

So my feelings were summed up well by Mr. Abbott at TrueHoop here. We'll just have to wait and see. I don't think "being motivated" can breathe life into a corpse, but if Shaq is actually more than a corpse, than maybe some good things will happen.

The Suns have been repeatedly criticized for not being able to play slowdown ball in the playoffs, and when Kerr pushed in his chips for the ultimate slowdown center he's getting bashed for turning his back on exciting basketball. But the Suns had exciting basketball for three years and little to show for it but regular season wins. I don't know if this gambit will work, but I applaud Kerr and D'Antoni for rolling the dice. I didn't see this season turning out any differently. Now, I definitely do. The only problem is first-round exit is a real possibility in addition to championship. But it should be exciting, and I think that is why we watch.

Quick NBA thoughts on my mind:

Kobe Bryant is always becoming more and more like MJ (manner of talking to the press, greatness, tutelage under Phil Jackson, the raised fist after hitting a game winner ((I love doing that one during pickup games)) and we can add one more eerie similarity: horrific, horrible, terrible, incompetent GM. All it took was Kobe calling for Kupchak to "ship Bynum's ass out" and he turned into the spawn of Elgin Baylor and a condor. And despite Kobe's complaints, Kupchak has shown himself to be likely the best GM out there. MJ, hmm, not so much. But I love me some Gerald Wallace highlights.

I think Jason Kidd to the Mavericks still needs to and will happen. For whatever reason, the Western Conference must always be far superior to the East, and that final addition would seem to be required to ensure Western dominance.

KG is hurt. KG is important. You know this.

The JeffKat Palace will soon be remodeled, so we will be decamping to the Red Roof Inn (near Interstate 10 for handy access for smugglers!) for two weeks. While this is quite an inconvenience, I will have cable. That means I might actually watch some NBA games. Think of all the blogging I can do then! Anyway, I'll have to let you know how that experiment goes.

Lastly, I was thrilled to find out this news. I love FireJoeMorgan and have the shirt to prove it, so I was quite pleased to find out that Michael Schur was the main brain behind the operation. It tied together two things I much enjoy: The Office and making fun of Woody Paige.

And lastly, to Lloyd if he is reading, I've decided to try to hate less and congratulate more. Although I do still find this funny nearly every time it's updated.

This Is (Mainly) A Basketball Post - See Point #7 For Non-Basketball Information

I just finished watching the NBA.com highlights of the Celtics MLK Day victory over Isaiah and the Pips, and I think I might be ready to talk about this C's season. (To reiterate, I have watched a total of two Celtics games, both losses, but I have seen the extended NBA.com highlight packages for every game - sometimes multiple times in an attempt to see more deeply into what is and isn't working and/or avoid studying. At this point, I am well-versed in Andre Aldridge's somewhat choppy explanation of the highlights, Fred Carter's throaty admonishments and Peter Vecsey's elderly screeds against the Knicks, selfish basketball and the neighborhood kids who won't stay off his lawn).

Point #1: Garnett could not be more important. It cannot be overstated. Check out this link for whatever it is I am talking about. (Maybe the author doesn't really know that the Blazers were scared, but it seems convincing. The friendly Canadians at The Basketball Jones have also previously said that the Raptors are afraid of Garnett and by extension afraid of the Celtics). Not to step on Bill Simmons' toes here, but what Garnett does each game can't really be calculated or fully understood, except by saying it's important. Kat and I went to There Will Be Blood over the weekend, and as we were walking out I said "What did I just see? I mean, what was that about?" I was pretty much enthralled all the way through, but I didn't have a firm grasp about why I liked it, what it was about, what I should take away from it and whether I should be laughing or frowning. Garnett is sort of like that for the Celtics. He seems borderline psychopathic and far too intense to actually play with any sense of composure or effectiveness. He may be scaring his own teammates into playing harder, scaring the other teams or scaring himself into refusing to lose. I don't think it's all that quantifiable - and Garnett's numbers aren't spectacular this year - but he is definitely doing something. I don't think the C's as constructed on Draft Day 2007 (namely Pierce plus Ray Allen with Al Jefferson and other assorted parts) would be near as good as the mix of whoever was left after the big trade plus Garnett. It seems your Y League team plus KG would stand a decent chance against the bottom rungs of the NBA.

Point #2: I need to do some research - but I don't know where I can look - but I believe that 2007 Slam Dunk champion (and 2008 Slam Dunk entrant) Gerald Green and Garnett may be the worst and greatest players to ever wear the same number for the same team in consecutive years. I had totally forgotten both wore #5 until I saw some old GG high(?)lights from last season. I can't think of another comparison except maybe Mark Madsen leaving a team and LeBron James coming to that same team the next year and wearing the same number. This really means nothing but is interesting.

Point #3: Warning: This is borderline unbelievable! But here it is: Zach Randolph's first(!) dunk of the season came in the MLK game against the Celtics. Yes, in his 41st game of the season, Randolph, who is 6-9 finally got his first dunk. And it was off a rebound slam that was right in front of the hoop for him. I'm not saying athleticism is the only way to succeed, but if you are 6-9 and you're only dunking twice a season, I don't like the chances of you helping my team win.

Point #4: Warning: This has been placed next to Point #3 for comic and explanatory effect. Amare Stoudemire is 6-10. He had six dunks in one game Sunday night. The rather amazing highlights of Amare's destruction of the Nets can be found here. (Added note: the Nets haven't won in Phoenix since 1993) On the season, Amare has 93 dunks, according to the Dunk-O-Meter. He absolutely looks like vintage 2004 force-of-nature Amare but with an improved jump shot. I don't think his defense is much better, but I like to watch him for enjoyment purposes, not for San Antonio Spurs-style textbook purposes.

Point #5: Everyone in Phoenix and all of Arizona has been killing Boris Diaw lately for his laissez-faire attitude and court demeanor (see what I did there, he's French!), but I'm still firmly a Diaw fan. I just like how much he can do on the court, so I'm granting him most-favored player status. I like that he might underachieve a little sometimes or lack a killer instinct. Too many fans on message boards don't realize that the players are real people with fears and insecurities. I think if Diaw had Garnett's particular version of insanity he would be totally unstoppable, but Garnett was born with that gift(?!?) and Diaw was born in France. Boris took an entire offseason off without touching a basketball so he could go see lions on a safari in the Serengeti. Lots of regular people would love to do that but would never have the money or time to do so. When Diaw actually had it, those same people who call themselves fans killed him for actually fulfilling a dream. I understand that lots of professional athletes feel entitled and the middle-class fans who pay their enormous salaries feel marginalized, but there are also a handful of professional athletes who are thrilled with their jobs but also understand that what they do is just that, a job. Boris seems to understand that, and to understand that what he plays is a game, where the ball can take funny bounces and you can't dominate every time. Most people like sports because it is a reflection of life but in starker relief - there is always a clear winner and loser. The problem is when they translate that simplistic view over to a person.

Point #6: The Celtics are 10-0 against the Atlantic Division. It is possible that they could sweep their division for the entire season. I've probably jinxed them now, but we'll see. Obviously, their division is not, you know, good by any stretch of the imagination, but it is still impressive to beat those teams every time out. Now, if they could only figure out how to beat the Wizards... For excellent Wizards-related nicknames, look here.

Point #7: Obviously, I didn't have school today. I plan to get back to my usual pattern of not blogging starting Tuesday. I did want to relate a story from my first week back at law school. I was walking down this hallway and I heard a female voice behind me say "Hey" in a way that would convey the idea of "I would like to speak with you because I like you and we're friends." So I turned around and the person said in a clearly disappointed tone, "I thought you were someone else." Sensing that I was feeling a bit hurt by the exchange, the person then said, "But hello anyway." I then said hello and continued down the hallway with Charlie Brown-style dejection. These are the stories of what it is what it is like to be me. "It is an up-at-dawn, pride-swallowing siege that I will never fully tell you about, ok?" But despite encounters like that, which are humiliating and make me question whether I will ever succeed at anything, I still keep moving forward. And on that note, I bid you adieu.

I have been busy not blogging

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but I've found that I have less and less to say. I don't think that's a good sign, but it saves my two readers from having to read too much drivel. I just have a few things.

People keep asking me how my exams went, but I really don't have a good answer (and it's not as a result of my complaint from the previous paragraph). I just really don't know. I could have done well or very poorly, but there is no good way to gauge. So instead, I'm forced to go to the same Web site each day where the grades are posted and face the battle in my brain between wanting to know and not know. 37 percent of my brain would like to just find out while 63 percent doesn't really want to know because of fear of what will be revealed. Thus far, the 63 percent is winning because the grades haven't been posted. If you remember the end of The Paper Chase - it is somewhat similar to that, however I'm not very cool and would never make a paper airplane out of my grades because, thanks to the wonders of technology, I have no way to make a paper airplane out of a Web site. The preceding sentences explain nothing and make me sound like a frightened loser, and that's precisely why I don't want to explain this to people who ask me how exams went.

I wished I could have been in Broken Bow for Christmas. It looked like fun. It sounds like everyone had a good time, although I have not seen any pictures posted to any blogs about the event. I'm excited for my trip back to Nebraska. Over the next few days here in Tucson there are "hard freeze warnings," so I guess that means the temperature might actually even dip into the 20s. I've only been wearing a light jacket when walking the dogs at night in what I've described to Kat as the "toughening process." She has no interest in any sort of toughening and simply puts on larger and larger coats of rather humorous proportions. I am resigned to the fact that I am going to be very cold, but I'm excited nonetheless.

In Kat-related news, she is leaving her job at AZ Tourist News and looking for other employment. She already has an interview and doesn't seem like she will be on the free agent market for long. And as always you can check Kat Fancy for updates about Kat and pictures of me looking extremely confused.

I was trying to figure out why I can't take a picture where I don't look like I just got hit in the face with a salmon, but I've come up dry. For whatever reason, I always look lost, deeply concerned, frightened about the future and certain I am suffering from some as-yet-unnamed terminal illness. I don't know if the fact that those things are mostly true for me plays any sort of role in my facial expressions.

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and has a happy new year. Here's hoping for a great 2008.

Some Notes on a Wednesday Afternoon

I forgot to commemorate the first anniversary of Super Duper Day (note: official title still being discussed) yesterday, Dec. 4. SDD was the day when Kat and I officially became engaged by choosing the most inexpensive ring she liked and was simultaneously the same day when I got my first acceptance to a law school. Kat cried tears of joy on SDD. Normally, I make her cry tears of anger or disappointment three or four times for each instance of tears of joy. But we choose not to commemorate those occurrences with special days. Anyway, I hope to remember SDD next year without having Kat tell me right before I go to bed.

Since things always seem to come full circle, I had my first law school exam today (post-SDD). The first rule (or is it the second rule?) of law school exams is "You don't talk about law school exams!" So I won't be discussing it with you. I'll tell you how I feel after being prejudiced by finding out my grade. (Don't tell anyone I said anything, but I think I did OK. If not, I will be savagely disappointed later).

Though I didn't feel horrible after the exam, I was pretty drained. I felt like Hank Kingsley after he filled in for one night as host for Larry Sanders. Right after the show, this was Hank's quote:

"Man, I'm tired. Now, I know why Larry is so f---ed up!"

That is sort of how I felt. Hat tip to Lloyd for the Larry Sanders DVDs, which are always a good study break/procrastinating tool.

But while I thought things were going so well, this was the e-mail I received after I had finished only my first of four exams. And this is quoted verbatim, however, I will not divulge the author's name:

"Let's face it. You haven't done enough to get an A in the class you'll be
studying for on Friday. So just accept your fate and embrace the B and play
basketball."

Hold on, here! I haven't given up that easily. I think I have worked hard enough, but sure I'll be there for basketball. I've got to keep my priorities straight!

I don't have much more to say. Kat bought Lily a rather awesome sweater. The Suns and Celtics are winning. But sports are meaningless, law is everything, bring on the exams!

A chicken in every pot, an exclamation point in every paragraph

I haven't talked at you in a bit (we haven't missed you! they say), so here is what has been going on.

I have a lot of studying to do, but I'm hopeful that things will work out well. I will be finished with this semester is exactly one month. Then the real worrying can begin!

Here is one (only one?!?) thing I've learned: The law is a seamless web.

Kat redecorated the living room! It looks pretty impressive. I think she is going to update her blog with some pictures, but if she doesn't, I'll add one to this post. Here's what you need to know: zebra print Chinese lanterns, bamboo sticks, and a pretty red curtain. Put it all together and it achieves Kat's goal of making the living room look, in her words, "opium dennish." Note: the living room is not actually an opium den. It's not really a living room either since we live in all the rooms.

I've been listening to the latest New Pornographers album "Challengers." It has been out for awhile, but it only recently was put on eMusic. I think it is worth a listen. Much love for Challengers, Go Places, Myriad Harbour and Unguided!

Kat and I went to the Tucson Museum of Art today. There was an arts and crafts fair, and admission was free - although we are actually museum members because we are so cultured!

It is still quite warm here! There might be something to this.

Kat and I went from sports bar to sports bar in an attempt to find one that had NBA TV, so I could take in the Celtics-Magic tilt. I hadn't seen the Celtics since their reincarnation, so I had to take the last chance I would probably have in awhile. First, I forgot when the game started and then we couldn't find a place that showed it. By the time we found a place that actually had it, it was the middle of the third quarter. The C's had been 8-0 in games I hadn't watched any part of. Now, they are 0-1 in games I have seen part of! So I will take the blame. Although I should enjoy seeing a Boston team lose considering recent events in sports, I wanted to see the C's play well and win. I don't know how good they can be, but to my mind, anything less than an Eastern Conference title would be a failure. I knew when I came to law school that trying not to pay attention to the Suns would be difficult, but I was not counting on a Celtics revival. Oh well, I'm glad to see them win because it has been a long time coming.

That's all! Take care.

Things Jangling Around (Now Updated with Pictures!)

I've had roughly 34 mini-nervous breakdowns in the past three months, so after today's most recent descent into the depths of depression, Kat told me to take the night off from studying. I'm trying to do that by blogging with you. I had a plan for a great blog with great photos, but alas, neither of our digital cameras have batteries. However, I do have plans to update this post with the photos when I get them, so stay tuned for that!

First, through some sort of foreign pet exchange program, Kat and I are caring for a 3-pound pomeranian/chihuahua named Lola (yes, we currently have Lola, Lily and Lucy .... Lucky, laren't lee?). Lola might be the cutest dog in recorded human history, and strangely, she likes me more than Kat. She hangs out in the office where I study and enjoys peeing on the floor even though she has a piddle pad right nearby! Lola's owner talks to her in Spanish, so it requires a subtly different inflection on "No" when telling her "No." This is very important. Lucy and Lily were initially quite resistant but are now playing nice with Lola - regularly chasing her so she has to hide under the bed where no other dogs can get to her.

(insert photo of Lola)


(caption: In the immortal words of Walter Sobchak, "You can't board it. It gets upset, it's hair falls out!")

Second, another new arrival is Kat's ridiculously awesome new iMac with 20-inch screen, loaded with Leopard and her new copy of Adobe Creative Suite 3. (I do not know the actual meanings of the words I am typing). It is a sweet machine and is Kat's most recent step toward taking over the world through cute designs. I'm excited that she now has the tools to really do some great stuff.

(insert photo of computer)



(caption: Now we have Garage Band. Maybe Keith's death grip on the means of Gaucast production has come to an end. Workers unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains!)

Third, I bought a new "Arizona Law" T-shirt that is being sold by the Student Bar Association, of which I am a member. I also got Kat a nice blue tank top. If anyone wishes to place an order, they can contact me, and I can get one for them, maybe as a Christmas gift. Note, since this is a gift promise, it cannot be enforced in a court of law and I can choose not to perform for any reason. I learned this in Contracts class.

(insert photo of shirt)

(caption: These shirts are also available in a modest gray.)

Fourth, I was over at the home of one of Kat's co-workers this week, and for the first time, I saw up close as people played Guitar Hero. I was not impressed. However, Kat and I thought a similar game we called "Cowbell Hero" would be a bigger hit with us. I suggested Sitar Hero, which is another game we are considering developing. I know it has been said many times many times before, but I'll say it anyway: "Why wouldn't you just buy a guitar?"

(insert photo of Guitar Hero or Heroine focused intensely as he or she tries to imagineer his or her way through "Barracuda" by Heart. Note, that's by the band Heart, not the colloquial "by heart," meaning without the aid of sheet music, because the game tells you exactly what buttons to push and even when to "whammy" the "whammy bar." In other news, I think life is empty and existence is a joke.)
(caption: "No, kind sir, I am not interested in playing you in Guitar Hero.")

I think that's everything. Thanks for stopping by.

Most Confusing Week Yet

This was the most confusing week so far, but it wasn't because of the material we were studying. I've fallen into a groove where no matter how strange or counterintuitive a concept is, I seem to be able to get at least a moderate grasp on it. I don't know if I'm getting them well enough to be a lawyer, but we'll find out preliminarily in two months and then henceforth for the rest of my working life.

One of the students in my small section (the group of 25 or so who are in all the same classes together, including one class every day that consists of only our section) died this week, apparently of suicide. We don't have any detailed information, but that is what we were told. For all of us, this was an unbelievable shock. I knew this guy relatively well - I had studied at the same table with him on a couple of occasions, had lunch with him, even played basketball with him once. He spoke in class, was prepared on a daily basis and always had something funny to say. Knowing all of this, it has been totally impossible to make sense of how this could happen.

Most of us can't help but think that we could have done more or been better classmates and that maybe this could have made a difference. I know that it probably couldn't, and I also know that school probably had very little to do with this. It is a high-stress environment, but we haven't even really hit the stress yet.

I don't think there is really a lesson here because it makes so little sense. I have not had trouble focusing on my studies or had feelings like I don't want to do it. I am excited to be doing what I'm doing, and even when it's hard it hasn't gotten me down too much. In a perverse way, the events of this week have shown me just how lucky I am. I just want to keep moving forward and try to achieve my goals. But for now, that journey is pretty sad.

I regularly poke fun at Mom (with Kat often telling me not to in the background) about going to so many funerals. But when something affects you like this, I understand that you want to be able to say goodbye. So I'll be at a funeral on Monday (I don't know what the odds are that Mom will be at one as well, somewhere, but I think they have to be decent).

I don't know what this post is supposed to convey, but I felt the need to try to get some things down. In the end, this incident can't ever make sense to those of us who knew him only at school. But can any suicides of 22-year-olds ever make sense? Probably not. And I wish I didn't have to try.

In better news this week, on Tuesday Kat and I went to the Rilo Kiley show at the Rialto. It was quite awesome. All the best tunes from the past albums and the best ones off the new album as well. Best moment of the night: Jenny Lewis vamping along the front of the stage while playing cowbell on "Breakin' Up." Also, the supporting acts The Bird and the Bee and Grand Ole Party were good. You can hear them on iTunes (Kat had to download a few), but I couldn't find them on eMusic.

Other good news, I got all of my reading done for this weekend before the weekend, so I can outline all day today (Saturday). It should be a barrel of fun.

Last good news, Kat and I are going to Phoenix tomorrow to see our friend Tammy. She is moving soon to Reno where she and her fiance, Chris, have gotten jobs. They both worked with us previously in Yuma. We'll miss having a good friend in Phoenix (always helpful to save on parking at the airport during vacation!), but we're excited for her and Chris.

Also bonus last good news, we might go to the Arizona State Fair while in Phoenix. I think there is a chance we can procure and consume a candy-bar drizzled with caramel on a stick deep-fried in lard and honey and then stuffed inside a giant marshmallow, microwaved and then coated with other candy bars. If not that, then a funnel cake is always good!